Session15

## RECAP

-You agreed to take on a quest for the guild master miss Salem, in exchange for a direct promotion to C class for those in your party who did not have badges, and a promotion to B class upon completion.

-Your mission is two fold. Figure out why the teleportation circle in Delzimmer has stopped functioning and attempt to fix it. Investigate the underchasm and attempt to find the portal when it opens and prevent it from becoming stable.

-In order to get to the location you ascertained the quickest route would be through the yellow springs. A mystical event that happens every decade or so near the town of Yhaunn. After chatting with Isabella attempting to figure out some kind of plan to deal with Julias, the eldest son of the Estavana's who is black mailing you to somehow subvert the current favourite son Vincents position. She agreed to run interference and buy you some time for a month or two until you return.

-You visited the monthly auction obtaining some free items and powerful gear, as well as upsetting a noble from the dukedom of buldars gate while Vizize worked tirelessly setting up a doorway that would allow you to return home swiftly should your plans to fix the portal fail.

-After getting some supplies and touching base with the church you headed out, getting caught in an ambush by ronald the noble who you upset at the auction house. However despite Vizize being incredibly exhausted and Falith being stuck in a state of meditation you still bested and eventually killed him and retrieved a journal of an adventurer who had successfully passed through the yellow springs as well as a bunch of helpful information that might prove to be invaluable.

## The Journey

Continuing your journey toward Yhaunn, it seems mostly uneventful. Other than the occasional timid small beast that approaches your campfire at night out of curiosity you find no issues. though that is to be expected now that you are out of the deep forest and along the main road.

On the morning of your second day of journey just about as you reach a junction in the road, one path heading **South East** going to **Yhaunn**, and one path heading **directly East** to S**cardale** you can see just barely make out in the distance a few kilometers to the north toward a small forest, there is some smoke rising up from above the tree tops. To small to be a forest fire, but too big to be a camp fire. **(roll perception of 15 reveals a few glinting lights that shoot up into the sky occasionally, hang for a moment and then decend (firearrows))**

## Town of Halm

Are you get closer the lights are quickly revealed to be flaming arrows, and a small town no bigger than 50 or so houses, half of which have been destroyed are on fire quickly comes into a view. There is a small makeshift barrier that borders the town which has mostly been destroyed or removed and the sounds of shouting and clashing of steel occasionally rings out towards the edge near a large gap in the barrier. Getting a little closer now you can see 4 large blue skinned creatures in tattered hoods dragging a few men who are tied together by their feet away from the city toward the west around 200 feet away. Some of the men appear dead, some merely unconscious. You can also see another 4 of the creatures guarding the exit preventing anyone from following.

At the exit there are no soldiers, only a few elder women and children crying and not daring to attempt to pass them, however a young boy no older than 10 charges at them with a short sword while screaming, "I won't let you take my dad." However with no effort at all the blue skinned creature smashes him the back of the sword and he's sent flying back skidding along the dirt and rolling to a stop struggling to breath while the creature says in giant ("*Small thing, you have no meat. Grow big quickly so when I come back I can eat you*").

***(What are you doing, to the exit or attempting to catch up to the blue skins that are leaving with the men (stelathy not stealthy))***

COMBAT 4 ONI

If the players go after the blue skins that are leaving the ones that are guarding will come to help to try let the oni escape.

* the oni can be negotiated with if they feel they are going to lose, they'll take a months worth of meat and leave.

## after combat

* regardless of whether or not the players manage to save the people being taken away the town will attempt to persuade the players to rescue the ones that were taken previously.

* if the players did save the people, a middle age woman runs past them to men who were being dragged away crying and grabbing a hold of one of the young men while a few other villagers help the rest untie the ones that are still alive.
* if the players didn't save the people a middle age woman runs past them and chases after the direction of the blue skins that had made their way into the deeper forests to the west ignoring the shouts of the townsfolk for her to stop

After a few moments some of the village folk surround you to thank you and you can hear a few cheers and people calling. You immediately notice that there are no men at all, only small or elderly women and young boys and girls. You see an incredibly old and fragile looking woman in plain white ceremonial robes a young maid in one hand and a walking cane in another supporting her as she makes her way toward you very slowly and you can tell each step for her is painful. When she reaches you she gingerly and with great difficulty takes a knee and starts to bow before you placing both her knees and her head down on the floor. A few of the village folk tell her she doesn't need to lower herself to do this but she ignores them.

"Please save my people, I can see you're C class adventurers you must be powerful".

--SHE struggles to stand back up. ***(CHIEF SALLY AGNIS)***

* a few weeks ago strange blue skinned people invaded their village and took a lot of the biggest men and a few larger women.
* we sent out people to search for them and found no traces, and we had never seen creatures like this before and they're definitely not from around here, we assumed they were just passing through. So we mourned our losses and moved on. People dying to monsters occasionally happens in a small village like ours. We thought that was the end of it.
* However today they attacked again, they must be hiding nearby and treating us like cattle. Please I beg of you find their lair and put an end to them so they can't hurt anyone else.
* **(reward)** We are only a small poor village. We don't even have enough money to keep ourselves fed through the winter most years but we have set aside some small change over the past few decades for a rainy day. We can offer you 50 gold pieces if you do this for us.
* **(information)** they take their people to the west. They can't be more than a few hours away and they are likely hidden in a cave or tunnel as they tend to prefer to keep the people they capture alive. Which means they must be being held somewhere.

## Searching for clues

**(dc 12 survival)** You find heavy footfalls that lead out toward a narrow path through the forrest. Following the signs of tracks and the broken trees and branches you eventually come out into a clearing by the edge of a tall cliff around 30 feet high. The tracks seem to suddenly just stop.

**(dc 16 investigation)** retracing the footsteps and paying more attention something odd seems to be off with the footsteps. At first there was only the 4 sets and the drag marks but eventually a few of those people seem to stand up and walk by themselves. There are no signs they seem to be struggling. Furthermore when where you thought the tracks just ended before they were actually getting lighter and lighter for a few steps before eventually disappearing.

**(survival 16)** the hardened cliff face exterior would likely have a tunnel or cave system in it at some point along the cliff face. However it would probably take some time find.

Near the top of the cliff face you spot a small hole, barely large enough for a person to climb through. You have no idea how or even if the large creatures you saw could get in or out of such a small entrance.

* entrance is covered with thick metal bars that block the way in. It's pitch black inside.
* inside is a long winding tunnel
* after a minute or two you arrive at a junction point what appears to be 3 different pathways

* 1 to your left, one straight ahead, and one to your right.

To your left path you find it opens up a little wider, you can faintly see along the old damp stone and dirt walls a few scratch marks where somehow has dug a sharp object across the walls numerous times passing up and down the hall. At the end you find 5)

Taking the path down the centre it's more or less a straight line before eventually you come upon 4)

* **1)** Trip wire with log trap.
* **2)** Trip wire attached to a bunch of old metal cans, some form of make shift alarm.
* **3)** Pit trap opens up revealing sharpened sticks and rocks.
* **4)** You come across a wooden door embedded in the left side of the dirt wall. It appears to be some kind of make shift room. The path also seems to continue on ahead of you further.
* - Inside are a bunch of disheveled humans and a Tielfing wearing old tattered hoods sleeping in some shitty looking beds. (Perception 22: notices that strangley the hoods are the same kind the blue skins were wearing)
* - The blue skins are shape shifted into human form and will pretend to play along with the adventurers before ambushing them. 4 Oni.
* **5)** A thick wooden door is embedded in a dirt wall and a few make shift planks. Between the planks you can see behind a 15ft dark room, you can make out the sounds of crushing coming from the corner just outside of your vision.
* -inside is a large blue skin like the ones you saw earlier, except without a hood and a little larger than the others, across his back and arms appear to be numerous closed eyes. (combat oni, 1d4 random eye per turn, each eye castsmagic missles level 1 at a random person as well as a normal attack action)
* 300g 2200 silver, a fine piece of a silk holding a petal of a purple lotus (an incredibly rare alchemy ingredient), 2 chunks of adamantite, some fine silverware, a golden challice, and a diamond worth 1000g.
* **6**) (IF THE PLAYERS SAVED PEOPLE THERE IS ONLY 1 PRISONER HERE) At the end of the tunnel you find a steel cell door blocking your way further, through the doors you can see a few cowering humans in the corner. One of the more braver ones shouts out as you approach "Come on you blue skinned freaks, you can eat me but I won't make it easy for you, I hope you choke on my bones you pieces of shit".
* **They think you're playing tricks because the blue skins can change form (persuasion 14)**

Returning back to the small village with the survivor(s) there are many cries of joy and a few cries of sadness as obviously not everyone had survived and those still holding out hope are met with the bitter reality. Still the mood is generally one of joy and relief. The old village chief looks at you with gratitude and thanks you.

"Without knowing any of us, or knowing what you were getting into you came to our village and offered your help. Each of you is kind and noble and a testament the goodness in the world. Every one of us here owes you a life debt." She holds out her hands which are weathered, wrinkled and shaking not out of fear but just the ravages of time. Inside her palms are the 50g in various small pieces of bronze and silver.

(If the players do not take the reward) "You truely are kind. Come with me. I have something for you that is of no use to me but will probably be helpful for you". She painfully slowly walks toward her house in the center of the village. Inside she motions by a rug in the centre of the room.

"Do an old lady a favour and lift up that rug for me".

Lifting off the rug it reveals a few loose floorboards.

"This village was originally founded by my ancestors. He was a knight of a royal family and was bequeethed this land. This his armor. It's a family heirloom but I have no use for it."

Beneath the floorboards you can see a beautifully ornate set of golden gilded plate armor, a blazing phoenix is engraved across the front chest with inlaid rubies for eyes. While the armor is clearly very old it has been incredibly well taken care of, cleaned an oiled to prevent rusting. (+1 plate armor).

"Take it with you. It's the least I can do for all you have done for us.".