Session 30 - End of the Road

*"Your reason is not wrong either, just different." - Autumn to Acaelus*

This is the 30th session of the campaign Ashes.

## Summary

At the top of the session, the Patrons had left the town of Pale Rock, with only the road between them and their destination Rust Port. As they left the village the trio of mercenaries from the previous session approached them. The party decided to slow and see what they wanted, weapons at the ready. The mercs give the Patrons a warning about the road ahead, saying that they don't see many people come back that one, and if they do, it isn't the same people driving the carriage. The Patrons were suspicious about the intentions of the mercs, but they seemed genuinely trying to warn the party. They thanked the mercs and took their leave, as the rainfall became even stronger.

The party eventually had to stop to rest for the evening. They took shifts, Elias and Emeran took the first watch and talked a bit about Elias's recent resurrection (and I don't think anything else happened, sorry I'm a forgetful DM). During the next watch with Themus and Acaelus, the two heard and saw several things. They heard the sounds of dogs barking, and saw just outside their campsite saw dogs approaching after Acaelus cast Light on a branch and chucked it. Acaelus also turned Themus invisible, and Themus quietly approached the dogs to get a better look at them. The dogs had scarring on their faces and had metal hooks dug into their skin. Themus also heard some murmuring nearby but didn't get close enough to hear what it was. The two on watch woke the rest of the party and they discussed what to do next. For the rest of the night, Acaelus would cast light to keep the campsite in vision, and in the next watch, Astraea would do the same. During the third watch with Astraea and Autumn, the pair heard the screams of a woman from up the hillside that the dogs and the murmuring came from. Astraea was able to discern that it was a ploy, fake screaming to cause the party to leave the safety of their dome.

In the morning the party discussed for a time what to do about the group in the hills. Eventually, they decided against climbing the hillside against the mud and rain into a territory that they didn't know, and just continue along the road until they came in contact with the hill people. As they set off on the road they found a gutted pig in the middle of the road, opened up by some kind of weapon. The party pulled the sow off of the road and pressed on. As they continued ahead they came upon a divet in the group and spotted a trap meant to trip up their horses. The party stopped while Themus and Astraea took a look at the trap and disarmed it. The other party members kept lookout. The party saw people beginning to descend from the hills on them, and a fight began. At the beginning of the fight, a contraption set against the hillside was triggered by these hill people, sending a volley of arrows into the horses, the carriage, and the Patrons. The attack wounded several of the party members, turned the carriage into swiss cheese, and killed four of the six horses. The hill people attacking the party wore masks made from pig heads and squealed while attacking them.

The Patrons won the fight, leaving two of the Hill Pigs alive for questioning. They also captured two of the Hill Pigs horses to replace two of their own. The Hill Pigs seemed to attack the party for their goods and they wouldn't give up the location of their hideout but implied that there were many. The party then discussed what to do with the prisoners, with most of the party wanting to kill them, with Autumn expressing his distaste for killing people while they're helpless. The moral question caused some discussion before the group decided to let them go.

After they had let them go Acaelus talked with Autumn about why he wanted to let them go. Themus also talked with Autumn about it, albeit more confrontationally, going as far as calling Autumn's persona fake, and the two agreed to disagree. Eventually, the party made their way down the road and towards the city of Rust Port.

At the end of the session, the party arrived in Rust Port and saw several things. They saw that the town was eerily empty, with every house either boarded up or abandoned. The wind blowing made loud howling sounds, and for a moment cause the carriage to glide slightly. They also heard the wailing of the Hollow Hole Cliffs, as the raging ocean crashed against the cliffs, and the escaping air of the pocked marked cliffs made an uncomfortable wailing almost screaming sound. The quay was filled with destroyed ships piled on top of each other, and near the docks, two figured walked their way to and fro. Out in the water, the party noticed a ship floating just off the coast, intact.