Session 1
General Summary
It was 1 November, AR675, the nights were drawing in and winter was on its way. But that did
nothing to dampen the spirits of Nex Pervenio, the whole team reunited for the first time in
months. The location was the small city of Malea in Elam. A week further east was a fort, which
the Deck of Many Things had manipulated into their ownership, if they could claim it.
It had proved difficult to find much first-hand information about the swamp and the fort. Most
merchants seemed risk averse and followed advice to avoid the area completely, following welltravelled detours. From the few snippets of info gleaned, it was ascertained that it could be kuo-toa who had invaded the fort and infested the swamp. It was noted kuo-toa more typically lived in the Underdark and there had been mention of catacombs beneath the fort�
There was also some consideration of local politics. Kurgan and Elam were both stable and
comfortable within the Rodinian empire. The people of Semang were less happy, though the
active Rodinian frontier was now considered that with Marlek. The Semang were split into
disparate, unruly tribes which mostly squabbled with one another rather than carry out what would
be generally considered a hopeless struggle against the Rodinians. They would need a strong
leader to unite behind� Obviously Dash had an interest in Semang�s position within the
Rodinian empire. Shinobi was also interested, as it could benefit Honshu if Rodinia had other
issues to focus on than their disputed borderlands.
After a couple of days to catch up, stock supplies, final preparations were made and Nex Pervenio
departed Malea. Some chose to purloin horses which they suspected might not last long in the
swamp, others chose to spend honest coin. The road headed east. At this point it was well
maintained. After a couple of days of peaceful travel was a traveller�s inn, which marked the
point where the a wide detour of the swamp curved to the south. Inspection of a map suggested the
fort was much closer to the sourthern edge of the swamp than the west, so it was prudent to follow
the detour until it intersected a north-south highway. Another traveller�s inn marked this
junction, suggesting why the detour ended up along its particular route. With any luck the fort was
a mere two days� travel north, though the road would likely get progressively worse.
The next morning, 8 November, Nex Pervenio headed into the swamp. Indeed the road worsened
as they delved ever deeper and their speed dropped. The weather grew misty, drizzly and cold. A
chilly night camping passed peacefully enough. The fort ought to be reached by nightfall.
After heading onwards for the morning, around lunchtime a halt was called as something was
spotted off the road ahead. It seemed to be several human corpses, along with some sacks and
bags. Approaching cautiously, they were all clad in rags and looked in poor health. There were no
signs of wounds. No tracks were evident in the swampy ground. When Valun knelt to make a
closer examination, he realised they weren�t dead, just unconscious, perhaps from exhaustion
and malnourishment. One of the humans came round, very groggy and weak. Valun gave him
some water and he was able to whisper a warning, �it�s an ambush�, before collapsing once
more.
With that, a volley of arrows emerged from kuo-toa archers lurking in nearby undergrowth.
Shinobi headed over to engage them, dodging arrows as he went. Dash returned fire while the
others moved forward. Suddenly, more kuo-toa emerged from behind and swarmed towards Dash.
He nimbly stepped aside and Argus charged in commandingly. Shinobi took out a couple of the
lightly armoured archers who had begun targeting Valun and Riya in an effort to stem their
healing, meanwhile Argus dropped one of his assailants.
No doubt the kuo-toa were used to far softer targets than Gladiator Champions!
Report Date
10 Apr 2024
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