Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 63
Adventurers
| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Conly | Fighter level 1 | Young man with brown hair and eyes. Carries a shield with large acorn symbol. |
| Algon | Thief level 1 | Handsome and friendly heartthrob; shifty at heart. |
| Derennan | Dwarf level 3 | A dwarf hailing from Western Wastes. |
| Barad the Bald | Magic-user level 1 | Bald, beardless, chinless, and lazy-eyed. |
| Hist | Fighter level 1 | |
| Rashomon | Elf level 1 | A dangerous looking elf. |
| Llyfed | Elf level 3 | Thin and balding elf whom also happens to be Rashomon's friend. |
| Brent Goose | Cleric level 5 | An eccentric, but charismatic, cleric seeking the Holy Bird. White robes and black cloak conceal his tall, frail and anemic frame. His eagle-like nose is exposed for all to see. |
| Oberon | Fighter level 3 | A tall, supple hunter adorned with bones and horns of his prey. |
Redleaves 3rd, Earthday
Two weeks flew by as the adventurers recovered moved into their newly acquired home, a respectable townhouse in a nice part of Hara.
Norwood Bode, the former owner, kept his word and introduced the party to:
- Eval Strikker, the proprietor of armory just next to them. He primarily manufactures chainshirts for the garrison, but will always find time for Norwood's friends.
- Bindon Sweettooth, the host at the Shoreside Club, a private club mostly frequented by the local nobility and army officers. Norwood warned the adventurers to invest into their appearance—”Easier to get sensitive work that way!”
- Haermond II, the castellan of Hara, whom did recognize some of the adventurers for their previous help with a sensitive issue. They accidentally ran into him at the Shoreside Club, so Norwood used the opportunity to flaunt his connections.
Few, more entrepreneurially inclined members also invested in gathering rumour and intelligence. Here is what they learned:
- Gnomes of Ractuan are livid. Several barges of raw material sent to Hara went missing. They've recently sent a delegation which demanded immediate action or they'll stop doing business through Hara. Haermond II is already stretched thin, but this is Hara's lifeblood, so he is likely to weaken all other posts to resolve this.
- Another patrol went missing at the Midnight Goddess Hills. “Eaten alive by horrors beyond human imagination!” “The Circle must've been broken!” “Nonsense, it is those damn jungle barbarians...”
- Namelin has been on a spending spree. They hired most of the available capable fighters. The rumour has it they also financed nearly 70% of all assassination contracts in the last eight months.
- “An ancient idol of Shang Ta, the Windgod, rots away on the slopes of Ghinarian hills. Peasants speak of desecration, violation, and evildoing. Surely someone looking for divine favour could do worse than taking care of it...”
They also spent time studying the map they've recovered from the burial mound Zarifa had sent them to.
Playing sages, the adventurers suspected the tall mountain might be one of the peaks of the Castellan Mountains looming over Hara from the west. Consequently, they spent a full day researching the books at the Wizards' Guild, records at the Forsetti's Temple, and frequenting taverns for local tales.
This is what they learned after a full day of investigation:
- Castellan Mountains effectively split Altanis in half. Crossing them is a treacherous undertaking even for the most prepared. Those that survive the climb still have to deal with venerable dragons, marauding stone giants, and orcs of Arang-Tok.
- Madcat Mountain, the closest one to Hara, is named so for the twin spires that jut out of the peak of this mountain. The summit is approximately 10,000 feet in height. It's best to scale them in spring.
- There are no significant records of graveyards. Life in Wilderlands is too short and brutal to keep track of such trivialities on a large scale.
Rashomon recruited Dorn, a veteran fighter, while Conly and Algon recruited four commoners for menial tasks like carrying treasure and not getting in danger.
Ever since Brent Goose has returned from the ruined tower he found himself followed by a flock of small birds. They poop on him on every occasion. Brent also found his magic impotent; his prayers either not working or producing subpar results.
“Hey guys I'm in trouble with my god. Can we go kill the things in the mountain from my vision?”
“What vision?”
“I had a vision of some guys hissing at me.”
“That's very vague. How about we go take care of the ruined idol of Shang-Ta?”
“That works too”.
They arranged a transport on barge carrying livestock to Ahyf, the settlement closest to Ghinarian hills. It was a fine party, counting eight adventurers, one retainer, four porters, two draft horses, and one wagon.
The expedition had arrived on Ahyf, a trading village by the sea, in the last daylight watch of Redleaves 5th, Spiritday. They slept with animals for 1 copper piece per person.
Redleaves 5th, Spiritday
Ahyf is a large trading village where merchant ships take over goods shipped from Hara as well as anyone else who comes to barter. The gnomes of Ractuan and the humans of Hara both ship their goods down on coastal barges to Ahyf every month to the market.
Warlord Briaron ensures that the trade goes undisturbed, at least in Ahyf, that is. Once you sail you are on your own. Camus, the Priest of Thoth, is well respected and acts as the local judge.
Meek Brent was too afraid to seek audience with him, even after seeing the crane-like bird at the entrance of the temple. He'd rather pray to the stone than dare speak to a man of true conviction.
Hist, on the other hand, politely queued to be granted audience with Camus. There was a long line of peasants asking for divination, advice, help, blessing, and who knows what else.
“How can I help you, son?”
“We heard there is a sacred site nearby that has fallen into evil hands. We came to purge it. Could you tell us more?”
Although Camus failed to show any signs excitement, he explained that many temples on Ghinarian hills were abandoned in recent years. Locals report sightings of undead, but he doesn't believe them to be true.
“It's most likely the crazed, cannibal barbarians. They bathe in blood, reek of rot, and act irrationally. It's easy to confuse them for brainless undead. The only thing they have in common is their shared hatred for the living.”
“You will find the idol facing east. It is very similar to the one in Antil, but nowhere near as grand. Oh, you've never been there? Well, it is an upright statue of an eagle spreading its wings.”
“Three priests tended to the idol back in the day. Send them my regards if you find them. Or end their suffering, if they've turned to evil ways. You have my blessing. Now go.”
And they left.
The party started their slow ascent up the Ghinarian hills. Those were gentle, wet hills stretching from the Cedarwade in the west all the way to the coast and the Cape of No Return in the east. Beautiful and pastoral hills give a breathtaking view of the sea.
Hist and Oberon navigated the party using the priest's instruction to follow the old, serpentine trail leading to the idol of Shang-Ta.
Redleaves 6th, Airday
“Huh, he didn't mention this...”
A barricade of cut down trees stood some hundred feet ahead of them, blocking path forward. They were currently marching on a fifty foot wide path. A natural rocky wall was to their right, roughly five feet tall, while a sharp fall was to their left, also roughly five feet deep.
Four red-skinned human-shaped figures stood behind the trees.
“Hey, what's this?” one of the adventurers yelled.
A volley of arrows was the reply he received.
“Well, that's not nice.”
The party responded in kind. They found that the barbarians were using their cover effectively.
“Watch out!” Derennan informed the others of three more attackers, coming from below! They were scaling the cliff, daggers in their mouths, showing of rotting teeth.
A brutal skirmish ensued. Llyfed managed to kill two with his expert marksmanship; Oberon managed to drop his bow but Brent picked it up for him; Conly got badly wounded but was saved by Algon and Hist; Derennan was flanked and repeatedly stabbed by two of them, he tanked them both.
With three down, the barbarians begun fleeing like animals. Those behind the barricaded run up the hills. One that fought Derennan jumped off the hill, to the lower plane, and made a run for it. The other one was surrounded and had nowhere to go. He took amazing amount of punishment.
Bleed profusely, he turned to the dwarf, cut open his pants, grabbed his manhood with his left hand, and cut it off with his right. Then he chucked it at the shocked dwarf—whom failed to evade the unexpected projectile. Floppy parts just splooshed against his plate armour, and then fell down to the ground.
The lunatic then disembowelled himself, throwing his innards at his feet. Finally, he turned to the side of the cliff and jumped on his head.
Half-dead Conly did not get a chance to heal. In fact, he didn't even realise when he died. It was Oberon who spotted another red-skinned figure standing atop the hill to south of them. The man was a good distance away from them, but his laughter echoed all around them.
He even made a little celebratory dance as he hit Conly in the neck with his arrow. Then he flipped the party and disappeared out of sight.
Little of value was found on the corpses of the ambushers, a mere eleven gold coins. The party put the wounded and dead into the wagon and returned to Ahyf to heal.
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