Session IX: Return to Ban Grond Report

General Summary

Leaving the Shire behind

After dumping the bodies of the recently deceased goblins, including Marshal Jakob, the adventurers return to the Shire of Sloniz to stock up supplies and claim their reward: a warg named Rufus . Tristan Zabaleta immediately bonds with Rufus after meeting him. After having a few drinks, and Balin Thornbow loosing some coin at gambling, the adventurers call it a night and decide to return to Zulk the Wise in Ban Grond.

The Tiger Ambush

After travelling through the jungle for a few hours, Rufus suddenly picks up a scent of nearby animals. Suddenly a tiger jumps out of the bushes and tries to attack Tristan. Rufus, the loyal companion he is, takes the blow however and is heavily scarred. Combat ensues with the tigers and dire tigers. After a while the adventurers triumph over the tigers, with many killing blows being dealt by Rufus. Rufus celebrates their victory by eating the tigers, leaving only 1 tiger to skin for Balin.

Troll Toll

Approach

After a few hours more of travel, Shluk tells the adventurers they can either try crossing the bridge over the ravine ahead, or take the path down through the canyon and ascend on the other side. After a bit of discussion, the adventurers decide to take their chances with the bridge. They encounter a large 300 x 25 ft. wooden bridge crossing the ravine, its entryway being guarded by a large troll. As the troll is not immediately aggressive on sight, they decide to talk with him. The troll asks the adventurers to pay toll to their king (Troll Toll) to cross the bridge. As the adventurers think the price to high, they decide to make a run for it. Oswald Fleetfeet makes Nalan turn invisible and they start running. Halfway across the bridge however, they see another troll approaching from the direction they are heading. A running combat ensues, which is put to a halt when one of the trolls threatens to break the neck of our beloved unconscious friend Rufus, if the adventurers don't drop their weapons. As the other troll catches up, the adventurers find themselves in a pickle. Nalan decides to try his Command spell on them, which is partially successful. Balin starts to lower his weapons while Oswald attempts to put a spell on the other troll to blind hem. As he fails however the troll raises his weapon and crushes our beloved Rufus..

The Battle over Life and Death

Stroke heavily by the loss of his dear friend, Tristan goes into a panic and decides to jump over the bridges railing into the lake found below. In the meantime, Nalan makes a run for the jungle once more while Balin stays behind. Oswald, unsure whether to follow Nalan or help his dear friend, in the end decides to join Balin in a stand against the trolls. Although things started to look grim for Balin, he manages to kill one of the trolls, pushing him down from the bridge. The other is shortly after hit by his arrow and they are victorious.
Tristan, by this time having reached the shore, hides in the bushes. He finds himself surrounded by many reptilians, among which Snappers and Lurkers. When his friends drop down a rope fastened to one of the dead troll necks, he starts sneaking towards the rope. Suddenly, a troll appears in the distance shouting through the canyon. Upon closer inspection, they see the troll is wearing a crown. As he's approaching the rope, Tristan makes a run for it.
Tristan barely escapes the jumping troll's grasp, as he's climbing the rope. While being pulled up simultaneously by his friends, the troll king throws a huge boulder in Tristan's direction. With his low d20 roll, and that of his friends Tristan is hit by the rock and loses grip of the rope. Nalan and Balin reach for his arms but barely get a hold of him. Only through an inspiring feeling are they able to get a hold of Tristan, saving him from certain demise. They make a run toward the other side of the bridge, while carrying both Rufus and Tristan. Another boulder hits the bridge, but the adventurers manage to cross the bridge, though at a hefty price.

A Great Loss

After running for one more hour, the adventurers decide to take a short rest and give a worthy ceremony for Rufus' demise. Nalan honors Tristan by leading the ceremony, preaching the word of Innos. Tristan says goodbye to his friend, after which Oswald puts Rufus' corpse ablaze. They keep the ashes and continue their journey to Ban Grond. After resting for one more night in the outskirts of the jungle, they catch a glimpse of the goblin city in the distance the next day.

Rewards Granted

Tiger pelt

Created Content

The jungle ravine

Campaign

The Island of Runaar

Protagonists

Tristan Zabaleta

Level 5 Human Neutral Ranger (Monster Slayer)
(Innkeeper)

/ 38 HP

Nalan

Oswald Fleetfeet

TN halfling(gnome) (cloistered scholar)
wizard 5

26 / 26 HP

STR
8

DEX
15

CON
13

INT
19

WIS
16

CHA
10

Report Date

10 Sep 2020

Primary Location

The Troll Gorge: Rhunaar

Secondary Location

Shire of Sloniz