This game night was looking to be a group of 6-7 players, but life happens.
We still had a healthy party of four and instead of Morgan the “Greaser,” the party had Varis the bard.
A week or so after the events of the horrible zoo incident, the town was still being assailed by small critters and random animal attacks. The town was on high alert and just waiting for another druidic incursion.
As the days started a contingent of dwarven riflemen arrived at the city gates. They brought news to the adventuring party that the tower they had been hired to fix was almost complete. They were also here to help defend the town with a good two dozen riflemen and two flame belching cannons. The town and the party had helped them with their endeavors and now they were repaying the favor.
All the while during this discussion, a red tail hawk had been watching.
The party continued their daily chores and finally noticed they were being watched. A cunning plan was crafted to try and capture the bird. It involved the dragonborn thief trying to nab the bird, then to call to it using some form of animal handling and then trying to brain it with a crowbar. The bard quickly intervened and cast a sleep spell. The bird slowly fell to the ground as it tried to fly away.
The bird was quickly grabbed by the barbarian. As he held it the bird changed into a human female in druid type garb. They quickly spirited her away for interrogation.
An empty alley and several minutes later, the female druid had told the group everything she knew. A force of magical stone constructs was being built to assault the city walls. Bedwyr, the druid leader of the region, had been drinking from the poisoned well spring of vitality water and had become quiet mad. He had also lost his wife and was going to perform a ritual to wipe the city from the earth. The constructs were going to be a distraction until some form of the Great Devourer could be summoned by Bedwyr. She told them where the location of the ritual was taking place, the Shadow Wood where all this started months ago. The Druid stone shaper camp was also pointed out. The female, Keelin, then told the party that she , the few remaining druids like her and the local rangers were all heading North to put this region and the events behind them. She then turned into a hawk and flew off to parts unknown.
The party was given horses and a good luck bit of on the go healing from Lord Faruth, and the rode off to construct encampment.
Stone Shaper Camp
Two days Southwest of town was the tip of area known as the Shadow Wood. The party dismounted and made their way into the forest. After a hike for about 20 minutes, finding a recently abandoned camp site and evading a punji pit, they were ambushed by a band of tribal woods people. Javelins were thrown. Arrows were shot. The rouge tried to leap from a tree to attack a foe, only to miss and fall on his face again. The wood people tribe was quickly dispatched with ease and the party moved onwards.
A clearing was reached and within was a sight to behold. Giant stone constructs were being formed and given some semblance of life from three druids. Running around helping the druids were a several twig blight. The how and why they were helping was unknown. However, the party had faced these creatures before when dealing with the druids.
Two constructs were in still in various states of construction. One looked almost complete and a fourth was patrolling the perimeter. A plan was drawn up real quick, which boiled down to “GET “EM!” The party rushed the clearing to attack the first walking pile of rocks and wood.
The druids signaled the twig blight and they entered the fray. Two druids quickly stopped working on their creations and helped the third finish his statue faster.
The stone/wood statue began hammering on the barbarian and monk. The twig blights tried their best to overwhelm the bard and thief. The monk saw an opening in the combat and with his elemental kung-fu powers channeled a blast of water to encircle and then pull one of the druids toward the melee. The first construct was taken down and as it fell the barbarian chard the remaining druids. One responded in kind by shapechanging into a large bear. The third druid worked faster to try and animate his creation.
The twig blight continued to annoy the bard and thief. The monk finished the druid in front of him and he charged toward the barbarian to help. A matter of moments later and the bear druid was down and not getting back up. The remaining druid was not long for the world, but as he died, his remaining energy flowed into the statue and it came to life. The party had another construct to break.
As the fight continued the twig blight were finally dispatched freeing up the bard to heal a bit and the thief to throw his weapons into the mix against the attacking natural statue. A few minutes later and the stone creation crumbled under the weight of attacks.
The group did a quick recon of the area and found everyone and everything was dead or broken. The stopped to tend to quickly tend to their wounds, loot the dead druids and then make their way back to their horses.
As they rode off to try and stop Bedwyr’s ritual the party noticed that the weather has drastically changed. As they rode North they could feel the temperature starting to drop and a bank of dark clouds was starting to move into the region.
No comments:
Post a Comment