Session 1
“Please… Help Us!”
Section titled ““Please… Help Us!””“The half-elf man that you all know as Sam looks at you before begging all of you in the Ironwood Tavern to help them.
The two armoured men at the table across the bar room; one with dark hair tied in a bun and the other with mid length silver grey hair, immediately spring into action and bolt out of the door.”
- Sam asking those in the Ironwood Tavern for help
The 7 adventurers rushed out of the Ironwood Tavern to see the town centre being tormented by a number of figures on horseback and not.
“As you dash towards the town centre - you see numerous armoured figures with covered faces/heads, some of which are on horseback. Some townsfolk are doing their best to stay hidden - running to the furthest parts of the town or hiding amongst the crops.
You are quickly approached by two larger figures baring great axes alongside two smaller figures with scimitars.”
- The sight of Rookwell’s town centre during the attack…
The adventurers and these four figures broke into a skirmish on the outskirts of the town’s centre where Lady and Aurevald tag-teamed one of the Orcish figures whilst Jin managed to snipe one of the Goblin figures from a distance. Graxious and SHAI struggled to deal damage in the battle but made their presence known; the former of the two invoking a powerful prayer to Seedara, The Bloom of Life for one of his attacks. Morgyn threw a vial of acid that exploded in a line to melt the other Goblin, whilst Lady and Axton dealt damage to the remaining Orc figure.
Over 80 feet away; two Goliath figures on horseback chased a Human woman with brown hair; who tried to hide under Morgyn and Aurevald’s cart, as one of them bashed into the cart with their horse before the other smashed it with their Flail - grabbing the the Human woman and leaving with her over his shoulder.
The remaining Orc assessed the situation and yelled out to the town centre; where a 6’9” figure with a hood and cloak responded by calling out for the raiders to retreat.
“Snatchers! It is time to retreat and fall-back! We’ve got what we came for…”
- The tall figure’s call for retreat
The figure then pulled out a scimitar from under his cloak; slashing a Human woman in the back with it and taking her with him, before hopping on his horse and leading The Snatchers out of Rookwell.
Aurevald; furious at the destruction of their cart, began to glow with a heated aura as his anger pounded through his chest. He let out a furious blow and vertically bisected the remaining Orc before he could turn to escape. Morgyn and Aurevald immediately dashed to assess the damage to their cart; lovingly nicknamed “Pull McCartney”.
Aftermath
Section titled “Aftermath”The remaining townsfolk gathered around the Town Hall and Gavyen Theos and his assistants began the process of taking a headcount and understanding who had been snatched.
Aurevald tried to repair the damage to his and Morgyn’s cart, but it was too extensive and would require significant work.
As the sombre-silence began to settle in; The Grey Haired Man returned from the North West road and loudly proclaimed that he and his party would rescue the snatched townsfolk and bring the The Snatchers to justice.
“Me and my compatriot here will head to Forest’s Edge and deal with these Raiders… We shall rescue your loved ones and return them to you. I swear it on my name and my Brother’s…”
- The Grey Haired Man’s declaration
He and the brown-haired man with him headed off on horseback towards Forest’s Edge.
Request for Protection
Section titled “Request for Protection”At some stage in the next hour, Gavyen Theos approaches the 7 adventurers and; based on Sam’s detailing of the events, commends them for their assistance. He begins to ask each of them for assistance in protecting the town whilst Mr. Bellum deals with The Snatchers.
Lady; after hearing the mention of the name “Mr. Bellum”, runs off after them in a full sprint towards them whilst Axton; uninterested by the discussion, ignored and drifted away from the others.
Mixed Motivations, Need Negotiations
Section titled “Mixed Motivations, Need Negotiations”Axton searched around the town for various materials; catching the eye of Sam. The pair had a private discussion and Axton rejoined the group.
Lady caught up with Mr. Bellum; seeing him stopped aside the road towards Forest’s Edge with a party of adventurers. She called out to them and had a short conversation with Declin Bellum, who introduced himself as such. He seemed puzzled by her appearance but couldn’t answer her questions, suggesting she head back to the town whilst he got on with his work.
Lodging, Drinks, and Discussions
Section titled “Lodging, Drinks, and Discussions”The 7 adventurers eventually negotiated a deal with Gavyen Theos and resolved to protect the town whilst Declin Bellum was off on his mission.
Sam showed the 7 adventurers to their rooms and around the Town Hall’s tavern. They all enjoyed wines imported from the Southern town of Vynord.
Aurevald’s Adventures
Section titled “Aurevald’s Adventures”Aurevald headed out to resupply around town; heading to Julio’s Goods and Wares. He first took a short detour and headed to “Pull McCartney” where he laid his sword down on it. He saw a single unbroken vial containing a brown liquid.
Arriving at Julio’s Goods and Wares, Aurevald noticed that the sign on the door said “Closed” but the door was ajar. He knocked and entered seeing two Humans; an elderly woman and a younger man, who looked like Mother and Son. They were clearly upset about something so Aurevald tried to comfort them with a hug; to mixed affect. They introduced themselves as Maria Julio and Lucilius Julio before the former broke out in tears about losing her granddaughter Evony Julio. Aurevald promised that he would return her to them before inquiring about purchasing Alchemical materials from them.
Lucilius suggested that the only place in town for that ilk of goods was the now run-down apothecary; which hasn’t been operational for 3 years. He purchased some incense from them and left to return to Morgyn.
A Promise is a Promise
Section titled “A Promise is a Promise”Aurevald returned to the Town Hall and spoke with Morgyn about leaving straight away to rescue Evony Julio from The Snatchers.
“Uh, I made a promise that I’d rescue the little girl…”
- Aurevald to Morgyn about his promise to Maria Julio
Gavyen Theos saw the two get up to leave and inquired as to where they were going. A back-and-forth occurred before Sam expressed to Aurevald that he knew what Maria Julio was feeling too; divulging that his brother had been snatched a few weeks prior, and expressed his faith in Declin Bellum to rescue them all.Aurevald backed down from his urgency; resolving that “7 is greater than 2 after all!”
Aurevald shared the potion he’d found with Morgyn and drank it; which lead to the Goliath glowing blindingly bright for a short moment.
The 7 adventurers found themselves with an evening to kill and split off into 3 groups - visiting various parts of the town, and getting to know the staff/townsfolk better. Aurevald got on the bad side of a Red Dragonborn bartender called Delilah - leading Axton, Morgyn, and him to visit the Hycloud Brewery instead. Jin and Graxious visited the Flamekeeper’s Forge and briefly spoke with the Dwarf who tended to the forge; Jin also had his unique sword sharpened here. SHAI and Lady spent time together enjoying their free drinks together and getting to know each other better.
Eventually each of the adventurers returned; in various states of inebriation, and headed to bed - with Aurevald choosing the floor of the Town Hall as his sleeping locale.
A Night’s Watch
Section titled “A Night’s Watch”Jin, Morgyn, and Lady all took turns keeping watch over the town. Jin’s watch; outside of the howl of wolves in the far off distance, was uneventful as the moons of Lunae and Cynthe bore light down over the town.
Morgyn’s watch was also uneventful, with the Human choosing to explore the Run-Down Apothecary without finding much of value. Morgyn returned in the wee hours of the morning just as Lady awoke from her Elvish trance.
A Sudden Return
Section titled “A Sudden Return”Towards the end of Lady’s watch; as all by Jin and Morgyn awoke from their rest, Lady heard a man on horseback enter the town. She recognised the man from Declin Bellum’s adventuring party and noticed that he was bloodied and exhausted. She watched him as he rushed to the Town Hall and demanded to speak with Gavyen Theos.
The Next Morning
Section titled “The Next Morning”On a Winter Gormark morning, the 5 awake adventurers were summoned the the Town Hall’s tavern before the doors were shut and barred. Gavyen Theos presented them with the news that Declin Bellum and their crew were ambushed and 4 of them were snatched - only the Human who would be introduced as Max managed to escape.
Max detailed how The Snatchers had taken them by surprise whilst on horseback on the way to Forest’s Edge. He couldn’t remember much but noticed the same 6’9” figure leading them as had been described from the attack on the town earlier.
A New Deal
Section titled “A New Deal”Gavyen Theos; with a look of desperation on his face, begged each of them to head towards Forest’s Edge and rescue the stolen townsfolk.
“I’m sorry to ask this of all of you but we’ve lost too many people to go on and the Capital hasn’t been of any use to us with this issue. Can you please rescue all of our townsfolk and Mr. Bellum please?
We have reason to believe that they aren’t killing them and instead preparing them for slave trade or worse…”
- Gavyen Theos pleads with the adventurers for their help.
Aurevald; at the mention of “Slave Trade”, became visibly angry and stormed out as the air around him pulsed with a furious heat. He marched towards “Pull McCartney” and grabbed his sword once again before returning to the Town Hall.
Gavyen Theos began detailing what the town could offer them as a reward before Aurevald returned and interrupted him.
“We’ll do it for free…”
- Aurevald offering to help Rookwell for no reward
Graxious echoed that sentiment as the rest of the room was a bit caught off guard by the sudden change in tone by their Goliath acquaintance.
The adventurers began their preparations to leave town on foot towards Forest’s Edge as Aurevald headed to Morgyn’s room; who had just awoken from sleep. The Goliath male informed her of his new found motivation to stop The Snatchers.
“We were doing this for you, but we’re doing this for me now…”
- Aurevald to Morgyn
Morgyn checked the potion she’d left brewing the night before whilst Aurevald was eager to show Morgyn some magic and began performing an Arcanic Ritual. This wasn’t the first occurrence of this happening so she didn’t pay it too much mind, however Morgyn was surprised to see an Imp suddenly appear in the room with them.
“brrr Where the bloody hell am I?”
- The Imp to Aurevald and Morgyn
The Imp; who would later introduce himself as Scabb, spoke with a very shrill voice such that SHAI and the others waiting for Morgyn and Aurevald became curious and inquired about it all. SHAI helped Aurevald read the infernal contract he’d signed with Scabb before Aurevald pushed all of them out into the stairwell to show off Scabb to the rest of the tavern. Scabb saw Axton; who SHAI referred to as “Hellboy”, and immediately turned invisible after a droplet of fire fell from behind him.
The adventurers also noticed that Morgyn’s appearance had changed; she was now taller and much more masculine; with short red hair.
With everyone organised and prepared; and a map of Terick in their possession, the 7 adventurers began their journey towards Forest’s Edge where they would attempt to rescue the snatched townsfolk and Declin’s party. As they made their way out of the town; they heard a sudden, synchronized howl as 3 wolves charged at them from over one of the hills.