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Session 4

Started by Griznuq, October 16, 2010, 11:14:58 PM

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Griznuq

Sorry, It's been a very long time since this session, so the stuff I'm remembering here is only the big ticket items... IF you happen to remember something else, feel free to pitch in.

The party had left Maragarn's village to continue the quest to eliminate the apparent evil in the... Somethingorother woods to the north. I can't find a mention of what it's name is... However, I do remember that the party was heading for the old Temple of Skarth.

Now... I do have a document that says the followinig:


Charon
It'd been a long time since you had seen anything even closely resembling battle, much less a goblin. Fortunately, they didn't seem like too great a deal to dispatch, because judging by Eswarth's reaction, they weren't exactly uncommon.

As you and your new companions walked, you did a good amount of thinking. It was of some relief to you to have found that cremation was the preffered method of disposal for the centaurs. Would have been a shame if they'd seen it as anything less than honorable.

A veteran from the battle of twelve nights! Whatever'd killed him must have been something indeed! Something you definitely would never want to meet, yet somehow, you expected that you would.

Once again, your wandering thoughts brought you to the small length of rod that sat in your pocket, and the fact that Su'tharc called it a "he". It wasn't every day someone referred to an inanimate object as he or she, or suggested that it had wants of its own. Ironically, your friend Collinsworth bumped against your leg as you walked. Maybe it was every day, after all.

Even still, even if this little rod were alive, or a he, or... whatever... Why you? Why would something presumably had spent so much time inside the arm of an ancient Centaur want to travel with Charon?

Well, whatever, you thought. The fact remains that it wasn't alive. Perhaps it was just some useless piece of metal, and Su'tharc simply didn't care where it ended up. Then again, if it is what the Half Orcs were after, it had to be worth something... And as soon as they realized you were missing from the City, which was probably about a month ago, they'd likely be looking for you... You silently hoped that the Half Orcs would never get their hands on either the report you'd sent to the council or the one given to the Temple.

Eswarth
The taint on the air was gone, and for the first time in a while, a chest full of air didn't feel dirty. Even the stink coming off of the goblins a few nights prior wasn't as unpleasant.

As if the spirits of great warriors coming back to warn was strange enough, they had to use the bodies of the enemy, only to find that they didn't know how to work the strange vocal cords. Almost made one wonder at the wisdom of burning the dead. Then again, if the dead Centaurs could raise old Orc bodies, why couldn't Orc bodies raise dead Centaurs?

Game:

Three weeks had passed since leaving the Centaur city. By and large, the weather had been steady, and the road clear. The pace had been brisk, stopping to rest at regular intervals and to catch a meal when the dried meats and cheese that was packed were of no one's fancy.

It'd been a week since fighting the goblins along the way and all seemed quiet. Mornings were cool with dew covered leaves. The rays of sun that poked through the forest canopy showered the ground in little dots if light that dances as the leaves swayed in the breeze, so high above the ground.

Early morning, day 29 out of the centaur city. The sun had not yet risen. Halfway through the last watch...

If a spot check of 15 is made, rustling can be heard off the road to the west. A listen check of 15 will then reveal distant guttural voices.

Assuming this is investigated...

Two kobolds are apparently bickering to one another in their native tongue while dragging the carcass of a freshly killed deer, moving east. The deer has two small spears sticking out of it, one in the flank, and one in the side. The one in the side pierced organs and was the killing blow. The one in the flank would have only slowed it down.

Eswarth would understand the conversation they're having as bickering over who had the killing strike.  They were also talking about how happy (two generic gargan names) would be at having this fresh kill.

Knowing a few things about Kobolds, Eswarth expects these three would be servants to other, bigger gargan.

If they're followed, they will lead to a small clearing.

The three kobolds drag the deer carcass for about a half mile, before they start calling out in their guttural language. They appear to be a little lost. After a moment, a reply comes back from the same direction they were going.

They start to drag faster, half running.

In the clearing, there are two half Orcs, sitting boulders around a large fire. They appear happy about the deer. These are the two half orcs from town that Charon had met.

This clearing is large, around 100' in diameter. There are four tents, and two small bed rolls laying out on the ground.



As I recall, the consensus was to kill them, as I have another document (printed, not electronic, so I can't cut and paste it... but I'll paraphrase.)

As the party approached the woods, the traveling became more difficult. Undergrowth became thicker. By the time you reach the edge of the woods, it's very inconvenient.

Eswarth notices with no real surprise that there are no Ironbark trees. Fir'Ath notices the same about Knuckleroot.

The travel was fairly difficult. Eswarth and Charon notice more of the same taint they'd detected in the Ironbark. The rest of the group just feels an uneasiness.

After the first day's travel, the group stopped, and during Eswarths watch, Balori, a druid appears. She's got the body of an elf, but skin of bark.

She said "Brother," Her voice was like a breeze through the leaves of a sapling, a hushed whisper. "Shepherd of men. You lead your flock toward cursed pastures. There is something foul, that goes against the laws of nature. Have you come to right this wrong?"

I'm sure Eswarth said something just as wordy and flowery.

"The help of your noble race is precious. My name is Balori, I shall help you, but I shall not be seen by your flock. Follow the road..." - she made a gesture in the direction you've been heading - "And I will  help where needed. Stay sharp shepherd, for wolves do lurk."

She stepped backwards, and melded into her tree.

The morning comes, the party moves on, day is event-less.

Zombies attack during the 2nd watch. (330 XP to all involved (Not sure if xp was awarded for this!?))

One more day of unhindered travel.

Balori comes back during Eswarth's next watch.

She motions toward a hill and the side of the hill splits and the growth receds, showing a large door about fifteen feet tall. The taint grows sharply, clearly comes from behind the doors.

The entrance is to the underground temple of Skarth.

She warns to be safe and leaves again.

The group gets up eventually, and starts to open the door. it's very tough to move and makes a lot of noise. Anything intelligent inside is definitely aware of someone coming in now.


That's all I have, so the rest is from memory.

The group investigates the temple, but find the first floor deserted. There's an alter, and several rows of pews. (I don't remember if anyone found any relics or anything, so let me know if you have anything like that written down anywhere...)

A search in the lower floor revealed a couple things. One, there's a large stone sarcophagus in the middle of a large room that was presumably for "Skarth" the high priest. The lid has been removed, and lay cracked in two on the floor. It's unclear if it was opened from the inside or out. There is nothing inside. Second, there was a hole in the wall. Something had tunneled into the temple. The group followed the path, which went for a while, and then came to a small bridge that went over a small stream. There, they were attacked by frog-men-like things.

Defeating these things, the group moves on. The tunnel opens into a large room. The tunnel enters the room from the west, there are two larger tunnels to the south and the east, but they've been caved in. The tunnel is now the only exit from this cavernous room.

Someone (Eswarth?) detects evil and finds a shit-ton of it. There are zombies galore, and one Ghoul. They are all eradicated. Some are killed, I think some were turned, and a bunch were controlled by charon.

With the dead stuff... well, dead... The group leaves. The taint is gone for now. It's unclear if the Ghoul was the remains of Skarth, or what.

The group goes upstairs, and the rest is covered in the ICD "Thanks and a warning"
=]V[=