Session 2

Session 2
5/28/18 - Durin, Ellyjobell, Gentle Breeze, and Leaping Frog

Durin
Day 0 - Firkin’s Landing 

I have reached Firkin’s Landing. It has been a long journey from my homeland. This landscape is nothing like my homeworld. There is no snow to speak of. The weather can be oppressively hot and the land is filled with forests and marshes. This does not seem to be the place for a cold-loving dwarf; and yet if my information is true, this Firkin’s Landing should be a great stepping stone for my adventures.

When I arrived in town, I came upon an in inn. Sounds of sweet music, laughter, and most of all, the smell of ale crept out of its walls. Tired from my travels, I stepped in to enjoy some refreshments. The inn was filled with adventurers of all types. There is a large table in the middle of the inn that must have come from an ancient tall tree. A single piece of timber has been fashioned as the table top. Etchings in the table appear to be like a map of the surrounding areas. I could make out a few landmarks about the forest to the west, marshes to the south, and rocky beaches to the north. There also appears to be a great grassland west of the forest with no discernable end. I made my way to the bar and sit down for a drink. I overhear numerous rumors and tales about the surrounding lands, but a whisper about some trees with magical sap resonates with me. If I could harness some of this sap, or perhaps fell a tree and retrieve some timber, I could possibly create an instrument with magical properties! I drank another ale thinking on this topic, and it appeared that I was not the only adventurer interested in this copse of trees.

I met Nim, a gnomish druid, Gentle, a tabaxi monk, and Frog, a tabaxi druid. The tabaxi are cat-like humanoid creatures. I’ve heard about them in my readings, but this is my first encounter with them. My understandings is that they are not keen to cold temperatures, and thus our Clan has never had dealings with them. Frog and Gentle seem nice enough though. The only cats I’m familiar with are the small house cats that live in our dwellings and mine entrances; they are only good for catching the occasional mouse and coughing up fur balls. Time will tell how these tabaxi compare. Our group of four decide to embark tomorrow morning to investigate this rumor. I’m excited for a first day of adventuring in the morning.

Day 1 - Hearthwood Forest

We exited the west gate of Firkin’s Landing and decide to head upstream along the Kiran River. The rumor states that the copse of trees grows along the river. We thought by walking along the river, we might encounter this grove and investigate. As expected, we get no more than 50 feet beyond the gate and Gentle climbs a tree. I have never understood why some creatures like to climb into the air. I think I’ll stick to the ground. But alas, a vantage point may be useful. Unfortunately, it appears there is nothing discernible in the vast forest. We venture forth along the river. Eight hours pass without incident as we head west along the north banks of the river.

At around eight hours into the forest, Nim trips and falls into a recently excavated pit. She is met with a host of bones, and quickly climbs out. The group investigates the pit, observing that it appears to be the skeleton of a dwarf that has been reanimated at some point. As we discover this, a shriek from across the river startles us. A winged Kobold flies in and we notice two winged kobolds in the trees above us as well as another two on foot running out of the shadows. I quickly pull out my club (I really need a better weapon. What’s a dwarf without a battleaxe?) and prepare to fight. A battle ensues. Nim holds her own taking care of one of the footed Kobolds quickly and hitting the winged ones with some thorns. I hit a kobold for some damage, but have trouble overall wielding this club. I do toss some vicious insults at our foes giving them some mental discouragement. At this point I notice Gentle has been knocked down; looks like he took a fairly sizeable hit with a tossed rock from a winged Kobold. I rush over, administer a cure wounds spell and get him back up. I then notice Frog looks a little worse for wear, and whip out my Gitar for and inspirational tune. I choose a version of “I Will Survive,” thinking it appropriate, but Frog must not have liked my style. She biffed on her next attack and got knocked out cold by a flown rock. So much for that tune. Nim and Gentle take care of the last Kobolds, and I heal Frog with another cure wounds. After our fray, Frog remembers overhearing (maybe that hit to the head was helpful?) that a previous group had encountered a skeleton in this area and had buried it. Maybe something is trying to uncover these corpses and reanimate them?

Back on our feet, we continue our search along the river. Now heading southwest as the river turns, we come to the end of the forest after another four hours. As nightfall approaches, the cats climb up into the trees again looking for any clues. Seeing nothing of value, we constructed camp for the night. We plan to look again for clues in the morning and chart a course. 

Day 2 - Grasslands

Grass. So much grass. I’ve never seen so much grass. We woke up on the edge of the forest and looked out while packing up camp. We didn’t see anything along the river of interest looking back up the forest, but Nim said she saw something that looked like trees far out into the distance…. Maybe. We decided to continue along the river (still going southwest), hoping this copse of trees would be in some oasis along the river in the grassland. We travelled for eight hours seeing nothing but grass in any direction. As we rounded a river bend, 4 skeletons appeared carrying shortswords, some clad in rusty helmets and gauntlets. We fought off the skeletons. Gentle dealing most of the damage. I biffed a few more times with this pesky club. Travelling another 4 hours, we still saw nothing but grass. Gentle claims to have seen some hills ~8 hours south (other side of the river). We looked for potential crossing areas, but saw nothing. Getting tired, we set up camp again for the night. I’m beginning to think that Nim didn’t see anything. Maybe a mirage in the distance. Hoping to heal some wounds in the next few hours of sleep.

Not meant to be just yet. Gentle and I were fast asleep with Frog and Nim on watch. Out of nowhere, an elk comes bugling in and just plows right into Frog. I don’t know how they didn’t see this thing. The sound woke both Gentle and I up. Aren’t cats supposed to have good night vision and hearing? As I stumble up, dazed with sleep, I see nothing but a stomping creature in front of me and hear a bunch of bugling going on. Turning to my right, Gentle is up in a defensive position with a torch. Looks like he doesn’t know what to make since of the situation either. I see the elk take a charging shot at Nim, with her bugling back at it and running off downriver. Gentle, in a flash, is gone too. With the adrenaline now rushing, I see Frog just looking absolutely gored and unconscious over in the grass 15 feet from me. I rush over, heal her, and run to meet my friends downriver. Frog is able to get away and the party sees the elk walk off. So much for a full night sleep.  

Oh yeah, earlier today Frog tried to talk to a toad by the water. All it wanted was flies. It knew what the water was and could point out grass.

Day 3 - A speedy return

In the morning, we decide to quickly make our way back across the grassland to the forest. We could see no trees from our position and decided this copse of trees had to be in Hearthland Forest. Two hours into our way across the grassland, we do notice a rocky beach along the north bank of the river. We must have missed it yesterday evening.

I scour the beach and find a smoothed bead of bone that looks like it was a piece of jewelry. The bead had carvings of bears on it. Somehow, Frog remembered hearing of tales of barbarians in the mountains who revered the bear as a symbol of strength and often idolized the animals. The bears are not native to this grassland. How did this piece of jewelry get here? Frog kept the piece as she was the one to understand its origins. I found no other items along the beach.

We make it back to the forest and begin piecing our way through again. More cats in the trees looking for a grove amongst the forest. After hours of this, and feeling quite exhausted, Frog comes up with a plan to cast detect magic and run through the woods hoping to find the enchanted trees. She initially wants to run deeper into the forest, but we convince her to run still downriver so that we can catch up to her. While the plan seemed good, we found no evidence of arcane trees. Tired and weary, we collapse for the night.

Day 4 - Back at Firkin’s Landing

We awake. Fresh and rejuvenated, we try our little stunt again. After 20 minutes of running downriver, Frog comes running out of the woods to find the west gates of Firkin’s Landing. Nothing found in the trees. The group decides to return to the safety of the town and get some nice refreshments, regroup, and continue exploring another day. Post Adventure recap and thoughts:  
 * 1) Cure wounds was entirely too useful in our novice state.
 * 2) Clubs suck. Need better weapon.
 * 3) Cats like to climb trees.
 * 4) What’s the bear bone bead?
 * 5) Where is this copse of trees or is it just a rumor? More thoughts:
 * 6) Consider tapping a bunch of trees along the river and harvesting sap.
 * 7) Grassland did not seem to have any groves of trees, but maybe we missed some things.
 * 8) What’s the deal with those graves that adventure parties keep running into out there?
 * 9) Beer. need more beer. ​​​​​​​