Rise of the Runelords Recap # 52 [RPG]

[23 Kuthona 4707 continued]

Having left his new allies behind, Innes Falkenrath, Paladin of Vildeis, sets off southwest along the western banks of the Skull River.  His goal: to reach the Shimmerglens and find out why an old friend named Yap is desperate to speak with him.  But barely an hour into his journey, Innes comes upon a strange sight: a young red-haired woman is snoring peacefully on the ground and being slowly tied up by ropes that seem to move of their own accord!  Noticing a tiny arrow protruding from the woman’s calf, Innes realizes pixies are at work.  He asks them to explain themselves, and they become visible.  They explain that they were “recruiting” additional help for Innes and then fly off.  When the woman awakens, quite groggy, Innes tells her what happened.  The woman gives her name as Katzumi and says she was sent by her master to live alone in the wilderness as a test of her endurance and will.  However, Katzumi seems happy to go along with Innes and finds her horse grazing nearby.  Together, the two reach the southernmost fringes of Kreegwood, almost directly opposite Turtleback Ferry.  But without a way to cross Willow River, the two travellers are forced to march ten more miles to reach the thorpe of Bitter Hollow on the shores of Lake Coal.  There, at the settlement’s lone trading post, a grubby, superstitious local takes one look at Innes’ deathly pallor and refuses to allow them to stay the night.  The fellow grudgingly promises to ferry the pair across the river in the morning.

Skull's Crossing speaks to the incomprehensible
power of ancient Thassilon

The two set a campfire just a stone’s throw away from the grimy buildings of Bitter Hollow and settle down for an uneasy night’s rest in the cold.  Wisely deciding to exchange watches, the two are not taken completely unaware when danger arrives in the form of a trio of large red-and-yellow scaled forms that look a little like dragons (but much smaller and with only two legs): flame drakes!  The drakes demand something from the travellers in a language that neither Innes nor Katzumi can understand.  When the response they seek is not forthcoming, the drakes swoop down and breathe balls of fire on the unfortunate adventurers.  Innes yells for her injured steed to flee, and it bolts with one of the drakes chasing after it and losing ground.  Meanwhile, the two adventurers draw their swords and wait for the drakes to swoop at them before lashing out with their blades.  The battle is a near thing, but the two humanoids emerge from it alive.  Even Innes’ horse returns, having escaped its pursuer.

Meanwhile, far to the north, another group of adventurers set up camp barely a half hour from their destination.  Goragar, Kang, and Artemis have journeyed to Skull’s Crossing without incident.

[24 Kuthona 4707]

In the morning, as they trudge the last couple of miles to the dam, the trio of adventurers are lost in thought.  Artemis feels the burden of having lost several allies already, but knows that his duty is to carry on.  Kang wonders whether it may be about time to quit the mud and blood of the adventuring life and return to his experiments full time.  Goragar thinks about the people of Turtleback Ferry, and how all of his battles recently have contributed to their safety.  Then, rounding a bend in the river, all three see Skull’s Crossing in its massive magnificence.  Over three-hundred feet high and spanning the width of a gorge, this bulwark from ancient Thassilon, covered in carved skulls, still holds back the waters of Storval Deep despite being thousands of years old.  But it’s also apparent that something has gone wrong: a steady flow of cascading water pours through what appears to be a recent break in the dam, and several lumbering shapes can be seen moving about on its upper reach.  Even from this distance, the adventurers come to the same conclusion: within a handful of days, the entire dam will fail, flooding the area downstream for miles.  Kang suggests evacuating the people of Turtleback Ferry, but the others persuade him to investigate the dam first.

Malugus Kreeg, the overseer of the destruction efforts,
was not as tough as he looked!

A winding stone staircase climbs the western rock face of the valley, and the adventurers decide it’s the easiest way to reach the dam.  Stakes lining the edges of the stairs are covered in skulls, all marked with the territorial runes of the Skulltaker Trolls.  Goragar remarks that it’s odd that the trolls would be cooperating with ogres, but soon the conversation terminates when the stairs end at a dark cave.  Artemis stealthily scouts ahead and sees a massive, two-headed beast arguing with itself!  The ettin hears Artemis and tries to give chase, but Kang’s bombs make short work of it.  Inside its filthy lair, underneath some furs, the adventurers discover a small treasure trove.  Further investigation shows that the cave connects to another set of stairs on its far end, and these stairs eventually lead to the top of the dam.  The choppy waters of the Storval Deep can be seen to the north, surging near to the top of the dam, while to the south is a fatal fall to a muddy lake.  A tower of skull-shaped domes sits in the center of the walkway, and the adventurers have no trouble discerning a small group of ogres near it.  Four of the ogres are hammering at the crumbling stone of the dam, while a fifth sits nearby, shouting orders.  All seem exhausted and prove to be easy prey for the adventurers:  Artemis lets loose with a volley of arrows from hundreds of feet away, and when the ogres try to charge, Kang and Goragar finish them off without suffering a scratch.

Like most of his kind, Yap is kind-hearted and good.

Meanwhile, far to the south, new friends Innes and Katzumi are ferried across the Willow River.  Halfway across, a coterie of pixies suddenly appear, asking why the adventurers took so long and why they don’t just fly over the river.  They promise to go fetch Yap.  The ferryman warns his passengers that anyone with a lick of sense stays on the Wicker Walk (a safe, designated path that leads to gnome settlements in the Sanos forest), but the two adventurers know they may need to head deeper into the trackless Shimmerglens.  They tie their mounts to a tree near the river and proceed on foot through the treacherous terrain.  Before long, another pixie appears and Innes recognizes his old friend.  Yap looks much the same as the last time Innes saw him in Korvosa, but now his clothes are rumpled and his eyes are puffy from crying.  Breathlessly, he explains his problem:  his mistress is terribly ill with misery and heartbreak, and the land around her (an area of the Shimmerglens called Whitewillow) is reflecting her anguish and pain.  Yap’s mood brightens when Innes and Katzumi promise to help, and he leads them further into the tangled trees of the swamp.

Two parties of adventurers are independently trying to put things right that have gone wrong in the Hook Mountain region.  Will their separate efforts result in efficiency or tragedy?

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Director's Commentary (July 29, 2018)

I think Katzumi was a pre-gen PC lent to the player who had just lost Sir Roderick (the goblin gunslinger).

I loved the concept of Skull's Crossing--such an awesome image and place for adventure.  My only regret is that the battle on top of the dam is so forgettable.  What could be more exciting than to have a big climax with the risk of falling off?

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