Grognarc

Character Name: Grognarc (Groggy)
Gender: Male
Race: Bloodseeker Drake
Height: 3' 7"
Length: 5' 1" (8' 4" with full length of tail)
Weight: 468 lbs
Alignment: Hungry
Personality: Grognarc is easily distracted when he is hungry. He has a tendency to attack his allies when he is starving, especially if they smell tasty. But Groggy has a fondness for XIII, who he can tell has a tender heart for him. He is cute, cuddly, and lovable. His Intelligence score of 2 has earned him the nickname Groggy.
History: Grognarc is the party's new pet Bloodseeker Drake. XIII befriended him in the pre-battle before encountering Yisarn the Undead Mage. Prior to his domestication, Grognarc was a poorly treated slave-drake of the Goblin Toadies that Yisarn was using to his advantage.

Chapter Two - Part 4 - Waylaying the Caravan

Once the trio reunited at the Mallard Inn and took the night to rest, they gathered in the tavern to decide what to do with the new tasks they had been given.

"What information did the Druid present?" Rayne asked Lirael and XIII.

"She told us that there are potential reinforcements at Tor's Hold, but we would have to take some bullywugs off their hands. Sounds like a big project to me," Lirael replied, unenthusiastically.

"I see," Said Rayne, "Well, Dar Gremath told me about a supply caravan heading out from here today. We could attack it to anger the Iron Circle, which would help Dar Gremath to lure their leader out of his little castle."

XIII grinned, "That sounds like a fun alternative with instant gratification."

"And there is probably some treasure to loot on said caravan," Lirael added. "Let's just attack the caravan and then we could see if Dar Gremath needs the Tor's Hold reinforcements."

They all agreed that this was a decent option and so they headed out immediately to prepare themselves for an ambush. On the outskirts of town they each hid on the side of the road where they knew the caravan would be pulling through. Shortly thereafter, a large wagon pulled by a big cart horse creaked along the dusty road. Sure enough, it was driven by Iron Circle soldiers, two of them in the familiar black cloaks, and one in chain mail with a dark hood over his head. Unlike the soldiers, he wore a red surcoat and his embroidered Iron Circle design was black trimmed in gold.

Before they lost their chance, Lirael and Rayne jumped out from their hiding spots and ran after the caravan. One of the brigands turned around in his seat and shouted, "Hey! Who's there?!"

Rayne leaped into the air, jumping onto the roof of the wagon and swinging wildly at the soldiers just below. But they dodged his blow, one of them pulling out his crossbow and shooting towards him. Luckily, the top of the wagon caught the bolt before it struck Rayne.

Meanwhile, XIII popped out of a bush as the wagon pulled to an abrupt halt next to it, summoning black flames which crashed into a startled brigand's shield. Lirael attempted to corrupt their minds, but their minds were in chaos already, with the sudden and quite unexpected ambush.

Suddenly, the Dark Adept stood from his seat on the wagon and shot long tendrils wreathed in flame at XIII, who ducked at the last second to avoid their fiery bite.

With crossbows firing at him, Rayne's skin started to become thick and bark-like as his limbs began to turn into branches and roots, planting him to the top of the wagon and entangling the soldiers in both roots and shock. The first brigand pulled out his scimitar and swung at Rayne, who took the blow unflinchingly.

XIII transformed into a cloud of mist and drifted silently over to the opposite side of the wagon where he could safely project his vampiric shadow on the all too proud Adept, which clutched him and sucked a great chunk of his vital energy out, bringing it back to XIII.

Lirael took a brief second to focus his mind and use it to send a forceful thrust of imagery to the Adept as well, which sent him flying backwards off of the wagon, clawing at his head for an escape from the mental assault before he gave in to the dark call of death.

Turning his crossbow on XIII, the second brigand was unpleasantly surprised as Rayne lashed out with one of his powerful branches, tearing a deep gash in his torso before he even had the chance to shoot. Then, with another branch, Rayne summoned the energy of the earth to slam down on the brigand from above, crumpling his helmet with the stony branch right into his skull.

Shaking with the fear of witnessing his two comrades' deaths, the first brigand shoots a crossbow bolt towards Rayne but it whizzed through his branches into the air, missing. So he turned around to cut the reigns of the horse and jumped madly from the wagon, but the horse bolted so fast out of the horrific scene that the brigand fell to the ground, afraid and all alone.

XIII mercilessly placed a dark curse on him before sending ribbons of eldritch energy, crackling with black lightning, towards him. At first, the brigand rolled out of the way, causing the ribbons to pierce ineffectively into the ground. But XIII pulled them back and sent them flying right at the brigand once more, this time forcing them right into the soldier's chest.

As he clutched at the dark wounds, the brigand was assaulted by Lirael's psionic energy. It was too much for the reaver to withstand, and he fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head, to writhe in mental anguish for a few short seconds before he lost the will to live on.

Rayne's branches and roots collapsed back into limbs and he jumped off the wagon as Lirael darted to it to scavenge for treasure. They divvied up the findings, pleased to enjoy a few well-earned comforts for their effort and gathered to decide what came next.

"I suppose we should just head back into town before someone notices us here," Rayne said, and the others agreed.

"Ah, those poor soldiers," Lirael said sarcastically, "You have to wonder if they have a God they will beg for mercy on their way down to where ever it is they will end up going....Oh, but...Do either of you worship the Gods?"

Rayne raised his hand to admit that he did, "Yes, I favor Melora. I can relate easily to her. She understands that one must live in harmony with the wild, something my blood calls for me to do."

"Interesting," Said Lirael to himself, "I can't say I follow any particular deity. I suppose I relate most to Corellon most, though. He understands beauty as it should be and I admire that. What about you, XIII?"

XIII shrugged, "I care not for the Gods. Useless things, sitting up on their thrones just enjoying their pampered lives..."

Lirael laughed and then said with a smile, "Ha! Yes, I guess that's one way of looking at it."

Back in town, XIII decided to split up from the group to go and run a "personal errand." He went to visit the house upon whose doorstep he left a decaying offering of flesh and bone. Curiously, the house was dark and appeared to be abandoned. The head was still lying on the doorstep. However, upon closer examination, XIII noticed that the pearl was missing from the eye socket...

World Map W.I.P.

I have been working on the world map. It's not done yet, but here's what I've got so far.

 So here is a brief explanation of the continents. Prastuil is dwarf land. It is mostly mountains. Buldar is where orcs and giants live. Clearly there isn't that many of them. But they really don't get along with the dwarves. 

The next continent over is like America, it's a melting pot. Damara is arid and harsh land. There are mostly scattered tribes of humans. The Iron Circle originated in Damara, with big dreams of conquering the entire continent.

Elkazar is a country that likes to focus on technology. But there is no futuristic stuff in my world, so think steampunk. Mostly humans live here as well. They typically frown upon the use of magic in Elkazar, believing that science is the only natural way. Erathis is revered in Elkazar.

Algarond is just your average medieval country. They focus on agriculture, but there are several big cities in Algarond. Algarond is an ancient land, with ancient ruins everywhere. Magic is used heavily in Algarond, as many believe that magic was found by the humans in this area. Half-elves are prevalent in Algarond, along with humans and a lot of Daemons, shifters, and half-orcs mixed in here and there. This is the most diverse country due to the fact that both magic and science are popular here.

The Nentir Vale is a quiet isolated country which consists of mostly scattered farms as well. There are a lot of dwarves and halflings in this country.

Harrowdale is also another quiet isolated country which focuses on agriculture. Harrowdale is a very religious region, though. Temples are found every few miles and monasteries are very common. Again, humans are most common in this area, but there is a little bit of everything.

The Lundeth Peninsula is a fishing country, mainly. Water trades are the specialty here. There are a few dense cities but other than that, this country is not heavily populated. It likes to keep a "mind-your-own-business" mentality so citizens like to keep to themselves, communicating with the outside world only for the purpose of trade.

Zetriel is a heavily magic using country. Magic and the arts are worshiped here, so Corellon is quite popular. There aren't many huge cities. The population tends to focus around the vast amounts of arcane libraries and schools to be found here. 

The Silver Marshes are mostly inhospitable lands. The continent is kind of like one huge glacier. The ice shifts constantly and water moves in and out everywhere. It is unpredictable terrain where the frigid temperatures are deadly. The does however make is a great place to search for rifts into the Elemental Chaos. Commoners fear this continent, but it has proven to be quite useful to some of the more adventurous adventurers. There are, however, a very few scattered tribes of nomads who have come to be quite attached to the land and are experts in the ways of navigating and foraging for food and supplies here.

The Nelanthyr Isles are very mountainous and ancient. It is said that the most terrible and the most magnificent of beasts reside upon the Isles. There are few people that live here, but some say there are great masters who live as hermits among the mountain tops. 

Tobeymoor is the quaintest of the Halfling communities. The Halflings keep to themselves here where they are, for the most part, un-bothered by the outside world. The elves that are their neighbors do not bother them, and rarely do travelers venture so far as to go here.

Velenril is the Elven country of wood elves and elven nobles. This is an ancient land, set in their ways of tradition and elven culture. Generally, outsiders are not welcome. But of course, you would find the foreign race of people here and there in some of the communities and tribes. There is only one great city in Velenril, but that is not to say that the small villages of elves peppered throughout the densely forested land are not just as ornately beautiful and ancient.

Iriaebor is a land that the Elves of Velenril almost detest. It is the country where elves have turned to the civilized and technological ways of the humans in the continent across the Orofin Ocean. There are many cities struggling to rise up in the bustling world of trade and industrialization. There are many ghettos to be found here where half-elves are forced to live in. Racism against half-elves in this elvish society is common. They are looked down upon as the results of elvish lust for human whores, which they find to be quite degrading to their race. This racism is typically exclusive to Iriaebor, though. Shifters have made a few small societies for themselves on the border of this country, as they are not usually welcome in Velenril, but they prefer the forest that Iriaebor is continuously disregarding.

Bael Turath is the small country of the Daemons. It was once a place of grand palaces and gothic cities, but as of late, it has mostly fallen to ruin. Most of the noble families of Daemons have been corrupted and cooperation among families is rare to find. So most of the land is desolate, though full of history. Lately, Daemons have been venturing out into the world in search of something better.

Arkhosia is the tiny country where Dragonborn reside. They are very set in their culture and thus do not like to venture out of their small continent very often. Not much is known about Arkhosia by commoners, if commoners know about Arkhosia at all. 

Tiber is a densely forested continent that is winter all year round. It is most hospitable that the Silver Marshes, at least. But not many people live here because the forest is so difficult to navigate. There are a few small tribes, some nomadic. But other than that, travelers and citizens are rare here.

Winterhaven

Another city of the Nentir Vale. Again, I will add more info to this post if it ever becomes relevant to the story.

Population: 977

Leadership: Ernest Padraig, the Lord of Winterhaven

Demographics: The population of Winterhaven is predominantly human, with a scattering of dwarf families, and a handful of individuals of other common races, including a couple of elves.

Most residents of Winterhaven have never traveled beyond the village vale. The majority of villagers are farmers, though the walled heart of Winterhaven employs various craftspeople as well. Wagons occasionally head east down old King’s Road from Winterhaven to find trade with the next village, which lies five days away. Sometimes wagons come into Winterhaven, causing the villagers to excitedly gather in the Market Square to hear news of the outside world and to buy new and exotic goods.

Key:

1. Outer Gate and Walls

2. Wrafton’s Inn

3. Market Square

4. Stables

5. Smithy

6. Valthrun’s Tower

7. Bairwin’s Grand Shoppe

8. Warrior Guild

9. Tenements

10. Temple

11. Inner Gate

12. Winterhaven Siege Supplies

13. Winterhaven Barracks

14. Manor House

Fallcrest

This is the main city, pretty much, in the Nentir Vale. I will edit this post later with details about the numbered areas of the map if the area ever becomes significant to your campaign. But here is the map.

A small town built from the ruins of a larger city, Fallcrest is the crossroads of the Nentir Vale.
Population: 1,350; another 900 or so live in the countryside within a few miles of the town. The people of Fallcrest are mostly humans, halflings, and dwarves. No dragonborn or eladrin are permanent residents, but travelers of all races pass through on occasion.
Government: The human noble Faren Markelhay is the Lord Warden (hereditary lord) of the town. He is in charge of the town’s justice, defense, and laws. The Lord Warden appoints a town council to look after routine commerce and public projects.
Defense: The Fallcrest Guard numbers sixty warriors (see the accompanying statistics block), who also serve as constables. Moonstone Keep is their barracks. The Lord Warden can call up 350 militia at need.
Inns: Nentir Inn; Silver Unicorn. The Silver Unicorn is pricier and offers better service; the Nentir Inn sees a more interesting clientele.
Taverns: Blue Moon Alehouse; Lucky Gnome Taphouse; Nentir Inn taproom.
Supplies: Halfmoon Trading House; Sandercot Provisioners.
Temples: Temple of Erathis; Moonsong Temple (Sehanine); House of the Sun (Pelor).

Chapter Two - Part 3 - New Acquaintances

The adventurers finally reached the small village of Albridge and took the rest of the day to replenish their supplies and get some rest at the Mallard Inn. XIII also decided to run an errand of his own and provide the charitable service of donating his beloved severed head to an unsuspecting home of strangers. Under the cover of darkness, XIII sneaked up to a random doorstep on the edge of town and placed the rotting hunk of bone and flesh down, leaving the pearl that he had jammed into its eye socket long ago. Then he left, pleased with his good deed, and went to sleep the night away on his bedroll just outside the door of the Inn.

In the morning they gathered together. Rayne mumbled to XIII something to the extent of, "What if it had rained last night, XIII?" But XIII ignored him.

They discussed the options they had, which were to meet with Dar Gremath or to meet with Reithann, the druid. They decided to split up; Rayne would go to Gremath Stables and Lirael and XIII would go to Druid's Grove.

So Lirael and XIII set off on their short journey northwest to the Grove while Rayne merely walked down the road to knock on the door of Dar Gremath.

A burly man of about 55 opened the door. He had long graying hair and a rough look about him.

"Haven't seen you around before. Who are ya?" Dar Gremath demanded.

Rayne introduced himself, "Greetings, sir. I am simply an adventurer who has been pointed in this direction."

"Adventurer, huh? I've had an adventure or two myself, a long time ago...Name's Dar Gremath. Now who sent ya?"

"My two comrades and I rescued a woman by the name of Ilyana the other day from a group of these so-called Iron Circle men. She requested that we travel to Albridge and she said you would be the man to go to if we wanted to help Harkenwold solve their problem with these guys."

Dar Gremath gave a hearty, "Ha!" as he stepped aside to let Rayne in the building. "She was right! I'm the one pretty much pullin' the strings in this poor excuse of a rebellion. I'm glad to see someone with some fight in 'em for once. I'm assuming you got some fight in ya if you took on a group of them reavers."

"Well, yes, alongside my two associates," Rayne admitted.

"Well good, I'm glad you're here," He said as he motioned for Rayne to take a seat, which he did. Dar Gremath spoke fast and it was compelling to listen to him, "Now listen up, let's cut to the chase. If we're going to defeat the Iron Circle, we've got to draw Redthorn out of his keep. You know who Redthorn is, don'tcha? Their captain. We need to get him angry. There's a caravan heading out to Easthill tomorrow. You and your friends could ambush 'em. Or, hell, just go to any tavern in Harkenwold. You're sure to find some reavers you could pick a fight with. But I'm sure the caravan would be worth a shot. At least then you could rob 'em for a little extra kick."

Rayne took in all of the information Gremath just threw at him and nodded, "It sounds like a simple enough plan."

"You're darn right it does. Bait that bastard Redthorn out of his keep and beat him right out of the Vale in battle. All we need is a little help to give us the advantage we need. Redthorn's got about two hundred mercenaries. When I call for the rebels to gather, we'll have a little less than that. We can take 'em but it's gonna take some teamwork...But if at all possible, it would really do us a service if you would harass some of them goons out there."

"Yes, well, I will have to discuss this with my associates," Rayne informed him, "They are meeting with the Druid right now. Ilyana also told us to speak with her."

"I see," said Dar Gremath, looking contemplative, "Well, don't be strangers now. I will always be able to use your help around here til the Iron Circle is driven back to the south!"

Rayne nodded and said his farewells before walking out the door and heading back to the Inn to wait for Lirael and XIII to return.

As they traveled to Druid's Grove, Lirael and XIII made small talk to pass the time.

"So, XIII," Lirael began, "I have always wondered about the exotic wastelands of Bael Turath. Tell me, what was your home country like?"

XIII didn't have much to say about it, "It was nothing beautiful, mostly scattered towns, a desolate area."

"It is sad to me that a country that was once so grand has been degraded to the status of desolate..." Lirael lamented, "Does it not upset you also, XIII?"

"I couldn't say," He replied thoughtfully, "I suppose I didn't really live there for very long and when I did, I couldn't care for it."

"I see..." Lirael wondered at XIII's past. But he refrained from bringing it up as the Druid's mossy old cottage came into view.

They knocked on the door and an old woman of about 80 peeked out and greeted them, "You are strangers to Harkenwold. I knew I smelled change on the wind. I am Reithann, keeper of this grove. How may I assist you?"

Lirael spoke for the two of them, "Greetings, Druid. I am Lirael and this is my friend, XIII. We met a woman a few days ago who begged us to see you and discover if there was anything we could do to help in this struggle against the Iron Circle."

"Ahh, a wise suggestion, indeed," Reithann said with a smile, "Come in, dears, come in."

Reithann led them into her small abode where she offered them tea and sat them down for conversation, "Harkenwold cannot vanquish the Iron Circle if it is divided. We cannot unite as long as the hamlet of Tor's Hold is menaced by the Toadwallow monsters. You could help Tor's Hold by dealing with the menace, and you'll free up two score stout fighters that would aid the rebellion."

"Interesting..." Said Lirael, "This is an awfully large task you are appointing to us, madam..."

Suddenly XIII spoke up, "What kinds of Druid things can you teach us in exchange for us helping you with the Toadwallow monsters?"

Reithann gave a small laugh that almost chimed, "Druid things?"

"Yes, like powers and abilities that we may use in battle...against the Iron Circle," XIII elaborated.

With a sympathetic smile of sincerity, Reithann replied, "I am sorry, child, but unless you are willing to spend months or even years here with me, I don't think we would accomplish anything together. My two young apprentices here are still hardly able to make flowers grow and they have been studying under my wing for nearly a decade now. You do not appear to me to be the type who is in tune with the primal ways of nature. Indeed, I smell the arcane in you. It would take us a very long time to teach you how to get in touch with the dirt, the air, the plants, the trees. The cat sticks to the land, you see, and the fish to water. Sometimes, over-ambition can lead to your downfall, my dear."

XIII gave a disappointed "hmph," and stood from his seat, ready to take his leave.

"Well, thank you, Druid. We will consider your words carefully. But now we must bid you farewell."

She saw them out the door kindly and with that, they were on their way.

"These Harkenwold people seem pretty inactive..." XIII commented.

Lirael agreed, "Yes, they are all too quick to boss us around. Can they handle nothing themselves?"

The two of them continued on to Albridge as quickly as possible to get some rest and relay their new information to Rayne.

Woodsinger Alliance

MINOR QUEST - Woodsinger Alliance

Status - Completed

NPC - Dar Gremath

Description - The adventurers successfully angered the Iron Circle and things are going according to plan for the Rebellion. Dar Gremath informs the adventurers that reinforcements will be necessary if they are to succeed in the inevitable battle against the Iron Circle.


Objective - Travel to Woodsinger Camp in Harken Forest and ask the Woodsinger elves to join the Rebel Cause.

Defeat Undead Mage Yisarn to forge alliance with Woodsinger elves.

Reward for Completion - 150 XP and Reinforcements for the Rebel Cause