Session 1x3

Session 1x3 took place on 10 Feb, 2021. The players in this block were veerserif, Double A, LaurenDanger, DrWreckage and Veron.

### Summary

The party decided to head north to talk to the refugees on hex 012.023. A poor roll led to the refugees becoming mistrustful, only talking in exchange for food. Through this, the party learned that Myrkul was engaged in some form of blood magic to keep the Blood Mist at bay. The refugees believed him to be in league with the Rust Brothers, but this is very unlikely. The refugees said they were fleeing from Deadhook Fortress, confirming its location on hex 011.021, identifying it as a stronghold of the Iron Guard.

The party then moved southwest to 013.023, encountering a dying Rust Brother. This person was injured and left for dead by their party, and seemed to have come from Faywater. They informed the party that Faywater was home to a demon named IS-MOG THE VOID DESTROYER, and to tell Myrkul that the Rust Brothers were preparing to attack him (and by extension Dryvault). The Rust Brother had on him an ambergris devil pearl and a set of broken studded leather armor.

This information was enough to convince Myrkul to talk directly to the party. He gave the adventurers permission to build in Dryvault in order to fortify it, and provided the party with a series of leads:

* Myrkul named an Raven Sister to the east, who lives with the druids. This person, named Blood-Beak, hates the Rust Brothers and might be useful in the upcoming fight.
* The Orthos Family Crypt, north of Faywater, may hold the Book of the Eye, a Book of Power. Myrkul wants this to boost his power to fend off any attacks.
* Myrkul can use dead bodies as construction material, replacing wood.

The next day, the party headed north to hex 012.022 and were attacked by four coral ghouls. After driving them off, the surrounding coral-spiked landscape - created by the Blood Mist passing through - fell away to reveal a coralhide mask, which Artan recognized as similar to a barkhide helmet. This item would act as a Light Helmet (armor 2), and provide sustenance for the wearer, but cannot be easily removed once worn. Galen identified the pearl as part of IS-MOG's brain, a fact he kept secret from the party. The group then returned to Dryvault and decided to name themselves Pearl Jam.

### In-character tales

#### Bea Naturalis

Hark to the tales of adventure, for we did discover much! The refugees, they will hate us for they dislike Myrkul, and we needed to trade food for information, and they did reveal the Iron Guard of the Rust Brothers have a fortress to the northwest. And we discovered a dying Rust Brother, a shepherd, who confirmed that there is a true and cruel water demon at Faywater. And we have had a meeting with Myrkul to deliver a grave missive that the Rust Brothers mean to send agents against us. And in our further adventures we encountered the remains of the Blood Mist, where weird coral structures had sprouted, and ghoulish creatures did assault us. We fought hard, suffered greatly, but succeeded in destroying the beasts. As the last fell, the coral growth turned to ash and dust, drifting away and leaving the land clean once more. And thus we returned to the inn, weary and needing rest, but having gained much knowledge we shall share with you about the lands around us. Now we shall rest, recover, and more shall be known with the rising of the next sun.

#### Osric's Journal

**1st of Springrise**
At wolf rider Golb’s suggestion, we headed north. Refugees had camped some 10 kilometers downhill from Dryvault. Bea and Artan played music to announce our approach. Likely a wise decision, and a welcome bit of levity to the walk. It’s been quite some time since I’ve head music. The Refugees are headed by an orc woman. She seems capable, and rightly suspicious of strangers. She believes the sorcerer Myrkull to be in league with the Rust Brothers. *Several lines of writing appear to be scratched out.*

Galen and the minstrels tried to convince the refugees that we were of no threat and that Dryvault might be safer than open ground, but his dancing offended the Chieftess. Golb, Artan, and I traded food to their meagre supplies in exchange for rumors. I honestly just wanted to help the kids eat a solid meal.

They say Myrkull uses an engine consuming bodies to combat the mist. They also say he’s responsible for the creation of wolves with human hands that roam the land. Who knows if any of it is true. The rumors about blood mist and Rust Brothers in a fortress to the North is likely a more solid bet. The Iron Guard in Dead Hook are to be avoided at all costs.

Golb led us South-East as we left the camp. We were low on food from the trade and needed to hunt for more supplies. We found a Rust Brother dying in the snow around midday. His wounds were frozen over. It was clear he was attacked by something… unnatural. As I fed him snow to quench his thirst, he begged me to make sure he did not rise again. I spent the afternoon preparing a pyre for him. Galen gleaned that his wounds were due to the water demon in Faywater, IS-MOG THE VOID DESTROYER. He said he bore the beast no ill will for his fate. “He did the right thing.” I wonder what he meant by that. There was also a legend about a dwarven prince and an elf who fell in love, but the elf’s family sealed them beneath a grove tree and forced the elf to watch her beloved die.

He died shortly after dusk. No name he wanted remembered. His thoughts clearly elsewhere. He did have a message for the sorcerer Myrkull. “My brother’s know what you’re up to. You’re in danger.” I placed him on the pyre after the others checked him for useful equipment, and I sent the Death Shepard to whatever awaits us beyond the veil.

A decision was made to return home through the night rather than press further. Bea setting the tent up in an ant run in addition to the ominous message for Myrkull forced our hand on that front.

**2nd of Springrise**
After a bit of rest, we convinced the innkeeper Voarni to relay the dying shepard’s message to the sorcerer. Much to our surprise, Myrkull appeared and summoned us into his tower. The walk was… unsettling. He used some kind of magic to transport us. The marble of his chambers was flecked with veins leading to some kind of heart. The machine to combat the mist. Myrkull spoke of plans needing advancing. A Book of the Eye that must be recovered. The book is something about monsters, and is located somewhere north of the lake upon which Faywater sits in the Crypt of the Orthos family. Myrkull seems to not only know of the demon but know it personally. He says it’s best avoided. I’d tend to agree. The sorcerer noted a number of dangers in the area, namely harpies. There was also talk of a druid and his elven companion, Bloodbeak, a raven sister who may help us against a Rust Brother attack. Lastly, we were instructed to fortify the settlement against attack, and granted permission to construct whatever is needed. “If you bring me corpses, I can give you bone as good as wood.” I understand why the refugees were fearful of him.

We set out late in the following day. The refugees appear to have moved on. The blood mist we avoided yesterday left behind this strange rocky growth, not quite alive or dead. The same could be said about the shambling creatures that ambushed us from the growths. After a furious battle, the four monsters were strewn about, and an elven coral mask was left behind. Between this mask and the pulsing pearl found on the dead Rust Brother, we’d acquired 2 strange artifacts in as many days.

Despite whatever triumphs we may have had, our injuries necessitated a retreat to Dryvault, so we returned home.

#### Artan's song

*Pearl Jam Presents: Tales of the Forbidden Lands*

Oh come around all and gather near,

bear witness to the fallen here.

In broken coat and rusted robes,

a Ghost Shepherd himself goes.

Abandoned by his friends untrue,

his side was torn and frozen through.

With dying breath he named his killer:

IS-MOG, THE VOID DESTROYER.

"Stumbled upon the poor fellow on our walk around town, would you believe? Bought us an audience with Myrkul, who mentioned he had a history with the Demon of Faywater. Said this was a portent of imminent attack by the Rust Brothers. The sorcerer gave us quite the list of things to do. He told us to go look for a white-haired Raven Sister called Blood-Beak, with the druids in the forests. Best to find friends in the fight against the Rust Brothers, he said. Then, he said something about a magical Book of the Eye in the mountains north of the lake, in the Orthos family crypt. Then, he gave us permission to start building in town to fortify it. Wait - where are you going with that hammer?"

"Anyway, next day, we run into a nasty patch of these slithery vine stalkers. They left a weird mask too - made of coral, but it reminded me of the old barkhide helmets the elves used to sing about. Looks a lot nastier and more painful to bind to, though. Then Galen up and says this odd pearl we found with the dead Rust Brother is a part of IS-MOG? This'll all make for a great song, for sure."

#### Golb's report

We went in a fucking circle.

We went north and found those refugees, but they weren't very friendly (couldn't possibly have been the sexomancer dance). They got some food outta us, and we got some information outta them: the Iron Guard are holed up in Dead Hook Fortress which protects the northern route into Alderstone (11.21). We went southwest, narrowly avoiding a small mudslide waiting to happen thanks to me, and took on some provisions, as well as the dying words of a Rust Brother. We cremated him, like he wanted, and got some kinda disgusting pearl, his worn armor, and a whole stick to boot. We couldn't make camp without a bunch of damn ants getting in the way so we decided to just go back to Dryvault and spend the night indoors. Somehow met the goddamn sorcerer and told him how the Rust Brothers "know what he's up to," which prompted him to tell us to go grab a book, that druid and his raven sister "companion," and build a wall while we're at it. He ever so kindly offered to mulch whatever corpses we turn up to turn them into wood. What a guy.

We headed north that afternoon, after cooking our provisions, but got waylaid by some freakish undead coral I spotted stalking us at the last minute. Osric held two of them off while the rest of us dogpiled another. It fell to my wolf just as a fourth emerged from the blood mist coral polyp whateverthefucks. The fourth one nearly felled my wolf, but we pulled through, didn't we, boy? After it went down to a companion's knife blow, I slid off my wolf and took aim with my bow. A third monstrosity went down to Osric's desperate blows as I feathered the last one. He picked up a crazy magic mask that might feed and protect you or might just curse you and we went on our merry way home.

So yeah. Two fucking circles.

1. ↑ Osric's Journal