Tuesday August 20, cont. - Just a little ways into the cautious conversation between the party and Octavian, one of Octavian's crew is struck dead by a wicked looking crudely fletched arrow. Orcs swarm toward the ship.
A long fight ensues between the different factions of good guys and a collection of orcs, orogs, an orc shaman and a hill giant. A Wall of Fire from Marius Vilm, one of Octavian's companions, helps channel the orcs and others into a killing ground dominated by the party. Malachy, with some magical firepower assistance, takes down the hill giant.
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| Orc and giant fight |
Octavian's companions include Marius Vilm, a wizard from Immilkan on the Dragon Coast (far to the southwest), Ashtul, his goblin apprentice, Kyriss, a female barbarian of the Vornar tribes (Mal's homeland), and Beregan, a half-orc who claims to be a warrior.
Niam recognizes Beregan from his days in the Dalmar Principalities, and knows that he is a dangerous rogue and assassin. He mentions this to Octavian, who already knows that Beregan has a dubious past.
Octavian tells the party about himself and his intentions. He is the Count of Vezini, a noble from Floria. He is a traveler, explorer and archaeologist. He has brought his sky ship, the Golden Sunrise, north to tour a bunch of sights, and to search for a few others that his researches have turned up.
He tells the party that they were attacked by a huge bird (a roc) when crossing the Iron Spire Mountains, and that they have lost several crew members, including their cleric.
The party spends the night with Octavian and his crew, with the intent to fly home to Fulcher's Hold in the morning. Here they can rest, resupply, and determine what to do next.
Wednesday August 21 - The flight home to Fulcher's is uneventful, and they are given a warm welcome.
Thursday August 22 through Saturday August 24 - Rest and recuperation at Fulcher's Hold. Octavian charms everyone (socially, not magically...). Octavian and the party agree that they will all head north to the Forbidden Hills in search of a location Octavian wants to find. Octavian has a map of the area, complete with scribblings from an adventuring company that explored the area many years ago.
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| Octavian's Map of the Forbidden Hills |
Sunday August 25 - Leave Fulcher's Hold to fly north toward the Forbidden Hills (in the middle of the South Onorian Plains), in search of a cave near a landmark called the Gods' Theater, wherein there is supposed to be a magical gate to a hot tropical land (perhaps Illurya?).
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| Heading toward the Forbidden Hills |
Monday August 26 - Continue flying north, passing by some distant wyrd storms. In the afternoon, a trio of flying creatures are spotted approaching the ship high off the starboard bow. Wyverns!
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| Wyverns off the starboard bow |
Next - Wyvern Attack.
GM Commentary - This was one of those sessions where a little bit of prep and the seeds for several different adventure paths turned into something pretty fun. What started as a chance encounter with a sky ship (purely for lore flavor) has turned into a jump-off point for all manner of future adventures. Now I just need to figure out what they will find in the Forbidden Hills (but I do have an idea or two...).
We had one good combat at the start of the session, but this was otherwise heavy on role playing and other things, which was great.
It was also very nice just to get back to playing and try to reestablish some momentum, as we hadn't played in about 10 weeks. Late summer and start-of-school schedules were very difficult for all concerned, and we agreed to let things go on hiatus for a couple months rather than be continually frustrated at not being able to get people together. The break wasn't bad but it is nice to be back at it.
Interacting with the World (what the characters learned...or were reminded of) - A little more about the fallen realm of Onoria. A possible magical gateway to the land of Illurya. Niam had a brush with his past (how can I use this?).
Present - (writing way after the fact...I honestly don't know who was here for this session).
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