Session 2 – Dreams of the Emerald Heart
Campaign I, session 2. Previous: Session 1. Next: Session 3.
While the fire burned, party escorted wounded henches to the exit, leaving them + Kundarashta (keeping Kojo). On the way, they encountered a patrol of hobgoblins. Once again Travain’s mystic aura enabled a weird exchange – the hobgoblins were seeking information about the status of the other factions within the dome. Travain carried on about how these kobolds had not been good hosts, and there was unfortunate bloodshed, and by the way do you know anything about this “Lady”? The hobogoblins were confused, but took were happy to exchange a bit of knowledge and then back away slowly as they got more confused. During this time, the two kobolds guarding the temple entrance heard talk about killing kobolds and took the opportunity to flee.
Val greeted the team at the cart excitedly – he was glad to see that his mistress wasn’t hurt and hoped that he would not have to be alone out here much longer. After some negotiation it was agreed that Kundarashta and the two wounded hunches would stay with Val and the cart, while the remaining party members returned to see if they could negotiate further with the kobold chief.
The oil had indeed burned down, but the door to the kobold throne was barred from the inside. Knocking brought no answer, so Singil splintered the door with her brute strength. Inside, 12 kobolds cowered around their king. Pash quickly insisted that the party wanted to talk, and Urza, the kobold chief, croaked out “You may approach.” Pash explained that the party was seeking to find a peaceful resolution to the raids. The kobold king insisted that his people don’t like to mess with the big folk “unless we’re really hungry” and suggested that the party might want to talk to the orcs, or the hobgoblins, or the humans about that. When the party asked how to find these other factions, the king pointed at one of his subjects and said “Meathead will take you” [kobold naming convention unlocked]. Meathead gulped and stepped forward.
While all this was going on, Alwyn noted that the throne room seemed to have windows in the walls, though they just opened into darkness. Was this once a surface-level complex, and the solid granite dome added later?
After some discussion the party decided to explain their goals to Meathead and asked him to take them to whichever faction could help them the most. This request was way above Meathead’s pay grade, so he randomly chose to take them back through the main hall to a large double-doorway, which he pointed at and said “humans?” The party knocked loudly on the door calling for parley. After a moment of shuffling and unbarring, one of the brigands on the other side opened the door a crack and asked “What do you want?”
Travain once again explained how the party wanted to put a stop to these attacks in some kind of peaceful manner. The door was slammed in their faces, and Alwyn could make out voices on the other side discussing what to do. After a few seconds, there was an audible “screw it!” and the bandits opened the door with a yell!
Acting quickly, Travain dropped two brigands. Unfortunately, the brigands themselves acted next, with two attacks dropping Travain, and another two attacks dropping Singil. Another brigand was dropped by Alwyn’s staff, and a fourth by Kojo’s sword, who also grunted at Meathead “stay with us, or I WILL FIND YOU”. Meathead only cowered in fear. The remaining two brigands fled on the following round, despite Alwyn taking another wild swing. Pash and Kojo checked the status of their fallen comrades.
Singil’s left hand was mangled, and once conscious was able to recognize that her body was going into shock – the risk of infection or falling further away was grim. Travain was somehow only stunned and what had looked like a serious head wound was in fact merely an involuntary ear piercing; he would be fine with a single day of bed rest. Meathead wanted nothing more than to flee back to his people, but Pash was very persuasive that he would be safer with the party than anywhere else [hench++].
Hearing the sounds of potential reinforcements, the party limped back out to the cart (Kojo slicing off the coin purse of one of the brigands on the way). They quickly got back onto the main road and began looking for a nearby village or farmhouse to help nurse Singil’s wounds. They were very fortunate, and within an hour had pulled off at a farmstead where the owner had some comfrey root to apply to the wound. Singil would still need a week’s bed rest but there was no longer risk of death.
While waiting for these wounds to recover, Pash asked around if there was any nearby trading market. There was indeed a small market nearby, and Pash was able to sell the crates of tools they had picked up in Teryk at a healthy profit. They also learned that this village had access to relatively cheap salt and lamp oil, so they stocked up on those goods as well. To make room in their cart, the party donated several barrels of beer to Alwyn, who caroused and boozed along with the locals to share some rumors with them. There was a lot of negotiation in the party about whether to return to Teryk, press on towards the town of Bastion. Singil communed with the spirits, asking for advice on these options, and got vague nonsense about the golden road being profitable and safe.
A few nights in, Kojo woke up in a sweat. The next morning he told Pashlateen of dark dream, promising power from an emerald heart under the dome. “Kojo wants to go back”. Singil went back to commune with the spirits again and instantly entered a trance, with a similar (but more frightening!) version of the dream that Kojo had. After this, Singil also wanted to return to the dome, but the party agreed they needed more supplies first, so they headed back to Teryk.
Along the journey back, they came across several buzzards picking at a large carcass on the road. After shooing them away, they found the body of a griffon, several days dead, apparently brought to the ground with arrows and killed with bladed weapons. Hugo pointed out that the claws and flight feathers of such a beast could be used as special ingredients in the creation of magic items, so the party spent some time extracting these. The eyes would also have value, and presumably the pelt for nonmagical qualities, but none in the group had the requisite skills to apply here.
Back in Teryk, they were able to make a decent profit on their salt. The Baron was keen to hear their news, and gave them a written decree that all of his officers were to give due aid to this team. As well, their tolls and tariffs at the local market would be suspended at least until the end of the season. The attendant Garalen and Malyn the mage were easily persuaded to pay a fair price for the feathers and talons, granting the party their most significant profit yet (and at such low risk…).