Session 16 - Chapter 4 - Setting Off

Hello & Welcome!

The next morning the Adventurers were still reeling from the previous evening's encounter. What had befallen Dave they wondered. Torsion still did not want to admit that Chard was right in that they should have snuffed out their captive in cold blood but was the fate that he endured, even for a Dragon Cultist, not far worse than what he had now become, whatever it was? Was Dave finally at peace now? He wasn't sure, but he made a quick prayer to Selune that he was but he did get the sense that his spirit was not yet at rest. 

Their rest in the Hostel was fine, even if not the most comfortable and quiet. But the road ahead would be far more uncomfortable so it was not an issue. The different people resting in the cots started to get up and get ready for their day. Luckily they still didn't recognise anyone from the Bandit Camp amongst the people bedding there. 

They had one final day before the Caravan's were heading out so they decided to spend their day making final preparations before they set off for Waterdeep.

Torsion busied himself with checking equipment and making sure the equipment and tents were all in good order. He thought he'd go and spend some time in the temple to Selune in quiet contemplation and prayer. They would be on the road for a while so he wanted to gain as much guidance and insight from his deity so that he would be able to make the right decisions when it was necessary. 

Pipp was getting a much better sense of what Adventuring life was like now after these past events. She was glad she was on this adventure and she felt like she was making a difference. The experience with the creature that was Dave from the previous evening made her think that it will be important to be careful of the types of decisions she makes as there would be consequences for sure. She listened to the tale as Dafnae explained to her the circumstances around the Bandit Camp and she was not really sure what she would have done had she been there. But to her clearly there is a bigger picture at stake.

She was looking forward to the journey up to Waterdeep. Having not seen much of the world prior to joining up and now she was going to see quite a lot of it all at once! And a Caravan trip sounds fun. Tough, but still fun. She wanted to enjoy the last day while in Baldur's Gate so she took her instruments and wandered the streets going to all the inviting (and not so inviting - sometimes they had the best patrons!) pubs, inns, & taverns to see if she could get some final few performances in. She always loved a crowd. And sure enough she was able to do quite well and earned a bit of gold for the trip ahead.

Chard decided to still not tell his friends what he had done. They would find out soon enough of their own accord. He thought more and more about his parents after he had made the pact with Bel. He wondered how did their discussion go with him. So he decided to go visit their graves to pay his respects. Chard travelled to the cemetery just outside of town and found the gravestones easily. He stood there for a while in deep thought. All he said to them was that he understood what they did and why. He completely understood. Before he left to go back to the Hostel all he said to them was for them not to be worried about him - he knew what he was doing and he had to do it.

Dafnae thought to herself that she could no longer put it off. She had to go visit her. They were leaving the next morning and she was not sure when, or even if, she would return. Or if there would even be a Baldur's Gate to return to if they could not stop the Dragon Cultists. So she made her way to the Lady's Hall which was a Temple to Tymora. En-route she stopped in to buy a book of the anatomy of the Beasts of the Realm. With her Herbalism and Poisoner's Kits, she thought she'd have a go at trying to harvest valuable components during their journey if possible.  Who knows what would come in handy.

At the Temple, she put her hood up and walked in, whispering a prayer of thanks to Lady Tymora. There were the usual sorts inside. Almost everyone could come to ask for extra luck. She looked around to see if she could see her. Sure enough, away in the far corner she saw Elba Yew busying away about tasks to tend within the Temple. 

Dafnae quietly made her way over to her and went up to the elderly woman, lowered her hood, and said "May the Favour of Lady Luck be upon you" and then then she gave her a big hug. Elba was surprised and exclaimed "Child, and may she always grant you good fortune! What a wonderful surprise! I've not seen you for quiet some time now. You are looking well."

The Lady's Hall was were Dafnae was sent when she was a small child and entrusted to the care of Elba Yew once her parents had died. She had fond memories of the place and she was fond of Elba. It was here she grew up among Luckbringers and she saw a plethora of adventurers and merchants coming to get a blessing from Lady Tymora. She really embraced the these teachings and so when it was time for her to attend school she ran away to a life on the streets where she was later taken in by a guildmaster of the Shadow Thieves where she learned to hone her skills until she was befriended by Talis Kasterel. 

Elba Yew was sad and disappointed that Dafnae ran off but at the same time she was proud that Dafnae fully embraced these teachings. She just wished she had learned more before doing so. Dafnae knew Elba's opinion on the matter but despite this they were still close and she tried to visit her when she could. But this time the visit was a little different since everything had changed.

After some catching up, Elba asked "How long are here? I heard you had left sometime ago."

Dafnae replied "We are leaving for Waterdeep in the morning." She didn't want to explain the dangerous nature of their journey and business to Elba. 

Elba's soft expression saddened and she looked worried and said "Oh, I knew this day would come." 

Confused, Dafnae asked "How do you mean?"

Elba explained that when she was brought here all those years ago, she was entrusted by the mysterious man who was with her to secrecy. But now it was time for Dafnae to find out the truth for herself. 

She continued to explain that the man who brought her here said that her parents' real names were Anastrianna Siannodel & Arannis Siannodel and that they were Diplomats in Waterdeep but that they tragically had died in a terrible fire there. The circumstances surrounding the fire were dubious and that they instead were murdered. And this was why the young child had to be taken away because it was understood that she too had perished in the fire and this was the only way to keep her safe. 

Dafnae was shocked to learn that Elba had kept this secret all this time. And listening to her tell the story she reached for the ring on the necklace around her neck. It was the only possession she had of her parents. Elba also explained that the image on the ring was her family's crest.

Elba apologised for keeping this from her but Dafnae understood. She only knew kindness and support from Elba and appreciated that she was finally told. Elba said "Dafnae, now that Lady Luck is guiding your journey to where you are from, now is the time for you to solve the mystery regarding what happened to your parents."

Dafnae stayed a bit longer as they chatted and when they said their good-byes, Dafnae again gave Elba a big hug and whispered to Elba "Please Elba, take care of yourself and be safe. I fear there are troubled time ahead."

Elba tightened her hug and replied "Travel safely and swiftly and may we walk in Lady's Luck grace always. Thank you, I will, child. And you do the same."

Dafnae then left, but with now another mystery to occupy her thoughts to sit beside the mystery of Talis. She would investigate what happened to her parents. But they had to survive the journey to Waterdeep first.

---

The next morning they awoke at sunrise to the hustle and bustle of everyone getting ready for the journey. Outside on the main road there were teams of workers hurriedly loading Wagons, harnessing horses, and making final preparations to leave.

The four made their way to their two wagons. There they found the rest of the team travelling with them:

They made their introductions to the new people and talked idly about the journey, weather, and other innocuous topics. They didn't comment anything about the various tightly wrapped bundles being loaded into their wagons. Afterall, they had separate business to focus on. 

They decided to make the journey on foot instead of buying horses. There were plenty of others joining up with the Caravan on foot to make the long journey for safety purposes and the pace at which they would travel would be suitable to go by foot. Plus, being on horses may draw unnecessary attention to them.

Their wagons were towards the end of the line. There were only two wagons behind them.

Once it seemed like the preparations were nearly finished, a voice rang out from the middle of the line of wagons. Everyone turned to see a female Human standing on top of some crates by her wagon announcing loudly "Right, everyone listen! I am Werond Torohar and my guard is Tyjit Skesh and we've made this journey more than anyone. It is long, hard, and very dangerous. We will only survive if we stick together and keep our eyes peeled on both the road, the sky, and the area around us. The area is filled with many dangers, but maybe the worst danger is a rock that will either cause your horses to stumble and break a leg or crack your wagon wheel or spoke. We have a lot of ground to cover and if anyone will not keep up the pace, you WILL be left behind." Tyjit was a female Dwarf. Her expression was fierce but she seemed slightly annoyed by Werond's announcement. 

Werond finished "Ok, everyone saddle up, we're setting off!" And with that a large roar erupted from the group as they all, motivated a bit by her speech, were ready to take the first of many steps towards Waterdeep.

The horses, also feeling the excitement that comes at the start of every journey were also eager to get started. Straining against the reins and with an initial snort from several of them, they made the initial hard pull and with a lurch, one wagon after another started to move, the wagon wheels slowly starting to creak and roll over the ground with a large grinding noise.

And so they all set off.

The first few hours were easy going, traveling beside the outskirts of Baldur's Gate. Various dwellings and homesteads dotted the area as they moved forward. The routine would be to travel for four hours, rest, travel four more hours, and then make camp for the night. This would keep a steady pace and give them opportunity to rest, feed, and water the horses and make any necessary small repairs as they went. Plus, at these intervals there were various regular stopping places.

The first rest was still buzzing with excitement and quickly passed and they were back on the road in no time.

At the end of the first evening the wagons broke into two semi circles with fires in the middle where people started to cook.

That first evening the Heroes met Beyd Sechepol (Male Half-Elf Merchant). Ale and beer are so common that not much money can be made hauling them long distances. But that’s what fills Sechepol’s wagon. He makes his money on the road, selling his stock to his fellow travellers in the caravan. So they immediately made good friends with him. He was friendly and his ale was nice.

They also met Losvius Longnose (Male Lightfoot Halfling Teamster). Although Losvius’s nose is respectably large, even for a halfling, the appellation Longnose was hung on him for a different reason: he was curious about everything, including other people’s business. And he was very quick to poke his big nose into their business but luckily he didn't pry to much but they all got the sense that he would likely prove to be annoying.

The weather was still fair on the second day as they made their journey. They spied the same strange fellow from the Drowned Rat who seemed troubled at the time. He was still quite standoffish but he was part of the journey. Dafnae tried her hand at foraging and found some Everfrost Berries. They may come in useful later when she tries to make something with them.

On the third day, now Baldur's Gate quite far in the distance, the farmsteads were few and far between. The weather was slowly starting to turn. Looking back towards the city they had left, they could see that they had climbed quite a bit - the road had a slight incline but after such a distance they could see that they had climbed quite a distance. 

Pipp decided to join Beyd as he made his rounds selling his ale. Beyd was happy for the company and as Pipp played softly for the different wagon teams he was happy for the extra flagons many of them bought. A little merriment definitely does help sales. 

This also gave her an opportunity to gather some information about the other travellers.

On this evening she met:

During the midday rest, Chard spied some glinting off in the distance. He pointed it out to the rest of his party and he and Dafnae decided to check it out while Torsion and Pipp stayed behind to help guard the wagons and help them tend to the horses.

The pair made the few hundred yard walk over the field quickly and found buried in the ground some metal. They stated it likely is some remnant of a previous battle as is known for this area (the area is littered with such things). But they wanted to try their luck and began to dig it out to see what it was. 

(note, in the pictures we were using stand-in hero models from Rime of the Frostmaiden as Pete forgot to bring his characters for the session - oops!)

They unearthed one piece of old, weathered armour, remarked that it is unfortunately not worth much but then spied slightly off in the distance a mound of dirt. Looking closer, they saw the dirt mound start to tremble, dirt flying out from it. Looking around, they found two other similar mounds. Suddenly from the churning earth three Ankhegs emerged and they all entered initiative!

The first Ankheg spraying acid at the duo was able to cause minor damage because Chard and Dafnae were able to dodge away from the worse of it. The other two charged forward.

Chard summoned his new, more fierce Glaive using his Weapon Bond, the now dual bladed weapon with black intricate handle appearing in his hands with a puff of violet and black smoke. He moved in to engage the closest one. Dafnae similarly engaged it with him. Both landing good blows with the Ankheg screeching as each one connected.

They both avoided being grappled by the pincer attacks now that the Ankhegs were all close. Chard ignited his Glaive with the hellfire that Bel had bestowed on it and landed another strong blow causing additional damage as it singed the Ankheg which gave off a shrill of pain as it took the additional fire damage.

Dafnae was surprised to see the capability Chard had but was happy that they had the extra firepower with them since they were on their own.

They called out to try to get the attention of their companions but they were too far from Pipp and Torsion and the loud chitting, clicking and screeching from the Ankhegs was dronwing them out.

Dafnae was able to swing in after Chard landed another good blow and she was able to get her Rapier blade deep into an exposed area at the neck of one of them, dispatching it. It crumpled to the ground with a painful screech, deep black ichor spilling out from the fatal wound. 

Moving attention to the second one, while still avoiding the pincers, they noticed another mound of dirt beginning to shift and move where a fourth Ankheg emerged, shrilling loudly.

As the new one advanced, Dafnae was again able to land a killing blow to, pushing her blade deep into the second Ankheg right between an opening between two plates of its carapace. More ichor flowed onto the ground as it screeched.

The third managed to grab Chard with its pincers but the pair were able to kill it as well but not before it managed to cause some damage to Chard.

They were faced with just the one that emerged. It launched its acid attack but Chard was not able to dodge away and took heavy damage.

It advanced and the two focused their attacks on it, causing reasonable damage.

But it was able to grab Chard in its pincers and after a critical hit from the Ankheg, he fell unconscious.

Dafnae, startled, felt a surge of urgency to vanquish this last one as the Ankheg turned with Chard's unconscious body in its pincers heading back for the hole it had emerged from. Dafnae didn't want Chard's end to be in an Ankheg's lair so she went for certain and cast Magic Missile. Each magical dart landed squarely on its abdomen, the last one causing it to burst. Reeling from the pain, it dropped Chard onto the ground as it fell over lifeless.

She rushed to his aid to try to stabilise him but she was unable to do so but luckily with a natural 20 and another high roll Chard successfully passed his Death Saves and became stable. 

Dafnae took the opportunity to rush back to the Caravan camp to then bring Torsion and Pipp in order to help bring Chard back. Pipp and Torsion had begun to wonder why they were gone so long and quickly rushed back with her to collect him.

They helped him wake up and made the way back to the Wagons where they properly tended to him. While the other two cared for Chard, Dafnae went back to look at the rest of the buried metal. It was all old, damaged junk unfortunately. 

But she did have an attempt to grab some of the acid from the Ankheg's which could prove helpful as well. With some good initial rolls she managed to do so and collected a few vials worth. She attempted to grab some more but after making a bad incision and getting sprayed with some of the fluid she decided that she had enough and not risk any additional injury and so she went back.

Chard, now recovered they were able to tend to the regular matters of the camp. And this is when they noticed that their packs had been disturbed. Looking at their items they noticed that Torsion's book of Dragon Lore and Pipp's piece of Amber was missing. 

They would have a word with the nosey halfling Losvius in the morning. He seems like the most likely culprit they thought to themselves.

And so rested in their tents and agreed to avoid splitting the party in the future if they could.