Post
by Reyntrannin » Wed Jul 01, 2020 4:25 pm
Kain, a Devotee of Thystonius, requested aid in a task set him by his patron Passion. I, along with my new friend Azurea the Troll and a fellow Shaman Named Reyis Poriv, answered his call in the early morning and set out on journey to the village of Synevir. This took us northward out of Throal, which was a new and exciting trek, as I had previously spent most of my time near or south of the Kaer. The trip was uneventful, although we did have some difficulty in finding our way. Eventually, after seeing some interesting signs of the world returning to its true glory, such as the herd of dyre we passed, the village was on the horizon.
Entering the village, the few remaining townsfolk greeted us with tribute they thought we were there to take, but some able wordplay with them convinced them that we were not the threat they took us for (I do not believe we ever truly convinced all of them that we were no threat, but that is no matter). After calming the situation, we realized they thought we were part of a group of raiders that had been preying on them for some time. These raiders, led by someone named Or'shank, had been forcing the village to give tribute to his gang. As a result, most of the village had already left, and those that remained were frightened, tired, and broken. Except for one Dwarf woman called Makir. She turned out to be the catalyst of our presence there, having prayed to Thystonius for relief and the strength to resist these tribulations. Most of the other villagers were at best suspicious of our ability to aid them when we offered, but eventually gave us enough information to work with.
Azurea, being a physician, had noted the weakened and malnourished state of the people, and thought that if nothing else, fortifying their food stores would help to improve their morale and strength. Thinking on this, we remembered the herd of dyre we had passed, and decided to hunt for some meat to have a feast with the village.
Additionally, it seems that the village Weaponsmith had left about a month earlier, taking with him a store of weapons that he had been working on, as well as many of the tools he had crafted. This seemed like another likely lead for us to follow.
After mapping out the best path, we decided to visit the Weaponsmith, who lived a little more than a half day distant. Upon arriving, the blighter opened fire on us with a crossbow (not that he could hit the broad side of a barn), and proceeded to begin shouting at us. I responded to the coot, and he seemed to understand that I was here to help those he had a responsibility to. However, he didn't think there was much he could do on short notice, as the supplies had crafted to fight the raiders were stolen by some nearby ogres. Kain agreed to recover the weapons, and I extracted a commitment from Haggon (the Weaponsmith) to be ready to travel back to village when we returned.
we arrived at the ogre's home shortly before night, and Azurea scouted around to get the lay of the land. The ogres were holed up in a rocky mound with a couple of natural cave formations. while Azurea was scouting, I called to a Wolf Spirit, asking for his aid in our coming hunts. He agreed, but was a shrewd bargainer, knowing my need. His price was simple, freedom to hunt the area around the village and take a reasonable number of their herds. I eventually got him to also agree to act as a kind of guardian for the village's lands as well, with his pack keeping other predators at bay.
The attack on the ogre's camp was childishly simple. Reyis and I layered our magics over the party, and then I cast Moonglow on the wolf so that the evening's dimness would not be a hindrance. With both of us marking targets and Kain and Azurea raining down missiles, the pair of ogres were cut down in a few heartbeats, and the larger of their pets, a crakbill ran away. However, i was truly impressed with the valor o the other bird they were keeping. A cockatrice, it valiantly closed with Reyis and proved its mettle in close combat. Had any of the others there had even half its strength in battle, things would have gone badly, but instead it fell once our companions fully focused their attentions on it (a pity, and I still regret that necessity). Once the ogres were laid to rest, were able to recover the weapons and tools they had stolen, then headed farther north to finish our hunt of the dyre.
Our second hunt was over quickly as well. Reyis and I kept most of the herd pacified, while our ranged companions quickly slew one of the beasts. We were then able to run the others off without causing undue harm to the herd, leaving it to continue to roam for now. We field dressed the animal, but did not butcher or skin it, as the hide would help protect it while we pulled it on make shift litter back to Haggon's home.
The Dwarf was good to his word, and was ready to go when we arrived, so the trip back to Synevir was quick and uneventful. All told, it took us a couple fo days to perform these tasks, but the feast we delivered showed the worth of our deeds. Reyis and I wove spells to bind all those feasting together as we shared teh stories of our triumphs and encouraged the villagers to raise their hands in their own defense. It truly did feel as if Thystonius's blessing was on us as we worked over the next few days, fortifying the area's defenses and setting traps to surprise the raiders with. It would have been nice to also teach the townsfolk how to use their newly won weapons, because even to my inexperienced eye, they looked more like a parade of clowns than a trained militia. Oh well, as my master has told me, the spirits expect us to abide by what we have rather than wishing for what we do not.
The raiders arrived as expected at the end of a week, however there were some problems caused by an event the day before. Two of the villagers, Nevos and Bokvak, were so frightened and despairing, that they ran off in the night (and warned the raiders of our preparations, we later learned), which meant that rather than the full element of surprise we were hoping for, the raiders were ready to come in force and make an example of those who would resist them.
It was fortunate then, that despite their great numbers, the raiders did not act well as a concerted unit, and by not applying their force closely, failed to secure their target. Kain and Azurea began cutting down the warriors who thought to flank us, while Reyis and I harassed their leader and the townsfolk maintained a defensive action against most of the raiders rank and file. We eventually cut down all but Or'shank and one of his lieutenants, and even those two, who refused to give up the fight, fell in turn. However, Or'shank grievously wounded our Archer, and at first I thought Kain was done for, but we managed to revive him with the use of potions and magic, to our great relief.
We stayed for a few more days, recovering from our injuries, and then my companions headed back to Throal. I have decided to stay here for some time, teaching the inhabitants of this place how to properly care for and raise their herds, as well as introducing them to their new protectors, the wolf pack that my brother spirit led. I have taken a liking to this place, and am now working on constructing my own home here, as a place where I can begin properly training and raising my own beasts. And I have not forgotten the herd of dyre that grazes not too far away. I think that soon we will need to organize a hunting trip to get new stock for my fellow villagers to raise.