We spend the next three weeks doing our own thing. Devin takes a brief vacation out of the city to visit some family. Ash and Tris stay in the city doing whatever it is they do, and I find a blacksmith willing to rent me the use of his forge. I spend the majority of my days there, improving the quality of my weapons and infusing my hammer with the power of my rage. After I finish my work, I spend a couple of days relaxing at the local taverns. Then, one morning, I receive word from the Lord-Mayor that I and my colleagues are to report to his office immediately.

Session 13 – The Case of the Missing Rangers

I head over to Lord-Mayor Grobarus’s office. When I arrive, I find Tris, Devin, and Shalelu are already there. Ash arrives shortly after. I raise an eyebrow towards Shalelu in question, but she just shrugs. I decide not to pursue her recent whereabouts or appearance here further for the time being. Instead, I turn my attention towards the gregarious Lord-Mayor, who clears his throat a bit before leaning back and resting his hands atop his round belly.

“I have a job for you,” he tells us. “Recently, we received a message from Turtleback Ferry, a small village on Claybottom Lake, regarding a loss of communication from the Black Arrows of Fort Rannick.” Upon seeing the confused look on our faces, Grobaras sighs, then explains, “Fort Rannick is located in Hook Mountain just north of Claybottom, and these Black Arrows were stationed there, at my behest, to protect the region from ogres. They are normally rather remote, and it is not uncommon for them to be out of touch for some time, however the message indicates it has been several weeks now, which is uncharacteristic even for these fellows.”

The mention of ogres piques my interest. Those smelly creatures have long been enemies of Janderhoff and my people. “What would ye have us do?” I ask, eager to hear his offer.

“Travel to Turtleback Ferry. I have arranged for a barge to take you up the Yondabakari River, which is the fastest way to get there. It leaves this afternoon. Once you arrive, find out what you can of the missing rangers, then travel to Fort Rannick and see if you can figure out what the problem is.”

I jump up, eager to go, but Shalelu places a hand on my shoulder to stall me, “We will need travel expenses.” She tells the lord-mayor.

He waves his hand dismissively, “Yes, yes, of course. I will grant you 750 gold pieces each for the journey.” He pauses a moment, then furrows his brow as if just remembering something. “Oh, and that letter you took from Xanesha. We had it translated. It appears to have been written by her sister, and she may well be in Turtleback Ferry even now. Perhaps once you’ve settled this business with the rangers, a minor affair I’m certain, you could look into this sister as well.”

Shalelu nods, then turns to leave. The rest of us, save Tris, follow her lead out the door and back outside. Once there, I turn to Shaleu, “Where’ve ye been?” I ask.

“Scouting,” she responds, but the tone of her voice suggests she is not interested in expounding further. I am about to ask for clarification anyway when Tris emerges from the building carrying a bag of coins for each of us.

“Here is our travel money,” she says. “Once we get there, we should contact the priest Maelin Shreed. It is he who sent the message, and he will likely have the most useful information for us.” She hands out the bags of coin, then we all agree to meet at the river dock after lunch before parting ways. I watch as Shalelu stalks off down the street away from us, clearly bothered by something. After a moment, I shrug and head off for the Rag and Garter to collect my things.

After a hearty lunch of mead and mutton,  I meet the others at the dock, and we are welcomed by Rivermaster Tigh, who collects our travel payment as we board his river barge. As we begin to get going, Tigh tells us the journey will take several days, and they have a few stops to make. He also warns of reefclaws and boggards that lurk in the river, particularly in the Mushfens.  On the second day of our journey, though, it is not these creatures that attack us, but a swarm of large mosquitoes. Fighting these biting insects with traditional weapons proves fruitless, but Ash figures out that some of the barrels contain oil. She directs us and the crew to use that oil to make torches. The fire does the trick, and soon we rid ourselves of the nuisance.

A couple of days later, we arrive at a frontier trading post called Wartle. The crew of the barge has some business here, so we check out the area. In talking to some of the locals, we discover there is much talk of an ancient pyramid in the swamps whose tip shows the carving of a naked woman. Recently, a group of adventurers went to investigate the site, but have not returned. After about an hour, the crew of the barge are ready to continue, so we bid goodbye to the locals and continue our journey.

Our next stop is Whistledown, which rests at the end of the Yondabakari River, and is the gateway to Lake Syrantula. The town is made up mostly of humans, but a large number of gnomes are also seen wandering he streets. We spend a couple of hours here talking to the locals, who warn us that the southern shores of the lake are inhabited by many unknown dangers. Fortunately, our path takes us along the northwestern edge of the lake, and we soon arrive at Ilsurian before turning north up Skull River. Rivermaster Tigh points out the forest on the eastern shores of the river, and names it the Ashwood. He tells us of its dark reputation as a haven for ghosts and werewolves. Had we not had the prospect of killing ogres before us, I might have considered checking out this Ashwood.

On the final day of our journey, it begins to rain. It doesn’t bother me much, but the crew complains that such weather is unnatural at this time of year. Finally, we arrive at Pendaka, a small village on the south edge of Claybottom Lake. Tigh informs us this is their final stop, but there’s a ferry that will take us the rest of the way to Turtleback Ferry. We say our goodbyes to the rivermaster and his crew, then disembark and go to the waiting area for the other ferry. After a few hours, the ferry arrives, and is, in fact, made from a giant turtle shell, which certainly explains the name of the town we are heading to. We pile onto the barge, and pay the driver his fee. He is a gruff individual who remains hidden in his dark cloak. During the trip, though, he does relate a story about an albino gar named Pink-Eye who lives in the lake and recently ate some fisherman. He cackles with glee after the tale, and the rest of us shift slightly further away from the man.

We arrive at Turtleback Ferry at last, and quickly procure rooms at the Turtle’s Parlor, the one and only inn, run by Sestin Orlandi. Sestin tells us about a gambling vessel called Paradise that recently sunk to the bottom of Claybottom Lake, most likely due to Black Magga, a large sea creature that sometimes comes into the lake from up north. The owner of the barge, a woman named Lucrecia, was originally thought to be a threat to the morality of the town, but her loss, and that of the nearly two dozen other lives, saddens the town. We give the man our condolences, and ask for directions to the church.

Following his directions, we soon arrive at the Church of Erastil and meet with Father Maelin Shreed, who also serves as the town’s mayor. He is an older fellow, and seems quite pleasant as he welcomes us into his church. “These are dark times,” He tells us, shaking his head in despair, and even mentioning the oddity of the early rains. He goes on to tell us about the sinking of the Paradise during the night two weeks prior, and about some random disappearances that have been occurring. The Black Arrows have not been heard from for several weeks, which is unusual even when there aren’t a lot of problems. Fort Rannick is on the way to Skull’s Crossing, and he asks that we check it out.

We spend the night at the inn, then hit up the general store and blacksmith in the morning to pick up a few supplies. We then head out along the “old road”, which leads to a bridge about three miles north of town. Beyond the bridge, I hear a howl of pain echo from the woods. The howl sounds something like a large feline. We decide to check it out, so Shalelu and Ash take point. Soon, we discover the source of the noise, a firepelt mountain lion caught in a bear trap. Eliatris approaches the injured animal, and is able to calm it. She notes that the animal appears well-trained and may be a companion to a druid or ranger. Ash frees it from the trap.

Suddenly, we hear the sounds of howling canines and a shouting voice approaching us at a high speed. The mountain lion retreats behind Tris, and the rest of us pull our weapons in preparation. Bursting forth from the woods comes a large, ugly-looking humanoid and five large dogs. The humanoid pulls up short, restraining his dogs as he stares at us stupidly. Then his eyes settle on the mountain lion, and his face turns angry. He yells at us for stealing his prey, then lets his dogs loose to attack us. They charge us, but we quickly cut them down. The humanoid wails in despair as I approach him, then he cries out for “mammy” and turns back into the woods. I chase after him, but Shalelu calls out for me to stop. He gets away, but Shalelu is quick to point out the high likelihood of traps set about in the forest before I am able to complain.

Shalelu goes to one of the hounds, and pulls off a patch. She shows it to us, a grim look upon her face. “The Black Arrows,” she identifies it. We quickly follow after the fleeing creature, noting the many bear traps set out along the way. We also make note of the many human-shaped fetishes decorating the trees. A brief examination of one of them reveals it to be made of dirt and human hair. Shalelu shivers, remarking upon the strange aura of the forest. We all nod in agreement. Indeed, there is something strange about these woods.

We exit the woods, and follow the trail through a tangled field of corn to a decrepit-looking farmhouse with boarded up windows. Across the opening stands a barn, looking equally old and rotting. In between, another of these strange creatures prowls back and forth. We see no one else about, so I charge out of the cornfield and attack him, catching him by surprise. I get the first strike in, knocking him back a bit. The others charge in behind me, and we soon overwhelm him, leaving him dead in the dirt. We take his belongings, including an amulet made of bone. I put it on, and instantly feel my skin harden. Devin examines the creature and determines it to be an Ogrekin, likely the offspring of Ogres and random adventurers. We then head over to the barn to investigate. The tangle of woods and brush behind it make it impossible to circle the farm, and the doors prove barred from the inside.

Leaving the barn for the time being, we head over to the farmhouse, where we find large ants crawling upon the front porch. Ash steps onto the porch and moves towards the front door until suddenly some saw blades emerge in the floor. Ash quickly leaps back off the porch, narrowly escaping the sharp blades. We choose instead to approach the side door. We enter the house into a gruesome kitchen crawling with cockroaches and rats devouring an unidentifiable corpse. A basket filled with severed fingers sits on the table among a collection of hands and feet.

I quickly move through the room and open the door on the other side, but shout out as a scythe swings out at me, clipping me on the shoulder. Beyond the doorway is a dining room containing a large table and a tablecloth made of human skin. A human head rests on the table, serving as a centerpiece. Ash moves to the next door, and checks it for traps. She discovers another scythe trap, and tries to disable it but accidentally sets it off, nearly losing her head for her troubles. The room beyond was filled with toys and bookshelves occupied with skulls. Two young-looking Ogrekin are playing with a squirrel carcass. They seem to be ignoring us until I enter the room, then suddenly the turn and attack us, their demeanor changing in an instant. We kill them, but as one of them dies, it utters “Mammy will get you.”

There is a second door leading out of the dining room, but rather than deal with an traps, I stand back and smash the door with my hammer, making a hole large enough to pass through without triggering the scythe. This leads to a corridor with several other doors in it, one of which opens into a bedroom containing the creature we encountered in the woods. He screams at us, and attacks, but this time he has nowhere to run, and we quickly dispatch him. His belt shone brightly, and seemed cleaner than anything else, hinting at magical properties. I took it, and put it on, soon feeling the effects as my muscles grew stronger.

We continued to investigate the hallway, opening all the doors. One led to a closet filled with the bones of young girls. Another led to a family room which contained a couch covered in human skin. A bearskin rug lay on the floor. Tris moved in to examine the rug more closely, and narrowly avoided falling in a pit trap she accidentally sprung. After a quick search around the room turned up nothing of interest, we headed back to the corridor and opened the last remaining door.

Beyond we found a large bedroom containing an easel, a brush made of human hair and a comb made from a human jaw. Three deformed men stood in upright coffins, their mouths sewn shut. In the bed was a large, disgusting woman who laughed and identified herself as Mammy Graul then commanded the men to attack us while she casted spells. She hit me with a spell which weakened me, and made me slower, but I was still able to help quickly dispatch the men as they ambled towards us. Mammy Graul laughed, but as we approached her, she cast another spell and disappeared. We searched the rest of the house, save for a staircase leading down from the kitchen, but she was no longer there. Weakened from the battle, we chose to rest for a while before continuing.

Session 14 – Cleansing the Farm

After getting some rest, we decide to investigate the rest of the house. First, we head upstairs where the stench changes from human decay to the far more pleasant stench of mold and mildew. We find a pair of rooms, one a storage room filled with barrels and crates that seem to contain mostly old rusty hunting equipment. The other room is a bedroom containing a heavy chest. While the others try to figure out a way to open it, I go through some of the barrels and crates, but mostly I just find dirty sheets and razor wire. I hear a cry of surprise from the other room, but no sounds of combat so I just poke my head in. The others managed to get the chest open, but Eliatris has a gash on her forearm from a war razor. Ash pulls out a bag of coins from the chest.

We head back downstairs then down to the basement through a door in the kitchen. Downstairs there is a corridor with three doors. The first door on the left opens into a storage area for broken gardening tools. A door leading out of this room opens into a corridor with a weird green tint on the walls. From out in the corridor we hear a bang and a loud curse, as if someone hit themselves while working. We quickly exit back into the corridor, and open the door on the opposite wall. There we see a skin-shucking room where gore-splattered skin lies in a heap on the floor. Most of the furniture upstairs was upholstered in human skin, and this room appears to be where that upholstery is made. There is no one inside, though, so we approach the third door at the end of the hall.

I open the door to reveal another ogrekin and a pair of strange-looking rats, though perhaps not as strange as the ogrekin himself who bears a vestigial twin protruding from the back of his neck. The ogrekin sees us and shouts at the rats to attack, but they prove a minor impediment. Their death cries cause their master to go into a rage, but we are able to take him down relatively quickly. There are no other exits here, so we return to the green-limned hallway to investigate what lies beyond.

Ash examines the door at the end of the hall, and finds no traps. She opens it, and inside we find a damp, steamy room reeking of rotting vegetable. The walls are covered in puffy fungus and mold, reminding us somewhat of Foxglove Manor. In the middle of the room, a large plant with a gaping purple maw and mushrooms coming out of its top snaps at us. Shalelu gasps, “A tendriculos! We must destroy it before it ravages the land.”

Trusting in our ranger companion, Devin and I move into the room, with me heaving one of my axes at the creature. The axe hits, but does little more than anger it, and it reaches out with one of its viny tentacles to lift me bodily from the floor. Thinking quickly, but perhaps in panic, I grab a potion from my belt and take a swig, increasing my size to double. Unfortunately, it provides little benefit, and the plant creature swallows me whole. I try to fight my way out, but the poison in its belly proves both acidic and paralyzing. I am left to hope that the others can finish the creature off before I die, and to my great relief Torag smiles upon me once more. Eliatris delivers a final blow with her sword, slicing the creature open and allowing me to spill out on to the floor. The potion’s effects soon wear off along with the paralyzing effect of the creature’s innards.

Once I have regained my breath and composure, Ash reveals that another door in the chamber opens into a small closet wherein lies a heavy chest. I drag the chest out into the room, and we open it to reveal a treasure of gems and coins as well a nicely crafted longbow. Shalelu’s eyes light up when she sees it, immediately recognizing it as belonging to a Black Arrow Ranger named Jakardros Sovark. She takes the bow, and determinedly strides towards the door, “Let us finish this and hope that a few rangers at least still live.”

The rest of us glance at one another, but decide to save our questions for another day. Instead, we follow Shalelu out the door and back upstairs. Outside, the barn door is open, and three of the ogrekin stand outside. Mammy, standing inside the barn, lets out a shriek as we exit the house, “Hograth, Jeppo, Sugar!” She calls. “Kill them!” Then she casts a spell and rises into the air while her remaining children turn towards us.

Having had quite enough of this place, we spring into action. I charge the tallest one, his eyes a milky white, letting loose one of my axes to hit him in the face then following that up with an overhead chop of my hammer which cracks his skull. He stares stupidly for a moment then falls dead at my feat. Shalelu moves up behind me, firing arrows at a second beast who seems to have an extra arm but no neck. He takes the arrows with heavy grunts, but is unable to withstand Ash’s sling bullet as it strikes him in the eye and he, too, falls to the ground dead before he had a chance to act. Seeing his brothers fall, the third roars in challenge and charges in. Devin deftly steps aside, slicing at him with his scimitar. I then move in behind the sad creature and bash in his brains…what little of them there is.

Ash and Elly move into the barn while Mammy screams in outrage. Inside, there are stairs ascending to either side of the entrance that lead to catwalks running along each wall. While mammy tries casting spells at the others, I race up the stairs in the hopes of getting within reach of her. No such luck, unfortunately, but I am able to throw both of my axes at her. What I wouldn’t give for a magical calling ability on them at this moment. Luckily, the others are able to do enough damage with bow, crossbow, and sling to finally take her down.

We open the doors at the end of the catwalks, me on one side with Devin, while the women take the other side. The catwalk continues into the next room overlooking an open space filled with the webbing of large, and as yet unseen, spider. In each corner of the chamber, the catwalk expands into a platform surrounded by wooden beams that create a type of cage. Inside, we can see manacles. One of the platforms sits empty, but the other holds three men, all emaciated. Shalelu screams out and runs along the catwalk toward them, completely oblivious to the hulking creature rising from the webbing below.

While Shalelu attempts to free the men from their cage, a giant spider with a disturbingly humanoid face climbs the webbing towards us. It heads away from me and towards the corner where Shalelu is working the cage’s locks. I race down the catwalk and around the corner with Devin close behind. Ash and Elly move likewise along the opposite wall, throwing sling bullets and bolts towards the creature. The attacks aren’t enough, though, as the spider lashes out towards Eliatris, taking a nasty chunk out of her arm. As soon as I get within range, I strike the creature with my hammer. It lashes out, but I lean back out of range of its gnashing teeth. With its focus now on me, Ash is able to take a killing shot with her trusty sling-staff.

Devin rushes to Eliatris to attend to her wounds while the rest of us free the prisoners. The three of them introduce themselves as Jakardros Sovark, Vale Temros, and Kaven Windstrike, the last of the Black Arrow Rangers. Curiously, Shalelu keeps her distance despite the concern she initially showed. We help the rangers out of the barn and reunite Jakardros with his firepelt mountain lion, who he identifies as Kibb. We put some distance between ourselves and the farm then set up a camp for the night to rest and heal our wounds.

 

That night, the three rangers tell us how they came to be in the clutches of Mammy Graul and her sons. They were on a long-range patrol when Fort Rannick was viciously attacked by ogres. Somehow, the ogres were able to get in past the outer defenses undetected, and slaughtered the men inside. By the time they returned to the fort, it was too late. That was when they were captured by the Grauls. There had been others with them, but they had all been taken away by the ogrekin to do whatever unspeakable things the Graul family did with them. All three vow vengeance on the ogres who took Fort Rannick, and we all agree to aid them. After all, it remains our mission to determine what happened and why. We will need to find out who was behind the attack for no ogres could have sneaked past the defenses of the fort without assistance. Vale draws out a map for us to examine and explains the various options for entering. A secret entrance behind the waterfall leads to some underground tunnels connected to the fort. There’s also a sluice gate on the south wall that could be used to circumvent the gate, but but it is close to the South Gate. He also explains what each building is.

Later that night as the group begins to bed for the night, Jakardros takes me aside and inquires about Shalelu. I confirm his suspicions that she is Shalelu Andosana whom he tells me is actually his stepdaughter. Many years earlier he and his comrades aided an elven community, saving them from a murderous group of ettercaps lead by a green dragon. All of his companions died in the fight, but they did manage to succeed in saving the town. He was nursed back to health by one of the women there, and he fell in love with his nursemaid. Shalelu was her daughter. He had only been there for three years before the village was attacked by the resurrected dragon, killing many including Shalelu’s mother, Seanthia. Jakardros helped defeat the dragon again, but his despair over the loss of his wife forced him to leave, abandoning Shalelu. He took up with the Black Arrows shortly after that, and now that he sees her again he is unclear how to proceed. I suggest we deal with the ogres at Fort Rannick first, then we can figure out how he can find redemption in the eyes of his former stepdaughter.

We head out for Fort Rannick in the morning, and it takes us most of the day to reach it. Knowing that ogres have no trouble seeing at night, we decide to rest for the night then approach the fort at dawn. By morning, some dark clouds have moved in, and lightning splashes across the sky. Seeing the fort up close and the ogres along the wall, we decide the secret tunnels behind the waterfall is our best bet, but there is a large expanse of open field between us and the waterfall. Ash sneaks through the tall grass to near the mid-point of the field, then casts Obscuring Mist. Using the mist as cover, the rest of us move through the field, and make our way to the watery entrance.

Behind the waterfall, we find a cave dotted with puddles and patches of moss on the wall. A passageway angles up into the darkness at the far end. We pass through and soon come to a cavern where a pair of shocker lizards watch us cautiously. Jakardros warns us to be cautious as we pass by and not to make any sudden moves, but both he and I get a little too close to one of the lizards and take small shock from them as a result. Fortunately, the lizards did nothing more, and we were able to pass by otherwise unscathed. Vale points to a crate in the corner of the cavern, and we discover some magical arrows inside, which we give to Shalelu. Jakardros indicates a secondary passage on the eastern side of the cavern that leads behind the new barracks. He cautions that taking this path would leave us exposed, but it is an option and would allow us to avoid the larger colony of shocker lizards.

After a brief conversation, we decide to risk the lizard colony in favor of a more advantageous entry point to the fort so we head north. We come to a deep ravine spanned by a wooden bridge in poor condition. Vale moves across to test the bridge and suggests we cross one at a time. After a few minutes, we make it across and continue along the passage. The next cavern we come to proves to be a crypt where the Black Arrows once interred the remains of their comrades. Jakardros tells us that its been many years since they last buried anyone here, because it filled more quickly than anyone expected. Rather than expand the crypt, they began sending off their fallen brothers and sisters in elaborate pyres. One of the set of remains has been pulled from its niche and lies in a jumbled heap on the ground. We move further into the cavern and suddenly come upon a translucent, ghostly figure. He turns towards us, his eyes filled with hate as he looks upon the remaining Black Arrows. Jakardros gasps, “Fenker!”

The spectre shrieks and lurches at us, but we are quick to react. Before the creature can do any real damage, our magical weapons and Devin’s power over the undead grant the hateful creature a final rest. We pass through the rest of the cavern without incident and prepare ourselves to enter the fort.

Session 15 – Reclaiming Fort Rannick

We approach the keep from below through a mass of winding tunnels, carefully avoiding the lizards and their eggs. As we approach the entrance to the fort, we find a pack of lizards camped out in front of the door, leaving no path to avoid them. After some discussion, Jakardros and I move off to dig up some bugs they are likely to have interest in. Once that is accomplished, Ash takes one of the shocking burst arrows we found earlier, ties it to a piece of rope and swings it. The electrical discharge makes a clicking noise that grabs the attention of the lizards and they come running. Unfortunately, the arrow slips from her grasp and crashes against the wall. She is unable to recover it, but the lizards are now preoccupied with the bugs and we are able to approach the door without further delay. I open the door and we walk into a room clearly re-purposed from its days as a jailer’s den. Luxuriant red rugs and sheets cover the floor. Veils of multi-colored silk hangs from ceiling to floor throughout the room, and the air smells of some exotic incense. Through the veils, we catch sight of a woman standing at the back of the room, red hair hangs down in front of her in braids, and in her hand she is holding a glass of wine. From the descriptions in town, this appears to be the woman who had once run the Paradise before it sank, and in all likelihood is Lucrecia. My hands instinctively go to my weapons, but she greets us with a warm smile.

“Welcome, welcome.” She says, “I assume you are here to deal with those smelly beasts upstairs.” Devin responds to her, but I didn’t quite catch what he said as I was distracted by Kaven who seems suddenly uncomfortable. As I refocus my attention on Lucresha, I realize she is offering us a position with her. I roll my eyes at the thought of it, but I let Devin and the others continue the discussion. Then she suddenly looks directly at Kaven, and says something that really unnerves him while wearing a devious grin, “These oafish Kreegs would have had quite a lot of trouble taking Rannick without the lovely details you provided us. Well done, my love!” Kaven’s eyes goes wide, and the look of guilt upon his face is unmistakable…as are the looks of pure hatred splayed out on the faces of Jakardros and Vale.

Kaven tries to run, so I reach out to grab him but he just slips through my grasp. He was not so fortunate with Jak, though, who moved to block the exit, and grabbed Kaven as he tried to run by. We quickly beat him into unconsciousness, but Eliatris and Devin argue to keep him alive for questioning. Vale and Jak barely contain their anger, but reluctantly agree. I take some rope, drag the unconscious Kaven to a corner and tie him up. All the while, Lucrecia is chuckling with glee. I hear her and Devin continuing their conversation, but I’ve had enough at this point. As soon as I secure Kaven, I stand up and quick-throw one of my axes at Lucrecia, hoping to catch her off her guard. She proves smarter than that, though, and dodges the spinning blade nimbly.

The others quickly recover from the shock of my sudden attack, and move to close in around her, but she just grins at us and casts a spell that creates a magical portal for her to step through. We’ve seen this kind of magic before and know that she is nearby. As we try to determine if she went back into the caves or upstairs, Ash and I hear her casting from behind us. I quickly move back into the caves and determine her voice came from the other side of a nearby wall. I point to Jak to go right while I sweep left. The others follow me, save for Shalelu who moves up to Jak’s position and Devin, who decides to hang back. When I come around the corner, though, Lucrecia is nowhere to be seen. I check the area for tracks, but there are none to be found, save those left by the lizards living in the area.

Suddenly, Devin cries out, “She’s here!”

Angered by the clever misdirection, I fly into a rage and run full tilt back to Devin. Lucrecia is in her natural form, with the top half still the red-headed woman, but the bottom half now the long tail of an emerald snake. She took Devin by surprise, but we reached him in time to prevent her from taking full advantage, and she eventually casts another Dimension Door and vanishes, but not before promising to see us again in “his court”. We scan the immediate area, but this time she appears to be gone for good, probably either going upstairs with her spell or using a second spell to get further away once she was out of sight. I consider her clever trick with the misdirection, and remember from my training at Janderhoff that other similar creatures have the ability to throw their voice. I point this out to the others as something we’ll need to remember for the next time we face her.

Having determined that she is nowhere about, we turn our attention to our captive. Devin wakes him with a minor healing spell, and we spend a few minutes interrogating him, including a question from Devin that surprised us, “Who is Mokmurian?” He asked. He later explains that when Lucrecia attacked him from behind, she whispered in his ear that Mokmurian would love to meet him. Kaven, unfortunately, proves fairly useless during our interrogation. He admits to being Lucrecia’s lover, and his obsession for her is clear. He knows little beyond that, however, and seems completely confidant that she will save him from his current predicament. As soon as we realize we have obtained all knowledge he may have, we turn him over to Jak and Vale, who prove Kaven’s prediction wrong as they carry out the proper punishment for his traitorous actions under Black Arrow law. We then remove what valuable items he has, and prepare to ascend into the fort.

At the top of the stairs, we discover a small storage room, which we quickly ascertain no longer holds anything of value. Ash checks the door for traps, but Vale looks at her as if she’s insane. “There are no traps here,” he tells us. Ash shrugs as I explain our caution, “We have a history.” I then open the door to reveal a long hallway splattered in blood and gore with several doors on either side. I move to the first door on the right as the others spill into the hallway behind me. As soon as they are all in position, I open the door. Inside, we find a gruesome sight as an ogre has taken to positioning some poor, deceased fat man so that he appears to be eating his own entrails. One side of the ogre’s face has been shaved off, leaving part of his skull showing. The room itself is no better off, as it is covered in gore and the mangled innards of several humans. He turns towards us, and gleefully declares we will be part of his next work of art, but we wade into the room and quickly disavow him of that particular notion.

After killing this ogre, I head back out of the room, and move across the hall to the next door. This one opens into a library where the books have been torn from the shelves, mangled and replaced somewhat callously. At the far end of the room is a doorway into one of the circular towers. I peer out through one of the many arrow slits in the tower, and see a raging storm outside. I can see a shadowy, ogre-sized figure moving near the gate, but the rain obscures most everything else. I can hear nothing but the howling wind and pounding rain.

The commotion grabbed the attention of two more ogres who come out of another room down the hall at a right angle to the one we are in. I see them, and charge down the hall to engage while Jak flings arrow past me. Together, we quickly fell the two new-comers. I return, and can hear more fighting in the mist. I wade in, but by the time I reach the sounds of battle, the battle ends. After another minute or two, the mist dissipates, and we move to the door at the end of the hall before the right turn. I open the door. Inside, an ogre holds the head of a ranger, one covered in blood and had apparently been using it as a writing utensil as there are words written in giant on the wall. I can’t read it myself, but even if I could, as soon as the ogre sees us, he laughs and throws the head at us before pulling out his ogre-hook and preparing for battle. Before I can suggest drawing him out, Eliatris and Vale charge into the room and exchange blows with the ogre. I attack through the doorway, and both Jak and Ash try to find a clear line of sight to fire their weapons through. After a few exchanges, Vale takes one particularly vicious strike, and appears dazed. Devin reaches through the doorway and tries pull Vale to safety, but the ogre takes full advantage of Vale’s condition and eviscerates him. The rest of us rally around Vale’s sacrifice and destroy the creature. We then retreat back down the stairs to where we encountered Lucrecia to catch our breath and lay Vale to rest.

Once we have tended to our wounds, we head back upstairs and finish clearing the level. The next several doors lead to another tower, an armory filled with a collection of heads, more guest quarters, a closet, the barracks, and a kitchen with a small pantry. The barracks and kitchen are completely destroyed. The pantry contains a barrel of pickled fish, but we otherwise find nothing of any real value. We then head upstairs. Jak indicates the first door on the right is the chapel, and the door at the end of the hall is the former Commander’s Quarters. The remaining set of doors leads to the tribunal where the Black Arrows would have their formal meetings.

I suggest we try the commander’s quarters first, thinking there is likely to be an ogre of consequence there. Upon opening the door, we indeed discover two such ogres. The first has had his teeth removed and replaced with a set of metal ones. The second is a female, who immediately cries out for her companion to attack us. We wade into the room, but the close quarters prevents us from being able to spread out. I move as far in as I can and engage the metal-toothed creature. The female casts a spell, and suddenly the room begins to spin and my vision blurs. I feel something hit me in the head, and when I try to speak my words come out as nonsense. It seems forever before I regain my senses somewhat. I see an ogre before me and step up to attack, swinging wildly. Finally, the room stops swinging, and I look around to discover that both ogres lie dead on the floor. I grunt satisfactorily, and look around the room. The room is decorated with finely crafted longswords and stuffed animal heads. A large map of the local environs hangs on the wall. Devin announces he is nearly drained of magic, and Jak appears to have taken a few hits during this last encounter. So, we decide to finish searching this room later, and head back down to the room below for a long rest.

Session 16 – The Rise of Black Magga

Thinking that the lower caverns may not be the safest place to rest, Jakardos leads us out of the caverns altogether and out into a covered overhang with a view of the fort. The rains continue to pound down which only ensures that we are likely to be left alone for the night. I take first watch, but nothing happens, and when I awake in the morning I find Shalelu watching the fort through her spyglass. She reports little movement in the fort, and after a quick meal we head back inside through the tunnel entrance.

Once back in the lower level of the fort, I take point, peeking out into the hallway. There I see a bizarre-looking ogre with knees that bend in reverse and a face full of red pustules. He seems to be taking great pleasure in tormenting two other ogres, and all three are completely unaware of our arrival. I step through the door way and throw one of my maul-axes at the weird-looking one, and it hits solidly in his back, but he continues to be oblivious to our presence. Ash then lets fly with a sling bullet which glances off his head which does finally draw his attention, and he orders the two lesser ogres to attack.

As they move in, I slide up to meet their charge, but slip on some day-old blood and drop my hammer. Recovering quickly, I draw out my sword, and cut down the leading ogre. Eliatris rushes past to face the Kreeg ogre, but she is stopped short by a mighty swing of his ogre hook. The Ogre in front of me takes a swing, but I easily duck out of the way as Ash plants a sling bullet in his face and drops him. I rush forward, and stab at the Kreeg just as he’s about to strike Eliatris again. A few slashes of the sword and he falls over dead.

We continue our way upstairs and listen at the Chapel doors. We can hear voices and shuffling around, so we spread out and try to draw them out by knocking on the door. The door opens quickly, answered by an ogre whose lower jaw is missing. Behind him stands a behemoth of an ogre with massive arms and a particularly spiteful-looking ogre hook. The jawless ones makes some kind of strange gurgling noise and lunges forward to attack, landing a solid blow to my mid-section. Having lured him out into the hallway, however, he is quickly overwhelmed as he takes blow after blow from myself, Jak, and Ash. He soon finds himself lying down in a pool of his own blood.

The large ogre roars in outrage, and charges forth. The doors to a conference room behind Devin, who has been standing off to the side, suddenly open and a pair of ogres appear there. Devin moves quickly to avoid their attacks, but is quickly under duress. The rest of us attack the larger ogre with everything we have, and though he gets in a few solid strikes of his own, he proves no match for our relentless assault. I rush into the conference room then where another ogre stands somewhat dumb-founded by all the action. I remove his confusion with a strike to the head with my hammer then finish off the other ogres harassing Devin. When Devin and I return to the hallway, we discover Eliatris holding a new sword. She explains that she found it in the Cathedral, and that she is certain it is exceptionally proficient against giants. Meanwhile, Ash had checked the corpse of the lead ogre and discovered a piece of paper filled with names written in Lucretia’s handwriting. Jakardros takes a look and recognizes the names as belonging to some of the townsfolk. He estimates about half the town is named on the parchment.

Jakardros leads us into his Commander’s Quarters, convinced we missed something the first time around. After some searching, we discover a secret compartment with a few items of note. There is a pair of magical boots and a jewelry box. Inside the box is a silver locket holding a lock of silky golden hair, which I identify as having come from a nymph. In addition, there are dozens of parchment sheets, all containing love sonnets to someone named “Myriana” describing her as being as beautiful as the moon. There is also a reference to Whitewillow, which Jakadros points out is in the Shimmerglens.

After some discussion, we determine we have three courses of action. The first is to return to Turtleback Ferry and inform Father Maelin of our success in reclaiming Fort Rannick. We also need to determine who this Myriana is, and what her connection to the Kreegs and Commander Lamatar is. Then, we will need to assault the Kreeg clanhold in Hook Mountain to remove this threat once and for all.

Jakardros and Shalelu remain behind at Fort Rannick while the rest of us make our way back to Turtleback Ferry. The rain continues to pour down heavily, soaking the ground and making the trip slow and miserable. When Turtleback comes into view, however, our complaints seem trivial by comparison. Water has filled the town, forcing the residents to climb to rooftops or take to boats. Pinned to the side of the general store, a woman and some children found shelter in one of the ferries, but they appear stuck. Devin and I rush into the water to help get them out, but as we do so, a large snake appears, riding the tides straight for them.

The snake is a nightbelly boa, a kind of large constrictor snake which could easily devour the children. Devin and I slog through the water, making plenty of noise but are unable to distract the snake who reaches out and snags one of the children. Luckily, we get close just in time, and are able to kill it before the child is swallowed. As we help the woman, a schoolteacher named Tillia, and the children out of the ferry and to safer ground, we notice that Tillia bears the mark of the Sihedron on her arm. We don’t mention it at the time, but I make a mental note to check into it later.

Devin rushes forward through the water while I climb the side of a nearby building hoping to get a better vantage point. It is only now that I notice it has stopped raining, but at the moment its of minor concern anyway. Ash throws a sling bullet towards the creature, but it merely careens of its thick hide. I reach the top of the building and charge forward, taking a swing with my hammer as it turns to regard our party. It easily avoids my attack, but at least we’ve managed to avert its attention. While Ash, Eli and I continue to futilely flail away at the creature, Devin gets in close and channels divine energy. This seems to startle the creature, and it quickly, and surprisingly, retreats towards Claybottom Lake.

After some time, the waters recede, and the townsfolk retreat from their homes and the church, cheering our ‘heroic’ efforts while naming the creature Black Magga. We spend the rest of the day helping the people recover from the damaging flood. That night, we seek out Father Maelin to inform him of our findings regarding Fort Rannick. He’s relieved we were able to rid the place of Ogres, but rather distraught over the death of so many of the Black Arrows. He also voices concern that the flood means the dam at Skull’s Crossing is not functioning properly, and offers a reward of 1000GP for us to check it out. We agree, and then ask him about the Sihedron rune tattoo we saw on Tillia. He doesn’t know anything about it, but we produce the list of names we found in possession of the leader of the Kreeg Ogres and we find Tillia’s name on it. He agrees to investigate the list and see if there is a connection between the list and the Sihedron rune.

We spend the night in town, and by morning Father Maelin has proven himself both resourceful and efficient. He meets with us shortly after our morning meal that it was used as a membership symbol for the gambling boat. We thank him for his efforts, then prepare for our trek to Skull’s Crossing. As we take our leave, Father Maelin warns us that it is believed trolls have taken up residence at the dam.

We make our way to the dam, and find that it is aptly named. Many skulls decorate the structure, including five large ones carved into the middle, one of which is nearly blocked out by a flow of water that appears to have made its way through a breach in the dam. A staircase designed for larger creatures ascends the cliff face roughly two hundred feet before ending at the mouth of the cave. Hundreds of stakes line the edges of the stairway, most of them decorated with various types of skulls.

 

Eliatris attempts to climb the stairs first, but she slips and falls into the water. As the best climber in the group, I take a rope and climb up without any problems. I secure the end, and the others use it as leverage to make their way up behind me. We then enter the cave, and follow a short passageway before coming to a small alcove with a 15′ ledge leading to a larger cave. Ash and I climb up and secure the rope. Eli tries to climb, but even with the rope, she is unable and must remove her armor in order to make it up. Devin follows with less difficulty.

As Eliatris begins to put her armor back on, we hear the sound of someone approaching from inside the cave. We turn to regard a large humanoid creature with two heads. When he see us, he yells “YOU NO BRIBE ME! I SMASH YOU FOR THE SKULLTAKERS!” and charges. Alas, his attempt to deliver on his promise falls short, and afterwards we find his stash of treasure in the pile of carcasses in the corner.

We continue through the cave, coming to another ledge. We climb it the same as the last one, then continue to the upper walk of the dam. Across the way we see 5 ogres, clearly exhausted from whatever work they’ve been conducting. They look at us, and the leader points to us and says “Slay them so we may be forgiven.” They move slowly, however, and we charge forward to cut them down first. The fight ends with Devin shoving the last ogre over the edge to plummet into the dark waters below.

At the end of the walk, we come to two sets of double doors. In between is a giant skull motif. The doors on the right prove stuck, and difficult to open. Leaving them for the moment, we turn the doors on the left and while those are also somewhat stuck, I am able to push them open with a little effort. Beyond them is a small chamber with two exits. We choose the ones on the right, which lead to a room filled with piles of rubble, flesh, broken weapons and dead ogres. Fungal vines hang down from the walls, partially obscuring some skull-shaped carvings. From behind the vines, four gaunt creatures emerge to attack us. I quickly identify them as trolls and charge in. The battle is fierce as their wounds heal nearly as quickly as we deliver them. However, once we discover fire deals them damage they cannot heal from, we are able to quickly dispatch them.

We explore several more rooms finding little of interest until we come to a set ofstairs leading down. At the bottom, we find a door that leads to a cold, damp room with a large pool in the middle. At the far end lies a large pile of skulls, and doors lead out to the left and right. As we approach the pool, a large water troll, known as a Scrag, emerges from the water, and informs us he is Grazuul. Having already learned of a troll’s vulnerability to fire, we make quick work of Grazuul, separating him from a very nice-looking adamantine trident.

Session 17 – Enter the Shimmerglens

With the death of Grazuul, we find ourselves free to examine the room more closely. We move to the back of the chamber where the pile of skulls is blocking a door. While the others stand guard, I clear away the rubble which takes me about twenty minutes. We then open the door, and proceed into the next room. This chamber appears to be a prison of some kind, with a portcullis on either side of us as we enter. Beyond each portcullis is a circle of runes that glows with a faint orange light. The cell to the right contains a small pile of crimson ash in the center of the runic circle, but to the left appears to be a long-dead devil. Winches set to either side are clearly intended for operating the portcullises.

I approach the left cell, and suddenly, the devil stirs, reaching out with one hand as he whispers, “Freedom”. I call the others in, and Devin appears ready to end the pathetic creature’s existence, but I convince him to delay noting that we might be able to get some information first. The creature tells us his name is Avaxial, and that he was imprisoned here by a man named Karzoug of Thassilon. He then requests that we put an end to his torture, for which Devin happily obliges.

We return to the main chamber, and open one of the other doors. This leads to a room with more water and a set of stairs at the far end leading up to an alcove with a scale model of Skull’s Crossing. Before we can move to investigate it, however, a creature resembling a large scorpion made of skulls lunges at me from the shadows. Fortunately, I manage to block its attack with my gauntlet, but I am suddenly filled with terror and flee the scene. After a brief retreat, I manage to recover myself and return to find the others hard-pressed against the mighty construct. I rush in to aid them, and quickly get myself grabbed up in his pincers. Fortunately, the others are able to finish it off before it squeezes the life out of me.

After catching our breath, we head back into the room with the alcove and investigate the model. Examining the skulls reveals some levers that seem to control the flood-gates. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any power running through it. After examining the rest of the area, we finally determine that the devil, and his long-dead counterpart must have been the source of power for operating the flood-gates. Knowing we must do something to save Turtleback Ferry, Ash and I volunteer to step into the magic circles. Immediately, there is a flash of light and the dam shudders. We can hear the massive flood-gates grind open to allow some, but not all of the water from Storval Deep to flow through at a proper rate. Ash and I are left feeling drained from the experience, but Devin assures us that he can restore us in the morning.

We finish investigating the rest of the dam, grabbing whatever useful items we come across, and then return to Turtleback Ferry to let Father Maelin know the dam has been fixed, at least for now. He is grateful for our efforts, and tells us that while he was gone he compiled a list of all the people in town who have the Sihedron Rune tattoo. It matches with the list we found in Fort Rannick. Father Maelin thinks the tatoos were intended to be used to harvest the townsfolk, though he can’t imagine what for. He also tells us that we should head to Bitter Hollow, a tiny thorpe for hunters and trappers that is near the Shimmerglens. We thank him for the information and hospitality then spend the night before heading out for Bitter Hollow in the morning.

The trip to Bitter Hollow is uneventful except for the heavy rains that continue to pour down. There, we find a trading post run by a man named B. K. Pedwyn. He is a scrawny, middle-aged man and apparently also runs the town, such as it is. He tells us that Commander Bayden is a frequent visitor and often took the to Wicker Walk, a path built to get people through the swamps without interfering with the local denizens. He is unable to tell us where Bayden was going specifically, but the other end of the Wicker Walk leads into the Sanos Forest. Some Gnome merchants also travel the Wicker Walk to bring their wares to Bitter Hollow, though they have been absent of late due to concerns that the local fey community of Whitewillow has been causing problems for travelers.

With no other information seemingly available, we venture down the Wicker Walk in the hopes we can find some signs of Commander Bayden’s passing. After a couple hours of somewhat hopeless travel, we hear a splash near the side of the road, and some crying. Looking for any kind of answer at this point, we quickly move to investigate, and discover a pixie named Yap. Upon discovering him, hope alights in his eyes and he pleads the following:

“My mistress, she is…ill. Very ill. Death would have been a kindness. The land sickens with her heart, and it cannot be cleansed until her misery is purged. I cannot do this myself. Please, you must helper her! You are friends with her human lover, yes? He wouldn’t want her left like this! I can take you to her — maybe you can do something. I have tried everything to cure her forlorn heart, but to no avail. She wails and moans in Whitewillow, and the trees and plants and nixies and frogs and everything are dying or worse! I can take you there! Please!”

The mention of her “human lover” sounds enough like Commander Bayden that we agree to help the frazzled pixie. He leads us through the swamp, where the ever-oppressive trees seem to lurk over us, watching our every movement. The dreary nature of the place reminds me of Foxglove Manor, only without the stench of death. At one point, Devin stops and stares at one particularly black tree, then points to it and demands that we kill it. Eliatris whacks at it with her sword, causing it blood to run down its limbs and the wind to cackle. Ash turns pale, memories of the Manor evident on her face. I urge the others to continue, and a short while later, I spot a clear pool of water. Eliatris appears ready to move up to it and take a sip, but I stop her with an hand on her arm. I shake my head no, and warn her that the pool may be poisoned as evidenced by the lack of larva and algae. We give the pool a wide berth, and continue on. Further on, ghostly forms suddenly emerge from the trees. Fey of all sorts float through the swamp, frolicking as they go. Phantom animals march behind them. They appear to ignore us completely, but Ash gets caught up in the revelry. Her demeanor darkens and she seems sapped of energy. Luckily, the parade soon passes. Hiding on Devin’s back, Yap points to the fading figures and chirps, “See? You see? Things are wrong here.”

Exhausted from our travels, we decide to spend some time resting. Shortly before my turn at watch, Ash wakes me. My mouth tastes like peet, and I almost fly into a rage upon being wakened. She points out a derelict ship that has suddenly appeared next to our campsite. It is badly worn and covered in thick, dark green moss. I try to knock on the side of the ship, but my hand gets stuck and welts appear. I smash a hole in the wall with one of my maulaxes and rip my hand out of the moss. Resisting the urge to kick the ship, I tell Ash I’ll take over on watch and to get some sleep. I try to ignore the ship, even when movement from the hole I made catches my eye, but suddenly my companions seem to disappear and I can hear, or think I hear, their voices from the deck. Thinking they may have been taken, I smash a larger hole in the side of the ship, but doing so rouses my companions who were never missing in the first place. With everyone now awake anyway, we decide to investigate. We toss a torch through the hole, but it is swallowed up by the darkness. Devin casts a spell, and the darkness recedes, giving us a brief glimpse at a doorway and an adjoining staircase.

We enter the ship, and open the door, revealing the Captain’s Quarters. Inside, the corpse of the captain sits at a moldering darkwood harpsichord. His chest burst open, and there polyps with white bellies and toothy maws wiggle about. We search around the room, and find some books containing nautical charts and sheet music. We take these and retreat from the room. Outside, we see a milky, white-eyed bulldog sitting in the middle of our camp and starting at us. Eliatris approaches the dog, which suddenly disappears as large worms burst from the ground all around. I rush to aid her, and am quickly pinned by one of them. Ash kills is, and Devin uses his divine powers to deal with the rest. As the last worm is defeated, the ship disappears. We rest for a bit, then decide to push on in the hopes of completing our work in the swamps and getting out as soon as possible. Yap has seemingly disappeared, but he did show us what direction to go the night before, so we head in that direction.

We come upon a large clearing with a pool of water ringed by twisted, decaying trees. From the water rises a ghostly, deformed figure. Ash goes blind upon seeing this creature, and then it screams at us, blaming us for failing Fort Rannick and for not protecting her lover. She appears ready to attack, but once again Devin uses his divine magic, and she quickly retreats. As she slips back into the water, she cries out,

“Return my beloved to me! Return my commander to my heart, or I shall find him with my vines and my dark trees will eat the land and churn your people to bone and misery. Return Lamatar to my embrace!”

Eliatris uses her healing powers to cure Ash of her blindness, and we retrace our steps as quickly as possible back to the Wicker Walk and Bitter Hollow. We spend the night there, and in the morning we are greeted with news that the Gnome merchants have returned. From them, we are able to purchase several items we think will aid us in our journey to Hook Mountain.

Session 18 – Hook Mountain

Once we complete our transactions with the gnomes, we head out for Fort Rannick to meet up with Jakardros and Shalelu. There, we find that Jakardros has begun the process of repairing the fort in the hopes of reinstituting the Black Arrows. Many people have come to aid him in his efforts. He greets us warmly, and brings us into the now much cleaner fort where we discuss our pending trip to Hook Mountain. He offers us the services of some Sherpas and pack mules to aid us in our journey and to carry supplies.

We set out in the morning and soon come to the base of Hook Mountain. Rain turns to snow as the temperature dips, but Ash uses her Wand of Endure Elements she picked up from the gnome merchants to keep us comfortable. From here, though, the path is much more difficult. I scout the area searching for the best path to take, finally settling on one that the Sherpas enthusiastically agree with. Using the Rope of Climbing we purchased, we are able to scale a few ice walls before coming to a ravine that appears to have been recently made. We send the rope across to secure itself on the other end, and Ash tightropes across. Unfortunately, the other end of the ravine collapses as she reaches it, and she just barely leaps to safety before plummeting with the snow. I dive ahead and grab the rope before it is lost. We quickly work to resecure the rope on the other end of the now thirty foot ravine, and the rest of us cross over without further incident.

Further up the path, we pass beyond the clouds, so we are no longer slowed by precipitation. Ahead, we can see smoke billowing out from a large cave entrance about a half mile from the peak. Two large figures, likely ogres, are standing outside keeping watch, but they have yet to notice us. The distance between us and them is great, however, so we decide we need a way to distract them. Ash produces one of her recently acquired wands, and uses it to turn herself invisible.

Ash moved to the other side of the cave, and blew a whistle, grabbing the attention of one of the ogres while the other peered into the sky seemingly searching for something. The rest of us used the opportunity to advance. The one ogre who seems more aware hops down a short ledge and attacks the snow where he heard the whistle from, but only manages to spray snow in his face. The other ogre laughs at him, but having forgotten about whatever he was looking for in the sky now sees me as I cross in front of the cave entrance. Whooping in alarm, he tosses a javelin at me, which misses badly, and I close the gap to engage him in melee. Eliatris joins me and we quickly dispatch him. Meanwhile, Ash cries out in alarm as the other ogre apparently found her, so Devin moves to aid her.

The first ogre climbs back up to challenge Eliatris and I, but is over-matched and we take him down. Devin helps Ash back to her feet, and together we head into the cave. The entrance to the cave is 25′ tall. Inside, the massive ribs of some long-dead creature jut out from the stone on either side. The ceiling rises to fifty feet before the passage ends at a set of stairs. Next to the stairs is an enormous statue of a forty-foot giant with cracked black skin. He is adorned in fine armor gilded with gems and a full helm in the shape of a fanged devil hides his face. In his hand, he holds a towering glaive. Around his neck hangs a medallion of a seven-pointed star. We slip pas the statue, somewhat fearful that it might activate, and head down the stairs.

We pass by a cavern with a deep pit that reeks of decay, and come to another set of stairs leading down. At the bottom we see two ogres and a hill giant who apparently thinks he’s an ogre. The others call him Lunderbud and order him to attack us. He proceeds to throw rocks at us while we descend the giant-sized staircase. Ash creates a fog cloud while I head down the stairs. Lunderbud backs away as I approach, and one of the other ogres moves up. I engage him, and take a nasty hit to the face which causes my face to swell around my eye. I fight on with only half my vision, but still manage to take down the ogre while the others dispatch Lunderbud. The remaining ogre calls for reinforcements and a total of eleven more ogres appear.

We back up to a more strategic position which forces the ogres to attack no more than two at a time. This advantage allows us to take them down efficiently without significant danger to us. In spite of our obvious advantage and prowess, all of the remaining ogres charge and die at our hands. The fear in their eyes suggests whatever is driving them is far more fearsome than charging to their deaths here.

We move back out into the main corridor and head down another passage, and climb down yet another set of stairs. Here we find an ancient shrine bearing the feral visage of a beautiful monstrous maiden with the head of a three-eyed jackal and the belly of a pregnant woman we quickly identify as Lamashtu. Standing near the shrine is Lamatar Bayden, or what remains of him. His skin has turned dark, and one hand looks like it has claws made of ice. He growls at us as we enter, and he begins firing arrows at us. Devin and I move defensively forward, and Ash creates a cloud of fog. With no targets to shoot at, Lamatar charges forward with unnatural speed and attacks us with those claws. Devin and Eliatris channel divine energy at him, causing him significant damage while I move around him and attack from behind. I only hit on one of my three attacks, but it proves enough as he crumbles to the floor with the final blow.

Heading back out into the primary passageway, we continue into a gigantic chamber with a long staircase the ascends between two wide ledges. At the far end, a stone giant stands guard while another sits upon his throne. Off to the side, looking as bored as ever, Lucrecia sips at a glass of red wine.

Session 19, part 1 – Breaking Barl’s Bones

Before moving forward, I grab a potion from my belt and drink it down. This causes me to grow to twice my usual size. The leader of the two stone giants, Barl, laughs and barks a command at his underling in giant. It sounds like a bunch of stones rubbing together. The other giant lifts up a large rock and tosses it at us. I go into a rage and charge up the stairs to engage him close up. A few quick blows brings the giant down. Barl roars in anger, and casts spells at me with little effect. I move towards him but he wields his earthbreaker with expertise and a few quick strikes has me on the ground. Moments later, I am awakened by the healing expertise of Devin to find Barl standing over me fighting Eliatris. Fortunate to have survived the heavy blows, I roll back to my feet and swing my hammer at Barl, landing some solid hits. Meanwhile, Lucrecia appears behind Barl and attempts to heal him. A few of his wounds close, but not enough as we finally bring him down.

We then move to surround Lucrecia who is in her full Lamia form now. She disappears, but I manage to bump into her while wandering around. Eliatris taunts her regarding her sister, and she rematerializes, attacking full out against the paladin. She proves no match for us in melee, however, and we quickly dispatch her. Ash, who had been on the other side of the chamber, moves to join us, and spots something in a dark corner near the throne. We turn and look, and the hidden figure of Lucrecia grins back at us as she casts a spell. Only Devin is fast enough to get to her before her spell goes off, but his scimitar does not cut deeply enough and she is gone. The image we cut down disappears as well. Cursing her name, we gather what items we can find, retrieve Lamatar’s body and retreat from the mountain stronghold.

Back outside, we discover that the storm indeed has ended. Down at the base of the mountain, we meet up with the Sherpas once again, and begin our journey back to Fort Rannick. With spend the night there, thank Jakardros for his help then make our way back to Bitter Hollow and Whitewillow to return Bayden’s corpse to Myriana. She restores him to life, but the process to do so causes her spirit to fade away for good. Lamatar himself thanks us and vows to return to Fort Rannick and aid Jakardros in restoring the Black Arrows.

We then return to Magnimar to report back to the mayor and collect our rewards. We spend about a week there before deciding to head back to Sandpoint. One of the items recovered from Barl was a note written in code that we were unable to decipher. Not trusting the mayor of Magnimar, we decide to take the note back to Sandpoint to see if someone there can help us.

The adventure continues in “Fortress of the Stone Giants“.