Logger's Camp Report
General Summary
This report still needs editing together
Previously: Early Sessions, mixed up reports.
Day 16
Anathema decided she needed to talk to other people around Phandalin to see how they knew Squats, in case she was pulling some new con.
At Barthen's, they found the young shop-clerk Anders was on duty, but were told that they would want to speak to Thistle, who handled business with adventurers. Anders dealt with the business concerning farmers, foresters, miners etc.
The party's quest came from Tibor Wester, Harbin Wester's younger brother, currently at a logging camp in Neverwinter Woods next to the river, where they could simply send timber downstream to the city. The camp had ordered supplies from Phandalin (Tibor believed he could save money getting them from town, rather than paying levies on goods from the city just downriver. The party were shown the cart of supplies, and introduced to Vincent, the Ox pulling it. Only when Vincent and the cart were safely returned to Barthen's would the job be complete.
During the trip out of town, Tharg talked to Vincent, discovering that the ox enjoyed long grass and red berries as favourite things to eat.
The party passed a group of three people on the road. One was loaded down with a massive bag, one looked like a professional warrior and the last was an older man in a more expensive attire. The party passed by without concern, deciding the group must be a merchant and his underling, along with a bodyguard mercenary.
----- From a distance, the party noted a fortified settlement sat high on a hill. Anathema recognised it as Helm's Hold. In the past, the citadel was invaded by fiendish beings. Most were defeated by returning Helmite warriors and paladins, but some would have escaped into the surrounding lands. Anathema scanned through her partially translated book to note that imp hearts could be used as ingredients for potions. As the party travelled north, they spotted a small group of fiends, but avoided the encounter entirely. (Bearded devils and some imps.)
At camp that evening, Anathema looked for Pixie's parasol mushrooms, but failed to find any.
Following the river inland, the infamous Wood was a difficult wagon trail, but the riverside camp was easy to find. Unfortunately, the camp appeared deserted.
As two monstrous insects thrust their heads out of the ground, the party discovered that the camp was infested with Ankhegs. The battle with the first two caught the attention of a third, and with the helpful warning cries of a surviving human, they discovered the fourth and last, and killed it.
Tibor Wester was the sole survivor. The party considered him a somewhat greasy character of dubious morality and a mind full of get-rich-quick schemes. He related to them how he had previously been involved in managing a mining business (from the comfort of a city office), and was always willing to use his connection to his mayor brother for all sorts of short-cuts and shady deals.
This newest venture was supposed to be a short stay in the woods while other people cut trees, before heading back into the city with armfuls of profit. Instead, the paths through the woods kept moving about, his workers were spooked by a dragon flying overhead, and the camp was menaced by an intimidating half-orc. A few days after that, the ankhegs suddenly overran the camp, killing all dozen of his workers and leaving him trapped in the small office for days, scared to move, touch the ground, or make a sound.
The party camped carefully after examining which areas of ground were solid rock, and therefore Ankheg-proof.
Anathema also harvested materials from the Ankheg corpses and came away with seven vials of Ankheg Ichor, an internal fluid secretion that could be applied as a paralytic poison. She knows from her translations that Ichor of an Ankheg is used in making the midnight tears poison and the oil of sharpness potion.
Day 19
In the morning the party scoured the camp for a cause of this infestation and found a set of crude stick figures, coated in blood and marked with a thunderbolt symbol, the sign of Talos. They removed these from the camp and destroyed them.
Without workers, Tibor was ready to abandon the business, and agreed for some of the cheaper and more durable supplies to be left in the office building while anything of greater value was put into Vincent's cart.
The party decided to head straight south through the middle of the dangerous woods. With Herdyr calling on her childhood friend, the pixie Shifra, for help, they were better able to avoid the fey dangers of the wood. They foraged two fairy stools and, in an area full of natural magic, Tharg found a seed that would grow into a fully grown tree within an hour of it being planted.
On reaching the edge of the wood, Shifra stayed behind, but gave Herdyr a special call to make, which Shifra would be able to travel to, quickly, the next time Herdyr entered the forest.
Halfway down the Phandalin turnoff, the party noted a runic message carved into a tree. It says its a curse that will bring you bad luck if you don't pass on the curse to ten other people. However, none of them can feel any trace of magic from this 'curse', and Anathema recognises the work of an infamous conman from Neverwinter known as Redbrow.
Redbrow lies about himself and wears so many disguises that his identity and purpose are always in doubt, but some say he is the cleric of a particularly nasty trickster god, while others say he is a completely mundane, but very skilled, conman.
----- Armorer Linene Greywind lady at shop in Phandalin. Will make armour (leather with stealth) for Anathema.
jessica spoke to Shifra and looking for me so given golden acorn to help her find us. Little foot near starmetal hills at north of woods.
Crossroad keep at junction with high road lots of neverwinter guard soldiers and supplies collecting at crossroad keep and heading for conyberry, including half-orc lieutenant.
fairy cap mushrooms herdyr collects 23 and anathema 13. anathema has feels like coming home inheed near Neverwinter.
(into wood, encounter at logger's camp)
(journey south through wood)
(Returning to Phandalin, exited woods)
South of forest, next to road, stones with magic at dusk.
(arrived in Phandalin)
-----
Anathema picked up her new stealthy armour from the Lionshield shop and sold her foraged fairy stools to Adabra through Barthen's shop.
Squats had already started info-trading from the comfort of the Stonehill Inn. She shared that:
- the new orc settlement was going well, and diplomacy with Phandalin was still positive,
- the town was abuzz with news that Adabra was creating more powerful potions for the party,
- Don Jon's goods from Mountain's Toe would be a good source for giant rat hide and carrion crawler parts,
- gnomes from Gnomengarde were being schmoozed by Phandalin's governing body for more mecanisms, inventions and magical items,
- squats was maintaining some contacts in Neverwinter, but needed to avoid any Greycloak attention,
- she really expressed her dislike of Redbrow and his work, and swore if she heard he was in the area she would be willing to grass him out to the Greycloaks wherever possible.
Next: The Werelights of Dragon Barrow
