You can find the previous episode here.
29th - 35th of Waxing Summer, 0AL
It takes five days for the adventurers to reach the edge of the field of blue grass. It's a rougher journey for them because without Shend around it takes them far longer to move through the jungle - not to mention, it's harder for them to find the extra water they need in the sweltering heat of summer. They arrive on the 34th of Waxing Summer and begin talking about their plan for taking down the entire pride of lions. Akta sends Fluffy ahead to scout, as he's the only one who has seen the lions' den in person.
The psudodragon flies off and doesn't return for a couple hours. During this time, the group discusses the various possibilities, such as picking off members of the pride while they're out hunting or charging straight in. They also gather some of the blue grass and seeds.
Fluffy finally returns, telepathically transmitting his findings to Akta, who passes the information to the others. There are seven lions lounging around a pool of water outside a cave. There are also various movements throughout the whole region of blue grass, but fluffy isn't able to tell how many of them are lions.
Determining that the lion den is closer to the white stone building than to where they are, they decide to head there first and attack the lions in tomorrow. The trip takes much of the rest of the day, and they arrive to find the goblins they left behind still there. B'yeta and Ilk welcome them back, declaiming that they have cleaned up the building as requested. The smell alone is enough to tell the group that this isn't the case - though B'yeta and Ilk seems to think the air is just find.
Following the trails of dirt and filth smeared across the floor, the adventurers find that they lead to the closed doors of the secret room they'd found on their last visit. Terrified of what they might find, but unwilling to spend the night with this around, Balasar uses his lightning breath to open the doors. Inside they find all the refuse from the goblins that had inhabited the building two tendays ago, and a stench even worse than before.
Ilk and B'yeta are disappointed that their efforts are unappreciated, but Kordak insists that it's not their fault - the instructions they were left with hadn't been clear enough. They all spend what little remains of the day doing some cleanup work, then they sleep down in the lowest reaches of the building - where the air is significantly cleaner.
In the morning, they head north, planning to circle around the pond - which is to the north of the lions' cave - with the hope that having the water to their backs will keep the lions from surrounding them. However, they soon come across something unexpected - a river. They consider jumping across - with Akta insisting that someone should pole-vault across - but, to Akta's disappointment, they decide that the river most likely leads to the pond, and they can keep the water to their backs merely by following the river to the den. This they do, and in a little over an hour they're peeking out of the blue grass into the trampled land surrounding the pride's home.
As Stor peeks out, he accidentally breaks some grass stems, catching the attention of the six lions lounging around the pool. He charges to the closest one, but keeps a short distance away, using his newly refined skills to lash out at it with a whip of water. Balasar charges out behind and grabs the lion's head, holding his mouth shut in the hopes of keeping him from alerting the others - unfortunately, they've already been seen. Extang attempts to cast a sleep spell on the lion that appears to be the leader of the pride and the three lionesses surrounding him - to no effect.
The lion held by Balasar swipes back at him, while the other five climb to their feet and begin charging in - joined by a sixth from around the side of the hill - except for the male, who roars loudly. Koardak rushes in to help Balasar finish off the first lion, positioning himself to be the easiest target for the oncoming rush of felines. Akta keeps back as far as she can, launching her spells from afar, while Stor activates his boots of waterwalking and runs out onto the pond, hoping to lure some lions into more difficult fighting conditions. The leader of the pride takes the bait, but retreats after his first attacks, deciding against fighting in the water. Stor spends the rest of the battle using hit-and-run tactics.
The lions swarm towards the group, mostly targeting Kordak and Balasar. As the adventurers finish off their second lion and are just thinking this task might not be so hard, more lions start running out of the cave to join the fray. As the area gets more crowded, some of the lions circle around to get at Extang and Akta - although Akta uses the swimming prowess of Shend's old armour to cross the river and keep out of the fight, leaving Extang as the only available target.
The battle rages on, with spells, weapons, claws, and teeth flying. A total of twelve lions join the fray. As their numbers dwindle, Balasar falls unconscious from his wounds. Akta finishes off the lion that took him down, allowing Extang to rush over and, pulling out his herbalism kit, stabilises the dragonborn cleric to keep him from dying.
At long last, the battle winds to a close. Stor revives Balasar with a healing potion, and the group goes to explore the cave, with Balasar lighting the way for those who can't see in the dark (himself and Extang) with a light spell cast upon his hammer - though, feeling weak and untrusting, he doesn't go far from the cave's entrance. As soon as they walk in, they see the walls covered with crude paintings and drawings - examining them reveals that they seem to be images of various people and monsters, possibly fighting, and possibly some buildings as well.
There are some other chambers off of the cave, but there's one that only Stor and Akta notice - it has a small crevice leading to it. Akta isn't very interested in it, because she's too interested in finding baby lions, but Stor goes straight to it. Being the smallest member of the group, he fits trough the space easily - finding another cave, but this one has marks scratched into all the walls instead of painting. It also has a few ledges cut into the walls - and on one of them is a book. However, there's a swarm of rats occupying the room.
Stor calls out, asking for one of the dragonborn to come take care of the rats with their breath. Extang squeezes through the narrow crevice and breathes his poison breath over the rats - it kills some of them, but the others, enraged, leap on the closest target - Stor. It takes a couple uncomfortable moments, but the two are able to finish off the rats and Stor is able to collect the book.
It's a very well made book, and he opens it up to find it has a large number of pages missing from the front. However, there is writing inside - in elvish, a language he knows. Extang and Stor move back out to the others, and the goblin reads the book aloud to the others, translating it to common as he goes:
1203
DE, Rhovmoon, Elinday the 7th
The
words here enclosed are the last will and testament of Baron
Tressamont Bal Mordrik, being of sound and stable mind. In these
tumultuous times, it has occurred to me that I must needs consider
the implications of my own mortality. The monstrous hoard that
overran Mordrikton seems to have come out of nowhere, with dragons,
orcs, goblins, giants, and other unidentifiable sorts, all
cooperating! I have never seen nor heard the like. If such a calamity
might befall us this suddenly, there is no telling what could occur.
I
am certain the Empire will clean up this malodorous mess presently,
but in the mean time, it is my duty – being without a blood heir –
to ensure my line of succession, that my people need not go without
leadership for long should the worst happen. It is my wish that my
title and lands remain in elven hands, as there are so few of us who
remain recognized for our ancestry under the current regime. That
said, it is my express wish that my inheritance not,
under any circumstances, pass to my next-of-kin, my good-for-nothing
nephew, Merricanad. Besides being an ignorant brute who looks like
the south end of a north bound horse, his intellect severely lacks
that which is required to function in civilized day-to-day life, let
alone in a position of leadership.
Rather,
it is my intention to name as legitimate heir my stalwart cousin,
Klarriana, who has proven her worth on innumerable occasions. Her
residence, last I was aware, is in Khernett. She is to receive all my
titles, lands, and possessions, with my wish that she rule long and
well.
Such
is my will and, should I perish, let it be done. Mirinrie safeguard
me.
1203
DE, Rhovmoon, Elinday the 15th
I
cannot believe we are still stranded in this cave. When the attack
came, I and those few who could attend me fled south in the hopes of
reaching Khernett, past the mountains. Alas, we didn't even make it
to the mountains themselves before we were were forced to turn west
by yet more of those monsters. They ooze from every crack and crevice
of this land! Had we not found this cave, and had the dwarf
accompanying us not fashioned a clever door that appears to be a
boulder from the outside, we may not have survived even this long.
Without food, we may not endure much longer.
The
peasants believe this is the end of the world. They are out there
now, smearing the walls of our cave with painted images as if they
were children. They claim that any who come later must know our
history – and that we must tell it in pictures, as they may not
understand our language. I say that language is a gift from the gods,
and any who forsake the traditions of learning proper communication
will be too barbaric to be worth telling.
Speaking
of barbarians, that mage, Kluslo, was furious when he learned I had
appropriated his spellbook. I pointed out that I had thoughtfully
torn out the pages with his inane scribblings, leaving them for him,
and that the succession of my title remains of utmost importance. He
stormed off, blustering about the book already being ruined anyway.
Humans. They never seem to grasp priorities.
The
monsters still swarm outside. We can hardly peer from our refuge
without the risk of being seen. I worry that our food will not last
until the imperial army arrives to clear up this mess.
Mirinrie
preserve us.
1203
DE, Kheramoon, Saliksday the 37th
Where
are they? It has been months with no sign of the Empire. What are
they thinking? They can't possibly allow the threat of this monstrous
hoard to exist in the realm. Mordrikton needs them! I need them. My
people are dying, even those few who made it as far as this cave.
Every time one of our number departs in search of food, those who
stay behind never know if they will return. Our numbers are
dwindling. Mirinrie, how do you allow this happen to your people?
1204
DE, Frestnmoon, Aliksday the 13th
Today
I found Kluslo's body. I was not even certain it was him until I
found one of his crumpled pages of spells beside him. What had not
been eaten of him was bloated and sickening. Though a hard-headed
human, he was the last of my companions. I am now alone. This book
tells me that it has been more than a year since the attack, with
still no sign of the Empire. I have long since stopped counting days
in favor of months. I am beginning to lose hope. Mirninrie, where are
you?
1734
DE (or so I believe), Kheramoon, Aliksday the 5th
It
has been so long. Writing is hard now, yet I must. I believe the
Empire is gone. They must be, for they have not come in all these
years. I have learned to be careful to survive. There are still
monsters everywhere, but not so dense as when it all started –
there was a time when they seemed to have turned on each other,
killing each other off. Now something has changed. New hoards of
monsters have come, driving off the old. These ones march from the
west and many are fish-people. I saw what could only be a mythical
dragon-turtle accompanying them, and something enormous with
tentacles. They marched right by my door, pausing only to swim in my
pond – it looked like they were headed for Mordrikton. It has been
such an age. I long to see my home again, so I shall follow in their
wake. I am old now, and skilled at remaining unseen, yet I have an
unsettling dread to wander so far from the safety of my cave. Should
I fail to return, may whosoever finds this book condemn the empire
and the gods who so abandoned us.
While he's reading, Akta gets bored and continues her search for baby lions - but, to her great disappointment, she doesn't find any. At the end of the books's text, everyone else starts picking through the cave - Balasar looking for a skeleton, while Stor is hoping to find the missing pages from the spellbook. All they manage to find are the remnant bones from lion meals and the boulder that was once used to block the cave's entrance - though it no longer fits in the opening.
Then they hear a roar from outside. Stor sneakily peaks out of the cave and sees that four more lions have returned from hunting and are surveying the carnage of the battle. Kordak presents a plan to block the cave's entrance to limit the lions' ability to work together, but Extang has another plan. Wanting to scare off these remaining lions, he runs right up to them, roaring. He manages to unnerve them, but they don't flee as he had hoped. However, with his friends' help, these lions are soon put to rest alongside the rest of their pride.
And that's where this game session comes to an end. What will our bold heroes do next? Find out in Episode 22.
No comments:
Post a Comment