Session 5x4

Session 5x4 occurred on 6 Apr 2021. The players were Big Spoon (Tyriok), Veron (Osric), veerserif (Otilar), Silvyr (Valdenar) and Theos (Skarn). Their goal was to enact an amphibious assault on the kobold village in 019.018.

## Summary

The group began by constructing additional canoes in Ravenshrine. On their first night there, a kobold assault was launched, lead by a Troll. The assault was repelled, but the watchtower was destroyed. A second assault, this time a squad of 20 kobolds, was also repelled.

The party traveled by boat north along the river. While travelling, they met two travellers from Deerscar. The travellers described the Deerscar as being plagued by both a beast that attacks in the night, and by a string of murders.

Continuing along the river to 019.018, the group discovered a kobold settlement home to hundreds in and under the roots of enormous trees. The party snuck into the settlement, but were discovered just outside the hole of the kobold leader. They were forced to fight their way inside, where they discovered the kobold leader being controlled by a demon fragment glowing with a pale green light. With the kobold leader was a giant mantis creature. Wasting no time, the party jumped upon the leader and mantis, slaying them both. The party recovered a pile of weapons and gems from the mantis creature's possessions.

Several things were learned regarding the mantis creature:

* They are shapeshifting creatures, taking humanoid form except during the full moon, at which point they appear in mantis form.
* Despite being monstrous, they are considered non-monsters in combat.
* Their natural weapons contain a lethal (strength damage) venom.
* This mantis carried trade goods and a trading rug almost identical to Glain's. This, along with Glain's periodic disappearances, indicate that he may also be a mantis creature.

Skarn learned the following about the green gem which controlled the kobold leader:

* It is a fragment of a demon, similar to the pearl of IS-MOG found by Galen.
* It has the ability to mind control victims, in the fashion of the Puppeteer spell.
* Touching it will expose you to its mind control effects.
* Victims of the demon can be spotted by a pale green glow around their eyes.

## In-character tales

### Osric's tale

Valdenar was right to get help with Ravenshire's kobold problem. The night after we arrived the watchtower was shattered by a troll thrown tree. Skarn barely escaped the lookout post with his life, but in the ensuing battle we killed the beast and scattered the raiders. The next day Otilar spotted scouts preparing for a second wave, so we set an ambush. Valdenar played as bait while the rest of us waited for our chance. The fight was furious but quick. I held a flank to guard Skarn and Otilar while Tyriok and Valdenar cleaned up on the other side. Breaking their vanguard forced a second retreat. They did not return the following night. During the day between raids we managed to fashion two extra canoes to take us down the river. We made camp across the river from where we suspected the source of the kobolds lay. Valdenar and Tyriok met a few travelers. I didn't ask about the details. In the morning we crossed and scouted the settlement. I must admit we were trepidatious about facing hundreds of the creatures, but our planning was interrupted by a flash of light and a thunderous crash from a nearby tree structure. Suspecting foul magics, we crept closer hoping to take them by surprise. Luck wasn't with us though, as a kobold walked right into us and sounded the alarm. We charged the structure and witnessed a kobold shaman and some kind of massive insect like creature doing business in the depths of the cave beneath the roots. Rushing into the fray being what we do best, Valdenar, Tyriok, and I felled all the elite guards in but a moment. Skarn warned us of the gem in the shaman's hand. "The magic of Demons," he called it. Valdenar made quick work of both the shaman and its gem, cutting the arm at the shoulder in a single swing before impaling it. The insect devoured the gem from the floor and turned to face us, but Tyriok felled it with two mighty blows. The rest of the kobolds scattered at the sight of the severed heads. We collected our treasure and left.

### Tyriok's tale

We started our journey in Ravenshrine, cutting wood to build canoes, unable to get enough wood the first night, we camped in the shrine. During the night the kobolds attacked the town, starting the attack, a troll throwing a tree through the top of the watchtower where Skarn was keeping a lookout, luckily he was able to leap from the tower before it was damaged. We organized a defense, with Osric and I taking down the troll while the others kept the villagers safe from the marauding kobolds.

Otilar spotted their scouts the next day, and we used that fore-warning to ambush them at the river, easily driving off another attack. Using the tree graciously provided to us by the troll, we were able to craft a couple of canoes giving us a total of three that we used to travel down river past Cask to where we believed the kobold nest to be. When we camped for the night we spotted smoke from another campfire, meeting a pair of travelers from Deerscar, Beca and Chony, an orc herbalist and wolfkin respectively, they recognized me as one of the Hydra Slayers. I think Chony might have lost someone in Cragfall as they seemed disappointed by the news that we did not find any survivors. We parted ways to venture into the deep woods of the Grovewood, easily following the irrigation trench the kobolds had dug from the river into their camp. It wasn’t just a camp however as there were many, many kobolds here, living in caves and hollows under several towering trees.

We saw an eerie green light emanating from the tree surrounded in skulls that we assumed to be where their leader resided. Trying to sneak in we were discovered just outside the tree and dashed inside, we quickly overpowered the guards outside the “throneroom” as it were, but inside there was some kind of Insect creature speaking with the Kobold chieftain, both of their eyes were glowing with the same green light we saw earlier, and the chieftain had a large glittering green gem in his hand.

Skarn called out a warning that it was some sort of demon gem. Valdenar charged the kobold, cutting off the arm holding the gem and then finishing the Kobold off, the gem clattered to the floor and the insect immediately picked it up and swallowed it. I charged in towards the insect monster, cutting off one of its appendages with my first swing and then with the second cut took its head. Lucky I did too as we learned later when Osric was cutting the gem from it’s stomach that it had some really nasty poison. We took what we could from this place, mostly weapons and gems and with the head of their leader and this insectoid monster we were able to intimidate our way past the leaderless kobolds back to our canoes.

### Valdenar's tale

I was right to insist that we address the Kobold threat. Their obsession with Ravenshrine was not natural. Within two nights we repelled two assaults on behalf of the people there as we laboured to complete boats to take us downstream.

The kobolds were influenced by an insidious force - a Demonic entity which commanded them through a totemic not unlike Galen's pearl. It was fortunate that Fate smiled upon me and I was able to sever the gem from the shaman's grasp or else I fear I, too, might have come under its spell. Even more disturbing was the fact that the horrifying creature we slew is, according to Skarn, a shapeshifter who could appear human when the moon does not reveal its true form. It seems that trust must come and go with Eor, now...

Still, our victory was a great triumph! Surely it was Raven who guided our path, for our foolish bravery should probably have ended in our deaths. The people of Ravenshrine are saved, the way to the east and north are open for now. This time, at least, I have done my duty as Champion. Seeing Osric and Tyriok in battle, however, has shown that I must still train more to master the blade that has been placed in my hand. Fate may guide me, but it is up to me to complete the appointed task.

### Skarn's notices

Two notices are posted on the Dryvault bulletin board:

BOATS

3 Boats are available for use to adventurers going through Ravenshrine:
Hope, Trollsbane†, and Stonekeel‡

Each seats 2, with extra storage for gear.
Feel free to use them at your leisure.

† Trollsbane is heavier than the others. I recommend you don't portage it.

‡ Not actually made of stone.

DEMONIC POSSESSION: KNOW THE SIGNS

PALE GREEN LIGHT has been associated with DEMONIC POSSESSION.

If you see an object glowing with pale green light, follow these steps:

1. Above all, DO NOT TOUCH THE OBJECT.
2. Avoid staring directly at the object.
3. Alert the nearest spellcaster of the danger. not galen

Possessed victims usually present with glowing aura around the eyes.
Any such persons should be approached with EXTREME CAUTION.

### Otilar's tale

Alright, if you want to hear what happened, you've got to promise you won't tell Glain...

We were trying to keep our word to Ravenshrine, and tracked the kobolds to their camp. We snuck into the largest structure, a huge tree decorated with human skulls and glowing an eerie green, and got to a huge chamber. We had disturbed a meeting between the kobold leader and a mantis... \*thing\*, in a room surrounded by weapons. The entire chamber was lit in that same sickly green, and it came from a glowing gem in the kobold leader's hand.

Before I could so much as ready my sling, the others charged in, swords raised. Osric held off the guards on our left, while Tyriok, greatsword raised, charged down the middle and cleaved a kobold clean in two on the way. Skarn conjured up a blizzard of stones, bludgeoning the mantis and the kobold leader, fending them off long enough for Valdenar to lop off the kobold leader's hand.

It screeched only once before Valdenar buried his broadsword into the thing's torso. Not missing a beat, the mantis-thing pounced on the severed hand and ate it, gem and all. Osric and Tyriok turned to face it, swords drawn. They made quite the pair, one clad in gold plate and the other in craggy coral. Osric batted its razor-sharp forelimbs away, clearing the way for Tyriok to land the killing blow. The damn thing crunched like an oversized beetle as it died, collapsing into a twitching heap.

Skarn busied himself with identifying the magic coming from the obviously dangerous gem. He said that thing was demon-tainted, and mind-controlling the kobolds into attacking Ravenshrine. My guess is that the mantis had given it to the kobolds, for whatever strange reason, and it wanted to take it back. It had also been supplying the kobolds with arms and armor, and -- *Otilar leans closer, and begins whispering.* This is the bit you can't tell Glain.

We were packing up the weapons to go when we realized the rugs they were lying on look just like Glain's. Same textile, similar patterns. You know how he's never here on the full moon? Well, it was a full-moon-night when we attacked the kobolds and their mantis master. Osric chopped the damned mind-controlling gem out of its corpse. Nothing good can come of dealing with such dangerous beings. How did it even get its hands on a thing like that?

*Otilar leans back, voice returning to a normal volume.* Anyway, we loaded up our spoils and came right back. Help yourselves to the pile of weapons! And may the sun shine warm on your next venture.