Session 0.5

**Previous: Main Story 10: Needs Prep**

**Next: Main Story 11: The End/ginning?**

**Recap:**

* Everyone wakes up to the strange sight of orange rock walls about a hundred feet high on either side of them, and find yourselves among a group of strangers, but quickly remember your companions. [name/describe them]. After a moment, you recall memories of many days’ travel through the desert in search of the Dust Caravan’s hidden base, rationing the small amount of water you have remaining after the giant desert worm destroyed most of it, and your fights with gnolls, large bugs who ate metal, and a succubus who nearly seduced Lysandre. The memories are hazy, as if years have passed since those events, but they come back stronger each moment.
* Then, you’re reminded of memories of powerful beings: The Silver-Tongued Serpent, the leader of The Silvertongues who commands great power but the party knows little about; Kiaranselee, the leader of Valhurst, who has replaced one of her hands with a powerful artifact called the Hand of Vecna; and an evil being whose name must never be uttered, who took the soul of an old friend and is now pursuing much more sinister goals.

**Begin sesh**

Once the party gets moving, they will have a few hours of travel before meeting a small group of gnolls escorting some captives. They'll be arriving at a junction in the canyons where their path meets the party's. The captives will be any new players that are joining, as well as a Silvertongue spy disguised as a Redwynnian commoner (half-elf male, Cade Pike, goes by "Pike").

* Encounter: 1 Gnoll Deathmage, 3 Witherlings, 3 Gnolls, 2 gnoll flesh gnawers
	+ Party members have green borders, enemies have red borders, allies have blue borders. NPCs with the same mini color are the same type of enemy.
		- Deathmage: driving the front cart, red gem color
		- Witherlings: walking with the carts, black metal color
		- Gnolls: walking with the carts, orange metal color
		- Gnawers: up on the rocks, red gem color
	+ The deathmage gives commanding orders to the gnolls, it is who commands the flesh gnawers to flank after they inform her of the party's presence and who orders a retreat
	+ Medium encounter for 6 lv8's, and knowing this party medium = baby mode.
	+ Any new party members who are introduced as captives, their basic gear will be in the gnolls' cart. Pike will grab a (+1) staff from the cart and join the fight. He's a pretty high level warlock (**Warlock of Fiend**) but will be holding back to disguise how strong he is, and won't cast any spells. Passive/active insight DC 18 to notice he's holding back.
	+ 2 of the gnolls will attempt to flee towards the hideout to warn them of the party, and the deathmage will try to interfere with any party members who try to stop them. There are precarious rocks hanging over a suspiciously narrow section of the canyon.

Pike will act like a civilian normally would when being saved from murderous gnolls, and will claim to be a monk of [the monk sect in Redwyn, the one Tobias was from] and that he has some basic combat training. Passive/active insight DC 18 to realize he's not being truthful.

Party will have to camp another night. The next day, they will arrive at the Dust Caravan lair. It's a large cave opening at the intersection of two canyons in an X shape.