Session One- Into The Swamps
Their adventure started, as many such adventures do, in a dank and drafty tavern known as The Drinking Mule. They made a strange and motley crew: The Illusionist, The Fighter, The Rogue, The Druid, The Cleric and The Ranger. They listened as a local trapper named Hanis pointed them in the direction of the swamps to the north. They had been set on their quest by Father Nicky, a priest of Thor that had spent a considerable fortune for fourth-hand knowledge of the location of the fabled Donnerschlag. Very few knew of Thor’s second hammer but the priest believed that not only that it existed but that his sources had found clues worth hiring a band of mercenaries to find it. Hannis gave some thought to the sparse information provided by the party and used his knowledge of the local landmarks to direct them to the Blackscale Swamp.
Thus informed the party sought and found transportation in the form of a Nestle, that being the name of the town, local named Old Alan. In exchange for a waterskin of Catkin Ale and a small quest of his own. He once foraged for lily pads within the Blackscale Swamp but with a recent rise in Blackscale, did I mention that the swamp was named after the Blackscale Lizardfolk tribe? well it is, aggression it was no longer safe. The party agreed to get old Alan his pads and he agreed to get them north.
Not long after arriving in the swamp they were beset by a group of Blackscales which they promptly eliminated. On the second day they stumbled upon a nest of Dream Spiders whose webbing and venom caused vivid hallucinations, these were also defeated but not without heavy costs. Within the nest they found loot and an Orc Monk by the name of Gar. Seeing the value of working with a seasoned group, and reeling from the loss of his previous party he joined. (A little foreshadowing perhaps?) Their leader, Polaris King of The Ursine, ordered a fireless camp so that the party could rest while he and Smarf the Ranger hunted for food. True to their stubborn dwarven nature and most likely fueled by her feminine caprice Calli Rubyking, dwarven exile, started a fire just to prove she could. Her allies stood by knowing that her actions might bring trouble and fair reader they were right.
Drawn by her crude smoke signals a troop of Bullywugs, frogmen native to the swamp, attacked the party. Their assault was clumsy and unorganized but surprisingly the party was no match for their shabby weaponry. After falling out of a tree and witnessing his companions dropping one by one Mr. Marcus, thief and ne'er-do-well, fled the scene leaving the others to the mercy of the monsters. He found Smarf and Polaris and attempted to convince them to abandon the mission and their friends. Lucky for the others they ignored his council and sought out the Bullywug camp.
Polaris was a Half-Orc but was also a child of the druidic order, a diplomat of nature’s creatures. He impressed upon the bullywugs the necessity of an alliance and brokered the release of his friends who were soon to be sacrificed to The Great and Hungry Toad, god of the Bullywugs. The deal was simple: the party would have shelter and succor among the tribe and in return they would lead the tribe’s five warriors in combat against the power center of The Blackscale Tribe. Chief Ugwug was excited at the prospect of mighty soldiers crushing his enemies. Unfortunately the party was not prepared for such a task. After abusing the bullywug’s hospitality Polaris renegotiated the terms of their deal. Ugwug spoke of a temple to the north east being defiled by the lizardmen. The druid hoped that that temple would be the location of Donnerschlag. He convinced the chieftain that removing the lizard taint from the location might weaken the enemy and the simple frogman leader consented to call the debt even if the party cleared the temple so that his people could use it as a stronghold.
Rejuvenated and a bit cowed by their defeat against the bullywugs the party headed toward the half sunken temple. It was with the structure in sight that they once again met their friend Hanis but this time Hannis meant to scare the group away. He worked for The Bog Witch and never intended the party to get so close to their destination. With their goal in reach he meant to dissuade them with force. However a well placed illusion cast by Callaghan of The Many Colors left the trapper discombobulated and ultimately defeated. Yet there is defeat and then there is defeat and when dealing with wererats you have to be sure their dead before you turn your back.
To be continued…
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