Of Men and Machines Session 18

General Summary

Let's Rest for the Night

The fight with Reckoner was exhausting and the group required rest. It was getting late in the day and the sun had begun to set. The party set up camp just outside the Sanguine Abyss and began to bed down for the night. Fel'Shu took it upon himself to make one last investigation of the cultist's area deep within the cave. He didn't find anything new, but did notice that some of the cultists had come around and were beginning to stir.
He talked briefly with Koss, the Kobold shaman. Fel'Shu inquired about the demon dog and Koss responded that they would take care of it. A growling and a sudden scream could be heard in the background followed by a sudden, disturbing silence. The awkward moment ended when Fel'Shu rejoined the party outside.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party got started on camp fire and began to settle in for the night. As the evening advanced and the temperature fell, Tim the Not-so-Tiny kept his ears to the wind. About an hour or so into his watch, he heard voices carrying on the gentle breeze. He followed them to their source, up a nearby creek. He strained his eyes to see what was going on, and was eventually able to discern that the voices belonged to a couple of teenagers that had gotten into some alcohol and were just having a good time. Satisfied with his answer, Tim returned to the camp where he went the rest of his shift without incident.
Fel'Shu had the next shift. Nearly an hour into his shift, he heard some branches in the distance snap. A frustrated chuff followed, which prompted the monk to get up and investigate. With his magical goggles on, Fel'Shu observed that the perpetrator was actually a mule which had gotten lost. The creature appeared to be emaciated and had suffered previous beatings as evidenced by the scars on its back. Fel'Shu approached the poor beast slowly and offered it an apple. The mule approached timidly and practically inhaled the offering. Fel'Shu guided it back to the camp and took off the packs. Digging through it he found two healing potions, 15 gold pieces, seven rations, and two water skins (which was fortuitous since Tim had lost his earlier). Fel'Shu woke Malark and went to bed himself.
Towards the end of Malark's shift, he felt the air grow suddenly cold. A voice called out to him from the treeline. It calmly but cautiously approached and Malark could see that the voice belonged to a very well-dressed man. He introduced himself as Haydon Braxton. Not wanting to take any risks, Malark awoke the rest of the party. Damakos and Tim rubbed the sleep out of their eyes while Fel'Shu gave a prolonged stretch. 
Haydon stepped forward slowly while Damakos readied himself for battle. He didn't trust a lot of people, let alone anyone randomly appearing out of the woods. Haydon offered an explanation: he was a vampire and was on his way to Oakenshire. He had hoped for a bite to eat before continuing his journey, but would only do so from a willing participant. The party discussed his proposition amongst themselves for a moment, and before coming to a consensus, Fel'Shu offered himself up. The rest of the party appeared concerned and they prepared to fight if anything went awry. Haydon took Fel'Shu's wrist, bore his fangs, and drew Fel'Shu's blood. As promised, he ceased before irreparable harm could be done. His hunger temporarily sated, Haydon thanked the group for their time.
Malark insisted on asking what the vampire's business in Oakenshire was. Haydon gave a toothy grin, and replied that he had been summoned by the Red Court, due to the actions of one known as the White Rook. This revelation caused the party to perk up. Haydon admitted that little was known of this enigmatic figure, save that he was incredibly strong and violent and that he operated somewhere in the Gravelwick Highlands. With that bit of information, Haydon thanked the party for their time, transformed in a bat and flew off to the west.

That Falls in the Category of "Not My Problem"

The sun rose soon after the party's encounter with the vampire Haydon. They had a quick bite to eat and continued on their journey. Within a few hours the party passed by the town of Dewcross once more. Like before, the gate was barred and they were met by the half-elf sergeant of the guard, Elowen Stoneforge. He recognized the party from the day before and asked if they had changed their mind and would be willing to help. 
Another quick debate among the party and once again they decided that they didn't want to get involved. It would seem that the citizens of Dewcross would have to fend for themselves. With that, Sergeant Stoneforge refused to open the gate for the party, claiming instead that they were too busy making preparations and that they would have to find their way around.
The party decided to follow the Berkwood Beck back to Fairshield since that flowed right into town. A two hour hike later and the group finally saw the peaks of the town on the horizon. They had only been here once before - literally the day prior - but it still seemed unfamiliar to them. Nevertheless, they realized they were only about half way back to Castleport and they needed to pick up the pace unless they were going to spend another night in the wilds.
The group continued east along the Castleport-Fairshield Highway, with the ocean to their south and the fields and forest to their north. Roughly an hour into their ride they saw it: a massive ploom of black smoke to the north over the horizon, roughly where Dewcross was located. They had no idea what fate had ultimately befallen the poor folks of that town. Death, slavery, victory; all of it was potentially on the table. But it was likely only to be one of those, and probably not victory. 

Not Old McDonald's Farm

They once again came to the intersection with the Hastlett Woods Road leading to both the Hastlett Woods as well as the Ullamir Farm. The party recalled how Sheriff Halodreth Emberwhite's old journal mentioned the Ullamirs and wondered if they could somehow find some clues there after all these years. The group bickered among themselves for several minutes, swinging wildly back and forth between not committing to it and then committing to it. It was enough to drive Fel'Shu nuts and he took the mule and his horse and continued down the path on his own.
Fel'Shu carried on by himself with his new mule friend and his horse. They had made it roughly half the rest of the distance, more than far enough for the party to be out of his sight, when his horse decided to stop moving forward. The monk listened attentively and tried to get his horse to keep moving. He had noticed the sound of branches breaking in the treeline, but hadn't paid attention to it. Apparently it was enough to spook his horse; even the mule was starting to get worried. 
Almost out of nowhere and with surprising speed, an ogre burst out from the treeline. Fel'Shu reacted with speed and swiftness, jumping off his horse with a triple somersault onto the ogre's back. The beast was momentarily struck with surprise, but it soon gave way to agony as Fel'Shu jammed his daggered fist into the ogre's eyes. It screamed out in pain and tried to yank the monk off his back, but to no avail. Fel'Shu took the opportunity to dive off the giant, landing nearby with a superhero drop and fistfulls of eye goo. The ogre ran off into the woods to the south, wailing and in pain, until it was no longer heard from. 

"Give me that cheekin'!" - Unnammed ogre

Reports from Beachdenn about a week later mentioned the body of an eyeless ogre washing up on shore nearby.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party headed off in the direction of the Ullamir Farm. The farm sat a little more than a mile up the road and the party made short work of the journey. Approaching the long abandoned farmstead, they noticed that the fields sat fallow and the farmhouse had fallen into disrepair long ago. Vines and other greenery had overgrown parts of the property, so they made an effort to steer clear of some of the more insidious looking ones. A good choice, as Malark and Damakos noticed that some of them appeared to be moving wryly. 
Tim knocked on the door of the small two-storey hosue, not really expecting an answer. None came anyway. He shoved at the door and it gave way, providing them some insight into the life of the family that lived here before them. Their investigations yielded little other than the obvious: a few children's toys, a family room. Most of it seemed benign, until they arrived at the second floor.
The master bedroom held a grizzly discovery: the burned bodies of the two adults, laying there side by side. The room appeared unscathed, save for the bed and its immediate area. The bones had been left charred by some kind of incredibly hot and intensely focused flame. Slightly put off by this discovery, the party continued through the house...

Rewards Granted

• 112xp per player for fighting the ogre
• 50xp for Fel'Shu for some fancy footwork against the ogre
• 150xp per player for exploration
• 2x healing potions
• 15 gold pieces
• 7x rations
• 2x water skins

Character(s) interacted with

Koss

Report Date

08 Dec 2023

Primary Location

Ullamir Farm

Secondary Location

Sanguine Abyss

Related Characters

• Damakos
• Elowen Stoneforge
• Fel'Shu
• Haydon Braxton
• Malark
• Tim the Not-so-Tiny