Session 28

General Summary

Waterday, Reaping 5

Afternoon

As we face the varangoine, Dominique flies in on her broom, returned from her task.
Thormyr blasts the varangoine with a fireball to diminished effect. It swoops by us, attacking as it passes.
Travius fires magic missiles at it, but they are absorbed by a shield spell. I cast protection from evil on myself. My companions shoot arrows at it but they are deflected by its shield spell.
Tessa circles to the sprawled Oolaro, intending him harm.
Thormyr channels divinity radiance of the dawn. It has some effect.
I counter some spell-like ability of the creature. Travius tries magic-missle to again hit a shield. Darshan’s eldritch blast strikes true.
A cone of cold from the creature kills the recon squad we had met up with.
After a long slog of a fight, in which Norric deals heavy damage to the fiend with his magical sword, the varangoin flees into the air. However, as it withdraws it seized our halfling companion with its tail, dragging him through the air. Tronus attempts to command it to land, and Drazhan misses with an eldritch blast. Dominique lands her broom so I might climb aboard, and while she does she lands a blast of her own. I try a magic missile, but it has renewed its shield.
Defiantly, Norric stabs the creature in the face, killing it. As they both plummet to the ground, I cast featherfall on each to slow their descent.
Oolaro attempts to flee during the fight, but Dominique and I chase him. She holds him fast with hold person.
I catch Dominique up on events since she left. She tells me she heeded the vision of her patron, traveling to a lone mountain. She felt it was too dangerous to venture alone, so she returned to us. This mountain borders Wormcrawl Fissure. Her patron bears a seething hatred for Iuz, and there is a relic that has power against the Old One in this mountain. It is one of five relics that Dominique seeks. Her lapis pendant can aid in a ritual to locate these relics, though she does not yet know the ritual. She intended to learn it first, but was made aware of this relic in White Plume Mountain. We fear our current task is of the greater importance due to its time-sensitive nature, so we resolve to undertake her quest when we see to the safety of the people of Ringland.
She introduces herself to Drazhan after I explain what we know of his background, and I tell her of the recon squad we met up with.
Oolarong obsequiously praises our battle prowess, and I inform him we are only interested in his obedience to our cause. I inform him we need to get back across the border. He says the surprise attack will fail. Atman Raymat has come – that is who he was supplying. He marshals toward Critwall. Oolarong tells us that there is a safer way across the border, one he uses himself. It is where Iuz’s forces are weak, in the south. Scragholme island was liberated by the Shield Lands a year ago, and stands ignored as all eyes turn to Critwall. His clan has boats that Iuz knows nothing of, as they use them when suppling the Shield Lands.
I ask if he would be willing to arrange for our passage on these ships as repayment for our saving his life. He is very willing, and we sense no duplicity in his story. We elect to travel as his merchant guard.
Before we depart, we bury the recon patrol’s remains. Thormyr conducts the ritual in the name of Pelor.
Dominique takes the disguise of the scarred woman. Drazhan casts disguise self to make himself look less conspicuous, and I use my performer’s training to incorporate some of Oolarong’s guard’s clothing.
Drazhan realizes he is familiar with Atman Raymat, as Tormun Keep is under his control. He is a Wolf Nomad, a tyrant, and involved in the original capture of the Shield Lands. It is also rumoured he has no love for Vanyea

Evening

We finish preparing the wagon and then make camp.

Earthday, Reaping 6

Morning

We begin to travel south.

Midday

We hear a commotion ahead of us as we take a side road. It is the din of many voices. We realize we are being watched by hobgoblins. Dominique charms Oolarong to ensure his loyalty.
Oolarong warns us to be careful from here on.
A hobgoblin patrol stops us to inspect our wagon. Thormyr his hiding in the back. Oolarong speaks to the hobgoblin in their tongue. The commander of the hobgoblins commands us to get off the road immediately. We comply, and see in the distance a column approaching. At its head are two riders, one in the bloodstained white robes of the priesthood of Iuz, the other a bannerman bearing the Old Man’s heraldry. Behind them are columns of hobgoblins and goblins. It takes several minutes for the column to pass by. We estimate their number at 2300. Carts are in the rear, with people shackled behind them, following.
Thormyr overhears two of the outriders at the end musing as to whether they should rifle our cart. One of them rides over. He’s a priest of Iuz, and is holding a black wooden wand, with a skull engraved on the end. He addresses Oolaro, who looks to Dominique for guidance. Dom tells him to say what’s in the wagon, and the priest asks if she is in charge and asks what we sell. She doesn’t know, so I speak up that it is grain. He commands us all to go to him, so we comply, and he asks where we’re from. Oolaro replies we are from Law’s Forge, then the priest demands to see our papers.
Oolaro provides the papers, and the priest lifts Dom’s chin with his wand, asking where she got her scar (she is in disguise as Tessa.) He says it looks like a varrangoine burn, which she confirms.
When the priest asks where we go, I say we head south in an effort to provision the forces of Iuz. My attempt to portray us as humble servants of the Old Man earns a rap on my head from the priest’s wand.
The priest then berates the hobgoblin for not confirming our writ. He then demands I prove my loyalty by kissing his feet, and commands the same of Dom. We reluctantly comply. He is pleased. I commit his face to memory.
Oolaro pays the priest our “tithe” to the Old One, and we are dismissed. The column moves west. Once we are out of sight of the hobgoblins, Dom retches. I conceal my revulsion at what we were forced to do as best I can, though this is not an experience I will soon forget.

Evening

On the second watch, Norric hears rustling. He alerts Drazhan. There is a humanoid figure shambling toward us. It is approximately four feet tall. It doesn’t heed Norric’s hail, and keeps shuffling forward. It is a zombie, though that of a human child. They waken Thormyr.
The zombie child keeps coming, and they see its hands are tied behind its back and its throat has been cut. Drazhan cuts it down with his hexblade. Tronus and Drazhan inter her remains.
Dom sends her imp out, invisible, and observes through its senses. She does not find any more undead.

Freeday, Reaping 7

Morning

We continue our journey. Oolaro says this will be one of the more difficult parts of the journey. He takes Dom aside and they have an animated conversation.
He then berates Dom and I for speaking up and then insists that he handle things going forward. We have a brief argument about getting my rebec back.
He says he will get us to the boat, and we will cross and make our way to the keep.
But first we must cross the last road.
Unfortunately, as we cross, a pair of outriders spot us and confront us.
Oolaro speaks well for us. Another column approaches, this one with ballistae. We move aside.
A priestess of Iuz and a hobgoblin commander approach us. She is portly and looks well-appointed. She takes an interest in Drazhan, who is distracted and looking off into the distance. She summons him to her and he complies. He gives his name as Morrin. She expresses admiration for his appearance, and offers to pay him well to serve her. He replies that he wouldn’t be a good companion for someone as wise as herself, and she says she isn’t sure he’s very wise at all. “I could use some company at the front,” she says.
When he doesn’t respond quickly enough, she becomes angry and screams “Take the cart, take everything in it!” She tears up our writ. When Oolaro tries to intervene, she smacks him to his knees.
She puts on a gauntlet, and claws pop out of it. “Turn around!” she commands.
Drazhan turns around, and she rakes his back with the claws. He is paralyzed by some toxin.
I turn from my seat in the cart and cast invisibility on Thormyr.
She throws the torn writ into Oolaro’s face and says “You can go back to Law’s Forge and get another one of those. Now get out of my sight!”
We observe a green liquid drip from the claws of her gauntlet before they retract. She then smacks Drazhan across the face with it.
Thormyr, Tronus, and Dom hear two underpriests snicker to each other that “This is why she can’t keep a boyfriend.”
Thormyr manages to make it out of the cart just as it is dragged off.
As the column departs, we note it has a lot of siege equipment, and contains orcs as well as the usual goblins and hobgoblins.
Unfortunately neither Thormyr nor Tronus have the magic to cure Drazhan of his paralysis, so we must carry him with us for now. Bereft of both cart and horse, we begin walking.
The toxin afflicting Drazhan gives way after a short time. I ask Oolaro what he’ll do now, and he says he’ll have to make his way back to Axeport. “We’re lucky to be alive right now.”
We make it to the beach before long, and see the ships we seek.

Report Date

21 Jan 2023