AAR: [3M] A Monster Most Foul (2022-02-21@23:00 GMT)

The current version of the Earthdawn West Marches Discord campaign, effective Jan 1, 2020

Moderator:etherial

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm
Re: AAR: A Monster Most Foul [ 3M, Monday Feb 21, 2022, 11:00 PM GMT ]

Post by ChrisDDickey » Tue Feb 22, 2022 12:15 pm

From the journal of Caesar Bonaparte, human illusionist.
P.S. I do want to appologize if I seemed grumpy and out of sorts during the game. I did have fun and am glad I got to play. But still, I think this is the journal entry Caesar would write.



A traveler brought a letter from the small community of  (hex 45.06)  across the Throalic Mountains right on the Serpent River. Pavar's Hill was looking for help, an unusually aggressive flock of birds was attacking their livestock, which would then sicken and be eaten by the birds. A large party of us answered the call. Too many really. The six of us had a very difficult time coordinating our actions, we were constantly getting in each other's way or spoiling each other's plans. I don't know if our group had an unusually large percentage of knuckleheads, or if it was just that the people in the back could not hear what the people in the front were saying, or what, but we never once got all six of us working the same plan for more than 6 seconds in a row. 

The trip to Sossanopa was uneventful. Travelers reported rumors of Bandits in the planes to the West of the road, but our well armed party saw no sign of them. At Sossanopa there were reports that Mericor, up at lake Vors was having various troubles, including unrest, breakages, and rumors of sabotage. The day after we arrived, we booked passage on a Scavian barge headed downriver. Valoric, the dwarf Gauntlet, negotiated our passage, which he did very quickly. I learned later that "Kapitan Kasimere" named a price, which Valoric immediately agreed to without any effort to negotiate. The boatman, perhaps a bit taken aback to have his initial offer accepted without haggling, then said that in addition we would need to both load and unload cargo whenever the barge stopped, and fight if the barge was attacked. Again this was instantly agreed to without the slightest suggestion that these services ought to reduce the price of our passage. This despite, mind you, the fact that just the day before the Sossanopa Harbormaster had mentioned that performance of these services were often agreed upon as part of a fare reduction package by those unwilling or unable to pay the full fare. I am trying to remember if Valoric had been among those of us who had squeezed into the Harbormasters office when he had told us that, and if this failure to have heard this could be attributed to our too large party. But in any case, Valoric seemed perfectly happy to both pay full initial asking price, plus sign us all on as both common stevidors and as skilled guards, without any fare reduction in return for these labors. I made a mental note to never let Valoric negotiate prices that included me again. 

We were on the "Rusalka" for a number of days. The barge was remarkable, it was not made of wood, but rather strange stone like nothing any of us had seen or heard of before. The stone barge both floated and moved through the water with remarkable speed. The barge was propelled by oxen walking upon a treadmill, which we were told turned propellers below the water. The large barge seemed amazingly maneuverable and speedy. At a glance, the barge looked old and rundown, but once upon it, we could tell that it was remarkably sturdy, strong, and well crafted. The crew also seemed like experts in their field. At one point we were attacked by a gigantic swarm of Water Striders, and the barge fought them off easily and quickly. We passengers helped, but it was clear our help, while appreciated, was not really needed. The crew was writing down numerous detailed observations about all river traffic. 

We were told legends of a stretch of rapids called "Synopas Gift", but while the rapids were exciting, and while we could tell that stretch of water might be dangerous to a less skilled crew, we observed little of note there. 

At length we disembarked upon the Pavar’s Hill dock. Not far from the dock was an establishment called "Astenders Rest". It was a very nice place with excellent food, drink, and company. At first I thought it was a tawdry brothel, but it was explained that the community had suffered a dangerous amount of inbreeding though the scourge, and this was an attempt to bring new blood into the community. The Rest induced a goodly amount of river traffic to stop, and the goal was that babies less inbred would result. 

When we told them we were the adventurers responding to the letter they had sent to Throal, they sent for the Elders, who briefed us on the situation. The troublesome birds were the size of medium large dogs, they have Yellow and Green Plumage, and more commonly glide like a flying squirrel than actually fly. They seem really smart and are hard to hunt. The village is calling them Plague Falcons. because the livestock scratched by one gets sick, and the sickness spreads to other animals unless the infected ones are isolated or cured.  The elders told us all about where they had been seen, and what they had tried as far as dealing with them. We set out that very afternoon to a place where they had recently been seen. 

After a brief search, we found the flock perched in a tree. Under the tree were a young child and his dog. Both had been infected by the plague falcons. Surprisingly the birds were talking to each other in Throalic!. We could only make out the occasional word until I reattuned on the fly and cast "cloak" upon everybody, allowing us all to sneak up to within 20 yards of the tree. We could not get closer than that because the clearing had no cover closer than that. The birds were telling each other how bad they felt about being forced to attack a youngling (as they called the small human child), and how horrible it would be if "HER" was not obeyed. From our closer vantage point we could see that the birds were pretty battered, with broken limbs and other wounds. 

We approached and talked to the birds. Eruriel, the Elf Cavalier attempted to use Animal Bond on the birds, but it did not work. We did learn that HER had already used Animal Bond upon them, and that they hated it. We also learned from the birds' reactions that HER was an Elf Beastmaster and that they did not like Elfs or Animal Bond. We were able to talk some more and learned that HER was back at the river, and that she wanted to "collect shiny". The birds did not want to do the things HER told them to do, but that they would be tortured or killed if they failed to do as bid.

I once again reattuned on the fly and then cast Trust upon the closest bird. The spell worked really well, as if the birds were extra susceptible to mind magics, and my target calmed right down, however all the other birds recognized my spellcasting as mind magics, and all the other birds grew very upset, squawking about how bad mind magic was, and making noise about how we were bad people for trying to control them. Nyxallah Praetor, the human Seeker, fearing the flock was about to attack us, ran up to the tree and attacked. There were two birds within easy reach, and for some reason she chose to attack the one bird that I had cast the Trust spell upon, and thus was the one bird that was not upset and squawking at us. This, of course, immediately broke the trust spell, making that bird hate us all even worse than the others. See what I mean about adventuring parties getting too big to keep track of what is going on and what your comrades are doing? She severely damaged the poor creature. I went forward to the young child and attempted to treat his infection, but the sickness was too well established for me to do anything about it. I could tell that the child would probably die soon if he did not get better treatment within hours. Meanwhile the other birds of the flock flew off.

We carried the boy, the dog, and the nearly dead bird (still feebly squawking his defiance at us) back to the Astendars Rest, where we knew there was a Questor of Garlen. As we arrived we heard screaming and other sounds of commotion. As we approached the bashed in back door we could hear and see parts of the confrontation within. The questor of Garlen and two of the village elders were within the common room, along with at least 4 elves. Apparently some river pirates had just busted in mere moments before and were attempting to extort the village elders. The leader (the female elf beastmaster named Mavka - also known as HER) had her Claw Shaped hands around the Questor of Garlens throat and was was saying that she would torture the Questor to death (starting with skinning the flesh off her face) if they did not give into her demands for tribute. She gloated that the death of the Questor of Garlen would allow the plague to kill the rest of the village. She threatened that if they offered any resistance she would instantly rip out the Questors throat. The Questor seemed to be the granddaughter of one of the elders and everybody inside was taking the threat deathly seriously.

We could see that one of the pirates was on lookout near the doors (where we were listening). Everybody else was in the far side of the common room and did not have line of sight to the busted in door. I, for one, also believed the pirate leaders statement that she would rip the Questors throat out at the first sign of trouble. I very much wanted to take the guy guarding the door out of the fight quickly and quietly. I moved up next to the door and peeked in, seeing the guard as I quickly wove the thread to a "Trust" spell. The others moved up behind me. There was a muffled rustling behind me as apparently one of the others tried to step into the doorway itself, but one of the others held him back out of sight so that our surprise would be preserved while everybody got into position ready for a sprint into the room. 

I held up my hand with three fingers up, indicating three seconds, folded one down indicating two seconds, and started to fold one more down indicating that I only needed one more second to get my spell off. I think my plan was excellent. If I could have gotten the trust spell off, then the guard would not have attacked any of us so long as we did not attack him. All our people could have rushed right into the room without having to stop and attack the guard. Further, I am confident that at the same time I could have either intimidated, or even just asked the guard to leave the fighting area (I have both mystic and Devine powers I can bring to such interactions). I am confident that if Garak had just delayed for 2 more seconds I could have quickly and quietly removed from the fight 1/4 of the known opponents, the only one who could see the door we were coming in. 

Unfortunately for my plan, our team were never able to follow a common plan for more than 6 seconds at a time. Garak, the Ork Archer, reasoning that I was unlikely to be casting a buff spell upon himself, concluded that whatever I was doing had nothing whatsoever to do with him, and therefore whatever I was doing was utterly unimportant to him and that there was no reason for him to wait until after I had done it. He pushed past me and walked right up to my target. The door guard attacked him, which meant that the Trust spell would be useless. The door guard did no damage to Garak, but on the other hand, Garak did little to no damage against the pirate leader, who then did as she had threatened and tore the throat out of the Questor of Garlen. The others rushed through the door all piling up near the door guard whom they were unable to get past until they slew him. If only Garak had waited two more seconds! Nyx did great damage to the door guard, but was in turn perforated by arrows from the archers on the 2nd floor (which we had not seen or heard because they were on the 2nd floor, and not talking), and fell unconscious. 

The pirate leader, after killing the Questor, barged though a window to the outside and started running away. She was quickly run down by Eruriel the cavalier (who spurred away to deliver her most devastating blow just a second before I would have reached her to cast a Monstrous Mantel buff - such a crowded battlefield, you can't tell when a friend is coming to assist you! Her blow would have been a bit more devastating if she had just noticed me running up behind her).  In the end one pirate managed to swim away, the others were cut down, with the survivors hanged the next morning. Both of the elders were very seriously wounded in the fight we started, as the pirates believed that terror attacks were sometimes better than attacks against combatants. The Questor of Garlen had deadly wounds, but a Last Chance Salve managed to revive her. 

When we had done, we tarried in Pavar's Hill, and particularly in Astener;s Rest for a goodly period of time before taking passage back upriver and returning to Throal. I did not let Valoric negotiate the price of my passage. 
Last edited by ChrisDDickey on Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

predajey
Posts:344
Joined:Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 am

Re: AAR: A Monster Most Foul [ 3M, Monday Feb 21, 2022, 11:00 PM GMT ]

Post by predajey » Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:31 am

Hidden in the third story of the Great Library is a volume of what appears to be a conspiracy. When asked about it, the scribes detail that the Great Library paid way too much for it, and even had to go through relatively unsavory channels to obtain it, compared to other entries. Intrigue sets over you as you dive into a story of ulterior motive, written by one who goes by Nyxallah Praetor.

Well, this is a first. I got to see a Cavalier in action. I guess that report goes to Dia. And an Illusionist? Two new disciplines. Then there was an Archer, but not your typical Archer. This one used a sling for some reason. Still. it gave me visibility on three new disciplines in total.

They didn't do too bad, either. Turning into a literal monster seemed pretty cool, even if I couldn't see it myself. I'm not sure who to recommend Caesar to. As for the Cavalier, if they weren't there, we may have left the world in somewhat the same state we found it in. I'll definitely have to send Eruriel to Dia. As for the Archer, Garak, no one else could take him except Emma. He played a major role in our success, as well.

I definitely will have to hang around Vargo, though. Both he and Valoric seem to be improving by leaps and bounds. Although Valoric would also be a decent one to keep for myself, too. He uses no weapons, which is unique to me alone.

We defended a barge from horse sized river skitters. While most of the party crowded at the front of the vessel, I went around back to prevent flanking. I was even able to flank the bastards back. Apparently the crew of the barge had their own brawls, but I wasn't able to see them. They seemed to work well as a team, something we could all benefit from.

Then there were these weird birds. We tried talking them down from killing a boy and his dog, but then they reared to attack, or so I thought. I was able to knock one out of the tree before the rest flew away. Definitely missed a few cues on that one.

Finally we had to resolve a hostage situation... poorly. The party wasn't lacking in rage. Apparently my lack of adrenaline and anger showed in my poor performance. The hostages were nearly killed and would have died if not for a nearby Questor of Garlen. Garak, Valoric, and Eruriel were the saviors of this day. Caesar picked a good team, and so definitely falls in line with you, Alex.

Sharkforce
Posts:527
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:39 am

Re: AAR: A Monster Most Foul [ 3M, Monday Feb 21, 2022, 11:00 PM GMT ]

Post by Sharkforce » Thu Feb 24, 2022 1:26 am

The Journal of Garak of Irondelve, Part 7: A Monster Most Fowl


Caesar had found us another job, this one about dealing with some strange birds that were attacking the livestock of a small village, Pavar's Hill, located roughly a little under halfway between Sosanopa and the Cliff City of Syrtis if you travel on the Serpent, which you should. Strangely, these birds would infect the livestock with some strange sickness that would spread if not taken care of, even within the space of a few hours. No natural bird I have ever heard of causes such a thing, although I should also say the details of the job were distressingly vague... carried by a merchant all the way to Throal.

He recruited a large group for this one, bringing along Eruriel the Elf Cavalier with her horse Bellerephon, Valoric the dwarf Gauntlet, Nyx the Human Seeker, and Vargo the Dwarf Weaponsmith, whose skills with the forge I should like to make use of if I am able. We went up through Sosanopa, which was surprisingly peaceful, and heard tell of what sounds like sabotaged equipment in the area of Lake Vors. Might be some work coming our way from that in the future if the Aropagoi can't resolve it themselves.

From there we booked passage on a strange stone barge crewed by what I am told are people from Scavia, a group of traders I know nothing about. Must be new, I'm usually more informed when it comes to traders but I've never heard of them. They seemed a serious bunch, very focused on gathering information about everything they saw. They probably have records about us now, as well. Didn't seem to know Pavar's Hill off the top of their head, but they were very focused on efficiency, almost like soldiers.

The trip was mostly peaceful, but for a break to pass the rapids at Synopae's Gift and a battle with large water-skimming insects that seemed desperate to pour their eggs into our bodies and in general made a terrible mess, which was particularly unfortunate as the terms of our passage included shovelling all the filth from their animals already, and now it was added to. Unfortunately, they closed in too quickly and I couldn't get much of a good shot off on them.

Apart from that, we made reasonable time and were brought to the docks of our destination on a smaller raft, to an odd place. The locals had a tavern and inn called Astendar's Rest, which I can highly recommend. The food was good, the drinks were freshly made and varied, the prices reasonable, and the locals were very interested in finding someone to share a bed with, provided you're a decent sort and have a clean bill of health. A novel way to cope with centuries of inbreeding I should say... I was interested, but as I had a job to do felt it would be unprofessional to participate until after. Not all with me were so restrained.

After talking with the elders, I got a feel for where the birds, which sounded less and less like birds as we talked, might be. Something was definitely strange about them. They had hands, and could speak Throalic, and were covered in scars and old wounds. Someone was treating them very poorly. They were circling a young child and their dog like vultures, waiting for their strange sickness to kill him off, all the while speaking of their distressing conditions and what "She" would do if they did not obey her orders.

We were able to get some information out of them; seems "She" was an elf, and had access to some kind of magic. Sounded almost like a ritual to me, based on torture, but I'm no expert. Also, she was down at the river in the direction of Pavar's Hill, apparently with the intent to get money from the villagers. And lastly, they were scared senseless of what she could do to them. In the end, Eruriel and Caesar's attempts to soothe them with magic went poorly and caused them to panic. I had earlier intended to knock one out of the air to capture it if necessary, but by this time had decided there was no need. It was best for them to run, and if they were inclined to do that I was not going to stop them. Nyx was a little more hasty, and jumped right into the tree to strike them down. Guess she thought they were going to attack. I think she might think too much with her fists and too little with her head.

I felt like an absolute ass threatening the poor things, but it was better for all involved if they flew far away from "her" so I made sure they were going in a direction a way for and gave a short prayer to Jaspree hoping that whatever "She" could do had a limited range. Meanwhile we gathered the three badly wounded (the child, the dog, and the so-called bird) and rushed back to the village to give medical treatment.

We arrived just in time to find out that "She" was apparently a Beastmaster, albeit a twisted and evil one if ever I saw one. Seemed to love torture, so maybe it wasn't a ritual but just plain old-fashioned cruelty that led her to hurt the winged creatures. She certainly seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in torturing the locals in the tavern, threatening to peel the skin off the face of a young girl who was a Questor of Garlen, and demanding that they pay her money. She had a few other croneys with her, nobody of consequence. We crept up to the entrance and prepared to charge inside. Caesar wanted us to wait for something, but it looked like the slimy turd of a Beastmaster was going to do some very permanent damage to the Questor of Garlen who, it should be stressed, would be very helpful in treating the sickness of the child we had brought back.

Unfortunately while I was able to strike accurately, I was not able to strike very fiercely and was only able to midly irritate my target, who still struck down the Questor instead of focusing on me as I had planned. There was also a guard who I was doing an excellent job of ignoring but which nobody else seemed interested in going past to attack more dangerous and well-motivated targets, and everyone else dogpiled on him. Eruriel had stuck around outside to clean up any that tried to escape, which worked out well because that was exactly what the murderous bitch tried to do before getting her skull smashed in by a rock and her sorry ass trampled into the ground by half a ton of elven thoroughbred.

Meanwhile back inside the tavern some thugs were taking potshots at those of us in their sight lines, and did a number on Nyx who managed to stagger up to the Beastmaster before falling down unconscious. Wish I could've done more to draw their attention, they seemed to take a sickening amount of pleasure in attacking the defenceless in spite of having a team of Adepts in their faces. I guess if they were smart, they probably wouldn't be working for a sadist in the first place.

Well, their stupidity got them all hung in the end, and while we were dealing with the goons in the tavern some local kids were scuttling their ship with explosives. They should probably hire some T'skrang divers to look for valuables in the wreckage, and considering the nature of the group, also look for anything that might give closure to any other victims of those scum.

Anyways, job done I decided to stick around a while to do my part in diversifying the local bloodlines, and enjoying the local hospitality. I hear that they're looking for a Questor of Jaspree to see about giving some treatment to the "birds" and maybe even forming an alliance; I would've helped track them down but I doubt I'd be helpful given how terrified the poor things were of me after I sent a rock into a barrel roll around their leader while they were fleeing to make the point that it was safer to defy "her" than to mess with us.

I decided to take a more scenic route home, as I had never been to the Cliff City before. Found myself an interesting bow along the way, too... but that's a story for another time.

kickmurder
Posts:20
Joined:Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:21 am

Re: AAR: A Monster Most Foul [ 3M, Monday Feb 21, 2022, 11:00 PM GMT ]

Post by kickmurder » Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:22 pm

The Journal of Vargo Tusur Stonebreaker, Weaponsmith 3rd Circle

This...this was a weird one.

I had difficulty keeping my notes straight so simply going to copy them here in hopes that they help others!

Eruriel (Ey-ROO-Ree-Ell) Cavalryman
Valoric - Gauntlet
Garak - Archer
Nyxallah - Seeker
Caesar - Illusionist

The village of Pavar’s Hill was seeking adept help with a problem with some birds that were preying on the local livestock.

A newish settlement on the river with some large ork and human extended family that started it up. It is said that one of them is a really talented craft brewer. House Mikul buys their ale for resale and it’s pretty tasty. Hard to get in Throal since most of it winds up in Sosanopa. The note found said to ask at a place called “Astendar’s Rest”.

Pavar’s Hill is down river from Sosanopa (the murder capital of Barsaive) and will require a boat.

We of course started this time at the regular watering hole. Spice and cheesey sausage flatbread at the Ghost Pepper with a bunch of very drunk dandies who were of no help at all in helping us learn about Pavar's Hill.

Garak seemed to love the flatbread! It was a beautiful moment!

Eruriel had a lovely interaction with the dandies, no issues extricating themselves from potential issues.

Our contact used bird feathers, mounted on a candle stick, to let us know which table we needed to seek about birds. A flashy and bright hat with a plume - Mother won't allow me such aggressively coloured garb.

Our journey takes us via Triolvi North to Sosanopa! It is moderately well traveled, with more walkers than wagons, usually wagons travel in groups up to 5. Merchant guards are centered around the caravans. And we even see a Mikul caravan, one of the merchant-houses we worked with before! They appear to be traveling with high value cargo! Perhaps in future there might be employment with them as guards!

The mountains here are beautiful!

Sosanopa has memories like Fai-ard, the Fence that betrayed us the last time we were here! It is also the murder capital of Barsaive to hear it told. With wretches and cutthroats everywhere. They do not seem to be in evidence this time as our trip is pretty mundane.

First we seek assistance at the docks looking for a ride. We came first across The Gheara, a beautiful ship with a fire engine and fire cannon - of Syrtan registry!

New wood patches and plates of armor being installed - the t'skrang Elementalists are growing the wood into the ship itself as well as using fire-welders. Recent battle! I am fascinated by everything about this! The blasted another ship and sunk it and are now letting the t'skrang swim down and clear the wreck.

Apparently The Gheara is going the wrong way so we might have to wait for Scavians tomorrow! We refer to captains as "Kapita" and we need to be very traditional. Scavia only recently came out on the river after the opening.

The Scavian boat, Rusalka is a ship but made of STONE! And it flies a V'strimon pennant, obviously in a trade compact alliance with the Syrtans. Their crew works with military precision. Watching the river as much as the shore! Very interesting. There is a lot going on here.

We make our way towards the rapids known as Synopae's Gift - the Scavians put all their engines in the water and just powered through as fast as they could. The barge has ELEMENTAL SHIELDS! They had detectors and alarms! We were attacked by giant water striders!! They were trying to lay eggs inside of us!!! We were finding their eggs for days!! Eggs...everywhere...I shudder as I write this.

At Pavar's Hill the area is beautful! There were flowers and music, and the scent of good food! The people are **permissive** about their clothing and very, dare I say, flirtatious? It was an odd situation. They have stars and ratings for lovers! And there is conception! And a Questor of Garlen oversees it! I don't understand! Mother will have much explaining to do if I cannot get Nyx or Valoric to explain what is going on here.

After an evening where we enjoyed their hospitality we went seeking our prey.

Finally we found the beasts that are called plague falcons! They are smart and were targeting even shepherds as well as livestock. Yellow and green plumage, bird and squirrel mix. Around the size of a larger dog! The villagers cannot seem to track them down. Their claws are the disease spreaders it seems and the Questor of Garlen is making remedies.

I FOUND OUT MORE INFORMATION!! It appears they are a big blended family! They are seeking to replenish their blood lines! It all makes sense! After leaving the Kaers they had many become sterile and are rebuilding - I couldn't imagine Vargo having a child and not being with the mother! So I will not be setting myself up for ratings.

But I digress. We ended up finding a shepherd and his flock under attack by a number of these plague falcons and we overheard them speaking! They are intelligent beasts!! It turns out they are being tortured over and over again by an Adept.

The birds are tortured! By an ELF woman! They might be SCULPTED! Their flesh changed.

The Horrors themselves are NOTHING compared to a Namegiver using their powers in this way. We are resolved that this monster be brought to justice. We try to speak to the creatures but they are too terrified to work with us and flee. We return with the shepherd boy and his dog, they are very sick and we are hopeful the Questor of Garlen can help!

Upon our return we find that the evil Adept is already attacking!! She is attacking Astendar's Rest! Two of the elders, Wojetk and Svetlana are held in the inn! Mavka the creature has Calli the Healer at her mercy! And there is another (Bialas) who is cheering her on! And A third (Jascha) is keeping guard on the windows.

It was a protection racket! Mavka was to be paid regularly or she would attack the town. She was using a discipline called, Borrow Sense to steal the creatures senses and "putting them in the box". I have never seen my friends so angry and focused. Upon coming across this scene everyone sprung into action and we attacked.

Mavka cut the throat of Calli! We fought the gang but her henchman Bialas got away!!

Calli received a Last Chance Salve and so did Svetlana!! We also saved Shepherd Mattias and Vlada!

We are hoping that a Questor of Jaspree or Garlen can return and help rehabilitate these poor creatures and we also hope that the repopulation of Pavar's Rest continues!

I will do better on my notes next time.

User avatar
etherial
Posts:964
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:04 pm
Location:Berlin, Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: AAR: A Monster Most Foul [ 3M, Monday Feb 21, 2022, 11:00 PM GMT ]

Post by etherial » Sun Mar 27, 2022 11:59 pm

Being the Seventeenth of Charassa, in the 1429th year of the Dwarf Kingdom of Throal,
My Dearest Sister:

Word has come through here in Throal of a village on the Serpent River in need of assistance. The good traders of House Mikul have forwarded a request for aid from the small hamlet of Pavar Hill. They are, apparently, under attack from predatory birds that are spreading sickness and malaise amongst the town's livestock.

Being the Twentieth of Charassa, I continue my letter:

I have arrived at the infamous town of Sosonopa. So far, no one has tried to murder us. We spoke to the Dockmaster, who gave us some information on the rudimentary river traffic that had started to develop. By charming him a little, we were able to get information on a barge called the Rusalka, operated by Humans from a place called Scavia that was apparently at the farthest reaches Downriver. The people who operate this barge are clearly no ordinary merchants. They are highly skilled soldiers, probably Adepts and almost certainly spies. Their ship seems far more powerful and durable than would be justified by their excursions.

Being the Twenty-Third of Charassa, I continue my letter:

The Rusalka dropped us off at the town of Pavar's Hill on the south bank of the river. We quickly gained entry to the local watering hole, a combination pub/brothel/temple called Astendar's Rest. It seems the Kaer that built the town suffered from severe population loss over the Scourge and they were attempting to breathe new life into their town by breeding with as many crew of each ship as it passed. While some in my party were tempted by their offer, that was not why we were here. We were here for the birds.

We investigated a nearby clearing where a flock of "plague falcons" had been recently seen and had surrounded a Human child and his dog. The child was clearly already suffering from the malady the plague falcons carried. Through the use of Caesar's Cloaking spell, we were able to get closer and hear the birds talking to each other in Throalic. It seems they had been quite thoroughly abused by some Beastmaster or other, who was using them to covertly attack the town. Judging by the descriptions the birds gave, she was an Elf.

I attempted to befriend the birds and thought I was making progress, but Caesar volunteered to "help" and ensorcell one of them. Unfortunately, they were familiar with such tricks and the rest immediately reacted in fear and anger. Nyx compounded the error by attacking the ensorcelled bird. The flock scattered and I loaded the injured boy and creatures onto Bellerephon to bring back to town.

The town, however, was under attack when we found it. The Beastmaster the birds had spoken of was in Astendar's Rest, demanding tribute. We got the drop on them and were able to save the town, but the Beastmaster was able to make it back to her pirate ship and escape.

There is a vicious miscreant on the loose. And her name is Mavka.

Sharkforce
Posts:527
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:39 am

Re: AAR: [3M] A Monster Most Foul (2022-02-21@23:00 GMT)

Post by Sharkforce » Tue Mar 29, 2022 5:30 am

(Mavka died. possibly by being kicked to death by Belerephon actually. Bialis, her creepy sadistic flunky who was torturing the town elder, is the one who escaped)

Post Reply