Prologue
The intrepid wanderers of the Intelligence Check D&D campaign have rolled the dice- Sundays for four years. All University students who met at the game club at Full Sail University. Soon after, the club closed, and the group moved to The Nerdz Garage.
Those wonderful Sundays.
They would arrive at noon (sometimes at nine am) and give guidance on schoolwork.
Occasionally, there were EPIC Nerf battles and play testing board games.
Home-cooked dinners. Birthdays celebrated. Fancy desserts.
Then at five- the boys would adventure.
This mom is thrilled to have been a small part of those Sundays.
May they always Roll a Nat 20.
Returning to D&D
Derek or better known as (Jimmy) wanted to get back in the game. As a young kid in Vermont, he would go with his father to the big city (Burlington) and spend the whole day in the library. He spied a notice on the community corkboard welcoming players to their Advanced Dungeon and Dragons campaign and joined their campaign when he could. He wanted to get a group closer to home because he was eleven, but in the hills, Mad River Valley, there were not many D&D players, let alone kids the same age.
We have reconnected with friends from our past, and a new adventure has unraveled. Our old friends brought new ones to the campaign, and now we are new players and rusty players. The Hills of the Lost campaign started in April, and the travelers have met through Roll20 weekly.
Join us as we adventure through the Sword Coast with the Havoc's for Hire!
INTO THE HILLS OF THE LOST
SESSION #1: CHANCE MEETING AT THE VILLAGE OF ANOROC
On a dusty dry afternoon at the cusp of spring and winter, our Party met at a tavern for the first time.
Sheppard Vax, a wood elf monk, Ketos Chiroptera , a half-elf rogue, and Odettis Hope, a tiefling ranger, arrived together in the township center of Anoroc, at the crossroads of The Kheldell Path, Carin Road, Larch Path, and The Long Road. They found themselves standing in front of a tavern, the Commodore Longroad's.
Venturing down a long dark stair, enticed by rowdy sounds of music and company, the found a smoky, bustling pub full of song and the hubbub and familial atmosphere. Underlying all of this was a shared sense of dread and nervousness. After inquiries with the staff and locals, the suspicion seemed to stem from a recent unchecked banditry outbreak and some undefined mystical woe to the south. The day time bartender, a wise old half-orc named Edgar, was incredibly helpful directing you to locals that may or may not have more information.
At a table in the way back corner of the room sat Shermdog Blasar, a self-described lustrous black Dragonborn barbarian and the elf Cleric Mokon of the Moon. They were making inquiries of their own and discovered a lead to follow up at the Swinging Sword Inn.
Odettis, having overheard their conversation, left immediately to see what she could find. All of the adventurers had the same idea. Soon, at the crossroads, the five met for real. After a brief meeting that included oaths, spit, handshakes, and some honor binding, our Party agreed to become a force of one.
Finding the Swinging Sword quite luxurious, Odettis immediately broke from the group and went to investigate upstairs with a reluctant Ketos. Meanwhile, the gentlemen tried to follow up on a lead with the innkeeper, Kaylessa Irkell, who turned out to be out until later in the evening. Instead, they searched to find the town constable, a useless lout by accounts of most town folk but may have more information regarding the troubles.
Indeed, they found him, Harbuk Truthmarillar, at his office near the butchery, with his deputy. He told a tale of bandits marauding the Dessarin Valley, both to the West on the Kehldale Path and southeast on the Carin Road. He and his deputy being undermanned and no match for the bandits, they had been running unchecked and disrupting commerce for weeks.
Soon an agreement was made to enlist the Party as bounty hunters, 25 gold each to rid the bandits to the South East on the Carin Road and an extra 10 gold for each bandit, neutralized, over the number of ten. This being sealed with a spit laden handshake.
Ketos overheard this deal and approved. She, having left an unconscious Odettis back at the inn, a victim of too much enthusiastic mattress jumping.
Our session ended as the Party headed back to the inn to rest.
Episode 2 The Hard Way
It was late evening when our Party returned to the inn of the Swinging Sword in the troubled town of Anoroc. Upon returning, they turned into the inn's pub for a final pint. There they met two more travelers from the road that Shermdog had met previously. There was Hallbru Stoutsson, a gregarious dwarves Cleric with love for all things ale. Also, the quieter (mostly) elven monk, JeffroD IpMan. Somewhat mysterious and subdued compared to the deaf, an interesting duo. They joined the Party officially, with a handshake, sealed with spit. They inquired about the inn's proprietor, and very soon, she glided down the inn's main stair. The elegantly dressed human, Keyless Irkel, welcomed the adventurers to her hometown and filled them in on what her worries for the town were. Indeed, the unchecked banditry was a concern; she was pleased to hear that the Constable had enlisted the Party's assistance. However, her main concern was directed more to the rumors of fell magic and dark forbidding from the hills outside of town. Odettis and the fine lady Kaylessa had an exchange that left Odettis pleased and happy. They exchanged thoughts on a fine dress and the importance of a good tailor.
The Party retired to their suite of rooms upstairs. Mokon and Ketos slipped away in the darkness to follow up on leads, disappearing out the back of the inn. It was also decided that a small group should head out in the night to recon the bandit camp while the rest would stay in the inn, maintaining the cover that the whole group was still in residence. It was decided that Odettis, this was both enthusiastic and stealthy, should go. Also, Vrinn and the monk, Sheppard Vax. Rather than merely slipping out the back of the inn as the others had done, they decided to exit via the second story window onto the portico roof and then slink off noticed. This they accomplished with only some difficulty. So, heading south and east along the road under cover of darkness in the night with a half-moon guiding them, they caught notice of a campfire in the distance after some hours. With each of them sneaking into the underbrush from different angles, Odettis was the first to eventually get near the fire.
Two somewhat disgruntled members of the local banditry were sitting guard near the road. She managed to overhear them, learning that the rest of the bandits were nearby a protected dell accessible by a single path. Also that they had recently captured a person of high value and had then captive. Having heard enough, and the others have caught up to her, it was time to head back and report. Almost. On a whim, Odettis decided to throw stones to distract the bandits. Inexplicably, Vrinn decided to blast one with a forceful blow that blew him off his chair and killed him. Odettis ran up and cold-cocked the other with her sword.
Vax was speechless. Now there were bodies to dispose of.
So it was decided to carry them both away. As they did this, Vrinn let loose two firebombs at the undergrowth. With the blaze highlighting their exit, they returned to town. Not disposing of the body, they arrived at the inn with a conundrum. How to get in unnoticed. The obvious of carrying them in thru the front or back doors were not really discussed. Instead, they managed to lift with some stealth, the dead and unconscious forms up to the portico, and thru the window of their suite as dawn broke.
The one bandit was questioned by Shermdog for information. Once he had gleaned enough intel on the force of bandits, he snapped the neck of his prisoner, and they disposed of the bodies nearby. Not before making Odettis retrieve "proof of neutralization" for later bounty. After a day's rest, the Party set out to assault the bandits that evening. After a great deal of recon, faced with only one way into the secluded valley, 100' high cliffs surrounding it, and only a narrow slot canyon for an approach an not enough time to recon around the back for another entrance, the Party decided on a stealthy frontal assault. Odettis dispatched the lone sentry and pulled the rope at the narrow entrance that had a sign, "PUL MI" to no effect. The Party proceeded down the path and thru several curves. The spotted several human sentries above them, eluding most and dispatching one. As the deepest part of night approached, they reached the narrows' opening and the glow of the bandit's main campfire.
Here, our episode concluded with Odettis noticing something ahead in the darkness, softly saying, unheard by any of the others, "….what the fu….".
Let’s be honest; there is still a bit of drama when we play.
Sit Down -Grab a Drink – Join the Game
Derek Smith
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