Session 12 Report

General Summary

Later that week, Jenivar Albyn informed Selia Roselyn Maxwell and Auren Sylynn that they were free to pursue wizard training with Quelkin. They were to finalize the details with him, but it seemed to her that it would require a daily commitment. On Saturday, they spoke with Quelkin and he confirmed this with them. Auren wished for some time to make his decision and Quelkin agreed. Auren and Selia would tell him after they returned from their expedition. As to the component gathering job, Quelkin gave the party a list of plants he needed. Titta Morco was familiar with some of these plants already, but the alchemist showed the party some sketches of the plants and offered a detailed description. There were several ingredients he wanted them to collect, and he told them how much he was willing to pay for each of them. In addition, he gave them five sacks to collect these components. On Sunday, July 2, 496 AV, Haymin’s Heroes set out east towards the High Hills and the area which Quelkin instructed them to search for these plants. Their first day of travel saw them pass the last of the farms and enter the forest proper. That night the sounds of teeming wildlife was evident all around them. During her watch, Titta noticed several eyes in the darkness around them, reflecting from the firelight. She believed them to be wolves, but they moved on, not disturbing the party’s campsite. In the morning, she confirmed her suspicion by finding their tracks nearby. It was a pack of at least seven. The next day, they continued on a northeast path through the woods, hoping to reach an area where these components could be found. At about midday, however, their journey was briefly interrupted when they noticed a small stone painted with the crude depiction of a face sitting upon a larger rock on the ground. Intrigued, the party approached it. Then suddenly, a small voice could be heard from the painted stone saying, “Dance, Dance! Rock god say dance!” The voice seemed insistent and some of the party complied, performing a little jig. Then the sound of music permeated the area, that of a string instrument like a fiddle. Suddenly, Titta and Auren were compelled to dance and could not prevent themselves from doing so. The rest of the party began dancing more earnestly, hoping to appease whoever was calling out to them. Then, abruptly, the music stopped. Two small voices could be heard arguing in a language none of the party recognized. The intonations reminded them of elven, but the tenor and tempo was considerably different. In a tree nearby a grig and a pixie were arguing, the pixie holding a small fiddle away from the grig. When they realized the party was staring after Titta called out to them, the grig turned invisible. The pixie, however, answered. Haymin’s Heroes were introduced to Lebi, the pixie, and Tas, the grig. Tas, they learned, was a bit of a prankster and liked to play jokes on travelers in the woods. He did not speak Andarian or Elven, only Sylvan, so Lebi, who was fluent in both Andarian and Elven, was forced to translate. In the course of the conversation, the party enlisted the aid of these sprites in seeking out the required plants. As a group, they set out together, with Lebi in the lead. After hours of work, they found several of the ingredients, but not all. They agreed to continue looking the next day for more as their bags still had plenty of room. Lebi and Tas stayed with Haymin’s Heroes and they shared stories, information, and songs through the night. In the morning, they continued working, gathering the plants off Quelkin’s list. They worked all day and filled their bags, with the help of the Sprites collecting samples of each component. When the work was done, the sprites departed, wishing the party well. Haymin’s Heroes trekked back towards the southwest, determined to get a couple hours of travel that day. Their journey home, however, was interrupted when they heard the sounds of a pup in seeming distress. They rushed towards the sound and began to hear the sounds of a small bear as well. Then they heard goblin voices. By a rocky hill, they found the site of a massacre. A pack of wolves had been slaughtered, as had been three grizzly bears. A small wolf pup and a bear cub were backed against a rocky hill, trapped by three goblins tormenting them. The party attacked the goblins, catching them by surprise. Mogi Delvin smote one with his sword before the other two realized the party was there. Auren then attacked, but this goblin was ready, dodging his blow and retaliating with one of his own that sent Auren to the ground. It did not take long for the party to finish off the other two goblins, but not before Ladigo Farthon healed Auren, only for Auren to be taken down once more by a goblin’s morningstar. They then finished off the fallen goblins while Titta approached the animals. After healing Auren once more, Ladigo came to aid Titta. Titta offered the bear some food, while Ladigo did the same with the wolf. Though nervous at first, the cubs eventually calmed down and accepted the offerings. Both cubs found the fallen bodies of their respective mothers and began to growl and moan. The wolf pup then lifted his head and howled in sorrow. Titta and Ladigo attempted to console the animals, but they continued to vent their grief in their animalistic way. This sad scene was then disturbed abruptly when a horrific sound, the cross between a fierce growl and a shrill shriek, answered the wolf howl. The cubs darted away immediately, but the party did not notice where they went. Their collective gazes went towards the direction of the gruesome roar and the sudden and terrible appearance of Bloodbeak, the enormous owlbear they had been warned was terrorizing the High Hills.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists