3.1 OPERATION: The First Foray

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Agent Designation: PARAGON
Operation Date: May 5, 2023
Operation Location: Deserted Outpost/Discovered cultist hideout
Operation Status: Ongoing
Authenticate: Tango Foxtrot Foxtrot
 
Contacts of Interest:
Freya: Sorcerer of some description. Adept with arcane magic as well as some curative magic on occasion. Retreats into locket when gravely injured/in danger.
Wesson Smith: Confident, if not overly so. Wields two weapons, one in each hand, that seem to be able to launch projectiles at lightning-fast speeds with a thunderous crack. Devastatingly accurate. Also seems to exhibit trap-finding skills.
Zorak: Enthusiastic, maybe even foolhardy at times. Cleric with great healing skill. Even better if they can stay alive themselves. I went down with them, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. More on this momentarily.
 
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I've found my way to the tavern. It's crowded. I see some folks hanging out around the bar. I strike up light conversation. They mention the same deserted outpost that I was to have investigated without any provocation. How do they know about it? What do they know? Anyway, I play along. I told them I'm just looking for some work and they obliged. Said I could share whatever we found. Sounds like a good deal to me, though I don't know any of them. Is this a test from the agency? Am I to trust these folks? Time will tell I suppose. (See "Contacts of Interest"above.)
 
We began our trek to the deserted outpost at once. No issues leaving the city. About two-thirds of our way to where we believe the outpost to be located, we happened upon a derelict outpost in the middle of the woods. We decided to venture inside. No stone left unturned, as we Agents were advised.
 
We entered into a long east-west corridor devoid of any light, except that which may have shone through the entrance. The group looked to me for guidance. I suggested heading west as I noticed what appeared to be another hallway. They followed. Along this path I noticed an odd-looking stone. I knelt down to inspect it, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary apart from the odd coloring. It didn't sit right with me, so I asked the other three if they could determine anything. Contact "Wesson Smith" suggested letting him search for traps. I obliged. Turns out that was the right call. He determined a trap was indeed set such that stepping onto the stone would trigger it. We elect simply to hop over it carefully instead of attempting to disarm the trap. We all made it safely over.
 
Continuing down the hallway, we come across a door, behind which I could hear the sounds of thumping or bumping. The sound would gradually increase in intensity before getting quieter. This happened a few times before we decided to open the door to see what was making the noise. Once the door was opened, we could see a two-headed Ettin creature pacing around a large room. It spotted us almost immediately, and battle ensued for a short time thereafter. After ending the threat, we took a short time to rest up before continuing further.
 
We see another hallway leading out of this room in the northeast corner. There is another door. This time I could hear what sounded like cloth on cloth as well as cloth on metal. Evidence of at least two creatures in the room from what we could determine.
 
Opening the door with us all standing in line of sight of the door (two of us AT the door) was our first mistake. The two entities in the room were ready for our arrival, most likely noticing our presence while battling with the Ettin. We were immediately greeted with the dragon-person creature's fiery breath, immediately taking down Contact "Zorak" and nearly myself. I first stabilized Zorak before dragging him as far away from danger as I possibly could before enduring another such attack. Contact "Freya" was able to revive him by lightly curing his wounds. Steadfast, we did endure more fiery breath and ranged attacks from their thug friend, but not before I went down.
 
For some time, blackness was all I remember seeing, my ears ringing loud thanks to Wesson's weaponry making a raucous noise. Then the ringing subsided. I found myself gaining consciousness once more as I painfully stood myself back up. With what I thought might be my final act, I took one final swing at the dragon-person creature, rendering them deceased. I kept my back against the wall as I could still see the thug when lumbering toward the dragon-person, but soon after, all was quiet again.
 
I peek around the corner to find that Wesson Smith had been downed. I rushed over to him and stabilized him to the best of my ability. Freya apparently at some point had retreated into her locket that she wears around her neck. After dealing with her own wounds, she tended to Zorak, and Zorak himself issued life-saving healing to Wesson. We were bruised, battered, beat and burnt, but somehow we made it through, if only just.
 
We decided that we would venture back to town to rest up and heal up. We did find some items worth a great deal of coin. Wesson takes it to sell and comes back with our split. We'll see what we need to stock up on before heading out once more to find the deserted outpost.
 
-------- End Operation Log --------