Session Nine of "The Horrors Beyond the Crypt!"
General Summary
We start the session at around 7AM on May 29th, 3168 Era of Blood... The party continues forward towards the Summer's Redoubt Train Station a few miles North of Dawnbury. They eventually pause and hear noises coming from, what appears to be, a clearing on the otherside of the tree line. Everybody, but Bianca, manages to be seen by what is in that clearing... It's a large bandit auction going on, with several people in shackles up for sale to the highest bidding bandit group. Our party manages to notice Tuskar, the Luxodon from the tavern before Dawnbury, as well as a greyish, slight blue appearing Elf, also in shackles. They appear to have been kidnapped and put up for bid by these bandits. On the stage is a Lizardfolk bandit by the name of Brakiltouzk, or Brax, as his mates call him... Before getting into combat, however, we have to go back in time a little to see how Aether, that Elf, and Tuskar were napped...
Back later during the day on May 26th, as our party was attempting to make it to Dawnbury, Tuskar made his way to Oceania to clean up the mess that Yharm made. As he arrived, he started working tirelessly to tidy up the place, and lay the dead to rest. On May 25th, during the Invasion of Oceania, Aether, who is still in Terra Terrarium, wandering the woods, receives a message from Tetra, the Goddess of the Wilderness, informing him to seek out the Adventurers of Oceania (our party), and that he is one of those destined to fight against Yharm too. He heads to Oceania to try to find them... As he approaches Oceania on May 27th, he notices Tuskar is the only one there, and that several bodies still remain... As Aether approaches Tuskar, they chat a bit, with Tuskar informing him of the bloodbath that was left behind by Yharm. Aether tells him that he has to find the heroes that left the town intact, and Tuskar tells Aether of William, Kimball, and Bianca, as well as where they were heading. Before being able to head out on his own, leaving Tuskar to clean up still, they are surrounded by bandits. Aether attempts to kill the bandit's leaders, however, is unsuccessful and they get surrounded. Aether gets knocked unconscious and presumably, so does Tuskar. They find themselves trapped in shackles by their wrists on stage, two days later, at the auction our party wandered into.
All hell breaks loose as the bandits discover William and Kimball. Before the fight can truly start though, Aether sneaks up behind Brax, while all the other bandits are distracted by our party, and wraps their chains around his neck, having him become unconscious. Aether eventually attempts to break his neck, and succeeds, killing Brax instantly. Some of the Bandit Captains notice this and start to fight Aether, who freed themselves from their shackles. Tuskar falls off the stage, but manages to get back up, destroying his shackles with his extreme strength, and kills a Bandit Captain with his broken tusk, which was due to other bandits earlier in the campaign. William and Kimball fight back too, slaying Bandits left and right. Bianca, hidden from sight still, manages to take a few pot shots at some of the bandits, as well, nailing one of them, and severly wounding another Captain. Once they start to dwindle down a bit, a man adorned in a wolf pelt and almost like a ghillie suit, comes out of the opposite side of the forest, proclaiming that he is late, but ready to help! He has a companion with him as well, a massive female black bear. With a single roar, the bear, named Kindra, as we find out later, sends some of the bandits packing. The man, named Estyn Bessus, attempts to help how he can, and within a few minutes, the battle is over. But not before Aether frees the slave groups, allowing them to run, or fight with the party.
After clearing all of them out, everyone manages to gather around, discussing their plans and introducing themselves. Aether informs the party that they heard a call from Tetra, as well as saw a prophetic vision with their Moonstone Gauntlets, that they would meet up and work together. The party agrees to take him up on his offer to help, and declares all four of them, Adventurers of Oceania. Tuskar states that he needs to go back to Oceania to clean the mess, and that the rest of the party should continue their adventure. He leaves swiftly after the battle. Estyn stays for a while longer, explaining that he noticed Kimball and Bianca at the Goblin Encampment the night before, but was unable to come to their aide then. He states that he has been following them, in order to help, however, is unwilling to leave the forest in the surrounding area to go to Daggerveil with them. Before leaving, the party thanks him and Kindra, with Bianca petting her and sharing a moment. She appears to be a gentle giant, but can be angry and dangerous when needed...
The party, now including Aether, continues walking towards the Summer's Redoubt Train Station and eventually reaches it by Noon. They learn that the train ticket lady has been waiting for them, and gives them their tickets, compliments of the Dawnbury Town Council. They get on the train, which arrives at 1PM, and climb aboard the VIP car. They managed to upgrade their tickets because William forged the ones they got into VIP tickets. As they sit down and begin their long train ride, a noble looking man comes over to Bianca and tells her she needs to move, as he and his friend need a seat. He proceeds to call Eve, Bianca's dog, a mutt, and berates Bianca for not moving. She gets defensive, as this guy is a douchebag, when suddenly he grabs her hair. She elbows him and breaks his nose in retaliation. He still doesn't back down, and Aether decides to tell him of his inevitable death at the hands of him if he doesn't relax. However, when using the Moonstone Gauntlets to see the man's potential future, Aether receives a vision of the death of the whole train... Unsure of what it all could mean, he tells the rest of the party as they await for the train to leave... This is where we finished the session...
Report Date
12 Feb 2024
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