Session 12
General Summary
Returning from Quail Keep the group decided to sort out their arrangements for heading on to
Bostwick the next day before going back into the inn. They wandered down to the simple docks
and spoke to the fisherman there who worked as an unofficial dockmaster. He said that there was
only one barge docked today and that its captain, Krischan, was staying at the inn. They returned
to the inn and found Krischan. He explained that he had a delivery expected here in four days and
that although it would only take a day to transport the heroes downstream to Bostwick, it would
take a week to work his way back upstream here again, meaning he would miss his delivery and
be late for getting the goods to Dun Eamon. He told the group that for one hundred imperials he
would take them to Bostwick in the morning however. They considered this offer and decided
against it. It would be a four day walk to Bostwick but they didn�t feel in any particular rush so
they decided to follow the River Wren downstream on foot instead.
Elijah dropped into Twyla Osgood�s General Store. He picked up provisions for two weeks for
the whole group from the diminutive, grey-haired proprietress. Whilst in there he noticed a sling
hanging behind the counter. This sling was made using supple leathers from far off Athena and the
handle was padded with Honshu silk. He had never seen its like before and was filled with desire
for it.
The group next made the short journey up the train to Lord Kyle�s manor. Here they were
ushered in by the guards � now being well known here � and shown to the Butler who took one
look at them and fetched some hot water and soap. They had not had a chance to freshen up since
being out adventuring in the Underdark after all. He also arranged for the usual refreshments
which he laid on for them as they prepared to see the Lord. When he was happy that they were
suitably clean and tidy he led them in. Lord Kyle greeted them and asked about their successes in
the Orc Burial Chambers and about the potential threat to Pembrose. Drax explained that they had
disturbed the spirits of the orcs buried there and their bones had risen as skeletons which they had
destroyed. Lord Kyle was clearly amazed by this story but happy to hear that any threat or danger
to his village had been extinguished. He happily paid the group seventy five gold imperials each
for their work. He then asked them what they planned next and they explained they were heading
on to Bostwick next. Lord Kyle was sad that they were leaving the area and hoped they would
return soon. Drax offered to drill Lord Kyle�s new militia when he returned � an offer which
was gratefully received. They said their farewells and left Lord Kyle�s manor.
Returning to the Inn of the Lonesome Drake the group saw that a lot of people were in that night.
Torbin and Korbin, the two dwarves they had rescued from the hobgoblins of Quail Keep were
talking to Culwert and Odger, the other dwarves in the village. Regis Baum and his wife Winifred
(complete with stunning diamond pendant as usual) were sat in their usual corner. The Minx
twins, rangers from the forest edge, were seated in one booth. And Boris Stenker, landlord of the
inn, was in jovial mood.
Drax went and sat with the dwarves. He discovered that Torbin and Korbin had just got
permission to open their shop. They all agreed that they were not really in direct competition as
there was lots of work available now because Lord Kyle had commissioned the creation of much
weapons and armour because of the new militia he was setting up. Torbin and Korbin said that
they would be setting up shop tomorrow and then would start on the two swords they had offered
the party very soon. Drax mentioned hearing about �Mad Delvo� and asked what was known
about him. Culwert, the talkative dwarven weaponsmith, said that he was known to live up in the
Gaspar Hills somewhere and was often seen talking to himself.
About this time the Minx twins came over and asked if they could speak to the heroes. They were
of course welcomed. The Minx brothers wanted to know what the group had been up to. Drax and
Lynott gave them a rough over view and told them the next plan was to head north to Bostwick.
They asked what the road was like. They were told it was mostly safe. They said there were
occasional raids by orcs � and in fact just a few months ago they had been ambushed by four orcs
from the Skull Crusher tribe along that road. They had slain the orcs and recovered a beautiful
hexagonal diamond from them � which they sold to Tinker, the red bearded gnome shop keeper,
and which he then sold on to Regis Baum and which now decorated Winifred�s neck. The twins
warned the group that on rare occasions they have seen trolls in the northern parts of the forest �
which sometimes come out to the road. And finally they told of Greylock, a old gnoll captain who
rides a sabretooth tiger and who is very wily and dangerous. Both the twins have come off worse
for wear after encounters with the cunning Greylock. He is not one to be underestimated. He lives
in the forest somewhere but also occasionally uses the road. After all these warnings they said that
to be honest the most likely things to meet on the road would be farmers and maybe the occasional
wolf.
Regis Baum called Elijah over to him and asked if he knew why Boris had suddenly come all
jovial again. Elijah explained pretty much everything about the Orc Burial Chambers beneath the
town, telling Regis to keep this information to himself. Regis agreed, saying that information is
only valuable if you are the only one who knows it. He seemed to think knowing this was still
useful, even if the adventurers has made the area safe. The two continued to discuss business
opportunities regarding the transportation of Pembrose Red.
That night after all had retired to bed, Drax had another nightmare, prompted by the demonstone.
He dreamt of Delvo on a hilltop, sat atop a giant warg, watching a farm. Next to him was another
warg which he appeared to be having a one sided conversation of. Drax woke with a start but
couldn�t get the image out of his head.
The next morning, the 6th of September, Drax found Torbin and Korbin at breakfast. He asked
them if they would be prepared to travel out to Jake�s farm and warn him that he should be
prepared for some potential mischief from Delvo. The two dwarves of course agreed. The group
noted that Elijah scoffed his breakfast down quickly and headed out into the town that morning,
even though they were in a rush to get on the road. Minutes later he returned to the inn, grinning
from ear to ear, a brand new Athenian sling twirling in his hands.
The group set off north following the west bank of the River Wren, taking it easy and not pushing
the pace. The weather was reasonable � a marked improvement on the last few days and their
spirits were high. Drax talked of wondering what had happened to Keli and Deli. Fett mentioned
that he was hoping Elwynn would be in Bostwick as he had some business with him, and Jaina
said she wanted to visit the Church of the Ever Shining Sun there and speak to the priestess, Jeffar.
The morning passed peacefully enough until, just before lunch, Fett�s elven eyes spotted
movement far ahead. Two giant wolves, the size of ponies, were drinking from the river waters, on
the far bank. Drax knew something of these giant wolves as they were often used by orcs as
mounts. He said there were two types � dire wolves who were �simply� giant versions of their
more usual sized cousins, and wargs, who were the ones ridden by orcs and who were intelligent
and totally evil. They were pretty much impossible to tell apart other than by their attitude. The
group stood their ground, way upriver from the wolves and waited. Soon they must have caught
the adventurers� scent for they lifted their heads and sniffed the air. Fortunately these seemed to
be the more natural variety of giant wolf and they turned and padded off into the Forest of Ninn,
not to be seen again.
The rest of the day passed quietly and the group reached a main tributary coming into the river
from the forest, as the sun was beginning to set. They found a suitable campsite � one used by
travellers along this road very frequently. Here they settled in for a quiet night. Their night was
undisturbed, apart from Drax who again suffered from a terrible nightmare. In his dream he was
Delvo, atop a warg, watching the same farm. This time though he rode down to the farm. Jake the
farmer came out, sporting a crossbow and tried to warn Delvo off. Suddenly Jake collapsed
forward as a sword slipped into his body from behind. As he stabbed the farmer from behind, the
deurgar Bak came visible, holding the sword which had killed Jake. Drax then watched as the two
dwarves found Jake�s wife, Lordana, and dragged her off on their wargs. Bak turned invisible
once more, riding the second warg. The farmer�s son, Arsen, was then seen running off towards
Pembrose.
Drax woke everyone early on the 7th, deeply upset and worried that he had ignored the dream
warnings of the previous nights. He hoped that he had seen a premonition and not dreamed of an
actual event, but one thing was clear: they had to return to Pembrose and find out. The group
broke camp and forced march back south, not stopping for lunch but eating on the move. Late
afternoon they returned to the village and found it in uproar. Arsen had made it to town and told
his tale. The villagers were both scared and angry. The group moved into the inn to figure out
what to do. As they were discussing plans Constable Wershaw, the half-orc fighter who ran the
town militia, walked in. He spotted Fett and approached. Knowing Fett as a bounty hunter he told
him that there was now a bounty of five hundred imperials on Delvo�s head and that there would
be a bonus hundred imperials if Lordana could be returned safely. Seeing as the group were
already planning on doing exactly that it was a bonus to be getting paid for it. The Minx twins
were able to give more information on Delvo�s likely whereabouts, saying that he was often seen
riding down out of the Gaspar Hills following a tributary � this is what they should head for
when looking for his lair.
The night passed slowly as the group waited to head out at first light. Drax had another vivid
nightmare. This time he dreamt of an evil dark shrine to a very evil looking deity. Hanging in this
shrine was a battered, bloody and unconscious Lordana. She was chained to the walls. When he
woke the next day, the morning of the 8th of September, Drax explained what he could remember
of the shrine to his companions but they could not identify the evil deity from the description.
Jaina realised that the next day, the 9th, would be the day of a new moon and that this was often a
night when sacrifices to evil deities occurred. It seemed likely that Lordana had been kidnapped to
be sacrificed and that meant our heroes only had two days and one night to find her. They set out
immediately.
The first stop was Jake�s farm. Here they found his body, laying where Delvo and Bak had left it.
Whilst the others buried it, Fett scouted the area looking for a trail. It was easy enough to find �
the weather had been so bad recently that the ground was lovely and soft and there had been no
rain in the last day to wash the prints away. The trail led along the Quail River, upstream toward
Twain. With the farmer properly buried, the group followed Fett and the tracks along the river
side, pushing on and travelling fast. They reached the tributary which led down from the hills and
Fett confirmed that the wolf prints led that way, so they turned and followed it. As night fell they
found themselves in a clearing nestled at the foot of the Gaspar Hills. There was no way to follow
the trail at night and not potentially miss a vital clue so they stopped for the night. Drax had
another dream � this time of Delvo and Bak in their lair, enjoying some ale and pipe weed.
The morning of the 9th September dawned, bright clear and sunny. It looked like being a lovely
late summer day. Drax realised that it had been his birthday yesterday and in all the confusion and
worry it had completely passed him by. Today�s order of service was the find Delvo and save
Lordana. Fett picked up the trail in the soft early morning light and led the group south in the hills,
following the tributary. A few miles up-stream he saw signs that the wolves had left the stream.
They turned east into the hills and ahead Fett�s elven sight picked out smoke drifting up out of
the hillside. The tracks led toward this area.
As they approached nearby Fett and Elijah moved up to scout. They found the tracks led to a large
round door in the hillside. This place looked just like a comfortable hobbit hole. Elijah listened
and taking some tools from his pocket he quietly opened the lock. He then oiled the hinges and
pulled the door quietly open. Inside was a very traditional hobbit hole and he could hear two gruff
voices speaking in a language he did not understand. Moving sneakily in he spotted a grey looking
bald dwarf who was preparing some food with a meat cleaver. He signalled his friends and they
moved up. Elijah and Fett snuck in and settled into position as close to the deurgar as they dare.
Then Drax, Lynott and Jaina rushed in. The alert wass raised and the deurgar hefted the cleaver to
fight.
Drax rushed into the kitchen and swung his axe but found the deurgar was wearing chainmail
under his clothes. From this position Drax was also able to spot Delvo in another adjoining room.
Delvo jumped out of the chair in which he had been lounging and as Drax watched the bright
waistcoat he had been wearing shimmered and turned into supple leather armour. Fett and Elijah
blasted Bak with sling bullet and arrow and Jaina with holy light. The deurgar was battered but
then used his innate racial ability and disappeared from sight. Fortunately Elijah and Fett were
ultra-observant and spotted dust moving in the area by the pantry and pointed his location out.
Everyone rushed to that place and swung swords and axes in the place the scouts were saying the
dwarf was. Enough people connected and Bak collapsed, coming visible as he did so. Delvo
uttered a prayer to his god, the Demon Prince, and Drax felt an unholy drain on his vitality. Delvo
began to run for a long corridor deeper into the hillside and everyone followed. Apart from Drax.
He stayed a few moments to decapitate the unconscious Bak. Down the corridor, Delvo flipped a
hidden switch and a previously unseen door opened. He ran through slamming it behind him. The
group opened the door, revealing a dark staircase leading down into the earth and chased him
downwards. Delvo could see in the darkness and so was getting away until Fett hit him in the back
with an arrow. At this stage Drax caught up and swung Demonbane in a huge arc. It connected
cleanly and Delvo�s head flew from his body.
From the tunnel into which Delvo had been running came a low growl. Lynott muttered a Snow
House word of power and his sword sprung to icy light. In the darkness ahead could be seen pairs
of red eyes. Then there was a ferocious howl and a half dozen wargs came bounding down the
tunnel, snarling. The group quickly formed a defensive line and the archers and spell casters
blitzed the wargs from the safety of the second row. The wargs did not last long with the last one
turning and fleeing back into the darkness from where it came.
Taking a deep breath all appeared quiet again. The group returned up the stairs and Elijah jammed
the catch to stop anyone coming up from below. A quick search of the hobbit hole revealed no evil
shrine and now Lordana. So the group started to search more carefully. In the long corridor they
found another catch and this opened a door into the evil shrine to the Demon Prince. There,
hanging from chains and covered in blood was Lordana. Thankfully, though battered and broken
she was still alive. Jaina called upon Pelor and healed her wounds. She was extremely thankful to
be saved and even more relieved to find out that Arsen had survived and was in Pembrose. She
was put into the comfortable bed which was located in part of the hobbit hole and given a
powerful sleeping draught by Jaina. Meanwhile the others continued the search.
Under a lose floor board in Delvo�s bedroom they found a small chest. This contained some gold
imperials and a book. Lynott let his senses drift into the magical realm and discovered that the
book was magical. In addition the waistcoat which Delvo was wearing was also magical. Jaina
took up the book and flicked through its pages. It detailed a ritual which was complex and
difficult. It involved sacrificing someone to the Demon Prince and in return gaining the power to
corrupt another and turn them to demonology. It seemed this ritual had been used to corrupt
Bragger Dutenhammer months ago. In the back of the book Delvo had written plans to sacrifice
Lordana and use the power there granted to enable him to corrupt Constable Wershaw. It seemed
that the group had managed to avert a major event in Pembrose, even if they had been too late to
save Jake.
Deciding it was too late to head home and feeling comfortable in this cosy hobbit hole the group
settled down for the night. The pantry was stocked with delicious foods, there was plenty of
dwarven ale and Pembrose Red wine to drink and the furniture was soft and giving. There were
worse places to hole up for the night. As they lounged around Jaina continued to study the ritual
book and Delvo�s journal which was contained in the back. She was a little concerned when she
read about Delvo�s �zombie army�. It wasn�t clear where this army was situated but it
seemed to comprise of all the victims he had sacrificed to this evil ritual.
The group pondered where the zombie army might be and discussed what they would do when
morning broke�
Report Date
10 Apr 2024
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