September 5, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning. Afternoon
Chronicles of Ashmont Live Session, Part One: Desecrated Lands
Morning arrives after an uneventful night and Tom still has not show
up, leaving everyone very distraught. As everyone ate their breakfast
in an uncomfortable silence, no one spoke about their missing
companion, until Draymun finally broke the silence.
“He did say that wanted us to continue on,” the druid said between sausages.
“Aye,” Thorvald chimed in. “That is what Tom said to me before he
left… His goal should not have taken him all night however, and I fear
that if he has not returned to camp, then he has fallen.” Thor paused
as he let his words sink in and whispered a silent prayer to Thunor.
“We don’t have any evidence of his death,” Draymun replied, “so we
shouldn’t jump to any conclusions. We should continue on to the grove,
Tom will follow us if he is able. I have left markings that Tom will
most certainly notice, and any ranger of his skill would be able to
follow our wagon tracks with one eye closed.
“Agreed,” Khazad said as everyone around the breakfast fire nodded in
agreement.
Packing up had become second nature to everyone, and especially Hamish
and Alis, who cleaned up after breakfast and ensured that the animals
and equipment was loaded and stored for the day’s journey.
“We should head to the north-west,” Thorvald said as he mounted
Hildabrun. “That is the direction Tom believed the Defilers were
making camp, although he did admit that it was no more than intuition.
“Agreed,” Khazad said as he set a box down upon the ground to give him
enough of a boost to clamber up into the front of wagon next to Alis.
“I have no preference for direction,” the half-orc chimed in as he
climbed atop his mount, “so long as there will be enemies to be
slain.” Hamish tied Tom’s mount to the back of the wagon and climbed
into the back to join Rethas, and Draymun nodded stoically as he
turned and whispered softly to Arktas, before taking his place upon
his mount and joining the others.
The path is not clear as the group makes their way north-west, not
seeing any sort of tracks. The blight upon the land seemed to be
getting worse faster as they made their way. What had previously been
scorched earth and fallen trees was now cracked ground and rotted
remnants of wood. The light fog that had risen from the ground grows
increasingly thick and the smell of sulphur can be distinguished.
Draymun grows increasingly unsettled and can feel himself becoming
physically sickened as the nature of the world around him becomes
increasingly defiled. As Draymun examines the evidence around him, he
begins to notice similarities between the land itself and the strange
ritual performed by the Eagle druid upon his fallen comrades.
Meanwhile, Khazad concentrates on the magical energies at work,
sensing divination and transformation magics at work. The group
travels for several hours along their path and sees no sign of any
wildlife.
Khazad eventually stood and climbed atop his seat. He closed his eyes
and softly whispered a prayer to Torag, asking for his guidance. When
he opened his eyes, he scanned the horizon for any signs of movement.
Not believing his eyes, Khazad notices a small group of five figures,
outlined against the horizon, about half a mile away. Reaching down,
he placed a hand upon Alis’ shoulder, as he spoke firmly.
“Come to a halt, lad,” Khazad said as those on mounts followed suit,
but moving up beside the wagon. “There are five figures out there,” he
told the others. “I can’t tell much more from this distance, but looks
like they’re heading to the grove. They’ll cross our path eventually.”
“So what do you think?” Draymun asked, pushing his nausea at the
condition of the natural world around him to the back of his mind.
“They could be more Defilers,” he continued, “I can’t imagine anyone
else being found this far out into this tainted blight.”
“We should attack them now,” Thor said gruffly, taking the reasons
for his statement to be self-explanatory.
“I’m always in the mood to kill,” Kring commented, showing his tusks
as a smile crept over his face. Khazad stood back up and surveyed the
landscape further, looking for any advantage in the terrain. He spots
what appears to be the remains of a small river valley, part way
between them and the strange figures in the distance. Khazad instructs
Alis to steer the wagon to the riverbed and the rest of the party
continued to follow.
When they reached the riverbed, they could see that it was fifty to
sixty feet long and was more than enough to provide cover from the
approaching enemy. It ran parallel to the path of their foes, so they
decided to set up the wagon halfway through the valley and set up
their ambush at one end.
Without much time to prepare, the group established basic battle
lines. Kring, Hamish and Thor took up positions near the front while
Draymun, Khazad and Rethas took up positions behind them, and they
waited as the calm before a storm. Alis was told to hide under the
wagon and wait for them to tell him that it was safe to proceed. After
ten minutes, the five travellers began coming down the path, and the
heroes surprised them.
There were three figures carrying quarterstaves and wearing homespun
robes, one of which had a head of hair made up entirely of snakes. The
second humanoid figure looked to be a she-wolf, covered in very thick
fur, while the third appeared to be made entirely of grasses. The
three were leading, in-between them, what appeared to be two
prisoners. The first was a terrified human in simple, homespun
clothes, and a surly dwarf stripped down to his unmentionables. In the
moment where they came into view, the party instantly recognized them
to be Defilers, despite their differences in appearance to those the
party faced in the Battle of the Tainted Wood.
Raising his weapon in the air, Khazad let the battle be joined,
hurtling his hammer with all of his might at the slithering
serpent-haired druid. The Hammer struck true before returning to
Khazad’s hand. As the hammer flew past him, Thorvald allowed the rage
of battle to consume him and as his blood boiled with a desire to
attack, he charged off in the hammer’s wake. Having come to recognize
his companion’s rage-fuelled attacks, Draymun offered the barbarian
the guidance of nature, using his powers to aid in the onslaught.
Thorvald reached the snake woman before she had regained her balance
after the hammer strike, and he brought Thunor’s Vengeance down upon
her with a mighty battlecry. His blade was slightly off-centre and it
came down hard and stuck into the snake woman’s skull, chopping off
the writhing snake-heads from her hair and sending them soaring in
several directions.
Kring was also overcome with rage of his own, and charged off to
attack the grass-druid. He brought his weapon down with a fury and
left a gaping hole in the grass upon the druid’s chest and torso. Not
wanting to be left out, Hamish joined the fray and charged after
Kring, attack the grass druid as well, but only succeeding in a
glancing blow, but as the grass-druid avoided Hamish’s assault, he
stepped into the magic missiles conjured forth from Rethas’ hands,
falling to the ground.
“Volag tobai,” Khazad shouts in dwarvish.
The surly and disrobed dwarf attempts to escape, and having seen two
other dwarves amongst the attackers, he makes his way towards them.
“Come this way, friend,” Draymun shouts out, hoping to ensure the
captive’s safe escape. “Can you defend yourself,” Dolgi asked as the
prisoner came close.
“I have no weapons,” the dwarf replied. Draymun decided to arm the
prisoner. Tossing him a sling, he took a moment and spoke the words,
crafting three magical stones which he handed to the other dwarf.
Meanwhile, the she-wolf recovered quickly from the ambush and stepped
forward, and with a vicious snarl, she reached out with her clawed
hand and grasped Thorvald by the shoulder, draining his strength and
leaving a desiccated mark upon his flesh.
Khazad responds in his kind as he reached back and threw his hammer
once more. Again the hammer sailed true and struck the she-wolf upon
the shoulder of her outstretched arm, knocking her off step, which
gave Thorvald the opening he needed. With a bestial roar even fiercer
than that of the she-wolf, Thor swung his blade at the Defiler, but
she managed to stumble out of harm’s way.
In his nearly-blind rage, Kring’s attention remained focused solely
upon the grass druid, despite having fallen unconscious. Kring raised
his mighty axe high and brought it down upon the grass druid’s face,
causing a puff of grass to hit the air in all directions as the
druid’s head exploded under the assault.
The former prisoner accepted the weapons and ammunition from his
fellow dwarf and proceeded to arm himself. As he watched Thor’s attack
fall short of the she-wolf, he took aim and let one of the magic
bullets fly through the air with all of his might. The stone struck
true, hitting the she-wolf in the stomach and causing her to lose her
breath as she let a whoosh of air. Draymun steps forward to stand
beside his dwarven comrade and takes a dart from his pouch. He holds
the dart aloft in front of him and brings his hammer forward to strike
it, sending it sailing forward. The dart caught the she-wolf in the
torso and acid splashed across her body as it exploded on contact. She
cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. Hamish took one step
forward and, flipping his sword so the blade pointed towards the
ground, he clasped it in both hands and brought it down upon the heart
of the she-wolf, killing her.
“Is everyone alright,” Khazad asked, surveying the damage to his companions.
“Save your strength friend,” Draymun said walking up to Khazad and
placing a hand upon the cleric’s shoulder. “My goodberries will
restore our friends.”
Thor feels his blood stop boiling as he calms himself and returns his
breathing to normal. Shaking off the searing pain in his shoulder,
Thor began searching through the fallen for any valuables. He first
sees a bag with dwarven symbols upon and looked up to the newly-freed
dwarf.
“I take it this is your equipment?” Thor asked the dwarf, who nodded
and caught the backpack as Thor tossed it to him.
“Come friend, speak your name and tell us, what compels you to journey
in such a barren waste as this?” Draymun asked.
“My name is Dolgi Orcsmasher, and I thank you for the opportunity you
have given me to escape. I was tracking orcs in the woods when these
three set upon me and took me captive. I am a woodland skirmisher and
I have made it my responsibility to keep the encroaching orcs at bay,”
Dolgi paused and a smirk came across his face as he continued.
“Sometimes even half-orcs, if they look at me funny,” he joked as
everyone had a good laugh. Kring, however, was little amused.
As he heard the raucous laughter from the band of adventurers, the
frightened human who had hid under his arms throughout the entire
battle, finally arose from his cowering position. As he approached the
others, he finally worked up the courage to speak, and once he
started, his nervousness kept him rambling on.
“My name is Irid, and I was travelling with a caravan from Ashmont. I
was taking a leak in the trees and the next thing I knew these things
had me and I was travelling with them. I don’t even know where I am,
can you help me?”
“Do you have any useful skills?” Thor asked, sceptically eyeing the
man up and down.
“I can hoe a good row of corn,” Irid replied, unsure if that was the
answer Thor was looking for. The indifference upon Thor’s face was
enough for most to guess that it wasn’t. “Go sit in the wagon, with
Alis, our driver, and we’ll ensure you have the basics for survival
looked after.
“Where are you headed?” Irid asked.
“You have two choices,” Kring growled at the farmer, imposing himself
in front of the man. “Get in the wagon or hit the road.”
“Are you heading to L-L-Lark any time soon?” Irid asked, even more
nervous at Kring’s overbearing nature.
“We can drop you off at Ashmont,” Khazad started, stepping between
Kring and the frightened man, “and provide you with some gold to be on
your way,” he finished.
“Gold pieces?” Irid asked with a gasp as his eyes grew three times
their former size. “You have gold pieces?” he asked again, looking
from one adventurer to another. “You must be travelling Sultans or
something.”
“We own a mine over by Lark,” Draymun chimed in, hoping to change the
subject away from their collective wealth. “It is possible that we
could be heading there in the near future.
“Aye,” Thor spoke up again, “we’ll keep you safe, or you can take your
chances alone, out there,” he said, pointing his arm in a slow
sweeping motion meant to draw Irid’s attention to the desolate
landscape. Irid looked out at what used to be a living forest and saw
only the desolation. Turning back to the group, he pointed at Kring.
“That one looks strong,” Irid said, trying to sound confident, “I’ll
stand behind him.”
“From the looks of him, you’ll be fine as long as you don’t stand down
wind from him, ha!” Dolgi said, slapping his knee as he began to laugh
heartily. When the initial laughter died down, Kring farted as loud
as he could and again, the adventurers all had a good healthy laugh
together.
When everyone had finally settled down, the Defiler corpses were
thrown down into the riverbed and pushed up under one of the overhangs
in the bank, so that they would not immediately be discovered by any
other Defilers who happened to pass through. As they loaded their new
equipment into the wagon, Draymun gathered everyone together.
“The Defilers were heading southwest,” he said to everyone, “so that’s
the direction we should go.”
“Aye,” Khazad piped up, “I agree.” They all nodded their agreement
before Khazad turned to their newfound companion. “Dolgi, would you
care to join us and exact some vengeance against those who had
captured you?”
“I’ll eat them for breakfast,” Dolgi said with a sly grin, as he
looked at each of the others, “and then perhaps we’ll go find some
orcs for dessert!”
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