Session One Hundred and Forty-Four Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 144, July 5 2023

Introduction

We continue at 10:40AM on the 1st of Anurilden (00.000.08.35 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party having decamped in haste from the mountain on which Fahmi and the other Grey Wanderers were interred after the giant DVL from Old Greybeard came to investigate. Using shadow stepping and hasted dragons, the group managed to make it to the jungle treeline west of the Mikhel Peaks before that creature could see them (although the reanimated orcs and travois left on the mountainside seem to have been destroyed). Now the party prepares to trek south towards the coast with plans of finding a ship to rendevous with Oswitha's people near Feldmark and perhaps investigate Hdrasta on the way given their recent dream. Can the group navigate the wilds of western Curmidden successfully? Is there a ship to be had to take them south? Find out next time ...

It is clear and mild temperatures. Ozymandius joins up with us and seems happy we made it.

He wonders why we could fly so fast didn't we do it earlier? Velkin said that we didn't want to wear out our dragons.

Myteles is getting word to invitees to conference to tell them it is off.

Velkin looks at the Alchemy book to try to identify plants that are useful, such as for Drow sleep poison.

Philomanthraxus slings Casper over his shoulder and will carry him until we build a replacement travois.

Ithirialma says that the best option is to refine the mercury and build the detector to get to the plane of time. We have the new sword and the nanocarbon book, so that option is still on the table.

Druul asks Kauri if there is anything we can do to limit the effect the Silence have on us. Kauri points out his robes, from the Silence.

Velkin points out, we do have an avenue that would allow us to move through those areas. We all look at Velkin and say, "No."

Much pointing out how that isn't a good idea.

We head off to the West. It is slow going with the lack of a path in the jungle.

Deeper in the jungle, the ground cover is sparser, so a bit easier.

Velkin almost walks into a group taking a breather.

Velkin notices them about 40 yards ahead. A group of a bunch of humans tied up and their captors are DVLs. 4 are bone devils and one is covered in thorns and barbs and seems to be the one in charge.

The 5 of them are conferring off to the side. There are about 50 humans sitting on the ground and given something to eat.

Velkin shadow steps back to Renthark and Velkin whispers "Stop, DVLs ahead about 70 yards ahead."

We stop and Velkin fills us in.

We backtrack about a mile (20-30 minutes) then head South.

Velkin asks Ozymandius if he can locate other birds to help keep an eye out for other DVLs to avoid.

Ozymandius flies off to find someone.

Velkin somehow runs into the DVLs again, but much further away. They do seem to be moving South, following the stream he was about to cross on the opposite bank.

The bone devil is leading them. They appear to be about to cross our path.

Velkin comes back to fill us in.

We wait a while. Velkin checks on them and they go further South away from the path we are taking.

Since they are heading South, it makes a bit more sense to head West straight to the coast.

With the delays, we don't make it quite to the coast, but feel we are close.

We seek a good spot to camp before it gets dark.

We come upon a cave and Velkin goes to check it out. It has a sizeable clearing in front of it. No signs of humanoids. We find large piles of scat, that doesn't look terribly fresh.

Nothing is immediately there. It goes back a ways maybe only 30 feet. No bones.

Velkin steps in. There are no openings, and only goes back about 30 feet. It doesn't look like anything is currently living here.

It's about 10 feet tall and maybe a hair narrower and height lowers to back corner.

The clearing is about 30 x 30 feet. The scat mostly in the underbrush around the clearing.

We elect to set camp in the cave.

Kauri does a fire to make 3 cure light healing potions, using up the last of his ingredients. This makes 5 cure light and 2 cure serious.

Peronell asks Druul about the people from the South from this map you can create?

Peronell - I guess we can use some new allies. But you don't know for sure how these people are?

Druul - No we don't, we're doing this all by hope.

Druul doesn't play his lute, and listens and suddenly a shape comes swooping out of the jungle and lands in front of the fire. It is Ozymandius.

Druul uses the scepter to speak with animals. Ozymandius says, "That dark one is asleep, I supposed it can wait until morning."

What?! You can talk?

Your friend there sent to see about some eyes in the sky. I did run into some old friends.

They are a bit flighty, but they are good birds.

A couple macaws and they have a bunch of friends too. They will scout ahead and report in mid-morning.

If there is room in there, I thought I'd find a cozy space in the cave.

Your friend here will ensure you are rewarded. Good. I had to give up some of those fingers.

Druul relays that to Ithirialma.

That's good, hopefully we don't lose our new little friend, like the old one.

Noises in the jungle, but nothing comes close enough to see it.

Kauri is done brewing potions and Druul tamps out the fire before he rests.

Just as Druul wakes Renthark and Thorfus. As Druul reaches for Thorfus, there is a sound of multiple horns or one really loud one, and crashing noises a little ways off in the jungle.

Not like hunting horns, but possibly a creature.

Velkin goes to check it out. He goes to the top of the hillock the cave is in.

The elevation has minimal effect due to the trees.

The sound of crashing sounds straight our ahead to North.

The blast of horn is interrupted by another horn, so they are competing.

Perhaps there is a battle or something, like two groups fighting each other.

It sounds like it is getting closer. Whatever it is, a battle or whatever, it is coming my way.

We exit the cave and head perpendicular to the West towards the coast to get away from the cave and the clearing.

We gather up everything and make it to the edge of the clearing just as there is another blast of trumpets and two huge shapes enter the clearing from the North. They are large beasts.

Two creatures with tusks and keep ramming each other with long proboscis noses. Come clashing together with a bellowing horn noise. They don't seem to notice us.

We stay out of their way.

They move towards the opening of the cave in their fighting. One is slammed into the hillock with the cave. A portion of the cave collapses.

We go for about 15 minutes and find a gully and we make camp. Thorfus and Renthark have watch.

The epic battle of the titanic creatures ends.

Nothing eventful. Velkin and Peronell is excited, we uses to ride those things to war. Velkin - what are they called? (Ancient Elven word for elephant.)

We even fought against the dwarves when they came.

We divvy up the healing potions and Velkin and Peronelle go to the clearing. There are no elephants. The cave is partially collapsed, and there are 6 cows chewing on the grass.

Velkin suggests sleeping them to use them for healing. He tries to use move to the other side and stab one with his dagger with sleep poison.

Vekin hits and it sleeps. The others moo and move away. Velkin shoots at one with his hand crossbow and misses.

Velkin tries to chase one and Peronelle runs to the one that fell to check on it.

Velkin manages to hit, but the sleep poison does not work.

Velkin shadow steps to take another shot, but the sleep potion has no effect.

Finally another hit drops the cow.

Velkin stands watch and Peronelle goes back to get the rest of us.

Druul gives Thorfus the scepter to heal. We go to the cows to heal up.

We get ten days of rations off the cows. Enough food for today's food for all of us.

As we are eating, there is a moan from Caspar and he sits up where Philomanthraxus set him down. He seems confused. Druul hands him a cow tail and Caspar starts eating it.

He looks at Druul, where are we, what's going on? We not there yet, we're heading towards the coast. Oh, with realization. So we're not in the mountains again. I'm a bit fuzzy, so what I'm remembering, it happened. I'm not feeling much of anything right now.

He looks around. But you buried them right, you gave them a good send off.

Caspar seems to be taking it better this time, but doesn't seem to care about anything.

Felix walks near him. He got close to the family since he spent so much time watching over them.

Velkin walks over near Felix and hands him a mild sedative. In case you think he needs it.

Peronelle reaches into the stomach cavity and pulls out the guts and tosses them out and starts examining them.

Divination? Yes, I learned a bit from my father.

She looks at it for a bit. I don't really understand, it says we're gonna meet a friendly fish.

Thorfus says, "Carcus the sand shark?" Velkin says well, there's plenty of non-kill all the surface dweller devilfish.

A macaw comes up to Ozymandius and they converse. Ozymandius says good news, it isn't far to the coast. You should be there mid-afternoon. There is a fisherman with a small boat. Apparently not a bad sort. Leaves scraps out for the wildlife.

We can't say much more about him. You think macaw are all fancy, and they are dumb as a rock. I can understand you. I know.

Velkin holds out a strip of meat for the macaw. It comes down and lands on Velkin's shoulder and takes it. YOU are welcome.

There is nothing between here and the little house, so you shouldn't run into anything else.

Velkin asks if they can keep an eye on the DVLs going South. There were many houses two of them to the South, there used to be three, they worship the Mothers but they are gone. The villages have been destroyed and the people taken away. I don't think the DVLs know where they're going. They might be lost.

There was a village over here, a weird one, but that village is gone now too. They worshipped at a tree and a big shiny thing.

Velkin asks what killed them. They were dead in a ditch and the shiny thing blew up too.

The rest of the morning passes uneventfully. We start to get that ocean smell.

From what we can see of the sky, a bunch of clouds and the temperature starts to drop.

Velkin gets made invisible, and it starts snowing.

Ozymandius goes up and comes back and the snow is coming right at us.

Ithirialma and Philomanthraxus say they are ready to transform as soon as they can see something.

Druul starts playing the *Silence of Prix*.

Felix herds Caspar towards the center of the party, along with Ithirialma.

The snow blasts some more and cuts the visibility to almost nothing and it starts to let off and dies down.

The snow has built up a bit on the ground.

Now almost normal visibility in a snow blanketed jungle.

Now that we look there seems to be an unusual number of fir trees.

We see smoke off to the North.

Thorfus says to burn the book.

We debate how to leave.

Peronelle taps on Druul's shoulder and points to the woods to the east, and we see a white hart.

It is standing in the trees looking in our direction.

Peronelle points at her bow. Druul pushes her hands away from the bow.

It will probably spook quickly.

Velkin moves over and asks what is going on and points at the white hart.

It is now walking in our direction.

Velkin tells Lambertus to get cure poison ready and says to Druul, if I fall down, you can find me right.

Velkin asks the spider, "If needed, can you get us out of here." There is a strong burning sensation on his scalp.

The hart is halfway to us, then there is some howling and the hart turns and looks back.

Druul uses the scepter to speak to the hart.

We mean no harm, but we must find safety to speak.

Yes, the hunt comes, we must move quickly.

We follow after the hart who is heading to the South.

The howls keep coming, and we keep following the hart.

The howling gets closer and maybe catches the sight of fur through the trees and keep up with the hart and see a shimmering plane of light coming up through the snow field. Definitely there are wolves behind me. Druul drops the horn on the ground. Thorfus drops the shield on the ground.

The hard disappears through the portal and we find ourselves back in the jungle with a portal open to a white plane behind us.

The white hart circles and says, "I must go back." Only Druul and Velkin understand. "You were kind to me at the dinner." Please if you can, some day, tell the tale of my bravery. The wolves change direction to chase him.

We move away towards the forest.

We hang onto the sprear, Velkin turns it to fire. Thorfus keeps the frostbrand since he won it and it is here.

Druul is playing and concentrating on *Release of Dagon*.

We set off through the jungle losing sight of the portal and the temperature returns to normal.

Just about 2:00 pm, 2nd day of Winter holiday we can hear the waves and the trees thin out a bit and we can see the water. Up the coast to the right, we see a small hut and some nets are drying. A small rowboat is there.

We also hear whistling coming from the direction of the hut.

Druul does not know the tune.

The guy looks pretty big carrying nets around the corner. Black beard and black curly hair, just kind of whistling to himself.

He is probably native islander.

He seems blissfully unencumbered by the cares of this world.

We head over to the fisherman.

At some point he catches site of us. He dusts off his hands, puts them on his hips, and waits for us.

As we draw near, greetings, can we help you.

We are wanderers. We are new to the area and are looking for boats to charter. The only boat is old Bessie but it isn't big enough.

We're hoping to find a ship on the sea and meet up with and get to another island.

Any place else nearby. South a ways is Hizzou, Montoa might be closer.

We're looking for something on the coast, Shem, back that way. It's a bit of a walk.

Can't say I'm used to having visitors out here.

Kauri - Yeah, why are you hear. Kind of a private matter. Nothing weird, I like to be alone. Occasionally I trade with Hizzou and occasionally Shem. Good waters, lots of tasty fish. I suppose, I could offer you some hospitality since you're new to the area and wondering.

Not much in the way of creature comforts, I suggest you move on down the coast.

Velkin slides up to Kauri and asks if he sees any magic. Kauri sees some sharpness to him when he looks at him. He is a true native.

You're welcome to just sit on the beach and rest.

Kauri - We can help with a fire, we're just glad to get time to rest.

He says, Oh by the way, Enzo.

Kauri introduces everyone. Khelratha my invisible friend here.