The Call of the Hound

Steel Realms
The Bogmile Wolves
Dunstrand Rising Living World A n c i e n t   Blood – A Living World storyline
Set in the Grand Duchy of Dunstrand of the [Fantasy] Steel Realms.

Ancient Blood’s Due > Ancient Blood – Test of the Bogmile Wolves > The Call of the Hound

Current Year: Common Year of the Steel Realms, 9169 > after Arvban Keep Strike.

Historical Events of Relevance:

Defining Moment: All of the Riverdans were devastated when, in CY 7950-7986, the Nanford River changed course during the Storm Times and Dwindor Swamp became a living thing itself and gained the appellation of “Mighty Dwindor”.

Aftermath of Gruxxand the Necromancer’s ascension to Lichdom: CY 9168/q3 > The Guild of Solars recorded everything they could about The Soul Scourge and the Dreams Leading Up To It and they and others used their skills to interpret the meaning or significance. Afterward, Orrish attacks increase… across the entirety of the Steel Realms.

Rally Point: The small group that partook in the Arvban Keep Strike, leaves the ruins to the River Rovers of the Riverdans, safe and ready for their assessment and final report. They are guided west into Cerrans Grant and swiftly to the south side of Bardens Gap in the Riverdan of Tufflim. The main army marching on Blue Willow Valley is following the dried up Nanford river bed that runs through the old lands. Those moving slowly as part of that group are asked to meet in a small farmstead of Ardlac. There the full company of the Bogmile Wolves come back together. Any wounds are healed.

  • Arabus – Loman Ailbe, Darkland Ranger from the east (half elf)
  • Earl – Kvasir – Wizard of the Riverdans (human)
  • Corey –
  • Corey – Nox-Kurez – Wizard of the Order of the Broken Sun (Warlock actually)
  • NPCs – Baggage Train (2 currently – Groomsman Brandon – played by Lucas – and Bard Hylia – played by Iziah)

House Malor has sent word into the Riverdans to the Lily Theurgists of Mondaides of an effort by the Orrish to seemingly set up another base of operations in the southern Hawktail Hills. This time at an old abandoned keep – another of the Picket Keeps of the Heartlands. Apparently it is also the site of ancient breaches that may be reopened and allow them to spread if they are not stopped. This is made known to you by one of this occult order that your own occult knowledge has nearly no reference point for. She is a tall human with sharp angular features. Her hair is blonde and short, she is dressed in a red robe with bronze trim. She carries with her a staff topped by a bronze eagle, its wings wrapped about the tip.

“I am Apprentice Liza of the Lily Theurgists. Warnings came from deep in the House Malor’s Panopticon of a dire evil presence fixated on the location. All they can say is the divinations were surrounded by black omens, like through a glass darkly, the image of the presence could not be made out. Though the baying of dogs was heard through the entire vision… and from this the location of this threat was assessed. The ancient keep known as ‘The Dog Fort’ is to be the scene of a dire threat. Go there, and send word what you find. Stand firm before the dark, and if it is within your power, stop it before it eclipses the light. The forces in Blue Willow Valley are contained at great cost and the army will proceed there, but reinforcements arrive everyday.”

“I give you this token – she hands you a bright pyrite lapel pin of an eagle with a single piercing eye – that you may speak to it and it will carry the message to me if you should not be capable of curtailing or discovering their efforts. No more is known, not dates or times, not specific nature, not size of the threat – only that the dark gods have obscured it in The Pattern from even the masterful divinations of House Malor. That is concern enough. I will be working with you to direct and assess your efforts as part of the larger effort to defend the Riverdans… Do you have any questions at this time?”

The groups confers among themselves…

Calamity Coming?: The interloper ritual could come into effect any day now right? what was the latest it could happen? A month after the first signs? what do we know as a group. I remember discussing it and either Kvasir or Hylea having made a solid knowledge check that gave us the bullet points. If Liza doesn’t come across as soft to me then I’d be willing to ask her for any details she can provide, but if it doesn’t look like she can hold her own then Loman wouldn’t be likely to give her perspective or knowledge much credence.

Yes,the ritual would be soon – less than a month, but details are not precise – its been many centuries since it was last seen.

Arabus made his insight check in person. Liza appears to be competent, but not “hard”. She is a magus – her hands are not calloused, her skin is not weathered. She is in her 20’s. The symbols on her apparel clearly indicate her apprentice status – but apprentice is no clear indication of power… other than somebody thought her worthy of sponsor, so there is that factor.

No questions are put forward to her at this time.

She meets with your previous guide – Salle – and they go over the next step. Liza leaves immediately, and she will meet you at the next way point.

Scouting the Mathien Plateau

Salle (Sal-lay) is an member of the River Rovers of the Riverdans – he has been your guide thus far in the hilly terrain. He knows the ancient hill forts and paths and will serve as your guide for getting you there again and reporting back. He can say that in south Pelmon – “No incursions or breaches there yet… but there is some unrest and accusations among the local ruler and settlements over how to foot the bill for defending the area. There’s reports of things not seen in a long time. Powers manifesting and tactics that had once fallen out of favor with the Orrish – i don’t know details yet, but i will try and find out. One example is the pack tactics of the Orrish have been pure melee swarm for generations now, but it appears that they have trained up another generation of slingers and have more capability at a distance again. ”

Salle tells the group where he will guide them to. They are going to The Dog Fort, another ancient fort long abandoned. An advance group will scout out The Mathien Plateau for any Orrish set as a rear guard or even waiting for the main army to pass and ambush them from the rear. Its two days to get there, through Cerrans Grant and into the Riverdan of Tufflim. North Tufflim they will meet with the rest of the group briefly. De’Vosa will continue to lead the army into position in the south edge of the Hawktail Hills to set up a camp, then return with the others.

History Pieced Together by PCs

Salle the River Rover takes any ranger in the party aside and tells them: When the River Rovers travel through the area, they skirt the edges and dont sleep in any of the ruins.

He also tells the PCs the recent knowledge of the area: In CY 8802, after the calamity where the druids flooded the area with White Lake, the area became abandoned. Over the years, it began to be referred to as the plateau of mists – strange fog banks would roll over the area, and mists would form when it rained, freezing hail would dump for no reason. Bad weather could form in a matter of hours at times – seemingly with no relation to the rest of the area. The River Rovers rarely go there now.

The Calamity

Plateau Arrival

Salle the River Rover led the advance group to the base of the Mathien road, leading to the Mathien Plateau. The way up was covered in debris, reflecting the lack of use for over a hundred years. There was one crude Orrish trap that gets triggered and cleared. At the top of the road, the group arrived around 4ish of the third day. The plateau is foreboding, there are eddies of mist and fog ‘leaks’ from the crags on the edge of the plateau… there are faint whispers in the wind. It was scoured clean in a magical flood by the druids to destroy Orrish forces – hardly anything had grown back. The arrival triggers a shrieker hidden amidst the rocks at the top of the road – an Orrish alarm. It took only a couple moments to slay it, but the warning alarm had been sounded. The party waits to see if anything happens. After a few minutes, dark storm clouds began to form, seeming coming from White Lake itself. Elsewhere the weather was cool and clear – this was not normal.

Loman says there is a strange smell in the air – Orrish magic. Like sometimes that is smelled coming from priests sacrificing in the Dark Lands.

The Night of Terror

Finding Refuge and The Storm<

Nox is washed away to the north in the deluge, carried hundreds of meters.

The Assault

After the vicious storm, likely fueled by some foul elemental magics, the PCs away the next step in the attack upon their position. Out of the darkness, Loman spots two ranks of Orrish approaching – both appear to be goblins. Kvasir casts Ice Knife and makes a decision to split – given the PCs condition, his mercenary instincts kick in and like once before he decides to side step. At the same moment, Loman sees the front rank has banners on their back – like the custom ancient warriors of the fallen east. A small group is operating off to the side… Loman realizes this is a force of one of the Champions of Strength and Darkness! Knowing that in their weakened condition, they are no match, he exists the camp, skirting the edge of their Darkvision and tells PCs to break and run; He is trying to lead away champion. The front rank charges in and the second rank turn out to be slingers! The wounded Hylia and Brandon of the baggage train see no way out and stand their ground with spells, spears and axes. Hylia dismisses her wounded terrified sacred horse of Epona – suffering from a head wound after it fell. The Ork champion uses his War Run ability uses ability to keep up with Loman, leaving his retinue behind. Eventually the slingers pivot to sling at darkland ranger. Kvasir sees this happening and tries to interrupt the slingers and another rank appearing at the edge in the moonlight. Confusion reigns. Brandon has the only mount alive left, and epicly stands up the horse in the midst of goblins swirling in combat around them, and pulls Hylia up. Somehow, they choose the right direction and make their way to the road off the plateau. Kvasir appears to the others not to have abandoned them, but followed Loman’s orders. Using spells, he gains a head start and loses his pursuers in the aftermath. Loman manages to break out of a grapple and finaly gets clear of the deadly Ork champion at full movement. Despire their misfortune, the gods must have smiled upon their effort – the goblins were many and organized, but barely seemed able to connect with any blows. The desperationa and adrenalize wear off as the three who retreated meet up on the road down as the sun is coming up. Loman travels alone in the dark hours, searching for Nox. He overhears the Ork tell the forces to pair up and search the plateau before the sun rises, to “use the signal” when any are spotted.

Nox Almost Killed by Friendly Fire

Loman sees a lone goblin figure in the night, wandering the plateau. He decides not to risk killing him because he might set off an alarm. It is actually Nox using disguise Self trying to avoid other Orrish at 4am. He accidentally stumbles into the recently opened entrance to the Watch Vault of Kunlay.

Nox’s Night in the Vault of Kunlay

He enters and explores while the Orrish are out trying to kill the rest of the party. HE makes a few discoveries. He tries to find a place to hide that the Orrish will not have easy access to. He finds a broken ledge from a walkway cut off on both sides and wedges himself in to wait until high noon. He keeps pushing himself hard to stay awake and avoid exhaustion… his constitution manages to carry him through. He does his best to hide his scent. Using misty step, he gets to the ledge as the Orrish are coming in at Sunset. As they search for him, he overhears a bunch of important information. Despite coming VERY close to finding him (at disadvantage on the last search, a “20” rerolled to a “3”), they give up on the strange smell and go to rest, leaving three to guard.

  • WHAT NOX OVERHEARS: A force of Orrish have been sent by some entity named Ushtay to The Maithen Plateau to secure the passage to Spakaya – The Dog Fort of the Riverdans against potential threats and ensure that the ancient evil standard can be recovered. They got sidetracked from scouting and securing and have been seeking loot in the earthquake-opened Watch Vault on Kunlay; Going through the rubble and finding bodies of defenders and Orrish swept into the back chamber during flood and crushed/drowned. The way was sealed and warded and these left to rot. The Orrish have been going through and stacking up loot for weeks! The metal they bring back will make them celebrated. A rare bred formorian giant Colossi of Nihilism, Twistings, and Piercing Depths came with them – protected from the sun-bane by its chaos aura. Drawn to the residual anima energy in White Lake, it climbed to the heights and sunk within the sunless depths of the lake – it sends its fog banks and storms out and senses through them. It leaves the rest of the party sent alone, and they leave it alone – not knowing what else to do at this point. Neither will come to the aid of the other. It is responsible for the weather now.

Uses the Bronze Eagle pin to send a message about high noon – he whispers everything he’s managed to discover to send to Liza.

Fooling to Guards: The threat of a Darkland ranger…

He manages to bolt out, and exits onto the plateau about 1pm. Against all odds he stumbles across the bard’s horse and mounts it to ride off the plateau and down the road.

CURRENT DATE = (+4 days total)

GM NOTE: I dont even know what to say about the last session. It was the most epic defeat of a party ive seen in a long time. Through random events, the adventure got front loaded and all the tough stuff converged at once. The party lost most mounts, and was scattered. Broken arm, deafness, nightmares, cranial damage, down to 1 hp in a few places. And half way i started rolling in front of everyone to see. How the fuck everyone got scattered and lived is nothing short of fucking epic. I’ll be writing it up tomorrow. I gave out 2 character weaves to every character involved. I cant even remember the last time i did that.
> The bard Hylia went to level 4 after praying devoutly for a night to the stars and Epona – thanking her for saving her horse.

The Bogmile Wolves Converge

CURRENT DATE = (+2 days) – October the moon is about 60% and waxing

Liza returns from the main army camp after the retreat from the Mathien Plateau. There is a base camp at the foot of the Mathien Road leading up. The wounded have been nursing their wounds for 2 nights. Nox is still having nightmares of his visions from the plateau and is suffering from an inability to catch a rest. Salle has been keeping watch with his dog on the path to make sure no Orrish are coming down. De’Vosa and the others have been informed by Liza of everything the bronze eagle messenger reported to her from Nox. The fact that everyone lived is astonishing, and there is some small celebration at the reunion of the full group – decent food was brought from the main army. Hylia the bard cannot perform much, but sings songs of what happened and there is a general improvement in morale of those that retreated. Some healing is brought to he group, taken from the main army – requisitioned by De’Vosa. Almost all of it is used to heal the damaged companions – all that is left is 3 healing potions. The baggage train sets up a larger, defensible camp and all but Nox get a full night’s rest. Liza donates her personal healing items from her kit: 10 1pt salve applications, 3 overnight poultices that heal a base of 2, and a potion of extra healing.

A tired looking Liza gathers you all and addresses the group on the sunrise of the third day of full camp. “The Orrish on the plateau are waiting. They will be ready. There is no way up but the worn road. Knowing the forces brought in, its more important than ever we find out what is going on at The Dog Fort ruins. You must traverse the plateau to get there. They may have even sent word and have reinforcements. This Ork champion is nothing to be trifled with. Their kind is rarely seen – its says something about the importance of your mission is this is what they put in your way. Do not hold back anything, it will take everything to put him down.” Liza once again gifts you with the cloak clasp of the bronze eagle of her order. “It works the same, whatever you speak at the volume you speak it will as well, after it has returned to me. I also give you this elixir. It will help protect one of you against the strength draining effects of the shadows that the champion of darkness commands. I will stay here, awaiting your return. Salle will once again shadow you to where the road meets the plateau above. Eat well, I must retire for now and I will hold you and your success in my thoughts.” With a flourish and a weary smile, she heads to her tent.

The camp falls quiet, then… Visitation of Nandhe, spirit of Dunstrand Vale

SUMMARIZING KNOWLEDGE LINKS: