Session Fifty-Two Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 52, July 7 2021

Introduction

We continue at 4:30PM on the 18th of Laurilden with the party having looted the lair of the leopard monster they slew and then animated to pull their cart of supplies for Montoa.

Larry's Summary

We continue on until nightfall with the leopard creature pulling the cart and we stop until nightfall.

Three frogs attack and one swallows Forcas, another Ajax the crow ambassador of the Parliament of Birds. We quickly kill them and rescue Forcas and Ajax. Lambertus heals Ajax.

We continue the next day and near Montoa we find a clearing with bones and Velkin searches and finds the body of a woman under a bush.

We take the body to Montoa and learn she disappeared and was feared taken by orcs.

Montoa captured an orc and we questioned the orc. We learned that the orcs are scouting out Montoa and live to the East in the mountains and are lead by a DVL with one horn they call One-Horn.

Druul convinces the orc, Nim, that he is on his side, and gets some information.

We get the 5 vessels promised us, and the clay from the lake was the secret to the vessels.

We realize that a woman and 3 men were the ones we found tied to trees, beaten, and their throats slit. We alert Pahlia, one of the guards, who orders guards for the delegation from Hizzou, who are there to negotiate a trade treaty.

We let Kahlia know about the woman and three men, and that the orcs are scoping out Montoa. Rallion pledged the group to stay and do all we can to keep Montoa safe from the orcs.

We then stay for the meeting between Kahlia and the Hizzou delegation. Kahlia has us lead off with what we know. Rallion speaks for the group and starts with the big overarching threat of the DVLs, and the need to work together. That goes as well as the first time we talked about the threat from the ancient space dwarves.

When Rallion mentions the orcs lead by a DVL that is a smaller more local threat that they can get behind. Rallion also shows the Feather of The Chosen that he has born since the party first visited Old Greybeard. Showing that we have magic gave weight to our words. The ambassador from Hizzou indicated this would probably mean that their chief would help with the orcs.

We then left them to discuss their trade agreement.

We drink from the lake and heal up. We discuss dealing with the woman, Misra, her husband, brother, and friend. There is a child who seems to be normal that we need to be careful how we handle this.

Velkin's Scrolls

Velkin Scrolls 23 – Session 52

Laurilden 18, 4:30pm

On the way to Montoa from Greybeard.

The time with the Mothers has had an effect on me. I can speak with animals, not just spiders anymore. Learning about this world and getting out beyond the myopic sampling of it that has been my life up until the past few weeks is eye opening.

We camp for the night and are accosted by giant frogs. One slurps Forcas down and instead of just blowing that off, I fought to save him. Ajax too. What was that, a feeling for another sentient? Hmm….

We clean and dress the amphibians and divvy them up for rations and the rest of the night goes by uneventfully.

Nearing Montoa, we come upon a campsite and within earshot are a gathering of people speaking common. There’s a beaten and stabbed beyond recognition, a female human. An islander, half covered, no grave. Some footprints head toward the village according to Rallion.

We reach the gates of Montoa and some Daughters of the Matriarch are alerted yet relax when our party is seen as they recognize some of us. Being still invisible, I stay on the periphery of the party, scouting and observing for anything amiss.

Khalia comes and greets the party. She’s fairly distracted and nervous, but not about us according to Lungmold. There have been Orc attacks and it’s thought that is who killed the lady outside the village.

Lungmold gets a flash of an alien thought, but fleeting. He can’t localize it.

I keep a lookout outside Khalia’s hut as the party goes in to chat. Only 7 warriors are left in the village. Bavmorda took many to Shem for Vengeance, including Alea. They have an orc prisoner in the priestess hut and a Hizzou delegation is here for talks. She’s not surprised at Rallion’s news of impending doom, it sounds as if she’s already feeling pretty doomed.

The mud near the lake was made into vessels and the waters hold the power of the healing lake with the runes.

We gather 5 of the healing waters vessels (Double Healing Potions, can be split) and interrogate the orc. I stay on watch.

There’s a force of orcs coming from the east, there were 7 in his scouting group.

They’re led by a winged something with a broken horn. One Horn.

While on watch, I see a walking dead person. One of the bodies we found in the jungle is walking around. Some sort of shapechanger? I lurk about and find the 4 supposedly dead people are walking around acting, or trying to act, normally. It’s a husband and wife, a brother and a friend who fled when Montoa was attacked and miraculously returned.

Hizzou, Khalia and Rallion all have a conference. Hizzou is put out, much like they were when Drueta brought news to them before. Same story, different voice. Apocalypses don’t interest them. They are interested in our access to magic though.