Session Eight Report
General Summary
The party, along with the half orc caravan worker, soon pass by the Henge of Lost Souls where Zappa tells the party this is where he was sent from his plane of existence. Zappa tells the group that his town was attacked by multiple monsters with gnashing teeth and long stalks covering the beasts. In hopes of saving his settlement and an adjoining settlement his adopted mother sent him here to find a tower tree seed and find a way back. Soon after this revelation, there are multiple voices that can be heard off in the distance. Avo goes to scout and see if he can get eyes on the targets and quickly notices that most of the trees in this area have a dull white stone embedded in them. At the top of an embankment, he sees two knights covered in armor that is rust colored and a man that is on a stone slab. The stone slab is in the middle of three rings of rocks and the two men in armor are chanting something.
With the noise that accompanied Avo while he was sneaking towards the men, he was quickly spotted and asked to talk. The men introduce themselves as the Brotherhood of Rust and they serve as part of the Iron Guard. They say it is their mission to prevent chaos from coming into this world by making sure things can not be teleported here from evil realms. The man on the slab mentions that he is willing to give his life to go to the other side and help protect against evil forces. This man, Guldrun, then mentions that he has recently found out that he has the ability to cast magic and soon after the Brotherhood found and recruited him. At this point Zappa says that just because you have the ability to cast spells does not mean that you can’t learn to control it and use it to help people. The Brotherhood does not like where this is potentially heading and tells Zappa to stop, he refuses and a battle begins.
Zappa quickly casts an electric hand that forms around one of the knights and begins to crush him while Azreal moves up and also smites the same knight. The other Brotherhood knight moves back and casts a spell that has no effect, but soon thereafter the grappled knight pulls a very large boulder from the ground and smashes it into Zappa which causes him to lose concentration on his spell. Goobert exchanges spells with the other knight, while Avo grapples Guldrun on the stone slab and Lady Alexys, tired of waiting for everyone, shoots an arrow at the wounded knight. The knight that is unharmed pulls another boulder from the ground and tries to smash Avo and Guldrun. Azreal quickly moves to protect both men and hits the massive boulder away, but unfortunately causes it to hit Zappa who goes unconscious. Guldrun questions this move from the Brotherhood and seems to come to his senses. Azreal quickly finishes off the wounded knight while Lady Alexys, Avo, and Goobert turn their attention to the other knight. Goobert sends some healing towards Zappa, to help save his life. The knight then incapacitates Goobert, Zappa, and Guldrun then moves towards Lady Alexys. Outnumbered, the knight soon falls and a ghostly looking elven form appears near the burial mound. The party takes note and decides to get back on the road heading to Woodvale. While heading back to the caravan, Guldrun thinks he was bewitched by the men to come here and give his life. He mentions that he lives in Woodvale and has a flock of sheep that he tends to there. Guldrun takes the offer of the group to travel with them back to Woodvale where he mentions that he knows Timber and should be able to show the group where he lives.
The guards at the gate barely open up wide enough to let the caravan in out of fear from the gnoll attacks and even mention that they have kidnapped some people from town recently. They mention that Timber has not been in town yet today, but his home is about a mile away from the gate and the entire party goes to deliver the bad news. Guldrun mentions that he can lead the group there since Timber offered to take care of his flock while he was out of town. When the group gets close to Timber’s house they see about 30 dead sheep, gnoll tracks, nets and a pile of sticks near the home with the small front gate opening and closing in the wind. As a result of his sheep being massacred, being mind controlled by the Brotherhood of Rust, and wanting to understand and harness his magical abilities, Guldrun agrees to travel with Zappa and the rest of the group. The party tries to let Timber know they are there, knocking on the front door and saying we have information about his son, but there is no answer. Goobert decides to go in through the keyhole to look inside and unlock the door. Avo heads towards the pile of sticks in the front of the house, while Zappa goes around the other way to the back of the house. Azreal stays at the front of the house, Lady Alexys goes in the house to the backdoor, and Goobert goes upstairs to find a room that has a tree or at least limbs of a tree falling from a hole in the roof. Lady Alexys and Zappa realize that the back door has been kicked in and there are gnoll tracks leading into and away from the house. With little notice, the pile of sticks outside and on the second floor both move and show their true form to be a monster that looks like a praying mantis covered in sticks. A quick fight ensues that has Avo and Azreal take care of the monster on the outside of the house and Lady Alexys and Goobert take care of the monster on the second floor.
After the battle concludes, Zappa goes into the other upstairs room to find a letter Timber wrote to his son and a magnificent bow. Lady Alexys comes up and reads the note that details Timber sending this package to Irrek in hopes that he will be able to make a name for himself like he did for so many years and help to provide for a family one day. Lady Alexys, moved by the words in this letter, struggles with the homelife she ran away from. She knows that Timber truly loves his son, so she decided to take the bow in hopes of returning it to Timber when we find him and let him know about his son. Guldrun makes note of a location that might be the home of the gnolls in the Fargone Forest. It is discussed by the group that the kidnapped townspeople, Timber, and the sheep might be in this location so getting word to the towns guard would be the smart decision so hopefully they can scout the location before we return. Battered and beaten from the battles of the day, the party goes to talk to the guard and sleep before returning to the mission of getting the caravan to Inverbarren by the following evening.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments