Tserdain, 10th Yarthmont
As the party from Ragged Hollow follows the trail towards Mount Mourn, Rodwig the seasoned elf knight shares with them the story of his previous adventuring party.
About ten years ago my team and I were asked to take care of a creature that had slaughtered two families on the edge of a village not far away from Ragged Hollow. The creature ambushed us as we tried to hunt it down. It managed to do so because there were two. Now they are known as the Twin Wolves. After our first team member was killed, my team tried to drive the wolves off a cliff. We managed to do so but the rest of my team died in the process.
The others express their sympathies as they continue their march. Soon the party comes to a fork in the path. Ahead the path descends into a narrow defile below a sheer cliff. A large boulder is spotted on the edge of the cliff. A more gentle detour around the cliff lies to their east. However, Risa spots a steep goat’s track up and she offers to scout ahead.
The nimble young woman climbs proficiently whilst staying quiet and low. She reaches a ledge looking over the edge of the cliff and spots two hairy humanoids with goblinoid features laying ambush by the boulder. She returns to the party and reports what she has seen.
Lorgar comes up with a plan to ambush the ambushers and after a bit of swapping armour so that Percy wears his noisy chainmail they put it into action. Risa and the capable dwarf climber Bilbur head up. Despite hopes that the giant rabbit pelts would muffle the sound of Bilbur’s armour, the dwarf’s noisy ascent gives away their position. The two bugbears spot Risa and the dwarf. They jeer and depart back up a trail behind them. Bilbur suggests pursuit but Risa isn’t keen to tackle them on their own.
With the position of the sneaky creatures uncertain and dusk fast approaching, the party discuss what to do next. Eventually they settle on heading down the gentle eastern path. When darkness falls, they make a false camp in case the bugbears seek to ambush them down there in the night.
During the second watch Bilbur spots a lone human on the path heading towards them. Risa who is on watch with him wakes the others. The great axe wielding man shouts a challenge down and Lorgar waits until he is in range to fire his bow. Several shots into the dark follow, all to no avail.
Risa moves to take a flanking position and is the first to draw blood. By the time the mad man reaches Percy and Rodwig, he is already badly wounded. It does not take long to finish him off. There is feeling of pity in them at the foolish actions of the wanderer, challenging them in this way. This soon dissipates once they spot four precious gemstones in his pouch.
Moldain, 11th Yarthmont
The next day the party resume the journey towards Mount Mourn following the gentle path around the dangerous cliff. Bilbur steps on a nest of crushed charcoal but the light-emitting beetles that emerge do not immediately attack. Percy wonders if they could be harvested but the others are in no mood to challenge the creatures, so they depart.
Later that same day, tragedy strikes the party. Walking along the path towards the mountain they hear an ominous crack and see several boulders crashing down towards them from above. All but Risa manage to react quickly and jump out of the way. Unfortunately, the usually nimble ropemaker’s daughter is caught by one of the large stones. She leaves a bloody streak as the boulder careens down the valley. By the time the others get to her, she is dead and beyond Percy’s healing hands.
The party mourn her loss and Lorgar says some beautiful words calling out the cruelty of the world taking such a positive, optimistic person so young. The others nod in agreement.
Then they begin distributing her equipment before shoving her half-naked broken body down the ravine for lack of shovels to bury her.
Despite the sorrow they feel, they continue their climb. A storm hits them with strong winds and sleet covering their clothes, Their pace slows. As they approach the base of the mountain, two bird-like women taunt them. “Soon you will die here!” they mock. But the party notes how they stay out of range of arrows and bolts.
The black rock of the mountain is soon in sight with a strange red flame dancing in the wind a third of the way up. Aiming for this, they arrive at a mound with dwarven runes etched upon it. “Here lies Arvid, master delver,” Bilbur read out.
The party see that someone has created a stove out of a natural gas leak and recently feasted on goats. Nearby the party also find a roofed entrance with stairs leading underground. Tracks indicate some bipedal canines have passed through the day before.
Choosing to enter the burial mound of Arvid, the party find a skeleton in a pit and a black puddle. Cautious about the glistening liquid, Lorgar fires an arrow at it. The party watch as the ooze assemble into a gelatinous cube and let out a horrific shriek. The soul-piercing cry makes Lorgar’s ears bleed although the others seem not to be affected. Without wasting any time, Rodwig slices the oozing creature in half and Percy makes sure it is dead by throwing a lit torch at it.
The party are satisfied the thing is dead, taking a moment to catch their breath before continuing their adventure.
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