Month: April 2016

Session 106

Journal entry for the 13th of Jourelden (dawn)

After our night-time encounter with the spider apes our morning is busy and uneventful as we load our equipment and carts onto the barge.

Gifforde would love our company on the rest of his journey, but Thorfus makes it clear that we have pressing business elsewhere.

The barge master, Whyschardus tells me that we’ll make Vargen just after nightfall – should give me plenty of time to work on my ship plans. Better feed Boris and myself.

A few hours have passed since my last entry. It seems that we had a shadow, a pair of dwarven riders were spotted by Thorfus questioning Gifforde and then pointing towards us as we made the first bend of the river, about two hours later we see them on one of the other barges – their intent was to follow us and keep us under watch.

How do we know this? Devilfish (see rough sketch). It seems they inhabit the river and extort a fee from passing barges, or rather they’re offered money for a promise of safe passage, a promise not always kept by the sounds of our barge master. They’re intelligent and have prodigious mental abilities – luckily one of their number, Gronsk, knows Thorfus and the Company- save for myself and Cannis our newest travelling companion.

He (it?) warned Thorfus and all of us using group telepathy (prodigious indeed!) that our barge’s offering wasn’t as large as that of the barge following and we’d be sunk unless Thorfus was able provide him information about Araquelle – a former member who left with Derrich’s group and Prix’ body through the permanently open gate inside the Bioforge facility.To my surpise, Araquelle was actually a Devilfish who’s essense was transfered to a human’s body.

Thorfus agreed only after Gronsk would delve the minds of the pursuing dwarves and let him know their intentions. Gronsk did so and then asked for an update before letting Thorfus know.

Now – Lord Thorfus is capable of many things, but he often times can be be over cautious. He danced around Araquelle’s fate – likely worried that should he reveal too much the devilfish may just sink us. This went on for a little while, clearly Gornsk wasn’t impressed with what he was being told about Araquelle’s current location – so I stepped in and explained that Araquelle stepped through a portal and is now on the other side of the island. That seemed to do the trick – though I’m not sure Thorfus was too happy to have me jump in like that.

That done – we found out that the riders were tasked with following us and reporting back to Marchmain about our whereabouts and doings.

With that Gronsk made to leave, but Thorfus asked it if he would help with find Grel. Gronsk laughed (or I think it laughed) and cryptically said that if we survive our welcome to meet him in the harbour where he’ll do what he can to help.

He then promptly left to destroy the other barge – leaving us to wonder about what awaits in Varden. Needless to say, that made concentrating on my work difficult, mind you watching Boris try to steal fish from Thorfus and Chuck’s fishing while chatting with the crew to glean information about Vargen was quite entertaining. No useful information came from the questioning.

Night has fallen I best get ready for what comes next. They say we’ll be mooring at the East Harbour and off load there. Shame that we arrived after nightfall – I wonder how large the city is.

EV.

Late evening – about an hour after our arrival.

I scrawl this quickly as we wait for news regarding Thorell – the local bargeman guild leader.

Gronsk was right – we did indeed have a welcome waiting for us – though not us specifically.

Grell, a pirate who has a grudge against the company and is likely working for the Empire, launched a flaming captured warship toward another docked warship – likely causing two large explosions. There was someone alive strapped to the bow of the ship on fire – someone Thorfus knows.

We intervened. Chuck, Thorfus, Cannis and I shadow walked to the docked warship (Bitter Horse – odd name) and while they spoke with the ship’s captain I rushed to the aft of the ship facing the flaming warship bearing down on us. There I used a scroll to summon a water elemental dowsing us with water. While Thorfus and Chuck “stepped” to the ship in an attempt to save the admiral. I commanded the elemental to push the flaming ship back into the bay and try to put out the fire.

Thorfus and chuck managed to save the Admiral, but the ship exploded.

They “stepped” to where they left me on the other ship and explained to us and the other admiral that they spotted the culprits heading up river – if we hurried we could catch them.

We took two longboats of men and caught them with the help of the water elemental.

Cannis easily destroyed one ship and it’s occupants with lightning, but was almost immediately felled by a salvo of arrows from the remaining ships.  

Battle ensued and we found that there were two leaders – both “dervishes” (cit. Chuck) – agents of the Empire apparently. They too were able to step into shadow and got away.

We captured three and found that they were working for Grell and missioned to kill Thorell by setting up diversions while the agents did the deed.

We send the wounded (incl. Cannis) and captives back to the Bitter horse, while we sped to Thorell’s base further up river with help from the water elemental T’Suna (can’t pronounce real name) to warn him about the attempt.

That’s where we are now, waiting to find out if we arrived in time.

IEV.

SESSION 105

20 April, 2016

While Edan trains, the rest of the party loads up the wagon with the stored gear from the raptor tunnel.

Thorfus retrieves a monkey to bring the total with the party back to 8.

Thorfus and the new member, Canis, visit Cvelnid and learn that she plans to pack up and move to Vargen in a couple of weeks. The time it will take her to pack up, after the Militia and most of her business leaves.

Cvelnid also tells us that her boys overheard some of the Silver throne guards building the gate lamenting that they can’t go after Alain Grell and the reward for his head. A big reward if they take it to Lonely Isle.

Next Thorfus marks an estate on the peak near the former temple to claim for his own. He picks one that is in relatively good shape and has a great view of the lower city, around the peak..

They then visit Edony and invite her to joint them, but she wants roots, and doesn’t want to face constant danger. She agrees to keep this quiet.

We also learn the location of her former master’s tower about 8 miles from a landing on the headwaters of the Vargewater.

His tower is located in a circular ring of hills with a gate and off the road lots of his experiments that he let loose.

He likes adventurers for experimenting on, they never leave.

The firegiant is straight north of there.

Edony has also seen the flying copper colored dragon to the north, Usually it does not come this far south.

Thorfus then goes down to talk to Marchmain and Marchmain says that since an active archaeological site that until things are settled due to success, such things can’t be guaranteed. If we are successful, there isn’t anything that isn’t possible.

Marchmain also shares that they found the gear room, which he referred to as the lair of the naga, and the less valuable gear that we left there.

Thorfus indicated that he was wanting to get more men for our reduced numbers and Marchmain offered his men. Thorfus didn’t want to reduce his force guarding all the walls and gates, since the militias were leaving.

During his training Edan learns that haberdashers are independent thieves in addition to being skilled hat makers. He advised Edan to look for haberdashers in other towns if he needed help dealing with their thieves guilds.The famous elven hat maker, Himart/Highmark is also one of the best elven thieves.

We ask Marchmain about Ryker and learn he has been staying at the Sleeping Colossus. We go speak to him and learn that the undead were normal undead, the ones with flesh cause paralysis at a touch and were under the control of the female elf. There seemed to be thousands of them. He plans to go to Midmark and travel to Vargen with Cvelnid.

On the 10th the Militia finishes the gate. Thorfus buys a round for everybody.

On the morning of the 11th the Militias leave and Edan finishes his training that evening.

On the morning of the 12th Chuq shadow steps down past the gate and the rest take the wagon and cart. It is raining. We are denied exit until Marchmain comes and lets us leave. Thorfus apologizes for not making it clear that he intended to leave and get more men. We are finally let to leave and Thorfus gets assurances that we won’t have trouble getting back in.

We meet up with Chuq and make our way down the mountain. We pass a wagon with some merchants and a few Silver Throne guards. the ST guards watch us closely.

We overtake two wagons ahead of us, and they let us pass. they have dwarven merchants and ST guards.

We reach the clearing where the barges dock and find a human caravan ahead of us. Before dark the ST caravan camps between us and the jungle.

During second watch the jungle goes quiet and Chuq gets Starchy to bark and howl because it is giant spider gorillas.

Four of the ST guards start coming our way when the four-armed gorillas attack the ST caravan. Quickly some of those dwarves are shredded.

We move up and use ranged weapons on one that is not in melee. The four dwarves that came towards us move to engage it. 

More of our party move up with torches and our new druid Canis cast faerie fire giving a bonus to hit. Thorfus charges up and removes its head. More ST people are rended.

The dwarves charge the other gorillas and are doing damage. Chuq charges one and it soon falls, Canis charges the other with his lucern hammer and stirikes a critical blow, but does not drop it. The last one tries to flee, but Canis strikes another critical blow breaking its neck.

Two guards and two merchants from ST are killed. Thorfus suggests accompanying them to Xenilum Khel, which they appreciate, but we decide to stick with our plan to float down to Vargen.

18 gorilla hands are sent up to Xen Khel in card of the ranger who hired our former ranger.

We use the writ from Peter Thorell to pay our passage down to Vargen, saving 10 GP each.