Off to see the Druids

Leena reports that she has discovered that we need hemlock, amaranth and vervane to make healing potions. Hair from an agile beast will allow a Cat’s Grace potion. We spend the next three weeks resting, training and carousing. One night when returning from a carousing trip, we notice several cloaked figures around our house. Flames are starting to rise as several spots outside. Hear crashing of flasks. Those of us outside, Oosana, Aerrion, Elwin, Snorri and Gracie charge toward the house. Aerrion seems more concerned about his stolen platter. Snorri yells about his booze. All the noise outside wakes Brak and Jian who were sleeping or something inside. The arsonist are wearing the masks of the Jesters. After a brief combat during which I cast an Obscuring Mist, they scatter. Aerrion charges one down and kills him with a rapier in the back. I stabilize a down one for later interrogation. Rory and the city guard discuss matters. Damage is light but will need repairs. The three dead Jesters are unknown to us. The guards drag the bodies off as well as the live one. Darn, was hoping to learn something from him.

Skie is a trader in odd and magical items. He has also traded with the druid enclave at Relefane. A small town called Kingfisher Hollow is three days to the east from Cauldron. Then travel NE toward the coast. A road south leads into the jungle toward Thifol. The druids are there. Skie offers to pay well for alchemical silver. We plan on getting some trade goods for the trip. Might as well earn as much as possible. After two days of travel, we see thick green jungle. On the third day, arrive at Kingfisher Hollow. It is a small but fortified caravan town. Mostly humans. Rest and revel. Aerrion and Gracie cause grief to some caravaners. Travel on the next morning. Cold rainy night. Road is rough and mostly untraveled. Rain quits about noon. Toward evening, we see what might be a green dragon dead by a lake. Aerrion thinks it is a Felldrake. A humanoid body is next to it. Check it out. The body is elven. The trees look like homes for druids. Snorri finds giant lizard tracks but they are odd. Hopping or Flying? Scout around. Really big trees. About 70' across at the base. While scouting, we are surprised by a three headed lizard bodied winged critter. The heads are blue dragon, goat and lizard. It is hovering by me. Figures! Snorri charges and attacks. The critter hits both Aerrion and I. Brak charges and gets a solid hit. It flits behind Snorri and breathes lightning, zapping Snorri, Brak and Gracie. I move to Snorri and cast a CLW as he looks dead on his feet. Critter responds by chomping both Snorri and Brak. Jian hits it with a lightning ball, dropping it. While we recover, salvage what parts we can from the critter for various things. Get about 36 ounces of scales plus claws and teeth.

Elwin and Aerrion look inside one of the trees. A bashed door and signs of battle inside. Entrance too small for the chimera. The rest of us move to support their explorations. Move inside after a bit. A small stairwell leads down. They hear noises like eating. All but Snorri move up. See five elf bodies. Three are dead. The other two are zombie types eating the three. Brak turns them causing them to flee to a corner where we quickly dispatch them. This room looks like a store room. A passage leads to a different tree room. Search the rooms. One room has a bunch of carved sticks inscribed with runes. Celestial. About a hundred or so. Think they are some sort of historical story. Three sticks have arcane runes. A staff also has arcane runes. A motherlode of interesting knowledge if only I could read more of them. Unknown to those of us inside, several large 9' tall bipedal lizard critters rise out of the lake and move toward Jian and Snorri. Snorri hides in the tree and stays quiet. The critters charge toward Jian. She zaps the mules who then bolt thru the charging critters. Jian then runs for the tree’s door. Snorri drops out of the tree and charges a lizard casting a spell at the dead chimera. He hits her, disrupting the spell. Jian blasts the ones now at the door. Snorri keeps attacking the spell caster, dropping her after several solid hits. The melee at the door continues until all but one go down. The last one runs into the lake and escapes. We think it was a scouting party. Load up and quickly depart.

It rains all the way back to Cauldron. As we pass thru Kingfisher Hollow, report about the fate of the druids and their town. The spell casting lizard had symbols for Erythnol, Hextor and Vecna. Try to id the arcane sticks. The staff was made by Jared and is a quarterstaff. Jared calls the triad of gods the Ebon Triad. The staff was a gift to one of the druids. Back at Cauldron, the rain has raised the lake level to the top of the basin. The Kord and Cuthbert priests are working together to control the flooding. Reports of Pell Rygor helping refugees near the haunted village tot he south. May have followers.

Oosana.

Loot from Thiful , druid dwelling:
18ozs Ameranth
18ozs Hemlock
8 vials Verban (ink)
45 ozs of misc alchemical stuff
36ozs of scales from the chimera
chimera blood
~100 Repaphan psalms on the carved sticks.

XP - Kills 1200, RP - 100
everyone gets an action point.