During our first session the players and I talked through the feel of the campaign, its assumptions, and some of the better known cities on the map; those that their characters would have heard of. Then they rolled up their characters and decided that they would be travelling into the hinterlands, looking for potential markets to exploit for trade. The players developed an intentionally vague goal of reaching Castle Tokova, a citadel of great antiquity currently governed by a powerful barbarian warrior, Lord Sabe. 

Here are the current characters. (there will be more forthcoming): 

• Malik – Fighter 1 – a Thalazian blade master. 
• Jassan Al` Nadir – Cleric 1 – A dervish gentleman posing as a trader. 

Retainers 

Antiphus – Niarchos – Aegon – Melanthios – Oeagnus

The party arrived in hex 074.152 : The eagle coast. They came by ship and made land at a small village named Mitraq. They soon discovered this small fishing village had a partially constructed castle that had been abandoned; its owner had left to fight a hoard of minotaurs to the north, and never returned. They spent an evening at the tavern, the Merry Grape, looking for job prospects and rumours. 

They received several hooks that evening. A local militia man offered to pay them fifty gold pieces from the village treasury to investigate the old barbarian burial mound a few miles outside of town. A strange woman had been seen lurking there and threatening some local goat herders. They also learned that a troupe of bandits had been lingering in a small jungle to the East and had been preying on travellers, capturing many wagons of coin and goods. Finally, they received an offer to guard the caravan of a Dervish merchant Haroon Pasha. He was new to the area, and wanted to travel twenty miles south east to trade with a settlement known as Rubble Diamond. Haroon pay one gold piece a mile for the Party’s protection.

The party decided to take the latter option. They rested at the inn, and set off at first light. They travelled south east and soon passed the crags that held the barbarian burial ground. They could see several cave openings, and all around the area were pikes threaded with ancient skulls. 

They kept moving through the grasslands and four hours later noticed a series of camp fires some miles away to the south, the source obscured by a small woodland. The party decided to ignore this, anxious about the bandits and minotaurs they’d heard about. They carried on, and at nightfall camped around the wagon. 

The next day they continued their journey south east. After the mornings jaunt, the village of Rubble Diamond could be seen in the distance, nestled close to jungle. Jassan noticed something in the distance,  a troupe of heavy horsemen three hundred yards away. The horsemen blew a horn and approached with speed. The party drew their weapons, but the leader of this powerful cavalry unit roared at them to stand down. They were in the lands of ‘Gracious Lord Blanbot.’ Jassan made a good impression with these horsemen, sweet-talking them, and soon learned that they formed the calvary of a local lord who had recently built a magnificent villa in the area, a villa ‘to civilise these barbarian wilds.’ The party were allowed to make their way towards Rubble Diamond, with advice to spend their coin freely, for much of it would return to their lord by way of tax. 

By nightfall the party had arrived at their destination. Their merchant friend moved to unload his cargo and paid them. The party settled in the local inn for drinks and a spot of rumour gathering. 

They learned that Rubble Diamond had a famous glass factory, and also a mercenary guild, which doubled as a temple to Arien, God of War. Whilst drinking with rambunctious mercenaries they learned that Blanbot had come to the area to form a Barony for the city state of Acron Gil Dul. The locals resented this as they had always looked after themselves. They heard that a powerful wizard named Callista, who dwelled in the jungle, was also displeased with the arrival of Blanbot, and had been gathering hosts of red beastmen to him. They heard that several caravan guards had been found skinned and crucified on the outskirts of the Red Jungle. War was brewing. Rumours pointed to a Wyrm being seen in the Harrow Hills to the south. It was this last rumour that led them to a chance meeting with Hel, a grizzled, eye-patch wearing cleric of Arien. Hel gave them a quest to visit the tomb of famed warrior Gunther Wyrmslayer, and to collect his magic sword and return it to the temple. For this, he would pay handsomely. The party agreed, and so after a good nights sleep they set out towards the east. 

By midday they came close to the Red Jungles periphery, a stinking drapery of rotting vines and alien bird calls. Avoiding the jungle the PCs moved around it, eastwards. Whilst walking the grasslands they were caught totally unaware by a band of strange red-skinned beastmen. These creatures darted from behind some trees and encircled them, they were riding strange bipedal reptiles with large flat heads, and huge maws. The riders wore scale mail, but were only around four feet tall. They had red skin, squat heads, and strange tendrils that drooped from their cheeks that resembled fleshy moustaches. 

The creatures yelled at the party in a language they didn’t understand. Finally, they called out in a more guttural language that Jassan did understand. They told him, in an uncouth manner, to drop his arms and surrender or be flayed. 

“Drop weapons so they can flay us and crucify us, I don’t think so.” Malik quipped. 

The party readied blades, but these strange creatures seemed nervous to attack, they squinted and flinched from the suns rays. Their leader, trying to bolster his troops, finally charged the party line. His spear darted forward, but found no purchase. His mount had better luck however, and bit deeply into Malik’s head! The warrior was touched by lady luck, his head was saved by his helmet. The party sliced into this creature, and Aegon cleaved off its head with his battle axe. The rider fell from the saddle and broke his neck on the hard dirt. The other red-skinned beastmen turned and fled, with Aegon chasing after them and arrows loosed into their rumps. Have at you! 

The party had routed the enemy. Malik hacked off the dead beastman’s head, and mounted it atop the large spiked helm that had saved his life. 

Onward to the tomb of Gunther Wyrmslayer! 

The party’s Map:

Also posted at dragons foot.