The players and characters (all 3rd level) for our latest session of Deserts & Dragons were:
Ollie: Baern Ungart, Dwarven Cleric
Paul: Vigharthur Thorogod, Human Sorcerer
Glyn: Eric, Dwarven Ranger
Andy: Tarkquin, Human Bard
Chris: Norixius Kriv, Dragonborn Fighter
Jo: Torinn Danrdendaian, Dragonborn Rogue
And our GM is Jono
I am Tarkquin Kelt, storyteller & entertainer, accomplished player of the recorder and beater of drums. This story continues the tale, started in
Tarkquin's Tale of Deserts & Dragons Part 1, of my exploration into the lands surroundings the city.
On hearing of the success of other explorations into the Outlands it seemed prudent to organise another foray into the badlands and so I tracked down my erstwhile companions; all except Lito III. We were also joined by Torinn Danrdendaian, another of these peculiar Dragonborn who seemed to have some history with Norixius. Talks with my fellow adventurers revealed the souldaggers and red fist gangs and the existence of an assassins guild.
Since our last foray other groups had reported back and the ruins we had located a few days travel away from the city are now a thriving outpost with crude structures, tents and even a garrison stationed there. Eagles and an obelisk had been discovered on the fringes of the hills to the west.
Eric our dwarven Ranger indicated as well as black smithing skills he was an expert in stone masonry. I remain skeptical of this claim until I see some evidence .. The crystals we left with the alchemist were not tough and crumble and break apart easily but the alchemist believes they might be of some non-mundane use and is investigating possibilities.
For our latest expedition we started off from the outpost and decided to head off to the north east, in the direction we thought the orc tribes were located.
On the first day we came across a burial mound with smashed sarcophagus and two old suits of amour which gave off a magic aura. Norixius & Eric approached the suits and upon a close examination they started to move. This initiated a melee fight mainly noted for the resonate sounds produced by the dwarves' hammers hitting and bouncing off the armour and Vigharthur's continued obsession with fire; this time in the shape of a cone which damaged opponents and comrades alike. The suits were eventually destroyed by a few judicious hits and as I healed Eric's wounds I heard the approach of two more sets of metallic feet. A further melee fight was initiated of which the highlight was probably my awesome hand crossbow shot which found a gap between the dwarves and embedded itself in a suit. Vigharthur unleashed some scorching rays and the usual mixture of melee hits and missile fire destroyed the two suits of armour. My detect magic showed the magic on the suits of armour was fading. As the metal contained in armour was significant we decided to bury them and pick them up on the way back.
A night in the tomb proved to be uneventful and so in the morning we continued to the north east travelling over rolling dunes. I kept spirits up with some songs on my recorder, something I think the other adventurers appreciated tremendously. As the sun began to set we found a huge 60' tall and 30' wide arch. Our dwarves were unable to figure out what sort of stonework it was. To be honest I am beginning to suspect they are actually short, bearded humans such is their lack of ability with stonework!
We opted to camp down for the night. I awoke during Baern's second watch, initially unable to decide whether I had been awoken by Eric's snoring or the sound of fighting. As I came to I found, to my amazement, I was able to fly through the air. My newly found ability enabled me to keep the rest of the party abreast of the situation which was that we were under attack by a party of orcs. As Baern & Norixius engaged the orcs in melee Vigharthur lit up his pipe and was able to produce a cloud of smoke between us and a couple of other orcs I had pointed out. Once five of us were all able to join in the battle the orcs were swiftly dispatched. Eric allegedly slept through the entire fight. I was able to heal up Baern & Norixius and Torinn was able to find 7 rations on the orc bodies his obvious relish at this a sign that Dragonborn are less fussy about their food than us humans. Sadly, my magical flying ability turned out to be a side effect of one of Vigharthur's spells back firing and so proved to be short lived. I guess I should be thankful there was no fire related backfire ..
In the morning some of the others climbed the arch and were able to see camp fires an indeterminate distance to the north. Our short, bearded humans were still unable to determine the stone arch's origins. We continued to the NE and discovered a smashed, black stone obelisk. It was apparently covered in writing but we cannot identify the language. Our best guess is that it was originally about 15' high. Vigharthur pondered if these obelisks could be some sort of anchor points as they do not appear to be changed by the periodic storm that does change so much of the desert.
We decide to camp here for the night as some of the party are suffering the effects of a disturbed nights sleep. During the night Erik claims to have heard chanting and sees a large bonfire in the distance. In the morning Torinn spots some tracks that seem to indicate our camp was approached in the night.
We set off to the NE once more and the day reveals to us a forest of dead trees. There are thousands of trees but all obviously dead, although their death appears to be relatively recently. I checked for fungi and found evidence of a small amount, still living. Vigharthur started to dig declaring he was looking for signs of water; making me slightly nervous as I assume this was so putting out and fires he was about to create would be easier .. Eric spots orc tracks and it appears the orcs regularly travel through the forest. I am uneasy and it's not just the dead forest; there is something I can't put my finger on that is wrong. It soon becomes apparent what that is - I spot a tree moving!
Although my instinct is to try and communicate with the moving tree Vigharthur's fire bolt dictates our course of action and within seconds we are involved in a fierce fight. Despite our party dealing out considerable damage the moving tree continues to fight, inflicting significant damage of its own. Eventually the party prevail and I heal the party with some help from Baern.
We take a short rest which ends with Torinn detecting the approach of what turns out to be orcs. There are 5 of them with 1 an obvious leader. The orcs use javelins before closing in. Our short, bearded humans bring one orc down and I bring another one down with my awesome hand crossbow. The battle is short but our party members suffer considerable damage which fortunately I am able to deal with with the help of Baern.
We elect to travel back immediately, travelling through the night as we wanted to avoid any attention from any other orc patrols. Eric covered our tracks. At dawn we camped at the broken obelisk. We rested successfully and set off again in the evening. Up until now various party members had successfully hunted for food but Torinn failed to turn up after his hunting trip and it was only some hours later that he located us with a tale of a ship wreck with a giant scorpion within.
The rest of our trip back to the city was uneventful. We reported all our adventures except for the ship wreck & the scorpion, which we intend to investigate on a later expedition and the armour we obtained from the animated suits, which Eric intends to use to fashion us upgraded weapons and armour.
