Game Session Recaps

[Xura]

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Present: Blaylocke, Enkili, Jolrael, Leiya
Grynn is away this week.
Jolrael will be away next week.

Jolrael's question: Where is the book The Manifest of the Drowned? Last location was with Ebanin in the guild chantry near Elvold. Currently it is not there. The whereabout of this book are unknown at this time.

Note on Bhell: arcane casters not banned; but tend to be either in official positions of power; or independent ("feral" to use Jolrael's term).

Jolrael checks Ring of Spell Storing. It has Detect Magic; Feather Fall; and one blank spot. He fills the spot with Thunderstep spell.

It's gray and cloudy and windy, 27th of Iyoltan. We're sailing from Lur to Kozorth, a small port village on Bhell's coast. Slightly more than 2 days' journey for this. The party members cast coinage into the waters before sailing.

Blaylocke plays tunes, especially sea shanties, as we travel. With a roll of 14, these tunes are pleasant enough and enjoyed by the listeners.

The ride is rough and choppy compared to the magical Quendi’s Fortune.

On ship, there are a few other merchants. They keep to themselves. Enkili and Leiya chat with the merchants about traveling as a group/caravan to Nemsh. These merchants are indeed traveling there. Leiya (Persuasion roll and Deception roll) discreetly/cheerfully asks about traveling together, pitching this towards the merchants’ self-interest, safety, etc. Another Persuasion check; the merchants seem to agree group travel could be mutually beneficial.

Note on Bhell: there are bandits and such on the roads; to a point, the Maklu allows/encourages this, in a “survival-of-the-fittest” type of thinking, as long as they don’t overdo it or challenge the Maklu.

The ship's crew rejoiced and celebrated the third night at sea. We had evidently passed (safely) through a dangerous area or point of the journey at that time.

We arrive at Kozorth at sunset. Per common protocol, we must await until morning to disembark. Our fellow merchants, however, have a followed a different (and still common) protocol by greasing the palms of some dock workers, and thus enabling themselves and their merchandise to be offloaded in the evening after our arrival. They invite us to join them, but the party respectfully declines. (Blaylocke feels uncomfortable about flouting the law to such an extent; and Leiya is unwilling to leave Blaylocke alone on the ship or draw undue attention.)

Third day of Drindos. The merchant group traveling overland plans to go by noon, but is delayed by the preceding heavy rains and attendant mud, so it’s more like 2pm when they set out. The party weighs the pros and cons of traveling alone (faster) vs. traveling with the merchant caravan (safety in numbers; people who know the local language). In the end, the party decides to stick with the caravan for now. The caravan has 8 wagons (drawn by horses), and a moderate number of guards. The party rides atop their own horses, which were shipped over with them.

Spell note: Leiya removes 4th lvl Stone Shape/replaces with Freedom of Movement. Also replaces 3rd lvl Remove Curse with Tongues.
Spell note: (retroactive) Leiya re-does her Word of Recall to be located in Freehold instead of Anstarre.


First couple of travel days are uneventful. It rains for the first three days, which slows our travel. On the morning of the 7th day, we get some sun.

Spell note: each morning: Leiya – cast Aid upon Enkili, Jolrael, Leiya.

On this day we are attacked. The party and the caravan members are Surprised (Surprise Round). (Note: enemies are identified as #12, #5, etc.)

Round 1

• A volley of crossbow bolts strikes the caravan. One guard is struck in the chest and dies.
  
• One attacks Leiya (melee) but misses.
  
• Another guard bites dust.
  
• Then a third.
  
• Then a fourth.
  
• Party – surprised; no action.
  
• Guards – surprised; no action.
  
• A driver/merchant – dies.
  

Round 2

• Jolrael: Dismounts horse; forgoes Handle Animal check. Sling bolt+1 again to #14 again; hits, 6 pts dmg.
  

Note: At this point, the map in Fantasy Grounds (Caravan Attack) exited stage left, leaving only the bleak blackness of the Dark Side for the party to see. The DM spent time reconstructing the map as best as he was able.

• Guards: One lays out #14 (prone/splutch).
  
• One guard hits #2.
  
• One guard hits #17.
  
• A guard dies.
  
• Enkili: Dismounts. Handle Animal check (20) to prevent mount from running away. Goes into bushes to the north and attacks. Hits #17, 11pts of dmg, kills #17. Gets bonus round due an ability. Attacks #10, hits (critical – rolls a 19), kills # ( ). Third attack at #2, hits, 19pts dmg, kills #2. Bonus attack: n/a
  
• # 8 attacks Enkili, misses.
  
• Leiya: Animal Handling check (passes, with a 12 roll). Dismounts. Moves up (to south) by Enkili. Takes out crossbow; fires at #8 (disadvantage; misses).
  
• Blaylocke: Passes Animal Handling (13); dismounts; casts Conjure Volley at the southward group. The remaining south group is killed off. This was a dramatic moment and brought the combat to a sudden close. He gives Bardic Insp. to Enkili.
  

Game ends at this point. Some discussion of the Bastion system/stuff, which is listed below. We'll have more discussion about the Bastion topics later.

Further reading about Bastions can be found in the 5th ed. Dungeon Master's Guide (2024 version), and also at this link below:
https://5e.tools/book.html#xdmg,7

Bastion basics: bedroom, dining room, parlor, courtyard, kitchen, storage.

Each characters gets two basics -- a bedroom and something else.

Blaylocke – bedroom, dining room
Enkili – bedroom, courtyard
Leiya – bedroom, parlor
Jolrael – bedroom, kitchen
Grynn – bedroom, ?

Bastion special facilities. Each character gets four. Here is what we have so far:

Blaylocke: Armory, Smithy, Storehouse, Theater
Enkili: Armory, Barracks,* Stable,* Training Area
Leiya: Garden (Food and Herb),* Greenhouse, Sanctuary, ?
Jolrael: ?
Grynn: ?

* Items with * were enlarged to the "Vast" category, at a price of 2000gp per expansion (for a total of 6000gp).

[frenzied67]

*Note, the caravan had two guards per wagon. The count was 16 caravan guards before the encounter, considerably less after the ambush.

[frenzied67]

Episode 117 Drindos 6th – 18th, 1032 CE

In the after math of the very brief battle with the brigands, Enkili remounted Arame (his horse) and made sure there were no other surprises in the vicinity.  Leiya had the injured gathered and was able to save a merchant driver and two guards.  The party left the looting and burying to the caravan people.  This delay ate half the day and forced the whole group to camp early.

On the 9th of Drindos the weather turned sour.  Rains made the track muddy which bogged down the wagons and slowed the caravan even further.  Those rains, however, were mild compared to the sleet laden thunderous downpour that hit on the 11th; the day the party actually entered the city of Nemsh.  That rain and sleet continued the next day, easing off to regular rain for several days more.

Even lighter rain stopped the city’s extensive outdoor markets from operating.  Fortunately, as thanks for saving lives against the brigands, the merchants met on the ship paid for the party’s stay in the Serpent and Hydra Inn for a week.  During the wait Grynn and Leiya used their Sending spells to contact the warehouse in The Freehold, where the heroes had set up their bastions.  Blaylocke has his library begin research on the lost city of Tarthil, began to fill his warehouse with goods for future trade, had his smithy filling Enkili’s armory and his warehouse with Anvil’s Arms weapons and armor.  The bard also had his theater begin rehearsals for a show he had written.

Leiya had her garden and greenhouse harvest her crops of vegetables and herbs, she had her sancristy begin crafting Sending Stones, and her sanctuary began manufacturing a holy symbol of her beloved Melosta.  Enkili had his barracks begin recruiting defenders for the whole warehouse, began to fill his armory with Blaylocke’s help, his training area began weapon work training on the 4 new recruits.  Meanwhile the fighter began to sell the one horse that came with his new stables.

While the foul weather held, the party mingled with other patrons of the inn and at a nearby tavern (The Third Soldier) listening for useful rumors.  Not much was learned that way, except for the location of the slave market and the holding facility to the north of Nemsh.  Before the weather broke, the party had to issue further orders to their bastion facilities (which we will not go into this time).

The 18th of Drindos dawned with nary a cloud in the sky; a cooped up city raced to the markets and trade was nigh frantic that first day.  The party zig zagged north through Nemsh playing at being spice merchants looking for a make believe spice, which brought them to the huge area the slavers had for selling their living wares.  Everyone monitored the area picking up on the slavers habits and security features.  After a time they noticed an Elven woman whom all other slavers seemed deferential towards.  Eventually, through many hours of observation and careful questions they learn this woman was named Mierca Inagwy, who may be a slave lord and not a mere slaver officer.

*Today we missed the company of Ghostusk and Ramsay Cowlishaw.  Next week we should just be missing Ghostusk from the game.  Next game will fall on October 5th.  October… that means our Halloween one shot is drawing nigh!
**Enkili is gathering 6 warhorses for training (in our cojoined bastion).  These animals will be available to the party before they go to market, so if anyone wants one it will be yours.

Episode 118 Drindos 18th 1032 CE

As the square holding the slaver market was immense, the party had no trouble lingering and observing without drawing attention to themselves. So they noticed the guard shifts were only six hours between shifts. Enkili also observed the guards, noticing that they wore scale mail or chain mail. None of the guards came close to his fighting ability. He also applied his assessment to Mierca Inagwy, finding her confident in her abilities but not as robust as himself; he thought her goblinoid guards were just to slow attackers down while she chose how best to dispose of her assailants. As part of their ploy, the party strolled through the flesh market as though they were considering owning a sentient being.

A surge of slaver guards appeared just before the market(s) started to close for the evening. Most of the slaves were marched north towards the stronghold at the outskirts of the city or lesser strongholds near to Nemsh; though there were some pens and kennels for slavers of a lesser stature in the square. The party retreated back to the inn, stopping by The Third Soldier for drinks and a bite to eat. In their rooms they discussed the approach they would like to take in scouting the main slaver stronghold. It was decided that they would take bags and gardening equipment and pose as if they were digging for their rare (fictional) Ironleaf Hydrangea out in the scrub lands.

As they were dressing for the occasion, a knock came on their door, a messenger for Blaylocke had found them. The Librarians the bard employed had discovered information on the ancient Elven city of Tarthil, though they had been force to expend 5oo gp for translators. They had several anecdotes of a time when the world had undergone severe turmoil, seas swallowing lands, mountains falling or raising up, and whole populations devastated by earthquake, disease, or horrors unleashed by the chaos. Those librarians spoke of an aware vastness that crawled into Tarthil forcing a majority of the inhabitants to flee their homes.

To play the part of spice merchants seeking an herbal treasure, they took torches and lanterns with them. Leiya cautioned the party to gather some plants to put into their bags for verisimilitude’s sake; however she had to stop Enkili from harvesting a plant that would have made him break out into blisters, rashes, and maddening itching. A few minutes later she discovered a rare root that she could use to refill one of her healing kit slots. They drew ever nearer the imposing fortress of the slavers as they played their part.

There was a ten foot deep moat dug around the keep, while the fort was built on a natural mound. The curtain wall was roughly thirty five foot tall, but there was a gate house that rose even over the wall towers. A four story tall structure that had a three hundred sixty degree view of the land beyond the wall. A stone drawbridge and portcullis separated the fortress from the world, and the walls had more than enough patrolling guards.

Suddenly a dislodged stone rolled from an incline near the pit like moat. A man gasped when Enkili drew The Sainted Sword. The fighter rushed the sound and tackled a disheveled man in rags. This individual’s appearance practically screamed ‘slave’, which caused the party to try calming the man. They discovered that they had found Jahl, an Angierthan from the Rolori tribe, a man who had just rappelled from the fortress on a makeshift rope. After learning where the rope was and seeing it as a great way to get into the fortress, the party began to gift Jahl with tools and useful items. Enkili gave him a dagger and two rations, Leiya handed over her waterskin and three gold coins, while Blaylocke gifted the man two gold. When asked who they were, Enkili just said they were the worst nightmare of the slavers.

While they talked everyone extinguished their light sources, so they had to have Grynn and Blaylocke lead them to the rope. Leiya was reluctant to climb the string of tied rags, she had the wrong selection of spells on hand; but even she knew this was probably the best and only way for them to infiltrate on the sly. Blaylocke lead the climb. Enkili was next and he helped haul up the less physically inclined members of the troupe. Their entry was in a second story window, deep ports that were angled for increased fields of fire for archers or arbelestiers. Dim moonlight gave them enough light to see Jahl’s steps in the dust, the only tracks which showed that they were in an unused portion of the fortress. Eighty feet to the east was the only exit from the hall they found themselves in.

Enkili listened at the door, then opened it revealing a long unused guardroom with only one set of footprints running through. The fighter remembered how sharp Blaylocke’s hearing was compared to his, and from that point on he allowed the bard to listen at the doors. Straight across from their entrance was another set of doors. Too their immediate south was a set of stairs going up, and another set going down. Jahl’s prints came from below. Dust and cobwebs festooned everything, white shards and brown stains littered the floor. A picture began to manifest in their minds when they discovered that the white shards were bone fragments; this guardroom had been the scene of some long ago slaughter.

After listening at the eastern door for no audible result, Enkili thought that going to free the slaves should be the first item on their impromptu agenda. He started down the stairs, but near the bottom his shin broke the plane of a tripwire. Two large globes fell. The globe at the bottom of the stairs exploded in blinding light, searing everyone’s eyes to temporary blindness. The globe at the top of the stairs also burst but all they heard was a tinkling sound that filled the narrow passage down. Blind and helpless, everyone froze and strained all their other senses. Nothing.
After a time they realized that no one was rushing them, alerted by the trap. A few moments later their eyes began to recover. Thousands of marbles filled each step of the stair, a tripping hazard that would have been devastating if anyone had tried to walk while blind. Carefully brushing the marbles aside, the party slowly descended. The main hall had been bricked up, but there was a single small wooden door before them though.

Blaylocke’s ears heard a breeze which warned him this door led to the outside. Enkili cracked the door slightly and peeked, seeing an empty courtyard. Peering up he saw distant sentinels patrolling the parapets of the barbican/gatehouse. Moving carefully into the courtyard, they began to move east seeking another entrance into the fort, seeing a closed portcullis to the inner buildings was south of them, but there were still a lot of shadowed territory they could not make out in the dark. The wind caught the little wooden door and whooshed it closed, the click of a falling bar informed them that they were now locked out of their only known way out. A large gap between the door and the frame held possibility though, and Enkili cursed giving his dagger away.
Blaylocke smirked at the stricken fighter as he pulled his own dagger out. He then worked the blade into the gap and lifted the bar. Unfortunately the bard also broke the mechanism while trying to rig it so it would not lock behind them. On the move again they came to a corner facing north, which revealed a portcullis leading out of the fort. However, with their improved vantage the party could clearly see that the portcullis south was not flush with the churned mud of the courtyard. Some masonry was jamming the track so the heavy gate could not close all the way….

*Has the party found the way into the fortress’ inner structures, or are they barking at the moon? We will find out our next game which is October 12th.
** Today we did not have Ghosttusk or Ramsay Cowlishaw with us. Next week should remedy their absence from our hearts and gaming table.

Episode 119 Drindos 18th 1032 CE

After creeping along the curtain wall and not finding any other doorways leading to the inner buildings, Enkili lead the party to the mud pit before the portcullis. Hugging the wall they started to traverse the churned patch, wondering if they could hide the tracks they were making. A carapaced creature burst from the mud, pincers wide with hunger. Grynn whirled his sling and bounced a damaging stone off of the thing, but as it turned to the priest Blaylocke upcast Roulothim’s Psychic Lance.

The bard had feared the noise of a prolonged fight, so he had deliberately made his spell as potent as possible, he killed the creature (ankheg?) outright. The party froze for several moments straining their ears into the night. There was no hue and cry to indicate they had alerted the slaver guardians. Grynn was the last to crawl through the mud and go under the inner portcullis, just before a Hobgoblin patrol passed over the gatehouse. Just as Enkili had feared there were murder holes and arrow slits aplenty in the crate and barrel infested ten by thirty area beyond the portcullis bars; the term guardhouse was too tame for the abattoir this area could become if defended properly. Before they entered the courtyard beyond they saw a single Hobgoblin whipping a wretched looking humanoid being atop the wall.
This moved Blaylocke to tears, the inhumane treatment tearing at his soul, only to turn into resolve when the duo passed from sight. Taking a deep breath Enkili started across the wide open area outside of the proto-barbican’s shadowed passage. He could see routes to the east and west, narrow paths following the wall, but before him he saw what appeared to be a garden set in the middle of the inner buildings. Suddenly a patrol of Hobgoblins challenged him from the western wall, shouting something in their unknown tongue. Pretending like he belonged, Enkili offered the group a wave then pointed to the garden as if he were pressed for time. Somehow his act worked, his boldness convincing the Hobgoblins that he were one of their own.

The rest of the party crossed a few minutes later as the fighter took a moment to calm the beating of his heart. A fountain and two trees were the major features of this garden, a raised walk partially covered the perimeter of the garden area. Jolrael wanted to climb to this walk before he noticed the southern guard tower overlooking the whole area, a climb that would have increased their chances of being spotted. Flowing under the walk the party moved south until they came to a set of double doors. No one wanted to check out the fountain they had passed.

A peek through those doors revealed an east to west corridor, well lit by torches in sconces set at ten foot intervals. Before they entered, however, Blaylocke asked for time to probe the area for living minds. He cast Detect Thoughts and probed the space beyond the door, he found no thinking creature beyond. When no one answered his query of which way to go, Enkili chose to head east. Treading slowly and carefully down the hall they came to the eastern door. This time Jolrael listened at the door, assuring everyone that there was nothing making sound beyond the portal.

Enkili cracked the door and began to peek, he was met by a loud growling sound and saw a grizzly bear rushing him. He barely dodged back before the beast hit the barrier. Shouts sounded within the long hall they were in, and Jolrael was pinned against the wall by the slammed open door. Meanwhile as the door was being rushed a ten foot section of floor and wall spun like a balanced paddle, dumping Leiya and Blaylocke into a ten foot deep pit with spikes. Neither of them took too much damage, fortunately, as the spikes were haphazardly placed and the fall had been relatively short. What was disconcerting was the fact that the wall had spun around and replaced the floor, so it looked to Enkili and Jolrael that their friends had vanished without a trace; only Grynn (acting as rear guard) had actually seen what had truly happened.

Before he had a chance to strike the bear, the fighter realized that the glassy eyes of the bear were actual glass and the beast was stuck in a pose. Their bear was stuffed and on a wheeled cart. Enkili pushed the bear back so that Jolrael could move from behind the door he had been pinned behind. Pressing on the wall and floor where the priestess and bard had fallen through did not flip the stone flooring, so Grynn used his Shape Stone spell to make a hole at their feet. Blaylocke and Leiya were hoisted out of their darkened prison. The room behind the bear looked like a makeshift study or office. There were a set of doors to the north, opposite a southern set of doors. Barrels occupied the north western part of the room, a large stack of dry wood was stacked next to a fireplace built into the east wall; there was no fire at the time, but there was a fire blackened butter knife in the wood pile. Silver or silver plated?

A leather chest was south of the fireplace. The center of this rectangular room was dominated by a rickety desk whose seat was naught but a crate tall enough to to pose as the requisite seating. Both the barrels and the chest proved to be empty, but there was a ledger written in a foreign tongue on the desk. A perusal of the crate acting as seating revealed a small bag of fifty gold Bhelian coins. Jolrael checked the northern door and reported it locked, however the southern door proved open. Blaylocke listened before Enkili moved through the southern aperture.

This also proved to be a long well lit hallway ten feet wide and hundreds of feet long, but two tin cups that had rested atop the door frames fell as the doors opened, creating a little clatter. At the distant far end of the hall the door opened and bandage wrapped figures shuffled from a darkened room; Blaylockes bow thrummed but the arrow hit the ceiling and flopped to the floor well short of the targets. Enkili strode part way down the hall and readied to strike any figure that closed with him. Leiya followed behind the fighter readying herself to turn the undead when they closed. Meanwhile Grynn delved his brain pan and began to warn everyone of the mummy’s ability to transmit disease with a touch; that and the fact that mummy’s were vulnerable to fire; he advised Enkili and Leiya to fall back to their position in the study/office. Vulnerability to fire was the news Jolrael needed, the sorcerer hurled a Firebolt between Leiya and Enkili. However, instead of a rag wrapped figure igniting, a mirror shattered, and the mummies vanished. There was also a set of doors revealed that were much closer than those in the mirror had been, and despite the glass shattering the sound of the approaching mummies still continued.

At the same time a secret door opened in the north western wall of the north south hall, and Hobgoblins spilled out separating the party. The first lashed out at Blaylocke in the doorway with a longsword. Reflexively Blaylocke lashed out with his Dissonant Whispers spell, killing his assailant. The bard also imparted one of his Bardic Inspirations on Enkili. More Hobgoblins rushed out slashing at Blaylocke but missing. Running faster than a mummy, a wrapped figure rounded the corner in the south then closed with Enkili with a brandished shortsword. Leiya attempted to turn the creature with her goddess’ power, however nothing happened. Enkili struck savagely when the thing closed with him. It died with a despairing cry that revealed it was nothing but a Hobgoblin dressed up as the undead.

Two more fake mummies rounded the southern corner and closed with the fighter, spending their time reaching Enkili. One of the Hobgoblins that crowded the bard was able to get an opportunity attack on Jolrael after the sorcerer tried to hit it with a Frostbite spell. The spell failed and Jolrael attempted to move away from the Hobgoblin setting himself up for the retaliatory attack. Two Hobgoblins scooted south out of their secret room and tried to hit Leiya, she was too adroit on her feet. She then cast her Spiritual Guardians spell manifesting her crazy half angel half fae looking protectors on the world. A large Hobgoblin lumbered out of the secret room and after assessing the situation looked south as it unlimbered a sheaf of javelins to use.

Heaving a breath before setting to work, Enkili lashed out at one of the fake mummies dropping it with a single blow. He then performed the same thing on its disguised companion, also dropping it with a single slash. Enkili then stepped up next to Leiya just north of his original position. He dropped both Hobgoblins harassing her, using a martial feat and the bardic inspiration to get the last attack in. with his remaining movement, the fighter settled in next to the boss Hobgoblin who looked like a being being visited by the Grim Reaper. A grunt from the boss brought out two more burly Hobgoblins who tried in vain to hit Enkili….

*Here we are, only partially into this slaver stockade and we have already alerted some if not all the places defenders. Are there many more Hobgoblins in the secret room, other than the six the party currently faces? Hopefully we can answer these questions next Sunday the 19th.
**Today we finally had the whole crew together, which was nice. Next week we will be short a few of our players as Ghosttusk has his own game he runs and others have commitments pulling them away.
*** Update on our Halloween one shot game which will be held November 2nd. We will all be Miskatonic University students in the 1990’s on our way to a party in a neighboring town. We have the choice of being a Defensive character with two good saving throws and a poor attack bonus (more skill points), or being an Offensive character with one good saving throw and a good attack bonus. Ooh, what macabre fun. Maybe we should lay bets to see whose character loses their mind first... or dies….