# Tyranny of Dragons



## The Green Hermit (Jan 11, 2020)

We are attempting to have a maxxed out campaign. Time will tell if it actually happens -- especially since we just started.


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## The Green Hermit (Jan 11, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 1 (Played by my son, Memo)
Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 1 (Played by my daughter, Gen)
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 1 (Also played by Gen, begrudgingly, so I only have to play one PC along with being the DM)
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 1 (Played by yours truly)
Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 1 (Played by my younger son, Lane)
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3 (Played, reluctantly, by my husband, Alan)


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## The Green Hermit (Jan 11, 2020)

1st day of Kythorn
It was late in the day when several adventurers, Thoradin Ironfist, Criella, Andry Thorngage, and Kaya one by one stumbled upon a campsite in the middle of a forest. There they spotted an old man with canaries. After quizzing each of them on why they were wandering the wood, he gave each of the adventurers a healing potion and sent them on their way to Greenest -- which was under siege by a blue dragon and a horde of raiders. They fought their way past kobolds and humans to the keep. Three children were saved along the way, but the adventurers were unable to save their parents. Just as they entered the keep, around 11:00 p.m., the portcullis slammed shut -- barring all further entry.

Upon reaching the keep, they took a short rest before recovering enough to seek out the person in charge -- a man called Governor Nighthill. The Governor asked them to go through a secret tunnel to evacuate more of the town. Unfortunately, the tunnel might have been unknown to most of the town, but the rats had not forgotten it. After an unpleasant skirmish, the adventurers eventually found themselves at an old rusty, locked gate.

Before they attempted to unlock the gate (they had been given the key), Thokk, one of the famed heroes of Phandelver showed up -- possibly looking for loot more than attempting to help. For the time being, he agreed to stick with the adventurers, but nobody was sure if they could trust him. They were also joined by another fighter seeking fame and glory, a young fighter from the keep named Kung Lao -- whose eyes were unsettlingly white.

Kaya unfortunately broke the key in the lock, but Thoradin was able to force the gate open. That was unfortunate in its own way, though, because the noise brought a group of raiders who ambushed the adventurers as they ventured out into the stream. It was a tough battle,
but the adventurers eventually prevailed. However, they barely survived, so the group limped back to the keep to be healed by Kerri Nighthill, the governor’s lady. Hopefully others would be able to use the tunnel, because this group was too wounded. It was now 1:00 a.m.

2nd day of Kythorn
As soon as everybody but Kung Lao was healed (he had to sleep off his injuries) everybody was summoned to the battlements, because the dragon was finally attacking. (Up until now, he had mainly been sending lightning bolts at buildings and stray townsfolk). Fortunately, Kaya and Andry both spoke draconic and were able to convince the dragon to go away. Before leaving, though, he mentioned that all the loot the raiders were collecting was going to his queen, Tiamet -- the evil goddess of the dragons, who was supposedly chained in Hell.

Shortly after the dragon flew off, a half-dragon fighter challenged the keep to send out their best fighter for one-on-one combat. Thokk took up the challenge, so a few hostages were released. Thokk didn’t injure the raider in the slightest before being knocked unconscious. Healers rushed to save Thokk and all looters left as the sun rose over the horizon.

Everybody went back into the keep and collapsed for a long rest.


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## The Green Hermit (Jan 14, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 2
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 2
Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 1

Left the Group

Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Staying true to his nature, when the adventurers woke up after the siege, Thokk was nowhere to be seen. (He may have needed psychiatric help after being beaten to a pulp so easily.)


_DM's Note: My husband plays Thokk, but he is not a very enthusiastic player and basically shows up only when we need help not dying or when we have a new player at our table. (We foster, and our group is only family, so this happens semi-frequently.) He also refuses to create a new character, so Thokk never dies. We go along with this so that he still shows up when we need him._


In Memorandum

Everyone is still alive. Yay!

2nd Day of Kythorn, Cont.
The party (except for Thokk who was nowhere to be seen) woke up around noon to a summons from Governor Nighthill. He wanted them to find the raider’s camp, figure out how many raiders there are and most especially who the leaders are. For their troubles, he promised to gift them with 250 gp apiece. He was also kind enough to supply them for their trek (although the raid had used up all the mistletoe to Kaya’s dismay). This was especially useful since a couple of the adventurers had no distance weapon and the Kobolds had left lots of slings and bullets behind. Thoradin and Kung Lao were all about taking up the quest immediately, but the females in the party insisted on talking it over first. They were easily convinced, though, and soon set out after the raiders.

Before the adventurers left the keep Thoradin Ironfist decided he needed to remind the group about the strange sequence of apocalyptic dreams that led him to Greenest in the first place. In his dreams, the world was destroyed by cold, choking fumes, lightning storms, waves of acid, and horrible fire. And the dream always ended with ten evil eyes glaring at him from the darkness. Thoradin wondered if, since Tiamat is a dragon with 5 heads and 2 eyes on each head that all breath a different element, Tiamat is the one he sees destroying the world in his dreams. Bringing this up earned him inspiration.

_DM's Note: This actually surprised me. Even with the blue dragon giving them hints about Tiamat's return, I did not think that Memo would connect this with the dream for several more sessions at the earliest. Making connections is not always his strong suit._

Right before they left, an injured monk, Nesim, tells the group that his master Leosin, another monk, has disappeared. After going a tad bit ballistic when Thoradin mentioned his dream, Nesim told them that Leosin knew more about the raiders and dragon cults than anyone he knew. Since the adventurers were headed to the raider’s camp anyway, he wondered if they could look for Leosin while they were at it. The group had mixed feelings on how important this was in an already dangerous mission, but they told Nesim that they will think about it and continue on.

Once outside of town, the raider’s trail headed straight south and was very easy to follow. About 5 miles down the trail, the group spotted a young red dragon circling to the south. Could that be where the camp is? Kaya, the resident dragon expert of the group (a dragon raid in her youth is what led to her being allowed the unheard of [for Uthgardians] use of magic), mentioned that red dragons usually live in volcanoes, so the group started to worry that the raiders might possibly be creating an army to break Tiamat out of Hell. At this point, they were all getting fairly paranoid. Criella earned inspiration for freaking out so thoroughly that she got the rest of the group freaked out as well.

_DM's Note: This was actually unplanned. Lane still has a level 1 character, so I was trying to roll up a battle to give him XP. Instead, both times I rolled up a dragon sighting that I had only included on the table to add flavor to the game. (The table had 3 battles, one helpful encounter, and 2 "flavor" sightings. I might have to rethink this ratio for future use.)_

A few miles further along, the group saw a smoke plume rising in the sky. At first they assumed it was the raider’s camp, but when they got closer, it was obviously too small of a fire. Sneaking up to it for a closer look, they saw a few stragglers -- some humans around the campfire and a group of kobolds off to the side. The human raiders were focused on eating, didn’t even have their weapons at hand, and were easily ambushed. Three human raiders were killed, and Thoradin knocked the fourth unconscious with his shield -- all before any could reclaim their weapons. Things may have gotten dicey after that, but the 8 kobolds that accompanied the party (who were wise/paranoid enough to have their weapons on them, unlike the humans) snatched up their food and left. While waiting for their captive to gain consciousness, the hungry adventurers lunched upon the raiders’ chicken.


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## Goonalan (Jan 18, 2020)

Excellent work, and I'm loving the story.

Fantastic.

Cheers Goonalan


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## The Green Hermit (Feb 5, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 2
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 2
Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 1

Left the Group

Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3

2nd Day of Kythorn, Cont.
Eventually, Thoradin got bored of waiting and splashed water on the prisoner’s face until he woke up. This eventually worked, but the prisoner was mostly incoherent and upset that he was being splashed with water instead of wine. Saying his name was Melshas, he claimed to be forced into the cult through blackmail. He wanted out, and trying to earn the group’s trust, told them that there were three leaders: Resmir, Frulin, and Cyanwrath (who the kobolds seem to be in love with). Melshas also claimed that there was a rearguard checking for followers.  Although they didn’t trust him, the adventurers decided to bring Melshas along -- although Thoradin insisted that his hands remained bound behind his back, along with having a rope lead. (Kung Lao thought the rope should be tied around the prisoner’s neck, but Thoradin grudgingly conceded that would be going too far.)

Before heading out, Kaya dug a small pit behind a large boulder (the very one the weapons had been leaning on) and buried the raiders’ four scimitars. They also hid the bodies in the grass after deciding that it would take far too long to dig graves with their swords and battleaxes. Then Melshas led them around the ambush and to the edge of the raiders’ camp. Along the way, they saw a flock of vultures feasting on another dead raider, but that was all the excitement they had. When they safely reached the camp, Criella snuck closer to get a sense of where everything was. After she reported back, Thoradin took Melshas aside, talked to him quietly for a bit, and then slit his throat (keeping Melshas’s pocket change for himself). The adventurer’s were conflicted on whether or not they should have killed their prisoner, but they all agreed that they couldn’t take the chance of leaving him unbound and that they would probably be captured immediately if they attempted to bring him into camp as their prisoner.

Around 8:00 in the evening, the adventurers snuck into the raider’s camp and pretended to be part of the cult. They were so successful that they all got conscripted into chore duty:

Thoradin & Andry helped prepare a late meal in the cook tent. (Since the raiders had been trickling in all day, they were well behind schedule and hungry raiders are dangerous raiders.)
Kung Lao was ordered to weapons drill. While there, he got challenged to a duel to the death by a one-armed man. Kung Lao was disarmed almost immediately, but got saved at the last minute by a sergeant hauling off his challenger -- apparently he had killed off too many of the other raiders and his superiors had had enough.
Criella and Kaya had to help tend the animals.
After everyone was finished with their chores and they had eaten, they successfully snuck off to an uninhabited cave to sleep.

3rd day of Kythorn
After an uneventful night, the adventurers decided to roam around the camp, eavesdrop, and possibly find a way to get to the leaders in the big tent. Thoradin and Kaya decided to watch a card game before splitting up. Unfortunately for Thoradin, he got hauled off for guard duty in the northern tower. The rest of the group continued spying on various dice games and whatnot. (More people seemed to be relaxing than actually working.) During this time, Criella and Kaya learned that the monk Leossin was with the prisoners, but they did not learn where the prisoners were actually being held. All they knew was that there weren’t very many, which is why they kept getting dragged off for chores. Criella eventually got hauled off for guard duty as well (this time in the southern tower -- the kobolds were not to be trusted). Shortly thereafter, Kaya got shanghaied. This time it was her turn to help prepare a luncheon for the hungry raiders.

During all of this, Kung Lao somehow managed to avoid any chores at all and he continued to eavesdrop. When the meal bell rang, he met up with Criella -- who was shirking guard duty. The two kobolds she was supposed to be on guard duty with had attacked her, and she had run away in fear. If caught, she planned to lie and say she had been sent off. Since the kobolds were clearly not trusted allies, she felt that there was a reasonable chance that her tale would be believed. Fortunately, this theory was not put to the test, because after Kaya was finished cooking, she came over and sent Criella to the cook tent to help prepare the evening meal.

Kaya was then sent to the kobold tower since Criella was no longer there. She too was attacked by the kobolds, but instead of running away, she killed them where they stood. She then quickly abandoned her post, hoping that everybody would assume that the kobolds killed each other. Figuring she had pressed her luck enough for one day, she headed to the cave, where she was soon joined by Andry and Kung Lao who had reached the same conclusion. Eventually, Thoradin furtively snuck in as well.

His guard duty had gone no better than Criella’s or Kaya’s. Fortunately, in a heroic battle, he had managed to kill his two human attackers, even though he had to use his Lay on Hands and Cure Wounds (twice!) in order to do so. Also, unlike the southern tower, the northern tower was away from the camp and he had been able to hide both of their bodies. Then he stayed put until the next watch took over. When questioned about the missing guardsmen, he played dumb, saying that nobody had been there when he got there. He was convincing enough that his replacements decided they must have abandoned their posts. (Actually, it wasn’t hard to convince them. These raiders didn’t seem very organized.)

Criella was the last one to return to the cave. After discussing their many close calls, they decided to sneak out in the middle of the night and head back to Greenest. The adventurers have not seen any prisoners, let alone Leosin, but it seemed to them to be too dangerous to continue searching. They have at least discovered that he was in the camp and presumably still alive. They also have discovered most of the information Governor Nighthill had sent them to gather. Before leaving though, they a long rest was greatly needed in order to heal and regain spell slots.

_DM's Note: Since I know that my players are still learning how to take effective notes, I made use of Criella's backstory of being a con artist. Her history makes her know how important it is to convince marks to pay up, so she "took copious notes" (that I conveniently handed to her) to pull out if Governor Nighthill proves to be leery of paying them the full amount.

Also, if they end up not discovering the prisoners from Greenest and rescuing them, there will be a bit of fallout back in town -- especially since one of them is a 6 year-old boy. I figure they need to have some incentives to start asking more questions._


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## The Green Hermit (Feb 25, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 2
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 2
Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 1

Left the Group

Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3

4th Day of Kythorn

The adventurers woke up early in the morning and decided to actually plan out whether or not to search for the prisoners before leaving or just leave with the possibility of coming back for them later. Andry decided to try out her Wildshift ability and turned herself into a mighty battle rat so she could explore without being conscripted for work duty. This plan worked. After finding the prisoners and seeing where they were, she went back to the cave to share her information with the others.


After talking it over, they decided to free all of the prisoners and escape with them. However, there was no longer time to do it before the camp stirred, so they settled in for a day of planning and resting. Nobody felt it was worth taking the chance of leaving the cave and being discovered. After a brief discussion, they were pretty sure that nobody had taken enough notice of them to realize they weren’t out and about.


5th Day of Kythorn

At 12:30 in the morning, the mighty adventurers decided the camp was quiet enough to make their escape attempt. Once the adventurers got to the hut where the prisoners were, they hurriedly talked to them and found out who everyone was. (Thoradin complained that they could figure who everyone was later, but no one listened.) Criella then quickly got them out of their chains and they snuck out of the hut -- having first lent weapons to those with nightvision. They did not think of healing the wounded, though, so Thoradin carried an injured teenage girl and Leosin limped along as best as he could. They were discovered by 3 kobolds, but they easily overpowered them and escaped the camp. On the way back, they encountered a pair of drowsy harpies by their cache of weapons. After a brief discussion, they decided to bypass the harpies and forego the weapons. A couple miles further, they ran into another pair of harpies, but Andry turned herself into a fierce, vicious boar long enough to distract them with loud noises. The rest of the trip went smoothly (especially after they remembered their healing powers) and they made it back to Greenest around 10 a.m.

_DM's Note: Not a whole lot actually happened in this session, but my players started thinking more strategically, which was a big plus. And they started realizing that their spellcasting abilities could be useful in non-combat situations._


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## Goonalan (Feb 25, 2020)

The Green Hermit said:


> Adventuring Group
> 
> Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 2
> Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 2
> ...




Great work, and by the sound of things the kids are getting into something more than just hitting/fighting stuff, kudos for that. 

I love the fact that the guys went around/scared off the Harpies at the end, wise-folk- I've DMed children before and some of the little buggers would (given half the chance) charge Tiamat armed with only a pudding spoon (such is their fury).

Just for info, and only if you feel like sharing- how long are the sessions? How often do you play?

Cheers Goonalan


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## The Green Hermit (Feb 26, 2020)

Goonalan said:


> Just for info, and only if you feel like sharing- how long are the sessions? How often do you play?
> 
> Cheers Goonalan




Our sessions last from about 2-4 hours. When they start being spacey or wandering off, I get them to a good stopping point and call it good for the day.

How often we play is a bit more erratic. We schedule it for every Sunday that is open on our calendar, but with the knowledge that things could easily come up that makes us cancel. Actual play is usually only once or twice a month -- and some months get skipped completely. If they ever decide to have their friends join, we'll have to be more locked into a schedule, but that is one of the benefits of having everybody in the same house.


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## The Green Hermit (Mar 8, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 3

Left the Group

Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
After returning from spying on the Dragon Cult, he decided that the adventuring life wasn’t for him and asked for his job back in the guards.

5th - 16th Days of Kythorn
After making their way to town, they reported to Governor Nighthill and got their promised rewards. Then the group split up. Kung Lao decided that he had had enough of the adventuring life and went back to working in the garrison. Andry and Thoradin decided to stay at the Silver Pegasus and live in comfort while Kaya and Criella stayed at a boarding house in the poorer, but more affordable, part of town. Andry found work at the local orphanage and Kaya helped out at the tanner’s in exchange for working on her own projects. Criella decided to use her downtime learning Elvish from Nightbreeze, one of the prisoners they had rescued. Thoradin didn’t even pretend to spend his time wisely, spending most of his days carousing. His exploits in Greenest became legendary.

_DM's Note: I really need to find something to call ourselves other than "they" and "the adventuring group."

DM's Note: Lane moved on to another house. Fortunately, we had reached a reasonable place for his character to leave the group. It is possible that he will meet up with us down the road for another session, but very unlikely. _

On their first night back in town, Thoradin fell in love with a lovely maiden named Maya -- who immediately cheated on him with a gnome, Zook. Zook and Thoradin instantly became enemies, but that did not stop Thoradin from carousing until dawn each and every night. A few days later, he realized that either Zook was a worse enemy than he had thought -- or he had more enemies than he knew about -- when he woke up behind the Lonely Star. He had no memory of the day before, and even less idea of how he had ended up behind THIS tavern, since he was positive that he had confined all his carousing to The Prancing Satyr. His pouch was also 65 gp lighter. Vowing vengeance to whomever had done this dastardly deed, Thoradin promised to split the money with Criella if she helped get it back. Always up for a caper, especially when it involved money, Criella gladly helped investigate. This did not interfere with her daily lessons, because they were over long before Thoradin was awake enough to go carousing. Eventually they discovered that Thoradin had gone off with a tiefling by the name of Green Tom, due to the color of his skin. (Criella was intrigued by this, since tieflings are not usually green. Thoradin didn’t care about that, but he immediately suspected drugs in his ale.)

_DM's Note: I had the inn keepers and barkeeps figured out before we got to town, but the truly memorable characters were the ones that resulted from the carousing. I had the kids come up with the names and races as needed, which made it much easier on me._

Everybody in town seemed to know Green Tom, but nobody would admit to knowing where to find him. Running into a dead end, Thoradin and Criella decide to return to the Lonely Star and investigate further -- Thoradin’s head had hurt too much for him to think about this initially. The barkeep was a surly fellow who didn’t seem to want to answer any questions or gain any business, so there was no help there. However, when they looked around the alley, Thoradin noticed drag marks on the ground. Following the marks, Thoradin and Criella found themselves at the orphanage where Andry was working. What followed next was greatly amusing -- to everybody not named Thoradin.

Joseph Snailbottom, the head of the orphanage, greeted Thoradin with a broad smile, thanking him for his generous donation. Apparently, having accompanied Green Tom to the orphanage, Thoradin had decided to bless the children with his gold. (Thoradin immediately decided that he needed to lock up most of his winnings from now on.) Then, following an assuredly foolish dare, Thoradin had charged into the closed gate headfirst, knocking himself unconscious. (Andry was sweeping in the hall during this conversation, and was doubled up in laughter.) Mr. Snailbottom had been under the impression that Green Tom had helped Thoradin home, but apparently that was too much work and he had just dragged him around the corner, behind the tavern.

Knowing how his money went missing, and not willing to demand it back when the children so clearly needed it, Thoradin grumbled . . . and immediately went back to carousing, earning around 600 gp (the raiders hadn’t managed to find all of the wealth in Greenest). Criella, on the other hand, decided to continue the search for Green Tom. Thoradin hadn’t really seemed to give up the money out of his own free will, so now she suspected drugs as well. As a tiefling, she had a hard enough time in towns, and definitely did not want Green Tom to make her life harder. By a decent amount of sleuthing, Criella heard rumors about Chauntea, the goddess of the harvest, turning Tom green. Deciding she needed to hear more about this, Criella paid a visit to Chauntea’s temple. There, she discovered the priest was actually the one who had cursed Green Tom, not Chauntea herself, because he kept dragging others into bad situations out of jealousy. The curse can only be undone if Tom can convince others to make good choices that benefit others. The catch is that the victims have to be willing and aware of what’s going on.

This was obviously not what had happened in Thoradin’s case, so Criella found Green Tom’s house (She is a much better investigator than Thoradin, who cares mostly about carousing) and left an ominous note telling him that he’s being watched.

Eventually, when even Thoradin was getting tired of carousing (you could only get into so many brawls with Zook) the adventurers received a note from Leosin, inviting them to lunch at the Silver Pegasus. Even then, Thoradin thought about skipping lunch for more carousing. He really was starting to get bored, though, so eventually he agreed to go. However, he did drag himself out of bed early in the morning to carouse some more, and found himself with another girlfriend before lunch -- this time Zook’s sister, Tana.

During lunch, Leosin asked the group to spy on the raider’s camp some more. He had heard from some friends of his that were also concerned about the Cult of the Dragon, and everybody agreed they needed to know more information before they could act. Because the adventurers already knew their way around camp (and hadn’t been captured like Leosin) they were the ideal spies. There was no rush, though, as the raiders seemed to be settled in for a while. I would say the group talked it over, but Thoradin was so bored that he jumped on the opportunity immediately and didn’t give anybody else the chance to debate it. Everybody had already done the little shopping they needed (half off at the smithy for saving his apprentice!), but Kaya needed a couple more days to finish making the last of her riding gear -- Thoradin spent all this time carousing.

On their last day in Greenest, Criella went to check on Green Tom one last time, but this time was caught in the act. Fortunately, she was able to fall back on her old con artist tricks and convinced him that she was just curious about other tieflings in town. Despite his initial suspicions, Green Tom decided that he was just being paranoid and let her go on her way.

The adventurers are all prepared to leave in the morning. The town is ready for Thoradin to leave. 

_DM's Note: This was the first time we have used downtime and I wasn't sure how it would go. Memo had way too much fun causing havoc._


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## The Green Hermit (Mar 23, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 3

Left the Group

Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3

17th Day of Kythorn
The next morning, the trip back to the raiders camp begins uneventfully. Thoradin eventually spots a boar and decides to shoot it with his long bow, probably out of boredom. Andry tried and failed to talk him out of it, but Thoradin ignored her, claiming that he wanted fresh bacon. The adventurers eventually killed the boar, but Thoradin found that it was not as easy of a battle as he had anticipated. He eventually decided not to butcher it, though, because it might be possible for them to pose as hunters if they brought fresh meat into camp with them. (This was only possible, because Kaya’s totem, The Elk, had appeared in flesh and consented to be her mount. He didn’t shy away when they loaded the boar on his back, so the group decided he was okay with that as well.)

The group forgot there was an ambush site on the side of the road, and walked straight into it, instead of going around like they did last time. The raiders were no longer there, but orcs were. Fortunately, the orcs agreed to let them go as long as they gave up the boar. Andry immediately agreed, leaving no time for Thoradin to argue. As part of the deal, she got the tusks. Unfortunately, this also meant that they had no more meat to help them pose as hunters.

Not willing to give up a good plan, the adventurers went hunting for more food and brought down two rabbits and a deer. However, all this hard work ended up being for nothing. When they finally made it back to the raiders camp, they immediately noticed all the prisoners and kobolts huts were burning. The camp appeared to be abandoned. They did meet a couple of hunters, though, when they headed toward the cook’s hut, so the adventurers made a deal with them: The adventurers would let the hunters continue to earn money from the cult (a remnant remained in the cave), and in return the hunters wouldn’t rat them out. It was a win-win situation for everybody. To seal the deal, the adventurers handed over the game they had caught so the hunters could take a day off.

By that time, it was nearing dusk, so they decided to rest in their old cave. Before they entered the cave, Kaya amazed everybody by stepping off The Elk so it could shrink into a wooden statue -- which she promptly packed away in her backpack. She explained that all she had to do to get him back was to set the statue on the ground again and focus. Unfortunately, she hadn’t taken her saddlebags off, or emptied them, and they got absorbed into the statue as well.

_DM's Note: Yes, I ripped this off from Salvatore. However, it was in an attempt to make Kaya's Uthgardian heritage mesh a bit with her new magical abilities. I didn't want her to be able to switch back and forth between animals and if I went with her totem, there had to be a way to return from the dead. If The Elk ever dies, she has to commune with the statue for a full 8 hours for it to come back from the Spirit Plains. Also, although it may be a bigger size than normally available for Beastmastery, it isn't helpful in most buildings and possibly dungeons, because it just takes up too much space. I felt that was a decent trade off -- along with all possessions strapped to it when it died or was returned to the statue being unaccessable until it returned._

18th Day of Kythorn
After a good night’s rest, the adventurers headed to the cave. They suspected that there were dragons there, but if nothing else, the hunters had told them that everybody who was still left in camp was now in the cave. Andry easily made the entire party invisible, so they snuck in and saw two guards. Criella and Thoradin decided to slit the guards’ throats. After killing her guy, Criella then had to kill the other guy after Thoradin messed up badly. She offered to teach him how to properly slit a throat, but was pointedly ignored. After dragging the guards behind a stalagmite, in hopes that they would not be discovered quickly, the group continued on.

At the end of this cavern, they discovered steps that led down to another cavern that was filled with fungi. Two paths led away from the steps into the cavern. From the tops of the steps, Andry and Kaya couldn’t tell if the fungi were poisonous or not. Criella tried to decipher a difference between the two paths, but couldn’t say either way. Thoradin tried communing with his god, Moradin, but Moradin didn’t deign to answer. Thoradin then thought about tossing a cricket down into the fungi, but the rest of the group was able to convince him that they wouldn’t be able to tell if the cricket was hurt or not from way up there. Besides, a cricket wouldn’t necessarily be hurt by something that would hurt one of them. Thoradin was going to make the attempt anyway, but during all this discussion, the cricket escaped.

After a lot of consideration, Criella decided to attempt the left path. On her way down the steps, though, she triggered a trap and was dumped into the right path. She didn’t seem harmed, but immediately began babbling about all the bugs on her arms and legs.

Nobody else saw anything.

The rest of the party made it down without incident and Criella quickly joined them, still babbling about bugs. Following the left-hand path, they made it out of the cavern without further incident, only to find themselves in the middle of another, seemingly empty cavern -- this time with a few branching paths.

They stealthily peeked around one corner, saw a bunch of kobolds, and retreated. They then peeked over a ledge and discovered a trash pile. Despite being cautioned by the others, Criella (who now declared herself to be bug free) decided to look for anything shiny, and found a bag of gems -- which she was pressured into promising to split with the rest of the party when they got back to town. During this debate, trogs suddenly came out of the walls and almost killed everyone -- starting with Criella, since she was the only one in their trash pit. Luckily, after a very tough battle, everyone but the creatures survived.


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## The Green Hermit (Apr 10, 2020)

*Adventuring Group*

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Cruella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 3
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
He got lured to the caves by promises of loot if he can retrieve a specific sceptre.


*Left the Group*

Kung Lao -- Human, Fighter, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3

*In Memorandum*

Everyone is still alive. Yay!
As they were resting for a moment, they heard thrashing noises in the far corner of the trash pit. A quick investigation resulted in a surprising discovery: Thokk, with his hands and feet tied, but his weapons fortuitously nearby (too big for kobold use). He was very disgusted about being captured by a bunch of wimpy kobolds and declared revenge. According to him, he had been approached by Doug, a shady fence in Greenest, who wanted a specific scepter with a bone handle and a dragon perched atop a bright blue gem. Lured by all the other loot he could pick up during this quest, Thokk had quickly agreed. However, he was now doubting the scepter even existed and was almost as bitter about the fence as he was about the kobolds.

Accepting that Thokk was back with them, at least for now, Criella decided to cautiously peer around the next corner. She came back reporting that there were 12 kobolds and 3 flying kobolds. The group’s plan, instigated by a still fuming Thokk, was to charge in, starting with Thokk.

This may not have been the best plan. Thokk was immediately surrounded and attacked by kobolds. During the ensuing battle, both Thokk and Thoradin were almost knocked unconscious but somehow managed to keep on fighting.

Thoradin kept hearing growling noises coming from a pit that was locked and gated off from the rest of the cave. After the battle was over, Criella decided to go check it out. She saw three guard drakes and a rack with poles with lassos next to the wall. The group decided there was no reason to go in there and instead continued along the path at the end of the cavern. Once again, Criella decided to “sneakily” go in.

She failed.

Stepping on a trap, she caused the ceiling to collapse and was almost knocked unconscious. After the adventurers recovered from that nasty surprise, they continued on to the next room where they found six kobolds and six flying kobolds.

_DM's Note: This session was on the shorter side, as most sessions are when my husband decides to play. However, it was longer than this short recap makes it seem, because we spent a good portion of the time discussing his back story. Now to figure out a side quest that includes a blue dragon's lair, since that is conspicuously absent from ToD._


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## pogre (Apr 15, 2020)

The Green Hermit said:


> The group’s plan, instigated by a still fuming Thokk, was to charge in, starting with Thokk.



Also known as Plans A, B, C, & D by my group.

Cool to see a family group! My two younger sons play with me - my oldest son and daughter used to also before college. I have friends whose kids are largely uninterested in TTRPGs, so I consider myself blessed. My S.O. is decidedly uninterested in playing - so you are ahead of me there.


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## The Green Hermit (Apr 15, 2020)

Oh, mine is uninterested too, but he will cave and join in every once in a while.


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## Richards (Apr 15, 2020)

That seems to be a common theme.  I've been playing AD&D 2nd Edition/D&D 3.0/3.5 with my youngest son (and his older brother who has since moved away) since 1994 and my wife has yet to join us in a game, despite frequent offers.  (I personally think she enjoys the hours of relative quiet upstairs while we're down in the gaming room.)

I'm interested to see how things develop in this campaign.  I'm not a 5E guy, so all I know about this adventure is what I read in Story Hours like yours and Goonalan's.

Johnathan


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## The Green Hermit (Apr 18, 2020)

*Adventuring Group*

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 4
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Thia “Goldpetal” Xiloscient -- Drow, Monk -- Level 1 (Played by Gen)
She is a bounty hunter that is after Rezmir. After meeting up with the others, she decides to join forces.

Del “Diamonddew” Holimion -- Drow, Warlock -- Level 1 (Played by Gen)
She is a bounty hunter that is after Rezmir. After meeting up with the others, she decides to join forces.

Darrak Fireforge -- Shield Dwarf, Fighter -- Level 1 (Played by Memo)
He trailed after the two drow for a week, because he “knew” they were going to attack somebody. After they joined forces with the adventurers, he decided to join too -- partly because he still wanted to keep an eye on them and partly because he was bored and felt like an adventure.


*In Memorandum*

Criella -- Tiefling, Rogue, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Criella died after being lots of help to her friends, helping them sneak past loads of enemies.

Andry Thorngage -- Lightfoot Halfling, Druid, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 3
Andry died after a long and brutal struggle, healing as many people as she could. In the end, her wolf form was not enough.

18th Day of Kythorn, Cont.
The group got sucked into a battle to the death - literally. Before they could backtrack down the tunnel and get the kobolds as they came out of the bottleneck, the adventurers were caught in the tunnel themselves. Eventually, they did manage a retreat, but just as they were finishing the kobolds off, they were attacked by two human berserkers and Langdedrosa Cyanwrath, the half-dragon that had beaten Thokk so thoroughly at Greenest.

Cyanwrath, of course, immediately focused on Thokk. The berserkers were cognizant enough to avoid being flanked, but otherwise, they charged insistently at Thoradin. Thokk and Thoradin became unconscious, Criella and Andry died, and after a long and tiring chase through the caverns and back toward the entrance, Kaya ended up killing the last two enemies -- saving her two remaining companions.

_DM's Note: Gen was seriously upset for a little bit when BOTH of her characters died. However, she soon started plotting out her replacements. I thought Kaya was going to die too, leaving a cast of new characters to rescue Thoradin and Thokk (who never dies). Beating Cyanwrath solo leveled Kaya up to Level 4. All the other XP from the battle was split with Thoradin -- part of Thokk's deal about never dying is that he doesn't earn XP or loot from battles where he SHOULD have died. _

She took the pouch Criella had found so she could divide it with Thoradin later, and she looted the barracks, but after that, she made a strategic retreat. By paying the hunters two gems each, she gained their help hauling Thokk and Thoradin near the company’s cave (she didn’t want to give away the entrance, just in case). They also consented to haul Criella and Andry’s bodies to the top of the far watchtower -- which they then lit on fire once night fell. If asked, they could claim that they had no knowledge of who lit it, since it was far from the hut they had claimed as theirs.

As she watched the pyre burn, Kaya was amazed to see a gold dragon rise out of the flames, circle the encampment once, and then fly off. Not sure what it meant, she retreated to the cave to watch over her injured companions and get some rest for herself.

_DM's Note: We might see Andry again later. She had formerly been one of Bahamat's "canaries" and had been cursed into halfling form until her "death" for bad behavior, only earning back her proper form if she actively worked to help others._

19th Day of Kythorn
Early in the morning, as the remaining adventurers realized that they had to go back into the caves, because they still hadn’t found the information that Leosin had sent them for and Thokk hadn’t found the scepter, Thoradin heard a thumping noise outside the cave. He went to investigate and saw a kobold wearing bunny ears, hopping merrily away. Of course, he  immediately tried to shoot an arrow at it, but he tripped over a basket of healing potion, making him miss his shot. Shrugging, he brought the basket back to the cave and split the potions with Kaya and Thokk (evenly, because Kaya had saved him and Thokk would have gotten revenge).

_DM's Note: I wasn't sure how my players would react to either the kobold version of an Easter Bunny or splitting up the potions, so I purposefully had this play out before the newcomers joined us._

Just then, they heard another noise. This time the whole group ran to check it out (forgetting that they might want to be sneaky, especially after Thoradin had shot at the kobold-bunny. Fortunately, they weren’t rushing into the arms of their enemies. Instead, they saw two drow being chased by a dwarf. The drow frantically asked the trio for help, because they thought the creepy dwarf was out to harm them. They gasped out that he had been following them for the last week. The two drow, Thia and Del, (cousins) claimed to be bounty hunters looking to kill Rezmir and had tracked her to the raider’s camp. (A smith in Scornubel put the bounty on her head after his sister was killed in one  of the raids.) The dwarf, Darrak, came huffing up and had to be prevented from attacking them for attacking the adventurers. His tale was that he had been out gathering materials (he’s a smith) when he spotted the drow. Knowing they were up to no good, he had been following (stalking) them for a week in order to keep them from harming others. Thokk was also suspicious, and questioned them thoroughly to make sure they weren’t after the scepter Doug had sent him for. They assured him that they weren’t, because they did not chase after other people’s bounties -- drow had a bad enough reputation as it was. However, somebody who might have been Doug had been talking about it in Eturel. Either he REALLY wanted this scepter or it was of interest to more people than Thokk had realized -- assuming it even existed, which he was beginning to doubt. The adventurers agreed to let Thia and Del join them, mostly because it looked like they would be tripping over them anyway, and Barrak announced he would join too. Not only was he still suspicious of the drows’ motives, but he felt like he was ready for an adventure.

All three tagged along as Kaya, Thoradin, and Thokk reentered the cave. The original three immediately noticed that the bodies they had left behind on the previous day were no longer there, although there were surprisingly no new guards. Also, a quick examination revealed another tunnel off of the main entrance that they had not noticed before. Kaya stealthily crept down the tunnel and reported back that it branched into two tunnels, one that was light and one that ended in darkness. Since Kaya did not have dark vision, Thoradin took over the scouting. At the end of the darkened tunnel, he found a room that seemed to be empty except for a passed out cultist and an empty bottle of wine. Once the rest of the company joined him, however, and Kaya lit one of her torches, they found a few coins and a packet full of dust of disappearance -- which Barrak quickly claimed.

After attempts at waking the cultist failed, the group realized that he was going to be passed out for quite some time. After a brief discussion, they agreed that it was probably best not to kill him. However, they made sure that he was tied up tight and that he was gagged so he couldn’t call out for help before checking out the next tunnel.

After a quick scouting foray, Kaya reported back that several cultists and guards were lounging around in a small cavern. Nobody was really sleeping, but they weren’t alert either (which was odd, since they had to have known about the previous day’s battle and SOMEBODY had cleaned things up). They quickly formed a plan. Thia and Thokk both had distance weapons, so they would retreat back to the first cavern, Thoradin would block off the entrance to the tunnel they were currently in, and the new members of their group would stay in the background for backup, since they didn’t seem to have a lot of experience yet. Once everybody was in position, Thokk loudly went near the entrance, fired an arrow at a cultist, yelled insults at them, and ran away . . . leading them right into the ambush.

The battle was over fairly quickly, without much damage to the adventurers. However, there seemed to be less bodies there than expected. A quick survey of the cavern revealed it to be a barracks, and that there was a door off to the side. There also wasn’t much loot, just a few gems and 3 scabbards with dragon motifs (and +1 charisma against cultists). Some of the group immediately started making plans to sell the scabbards, but Kaya decided to keep hers, even if it meant snatching one of the cultists’ sabers as well. Everybody else was curious about what that led to, but Thokk was ready for a nap, claiming he was still recovering from the horrors of yesterday, and returned to the cavern with the passed out cultist.

_DM's Note: This was the first time our loot wasn't able to be evenly divided. We decided that in those instances we would roll for first pick, but that once somebody got first pick, that character's name had to go to the bottom of the list until everybody had gotten a chance to pick first -- when the order would be restarted._

The barracks door opened into another chamber where the guards and cultists were definitely waiting for them. This battle was quickly over as well, though, and this chamber was a whole lot more interesting than the last. It seemed to be a library or study, with desks and tables scattered around the main room and an alcove with a bed and a couple of chests. They decided that this room was worth a thorough examination, and the results were worth it. Thoradin discovered a hole in the floor with a rope ladder hidden underneath one of the rugs. Thia found a paper listing some of the cult members and whether or not they were ready to be promoted, noting who had shown loyalty, and who had not. She also found a map of the region with an arrow pointing to Berdusk and then to the north. This might be the next target for the raiders, but they also found another note that said everything was to be taken to Naerytar. They assumed that Naerytar was a place, but nobody knew for sure. In the chests, they found purple cultist regalia, which Kaya claimed, and Darrak took a key that he found.

Since he had dark vision (and because he had discovered the ladder) Thoradin crept down to see what it led to. He came back, saying that there were a few flying kobolds, but other than that the room was empty except for a chest -- and a giant mural of dragons all around the room.

The adventurers made quick work of the flying kobolds (although one fell on Thoradin as it died). Darrak remembered his key as they looked at the chest, so they tried that before anything else. Fortunately it worked, so they didn’t have to test out their lockpicking skills. The loot included gems and jewelry. Thoradin and Kaya recognised the jewelry as a string of pearls and a ring that had gone missing after the siege at Greenest. Everyone picked up some gems and Thia and Del grabbed the pearls and ring. The pearls that Del grabbed were worth 300gp, so she immediately wanted to sell it. However, Thia made her promise to turn it in when they got to Greenest, believing that it could help their reputations as drow if they returned the jewelry to their rightful owners. Del grumbled, but agreed. Everybody agreed that since Thokk was off napping, he had no right to any of the loot. There was also no sign of a bone-handled scepter with a dragon perched atop a blue gem.

_DM's Note: This is really two sessions rolled into one, since they were played two days in a row and were relatively short. I ended up letting Memo roll up a second character as well, but only once he came up with a better hook than "my character's best friend who has never been mentioned." They are also not very good at inspecting rooms. The only reason they avoided an acid trap when they opened the chest is that they had found the key. None of them inspected the paintings on the wall, which would have shown many holes in the dragon's mouths._


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## Richards (Apr 18, 2020)

The Green Hermit said:


> _DM's Note: This was the first time our loot wasn't able to be evenly divided. We decided that in those instances we would roll for first pick, but that once somebody got first pick, that character's name had to go to the bottom of the list until everybody had gotten a chance to pick first -- when the order would be restarted._



That's a cool system.

Johnathan


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## The Green Hermit (Apr 18, 2020)

Thanks. Everybody wanted to own their own loot instead of having a group treasure keeper/banker, but we wanted to keep things pretty fair when we came across the uneven looting sites. Some characters might still get a larger share of loot in the long run, but at the same time, different people want different things. When everybody else was going after gems worth 50 gp, I was wanting a scabbard that gave me advantage against our main enemy -- even if it was worth less monetarily.


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## Goonalan (Apr 18, 2020)

This is great.

Keep up the fantastic work.

Stay safe and well.

Cheers Goonalan.


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## The Green Hermit (Apr 25, 2020)

*Adventuring Group*

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 4
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 4
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Thia “Goldpetal” Xiloscient -- Drow, Monk -- Level 3
Del “Diamonddew” Holimion -- Drow, Warlock -- Level 3
Darrak Fireforge -- Shield Dwarf, Fighter -- Level 3
19th Day of Kythorn, Cont.
After a thorough inspection of the dragon murals covering the walls of the cavern, Thoradin discovered holes in the Black Dragon’s mouths. Closer inspection showed that there were pipes behind the holes, but there was no indication of what they were for nor where they came from. Thoradin thought they were some sort of trap, yet nothing had been set off. Del thought they might be spy holes. Both of them agreed with the rest of the group that it would be wise to move on.

_DM's Note: It appears that they decided to investigate the room after all. With any luck, they will start realizing that it is smart to do so BEFORE opening chests, even if it worked out okay this time._

There were two sets of stairs leading out of the room -- one in the upper left hand corner and one in the bottom right. Thoradin thought the group should explore the stairs that went off to the right, but he was outvoted and they went up the stairs on the left. The stairs ended up leading to the kobold’s barracks where Andry and Criella had been killed (explaining the last minute reinforcements). Like the entrance to the cavern, no dead bodies or any other evidence of the recent battle were found.

After everybody made it into the barracks, Del quietly scouted the cavern where the guard drakes were caged. This cavern was not empty and she discovered six kobolds and two flying kobolds keeping watch over the guard drakes. She quickly retreated back to the rest of the group. They decided to set up an ambush for the kobolds to run into, since that plan had worked so well before. Kaya dashed into the cavern, shot one of the kobolds, and fled -- leading them straight into the ambush. A fun fight ensued, where Del killed at least two kobolds from where she was standing. Unknown to the adventurers, though, when only two kobolds were left, one ran off to free the drakes. Del, who was closest to the cavern, was the first to spy them, shouting out, “The drakes are free!” before retreating back through the tunnel to the others. Figuring out what must have happened, Thoradin quickly called dibs on finding and strangling the kobold. Fortunately, the drakes seemed to be youngsters, as they were weak and easily destroyed. Del proudly killed one of them, but Thia spent the fight sulking over the fact that she couldn’t get close enough to attack.

Only after the battle did the group remember that the kobold had spoken draconic to the drakes, which Kaya would have understood had she been close enough. They didn’t think of trying to befriend the drakes (which might’ve worked) until after they were dead. They also noticed that there were only five dead kobolds, so one ran off -- probably the one that had set the drakes free. Thoradin renewed his vows of vengeance.

When checking the guard drakes’ enclosure yielded no loot and no information, Thoradin insisted on backtracking so he could check out the other stairway leading away from the dragon room. When they returned, they found it too had been repopulated, this time with two flying kobolds and one guard drake that was definitely harder to kill than the youngsters. The battle was easily finished, though, so Thoradin was finally able to explore his staircase.

Thoradin’s stairs led to a room with four kobolds. It was also pitch black, but Thia was kind enough to cast dancing lights so Kaya could see and fight at the same time. After fully entering the room, the group saw that there was an enclosure with two guard drakes, at least two dragon eggs, and a roper who called himself “King Urp.” Actually, it wasn’t hard to discover King Urp, since he immediately started talking to them. After a quick negotiation with Del, he promised not to eat the adventurers if he was allowed to eat everything and everyone that was killed in the ensuing battle. He would even let them crush the dragon eggs if it meant that he could eat them too. The group agreed, not wanting to have to battle the roper.

_DM's Note: I wasn't really sure how this was going to play out, since the one cavern they missed was the meat locker that was supposed to be used as a bargaining chip against the roper. Fortunately, Del is not quite as reformed of a drow as Thia is and was quick to offer up the dead without any prompting from me._

The kobolds were dispatched rather easily, but during the battle against the guard drakes Thoradin and Darrak were hit by glue bombs and fire bombs. Darrak was briefly knocked unconscious and Thoradin had to use the rest of his Lay on Hands, but they managed to escape. As they were looking for where the bombs had come from, four more kobolds clambered up from an unseen ledge and attacked the group. Darrak and Thoradin decided to take the four on, knowing they were only kobolds. The rest of the group focused on attacking the drakes from the safety of the ledge. Eventually, though, Thoradin grew bored of this tactic and entered the cage, making sure to block the stairs so the drakes couldn’t escape. Fortunately for him, it worked. (The rest of the group was not happy with him potentially letting the drakes out.)

After killing all the drakes and kobolds, Kaya investigated the eggs, informing the others that they were from a black dragon. They then smashed the eggs (including the one they didn’t see until King Urp helpfully pointed it out) and let King Urp eat them. Actually, that was sort of unnerving, as during the entire fight, he snatched up the dead as soon as they fell and ate them. They had to heal Darrak rather quickly when he was knocked unconscious, because King Urp saw him as food at that point.

Before leaving, Thoradin asked King Urp about the scepter Thokk had been sent for. King Urp replied that he hadn’t seen it and grumbled about getting hungry again -- despite the feast they had just provided him with. The adventurers decided to turn tails and return to safety, heading back to their captive and the still sleeping Thokk for a short rest. Fortunately, they encountered no more enemies on the way.

_DM's Note: This might be the end of the dungeon. The players know that one room hasn't been explored yet, but the characters don't. A lot depends on if Thokk decides he doesn't trust them to have explored everything when they wake him up from his nap. They could be heading back to Greenest for either some well-earned downtime or to continue on with their adventure._


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## The Green Hermit (Jun 13, 2020)

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 4
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 4
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Thia “Goldpetal” Xiloscient -- Drow, Monk -- Level 3
Del “Diamonddew” Holimion -- Drow, Warlock -- Level 3
Darrak Fireforge -- Shield Dwarf, Fighter -- Level 3
19th Day of Kythorn, Cont.
Soon after rejoining Thokk, Kaya began to hear whispers about greed and gold. Nobody else could hear them, but she swore they were coming from the still-slumbering Thokk. After waking him up, he grumpily emptied out his pockets. Amongst the other odds and ends were two coins stamped with Tiamat’s image. Picking them up Kaya declared that the whispering was coming from the coins. Nobody else heard anything, so despite warnings that the coins may be cursed, Thokk demanded to keep his loot. As far as he was concerned, coins were coins, and those coins were his. Before he pocketed them, though, Del made a quick rubbing, figuring that somebody in Greenest might recognize the coin.

With that mystery semi-solved, the adventurers looked at their captive. He was beginning to mumble in his sleep, but it was clear it was still going to be quite some time before he woke up and was lucid. Thokk was all for killing him, but Darrak talked him out of it. They untied their captive and retreated to their cave for a long rest.

20th Day of Kythorn
When they woke up the next morning, Thokk was long gone. The trip back to Greenest was mostly uneventful. They did run into a centaur, who told them that the raiders had headed to the west a 10-day ago (and that anybody with eyes could have seen that).

Upon their return, Governor Nighthill informed them that Leosin had left for Elturel, but not before buying them mounts and arranging for their stabling. (Kaya was able to switch her gear to that of a pack animal, since she had her magical elk.) Del and Thia also returned the jewelry they had discovered, which helped their reputation in town.

After a quick conference, the group decided to spend four days of downtime resting up. The drow needed to pay for a private suite so that they could avoid notice as much as possible and Kaya decided to join them to help bring down costs. The dwarves also decided to share a room, although they went with a cheaper option, planning to dine with the women in their private room.  Everybody stayed at the Silver Pegasus.

21st Day of Kythorn
For the most part, everybody decided to split up during the day. Kaya made the same deal with the tanner as before: She worked for him for three days in order to use his shop for her own projects on the fourth day. She also went to the weaponry store and bought a dagger. Thoradin also paid a trip to the armorer and deposited money at the bank. (In the few days they were gone Ransom’s Vault had opened a branch in Greenest.) Darrak spent his time carousing. Thia shopped a bit at the general store and started training with the scimitar -- since she had one, she figured she should learn how to use it. Her trainer was a familiar face -- Kung Lao. Del did a little bit of shopping, but spent most of her day at the keep, asking about the dragon coin. Nobody had seen anything like it before or knew who to possibly ask. Disappointed, she decided to wait until she got to a bigger town.

22nd Day of Kythorn
This day was pretty similar to the one before. Most of the party shopped a little, Kaya worked for the tanner, and Thia continued her training. Thoradin and Del joined Darrak in his carousing. Del won a little and Thoradin won a lot, continuing to earn his legendary status in the town.

23rd Day of Kythorn
Everybody but Del decided that it was time to actually meet the horses Leosin had bought for them. Kaya named hers Blue, Thoradin called his Bob, Darrak’s was named Billy, and Thia named hers Star. Thoradin, Del, and Darrak continued to carouse. Del earned her expenses for the day, but the dwarves had a bit more excitement. First, Tana sought out Thoradin, slapping him in the face for not letting her know he was in town, loudly proclaimed he was dead to her, and then flounced out. Then, her brother, Zook, got in a brawl with Darrak, resulting in them both being tossed out of the tavern. Fun times were had by all.

24th Day of Kythorn
Knowing that they were heading out on the next day, the group made sure to wrap up their errands. Kaya made two whips and sold them to the armorer, along with her leather armor, and upgraded to studded leather armor. She also went to the bank and opened up an account. Thoradin, being Thoradin, spent his time carousing. Unfortunately for him, this time Maya showed up. All signs were showing that his first girlfriend in town had just become a stalker. His companions had a lot of fun with this, but Thoradin wasn’t nearly as thrilled. Darrak also spent his time carousing, but nothing exciting happened; he just earned his expenses for the day. Thia continued to train and bought some saddlebags. Del finally visited her horse, scoffed at everybody else’s wimpy names, and promptly called hers Killer. After buying some saddlebags, she spent the rest of the day carousing and earned her money back.

_DM's Note: This section is much choppier than normal. We played almost two months ago, and it was a full month before anybody remembered to type anything in our log. Moving took up all of our mental energy._


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## Richards (Jun 14, 2020)

I hope the move went well and it's good to see the Story Hour back!  I'm looking forward to future updates as you guys all get a chance to play. (Because we all know after the move comes...the unpacking!)

Johnathan


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## The Green Hermit (Jun 14, 2020)

Richards said:


> I hope the move went well and it's good to see the Story Hour back!  I'm looking forward to future updates as you guys all get a chance to play. (Because we all know after the move comes...the unpacking!)
> 
> Johnathan



Yes, the unpacking is never ending. Lol!

We did manage a short session yesterday, which was just as awkward as you'd expect after not touching it for two months. Still, we managed to get through most of the mundane travel and will get back to action next session. I'll probably post it in about a week.


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## The Green Hermit (Jul 4, 2020)

*Adventuring Group*

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 4
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 4
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Thia “Goldpetal” Xiloscient -- Drow, Monk -- Level 3
Del “Diamonddew” Holimion -- Drow, Warlock -- Level 3
Darrak Fireforge -- Shield Dwarf, Fighter -- Level 3

25th Day of Kythorn
As the adventurers prepared to begin their six day trip toward Elturel and Leosin, they were met by Governor Nighthill. Wishing them well, he wanted to see them off on their journey. He also mentioned a tournament that was going to be held in Scornubel about the time they were passing through. Some knight was getting married and was throwing a giant party. Ears definitely perked up when he mentioned that many of the prizes were magical in nature.

Much to Thoradin’s disgust, Moira also saw them off, proclaiming her undying love and begging him to come back to her. As Thia and Del were snickering, Thoradin swiftly rode off with the rest of the party swiftly following -- leaving Moira sobbing broken-heartedly behind.

The road was kind to them that day. However, the innkeepers were not. Upon seeing Thia and Del, they quickly shuffled them off to a small room and were heavily advised to eat dinner in their room. Much to their surprise, Thokk was also there. Apparently, this was the room for all the undesirables.

26th Day of Kythorn
As everybody met up in the morning at the stables, Thokk decided to join up with them again. He had nothing better to do and the lure of magical prizes at the tournament peaked his interest. Besides, it was probably wise to move further away from the area with his “found” horse.

This day also passed uneventfully. As they entered Berdusk, however, they were met by Shaena Greenbottle. Leosin had asked her to meet them and put them up at her inn, The Running Stag. She did that cheerfully enough, but not everybody in the party got off easily. She thoroughly interrogated Thia, Thoradin, and Thokk when they didn’t answer her questions easily enough. Thia and Thokk survived unscathed, but Thoradin was warned that if he was going to be running errands for Leosin he needed to stop acting suspiciously. There may have been some smirking from his comrades at that one.

27th Day of Kythorn
So far the trail had been boring and monotonous -- just how most of the party liked it. However, on the way out of Berdusk they ran into a human blockade.  As they rounded a bend in the road, a group of men with mismatched clothes aimed their crossbows at the adventurers, demanding that the group pay 10 gold and pass, or fight and die. Thia, who was at the front, was thinking of a way to go past without paying when Thoradin, impatient at the delay, came over, and asked whether it was 12 each, or 12 total. (He had horrible bargaining skills.) The bandits were more than happy to change it to 12 each. Kaya refused to pay more than one gold, Thia was willing to pay 5, and Thokk would pay one so he wouldn’t have to wipe the blood off his weapons. Del, Darrak, and Thoradin were stubborn, and refused to pay any. Thokk, impatient, went up to the raiders and paid them one gold for only him to pass. Kaya did the same. After they threatened to ditch the others, Thia also paid. The remaining three were still stubbornly holding out, but Del also didn’t want to be left behind, so she reluctantly paid her piece. Thoradin and Darrak were bitter about giving up their gold, so they decided to place theirs on the ground, making the bandits go fetch them.

Later that night, the group camped outside a small roadside inn, mostly because they didn’t want to pay for lodging, but also because the drow and Thokk weren’t sure of their reception. As they were eating dinner and setting up the watch rotation, a small halfling called Simon Sack-of-Potatoes came up to their fire, and gave them a note he had picked up by the trash bin. It discussed how someone named Felix was going to die in the melee at the end of the tournament and was signed, “K”. Thoradin and Darrak also quickly noted that the script was blocky, as if the writer was used to writing in dwarvish runes. Simon definitely did not want this unknown Felix to die, but he was also well aware that he did not have the skills needed to fight in the melee. When he saw this heavily armed group, he decided to dump the problem in their laps. The group agreed to take the halfling along to Scornubel with them and save the unknown Felix. In return, he promised to give them his prize in a pie contest as a reward for saving whoever Felix is -- assuming he won, but he assured them that he usually won.

_DM's Note: This session was pretty choppy. After taking two months off to move, everybody took a while to sink back into their characters, plus we had to reintegrate Thokk into the group. It also ended abruptly, because my husband started falling asleep. (He is truly talented at this and has been known to fall asleep while singing or playing the drums in Rock Band -- very amusing and irritating at the same time for everybody else in the family.)_


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## Richards (Jul 4, 2020)

Sounds like your husband has a Chaotic Sleepy alignment.  I'm glad to see you guys are at the point now where you can get in some gaming again.  Moving can be such a hassle!

Johnathan


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## The Green Hermit (Jul 5, 2020)

Richards said:


> Sounds like your husband has a Chaotic Sleepy alignment.  I'm glad to see you guys are at the point now where you can get in some gaming again.  Moving can be such a hassle!
> 
> Johnathan



He definitely does!


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## The Green Hermit (Jul 26, 2020)

Adventuring Group

Thoradin Ironfist -- Shield Dwarf, Paladin, Alignment: Lawful Good -- Level 4
Kaya -- Uthgardian Barbian: Elk Tribe, Ranger, Alignment: Chaotic Good -- Level 4
Thokk -- Half Orc, Fighter, Alignment: Chaotic Neutral -- Level 3
Thia “Goldpetal” Xiloscient -- Drow, Monk -- Level 3
Del “Diamonddew” Holimion -- Drow, Warlock -- Level 3
Darrak Fireforge -- Shield Dwarf, Fighter -- Level 3

27th Day of Kythorn, Cont.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Simon talked about all the various contests that were going to be held and described the prizes. Most of the party began making plans to win some of the contests, and the magical weaponry that was being awarded. They also discussed possible methods of finding and saving Felix. Thokk, however, was more interested in hearing about the wealthy nobles who would be in attendance -- and that would be paying closer attention to the contests than to the contents of their pouches.

28th Day of Kythorn
In the morning, the group of adventurers set off for the tournament. Scornubel was less than a day’s travel. On the way there, they ran into another group of bandits, but upon closer inspection, they realized that it was the same group of bandits! They had just decided to move closer to the tournament, where there were better pickings. Thoradin wanted to take their heads off with his axe (and Thokk and Thia agreed), but the bandits wisely decided the fee would only be 1 gold. Thia paid the bounty and the group continued on. She was quite upset, though, when she then found out that it was 1 gold for the whole party, since nobody else had chipped in.

Upon arriving in Scornubel, the adventurers were given a map of the town. They briefly looked it over before heading to the stables, putting up the horses, and finding an inn. At the stables, Kaya swore she saw a dwarf disappear into thin air, but nobody else saw anything or thought it was worth noting, so she decided not to investigate further. The group decided to explore the town before bedding down for the night, so they wouldn’t get lost the next morning. This proved to be a smart choice: Darrak got lost rounding the first corner. Del found him, only to become lost herself. The two had a fierce argument over whose fault it was that they were lost, only to look over and see the rest of their group standing there with their arms crossed. Thokk had taken careful note of all the nobles’ guards. None of them had looked very friendly, but he was planning to go drinking with them anyway and become their best buddy. Thoradin and Thia hadn’t gotten lost, but both of them were so weary from traveling that they didn’t remember many details. After everybody gathered together again (and found Darrak and Del), Kaya shooed them back to the inn for the night.

The accommodations were not much: twice the normal cost of a room for a spot on the floor. However, they at least had a roof over their heads. Del and Thia decided to sleep in the middle of the floor, so they could catch as much gossip as possible. Del heard a group of people talking about noble dwarves disappearing by the stables and remembered the dwarf Kaya had seen disappear. Since Thoradin was a dwarf, and therefore might be expected to know more about this, Dell decided to wake him up. He did not react well, so she crawled back to her sleeping spot. As he was attempting to get back to sleep, though, Thoradin heard sleepy gossip about an invincible champion that dwarves were warning people to avoid during the melee. Now he too was curious, and decided to investigate further in the morning. The only gossip Kaya heard was that Turston (the knight hosting the tournament) was retiring and was looking for his replacement. Unless Felix was in the running, though, this seemed to have nothing to do with their mission.

Thokk “slept” near the door and waited for everybody else to fall asleep.

_DM's Note: The next session should see some action as they begin to investigate Felix's situation and the tournament begins. We will also have a new PC, since we just got another foster kid since this session. At least we ended in a spot that is really easy to insert a new character into the mix._


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