Colonial Caerdia: Blossom Fall is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't already familiar with this series, you can find the beginning over here.
You can find the previous episode here.
29th-33rd of Waxing Spring, 0 AL
Having recently fought some giant crabs, and some water, out group of heroes takes a break to recuperate and harvest some crab meat. As they are preparing to head on their way, they discuss that they should probably stick closer to the treeline to keep Jojen away from the water - as he appears to be prone to drowning. Jojen insists that he has no problem with the water, while wandering over to aggressively stab the ocean with his rapier. I'Un and John try to manhandle him away from the ocean, which makes Jojen decide to go for a swim to prove that there's nothing to fear.
Jojen wades out into the ocean... and suddenly gets caught in an undertow and pulled under. It takes Vala and I'Un to drag him out again. This time Jojen doesn't resist being carried away from the water.
The group continues following the coast for the rest of the day. By evening, the beach has slowly faded away, to be replaced by a steady incline and cliffs dropping down to the ocean. They make camp well away from the cliffs and John cooks the crab - very badly as it turns out, which is quickly apparent to Vala who is very angry about John trying to poison her, though her attempts to stomp on his foot fail.
During the watches in the night, I'Un discusses goals with Jojen. Then, on Vala's watch, to get revenge on John she steals a pouch of money from him while he's sleeping. John doesn't notice until halfway through the next day, when he spots Vala carrying the pouch, however she refuses to give it back and snatches it away when John tries to grab it. When John tries to push Vala off the cliff, to the ocean hundreds of feet below, I'Un and Jojen intervene - with I'Un sneakily stealing the pouch. The argument calms a little, and ends when I'Un shows that he now has the pouch, and says that he will be holding onto it for now. It is, after all, the pouch of strange coins they found in this land that they had agreed to keep separate for now, to divide up later.
They continue on for the rest of the day and camp that night. When they continue in the morning, they find the coastline curving in to the east, and the cliffs getting lower until - a little ways into the afternoon - they find themselves on the edge of a swampy marsh. They begin discussing their next direction. Vala is adamant about not going into the marsh, reminding the group of the dragon they heard about that lives in a swamp inland to the north. Jojen wants to make sure they return home for the Spring Festival and the political forum intending to be held then.
They are suddenly interrupted by three giant toads leaping out of the swamp and landing amidst them. I'Un quickly throws Vala on top of one of them, just in time to be grabbed in the toad's mouth - which he takes advantage of by attacking the softer inner-tissue. Jojen works to support his friends, while John goes after one of the toads, and Leshanna hacks away at the third toad as it grabs Luna in its mouth.
The battle doesn't seem to be going too badly until I'Un is swallowed by the toad holding him. Between Vala stabbing at the toad's head, and I'Un pummeling its insides, the toad is killed. I'Un crawls out just in time to see Luna get swallowed. The group converges on the two remaining toads, managing to kill them, but Luna is still inside one of them - and she hasn't been showing signs of fighting for some time. Leshanna slashes a cut into the toad's stomach as I'Un crawls inside - then drags Luna out through the hole Leshanna made. Luna is on the edge of death, but John is able to stabilize her.
This fight confirms for them that they don't want to go into the marsh. They decide to set a course straight north, through the woods, before heading back west to their camp. On their second night, they camp near a small hot geyser they came across - though far enough not to be sprayed. During a shared watch shift, I'Un approaches Vala, asking her to keep a secret as a friend. Vala has trouble with this concept, but eventually agrees, in exchange for being given the pouch of coins to hold onto. I'Un then reveals his back, showing a remarkable tattoo that appears to be at least somewhat magical. I'Un explains that protecting this tattoo is why he has to stay alive - why he hid in the barrel on the ship rather than helping to save it - and that it's the greatest secret of his order. He doesn't fully understand what it is, but he knows he has to keep it safe from those who would abuse its power.
And with that, this week's game session comes to an end. Check back in two weeks to find out what happens in Episode 13.
Sunday, April 07, 2019
Saturday, April 06, 2019
Lark's Landing, Episode 62
Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.
You can find the previous episode here.
3rd-4th of Waning Fall, 1AL
The 3rd Watch is setting out to continue securing the area around the white stone building so the new settlement, but Patrick - irritable an unhappy about not being able to save everyone - opts to stay behind, and T'Zaric flies off to do his own thing. Fiaeorri leaves Ruby behind with Patrick and the other four head off - first going to the cave that's an hour away that T'Zaric mentioned having dangerous-looking creatures residing in it.
Reaching the cave, the group stand near the pool while Extang sends his snake familiar inside, magically observing through its eyes. The familiar gets a ways inside the cave before the ground begins to tremble, then something bursting out of the ground kills it. Around the same time, a large, stony-skinned creature bursts out of the ground outside the cave, leaping into the air and piling into Quib and Logan.
It is a strange fight for the group, with the tough creatures frequently retreating into the ground, making it hard to fight them. Fiaeorri keeps to her word to not use Renn in this fight - sticking to her bow to prove that the sentient sword holds no sway over her. However, after much maneuvering, and waiting for the next eruption of dirt, they manage to slay the beasts.
Fiaeorri does a cursory sweep of the cave, looking for anything that was missed when earlier members of the 3rd Watch cleared lions out of this cave, but finds nothing more interesting than the child-like drawings on the walls that depict monsters destroying cities and people fleeing. On their way out, they take a brief rest while Fiaeorri sets a trap on the cave entrance.
They briefly head back to the white stone building before setting out towards the castle T'Zaric had spotted. They find the river and follow along it, keeping their eyes open for a good place to cross. As evening begins to fall, they are surprised by an enormous crocodile that comes charging out of the water - but Extang quickly banishes it to another plane of existence long enough for them to get away.
They camp for the night and continue on in the morning, crossing the river with a magical whistle of flying and boots of jumping. After a few more hours of travel, they come to a copse of trees where they can see the castle in the distance, as well as a small group of figures outside it.
Deciding to wait until nightfall, the group makes camp for the rest of the day while sending Extang's familiar - re-summoned as a fluffy white bat - to fly over the castle and report back on its findings. The bat returns, relating the hexagonal shape of the castle with a tower at each point, as well as a taller tower in the middle. There are also two semi-circular courtyards on either side of the central tower - one covered in glass with a hole through it. Though there is no moat, there is a lowered drawbridge at the front of the castle, and outside is a group of five orcs.
Throughout the day as they rest, those on watch occasionally see the orcs on guard change, but other than that the day and night pass uneventfully. Around midnight, they go into action. First, Fiaeorri and the bat do stealthy circuits of the castle, finding no other entrances other than the drawbridge at the front. There are still five orcs outside, bu Fiaeorri is so confident in how well hidden she is that she takes a peek inside - seeing a long, torch-lit corridor with doors off to either side, and a trap that is extremely obvious to her well-trained eyes.
She retreats and regroups with the others, and they hatch a plan to take care of the five orcs outside the castle. Extang magically digs a pit while Fiaeorri and Quib work to conceal it, then the four hide in the woods while Extang uses the light from his magical gem to attempt to lure in the orcs. After some time, they see that their plan appears to be working. Four orcs are attempting to sneak up on the trees - two fall in the pit, and the group attacks, quickly killing the two above ground and moving on to finish off the two in the pit. However, there were five orcs, not four...
Fiaeorri sneaks in ahead of the others, though with them close enough behind to support her if needed. The final orc seems to be watching the castle as much as the direction of the trees, but Fiaeorri manages to sneak up on him without trouble. Unfortunately, Renn, unwilling to be stabbed into something, once again thwarts Fiaeorri's attempts to attach the creature, and her second attack glances off its armor. Her friends rush in to finish it off, but not before the orc begins to cry out. Fiaeorri drags the corpse over to the side of the castle, where Extang quickly buries it with his magic.
They wait, but no more orcs come out, so they head in - Fiaeorri warning the others of the trap, then disabling it. She then tries to see under the first big double-doors on the right, but is only able to see dirt and dry grass, so the bat familiar is sent crawling underneath. Extang, watching observing through its eyes, can see what looks to be an L-shaped stable, with very large wolves in the stalls that wake up and start paying attention to the bat. Extang instantly blinks the familiar into its pocket dimension, then brings it back at his side, telling the others what he saw.
Fiaeorri turns her attention to the smaller door on the other side of the hall. This one has no such spaces to peek through, so she very carefully and quietly eases the door open to peek inside... but, apparently the hinges haven't been oiled in a while, and she hears a grunted, "Huh?" from inside.
And that brings an end to this week's game session. Find out what's behind the door in two weeks in Episode 63.
You can find the previous episode here.
3rd-4th of Waning Fall, 1AL
The 3rd Watch is setting out to continue securing the area around the white stone building so the new settlement, but Patrick - irritable an unhappy about not being able to save everyone - opts to stay behind, and T'Zaric flies off to do his own thing. Fiaeorri leaves Ruby behind with Patrick and the other four head off - first going to the cave that's an hour away that T'Zaric mentioned having dangerous-looking creatures residing in it.
Reaching the cave, the group stand near the pool while Extang sends his snake familiar inside, magically observing through its eyes. The familiar gets a ways inside the cave before the ground begins to tremble, then something bursting out of the ground kills it. Around the same time, a large, stony-skinned creature bursts out of the ground outside the cave, leaping into the air and piling into Quib and Logan.
It is a strange fight for the group, with the tough creatures frequently retreating into the ground, making it hard to fight them. Fiaeorri keeps to her word to not use Renn in this fight - sticking to her bow to prove that the sentient sword holds no sway over her. However, after much maneuvering, and waiting for the next eruption of dirt, they manage to slay the beasts.
Fiaeorri does a cursory sweep of the cave, looking for anything that was missed when earlier members of the 3rd Watch cleared lions out of this cave, but finds nothing more interesting than the child-like drawings on the walls that depict monsters destroying cities and people fleeing. On their way out, they take a brief rest while Fiaeorri sets a trap on the cave entrance.
They briefly head back to the white stone building before setting out towards the castle T'Zaric had spotted. They find the river and follow along it, keeping their eyes open for a good place to cross. As evening begins to fall, they are surprised by an enormous crocodile that comes charging out of the water - but Extang quickly banishes it to another plane of existence long enough for them to get away.
They camp for the night and continue on in the morning, crossing the river with a magical whistle of flying and boots of jumping. After a few more hours of travel, they come to a copse of trees where they can see the castle in the distance, as well as a small group of figures outside it.
Deciding to wait until nightfall, the group makes camp for the rest of the day while sending Extang's familiar - re-summoned as a fluffy white bat - to fly over the castle and report back on its findings. The bat returns, relating the hexagonal shape of the castle with a tower at each point, as well as a taller tower in the middle. There are also two semi-circular courtyards on either side of the central tower - one covered in glass with a hole through it. Though there is no moat, there is a lowered drawbridge at the front of the castle, and outside is a group of five orcs.
Throughout the day as they rest, those on watch occasionally see the orcs on guard change, but other than that the day and night pass uneventfully. Around midnight, they go into action. First, Fiaeorri and the bat do stealthy circuits of the castle, finding no other entrances other than the drawbridge at the front. There are still five orcs outside, bu Fiaeorri is so confident in how well hidden she is that she takes a peek inside - seeing a long, torch-lit corridor with doors off to either side, and a trap that is extremely obvious to her well-trained eyes.
She retreats and regroups with the others, and they hatch a plan to take care of the five orcs outside the castle. Extang magically digs a pit while Fiaeorri and Quib work to conceal it, then the four hide in the woods while Extang uses the light from his magical gem to attempt to lure in the orcs. After some time, they see that their plan appears to be working. Four orcs are attempting to sneak up on the trees - two fall in the pit, and the group attacks, quickly killing the two above ground and moving on to finish off the two in the pit. However, there were five orcs, not four...
Fiaeorri sneaks in ahead of the others, though with them close enough behind to support her if needed. The final orc seems to be watching the castle as much as the direction of the trees, but Fiaeorri manages to sneak up on him without trouble. Unfortunately, Renn, unwilling to be stabbed into something, once again thwarts Fiaeorri's attempts to attach the creature, and her second attack glances off its armor. Her friends rush in to finish it off, but not before the orc begins to cry out. Fiaeorri drags the corpse over to the side of the castle, where Extang quickly buries it with his magic.
They wait, but no more orcs come out, so they head in - Fiaeorri warning the others of the trap, then disabling it. She then tries to see under the first big double-doors on the right, but is only able to see dirt and dry grass, so the bat familiar is sent crawling underneath. Extang, watching observing through its eyes, can see what looks to be an L-shaped stable, with very large wolves in the stalls that wake up and start paying attention to the bat. Extang instantly blinks the familiar into its pocket dimension, then brings it back at his side, telling the others what he saw.
Fiaeorri turns her attention to the smaller door on the other side of the hall. This one has no such spaces to peek through, so she very carefully and quietly eases the door open to peek inside... but, apparently the hinges haven't been oiled in a while, and she hears a grunted, "Huh?" from inside.
And that brings an end to this week's game session. Find out what's behind the door in two weeks in Episode 63.
Monday, April 01, 2019
Dissecting World Building
The
creation of just about any fictional works – be it book, short story, movie, or
game – begins with the world building. Certainly, some need less than others; a
real world setting requires less than a fantasy setting, but world building
still needs to be done to create a convincing world for any story to take place
in. A world is a huge thing though – and the idea of building one can be
daunting.
So, how do
you tackle building a world without investing years in it? Well, the first part
is to remember that you don’t actually need to create a whole world – you just
need to make enough of it to make it look like you have. Like the
two-dimensional facades stereotypically used for movie sets, all you need is
what the audience will see – plus a little bit extra to hint at so they think more had been done.
Take
characters, for example. Each character you intend to present needs to be well
thought-out and designed to be realistic, but you only need to make the
characters that will be part of the story. Creating the entire population of a
city would be tedious an exhausting, so how do you make it seem like the rest
of the world still exists? Throw in a few names, and references to events that
take place outside the story. It could be as simple as a character commenting
on a paper written by someone notable – you don’t have to worry about the
identity of the person, or what the paper says, beyond what the commenter needs
for their line. The details don’t matter – the fact that someone was given a
name and did something noteworthy that has nothing to do with the story makes
the world feel more real.
The same
works for places, and is even easier. Just make up a place name, like Drexa’s.
The characters a talking, and someone comments on something that happened at
Drexa’s, or perhaps suggest it as part of a list of places to go. The reader
has no idea what the place it. A restaurant? A club? It doesn’t matter, because
the characters know, and it makes the world feel bigger than it is.
When world
building, it’s important to keep to the essentials. What’s important to the
story? What do you, as the writer, need to know to maintain consistency within
the story? If you aren’t going to use it, don’t worrying about making it – all you
need is a hint; enough to make the world seem like it has more depth.
Of course,
if you enjoy building the world and want to go ahead and flesh out every little
detail, go ahead and do that, too! Just keep in mind that, if you start to get
overwhelmed by the size of your creation, you can always step back and do less.
There’s a reason for the saying, “Less is more.” If you ever find out you don’t
have enough, you can always add more later – just make it one little piece at a
time and, before you know it, you’ll have a healthy little world of your very
own, ready for whatever use you put it to.
Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Blossom Fall, Episode 11
Colonial Caerdia: Blossom Fall is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't already familiar with this series, you can find the beginning over here.
You can find the previous episode here.
28th-29th of Waxing Spring, 0 AL
With a new house to serve as their home base, our group of heroes prepare to head out to down the coast to the south. First, they they try to acquire some more equipment so they can note down what they've found. This takes quite some time, as they don't have much to trade, but eventually they are able to borrow some navigators' tools from Captain Opal and acquire some paper from Lord Krandig.
While this is going on, some of them learn from Wyatt at the under-construction tavern that there is talk of a public discussion around the establishment of some form of official leadership during the Spring Festival, coming up on the first of Waning Spring. This is of particular interest to I'Un and Jojen, who would like to be part of such discussions, and they hope to be back for it. Vala also asks Silence to keep an ear open for any word on this Soggy Alliance.
Fully prepared, they head out, following the coast to the south - with Jojen grudgingly accepting the presence of Luna. The first day is uneventful, apart from the coast curving in to the east, with a continuing narrow sandy beach and the forest to their side. Through the second day, the coast curves to the south once again, and about halfway through the day they come across some giant crabs - the size of humans! - on the beach ahead. They discuss going around them, but they decide that they would like some crab meat.
John sneaks ahead, climbing up into a tree on the edge of the forest, and Vala goes close behind, intending to sneak around behind the crabs. However, she steps on a branch, attracting many of the crabs towards her. Luckily, the six crabs don't seem to be too much of a threat - even to Vala, who is surrounded and separate from the rest of the group - but then a portion of the ocean lifts up and begins attacking them - lifting up Jojen and pulling him inside of itself, attempting to drown him.
The crabs are eliminated, and the group rushes in to rescue Jojen. Their weapons seem to do little damage to the water-creature, as does the flame that erupts from Luna's hands to scorch it - and, unfortunately, Jojen as well. They finally manage to pull Jojen out of its watery depths, only to have Leshanna pulled in. They get her out as well, and finally defeat the water.
Searching around for treasure, they find lots of crab meat, and - in the shallows below the water-creature - a blue tourmaline which Jojen prices out as being worth about 100 gold pieces.
And that's where this week's game session comes to an end. Find out what next week will bring in Episode 12.
You can find the previous episode here.
28th-29th of Waxing Spring, 0 AL
With a new house to serve as their home base, our group of heroes prepare to head out to down the coast to the south. First, they they try to acquire some more equipment so they can note down what they've found. This takes quite some time, as they don't have much to trade, but eventually they are able to borrow some navigators' tools from Captain Opal and acquire some paper from Lord Krandig.
While this is going on, some of them learn from Wyatt at the under-construction tavern that there is talk of a public discussion around the establishment of some form of official leadership during the Spring Festival, coming up on the first of Waning Spring. This is of particular interest to I'Un and Jojen, who would like to be part of such discussions, and they hope to be back for it. Vala also asks Silence to keep an ear open for any word on this Soggy Alliance.
Fully prepared, they head out, following the coast to the south - with Jojen grudgingly accepting the presence of Luna. The first day is uneventful, apart from the coast curving in to the east, with a continuing narrow sandy beach and the forest to their side. Through the second day, the coast curves to the south once again, and about halfway through the day they come across some giant crabs - the size of humans! - on the beach ahead. They discuss going around them, but they decide that they would like some crab meat.
John sneaks ahead, climbing up into a tree on the edge of the forest, and Vala goes close behind, intending to sneak around behind the crabs. However, she steps on a branch, attracting many of the crabs towards her. Luckily, the six crabs don't seem to be too much of a threat - even to Vala, who is surrounded and separate from the rest of the group - but then a portion of the ocean lifts up and begins attacking them - lifting up Jojen and pulling him inside of itself, attempting to drown him.
The crabs are eliminated, and the group rushes in to rescue Jojen. Their weapons seem to do little damage to the water-creature, as does the flame that erupts from Luna's hands to scorch it - and, unfortunately, Jojen as well. They finally manage to pull Jojen out of its watery depths, only to have Leshanna pulled in. They get her out as well, and finally defeat the water.
Searching around for treasure, they find lots of crab meat, and - in the shallows below the water-creature - a blue tourmaline which Jojen prices out as being worth about 100 gold pieces.
And that's where this week's game session comes to an end. Find out what next week will bring in Episode 12.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Lark's Landing, Episode 61
Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.
You can find the previous episode here.
37th of Waxing Fall - 2nd of Waning Fall, 1AL
Half of the 3rd Watch are on the roof of the white stone building, while Fiaeorri is unconscious in the mouth of a t-rex, Patrick is asleep in the building's basement, and Logan is in the doorway, going into an uncontrollable rage, with one t-rex cramped inside the building, and another right outside the door. The situation looks dire, even as Patrick wakes up and rushes up the stairs to join the fight.
In spite of everyone's best efforts, Fiaeorri breathes her last breath moments before the t-rex holding her in its mouth is taken down. The second one is killed shortly thereafter, but Logan continues to fight - and he's between Fiaeorri and Patrick, who can bring her back to life. Luckily - if it can be called that - Logan is pretty battered from the fight, and they are able to knock him unconscious in time for Patrick to get to Fiaeorri's side.
Patrick pulls out the diamond T'Zaric had bought for him, casting his spell and watching as the diamond crumbles and is consumed. Fiaeorri gasps in a breath and jerks back to consciousness, alive again. She rushes off behind the building, to get away from the t-rexes and to get alone to think.
The group takes Logan's axe away from him and hides it in the bag of holding before reviving him and, once again, trying to figure out what is going on - convincing him that a wyvern flew off with his axe. Patrick has some suspicions, but he needs to wait until the morning to prove them true. Slowly, the 3rd Watch get back to sleep - though, first, T'Zaric and Patrick check in with the very shaken Fiaeorri. With the help of a spell from Patrick, she, too, is able to get to sleep.
The next day, the first thing Patrick does is cast a spell to remove curses on Logan - who suddenly no longer wants his powerful magic axe. Patrick also convinces Fiaeorri to let him cast the spell on Renn, her talking sword, and it breaks her bond with it. Fiaeorri, on the other hand, still wants the sword, and begins re-bonding with it - promising not to use it in the next battle to prove that it doesn't have some kind of hold over her like the axe had over Logan.
The group makes a plan for over the next five days. T'Zaric is going to fly in a series of circles each day to cover as much of the surrounding terrain as possible, searching for threats in the area. Meanwhile, Extang will use his magic to dig a defensive trench in a large circle around the white stone building, guarded by Logan, and Quib will be enhancing the quality of the land with Fiaeorri as a bodyguard while Patrick stands guard at their home base.
On the first day out, T'Zaric reports back that he discovered a decrepit castle that seems to be inhabited by orcs, which sparks a lot of interest in the group - along with the certainty that they must deal with this threat. However, they decide to continue on with their plan first.
The fourth day is the Fall Festival and Fiaeorri takes the the day to pray to her goddess, Pagslas, whose holy day it is. In the evening, the group gets together while Patrick casts a spell allowing him to ask five questions of one of the dead goblins - Ilk. He asks how the goblin died, and the goblin protests that he isn't dead, and is sure he would remember if he'd died. So Patrick asks what was the last thing the goblin remembers doing, which was sleeping, which prompts the question about what was happening before sleeping - which was fighting over food with B'yeta. Frustrated, Patrick asks if Ilk was doing anything else before going to sleep, other than fighting with B'yeta. The goblin corpse replies that it was waiting for friends to return. Patrick asks who the friends are, and he gets a list of former 3rd Watch members, and Extang.
Patrick rounds on Extang, telling him off for abandoning the goblins here. Extang tries to explain that there were too many other things going on to worry about the goblins - who refused to go to Port Noble because of fear of the Soggy Alliance - but Patrick is to distraught over the loss of life that may have been prevented if people had come back to check on the goblins more frequently. He expresses these thoughts to T'Zaric and Fiaeorri, both of whom express that death is part of life. Later, Logan tells him that it isn't possible to save everyone - that the needs of the many often outweigh the needs of the few, and the 3rd Watch did the right thing in protecting the thousands of the settlement rather than worrying about two goblins they believed could take care of themselves.
On the fifth day, Extang's trench is completed, the surrounding lands have magically enhanced fertility, and T'Zaric, on his way home, comes across a cave by a pond an hour away from the white stone building which contains some sort of large creature that, evidently, can burrow underground. He reports this back to the rest of the group upon arriving back, and they begin laying their plans for continuing their mission to secure this region for the construction of a new settlement.
And that's where week's game session ends. Find out what happens next week in Episode 62.
You can find the previous episode here.
37th of Waxing Fall - 2nd of Waning Fall, 1AL
Half of the 3rd Watch are on the roof of the white stone building, while Fiaeorri is unconscious in the mouth of a t-rex, Patrick is asleep in the building's basement, and Logan is in the doorway, going into an uncontrollable rage, with one t-rex cramped inside the building, and another right outside the door. The situation looks dire, even as Patrick wakes up and rushes up the stairs to join the fight.
In spite of everyone's best efforts, Fiaeorri breathes her last breath moments before the t-rex holding her in its mouth is taken down. The second one is killed shortly thereafter, but Logan continues to fight - and he's between Fiaeorri and Patrick, who can bring her back to life. Luckily - if it can be called that - Logan is pretty battered from the fight, and they are able to knock him unconscious in time for Patrick to get to Fiaeorri's side.
Patrick pulls out the diamond T'Zaric had bought for him, casting his spell and watching as the diamond crumbles and is consumed. Fiaeorri gasps in a breath and jerks back to consciousness, alive again. She rushes off behind the building, to get away from the t-rexes and to get alone to think.
The group takes Logan's axe away from him and hides it in the bag of holding before reviving him and, once again, trying to figure out what is going on - convincing him that a wyvern flew off with his axe. Patrick has some suspicions, but he needs to wait until the morning to prove them true. Slowly, the 3rd Watch get back to sleep - though, first, T'Zaric and Patrick check in with the very shaken Fiaeorri. With the help of a spell from Patrick, she, too, is able to get to sleep.
The next day, the first thing Patrick does is cast a spell to remove curses on Logan - who suddenly no longer wants his powerful magic axe. Patrick also convinces Fiaeorri to let him cast the spell on Renn, her talking sword, and it breaks her bond with it. Fiaeorri, on the other hand, still wants the sword, and begins re-bonding with it - promising not to use it in the next battle to prove that it doesn't have some kind of hold over her like the axe had over Logan.
The group makes a plan for over the next five days. T'Zaric is going to fly in a series of circles each day to cover as much of the surrounding terrain as possible, searching for threats in the area. Meanwhile, Extang will use his magic to dig a defensive trench in a large circle around the white stone building, guarded by Logan, and Quib will be enhancing the quality of the land with Fiaeorri as a bodyguard while Patrick stands guard at their home base.
On the first day out, T'Zaric reports back that he discovered a decrepit castle that seems to be inhabited by orcs, which sparks a lot of interest in the group - along with the certainty that they must deal with this threat. However, they decide to continue on with their plan first.
The fourth day is the Fall Festival and Fiaeorri takes the the day to pray to her goddess, Pagslas, whose holy day it is. In the evening, the group gets together while Patrick casts a spell allowing him to ask five questions of one of the dead goblins - Ilk. He asks how the goblin died, and the goblin protests that he isn't dead, and is sure he would remember if he'd died. So Patrick asks what was the last thing the goblin remembers doing, which was sleeping, which prompts the question about what was happening before sleeping - which was fighting over food with B'yeta. Frustrated, Patrick asks if Ilk was doing anything else before going to sleep, other than fighting with B'yeta. The goblin corpse replies that it was waiting for friends to return. Patrick asks who the friends are, and he gets a list of former 3rd Watch members, and Extang.
Patrick rounds on Extang, telling him off for abandoning the goblins here. Extang tries to explain that there were too many other things going on to worry about the goblins - who refused to go to Port Noble because of fear of the Soggy Alliance - but Patrick is to distraught over the loss of life that may have been prevented if people had come back to check on the goblins more frequently. He expresses these thoughts to T'Zaric and Fiaeorri, both of whom express that death is part of life. Later, Logan tells him that it isn't possible to save everyone - that the needs of the many often outweigh the needs of the few, and the 3rd Watch did the right thing in protecting the thousands of the settlement rather than worrying about two goblins they believed could take care of themselves.
On the fifth day, Extang's trench is completed, the surrounding lands have magically enhanced fertility, and T'Zaric, on his way home, comes across a cave by a pond an hour away from the white stone building which contains some sort of large creature that, evidently, can burrow underground. He reports this back to the rest of the group upon arriving back, and they begin laying their plans for continuing their mission to secure this region for the construction of a new settlement.
And that's where week's game session ends. Find out what happens next week in Episode 62.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Blossom Fall, Episode 10
Colonial Caerdia: Blossom Fall is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't already familiar with this series, you can find the beginning over here.
You can find the previous episode here.
17th-27th of Waxing Spring, 0 AL
When last we left our heroes, Jojen was unconscious the rest of the group was going through the pockets of the kobolds they had slaughtered, finding little of value. John approaches the netted hairy creature the kobolds had been dragging along with him, and determines that it is alive, though little else. The group decides to waste no time in getting out of the area - carrying Jojen and their unconscious kobold to their boat, then remembering to bring the hairy orc right before leaving.
On the journey back downriver, Jojen awakens, as does their kobold captive - though, in the case of the kobold, it's mouth is tied shut. In the evening, they make camp near the fork in the river. They question the kobold, trying to discover more about where the black dragon Nurcukka reigns and how long he has been around. They're slightly more successful in getting more information about the surrounding area, learning that the other branch of the river has some nearby ruined village of some sort and leads to some mountains. It goes on to ask to be freed, because it has been so helpful, and it doesn't like the direction they're going.
I'Un pulls John aside for a talk about how to handle this while Jojen asks the kobold about why it's so concerned about the direction they're going. It explains that everything within two or three days of some mysterious thing called the 'ocean' has been claimed by something called the Soggy Alliance. The kobold isn't able to tell much about them other than that they kill anyone found in their lands, and that no one has even gone there in generations because of them.
John then comes up, kills the kobold, and throws it in the river. I'Un protests that they could have used the kobold to prove what they found to everyone back in camp, but the body has already washed away.
Jojen then revives Woo-die, his hairy orc friend who had been held captive by the orcs. Woo-die is panicked and desperate to flee to the east, away from the Somvidian Empire, but when Jojen mentions his own name, Woo-die has a moment of clarity and tells him that Da-Beat got a message from Serge: "The Isle has fallen to the Abyss." This alarms Jojen, but he can't get much more out of Woo-die, who resumes his desire to flee east and certainly doesn't seem to be entirely right in his mind. He is eventually convinced that he is safe here and should get some sleep.
Over the next few days as they journey home, Woo-die needs to be convinced every day that he doesn't need to flee further east - that they are on another continent and safe from the Somvidain Empire.
When they arrive back at camp, they find much changed - more simple houses have been built and a lot of the land south of the river has been cleared to be turned into farmlands. Most startling, though, is that Lord Krandig is missing from his usual camp, to be replaced by Leshanna - who they had forgotten to bring with them - who is speaking with a tiefling woman. Seeing a tiefling, Jojen immediately heads to the tavern instead - followed closely by I'Un, who is a bit nervous due to how scantily clad the tiefling is. Vala spared a couple words for them before heading off to sleep in her barrel.
John arrives a bit later than the others, having returned the boat to the sailors first, and goes to speak with Leshanna and the tiefling - Luna. They are later rejoined by I'Un, after he has acquired some strong spirits from the tavern's brewer in exchange for a promise to assist him in his work - an offer welcomed, as the man hasn't had an assistant since his nephew joined the fight against the Empire. The four talk into the night, drinking and sharing a bit of their pasts. Luna shows them the egg that was given into her care before her temple was was destroyed, claiming it is a dragon egg. She and I'Un bond over the shared experience of having the temples they called home destroyed.
Jojen tries to find Lord Krandig, and eventually finds him in a small house built for him by Sillo and some others. Somehow he has also managed to acquire some very nice furniture. Jojen fills him in on what the group has found on this excursion, and Krandig tells Jojen of the latest political goings-on, with particular complaints about Lady Tialda who is maneuvering herself to become queen if all goes her way. When Jojen leaves, he spots Luna at the fire with his friends and decides to sleep at the tavern.
The next day, Jojen arranges with Wyatt to put on a performance at the under-construction tavern, then put's Woo-die into the care of the priest, Glavel, who seems to have been able to calm him a little. Finally, he goes and introduces himself to Lady Tialda, aspiring to learn what type of leader she will be and inviting her to the concert he intends to give.
John recruits Leshanna, Luna, and Jojen to help him build himself a house out in the woods behind the tavern, though Jojen changes his mind once he discovers Luna is working there as well. I'Un flat-out refuses to help, choosing instead to spend his time with the brewer, Kendrik, making spirits and swapping tales.
On the night of his performance, Jojen goes to fetch John to perform with him, but once again walks away upon seeing Luna. John sees him and comes to perform anyway. The performance goes incredibly well - with Wyatt, the future tavern-owner, joining in as well. Through song accompanied by music and magic, he tells the tale of what he and his group have been doing since landing, and of everything they have discovered - proof of other civilization having been here, the kobolds, the dragon, and the Soggy Alliance. At the end of the performance, Luna, Leshanna, Vala, and I'Un, out in the crowd, note that some people believe the story is true, while others think it was just a fun story and a great show. John once again asks Jojen to help with his house, and Jojen agrees.
When John fetches Jojen to work on the house the next day, he catches Jojen from turning and leaving at the sight of Luna, telling him off for judging a book by its cover. He manages to convince Jojen to help anyway - though Jojen wants to add a small addition on the side for himself. John sets Jojen to work on the roof - conveniently where Luna is working. Jojen isn't very happy about this, though with Luna being shy, he doesn't have to put up with much conversation - though she does compliment him on his performance from the night before. At the end of the day, Jojen recruits Vala to help with the house in the hopes of getting it finished sooner.
They complete the house on the 27th of Waxing Spring, then go to perform at and enjoy the small Celebration of Art and Love festival in honor of Thrume, god of love, luck, and art. It's a nice, relaxing time for them after some of the trying events of the past few months.
And that brings an end to this game session. Find out what our heroes will do next week in Episode 11.
You can find the previous episode here.
17th-27th of Waxing Spring, 0 AL
When last we left our heroes, Jojen was unconscious the rest of the group was going through the pockets of the kobolds they had slaughtered, finding little of value. John approaches the netted hairy creature the kobolds had been dragging along with him, and determines that it is alive, though little else. The group decides to waste no time in getting out of the area - carrying Jojen and their unconscious kobold to their boat, then remembering to bring the hairy orc right before leaving.
On the journey back downriver, Jojen awakens, as does their kobold captive - though, in the case of the kobold, it's mouth is tied shut. In the evening, they make camp near the fork in the river. They question the kobold, trying to discover more about where the black dragon Nurcukka reigns and how long he has been around. They're slightly more successful in getting more information about the surrounding area, learning that the other branch of the river has some nearby ruined village of some sort and leads to some mountains. It goes on to ask to be freed, because it has been so helpful, and it doesn't like the direction they're going.
I'Un pulls John aside for a talk about how to handle this while Jojen asks the kobold about why it's so concerned about the direction they're going. It explains that everything within two or three days of some mysterious thing called the 'ocean' has been claimed by something called the Soggy Alliance. The kobold isn't able to tell much about them other than that they kill anyone found in their lands, and that no one has even gone there in generations because of them.
John then comes up, kills the kobold, and throws it in the river. I'Un protests that they could have used the kobold to prove what they found to everyone back in camp, but the body has already washed away.
Jojen then revives Woo-die, his hairy orc friend who had been held captive by the orcs. Woo-die is panicked and desperate to flee to the east, away from the Somvidian Empire, but when Jojen mentions his own name, Woo-die has a moment of clarity and tells him that Da-Beat got a message from Serge: "The Isle has fallen to the Abyss." This alarms Jojen, but he can't get much more out of Woo-die, who resumes his desire to flee east and certainly doesn't seem to be entirely right in his mind. He is eventually convinced that he is safe here and should get some sleep.
Over the next few days as they journey home, Woo-die needs to be convinced every day that he doesn't need to flee further east - that they are on another continent and safe from the Somvidain Empire.
When they arrive back at camp, they find much changed - more simple houses have been built and a lot of the land south of the river has been cleared to be turned into farmlands. Most startling, though, is that Lord Krandig is missing from his usual camp, to be replaced by Leshanna - who they had forgotten to bring with them - who is speaking with a tiefling woman. Seeing a tiefling, Jojen immediately heads to the tavern instead - followed closely by I'Un, who is a bit nervous due to how scantily clad the tiefling is. Vala spared a couple words for them before heading off to sleep in her barrel.
John arrives a bit later than the others, having returned the boat to the sailors first, and goes to speak with Leshanna and the tiefling - Luna. They are later rejoined by I'Un, after he has acquired some strong spirits from the tavern's brewer in exchange for a promise to assist him in his work - an offer welcomed, as the man hasn't had an assistant since his nephew joined the fight against the Empire. The four talk into the night, drinking and sharing a bit of their pasts. Luna shows them the egg that was given into her care before her temple was was destroyed, claiming it is a dragon egg. She and I'Un bond over the shared experience of having the temples they called home destroyed.
Jojen tries to find Lord Krandig, and eventually finds him in a small house built for him by Sillo and some others. Somehow he has also managed to acquire some very nice furniture. Jojen fills him in on what the group has found on this excursion, and Krandig tells Jojen of the latest political goings-on, with particular complaints about Lady Tialda who is maneuvering herself to become queen if all goes her way. When Jojen leaves, he spots Luna at the fire with his friends and decides to sleep at the tavern.
The next day, Jojen arranges with Wyatt to put on a performance at the under-construction tavern, then put's Woo-die into the care of the priest, Glavel, who seems to have been able to calm him a little. Finally, he goes and introduces himself to Lady Tialda, aspiring to learn what type of leader she will be and inviting her to the concert he intends to give.
John recruits Leshanna, Luna, and Jojen to help him build himself a house out in the woods behind the tavern, though Jojen changes his mind once he discovers Luna is working there as well. I'Un flat-out refuses to help, choosing instead to spend his time with the brewer, Kendrik, making spirits and swapping tales.
On the night of his performance, Jojen goes to fetch John to perform with him, but once again walks away upon seeing Luna. John sees him and comes to perform anyway. The performance goes incredibly well - with Wyatt, the future tavern-owner, joining in as well. Through song accompanied by music and magic, he tells the tale of what he and his group have been doing since landing, and of everything they have discovered - proof of other civilization having been here, the kobolds, the dragon, and the Soggy Alliance. At the end of the performance, Luna, Leshanna, Vala, and I'Un, out in the crowd, note that some people believe the story is true, while others think it was just a fun story and a great show. John once again asks Jojen to help with his house, and Jojen agrees.
When John fetches Jojen to work on the house the next day, he catches Jojen from turning and leaving at the sight of Luna, telling him off for judging a book by its cover. He manages to convince Jojen to help anyway - though Jojen wants to add a small addition on the side for himself. John sets Jojen to work on the roof - conveniently where Luna is working. Jojen isn't very happy about this, though with Luna being shy, he doesn't have to put up with much conversation - though she does compliment him on his performance from the night before. At the end of the day, Jojen recruits Vala to help with the house in the hopes of getting it finished sooner.
They complete the house on the 27th of Waxing Spring, then go to perform at and enjoy the small Celebration of Art and Love festival in honor of Thrume, god of love, luck, and art. It's a nice, relaxing time for them after some of the trying events of the past few months.
And that brings an end to this game session. Find out what our heroes will do next week in Episode 11.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Lark's Landing, Episode 60
Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.
You can find the previous episode here.
34th-37th of Waxing Fall, 1AL
The 3rd Watch have just completed a strange and grueling battle with wyverns where Logan turned against them, but he seems to have recovered. He describes his experience as his vision going red and he just wanted to kill everything, but that he's better now. Though Patrick is furious with him, the rest of the group accept this with little concern and are ready to continue on - which they do.
Their journey to secure a route to a new settlement location continues through the savanna for the rest of the day. In the afternoon of the following day, they notice a large, mixed herd of animals crossing their path. Fiaeorri notices a black panther lying down, seemingly watching the herd - but, strangely, it also has a humanoid head visible other its side. Fiaeorri creeps closer and is surprised to find that it's their old friend Dugg the gnome with his new companion, Shirley the panther. He claims to be there, watching a show, and points to the herd.
Just then, a speck detaches from the head of a passing brontosaurus and plunges towards the ground. The speck appears to be attached by a rope to the brontosaurus's neck, as the is suddenly pulled downwards, slowing the speck's fall - then the speck detaches from the rope and vanishes into the herd. A moment later, there is an enraged bellow, and a rhinoceros comes charging out of the herd, crashing to the ground, dead, right beside the group. On its back is Shend, the dwarven ranger who was part of the original 3rd Watch, his swords driven into the beast.
It's a fairly short reunion. Shend and Dugg aren't interested in taking them to the white stone house where they plan to establish the new settlement, but they are a bit interested in this attack by the Soggy Alliance. Shend mentions that he may carry this news to Kalon, an elven druid, and check in at Port Noble. The herd passes, the pair of rangers head off into the jungle, and the 3rd Watch continue onward.
Late in the afternoon of the next day, the 3rd Watch arrive at their destination - the white stone building with the weather-worn statue on top. Fiaeorri decides to sneak in ahead of the group to ensure it's safe, and finds herself getting splashed by smashing vials of acid that had been set up as a trap on the door. She enters, determined to find any other traps in the area, and finds two long-dead goblins inside, with "You're next, murderer" written on the floor in their blood. This is of some concern to the group, as these two goblins were friendly with some of them. Extang searches the lower part of the building for clues, but, finding none, they decide to wait to find out more until tomorrow when Patrick can prepare his spell to speak with the dead.
In the meantime, they begin making plans for how to set up defenses in the area, and take the goblin bodies outside for a burial. Extang begins cleaning out what he can inside the building and notices a scraping sound as he's sweeping out the straw bedding the goblins had used. He calls Fiaeorri over for a look, and they find a broken dagger with the three leaves of Pagslas in its pommel. Knowing this is Fiaeorri's goddess, he suggests she keep the dagger.
They set their watches for the night and head off to bed, with T'Zaric and Quib deciding to sleep in the copse of trees some distance from the building - though T'Zaric had to assist Quib in making his nest. During his first watch, Extang wakes up Patrick and brings him to the fresco of a city at the top of the stairs. The dragonborn breaths his poison breath on the fresco, which opens to reveal a hidden room beyond containing a pedestal upon which rests the great sword once wielded by Balasar. Extang gives the sword to Patrick, along with a magical gem that will allow it to be used as a focus for his spells. He then goes on to tell Patrick the full story of his experiences in the 3rd Watch, with a particular focus on Balasar's death and the exploration of his memories that led to it. With that done, he re-seals the room and sent Patrick back to sleep, returning to his watch.
Out in the trees, during the third watch, T'Zaric is dozing when his attention is suddenly drawn by the vibrations in the ground. He scans the area and spots a pair of t-rexes settling down to sleep outside the white stone building. Alarmed, he quietly wakes up Quib, using minor illusions to communicate what he has seen. It takes a moment for Quib to understand, but when he does, he climbs onto T'Zaric's back and they fly up high in the air to hatch a plan. Heading some distance away, Quib then creates a very convincing illusion of a rhinoceros, bellowing and wounded. As planned, the t-rexes awaken with a roar and storm off after the distraction.
With the exception of Patrick, the rest of the 3rd Watch wake up and rush to the doorway to see what is happening, but they can't make out anything in the night. Then they hear the wings of something taking flight above them and flying off into the night, in the direction of the other sounds they are hearing.
Over by T'Zaric and Quib, the t-rexes catch the illusion, and are confused as to what it is. They turn to head back to where they were sleeping, but Quib and T'Zaric confuse them with some more illusions - until spikes begin flying out of the night sky at them, followed by a winged, spiky lion-like creature. Giving up on their illusions, Quib teleports himself and T'Zaric back up above the white house of rock - where Extang has jumped up onto the top of the weathered statue, the light of his magical gem shining out into the night.
T'Zaric flies down to Extang's height while Quib drops down to the roof with a spell that slows his falling. In come the lion-creature, flinging spikes, and, down below, the t-rexes come charging in towards Fiaeorri and Logan on the ground - until they suddenly turn into a pair of turtles thanks to a spell from Extang, accompanied by a shout to pick them up.
While Extang, T'Zaric, and Quib finish off the lion-creature on the roof, Logan and Fiaeorri pick up the turtles -Logan getting a nasty bite in the process. Logan takes his turtle inside, but Fiaeorri wants to see the dead creature on the roof - so she tries to climb up - dropping the turtle in the process, which gets injured enough to return it to it's true t-rex form, inadvertently pushing Fiaeorri up onto the roof in the process.
Logan runs as far into the building as he can, putting down his turtle, and runs back to the doorway to face the other t-rex just as it bites down into Extang - causing him to lose his concentration on the spell keeping the other t-rex as a turtle. Extang manages to get out of the t-rex's mouth with a minor teleport spell, but it continues to bite at those on the roof while bashing at Logan with its tail, all the while the other t-rex, cramped inside the building, is attacking Logan from behind.
Many spells and blows are landed - except by Fiaeorri, who can't seem to overcome her her sword Renn's desire to not be stabbed into things. Her mental battle falls silent as she's scooped up into the t-rex's mouth, teeth sinking into her and causing her to lose consciousness. Meanwhile, in the building's doorway, Logan has just lost his self-control battle and begins to fly into a rage...
And that brings an end to this week's game session. What will happen next week? Find out in Episode 61.
You can find the previous episode here.
34th-37th of Waxing Fall, 1AL
The 3rd Watch have just completed a strange and grueling battle with wyverns where Logan turned against them, but he seems to have recovered. He describes his experience as his vision going red and he just wanted to kill everything, but that he's better now. Though Patrick is furious with him, the rest of the group accept this with little concern and are ready to continue on - which they do.
Their journey to secure a route to a new settlement location continues through the savanna for the rest of the day. In the afternoon of the following day, they notice a large, mixed herd of animals crossing their path. Fiaeorri notices a black panther lying down, seemingly watching the herd - but, strangely, it also has a humanoid head visible other its side. Fiaeorri creeps closer and is surprised to find that it's their old friend Dugg the gnome with his new companion, Shirley the panther. He claims to be there, watching a show, and points to the herd.
Just then, a speck detaches from the head of a passing brontosaurus and plunges towards the ground. The speck appears to be attached by a rope to the brontosaurus's neck, as the is suddenly pulled downwards, slowing the speck's fall - then the speck detaches from the rope and vanishes into the herd. A moment later, there is an enraged bellow, and a rhinoceros comes charging out of the herd, crashing to the ground, dead, right beside the group. On its back is Shend, the dwarven ranger who was part of the original 3rd Watch, his swords driven into the beast.
It's a fairly short reunion. Shend and Dugg aren't interested in taking them to the white stone house where they plan to establish the new settlement, but they are a bit interested in this attack by the Soggy Alliance. Shend mentions that he may carry this news to Kalon, an elven druid, and check in at Port Noble. The herd passes, the pair of rangers head off into the jungle, and the 3rd Watch continue onward.
Late in the afternoon of the next day, the 3rd Watch arrive at their destination - the white stone building with the weather-worn statue on top. Fiaeorri decides to sneak in ahead of the group to ensure it's safe, and finds herself getting splashed by smashing vials of acid that had been set up as a trap on the door. She enters, determined to find any other traps in the area, and finds two long-dead goblins inside, with "You're next, murderer" written on the floor in their blood. This is of some concern to the group, as these two goblins were friendly with some of them. Extang searches the lower part of the building for clues, but, finding none, they decide to wait to find out more until tomorrow when Patrick can prepare his spell to speak with the dead.
In the meantime, they begin making plans for how to set up defenses in the area, and take the goblin bodies outside for a burial. Extang begins cleaning out what he can inside the building and notices a scraping sound as he's sweeping out the straw bedding the goblins had used. He calls Fiaeorri over for a look, and they find a broken dagger with the three leaves of Pagslas in its pommel. Knowing this is Fiaeorri's goddess, he suggests she keep the dagger.
They set their watches for the night and head off to bed, with T'Zaric and Quib deciding to sleep in the copse of trees some distance from the building - though T'Zaric had to assist Quib in making his nest. During his first watch, Extang wakes up Patrick and brings him to the fresco of a city at the top of the stairs. The dragonborn breaths his poison breath on the fresco, which opens to reveal a hidden room beyond containing a pedestal upon which rests the great sword once wielded by Balasar. Extang gives the sword to Patrick, along with a magical gem that will allow it to be used as a focus for his spells. He then goes on to tell Patrick the full story of his experiences in the 3rd Watch, with a particular focus on Balasar's death and the exploration of his memories that led to it. With that done, he re-seals the room and sent Patrick back to sleep, returning to his watch.
Out in the trees, during the third watch, T'Zaric is dozing when his attention is suddenly drawn by the vibrations in the ground. He scans the area and spots a pair of t-rexes settling down to sleep outside the white stone building. Alarmed, he quietly wakes up Quib, using minor illusions to communicate what he has seen. It takes a moment for Quib to understand, but when he does, he climbs onto T'Zaric's back and they fly up high in the air to hatch a plan. Heading some distance away, Quib then creates a very convincing illusion of a rhinoceros, bellowing and wounded. As planned, the t-rexes awaken with a roar and storm off after the distraction.
With the exception of Patrick, the rest of the 3rd Watch wake up and rush to the doorway to see what is happening, but they can't make out anything in the night. Then they hear the wings of something taking flight above them and flying off into the night, in the direction of the other sounds they are hearing.
Over by T'Zaric and Quib, the t-rexes catch the illusion, and are confused as to what it is. They turn to head back to where they were sleeping, but Quib and T'Zaric confuse them with some more illusions - until spikes begin flying out of the night sky at them, followed by a winged, spiky lion-like creature. Giving up on their illusions, Quib teleports himself and T'Zaric back up above the white house of rock - where Extang has jumped up onto the top of the weathered statue, the light of his magical gem shining out into the night.
T'Zaric flies down to Extang's height while Quib drops down to the roof with a spell that slows his falling. In come the lion-creature, flinging spikes, and, down below, the t-rexes come charging in towards Fiaeorri and Logan on the ground - until they suddenly turn into a pair of turtles thanks to a spell from Extang, accompanied by a shout to pick them up.
While Extang, T'Zaric, and Quib finish off the lion-creature on the roof, Logan and Fiaeorri pick up the turtles -Logan getting a nasty bite in the process. Logan takes his turtle inside, but Fiaeorri wants to see the dead creature on the roof - so she tries to climb up - dropping the turtle in the process, which gets injured enough to return it to it's true t-rex form, inadvertently pushing Fiaeorri up onto the roof in the process.
Logan runs as far into the building as he can, putting down his turtle, and runs back to the doorway to face the other t-rex just as it bites down into Extang - causing him to lose his concentration on the spell keeping the other t-rex as a turtle. Extang manages to get out of the t-rex's mouth with a minor teleport spell, but it continues to bite at those on the roof while bashing at Logan with its tail, all the while the other t-rex, cramped inside the building, is attacking Logan from behind.
Many spells and blows are landed - except by Fiaeorri, who can't seem to overcome her her sword Renn's desire to not be stabbed into things. Her mental battle falls silent as she's scooped up into the t-rex's mouth, teeth sinking into her and causing her to lose consciousness. Meanwhile, in the building's doorway, Logan has just lost his self-control battle and begins to fly into a rage...
And that brings an end to this week's game session. What will happen next week? Find out in Episode 61.
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