Post by hubertbartels on Oct 15, 2023 14:37:01 GMT -5
Hecate’s Advanced Outpost
It was twilight in the Mournlands – the light was fading. Ahead of us was Gustave Hecate’s outpost, a collection of tents and stone buildings in the wastelands. We could see a few people in the airship tower, a few Warforged guarding the stone buildings but in general, the place had a deserted look.
Other than the airship tower, the only other thing unusual to us was a set of round, smooth constructs covered with tarps. They had the look of being made through the use of a Stonewall spell. There was more hilly terrain and cover to the north so we decided to circle around and enter the outpost from that direction.
We got behind a stone building. From the barred windows and sturdy construction, we guessed that it was used to keep our missing dragon-marked heirs. As we started to sneak around to the front, we met a patrol of two Warforged and an Iron Construct. They raised a shout – Trouble and Kara charged the patrol while Kadrin used his boots of flying to intercept another patrol about to head in our direction. Torbrand and Emrys were busy killing the mage and scout in the airship tower and blowing up the hobgoblins massing at the tent. The fight continued for several minutes until it ended with Kadrin running down the only survivor and killing him before he could grab a horse and flee.
From the stone buildings and a few tents, we were able to rescue several dragon-marked heirs and a Warforged whose armor bore the markings of the Cyre court. Apparently Hecate or the Lord of Blades had replaced the Warforged with a duplicate. The duplicate was even now reporting on the activities of the court to Cyre’s enemies. The stable had four half-starved horses.
In the smooth stone constructions, we found the parts of an airship, fueled by coal rather than elementals. It was carefully folded up and placed under the tarps. Deciding to leave the outpost standing, we set out for the half-day’s journey back to the Trading Post.
The dragon-marked heirs were put up at the hotel to recover. The horses were sold to the caravan. Then we rested for a while in the hotel. The next morning, we set out in search of Hecate’s portal to the Black Moon.
We got lost. Trouble’s survival skills were not good enough to locate the cairns left by Hecate’s men to mark the trails. We were forced to spend the night, camped in the wilderness. Of course, a large slobbering beast attacked us in the night – Trouble, furious at her failures, killed it in one blow.
Three hours in the morning, we finally stumbled onto one of Hecate’s cairns. Now, we could follow the trail to the portal. The trail led us through some hilly ground before plunging into the Mists. Emrys guided us along the trail, following the cairns. It seemed to take longer than before. The shrouding mists parted a bit to reveal a glowing, shimmering pool. Around the pool stood four semi-transparent figure. They appeared to be in great pain, alive but in stasis.
Torbrand cast Invisibility on Kadrin who stepped into the pool. They returned in a bit, visible and told us to follow. When we stood in the pool, each of us seemed to fade away. On the other side, we stood in a field of wax, carved with arcane signs. The room was pitch dark. The field of wax which also had a shimmering pool, had four figures – three hobgoblins and a human – surrounding the pool. Torbrand guessed that they were being used as batteries to power the portal.
Looking around, we made out that the field of wax, the portal and we were standing on a giant-sized table. A rope ladder provided access to the floor. Nearby were giant sized chairs and other remains of a giant’s home. Descending the rope ladder to the floor, we scurried across the floor to the doorway outside.
The giant-sized house we were standing in was one of many on a street of similar houses. In the distance was a huge castle. People or somethings were moving around a large bonfire.
It was twilight in the Mournlands – the light was fading. Ahead of us was Gustave Hecate’s outpost, a collection of tents and stone buildings in the wastelands. We could see a few people in the airship tower, a few Warforged guarding the stone buildings but in general, the place had a deserted look.
Other than the airship tower, the only other thing unusual to us was a set of round, smooth constructs covered with tarps. They had the look of being made through the use of a Stonewall spell. There was more hilly terrain and cover to the north so we decided to circle around and enter the outpost from that direction.
We got behind a stone building. From the barred windows and sturdy construction, we guessed that it was used to keep our missing dragon-marked heirs. As we started to sneak around to the front, we met a patrol of two Warforged and an Iron Construct. They raised a shout – Trouble and Kara charged the patrol while Kadrin used his boots of flying to intercept another patrol about to head in our direction. Torbrand and Emrys were busy killing the mage and scout in the airship tower and blowing up the hobgoblins massing at the tent. The fight continued for several minutes until it ended with Kadrin running down the only survivor and killing him before he could grab a horse and flee.
From the stone buildings and a few tents, we were able to rescue several dragon-marked heirs and a Warforged whose armor bore the markings of the Cyre court. Apparently Hecate or the Lord of Blades had replaced the Warforged with a duplicate. The duplicate was even now reporting on the activities of the court to Cyre’s enemies. The stable had four half-starved horses.
In the smooth stone constructions, we found the parts of an airship, fueled by coal rather than elementals. It was carefully folded up and placed under the tarps. Deciding to leave the outpost standing, we set out for the half-day’s journey back to the Trading Post.
The dragon-marked heirs were put up at the hotel to recover. The horses were sold to the caravan. Then we rested for a while in the hotel. The next morning, we set out in search of Hecate’s portal to the Black Moon.
We got lost. Trouble’s survival skills were not good enough to locate the cairns left by Hecate’s men to mark the trails. We were forced to spend the night, camped in the wilderness. Of course, a large slobbering beast attacked us in the night – Trouble, furious at her failures, killed it in one blow.
Three hours in the morning, we finally stumbled onto one of Hecate’s cairns. Now, we could follow the trail to the portal. The trail led us through some hilly ground before plunging into the Mists. Emrys guided us along the trail, following the cairns. It seemed to take longer than before. The shrouding mists parted a bit to reveal a glowing, shimmering pool. Around the pool stood four semi-transparent figure. They appeared to be in great pain, alive but in stasis.
Torbrand cast Invisibility on Kadrin who stepped into the pool. They returned in a bit, visible and told us to follow. When we stood in the pool, each of us seemed to fade away. On the other side, we stood in a field of wax, carved with arcane signs. The room was pitch dark. The field of wax which also had a shimmering pool, had four figures – three hobgoblins and a human – surrounding the pool. Torbrand guessed that they were being used as batteries to power the portal.
Looking around, we made out that the field of wax, the portal and we were standing on a giant-sized table. A rope ladder provided access to the floor. Nearby were giant sized chairs and other remains of a giant’s home. Descending the rope ladder to the floor, we scurried across the floor to the doorway outside.
The giant-sized house we were standing in was one of many on a street of similar houses. In the distance was a huge castle. People or somethings were moving around a large bonfire.