HHI Session 10: Broken Branches
General Summary
Month 3, Week 3, Year 908
Once Ithilwen returned from her reconnaissance of the poacher's encampment, the party decided to attack the druid woman and her poachers that night. According to Ithilwen there were only four poachers to deal with, so with Branch's support from the rear the party felt confident they could overwhelm the camp in a matter of seconds. Of course, Ithilwen's scouting venture had missed one important detail: a fifth poacher was laying in wait on the outskirts of the camp for foes exactly like the Seeking Scorpions. Branch skewered the fifth poacher to death with two well-placed spear attacks, but not before the scout warned the other poachers of the party's invasion. Jumping into action, an elven rogue and two black dragonborn guards rushed into the dense forests to attack the party while Ithilwen scurried up a tree to get a better view of the camp. The camp's leader, a young druid woman with dark blonde hair, was nearly killed by two of Ithilwen's arrows the moment she stepped out of her tent. Branch, Mavis, and Ownka formed a bulwark against the poachers while Balasar rushed into the camp and started setting tents on fire. Sensing the odds were against them, the druid started setting fires of her own and incinerated the largest tent in camp. Screams echoed from the tent, and Balasar had a sinking realization that the grung were stored inside the tent the druid had just set fire to. As the druid prepared to make a getaway with 'Longstrider', she shot a ball of fire over towards the restrained triceratops and freed it from its leather straps. The triceratops, frightened by the flames and sounds of fighting, rushed out of the camp and straight towards the middle of the fight between the party and black dragonborn. Ownka was knocked unconscious by the dinosaur's trampling, and the poor lizardfolk Branch was gored to death by a the triceratops' sharp horns. His impaled body was carried away by the dinosaur as the force of the creature's movement made Ithilwen fall twenty down to the ground from her tree. Mavis was left to kill the last of the dragonborn, while Balasar rushed after the druid and the elven rogue. His chaos bolts had dealt incredible amounts of damage against the poachers, and he managed to incinerate the rogue before he could run away into the forest. The druid's magic strides helped her evade the worst of the dragonborn's firebolts, and in a matter of moments she was enveloped by the dark trees of the Lotan Conservation and escaped from the party's grasp. Ithilwen revived Ownka, the orc cleric silent as she realized that her protege Branch had been killed in the fight. Mavis and Ownka set up a small burial mound in the lizardfolk's honor while Balasar and Ithilwen investigated the remains of the camp. Sure enough, all of the grungs were burned to death inside the tent that the druid set fire to, leaving no creatures left to return to The Colony or the blue dragonborn of Lotan. In the one tent still standing Ithilwen found a note left behind by one of the black dragonborn guards, but it was written in a strange version of Common that she struggled to make sense of. Without anything left to investigate in the camp, the party abandoned the clearing and set up camp for the night after their first failure as a group. That night Ownka prayed to Gruumsh, seeking guidance after this stunning defeat. Gruumsh explained that Branch's death must be avenged and new worshipers must be discovered, after which Ownka found herself holding Branch's old spear. She couldn't sense any magical properties on the spear, but the prayer helped clarify Ownka's future plans. Retiring for the night, the party finished their meals and considered their options going forward:
Once Ithilwen returned from her reconnaissance of the poacher's encampment, the party decided to attack the druid woman and her poachers that night. According to Ithilwen there were only four poachers to deal with, so with Branch's support from the rear the party felt confident they could overwhelm the camp in a matter of seconds. Of course, Ithilwen's scouting venture had missed one important detail: a fifth poacher was laying in wait on the outskirts of the camp for foes exactly like the Seeking Scorpions. Branch skewered the fifth poacher to death with two well-placed spear attacks, but not before the scout warned the other poachers of the party's invasion. Jumping into action, an elven rogue and two black dragonborn guards rushed into the dense forests to attack the party while Ithilwen scurried up a tree to get a better view of the camp. The camp's leader, a young druid woman with dark blonde hair, was nearly killed by two of Ithilwen's arrows the moment she stepped out of her tent. Branch, Mavis, and Ownka formed a bulwark against the poachers while Balasar rushed into the camp and started setting tents on fire. Sensing the odds were against them, the druid started setting fires of her own and incinerated the largest tent in camp. Screams echoed from the tent, and Balasar had a sinking realization that the grung were stored inside the tent the druid had just set fire to. As the druid prepared to make a getaway with 'Longstrider', she shot a ball of fire over towards the restrained triceratops and freed it from its leather straps. The triceratops, frightened by the flames and sounds of fighting, rushed out of the camp and straight towards the middle of the fight between the party and black dragonborn. Ownka was knocked unconscious by the dinosaur's trampling, and the poor lizardfolk Branch was gored to death by a the triceratops' sharp horns. His impaled body was carried away by the dinosaur as the force of the creature's movement made Ithilwen fall twenty down to the ground from her tree. Mavis was left to kill the last of the dragonborn, while Balasar rushed after the druid and the elven rogue. His chaos bolts had dealt incredible amounts of damage against the poachers, and he managed to incinerate the rogue before he could run away into the forest. The druid's magic strides helped her evade the worst of the dragonborn's firebolts, and in a matter of moments she was enveloped by the dark trees of the Lotan Conservation and escaped from the party's grasp. Ithilwen revived Ownka, the orc cleric silent as she realized that her protege Branch had been killed in the fight. Mavis and Ownka set up a small burial mound in the lizardfolk's honor while Balasar and Ithilwen investigated the remains of the camp. Sure enough, all of the grungs were burned to death inside the tent that the druid set fire to, leaving no creatures left to return to The Colony or the blue dragonborn of Lotan. In the one tent still standing Ithilwen found a note left behind by one of the black dragonborn guards, but it was written in a strange version of Common that she struggled to make sense of. Without anything left to investigate in the camp, the party abandoned the clearing and set up camp for the night after their first failure as a group. That night Ownka prayed to Gruumsh, seeking guidance after this stunning defeat. Gruumsh explained that Branch's death must be avenged and new worshipers must be discovered, after which Ownka found herself holding Branch's old spear. She couldn't sense any magical properties on the spear, but the prayer helped clarify Ownka's future plans. Retiring for the night, the party finished their meals and considered their options going forward:
- The Seeking Scorpions could continue north towards Younashi, the city where Maris Sissava wanted the group to rescue some of her yuan-ti agents and deeper into the Northern Territories where The Gatekeeper wanted the group to explore further.
- OR, the party could continue their pursuit of the druid that had escaped the party's grasp. They still didn't know her name or why she was stealing creatures from the Lotan Conservation.
- ALSO, the party had discovered a significant language barrier that would impede their travels through the Northern Territories. Mavis' 'Comprehend Languages' would only take the group so far, and it would serve the group well to have one of their members learn the language.
Character(s) interacted with
- Branch - a lizardfolk who was starting to take an interest in the powers of Gruumsh
- A mysterious druid with dark blonde hair
Report Date
06 Sep 2020
Primary Location
Featured Players
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