DnD campaign

Last we left off, the Fallen Star Company had departed from Bloodstone and made their way into Vaasa. Accompanying them was the 20-Sided Knight known only as "Thirteen", as well as the magical ancestral greatsword of Damaran royalty, Grimsevr.

Their guide, a refugee from Vaasa named Lokir, led them down from the pass towards the town of Brindle, from which he hailed. While they were crossing through a forest, however, the party was ambushed by a group of bandits, who utilized a young pair of trained ice worms. Despite suffering some grievous wounds, the party prevailed, and managed to capture the bandit leader. They also managed to rescue a little girl who had been kidnapped and used as bait for the ambush.

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As the party prepares to move again, Billy hobbles into the forest, to the severed head of one of the ice worms. He shoves his dagger into the side of the head, and then proceeds to cut the face and mandibles off. Cleaning these with snow, he uses a bit of twine and some strips of leather to fashion these into a fearsome mask, which he then dons.

Amid the bodies of the bandits, you find 210 silver pieces, 90 gold pieces, 9 scimitars, 7 crossbows, 5 daggers, a greataxe, a one-ounce block made of an unknown material, an ornate scabbard which does not belong to any of the blades, a silver bell, and what looks like the insignia from the top of an ancient military banner.

Asmundr beseaches his god Var for the social dominance he needs to interrogate his captive, casting Guidance. Asmundr walks up to the captured captain, he casts thaumeturgy to triple his voice's volume and tenor, and changes his eye colour to a gleaming gold, "HEY PIG****ER! What the **** you thinking mate? Look, must of us are ex-cons, thieves, vagrants, and low-folk anyways, so I get where you're coming from in your trade. But fack you man! You can't go around killing innocent folks. Look man, half these fackers behind me want to take your head off, and as they've shown, they can easily do that. I ain't gonna let them though, that'd be too easy for you. Either you are our captive and tell you all you know, or we bring you to the Warlock Knight of Brindle and have him deal with you."

Intimidate: 15(d20)+2(d4)+5(cha)+8(2d6)=30

"Alright, we'll leave you in Clunk's caring hands until we decide what to do with you."

Asmundr meets with the party on the other side of the caravan, "What do you guys make of this? He seems to be telling the truth so far as I can tell (passive insight is 21 if need be)... Lokir, you know any of these guys? They kid, this thief? Raedwald is the Warlock Knight I'd assume... what does this man mean that he's got a weakness for children?"

The man is frozen for a moment, but then regains his composure and says, "The just lop my head off and be done with it. You've already killed all of my friends and brothers."

"Mmmm the thieves I know not." Lokir says, eyeing the mangled corpses and shuddering. "Though there are plenty of bandits in Vaasa, oh yes. Plenty of desperate men... The little girl... Perhaps I know her... Yes, not long ago some bandits... I will assume these same men... Raided some of the houses on the outskirts of the village. Her house burnt. We found the... remains... of her parents, and assumed the worst for her... As for Raedwald..." Lokir shivers and pulls his cloak close, "A bloodthirsty man, he is. But I've never known him to hurt children. In fact, I remember one year... Yes, very terrible winter, many empty bellies... Raedwald, usually secluded in his castle, struck out into a blizzard, and returned with a bull mammoth. He made sure every family with children got some of the meat... No one knows why, exactly."

Thirteen, while wrapping a wound in his side, says, "It seems to me, sir, that the girl ought to be returned to Brindle. Perhaps this Raedwald will know what to do with her, seeing as she has no family. As for that rogue we have tied up..." He looks towards the back of the caravan, and spits. "Pardon me for saying so, sir, but if you can't decide what to do with him, perhaps we should leave his fate to an unbiased power." He holds out a twenty sided die in his palm.

Thirteen returns the die to a pouch on his belt, then stands with a groan and says, "As you say, sir. Hopefully we won't have to keep our eyes on him for much longer, though. Wouldn't want him getting loose and slitting anyone's throats in the night." Thirteen turns and hoists himself onto his horse. He reaches into one of the saddle bags and withdraws a waterskin, and with a look of great relief pours some of its contents into his mouth.

"No, no, not much longer m'lords." Lokir says, climbing into the wagon. "Brindle is not far now, no, not far at all. We ought to make haste though. Wouldn't want to have to sleep in the forest tonight. All sorts of things in the trees by night..." Lokir eyes the carcasses of the ice worms and shudders.

Billy returns from his task in the woods and stands at your side. He pulls a strip of dried meat from one of his belt pouches and begins chewing it slowly, warily eyeing the Vaasan horse-thief.

You don't think that anything he's said so far has been untruthful. He is obviously uneasy, but no more than one might expect, given his present situation as you understand it.

"Not much to tell about old Lokir, no sir." Lokir says, rummaging through one of your sacks of provisions. "Just a man, toiling away under the watchful eye of a lord, trying to feed himself anyways he knows how." He finds an apple in the sack and his eyes light up, and he bites into it hungrily. "Mercy be, m'lord. Nothin grows so sweet around here." He munches on his apple, and then continues, "Brindle's full of folks like me. Mostly honest, but won't hesitate to nip some bread, if'n you give 'em the opportunity, no sir. Very short growing seasons here, very short... Winter is long and dark and harsh, oh yes... Many don't make it, no, no... Lost me brothers, me sisters, and me parents to one winter or another. Always was sure I'd go the same way, yes... Till I got myself locked in a southern castle... But look here now! Old Lokir's back, and the wind blows hungrily..."

Indeed, the wind is starting to pick up a bit. From the light levels in the forest, you would guess that the sun is now setting behind the mountains to the West, and is it drops, so too does the temperature.

Content with the idea of speaking to our new guest when we reach a safer and more accommodating location, Geoffrey concentrates on scanning the surroundings and navigating the terrain. He keeps his eyes peeled for any signs of light or smoke on the horizon to indicate a type of settlement.

The girl sits silently and stares at the snowy ground passing beneath the wagon. When you create the butterflies, however, she looks up with her mouth agape. "Is that magic you're using?" She says, apparently in disbelief. "I didn't know magic could make nice things. I thought it only hurt people..."

You pass through the forest in relative silence, the hoofs of your horses and bison muffled by the thick snow on the ground. Your bison's brown coat is now covered in a light dusting of snow, and every now and again she slows to shake some off.

As the forest grows darker, you begin to detect the scent of smoke on the wind, and you can hear running water somewhere ahead.

"Brindle is not far now, oh no. The river is all that stands between us. Like as not, Raedwald has seen our coming, and may be spying on us even now. Yes, yes... Ever watching..."

In a light-hearted tone Asmundr says to the kid, "Ah, yes Lyrina is our Arcane expert in the group, quite a talent she has! The holy arts also give mortals such talents. See what sort of blessings the gods have left for us, if you train enough you could become like me, singing the songs of righteousness and devotion. Ah, yes it is truly in this way that the gods smile upon us, give us strength, vitality, and good-fortune.... look now, as I strum my sitar, the spirits of the forest dance in glee!"

Asmundr uses his sitar to play a jovial but ethereal tune, casting Minor Illusion, causing cute little Kodama to dance around in the trees. Performance: 16(d20)+5(cha)+2(1d6)=23

"And if any danger comes, the gods have entrusted me to protect you, give you holy sanctuary, so you have nothing to fear any longer! Me and these Kodama will keep you safe!"

"Clunk, how's it going? I'm sorry you... sustained so much... injury last battle. I tried my hardest to keep you healthy, but that combat may have been a bit much for some of our fleshier compatriots to handle."

I address the girl, "This is clunk, he is our sort of martial wonder, I'm not exactly sure there is anything magical about him, though it may seems so by his dominance in battle."