On this adventure, our heroes, currently three strong, will encounter dozens of trials that will test their strength, cunning, and friendship as they face an army of goblins.
If you'd like to join, there's still room for more in the party. Don't be shy to ask.
Our story begins in Elsir Vale, with our three heroes on the road to the town of Drellin’s Ferry. The three are seasoned adventurers, and exated heroes to boot. Having fought many battles together before, they are confident in their strength. Legend has it of a vast treasure in the Vault of Vraath Keep, hidden deep in the Witchwood; our heroes, have journeyed all this way to seize the vault for their own. Despite that, they all have their own motivations to travel to Drellin's Ferry: Sir Whiskers, a cunning and charismatic Tibbet Jester, is travelling to meet up with an old friend of his: Princess Princess Bagel Jennifurr Fluffykinz the fourth. He hasn't met his old friend since he was a kitten, and he's eager to meet with her again. She has arranged to meet up with him in Drellin's Ferry, and to accompany him on his adventure. Sir Brozal, a mighty Orc Crusader of Pelor, has received a mission from a high-ranking Cleric of his order has received a powerful vision of war descending on Elsir Vale under the banner of a clawed red hand, and has sent Brolaz to the far reaches of Elsir Vale to avert impending disaster... Brozal isn't exactly sure if the vision was real, or if his master just wanted to get rid of him for the year, but he never turns down a good crusade. Brother Chad, a wise and powerful Druid, has chosen to accompany his companions on their hunt for the lost treasure in the Witchwood. Sir Whiskers requested his aid because Chad is the most experienced woodsman he knows. Chad is wary of this region, for he's heard that it is ruled by a fierce and territorial Druid, but he embarks upon this jouney nonetheless, the secrets of the Witchwood too tempting to ignore. ...So tempting that he seems to have drifted off somewhere with his horse; probably fucking it again or something. Stupid hippie.
And so, let's begin: >The afternoon sun beats down on you; the air is hot and still. The sparsely settled lands of Elsir Vale are starting to grow monotonous, with a seemingly endless line of dusty flyspecks of towns. The town of Drellin’s Ferry lies a few miles ahead of you. It’s a settlement hard on the borders of the Witchwood, and the best place from which to begin exploring the nearby forest. This is the part where the players ask obvious questions that I thoughtlessly ignored in the first post, as well as implore about their surroundings.
>>138897 Henry gives Aral a firm handshake before going to shake hands with Chad. “I’ve heard there’s some goblins we need to go kill.” He comments while chuckling to himself.
Eventually, the hobbit returns with Speaker Wiston and Captain Sorranna. Both look tired, like they haven't had very much sleep in the past few days. They chat in some inconsequential dialogue to introduce themselves. >>138893 Aral can hear that The woman is Teyani Sura, a Lion of Brindol (that is, an elite soldier in Brindol’s Lion Guard). she continues to speak to Wiston.
“I ride in the service of the Lord of Brindol. I was part of a patrol sweeping up the old Rhest Trail. Five days ago, we ran into a roadblock—hobgoblins and ogres, waylaying any travelers heading into or out of the vale from the north. They were too strong for us, and we had to retreat. My captain sent several of us riding off to warn folks across the vale to avoid the old Rhest Trail. So here I am.”
>>138900 >>138897 Speaker Wiston chats with Lady Sura for several more minutes, explaining the details of the Red Hand Horde, and later gestures the two of you over.
>>138903 As the lady describes the goblin attacks on the Rhest Trail, Norro Wiston ponders out loud: "They must have been looking for Cromar..." he says, grimly >>138905 >>138904 The speaker introduces the two of you. "Meet Teyani Sura, Lion Of Brindol." He say The woman takes a bow "I heard that you lads had a run-in with this 'Red Hand' horde. Would you care to describe what you've seen of their forces?"
>>138907 "A Dragon?" She implores with considerable alarm "It seems this predicament is worse than what we've heard in Brindol. I only expected a few hundred savages."
Speaker Wiston seems considerably stressed, and not because he's spent the last few days pleading with stubborn merchants. >>138911 >muh six gorillion She scoffs at that "Six million? Really? With the limited number of tribes in the wyrmsmokes? I doubt it."
>>138913 Teyani swears colorfully and drains her ale. “I’m on my way back to Brindol, then,” she mutters. “That news can’t wait. Guess I’ll need a fresh horse.” >>138914 Speaker Wiston speaks up "Sir Aral, would you mind showing me that map you found?"
>>138916 The speaker hands the map over to lady Sura. The woman looks over the map for several minutes with wide eyes, although apparently unable to read the goblinoid scribbles. “Lord Jarmaath needs to see this..." She declares "Would you mind if I took it back with me?"
>>138917 "Cromar... He's a retired wizard who lives in solitude in the swamplands up north. I have a hunch that the savages might be out for his head. He's a powerful mage, you see, stronger than Immerstal the Red. He was very prominent when Witchcross saw off the last serious hobgoblin raiding about fifteen years ago. They’d remember that.” he says
>>138918 "I'll make some translations on top, then you can take it." Aral uses the ink and pen he has to quickly scribble the corresponding notes in Common on the map. He also adds "Troop estimates: 6 million or above in number" in the corner.
>>138920 He continues “He was like a father to me when I was a boy. He was strong fifteen years ago, but he’s getting old; I don’t know if he’s got enough power to hold off the type of forces you say you’ve been dealing with for long at all.” >>138920 "Notes would be fine." the woman says, nodding thankfully.
>>138925 The afternoon is hot and still, but a line of thunderheads in the west promises a storm before long. The town bustles with activity, as a motley assortment of militiamen drill on the green. Then someone points up to the sky and cries, “Great Pelor, what is that?” Townsfolk look up, and in a moment the town is overcome by pandemonium and terror. With shrieks of fear, people scatter, fleeing into buildings and pulling the shutters closed after them. A sinister winged shape soars over the town—a powerful three-headed monstrosity with vast, batlike wings. The creature lets loose with a horrible wailing cry and then dives toward the people running for cover on the green.
Hamfist Henry raises his arms into the air in celebration and climbs on top of the chimera’s body. He then motions for his companions to step up onto the bodily pedestal with him. “Never forget our names. Hamfist Henry, Jorr, Aral, and Chad!” He yells into the crowd of adoring fans while blood dribbles down his face and out of cracks in his armor.
Okay, that thing went down faster than i expected.
All three heads are shot squarely, their eyes glassing over as the beast collapses.
As the Chimera dies, it seems almost confused, as if dumbfounded how it could have been defeated so quickly.
The townsfolk cheer, clapping in celebration and thanks. .... *rolls some dice*
e_e
The monster was apparently paid generously for its work. It drops a truly absurd amount of treasure: >Golden Pearl Statuette (of a Unicorn) wreathed in Continual Flame >Golden jewelry worth 500 gp >Iron Armband >Blue Star Sapphire >lapis lazuli
Hamfist Henry is flexing and posing dramatically for the crowd while standing atop the dead chimera in an attempt to make them cheer louder. Rolled a 16 on tumble.
Okay, later that evening. Speaker Wiston assembles the party, the town mostly evacuating at this point, caravans leaving.
The town of Drellin’s Ferry is empty. Houses stare vacantly out at silent roads. The sun has just vanished behind the formidable scar on the horizon that is the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. Speaker Wiston takes a deep breath and wipes tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. “It seems we’re about out of time,” he says. “We’d best be going now if we want to keep ahead of the worg riders.”
Captain Soranna nods to you. “You’ve already done us good, heroes. Without your warning, we’d have all been asleep in our beds when the horde arrived on our stoops. You’ve saved many lives today. For that you have my thanks. But I am afraid your work may not be done yet. There’s nothing to stop the Red Hand before they reach the walls of Brindol.”
Henry takes out his bottle of rum that he's been nursing for the past few hours and glugs down a gulp. "Is this Jorr guy a mercenary? Does he get paid?" Henry asks while stumbling in the general direction of Aral and Chad.
>>138947 >>138948 Henry finishes his bottle and tucks it away. "He's useful and I'd like to keep him around." The drunken homeless man says while handing 50 more GP and a bottle of rum to Jorr.
>>138948 >>138950 Jorr accepts the payment and tips his hat. "It's been a pleasure to work with ye'." The roguish woodsman says >>138950 "Unless ye plan to stay in the Witchwood for a long while longer, i think we'd best part ways here." The woodsman says, scratching his head "These are my woods. I've been fighting my little one-man war for as long as I can remember, and I'm not about to call it quits. The savages may have won this battle, but it'll take more than a few thousand goblins to drive me out."
To sum up day nine: >Hamfist introduced >Hear about blockade on Rhest Trail >Wiston mentions Cromar might be in trouble >interrupted by Chimera attack >chimera btfo'd >treasure >town evacuates >Jorr wants to stay in the Witchwood >Now Speaker Wiston and Soranna are talking
>>138952 "The woods aren't going anywhere. If you come with us and kill goblins by our side, we're stronger and we can drive them out of the region completely."
>>138955 "Could give you a raise and pay in advance, if money is needed." Little pause. "Might not be any woods left, not as they are, if we don't act against the Red Hand together."
A commotion in the street outside sounds out in the night. “Run! Run! Goblins are attacking the east bank!” someone cries. From your window, you can see bright flames leaping up from houses and buildings by the road and hear the faint roar and crackle of distant flames.
Speaker Wiston sounds the alarm. Captain Soranna runs over to the old Toll house to muster some guards.
Aral, with his low-light vision, can see several goblin raiders have arrived to harass the caravan as they leave. Several of them appear to be riding worgs, more appearing over the hills.
You're only a hundred feet away from the source of the commotion when you spot a trio of goblin worg riders dashing down the street, whooping and shaking their bows in the air. A powerful hell hound bounds alongside them.
Okay, I'm going to take a few minutes to calculate the look that Jorr graciously strips and counts for you guys.
The other guards seem to have taken care of their goblins, the retreating with a Dancing Lights signal from the Sorcerer that you just drove off.
In the meantime, the story will fast forward back to here >>138945 as Captain Soranna and Speaker Wiston track you down again.
Please ask any questions you might have, even if the previous ones remain unanswered. I'm pausing for now. The game will move to part two next session, and I'll be making a new thread for that.
I'm gonna head back into town and check out the bar now that everyone is evacuated. I'll try to find the cellar so I can bust down the door and take a gander at all the booze that was left behind in the commotion.
>>138985 Better than nothing. Henry pockets three bottles of cheap ale and then begins roaming around town and digging through all of the abandoned houses and other abandoned buildings. He will also take a shit on the mayor's desk.
"Soranna...you said there is nothing stopping the Read Hand from reaching Brindol. What did you mean? What news did the Lion Guard bring, besides of Rhest Rail?"
>>138987 >Why Brindol? “Brindol’s the largest town in the vale. Between here and there it's only small farming communities along the Dawn Way. Brindol has a good wall, and a standing army. If we can spread the word and raise the country, we might be able to stop the Red Hand there.”
>what news The Fighter fidgets somewhat "It was a rather generous job offer, from Lord Jarmaath. I wouldn't normally spring to take it, but circumstances have changed this past week..." She replies, glancing back at the empty, partially-burning town once known as Drellin's Ferry "As well as some minor details of 'suspicious hobgoblin activity in the north and west', as Lady Sura told us about earlier today.."
>>139139 "But what of their army? Why aren't they moving on the offensive, if it is their best interest? Are we expected to stop the tribes with farmers and pitchforks, while Brindol's fighter sit and look onward?"
>>139141 >But what of their army? >Why aren't they moving on the offensive Captain Soranna just shakes her head in response. Speaker Wiston speaks up. "Brindol's forces may be a bit larger than ours, but they're not thousands... They'd have little chance facing an army like that head-on."
>Are we (the people) expected to stop the tribes with farmers and pitchforks >What are your plans now? What of the people of Drellin’s Ferry? “I reckon we’ll head east till we reach Terrelton. We’ll soon see if the horde is following or not. In the worst case, we move on to Nimon Gap, and then Talar. We’ll run all the way to Brindol if we have to. I’ve already sent some riders ahead to spread the news, warn the towns, and alert Lord Jarmaath to the dire news.”
>>139143 "We should probably get out of here before we get stormed and slaughtered. We killed many of them and lost nobody so even though they're gaining ground, they're still losing."
>>139144 "Where to?" (We can decide here to go check out the next small town over if you want some brawling before we head anywhere else plot-wise, I guess.)
>>139145 “I suppose you could try to stay in front of the horde, keep the worg riders and such from slaughtering the folk of the vale-towns before they can flee. But what worries me most is the reports that the Old North Road and the Rhest Trail are blocked. If we’re going to get reinforcements from outside the vale, they’ll have to come in from the north. I guess I’d say go north and fi nd out if there are any more hobgoblins marching from that direction.”
>>139331 As I indicated before, after the looting and the resting is done, Aral is fine with catching up with the last wave of the evacuation just to make sure they get safely at least to the next town. Tactically, hitting the goblins right now might be better, but there is nothing terribly wrong with protecting townsfolk.