Harmony Session 3: The Risen Harvest

General Summary

After their brief but bloody battle with the wharflings, our heroes made use of the safeish clearing to take well deserved rest. The more amphibious members of the crew waded into the shallow pond to recover the stolen loot, including a crate marked with the brick wall icon of The Reconstitution. Inside were a pair of deadly-looking sickles, a heavy shield, and a fancy cloak. It was a pretty clear that this crate was intended for Byzix Flintclaw and Pestus. Whether or not those two adventurers ever receive their gear is another matter entirely...
The evening passed without considerate incident, though Malachai was awful startled when he heard a tree crash somewhere in the distance, accompanied by the scream of metal. Our heroes decided to continue back toward the coast and further south, dropping a bolt for Varu vu Waterwend before leaving.

An Ancient-old Impetus

Soon enough, the crashing sounds Malachai had heard in the night came again. The party decided to once again stray from the beach and investigate beyond the treeline of Ferrous Forest. As they crept inward, the sounds disappeared again, but only because an ambush had been set up! A huge tree crashed down in between the party, revealing a massive metal construct with two arms ending in giant whirring circular saws. The battle commenced, but our heroes took a unique tactic: identifying this machine as some sort of ancient-old Varduran tech, the adventurers made to disable the construct by destroying its violently spinning arms and investigating it further. Though Gorr and Azarki weren't exactly keen on having to be knocked unconscious to do so, they got the job done.
The crew spent a bit of time recovering here and noticed a wide trail of downed trees that led all the way south. Apparently, this sawbot had come up this way, chopping as it went. Enoch took a closer look at the pacified machine and found evidence of years of rust and the remains of sea vegetation. Apparently, The Woodsman here had spent considerable time submerged before getting back to its task. Some of our adventurers were reminded of a tale from the First Expedition when a group of radicals had sunk a recovered Varduran machine into The Singing Bay out of fear. Could this be that very same machine?

A Trace Found

After placing a bolt and leaving the idling Woodsman, our heroes followed its carved path straight south. As suspected, the path cut all the way to the southern shore and made it fairly obvious that the Woodsman had climbed from the depths before cutting its way into the forest. Nearby, our heroes also found sign of the crew they had been sent to recover: a small collection of tents and sleeping gear lay half-buried in the sand. Zoran was able to spot enough signs of the small party to lead him to a cove hidden in a rocky outcropping over the water.
The cove revealed a pleasant looking beach shielded by the elements and housing a dark cave. Unfortunately, the only way to reach the cave and continue their rescue was to jump into the water and swim to the shoreline. This was further complicated by the hidden water scorpions that nabbed at our heroes' ankles as they swam across. Except for Zoran, that is, who stayed on the far side haplessly shooting crossbows at the submerged creatures. Surprisingly, the huge kingly warrior could not swim and found himself humbled having to admit as much to his compatriots.
The rest of the party carefully crossed the water, luring the scorpions out of hiding and into open battle. The fight didn't take long, but it still did not afford Zoran enough time to work up the courage to join his friends on the far shore. Perhaps a rearguard isn't such a bad idea? Right guys? Guys?

Rewards Granted

Abandoned beach encampment:

• A scroll of sending
• Healing potion

Wharfling loot:

• 2,500 cp
• 400 sp
• 30 gp
• 8 Carved bone statuette (25G)

Reconstitution crate:

• Crescent's Blades
• Preceptor's Right
• Ornate cloak

Missions/Quests Completed

• Recover The Woodsman
• Locate the missing skiff

Character(s) interacted with

• Zoran once again lost significant time playing his flute, this time for an entire day of beach marching. Not even a gentle whipping from Malachai was enough to snap him out of it, though Zoran did tell him: "Do not whip me cornman." For Zoran's part, he felt his playing accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful voice telling him "It's going to be okay."

Notes

• Gorr seems to have been quite taken with The Singing Bay, attempting to sketch the coast and even collecting some local seeds for his camp garden.
• Azarki prayed to Kharlo over a bowl of swirling water and attempted to read The Current. He woke up emotionally erect.
• Malachai investigated a small ramshackle shack apparently constructed by The Woodsman. It was not suitable for any kind of habitation, and collapsed almost immediately after the doctor got out.
• Enoch is very interested in learning more about the Varduran tech and how it might be used to help the camp, but Gorr expressed his distaste for rebuilding a deforestation machine.
• Gorr attuned himself to the Crescent's Blades. I'm sure its fine.

Report Date

16 May 2024

Primary Location

Vardura