Session 58 Report

General Summary

Propelled by Ladigo Farthon’s Wind at Back spell, the party traveled quickly along the road. With what seemed like urgent speed, other travelers usually stepped aside to let them pass, though occasionally, Haymin’s Heroes would slow down to converse briefly. On October 22, 498 AV, in the late afternoon, Titta Morco and Auren Sylynn spotted something off the road and they stopped to investigate it. Several men were slightly uphill behind a rocky outcropping. As the party approached them, they immediately got defensive, drawing their weapons. Titta spotted another man in the center of this group, an air genasi, seated on the ground being held down by one of the other men while another held a knife at the base of his neck. The bandits claimed that the man had robbed from them and owed them a debt. Through a short, but tense, conversation, the situation seemed like it was defused. Titta convinced the bandits to let the air genasi free and they began walking away with their two horses. The air genasi then proceeded to explain to Haymin’s Heroes how he had been robbed by the bandits. Titta then called out to the bandits and confronted them about this. Fed up with the situation, the bandits drew their weapons and moved to attack. Selia Roselyn Maxwell blinded a few of them with a Glitterdust before Ladigo maneuvered in with Pennig, dismounted the dire wolf, and let the creature attack one of the blinded men. Ladigo them cast Downdraft, causing a great downward wind to blow down most of the bandits, knocking them prone. Titta rushed in attacking with her scimitars, finishing the one Pennig had bitten and wounding another. Mogi Delvin road up around the other side of the rocky outcropping and cast Fireball, which left most of the bandits dead or dying. Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone cast Blindness/Deafness on one of the remaining bandits, taking away his sight, then Auren and Pyzar Zim maneuvered in to help take out the rest. Titta urged the blinded bandit to surrender and he did so, as he could not see and was near death from a sword swipe by Pyzar. Kyrie told the man his affliction would only be removed if he journeyed to a temple of Viribus, God of Valor, changed his ways, and proved his valor to the church. Once he did so, the church would cure his blindness. Kyrie healed the man’s wounds and then tended those of Pennig and the air genasi. They learned his name was Haruhai Sula and he hailed from Binnabar, Jaathridarr. He was traveling the continent as a bard, experiencing the culture, hearing its stories, and learning its songs. Haruhai told them how he had trained to be a swordsman at the behest of this father, but after expressing his true desire, his grandfather, Ishaahai Sula, used his powerful magic to replace his figher training with that of a bard. Haruhai offered to take the bandit, Jat, with him to Rowadin, and lead him to the temple of Viribus there. Blind and helpless, Jat could do little to argue against this, resigned to a poetic twist of fate. In the morning, Haruhai and Jat would travel on the two horses the bandits had, while Haymin’s Heroes would continue east towards Tall Rock, Oathendale. That night, however, they would all camp together. They conversed, told stories, and shared songs. They learned some more of Haruhai while he learned about the origin of Haymin’s Heroes. Jat even briefly shared how he fell in with the bandits known as the Blades. He even told them there are more of the Blades operating in the area. Towards the end of the next day, Haymin’s Heroes reached Tall Rock. It was just a brief stop for them and they left the city in the morning, traveling north towards Helmsford. Traveling through the forested road was as easy going. Then on October 25, 498 AV, they had one brief interruption. A large blue-skinned humanoid, standing over ten feet tall, stood in the center of the road. They quickly learned that this was Ishaahai Sula. Haruhai’s grandfather had come to thank them for helping his grandson. He offered to reward them and asked them what the wished for as a suitable reward. Realizing they were speaking to a djinni, they discussed the possibilities. In the end, they settled for a luck boon for the entire party. Ishaahai made it so with his magic. Then he bid them farewell and good luck on their journey. On October 27, 498 AV, they party reached Helmsford, the capital of Oathendale. In Helmsford, they visited Great Father’s Sanctum, the temple of Mundus, God of Nature. That was the last place he had seen Anakis. He recalled how Anakis had gone into the temple to speak with the druids there while Mogi was told to wait outside. Then he had been drawn into an alley and thrust into a bag of holding from behind. Now that he’d finally returned to Helmsford, Mogi hoped that he could learn something of Anakis at the temple. Indeed, they received confirmation that Anakis had gone off to Bright River to investigate a matter of great importance. The druids had sensed a powerful magic in the area and wanted to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. However, Anakis and the others who went to investigate this never returned from Bright River. Ever since, the temple has been observing the situation there from a distance. They have noted how whatever operation had been underway there has since died down. Fewer operatives remain in the compound at the Applewind homestead than before, though they are still very difficult to infiltrate. The next day, Haymin’s Heroes left Helmsford on the final leg of their journey. Their next stop would be Bright River. They arrived midday on October 30, 498 AV. They were cautious entering the town. There was a worry that Titta, or perhaps Mogi, would be recognized. They went to the Bright River Inn and Pyzar booked the rooms, keeping Titta away from the innkeeper. Though when the lady came to the table to take their order for food, she didn’t seem to recognize Titta. The party ventured out into the small town, purchased some supplies at the general store and talked to some of the locals. Mogi detected evil down Main Street and the only evil he sensed came from the marshal’s office. They had learned that the people of Bright River believed Applewind to be cursed, and that the Parrish family, Titta’s family, had conspired with demons and tainted the land. Spellcasters and occult experts were brought in to deal with the situation and cleanse the property. Any men wearing red sashes in town are under the employ of these experts and should be treated with respect Furthermore, the Parrish house was haunted. The family was punished by the gods and prevented to reach the afterlife, so they were turned into spectres that now haunt the land. Attempt to clear the spectres from the Parrish house have not yielded any success as of yet. After learning this, Pyzar and Auren entered the marshal’s office, posing as bounty hunters looking for work. In doing so, they found the only person in the marshal’s office was Ptero Dain, the marshal himself. So the evil signature must have come from him. The party then went back to the inn to debate their next move. They decided to go to the house and deal with the haunting first, and perhaps in doing so, they would learn something further about what was in the compound behind the stone wall in Applewind.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists