Session 2: The Ballad of Arhead Holm Report

General Summary

Zarantyr 4th, 998

Standing over the corpse of their slain enemies, Scouting Party 5 continues to search through the basement, hoping to find items for them to take with them. They find a small chest in the room with the slain Abyssal Chickens, and find a scrap of paper with the same strange markings as the one found by Sandy. Sylrieth takes some parts of the slain demons, assuming they will need proof of kill for the Guild, then leaves to a previously unexplored room. Sparhawk first enters the room and trips over a small chest, landing on his face. The rest of the party enters the room to find two chests, one of which Sandy is able to open with her thieving tools. Sparhawk attempts to sneak away with the second chest, but was caught by Sylrieth. The Dragonborn then proceeds to pick up the second chest and thow it to the ground in the hopes of breaking it open, though it is only damaged. He tries again and is successful in breaking it open, finding a box containing an old map. Scouting Party 5 then leaves the castle and returns home.

 

Zarantyr 5th, 998

Party is stalked by mysterious flying creatures, but they are scared off by Sylrieth jumping 15 feet into the air in an attempt to hit them.

 

Zarantyr 6th, 998

Scouting Party 5 arrives at Caelfall to see the commonfolk whispering to each other about something, though they believe it is about Sparhawk despite him being able to successfully disguise himself. The party splits up, Sparhawk going to the in to rent some rooms, and the others going to the Adventurers Guild to turn their job in. Sparhawk walks into the Inn to see a woman sitting by herself being harassed by a drunkard. As he approaches to intervene, she angrily gets up and spout out "Mention his name again, and I will cut you from ballsack to brain!". He mutters something to her, and she proceeds to stand up, snap his neck, and throw him against the wall, leaving a large bloodspatter on the wall. She then looks at Sparhawk, who apologizes for attempting to intervene and leaves. After checking into the Inn, Sparhawk goes to grab a drink at the bar.

The three Elves arrive at the Guild office and see that a group of people are speaking in hushed whispers about something. Sandy goes to sit at a table and Sylrieth goes to Vedrer to turn in the job, receiving 14 silver. Both Fireheart and Sylrieth both go to sit with Sandy who begins to play a beautiful song to the Guild offices delight.

Sparhawk, while waiting for the rooms to become available, goes over to the bar for a drink but it quickly interrupted by the drunken vagrant whose neck was violently snappen and body was thrown heavily against the wall, who orders another drink. Curious, the Dragonborn attempts to check for any lingering wounds on the man, but finds nothing past the blood splattered on his face.

Not wanting to be swindled out of money, Fireheart inquires about the reward for the job they just completed, which Sylrieth hands them their share of the profits. Needing to deliver Sparhawks share of the silver, Sylrieth walks to the Inn alone. Fireheart, remembering the paper she found, goes to Vedrer and inquires about the writing on it. He looks it over and tells her that it is the writing of the Old Kingdom, and that the closest translation she will get would be from a Frostborn as it closely resembles their language.

Sitting next to the Drunk, Sparhawk tries to act nonchalantly around him, though this does not deter the man from noticing him. He sees past Sparhawks disguise, noticing that he is a Dragonborn, but does not react. Instead, asking why he is so far south. Sparhawk, wary of the mans interest but seeing no ill intent, gives him a brief story of his life. The drunk asks for more details and is met with some opposition, but eventually Sparhawk reveals more of his sad past, which brings the man to tears; perhaps reminding him of his own past. The two then drink to their despair. Sylrieth arrives to see the drunk man fall over, passed out. The two men offer to pay the tab, but the barkeep lets them know that the drinks were on the house for getting Pyle, the drunk, to shut up for once. They are then notified by the front desk that the rooms are now available, to which they both go to their assigned room.

Back at the office, the two women are getting ready to leave after Sandy received three gold for her music when Fireheart is reminded of the map they found. She hands it to Vedrer who tells her that this is an old map made before the castles were built. The High Elf inquires about it being a treasure map, and he tells her that it just leads to the Woods of Ingrannus. She thanks the clerk and leaves. Fireheart and Sandy, now leaving the Guild office, decide to go see the cost of the house for sale and see that it is worth 10 Platinum, to high a price even for the princess. They both decide to go to the Inn to see if their room is available.

Sparhawk and Sylreath, who are in their room awaiting the rest of the party, begin to hear footsepts approaching their room. They tense up as a drunken Pyle stumbles into the room, confused by his new location. He reveals that the request for the lost necklace was submitted by him, then stumbles back out and leaves the Inn, bumbing into Fireheart and Sandy as they enter. Now whole once again, the party elects to sleep for the rest of the night to reconvene in the morning.

 

Zarantyr 7th, 998

Come morning, they all meet up once again, Sparhawk deciding to visit the General Goods Shoppe while Sylrieth, Fireheart, and Sandy go downstairs into the bar area. Fireheart orders some breakfast wine, Sylrieth sits in the corner and broods, and Sandy attempts to play her music, though is deterred by playing several incorrect notes, blaming the lack of tuning. Embarassed, she too orders some breakfast wine.

Sparhawk sees a sleeping Pyle outside near the trash, so he stealthily walks across the street to the Shoppe and enters. Unfortunately for him, the shoppe keep sees right through his disguise and notices his reptile-like appearance, but says nothing. Sparhawk buys some provisions for the road but just before he can leave, the keep asks him about his appearance. Sparhawk lets him know that he is a Dragonborn, to which the keep scoffs and tells him that Dragons don't exist and that he must be some sort of Lizard man. Sparhawk then leaves the shoppe and toward the Guild office, once again sneaking past the now awakening Pyle.

Done drinking, Fireheart leaves the Inn and goes over to the Guild office to register for the request to find Pyles necklace as well as find the marked location on the map. When she requests to be assigned to it, she is told that no one properly registered the job as it was just placed on the board by Pyle in a drunken stupor. As Sparhawk arrives, tossing Fireheart a ration, they both leave to the Inn to notify the others of their new job. Upon arriving at their room, they notice a sleeping Sandy and an irritated Sylrieth, at least more irritated than usual. Sparhawk picks Sandy up, and they all make their way to their next job.

 

Zarantyr 8th, 998

As the party travels, they startle a group of three Goblins who appeared to be wearing some hand made armor and weapons that catch the party's eye. After slaying the trio, their leader Guron the Green appears and sees his fallen comrades. He then orders the rest of his group to retrieve the armor and weapons, then begin to retreat. However, angered by the presence of additional enemies, Sparhawk unleashes a breath attack to the retreating Goblin, killing him instantly, thus ensuring that the party will not gain their loot.  

Far, Zarantyr 9th, 998

As the party is making camp, Sparhawk, who had climbed a tree, sees a small structure made from deer pelt and various items and papers with symbols painted on them. Upon further investigation, they see a deer carcass hanging within the structure and an altar for the Nature God, Ebus.  

Zarantyr 10th, 998

As the party walks to their destination, they come across a rustling bush with whispers sounding from it. They decide to investigate and find a group of six Kobolds hiding within and making some sort of leaf art. Noticing the strangers, the Kobolds attempt to leave, but are stopped by Sparhawk, who initiates combat. One by one, the Kobolds fall to their attacks until none are left alive. Fireheart, taking Sparhawks attack as a sign of prejudice against the Kobolds, gains a new respect for him and now sees him as superior to the other races.  

Zarantyr 13th, 998

The party finally reaches their destination, coming to the entrance to the thick forest known as The Woods of Ingrannus. Sparhawk and Sylrieth enter the forest alone, while Fireheart and Sandy enter together, the former being afraid of being alone in the dark woods. As they search the forest floor, they find remnants of a long past war: broken swords, battered armor, and the bones of large creatures.  

Zarantyr 14th, 998

In the morning, they continue their search for the necklace, but continue to find more remains of the ancient war, coming across banners of houses long gone. Eventually, Fireheart and Sandy happen upon a lone castle within the dark forest. They approach and investigate the strange sight, seeing a shimmering magical barrier surrounding the structure. They soon find the entrance to the castle: a large set of heavy wooden doors. Despite their weight and age, the two are able to force it open and peer inside to find a great hall, completely clean and well lit, almost as if no time had passed at all. Sylrieth then comes across the castle and, seeing his two comrades, joins them at the doorway. The three Elves investigate the area for any other strange things, and hear a joyful humming coming from the well lit hallway to their left. Before they are able to step inside, Sparhawk too finds the Castle and joins with the rest of the party. All four adventurers walk into the castle, then down the hall, hearing the sound of metal pots and pans being moved around and smell delicious food being prepared. They step into a large kitchen and see a wide assortment of tasty food being prepared by a large, white haired man who is humming a happy tune. Fireheart demands a share of the food, which startles the large man, who turns around to see the party at the kitchen entrance.

Confused, he asks the party how they were able to get passed the barrier, to which they reply with equal confusion, not seeming to notice or care about the barriers presence. They then notify him that they were sent by a man named Pyle to the forest to find a necklace that he lost. Frustrated, he pulls out a necklace from his pocket, stating that the drunkard must have misplaced it when he was last there. He then invites the party to have a meal with him, to which they gratefully accept. They all sit together and begin to eat after the man brings the food to the table, all except for Sylrieth, not trusting such a caring man, who feeds his food to Firehearts stag. Becoming aware that they do not know who their gracious host is, Sparhawk asks for his name and he reveals himself to be Sir Ingrannus Dawnstriker. Surprised to see that he is still alive, they ask him how he lived this long after the war, but before he can respond, the castle doors loudly open, revealing Pyle, now revealed to be Ulthis Pyle, at the entrance. He stumbles into the hall and sees the party once again, though he does not seem to remember why they are in his home. Ingrannus angrily tells Ulthis to not be rude to their guests and that he should mind his manners. Ulthis stumbles into the hallway, likely going to his room to sleep. The old man then offers the party a place to stay for the night as the hour was late and they must be tired from their journey. They all accept the offer and are led to their rooms.

Rewards Granted

3 Gold, 14 Silver, 76 xp, 50ft Hempen Rope, Shield, Silver Tipped Quill, Old Map leading to the Woods of Ingrannus, Piece of paper with strange writing

Missions/Quests Completed

Investigate the Disturbance at Vanora Castle

Character(s) interacted with

Freydis Eskil, Ingrannus Dawnstriker, Ulthis Pyle, Vedrer Glev