The Horseman's Valley Report

General Summary

After a week of rest, the party was now ready to set off, but not before the ranger left Kaizzt with a parting gift, a ten-foot pole with his name carved into it and a leather wrist wrap. With their destination in sight, they set off. However, the going was difficult, the dead of winter had finally set in and snows had completely covered the roads they had used to navigate these new lands. For a few days, the five walked their way in circles, constantly finding old prints they had made not hours before. Thankfully they ran into a troop of loggers that pointed out a ridge that would lead to a river that originated from the valley they were seeking. Following it, they found an old stone bridge, spanning over a mostly frozen river, salmon leaping out where they could. The adventurers followed it Northwest as the gorge deepened and its sides grew oppressively close. About a few hours travel from their destination, the five set up camp and prepared themself for a restful night, but were surprised by a sudden fog that filled the valley, followed by a grating screech as their fire was extinguished by frost. From out of the haze, a tall figure emerged. It was cloaked in a tattered robe and wore a mantle of brambles and sticks, had long arms with claws that dragged through the snow, and atop its shoulders sad a deer skull set with two eyes glowing with a piercing yellow. The party rushed to action as the thing approached, meeting it with a barrage of attacks, but this seemed to do little to stop it as it rushed up to Martin, enthralling him with its glowing eyes, and swallowing him up into its rib cage made of vine and bone. The party then flew into a fury waling on the creature, trying to free their companion, Sylvan and Dreamstroke pried at its back, trying to release its hold, and Kaizzt slashed and pierced the creature, halberd glowing with holy energy. Though it put up a good fight, knocking the paladin to one knee and nearly draining the life out of Martin, the creature was shredded by attacks from all sides, and the artificer was released. However it seemed not all was well, as Dreamstroke noticed that mid-fight, Nillea had run off, and now the din of battle could be heard in the distance. As he mounted Spike and chased after the sound, he saw that Nillea was locked in a duel with another drow. Nillea shouted for the party to kill the attacker and Dreamstroke rode up to him and landed a powerful smite causing the drow to back up a half step. Being closer, Dreamstroke could see that the drow wore heavy furs, was missing an arm, had a milky eye, and was covered in many scars. The drow immediately offered to surrender, wanting to explain himself, but it was not accepted until the rest of the party had approached and the drow made a second attempt. He introduced himself as Tanil Severin and that he was a ranger that guarded the Horseman's Valley and that he had banished Nillea from the Valley many years ago for slaughtering innocent townsfolk. After the party had heard this, and Nillea not being able to deny his claims, the party was not so confident in backing her. Tanil offered the party rest at his cabin, but showed Nillea the way out. As night set in, the ranger led the party to his house, a log cabin set on a tall hill, overlooking a logging village. Inside were two others, a human woman with cropped hair, and a bald drow. They introduced themselves as Neya and Len, respectively. The adventurers offered to help cook a late dinner and offered their rations to fortify a stew. They all ate and drank together, getting to know each other. At one point in the night Kaizzt stepped outside to look for Nillea, but could find no sign of her. Tanil joined him soon after and both talked about their upbringing, how Kaizzt got his ears cut, and how Tanil lost his arm. Tanil also broke the news that the temple of Istus that Kaizzt was looking for had since been disbanded and replaced by a band of marauders called the Horse Tyrants that worshiped Hextor. The two then retired to bed, and the rest soon followed. The rest of the week the party spent resting in Tanil's cabin, recovering from the wounds they received from what they discovered was a Wood Wraith. They all took a good shower outside, and a few trimmed their hair, which had grown quite long from their tedious journey. During this period, Dreamstroke and Sylvan noted some interesting things in the cabin. Dream noticed that every night, before Tanil went into his trance, he would pick something up from under his bed and study it. Sylvan took note that there was a trap door, which led to a cellar. When no one was looking, he slipped down the ladder and found mostly preserved food and other supplies, but also a chest, locked tight with chains. When asked about it, Tanil would only say that they were a part of his past life, which he kept to remind himself of who he was, and who he had become. At the end of the week, now that they were all rested and freshened up, Tanil offered to take them to the nearby village, since it was brewfest, they would have the finest ales and meads on tap. So, they trudged their way down the hill and entered the village, heading straight for the local tavern. Tanil paid for everyone's drinks and they all had their fill, Naelen and Sylvan having their traditional drinking contest, and just like every time before, Naelen won without issue. As they were stumbling back to the cabin, they were approached by three men dressed in black plate mail with a red fist grasping six fanned arrows emblazoned on the breastplate. They announced that they had been charged by Hagar Varus to bring Tanil's head to him. While they looked like they were about to draw steel, Sylvan drunkenly offered the leader some of Freyr's Reserve, the mead he had purchased in Djekul. The man recognized the lable, and snatched it from his hands, telling them he'd look the other way for the bottle. The party waited for them to turn their backs and then charged them, killing them before they could react. Upon returning, Tanil began to vent about his distaste for the Horse Tyrants, and the party agreed that something needed to be done about them. So they began hatching a plan to oust them and reclaim the land from their tyrannical grasp...