WB2, Session 13: Like Women Scorned

Session 13: "...Like Women Scorned"
Friday 2nd, April 1001 AC
(destiny token: 1)

Companions

• Urist, dwarven cleric of Kagyar (level 2)
• Danik, human scholar mage (level 2), captured by the Drahies.
• Serrin, human bounty hunter (level 2)
• ​Rurik, dwarven fighter (level 2)
• ​Zao-rin, human monk (level 2), captured by the Drahies

Lost companions

• Grom, half-orc druid, went missing during dragon attack.
• ​Adran, gnome bard, fell to his death after being dropped by a Drahie

And so the group had pushed east after the odd roar they had heard. Danik, exhausted, fell to the ground, in high need of rest. Urist agreed to give up the search for the creatures that were stalking the group previously and, after some backtracking, the companions continued their long rest.

Hours later, feeling reinvigorated, the group was preparing for the journey ahead when, suddenly, a Dwarf came crashing down through the tall grass, almost ramming Urist at full speed. Immediately weapons were drawn, but the Dwarf asked for help and before any-more could be said, a group of flying creatures, looking a lot like Harpies but with a reptilian feel to them, not avian as it's usual with Harpies. Their winged arms were bat-like, their lower body covered in black scales, feet with sharp claws, their upper body was greyish and their face distorted by hateful intents.

Battle erupted as one of the Drahies (as they were called) ordered her sisters around. Rurik, the dwarf they had been chasing, was pierced by one of their nasty weapon, a barbed spear that caused as much damage to the skin it pierced going in, as going out. Serrin jumped into action, using the tall grass around him as cover, while he unleashed bolts after bolts into the beasts. Rurik slashed left and right at the Drahies who had landed around them while Urist focused his mind, sending Radiant Flames onto the creatures.

Suddenly, a couple more creatures arrived and flew over to Adran and Danik who were somewhat isolated from the fight. With ease, they grabbed them both between their powerful claws then circling around, heading East toward the small mountain range. Adran seemed to struggle intensely for a moment, then suddenly, the Drahie carrying him screeched and gained some more altitude and suddenly released him, sending the gnome crashing to his death, a hundred feet below, as the ones carrying Danik disappeared on the horizon.

Meanwhile, Serrin, Rurik and Urist were still tangled in a brutal melee. Noticing they had lost the upper-hand, one of the Drahies seemed to call for a retreat, and sent a Barbed net onto the companions, before flying away, leaving one of her sister to die under the blows of the dwarves, caught mid-air by one of Urist's flames.

Once silence came back to the camp, the companions discussed the recent encounter, and inquired about Rurik while Urist studied the corpse of the Drahie:

• Rurik is a Dwarven Fighter. He travelled with a monk called Zao-rin who was captured by the Drahies, just like Danik. He's been on the run for hours since then. How both of them got to be in here remained...confused for now, something about a tribe of Wild Goblins, an Earthquake, ruins, an old spell-book and a shimmering portal...
• Urist noticed that there was some kind of compound powder in a gland at the back of the Drahie's throat. Mixes with liquid, it seemed to become some kind of Acidic substance, that indicated the Drahies could probably spit it out to devastating, if very localized, effects. He collected a small sample of the powder in a vial.
• The Barbed Spear and the Barbed Net looked like deadly and cruel weapons, but their weight was off and they would require some training to use properly.

Resolved to rescue their captured friend, the companions agreed to have Rurik accompany them and the group began their journey east, toward the small Mountain Range. There, with no traces of the Drahies, they decided to follow a small river they had found toward a massive lake further Southeast, hoping to find refuge and supplies, the mountains being mostly devoid of life.

About 8 hours later, they arrived at the lake, nested at the foot of massive cliffs that resembled the ones they had climbed previously. The light cloud cover allowed them to see, past greyish blur caused by the ambient dim light in the air, the same cave ceiling, hundreds of feet above.

The water from the lake was almost transparent and revealed no real lifeforms that could make fishing practical. It however tasted as pure and clean as water can ever be, remind Urist of the RockHome sources, filtered through miles of rock and earth. Urist and Rurik, focused on foraging whatever could be, also did find some small crab-like creatures, that later on proved tasteless, but edible.

Serrin meanwhile noticed a small canoe pulled up on the shore line, quite similar to the ones they had used to cross the other lake outside the cave. There, he found a small camp-fire pit, with provision and some hide clothing next to it. The companions decided to make camp there, hoping that whoever the camp belonged to would come back.

Later, during Serrin's watch, a young woman approached, carrying a basket full of vines and crabs. Her skin was pale, almost grey. Small and thin, her face was odd, traits lacking symmetry, her ears too wide, her nose bent slightly, her skull a bit too big. She was otherwise human however, or at least humanoid. She wore light clothing make of tanned hide of some kind, and had many small piercings made of silver. Around her neck was a necklace, palm size, that seemed very old, a carving of a Reptilian Claw around a Sun barely visible on it, just like the one Urist had picked up from the fossilized corpse back in the large buried structure.

Scared at first, speaking a language none present could understand, Serrin's calm manners and gestures managed to establish some form of communication and soon she did not seem to consider the companions a threat. 

Her name was Manelesi apparently, and in many ways seemed both daring and submissive, an odd combination. After some discussion, Manelesi indicated what might be a village of some sort, to the Southwest of the lake, something called "Simphiwe".

At some point, noticing some of the weapons of the companions, she started doing screeching noises, flapping her arms around and pointing toward the small mountain range to the Northwest, repeating "Themba Gania" while tears appeared in her eyes, holding her necklace against her chest. Frustrated that Serrin did not seem to understand her plea, she suddenly tried to grab his weapon but the quick reflexes of the bounty hunter stopped her hands.

Finally, it was decided to go where Manelesi indicated and she followed Serrin closely during next the couple hours. With Serrin exhausted, the group made camp and spend time resting, with Rurik's watch only disturbed a couple times by some of the Drahies flying about in the skies, far to the north west.

Later, the group reached what seems to be the lair of the Drahies, a cave near the top of one of the smaller mountains. With Manelesi left behind, hiding, the companions moved in slowly, trying to keep the surprise on their side.

The attack on the lair was brutal but the few Drahies there did not seem used to fighting trained and organized opponents. Urist and Rurik felt the burns of their Acid Spits however, and one managed to escape, flying away with her torn apart leg dangling. In the lair itself were many humanoids, all tied onto small beams. Danik and Zao-rin were also present, rendered unconscious by whatever tortures the Drahies had enacted onto them. Most of the humanoids, all looking quite like the dead one they had found in the first mushroom cave, were unconscious as well, or panicking about what had taken place, lost into chants and trance.

One of them however, who called himself Themba Gania and wearing the same necklace Manelesi had, proved to be more daring than the others and helped during the battle, even though he was clearly not used to it. 

After the battle, the group did a quick check of the lair, finding more Barbed Spears and Nets and some silver bits. Urist and Rurik, after investigating the statue of a reptilian humanoid with bat-like wings that seemed out of place, also noticed a possible structure behind one of the cave wall. Time was of the essence however. More Drahies could come back and they had to bring Danik and Zao-rin to safety.

Leaving the prostrated and unconscious humanoids behind, Serrin grabbed Danik while Themba grabbed the monk and they departed. Later, meeting with Manelesi once again, it became clear that the two were in a relationship, spending long minutes into embraces.

For the next couple of days, the group, accompanied by the two humanoids and still carrying their comatose companions, travelled South West. Finally, they reached the village Manelesi had mentioned. Themba said goodbye to the group on the outskirts then Manelesi brought them to what appeared to be her house. 

There, the companions spent some time recuperating and taking care of Danik and Zao-rin. After a couple days, the villagers seemed to ignore them mostly as they were allowed to roam freely.

• The monk woke up two days later, his trained body recuperating faster than normal humans could. He remained very silent for a couple days afterwards, mostly in trances, focusing on his inner strength to heal both body and mind.
• The mage however had a harder time. He awoke two days after Zao-rin and even though he had lost consciousness very quickly under torture, he still felt the cuts in his flesh, the vile laughs of the Drahies, and had trouble concentrating, staying mostly in bed.

With the language barrier, communication was hard, but Manelesi was a dedicated and open young woman, unlike many of other locals and after a week, most had some basic notions. According to Danik, the language used was some form of Old Draconic, a language not even dragons still used today.

And so the companions had found a safe heaven for now, spending time healing, training and preparing for whatever was ahead of them..

Post Session Notes:

• Two new players (Rurik and  Zao-rin, who will join fully next session), one missing a couple sessions (Danik) and 1 player gone from the campaign (Adran), that's a lot of things to handle within a campaign. Was a bit rail-roaded (finding Manelesi, fast tracking at the end to reach the village in time so that PCs could level in-between sessions) but great fun.
• Close to 5 hours session I think but we managed to handle two combats (one quite massive at the end) and tons of exploration and PCs interaction. Said it before but I really like how Next allows for fast paced battle, taking less time overall, leaving more time for other things, within the same session.
• Really liked Drahies in play, not only how they handled in combat, but the vibe they have. Nasty and yet not over-powered, can be very tricky with their Fly movement if you're not careful and with a real "that's pure evil" feel to them, while fitting perfectly with the lore of what a very old and powerful Black Dragon corruption is.
• More hex-crawl exploration. Less description but I still want to give some for every Hex traveled, to give a sense of time and space, even if it's just weather and whatnot. Hard to find a good balance between Feel and Pacing, push your setting in while not becoming plain boring.
• AC18+ dwarves are tough nuts to crack. Had to use a couple House Ruled Help Actions in the last fight to try and have the Drahies land a couple blows on them. Acid Spit in their faces worked though, Urist almost went down, which doesn't happen often!
• First time actually putting my Critical Hit house rule in play, twice this session! Urist managed his Save, saving him from being knocked unconscious but one of the Drahie failed and Serrin's bolt mangled her left leg something nasty.