Princes of the Apocalypse Recap 2
This piece was originally published on the 17th of November 2020. It has since been re-edited ready for publication here.
Our session began with the party's departure from Summit Hall in the early evening. Their wagon full of chests of gold, silver and copper coins. It took much bickering to reach this point after they disagreed with which direction they should head in. With the wagon full of their cargo most of the party were forced to walk. Forge, in a moment of brilliance adjusted his tin-can companion so that Bingo could ride it with pride. Too small to carry anyone of larger stature, the tin-can was perfectly sized for a halfling or gnome. With the halfling satisfied with his steed, Čadas hopped onto the front of the carriage. Roland led the horses by the bit for a short while giving Čadas pointers on how to guide them. With his strength of mind, he grasped the basic concepts and commanded the horses on his own with skill and confidence after only a short time at the reins.
As the sun began to set, the group pulled to the side of the road and set up camp. They were still disgruntled after their previous dealings with Ushien Stormbanner; but, the hefty weight of the coin they received seemed to settle in with them as a successful haul. The night passed with watches being taken peacefully. For the first time in a long time, Čadas was able to enjoy the open night sky and observe the constellations perfectly; undisturbed by cloud, nor light pollution. Come to think of it, this was the first time since he arrived in the Sumber Hills that the weather was so calm and it was kind of refreshing.
Morning arrived and after a brief breakfast they broke down camp, setting off once more. If they were to get to Beliard before the sun set, they needed to make good steady progress. The morning passed with nothing much happening except for a bank of dark clouds forming overhead. In the early afternoon, they began to notice in the distance an area darker than the rest and as they drew closer to it, they could see that it was swirling and moving. Then, Cybin declared “birdies not clouds” making the group aware that this was a swarm of vultures and other carrion birds. To see them in such numbers is unusual unless there has been great bloodshed, or perhaps a large beast has been slain with much of the carcass left to rot.
The decision was swiftly made for the group to investigate this strange behaviour and with a brief command Forge sent the tin-can to scout ahead; indeed, having forgotten about the halfling seated on top of it. They arrived ahead of the rest and Bingo witnessed alone the scarred remains of a battlefield. He got a brilliant vantage point as the tin-can switched from saddle mode to reconnaissance mode. The tin can raised it's periscope to get a better view of the battlefield and ended up raising Bingo with it. There were a dozen or so bodies strewn around and great gouges in the surface as well as piles of earth throughout the field. The bodies were dressed with black tunics bearing a large red axe. The symbol of Miribar was blazoned proudly across their chests and backs right up until their deaths. It was only when the rest of the group crested the hill and took in the scene, that this became known. Both Roland and Čadas recognised the coat of arms as that of Miribar. It was immediately assumed that this was what remained of the delegation that they were sent to find. That is, until Roland began to catalogue the bodies and lay them to rest. At this point, it was discovered that only the guard’s remains were here.
There were two rock cairns at the top of a nearby hill, one large, and one small. In the hopes of discovering the rest of the delegation, if they had indeed perished, they went to investigate. What they found inside was both unsettling and almost a relief. For, they did not find the remains of the delegation's more prestigious members. The larger cairn revealed instead, five dead bugbears in leather armour. These bore a familiar triangular symbol; this symbol was seen in the ledger of Jolliver Grimjaw, referring to a group with whom goods were traded. These goods were previously identified by the party to have been taken from the delegation. Čadas suggests that this may be the work of an earth-based cult. Having been attacked by fire cultists, taken out a keep manned as a front for water cultist activity, and having been attacked by men on giant vultures whom they expect to be air cultists. It is safe to assume that there will be an earth-based cult in the area. He also revealed that very powerful earth manipulation magic was used during the battle against the delegation.
The smaller cairn, on the other hand, contained a singular body. Inside was a female figure in monks robes with a golden mask shaped like a snarling gargoyle. Upon closer inspection, they found that the mask was gilded tin and almost worthless but took it with them in case it came in handy down the line. From around the cairns a few headed out to follow the tracks of thirty or so bugbears/humanoids through the hills. The rest of the group remained to finish interring the delegation’s dead and protect their wagon. Following the trail south and then west to the river, they found gouges in the dirt indicating that keelboats were docked at this section of the riverbank. Empty handed, they turned and headed back towards the battleground and the rest of their group.
Whilst waiting Bingo, Forge, and Gil hung around by the wagon. In a moment of boredom, and perhaps stupidity, Bingo began to carve something into the top of the tin can. Dagger in hand, Bingo froze, like a child getting caught stealing from the cookie jar, upon hearing Forge's voice from by the wagon.
"You are aware of my shooting abilities aren't you Bingo?" The warning comes in a stern, low voice. "How dare you begin to damage my creation in that way. From now on, you are not allowed to touch the tin-can. You can walk. You selfish little bastard." As Forge says this the tin-can violently shakes throwing Bingo off.
Once the others returned, the group got back on the road. As Čadas went to mount the cart and resume his previous position, Bingo pushed him out of the way. In his eagerness to be in control of the horses he cried out with a "Heeya" whipping the reins down causing the horses rear up unhappily. Morty lashed out a kick in response, striking Bingo right in the stomach. His ego bruised, first by his dressing down by Forge and now this embarrassment he sat silently and sulked a little. Čadas, on the other hand, simply walked up to Gil and much in the same way as a child might request to be picked up by their parent raised his arms.
"Is ok I carry you Čadas. You won't need walk today." Gil replied sweeping him up and settling him into the people carrier on his back. Secretly, Čadas prefers this to leading the horses because it gives him better opportunity to continue his reading.
"I would heal you but then you wouldn't learn" Roland stated to Bingo, taking hold of Morty's bit and guiding him into a dignified trot. Rick follows suit. After about five or so minutes, Bingo suddenly remembered that he could heal himself and perked up, seeming much prouder of himself again. For he, is self-sufficient.
They arrived at Beliard about 9:30pm. They had pushed on past dark to get here. Shortly before arriving at the town, Forge offered the use of a bag of holding to store the coin in a much more space conservative and inconspicuous manner. At which point, the tired group exclaimed in various levels of dismay at the fact that he hadn't suggested it sooner. For if he had, then they wouldn't have had to have walked.
"Well you all seemed so proud of the horde you'd secured I thought it would ruin the mood." He replied tossing it to them before heading over to the Watchful Knight inn. The town is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the Sumber Hills with orchards and cattle ranches surrounding it. It lies at the intersection between the Dessarin Road and the Stone Trail and as such is well-travellled with regular caravan traffic. It is known for being the retirement home for mercenaries and a base for excellent horse trainers. It has a tanner, a smithy, and of course the Watchful Knight Inn.
That is where we left the session, with more questions than answers and the hope that they would be able to find some in this little town of Beliard.
Thank you for reading this summary of the events and shenanigans from this week’s session of Princes of the Apocalypse. Hope you enjoyed it.