Session 21: Of Bandits and Thieves Report

General Summary

After pillaging Drax's quarters for some sweet loot, the Masters of the Nine Elements rejoin the Canapt Pass in the light Harfn'vel rain, eventually coming to a fork in the road. There they help a quaint halfling recover his culinary utensil in return for a good night's rest in his cottage. The next morning, they head for a small village a few miles down the crossroad's eastern path in hopes that they can sell and exchange their gems they had acquired in past adventures for gold and weapons. From both the village and the nearby excavation site, they each spend their personal funds on new shiny gear, preparing them for the Orc raid to come. The next day, they begin to trek to the Elmisle Wood, where they're confronted by the Wise Mystical Tree (or at least he thinks he is). He attempts to ask them his riddle three in order to let them pass unscathed, but is utterly befuddled at the sheer idiocrasy of the party as they struggle on the first question. After a donkey's year, Elkas finally guesses correctly and allows them to continue further through the forest, in which they peacefully carouse until the end of the day. In a clearing in the middle of the wood, peculiarly resides a feast of heroes laid out on a large dining table between the trees and the bushes (which Averel later learns was a peace offering from the Archfey of Aurelia to try and persuade him to enter a pact with them). By the third day, the party finally arrive at the camp of the Mogrhog Marauders. Sussing out that the hilt must be held somewhere central in the camp, Averel and Tony unleash another Assassin's Creed stealth takedown mission upon the Orcs. Initially, the plan is carried out successfully, with three Mogrhog watchmen successfully taken out from atop a platform and Averel disguised as one of them. However, plans go awry when Tony attempts to shape water into some poor guy's lungs before freezing it, during which he is spotted by two of the Marauders guarding the front gates, resulting in him almost immediately being knocked unconscious and dragged away to the eastern side of the camp. Wary of Tony's intrusion, the other Orcs around the western side prepare to defend the camp as the party launch a full scale attack against the Marauders. Despite having the element of surprise against the Orcs, the party underestimate the strength of their opponents, who knock out every one of them except for Averel, who cleanly disposes of the rest of the attack force. After a short rest, he attempts to search the camp for his captured party, eventually learning that they're being held in a prison cell on the other side of the camp, stripped bare of their weapons and armour - wearing nothing but a peasant's tunic - and chained up together with magic suppressing iron shackles. Upon reaching consciousness once more, Tony, Elkas and Rostliem converse briefly with a fellow prisoner until he's dragged out screaming by an Ettin who adamant that he'll 'face the chaser'. Outside the prison, as Averel discovers, is a huge fight pit in which some several hundred of the Marauders watch their enemies be ripped apart by their Purple Worm 'Warguroth' for the chieftain's pleasure. And after the disappointing suicide of the first prisoner, the Masters of the Nine Elements become the chaser's main course. Elkas, Tony and Rostliem are dragged out into the arena, the midday sun beating down on them and Orcs playing their tribal drums in a jeering chant. With a smile, the chieftain commands the worm to be released from the ground, and this is where the fun begins. In a legendary David vs. Goliath moment, Tony stops the worm in its tracks, allowing Averel to use his crossbow to break the iron chain between Tony and Elkas, allowing Elkas and Rostliem to escape from out of the worm's reach. The pair then destroy the chains burdening them and feel their magic pulse through them once more. Both Elkas and Tony land shots on the worm directly into its maw, dealing massive damage before it burrows underground with a terrifying screech. In the meantime, Averel spots the party's magic items in a tent overlooking the surface of the fight pit, and pilfers the best ones whilst the guards aren't looking. So with a bag of holding in one hand, and a staff and a raygun in the other, Averel jumps into the pit, ready to give the crowd the fight of a lifetime.

Campaign

The Fall of Avaløn

Protagonists