Session 9: By The Broken

General Summary

Summary: Rejoined by their resident paladin, the adventurers delve deeper into the mysterious hag's warren.   Confident in the abilities of his hirelings, Enrique Salazar surveys the extensive repairs and renovations to the establishment bearing his name and sets off to Briarwood to reunite with his adventuring associates.   Several miles to the south, the remaining members of the group stand at the entrance of a damp cave, their weapons slick with blood as they lick their own wounds; the fight with the basilisks proved cumbersome.   Drifting down the river in a charterboat, the dragonborn notices a familiar watercraft moored on the riverbanks and bids farewell to the merchant crew.   Resting by the cavern, the group is eventually reinforced by their comrade, and resolves to push deeper into the caverns.   By torchlight, the adventurers clear numerous rooms of carrion crawlers with ease while searching for evidence of survivors, unaware of the slumbering dangers within.   Coming upon a locked door, the group hears whimpering and moaning from within; ample motivation for Manzana to burst through the door with brute force.   Initially frightened, a group of captured commonfolk are overcome with relief at the arrival of heroic adventurers, and begin to shower them with thanks.   Keldagrim Hayloft, a waitress at the Dancing Donkey in Briarwood bids the adventurers to visit the establishment with the promise of free drinks; her companions Oscar Tillman, a barrel-chested human, and Larissiel Arbora, a fair-skinned half-elf, follow her to the exit too shocked to speak.   The group proceeds through the center cavern, slaying another handfull of carrion crawlers, and approaches a second locked door.   As with the previous obstacle, the second door is promptly razed to the ground in Manzana's wake, showering the second group of prisoners in wooden splinters.   The second group of captives revealed to the party that they were interred with a dwarf who managed to escape his shackles and abscond with a handful of magic items.   Suspicious, the party probed for answers, confirming their suspicions that Grunbad Kazarak had been in the caves.   Bohemond Redmoon, a charismatic farm boy, explained to the party that the dwarf had promised to send help for he and his brother, Osmond-- though it had been at least a day or two since they had seen the metalsmith.   After briefly considering using the brothers as bait, the party bid them farewell and send them toward the entrance of the cave.   Moments later, a terrifying scream is heard from the main cavern, and the adventurers rush toward the sound of violence and struggle.   As torchlight began to illuminate the room, the group sees the silhouette of a massive hill giant, Bohemond in hand, lifting the farmer to its gargantuan maw, and bisecting the boy at the waist with a sickening crunch.   Petrified with fear, Osmond retreats to the far corner of the room, seeking refuge behind a collection of limestone stalagmites.   Drawing their weapons and steeling their resolve, the adventurers charge headlong into the fray, hacking at the giant's legs and firing arrows at its eyes.   First into the melee, Brunk swings his axe deep into the giant's thigh, drawing the ire of the colossus; with a mighty roar, the beast brings its greatclub down on the half-ogre, knocking him unconscious in a single blow.   Overcome with rage, Keerla rains fire onto the beast as Ian looses arrows into its visage as cover.   As Enrique lashes at the giant's knees, Manzana releases a spell to weaken the ground below the giant-- just in time for Lilith to mold the earth around the gargant's feet, knocking it flat onto the ground.   In a moment of inspiration, Scrugg knows what must do-- charging headlong toward the giant's loin cloth, he draws his daggers and dives headfirst into the bowels of the prone creature, slashing at entrails and organs from within.   With a yelp of suprised agony, the giant succumbs to internal lasceration in a matter of seconds.   As if hatching from a putrescent egg, Scrugg slices his way through the belly of the beast, emerging in a gruesome display of victory.   As the battle concludes, several carrion crawlers drag the giant's body away to their burrows to feast, while the adventurers clear the remainder of the dungeon of its various treasures within: a spear and shield, each blessed with magic, and a small hoard of potions and coins.   The adventurers continue in their journey to Briarwood without further incidence, arriving at the city docks several hours later.   Once within the city, they begin to head toward the Mystic Archive in search of someone to identify their newly-acquired magic items.   In the town square, they notice a town crier, peddling issues of Fanfare, apparently the city's premier broadsheet news source.   The broadsheet details a number of strange happenings, such as the sudden disappearance of the Adventurer's Guild from the city, as well as the election of a Szavonnian politician, Natasha Estellian, whose name bears an eerie resemblance to one found on Siegurt's Ledger.   On the way to the Archive, the group resolves to investigate the Guildhouse in search of clues regarding the disappearances.   They pay off a guard, and swiftly search the ale hall for evidence of foul play.   Upon investigation, the hall appears to show signs of the same ward failure that led to the Bristlebeard Incident.   As another guard patrol arrives, the group makes a hasty withdrawal toward the archive when they are waylaid by street urchins who make off with their coinpurses in a flash of trickery.   The group chases the urchins through the city's twisting alleys and promenades, smashing through produce carts and overturning entire market stalls in the attempt to catch the thieves.   After a brief but intense pursuit, the group finally corners the child criminals and demand their belongings be returned under threat of pain.   Smiling, the urchins motion toward the rooftops, revealing a small army of youngsters, each armed with slings and shortbows trained on the adventurers-- they'd been outplayed.   Moments before the conflict escalated into violence, the party hears a voice from the shadows:   "By the broken! Manzanita, is that you?"

Rewards Granted

Various magical items, coins, and trinkets.