On the path to Lloreac
Village People Expedition:
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Tariq the Harvester – Lvl 5 Mage (Necromancer) –Extremely short necromancer wearing expensive black robes with skull on the shoulders (covered by a cloak in town) – has wand of magic missiles.
<ul style="list-style-type:circle"> <li><strong>Lenny Davos </strong>– Lvl 2 Fighter – (Legionary) –Heavily muscled former soldier from Adamas, wears Plate + Shield, fighting w/ spear or a silver short sword. <ul> <li><strong>Mysty</strong> – pixie familiar – Animal friendship, tracking.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Mycah Pyrus</strong> – Lvl 3 Shaman – (Snake Healer) –– Armed with a staff. <ul> <li><strong>Reggie</strong> – small python – HD 2</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li>
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Eduardo aka ‘Keyser Soze’ – Lvl 5 Thief (Cat Burglar) – budding tycoon - Wears leather and armed with Imperial Legion X-Bow
<ul style="list-style-type:circle"> <li><strong>Ukla the Quick</strong> – Lvl 3 Barbarian (Pit Fighter) – fights with net and trident. <ul> <li><strong>Barnabus Bannon</strong> – Fighter 2(Corsair) – Searfaring, Swashbuckling, STR +1, INT,WIS,DEX -1 <strong>– </strong>wears leather armed with dagger and shortsword<strong>.</strong></li> <li><strong>Michael Thomas</strong> – Fighter 1 (guardsman) – Alertness, Signaling, , STR, DEX, CHA +1, INT -1 - wears plate mail and armed with a glaive</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Onde Vrazic</strong> – Familiar imp – Mimicry x2, Arcane Dabbling, Alertness</li> <li><strong>Delwyn</strong> – Lvl 1 Village Witch – laying on hands, healing x2, familiar – Str -1 Int+1, WIS +1, DEX +@, CON -1, spell signatures based on potions, salves, balms, or foodstuffs. <ul> <li><strong>Bernard – </strong>Familiar – golden lab – laying on hands, soothsaying (sniffs butt), animal husbandry</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li>
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Dave ‘the Pure’ Carrin – Lvl 5 Cleric (Hermit) of Hera –Wears custom made plate (with symbol of Hera) + magical +1 shield
<ul style="list-style-type:circle"> <li><strong>Angela of Hera</strong> – Lvl 3 Cleric (proselytizer) –wears Plate and armed with a billhook </li> </ul> </li>
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Jace – Lvl 5 Mage (Elementalist) – quiet pyromaniac, wears robes with flames.
<ul style="list-style-type:circle"> <li><strong>Nakai</strong> – Altrusian (ancient lizardman) Elder Skull –</li> </ul> </li>
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Illyrio Sicarus – Lvl 5 Assassin (Bravo) – Wears leather, armed with Swordbreaker - +2 sword
<ul style="list-style-type:circle"> <li><strong>Tuccia Florio – </strong>Lvl 3 Explorer (pathfinder) – <ul> <li><strong>Shalla of Athena</strong> – Lvl 1 Bladedancer (Bringer of Mercy)</li> <li><strong>Mala</strong> – Lvl 1 Barbarian (Death Dealer)</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>The Villagers</strong> – Lvl 2 Mob – Survival, Cap’n - Otto – Labor (butcher) – STR +1, WIS -1 - wears chainmail and armed with a variety of one handed weapons </li> </ul> </li>
The village people travelled to Adamas to try to sell two of the environmental suits. Keyser spoke with Azum Stormaxe about Borin, telling him what happened. Tuccia also reported back from her scouting trip to Loreac. Most of the city was flooded, and all of the stone gates were closed. Entry was possible over some old docks leading into a lake rising out of the marshes, but that area was controlled by lizard men. Another entrance (by canal) was controlled by ogres. She managed to sneak into the city and found evidence of goblins, trolls, and what had to be a dragon flying overhead! She also located an abandoned guard building about a ½ mile out of town bordering the lake which would be a perfect spot to hole up.
Jace talked to his Altrusian (ancient lizardman) skull. It agreed to help them with the lizardmen. The village people hired 20 marines, Illyrio recruited a mob henchman, and Keyser instructed Ukla to hire some fighter henchmen, one of which was Tariq’s old henchman Barnabus the ne’er-do-well corsair.
During the few weeks of hiring everyone, we handled end of month expenses. Keyser’s business made a fair amount of money and everyone profited from their share of Stocker’s Moon Pool business, granting campaign xp to the PCs. Keyser decided to cut bait and increase good will by gifting his entire cottage business (worth about 18K) to the Legate of Muntburg in a gesture of good will (and to build up his XP bank in anticipation of starting another PC). Tariq managed to determine the formula for making more of the nutrition packets, which require azoth to make. Dave, who had purchased the formula for making healing potions from the temple of Hera in Adamas, was able to make 2 healing potions (failing his roll on 2 more).
The party travelled to the city-state of Yarm. On the road they came upon Bishop Johann of Death, the fabled undead hunter, with his two henchmen. He had heard of the Village People (Dave’s efforts to spread the word being successful) and asked them about undead in Dwimmermount. He was on his way to Muntburg to investigate stories of people going missing, and a few bodies being found, bloodless. The party wished him luck and he went on his way.
In Yarm, they bought a large barge, relying on the marines and Barnabus to guide it upstream to Lloreac. They also purchased two oxen and hired a drover to assist with them to aid in pulling the barge upstream from the shore. They travelled slowly upstream for a few days, passing by fields being cleared for planting. On April 12th they were passing through lightly forested banks when a number of mounted armed men approached. Claiming they were representatives of the law, their leader, Murray, demanded 100 gp tribute. Illyrio, riding along the shore on horseback, countered with 75 gp, which the bandit accepted. He ordered one of his men to take the gold, and they left the expedition alone.
That night, during the first watch, Ukla noticed a group approaching the camp. He awakened the troops. The camp was surrounded by a large number of men, approaching from all sides from out of the wooded area, archers on foot, and a few on horseback. Out of the middle was a small group of heavily armored men on warhorses. One of the men stepped forward and asked what the group was doing on the land of the ‘Grim Band’. Keyser quietly told his imp to take a quick invisible count of the total number of bandits.
Dave spoke up that they were the Village People. A quick roll determined that the bandits had heard of them. The horseman asked for more tribute. When they asked for how much, the response was “Well, what do you think is fair?” Illyrio challenged the horseman to a fight. A deal was struck that each group would wager 100 gp in a one on one match. The horseman had one of his men step up, pausing to take a sword from another horseman and fight Illyrio.
Illyrio lost initiative. The bandit took a swing with the sword, striking Illyrio, who failed a save and found himself paralyzed! The bandit took the gold and returned to the group of horseman. (At this point I decided that the bandits had a 35% chance of believing the stories of the VP to be exaggerations and demand everything or attack. The party rolled a 15 on 1d100). The spokesman demanded that they leave everything and march back to Yarm. When they refused he ordered an attack!
The only secure side was the river. A few marines remained on the barge, the rest prepared for battle. The group of heavily armed horseman charged towards the camp. The bowman at the edges began firing into the camp. Before the horseman reached the camp, Jace (winning initiative for once) cast fireball, bringing down the warhorses and a few of the horseman. Tariq summoned some zombie berserkers and sent them towards the right flank. Dave charged forward to remove paralysis by healing Illyrio. The bandit archers managed to take down several marines, wounding the Villagers, and hurting some of the henchman.
One of the charging horseman stood up and started carving through the marines and took down Mala. Wielding the paralyzing sword, this was obviously the real leader of the bandits, Jack Grim. Illyrio and Dave took him on in the middle while Tariq’s and Jace’s berserkers took the right flank and Michael Thomas and Barnabus and a few marines took on the left flank. Keyser, Ukla, and the healers held the middle and assisted where they could. The imp returned and gave Keyser the totals; about a hundred bandits.
A few of the mounted leaders on the left flank charged into the center and were taken on by the Villagers and Ukla. After a pitched battle, the leader finally went down after taking down Illyrio, who lost his arm (again!). Morale eventually broke and several of the gangs fled. When the fight was over, 70 bandits lay dead and one of the lieutenants was captured. The bandit Murray, who had accepted the 75 gp earlier in the day, was among those who escaped. They interrogated the remaining bandit, who offered to take them to their camp, but pointed out that the survivors would immediately break camp. After a brief discussion, the party decided to not follow them into the woods. They did manage to treat all of the fallen marines with spells, lay on hands, and the healing proficiency, and despite a few sever injuries, only one of the marines (and a few nameless members of the Villagers) died.
The party took the barge in the morning back upstream to Yarm. They took the body of the Bandit Leader Jack Grim back with them, receiving a 1000 gp reward. Each of the Marines were given a 20 gp bonus for the battle. A few members of the party took the injured Illyrio and the dead marine back to Adamas for healing. Illyrio was restored and had no ill effects. The marine retired, becoming an alcoholic.
The party decided to have Murray sell the paralyzing sword. They had a 10% chance to sell the sword for 60,000 gp. They rolled an 11 on d100. A representative of the legate was willing to buy the sword for 40,000 gp. After a tie vote (Jace didn’t vote), a die roll resulted in the sword being sold. As a result, most of the party and henchman levelled up. Illyrio recruited another 10 marines and headed back to Yarm.
The party left Yarm and made it to the Murklands on April 26th without any encounters. They continued to slog upstream with the oxen pulling the barge upstream when they sighted something flying towards them. As it got closer they saw a large dark green/black dragon. Everyone scattered into the marsh to hide, cutting the oxen free. The large dragon landed on the barge, tearing open the deck cabin looking for any possible treasure. Finding none, it grabbed one of the oxen in it’s huge claws and flew off.
The incident repeated itself the next day, with the dragon taking the remaining ox. Luckily, they arrived at the abandoned building discovered by Tuccia and managed to set up camp inside, within a short trip to the ruins of Lloreac. They had a restless night, but no dragon came.
The next morning the party took 3 canoes and approached the original docks of the city. A group of lizardmen arose from the water. Jace and the skull spoke to the lizardmen, who, it turned out, was a tribe that respected the Altrusian elders. They agree to take the party to a sub-chieftain.
On the way to meet with sub-chieftain, the party and the lizardmen patrol ran onto a group of 3 trolls and a troll champion. Using good tactics, a fireball, a timely acrobatic backstab, and the chomping of Dave (who had ‘skin-changed’ into a tyrannosaurus rex), the party managed to defeat the trolls in the knee-deep water. They pulled the bodies out of the water onto the raised porches of the remaining buildings and set them on fire, but not UNTIL Tariq had collected the troll’s blood. (The party had loaded up on military oil in anticipation of fighting trolls).
The lizardmen, who had stayed back and watched the combat, were impressed. They took the party directly to Chief Olassio. The party was taken to a large warehouse on the docks once used to build ships. Jace and the Altrusian skull convinced the tribe to allow them passage in return for some of the parties supplies. The party moved up their entire force to the lizrdmen area and we ended the session there.