Session 5: The Little Giants

The party found themselves now eleven days out of Elslein, and bored. One afternoon, to break up the monotony, they decided to stop and hold a little athletics competition for themselves, doing stuff like the long jump and such. Rougi won of course, being the most nimble and dexterous of them all, but it wasn't like they were playing for money or anything. So they enjoyed the little diversion and moved on.

The next day, as they walked along during the morning, they noticed that the forest was growing thinner. Suddenly, it opened up, and they found themselves passing by some fields of crops and livestock. They could see barns in the distance, though no people or homes. The fields were broken by patches of forest, so they knew they weren't quite out of the woods yet, but it looked like a town was growing close.

Then, as they came around a bend in the road, they saw the town. Jaden realized she knew this town - it is called Joff, and was founded about three centuries ago by humans who had grown weary of living in Summercrest, and is still an all-human town. Not very many people pass from Elslein to Summercrest, and those that do are often non-humans who don't feel very welcome and thus don't stay long. The town lives off the land, farming several nearby fields and hunting in the forest. As humans go they're a pretty enlightened bunch, treating the forest with respect, and not getting into fights too often.

As they approached the town, they found the gates shut tight. Not 10 paces out from them, without warning, an arrow fired from the guard station at the top of the wall and barely avoided hitting Kriv. The party immediately went into defensive positions of course, and Rougi slipped in to the bushes to avoid detection. Before any return attack could be mounted, though, a voice rang out, "Stop, stop, stop, you idiots, don't attack them, are you blind, they're not kobolds!"

The face of a man appeared above the wall; he is tall, bearded, and about middle-aged. He called out to the party that his name is Bard, and that he is the captain of the guard in this town. They've been under attack by some monsters lately and his guards a little 'high-strung.' He pleads their forgiveness and welcomes them into the town. Rougi slips through the gate unnoticed, but once inside it becomes apparent that Bard is truly penitent and is no threat to them, and so he makes himself known.

In an effort to smooth over this little incident, Bard invites them into the inn, where his wife works in the kitchen. She cooks them a hearty meal of meat-and-turnip pies with excellent mashed potatoes and rich soda bread, topped off with foaming mead. It's basically the best food they've ever tasted.

Bard sits and eats with them and explains the situation a little more thoroughly. For years, they've known that there was a clan of kobolds living somewhere in the forest close to their town; however, it's usually been a situation of mutual disinterest and they haven't bothered each other. The kobolds occasionally steal food, but it's always been pittances, sneaky thefts in the middle of the night. But then, three weeks ago, a dozen or more kobolds attacked the town in broad daylight! They were repelled of course, but just a few days ago, they attacked again, and this time one of the guards was killed. A violent death is pretty rare in this town under any circumstances, so this whole situation has the whole town jittery and afraid. Hence, the accidental attack on the party.

The party reflects the situation is a little odd. Kobolds after all are usually cowardly and sneaky hunters, setting traps and ambushes, not openly attacking en masse. They think about the fact that, while dragons usually ignore the kobolds worshiping them, every so often a dragon takes a direct interest in its followers and then the kobolds can become an actual menace. They wonder if that's what's happening here.

Rougi figures that, regardless of the reasons for the kobolds' actions, this is a perfect opportunity to hire themselves out for some monster-kills. He proposes to Bard that they get paid a fee to end this kobold menance. Bard laughs - the people of his town are both proud and poor; if they had the inclination or means to hire mercenaries then they would have already done so.

The party asks Bard if he knows anything about the symbol they've been chasing; they show it to him, and he says that he recalls an Eladrin passing through here a few years ago with that symbol of the hem of his pants. The party realizes that that must be the same person whose remains they found in the woods. They ask for the Eladrin's name; he says he can't recall it, but calls in one of the other guards, who says that he remembers the Eladrin's name as Soveliss. The party groans in recognition; that was the name of one of Qualion's band. They ask if there was anyone else with him when he passed through; they say no, he was alone. Bard's curiosity has been piqued by their interest, and asks for the story; they tell him what they found, and he sighs; ochre jellys seem to pop up in the forest at least once a decade, and it's really annoying to know that they're back.

The party suspects that all the strange occurrences in this forest are connected somehow; the ghouls, the ochre jelly, the strange actions of the kobolds, perhaps even the goblin attack against the temple of Moradin in Elslein. They decide that even though they are not likely to get paid anything, they will fight the kobolds. In fact, they propose to Bard that they track them back to their lair and take care of this. Bard is enthusiastic, and this greatly improves his opinion of the party (their asking for money and Kava's bizarre statement had been a little off-putting ^_^).

So after lunch, the party, along with Bard and two of his guards, head off east into the forest to try and find the kobolds' lair. The party suggests bringing more muscle, but Bard says he can't clean the town undefended. Their tracking goes well, and they are pretty sure they're drawing close to the lair.

Then, the forest opens up into a shaded clearing, and they see at one end a short creature standing there. It's a little too far away for them to tell what it is right away, but the creature doesn't wait for them to get a closer look. Raising its arms, it cries out "For the glory of Tubaloth! Death to the infidels!" (Jaden recognizes the name Tubaloth; he is a creature of myth, a dragon that supposedly lived in the mountains of Tryn many centuries ago. No one is really sure if he ever existed, though. )

Suddenly the clearing is crawling with kobold warriors! They swarm at the party and the humans, javelins whizzing through the air and swords flashing. It proves to be a pretty even fight though; a good number of the kobolds are little better than cannon fodder, dying after a single hit. However, once they are dead, the much stronger warriors rush in on Rougi and Bard and a fierce dogfight ensues. The original kobold hangs back, every so often letting out a magic burst that bolsters his allies. The party is in perfect form though, and while Rougi takes some serious hits, they all do some powerful damage. Even Kriv unleashes some pretty heavy blows. Pretty soon only the priest character is left, and Rougi and Jaden quickly bring him down.

They didn't kill him though; after they knocked him out, Kava tied him up and they fed him a healing potion to bring him back to consciousness. They then proceed to question him. However, no matter how intimidating or diplomatic most of the party is he won't say a word. But then Kava steps in, and he opens up like a old book. In a spirited Draconic conversation with him, Kava is able to learn from him that four years ago, a "great prophet" came to this clan of kobolds and told them that Tubaloth, their great dragon master, had returned! The kobolds had been waiting for this day for many generations, and so were eager to learn what instructions Tubaloth had for them. The prophet told them to exact tribute and gold from the town of humans (being lazy, it took them this long to get around to really doing it). The prophet promised to return in five years, so he should be back in about twelve months. Kava asked him who this prophet is. The priest does not know his name, and can only describe him as a "metal human", a phrase that means nothing to any of them there.

The priest flatters Kriv and Kava endlessly, using very overwraught language, and persuading them to turn on these "stupid" allies of theirs and join forces with them in the grand service of Tubaloth! Kava is able to convince the priest that she and Kriv are on the kobolds' side; she tries to convince them that their allies are not to be despised, but the priest seems to be "just saying it" when he agrees.

In the end, Kava makes him agree to contact them in a year's time when the prophet returns, and then decides to let him go. Bard and Rougi are not for this idea, and in fact when Kava unties him, they make moves to kill him. But he runs off, and both Rougi and Jaden are unsuccessful at tracking him back to his lair. Bard is willing to just him go - until he hears the recap of Kava's conversation with him. Once he realizes that these raids are not going to end, he angrily states they have no choice but to go wipe them out. Kobold clans are not too big, and so the battle to destroy the rest of the clan will probably not be any more difficult that what just transpired. Kava and Kriv try to argue otherwise, but in the end the decision is made to track them back and annihilate them!

Rewards

XP: 800
Money: 360 gp (90 gp each)
Treasure: The priest dropped a round ball as he ran off. It's a level 5 Energy Orb; it grants an additional +1 to attacks (vs. Reflex) and deals 1D10+3 fire damage at a range of 10 squares. It's power is an at-will and takes a standard action. As a level 5 item it is worth 1,000 gp. (This item is not in the Player's Handbook.)

Interlude: That was Fast

All right, hope everyone enjoyed level 2 because you're now ready to move up to level 3!

• Because you moved up to an odd-numbered level, none of your level modifiers increase.
• You will all gain some hit points of course -- look back at the last level-up post for a description of what to do there.
• Be sure to look and see if any of your class features get better at this level.
• You will all gain 1 encounter power. Choose wisely!
  

Now, a word on retraining - some of you are not happy with some aspects of your characters. There are allowances in the rules for retraining, which means that when you level up (as you're doing now) you can decide to drop and pick another feat, skill, or power. Note that that means you can choose one thing to alter -- you can't alter one feat, and one power, or any other combination; you can pick one feat, one skill, or one power and change it. (You don't have to let me know what you're doing, but I'd appreciate a heads up, especially since I try to create games that will utilize the skills and powers you guys have chosen ^_^).

Retraining is described in much greater detail on p. 28 of the Player's Handbook.

If at some point someone decides they just absolutely hate their character and want to make a new one, I think we've proved I'm pretty adept at killing off party members, so that can be arranged. :-D Just leave a comment or send me an email and we'll chat about it.

I'm sure you've all noticed that one of the rewards from the last adventure was a pair of catstep boots (you found them in the remains of the ochre jelly). Whenever I award treasure that cannot be equally divided, you can do one of three things:

• Sell it and divide the profit.
• Decide among yourselves who will get it.
• Come up with some sort of ingenious plan in-game :)

I'll ask what your decision is at the beginning of the next session.

It looks like we'll be playing Saturday; let's get together at 6:30 PM. Bring your hungry faces! ;)

Session 4: A Tangle of Snares

The road is Summercrest is long and narrow, passing through all kinds of terrain. It is largely untraveled and uninhabited, and so for eight days, the party passed through the great Forest of Tryn without seeing another soul.

On the ninth day, they awoke, and realized they were running low on water. The basket of Everlasting Provisions that Jaden had was feeding them well, but it had been over a week since any rain had fallen, and even the magic of the Provisions was having a hard time keeping up with the thirst of two large Dragonborns. They decide to try and fill their canteens from a lake or stream, and so made their way into the forest to find one.

About 100 yards off the trail they found a small lake, more of a pond really. As they were filling their canteens, they noticed on the other side of the lake a small gaggle of pseudodragons. The pseudodragons were just getting a drink, and while they definitely saw the party, they didn't seem particularly interested in them. Rougi, however, decided that they should try to trap them; they knew pseudodragons could be good as pets, and figured they could sell them in Summercrest.

Kava was able to fashion a quick but sturdy cage out of dead wood and the lengths of rope the party had. Then, before the pseudodragons could run off, Kava and Kriv began to move around one side of the lake, and Jaden around the other, with the intention of herding them down to where Rougi stood with the cage, now baited with some meat. The pseudodragons were a little skittish about the party's approach, so Kava held out a piece of meat to entice them closer. One of them slowly and cautiously approached her. Then, to her surprise, it went invisible! As Kava looked around puzzledly for it, she suddenly found that it had taken the meat right out of her hands.

For a moment this was amusing. But apparently the pseudodragons were hungrier and more aggressive than the party realized because only seconds after this, the little creatures began to attack. While not particularly powerful, they dealt out acid damage with the stings of their tails. Rougi, watching from the other side of the lake, realized that this was a bit serious, and began to rush over to help them. It's a good thing too, for Kava went down, precariously close to death once more, though Kriv managed to revive her. Kava and Jaden ended up being ganged up on, which was no small problem for them, but this left Kriv and Rougi free to attack them unencumbered. After Kava revived and Rougi arrived, the battle quickly turned in the party's favor, and they were able to subdue the pseudodragons. Getting them into the cage in their unconscious state, they then fed them some healing potions and locked the cage up tight. The pseudodragons snapped at them angrily, but were unable to escape, and could not sting the party anymore (unless they stuck their hands in, which no one did).

The party elected to rest for about 15 minutes, and then began making their way back to the road. As they did, they passed by a rather large tree, when, to their surprise, a mouth appeared on the tree, and it cried out, "Beware! Ochre Jelly!" Kava, Kriv, and Jaden were instantly on their guard, knowing that Ochre Jellies are a very dangerous and vicious kind of ooze monster. Rougi, however, was unaware of this, and so when a viscous creature the color of dried blood began to seep out from under the tree, he was caught completely off-guard.

The ochre jelly proved a bit of an elusive foe, shifting behind cover after its powerful slam attacks. Once again, Kava was nearly brought down. All in all though, the battle went remarkably well - before long the jelly split into two in a desperate attempt to divide them, but this actually only made it easier to bring it down. Kriv healed Kava, and pretty soon it was all over.

As the jelly dissolved, melting away in its death throes, the party realized there was a large number of bones and assorted items now scattered at their feet. The jelly had claimed many victims over the years, and had melted away their flesh for its sustenance, but the bones, equipment, and sometimes even clothing of its meals had not been digested and now was strewn about on the forest floor. Ever in search of more loot, the party pawed through the remains, finding 360 gp.

As they were looting, they found another strange thing - the leg bones of a humanoid, with some remnants of the trousers still attached. Sewn onto the hem of one of the pant legs was the symbol of Qualion's gang, now faded with age and ochre jelly acid. They made a search among the field of debris for a skull, but found only the skulls of animals. Eventually, they decided to head back for the road.

They had almost reached the road again when Rougi noticed a sword lying in the bushes. Walking over cautiously, he saw that the sword was clasped in the hands of a mangled skeleton missing its legs. Figuring this was the other half of the Qualion associate they'd found earlier, they took the skull, hoping to find someone to do Speak With Dead again in Summercrest.

Having just faced two battles in a short amount of time, the party opted to take their rest now, even though it was only mid-day. Securing a small spot just off the road, they fell into a much deserved sleep.

Rewards

XP: 900 XP
Money: 360 gp (90 gp apiece)
Treasure: Catstep Boots (Level 3)

Interlude: Level Up!

At this point, everyone should have 1,400 XP, which means you are ready to advance to level 2!

Leveling up is very well laid-out in the Player's Handbook on pages 27-29. To summarize what is says there and apply it to the party's circumstances, do this to level up:

1. Change your level value on your character sheet :)
2. There are a number of values that depend on your level, or rather 1/2 your level. Since you are now at level 2, where before you had a +0 (level 1 /2 = 0) to certain things, you now have a +1 (level 2/2 = 1)! Under initiative, skills, and the AC, Fort, Ref, and Will defenses there are boxes that read "1/2 LVL" -- modify these boxes and recalculate your scores. If any of you have secondary ability modifiers (the column that says MOD + 1/2 LVL under "Ability Scores") then be sure to increment that number as well. Your base attack bonuses will all go up by 1 as well!
3. Look at your class description - it will tell you how many hit points you gain per level. Increase your Max Hit points with this value, and then recalculate your bloodied hit points (1/2 Max) and your surge value (1/4 Max HP).
   Cleric, p. 60 PHB, Fighter p. 75 PHB, Rogue, p. 116 PHB, Warlock p. 129 PHB
   
4. Read through your class description to see if any of your class feats improve at this level.
5. You can each choose 1 extra feat and also gain a Level 2 Utility Power (these are found under your class description). Be sure to pay attention to the feat prerequistes when choosing.

And that's it! Now, if you're thinking that was really easy, good! Leveling was not always this straightforward :) If you're thinking you had thought it would be a lot cooler than that, don't worry! Level 2 isn't as big a jump as say, Level 4. The more levels you gain, the more stuff you get between them.

As a bit of a side note, you may notice that the party won/found 720 GP last session. That amount needs to be divided among the party members. If you guys want me to just always divide the money into four equal parts, that's fine; if you want to haggle in-game, that's fine too. Just send me emails or leave comments on the blog post to let me know.

Looking forward to playing again on the 3rd!

Merry Christmas everyone, and safe journeys, whereever you are!

Session 3: Gathering Victory

Early the next morning, Artin knocked on the door of the room Kriv and Jaden were staying in. She said she was ready to begin performing the Raise Dead rituals, but would need her payment now so that she could go and buy the necessary components. Jaden took 500 gp from Rougi's pockets for his own resurrection, and Kriv paid out 500 gp of her money for Kava. Artin decided to do Kava first, since there was less of her corpse present to do the ritual with. So she went out to buy her spell components, then returned, asked Jaden for the dismembered hand of Kava, and then disappeared into the upper floors of the temple.

Kriv, still in mourning over the death of her sister, decided to stay in the temple for the day, praying and meditating. Jaden, however, decided to get a jump on things and went out into the city to continue their quest. She quickly and easily found Qualion's; since it was by now only mid-day, the tavern was mostly quiet. The symbol in question was clearly visible on the back wall of the building, painted in a ill-lit corner clearly some time ago.

A young Eladrin male stood behind the bar, and Jaden decided to sit down and try to talk to him. His name was Draier, and he said that his family had owned this tavern for generations. He did not know what the symbol was and what it meant. He mentioned that his aunt, who was in fact named Qualion, would probably be the one to know what it meant. (Even though the tavern has been in the family for centuries, apparently it burned down some decades back, and since Qualion assumed responsibility for rebuilding and restoring it, she also named it after her.) However, he revealed that Qualion was now dead.

Jaden was a little discouraged. But Draier was friendly (and apparently a bit curious about Tieflings) and so she was able to convince him to ask his family about the symbol when he got a chance. He agreed, and Jaden left. Not able to find out anything else about town, she returned to the temple of Moradin.

As dusk was falling, Artin came down to collect Kriv and Jaden. She led them up into a high room in the temple, and opened the door to reveal a dazed, but perfectly restored, Kava (wrapped in a sheet since all of her gear was currently in Jaden's bag of holding). Kava and Kriv shared a tearful reunion, Jaden returned Kava's gear, and Artin bid them a tired good-night. The three all returned to their guest quarters and awaited the next morning.

Again, Artin awoke them early, relieved Jaden of Rougi's corpse, and disappeared into the high room of the temple. Lacking much to do, Kriv and Kava spent the day relaxing at the temple; Jaden made a brief jaunt out into the city to have her bag of holding cleaned, but also just kind of wiled away the day. Artin came to collect them at about the same time as the day before, and presented Rougi, now fully restored.

Rougi realized quickly he'd was out some coins, and decided that his first order of business was to replenish his stores. He and Jaden slipped away from Kriv and Kava and made their way up into the wealthier part of town, where he found a vulnerable house and stole a medium-value artifact.

Joining back up with Kriv and Kava they returned to Qualion's, which by now was in the middle of the dinner rush. Draier was very busy, and even though Jaden tried to talk to him a few times, he said he hadn't had a chance to talk to any of his family members and had no other real information to give. Rougi tried unsuccessfully to locate a stolen goods dealer through some discreet inquiries, and eventually the party decided the tavern was a wash at this point.

Since Qualion was dead, and it seemed as if she was their only hope of finding out anything about the symbol and the people associated with it, the party decided to attempt to locate her grave, in the hopes that they could convince a cleric to do Speak With Dead at some point. It took a good bit of searching and guesswork to locate the right graveyard, and it was almost midnight before their search turned up the right headstone.

Given the lateness of the hour, they decided to go ahead and return to the temple for the night. Upon returning, they saw the clerics performing a devotion; afterwords they caught up with Artin and asked her if she would be willing to perform the ritual. She agreed, for 300 gp (which meant 75 gp from each party member). Then she said good night and the party retired to their beds.

Once again, Artin go them up at dawn (Kriv, Kava and Jaden were still a bit groggy); payment was rendered, Artin went and collected the spell components, and they proceeded down to the grave. (Upon arriving they realized they'd forgotten a shovel so Artin and Rougi went back quickly for it.) They unearthed Qualion's head, and the party discussed what question(s) they wanted to ask her; since Qualion was not a worshipper of Moradin in life, they were probably only going to get one question, and they needed to make it count. When they had finally decided, Artin began the ritual.

At Artin's magic command, Qualion's eyes opened. Rougi, speaking for the group, asked where they could find living people that would know about the symbol. She responded, "My old gang, Dayman, Erevan, Soveliss, and Maivera." Her eyes then closed once more in death.

The party was unsure of what to do next. They reburied the head, and bade Artin farewell, then returned to the tavern, where they found Draier once again. He knew those names, knew they were friends of Qualion, but believed they left Elslein long ago. They asked if he knew anything more, or where they went, but he didn't. Kriv, using her most diplomatic manner, asked if there was a chance that any of his family might now, and if it would be possible to talk with them. Draier said Qualion's sister, his other aunt, might, and that he would be happy to introduce them later that evening. "Come back to the tavern after dinner," he said.

While Kriv and Kava sat down to a mid-day meal, Rougi and Jaden once again went in search of a fencer. They found one without much difficulty this time, and even managed to bluff and cheat the man into paying them 1,500 gp (which they then split) for a item that was probably worth only 1,000.

By this time it was only a little after noon. The party was eager to do something, itching for a fight, so they began to try to scout out some work. One person in town mentioned that one of the human villages in the forest was in need of someone to eliminate a dangerous pest that was stealing their crops. The party debated whether to buy horses and attempt to make the trip, but decided it was not worth it. They did, however, venture into the forest, hiking up a dirt path that led into the trees, hoping to find someone to scrap with.

Something, however, found them; after about an hour of crashing noisily into the brush, a swarm of four fire beetles lit upon them, spraying fire bursts and biting them. The party handily defeated them however; one of them tried to run, and Kriv neatly polished it off. After resting a bit, they headed back to Elslein. They ate a hearty early dinner, and the retired to Qualion's for a round of drinks to celebrate their victory.

As the dinner rush trickled out, Draier came to them and declared he was ready to go. The party got up to follow him; in surprise, he declared that he was only planning to bring Jaden. Kriv and Kava were okay with this, but Rougi, ever suspicious, snuck along behind the two of them.

Draier led Jaden to his family's home, where several generations appeared to live. They chatted with a few of his other relatives, then went to meet his aunt. She did not have much else to say than what had gone before, but did reveal that Erevan and Soveliss moved to Summercrest, a human city outside the forest, though she doesn't know where Dayman and Maivera went. She has not heard from them since they moved (they weren't her friends after all, just Qualion's). Jaden thanks her for her information, and takes her leave from Draier. He seems a tad miffed, but does not pursue her.

Rougi mock ambushes Jaden as she leaves; they rejoin the sisters and discuss what to do next. The party concludes that even though this information is a bit vague, it is the best lead they have, and they may as well begin the journey to Summercrest. Since it is almost two week's walk and the Dragonborns are too large for horses, they decide to begin their journey now, even though it is quite dark and will be time to camp in only a few hours.

The party walks down to the city gates, setting out on the narrow road that leads out of the forest to the south. Doing so takes them right by the temple of Moradin. Just as they are leaving the city, three goblins emerge from the forest. They look surprised to see the party, but do not hesitate to attack. Kriv and Kava are at a special disadvantage since in the low-light they cannot even see their enemies, unless they get pretty close to the torch Kava is carrying. Yet despite all this, Kava and Rougi prove fast and deadly, and make short work of these brutes. The high point of the battle is when one of the goblins comes at Kava, and she, in a startling burst of power, swings a mighty blow with her great-axe, and completely annihilates the goblin in a shower of blood! Rougi dispatches the other two goblins with attacks no less overwhelming. The whole battle is over in a matter of moments.

The clerics of Moradin, attracted by the noise of the fight, come down to see what is going on. In the end, the party decides to stay one more night at the temple.

The next morning, as they are leaving, they also see Artin heading back to Zaimier. She thanks them for their help the night before; from what they can tell, those goblins were worshipers of Gruumsh, a bitter enemy of Moradin, and so the party may very well have averted a hate crime. She cautions them to be careful in the forest; she had never heard of ghouls living here, much less attacking anyone, and wonders if maybe the forest is getting more dangerous.

The party bids her a fond farewell (as Rougi tries to extort that much more gold from her) and then, refreshed and emboldened by their accomplishments, set out for Summercrest once more.

Rewards

XP: 700 each
Money: 720 gp, to be distributed out to the whole party
Treasure: None (sorry, goblins and beetles just don't have a whole lot of valuables)

Interlude: Recovery and Change

So, unfortunately, since no monsters were defeated this last time around, there is no XP, treasure, or gp to distribute.

As Ben noted last time, being raised from the dead does carry some penalties; Ben and Kayla, until further notice, everytime you roll a D20, you take a -1. I'm gonna try and run you through some smaller adventures so we can get that restriction removed in only a few sessions.

I'd like to reiterate my request for character backgrounds (thanks to those who've already sent some over). Again, not looking for anything crazy or wordy, just a little info on who this character is and what motivates them. Kayla and Ben, think about how the experienced of being killed and brought back might produce changes in Kav and Rougi. (Those decisions are totally up to you, they might not change at all, but death has a way of changing things.)

UPDATE: There's been some questions about powers. There is a table on page 29 of the Player's Handbook that will tell you what powers, feats, ability enhancements, etc., you gain with each level (and what XP you'll need to get to each level). To answer some of the more common questions: at level 1, you have 2 daily powers, 1 encounter power, and 1 daily power. At level 2 you will start to gain utility powers.

Session 2 - Copse and Corpse

Fresh from their victory, the party eagerly spends their well-earned gp on various magic items and enhancements. Then, emboldened for their upcoming quest, they set out to find the Eladrin barkeeper than Jaden knew could help them.

The party enters the appropriate bar, which is crowded and noisy. The barkeeper is busily serving drinks. Kriv and Kava stand to one side while Rougi and Jaden go up to talk to him. To ensure the conversation goes smoothly, Rougi flashes a few gp. The barkeeper is perfectly willing to talk, and when Rougi shows him the symbol, he says that, yeah, he knows it - he has seen it painted on the wall of a tavern in Elslein, an Eladrin city to the east. The tavern's name is Qualion's. They question him further, but he doesn't know anything else about it, and he is pretty busy with customers, so they quickly part ways.

The city our heroes have been is named Zaimier; it's largely a dwarf city. A thick forest surrounds the city to the south, while a broad mountain range borders the city to the north. Elslein is only three days' journey to the east, and is the only other settlement less than 2 weeks away. (There are little villages scattered throughout the great forest, but they are small, usually farming communities with only a few plots.

Our adventurers set out on the road to Elslein. They have a fairly uneventful first day; at times the road is crowded, at others nearly empty. Eventually they camped for the night. Because Rougi, being an Eladrin, does not require sleep but can rather just go into a trance that gives him rest but leaves him aware of his surroundings, he kept watch the entire night.

The next day, the party proceeded, but with a little bit more caution. Around noon, they ran into a ground of elves traveling to Elslein themselves, selling foodstuffs and clothing items. They didn't recognize they symbol, and didn't really have much they could tell them. The elves moved on pretty soon, and due to a fast clip, were soon out of sight.

The road got more empty and the atmosphere more gloomy as the day went one. Though the road, a major highway, was broad and wide, the tree thickness on either side and the canopy overhead got thicker, and the sky grew cloudier. In the mid-afternoon, they ran into a group of human peasants moving from Elslein to Zaimier (the economy in Elslein has slowed a bit in the last couple of years). They were a little suspicious of the party, but answered their questions. They didn't know anything about the symbol, either. They did mention that they way ahead is a bit spooky, and then moved on.

As dusk begins to creep in, the party finds a large clearing right off the road, separated from the beaten path by only a small line of shrubs, but bordered about otherwise by thick forest. They decide to make camp here for the night. There are some signs of animal activity in the area, including some suspicious footprints, but they decide to take their chances.

Before they can even build a fire, three ghouls burst into the clearing, and attacked! So caught off guard was the party that their first attack K.O.-ed Rougi and left him bleeding and dying, and rendered Kava and Jaden immobilized. A short but intense battle followed - twice the party was brought to the brink of death and twice Kriv's spells brought them back to nearly full fighting power. But the ghouls were so powerful, and so often were their attacks immobilizing to the party, that they all quickly realized that the fight was hopeless.

Kriv and Jaden began to pull back into the woods, trying to gain some cover, Kriv still casting what spells she had left. Rougi, who was the closest to and hardest hit by the attack, could not get away fast enough, and one of the ghouls' bites brought him down for good. He collapsed, dead.

The party was almost starting to panic when suddenly, pounding footsteps were heard on the road. A female dwarf bearing the holy marks of Moradin came racing up the road, lept over the line of low shrubs into the clearing, and fired a radiant arrow into the fray. Unfortunately, she missed, and before she could reload, she also found herself set upon the ghouls, and Kava had already been killed too. Kriv, who has just reached the cover the trees, cried out in horror.

The dwarf let loose a strong blast of radiant light, knocking the ghouls back. Confused by the disappearance of the their other two prey, and frightened by the fearsome enemy in front of them, they turned and retreat into the forest. The dwarf and Jaden hastily stuffed Rougi's corpse into her Bag of Holding, and she and Kriv tried to lift Kava's body, but her 300-pound Dragonborn bulk proved too heavy. They were forced to leave it behind as they retreated rapidly down the highway.

After running for about a kilometer, they finally come to stop. Heart-stricken over the death of her sister, Kriv insists they go back for the body. The dwarf, whose name is Artin, says no, it is too dangerous. They make camp for the night in the middle of the road. Jaden and Artin swap keeping watch; during the middle of the night Jaden freaks out, thinking she hears the ghouls, and awakens Artin, but it turns out to be nothing.

The next morning, in the full light of day, they cautious made their way back to the clearing. There, Kava's body lay - the ghouls had torn at her flesh, but she was still recognizable and intact. Jaden respectfully stripped her of her armor while Artin amputated her hand, so that they would be able to resurrect her later. Kriv, with a heavy, heavy heart, dug a grave and buried her sister. After a short moment of mourning, they left. With haste, they made it to Elslein by that night.

Artin had been traveling to Elslein to consult with some of the other priests of Moradin at their temple at the edge of the city. In light of what has just transpired, she offers Kriv and Jaden rooms at the temple, which they graiously accept. They discuss briefly the price of getting Kava and Rougi ressurected, which will be 500 gp apiece. Artin says she will being in the morning, and wishes them a good night. Exhausted and heartsick, the two fall fast asleep.