The Timerblands: Session Five

Session Five: Into the Woods

An untamed frontier. Dark cults. Fickle fey gods. Ravenous fiends. Nothing black powder and sorcery won't fix... . Timberlands Campaign Diary

With their mission in the ruined ziggurat complete, the heroes took a well-deserved rest as they awaited the relief company. They waited atop the ancient temple for two days before Hemm Coldblade, the younger brother of their employer and his entourage arrived. As always the scholarly satyr travelled with an eclectic group. This comprised of Hemm's two bearfolk bodyguards, a husband and wife camp cooks, a trap specialist, an archeologist, and a new player character assigned to the hero's troupe, Riley. While their origins were a bit mysterious, Riley assured the party that they had learned fine fighting skills in their stint with a travelling circus which combined both speed and brutality. The champions were glad to have the extra aid with how battered their last adventure left them. Hemm, ever concerned for his brother's employees, gifted them a few extra healing potions and a bonus for their fine work.

The next day the heroes set off to deliver the screecher heart they'd obtained for a buyer a few weeks to the east. They chose to take a direct route through the woods to the Grim-Faced Bridge so they might cross the Orange River and use the seasonal mountain pass beyond to save a few days. From there it should be a straight shot down into Hillsbrook Valley.

A few days into the journey, the party caught the sound of something massive moving in their direction as it felled trees. Wild the ranger and Sykes the rouge scouted ahead. They were shocked to see a hill-sized turtle-shell walking in their direction. Instead of a head, the reptile had a suspended staircase swaying back and forth. At the top of the shell was a quaint hut surrounded by patches of grass and a rickety fence. Boggles tended to the yard, though a pair of the tiny fey spotted the pair via a spyglass and made encouraging motions for them to come closer. After seeing that the house had a shop sign above its steps the party decided to check it out. The turtle shell stopped walking and lower it's 'head' for easy access.

It wasn't until the heroes headed inside that they noticed the sign was a coin pouch spilling gold teeth instead of coins. However, curiosity overcame self-preservation and they decided to investigate. The interior of the mobile shop was stuffed to the gills with all manner of knick-knacks, art, and adventuring gear on display. Behind the counter sat a red-skinned fey crone with a smile of golden teeth. After a brief introduction, Eya Goldteeth went to bargaining with the heroes. Though, she did ask for a promise from Wild that he wasn't here to cause any trouble. After all, the tabaxi had been raised by the Ebon Court and Eye was a fey of the Golden Court. The party bartered off some of their loot for healing potions and other useful items while chatting with the kindly crone. She hinted that she has sisters roaming the Timberlands as well, specifically Fegha Bronzeteeth who traded in unwanted children.

Reprovisioned, the heroes continued on their way. As they moved through the forest along the shores of Corpse Bay the heroes caught the sound of gunshots and screaming. As champions often do, they ran in that direction to render aid. In the center of a megalith circle bearing the Grim Visage of Enuk'Lun there was a battered goblin hiding atop a giant tree stump. He was firing, quite inaptly, at other goblins tormenting him from the roots below. The frantic goblin had an infernal rune burned into his chest.

As the heroes approached to learn more about the conflict, the goblins on the ground twisted and grew into barghests and set upon the interlopers. Now augmented by Riley's dervish abilities, the party quickly sliced their way through the barghest pack, despite the fiend's attempts to charm them. They found out that the branded goblin was Niq Brownfeet, a maker of fine, 'medicinal' brandy and warlock bound to the archfey Splithooves, the Squire of Battlefield Mercy. The otterfolk bard, Gwaedd, was able to remove Niq's brand and the warlock regained access to his patron's magic.

Niq let them know he and his friends were on the way to Hillsbrook Valley to donate a cache of brandy to the convent there when they were set by animal-masked bandits who murdered most everyone. One of the bandits, a lovely woman, branded him with the mark and then set barghests to run him down. Niq had been run ragged over the last few days and the barghests were trying to get him to kill himself with the pistol they'd tossed to him. He begged the heroes to go with him to the bandit's base of operations. Niq had overheard that they had a villa on the coast between the west and east orange river. The goblin not only wanted to retrieve his stock but also rescue his friend Vaynor - a diviner- who had been taken alive by the villains. Of course, the party agreed.

They found the villa easily enough. It looked like a place for bluebloods to vacation while hunting and fishing. Sykes, Wild, and the half-orc gunslinger Orym snuck onto the grounds. They found it teeming with well-dressed and well-armed people wearing different styles of masks made from bone. Within one hedge-partition they even discovered a pair of wild boars sleeping near a man wearing a boar-mask that was dining on a raw, humanoid leg. Realizing that they were dealing with some manner of cannibal cultists, the party regrouped in the nearby forest to plan their assault.