It was a warm spring morning when the group of mercenaries assembled in the court of Lord Falgren. He charged them with finding an artifact of amazing power: The Philosopher’s Stone.They then queried the Lord of the defenses of the settlement, which seemed to trouble the man. As they were foreigners in a strange land, they asked for a guide in the form of the hunter. They then debated the merits of destroying the target town. They sent their guide to the inn to wait for them, so that Morkairn could discuss torturing him. Once at the inn, Morkairn sits next to the hunter Cenig and leans close in, ready to stop an attempted flight if Cenig thinks need be. When Cenig tried to scooch away a little, Morkairn grabbed him roughly. Morkairn intimidated him into telling them what the Lord most likely wanted the Stone for. Producing hueg amounts of gold. After some more threats of “interrogation” by Morkairn, Cenig pleads with them that he doesn’t know anything. After the ruckus they caused, they all went on their way to Ferinton, the town where the rumours of the Stone were coming from.
It was a peaceful journey, very uneventful. Along the way, the party learned of the merciless Knights of the Black Lotus, a group who are using religion to recruit and who are slaughtering village folk. Cenig leaves as they arrive at the town, saying that he must go back to his family. With tearful farewells, he sprints the hell out of there. At the guard post at the gates they inquire about any strange goings-on in the town. They are told that the only thing that is strange is the sudden influx of travelers. When questioned further, he talks about this beautiful girl of no more than sixteen summers who had pale skin and jet black hair. But her most odd feature was her ears. They were pointy, but different from an elf’s. They find that she was searching for something and are told to go to the inn for more information.
They head to the inn and order some food and booze (the latter of which Randir politely declines). They find out that the last patron only recently left and that it was the same girl that they had heard about before. They discover that she had stayed at the inn for a couple of days while asking around about an object that the innkeep has trouble recalling.
The town has been all abuzz about a certain stone. In particular, the Philosopher’s Stone. The innkeep then remembers that it was this very stone that the girl had been looking for. They also ask about the Knights of the Black Lotus. They get the information that they’ve been attacking the outlying farms, but never the wall. The innkeep tells them that the fight between the brigands and the guard has been a stalemate, with neither side really gaining anything of value, and neither side being strong enough to take the other’s fortifications. 12 hours then ass as they sleep off the weariness from the hard days of traveling.
They go down and eat some bacon for breakfast, though Hiram for some reason decides to head straight into the inn’s kitchen and gets scolded by the innkeep’s wife. Randir wishes for his quiet monastery and everyone laughs all the louder for that. They then ask more about this young woman. Where she went, etc. The innkeep tells the party she was headed into Mt. Ferin, the namesake of the town. They then question some guards. They learn of a failed expedition into the mountain’s cave system, which is where the rumours of the stone started from. They learn that the mage/mayor multi-class Ceros was the one who set up the expedition and decide to head there for answers.
As they walk up to Ceros’ tower, Randir attempts to go up stairs that aren’t there and then proceeds to attempt to walk through the closed door to go up the stairs that are inside. They are greeting by a middle-aged man who seems quite grumpy. They are then led through a gauntlet of spells flying everywhere that the man in front of them seems quite used to. They go to open the door to Ceros’ study and…
(End of Session 1)
“Randir: i don't think it'll be that bad. i'll try not to 360 no scope the big boss for an instakill”
They open the door and see a studious man sitting behind a desk. The man is introduced as Ceros and they are left to discuss matters with him. Upon questioning him, they learned that he had to equip the ring in order to become mayor. They also find that the girl had indeed gone to Mt. Ferin to find the Stone. Apparently, the expeditionary force was wiped out with only one survivor.
This survivor had ranted about a beast and a stone. They knew instinctively that this must be the stone they were hired to find. They also made a deal to find and kill whatever beast had destroyed the expeditionary force. So, they then set off.
Along the way to the caves in Mt. Ferin, they are beset by three Dire Wolves. They’re like wolves, but more dire. After a challenging fight with a lot of misses (God, I love oyu low-level D&D). The challenge all disappears when Maximilian is able to get off a sleep spell in the area of the wolves. The party coup-de-graces them and goes forward.
During this time, it is found out that Hiram is actually a male, and is triggered by Maximilian’s assumption of his gender based on his occupation.
“Hiram: I'm not a lady, I'm a bearded hick!”
Caleb finishes off the wolves alongside Morkairn. He then proceeds to have another drink.
“Wayward Son (GM): So this party is a drunk, a sadist, an ascetic, a frail nerd and a possible tranny? Truly Codexian.”
They wander Northward for a few more hours and suddenly, a mountain jumped out at them. They rolled for initiative before finding that it was an inanimate object. And not just any inanimate object, but the very inanimate object they had been looking for. That is to say, the mountain. They then rest for eight hours and head on into the cave.
After following the tunnel for a ways, they run into a pond in an area where the tunnel opens up before narrowing out again. On the other side, they can make out the shadowy form of a woman in her sixteenth summer, sprinting down the tunnel. They can also make out that she is yelling “Shitshitshitshit” as she runs down the tunnel. Behind her is a tall form, and broad too.
Maximilian drops a grease spell between the girl and the creature in order to help her escape. He then asks the “fair maid” to run safety, while Morkairn heckles him in the background. They are then able to make out that it is a giant, with a rough, grey, angular body. Randir, the master archer he is, lands a masterful shot and barely scratches the thing. Hiram attempts to give it the Evil Eye, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect. All the others move forward to face the beast head on.
Maximilian then attempts to fire a bolt at it, but the bolt shatters against the creature’s skin. Randir attempts to make it take an arrow to the knee, but it bounces harmlessly off. Caleb swings and misses it. The girl takes a bow and fires an arrow at the beast, which, in her fear, flies wide. Hiram takes a closer look and lets out with a “Holy shit! It’s a Stone Giant!”
The party begins to run, but Maximilian holds them firm and suggests that Hiram lights the Grease on fire. Hiram charges over and Burning Hands the Grease. The grease lit up in a pillar of smokeless flames around the giant, dealing massive damage to it. The giant is surprised and stunned by pain. Randir fires and arrow and scratches it. The giant wonders where the mosquito that keeps biting him is at. The giant keeps on burning, while the others charge in and start attacking it wildly.
Randir fires off two more arrows in rapid succession, with one going wide and the other striking true. Caleb stabs it with a spear and slices it across the side. They are jubilant. The fight has certainly turned in their favour now. The girl fires an arrow that sticks in the beast’s sides. Max applauds her in her skill.
“Maximilian: Magnificent shot m'lady! *Tips wizard hat.*”
They keep on pelting it, hoping for it to fall from death by mosquito. Just as they were beginning to think that they had it easy, the giant bursts free from the fire and attacks the party and Morkairn in particular.
“It is almost dead, bleeding from the wounds too numerous to count. Death by a million paper cuts as it were.”
Caleb attempts to negotiate peace with the giant, but it fails to convince the creature. He and Randir attempt to wound it, but it’s pissed now. The giant swings with furious abandon at the Half-Orc… and completely misses.
Morkairn then strikes the final blow, chunking the Stone Giant in a fountain of blood.
They are then introduced to the girl, who introduces herself as Nereia. They remark that she doesn’t look entirely human, to which she agrees. However, she says that she doesn’t know what her non-human half is. Maximilian accidentally spills the beans about the search for the Stone. The girl perks up at the mention and admits that she is trying to find it as well. Morkairn decides to interrogate the girl. They figure out from her that there is a group of bug-like creatures. They were going to rest, but, chest puffed out, Max decides that they should press onward to face the bugs.
“Maximilian: Max puffs out his chest and soldiers forward, making sure the girl can see”
In the next area, after a small tunnel, they see the bugs. Morkairn remembers them from some travels in his youth, where they were troubling the area north of a friendly inn. He tells the others that these are ankhegs.
Max puts the majority of them to sleep, allowing Morkairn to charge in and hit one with a killing blow. Randir fires an arrow at one and hits it in a chink in its natural armor, wounding it heavily. However, it retaliates by spitting acid at him. This burns Randir, but he soldiers on. Hiram uses his hexes to cause fear in one, forcing it to attempt to flee. Morkairn kills the last two sleepers and Maximilian shoots the one that isn’t fleeing with a bolt through the eye, killing it.
“Caleb Callahan: the dice do not lie if an 8-sided dice turns up as 17, it is because the dice gods willed it”
They casually take out the last one.
(End of Session 2)
“
You must gather your party before venturing forth.
”
The party is standing in a pile of corpses. They decide to take the shells to make armor, cuz why not. Caleb is able to pull one off with sheer brute strength. Maximilian used his intimate knowledge of ankheg biology to peel a shell off, making a big show of it. He then offers it to Nereia as a gift, who graciously accepts it with a laugh.
“Caleb Callahan: yes, let us gather our party and venture forth “
They decide to rest amongst the corpses so the casters can rememorize their spells. As they follow the passage that they chose, They spot a door. Caleb throws the door open wide and encounters a pile of treasure, similar to a horde. As the wander in, they aggro a mimic. After a tense fight where Caleb almost lost his spear to the mimic’s adhesive, they emerge victorious and take stock. Max grabs the mimic and carries it with him in the hope that he can one day ressurect it under his control. During the end of the fight, Maximilian gains the Triggered status for the first time as Randir remarks on the foulness of the magery that produced such a creature.
“I hear the Fighter's Guild is hiring again.”
They take stock of the loot and find:
- 2500 GP
- A suit of plate mail
- A Masterwork Great Axe
- A +1 Long Bow
- A +1 Throwing Axe: Boomerang
- A Heavy Crossbow
“Hiram: oh shit
we left Max alone with the girl”
They decide to keep following the same tunnel and eventually find an area where it seems that the tunnel narrows. However, it doesn’t take them long to see that two of them are missing. Namely, Nereia and Max. They never left the cave and have been in there the whole time. Morkairn shouts and blusters, but it takes a decent amount of time for Max to hear him. As they arrive, they appear disheveled.
“Her hood is only half pulled up and his robe looks like it may have sustained some tearing in the previous fight.”
They follow the tunnel and find that it leads them outside but on the other side of the mountain. They decide to go back and check the other passage. In it, they find a small area that seemed to be the giant’s abode, but far more comforting than one would normally expect out of a giant. On a table in a corner, Caleb finds a letter. It has clues on it, such as a mystery person only named as M, and the instructions to meet in Ildan should there be any trouble. They decide to leave the cave and head back to Ferinton.
On the way out, Morkairn decides to interrogate Nereia further. It is revealed that she is looking for the Philosopher’s Stone because she heard it could create a mystical elixir that could resurrect someone back to perfect condition, as if they had never died. She wanted this to resurrect her father that she accidentally killed while trying to learn some magic.
Once at Ferinton, they head in to collect their reward from Ceros. He hands them a scroll and a gem. They then head to the Smithy so they could get their Ankheg Plate Armor forged. They are then told that the only person who may be able to forge something of the like is in Cerint Inos, the capital of the nation they are in. They also learn that Ildan is the name of the barrows outside of Arag Ildan, a small town.
The Party has reached 3rd level at this point.
(End of Session Three)
