Of Men and Machines Session 15
General Summary
The Claw of Iron
The party could hear one of the goblins in the raiding party outside of the gate of Dewcross - the stocky one riding atop a massive dire wolf - yelling at an unseen voice on the other side of the gate. Through the light rain, the adventurers snuck up the Hamtoll neighborhood to maneuver to a spot where they could hear better. Eshshann the Pocket tried to sneek a peak inside one of the empty homes, but cut himself trying to push one of the windows open. The wizard was furious and stormed off furiously - but stealthily - and rejoined the party. Keck soon found himself in a better position where he could better overhear the goblins. The one riding the dire wolf was clearly in charge and went by the name Grimmok Bonecrusher. He answered to someone else though. Grimmok made his demands to one Elowen Stoneforge on the other side of the gate. Elowen tried to reason with him, telling Grimmok that they didn't have the 250 gold pieces, but that they could provide the medicine that he asked for. A small sack was thrown over the palisade which was quickly swept up by one of the dismounted goblins. Grimmok declared that they had 24 hours to get the money, then the raiders would be back. With that, they rode out of town to the east. The party stepped out of hiding and approached the gates. The voice of Elowen called through the walls and told them that would work on getting the money. The party corrected him and declared that they weren't part of the raiders. A loud ker-chunk and the gate swung open just enough for the party to enter the town. The muddy streets of the small village extend to all four directions. A second loud ker-chunk indicated that the gate had shut behind them and was locked. The group inquired who that was; Elowen replied that it was a raiding party from the Ironclaw Marauders. He told the group that they were based somewhere in the Hastlet Woods to the east and that they've been coming to Dewcross for the past few weeks. Fel'Shu asked if the militia would do anything but Elowen grimly replied that they were a bit too far away from any center of gravity for the county and that they wouldn't respond to bandits. Damakos felt for the townsfolk, but between him and Eshshann they concluded that it was not their problem, and that they had a bigger task to tend to. The townsfolk looked at the party as they walked through on their way to the north gate. Some of them appeared sad that they wouldn't help, but they refused to beg for help. Come what may, the people of Dewcross would face it with strength.The Sanguine Abyss
Within two additional hours, the party could begin to notice the gentle ground rumble and crimson bands dancing across the sky. They soon found themselves standing in front of the entrance to the Sanguine Abyss. The darkness enveloped them like a glove as they stepped in, which prompted both Fel'Shu and Eshshann to step back outside and put together some makeshift torches. Stepping back inside they immediately noticed the red-capped mushrooms with white speckles dotting them; the Trumpet Toadstool, which they had found at the crime scene back in Castleport. Keck stepped forward to take a look around, but felt the ground rumble underneath him. Within seconds he felt the ground rumble beneath him with a growing intensity. A moment later a mechanical creature burst forth with glowing orange eyes and multiple claws at its disposal. Before it could take any serious action, Tim the Not-so-Tiny managed to dispatch it with a mighty blow from his great sword. Damakos and Fel'Shu inspected the remains closely and recognized its construction as being similar to Phasnosh design, based on the books they had read. They quickly scavenged it and pulled out enough solid silver pieces that they'd be able to make a pretty penny off the scrap. They continued on into the cavern. Out of the darkness, a three pairs of beady eyes blinked at Tim. Two sets of them disappeared and scampered off, their footfalls leaving a pat-pat-pat echoing through the chambers. The last set stepped forward, revealing a small, dark red kobold. This one was curious and introduced himself. His red eyes dashed back and forth across the party, studying them. He asked the party why they were in the caves and commented that they didn't look like the other people in the caves. Keck and Tim asked about the others, while the small creature replied that they were mean humans that had kicked the kobolds out. He would be willing to show the adventurers... for a fee. The kobold hadn't negotiated long before Eshshann got fed up and threw a knife at him. That was enough to spook the kobold and he began to run. Damakos, not willing to risk bringin on another threat - and not caring for kobolds - fired a bolt from his crossbow at him. It sailed through the air and tore through the creature's neck, dropping him in a single blow. Fel'Shu looked on with disgust and opted to stay with the body, while the rest of the party figured out their next move. The party could hear additional kobolds in a nearby room, and called out to them to surrender. They responded that they would do no such thing and that the party were the aggressors. Thinking fast, Eshshann used prestidigitation to simulate the sound of barking dogs. That was enough. The kobolds ducked into their hidden tunnel network and scattered. The party cautiously approached and entered the room, finding no trace of the creatures. The group continued onward while Fel'Shu stayed behind and offered a prayer for the fallen kobold. Meanwhile, the rest of the adventurers navigated the cave network. Entering a small chamber, Keck and Malark noticed a gentle, warm breeze coming from behind the wall. They searched, but couldn't find anything. There must've been some kind of hidden entrance. Meanwhile, Fel'Shu stood watch over the dead kobold. A few minutes into his prayers, another kobold stepped out of the darkness. It spoke to the monk in a gravely (for a kobold) voice. He introduced himself as Koss and asked what Fel'Shu was doing and why. The monk, sensing a kindred spirit in this older kobold, explained that he was not like the other members of the party, and that they would make this right. Koss requested that they remove the wicked humans that had taken over their home. He described their actions as being rough, but generally left the kobolds alone. He noted having seen carts and large crates being moved out of the cultists' area. They would deliver them to other men who were also rough and nasty. Koss didn't know what exactly was in the crates, but that it contained something unnatural. He needed the balance to be restored. Fel'Shu agreed to help, and Koss provided him with the secret to pass through the hidden wall. Fel'Shu headed in the genral direction of the party and found them searching for the entrance. Armed with this new information, Fel'Shu took a look around and quickly found the release for the secret door. A gentle rumbling from the wall could be felt as the door slid open, revealing a small cavern with a makeshift bridge over some water leader further down into the Abyss. The party entered cautiously, but could hear two men speaking to one another around the bend. They followed and noticed that the temperature was defiinitely increasing as they went farther down the depths. Eshshann proved particularly stealthy, as he managed to sneak up on the men, dressed in red and black robes. He quickly cast a sleep spell on them which was enough to knock them both out. Tim bound their hands and feet and placed them against a locked wooden gate, barring entrance from the other side. The gate sealed off another section of the cave network, and it was likely that they would have to go through it later. Up ahead they could see that there was a flickering light coming from another room, and the sounds of more men could be heard. Once again, the party snuck up into the area. They could see that there were three men standing around a camp fire near a pool of water. They had avoided detection until now, but Eshshann decided to walk out from his hiding spot right in front of them. The cultists immediately saw him and two of them rused to attack him. The rest of the party descended on the two attackers and were able to quickly dispatch them. The last one attempted to compel Tim to drop his weapon, but failed. Eshshann quickly cast Maximilian's Earthen Grasp on the cultist, which ensared him. Tim used his menacing appearance to intimidate the remaining cultist into surrendering. Coupled with a blow from his weapon's pommel, the cultist was subdued. The party would ask him some questions...Rewards Granted
- 40xp per player for defeating the Clockwork Bronze Scout
- 83xp per player for defeating the cultists
- 100xp per player for advancing the plot
- 50xp for Fel'Shu for solid roleplaying
- 20gp worth of silver components
Character(s) interacted with
- Koss
Report Date
16 Oct 2023
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
Comments