[2/21] PCs: Bastra, Lucas, Oren
This session, Oren, a gnome druid, wanders out of the wilderness, visiting Fort Augustaberg.
Relaxing after the eventful journey, Bastra and Lucas ate, drank and discussed local events at Fort Augustaberg, soon joined by Oren. Details were shared about the fatal storm, the shattering of Cathedral Nijmegan’s grand overlook, and its fatal tumble down the mountain, great boulders cracking off and triggering avalanches, all of which crushed and buried Base Town at the foot of the mountain.
Associate Bishop Sture and Captain Marjan spent hours discussing logistics in the dining hall, occasionally getting reports and calculations from the quartermaster and other experts left in the fort.
The PCs asked about local threats, and the Captain discussed the three main threats that the fort was established to shielded base town and its associated farms. The first was the already familiar goblin raiders, but the other frequent threats included a large Lizardperson tribe of perhaps four dozen, living in a stilted village above the swamps near the lake, perhaps 10 to 20 miles northwest, and Hyena People raiders [Gnolls] that roam the plains to the southwest.
Other discussion and listening to the dining soldiers confirmed that the fort was on short watches and limited patrols, since half of the fort was involved in the excavation of Base Town. Lucas, visions of guilder glittering in his eyes, investigated a few potential lines of investment – introducing consistent resupply (or playing the market) for the fort, a PC expedition to wipe out the Lizard People encampment along the lakefront to the northwest for a reward, or investigating Base Town and making a good profit from salvage in the wake of tragedy.
The PCs had the Captain dip into the good stash of spirits to celebrate the relief mission, secretly in hopes of getting the Bishop to share more. Oren was able to resist the liquor’s effects, but Bastra, Lucas, and the Bishop- perhaps due to exhaustion from the day’s long march- weren’t able to steer the conversation into fresh territory. The balance of concerns seemed to be well established – with Base Town smashed, the fort might be too expensive to maintain as it stood before the tragedy.
(As an aside, it became clear that Lucas is not a devotee of Light; he worries that they are a large, dangerous cult. As Fort Augustaberg is maintained by Cathedral Nijmegan (of the Light), future detailed discussions with Bishop Sten might be best avoided.)
With so many soldiers absent at the Base Town rescue excavations, the PCs were pointed at vacant bunks and encouraged to sleep.
The next morning the PCs discussed their options, and decided to investigate the Base Town disaster. A graveled road ran to the east, serving the frequent supply wagons from Base Town. Despite a late start, the PCs made good time on the nicely maintained road. In mid-afternoon, perhaps a half-dozen miles west of Base Town, the PCs spotted a very large group of Lizard People along the lake front to the north also heading east. It looked like a whole village – elders and children, screened by a scouting force to the south that engaged the PCs.
With powerful spells, a dire wolf shaped Oren, and far superior equipment, three of the five Lizardmen fell in just seconds of combat. To the great surprise of Bastra, Lucas spared the last pair and initiated discussion. The Lizard People told their tale of disaster in poor and broken common – the previous day, their settlement was struck from the sky by a great acid spewing dragon, Varothrek — a terrible betrayal. Many of the stilted huts slumped into the water, chewed by acid or smashed by the Dragon’s powerful tail. Ejected by their former ally, they fled east along the lake front, seeking to resettle.
With that clarification, the PCs allowed the remaining Lizard People to flee. After brief consultation, the PCs decided that they had to return to Fort Augustaberg to warn them about the new threat. They headed back along the road, and kept marching in the twilight. As true darkness fell, Bastra’s keen night vision caught sight of orderly foundations, perhaps of the ruins of an inn to the south of the trail. Intrigued, the PCs left the trail to investigate the ruin…
[Session end]