A Spire Amongst The Thorns - 1

Introduction

The party is gathered in one of Synoro Council Delegate Dornas Takmoot's private offices for the expedition briefing. They each introduce themselves and then Dornas takes the floor.  

Expedition Motivation

About a month and a half ago, news had trickled in of an anomaly out in the Hinterlands. A field was discovered filled with massive, thorny bramble bushes over 12 feet high and very dense. The field is roughly circular with a diameter of about 1 kilometer (quarter mile).   Explorers sent to the area reported that they began to feel a strange sense of unease, dread, and/or fear as they approached the brambles. The plants were too dense to see into and quite shadowy with the only descriptors of the brambles being that they were tall, dark, thorny, and growing dull red berries. One team of explorers never returned from their expedition and the most recent team, which included Gladwin and was sent to escort some human biologists from Knotts Berry Pharmaceuticals, returned badly injured and having lost their scientists.   Their report indicated that berries growing on the brambles seemed to trigger an intense feeling of fear and revulsion upon getting too close and, additionally, that the brambles seemed to be home to horrifying, squid-faced monstrosities. A huge squid-beast, much larger the rest, is reported to have snatched the scientists and escaped deeper into the brambles.   Within the last few days, another curiosity has emerged from this field of brambles. Scouts have reported that seemingly overnight, a large tower has suddenly appeared within the field, rising dozens of feet above the tops of the brambles. The local rumour mill has been speculating about its origins with many believing it is an old Yesk ruin with secrets that are starting to reactivate, possibly more dark and disturbing than the berries and the squid-beasts.  

Expedition Objectives

• Knotts Berry Pharmaceuticals Has communicated with Dornas that they believe their scientists might have escaped and have activated this tower as a means of signalling for help. They are offering a 150 gilt piece reward for their safe return or half that for proof of their demise (closure for families, etc).
• Synoro Council Want confirmation as to whether or not this is a Yesk facility to be able to create a threat assessment to the town and the mining operations. The coucil is providing transportation, 1 medkit for each player (8 charges each), camp supplies, and rations for expedition. Upon adequate proof of/against the facility being Yesk in nature, Council will be happy to purchase items of interest found at a reasonable rate.
• Dornas' Personal Objectives Dornas is highly interested in any salvagable Yesk medical technology. He will pay top dollar for medical items, working or repairable, on behalf of his contacts at the biomedical conglomorate, The Somanova Aggregate. As incentive and to ensure the survival of the party and the success of the expedition, he offers each player the choice of an experimental accelerated healing device (the REST module) or 3 Vita-Stims (Standard).

 

Approaching the Tower

The party packs into their transport vehicle and Euric successfully navigates through a variety of Induku traps and ambushes en route to the edge of the brambles. As the forest surrounding the brambles thickens, they are forced to disembark their vehicle and approach the one presumed entrance to the tower that they are aware of. Near this entrance, three Induku are encountered at the brambles' edge who are forcing wolf-like creatures to pick the fear-berries for them, placing them in translucent, hide-style bags that seem to quell the berries' effects.   Combat ensues. Gladwin foils an Induku's attempt to stun the party by destroying a fear-berry thrown into their midst. Euric manages to draw most of the attention of the Induku but takes very little damage even as his scythe missed the vermin and embedded itself in the ground. Fulgur is wounded following a wild shot that possibly alerted other creatures within the brambles to their presence but managed to follow this up with a solid blow to the Induku leader with a dischare of his lighting gun. The violence concludes as Euric cleanly dispatches one of the Induku with a single stab of his knife and the party begins to cut their way through, or fly over in the case of Rorra, the thick brambles towards the door. Finding the promised entrance, the last of the party to pass through is Gladwin who, before the door can be shut again, is snatched by strong, suction cupped arms and yanked away from the others. Adrenaline pumps again as the team prepares to rescue her from the clutches of a new monstrosity.