Campaign: Dominion of Adventure 12/1/2023

The Renegades gathered on the windswept escarpment overlooking the sea and Talon’s former stronghold, they stood in a loose circle around two rock cairns – one for their fallen comrade Fayd and the smaller now held the body of the Everwatch Knight Barath. Barath’s shade had finally been laid to rest and in so doing they had fulfilled Fayd’s last promise to help his spirit find peace. Navarro spoke some words about Brother Barath’s achievements and how Helm would welcome him to the afterlife, only Dorian a fellow worshipper of Helm seemed to be paying much attention to his rambling speech – the others were quiet and reflective, lost in their own private thoughts on Fayd’s demise – Balasar held himself slightly to one side. After they had paid their respects they began to pack their gear and load the cart, Hamlet was pleasantly surprised to see Kevin trot back into the campsite as casually and apparently unharmed.

Eventually they finished loading the cart and set off, Navarro leading the way while Luther drove the cart after him. The silence on the cart was only broken by a strange conversation between Hamlet and Kevin, to the casual observer it appeared that the Warlock was praising the cat’s bravery and stating that the party all owed him their lives…a statement that elicited nothing more than a meow from the cat who continued to move from one person to another on the hunt for strokes or any scraps of food that might be forthcoming. Luther alone seemed to be annoyed by the cat’s antics, and with the instincts of his kind Kevin made a point of perching just to Luthers side and stared at him as he drove. This seemed to distract the young bard and led to them begin to slowly drive in a lazy circle, up ahead Navarro turned in his saddle and grunted in irritation – clearly Fayd’s death had caused his squire to forget his training, something he would need to correct swiftly.

“Squire! This way!” he called out to the others trying to snap them out of their reverie

Seeing Luther haul on the reins and set the cart back on the the right path Navarro turned and kicked Rocinate back into movement, he hadn’t gone more than a few yards before he “heard” an ethereal voice in his head

“Navarro, you should punch yourself to prove your devotion to Helm, I mean me”

Puzzled the Paladin looked around but could see no one else close enough to be the source of the voice

“Ahh Demon, you’ll have to do better than that” he muttered, deciding that on balance Helm was unlikely to make such a request of one of her dedicated servants and reasoning that the only other entity he’d met was the beast responsible for stealing his equipment. Back on the cart Luther’s annoyance grew as he realised the Paladin wasn’t about to fall for his trickery. Before he could try again he noticed that there seemed to be another path braching off just ahead of them

“Guys, there’s a fork in the road” he called back over his shoulder

“A fork? They got a knife and spoon too?” asked a confused and sleep befuddled Gunnar from under a sack

“He means a split in the road you savage” snapped Iivan, who was on edge having to share the cart with so many smelly surface dwellers.

After a brief discussion over Fayd’s map they decided to take this new path, the one which Navarro had already disregarded

“We should probably tell him before he gets himself lost” said Gunnar gesturing toward the dwindling figure of Navarro

“Do we have to?” replied Luther and Iivan in unison

Dorian did try and catch Navarro’s attention but the distance proved too great and the Paladin continued on his own track obliviously.

As the light began to fade Navarro noticed he was no longer leading the cart and cursing under his breath he turned Rocinate and catch up with the slow moving cart he could see winding it’s way through the foothills towards the looming mountains. His squire was proving to be a growing dissappointment, though the loss of his friend may be a mitigating factor – but he knew he’d need to have words with his second in command and remind Hamlet that he needed to take charge of the others when he was otherwise engaged. By the time the paladin had caught up to the others it was getting too dark to continue driving the cart safely and the party made camp on the rutted roadway itself.

“Well men, who wants to take first watch with me?” asked Navarro, seeking to remind his companions of proper military discipline

Dorian raised their hand, no one heard Gunnar muttering sarcastically about smelling incense before Hamlet also volunteered to join them as he had more questions about the Helmish religion he wanted to ask.

The others bedded down as best they could in the cold mountain air and began to drift off to sleep to the sounds of a strange ecclesiastical debate between Hamlet and the two followers of about and whether Helm had spoken to Hamlet through the magic of potatoes….or at least that seemed to be the thrust of the conversation to Iivan, who shook his head in despair at the folly of his companions and their weird non arachnid deities – you knew where you stood with a proper Goddess like Lolth, well at least you knew where you should kneel at any rate…

After the discussion about holy potatoes finished the watch passed relatively uneventfully until Navarro thought he could see a hint of movement in the distance, rising silently the knight crept off to investigate, his stealthy progress quickly carrying him out of the sight of his companions

“Wait, where’s Navarro off to?” inquired Hamlet

“Stay here, I’ll go check on him” replied Dorian, before casting a spell and trying to creep after the paladin.

Hamlet strained his eyes and ears for any sign of his comrades or an intruder when he heard a metallic crash and loud thud

“You ok Dorian?” he called out

After a pause while the dwarven cleric picked himself up sheepishly they called back “Yeeeees….just uh mind your step there”, but despite their chagrin at their misstep Dorian was secretly elated as when they fell they’d brushed against a small round object in the darkness – on further investigation it turned out to be his magical compass. Helm must have interceded on his behalf and returned it to their possession after loosing it in the fight against Talon the previous day. After scouting the area for some time eventually Navarro returned to the camp and woke Gunnar to take the next watch. The half orc huddled against the cold and fought to stave off sleep as the hours ticked by uneventfully, before a low whimpering caught his attention.

In his dreams Luther found himself watching a strange ceremony, robed figures all wearing the sinister scar masks of Tal cultists stood in a circle around a chained figure, as luther peered from his hidden balcony he realised that the chained man was his brother – badly bruised and clearly having been tortured but recognisable nonetheless. A robed figure stepped towards his brother, drawing a wicked curved dagger from his robes and pulled his brothers head back, Luther locked eyes with his brother for a moment

“We don’t have to do this” his brother called out, but his brother’s face had changed – it seemed older now somehow. Before he could react the robed figure drew his blade across the chained man’s neck and blood sprayed out as the sacrifice was made. Luther screwed his eyes shut against the horror of what he was seeing, but when he glanced back he saw that the chained man was no longer his brother, but Navarro.

Moving slowly to investigate Gunnar found Luther huddled in the cart, thrashing in his sleep – with a gentleness that belied his size Gunnar tried to cover the young bard with a cloak in the hope it might soothe his nightmare. He remembered well how troubled poor Tad’s sleep had been when they’d first set out to reach Yukon, back before he’d met Fayd and Luther and the others. Yet now he could hear Navarro thrashing in his sleep as well, surprised the veteran soldier was suffering with his dreams too Gunnar turned to check on him. Luther gasped awake and grabbed at his leg making the half orc jump in surprise and forget the paladin, still visibly shaken the bard shared some of his dream vision with Gunnar before warning that he thought Navarro may be in danger. Gunnar, used to people around him having visions in their dreams after Fayd has seen his village attacked by rift demons and Balasar and his strange dreams of his ancestor dragon chained and weak in some unknown cavern took the earnest young elf’s warning seriously and promised to keep an eye on Navarro.

As this unfolded Navarro too was lost in a dream, he too dreamt he was in the cavern surrounded by Tal worshippers. For him though the dream was different, purple Nearith energy pulsated along the chains holding the captive – and Navarro found himself stepping out of the circle of worshippers and drawing a dagger from beneath his own robes. Slicing the prisoners throat he glanced up and thought he could see Luther’s familiar face peeking out from a rock above, surprised he turned back to the chained man as his warm blood spread across the stone floor and realised with a sickening feeling of dread that the man he had just killed was none other than Don Camilo di Fiore, his own master and cried out in anguish.

Gunnar, moving to check on the sleeping Navarro was shocked as the paladin roared and leapt to his feet, weapon ready in a tense combat stance – eyes darting wildly around him in the dark searching for some unseen foe.

“You ok there buddy?” asked the barbarian softly, Navarro stood frozen for a moment, nostrils flaring as he slowed his breathing and realised there was no danger

“No, yes…yes I’m fine” he snapped

“Are you sure you’re ok?” asked Luther who had given up on sleep and come to join them

“Yes squire, everything’s fine” insisted Navarro before loudly, and rather pointedly stomping away towards the sleeping form of Dorian “it was just a bad dream that’s all” he continued loudly, waking the sleeping dwarf with the commotion.

“Ahhh you’re awake” he said to Dorian feigning surprise “Good, I would speak with you a moment if that’s alright?”

Dorian glanced at the others, who shrugged and then they nodded and followed Navarro off to the side of the camp as Gunnar returned to his watch and Luther began plucking idly at his lute. Dorian did his best to calm the troubled paladin and reassure him and to place his trust in Helm and eventually Navarro was content to be led back to the group

“You ok Navarro?” asked Luther, looking up from his lute

“Yes squire, in fact I feel better than I’ve felt in a long time thank you” and without further elaboration he settled down and was soon snoring again.

The following morning the party woke early, the cold mountain air did not encourage lay ins, and resumed their journey. Through the morning they noticed that the roadway they were following gradually began to clear and there were even some signs of rough repairs having been done on the worst of the ruts and pot holes. Cresting a ridge they looked down into a small valley sheltering a tiny village, as they approached they could make out a mixed population of humans and dwarves – judging by their appearance and gear strewn about it seemed likely that this was a small mining outpost built alongside the ancient roadway and consisting of maybe ten ramshackle wooden dwellings huddled round two larger buildings.

Hauling on the reins Luther bought the cart to a halt in the centre of the settlement

“Right, I need a drink” he announced, hopping lightly off the cart and heading towards what appeared to be the local inn, having to duck his head to pass through the low doorway. The idea of beer and a hearty meal seemed to find favour with several of the others and Navarro strode after his squire, an entrace that was only slightly spoiled when he smacked his head against the door frame with an audible thud, prompting Dorian to check the paladin was ok.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like his head is a vital organ…” quipped Iivan before following the others to the inn.

The inn was little more than a large building with a basic trestle table pressed into service as a bar, it quickly became apparent that Luther’s hopes of good vittels might have been optimistic as the barkeep scooped a muddy brown liquid into rough wooden flagons and slammed them onto the table slopping the strange liquid

“Umm, what’s in this?” asked Luther

“‘s beer” replied the proprietor gruffly

“Do you have anything stronger” asked Gunnar eyeing his mug suspiciously

“Nope, just the beer”

Navarro generously paid for a round of the mud beer and quizzed the barman on the local area, learning that if they followed the road they would eventually arrive at the valley of the dead, a place the locals generally shunned as many who had risked exploring it had never returned. Luther wandered off to speak with a dwarf bard playing for the local patrons while Hamlet and Navarro ordered a meal of….meat… from the innkeeper. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the rustics Iivan went off to see if he could find a saddle horse for sale so he wouldn’t need to slum it in the cart with the halfies. Eyeing the locals Navarro spotted two humans who by their appearance and gear were not locals and made his way across to them balancing his mud beer on his steaming wooden plate of non specific meat stew. Dorian and Hamlet joined him, while Gunnar sauntered over to a table nearby that gave him a clear view of Navarro, the strangers and Luther and sipped his beer cautiously – finding that it tasted better than it looked, and watching for any threat to Navarro as he’d promised Luther.

“Gentlemen” Navarro greeted the two human travellers “What brings you to these parts?”

“Ahh, hello Mr Fancy cape” answered the larger of the two figures in heavily accented Common “We are scouting and mapping the area for a friend of yours”

“A friend of ours?” queried the paladin

“Yes, Father Lucius – he your friend no?” answered the man

“I know of Father Lucius, but tell me stranger – what are your names?”

“I’m Greg the guide” answered the other man, nodding a greeting

“And you can call me….Tourist” replied his heavily accented companion

“Tourist?”

“Yes, is like how you say – a nickname yes?”

“Ok, Nick and Greg then” replied Navarro flatly disregarding the man “What are you doing for Father Lucius?”

“I told you, we make maps and keep an eye on things – things like you eh? We come with you to city of dead yes”

“How do you know about the city of the dead?” asked Navarro suspiciously

“Ha, you take too many hits to head I think, we work for Father Lucius, he tell us go find Renegades and leader to give him help…I think he knew you need us yes”

Bristling at the implied slight to his leadership Navarro pushed himself up from the table “We don’t need any help from the likes of you!”, behind him Gunnar slowly put down his beer and reached for his sword hilt, worried the headstrong paladin was about to attack the strangers.

“Peace, peace – I mean no harm or insult but you seem to be one half orc short no?” said Tourist gesturing the the party “You have scaly lizard man still?” he continued with a grin, presumably referring to Balasar

Navarro’s face darkened once again, but Dorian placed a restraining arm on his shoulder before cutting in “We’ve heard the city of the dead is a dangerous place, we wouldn’t want to take anyone who couldn’t handle themselves and put them in danger”

“Ahhh I see, so you are leader?” answered Tourist turning to Dorian

“Ahh well no, more a spiritual guide” said Dorian diplomatically

“I am the leader!” declaimed Navarro bombastically

“Yes, yes leader who gets his soldiers killed we know” said Tourist waving his hand dismissively

“Vendetta!” roared Navarro pounding the table and jabbing a quivering finger accusingly at Tourist, Gunnar began to move towards the group but Hamlet and Dorian interceded and pushed Navarro back into his chair

“What help can you offer us then?” asked Dorian mildly

“Ah, we are” he paused, trying to find the correct words “good in a fight yes” and turned his hand to show them a large oval ring on his finger, something about it made Navarro think of Brother Grimm but he couldn’t nail down the thought.

“I see” replied Dorian “well I think you’d be welcome to join us for a time then”

Seeing Dorian give his tacit support to the strangers Navarro was satisfied that his wounded Vilmean pride could take a back seat to the guidance of Helm’s plans and grudgingly agreed “Lieutenant” he turned to Hamlet “take these….men under your command and see that they don’t slow us down. We will leave within the hour”.

With the spirited argument seemingly settled the locals returned to their drinks and slowly the tavern returned to normal talk about mining and the problems with rats. The pary took their leave and went to investigate the other large building – which they had learned was owned by the barman’s brother and sold all manner of equipment and supplies. With Fayd’s fate fresh in their minds Dorian and Navarro purchased a diamond, needed in spells to revive the dead and dying. Gunnar also bought a diamond, and handed it to Dorian as what he called a life in-sewer-ants policy – truth be told the big orc wasn’t sure what sewer dwelling insects had to do with things but he’d heard some of the merchants use the phrase back when he was travelling with the trade caravans in his youth and it seemed to a way to protect yourself from unexpected losses. Dorian seemed amused and bemused in equal measure but agreed that should anything befall the barbarian then he would use the diamond to save him if he could.

Supplies purchased the Renegades gathered around the cart in the main square, Iivan was there astride a new horse beaming with pleasure that he didn’t need to ride the cart any longer. Tourist and Greg joined them and together they all set off along the road toward the city of the dead, after a bried delay when some confused locals tried to volunteer to join their expidition. The day passed uneventfully and as night drew in they once more camped on the road. Gunnar and Tourist took the first watch, Gunnar learning the human had a pet bat to help him see in the dark – and opened up the possibility of messing with Iivan the Fastidious in future. Luther and Iivan took the next watch, Luther clearly still troubled by Fayd’s loss as his lute playing was by his standards shockingly poor. Ignoring the bard Iivan discovered tracks in the mud at the sides of the road, clearly a large group of humanoids had passed this way recently. Warned of these tracks Dorian and Navarro took the final watch but the party remained undisturbed and as the sun crept over the horizon they welcomed in the month of Eleasis.