Triften's game: Session n+4A - 3/14/2007

Now down two people, the party finally arrives at Innsmouth, a fishing town located on the south edge of the Judham Swamp. At midmorning, Terrence and Jared head into town to gather information. Despite terrifying a few townsfolk into thinking that some horrible plague of monsters may or may not be currently attacking, they find out several useful pieces of information:

• The road through the swamp is in disrepair but their oxen might be able to ford the marsh in that area.
• There are lizardfolk in the swamp.
• The Black Talon is preparing to push into the swamp to drive out the lizardfolk who came down out of the mountains to live there.

The party decides they'd rather march through a Black Talon encampment than get their carts stuck in a marsh filled with lizardmen and who-knows-what-else. While on the road, heading ENE, towards the encampment, it is decided that they will pretend to be pilgrims heading towards a shrine in the mountains. Using incredible bardic knowledge and the study of the arcane, they remember that there is indeed a Shrine of Tyvia, Goddess of the Spring, in the nearby mountains. During the few days of journey, the carts are repainted, costumes are donned, and a lone lizardman is spotted watching them from the swamps.

Upon arrival at the camp, the party is questioned about their plans and their ruse works perfectly. A little too perfectly. After passing through a massive Black Talon encampment and surviving to tell the tale, the carts are now headed up a steep, winding, and bumpy mountain road. Despite having no one available skilled in animal handling, the party makes do with sheer Charisma.

As night falls on the mountain road, the party is attacked by a pair of wolf skeletons. They are dispatched in relatively short-order (from what I remember) allowing the party to continue towards the Shrine.

The road follows over hills and valleys before heading up the side of a mountain to the Shrine. With a backdrop of a beautiful mist-filled valley, the roughly two-story, round building is surrounded by a chill fog. The mountain road continues past the Shrine, curving around the mountain to head west. The party splits up at this point, with some going to scout ahead on the road and a lone Holostarchander investigating the Shrine.

The road appears to head west out of the mountains.

Holostarchander discovers that the interior of the shrine is coated in ice. Ascending the stairs, he sees that the spring itself is almost completely frozen over, with only a trickle of water coming out to run down the series of intricate channels (those not filled with ice) and out of the building. Holostarchander's reward for giving the ice a few taps with his staff is an assault by a baby white wyrm. The wyrm blind-sides him with a flurry of claws, teeth, and angry bulk, knocking Holostarchander out immediately and cutting short his yell of "Aaa-!"

Jared, having stayed with the carts, hears this and races into the shrine to see the wyrm dragging Holostarchander's limp body towards its nest. Jared, feeling either insane or selfless, attempts to tackle the dragon, yelling the whole time. Somehow, Jared manages to not get torn to shreds before the rest of the party arrives. The party surrounds the furious lizard and its members experience varying degrees of success. Flacco gets in several good sneak attacks, Kurako does consistent damage with her longsword, Jared remains ineffectual until right before the end of combat by landing the killing blow, and Terrence sings (I think.) The party emerges victorious but still frostbitten, regular bitten, and clawed.