The Timberlands: Session Eight

Session Eight: The Trophy Wife

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

Gathering in the Lodgemaster's study, the heroes and their allies dared a short rest within a tiny hut spell. They were wary over that hour, expecting a new wave of cultists to assail them. Little did they know that the villains were taking time to fortify as well. The party provided their new friends a few weapons but told the former captives that if they suspect that the champions were slain to flee instead of coming to the rescued. The battered detainees readily agreed.

Instead of taking the direct route up the stairs, however, the heroes elected to use a second story balcony as an entry point. They shortly discovered that beyond the balcony's doors there lay a magic barrier not unlike the tiny hut they'd camped in. From within came a gaggle of mangeservants intent on pushing them back over the railing. The tiny demons proved no match for the adventurers. Once more into the breach the champions went.

The lodge's trophy wife and more mangeservants awaited them within the blond demon's room. She lobed spells at the party while the small infernals slowed them down. When it was plain that she'd not be able to overcome them, the antlered woman withdrew into the hall via gaseous form. The heroes dashed after and into an ambush of barghests, redwolfs and pups. The barrage of musket balls kept the player characters pinned in the trophy wife's room for a short while with the barghest at the door. However, Wild the tabaxi ranger was able to whittle the gunners down while Riley the barbarian, Orym the gunslinger and Gwaedd the valor bard dealt with the goblin-demon in the doorway. The battle was pitched in the second story hallways. Little by little, the heroes whittle down the forces until quiet settled in.

After a brief bit of healing, they went to investigate the rest of the lodge. Good thing too. On the stairs, they were confronted with a lodge devildog who sliced and diced Sykes the Rogue and Orym. The pitched fight ended with the devildog fleeing and hiding in a nearby reading room. If not for perceptive eyes the party may have tripped over the wire across the door. Instead, they stepped over it to discover the tripwire ran to a barrel of gunpowder. They engaged the devildog again, only to have the fire-resistant cultist set off the explosive himself. Fighting in the now blazing room, the champions suffered but managed to bring the final lodge member down.

However, the heroes soon realized while rummaging through papers and goods throughout the building that this wasn't the only cult dedicated to the Lodgemaster. At least one existed back in their home base of Reinhard Rise. They also found out that several of the cultists they'd killed were scions of blueblood families across the Congressional colonies. Still, the day was won and these were worries for another day.

The heroes finally got the rest (and level up).

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