Our heroes meet for the first time and set out north
Score: 739 | 07/17/19 |
4/4/300
On the morning first day the party gathered at Ballytur. Heskan arrived and was greeted by a slightly fearful peasant, though he could not understand human sensibilities and believe that his majestic silver scales had left her in awe. He greeted Conner O'Dain in the Mead Hall. Next to arrive was Braith, an archer of the Morini tribe, who made her way into the hall where she was jovially greeted by Conner. Aine Stormsword arrived next, the somewhat unwilling leader of this group. Ruric came next, stumping his way in past some suspicious villagers and he greeted his new partners by sharing cups of mead. Last came Elnorin, the mysterious druid of the wood elves.
Some hours later the party were joined by the last volunteer, a druid of the Brigantes called Aisling (whom some call Oakmender). He bustled into the Mead Hall, demanding Conner settle the disturbance between the Morini warriors and the Regni warriors. During this time a bored looking Eithne O'Dain took over duties from her brother.
The feast began with Aine claiming the third portion of food at the head table after some help from Ruric. The evening passed uneventfully as Heskan managed to stop a drunk Aine from challenging the Queen's Champion to a fight.
5/4
After a disorganised start, which involved an amusing confrontation between Heskan 'Longshanks' and an otherwise unnamed halfling, whom Heskan dubbed 'Shortshanks', the expedition managed to make its way to the fort then onto the road. The day was uneventful, as was the night.
6/4
The failings of those on watch last night and the general poor quality of the camp led Aine to seek advice from the heroes. Briath advised a half day training, which Heskan acted as drill sergeant for. His powerful voice helped things move along and it wasn't long before they noticed the 'leaders' of each group. These were nominated as 'watch leaders' and the activity was deemed a success. Whilst it did not seem like much, it helped the expedition start to gel a bit (+1 sovereignty to the Northern Expedition). The rest of the day was spent travelling and the night passed uneventfully.
7/4
Still around a day and a half from Ostan O Thuaidh they arrived at the end of the Dwarven road near midday. Here there was a boulder field of broken bits of road and an ambush by a gnoll hunter and it's 4 wild dogs. They were quickly dispatch by Briath's bow, Elnorin's staff and an impressive frost breath from Heskan. Deciding to see where they came from, they sent the expedition on slowly. They followed the tracks back to find another hunter and some dogs in a gully. They attempted to set an ambush but none were stealthy enough to stop the dogs from hearing and the attacks charged out. Elnorin bound most of the dogs to the ground as Hesken cut right to left, felling three. The other two dogs fell to arrows. Left were the two gnolls, one of whom Ruric's scouting had missed, the first was another hunter but the other was some sort of undead semblance of a gnoll. Heskan defeated the skeletal gnoll but was subject to several arrows and was felled twice in short order. The last gnoll was defeatd by Briath's arrows and Ruric's spells. The party found wagons of goods, previously captured, but Heskan was unable to be revived. Briath ran to halt the expedition and bring healers. The healers announced that, to the best of their knowledge, Heskan would awaken in the morning.
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Heskan's Letter
Greetings Nala, Prior of the Silver Clutch from Heskan, son of Shamash, Acolyte of the Silver Clutch, Eternal Servant of Nymbryxion.
I arrived at the human settlement in fair weather. The humans seem to be some awe of me, which is to be expected. I am no doubt the closest they have ever come to the majesty of the draconic.
I proceeded to make myself a friend to them, to work beyond their idolatry, which I think I managed to do as much as possible though they persist in wanting to make me their leader.
I am trying to resist leadership as politely as possible, to remain an observer as instructed. The human leader of the expedition seems suitably competent although inexperienced. I am lending the authority of my voice to her instructions.
The other volunteers and I have banded together to form a vanguard. All proved their skill in our encounter with villainous Gnoll bandits. I am sad to report a barrage of barbed gnoll arrows proved too much for me, but I was able to draw fire from my more fragile compatriots.
There is much to be done to bring the recently warring tribes together as a single unit. I am hopeful the further we travel from their home, the less meaningful tribe lines will become. Overall I am optimistic about our expedition the lands of the north.
For the soul of honour and in the name of Nymbryxion.
Farewell,
Heskan
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Braith's account
I was not sure what to expect when I answered the call to go north, certainly not the scaled creature of legend that greeted me at the Hall of Connor O’Dain. In spite of his large size, small for a dragonborn apparently, and fearsome appearance Heskan speaks with rare politeness, he seems to know as little about us as we do of his kind. If I was in any doubt that this expedition would lead to interesting new encounters it was laid to rest by the arrival of the other volunteers. Before I knew it I was sharing mead with a dragonborn, a dwarf and an elf and the expedition had yet to begin.
It is not usual for the people of Vannin to feel a great deal of friendship towards dwarven kind however Ruric Ironfoot is hard to dislike. He had no sooner arrived than the hall rang with laughter as he shared a joke with Heskan and made sure the mead was flowing. I should like to hear more of the many places he has been on his travels although his enthusiasm for telling tales does unfortunately seem greater than his abilities as a storyteller, especially after large amounts of mead. Our elven companion Elnorin is a little more mysterious, friendly but somehow removed from the chaos surrounding us. I think that is the way with elves.
The Tiana’s choice of Aine Stormsword to lead was a surprise. The Regni are divided and struggling to lead themselves at the moment, expecting one to lead an expedition of the combined tribes, given the history and considering some of those sent to join, is a lot to ask. Something Aine Stormsword seems all too aware of. I have no love for the Regni and it was tempting to stand back and watch things fall apart around her. My companions were more charitable, Ruric and Heskan stepped up to support her even though they did not understand Vannin customs surrounding feasting and fighting. I would have liked to see her challenge the Queen’s champion though. There is a story there but unless I am able to overcome my feelings I doubt I will hear it. Her reaction to my mention of Ban Lior suggests she has no sympathy for him and those who followed him but I am finding it hard to give more than the most basic support and goodwill.
After an evening of feasting and celebration we were off to the North. Heskan did a fine job of getting the group ready, in spite of heckling from a certain Caldoni who earnt himself the name Shortshanks for his troubles. The volunteers have formed a scouting party at the front, apart from Aisling Oakmender who is a bit of an oddity. A fellow volunteer who does not seem to hold much belief in the success of our expedition, so much so that it is strange he has chosen to be part of it. Our camp the first night was disorganized, in the old days it would have been easy pickings for a hostile tribe. I realised that things would need to improve if we are to stand any chance of success. The next day Heskan spent some time working with the group, showing something of dragonborn fighting technique. It was a small delay in our journey but made a big difference towards getting the expedition working together. Aine also restructured the camp so it will be more defensible.
Our first test in the North was an encounter with Gnolls and their dogs. These vicious creatures were handled by the vanguard group of volunteers. My companions continue to surprise me with their magical abilities and skill, who would have known dragonborn can breathe ice. After dispatching an ambush set for us on the road we tracked them back to their lair which proved more of a challenge. Heskan disappeared under a flurry of arrows as we battled to defeat them. Although severely wounded he was saved by the quick actions of Elnorin and by the time the expedition healers arrived they were confident he will soon make a full recovery.