Session 16

General Summary

As we enter the light we are overwhelmed by feelings of disorientation. We pass into nothingness, and have vague memories of dreams that were once vivid. We lose consciousness.
I awake first. Someone is vigorously shaking me from my fevered dream. As I open my eyes I see Thomas, looking concerned. I'm in a makeshift cage. A small, lizard-like creature prods me with a spear. I surmise that the creature is a kobold, and there are several of their number about. They have taken our items save for our armour.
We are in a cave. Two are tossing Travius's artificial arm about for amusement. Dominique and I have been deprived of our arcane focuses, and are thus reduced to spells that do not rely on such foci.
The rest of my companions awake, save for Maar who seems to have been affected more strongly by the transition. Dominique heals Thormyr.
I assess that we appear to have returned to the Prime Material. Our divine spellcasters feel a stronger connection to their patron deity.
The cage is crudely constructed of wood and twine, and has been well-used. There is sign of old scat and other indicators that it has been previously occupied. The cave rises to about fifteen feet in height, while the cage is barely the height of Travius and Tronus. The cave is dimly lit by a small bonfire. I guess that there are at least another six to twelve kobolds moving about in the gloom beyond the firelight.
A kobold approaches us. It is more well-appointed that the rest. It says "Welcome to my domain," in accented common. "Who are you? What tribute do you bring me?"
Dominique introduces herself, and asks "Who might you be, old great one?"
"I am Torm the Great! What tribute do you bring me from home?"
"You have all of our stuff, we don't know how we came to be here," Dom replies.
He eyes us. "You came like others before you." Something skitters beneath his legs.
It is one of the small, tentacled eye monsters from the other realm. Torm's mouth parts into four segments as his tongue licks the air, as if scenting us. The creature crawls up to perch on his shoulder. About Torm's neck, he wears a crude symbol of an inverted pyramid. "Does the Eye send you?"
Dominique says "Alanna sent us to check your progress."
"Do you bring the child?" Torm asks.
"We do," I say, "We are to escort her to the location of the gate, so the transition of the Eye may occur."
Torm tongues the air. "Show me the child."
I indicate Krista. The tentacle monster jumps to the top of the cage and then drops onto her. She begins to scream.
I try to calm her. "Stay calm, it is just examining you to ensure you are healthy and ready."
The creature hisses at me and snaps at me. It attaches its two suckers to her temples and covers her mouth with its maw.
Travius scorches the creature with a Fire Bolt. It squeals, as Torm screams "Not my Meepo!"
Norric tries to cut the knot holding the door closed. Tronus tries to grab it and it bites him. I cast Frost Bite and numb it with cold. It flees out of the cage, causing a kobold to drop its spear.
Thormyr grabs the dropped spear. Torm backs up and casts Magic Missle, striking Dominique.
Travius shakes the door as Norric cuts away at the knot, and tears it from its hinges. He slams it against the kobold in front of us.
Norric stabs a kobold that has rushed to the entrance of the cage, killing it. The halfling retreats to the back of the cage.
Tronus scoops up the felled kobold's axe and attacks its ally. I cast Fire Bolt on the kobold attacking Thomas, burning it, though sadly not killing it.
Dominique grabs hold of Norric's blade without warning, using the metal as a component for Hold Person. He targets Torg with the spell, and the kobold is frozen in place with his tongue lolling out.
Thormyr and Travius fell kobolds. I try to attack the one accosting Thomas with flame, but miss. However, Dominique kills it with Sacred Flame.
Tronus kills the tentacle creature.
We rally outside the cage and stand against a surge of kobolds. Dominique puts a number of them to sleep, as Torm does likewise to her and Travius. Norric awakens Dominique and I do likewise to Travius with Mage Hand.
Tronus fells Torm.
We slay the remainder of the kobolds, though one of them stabs Travius and fells him before fleeing. Norric chases it down and stabs it in the back, killing it.
I stabilize Thormyr with my basic healing lore, while Dominique does likewise with Travius.
After dispatching the sleeping kobolds we retrieve our gear. Looking outside the cave entrance, we see we are on the side of a hill. The cave itself isn't terribly large. We find a throne that we assume was Torm's. We also find his cache of treasure:

• 70 gp
• 3 gems worth 25 gp each

We rest overnight.

Morning

Dominique uses her owl to scout the area, and Norric scouts on foot. Dominique feels we are south west of Crossroads. We need to return to Ringland to drop of the kids. Norric resolves to remain in our company for now.
We head west. After about two hours of travel Norric hears a sound and warns us. Dominique sends Snowfall out and finds there is a camp, where a woman is tied up and is being yelled at by a large, burly man. He is warning her that if she doesn't give up what he wants, it won't be good for her. He then hits her in the face. She tries to kick him in the crotch, but he avoids it and backhands her. There are four other people standing about; clothed in leather armor, though the burly man is bare-chested save for a woolen vest. He has a battle-axe across his back. His hair is unkempt and shoulder-length, of a brownish colour. The other three are armed as well, and they are asking when their turn is.
The burly man says "I don't care who your brother is."
The woman is dressed garishly and is of olive complexion. Her garb is torn and she has obviously been treated roughly even before what Dominique observed. The camp also features a horse team and a damaged cart. Domininque advises there is a sentry to our left, before we get to the camp.
Norric circles around to flank the sentry. I turn invisible and flank in the opposite direction. Dominique remains with the children and Maar (who is still catatonic), but observes via her familiar.
The flankers leave before the rest to account for the difference in our travel speed and distance. Dominique sends her owl to check the far side of the camp for sentries.
Tronus, Travius, and Thormyr march into the clearing to confront the brigands.
As I crest the small rise from which I wish to flank the clearing, I spot a sentry crouched in the bushes with a bow.
"What's going on here!" demands Tronus.
"Who are you and what do you want?" replies the burly man. The woman he is menacing is lying on the ground with her hands bound behind her back.
"What do you think you're doing?" asks Tronus.
"Negotiating a settlement."
Five against one?
There were more, but we left them back.
The conversation turns south, as Tronus calls the man a coward, though he laughs at it and asks what the three of them would like. The burly man claims it is none of our business. He has her gold and her clan's gold. Tronus calls him a thief, and the man replies "What's a thief?" in an attempt at being disingenuous. He hints that if we support the woman we support Iuz.
Travius asks why they are beating up the woman. "She says because she isn't being very helpful and isn't telling them where the rest of their stuff is."
The man shrugs off his vest to reveal a network of scars. "Do you really want to mess with me? Are you Rhenee scum too?"
Referring to Thormyr, he says he doubts he works for Iuz since he's a dwarf. He insists the woman works for Iuz because she was delivering goods to his forces (the contents of her cart; trade goods.) He insists he is merely fighting the old one, and merely benefitting in the process. He indicates he is unconcerned about the welfare of a Rhenee.
Tronus proposes, in his own tactful way, that the group gives up the woman and we'll leave. After consideration, the brute pulls her to her feet and shoves her toward us. She is apprehensive about us. 
The brute turns his back and says "You can take her. The only thing useful about her is what I could get at the whorehouse anyway."
At this, the woman runs at him and jumps on his back. He retrieves his axe. We make ready to fight.

Rewards Granted

70 gp 3 gems worth 25 gp each

Report Date

12 Jun 2021