Session 34 Summary

March 13th, 2010

Heroes: Prometheus, Dashiell, Rhinox, Donner, Mariska, Kebi Dabu, and Thorgan. Mariska had to leave early.

Game Date: Eredain, Whitesky 16, AD1017

Jafnar is dead. The adventurers found him in his sanctuary at the bottom of the Varrikai’s main headquarters. After a grueling battle, and a bit of discussion, the heroes prevailed against the evil ritualist. They have found a member of the traitorous Varkis family and ended his life; they may have even ended the threat of the Varrikai around Skulldrop.

The group searched through the sanctuary and found a few things of interest. A large tome of rituals and a few valuables were found in the ritual chamber and Jafnar’s bed chamber. Unfortunately, it appeared Jafnar was more careful than most in the Varrikai, his sanctuary only had papers on the rituals and constructs he was working on.

Bringing the Good News

After gathering everything they could the group headed to the surface to report back to the Commander on the good news. Kebi Dabu decided to peruse the tome of rituals while they walked, and he is still regretting that act. The first words of the book were trap runes. The book exploded and scorched everything around it, which turned out to be most of the party. A second explosion could be heard down in the complex behind them. It was speculated that the magic circle was tied to the tome and it also exploded. Recovering from their wounds, the group continued on.

The Commander was relieved to hear the group had such great success rooting out the Varrikai and finding Jafnar. He told the party they had his everlasting gratitude for this deed, for all the deeds, they had done. With the Varrikai out of the way things in Skulldrop are quieter, the Commander bid them good day and safe travels on their journey to the Capitol. That is also where the Commander told them they would have to turn in the Varkis trophies for their reward.

The heroes had a night of celebration; it was more like most of the day and on into the night. Maranaren met with them and informed the group that the Tower would be opening soon, but if they needed supplies before then they could come to the Fort and he would help them with what they needed. Things were looking good and the group could finally get some much needed rest.

A Name At Last

In the morning they gathered at the Fort to pick up supplies from Maranaren. Before they left they were greeted once more by Commander Ryver. He asked the group if they could deliver a personal message to his brother, the Lord of the Kriegieh family, when they reach the Capitol. A simple enough task, the party agreed. Finally, the heroes had enough supplies, especially for rituals, everything was packed up and they were ready to continue their journeys outside of Skulldrop. Their new adventures would take them down the Skull Pass, into the jungle, and to Eluren, the Capitol of Mentiel.

The group was making pretty good town traveling the road and their camaraderie could be heard for miles. It was a unanimous decision that if they were going to continue to travel together the group needed a name. The party was successful at passing the time as they traveled the dull hills; this simple task took most of the first day of travel. The heroes could not agree on a single thing. Many ideas were rejected and entire groups of possibilities were thrown out. Luckily, by the end of the day this quest was completed. This band of heroes, thrown together by a strange twist of fate as they all traveled to the Fort of Skulldrop, is now known as… the Fate Seekers.

Unfortunately, the adventuring life is hardly ever as easy as one would like. The group camped just outside the jungle, waiting for daylight to enter. When they awoke the next morning Dashiell and Rhinox noticed something odd. Off to the west was a plume of black smoke rising into the air. By the looks of it, the smoke was out of the jungle. The pull of new adventurers grabbed hold and they moved to investigate.

New Adventures

As they moved in the direction of the smoke they found a simple wagon trail that led to a small village on the edge of the Jade Tail Jungle. The group quietly entered the village of Tumoin and found a somber feeling in the air. The people looked at the Fate Seekers funny, as if they had already done something wrong. They found the general store and wandered in to hopefully find some answers.

The Traveler’s Goods was run by a halfling and he had plenty of information for the group. The heroes learned the mayor and his family had been killed and his house was burned to the ground. The halfling told them the village had an agreement with the gnolls, but something had changed and caused them to attack. When the Seekers visited the Happy Hunter Tavern, the inn keeper and acting mayor of the village Larimond, confirmed everything the halfling had told them. The group also learned something new, the bodies were mutilated and the heads were spiked in front of the house. There was mention of an adventuring band coming to the village before them and the people scraped up a payment for them to hunt down the gnolls, the adventurers were never heard from again.

The Fate Seeker’s agreed to help the village with their obvious problem. Tumoin only had a meager militia protecting it, it wasn’t much. The heroes visited the Raven’s Eye Temple and the caretaker, a half-elf cleric by the name of Elesthare, told them the gnolls have been in this area since before the nomads came. He told the group they had a lair off to the west called Gorehold. It was a deep hole in the earth that had no definitive origin. The half-elf told the group the gnolls could be found there, but its exact location was beyond his knowledge.

Hunting Gnolls

Dashiell and Rhinox proved to be able bodied trackers as they found the marks of the gnolls passing. The Fate Seeker’s set off immediately following the trail the gnolls left behind. The group learned that leaving the hills did not improve their travels. The jungle had its numerous dangers just like the hills did. After a couple of hours of traveling through the rugged wilderness, they came upon a clearing. Bodies hung from the trees, five in all, mutilated like the mayor and his family. With the minimal evidence they found, the party deduced that this was the adventuring party the villagers paid for.

While Donner was cutting the bodies down, the gnolls hiding in the area launched their attack. The gnolls released large, hideous looking hyenas that attacked Kebi Dabu, but Kebi Dabu is not so easy to pin down. With a simple thought he was gone before they could open their jaws. This band of gnolls were no challenge for the heroes, they dispatched them with ease. After doing last rights on the dead adventuring group, the party moved on.

A few more hours went by as they continued to follow the tracks. Eventually several members of the group noticed an eerie silence in the jungle. Suddenly they hear a deep, guttural voice cry out “KILL THEM ALL!” A troll steps out of the jungle and moves in for an attack. Farther away ogres release large beasts as they themselves attack. This battle did not prove to be much more of a challenge than the gnolls, even after the hill giant stepped out of the trees and attacked. After a short rest the Seekers moved on.

The Gnoll Lair

Finally, after Kebi Dabu and Prometheus have a few problems getting through the thick jungle, they come to a clearing. A hill rises ahead of them as the jungle continues on above the hill. There are two caves leading into the earth. The gnoll tracks can be found all around this area, along with some giant tracks, and they lead into the caves. This must be Gorehold, right?

The heroes move into the cave and follow the passage. They find some sort of feeding room with layers of blood all over the floor and staining the lower parts of the walls. Bones are piled up as well as scattered about the room. The group decided to continue on. They finally come to the huge pit the villagers were talking about. The group finds a huge hole over 100 feet in diameter leading down through the gnoll lair. Their light source extends about 100 feet, enough to see other ledges down the hole but not enough to see the bottom, wherever that might be.

The group’s adventurers continue as they travel beyond the confines of Skulldrop. They are no longer simple heroes; they are the Fate Seekers, a band of heroic adventurers trying to do the right thing wherever they go. They have found a new enemy, the gnolls. Why did the gnolls attack the village after 2 years of cooperation between the two races? Why did they only kidnap women and children? It is rumored they repeated this act in other villages, what are they planning? Can the Fate Seekers find out before its too late for the innocent lives taken from their homes?

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License