Party Downtime 01: Lairs and Travels and Werebears, oh my!

After returning to the league, the party was able to take some well-deserved rest without worrying about payments on their back taxes.   The group was able to get Thormod’s journal translated. It told his tale of a violent storm that cracked the mast of the trade karvi (a type of Northlander longboat) while out deep at sea. The rudder was damaged and most of the oars were lost in the turbulent waters. Out of the original sixteen crew, only five remained after the storm.   Their supplies were lost during the storm and they floated out in the middle of the waters, helpless and at the mercy of the gods. Thormod writes that he and the others prayed to Ran and Tempest to bring their ship to the coast.   But as the days went on, the crew grew weaker and weaker from lack of food--though there was water enough from the rains. Thormod’s entries grew bitter and he cursed the gods, even as the others continued to desperately pray to them. He argued that the gods had put them in this situation and they were to blame. He turned his back on them and asked for help from any source.   When one of the others died from hunger and wounds, it was then that he heard the voice in his head. The sailor died so that he could eat. When he mentioned it to the others, they called him mad, and he took his blade and cut them down. He feasted that night on his comrades. The pains were gone, but the hunger remained.   The voice in his head said that it was Yeenoghu and that it understood hunger. The ship was picked up in the current and it made it to land. There, Yeenoghu led him to others who shared the hunger. It was the gnolls.   Suspicious of him at first, the gnolls were convinced of his motives when he led them to a farmhouse and lowered their guard so that they could attack. He saw the ritual that the Fang of Yeenoghu performed and he saw the hyenas rebirthed. That was when he knew of Yeenoghu’s power. They needed more gnolls and Thormod helped them find more farmers. But they were near a town. He would find those he could bring out to the gnolls until their numbers were great enough that they wouldn’t need to fear the town. When he asked for help in town, he was pointed to the League.   The last entry reads:   “As my connection to my Lord deepens, I leave my old concerns behind. His hunger is all that matters. It is greater than me; it is greater than us all. It is His mark. He made us. He drives us. He eats what we eat. He kills what we kill. He will come if we eat well. He will come if we kill well. He will come if we eat well. He will come if we kill well. We will kill and He will eat, and we shall be He and He shall be we, never along, never afraid, never hungry.”   The party itself spent some time exploring some of their own interests.   Bolvaic uncovered more information about the dragon who slew his clan, as apparently Wendall Wallace was tracking the creature and uncovered its lair. Bolvaic went to scout out the dragon’s supposed lair and found that it was once likely a lair, but the dragon had since moved on. However, while paying his respects to his clan’s destroyed home, he found a single white dragon rune with the Dwarven rune for “wholeness” carved onto it. While the Runed Scale led Bolvaic to wonder if any others of his clan survived, it also helped to tie him into the spirits of his clan who were lost.   Ilbryen heard reports that one of the temple-libraries of Emore was burned down in the town of Holgast and they went to see what could be done. The townsfolk told them that it was burned by Oleander Throne members from the mainland, who wanted to “destroy pagan knowledge”. The fire was kept from sweeping up the whole town, but unfortunately the temple was destroyed and many priests were lost. While looking through the ruins for anything salvageable, Ilbryen came across a large leather-bound book that was not harmed at all by the fires.   Illevaere had dreams of a cave in the forest and they went to investigate them. Following their dream, they were led out into the forest where they found the cave from their dreams. Entering it, they found a patch of rot and mushrooms. But, after further examination, they discovered that it was a cloak covered in living mushrooms and fungus wrapped around a dead body of someone who seemed to have been poisoned. Illevaere took this as a sign from their goddess, Caena, and has turned the cave into a shrine to the goddess of poisons.   Kaal had been growing more introspective about the death surrounding him on his adventures and had begun to notice ravens in the skies, almost following him, waiting to be able to feast on the carcasses left from the battles. While helping one of the local farmers protect his livestock from predators, Kaal slew a small pack of wolves. A raven flew down and landed on the corpse of one of the wolves and one of its feathers flew to Kaal. He picked it up and as the raven “drank” the eye of the dead wolf, Kaal saw the last moments of the wolf’s life through its eyes. Realizing it was a sign from Morganos, The Raven Queen, and her hold over death and the dead.   Levi received word that his grandfather had gone missing and he took Tertius with him to see what had happened. Arriving in the Northlander village on Llywelen, he found an old woman who seemed to be close to his grandfather keeping his cabin in order. However, without Levi’s grandfather protecting the village, some of the local shepherds were having trouble with their flocks being attacked by wild dogs. Taking a bear totem given to him by his grandfather’s lady friend and donning a suit of hide armor left out as if for him to take, Levi took care of the pack of wild dogs and found a deepening closeness to his grandfather.   Rieta went to Eastbridge to pick up mundane supplies for herself during the time and found herself being taunted by some of the local teens who called out her Tiefling heritage. They threw stones at her and drove her from the market, while the locals watched without interfering. Outside of the market, a finely dressed tiefling approached her, introducing himself to her as Malthus Normal. He comforted her and told her not to be ashamed of her heritage and not to let the name calling get to her, but that she should get better at avoiding the sticks and stones. He offered her a cloak as a “gift”, but said that perhaps he would ask her for something in the future.   Tiarjead spent the time scouting the regions surrounding the League Hall and was surprised to come across the tracks of another Dragonborn. Following the tracks, she found the scene of a battle with the carcasses of unknown creatures left behind, though the dragonborn was mortally wounded and dragged himself away from the battle. Tiarjead found him and recognized him as Ommear Ragspire--a member of her clan. He informed her that her clan was displaced by dark elves and he was scouting for a new home for their people. Dying, he offered his cloak and his journal to Tiarjead, asking her to let them guide her.