Part of the town of Red Larch shattered, Pliskin walked in
and headed to the Swinging Sword tavern as if nothing was amiss – for him,
anyway. Lucian hefted horse troughs of water and help put out various blazes
across the affected part of town, which looked like a bomb had gone off through
it.
Lucian investigated, despite Pliskin’s disinterest. The
taverns proprietor Kaylessa let him in on what had transpired : Turns out earth
cultists had arrayed themselves outside the town around some sort of glowing
casket and insisted the town turn out the heretics who had invaded and slain
the mud sorcerer. These cultists had probably headed out during one of the
times the party had been sleeping in Master Quarbo’s chamber – the vengeful
cultists traveling by mere yards from the party who had contributed to the mud
sorcerers death, as well as his actual murderer! Possibly some sort of disdain
the lower fortress cultists had for the upper cult fortress (being based on
earth, after all), it likely forstalled a communication between the two that otherwise
might have seen the party murdered in their beds (well, Quarbo’s beds, strictly
speaking)!!
But something had gone wrong with the glowing casket, the
cultists had fled and then there had been a mighty explosion outside of town,
the blast radius reaching into Red Larch. And it was at that point that the
party had arrived, after a brief but shocking encounter with willo wisps.
The party were thanked by and said good bye to the former captives they had freed and escorted to Red Larch. The dwarf amongst the captives tried to mention something about being part of a missing delegation and was thoroughly ignored by the party, who rested the night with Lucian insisting he was
going to sleep on the floor of Pliskin’s room – seems like a token romantic sub
plot, guys! But having rested and recovered their resources, much of the party
investigated the crater outside of town, taking glowing fragments they found as
samples. But there was no particular lead here – this was simply an event that
had occurred, though the source (the earth cultists) was clear.
So now they headed toward the water cultists! Something
completely different! The water cultists location shown in the tome Pliskin
recovered when he regained half of his family heirloom – the silver runed disk.
The text said the water cultists had split it in twain in their theft attempt
of it and had taken it away! Some of them flying away, strangely enough.
The party resupplied and made their way out, heading west
toward the Dessarin river, where they would turn north, following it up to the
water cultists keep. But along the way they spied from a distance a caravan
being held up by the stoney armoured cultists – the same sort of banditry that
saw the paladin Rikarian slain some months back (fortunately his god saw to it that
the resurrection ritual succeeded and had returned Rikarian to life). Indeed,
one of the caravaners seemed to be being forced into stone armour himself by
the other guards!
Though they could have tip toed around, the barbarian in the
party, as barbarians are wont to do, pushed to charge. Battle was joined and
the party showed much prejudice to the cultist priest and guards – the former
warlock of the party, having be repudiated by his patron and made a lowly bard
now, argued to the earth armoured
caravaner to not join the other earth cultists, in between saying mean things
to the other cultists. The warlock-now-bard’s words swayed the former
caravaner, who did not know who to join. Until the last earth guard tried to
surrender, at which the former caravaner, turned by the bards words, went to
slay the cultist – at which the bard cried out no to him, staying his hand
again.
Turns out the cult had been trying to force the caravaner to
join them for some time. Lucian wanted to kill the captive expediently, but the
former caravaner said no, he would take responsibility of the earth cultist and
turn him away from his dark path. The party agreed. If Lucians palm was greased
a little, first.
Onward
they went, to find other cultists called burrow
sharks hunting for new Bullette mounts. Again they could have skirted
around the cultists, but chose to engage. During which Lucian was
stabbed to unconscious to the
ground with their earthen spears. But battle was won and the barbarian stabalised! Why wont he die?
Then after further travel and another bad night of sleep the party had made it
to the Dessarin river! They turned north, following the river that entered into
tight ravines, keeping them close to the water.
Until Pliskin heard the water speaking in a form of
elemental. Saying the monk told it to be here – the monk that talked inside of
it. Tormented it!
From the waters, the maw of a dragon turtle burst forth!! The
stone wall of the ravine at the parties back, trapping them!
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