Session 9: December 5, 2023 (28th Day of Springrise, 1165 AS) Call for Backup!

Session 9: December 5, 2023 (28th Day of Springrise, 1165 AS)

Dramatis Personae:

• Echo, Wolfkin Hunter, played by Mike "All These Humans Smell Funny" P.
• Kelter Tealeaf, Halfling Rogue, played by Mike "I Can Save Her" Y.
• Vinny Boombatz, Dwarven Fighter, played by Eric "No More Hammer Time" M.

Quod Occurrit:

It has finally stopped raining! In the morning, the party starts their return to The Hollows, breaking their vow to never return there for a second time. They had managed to salvage a good amount of gear off of Esgar and co., and figure some silver in their pockets is easier to carry around than more spare armaments then they are likely to need, and they can now afford to pay for some extra muscle.

They skirt into a new hex for funsies, but regret it almost instantly. Vinny may not have the eyes of a hawk or the ears of a fox, but he does apparently have the nose of a hound. He notices it first: the smell of burning meat, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps which shake the ground, accompanied by terrible metallic creaking and clattering. Out from the greenery emerges  a massive knight, completely encased in ancient, rusty black armour, with a sign hammered into its breastplate. It carries a sword, brown hued with dried blood. 

Oh shit. This can't be good. They recognize this figure as being straight out of legend: The walking armour is the strange undead creature Teramalda, who wanders the Forbidden Lands looking for revenge ever since the dwarves burned her alive in her armour 350 years ago. The Rust Brothers regard her as the champion of their god, as her breastplate carries the sign of Rust. She primarily kills dwarves. Sorry Vinny.

Now, there's one thing that experienced players in this kind of game realize is that running away is A-Ok. Running away while never being spotted in the first place is even better. So that's what they do. Even if Teramalda isn't half as dangerous as she's reputed to be, facing such a monster is not worth the risk, nor did it align with any of their goals. They stealthily make their exit, with the creature never even suspecting there was a Dwarf nearby she could have destroyed. The rest of the day passes blissfully uneventfully.

They make it back to town, and Kelter does a performance for the crowd at the Inn. Nothing special, but being the consummate professional, it does the trick and the party manages to rest at the Inn for a discount.

The following morning, they visit midwife Nirvea, who gives each PC a potion that in game terms, allows for a re-roll. She is starting to worry that the Rust Brother Sturkas (effectively the town chaplain/morality police) suspects she is a Raven Sister. The Rust Brothers are a group of religious extremists devoted to the eponymous god Rust, and seek to eliminate the Raven Sisters, who are more like Druidic healers. She figures that now is a good time to get out of Dodge, and accepts the party's offer to claim Weatherstone. Nirvea then spends the day surrepticiously packing up her meagre possessions.

They also procure the the services of two stout lads, namely Darryl and his other brother Darryl, who seem pretty handy in a scrap, even though they are farmers by trade. Life in the Forbidden Lands is harsh, and most people have some skill at arms to protect what little they have. With that, they stay at the Inn for the night.

Later that day, Princess Arvia does indeed make it to The Hollows with her small retinue. Vinny offers her the legendary warhammer Scarnesbane in exchange for her assistance in securing Weatherstone, and she gladly accepts. She promises to help the party take Weatherstone, and will send them help in the future if needed. Looks like Kelter is back in her good graces too. Arvia leaves the rest of her party to continue on without her, as she confides in our heroes that she doesn't completely trust their motives. Her retainers protest, but the will of Arvia cannot be countermanded. 

They spend another night in town, and head out in the morning, bound for Weatherstone, having more than doubled the size of their squad. Most importantly, they have acquired the services of a skilled healer. Given the habits of our heroes, she is going to come in very handy. And a the services of a legendary Dwarven warrior is never a thing to take lightly either.

Unfortunately things don't go well out of the gate. They run into a recent rock and mudslide (not the drink), and spend the rest of the day staying put, recovering from the injuries they suffered dealing with it. Hardly an auspicious start for their new quest! However, to remedy the situation, Kelter goes hunting and bags a boar (before it tried to kill him, unlike last time), and everyone eats well and finishes the day in high spirits.

The next day it starts raining again. The party comes across a band of beggars, possibly the same ones as last time. They give them some furs and as much food and water as they could spare. Grateful, and now with full bellies and furs to keep warm, the beggars continue on their way. 

When they reach Weatherstone, Echo scouts ahead but is discovered, and the party finds themselves in a scrap with a patrol of about 10 skeletons. Here is where Arvia proved her worth as a warrior: She waded into the fray, taking a frightening amount of damage, but fortunately no critical injuries. With her and Vinny as lynchpins, Echo and Kelter as skirmishers, the Darryls as backup, and Nirvea as a combat medic, the skeletons are de-animated in fairly short order. This battle was certainly proof of concept: the characters and their allies are evidently a force to be reckoned with. With that, we end the session.