Hook Mountain Regional Map

Whitewillow is the domain of the nymph Myriana corrupted by her undeath. Gnomes live in the Sanos forest. The main human settlements are Turtleback Ferry, Pendaka and Bitter Hollow. Ashwood is a dangerous forest with scattered human habitation. To the north is Shoanti territory, south of Pendaka the Skull River flows south to the town of Ilsurian on the shores of Lake Syrantula. From there the great Yondabakari river runs west to Magnimar

ep 35 29/11 to 4/12 4712 AR Ogres Victorious

29/11 Battle in Fort Rannick, Claw killed.
30/11 Survivors reach Turtleback Ferry. That night they sneak back to Fort Rannick and recover the heads of Claw & Jakadros Sorvak.
4/12 Quillax and the Mayor working together Reincarnate Claw in a new fresh body. Will take until 7/12 to have enough materiel to attempt the same with Jakardos.


Sephiria's Account

The Attack on Fort Rannick… continued
As we pause for breath, we hear the chaos outside in the courtyard as the barracks building that Sephiria had earlier fireballed collapses, trapping several ogres inside who are burned to death. There’s no time to rest as there are still two ogres ahead of us trapped by the door closed between them and their comrades in the rest of the fort. One is dissolved by an Acid Arrow from Sephiria while the other is slashed by Claw.
Rather than taking time to recover from the fight, we decide to push forwards, hoping that the ogres of the fort will still be in disarray from our attack. Quillax remains behind with Moncey to safeguard our exit. With a mighty kick Claw demolishes the door with such force that the ogre standing behind it is knocked to the ground. Between Claw’s axe and Neril’s martial arts, that ogre is quickly killed while Sephiria blasts Silas Kreeg, the ogre who had come up behind it. The spell staggers him but it takes a second scorching Ray then Claw’s axe before he too is defeated.
Neril rushes upstairs to get a clearer idea of the layout and spots a large room, apparently a chapel, from which he hears the deep voice of what is surely a large ogre giving orders to a smaller ogre. As we move up to support him it seems our luck has started to change as the ogres start to rally their defences. Within seconds the empty corridor we had been in fills with four ogres and we catch sight of a female ogre witch doctor.
The ogre in the chapel turns out to be Jaagrath, the leader of the ogres at Fort Rannick. The witch is another Kreeg ogre named Dorella. She blasts a lightning bolt down the corridor, heedless of the fact that she seriously injured on of her own soldiers. Vale ducked the worst of it; Neril dodges out of the way entirely; but Kib is almost killed.
Jarrick pushes into the chapel to take the fight to Jaagrath and is soon joined by Vale, Sehiria and then Claw. Sephiria blasts Jaagrath with the Wand of Scorching Ray pushed to its maximum, but the damage that would have obliterated any of us seems barely to faze the ogre chieftain. Outside the other ogres are continuing the fight and we hear the sounds of further reinforcements.
In seconds, with the ogres now fully on the alert, the fight has gone from a successful raid to a potential deathtrap. Neril reads the situation and urges retreat, so Sephiria grabs the person nearest to her – Jarrick – and Dimension Doors the tow of them to the tree line outside the fort. Neril slips into the shadows and evades the reinforcements as he races for the secret entrance to Lucretia’s chamber and the tunnel to the waterfall.
The ogres in the corridor manage to close of Jakadros and kill the archer. Kib’s last act is to attack his friend’s killer and that ogre will wear the scars from the cougar’s final attack. In the chapel Claw and Jaagrath are locked in a bitter death match as with each blow they both inch nearer death. Vale assists where he can but falls when even more ogres rush to their leader’s aid. In the end Jaagrath’s inhuman stamina wins out though he is reeling and near death when he finally manages to land the death blow on Claw.
Outside, tired and disheartened, we rendezvous with Quillax and return to Turtleback Ferry. On the way we hatch a plan to help Claw thinking that the ogre chieftain will likely want to display the head of so formidable an adversary as Claw, and that head is sufficient for Quillax to be able to reincarnate the Shoanti barbarian.
Using some of the gems we had put aside for Revivify spells, we pay the village Mayor to collect the unguents necessary for the spell while we return to Fort Rannick. In the meantime we continue to advise the villagers on constructing defences for the village against an ogre attack. Our plan is to reconnoitre the fort using Sephiria’s Arcane Eye to check if the coast is clear for a teleport. If a distraction is necessary to draw any ogres to the battlements, Quillax is standing by to create a diversion using Call Lightning should Moncey give her the pre-arranged signal to do so.
Not surprisingly the ogres are now on high alert and we spot a patrol of eight ogres led by one of the Kreegs leave the fort but we manage to avoid it. In the end the plan goes off without a hitch as Sephiria and Neril sneak in using Pass without Trace and then, once they’re close enough use dimension door to quickly get in to grab Claw’s skull before dimension dooring back out. It’s an unlooked for bonus that we manage to grab Jakadros’ skull as well and plan to reincarnate him if we can.
Back in Turtleback Ferry Quillax casts the spell, but even as she calls Claw’s spirit back to the body created for him, she senses three foul creatures trying to destroy his spirit. She relates what she sensed to Sephiria who links it to a Varisian story told before the Chelaxian invasion of four fey sisters, one of whom was Miriana (who we met in the Shimmerglens) and three others who were eaten up inside by their vanity. They became three annis hags, known as the Sisters of the Hook.
The stories give their names as Briselda, a hump back with huge talons; Gralthaga, tall, almost skeletal-looking with purple skin; and Larastine, with sagging breats and whose face is a mass of warts and weeping pustules. When each looks at her own reflection she sees inhuman beauty and laughs at the ugliness of her sisters… We think it’s likely that they, and not Lucretia, were the real power behind using the sihedron rune to drain the unsuspecting townsfolk.
Our current plan is to attack the ogres piecemeal, attacking their patrols when they leave the fort before once again risking an attack on the fort.

ep 34 27-29/11/4712 Attacking Fort Rannick

27/11: Return to Turtleback Ferry after dark, meet with the mayor and the Rangers. Suspicions of Kaven Windstrike
28/11: South to swamps, meet Myriana the undead nymph ex-lover of Captain Lamatar Bayden, & back.
29/11: Go with Rangers to Fort Rannick, attack after dark using caves under the keep to enter the dungeon. Kill Lucrecia and the traitor Kaven Windstrike.



Journal 11-Dec
After resting in Razmus' cave, we started back towards town mid-morning. With the bad terrain and my lack of familiarity with the area, we ended up South West of where we meant to be, but luckily we had air support in the form of Sepheria and the broom and others with better geographical skills. We found the Willow River and followed that down to the lake but it was evening before we reached Turtleback Ferry.
We first spoke to the Mayor/Priest and after informing him of the entire situation with the Ogre-kin, the dam (and the remaining monsters), and the Giant, he in turn informed us about the rumour of underwater tunnels to the Fort; we assured him it Black Maga wasn't able to get through these tunnels as she was far too large to fit into any tunnel small enough to lead into the lake. In response to arranging the power necessary to activate the dam's controls, Jarrick came up with the brilliant solution to the lifeforce issue of using livestock in place of people - something like sheep as they could be carried down the stairs.
After finishing our discussion with the Mayor, we headed over to the Inn and found the Rangers, who were discussing tactics, including the possible employment of 'shocker lizards'. There was some subtle tension amongst the group, particularly towards Kaven, though they acted professionally still. Sepheria gave Jakadros a book on military tactics for the townspeople to implement some protection against any Ogres that may be driven out from the Fort once we attack it. Vale took it upon himself to discuss it with the Mayor as he had skills in this area.
Jakadros mentioned that his Commander had been acting most oddly in the proceeding months before the attack, not as if he had been charmed or replaced but distracted and somewhat neglectful with the defenses. He had been known to go 'walkabout' on long moonlit walks towards the Shimmerglens, which is a fair distance from the Fort. He had referred to it as 'Communing with Nature'. Most thought he had a female companion that he went to visit. Jakadros held out hope that his commander had been on a walkabout and may still be in the Shimmerglens.
Note: the Shimmerglens can be reached by way of WickerWalk, which is a path maintained by the gnomes. This leads to Sanos Trail, which in turn leads to the gnome village. The gnomes trade with a local town, not Turtleback Ferry, which is why they maintain the walk.
When the Rangers retired to bed, we continued to speak on the situation, and we spoke within our group on the possibility of the sehedron tattoo being a scrying or tracking device and the possibility of Kaven being a traitor or a thrall. I knocked on Jakadros' door and asked for admittance to discuss Kaven and the tension regarding him as well as the possibility of him being an enemy. Jakadros relayed that Kaven was conscripted into the Black Arrow Rangers following an incident where he beat a friend of his father's nearly to death.
With his permission, I called Sepheria into the room to discuss the tattoo and Neril stood by in the hall, waiting for us and keeping watch for spies. After some discussion, Jakadros revealed that Kaven had 'twisted' his ankle on the night the Fort had been attacked, keeping them from returning and causing them to be captured by the Ogre-kin. We sent Neril and Moncey to quickly check that Kaven was still in his room with Vale and that he had not slipped out to warn any master he might obey that we planned to go to the Shimmerglens to check for the Commander on the morrow.
Further discussion led to an agreement to keep Kaven with the group as long as his tattoo did not act as a scrying port or a tracking device. Sepheria stated she would subtly check in the morning at breakfast. We left Clank guarding the door and Moncey the window of Kaven's room to ensure that he did not leave without us knowing.
In the morning, Sepheria used her magics to check the tattoo but was not able to get an in-depth response other than knowing it was not active magic and was probably unlikely to be used against us. She was able to find the man we had spoken to before who also still had a tattoo and was able to read his tattoo more thoroughly. She highly recommended to him that he disfigure it to prevent his lifeforce and possibly soul from being pulled from him upon his death. He agreed and went to the blacksmith to do so.
Sepheria offered Kaven the same choice, explaining about the tattoo. He reluctantly agreed. Jarrick went with him to ensure he followed through and offered a healing potion as an excuse.
[650xp]
With the tattoo rendered inert, we then spoke with the Ferry Master, "Skull" (nicknamed such due to his ferry running Skull River) to take us to the Glens by Rowboat with the assistance of his first mate, "Bones".
About two-thirds of a mile from Turtleback Ferry, the rain suddenly stopped, forming an odd wall. This was not outside the realm of nature but it was extremely suspicious. If it was magic, there was no telling if it was the Shimmerglens keeping the rain away or Turtleback being engulfed.
The Shimmerglens forest was sick, poisoned with some darkness. This corruption of nature offended me and compelled me to find the cause. Neril was the first to spot a glowing figure, which turned out not to be a will-o-wisp but rather a distressed pixie, "Yap". He was crying that his mistress was ill and the land could not be saved while she was in distress. Yap informed us his Mistress' name was Miriana, the spirit of the woods, and she was upset because her lover had been stolen. We worked out that her lover was most likely Jakadros' commander.
We managed to get enough detail from Yap to work out that his Mistress was possibly a Dryad or some other forest guardian spirit. With the forest as corrupted as it was, we could only assume that she had also been corrupted. Dryads can be corrupted into a being like a Banshee (ban sidhe). We ensured our magic ear wax was to hand, just in case.
I enacted my Commune with Nature ritual and was able to sense a powerful thing about two miles away, both Fey and Undead. Sepheria sent out her Arcane Eye, scouting the forest in the direction I sensed the power.
She reported tall, dark robed figures in the peripheral vision but whenever she turned the eye, there was nothing there. She also reported about a bleeding tree and how the area was cursed. She came upon a pool of water with no life in or around it. It seemed very wrong to her a moments later she relayed the feeling of a magical/mental attack which she was able to cast off and guide the eye away. She spoke of ghostly, translucent forms dancing around and ghostly animals. She found a mangled body of a dryad, collapsed at the foot of a badly damaged tree; both dryad and tree were missing their limbs. The tree still lived and I knew I could save it and her with a touch of my nature magic, if I had time to prepare the spell and I could get to her.
Sepheria and I took the chance of splitting up from the group to approach Yap's Mistress. We followed him along a different and possibly safer path then the eye took, past ghostly figures and an old sailing ship far from water. He led us not to the Dryad as expected but to the pool of water, where a Nymph stepped out. She told us her lover was taken from her and stolen away by Ogres to Hook Mountain (Kreeg Hold), past the Fort. She begged us to find his remains as she had felt what they had done to him and bring what we could of him back to her. She told us he was undead but his soul was somehow locked away as she had tried to reincarnate him in a new body but his spirit could not come.
Sepheria asks how we would know him and the Nymph tells us he had a sword but she had also given him a beautiful blue flower. We promise to bring back whatever we could find of him so she could find her peace.
We returned to town for the evening.
[550xp]
Having prepared ourselves, we headed out to the Fort with the Rangers. We arrived at dusk, as planned, and could see Ogre guards on the battlements.
As planned, we split the party and all of us but Sepheria and Neril went through the secret tunnel behind the waterfall. We had Moncey so that Sepheria and Neril knew when to start their aerial attack. The tunnel was narrow and it lead into a small cave where we bumped into a pair of Shocker Lizards far earlier than expected but I convinced them not to attack us. I was unable to convince them to assist us as they are timid creatures and feeding them a bribe only made them sleepy.
Instead of the store room we expected, we stepped into some strange boudoir with pillows scattered about and silks draped about the room, and the smell of incense. A red-headed woman stepped out from behind a silk, and we knew her as Lucretia. She mockingly welcomed us and greeted Kaven with a pleased speech about how she never would have been able to take the Fort so easily without the details he had provided.
Upstairs Sepheria prepared to throw a fireball at the building we were told was the most flammable. Neril plinked an ogre on the back of the head trying to start a fight amongst the ogres just before Sepheria threw her spell; the building exploded and buried up to 12 ogres under flaming rubble as they were using the building as some sort of barracks. Neril continued to sling stones, striking Mintak Kreeg.
Meanwhile, Vale prepared to restrain Kaven while we attacked. I changed forms and when I confronted Lucretia, I noticed an intricate sehedron on her chest. As we started our attack on Lucretia, Sepheria and Neril teleported into the hall behind us.
Kaven kicked Vale into a pile of crates and ran into the hall past Neril and Sepheria, who struck at him in retaliation.
Lucretia called out for the ogres and changed shapes into her Lamia form. We could hear them coming down stairs behind us, so Clank blocked the door so we didn't have more enemies before we were ready. She tried to ensnare us using her Lamia charm-magics but only Vale was caught by her spell and he shook it off quickly enough. In response, we struck at her with concerted effort and Kibb ripped out her throat.
Sepheria cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter on Kaven to subdue him and I sent Clank to collect him as we needed Sepheria to help against the approaching Ogres. Jarrick and Claw and I readied ourselves by the door just as a Kreeg ogre burst in. He threw a corpse he was carrying at Jarrick, who dodged it, then tried to hook Jarrick with his weapon. He couldn't fit through the door easily and so stayed in the hall, which worked in our favour.
Vale decided we could handle the ogre and went after Kaven, forcing his way past Clank. Neril checked out the side room to ensure we would have no surprises from that side but it was empty cells and as such he ignored it.
Having seen the ogre hooks in action, I decided to relieve the Ogre of it and wrestled it from his hands. Jakadros pulled back to range attack and Kibb stayed with him as guard. Sepheria launched a barrage of Magic Missile and Claw and Jarrick ducked in, attacked, and darted back out of reach.
Seeing as he could not reach us, the Kreeg ogre turned and ran, shoving past the other ogres on the stairs but tripping over the second.
Neril gave chase. I dropped a flaming sphere in the upstairs doorway to prevent the ogres from escaping or more from getting in (at least without getting burned) then Sepheria dropped a fireball, killing the already injured Kreeg. Claw took out another Ogre leaving two on the top of the stairs and one trying to enter the landing.
Vale had executed Kaven and Clank forlornly brought me the body. Jarrick quickly searched the Lamia's body to see if there was anything useful and those not on the stairs regrouped while those on the stairs continued their attacks.
Claw was attacked by the ogres but was not badly injured.
The ogre trying to enter the room backed out and closed the door leaving two ogres in with us.
[xp for this fight unknown]