Session 16 : The Hill

-

Hoskgak rests his back against a rock, blood running down his face, eyelids almost closed. The hill was supposed to be easier after the scouting Destiny did, but it turned out to be a challenge at every step. So much blood spilled on this land, so many hopes and lives crushed. Hoskgak's curiosity is growing stronger: what is driving this madness?

A few hours before…

At a short distance, the cats do their best: talk. Hoskgak is now listening despite pretending to be doing something else. The wine grows thanks to magic, says the winemaker. Would anything dare to root in this land if it weren’t for magic? There are three gems the ancestors passed on. Now they have been stolen by druids and witches. After a description of the gems and their last known location, the party decides to go and explore the hill to rescue what might be the remains of their kin.

The hill, surrounded by mist, dark and with no vegetation other than a tree at the top. The formation has four levels that spiral their way up to the top with obelisks. Hoskgak thinks of strawberries decorating cakes. So distant, yet so pleasingly warm and welcoming thoughts. Serenity and Destiny enter a discussion of the best tactic to conquer the top. Hoskgak believes it has been hours before they set on a plan. He is unable to understand why the cats like the chatter so much. He has seen these constructions before. There is no way to sneak in. The only way forward is to clear each level, otherwise even if they reach the top the rings will close in and they will be trapped and unable to run away. Look, says Serenity, there are some crows there, pointing to the right. Perhaps we should pay a visit before we tackle the hill.

Another restless spirit awaits the party, accompanied by a crow. His story is as desperate as any other in this land. Kavan, leader of the forest people, servant of the Rozana, murdered under Strahd's rule. He will not rest until balance is restored. The Half-orc looks to the hill wondering what that balance might be. Is there any balance left? Only in children's stories, the white knight comes to the rescue. People, spirits and other creatures might wonder whether this party is the white knight, as they keep requesting things and demanding actions on their behalf. The spirit talks of three shrines, the one on the top being one of them. Other shrines located at a swamp and mountain.

The party decides to execute the plan Destiny and Serenity discussed, and Destiny disappears in front of them to explore the hill. Meanwhile Serenity finds a place to rest and read the book and Hoskgak suggests to Ireena to do some training, her life might depend on it.

Destiny comes back after a while. There are watch parties on each ring, druids and other humans with poor dressing taste. Hoskgak keeps thinking the same: we have to clear the rings to the top, anything different will mean death. The party believes going one ring at a time might be best. So stealthily, or as stealthily one can move with a plated armour 6.7 feet half-orc around, the party closes in to the first ring. Two bersekers less. Stealthily to the next ring. Four bersekers and a Druid less. To the third ring. Five bersekers and a Druid. The party barely makes it, Ireena unconscious, Serenity about to pass out, and Hoskgak with so much blood on his face he doesn’t know whether it is his or of those who lie on the ground lifeless. Luckily they can count on Destiny’s healing ability. They all know that without her, they wouldn’t have made it this far. 

Whoever the blood belonged to, it doesn’t matter any more. This hill and this land will not care so long it keeps spilling and watering this heartbroken soil where nothing grows.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Session 17 : Heist of Yesterhill

-
Image
And so it was, the Heist of Yesterhill went down in history as one of the greatest heists in all of Barovia, told and retold to many as an inspiration of courage and sacrifice. The origin and many facts of the event are no longer known. But this much we do know for certain: Hoskgak the half-orc did exist and the heist probably happened around 400 years after Barovia was taken by Strahd. Although many of his companions died that day and Hoskgak himself was said to have suffered grave injuries, they were able to recover one of the legendary gem of Rozana right under the nose of Strahd. *** The rain is hard and lightning strikes sporadically at the top of Yesterhill. Ahead of them is a large circular field and on one end is a giant 50 foot high statue made out of living wood. Inside the statue is a glowing green gem, the very item they are tasked to recover for the Martikovs. A woman is tied halfway up the statue, a daughter, and mother, of the Martikov clan. A stone wall 10 foot tall sur...
Read more

004 : Serenity in the Storm

-
Image
The barkeep placed the drinks in a row on the bar, glancing between Serenity and the door, as if expecting a large party to arrive to join her. She paid him little attention and filled her travelling flask with glass after glass for the journey, drank one to remember absent family, another for friends lost and finally left the last glass standing alone on the bar as she left to find lodgings for the night. Always a lonely glass for the Abbot. A toast left un-drunk for all the good in the world. The Storm The Snowflake Mountains were vast, slicing upwards through the clouds. The monastery, carved into the rock face of a nameless peak, sat just above the cloud layer. On a calm day, the clouds lapped against the stairs leading to the monastery entrance like a layer of foam. To descend the mountain was to submerge into the clouds as if disappearing under the sea. On the days that were not calm, black storm clouds would envelop the peak; the windows and doors would be bolted closed and the ...
Read more

Tight Spot

-
It was on the thirteenth day, or rather the evening preceding the thirteenth day, before Ireena's ill-fated wedding to the dreaded Strahd that our band of inexplicably cohesive heroes found themselves in a bit of a tight spot. And by "tight spot," we mean the kind of situation that would make even the most hardened adventurers wince and consider a career change to something less life-threatening, like accounting or perhaps, in Barovia, vampire-slaying door-to-door salesmanship. Destiny, having just been revived by Serenity, was immediately greeted by a magic missile that did nothing to improve her already dour mood. As if that weren't enough to dampen anyone's spirits, the entire party suddenly found a rather lot of vampires dimension doored into a scene of utter chaos. You see, dimension door is a rather nifty trick that allows one to pop in and out of existence like some sort of cosmic jack-in-the-box. In the ensuing mayhem, Serenity and Zuleika made a run for i...
Read more