The Journey to the Keep
Dramatis Personae:
Liavara Kayne, the Aasimar Warlock of Neifion, the Lord of Bats, librarian extraordinaire, Magister of Ironfang Deep
Iona, the Wood Elf Monk who can't stay alive
Shump, the Half-Orc Cleric who keeps Iona from permanent death, and replaced Ishir after his untimely demise
Keh-Tee, the four-armed Mad Catter Warlock of Y'Chuk, Lord of Ironfang Deep
Lady Orhialla "Nya" Tarnash, the Tiefling Sorcerer and Lady of the Zhentarim
Teegan, the Dragonborn Sorcerer of Many Faces
Orvu, the Human Rogue who loves shinies
Franklin, the one armed, one legged Human Ranger, who later regrows both limbs
On the walk to Alaghon, the group encountered a pirate ship and decided they needed to possess it. They attacked the ship and after slaying the crew, they claimed it as their own. They arrived in Alaghon in style, aboard their new ship. The group began looking for maps to find exactly where Ironfang Deep was located; it was an old dwarven keep, that has been "lost" for a very long time. Keh-Tee informed all they met that he was the Lord of the Keep, but no one believed him since the keep had been lost for so long. After a couple of days, a message was sent to the group's room at the inn they were staying at, inviting Keh-Tee to a special room down below. Of course the cat is curious, so he went- but they would only admit him and two guards. While the other began deliberating over who should accompany Keh-Tee, Orvu and Lia volunteered and the three left.
Upon entering the room they had been invited to, they met a gnome... it was Teegan. He had also been collecting old maps of where the keep was believed to be, and he and Lia planned on comparing them to current maps to figure out exactly where this keep was. They began gathering traveling supplies and left within a couple more days. Orvu had been left in charge of their newly acquired ship, so she remained in Alaghon while the rest of the group began their journey.
After a couple days of travel, the group arrived in the town of Nonthal, a town that despised adventurers. They had a supernatural occurrence happening just outside their town that attracted many seeking treasure and glory. Keh-Tee announced himself as the Lord of Ironfang Deep, not an adventurer, and while they were leery of him, they allowed the group to stay the night. Nya made the mistake of identifying herself as an adventurer and was denied a room. Lia attempted to help Nya, which got her denied a room as well, but since they weren't sure if she was really an adventurer, or just being nice to the tiefling, she got to stay in the hidden room in the stables. She also suggested to the townsfolk that they use their tunnels to their advantage, and do something like the Yawning Portal. Then they could get revenue from the adventurers instead of having them simply be leeches.
The next morning the group set off toward the Orsraun Mountains in search of their keep. They lost all but Teegan's horse a couple of days into the journey; a dragon from Tiamet's cult found them. The group was hounded frequently by the dragons, and began trying to conceal themselves as best they could.
One day the group happened upon an outpost in the hills; it looked to have been used fairly recently, but the place was completely deserted. They decided to stay the night at this outpost, and enjoy having real shelter. The next morning the rangers who inhabited the outpost returned, and the group explained who they were and what their mission was. They learned that higher in the mountains there were yetis, who had attacked the group and claimed several of their people; Franklin, their leader and the man who knew these mountains best, was among the missing. The rangers explained that Franklin had gone the highest up the mountains, and if anyone would have an idea where the keep was, it would be him. They ended up spending a couple of days at the outpost with the rangers, making new healing potions and scrolls. When they finally left, it was in search of Franklin and the keep.
After a few more days of travel, they came upon some tracks that led them to a group of yetis. The yetis seemed to be mostly out hunting, so there was only a small group of them to contend with; but there were a few small dragons there as backup. That battle was long and painful, but eventually the group won, then ventured into the yeti's cave in search of Franklin. They found the ranger missing one arm and one leg, they healed him as best they could, but regrowing his limbs was beyond Shump's powers. They took Franklin with them, attaching Teegan's broom of flying to his hip to give him an awkward quasi-leg.
The group traveled for a few more days, fighting various yetis and the occasional dragon, when they saw a large blue dragon circling overhead- it was certainly looking for them. Their single encounter of a blue dragon, back in Greenest, when Lia shot it once with her eldritch blast, gave the group a false opinion of blues. Teegan pointed out to the group how wimpy blues are, while Keh-Tee used the mind powers of Y'Chuk to wipe his memory of what exactly he was doing; Keh-Tee's plan worked, the dragon completely forgot about the cult, its mission to find the group, all of it. They didn't see the blue again for a few more days.
When they saw the blue again, it demanded that the group pay it tribute for being in its territory. Of course they didn't want to, they had worked hard, and killed Iona and Nigel (Lia's familiar) several times, for their treasures. This of course became a fight, dragons are as greedy, if not more so than the group. This was one of the hardest battles the group had faced yet- the blue managed to kill Iona and fly off with her before anyone could stop him.
Iona awoke chained in a cave, with the blue in front of her. He informed Iona that she was to be his eyes and ears among the group, she would keep record of everything she saw and eventually he would come collect the information. She could not resist his commands, he had her soul in a gem. He completely wiped her memory of their encounter when he finished breifing her, so she would still carry out his commands without realizing what she was doing; this also kept Keh-Tee from figuring out that her memory had been tampered with. The blue put Iona back to sleep during the memory wipe, and when she woke again she found herself in the cave, unbound, and the stage was set to look like a fight had happened. Iona quickly made her way toward the group.
Eventually the group made it to Ironfang Deep. They were low on supplies, and tired from their trek to their keep, and wondered what surprises were in store for them now.
The red line on the map marks the route the group took in this chapter.
Dramatis Personae:
Liavara Kayne, the Aasimar Warlock of Neifion, the Lord of Bats, librarian extraordinaire, Magister of Ironfang Deep
Iona, the Wood Elf Monk who can't stay alive
Shump, the Half-Orc Cleric who keeps Iona from permanent death, and replaced Ishir after his untimely demise
Keh-Tee, the four-armed Mad Catter Warlock of Y'Chuk, Lord of Ironfang Deep
Lady Orhialla "Nya" Tarnash, the Tiefling Sorcerer and Lady of the Zhentarim
Teegan, the Dragonborn Sorcerer of Many Faces
Orvu, the Human Rogue who loves shinies
Franklin, the one armed, one legged Human Ranger, who later regrows both limbs
On the walk to Alaghon, the group encountered a pirate ship and decided they needed to possess it. They attacked the ship and after slaying the crew, they claimed it as their own. They arrived in Alaghon in style, aboard their new ship. The group began looking for maps to find exactly where Ironfang Deep was located; it was an old dwarven keep, that has been "lost" for a very long time. Keh-Tee informed all they met that he was the Lord of the Keep, but no one believed him since the keep had been lost for so long. After a couple of days, a message was sent to the group's room at the inn they were staying at, inviting Keh-Tee to a special room down below. Of course the cat is curious, so he went- but they would only admit him and two guards. While the other began deliberating over who should accompany Keh-Tee, Orvu and Lia volunteered and the three left.
Upon entering the room they had been invited to, they met a gnome... it was Teegan. He had also been collecting old maps of where the keep was believed to be, and he and Lia planned on comparing them to current maps to figure out exactly where this keep was. They began gathering traveling supplies and left within a couple more days. Orvu had been left in charge of their newly acquired ship, so she remained in Alaghon while the rest of the group began their journey.
After a couple days of travel, the group arrived in the town of Nonthal, a town that despised adventurers. They had a supernatural occurrence happening just outside their town that attracted many seeking treasure and glory. Keh-Tee announced himself as the Lord of Ironfang Deep, not an adventurer, and while they were leery of him, they allowed the group to stay the night. Nya made the mistake of identifying herself as an adventurer and was denied a room. Lia attempted to help Nya, which got her denied a room as well, but since they weren't sure if she was really an adventurer, or just being nice to the tiefling, she got to stay in the hidden room in the stables. She also suggested to the townsfolk that they use their tunnels to their advantage, and do something like the Yawning Portal. Then they could get revenue from the adventurers instead of having them simply be leeches.
The next morning the group set off toward the Orsraun Mountains in search of their keep. They lost all but Teegan's horse a couple of days into the journey; a dragon from Tiamet's cult found them. The group was hounded frequently by the dragons, and began trying to conceal themselves as best they could.
One day the group happened upon an outpost in the hills; it looked to have been used fairly recently, but the place was completely deserted. They decided to stay the night at this outpost, and enjoy having real shelter. The next morning the rangers who inhabited the outpost returned, and the group explained who they were and what their mission was. They learned that higher in the mountains there were yetis, who had attacked the group and claimed several of their people; Franklin, their leader and the man who knew these mountains best, was among the missing. The rangers explained that Franklin had gone the highest up the mountains, and if anyone would have an idea where the keep was, it would be him. They ended up spending a couple of days at the outpost with the rangers, making new healing potions and scrolls. When they finally left, it was in search of Franklin and the keep.
After a few more days of travel, they came upon some tracks that led them to a group of yetis. The yetis seemed to be mostly out hunting, so there was only a small group of them to contend with; but there were a few small dragons there as backup. That battle was long and painful, but eventually the group won, then ventured into the yeti's cave in search of Franklin. They found the ranger missing one arm and one leg, they healed him as best they could, but regrowing his limbs was beyond Shump's powers. They took Franklin with them, attaching Teegan's broom of flying to his hip to give him an awkward quasi-leg.
The group traveled for a few more days, fighting various yetis and the occasional dragon, when they saw a large blue dragon circling overhead- it was certainly looking for them. Their single encounter of a blue dragon, back in Greenest, when Lia shot it once with her eldritch blast, gave the group a false opinion of blues. Teegan pointed out to the group how wimpy blues are, while Keh-Tee used the mind powers of Y'Chuk to wipe his memory of what exactly he was doing; Keh-Tee's plan worked, the dragon completely forgot about the cult, its mission to find the group, all of it. They didn't see the blue again for a few more days.
When they saw the blue again, it demanded that the group pay it tribute for being in its territory. Of course they didn't want to, they had worked hard, and killed Iona and Nigel (Lia's familiar) several times, for their treasures. This of course became a fight, dragons are as greedy, if not more so than the group. This was one of the hardest battles the group had faced yet- the blue managed to kill Iona and fly off with her before anyone could stop him.
Iona awoke chained in a cave, with the blue in front of her. He informed Iona that she was to be his eyes and ears among the group, she would keep record of everything she saw and eventually he would come collect the information. She could not resist his commands, he had her soul in a gem. He completely wiped her memory of their encounter when he finished breifing her, so she would still carry out his commands without realizing what she was doing; this also kept Keh-Tee from figuring out that her memory had been tampered with. The blue put Iona back to sleep during the memory wipe, and when she woke again she found herself in the cave, unbound, and the stage was set to look like a fight had happened. Iona quickly made her way toward the group.
Eventually the group made it to Ironfang Deep. They were low on supplies, and tired from their trek to their keep, and wondered what surprises were in store for them now.
The red line on the map marks the route the group took in this chapter.
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