Session 22 - Into the Barrens - Zellandria's Notes

General Summary

Oh lordy we’re playing in person!
Zell is definitely not in another dimension underwater right now.
So, we’re going to head off to the Foundry of the Molten Gaze (™)
Zell’s imports have come in with a single scroll of ice knife.
Hettie has been overseeing the construction of the arcane lab which is functional now.
Verusa has been setting up her dragonshard workspace and hibernating
Deborah Cadabra drops off a jade sculpture to Verusa’s house
Forge does some smithing and stuff or something
Elenora gets secrets which is cool
Diiroehn or whatever the spelling of his name is got an extra poisoning dagger.
So like what’s the plan here?
It’s like barrens or something?
Can we like get a cart and some horses or something?
Heading over to the ranch that Rakkie has been working we pick up our cart that we’d brought in from the gnoll camp.
Elenora purchases a riding horse
Dii has a beautiful black horse named Tenebre?
Zell is very jealous
Rakkie has organised horses for us which is lovely.
He suggests we head over towards where Matika and Goldot are living and mentions that they’ve been to the foundry before?
Dii: I suppose first we speak to the giants?
Forge: Talk to giants, get directions, map, find foundry, get glass, go home
Elenora on one horse
Diiroehn on another
One large cart
Forge is heavy. Approximately 700 pounds.
He’s going to walk.
Verusa and Zell are going to drive the cart and Hettie settles in the back of the cart working on some fireworks.
Looking across the river is a single large tent where Matika and Goldot have made camp amid the trees.
Forge, Elenora and Dii head over to them
Verusa creeps forward a little and observes with her observant eyes.
Gurl can lip read in giant, nice.
Gol: probably heading off soon.. Think it’s safe to trade?
Mat: Where else do we go? The gnolls don’t go too far into the barrens.. We can’t go to the jungles.. The Vulkoori aren’t friends..
They notice the party coming over
Matika very deftly gets to her feet with a lot more speed than one expects in a 13ft tall woman
Dii: Have you been told about your brother yet?
Gol: Nothing confirmed…
Dii: We came across your brother in an altercation with the drow.. He had been affected..
Gol pauses and takes a deep breath
Gol: The last we saw he was raving and ran off on his own. The madness of crowds. The rushkatul. Was it that?
Dii: I believe so. The party.. Saw to his misery.
The two giants get very quiet for a moment.
Matika heads over to speak to their parents
Gol: I suppose we knew.. It’s better than what happens to those with the madness.
Gol: Once it… it takes you.. There is nothing that can be done. He was lost to us a month ago. At least we know it’s over.
Dii: I’m sorry to bring this news to you.
Forge: I apologise for your loss, it is hard when losing comrades and family.
Gol: If you are here to trade, we have not much left for now.
Dii: Actually, we were hoping for some guidance, we are looking for the foundry of the molten gaze.
Gol: We do not normally go that far beyond the mountains. It was 4-5 days? From here it would be about 2 days through the barrens and then 2 more through the savannah
Elenora starts jotting down the directions.
Gol: Heading north from here, there's the river. Following that north there’s a wetlands into the mountains. Follow the mountains north around Banor’s Spear, the mountain range, then follow them west maybe 2-3 days? When the ground starts to dry and crack more you’re on the right path. If you’re following that maybe 2 more days into a sandy area then you will find a river eventually. Follow it winding north and you’ll find the foundry clinging to a mountain in the sand.
Forge: The river, is it dry?
Gol: Flowing
Forge: Fresh or salt water?
Gol: Fresh, it’s the only not dry river i know of up there.
Forge: We were planning to take a cart.. Swamp was not easy..
Gol: Go to the west of the mountains and keep going that way until you find the one fresh river in the sand.
Verusa strokes the horses she’s standing with and reassures them that she’ll clear the path for them.
They mention that Banor would look favourably upon them if they fought a bulette.
Elenora does a religion check and with at
NATURAL 20
She is polite enough not to tell them that they’re pronouncing the name of the god wrong.
And also thank them.
Elenora has named her horse Mr Butterscotch because he’s sweet like a dessert and going to get eaten.
Let’s go!
We’re heading over the Justabridge which is lovely
Zell and Veresa start the cart off following the river.
Land vehicles check!
15 for Zell and 20 animal handling for Veresa
Elenora and Diiroehn scout the sides of the area
After about 8 hours travel it’s pretty hot and dry and we’re getting over it a bit
Veresa spots an area in the grasslands
Forge prepares rations and they are adequate.
Yay.
Hettie starts up a blue camp fire which is the perfect temperature to cook rations adequately
Forge keeps watch over night as he doesn’t sleep.
He takes great offense to Veresa creating good berries because that would ruin economies
The good berries are delicious but everyone, except Zell makes a big show of pretending to eat the rations.
Packing up camp and moving on, Elenora and Dii scout and spot a cloud of dust over one of the ridgelines, maybe 2-3 minutes ride
Elenora: Perhaps we should go take a little bit of a look? I’ll send out Mr Watson?
Dii: let’s head over, if needed we can run back to the others
Stealth checks
Elenora.
NATURAL 1.
That’s fine.
8.
Diiroehn - 21
They creep forward on foot.
Looks like it’s a herd of bison?
Neat, maybe we should catch one of those and cook it for dinner?
Doesn’t look like they’re being herded deliberately
A moment later the ground erupts under the bison and a bulette bursts out and snatches some of the bison.
Diiroehn and Elenora return to the group and warn us
Maybe the bulette is like, super full now after that?
Veresa reaches down to the ground and touches the ground and a small pulse ripples out from her for a moment
Pass without a trace!
Veresa: We will be safe
This girl is cool.
Our group stealth check is pretty good
The earth shifts behind us as we move over it, blades of grass right themselves from where they’d been crushed under the cart wheels.
Passing the hole where the bulette broke from the surface and we don’t see any other sign of it.
Woo!
After several hours of travel we make camp again and Forge gets defensive about cooking rations since Verusa creating good berries offends him
He and Elenora keep watch overnight
After several hours Elenora heads to sleep and Forge continues to watch.
Just before dawn he catches a flash of movement on the ridge above the camp
Tawny brown fur.. Muzzle.. Shock of black hair.. A gnoll?
Forge casts thaumaturgy
Forge: You there! Are you with Mezerre? Identify yourself.
Intimidation check: 11
The gnoll bolts over the ridge.
Everyone wakes up.
Ughhhhhhhhh.
Dii: I’m glad he’s no longer nervous about bulettes.
Zell jolts awake in her tent and freaks out
Oh it’s just these assholes
Forge sprints off and hauls himself up the ridge after it
Elenora sees Forge climbing and she dashes following
Dii: So.. berries for breakfast?
Forge: Stop or I will have to end your life.
He takes out the meteoric hammer and gets ready to throw.
Forge: One last warning.
He prepares wrathful smite and gets ready to lob the now flaming hammer.
The gnoll freaks out and stumbles into a stop, backing with his hands up.
Elenora has crept up and got closer
Gnoll: Stop.. please..
Forge: I will stop my advance.
Gnoll: We have heard of you.
Forge: Of me? Are you Mezzere?
Gnoll: No, they are the south. I jsut want to find my goats and return to my clan..
Forge: Which clan are you a part of?
Gnoll: Not one of the ones that your town has wiped out yet.
Forge: We do not wish to kill your people.
Elenora stealths up and frisks him with mage hand.
She unhooks the knife off his back and draws it towards her hiding place in the grass.
Gnoll: My clan is Bregan and we’ve heard of you. If you weren’t coming to kill us, why did you come with him? The red one?
Forge: Who, Diiroehn? I am Forge by the way.
Gnoll: Right, Forge, are you here to murder me or are you going to let me go back?
Forge: That depends, are you going to send soldiers to com-pi-li-cate our lives?
Gnoll: My uncle and brother knows I’m out here and my brother and my aunt..
Forge: Yes and there’s also Bulette out here.
Gnoll: If bulette gets me they would come out here. Confirm.
Forge makes another intimidation check.
NATURAL 20.
Forge: for the record I would not like to kill you.
Gnoll: Don’t.. Don’t tell the red one I’m here.
Forge: I will not speak to Diiroehn.
Gnoll: You come here from somewhere, take land, even if it’s cursed, you still take it. You come into our places and kill us. We know who you are.
Forge: I am not here to kill you my friend, i would rather we be on companionable terms. Share drink and stories.
Gnoll: Wait, are the Mezerre your friends?
Forge: Yes, I have many friends. You could be my friend.
Gnoll: You wouldn’t kill me if I was Mezerre?
Forge: Tell me about your clan?
Gnoll: So you can find them and kill them?
Forge: No, so I can become friends and learn more about you.
Persuasion check!
23.
NICE.
Gnoll: We.. are Bregan. We keep goats and ox. My grandmother is the leader. She would eat you alive.
Gnoll: Just tie me up and move on, by the time I’m free I won't be able to hurt you and you’ll be gone.
Man this guy has some weird kinks.
He drops his knives on the ground and throws him rope
Forge: I will take this as formal surrender. Do you want me to stake you here? Is the ground too soft?
Gnoll: Whatever just do the thing
Forge goes and gets a motherfucking tree and knots the gnoll to it.
Forge leaves him with some rations. Enough for the whole gnoll camp.
Forge claps him on the shoulder and heads off.
Gnolly realises he doesn’t have his big survival knife at his back.
That’ll be awkward
Elenora follows after Forge back into the camp and drops the gnoll’s hunting knife
Dii: A scout?
Forge: A farmer. From the clan Bregan. It would be unwise to cause act of war. They do very much hate you, Diiroehn..
Dii: There is a good reason for that. Zenir already wants war. Removing more of his resources would be to our advantage.
Diiroehn walks off towards the ridge
Forge is not subtly following him.
Forge: He surrendered. Keep that in mind.
Dii: You one of his? Zenirs?
Gnoll: As much as anyone is. We’re all his. My family is, I will not betray them.
Dii: none of us are asking you to. You’ve been given a second chance here and I value that..
Gnoll: Me too. I just don’t want to hurt my family and I don’t want to die. So.. please just..
Dii: The canyon.
Gnoll: What about it?
Dii: Is that where you live? Where your family is?
Gnoll: We’ve not been there before but we don’t really have an option, that’s where we’re going.
Dii: You have an option with multiple outcomes. Either you arrive there early and die with the rest of them or arrive there late and find a smouldering hole in the ground.
Gnoll: Smouldering hole? I don’t believe it. The drow said you’re firebinders but I don’t see it.
Dii: You’ve made your choice.
He turns and walks away.
The gnoll audibly exhales.
Returning to the party we’re all up now and have packed up camp to go.
After several hours we’re moving into more into uncharted territory
The sun burns high overhead and it’s about 35 or so degrees out now?
Pushing on into the afternoon the ground slowly becomes more dried and cracked
Cracks and crevases become more prevailent in the area.
We set up camp again under a scraggly dying tree over a small ravine.
Another night of rations, goodberries and an uneventful watch from Forge.
Around midday on the next day the terrain is getting harder to cross with the cart
Zell teaches Verusa how to do a handbrake turn
This is not as much fun as a lightning rail.
Verusa directs her down towards the riverbed which is dried out and sheltered in the centre
Diiroehn and Elenora stay up the top and catch sight of somethign moving quickly over the path
Hettie and Zell have a discussion about burning people and suddenly in the canyon behind them a chariot full of gnolls.
ROLL INITIATIVE
Forge: 16 Gnoll Hunter: 15 Diiroehn: 14 Hyena Chariot: 12 Elenora: 12 Hettie: 12 Gnoll Brute: 10 Verusa: 8 Zell: 7
Horses have a 40ft move speed
Chariot 60ft move speed.
Elenora knows things about gnoll chariots?
Elenora: Try fire! Chariots burn and hyenas aren’t fond of it.
Oh hello.
Forge touches his anvil for a moment, glows and casts shield of faith.
In the same motion he grabs the meteor hammer and hurls it at the chariot for 20 damage
The gnolls fire an arrow at Verusa and Hettie but miss both of htem.
Dii readies a smite
Hettie heard Elenora’s call about fire and launches a twin spell firebolt into the faces of the hyena
Up on the ravine top, Elenora spots another chariot potentially getting ready to come down and cut us off
A bird cries above us
Oh no
Elenora: Company up front, I think it’s another chariot!
She turns and knocks an arrow to fire at the group below
9 to hit, the arrow flies wide
Needs more practice shooting out of the saddle
The gnolls shout in giant: Aim for the driver!
Zaph curses
Zell gets a spear into her shoulder and chain hanging from it wraps around her momentarily
Zell: Fuck
She pulls the spear out and tries to throw it back at them but it sails beyond the chariot.
Land vehicle check!
17.
The cart shudders and but she rights it yay I’m contributing
Verusa shifts into a bear and leaps off the back of the cart onto the face of the gnoll rider
She rips into its neck and downs one of the hyenas
Diiroehn goes to hero leap off his horse and with a
2 -1 ATHELTICS, SO NOT NATURAL 1
Stacks it and tumbles down the ravine and takes 4 damage From the ground he swings his dagger and slams it into the hyena
Forge moves up and hammers the chariot rider in the face with his hammer.
It hits.
That’s nice.
Diiroehn hits the button his dagger and it feels warm for a moment as poison floods the blade and casts thunderous smite
His beautiful horse is much more elegant than he is and tramples the archer.
What a legend.
Mr Butterscotch leaps down with Elenora on his back and she looks towards the ravine and squints for a moment
The image of a gnoll woman clutching a tiny big eyed baby gnoll
The chariot in front stalls and pulls up making a horrified noise as the silent image is placed in their path
A huge gnoll leaps over to the back of the cart where Hettie had been bunkered down.
Hettie: Didn’t you like my pretty fire?
The gnoll, covered in burned patches roars and goes to clamp his jaws down on her shoulder
Hettie: Maybe you need some more…
The gnoll chomps down on Hettie for 10 damage
She screams and Zell turns in the driver seat seeing the big ol gnoll behind her attacking Hettie.
Verusa frigging bear charges and leaps onto the back of the cart
A prismatic crystal claw grabs the shoulder of the big gnoll and Verusa yanks him off the back off the cart.
She slams him into the ground.
Zell slows the cart to a stop in the gap and tries to fire a shocking arrow at the chariot but misses because Zellandria is apparently shit at everything
Forge brings out the sentence of death.
He places his foot down on the gnoll brute and drives his hammer into it
11 damage + 7 smite damage
The hammer glows red hot then smashes into the gnoll’s spine.
That was fucking brutal.
Verusa roars.
The mage on the back of the chariot yells angrily and casts some kind of magic shit I don’t know I’m not a wizard I hit things at Zell
That fucking hurt dude
The remaining gnoll chariot skids off the cliff into the lower area
The mage gnoll blinks away and leaves his companions below.
Hettie takes out her crystal and begins to cast chromatic orb
The rainbow light flicks through the gem strangely, different to normal.
Tides of chaos activate
Oh hey what’s that?
That sounds awesome
The firebolt launches at the mage and sears him’
The crystal in her hands glows brighter, white and little cracks appear.
Hettie screams
Hettie: SOMETHING’S WRONG
Zell looks over her shoulder to Hettie and catches the bright white light pouring from the diamond.
The gem explodes into white hot light.
Amy, roll 8d6, please.
Zell, roll a dex save with danger sense.
2 (4).
4 (6).
Well I didn’t think I’d be dying to accidental pvp, hey?
34 damage.
Zellandria, Hettie and the cart all explode and collapse.
ZELLANDRIA AND HETTIE ARE UNCONSCIOUS.
Gnoll Brute: I will destroy the red one.
The gnoll brute swings a greatsword down at Dii.
NATURAL 20.
17 crit damage on Diiroehn collapses.
DIIROEHN IS UNCONCSIOUS.
Verusa-bear sprints up and hauls both Zell and Hettie’s bodies off the burning cart
THANK YOU
The giant crystal bear shape shatters into shards around Verusa returns to her humanoid shape
MEANWHILE.
Forge knows what a fireball sounds like.
He remembers the war.
He sees Verusa has Hettie and Zell out of the immediate flames.
Forge: ON YOUR FEET, SOLDIER.
He touches his holy symbol and points at Diiroehn.
A flash of light crosses Diireohn’s face and he takes a breath
7HP back
Gnoll Brute: Look at how the red one is fallen! I am our mightiest hero!
Diiroehn gets up and turns invisible.
Gnoll Brute: Er..
Hettie, make a death save.
3.
She starts to gurgle on the blood in her throat.
DEATH SAVE FAIL.
This is fine.
Elenora looks at the hyena and then at the gnoll and casts hideous laughter on the gnoll
Elenora: Can you believe I was about to tell a hyena a joke?
Verusa creates a goodberry and crushes it in Hettie’s mouth and casts healing word on Zell.
Both of them cough and breath back to life.
Thanks buddy.
Zell hauls herself up and fires an arrow at the gnoll warlock who is on the ravine shouting about how big his dick is and about how powerful he is thanks to Zenir
The arrow sinks into his leg for 10 damage
Gnoll mage: Look at the power that Zenir has given me and will give to all the gnolls! I’m so mighty!
His cloak billows as a bonus action.
Gnoll: Remember the name: Bregan.
Zell: Is that with one “e” or two?
Gnoll mage: two!
Breegan.
He sprints away.
Diiroehn clambers up the ravine
Diiroehn channels divinity and hurls his dagger which is double charged with poison at the mage.
12..
It misses :(
That would have been dope.
Yo there’s still hyenas down in the riverbed
I guess we should probably put them down? They might have rabies.
Hettie looks over the burning cart and raises her hand
Oh no she’s going to kill us again
Verusa and Zell both shriek and scramble back
Hettie’s very cracked diamond flicks with colour and settles correctly on blue and a chill wind washes over the burning cart
The flames at the back of the cart extinguish
That’s good
Verusa casts mould earth and drops a tonne of soil on the remaining burning cart and extinguishes the last of the fires and embers Zell looks at Hettie and then sprints towards the cliff where Diiroehn is and blue light flashes from the back of her neck and she appears next to him, longbow at the ready
Shock arrow!
23 to hit!
Fucking
FINALLY
Firing a shock arrow into Breegan the Mighty Warlock for 10 damage
The lightning crackles across his body and he crumbles dead.
Breegan’s cape billows.
Elenora looks down at the remaining gnoll who is still rolling on the floor laughing.
Zenir’s marching towards you soon anway, maybe you should all just keep marching west… not go back to your town anyway.
Elenora: How soon is soon?
Gnoll brute: As soon as my brothers and sisters have gathered under Zenir.
Elenora slits his throat.
Once the adrenaline wears off Zell has a weird moment to herself.
Cool. Pulled from burning wreckage.
This keeps happening.
Hettie is just sobbing and now afraid of her powers
Hettie: I.. I hurt my friends and all the amazing things that normally happen went wrong..
Forge leans down and gently places an arm on her shoulder and heals her.
Forge: accidents happen, you survived. We are okay.
-----
We set up camp early and Hettie curls up alone crying
Verusa shapes earth a soft pillow under Hettie’s head.
Zell and Diiroehn pour over the body of Breegan, the mighty.
Investigation check 18
Zell takes his dope cape of billowing, finds a leather pouch with giant coins in there and two tiny gemstones in there.
She holds onto one of the gemstones which comes to about 50g worth of garnet
The rest of the bag contains about 300g worth of uncommon gems and coin.
Dope.
We split that for 50g each.
Elenora checks the body of the gnoll brute and finds a large silvered blade and a small silver square of metal stamped with “2 weeks extra rations”
Looks like Zenir is starting his up own currency?
That’s a bit presumptuous of him.
We settle in to sleep through the night.
Forge and Elenora keep watch again
Elenora watching the skyline of the canyon
Oh shit we forgot about the bird.
Elenora looks across the top again
A white marble archway in the side of the ravine.
There’s plush carpets..
Sylvan in design
Elenora stands and walks towards where Forge is watching the other side of the camp
What the fuck is wrong with Elenora
It’s killing me, Zaphy Cosplay, the narrator of this piece with curiosity.
I SO BADLY WANT TO KNOW
Forge: Do you want to take a look at it?
Elenora: I’ll be back in a second.. I’m just going to have a look
Forge: If you are not back within 10 minutes I will awake and alert the others
Elenora looks in the archway.
The walls have beautiful fluted columns, music lilts down the hallway
Violins and flutes
She stares at the column lined walls and sees the shapes of paintings
Mr Watson edges into the corridor
The music swells through his mind as Elenora shares his vision from the outside
Through his hears he hears a soprano’s voice cutting over the violins.
The words are in sylvan but she can’t understand them.
The connection with Mr. Watson breaks.
Elenora: This is fey fuckery..
A voice on the wind sings to Elenora: Come home my child.
Elenora: I’m glad I didn’t go in there.
She blinks and the doorway is gone.
---------------
In the morning Hettie shares her goodberry with the remaining horses, Mr Butterscotch and Tenebre.
Verusa keeps an eye on her.

Report Date

25 Nov 2019