Monday, November 26, 2018

Five Tower Keep Session 15: 11/21/2018 A few Days In Five Tower Keep and No Thank You

We arrive to Five Tower Keep; our characters discover many of the folk here are not surprised at our return. Our characters however find a return to normalcy as even the outlying Thorpes have seen a return of families to the farms. It seems the orc and orog activity has ebbed in that the raids have ended. Furthermore the Army of Lowport has reinforced Five Tower Keep with 50 soldiers along with a caravan of supply goods to mark the beginning of trade season.

Inskip receives us and is anxious to get the story of our travels and when the subject is brought up he encourages us to recruit help to potentially hold an area in the swamp. Alaric asks for more funding but Inskip suggests we form a mercenary company and name our price for being in service to Five Tower Keep. In regards to this change in status Inskip refers us to Junior Dockmaster New Port Dock-Side Captain. And will forward a letter of recommendation speaking to our favor.

While in Five Tower Keep we arrange dry place to stay and dry clothes before we set out for Lowport (5 days to the coast road, 5 days up the coast (North) is Kazzurog territory, while 3 days down the coast (South) road is Lowport).

We head over to visit the Tower Keep wizard whose name is Cranium; it seems he is already aware of our party’s recruitment efforts. Melderon takes pains to display a bit of mythic power to instantly create a channel scroll spell to impress the man. Cranium mentions Academi and if Melderon has heard of it; Academi was an ancient elf who categorized and stabilized how magic worked here before on this world. He goes on to tell is there is an elf by the name of Garland Milkwish who is an educator. Seek him out and show him what you (Melderon) can do.

Next our characters look for the blind druid Acgrim of the Keep to inform him of the grove at the ley line nexus. This piques his interest at first but takes the information thoughtfully and says he will be willing to speak with the local druids and rangers about the location.

We leave for Lowport on Day 35. When we eventually reach the paved Dragon Road our characters encounter one of the many Pavilions that frequent the road. It was a large sheltered caravan rest area for rent. Here half-dragon ogres stand guard with milled wooden spiked clubs.

We, say no thank you and decide rest in Melderon’s rope trick. On Meshas watch she spies three huge figures emerge from the south wood to an area directly below our rope trick. At one point she sees dragon-sized wings, then a Minotaur’s head, then an infernal barbed tail. Carrying an impossibly large great axe. Hard to determine how many their were as they toil about speaking in giant tongue which Melderon picks up on. “find them, they must be here, they’re gone.” In one form or another. Our characters decide not to reveal ourselves and wait till morning. 

Later, the next morning it is about an hour into our travel when the three huge HALF DRAGON wingotaurs come up on us- the ones from the night before. After the battle we find their weapons to be of ancient Horcton origin and furthermore their armor was emblazoned with the Blood-shot eye of Gyronna. We see no reason to hide or dispose of these would be hag-assassins so we eventually continue to travel further along the road passing Pavilions along the way. The rest of the day, beyond the beautiful landscape, was uneventful.

That night we stay in a magical rope trick and the next morning we come to the intersection of the road. Here we hear screeching like a tortured owl; then coming closer we see 4 green scaled half-dragon owl bears. We start next game session with two rounds to prepare for them.


Sunday, November 18, 2018

Five Tower Keep Session 14: 11/15/2018 Spoils from a Coven and Travel to Lowport

We pick up this week’s session with searching out the coven’s lair. The lair was largely dry with hundreds of dirty carpets and skins covering the tangle of roots as well as an alter to Gyronna with a veiny bloody eye painted upon it- the dark goddess’ symbol.

Thirteen ceremonial stones make up a rough pyramid on the flat stone that is the alter. All about the base of the stone are the words Gyronna painted in giant tongue in blood. All around insects and vermin run rapid. Troy knows the stones were at one time connected to the local ley lines. Coils of hemp and vine rope, fire wood, piles of rocks, furs, carpets and skins; crock and game skins flayed for drying; benches and tables, a cauldron, shotty buckets and crockery; as well as many steel urns of various types covered in holy symbols to peylor; and several drums and bone strikers for giants. Against a tree is a polished 10x3 mirror, cloth rags and tattered as well as skulls. Nearby is a workstation with herbs and swamp plants drying out, here our characters find several books.

Russ finds the alter radiates an old evil but since the coven is dead the alter is no longer aligned; however a book does radiates evil… ‘Reborn.’ The appears to be the finest of the books it is found with, on the cover is a stitching of a black oak in the cloth cover. Russ takes precautions before handling the abyssal book. The first mythic point is spent to read the tome and Russ feels the connection, for the first time, a connection to the local leyline as our source of mythic power. The book details the coven’s reincarnation ritual and that produces hill giants. They would pick out the simplest orogs kill them and reincarnate them as hill giants. Failures indicate failed attempts at black dragons.

One books, soaked in blood, written in the same hand as the evil reborn book, a prayer books to Gyronna. The other three books are written in common and detect as magical: each manual of monsters (giants, dragons, magical beasts).

At the end of a couple of hours we find:
+1 ghost touch lt. flail (Rob), +1 heavy flail courageous (Russ), +1 quenching bastard sword, (James), +1 heavy crossbow distance (James), +1 adamantine pick (Tony), +1 small steel shield
Case with a masterwork longsword, short sword, and dagger of Peylor each weapon is adamantine.
Folding boat (party), Bag of holding 2 (Russ), hand of the mage (Troy), dusty rose ioun stone (Rob), pearl of power 2 (Troy), Ring of minor spell storing (Troy), ring of energy resist lighting 10 (James), amulet of mighty fists (ginger), ring of animal friendship (Troy), boots of striding and springing (tony), 10 bird feather tokens (all), 5 elixir of fire breath (all), 20 charges of wand of bull strength divine (Russ), 18 charges of cats grace (James), 5 max CSW (all),

50 silver bars worth 25 gp. (1,250 gp)
40 croc skins worth 25 gp. (1,000 gp)
20 tusks/horns worth 100 gp (2,000 gp)
50 pearls worth 50 gp. (2,500 gp)
Total: 6,750 gp.

A plethora of quarts stones- geodes 
An urn filled with powdered dragon and giant bones. 
A stone basin made of coldstone. (500 gp) 
A masterwork crystal flask with black dragon blood (flask is 150 gp) 
A leather pouch filled with basilisk eyes. 
Five steel urns filled with black dragon scales. 
A cracked magnifying glass (now mended) 
An urn with powered ivory 
5 pots filled with alchemist glue (100 gp)
10 alchemical troll oils (500 gp total) 

Skins tanned: 30 lbs of young dragon skin (two 15 lbs. pieces), 30 lbs. of giant frilled lizard skin, and 4 Sythehorn pelts (100 gp each)

After a few hours our characters rest, tan hide, and decide to load up and travel to Lowport to off load equipment and perhaps recruit adventurers. Day 28. We set out north for our return taking another parallel route west of our travels. We move into 2m5 with 2m4 territory fully explored and the coven destroyed, as we leave 2m4 borders a black dragon territory.

Our progress builds towards higher ground and the trees become less dense then a mild thunderstorm settles. From out of the clouds a hybrid manticore-dragonic shape comes out of the storm. We defeat the creature and head towards to Five Tower Keep. 

It takes us 5 days to travel to Five Tower Keep, getting basic typography each territory along the way, arriving on Day 33. 

Sonayo and the Night of the Thunderstorm

Sonayo
Sonayo was born, raised and formally schooled in Malta; here she eventually became apprentice to a famed Malta Relic Hunter who not only inspired her to seek out hidden treasures or sometimes forbidden truths; but he also secretly won her heart. The Relic Hunter taught Sonayo that ancient treasures ought not be greedily hoarded in seclusion but openly, on display for everyone to appreciate and learn of its secrets.

His specialty was treasures lost in happenstance and the challenge, that excited the researcher. Relics and items of antiquity lost after discovery; then lost in transit to its intended resting place or run afoul from thieves looking for a payday. 

After some minor excursions on Malta and surrounding Rocks, the Relic Hunter took Sonayo to Africa with him...

In the seasons that followed, the Relic Hunter learned of a horticultural scourge in the local jungle area. A murderous sentient plant the Relic Hunter suspected to have killed the his first Professor- as well as the man the Relic Hunter considered his adopted father. The Professor disappeared while attempting to bring back a holy relic of Horcton- a holy weapon devoted to the Sun god Pelor.

Months of tracking and following the horrific nighttime stories of a voracious tree with vines that could constrict and hang a large man. Local folklore said the hangman tree had amassed a modest hoard from its victims. Mayhap one of his victims was the lost Professor. 



The Relic Hunter and Sonayo found the hangman tree nestled along a wide stream between the settlements of Lowport and Five Tower Keep. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed, Sonayo hated thunderstorms. It’s leafy vines loomed over the flush waters, their tips were looped into nooses that lightly brushed the surface of the tremulous stream. Lightning flashed revealing stark branches jutting out from a damp black trunk splitting off into smaller limbs where dark shadowy carrion birds hunkered for their next meal. The hangman tree was approximately seventy feet tall at its highest bough and at the base, tangled roots could be seen trailing off into the running water.

The carrion birds were alert and quick to alarm so the Relic Hunter and Sonayo had to exercise all their skills at stealth to get within thirty feet. Sonayo stayed back as instructed and waited for the Relic Hunter’s signal as he approached the hangman tree.

Twenty-five feet away, then twenty; the relic hunter was steadily approaching. 

He was less than fifteen feet away when the carrion birds took wing and formed into separate swarms of black feathery clouds. They converged on the Relic Hunter disorientating him causing him spin about and trip and fall on a exposed root. His blood mixed with puddles of water. To Sonayo’s horror the Relic Hunter was picked up by a dark looping vine by his neck grotesquely lifting him twenty feet into the air. Other vine-loops lowered looking for purchase on a flaying arm or swinging leg. Sonayo could’t see her teacher, only a dark silhouette in the chaos of the carrion birds.

The next sound she heard was the Relic Hunter struggling for breath, using his last to order her to RUN!

That was five days ago.

A Hangman Tree

Monday, November 12, 2018

Five Tower Keep Session 13: 11/08/2018 Punch That Up In Your Google Box


Picking up right where we left our last game session, having accidentally wandered into a hag's coven; our characters come to a ring Blackroot trees with a chaotic tangle of roots encompassing most of the entire area. This area too was invested with positive leyline (healing) energy. A plethora of swamp rats and other vermin including large African insects inhabited the area.  Our characters also notice several crocodile skins hanging and gutted to cure. It was about then our characters spot three giants returning with a skiff piled high with a dragon carcass along with other dead creatures to be eaten, skinned or worse. These giants sported minor wounds but these were healed in short order as battle began.

When we destroy the coven an energy is released and grants our characters their first mythic tier.