Campaign Log

Last Wednesday at Pawn & Pint the party found itself in dire straights. They were inside a walled town of nearly 500 people and someone was mad at them. Worse, the party was split in half.

Howl, Simon, and Wilby had left Gevton in the middle of the night, almost immediately after the Senzar warlocks were defeated. Howl, had swapped clothing with one of the Senzar and Gemma had used her Felis given powers to burn the skin and features of the man in an effort to make it appear that Howl had died in the attack.

While the remaining members of the party, Gemma, Rowan, and Unferth were preparing to leave themselves, a woman in her mid-twenties came into the temple. At first, the party is uncertain of her intentions, but the woman, named Ishen, explains they are all in grave danger. She had been secretly working with Priestess Caldia to keep watch on this town and those in it. The Lord of Gevton, a man named Erwel (whom the party had met just after Priestess Caldia had been killed) is related to Queen Elsia. They both came from Kynto and Erwel was placed as Lord of Gevton on her behest.

More worryingly, the Senzar warlocks appeared to be meeting with representatives of Erwel and the other foreigners who had come into Gevton recently were also Kyntian soldiers. These Kyntians appeared to be involved with Caldia’s death in the alley, though no one has publicly said so.

The party immediately asks about escaping, but they are not able to turn invisible as Howl had done. The gates are guarded and Unferth stands out. Getting over the walls may be a challenge for those not as athletically endowed and a guard will likely notice the attempt.

Ishen offers them an abandoned flat in the northwest corner of the town as a place to stay for the rest of the night and she will help try to get them out of the city, since someone needs to warn people that it appears the Queen may be working with the Senzar behind the King’s back (there is a rumor that their youngest daughter but one, who is herself the Queen of Ipith, has been taken by the Senzar and the King has refused to negotiate for Islet’s release.)

The party makes no guarantees, but they accept the offer of a safe place to hide and then soon find that Ishen is actually a healer. While she is not trained to fight like the Holy Warriors, she at least knows how to heal others (something Gemma appears not to be skilled in doing).

The four of them try to sneak out of the temple grounds and over to the nearest row of buildings. However, Unferth decides to loudly proclaim their intent and Gemma, not considering the consequences, loudly admonishes him (two nat-one stealth checks make for interesting results).

They do, however, manage to make it to the small flat and get inside without anyone obviously knowing what they were doing. Ishen leaves them for the rest of the night, which is not that long, so that she can try to arrange a way for them to get out the next day.

By morning, Rowan is starting to feel a bit of fatigue for how long they have been awake. However, Ishen has not yet returned and Gemma and Rowan decide to quietly check-out the town to see what is going on. Gemma finds some clothing that was abandoned in the flat and changes into something less recognizable before they set off. Rowan, the stealthy guy he is, already has some more appropriate clothing. Unferth stays behind because the large man sticks out easily.

Gemma overhears talk of burning at the temple and accusations that someone had robbed it and desecrated Caldia’s body in the night. No one seems to know where the other Holy Warriors from Antar have gone to. Gemma is quick to note that there is no talk of Senzar bodies, so they are fairly certain someone has removed them during the night.

Rowan checks the gates and finds that there are four guards stationed at each one, which is up from the single person who had been stationed on duty when they first entered the town. The prospect of an easy exit is looking less likely.

Rowan and Gemma return to Unferth, Gemma tripping in through the door in the process (more nat-one stealth checks). They discuss their options, including trying to sneak out through the stream. While doing that, Ishen also joins them and say that while she can disguise Gemma and Rowan, Unferth stands out too broadly to be able to sneak out of such a small town through one of the gates.

They decide to leave Unferth behind in the abandoned flat and Gemma and Rowan would get out and try to find a way for Unferth to leave later. Gemma then steps out of the building and onto the street to find four men dressed in Lord Erwel’s colors, one of which has a crossbow.

The men demand that the party accompany them to the keep to meet with Lord Erwel. However, Gemma is quite persuasive in suggesting they have urgent business back in Antar and do not have time to go to the keep. The soldiers hesitantly compromise on sending for Lord Erwel and one of their number departs quickly to do so.

Close to the western gate, Rowan takes the initiative and shoots the Sergeant that had been speaking to them with his bow and Unferth charges out of the building and rushes the Private carrying a sword. Gemma, also having anticipated the attack, sends crackling energy at the man with a crossbow. Unfortunately for the party, the soldiers are not completely unaware and all three of the party are injured from the counter-attack.

Rowan, not happy with being hit, severs the Sergeant’s head, and with a slight twist of his magical sword, sends the head flying across the street toward the temple of Felis. Unferth, while not making as dramatic of a display, uses his axe to fell his opponent before the man has a chance to mount a second attack.

The third man received another dose of Felis’ wrath and his shot with the crossbow runs wide. The approach of Rowan and Unferth must have given the man pause. When the two reach him, they cut the man down before he can retreat.

Covered in blood, the party sees a panicked town and races for the western gate with Ishen in tow. The people on the streets run in fear and as soon as Unferth sees the men at the gate, he grows a challenge with his bloody axe. Two of the four men race in different directions, while the other two braver souls stand their ground.

Rowan slashes one man who lacks the skill to return the favor and after a second attack, the soldier is down. Unferth slams his axe into the other man, sending him flying back against the city gates. Gemma sends a warning blast (at least that is her claim) after one of the other men who had not run far enough away.

Hearing the sounds of hooves charging in their direction deeper in the town, the four of them take off into the countryside. In the far distance, tall grasses cover the rolling landscape. Closer to the town there are farms and fields. The four of them know they cannot make it to the grasses before the horsemen catch them, so they head toward a barn in the hopes to avoid being trampled by the horses.

As luck would have it, they head toward a barn where Wilby had been watching the city. Rowan hits the front of the barn, turns, and shoots one of the horsemen in leather armor. Unferth, without a ranged weapon, moves around the south side of the building. Gemma tries to unleash a bolt of crackling energy at the other leather armored horseman, but her shot goes wide.

Wilby, concealed on the north side of the building, marks one of the further targets dressed in studded leather armor and attempts to call upon the power from Felis to shatter his arrow when it hits his target. Unfortunately for Wilby, his target moved and the shot flew wide.

The man Wilby shot at calls upon Felis’ power himself and directs a blinding blast at Gemma. Fortunately for Gemma, the blast bleaches out the barn and not her.

The man Rowan shot with his bow brings his horse close and strikes Rowan from a position of advantage. Rowan tries to shoot the man on the horse, but misses and hits the horse instead.

Unferth ducks into the east side of the barn with Ishen as the man in chainmail armor had pursued them around the barn.

Gemma continues to direct Felis’ energy at the soldier closest to her, this time striking the man and burning his face off, while Wibly continues to have bad luck in trying to hit the man in studded leather armor. Unfortunately for Gemma, the man Wilby had targetted strikes her with his radiant energy, burning her fair skin.

Rowan dodges another attack from the man on the horse and he manages a point-blank shot that sends the man tumbling to the ground. The horse, startled, moves a few steps away from his fallen rider.

Unferth, angered by the audacity of this man, who has dismounted to follow them into the barn, swings his axe and connects with the man in chain armor. Unfortunately for Unferth, the man is quick with his longsword and slashes the barbarian twice.

Back outside the building, Gemma takes another hit of blinding energy from the man on the horse. Rowan ducks into the barn, leaving the two holy warriors to fight each other, but after Gemma misses with her energy blast, she ducks inside the barn as well. The retreat seems to have allowed Wilby to finally hit the man and Wilby continues to repeat that success.

Rowan, seeing Unferth and the man in chain armor engaged in close combat, moves to get an angle on the attacker, but misses with his bow. The distraction gives Unferth an opening and his mighty axe takes another piece of the man, but the man is not undone yet and as Unferth tries to move away, the man slashes the barbarian once again. Then as punishment for disengaging, the man turns on Ishen who had moved to help heal the very burned Gemma. Ishen takes a hit and then runs away.

Rowan tries to hit the man again, but his arrows are not penetrating the chain armor. Unferth, incensed again hits the man with his axe, and Gemma, next to the man, tries to unleash her energy as she moves away. Fortunately for Unferth, the injuries for the man in chain armor seem to be mounting and though the man swung twice, he missed the large barbarian both times.

Outside, the man in studded leather armor hits Wilby with the same damaging energy that severely injured Gemma, but Wilby survives and manages a deadly shot that takes out the last man on a horse. However, he can see more soldiers on foot in the distance. He wastes no time in gathering the horses and searching the dead.

Inside, Rowan then manages to hit the man in chain armor and Gemma, from a safe distance, strikes him in the head with her crackling energy, knocking off his helmet, revealing Lord Erwel in his dying moment.

Fear fills the party as they realize they have just killed a nobleman who is related to the Queen. They quickly finish searching the bodies and rounding up the horses. Knowing they have little time, they mount the horses and head west toward the mountains and forests where Wilby had grown up.

On the way, Ishen tells them that she wants them to head toward the front and warn the King about his wife’s possible treachery, but the party is uncertain.

Later that evening, Gemma, who had looted Lord Erwel’s body, discovers the dagger she took appears to have magical properties.