Session 10

Property	Value
Beginning XP	620
Beginning gold	163 gold, 142 silver, 13 copper
Ending XP	160 (level 4)
Ending gold	171 gold, 142 silver, 13 copper

17 Pharast 4710

The morning at Oleg’s Trading Post began with a flurry of activity. Djames assisted Lizzy in preparing pigments for her latest project, but the process required more tools. Lizzy kept asking Oleg if he had any “fiber”, which prompted Oleg into laughter. “Fiber? You’ll need to ask Svetlana for food; my only food skill is eating it,” he joked. After a moment of clarification, Lizzy explained she was looking for a pestle and mortar. Oleg directed her to a nearby location where she could find one but excused himself to tend to the horses, which, to his relief, were in good health.

Pestle and mortar in hand, Lizzy returned to Djames, who quickly put them to use along the purple dyes to craft a new flag for the group. Meanwhile, Lizzy turned her attention to a more personal endeavor: sewing a tiny cloak for Noor, Djames’ new trusty messenger bird. With the help of Svetlana, whose sewing skills Oleg had proudly vouched for, Lizzy purchased a scrap of cloth for five silver and created a charming garment for Noor.

As the group gathered later that day, Kairos took the lead in planning their next move: infiltrating the Stag Lord’s Fort. She outlined the layout of the fortress, its defenses, and strategies to corner the infamous bandit leader before he could escape. Lizzy suggested using their stolen liquor shipment as a ruse to gain entry, and Djames proposed enhancing their deception with the spell Befitting Attire. This would transform Leonardo and Djames into convincing liquor merchants while Kairos and Lizzy posed as mercenaries. To complete their disguise, Djames invested in a disguise kit, parting with two gold coins.

The conversation turned to the intelligence they’d gathered from Kressle about an old man imprisoned in the Stag Lord’s Fort’s basement. With plans finalized, the party set off toward the fort. Their progress, however, was immediately hindered as a heavy mist descended, shrouding their path and forcing them to navigate cautiously through the murk.

Summary

• Djames assists Lizzy in crafting pigment.
• Lizzy acquires a pestle and mortar for crafting and a cloak for Noor (5 silver).
• Kairos outlines a strategy to infiltrate the Stag Lord’s Fort, focusing on its defenses and escape routes.
• The group plans to use a stolen liquor shipment for entry and prepares disguises with Djames purchasing a disguise kit (2 gold).
• Intelligence from Kressle reveals an old man imprisoned in the Stag Lord’s Fort’s basement.

18 Pharast 4710

As the party ventured deeper into the mist-shrouded wilderness, Kairos took the lead, scouting ahead. The thick fog turned the surrounding forest into a maze of ghostly trees and shadowy trails. Despite the party’s best efforts, the unyielding mist proved too disorienting. Hours stretched into the entire day as the party wandered in circles, unable to find their bearings.

Summary

• The party departs Oleg’s Trading Post for the Stag Lord’s Fort.
• A heavy mist engulfs the area, causing the group to lose their way and wander aimlessly for the entire day.

19 Pharast 4710

The next morning, Lizzy began the day with a Predict Weather. The spell revealed a welcome reprieve from the mist - clear skies and bright sunshine lay ahead. Buoyed by the promise of good weather, the party set off once more on their journey to the Stag Lord’s Fort, determined to make up for lost time.

During the group travels, Lizzy busied herself with a small project. The tiny cloak she had been crafting for Noor was finally complete. With a proud smile, she presented it to the little messenger bird. Djames tried to coax Noor into donning the garment, though the bird seemed more curious than compliant at first. With spirits lifted, the group pressed onward towards the Stag Lord’s Fort.

Summary

• The party continues their journey, making steady progress toward the fort.
• Lizzy finishes crafting a cloak for Noor, while Djames attempts to convince the bird to wear it.

20 Pharast 4710

By late afternoon, the party reached the banks of the Sellen River. The river posed a formidable challenge, particularly with the cart in tow. The group spread out along the shoreline, searching for a safe and stable place to cross.

The party navigated the rocky outcrops and slowly and meticulously tested the depth of the water at various points. At sundown, the party finally discovered a suitable crossing - a shallow ford where they could traverse without risk of being swept away. By sundown, the party made their way across, but made camp on the other side, to continue their journey the next day.

Summary

• The group arrives at the Sellen River and searches for a safe crossing.
• After hours of effort, they locate a shallow ford suitable for the cart by the end of the day.
• The party successfully crosses the river, setting the stage for their final approach to the Stag Lord’s Fort.

21 Pharast 4710

Fort approach

The morning began with Lizzy casting Predict Weather, confirming another day of clear skies - a good omen for challenging the Stag Lord. As the group prepared, Kairos and Lizzy set off to scout the fort, leaving Djames and Leonardo to ready their disguises.

Kairos and Lizzy found the fort looming ahead. The fort is perched on elevated ground with natural defenses. Thick trees, rocky outcrops, and the nearby river formed a formidable barrier from all sides. The structure itself was robust, and its positioning gives it a strategic advantage, with a commanding view of the surrounding terrain. The fort’s elevated position provides a strategic vantage point, with wooden scaffolds and crude barricades reinforcing its war-camp feel.

While exploring, Kairos spotted a small, secure entrance likely used for supplies or escape. The fort also bears evident signs of neglect - overgrown areas and poorly maintained cleared land hinted at lax defenses. It is clear that the defense of the fort has not been a priority.

Returning to the others, the party finalized their plan. Djames cast Befitting Attire, transforming himself and Leonardo into merchants, “Fred van der Meer” and “Sven Totterman,” while Kairos and Lizzy adopted the guise of bandits. Lizzy and Kairos climbed into empty liquor barrels, ready to be smuggled into the fort.

As the cart approached the gate, Djames shouted for attention, loudly invoking Kressle’s name to sell their story. The guards, suspicious, demanded the password, which Djames recited (with a little help): “By the Bloody Bones of Saint Gilmorg, who wants to know?” Though unconvinced, the guards eventually allowed the cart inside after Djames bombarded their ears with forever ongoing rambling explanations. The party earned a meager 10 gold coins for delivering the wine.

Fort infiltration

Once inside, Kairos and Lizzy slipped from their barrels unnoticed. The fort’s interior was a mix of disrepair and activity, with overgrown areas on the upper levels. They encountered Auchs, a simple-minded giant of a man playing with toys in a cluttered room. Using clever manipulation, Lizzy and Kairos showed him jade trinkets, convincing him that his toys were at risk of being stolen by other bandits. Enraged, Auchs stormed off, creating a commotion in the watchtower.

Djames, meanwhile, mingled with the bandits, attempting to blend in and sow seeds of doubt about the Stag Lord’s authority. Leonardo discovered a locked room containing a hostile and untrained owlbear named Beaky. Leonardo and Djames considered releasing it as a backup plan.

Battle

Auchs, in a fit of rage, started with crushing the lookout with a single blow. Auchs then strided downward in rage, and ran into Leonardo. Using Message, Leonardo quickly warned Kairos of the nearby owlbear and the group’s backup plan to unleash it if needed. Auchs stormed to the watchtower and, with brute force, attacked a bewildered bandit lookout, causing a noisy commotion that drew many of the bandits from their posts.

Meanwhile, Djames tried to open the portcullis to liberate the owlbear, but a higher ranking bandit saw through his attempt (and his disguise). This bandit, Dovan, quickly rallied the other bandits with a very recognizable alerting shout; “And so the stink marks the jackal in the den of wolves”

The bandits immediately turned on Leonardo and Djames, focusing their attacks on the former. Djames attempted to reason with the bandits, claiming the situation was a misunderstanding, but his pleas were drowned out by the chaos. Meanwhile, Auchs, enraged and unstoppable, crushed another watchtower bandit with a single blow. A bandit from a final tower fired an arrow at Auchs, only angering him further.

Leonardo invoked Ragathiel to bless his weapons and held his ground against the bandits. In the melee, Dovan stabbed Leonardo, but Leonardo retaliated with Blood Vendetta, cursing Dovan with a weakness to slashing and piercing attacks. While focussing on releasing the Owlbear, Djames took hits, but managed to free it. The owlbear entered the fray with a deafening screech that left everyone nearby frightened. It quickly turned its wrath on Dovan, injuring him gravely.

As the fight escalated, the party coordinated their efforts, but so did the bandits. Akiros, a lieutenant of the Stag Lord, to confront the owlbear. Djames inspired his allies with Courageous Anthem and cast a soothing spell on the rampaging beast to calm it momentarily. Lizzy attacked from above with Needle Darts while Leonardo called upon a Benediction spell from Ragathiel to continue the fight.

In the meantime, Kairos had entered the building in a solo-approach of the Stag Lord. Kairos noticed a strong reek of alcohol when she unleashed a surprise Spellstrike.

The Stag Lord answered it by entering the fight with his longbow. He designated Kairos as his prey and struck with brutal precision, though Kairos shielded herself and continued her assault. As the battle raged, Djames assessed Akiros’s motives, sensing his willingness to ally with the party. Encouraged, Djames bolstered his newfound potential ally and the group with another Courageous Anthem.

Auchs leapt from the watchtower to attack another foe, while Lizzy aided him from her vantage point. Slowly but surely, the bandits’ numbers dwindled as the group whittled away at their forces. Kairos engaged the Stag Lord directly, striking with Shocking Grasp Spellstrike. Meanwhile, Akiros confronted the owlbear, which ended in a deadly brawl between the two. Akiros managed to kill the beast, but the effort forced him to retreat. The Stag Lord begins to focus on Leonardo instead of Kairos, seeing him as the easier pray.

Leonardo fought valiantly, healing himself repeatedly while fending off relentless attacks. Lizzy descended from the second floor, casting Horizon Thunder Sphere at the Stag Lord, while Djames used spells like Command and Demoralize to weaken their foe. The Stag Lord retaliated with vicious longbow strikes, but Kairos deflected some of the damage using a Shield cantrip.

Kairos casts a Sure Strike spell, which she used to deliver a devastating Spellstrike. With this blow, the Stag Lord finally fell, marking the end of his reign of terror while whatever remained of the remaining bandits scattered, and the fort fell into the party’s hands.

Aftermath

The fort grew eerily quiet as the remaining bandits scattered or surrendered. Among the spoils, the group recovered the Stag Lord’s composite longbow, a lock of hair bound with twine, a longsword, and his distinctive helmet, as well as other trinkets. Exhausted but triumphant, the party stood amidst the carnage, their victory hard-earned.

Amid the aftermath, the party began assessing their surroundings and relationships. Akiros, previously a lieutenant of the Stag Lord, proved amicable and seemed eager to distance himself from the fort’s dark legacy. His demeanor suggested a willingness to start anew, far from the life of banditry.

Auchs has formed a bond with Lizzy and Kairos. Despite his penchant for violence, he displayed an unusual friendliness, especially toward Lizzy. Recognizing this connection, Kairos handed her prized Jade Cat to Lizzy, allowing her to gift it to Auchs - a gesture that seemed to solidify his trust in her.

As the party assessed the chaos and accounted for the dead, the party took the time to examine the bodies of the fallen bandits, for loot and identification purposes. Among Auchs victims on the watchtower was Falgrim Sneeg, a notable target due to his reputation and connections to Oleg’s Trading Post. We are to report back to Kersten Garess that Sneeg is dead, and connect the bounty on his head.

With the Stag Lord defeated, Djames suggested a symbolic gesture to honor those wronged by the bandit leader. He proposed severing the Stag Lord’s hand and casting it into the Sellen River as a form of retribution, particularly to appease the restless undead haunting Nettle’s Crossing. The party agreed to carry out Djames’s plan. Kairos took the grim task upon herself, cleaving the hand from the Stag Lord’s corpse with her Elven Branched Spear before heading toward the river.

However, as Kairos approached the riverbank, the ground stirred ominously. Four decayed figures clawed their way up from the earth—zombies, animated by some dark curse. Reacting swiftly, Kairos cast Message to alert the others, entered her Arcane Cascade stance, and moved back toward the fort to regroup. The zombies, relentless, surrounded her.

Lizzy attempted to assist with a mental spell, but the undead proved immune to her efforts. Djames began singing another Courageous Anthem to bolster his allies’ morale. Leonardo rushed into the fray, landing a powerful strike on one of the zombies, while Kairos dispatched another with a precise Spellstrike. Lizzy channeled her magic into a greater healing surge, damaging multiple zombies in the process, though they still pressed on. Djames tried to daze another, but the spell failed to connect.

As the battle continued, Leonardo used Vitality Lash to weaken another zombie before Kairos stepped in to finish off the remaining foes with her swift and decisive attacks. With the initial wave vanquished, the group paused to catch their breath, but their reprieve was short-lived.

Lizzy examined the area, and she recognized symbols dedicated to Gyronna, the Angry Hag, among the fort’s ruins. Sharing her insight, Lizzy explained that the fort once served as a temple to Gyronna, but the monks who worshiped her strayed from her teachings. In her wrath, Gyronna cursed them, binding their souls to the land as undead guardians. This revelation cast a dark shadow over their victory at the fort.

As Kairos ventured closer to the river to complete the ritual, two more zombies emerged from the ground, continuing Gyronna’s grim vengeance. With a steely resolve, the group prepared to face this new threat, knowing their task was far from over and the fort’s curse still lingered.

Summary

• The party begins final preparations for their assault on the Stag Lord’s Fort. Kairos and Lizzy scout ahead and find that the fort is poorly maintained and has a side-entrance.
• The party bluffs their way past the guards, using the stolen liquor shipment as their cover, together with a casting of Befitting Attire, which Leonardo uses to adopt the persona of “Sven Totterman”. Djames distracts the guards with rambing and over-the-top performance, so that Kairos and Lizzy can explore the fort.
• We first meet Auchs, a simple-minded but volatile bandit who is obsessed with toys.
• We release a hostile owlbear, named Beaky, into the Fort
• We fight several bandits after Dovan uncovers our Ruse. Beaky and Dovan die in the fray
• We challenge the Stag Lord
• A lieutenant of the Stag Lord, Akiros, is convinced into joining our side. He has been dissatisfied with the Stag Lord’s bandits for a long time.
• With one last coordinated effort, the Stag Lord is defeated, and the remaining bandits scatter. Beaky and Dovan have died in the fray. We’ve discovered that Falgrim Sneeg was also among the fallen bandits.
• We loot a Composite Longbow, Longsword, Lock of Hair bound with Twine, and the Stag Lord’s Helmet are among the spoils.
• We throw the Stag Lord’s severed hand into the Sellen River
• We are attacked by zombies, but we manage to defeat them.

Loot

• Composite Longbow (Reload 1)
• Longsword
• Stag Lord’s Helmet
• Lock of Hair Bound with Twine (unknown significance)
• 10 Gold Coins