I entered the village of Sentem and encountered several other Jackals – those offering their services to protect communities, slay beastmen, and do those harrowing tasks that other commoners won’t. This group of Jackals were comprised of two Luathi (one outspoken and the other reserved), a Trauj (with a pet wolf he kept calling Cousin), and a Hann of all things! After a brief dialog with the gatekeeper (who told us of the current bids available), we agreed to gather our forces and seek out a missing ingredient that the ruler of this village, Jepeth, needed for a final attempt to heal him.
On our way to Jepeth’s house, I took a closer look at my companions:
Dabar was the outspoken Luathi. Dressed in armor from helm to toe, he had a radiance of one touched by the Divine.
The other Luathi was Toara, a Loremaster. She was certainly more reserved than her clansman, but she seemed to be very astute, taking in the details of the people and buildings that we passed.
Melek was a beast of a man who constantly kept muttering and clucking his tongue at the wolf beside him.
And Arina was a Hann. She made an attempt to disguise herself with a hooded cloak, but with as tall as she was, it was all but apparent her origins.
Arriving at Jepeth’s, we met Arashad, his healer, and discussed the details of the two missing ingredients. She was quite kind and gave us as much information as she could on what she needed:
One ingredient was the heart of a rare green deer, the ayal. This animal has been hunted to nigh extinction by the beastmen who crave their flesh more than that of humans. Arashad supplied us with a ceremonial dagger and instructions on how to properly slay the creature while ensuring that it would reincarnate in the forest later in the year.
The other ingredient is a fragment of Asoa’s Stone – a piece of the Hannic Moon Road. This road only appears at certain times of the year, and there aren’t any known sections, so we’d have to seek them out at night.
We decided to go after the ayal’s heart first. Atash graciously gave us some Acacia Resin to aid us in our journey and requested that we also keep an eye out for lavona trees. Its resin has medicinal properties that she would appreciate having a supply of.
Leaving her place, we gathered our supplies and traveled along the road to the South East, headed toward Densem. We are hoping that we will find rumors of deer-sightings or evidence of their passing in the woods near there.
On our second day of travel, we crested a hill to find a caravan being attacked by a horde of beastmen! Torn between chasing down the single wagon being carried off or rescuing the men and women in the other three wagons, we threw ourselves into the fight near the three wagons.
This was our first time fighting together, and I think we have yet to find our rhythm, but the horde was driven off, and the wagons rescued. Despite our victory, we did not emerge unscathed. Two of those in the wagons were slain, and I must admit that I had over estimated my own prowess. Ashamedly, I was struck fiercely and lost consciousness.
Disoriented, I found myself standing before a wind blasted plateau. The light of the setting sun glowed like the red of a furnace behind me. The howling wind did nothing to mask the steady dripping noise of my blood slipping free of my mangled left hand to the black sand below.
Before me, slowly being freed from the rock face by the storm, is a block of blackest obsidian. The wind pulled at the earth, forcing it away to free what lay beneath. Slowly, more and more of the stone was revealed, the block was revealed to have raised sides on three of its sides. As length of the back was drawn forth by the wind, I finally saw it for what it was. A black throne. On the seat of the throne was a twisted crown of black iron, marked with runic inscriptions unfamiliar to me. In my mind, I heard a cold voice, cold with the chill of the grave, "You will take it, or you will kneel."
The searing pain of Acacia Resin, applied by Toara pulled me from that place. I looked around only to find that the skirmish was over.
Taking stock of my injuries, I was horrified to find that my left hand had been mangled beyond all use....just like in the vision. I don’t know if my injury was from the massive club the beastman was wielding or if it had stepped on my hand after striking me, but I am no longer whole. I will have to adjust to fighting with a single blade and hope to find a decent healer in Densem.
~~~~~~~~~
On our second day of travel, we crested a hill to find a caravan being attacked by a horde of beastmen! Torn between chasing down the single wagon being carried off or rescuing the men and women in the other three wagons, we threw ourselves into the fight near the three wagons.
This was our first time fighting together, and I think we have yet to find our rhythm, but the horde was driven off, and the wagons rescued. Despite our victory, we did not emerge unscathed. Two of those in the wagons were slain, and I must admit that I had over estimated my own prowess. Ashamedly, I was struck fiercely and lost consciousness.
Disoriented, I found myself standing before a wind blasted plateau. The light of the setting sun glowed like the red of a furnace behind me. The howling wind did nothing to mask the steady dripping noise of my blood slipping free of my mangled left hand to the black sand below.
Before me, slowly being freed from the rock face by the storm, is a block of blackest obsidian. The wind pulled at the earth, forcing it away to free what lay beneath. Slowly, more and more of the stone was revealed, the block was revealed to have raised sides on three of its sides. As length of the back was drawn forth by the wind, I finally saw it for what it was. A black throne. On the seat of the throne was a twisted crown of black iron, marked with runic inscriptions unfamiliar to me. In my mind, I heard a cold voice, cold with the chill of the grave, "You will take it, or you will kneel."
The searing pain of Acacia Resin, applied by Toara pulled me from that place. I looked around only to find that the skirmish was over.
Taking stock of my injuries, I was horrified to find that my left hand had been mangled beyond all use....just like in the vision. I don’t know if my injury was from the massive club the beastman was wielding or if it had stepped on my hand after striking me, but I am no longer whole. I will have to adjust to fighting with a single blade and hope to find a decent healer in Densem.
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