Onward Towards Death: Narrative Thus Far

ACT 1 Session 1: In the hamlet of Fellbright, another day has begun. Many of the folk in the hamlet are preparing for a festive wedding between two of the inhabitants today of the ceremony tomorrow. During this time, it has become apparent that the ring has been lost by the groom. The party teamed up and searched the town, interacting with the various townsfolk until they were met with two young boys that had found the ring earlier. Paying off the boys with 'marbles', the children returned the ring and the hunt was resolved. The evening passed and all seemed well . . . In the early morning alarms chimed off, signaling something was off. Many convened to the hamlet square to find various reports of items missing from their homes, even including some of the PCs! After discovering footprints and burrowed holes in the cellars while a large shadow of a figure fled into the distance, the party began to gear up to chase the culprits of thievery in the hamlet out into the savanna . . .     ACT 1 Session 2: After proper preparation and saying their goodbyes, the formed party headed out into the savanna. Traveling in the direction of the trail left by the culprits, the group overlooked a set of slumbering snakes underneath the game trail. While two of the horses were slain and one barely survived, Sunder was struck and suffered from a mortal wound that was tended to. After a moment of respite, the party continued on their travel . . . Taking care to look farther ahead, the party came across a water feature with crocodiles enjoying a downed meal-a riding lizard and a kobold. The kobold was still alive, thrashing to get away while being dragged into the water. The party was able to recover the kobold, despite the small lizard attempting to flee, while dispatching of the crocodiles. . . Questioning of the kobold began as the sun dropped. The kobold continued to feint ignorance but it was deduced this creature knew of something about the theft in the hamlet. Binding the creature by rope and leash, the kobold became a prisoner to the party and was used to track its comrades. Pushing forward more into the night and not pausing to camp, the party came across a gruesome sight of a gnoll hunting party devouring what was assumed to be the kobold's remaining party. Before anyone could act, a third group approached to target the gnolls- a war band of orcs on horseback. Some of the gnolls faced the orcs and charged to meet them while another large group turned their gaze to the adventuring party, making a dash for the fresh meat with nets and spears in hand . . .     ACT 1 Session 3: Night has descended on the party. A pack of gnolls surged forward to assault the party and feast on warmth of their flesh to their demonic god. The party would fall back and attempted to flee. Unfortunately, the taint that is carried by these monsters disturbed their riding animals, forcing them in a feral state. This would cause some of the party issues with controlling the horse, ultimately one falling from the draft animal. The party attempted to move to higher ground while another stayed behind to draw the monster's attention. The tempo of battle remained one sided up until a group of orcs joined in the fray and drove back the war party with their own might . . . As the dust would settle, Grutok, a half orc war chief would give the party an alternative. They would either come peacefully with him to his tribe and battle in an arena for sport (as well as a chance to recover stolen items taken by the kobolds) or be dragged there. With an uneasy agreement, the party would be brought to the orc's encampment. Treated for injuries and fed, the party was ensured they would be in condition to fight. Grutok spoke with the party about resolving their stolen goods and tribute they owed for the red moon. While it was suggested they could either fight in the arena or dive in an old tomb to recover an item for the chief, it was ultimately decided the party would volunteer for both. This would provide entertainment to the orcs in the arena and the survivors would be able to explore the tomb as well. Grutok agreed and sent the party to the sand arena . . . The arena was quickly flooded with various combatants: humanoids, elementals, and beasts. Worse off, a sand spider utilizing trap doors would pierce prey that stepped on the hidden platforms dotted all around in the sands. Grutok watched on in delight with his people, wondering how long it would take until the party would fall . . .     ACT 1 Session 4: The arena battle continued to rage on, the party facing off with monsters and beasts of different kinds. The tempo of battle swayed in the party's favor up until the sand spider had pierced Sunder, a warforged who had awakened in the hamlet, and dragged the construct under the sands. Attempts to recover him were futile and the arena shook with a sudden dread. The spider arose from the sand in the daylight, expelling vapors of poison and dripping with a green acidic slime. The surrounding orcs, who up to this point were simply observing, charged into the arena and joined in the fray to slay the corrupted spider. Doing so was no mere task to the party but keeping their distance while the orcs closed in on the monster proved to be successful. As Aelia fired into Grutok's shoulder in an attempt to down the war chief, Aaron struck the final blow on the spider. The essence of the beast slipped into Aaron's hand and into his body, flashes of an unknown scene before his eyes and a new presence quietly watches him now . . . The battle was won but an ally was lost. Vail and Aelia both recovered pieces of their fallen comrade to remember him by while Grutok approached Aelia to address some things. The war chief offered up Sasha, a half orc that had fought in the initial battle, as a replacement for the construct. Grutok suggested that Sasha's blood was tied to Asheria, her father being captured and brought to the orcs long before their homeland fell. What reason her father was out in the savanna is unknown but Sasha's dream of finding this mystical land and finding a new tribe of people as her heart is not with the orcs of the Carmine Savanna . . . The party would rest until nightfall and head out to a set of unknown ruins that Grutok wants a relic sickle from. Seven elite orc from the tribe would ensure the party enters but it would be up to the party to find the relic. The ruins entryway was marked from past explorations to steer clear but the party has little choice and entered the mouth of the tomb . . . Within the first chamber, depictions and dressings to Creagus, the god of war and retribution, lined the walls and ceiling. Strange hieroglyphics that had been forgotten by time etched the chamber out and a heavy presence of the deity was felt all around. It would be here in this old tomb of an unknown people that the party's resolve and resiliency would be tested . . .     ACT 1 Session 5: The party finds themselves standing in the entryway to a tomb. The tomb seems to have some dedication or link to Creagus. Examination of a blood pool within a brazier ensnared Aelia's senses as visions of a reflection to herself coaxed her to join it. After adding a drop of her own blood and dipping her hand into the pool, spiritual assailants emerged from the walls and attacked the party. The party dealt with the spirits quickly and proceeded into the tomb further. A triggered plate would cause a sudden collapse of the only known tunnel back to the entryway, thus trapping the party inside the tomb . . . Exploration of this tomb would find collapsed/sunk hallways with scorpions, animated weapons within a swinging blade infested room, and a storage room that yielded to Aelia's blood stained touch from prior. The room had various tokens from the past (a copper statue to Creagus, a forgotten spell scroll, several gemstones (7), and a rigged chest). Aelia found a small wrist cuff set with five linked rings and showed this decoration to Vail. The artistic piece seemed to suddenly attach fully to Aelia's hand, destroying the fragile skin and muscles to replace it with a tightly plated ebony gauntlet, complete with a single red glass plating on the back of the palm. Nerves and tensions rose in some party members, remarking a curse while others assume it is a blessing . . . After recovering a brass sickle from a previous room and bringing it to a corresponding monster head piece, the door to the final room opened and forced the party within in a gust of blistering hot air. There inside a figure arose from the center, a mummified being whom grips the sickle they seek in one hand while the other limb has been replaced by a large serrated pincer that of a giant scorpion, draped in thick chain work. The party braces themselves as eyes of madness lock onto the adventurers with only one action in mind . . .     ACT 1 Session 6: The battle between the refugees and a mummifier ancient commenced. At first, the entity was struck several times with keen shots but the undead was not without defensive measures. Summoning of a humanoid made of sand with a jackal head along with the vomit forth of beetle swarms made the battle much more intense. The party split themselves on the east side of the room, Sasha and Aaron engaging into melee combat while the Aelia and Vail remained behind the wall. Aelia took a different vantage point, heading up the hallway while Vail remained where he was to hinder the mummy's actions with mental assaults. The monsters began to rally, ensuring the group would remain separated from one another. Hot blood was split in excess to the point of Vail being struck unconscious. The two melee combatants struggled to inflict lasting damage with the beetles within the corpse seemingly stitched up after each strike. The ebb and flow of battle would ultimately lead the party to victory, badly beaten and bloody from the assault however . . . Taking a short breather, Vail would notice the large black pincer the mummy wielded was now gone and replaced by a similar gauntlet to Aelia. Aelia examined the piece but ultimately pocketed it for further investigation. Sasha recovered the rusty and old sickle, hoping it to be the one Grutok was requesting. After the rest and exploration of the room, the party continued to briefly explore the tomb in other areas. A close call with a sliding stairs spike trap would encourage the party to exit the tomb and reconvene with the orcs . . . Traveling safely back to the orc encampment, the party gave the ancient sickle to Grutok. Grutok considered the tribute paid in full and tossed the bag of goods the kobolds had stolen to the party's feet, staying true to his word. The ease would not last as a scout returned to camp and informed the gnolls had been seen marching onto Fellbright. Grutok, seeing his believed property to be threatened, immediately called for a raid party of his best warriors to travel to the hamlet and protect it at all costs. The refugee party joined the orcs and traveled back to their home, hoping it would not be took late . . . The party could make their home hamlet out in the distance. A sudden realization that the light in the early morning was not from candles and lanterns but raging fires to the buildings tempered their resolves. Rushing forward to the military longhouse, they were met with a volley of arrows and a very confused Walsh and Freida, both active guards and leaders to the militia. Injured and dead had begun to pile up as the remaining survivors were either trapped inside the hamlet, hiding in the mines, or defended at the community hall. The orcs pushed forward after the party broke off from them. The party moved into the town, heading to the main town square to see who they could aid and rescue. Battling the gnolls in bloody conflicts and slaying some of the them who had ambushed them previously, the party now would have to decide which direction to go next. Time was not on their sides as the gnolls ran free in the hamlet, picking off hamlet militia and battling orcs. Unknown to the party, their options on where to go and who to seek out could in fact doom others to a gory death and a meeting with Serribust . . .     ACT 1 Session 7: With little time and tensions high, the party recovered a halfling hunter known as Gozbert that a gnoll had been dragging away. The halfling joined the party as some of the group entered a burning tavern to see if any survivors were present. Collapsing roof support knocked Aaron out but the party pressed on. Fighting smoke and exhaustion along with monsters, the party recovered Madilyn and ensured she would be safe . . . Moving to the farmland next, Aelia moved quietly around packs of gnolls while Sasha and Vail watched a brutal fight of gnolls led by a large vulturelike fiend with the farmland's militia. Walsh, the captain of the guard in the hamlet, fought valiantly but would be struck down despite the aid from others. After Aelia recovered her father Quinton and her sister Anika, the group was led to the entry of the mines for safety. Anika would recover her pendent from Sasha and display healing abilities before Quinton warned the fires were not caused by the gnolls but men wearing dominion colors before the gnoll's assault. Aelia promised Quinton she would not engage with any dominion members if they still remained in the hamlet . . . Heading to the market, the party divided their attention between various scenes. Freida, a second in command to the hamlet, fought with her militia men a giant hyena while various members of the farmland fought for one another and for their own lives. Sadly, a trade merchant named Katelyn was slain along with a woodcutter named Nostin. Worse even, Gozbert fell to the beasts in the market. Saige, a small tiefling child, survived the fray but now her parents laid dead along with her future brother and her family. Freida took the child and headed to the safety of the mines, leaving the party to pursue the last sweeping of the hamlet towards the herbalist/midwife's house . . .     ACT 1 Session 8: Once the party had reformed and Aaron rejoined from his previous injury, the party marched on towards the herbalist's hut. Once dispatching of some ghouls from a safe distance, the group moved into the house and listened carefully to an ongoing conversation. A tiefling (which we would later find out her name was Misery) sat comfortably with two infiltrators, holding Alderman Conrad and Faeviel hostage. Misery continued to ask for a book that apparently was missing and threatening to kill the alderman and take the midwife with her if not provided. Before tensions could bubble over, the party entered the room while Aelia stayed behind for an opportunity to fire. The tiefling's remark would suggest that she was aware the party was watching and listening . . . After an uncomfortable conversation on why the book was needed so bad (which the party deduced was the midwife's journal), a masked figure clad in leather bound armor with yellow dressing typical of a high ranking member in the Sanguine Order made their presence known from the back room. Addressing the party briefly, the figure focused on Vail and demanded he would hand over something that belonged to them. Discovering they were referring to a piece of Sunder, Vail refused but was soon cowed and threated to do so. The masked figure examined the piece for a moment but remarked the piece no longer had what they were looking for and tossed it to Aaron. Faeviel's book was then taken by the masked figure peacefully before the tiefling mocked the Alderman one more time about how this all was his doing by utilizing a sending stone to communicate with an unknown person the alderman thought was friendly. Misery and the masked figure left with their infiltrators, leaving the party untouched but shaken as assumptions were made they had just spoken with the Arcane Butcher, a legend and most feared/hated foe to Asheria . . . The party collected the alderman and herbalist, rummaging through the hut to collect what they could before the house was set ablaze as the rest of the hamlet was. Moving quietly, the group was able to find their ways back to the mines and seal the door shut with the remaining survivors they had rescued. The party spoke to the remaining survivors and to each other before conversations on what to do next were had. Aelia spoke with the alderman and her father Quinton about what the dominion troops wanted with Faeviel's journal. The deduction was made that the research on the touchstones might be able to be harnessed and used to find the blood members of Asheria's royal family and that giving them the workbook had sealed the fate of any remaining royal blooded family members out there . . . The alderman remarked that at this time they were trapped until the gnolls would move on. During which, the alderman knew of a ritual that could be performed by a magically inclined person that might be able to gleam guidance from the pantheon and ultimately from Maltrud. This ritual would be dangerous and they would need to sacrifice the physical shell of a magical item to direct their attention to the god of magic and knowledge. While Aelia spoke to Vail about his part in this, being the only magic user on their group, Anika listened on with much curiosity and volunteered to her sister privately which Aelia refused but said she could join in finding the ritual site. When Vail joined with the alderman and spoke about what needed to be done, the alderman warned such a ritual was dangerous and touching the divine could go awry. When Quinton became aware that Anika was listening in on this conversation, he would pull her aside despite protests from Aelia, retorting this was not to involve his youngest daughter . . . The party would mull over their limited options, relying on Vail's link to magical energies and the alderman's sending stone to be the catalyst of this ritual. With the exhaustion of battle setting in, the party would settle in for a long rest to recuperate and recover from their injuries to the best of their abilities while the gnolls outside continued to ravage the hamlet and tear at the reinforced dwarven gate door to the minds in a fruitless attempt . . .     ACT 1 Session 9: The party, exhausted from the waves of combat and stress, decided to take a rest. The rest was interrupted with a scream. Both Anika and Saige were now gone and Quinton had awoken earlier to look for the missing girls. Discovering the children had snuck off and crawled past a small gap into a collapsed tunnel shaft, it looks as if Anika had decided to move forward and perform the ritual she had overheard spoken about. Saige seemed to have followed. The party pressed on with only but a short rest, exploring the caves and discovering blue crystals lined the cavern walls, pulsing with a lingering sense of raw magical energy. This magical energy reacted in various ways to their presence, from recovering some with archaic power, pushing energy outwards, and imbuing others. Some old signs of mining were present and fighting some of the cave's inhabitants was a trivial task. Crossing over a broken bridge, facing off against acidic slimes and rust consuming bugs would lead to an opened chamber where bones of ancient miners toiled away at the crystals. One of the toilers took umbrage to the party's presence. A skeletal remains of great minotaur charged forth and attacked the party. Sharp implements seemed to do little to the monster but blunt trauma proved fruitful. Combining this observable fact with restraining the beast in a net made the monster fall quickly . . . Rushing in the direction of the shouts, the party had made their way into a brightly lit chamber. There they found Saige pressed against the wall in fear as Anika stood atop a built platform, interacting with magic of old. An anvil crafted from the crystals glowed bright, sparking with magical energies and pushing waves of unchanneled power through the girl's frail body and spirit. The party's attempts to aid were fruitless as the magical force consumed the girl in a blinding wave of arching bolts from the crystals. Desperate to recover her sister, Aelia cut deep into her hand and plead to whatever entity had taken Anika to take her instead, staining the anvil with her vitae. As Vail approached to stop Aelia's panic attempt, the fragmented sending stone reacted. Incidentally, the magic in the room still was primed and the stone was pulled to the center of the anvil in the air as the party surrounded it to come to Aelia's aid. The stone shattered in a brilliant cloud of red dust and the party ceased to be, their bodies crumpling in place while their spirits were ripped from their bodies . . . On another plane, alien to mortals, the party stood at the center of eight great spires, each with a color of flame to represent a school of magic known in this world. Drawn to all of the pillars, each of them selected one that closely tied to their hopes, dreams, and who they were/what they wanted. Mortality carries pain and lingering taint however. As each had touched their selection and drew from the magic that resided here, their taint pushed into the holy structures. At the center of the pillars would rise a challenge crafted by one of their own consciousness and insecurities they would have to face . . .     ACT 1 Session 10: After the party had interacted with their pillar they selected, aspects of their failures and insecurities were released. The ground erupted at the center of the circle, revealing a large skeletal humanoid structure. The entity lashed out, targeting Aaron exclusively. Aaron's fear gripped him as the faces of his fallen comrades were imposed on the monster. Aelia was faced with several duplications of herself, mimicking her every action while it seemed one of these duplications was striking at her when she was not paying attention. Vail saw a flaming cart appear, reminding him of his loss family while phantasmal beings arose from the flames to attack him or aid the other entities. Finally, Sasha had to face off with another creature that arose from the ground in the form of some large two headed monster with both her mother's face and father's face, a being of magic and might . . . The entities fought with the party, each aspect targeting a particular member. After the party began to focus their attacks on one of the aspects and defeating that entity, all of the other ones seem to recoil at the dispelling in the aspect. The aspect would return quietly to the one they came from once it was destroyed. While many of the parties took damage from their aspect but was able to stand firm, Aelia was struck down by a masked version of herself and felt her mind splinter. Her spirit though reformed and the battle continued . . . At the end of the conflict, the party recollected themselves, hearing wings from above. They readied themselves against a new conflict but was surprised to find a large owl with a singular blue eye atop its brow. The being did not seem to be hostile. It looked to the party, speaking within each of their minds within their own voice to inquire things such as why they were here and why did they bring their mortal taint to this realm. The party had mix reactions from bowing and speaking to the being as some sort of god aspect while others stood by to see how this would turn out to a request to return a sibling. The being produced Anika, slumbering and unharmed, underneath its wing. Before it would allow anyone to approach though, it took a particular umbrage to Aelia's gauntlet and attempted to pull it from her hand. Aelia, seemingly having no option in her eyes, allowed this to happen and the being stepped away to allow the recovery of her sister. The being remarked that each of these individuals would not be here unless they carried a spark in their blood, answering various questions the party proposed to it. Some answers might have been useful but others seemed vague. What was established though was the party now had a special standing, one outside of a preordained destiny and now could weave their own fate/tale as well as others . . . The entity revealed more of the surrounding area, showing a wasteland to the north, river to the west, a city assumed to be Asheria to the south, and a field to the east. The entity requested the party come to this pillar circle in the thicket and there would be a conversation on what needed to be done. Seeming to accept this point, the entity sent the party back to the physical realm they had come from. There the party recollected their experiences then proceeded to get accountability, noting the tiefling girl from before was gone. How long had it been since they had been drawn to another realm? Moving forward, they backtracked and found a passage with two fire beetles perched upon a boulder. Not taking an aggressive path proved fruitful. Sasha gently handled the beetles while Aelia used her newfound abilities to speak directly to them. The beetles spoke they could not move because of their friend. A living boulder that stood in the doorway appeared and looked down at the party. Sasha's insticts of this being some form of elemental spoke to it in a foreign tongue to the others and requested it moved. The living boulder complied, seeing its friends unharmed and revealed the doorway to them, actually opening it and walking within. The party rushed forward into the room where they found a sealed cache of supplies, some of it undamaged by time . . .     ACT 2 Session 11: Standing at the threshold to a secured storage room, the party stepped in carefully to examine the leftover goods. Among the goods, the party recovered a couple old spell scrolls that Sasha scooped up for herself, two black powder bombs, and an old rusted war hammer. Vail, curious of the maps underneath the old weapon, picked up the piece and was suddenly drained of a small bit of his vitality to recover the piece into a pristine condition. The weapon, now revitalized, fit in Vail's hand perfectly while attuned and made it very difficult for others to lift the piece. The party collected what they found and moved on, deducing a shortcut on how to get out of the caverns. Coming to a large boulder, Vail's interaction with the rock seemed to trigger the living boulder that followed he wanted it move. Doing so was simple enough, the rock bending to the elemental's will and revealing another two passages. Aelia took point as the other party members moved into the undiscovered part that lead to a dead end. Sitting in the room was a long forgotten chest, complete with a simple pad lock. Sasha's sudden development of magic pushed the half orc to assault the lock, attempting to break the piece with a spell. Unfruitful, Aelia entered the room and attempted to pick the piece with a set of tools but somehow was unable to. Vail's action of striking the lock triggered the living boulder to follow suit and smashed the box open, revealing several small gems, a now broken statue, and a glass oval with a simple red marking and two circular discs, one blue and one yellow . . . Traveling back to the second chamber, the party returned to the mouth of the cave where Freida was waiting just in case the party returned. Shocked to see them all alive and being followed by a living boulder, Freida collected herself and spoke about the party being gone for three days. The hamlet's decay was festered with scavengers and the blood that had been spilt now tainted the grounds to force those who were slain now to rise and walk as the undead. The scout led the party safely outside of the hamlet, utilizing a crudely constructed bridge to the remaining survivors of the hamlet they had saved prior. The remaining survivors had collected what they could and had a small caravan of wagons and tents set up safely away from the hamlet. The party discussed what had happened to the alderman and Quinton. Quinton and the alderman looked troubled and spoke of a very old tale and place of power that was supposed to be tied to the finding of Asheria. The party had seemed to have visited such a place and now were tied to the fallen city . . . Sasha was informed that Grutok was found among those injured and was waiting to speak with Sasha. Within one of the wagons, a dying Grutok spoke to Sasha on why he treated her so and why her father was killed. A request of death was granted and Sasha killed Grutok with her former dagger he had taken from her. Carrying his body out, Sasha found a quiet place to bury her former leader. Sasha would return to the party campfire . . . While Sasha was with Grutok, Quinton spoke to Vail and Aelia about why it was so important to keep Anika safe, revealing the girl was not his own and he was in charge of protecting the royal with his wife and that Anika was directly tied to the throne. Vail realized that a person that had been traveling with his caravan before and routed dominion troops from his people was Quinton's wife. Vail also realized dreams of this woman had guided him to protect another group of refugees Anika was in. Quinton handed over a locket that belonged to his wife, now becoming a focus of Vail's power . . . It was now clear what the party must do. A journey laid before them. Traveling to Asheria to meet with this entity that seemed to be tied to Maltrud and possibly the very city would not be an easy task. Worse off now, the party became aware that Anika was tied directly to the throne and that the dominion could actively be looking for her. Aelia borrowed her father's flask to pour out a drink in respect to Grutok at his burial site, as one minor wrong step would find any of them in the half orc's position easily enough. Emboldened by divine magics now revitalizing heroic blood in their veins, the four looked to the east as their destiny and possibly their deaths would be found back where this all started . . .     ACT 2 Session 12: After discussing their options, it was decided that skirting the mountains to the west and traveling north to avoid the savanna. The party pushed north and traveled along the shadow of the mountain range . . . While the party traveled within the Fellbright caravan, each one took up various jobs but left the other Asherians to their own devices. During an afternoon break, Vail spoke reassuringly to Saige that things would be ok and that he was there to ensure she would not fall the safe fate at her parents . . . Aelia was approached by Nelrid as it seemed that Quinton had remarked to the dragonborn that Aelia was looking for a set of tools earlier. The dragonborn talked with Aelia for a bit before both of them came to an agreement that Nelrid would craft a set of woodcarver tools for one of the common gemstone that Aelia's party had found in their previous adventures. He assured Aelia would have it soon enough . . . Sasha wandered the camp for a bit looking for companionship from her new tribe. Freida watched the half-orc and confronted her in a semi-aggressive tone with accusations of why she was with the group. It seems Freida held certain beliefs and biases on orcs. Sasha, whether ignorant of the demeanor or wise enough to not react, only poked fun at herself and approached the conversation friendly enough. Freida soon let her guard down, speaking to one another about their experiences in the past. Freida revealed her distrust and dislike for nobles, remarking her involuntary enlistment to a noble family's guard when young. In the end though, Freida thanked the half-orc for coming to her aid before and acknowledged her for the time being . . . With their afternoon's passing, the caravan returned to travel forward on the savanna trails, bracing for bad weather and worse things to come . . .     ACT 2 Session 13: The newly formed caravan continued to travel north along that Copper Summit's shadow, using the landscape to their advantage. While the weather had taken a turn towards the rainy autumn season, everyone seemed to be taking this in a moderate stride. Along the party's journey, the group came across a single donkey carrying a slumped over goblinoid. The goblin, referring to himself as Urm the wanderer, introduced himself as a storyteller and a carrier of mercantile goods. The party accepted the goblin into their travel and would wait until the caravan stopped for the evening before discussing an opportunity to trade goods. True to his word, the goblin carried various sacks that could be reached into and pull out various random goods as long at the party offered something up to trade to him for a random grab. This proved to have mix results, sometimes finding useful tools and others times simple knick knacks . . . The party retired for the evening but distributed watches accordingly. During second watch, Vail and Freida overheard moans and shuffling coming from outside of camp. Choosing the wake the rest of the party, Vail, Aelia, and Sasha left Freida to guard the camp and the three investigated. The party soon discovered an old burial mound with wandering ghouls atop the pile. The ghouls quickly charged, overhearing Sasha's stumble through the brush. The undead were quickly disposed of and the campsite was now safe for the time being for the tradeoff of a peaceful long rest . . . Aelia would finish up the watch in the morning. The watch seemed to have been uneventful, despite the occasion subtle whispers heard around her and beside her. Aelia chalked this up to restless spirits as the night gave way the approaching dawn . . .     ACT 2 Session 14: As the sun rose on a new day, the party had a few conversations with the caravan members before a scream was heard and Saige ran from the brush. Apparently the girl had been attacked by a giant rat while she played with her rag doll. Closer inspection of the area where she was playing would reveal the rat had been immolated in flames and now was a charred mess. Vail recovered her dropped doll while Aelia took the charred rodent for food . . . The weather continued to decline to the point of cold, heavy rains would slow their progress to the north. The caravan halted and discussed their options. It was concluded that higher grounds would need to be sought out. The party moved forward with scouting, navigating, and foraging. Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions made travel worse and the party realized they had walked off their intended path and now stood at a flooding riverbank. The sudden croaking of giant toads initiated combat . . . During the combat, it was apparent that the toads were not the only inhabitants of the river bank. Giant leeches squirmed and swam on the flooded bank and latched out towards the warm blooded adventurers. Worse than that, a giant crocodile emerged from the waters after a toad and one of the adventurers came too close. These threats would cause the party to split their forces, allowing the wild beasts to mob quickly down on two of them. Freida and Quinton could see from the carts that the party was in trouble and joined the fray. Ultimately, the giant crocodile had taken enough damage that it fled from the assault. The leeches would continue to lash out and attack the party, striking Sasha down with a mortal blow . . . At the end of the conflict, Sasha laid dead in the mud. Unable to heal her as her life had been extinguished, the group lifted her body up and dragged her back to the caravan to see what could be done. Aelia dragged one of the toad's corpses back to the caravan by herself. A sudden spasm in her heart and a dark reflection of a masked woman she had met before in the ethereal realm mocked her and inflicted a wrenching in her chest. Aelia shook the darkness off of her mind for the time. Sasha's body was brought to Faeviel's cart, dropped in the same place as Grutok was before he died. Faeviel could not provide any assistance . . . Outside of the cart, through the commotion, Anika ran up and tried to intervene to see what was going on. When the child was told what had happened, her heart and mind cried out into the rainy skies as thunder rumbled off in the distance . . .