The chronicle record
Session recap
Below Fort Trevalay’s trapped bridge, Gundugar Herdtender used spider-climbing and resistance potions to get us inside.
Two goblins escaped the courtyard fight to seek reinforcements.
In the southern kennels, we found dog bones and human remains, then defeated a specter after Arsène came close to death. A hobgoblin woman demanded our surrender and called trolls to the kennel doors. Bruneg discovered that one troll did not understand Common, and Wren recalled that fire and acid halted troll regeneration, with fire especially effective. Finnetharyn Fimbleshanks sent the trolls fleeing with a spell and rallied us as hobgoblin soldiers attacked.
The fight spread through the doorway. Gundugar’s fire and acid, Wren’s arrows, and our attacks brought down trolls and soldiers; Finnetharyn’s flashes dazzled enemies, while Vendel Coldblade kept spells active and treated the wounded. The disciplined hobgoblin leader wielded a lightning-covered Double-Bladed Weapon and cut Finnetharyn, but Wren frightened and killed her after Bruneg and Arsène pressed the attack. Wren identified the enemy spellcaster as a Cleric Of Hadregash, associated with tyranny and slavery. He severely wounded Bruneg, then died from his own bleeding wounds. The remaining foes fled or fell, including a troll killed by its continuing fire injuries. We recovered keys, the leader’s weapon, a breastplate, and a striking flail; Finnetharyn took the breastplate and carried the double-bladed weapon. After we tended wounds and repaired Bruneg’s shield, Wren heard no dragon, but heard a hobgoblin being eaten by kelpies below.
We searched the fort’s remaining rooms. The forge held orderly piles of damaged armor and weapons, a lit fire, and unfinished plate barding. A basilisk and a barghest attacked there. The basilisk’s gaze slowed Arsène and Bruneg, while holy power harmed the other creature. Finnetharyn’s Disorienting Flash killed the invisible barghest, and Wren and Arsène struck the basilisk. We found nothing on the barghest and no especially valuable forge materials. A large cat pounced at Wren in the garden and Bruneg killed it. In the former armory, removing bricks from a covered box released yellow mold spores around Arsène. He resisted their effect, and we left the room to air out; Gundugar said he wanted to return for spores. We passed through empty barracks, opened a foul-smelling latrine, and entered the damaged tower.
Using the Salakut and Eygara keys, Bruneg opened two locked doors and found about a dozen wounded Chernasardo Rangers. Their spokeswoman asked whether we were hobgoblins. Bruneg named the Fangwood Six, and we explained that we had killed the fort’s defenders and intended to take it. The rangers asked about Ibzairiak and trolls. We said the dragon remained at large and that we had liberated three other forts, though this one was not yet secured. Gundugar urged the rangers to arm themselves from the fallen hobgoblins and guard against reinforcements. Their spokeswoman warned that the dragon had killed more than two dozen rangers in minutes and might be upstairs. As we climbed, a troll challenged us. Gundugar claimed we were reinforcements, then told it we had killed the hobgoblins. The troll rejected the claim, warned that the dragon would feed us to Ipsariac, and chose to wait rather than fight. Finnetharyn told it that if we killed the dragon, it would have to leave or die. We passed it and explored an upper chamber arranged like a forest cave, a small bedroom, and a room with maps of the southern Fangwood.
As Wren waited for something approaching upstairs, the troll climbed up, grabbed her, and was wounded when she broke free and struck it. A defender knocked Arsène prone, but Arsène killed him. Dire weasels and a spellcaster joined the fight. Wren identified the weasels and their ability to seize and injure prey; one badly hurt Nova with a spell before we killed the weasels and the other defender. Finnetharyn frightened and confused the spellcaster, and Gundugar’s acid and fire left him burning. Wren marked him as her prey and killed him with an arrow before he could recover.
The fight continues in the upper tower. The dragon remains unaccounted for, and the troll’s fate is unresolved.
Threads to Watch
- The dragon remains at large and unaccounted for.
- The troll’s fate is unresolved as the upper-tower fight continues.
- Gundugar said he wanted to return for spores from the yellow mold.
Notable quotes
“I'm going to double slice the jackass in front of me.” — Bruneg
“You know that people who said traps know how to avoid those traps, don't you?” — GM-Pablo (GM)