Chapter 17 - To Mount a Rescue

General Summary

Gilliam would use his lockpicking skills to get past the second floor's door. Sneaking ahead in the tower, he heard voices of Black Knights, complaining about raiding supplies instead of full-on infiltration. Gilliam relayed the information to the party. Riley suggested continuing the surprise party tactic. As such, Slytoff went to the door and knocked, with a Black Knight answering. The party tried to deceive the knight, but he did not buy it. Wulfric then kicked Slytoff into the Knight, surprising the knight, and causing a battle to ensue. Slytoff shocked the answering knight, while Wulfric engaged in a struggle with another night. A female dragolok mage then fired a cone of cold spell, taking down an injured Riley and Tequila. Wulfric, within a rage, engaged with the mage and killed her by stabbing her and cutting off her hands and head.
Gilliam found a key on the body of the mage. He used it to unlock a magical door to Hamill's cell. Here, the party found Hamill under house arrest, bound to a table in chains surrounded by an anti-magic field. Wulfric split the table in half with his greatsword, but that did not fix the predicament. Riley tried to pry the chains, but they did not budge. The party resolved the issue by leading Hamill and the broken table toward the staircase, where he could access his magical powers and freeze the chains to cause them to break.
Now the only issue was getting out. Hamill did not recommend going out the window, for they'd be spotted like they were earlier. He recommended sneaking away disguised as Black Knights, and the party agreed. The party took on Black Knight tabards and disguises, while Hamill disguised himself as the female dragolok. He would not speak, for his woman's voice impression was poor. Thus, the party went to the first floor, engaging the Black Knight and Danen guards and daring them to a drinking contest. They agreed, and after some time, the guards passed out from their drunkenness. Then, the party headed outside... Only to find Charles Sherwood and the dragon, Gorgoth, in conversation.
The party's disguises ended up working. They tricked Sherwood into checking up on the drunken guards. This left them with Gorgoth, who was immediately suspicious of them. Gilliam managed to trick the green dragon into saying he was a Black Knight, but Gorgoth grew suspicious of the disguised Hamill. Wulfric gained Gorgoth's attention to himself, noting his bloodiness and love of battle. Gorgoth admired Wulfric's bloodthirst, and, admitting to the party he knew they were not true Black Knights, let them slide anyways.
At that moment, Dragonlord Millerstone and his knights enacted their distraction, attacking the Knights of Black Dragon and gaining Gorgoth's attention. Though Hamill was not happy to see the citizens of Kirkwall risk their lives, the party appreciated Kirkwall's bravery and their sacrifice to their cause. Thus the party fled into the forest of Kirk, to get help. Hamill contacted Hilda Snowladen, a local ranger, to assist them. She would meet them late into the night during their rest, and allowed them to stay in her camp. Wulfric and Hilda realized similarities in their traits, but Hilda attributed it to nothing more than both being descendants of Nordens.
The next day, the party headed toward the Dragonscale Mountains, with Hilda leading them. A few hours into travelling the mountains, the party came across 100-feet of loose snow, from an avalanche, that was across a small cliff. Using Gilliams assistance, the party got a rope to wade across it. An enlarged Wulfric, thanks to Slytoff's spell, also allowed Slytoff to be thrown across the avalanche. Once all of the party got across, they traveled a few more hours into the lands of snow. The party were then attacked by yetis. An abominable yeti froze Hamill, leading him to go unconscious, but the combined efforts of Wulfric's rage, Slytoff's fireballs, Hilda's bow, and Riley's spells, the yetis were slain. Riley would then unfreeze Hamill with his green flame blade.

Rewards Granted

The party gained various amounts of gold from looting the Black Dragons, but otherwise did not gain any magic items or new abilities.

Character(s) interacted with

• Hamill, a Wild Mage who was held hostage for his knowledge of dragons. He was a smart-alek yet a horrendous weakling.

• Gorgoth, a young green dragon. He questioned the party on their true intentions, but became impressed by them and let them escape.

• Charles Sherwood, a Dragon Priest. Supposedly he was the one who led the assault on Kirkwall with Gorgoth's assistance.

• Hilda Snowladen, a human ranger who knew the forests of Kirk, as well as the Dragonscale Mountains, quite well. She assisted the party in their travels. There is a possible connection to Wulfric and her, thought what it is, the party will need to discover.

Date (in world)

May 21th-22nd, 5689.

Report Date

22 Apr 2020

Primary Location

Kirkwall

Winter by yagaminoue

Hilda Snowladen proved to be a useful ally, particularly because of her knowledge of Lysandus' mountains and forests.

Player Characters

Riley Woodhame: Riley Woodhame, human fighter and warlock, is a member of the Hearthstars (an organization based on gathering information under Amagus' teachings). His search for power and knowledge led him to find the Lady of the Lake, giving him an inkling of control over his own fate.

"The Amazing" Slytoff Han: Slytoff Han is a magician! A gnome wizard, he seeks to find funding to create a magic show and has traveled around County Ellis to show off his skills for potential audiences.

Wulfric Cisboren: Wulfric is a human fighter, who hails from Obesfeld, and a former housecarl. He appears to be a man of the north, covered in furs. Recently he has been talking more in a Norden accent, and has been behaving more like the Dwarves of North in his fighting style.

Gilliam Wulfstan Maydestone: Gilliam is an aakocra swashbuckler, as well as an urchin that grew up in the city of Ebenwald. With his skills with the blade, he seeks higher up contracts to fill his pockets.

Tequila "Teq" Cambow: Teq is a cleric of Amagus, devoting his life and services to the god. He was introduced to the party by the local bishop of Silver Town, searching for field experience and for building his faith.