Right finally got to last Wednesday’s session which just goes to show why I shouldn’t put off doing them as it takes ages to catch up. I would blame being distracted by Critical Role but the episode this week was so damn demanding of attention that I couldn’t do my usual write while watching thing (For anyone who doesn’t know Critical Role you should really check it out)
Since the party encountered the Ogre and spiders toward the end of their rest they decided to have breakfast and identify the magical bracelets found within the Ogre’s large sack, along with some remains. Grimbol claimed them as his and once they’ve had their short rest they got up and moved further onwards towards the trading post of Longbridge.
Just to set the scene a little for everyone else: The river, which none of the party knows the name of, is wide and fast stretching North to South and then forks south west and east. The trading walled trading post called Longbridge is on the north western side with a large bridge, built back when the Minbar empire was strong, which crosses the south west fork. There is also a ruined bridge that used to cross over to the north eastern shore, crossing by a small fort on an island in the middle of the river.
As our brave heroes approach Longbridge the can see that its walls are rather small but that there are a number of archers on look out standing on the top of buildings who had clearly spotted them and so they proceeded forward, at which point I chuckle to myself because when making my notes about Longbridge I had forgotten that the party would be riding up with a caged wagon, sadly they were met with quite a bit of hostility and refused entry being told since they weren’t traders they couldn’t come in. When asked about any slavers in the area they were told that everyone knows the slavers are over in the ruined fort just over that way but no one has seen them cross the water. Attempts to buy boats were rebuffed though due to the river being so strong at this point the archers claimed not to own any.
After a fair bit of discussion and failed attempts to talk their way into Longbridge the party decide to go to the riverbank and look around, at which point I put away my page and a half of bullet points about Longbridge, and it didn’t take long to find muddy tracks belonging to a number of humanoids and ogres which they followed to an excavated area with a large double iron hatch door. From the looks of things it seems someone had dug around this area till they uncovered these doors which they opened revealing a long wide tunnel going under the river in the direction to the fort, possibly some sort of old escape tunnel or smugglers root Feanaro mused.
Aiken Drum crept forward to scout the way while the rest of the group discussed their plan and randomly asked Denny about some of his more murderous past, though he gave up little details and the party were left unsure if Denny had ever eaten anyone and/or killed his parents. Sneaking forward down this wide and very long tunnel, muddy and supported by very old looking beams, he saw torch light ahead and overheard two humans arguing. It seems that a slave had escaped and gone down a side tunnel but neither slaver was willing to go down into that tunnel to find her and reporting to “The Dragon Lord” that she was dead without a body would be just as dangerous. Aiken crept back getting the others apart from Denny and he and Corwin crept forward with the rest of the party 60ft behind them, apart from Grimbol who would “Stay and watch for slavers creeping up behind them” though no one was remotely convinced that this was anything other than an excuse to avoid going into the dark. Garlon unable to see in the dark had to follow along behind holding onto Torvad, Aiken’s arrow killed one slaver instantly while the other was wounded by Corwin’s light cross bow and then they rushed up to knock him out while the rest of the party charge forward at the first sounds of battle and despite the total darkness Garlon managed to hold on and not fall face first in the mud.
With no sound of other slavers coming they risked a little light and saw a crude tunnel heading down and off away from the main way, also it seemed to have some arcane wardings that Feanaro believed to be used to keep out un-intelligent beasts from crossing up into the main tunnel. They brought back their prisoner out to their cart and Denny, who they distracted so he wouldn’t get in the way, and after a bit of healing the slaver awoke to find himself hogtied and with Torvad’s greatsword resting on his neck. Terrified their prisoner quickly told them all he knew, he was guarding the tunnel onto the island and one of the slaves (Which he claimed he had nothing to do with, just a watchman, never hurt nobody, can’t blame a guy for trying to earn a little coin) a dwarf woman ran right past them into the tunnel. The “Dragon Lord” is a Draconis noble who they were working for kidnapping people with magical abilities (the other guys not me, honest) once they felt like they had gotten enough information and before anyone else could interject Garlon stomped down with his iron boots on Torvad’s blade killing the slaver at the same time that Grimbol decided to disembowel the slaver.
This got a bellow of rage from Denny which startled the party as Denny had never shown the least bit of aggression though a moment after he yelled Denny’s expression went blank as blood dripped down his face, his vine bracers and circlet had sprouted thorns rather than the usual leafs that not only seemed to cut Denny but actually pierce his brain. It was clear to Feanaro and Torvad that these items were “Cursed” which triggered a debate whether they are really cursed if they stop Denny from murdering people, but also that his low intelligence may well be due to brain damaged caused by the thorns. Leaving the slightly comatose Denny the party, after inspiring and magically buffing Grimbol to convince him to go down into the tunnel, went off to find the missing slave because she went down where “Man eating monsters” lurked.
Shortly down the side tunnel they spotted a young dwarf woman about to attack them thinking they were slavers though she quickly realised that they weren’t. Introducing herself as Anvil this battle axe wielding muscle bound dwarf wasn’t the damsel they were expecting. Clad in hardened leather and chain armoured kilt complete with dwarf mining boots Anvil quickly told them how she was jumped just outside of Longbridge and drugged so she couldn’t use magic… and then broke into an angry rant about how stupid the slavers were thinking a shitty driftwood cage would stop her from breaking out, they left her weapons RIGHT THERE and hadn’t even bothered to search her for spare blades, so she killed a guard and ran because while she is more than capable with dealing with scum like this 30 to 1 odds weren’t smart so she hoped to gain aid from Longbridge and comeback to teach these slavers the error of their ways but since the party were here they might as well attack now. Sadly all this noise brought the attention of two Carrion Crawlers but the party was alert enough not to be taken by surprise and with a quick Bane spell cast by Garlon the fight went well. Apart from a number of the party failing to hit anything due to the slippery mud though Anvil showed she knew well how to use that axe of hers. Also during the battle she berated Grimbol for missing and being an embarrassment which somehow left him feeling inspired to do better. With only a minor wound to Garlon and the crawlers dead they looked around and found a nest with some half eaten body parts, 100gp worth of gemink (Often used by Wizards in scribing) and a half digested spell book that Feanaro thinks might be useful if a little disappointing.
There was talk of backing away at this point to get aid from Longbridge but Grimbol flatly refused saying he had already come into this tunnel so he wants to finish it all now. Moving forward the tunnel opened out into a ruined cellar though it looks clear that this side of the entrance would be hidden which confirms that this was once a secret tunnel. The building they were in was outside the main fort right next the river but before they could decide their next move they heard a large number of people marching down this way and a voice shouting about finding the missing slave. Rather than fight in the cellar the party charged forward into battle vs. 13 slavers and an Ogre, which went really very well as finally Team Awesome got to unleash all their abilities in a nice surprise round. Grimbol and Torvad cutting down slavers like nothing Grimbol’s Codpiece of lighting frying one surprised soul and wounding the Ogre and leader of the slavers, Aiken sniping the other archers, Anvil letting out a mighty scream causing slavers to drop to the ground their skulls shattered, Gorlon blessing the group (which like Bane proved to be extremely useful), Corwin bringing forth his right of flame to burn his foes and Feanaro staying in the doorway mindful of the danger.
The noise of battle brought forth a very young green dragon from the tallest tower of the fort but by the time it arrived it had been blasted by many magical missiles from Feanaro and most of the slavers had been slaughtered as well as the ogre. Grimbol let out a might bellowing taunt to the dragon who foolishly tried to breath it’s poison upon the raging and rather tough dwarf. The Dragon seemed to be visibly fighting against some force that appeared to be pushing it towards the part and it yelled out in its draconic language but Feanaro was safely too far away to hear what it said. Grimbol threw his great axe at the flying beast but missed wildly and as it dropped down to attack the unarmed dwarf Corwin leapt forward driving his fiery blade into the whelps neck slaying it. This was too much for Grimbol who was still gripped by his frenzied rage who spun around and striking Corwin with a powerful punch (Critical hit) and that is where we left the adventure.
Since the party encountered the Ogre and spiders toward the end of their rest they decided to have breakfast and identify the magical bracelets found within the Ogre’s large sack, along with some remains. Grimbol claimed them as his and once they’ve had their short rest they got up and moved further onwards towards the trading post of Longbridge.
Just to set the scene a little for everyone else: The river, which none of the party knows the name of, is wide and fast stretching North to South and then forks south west and east. The trading walled trading post called Longbridge is on the north western side with a large bridge, built back when the Minbar empire was strong, which crosses the south west fork. There is also a ruined bridge that used to cross over to the north eastern shore, crossing by a small fort on an island in the middle of the river.
As our brave heroes approach Longbridge the can see that its walls are rather small but that there are a number of archers on look out standing on the top of buildings who had clearly spotted them and so they proceeded forward, at which point I chuckle to myself because when making my notes about Longbridge I had forgotten that the party would be riding up with a caged wagon, sadly they were met with quite a bit of hostility and refused entry being told since they weren’t traders they couldn’t come in. When asked about any slavers in the area they were told that everyone knows the slavers are over in the ruined fort just over that way but no one has seen them cross the water. Attempts to buy boats were rebuffed though due to the river being so strong at this point the archers claimed not to own any.
After a fair bit of discussion and failed attempts to talk their way into Longbridge the party decide to go to the riverbank and look around, at which point I put away my page and a half of bullet points about Longbridge, and it didn’t take long to find muddy tracks belonging to a number of humanoids and ogres which they followed to an excavated area with a large double iron hatch door. From the looks of things it seems someone had dug around this area till they uncovered these doors which they opened revealing a long wide tunnel going under the river in the direction to the fort, possibly some sort of old escape tunnel or smugglers root Feanaro mused.
Aiken Drum crept forward to scout the way while the rest of the group discussed their plan and randomly asked Denny about some of his more murderous past, though he gave up little details and the party were left unsure if Denny had ever eaten anyone and/or killed his parents. Sneaking forward down this wide and very long tunnel, muddy and supported by very old looking beams, he saw torch light ahead and overheard two humans arguing. It seems that a slave had escaped and gone down a side tunnel but neither slaver was willing to go down into that tunnel to find her and reporting to “The Dragon Lord” that she was dead without a body would be just as dangerous. Aiken crept back getting the others apart from Denny and he and Corwin crept forward with the rest of the party 60ft behind them, apart from Grimbol who would “Stay and watch for slavers creeping up behind them” though no one was remotely convinced that this was anything other than an excuse to avoid going into the dark. Garlon unable to see in the dark had to follow along behind holding onto Torvad, Aiken’s arrow killed one slaver instantly while the other was wounded by Corwin’s light cross bow and then they rushed up to knock him out while the rest of the party charge forward at the first sounds of battle and despite the total darkness Garlon managed to hold on and not fall face first in the mud.
With no sound of other slavers coming they risked a little light and saw a crude tunnel heading down and off away from the main way, also it seemed to have some arcane wardings that Feanaro believed to be used to keep out un-intelligent beasts from crossing up into the main tunnel. They brought back their prisoner out to their cart and Denny, who they distracted so he wouldn’t get in the way, and after a bit of healing the slaver awoke to find himself hogtied and with Torvad’s greatsword resting on his neck. Terrified their prisoner quickly told them all he knew, he was guarding the tunnel onto the island and one of the slaves (Which he claimed he had nothing to do with, just a watchman, never hurt nobody, can’t blame a guy for trying to earn a little coin) a dwarf woman ran right past them into the tunnel. The “Dragon Lord” is a Draconis noble who they were working for kidnapping people with magical abilities (the other guys not me, honest) once they felt like they had gotten enough information and before anyone else could interject Garlon stomped down with his iron boots on Torvad’s blade killing the slaver at the same time that Grimbol decided to disembowel the slaver.
This got a bellow of rage from Denny which startled the party as Denny had never shown the least bit of aggression though a moment after he yelled Denny’s expression went blank as blood dripped down his face, his vine bracers and circlet had sprouted thorns rather than the usual leafs that not only seemed to cut Denny but actually pierce his brain. It was clear to Feanaro and Torvad that these items were “Cursed” which triggered a debate whether they are really cursed if they stop Denny from murdering people, but also that his low intelligence may well be due to brain damaged caused by the thorns. Leaving the slightly comatose Denny the party, after inspiring and magically buffing Grimbol to convince him to go down into the tunnel, went off to find the missing slave because she went down where “Man eating monsters” lurked.
Shortly down the side tunnel they spotted a young dwarf woman about to attack them thinking they were slavers though she quickly realised that they weren’t. Introducing herself as Anvil this battle axe wielding muscle bound dwarf wasn’t the damsel they were expecting. Clad in hardened leather and chain armoured kilt complete with dwarf mining boots Anvil quickly told them how she was jumped just outside of Longbridge and drugged so she couldn’t use magic… and then broke into an angry rant about how stupid the slavers were thinking a shitty driftwood cage would stop her from breaking out, they left her weapons RIGHT THERE and hadn’t even bothered to search her for spare blades, so she killed a guard and ran because while she is more than capable with dealing with scum like this 30 to 1 odds weren’t smart so she hoped to gain aid from Longbridge and comeback to teach these slavers the error of their ways but since the party were here they might as well attack now. Sadly all this noise brought the attention of two Carrion Crawlers but the party was alert enough not to be taken by surprise and with a quick Bane spell cast by Garlon the fight went well. Apart from a number of the party failing to hit anything due to the slippery mud though Anvil showed she knew well how to use that axe of hers. Also during the battle she berated Grimbol for missing and being an embarrassment which somehow left him feeling inspired to do better. With only a minor wound to Garlon and the crawlers dead they looked around and found a nest with some half eaten body parts, 100gp worth of gemink (Often used by Wizards in scribing) and a half digested spell book that Feanaro thinks might be useful if a little disappointing.
There was talk of backing away at this point to get aid from Longbridge but Grimbol flatly refused saying he had already come into this tunnel so he wants to finish it all now. Moving forward the tunnel opened out into a ruined cellar though it looks clear that this side of the entrance would be hidden which confirms that this was once a secret tunnel. The building they were in was outside the main fort right next the river but before they could decide their next move they heard a large number of people marching down this way and a voice shouting about finding the missing slave. Rather than fight in the cellar the party charged forward into battle vs. 13 slavers and an Ogre, which went really very well as finally Team Awesome got to unleash all their abilities in a nice surprise round. Grimbol and Torvad cutting down slavers like nothing Grimbol’s Codpiece of lighting frying one surprised soul and wounding the Ogre and leader of the slavers, Aiken sniping the other archers, Anvil letting out a mighty scream causing slavers to drop to the ground their skulls shattered, Gorlon blessing the group (which like Bane proved to be extremely useful), Corwin bringing forth his right of flame to burn his foes and Feanaro staying in the doorway mindful of the danger.
The noise of battle brought forth a very young green dragon from the tallest tower of the fort but by the time it arrived it had been blasted by many magical missiles from Feanaro and most of the slavers had been slaughtered as well as the ogre. Grimbol let out a might bellowing taunt to the dragon who foolishly tried to breath it’s poison upon the raging and rather tough dwarf. The Dragon seemed to be visibly fighting against some force that appeared to be pushing it towards the part and it yelled out in its draconic language but Feanaro was safely too far away to hear what it said. Grimbol threw his great axe at the flying beast but missed wildly and as it dropped down to attack the unarmed dwarf Corwin leapt forward driving his fiery blade into the whelps neck slaying it. This was too much for Grimbol who was still gripped by his frenzied rage who spun around and striking Corwin with a powerful punch (Critical hit) and that is where we left the adventure.
I really very much enjoyed the session and while they didn’t go into Longbridge they can always go in later since I knew there was a chance they would just go looking for the slavers right from the start. I’m very pleased that they finally managed to trigger Denny’s rage and am curious what they plan to do about it, if anything at all. And as for the Dwarf Bard Anvil, I’ve had her as an NPC idea for about 4 months ever since I was explaining to my youngest brother how any race can be any class and I’ve got a fondness for Halfling Barbarians and Gnomish Fighters and I said something about Dwarf wizards or bards and then had a fun idea. So far Anvil’s bardic inspiration has taken the form of backhanded complements and insults to spur people into feats of awesomeness also Vicious Mockery and Cutting Words are always fun to RP.
Also we got some very nice bits of RP from the group as well as a fair bit of combat done and by the end of it everyone had levelled to level 4.
Major fight won but only about half of the reported slavers dead and almost all spells and abilities used up. We shall see what Team Awesome decide to do next.
Also we got some very nice bits of RP from the group as well as a fair bit of combat done and by the end of it everyone had levelled to level 4.
Major fight won but only about half of the reported slavers dead and almost all spells and abilities used up. We shall see what Team Awesome decide to do next.