Post by David on Sept 14, 2015 19:10:16 GMT -5
The morning of 620/10/25, Ichi, Shang-Lung, and Glenn meet up with two new additions to the heroes aiding the forlorn town of Bloodstone -- Klornap, cleric of Wee Jas, sent by Sage Edulis, the High-Priestess, and Corona, druid of Traala, and her two companions, Frost the snow leopard, and Deadlock, the grizzly bear. The two Suloise worshipers link up with the other heroes to investigate a series of wolf attacks on livestock. This is a particularly important problem as the fields around Bloodstone are unplanted and an early, heavy snow has hit the valley and the sky is perennially cloudy and cold. The goats, sheep, pigs, and cows purchased by Saanau are the only real source of food for the fief's inhabitants until spring, many months in the future.
The small party investigates the sites of the animal attacks and Corona notes the tracks of both dire wolves as well as a long dwarf. Following the wolf tracks to the south, the group comes to a forest where they encounter signs of a slaughter. Bones are scattered, the flesh stripped, though there are arrows and sling stones everywhere. Only a single dire wolf lies dead in the snow and careful tracking shows at least a dozen hobbits died in this battle, only to be later devoured. The party meets and slaughters a pack of dire wolves that attack them, hearing several other wolf packs calling in the area. The group makes contact with the hobbits and their mayor, William, sends Sheriff Fredegast to help the heroes track down the voracious dire wolves. The group quickly comes upon the wolves and Corona manages to convince the animals not to attack. A second pack responds to the calls of the first and half that pack joins the first after Corona uses a charm mammals with the heroes slaying those who do not. Corona convinces the alpha wolf to let the party join them, her goal to determine who or what is summoning these animals and pitting them against the valley inhabitants.
That evening, the pack feels the call. Only Ichi and Shang are able to keep up with the pack and they two men soon encounter a lone dwarf summoning the wolves. To Ichi's infravision, the dwarf is "stone cold" with pale skin, red eyes, and bad teeth. The two monks thrash the vampire before he can sic the dire wolves on them. When the rest of the heroes arrive, Ichi and Shang and chasing a gaseous vapor trying to seek its coffin. Corona uses a dust devil to gather the gaseous vampire and Shang-Lung itemizes the whole thing. The morning light cannot reach the ground, so Ichi uses his flying broom to sore above the clouds and there he ends the spell -- the vampire dissolves into a momentary dark vapor and is gone.
The heroes then set about scattering the other wolf packs in the southern portion of the valley, sending two back to their homes over the mountains and slaughtering two others. The second pack is just outside another woodland, the home of the local centaur. The heroes are welcomed by the centaur and there meet Shayana, cleric of Hanali Celanil, and Zylvanar, drow druid of Ki. In the night, the ghost of Bannok, the cleric of Orcus who had earlier attacked Bloodstone, returns and begins tormenting the centaur, only to attack the heroes with a vengeance once he realizes who they are. Ichi runs screaming from the apparition and it summons two demons to aid it. The heroes drive off both demons, Shayana blinding one with her magical mace. The ghost ages the druidess to middle-age for her efforts and renders Glenn a very old man before it is destroyed. It seemed to have some particular fear of Glenn's silver spear.
The following morning, the heroes return to Bloodstone where they quickly put down another pack of marauding dire wolves. Glenn stays behind, too old and feeble to continue, and Zylvanar elects to wait in Bloodstone rather than accompany the heroes as they go to seek out the dwarven refugees in the northen part of the valley...
Status:
Ichi: 57 (full)
Corona: 37 of 39, 51 years old
___Frost: 22 (full)
___Deadlock: 36 (full)
Shang-Lung: 56 (full), cast / / LB
Klornap: 36 of 37, cast blessx3 / know
Shayana: 39 of 42, cast / / hold animal
Zylvanar: 32 (full), cast / / hold animal
___Nikaris: full
The small party investigates the sites of the animal attacks and Corona notes the tracks of both dire wolves as well as a long dwarf. Following the wolf tracks to the south, the group comes to a forest where they encounter signs of a slaughter. Bones are scattered, the flesh stripped, though there are arrows and sling stones everywhere. Only a single dire wolf lies dead in the snow and careful tracking shows at least a dozen hobbits died in this battle, only to be later devoured. The party meets and slaughters a pack of dire wolves that attack them, hearing several other wolf packs calling in the area. The group makes contact with the hobbits and their mayor, William, sends Sheriff Fredegast to help the heroes track down the voracious dire wolves. The group quickly comes upon the wolves and Corona manages to convince the animals not to attack. A second pack responds to the calls of the first and half that pack joins the first after Corona uses a charm mammals with the heroes slaying those who do not. Corona convinces the alpha wolf to let the party join them, her goal to determine who or what is summoning these animals and pitting them against the valley inhabitants.
That evening, the pack feels the call. Only Ichi and Shang are able to keep up with the pack and they two men soon encounter a lone dwarf summoning the wolves. To Ichi's infravision, the dwarf is "stone cold" with pale skin, red eyes, and bad teeth. The two monks thrash the vampire before he can sic the dire wolves on them. When the rest of the heroes arrive, Ichi and Shang and chasing a gaseous vapor trying to seek its coffin. Corona uses a dust devil to gather the gaseous vampire and Shang-Lung itemizes the whole thing. The morning light cannot reach the ground, so Ichi uses his flying broom to sore above the clouds and there he ends the spell -- the vampire dissolves into a momentary dark vapor and is gone.
The heroes then set about scattering the other wolf packs in the southern portion of the valley, sending two back to their homes over the mountains and slaughtering two others. The second pack is just outside another woodland, the home of the local centaur. The heroes are welcomed by the centaur and there meet Shayana, cleric of Hanali Celanil, and Zylvanar, drow druid of Ki. In the night, the ghost of Bannok, the cleric of Orcus who had earlier attacked Bloodstone, returns and begins tormenting the centaur, only to attack the heroes with a vengeance once he realizes who they are. Ichi runs screaming from the apparition and it summons two demons to aid it. The heroes drive off both demons, Shayana blinding one with her magical mace. The ghost ages the druidess to middle-age for her efforts and renders Glenn a very old man before it is destroyed. It seemed to have some particular fear of Glenn's silver spear.
The following morning, the heroes return to Bloodstone where they quickly put down another pack of marauding dire wolves. Glenn stays behind, too old and feeble to continue, and Zylvanar elects to wait in Bloodstone rather than accompany the heroes as they go to seek out the dwarven refugees in the northen part of the valley...
Status:
Ichi: 57 (full)
Corona: 37 of 39, 51 years old
___Frost: 22 (full)
___Deadlock: 36 (full)
Shang-Lung: 56 (full), cast / / LB
Klornap: 36 of 37, cast blessx3 / know
Shayana: 39 of 42, cast / / hold animal
Zylvanar: 32 (full), cast / / hold animal
___Nikaris: full