Varg's Valiants I - Recovering The Lost Map

Introductions

Kyle Korver awoke to the smell of cooking pastries and other baked goods, prompting him to head downstairs and run his morning errands around the town of Forest’s Edge. Things had been a little rocky the past few days so he was just hoping to find some normality for himself & Juliet - a woman in the employ of The Homestead whom he cared for greatly. The previous evening he’d spoken with Varg - second in command of The Homestead - and been offered work recovering some stolen goods from their vaults with the promise of a reward upon completion. He spoke with Pepper about the latest news before heading over to All-On-Red to meet with Varg.

Ulbrig Derenge and Indria Lumiel unknowingly awoke in the same tavern and made their way to retrieve some breakfast before completing their errands and making their way to All-On-Red to meet up with the endearing Half-Orc man who had offered each of them work the prior day. Neither of them were entirely convinced by the charming southern drawl of Varg alone - but the promise of a reward upon completion was enough to sway them to joining the cause.

Kyle, Indria, and Ulbrig each arrived at All-On-Red earlier than requested and made small talk with each other. Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden awakening of a suspiciously tall Halfling male laying on the ground nearby. He clearly smelled of alcohol and wasn’t entirely clued in on a social level. He introduced himself as GRAY and explained that he too was here to work for Varg.

Meeting Varg

The group made their way inside and spoke with the bartender - Garrus who was adorned with a strange headpiece - one that made it look like he had a giant column of pink hair. Garrus explained that Varg was speaking with Carmen Flint - leader of The Homestead - and that they’d be with him soon, offering them drinks on the house. Shortly after drinks were served - they were summoned into the main chamber of The Homestead’s Headquarters where they overheard Varg speaking with Carmen Flint.

Varg was anything but subtle and even whilst trying to be quiet - some of the group overheard him speaking about a man named Caesar Plight.

“Are ya’ sure? That’s real concerning news Carmen…

If Caesar Plight has abandoned The Rouge - that could spend danger for us and the surrounding towns as those there generals vie for control.”
- Varg speaking with Carmen Flint about Caesar Plight…

Each of them were briefed on the adventure ahead of them - they were to travel to Ponderton; a mining town North West of Forest’s Edge, and recover a map that had been stolen by members of The Rouge. They were each promised a reward of their choice - so long as The Homestead could provide such a reward.

The Rewards

Alicia Kepper; a Gnome woman who tended to The Homestead’s book keeping, questioned each of then for what they wanted as their rewards.

• Indria requested knowledge on friends of hers; and for information about which prison they might be being kept in.
• GRAY requested the locations of or information about BLUE and SHAI.
• Ulbrig simply asked for information about strong opponents in the area.
• Kyle asked that Juliet Richardson receive increased compensation

Alicia confirmed that she could meet those requests and made record of each of Varg’s Valiants’ members as well. Varg instructed each of them to follow him as they headed into the Gaol for some final questioning before heading out.

Visiting The Ruffian

Varg took them further underground into one of the levels of the Gaol where they saw a Half-Orc figure bound and blindfolded - the empty holster by his side told them he’d been disarmed and had at least his weapons confiscated. Varg spoke privately with the man for a bit before removing his binds and blindfold.

“Alrighty all - this here’s Kezark; one of The Rouge smartasses who thought it’d be a good idea to rob our vaults. This one just wasn’t fast enough to sneak away from me, was he?”
- Varg introducing the captive

Varg explained that Kezark was going to join them on this mission with his reward being his freedom - asking them to keep an eye on him at all times. He gave them 1 hour to complete any final preparations before they set out to Ponderton.

To Ponderton

There were two paths towards Ponderton - they could either follow the road and cut through the Shadesorrow Forest; which was slower and more dangerous, or they could go directly to the Sideshot River and take the ferry; which could cost them a fair bit of gold.

Varg’s Valiants chose to take the ferry and headed out promptly.

A Disturbance on the Road

Midway through their journey - the party were caught off guard by a sudden figure in tattered black clothes rushing at them and slashing at Varg - as three other figures appeared behind them and attempted to box them in. Varg’s Valiants quickly launched into action and repelled the bandits without breaking a sweat. Varg was mightily impressed by their combat readiness and had them regroup swiftly as to not loose any more travel time.

High Price or Low Price

Arriving at the Sideshot River - they each noticed a large mechanical vessel approach them from the other side of the river. Atop the vessel - a tall Aarakocra male introduced himself as the captain of the ferry service. He explained that the pricing rules fluctuated with demand and the conditions - to account for this he offered them a little game.

“I’m going to roll a twenty-sided dice - and you’re gonna guess if it’ll be an even or an odd number. If you guess correctly, you can choose to pay the high price or the low price, but if you guess incorrectly, then I get to the pick the price you pay…”
- The Captain of the Ferry to Varg’s Valiants

Various members managed to guess correctly and only paid a fee of 1 gold piece but most ended up paying the higher fee of 12 gold. Many of the party were convinced he was using a loaded dice - however before they could form any concrete argument; the Ferry lurched and came to a complete stop in the middle of the river.

The Ferry Stops Working

The Captain headed below deck to investigate the problem - seemingly flustered by the incident. A careful glance over the deck told Varg’s Valiants that there was something blocking the large wheels on either side from spinning. Indria was able to dislodge one side with a carefully placed Eldritch Blast, however this caused the Ferry to suddenly sharply veer to one side.

Freeing The Wheel

Kyle could see that a log was still blocking the wheel on the other side and with a swift but measured shot of his rifle - he was able to free the log and the ferry began operating as per normal once again.

The captain thanked each of them for handling the situation with poise and returned their fees to them as compensation. He let them down on the other side of the Sideshot River and said farewell - but not before conveying something he’d seen earlier in the day.

“Oh yeah - earlier in the day I turned away two shady fellas who looked to be coming from Forest’s Edge… They said some weird stuff like ‘the rupture is at the deepest point’ and ‘the rift should be opening soon’.

No idea what they were babbling about but it’s bad for business having folk like that on your boat so told ‘em no.”
- The Ferry Captain’s Information.

Arriving In Ponderton

Evening was in full swing as they arrived in Ponderton - a small rustic town with buildings made mostly out of stone bricks wherever it made sense, with the only wood being used to accent the stone or in places were stone wasn’t suitable.

They took in the town’s layout and gathered that there were two taverns - The Digger’s Diner; a general purpose tavern that was decently large, and The Leaky Horn; a Dwarven themed tavern that served drinks out of a horn, as well as a General Store and buildings for the Town Hall and Mining Guild.

They decided to head towards the The Digger’s Diner and see if anyone there had seen or heard anything about the map or people they were following.

The Digger’s Diner

Entering the tavern, Ulbrig was caught off guard by the abnormally high ceilings at first - but a glance at owner of the tavern explained it. Erk Rockmill - as he would introduce himself - couldn’t answer any of their questions but offered them drinks and pointed them to a table in the front of the store. Varg initially decided against ordering a drink; as he “…had to be in fit & fighting shape…”, but when a staff member came around with a drink that had been paid for by a gentleman on the other side of the tavern - he accepted.

“Well, it would be rude to decline if it’s a complimentary beverage.”
- Varg accepting the drink from the staff

Varg’s Valiants discussed a plan for how to tackle the various buildings within the town and came to a rough conclusion to split up. Before they could decide on groupings however; Varg clearly began slurring his words before falling face first on the table. A quick check over made it clear that he was in an induced state of sleep.

The cloaked figure that had supposedly purchased the drink for him could be seen rushing out the door of the Tavern. Erk Rockmill approached to make sense of the commotion and offered to watch over Varg whilst the others took chase.

Finding The Cloaked Man

Varg’s Valiants scanned the town and made chase to the cloaked man - who was eventually found hiding outside the Mining Guild. The party interrogated him for information - with Ulbrig making special effort to physically intimidate him.

The Water Genasi male; scared to half to death, revealed that he had been blackmailed into ensuring that that beverage was given to a man matching Varg’s description. Two figures in black leather had offered him gold and threatened him with violence if he didn’t do it. One of them seemed to head towards the Mineshaft whilst the other kept looking around the town.

The party requested the man return to The Digger’s Diner and watch over Varg - and to let them know if the men in leather showed up again. From here - they decided to split up and check for any leads on their location.

Splitting Up

Ulbrig, Indria, and GRAY headed as one group, whilst Kyle grouped with Kezark to watch him in Varg’s stead.

General Store

Ulbrig, Indria, and GRAY made their way to the town’s General Store - where a lovely old Gnomish woman named Granny Timbers sold handmade knick-knacks, baked goods, and essential items. She initially spoke about seeing a man in leather armour head towards one of the taverns but couldn’t describe him in any further detail. She seemed to start talking to herself about something after that.

“Oh my - I really hope my Tana is doing ok down south. I haven’t heard from her in… oh I can’t even remember how long. She’s a lovely granddaughter but it’s been so long since I’ve seen or heard from her - she’s probably gone out to sea on a long journey.”
- Granny Timbers’ tangent about her granddaughter

Mining Guild

Kyle and Kezark climbed the staircase to the raised floor of Ponderton’s Mining Guild and were met with a rustic interior decorated with pickaxes, leather bags, and a lot of dusty gear. A tall, lithe Half-Elf woman approached from the balcony and introduced herself as Emyra Syncor - manager and owner of the Mining Guild. She inquired as to their business in town and made a small comment about the number of people in town.

“If the Sheriff was doing even an adequate job, we wouldn’t be having so many uncouth types coming into town on such a regular basis - but I digress, what can I do for you two gentlemen?”
- Emyra’s comment

Kyle asked if she had seen anyone odd walking around town as of late - specifically in leather armour. She confirmed that she had seen two odd figures skulking around underneath the balcony of the building and she shooed them away. She did notice that one of them was holding a large, old map but couldn’t make any further details from that. She bid them farewell; offering them any further help if they should need it, before speaking to herself under her breath.

“What am I going to do about this flooding problem??”
- Emyra speaking to herself

Town Hall

The two groups reconnected in the town square and decided it would be wise to check in at the Town Hall for any more clues.

When they got there they saw the large, cross-shaped building with an entrance in each of the 4 cardinal directions and decided to position someone at each of the entrances in case either of The Rouge members were hiding here and attempted to flee - although Ulbrig got lost on his way to the entrance opposite the one facing them.

An older Halfling opened the door and inquired as to who Kyle and Kezark were - introducing herself as Sheriff Isolda Menai. Isolda made it clear that she was very busy and didn’t have time to answer a million questions.

“I saw two men in leather snooping around town before being shooed off by Emyra - from there they seemed to be heading towards the Mineshaft without any protective gear.”
- Isolda’s information about the pair

She excused herself and returned to her work, leaving Varg’s Valiants to make a plan themselves. They decided their best option was to head down the Mineshaft themselves.

To The Mineshaft

Varg’s Valiants gathered some protective gear from Emyra Syncor and made their way towards the Mineshaft - about 10 or so minutes North of town. The Mineshaft was built into the side of The Brackett Range and seemed to drop down a fair while before curving into a cave system under Terick soil.

One Final Rest

The party found a small clearing and took what would likely be their final opportunity for a rest. They spoke briefly about their motivations and histories - with GRAY confused that Kyle Korver was not a member of the National Basketball Association but instead the National Buck Association. They moved past this confusion - chalking it up to GRAY being a little bit cooked in the head.

The finished their rest and began to make their way through the confusing tunnels of the cave system.

Finding Their Way

Each member took turns navigating; applying their specific skillsets to make sense of the terrain and to find their bearings, they arrived at a small clearing further down than the one they had rested in and they noticed it was significantly more damp here than it had been above. They were unsure of what the cause was but decided it was best to continue heading further inwards to find out.

Screams From Deeper In

After another 30 or so minutes, Varg’s Valiants found themselves at another clearing that opened into a wider cavern - it was so dark they couldn’t see much but the faint glow and the reflections in the water around them. The area was extremely damp - unnaturally so - and before they could make sense of the water; they heard screams from further in - alongside the sounds of a skirmish.

The party entered further in and one of the casters created a light source to allow them all to see better.

The Mud Elemental & Friends

Entering the larger carven - the party witness a large Water Elemental; imbued with the power of the dirt and stone, slam it’s fists down on the ground - causing the entire room to shake. They also noticed two bodies in black leather armour lying face down in the water that covered the floor - it was apparent at a glance that they were already dead. Behind the Water Elemental a glowing rift was pulsing with blue Arcane energy.

The raging Water Elemental; colloquially referred to as a Mud Elemental in this state, turned it’s focus towards Varg’s Valiants whilst another Water Elemental seemed to flood out of the rift from behind them. Both Water Elementals charged at the party with the only goal of destruction.

Despite only knowing each other for less than a day - Varg’s Valiants formed a clever formation that allowed the ranged damage dealers to hit from safety behind Ulbrig and GRAY whilst Indria darted in-and-out of the fight as a disruptor. Each member played to their own strengths whilst supporting those of the other members.

At one stage in the fight, GRAY noticed the Mud Elemental look hurt earlier than he expected in the fight and said under his breath “Oh, this isn’t the boss then…”. The arrogance of GRAY was in turn met with a challenge by Connor Williams, The Dungeon Master - the deity of the Eldritch Knight’s religion.

The Dungeon Master Responds To GRAY’s Arrogance

Suddenly & without warning - the rift in the back of the cavern began to flair to life one again as more water came flooding out before forming in a vaguely Humanoid shape wearing enchanted armour and wielding an ornate trident.

Ulbrig; seeing the greater threat and tougher opponent appear, immediately rushed towards the foe with excitement and adrenalin. The other 4 managed to deal with the weakened Water Elementals and turned towards the Water Myrmidon that Ulbrig had been keeping at bay on his lonesome.

As the Water Myrmidon began to show weakness - the rift once again alit with blue Arcane energy as two large hands extended out of the rift. Varg’s Valiants were too focused on the foe in front of them to notice at the time but a vague humanoid form could be seen from within the rift wearing Mages robes.

As Indria Lumiel dealt the final blow to the Water Myrmidon - the party took a moment to assess their surroundings and witnessed a giant Water Elemental walking on all fours lean out of the rift - carrying a woman wearing Mages robes on it’s back.

The Mysterious Woman

The unknown woman scanned over Varg’s Valiants carefully before speaking at them in a condescending tone.

“Interesting. I didn’t realise this is where that rift ended up.

I’d advise you not to destroy someone else’s pets. I won’t be so forgiving next time.”
- The Mage Woman (Ponderton)‘s advice

The woman then clicked her fingers as the large Water Elemental she rode began to retreat into the rift - grabbing the edges of it with it’s hands and violently forcing it shut.

The Chamber Caves In

Before Varg’s Valiants could make sense of what had just happened - the closing of the rift seemed to destabilize the structure of the cavern around them. As debris began to fall from above - the party made the call to flee with Indria and Kyle each rushing for one of the bodies to try and retrieve the map.

Indria was able to move first and found the map; torn into two pieces, on the corpse of one of The Rouge members. Alerting Kyle - they all moved to make their escape as fast as possible. GRAY, Ulbrig, and Kezark were easily able to clear the falling stalagmites, whilst Indria was a few seconds behind due to her detour.

All eyes were on Kyle Korver as he struggled to get his knee to engage - a lingering consequence of not letting his ACL injury properly heal. Despite this - he was luckily able to make it out of the cavern just as the entrance sealed up. The party rushed back up to the surface in case any further cave ins were to happen.

Returning To Varg

Varg’s Valiants returned to Ponderton as it neared midnight - their adventurers in the Mineshaft having taken longer than they realized. They were greeted in town by an awake; but slightly groggy Varg.

He thanked each of them for completing the mission despite his condition - and promised each of them their reward. He started to advise that they stay the night in Ponderton due to the dangers of travelling back on foot at this hour, but before he could finish he seemed to receive a telepathic message.

Celebrations Are In Ord.. Oh fuck

Before Varg’s Valiants could celebration their successful mission, Varg shared some concerning news with the group.

“Uh my apologies folks but it seems we have a bit of a more serious situation on our hands now. Carmen Flint has been captured by Caesar Plight - leader of The Rouge. The bastard has duped us & I need to return to Forest’s Edge immediately.

I’m sorry to ask this of y’all - and I understand if you’re not interested - but I’d be a fine help to me and to The Homestead if y’all could head to Roan and try and find Caesar Plight…

I’m sure she’ll reward you heavily for saving her, just ask the last group that rescued her - I think they’re called The Destined Seven or something like that.”
- Varg’s news for the party.

Varg’s Valiants seemed inclined to help, leading Varg to invite them to return to Forest’s Edge with him immediately and quickly wrap up their rewards for this mission.

Varg’s Valiants will return…

Varg seemed to communicate with someone telepathically before guiding the party a tree on Ponderton’s outskirts. A glowing portal appeared in the tree and they were rushed towards it. On the other side, they each suddenly reappeared on the outskirts of Forest’s Edge.

They returned to All-On-Red and collected their rewards from Alicia Kepper before Varg gave them a debriefing on their next mission.