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| ** Last updated 03/26/22 ** |
- The Mythic World Overview
- Elves and the Otherworld
- Orcs!!
- Saints, Clerics & Paladins
- The Castle & The Canopies
- Goblins and Trolls are Goblins and Trolls, Not Goblins and Trolls
- Hi ho! Hi ho! It's Dwarves on this Week's Show!
- The Lord of the Dead and the Queen of Lost Souls
- Orc Masks & Other Stuff
- On the Psychology of Elves
- The Great Cyclops
- The Tower of Azhug (02/26/21)
- Listen! on the Arcane Alienist.
- The Funnel of Death (03/08/21)
- North Along the Tradeway (03/18/21)
- Pining for Treasure (04/02/21)
- Into the Woods (05/07/21)
- Gone Lookin' for Goblins (05/21/21)
- Still Lookin' for Goblins (07/02/21)
- Pick a Cave, Any Cave (07/16/21)
- Retainers & Revenge (08/06/21)
- Assault on the Goblin Lair (08/27/21)
- Hobnobbing with Hobgoblins (09/10/21)
- Training Day (09/24/21)
- Necromancy and Undead Orcs (11/05/21)
- Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls! (12/03/21)
- No Kobolds Here! (01/21/22)
- The Owlbear's Den (02/04/22)
- Gnolls Behind the Knoll (02/18/22)
- Bugbears with Boomsticks (03/04 & 03/18/22)
- Sir Roderick (Paladin of St. Cyrus / Wainwright)
- Celestina (Wizard / Astrologer)
- Dominique (Fighter)
- Hedemar Khaine (Cleric of St. Arnhild)
- Volker Khaine (Cleric of St. Arnhild)
- "Filthy" Harald Kleindeist (Fighter / Caravan Guard)
- Dolly (Dwarf / Animal Herder)
- Jessup (Thief)
- Doncha (Fighter)
- Gormer (Cleric of St. Leilani / Herbalist)
- Reg (Thief)
- Dewey Khaine (Cleric of St. Dudimus the Wise / Miller)
- Durgash (Orc)
North Along the Tradeway
After escaping the the lair of the alien sorcerer, the survivors decide to abandon the village of Ünmann. Durgash, the orcish constable, leads most of them north towards the Merchants’ Castle while a handful of the others remain behind to ensure the portal is closed for good. A few days later this last group leaves town.
They are:
- Roderick, a paladin and militant devotee of a Saint Cyrus the Bloodied.
- Celestina, a wizard and astrologer.
- Dewey Khaine, the former miller and a cleric who follows Saint Dudimus the Abiding.
- “Filthy” Harald, a fighter and former caravan guard.
- Gormer, an herbalist cleric and follower of Saint Leilani the Merciful.
- Reg, a thief with a checkered past.
- Dolly, a dwarf and animal herder.
Near the end of the their first day of travel, the party meets a stray pony on the road. It has superficial wounds on its hindquarters. In the distance, they spot a cart on the side of the road. They approach to find it overturned and blood splattered all about. Then size of the items from the overturned cart suggest it belonged to halflings.
Following a trail of blood towards a nearby outcropping of rock, they discover a dead Halfling that appears to have been fleeing something. Harald notices a tuft of tawny hair and tracks of a puma. The party follows the trail to a small cave. Entering they discover the puma feasting on the body of a halfling, while two more dead halfling lay in the center of the cave.
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| Celestina is the only one who knows what actually happened... |
Roderick hurls a spear at the beast, but misses and Harald charges forward, landing a blow with his battleaxe. Celestina casts a spell that puts the puma to sleep and Harald deals it a killing blow. The party recovers the bodies of the dead halflings and decide to take them on the the Merchants’ Castle to ensure a proper burial.
The next day they encounter a patrol of soldiers who inform them the road is safe to the castle, but beyond that it’s beset by orcish raiders. Furthermore the woods north of the castle are stalked by goblins. As a result, there are a large number of travelers at the castle. The inn is full and many are forced to camp in the Canopies - a small tent city outside the castle walls. They patrol leader suggests they check the Canopies first to see if anyone knows the deceased halfings.
The party arrives at the Canopies just in time to witness a duel between a female elf and a young human woman. It seems the family of the young woman - Mavis - operates the local tavern. The elf was flirting with the woman’s brother and distracting him from his chores. When Mavis tried to set him straight, words were exchanged and things escalated quickly.
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| ...being as this is a polearm, the most powerful infantry weapon in the world, and would chop your head clean off... |
After the duel has ended, Celestine makes a point of getting to know the elf, Aerilaya, and her sister, Anarzee. It seems that dueling, drinking, and other risky behavior is what young elves live for. Meanwhile the other party members explore the Canopies and learn other tidbits:
Dolly learns that a group of disgruntled dwarves is at the Merchants’ Castle, demanding aid form the castellan. She also learns there may be treasure in the pine forest in the nearby fens.
Harald learns that goblins have driven all the woodcutters and charcoal burners from the forest. Goblins never show up at random. There is always some sort of pact or bargain with their dark fey masters at work.
Dewey learns there is a chapel in the Castle where the deceased can be taken to ensure proper burial rights and he meets the Brother Xyneg, the curate.
Gormer meets “Old” Mavis, the grandmother of the younger Mavis and the mother of Fergus, the taverner. She is also a storyteller who entertains the camp each night at sunset.
In honor of the dead halflings, on this night she tells a story of the legendary halfling adventurer, Seamus the Shadow, and how he acquired his magic sword, Cat’s Eye, from a spider-filled dungeon and learned that fire is a natural deterrent for giant spiders.
Strangely, there is no sign of Durgash or the other people from Ünmann who were only a day or two ahead of the party...
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