February 2015
THE COMPANY
Maurice "the Muscle" de Granville, a Dreaman Fighter of Weanople
- Athelwine, a Geating Hunter (Normal Man) of Acworth
Orhan, an Alfarn Spellsword
Osric de Mandeville, a Dreaman Warden
- Urien, a Weallack Oblate (Normal Man) of Carlton
Oswald, a Geating Fighter --> Mortally Wounded
- Taeting, a Geating Pirate (Normal Man) --> Fled
Zephyros, an Ellasene Mage --> Mortally Wounded
- Ansger, a Dreaman Fighter
- Dudda, a Geating Thief
From the Journal of Oswald the Gray, a Geating Fighting Man:
MUSHROOMS AND CIVILIZATION
Returning to the front door, the group prepares to descend the trap door. After some discussion, the group lowered ropes and a lantern before I climbed down. At the bottom, I found a pool filled with algae and stairs leading upwards. I managed to swing over to the stairs and climbed them, where I encountered some kind of crocodile-man.
The crocodile-man considered unlucky me (carrying just a dagger and wearing no armor) a tasty snack and attacked immediately. When Maurice heard my cries for help and hurried to help, he almost drowned. Luckily, the monster was already wounded when we met, it died after two lucky stabs with my dagger.
Afterwards, the rest of the group descended the shaft as well and searched the chamber carefully. We found a decomposed warden’s corpse with some treasure (prayer scrolls, coins, and holy symbols). Osric blessed the corpse before looting it.
There was a second stair in the room, leading deeper into the earth. We followed it down, finding a room full of giant glowing mushrooms. The floor was rather wobbly (probably fungus and mold) and stank horribly. We could also see a giant door with a metal face on it. Maurice also found a second exit.
We decided to check the second exit first. It led to the elevator shaft we already knew from our last visit. Next, there was the metal door. Before we could check it, we were attacked by some giant vines which we shredded without serious losses (Osric was hurt, though).
The door was about 7 yards tall and 3 yards wide. It seemed to be fashioned of gold with a face made of brass protruding from its center. Nobody opened when we knocked; pulling and pushing proved pointless. We also could not move the door. Investigating the face more closely, Osric found some nubs within the mouth that were labelled with unknown glyphs that not even Zephyros could decipher.
I then tried pushing some of the nubs, resulting in an explosion of toxic spores which almost killed me and Zephyros. Luckily, both of us survived, even though I suffered a permanent infection of my joints, and Zephyros was horribly scarred.
Frustrated and quite bruised, we decided to leave the complex, taking a part of the vine, the crocodile and the frog man with us. On our way back, we found Orhan stabbed and Taeting (as well as our boat) gone.
Returning to the boat we’d discovered on the opposite side of the island, we found several opossum-men preparing to use it to sail away. A quick spell of enchanted sleep cast by Orhan stopped them long enough to allow us to smash them in melee and seize the boat.
Due to our lack of navigators, the return to Froxhall was delayed by two days (mainly because we became completely lost and accidently found ourselves deeper inside the swamp at one point instead of outside). Eventually, though, we reached Froxhall where we sold the monster parts, grabbed our stored things, and sailed towards the city of Hewflore.
Along the way, we stopped in Taygle’s End but found it an unwelcoming backwater, everyone refusing our requests to stay the night. The local teacher was rather strange, and Osric deemed him suspicious. The local reeve was likewise unwilling to speak with us. We decided to paddle a bit further and sleep outside the village in the wilderness.
We reached Hewflore around mid-afternoon. Over the next few days, we sold our remaining loot, including the new boat. Osric tried to be received in audience by Metropolitan Warren of Speers, but learns that he was indisposed thanks to narrowly avoiding death a few days earlier when he was caught in a collapsing study.
After further enquiries, Osric managed to gain an audience with Yric, an experienced cleric who liked Osric enough to tell him what worries the Makerite church in Dwimores. Heresy is spreading, it seems, as too few well-educated priests are available and the local baron does not cooperate with the metropolitan. In fact, Yric claims that Lord Drogo finds ways to favor clergy connected to him personally and tithes exclusively to independent religious foundations rather than the metropolia.
Whilst hanging out with local soldiers, Maurice and Osric learned that there were many mundane problems too: bandits ravage the countryside, and pirates raid communities along the Great Marish and the River Hellfor often, whereas Lord Drogo is busy wooing the Lady of Orellfor. Also, the Deadlhaws are growing.
Shocked that so many things are amiss with so few ways to earn quick money, the company considered their next steps.