Hardcore Heroes: Episode 14

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==Synopsis==
The party, having spent the night in Clydesdale, embarks on various tasks. Van seeks a buyer for dragon bones, encountering a merchant who suggests using them as flame-resistant armor but only offers 60 gold. They eventually sell the bones to a local temple for 700 gold. Reunited with Malakai, the party considers new plans, including recruiting mercenaries and tracking Lady Redshield for a bounty. They find two suitable mercenaries, Lucius and Titus, and head toward Hillsborough. En route, they battle ogres, resulting in the death of Lucius. The party then encounters and defeats giant scorpions in an old temple and successfully clears out undead in a crypt, discovering some valuable items. They also fend off bandits with the help of their dogs, Bear and Wolf.
==Recap==
===Wednesday, 1509-03-30*===
New day rises as and party wakes up in an inn in Clydesdale. Van goes out into town to see if there's anyone willing to buy dragon bones and finds a foreign looking merchant in the market square. 
The man tells Van of the dragon in Mistreya and it's terrible rule over the kingdom, suggesting that perhaps the scales could be used to defend against her terrible flame. He offers Van 60 gold for the scales, but Van refuses. However, since the flame resistance is only a theory the merchant isn't willing to spend more on them either. 
Van and Malakai reunite in the inn room and the wizard proposes that perhaps making the scales into an armor piece could increase its value and that they also are indebted to the armor-smith in Redport and as such they could use them to repay the man. 
Malakai learns Fireball, Slow and Monsters summoning. 
Van goes to speak with the clergy of the local temple, gets some sass from the local Belum cleric about whether Chis soldier doesn't belong in a perfume shop. The cleric there insinuates that a donation of dragon bone would be most appreciated, but Van presses that they need gold to survive on the road so he asks 700 gold for the head. The Belum cleric seems surprised by this amount and says that the temple here doesn't possess such funds, but that he might petition Count Hilltop for the gold. Van gives him the name of the inn where they're staying at and departs.
Malakai talks with Jeeves and Jimmie about their goals in life. Jeeves tells him that he wants to save up so that his mother that resides in Rockwave can be taken care of. Jimmie tells him that his goal is to remove this curse. 
Van rejoins them and tells of the possible buyer for their dragon skull. Malakai proposes they could track Lady Redshield for the bounty she has on her head, but Van immediately disagrees due to it being hard and dangerous. Malakai proceeds to thinktank about how they could sneak into Shirebrook and recruit Rohana to help them. They also consider making their way to Anvil, but it doesn't seem like a practical target. 
They go into the night with cups in hand and Malakai getting Little Jimmy drunk for the first time in his short life.
===Thurdsay, 1509-03-31*===
Just as they're coming down for breakfast Van receives note from the clergy to bring the dragon bones. So Malakai asks to borrow cooking pot from the chef in the inn, but he forwards them to tanning shop down the street. Both of them head down to this place and use one their pots to boil the meat off the skull. 
Meanwhile, Van goes to the temple to inform them that the bones will be ready in a few hours. 
Once the skull is ready both of them walk to the temple with skull in tow and meet up with an entourage of priests as well as the cleric of Belum. He asks to test the skull first and then asks them what are their life goals. Van readily tells some of his backstory, of growing up in a small village near Shirebrook then being taken in by the temple there and wanting to explore and learn the world so that he can become worthy of the respect others saw in him. Next the Belum cleric asks whether he knew Kel Croak that passed through a month ago and this time more guardedly Van tells him that yes, he did, but that he has passed away by now. Van inquires what this is about, but the cleric simply forwards them to a chest with the 700 gold seemingly unwilling to answer. 
Malakai inquires as well about their interest in Croak, to which the cleric replies that they know of this Kel Croaks reputation which he shrugs off by saying that if they had known Croaks level of depravity they would not have traveled with him. 
Soon they leave and go back to their inn, chest contains the full amount of coin so they pack up and leave for Hillsborough. 
First day passes uneventfully.
===Friday, 1509-04-01*===
They note that traffic between Clydesdale and Hillsborough seems to be at a healthy volume once more. 
Later that evening they arrive in Hillsborough without any issues and head to the same inn they stayed at last time they were in this town. 
=== Saturday, 1509-04-02*===
Van while looking around town spots Jarrot's ship in harbor and immediately goes to there. He greets Delta who tells him that they were actually looking for Croak. When Van informs him that he's dead he gives a bit of an “Oh”, but doesn't explain why he was looking for him and instead leads Van to the captains cabin. 
Jarrot greets him somewhat coldly and ignores his de-charming offer, only grunting at knowledge that Malakai is in town as well. He tells that this offer was originally for Croak, but it probably extends to him as well from then on he explains that Baroness Valmont's daughter, Sella Valmont, has been abducted by Kerak and she offers full pardon for getting her back in the most non intrusive way they can. Jarrot mentions that Kerak has been actively hiring mercenaries using Anvils funds as well, but that perhaps the town isn't on a complete lock-down. Once Van again offers to perhaps attempt removing charm Jarrot tells him to stop referring to his soulmate as a charm and kicks him off the ship.
Later on Van and Malakai meet up and go to the fighting school that's attached to an colosseum. While walking there Van informs Malakai about meeting Jarrot and they have the old saving Jarrot talk. He also talks about the offer to rescue the Baronesses daughter and Malakai expresses his distaste in nobility in general, but Van presses on the fact Kerak sacked towns and murdered people so by no means he is a good guy. 
They meet a handler guy that manages to dress both of them down, before they tell him that they're looking to hire not to fight so the man goes to get Redbeard. Redbeard of course immediately recognizes them and just nopes out telling them he won't sell them any of his fighters. It doesn't help that Malakai calls him a coward and almost gets in a fist fight with him. 
Party ends up going to the Sluice to seek someone to hire there and notice 2 armored men there that might fit the bill. Party talks with them and the 2 men seem fairly forthcoming so Van takes them out on street and spars with wooden swords with them for a while ending being fairly satisfied. Malakai insists on doing his own test which Van talks him out of. 
They do a bit more negotiation for the wages and end up deciding to split whatever they get 4 ways as payment for now. The two men introduce themselves as Lucius and Titus. Van and them go back to their inn and he explains their plan to rescue Valmont's daughter. 
Malakai somewhat sulkily goes to buy himself a tent and then goes to talk to the town crier learning that Kerak has about 30 men and than he sent a messenger here looking for mercenaries. In trade Malakai tells the crier that Kerak has abducted daughter of Baroness Valmont.
===Saturday, 1509-04-03*===
Everyone reconvenes in the inn and plot how they'll make their way to Anvil, through the mountains and golden plains or a ship. In the end the land route wins so they stock up on rations, water and carriage parts in case theirs breaks and they go on their way.
About an hour out of town the party spot 3 ogres which immediately shout and charge uphill towards the cart. 
Van and the hired men take to the front as Malakai tries out his Fireball spell instantly killing one of the creatures. After multiple missed attacks at the ogres they close and decapitate Lucius in a single hit. Next round they score a few hits on the ogres and then fourth round the dogs each kill their own ogres. Titus mourns his friends death, but with the hill on fire and spreading from Malakai's fireball they are forced to put Lucius's body on carriage instead of burying it. Van hastily loots some gold and the two handed sword from ogre corpses and they leave.
They set down for the night, Malakai pays Jeeves 1 copper to build his tent.
===Sunday, 1509-04-04*===
Night passes uneventfully and they see the end of the hills with the Golden sea plains in front of them now. 
While they're walking Van heals Titus wounds and receives a bear hug in return. 
=== Sunday, 1509-04-05*===
Another peaceful night passes.
Malakai fails Web spell. 
By end of the day they arrive into a forest near the coast. About an hour before sundown the party find the lost temple where they fought the skeletons weeks ago. Titus expresses some hesitation fighting skeletons and angry spirits, but Van reassures him they are good with dealing with the undead. They tell Jeeves to be on guard and enter the temple. 
There they immediately see a couple of giant scorpions picking away at a deer corpse so they back off out of the temple and ready their ranged weapons. Malakai uses monster summoning for the first time summoning 7 kobolds 4 which then get ripped apart the following round. A well placed Entangle binds the scorpions and the party begins their ranged barrage on them which eventually kills all 6 of them.
Titus invigorated by this victory takes the front as they party heads deeper into the temple and then the crypt holding Malakai's staff for its light. 
The crypts aren't very expansive and they eventually find locked metal gates at which point they turn back. No one attacks the party during the night and it passes uneventfully.
===Monday, 1509-04-06* ===
Some magic spell flushing is had which probably blows Titus mind since he hasn't even seen a wizard or spell-casting cleric before. Afterwards they memorize new spells and have some breakfast. Van casts Negative plane protection on himself and Strength on Titus. 
Then into the crypt they go. The broken stone tiles lead them back to the metal gate which they open without an issue, though when Van and Titus try to break it off its hinges both of them fail. Still uneasy about the door closing on them Van continues on into a room with jewellery adorned mummy, Titus quickly besets the corpse, which then causes nearby piles of bones to animate into 7 skeletons. Van uses his Turn undead ability which forces all of them to cover into edges of the room and together with Titus they destroy all of the undead without much issue.  
They loot 4 silver armbands, bronze circlet with jade stones, 2 silver ankle bands with amethyst stones plus there's a holy symbol around its neck that Van is unable to recognize. With 3 failed perception checks the party doesn't find anything else. 
They plan on spending a night nearby so Malakai can cast detect magic the next morning, but as they exit the crypt they see Bear standing over a dead man and Wolf off in the trees. Jeeves tells them that some bandits appeared and the dogs just shredded them. One of the bandits is still alive and begs for his life saying that the dogs attacked first, they extract all of his money and then ask a few questions, he tells them he's from near Shirebrook. 
Van heals his wounded leg and they see him off with some threats. 
===Tuesday, 1509-04-07*===
Next day they detect healing potion hidden in the tomb which they loot as well.
==Experience and changes.==
*Lucius and Titus join the party.
*Lucius is killed fighting ogres.
*Dates are extrapolated from a previous mention of an exact date.
Category:Hardcore Heroes Episodes