Session 8 - The Phoenix

General Summary

Before leaving Ebenring, the group returns to the port to visit the The Seawolf . They find that the ship, Iva , Ronove, Aragon, and Bruno are nowhere to be found. Amon, now mostly healed, hasn't seen any of them in over a week.
The Hardsorrow Forge is only a day and a half to the northeast. When they set up camp for the night, Ghostclaw hears something in the woods and slips away with Malifax. A few soldiers enter the clearing and menacingly start to search the camp. They identify themselves as part of the Band of the Broken Staff, and inform the group of their intentions to blockade the forge. Fenrir starts to draw his blade, but the situation is quickly diffused by Arimanthos.
The next day, they finally arive at the forge, and are greeted by an old man. Giancarlo mistakes them for Band members and easily takes down Wilvert and Arimanthos before he realizes that they are no foes.
Upon entering the walls of the fort surrounding the forge, they see something is amiss. It seems under guarded for its size. The smell of burning hangs in the air, as women replace the thatch on some of the cottages. Amon's cat, Remmy, is picked up by a woman and her husband. She explains to Amon that they have fled north to avoid Phoenix Sworn, men who have pledged to serve the reincarnated hero. Somewhere to the south in the lands of house Croft someone calling himself "The Red Wolf" has claimed he is that hero. The group decides that he must be a fraud.
Skara receives a coded letter from a lady of house Mortling. She claims to support him, and asks nothing in return.
Arimanthos passes, Gilwut, a junk merchant, but sees an object that has some value and buys it. They turn out to be a pair of glasses that increases his perception.
Wilvert attempts to talk to a seemingly insane homeless man with one arm, but the man flees when he sees Amon.
They finally talk to Giancarlo. Arimanthos gets straight to the point and ask him to lead an army for them. Giancarlo tells them he has already decided to work for "The Red Wolf" once he finds the man; he intends to die in battle fighting against the forces of the Lord of Demons. There is a mystical item, important to the chosen one, that was once housed here, but was stolen in a raid by the Band of the Broken Staff along with a crate of weapons. He tasks the group with infiltrating the Band's camp, and getting the stolen goods back.
Under the cover of darkness, the group sneaks into the camp. A Band of the Broken Staff Footman stands on guard duty, but his neck is slit by Fenrir's dagger before he can call for help and is dragged into an empty tent. Creeping through the camp, Amon sees the one armed man from the forge off in the distance. He also seems to be sneaking, that is when it hits Fenrir. The man is The Bald Mage, but further searching for him reveals nothing. Nath strangles a guard Dog to death, and hides its body in the woods.
Moving swiftly, Amon and Arimanthos take down two Band of the Broken Staff Footman with bow and sword. Fenrir kills a man sleeping in his tent. Checking from tent to tent, Skara decided to spare a man who is reading a book in his abode by candlelight; but Fenrir is not so soft. He runs the man through with his sword, and steals both book and candlestick. Wilvert makes a potion to help make Nath less likely to be seen, and the monk stops a guardman's heart with a swift punch to the chest.
Arimanthos enters a cook tent, and finds two men, one drunk and one passed out. Before the man realizes he is there, the tent flap is closed and the drunk man is dead. The Paladin does not kill more than necessary, however, and lets the passed out man sleep. Some of the men of the camp begin to argue, and a fight breaks out. Amon is almost discovered, but swiftly dispatches a surprised man with his bow. Wilvert sneaks into the leader's tent, and finds a crystal orb.
"Thank you every so much for finding this for us. The dark lord will be pleased," says the husband and wife from the forge, entering the tent, "Hand it over."
Wilvert dives out of the tent. Suddenly, all the cook fires go out, the light of the moon is extinguished, and the party can barely see their own hand in front of their faces. It is the work of the woman, Darkness, a demon in disguise, sent to search for the crystal orb. Everyone feels the darkness hitting them, and men scream as they die. The man, Wind, lifts Wilvert high into the air and drops him.
Fenrir runs his sword through Darkness. Like most demons, she crumples to dust upon death; however, this time there is an aura of darkness left behind that flies into the crystal orb in Wilvert's hand. The gnome, scared of the magical item, casts magehand to lift the orb in the air. The aura of darkness augments the spell and cloaks the orb in darkness.
Skara casts a fireball and incinerates Wind, leaving behind a blue aura that flies to the orb. Casting magehand again, it creates wind around the orb. Skara, Fenrir, and Nath find three horses that they use to bring the stolen swords back.
The next day brings them back to the forge. Giancarlo demands the orb. Seeing the lights dance in the crystal, he grabs Arimanthos.
"Where is the Red Wolf? The orb would not work unless it is in the presence of the chosen one."
They explain that the Red Wolf must be a fraud and that either Amon or Skara is the true chosen one.
Giancarlo seems lost in thought. "What next? If I help you, who will rule next? I can't throw my support behind someone with no plans."
Arimanthos tells him they plan to raise an army for Rose Stoker and take back the Magus Magnificat.
"A wise plan, well actually, a fool plan if I ever heard one. But that isnt to say it wont work, fool plans often do work for some reason," the aged man quips. "Well I always say, if you must mount the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on your lips. but I will have conditions. First, the command is mine. You tell me what to do, but let me decide how. You give commands to me and I pass it to the soldiers, not you. Not unless I agree to it. I assign men, I promote them, and I discipline them. Second, if I tell you it cant be done, you consider what I say. I dont want to upsurp your authority yet I will not lead men to their deaths because you dont understand war. Third, if you begin, you stay the course. I will be putting my head in a noose with every man that follows me, and in half a year, should you grow tired of war, you will pull the noose tight for all who can be hunted down. If you will not agree to these, I am unsure if I can serve you."
They agree to the terms, and head to the forge. Inside, they find a young dragon provides the forge fire. Only Wilvert can understand him. The demons tried to corrupt his mind and turn him to the Demon Lord, but slaying them has saved him. Fenrir begins to forge two new swords, one for him and one for Arimanthos.

Report Date

05 Jan 2019

Primary Location

Hardsorrow Forge