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!
- Demoleon, an Ellasene Thief
Zephyros, an Ellasene Mage
- Ansger, a Dreaman Fighter
- Dudda, a Geating Thief
- Guilbert, a Dreaman Fighter
- Xenocrates, a Dreaman Mage
From the Papers of Oswald the Gray, a Geating Fighting Man:
ACCOUNTING AND REPTILE-MEN
Finally, we decided on a plan. We sold all our loot and used the money to hire a group of mercenaries, rent a boat, and buy plenty of supplies. This took a lot of time, in part due to a long debate in regard to boats (buying one, commissioning canoes, or renting one). Also, I hired a henchman called Demoleon, an Ellasene thief.
Afterwards, we returned into the swamp, staying away from both Froxhall and Taygle’s End, resting on a wooded island in the swamp instead. Thanks to Athelwine, we found a quicker path to the menhir. With the river current pushing us into the swamp, the journey was only two days instead of three.
Arriving on the island, we fortified our camp and rested for the night. The next morning, we reconnoitered the southern half of the island to make sure there were no hostile settlements and perhaps find a better harbor. Instead, we found: a) centuries-old ruins made of marble and alabaster, b) a copse in which firs and cypresses grew, and c) a second menhir on a low hill, similar to what we found on the northern half of the island. In Froxhall, there are two standing stones as well, which raises the question whether such stones were usually built in pairs, or if that is just a coincidence.
Before we were able to investigate the menhir, though, Orhan spotted several possum-men running from a second copse behind the menhir, followed by some giant beings. We quickly took cover, but to no avail: the giant beings spotted us, and three of them moved in our direction. The fourth continued to hunt the possum-men that fled northward.
We retreated into the copse with the fighters forming a battle line, and the mages preparing spells in the second line. When the beings came closer, we saw that they were green-skinned, as tall as two men, one standing on the other’s shoulders, had two pairs of arms and two pair of eyes each, and looked somewhat reptilian. They immediately threw javelins at us, which luckily missed. In return, our mages were able to charm two of them, while Maurice and I attacked the third. The reptile-man managed to smash my chest before an opportunistic attack of Demoleon -- (who only closed in when the already badly wounded monster seemed temporarily distracted) -- finally killed (and looted) the monster.
Luckily, Osric’s henchman Uriel is a healer, and he knew prayers of curing. Thus, I survived the ordeal with just a minor scar on my chest and in dire need of some rest.
Meanwhile, Zephyros found a language which he and the giant reptile-men could converse, and he started interviewing them. They told us: that they were scouting the swamp; there was nothing dangerous in the swamp (except for us, they laughed); that their tribe has more than two members; and the tribe lives somewhere to the south of where we encountered them.
Since the reptile-men are too large to fit into the tunnels beneath the menhir, we find ourselves at a loss regarding what to do with them and how to proceed. We are unwilling to simply let them go as they could easily kill all our mercenaries. We are halted now to consider our options.