Session 7: Titties are for everyone (3/27/22)

Pulyana 20, 1423.

Mockleg releases his grip on the lantern and horrifyingly reveals its properties to the party. It is something known as a prison of efirnyy, one of five vessels that were created by a long-dead dwarf sorcerer of infamy, Hradmir Gulac (aka Smite-Eye). Priceless and powerful relics that trap a soul on the ethereal plane, and then can track the unfortunate like a beacon. They also have a built-in security system which generates a shadow creature after an amount of time, and that shadow can kill others, converting them to shadows that will also spawn to guard the device. Mockleg insists that such an expensive and rare item would only be used to trap someone important, and when the PCs make it clear that they'll plan to track down more info and potentially free the soul, the Magician asks to join the party, as he is compelled to see this mercy through.

The group heads back to the Meek & Marrow to rest, but first Nebel'shoy spooks a maid in the bathhouse by making noise through the miner's skeleton. She is terrified, and Rucia, somewhat unaware of the gag, rushes in to save her, obliterating the skeleton and half the inn's cleaning supplies. They then head off to rest, the maid promising to just say that the skeleton exploded. The night is relatively uneventful, only Aldren hears some wailing noise off from the hillside.

Pulyana 21, 1423.

Bjork is stirred from his watch by a hard knocking. It turns out Lubomir the innkeeper is ticked off about the skeleton he bought exploding, and the resulting damage will cost the PCs the remainder of their free stay at the establishment. The PCs (apart from the still-sleeping gnome and Mockleg) head down and help clean it up, and Lubomir is given some coin for his troubles. He also tells them to check out The Flapping Salmon tavern in Zolovny, and he knows the doorman, a dwarf named 'Smoker'. They decide they'll be saying goodbye and making some final stops about Svodnikha before they set out to solve some of the mysteries. Nebel'shoy preserves the upper half of the miner's skeleton to use in a sack with some stuffing as a crunchy body pillow. Lubomir says his farewell to the group, and packs them all some rations they can enjoy from the previous day's leftovers.

Before setting out to retrieve Mockleg's carriage, Bjork and Rucia visit the smiths to try and identify the armor that the frozen minstrel was wearing in the ice cavern. It's apparently from a style of cloth-padded mail that was popular a century or so earlier. The PCs notice that the strange bloody tracks left by the mysterious riders that slew Krykba are starting to fade in the light. They make their way out to the carriage to pull it back, and Aldren finds some massive tracks nearby that might belong to a giant, perhaps another of the creatures like the mighty brute they fought in the cave. They ignore them and return to Svodnikha, where it's decided Mockleg will negotiate with the traders to sell off the carriage and several of the party's extra items. He doesn't get quite as much as he wanted. Nebel'shoy picks up his studded leather at the smith's, and there is also a visit paid once more to Tanka the Wise-woman for some tea (they get a mystery sack of two dozen packets), and some wisdom about what to expect in Zolovny. She recommends visiting the Bloombark Tabernacle and a priest named Old Shard.

At long last, they decide to follow the fading, mysterious tracks along the trail west from whence they originally came to the village, and head in the direction of the Skorbi River, Zolovny and possibly the long-abandoned tower of Smite-Eye himself, which happens to be local. After a few hours on the path, they find a grisly, coffin-sized cage containing the slashed, pierced and burned remains of a human, as well as the pelt of a white Samoyed dog and a red cloth pennant with language on it that they cannot recognize. They realize that this dog-skin might belong to 'Ankles', and despite some disagreement, decide to investigate. Though they attempt their best to stealth towards a nearby camp, Rucia steps on a few sticks and alerts whoever is at the camp. Some insults ensue, while the half-elf tries to creep up on the camp. He finds a small clearing with three tents, a cage containing some more still individuals, and a faintly lit fire-pit. But whoever is shouting with Rucia is not in sight...



Turning to leave, Aldren is struck with a javelin flung from a might arm, and flees bleeding back to the trail and the party. He's healed quickly, and the party approaches, with Nebel'shoy being turned invisible to sneak around and flank the campsite. When they arrive, they are not surprised to be met by a band of shaggy, belligerent humanoids which look like oversized, muscular goblins. A battle breaks out, and though the creatures hit hard, a combination of harassing spells and a pair of critical divine smites upon their warchief manage to win out the day. One of the bugbears manages to escape in the end, fleeing off in the direction of the Skorbi River. The PCs find that one of the three prisoners is Pavli the courier, and he's still alive! The boy weeps when he learns of the fate of his dog Ankles, but he is comforted by Mockleg and the others, who decide to heal him and keep him along with them until they arrive to safety. Despite his grief, Pavli is somewhat excited at getting another crack at peeping the windows at a brothel in Zolovny...

Before setting up the camp for themselves, the PCs search and find a stash of coins, some minor treasures, and a thick short-sword with a blade that glows a faint red in both darkness and light. They settle down and prepare for the next day's journey to the Skorbi River and beyond.

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia

Borgaborsk Map

 

Omutny Map

 

Zolovny Map

 

Session 6: First to enter, last to leave (3/1/22)

Pulyana 19, 1423.

Though a combination of spell debuffs and ranged attacks, like heat metal and the circle of spores, the PCs manage to stave off the giant brute, but for a time, it gives as good as it gets, meting out large amounts of damage, and at one point knocking out Bjork before he can be healed. As the battle rolls on, however, the creature's swings begin to falter, and it manages only to strike Rucia who can take the pain. They eventually kill it with the bard's mocking cantrip, and Rucia beheads it into its own pit of bones and refuse. Aldren considers filing off its large molars and does so, and then they search the cold cavern to find a soaked gnome corpse with a fancy studded leather vest (which Nebel'shoy claims), a coppery bracelet with a bat-like design and two small opal eyes, and a quality grappling hook which has been left in the icy ladder leading to the surface. After their ordeal, the group decides to use the cavern's natural shelter for a long rest. On an early watch, it's noted that a large snow-cat of some species is prowling about above the icy ladder, and it puts its paws down but can't find purchase on the slippery surface.

Pulyana 20, 1423.

Our heroes awaken and attempt to scale the icy ladder, which they only do after a few fall on their rears and take some minor damage. Through some careful use of the grappling hook and rope, they do manage to make it up to a hillside above the hunter's lodge, and several of them notice there is a nearby, wider pit just to the west. At this elevation, they can also see the chimney smoke rising comfortable from Svodnikha some miles away. They decide to circle back to the basement of the lodge and re-enter the caverns, and this time they decide to break through the entrance to the icicle-blocked corridor. This takes some strain and effort, Bjork proving almost entirely useless, and the noise seems to attract a chittering from the previously web-filled tunnel. As they proceed down this new tunnel, they discover a wet, icy cavern in which a bearded man is trapped with a lyre behind a wall of ice.

They note that the man seems to be wearing centuries-old armor from a nearby kingdom of Carpezce, and then set to work trying to chip the instrument out of the ice. It's hard going, Bjork breaks one of the party's two pickaxes, and Rucia manages to sever the frozen man's wrist. Eventually, they switch to using torches to melt the ice away, and after 8 torches and 2 hours, they succeed. The lyre isn't entirely free of the ice, and they decide to stow it up in the Lodge while they finish exploring. Nebel'shoy decides to wield the creepy wooden shield they found above. The PCs next explore the webbed tunnel fully, and arrive at a cavern that is totally choked with the stuff. They decide to set it all on fire, and retreat back from the smoke. After a short time, once the fumes die down, they find that there was one more giant spider in resident, and also a pouch with a few melted gold coins and a stubby iron key that looks like its for someone with short, stubby fingers.

The PCs then cautiously slide back down the chute towards the giant's lair, to explore the branching tunnel en route. Nebel'shoy loses grip on the rope-slack and plummets back into the lair, smacking against a wall, but eventually the four of them make it into the tunnel. It leads to what must be the large pit they saw from the hillside, a circular open cavern with uneven, broken ground at the base, and a series of ledges. There are corpses of game such as hares, foxes, deer and goats strewn about, and the large cat spotted earlier is sunning up on one of the ledges. It decides not to attack once the party has fully entered the cavern, although it eyed the gnome for a snack. They find a leather strap with a single bangle on it, and a slightly damaged goat-fur coat, and then retreat back down the corridor and chute to the giant's lair, where they once again climb up the ice ladder, this time more successfully...

And again, they can see Svodnikha's hearth-fires, only this time there is an additional column of darker smoke rising up in the center of the distant village! Rucia begins a direct march towards back, while the others scramble to retreat the frozen lyre from the lodge. After a couple hours, they encounter a man with a broken down, single-person carriage, rather fancy. He introduces himself as 'Mockleg the Magician', and claims his horse was murdered by desperate, rabid wolves (similar to the ones the PCs had encountered earlier). He implores the PCs to help him drag the carriage back, and seems quite a likeable fellow, but the going is slow, and eventually the abandon the idea since they're in a rush to return. They tell the magician they can come back for it later, and he agrees, joining them as they march to Svodnikha.

They arrive when the sun is setting, and find that one of the Soverat barracks has been burned down with Kaptain Krykba inside! The fire even caught half of the neighboring barracks. Rucia and his friends are shocked, and they ask the locals, including a Soverat Private what had happened. They are referred to speak with a young Eskryn Obylensky who supposedly witnessed the murder of the captain. The PCs search around to see if they can find any evidence, and one finds a note scrawled in blood near the barracks, reading "RUCIA...THEY KNOW ABOUT IT". They also find that there are strange sets of crimson hoof-prints, three of them, leading southwest out of the village. The prints are quite well formed, unlike usual blood spatter. Bjork takes Mockleg to the Meek & Marrow where they confer with Lubomir, and the magician is introduced to the esoteric innkeeper, while the others go to the Obylensky farm to speak with the boy.

As it turns out, one set of the hoof-prints leads straight to the boarded up well, and it has been smashed through with what seems to be a single blow! Eskryn describes the dark, armored riders and their steeds, and feels it is his fault as he pointed them out to Kapitan Kryba as the 'man in charge' of the village, who they interrogated and later killed before setting fire to his barracks. The PCs reassure him and Zilya Obylensky, and then head back to the barrack ruin and tavern. Aldren buys a bottle of milk and leaves it for Suchy at the St. Acre's Shrine. Nebel'shoy makes a deal with one of Ulbrek Anvilfoot's sons to studify the rest of his leather armor to match his new vest, and then uses locate object to see if any more of Suchy's stillettos are around. He does eventually take a walk and detect that there must be some left at the Shrine, if the ounce himself is not present. Rucia heads to the church to offer more healing, and has a conversation with Elisabetta, who offers him a place under Miraglee if he should so choose. He cures a pauper who seems to have chills and convulsions, who dances off half-naked into the village in joy!

Then the whole party convenes at the Meek & Marrow, where they play some games of chance with the magician, who seems exceedingly lucky with the dice, and seems quite inquisitive about the party after casting detect magic on them, especially Aldren who is not so forthcoming about the relic he carries in secrecy. Mockleg wins Rucia's 'everlasting friendship' in one round of dice, and also shows the PCs how he can use his prosthetic wooden leg to grow tricks or illusions, gifting a young girl some carnations which Bjork can't seem to smell or feel. They learn that the magician is also capable of using the identify spell, and has one pearl component which he can gift them for their assistance escorting him to safety from his broken carriage. The party decides which item to identify, and they head out quietly to St. Acre's shrine. The bottle of milk left for Suchy appears to have been half-drained and knocked over, but no one is present.

As Mockleg begins his spell, he is overtaken by unsettling feelings, and as the nature of the spectral lantern is revealed to him, he gazes at the PCs with horror...

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia

NPCs:

Benzyk Anvilfoot (dwarf male): A young dwarf male with a wedge-shaped head, well-kept and oiled black goatee and matching hair kept up in a manbun. He wears a soot-stained apron over a wool coat and breeches, and carries several tools of his trade about.

Eskryn Obylensky (human male): A boy of around a dozen summers, with sandy, messy hair and round cheeks covered in freckles. He wears clothing normal for local farmers, and a hooded overcoat that must have been cut from a vegetable sack.

Mockleg the Magician (human male): A young man with smooth, handsome features, including a wispy moustache that matches his dirty, shoulder-length hair. He wears thick, burgundy-colored robes stitched with stars, suns and moons of copper, silver and bronze. A fur cap is fastened beneath his chin, with a few cards and feathers tucked into it, and he has a large, seal-skin satchel slung over his left shoulder. He leans upon a quarterstaff of stained birch, and several colored ribbons are fastened upon it, flapping in the breeze. He seems to heavily favor his left leg, and limp slightly as he strides confidently in your direction.

Session 5: Check your prison pocket (1/16/22)

Pulyana 19, 1423.

The PCs examine the strange webbing and find that it has a fluffy texture, but is still quite sticky. They approach the hunters' lodge, dividing into two pairs to enter each of the doors, which are slightly ajar, letting in drifts of snow to the interior. The lodge has been divided into two areas, one with an old stone floor and fire pit, and bed, and the other a kitchen with a great heart, table, and lots of stored foodstuffs. They note that the ceiling loft area of the room is obscured by the fluffy webs, and soon after, they meet what has made them...a deformed humanoid with mandibles, and a pair of giant spiders. Each of the enemies is able to spin a web that can bind up our heroes, so the battle is slow and dangerous, but through a combination of spells they manage to gain the advantage and eventually take down all the creatures. They search through the rest of the lodge and find some naughty drawings, some coin and a vintage bottle of some sort of wine.



Aldren finds a sliding panel beneath the fire pit on the old stone floor, and below is a low-ceilinged stone cellar full of the bones of humans, dwarves, and elves. Meanwhile, Nebel'shoy spies a bulkhead on the eastern side of the lodge which leads to a separate cellar, but it's full of more webbing. The gnome heads back inside and they lower him down into the bone-pile, where he finds a rusted iron key. They also retrieve a shield in excellent condition which bears the symbol of the evil god Denzemuth, and with a little historical brainstorming equate it with the legend of Sadyakov, an ancient general of the Blood Counts who was known to 'hunt' mortals in this area in his time away from the battlefield. This shield is believed to belong to him, and though the Blood Counts are a thing of the past, the fate of this huntsman was unknown. After a short rest, the group heads over to the bulkhead and finds that it is occupied by one more of the mandible-packing humanoids, and they find the fate of the two hunters they were sent to check up on...now corpses stuffed in a large ale barrel.

Behind the ale barrel, there is an opening in the cellar which leads into a chilly, natural corridor. There are bits of web strewn along the way, and the PCs enter single file. They come to a split where large icicles have formed to block off two more passages, and then they follow the one that has been uncovered (presumably by the spider things). After another long corridor, they find yet another branch which Aldren heads down, but it turns into a steep sloped slide, and he plummets down into a large, semi-open cave wherein resides a giant-like creature eating flesh by a fire. He remains quiet, and soon Nebel'shoy joins him. Not knowing the fate of their companions, Bjork and Rucia explore a bit more along the spider-web strewn corridor before turning back. Bjork heads down the chute and manages to pull himself onto yet another branching path. Aldren lowers the skeleton alarm from the bottom of the chute, and then he and Nebel'shoy try to pull themselves up on rope that Bjork let slack down to the cavern where they are trying to remain silent.

They both climb up, but Aldren falls again, and the giant-thing becomes aware of his presence. A deadly battle ensues...eventually Nebel'shoy, Rucia and Bjork all arrive at the bottom of the chute to reinforce their friend against this mighty foe, who wields a horrid giant longsword and can also hurl frozen heads at them which explode on contact! Will the PCs survive this one?

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia

Session 4: Wood is for the bedroom, steel is for the battlefield (12/21/21)

Pulyana 17, 1423.

The eye in the floor notices that Nebel'shoy has spotted it, and exclaims 'shit' before it disappears, and the gnome can hear a commotion and a door opening in the inn room below. He wakes up Aldren, who heads down to the common room, and then he himself tries to go to the room where the spy had originated. Rucia and Bjork wake up and then they meet with their druid companion on the second floor. The room is empty save for a cracked bowl with some dried up milk, and a small straw doll with a rose wrapped around it. Aldren convinces one of the tavern boys to let him through the kitchen, where he finds a sleeping cook, but also a paw-trail outside, and he sees a small figure hustling off to the southwest across the village. The party then gets some sleep at last before confronting Lubomir again about their lack of privacy.

Pulyana 18, 1423.

The PCs decide to split up and perform a number of errands and check out some of the other local businesses and perhaps track down their strange 'peeper'. They retrieve Rucia's new armor, and the forgemaster Ulbrek makes a deal with Bjork to promote his wares across all Brazoskov in return for free weaponry. The pair then head over to visit the Red Weather recruitment building, where 'Spineharrow' tells them his organization is looking for some murderers and favors humanoids if they are ever interested. Aldren and Nebel'shoy go to the Obylensky farm to tell Zilya about the mine below and offer he the chance to benefit from it, and in return she thanks and welcomes them at any time. Then they pick up some more strange tea from Taanka and inquire with her about the straw doll's origins. She says it is one she made herself and probably placed at the Shrine to St. Acres.

The gnome and half-elf meet their monstrous friends at the Red Weather, and then the four proceed to scope out the Shrine to St. Acres. Sure enough, at their arrival, the treacherous ounce spy bolts away across the farms, but not fast enough before he is brought down by the PCs, and then the creature, one 'Suchy', pleads for its life. In order for a bottle of milk and a promise of anonymity, the spy informs them that he was paid off by the kindly old lady Mdm. Grazilda to follow the strange group into the Well and their other activities in Svodnikha, and then report back to her. He won't say much more but that he doesn't want to be caught out for snitching, as Grazilda might in fact represent some dangerous agency. He also doesn't seem to know which way she left out of the village the day before.

The PCs let him go with a warning, and he rushes off somewhere. They then decide to see to a few final details before taking up Kapitan Krykba on his next job, to reconnoiter at the old hunter's lodge that was being refurbished, and determine the fate of the missing villagers who had set up shop there. En route across the tree-line in the foothills of the Gargoyle Steeps, the group is attacked by a small pack of savage, starved wolves, one of which seems much larger and more capable than the rest. A vicious but short battle ensues in which they are able to take them down, but for a few brief moments feared for their lives! After this encounter, they press on to find the hunters' lodge, which, along with the trees in the area, seems to be covered in some sort of fluffy, wintry-colored webbing...

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia

NPCs:

Suchy (ounce male): Before you cowers a 4’ tall feline humanoid with mangy gray-white fur and brown spots on its coat. Its eyes are deep green and slitted, its right ear has been chewed off, and its left whiskers seem to have been singed or wilted, shorter than their counterparts. A rusted shashka hangs at the creature’s belt, while it lazily holds a cup-hilted rapier in the other. Its fur pokes through a pair of shoddy leather breaches, and it wears a thick leather vest covered in small, stuffed pouches.