Chapter 21: You Can't Go Home Again

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About the Saga

Months have passed since the Griffins Guild's newest adventurers entered into the Verdant Waste hoping to kill a dragon. With the deed done, the heroes returned home, but found that months -- rather than days -- had passed in the world outside the Waste. The city of Obsidian Bay has grown tremendously while they were away, and the mage Robertson is looking to hold a wizardly conclave to discuss matters of arcane import. For that to happen, he needs the heroes to find a reclusive magic user named Jarogos and convince him to return to the city.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

  • None

What Has Come Before

The dragon known as the Green Blight has been defeated, and its hoard claimed by the heroes of the Griffins Guild and their allies. They are now headed back into a world untouched by the strange energies of the Feywild.

The Saga

Ready'reat 2, CY 515

Burgell and company return from the Verdant Waste (sans Tanevir and Shump Bloodoath) to find a Griffins Landing far different than they had left. Upon asking one of the local rubes busy bringing in his harvest, you learn that it is now the 2nd of Ready'reat 515, six months in the future from when they left, a strange effect of the Feywild's random time distortion.

Burgell and Telthanas go to make report to the Griffins Guild, and meet the guild's new Head of Intelligence, an elven mage named Domin Nightdreamer (later the father of Thom Silverbow in the Dark City Campaign), and are brought up to speed on the happenings of the last six months, such as a rise in petty crimes by street gangs, problems with sea travel due to pirates and an active hurricane season, and the need for a more professional and better skilled class of adventurers trained in trap-finding and locksmithing.

He also describes some visiting Keoish dignitaries, and the occasional protests and “interventions” at the known brothels in town by a group called The Sworn, or more formally, the Order of the Riven Heart, which is led by a brazen paladin of Joramy (goddess of fire, volcanoes, wrath, anger, and quarrels) named Sister Meredith. She has also taken to training the women and young girls of the Mudsitters refugee camp in self-defense. Sister Meredith has apparently made it her mission to prevent the downtrodden refugees from resorting to (or being forced into) a life of prostitution and depravity, and has particular ill will towards mercenary companies, as many of those hired to protect the settlements of the Pomarj had fled when the humanoids attacked, leaving the populace at the mercy of the invading hordes. Burgell decided to anonymously leave a bundle of longswords and other weapons outside of Sister Meredith’s tent, as they had been practicing with quarterstaves and wooden swords. Whether this was out of the kindness of his heart, or for the entertainment value that a more well-armed group of angry women storming into a brothel would create remains to be seen.

Approach at the Iron Flagon tavern in Irontown

Burgell wanders into the now built-up neighborhood of Irontown, and tries his luck at a confidence scheme by attempting to solicit a grizzled weaponmaster named Odothar Bronzearm and his students who are out for a meal during a field practical. Odothar will have nothing of these shenanigans, and instead invites Burgell to his combat school the next day so he can learn an honest way of defending himself, and invitation he thinks will never be taken up.

In the mean time, Burgell met with Domin Nightdreamer again and was introduced to the attendees of the Conclave called by Robertson while they dined at the Gryphon’s Roost. It was at this meeting that Burgell decided to take up the task of making contact with the reclusive mage Jarogos, an expert on the celestial alignments of megalithic structures. When making inquiries about putting together a party to take on this task, the very same weaponmaster whom Burgell had solicited earlier was mentioned, as he had done some consulting work for the Griffins Guild. He also learned that someone had left a message for him. Seems someone was looking for one of Burgell’s ex-adventuring partners, Carac de Cudgel.

Ready'reat 3, CY 515

Appointment at the Bronze Ring

Burgell decided to meet with this person the next day on the way to meet Odothar. He thereby met Balizarde de Cudgel, half-elven cleric of Olidammara, orphan-brother to Carac, while he was tending to the tasks of clean-up duty at the Wise Fool, the impromptu Cuthbertian city watch headquarters. Burgell hadn't seen his former companion in months, but he was instead able to offer the cleric a job. Low on coin from his trip to the settlement, Balizard quickly accepted the offer.

Burgell next went down to Odothar’s combat school, the Bronze Ring, as he had promised. Some of Odothar’s students made surprise attacks against Burgell to test his situational awareness and combat readiness. After this failed to inspire any confidence, Burgell let one of his newfound spells off the chain, hurling a fireball out into the fenced in fighting arena. The problem was that while the arena enclosed a 30’ square next to a covered pavilion, the fireball was slightly larger, immediately turning the split-rail fence into smoldering timbers. As luck would have it, some of the Cuthbertians were nearby on patrol, alerted to the sudden explosion of a fireball within town limits.

After a brief discussion regarding the lack of any laws against it, Burgell was put on warning that there are certain things you can do, and certain things you can’t, and unleashing a fireball within the walls is just plain out of the question. After all of this, Burgell finally related that he was in fact part of the Griffins Guild, and he was there to enlist the aid of Odothar in an adventure. After a fee was negotiated (including replacement of Odo’s fence), he agreed to join Burgell. After a brief stop at the Griffins Guildhall to get the service contracts (and fence reimbursement invoice) signed, the new band set off.

Ready'reat 4, CY 515

Horsemeat Cavern

After a day of travel north along the old road, the party was beset by an intense storm that blew in off the Azure Sea. Its intensity increased, and the party was forced to seek shelter in a cave. As it turned out, the same cave the previous party had weathered the severe blizzard in, and where they were forced to eat their horses for food. This time, however, they had brought plenty of rations along. After three days, the storm passed, and the party swung to the west to cross the hills towards the Kraken’s Maw, the bay where the Griffins Guild had recently driven the Purple Squid Hobgoblins back under the waters.

Fight on Cauldron-top

After a day of travel across the hills, the party found a defensible place to camp within a small caldera of an ancient volcano which had a chest high rock rim surrounding a fairly level plain a few dozen yards across. This was fortuitous, as in the early morning hours just before dawn, the party was attacked by a band of goblins led by a bugbear, and who were using two rust monsters as scent hounds to track enemies wielding metal. After a pitched battle, the party was triumphant, but at the cost of a shield, a mace, and a longsword damaged or destroyed by the rust monster.

Experience

Player Characters

  • Burgell Nackle: 1333 xp
  • Odothar Bronzearm: 1333 xp
  • Telthanas: 1333 xp

Treasure

  • n/a

Resources

  • n/a
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