Daryl Havenhurst and Ankhegs
General Summary
26 Mirtul, The Year of The Scarlet Witch (1491 DR)
Daryl Havenhurst's hunting cabin, Sumber Hills, Dessarin Valley
The next day, the group made their way east.
Ori, the aarakocra druid they met the night before, joined them.
Their destination was the Sacred Stone Monastery. They didn't exactly know where it was but was told to follow the base of the Sumber Hills east. Once they reached the River Dessarin, they were to follow it north into the hills. They would, at some point several miles into the hills, see the monastery or run into signs pointing to its location.
On the way east, they came upon a small cabin nestled among large boulders.
A half-elf man was on the cabin's roof, waving to the group. He held a hammer in his hand. A small pile of wood lay on the roof next to him. It was clear he was patching up the roof.
"Be careful. There are ankhegs about." the man on the roof yelled. He pointed to three large holes in the ground not far from the cabin. One hole had destroyed a small vegetable garden.
Some in the group knew what ankhegs were. They were horrible insectlike creatures as big as horses and were known to damage fields and kill livestock in the area.
A moment later, the ground beneath everyone's feet begins shaking. The tremor was strong enough to start small slides of pebbles from the hillsides and cause shrubs and brush to wave from side to side, but it subsided. A moment later, ankhegs began to burrow out of the ground!
When the encounter was over, three ankhegs lay dead. Most in the group were not hurt in the fight against the large insects, although Darath nearly lost his life when one ankheg bit him around the waist while another tried to steal him away from the first ankheg. Fortunately, the adventurers were able to kill the ankhegs and save Darath.
When it was over, the half-elf, who introduced himself as Daryl Havenhurst, invited them inside his small cabin and offered them a drink and some dried meat. He then went on to tell the group that he was a hunter and trapper. He was from the town of Daggerford along the Sword Coast. For nearly ten years, he always traveled to Dessarin Valley to hunt and trap local animals for their meat and fur, which he would sell in Daggerford. He also said he enjoyed fishing among the small lakes and streams in the Sumber Hills and occasionally fished in the River Dessarin, although he's stayed far from it in the last two years.
When asked why Daryl mentioned a small keep by the river. He said it was known locally as Rivergard Keep. He had heard a lot of bandit activity along the Cairn Road and Dessarin Road. He suspected whoever occupied Rivergard Keep may be involved. He said it was a perfect place where bandits could hole up, and it wasn't far from either roads.
During the rest of the day, everyone pitched in and harvested chitin, acid glands, and mandibles from the slain ankhegs. Seeker spent most of the day extracting acid from the glands. When he finished, he filled twelve flasks of acid from the ankhegs.
Meanwhile, exhausted from harvesting what they could from the ankhegs, the others decided to stay and rest in the cabin.
Report Date
06 Jan 2023
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