Session 4: Blood and Thunder Report

General Summary

Dal Silverfrost awakens after spending a long time frozen in an icy crevasse in The Nørdenfrost. With only one memory of childhood and a name that he takes for himself, he begins to make his way south with a caravan of dwarves in search of who he really is. Meanwhile, the rest of the party, still in Mistbrook Manor, brood over what they should do next. Kairon remembers back to what the Oni said and gets Rostliem to mix one of Holtz's potions with the creature's blood - this ends up curing Sly Tony. After taking some time to rest and mourn, the party leaves Mistbrook Manor, with Kairon taking Rhogar's gauntlet as a keepsake. A relentless thunderstorm soon hits Terribonne forest - coupled with an absolute darkness under the shade of the trees. Here, the party are confronted by Dal, who is also making his way to Ablefell for his own personal reasons. Dal immediately cures Kairon's infection and gains the respect of the party, even though he couldn't answer many of their questions about him.    As they continue walking, they are met with an old, feral looking man. He introduces himself as Grimmelshaw and tries to persuade the party to buy his wares. However, Averel wisely decides that he isn't to be trusted, so eventually when things turned sour, he was ready to fight the man (who was actually way stronger than he first looked.) The battle ends after a brief fling between Kairon and Rostliem, with the merchant teleporting away, close to death. Here, the heroes decide to rest, setting up a camp in the pouring rain. And though the downpour continued into the next day, the conditions of the forest were much milder, and the players headed further down the path to Ablefell. A few hours go by, and they come across a cart that had been raided, with a blood trail leading to a very charred body. Scrawled onto the tree above was the message "The ground can deceive you."    Wearily, they travel on ahead, following large footprints, until the road is blocked by two Hill Giants. Averel politely approaches them, as the rest of the party hides in the trees. He finds out that they are entering into Giant territory and need to pay a toll to get through. However, with quick thinking from Kairon, a fog cloud allows them to run past the guards - only for them to find a Hill Giant outpost waiting ahead. Much of the same follows, with the players attempting to sneak around a Giant patrol party. Tragically, the party gets caught and the Hill Giants call for their pet Bulette "Mobber". Kairon is dragged underground by the beast, leaving the others to jump down a tunnel to go rescue him. The Bulette leads them to an underground hideout, ran by a Dwarf by the name of Zenkret - Boom Kaboom - Rubblefist. Kairon, at risk of being exploded by the man, chooses to instead duel an Owlbear kept prisoner in the hideout.    But before they can spark it out, the rest of the party, closely tailed by Mobber join the fray. In the end, Averel ends up stabbing Zenkret , who then proceeds to blow up, Mobber is killed with an arrow in one eye and out the other, and the Owlbear is knocked unconscious after Kairon mounts it and fulfils the literal meaning of 'Owlbear Rodeo'. They escape through a partially submerged exit and continue their way through the forest. By sunset, they find themselves in the company of a Halfling troupe called 'The Semitones' and fall asleep on a cliffside, with Ablefell just beyond the horizon.