Session 5x5

Session 5x5 occurred on 7 Apr 2021. The players were Ghost (Harlac Wayfinder), LannGeal(Fitz) (Ayute), LaurenDanger (Bea Naturalis), Susan (Rosallia Gravenfoot) and Veron (Osric). Their goal was to stock up on rarer goods and explore Weatherstone and possibly recover the sword known as Rustbite.

## Summary

Our party went from Dryvault to Wolfstone Redoubt to look for a lyre, and none were available. Sale is banned due to stone singer conflicts. We then moves west and were assaulted by shambling vines! They surprised us, but we managed to fight them off. There was a spore attack that left many of us less agile for some time.

We moved south through the mountains, avoiding a troll that was cooking another troll for a late breakfast, and then we arrived at King Algorod's fortress. We made camp but it was unsettled by the aura of the place, and while we met a new friend named Dalb, a middle aged minstrel who was there to meet his friend who was exploring the site with other adventurers. We also discovered a strange glow from a tower when darkness fell, and fear attacks washed over us.

The next morning, after a dying dwarf fled from the fortress, the fate of the other adventurers did not seem a kind one. Rosallia identified the festering gut wound as scorpion acid, and a giant creature obviously resided within. She sent a golem to explore, which sprung a trap that launched a spear. When the construct returned with bloodied feet, it was clear that the fate of the others was indeed dire. So we decided to return to Dryvault. Of note on the way home: no sign of the flagellants or anyone else could be seen around the Dread Keep or in the valley before it.

## In-character tales

### Bea's Tale

As told by Bea Naturalis, Minstrel

Harken to the tale of a journey to Weatherstone, our return to seek out the secrets of this secluded fortress long ago left for haunted.

Rosallia organised our adventure, and I happily joined along with Osric, Ayute and Harlac. We would explore this ruin and perhaps find the fabled sword Rustbite within. Such a plan speaks of daring, of risk, of possible doom, but we were well committed to the endeavour.

We travelled from Dryvault to Wolfstone Redoubt in search of a lyre for Rosallia, but none were to be had. Such items are outlawed for sale at this time due to the duels of stone singers over a wall that blocks the wind, but then blocks the sight of others.

We left to travel south, but along the road we were ambushed by strangling vines! They were dispatched easily enough but one released spores and many of us were laid low for an hour, balance and movement made difficult from the strange poison.

We made camp and that evening met an elf and his retinue, one Jochu, he named himself, and while he shared little with us, he did tell that he and his fellow elves were on the road to Wolfstone to find glory. I would surmise they may pledge their service to liberate Wailer’s Hold.

As the clear morning found us, we headed south, managing to avoid a troll that seemed to be cooking another troll! We wanted no trouble with such a cannibal and fled, moving to Weatherstone!

But such a place has its own curses, and fear radiates with a strange glow when night falls. It tormented us, broke some of us, yet somehow we endured until the morning and found sleep. Our fearlessness helped us fight back, but it was still a strenuous attempt.

We did meet a minstrel named Dalb, who had casually strolled into our camp thinking it belonged to his friend Esgar. But sadly, we had not seen anyone else outside of the fortress since our arrival. We shared that camp, and Dalb seemed to be untroubled by the fears that tried to pry their wat into our brains.

The next morning while some of us rested after a night of fighting the terrors aimed at our minds, a dwarf emerged from Weatherstone. It bore no beard but did have a gaping wound filled with bubbling venom. Rosallia was merciful in ending the fellow’s misery and was able to determine the wound was caused by a giant scorpion. Dalb confirmed that it was a follower of his friend Esgar.

Thus, Rosallia used her stone singing to bring a golem to life and sent it across the moat and into the gate. A mechanical trap was sprung, and a spear lodged itself into the construct, which did it no harm. It returned with blood-stained feet, a clear sign that something foul likely befell the other adventurers who had arrived before us.

We decided we were unprepared to take on the task, but we had learned more. For those who return to try and find the sword, scorpions and a fear demon will be powerful foe to battle against, and much planning will be needed to overcome the challenges of Algorod’s Fortress.

### Harlac Wayfinder's Tale

We depart from Wolfstone Redoubt and proceed towards Weatherstone. I'm glad to leave the dwarven "politics" behind. The temple has banned Lyre sales? Too many stonesingers causing problems, apparently. Ayute getting drunk and melancholic didn't help. We get ambushed by a pair of strangling vines on the road. We take them down easy enough, but not before most of us are poisoned with a paralytic. Luckily it wears off fairly quickly. However as we rest in camp, we are encountered by a party of beleaguered elves. Bea invites them to share camp with us. Jochu their leader is a bit put off by Osric, but that's not particularly surprising. Ayute chats with some of the men at arms and learns that they 'cannot return home' and are 'seeking glory' in Wolfstone Redoubt. Rosallia attempts to convince Jochu to join us. but he declines. We head into the mountains [19.23] and find our path blocked by a troll. It seems to be cooking... something in a stewpot. It looks like... a piece of another troll? Gross in many ways. We try to avoid it while it is distracted. For a moment it seems to hear us, but then decides it just heard the wind and we make it past.

We stop outside of Weatherstone to set up camp. As I am busy setting up camp, Rosallia spots a traveler headed through the mountains towards the tower we are in. His name is Dalb, a wandering minstrel looking for a friend that intended to explore Weatherstone. The central tower glows periodically filling many of us with dread, preventing sleep. I am filled with anxiety, but Bea sings a gentle song and I find sleep in the morning. When I wake, there is a dead dwarf in camp - beardless, his belly rotting from what Rosallia says was a scorpion sting, and a broken neck. Rosallia apparently had a busy morning, using some magic I didn't see to determine that there were traps in the main entrance. With some of us struggling with the foul horror of the place and the main route in being deemed too dangerous under the circumstances, we decide to return to Dryvault to plan a new attempt in the future. I'm not happy leaving so soon, but I'm also not so foolish to go in by myself. Dalb decides to follow us back to Dryvault. He is clearly no warrior, and would obviously only add to the death toll if he went in after his friend.

### Osric's Tale

We searched everywhere for a Lyre to help Rosallia sing us into Weatherstone. Nothing in Dryvault. Nothing in Wolfstone. Ayute got drunk so we left to keep him from drowning himself. The road should've been easy, but we were set upon by stranglevines that sprayed poison everywhere upon death. Everyone but me ended up paralyzed for the better part of an hour. Some elves came down the road at night. Looked noble but no banners. Rather predictably they weren't fans of Heme's blessing but Bea managed to convince them I wouldn't eat their souls while they slept. We went our separate ways in the morning. A troll was cooking another troll in a pot in the mountains north of Weatherstone. We decided that was best avoided. Weatherstone itself was... uneventful. Rosallia spotted a man as we set up camp. He came over and introduced himself as Dalb. Told a bunch of stories, seemed interested in Harlac and I being Hydra Slayers and wanted to know our plan for infiltrating the fortress. We tried to get some sleep but the demonic wailing and lights from one of the keeps unsettled most everyone else. Harlac and Ayute were especially unnerved. Bea did her best to encourage them and they all got some sleep as morning came. While they slept a beardless dwarf came stumbling into camp with horrid scorpion wounds. Rosallia put him out of his misery. Dalb seemed to recognize the poor sod but didn't say much. Rosallia and I started to have our doubts about the current approach so she sent a golem into the fort to scout. It got a spear lodged into its head, probably a trap. When the others woke we decided to fall back to Dryvault. The Dread Keep was empty as we passed. Once home, Rosallia made me a new axe to replace the one I'd damaged against the stranglevines. All in all the information was valuable.

### Rosallia's Tale

We have yet again been unable to breach Weatherstone, yet this setback is not without its benefits. With aid of a Golem, I now know the entrance is thoroughly trapped. My golem returned coated in blood and with a spear in its head, the sound of gears moving the only warning. We will have to go over the walls in some fashion. Further we now know that Cave Scorpions of some sort in habit the area, perhaps in the fortress. Their toxin is extremely deadly, but they can be tamed to use as mounts. Lastly we have learned that one of the castle towers pulsates with energy and causes effects not unlike the Hydra song, though without the audio that is so easily blocked. I intend to return with those who are willing to scale the walls and risk never leaving, we shall liberate this castle or become part of its horde. With any luck this book on scorpions will be of aid and I may tame one (or more) of the cave scorpions to use as mounts, they would make a nice guard for this place while it is being repaired if nothing else.