On the morning of 7/11, a slim figure in black cloak arrived. Aderian challenged him, wondering if he was yet another wandering miscreant. He called himself Rasputin and a master death magic. He wanted to join up the group because of their reputation for producing corpses. This explanation was good enough for them all, and the necromancer was welcomed to come along on a day of exploration.
They marched up past the lake and then turned south onto a path that followed a river. In the afternoon, they came upon a group of men camping where the path crossed the river. From a safe distance, Aderian called out. The apparent leader of the men stepped forward to warn them away. He accused the raiders of following his group who were treasure hunting.
They counted more than twenty fighting men camped at the river. Behind Aderian, the rest of them murmured to each other about the men having a map to treasure. Jerker suggested returning at night to attack by surprise. Not wanting to risk a fight, the party turned back down the path, but they did not leave the area immediately. They searched for the rest of the afternoon away from the river camp. By dusk, they were back at the tower where they spent an uneventful night.
Family Reunion
On the morning of the 12th, they walked down the mountain to return to St. Orlan. Along the way, they met a group of ten orcs. Ferris let loose an arrow, causing panic among the orcs. They scattered. Regardless, Jerker hurled a boulder that struck an orc dead. Presently, Ollie fell another orc with an arrow.
“Look at them run!” exclaimed Saul. And they did watch the rest of the orcs flee into the brush and trees. Jerker made a half attempt at a chase and settled for a taunt. Rasputin seized on the opportunity to harvest the brain of one of the fallen orcs.
At the end of the day, most of them went straight to the pub where they pestered the patrons about the roguish leader with the floppy hat they met in the mountains. No one admitted to recognizing the treasure hunter, but generally the consensus was that word of Tosasth Valley being cleared of the worst monsters was getting to be well known.
The next day, Jerker returned to his father’s shop to ask for the construction of full plate armor. His father was typically dismissive of his son. He did not approve of the adventuring life, and went as far as disparaging Jerker’s recent lavish spending. He also explained the difficulty in crafting the armor with the civil war ongoing. Despite this, he agreed, taking payment immediately. He told Jerker to return in a month for a first fitting.
After a month of work, and again every month after, at test is made of the fit. A roll of 1d6 + 1 for every month of crafting that equals 6 or more results in the completed suit.
At Ollie’s urging, Jerker visited his mother, recalling how Jerker’s father than complained the month before out Jerker neglecting his other parent. Jerker’s mother was happy to see her sun and served him delicious gruel. Meanwhile, Ollie sought Carl the guardsman for more training.
“You have more gold for me, dwarf?” asked Carl. “I do,” was the reply as he offered 20 gp. Wham! Carl struck Ollie, bloodying his nose. “Take that as your lesson, little dwarf!”
Giants Attack
On the 13th, the walked back to the tower. The settled in for a night of rest. Around midnight, with Rasputin on watch, four hill giants rushed the tower. The necromancer woke the rest of them just as the largest of the giants stooped to peer into the hallow tower. “Prepare to be eaten, little ones!”
Jerker, sleeping in his armor leaped to his feet and hurled a boulder at the giant. It sailed past and out into the night. Saul muttered an incantation. Roots and grass tangled up around the four giants, holding them in place. Ferris handed a bottle to Aderian, then ran up to swing his sword at the giant. Presently, Ollie, Jerker and Saul’s lion crowded at the door to attack the stuck giant.
The giants slowly retreated out of the patch of tangling vines and out of sight. Aderian had gulped down the potion offered by Ferris and grew in size. Saul began to help him don his armor, which grew along with him. The process took a few minutes as the rest of them dashed around.
Jerker handed a scroll to Rasputin, who used it to summon a ladder. Jerker climbed up the ladder. He pulled stones from the top of the tower and threw them at the giants who were lighting flasks for oil and tossing them over the tower wall. A few struck Aderian and Ferris’ dog.
Finally, one of Jerker’s boulders struck the injured giant and killed him. Soon, another giant fell, and the other two made an escape. Ferris gave chase while firing arrows. The running giants eventually disappeared into the night.
Left at the scene were sacks of treasure carried by the giants. Inside where many coins, a magical arrow (which Ollie snatched), a ring (which Jerker took but did not wear), matching golden bowl and flagon, and a jeweled sceptre. Also, a map was tucked in the belt of one of the giants.
For his part, Ferris took the treasure of giant brain, a key ingredient for one of his potions.
The next day, they turned around again to return to town where they could trade in the loot for whatever goods or services they desired. Rasputin decided adventuring was not the life for him, and he departed.
Having ended a session in town, time moves forward to match the date of the next session, likely 8/20.
End Notes
- Treasure
- Many coins worth 11,530 gp (shared)
- Magical arrow (taken by Saul)
- Ring (taken by Jerker)
- Golden bowl (500 gp)
- Golden Flagon (700 gp)
- Jeweled Sceptre (900 gp)
- Map
- Combat
- 4 Orcs 100 xp
- 2 Hill Giants 1,750 xp
- Characters: 206 xp base
- Aderian (fight) 229 xp
- Ferris 227 xp
- Ferris’ Dogs
- Jerker (fight, strength) 231 xp
- Nate (fight) 229 xp
- Ollie (fight) 229 xp
- Rasputin 227 xp
- Saul (wilderness) 229 xp
- Saul’s Lion