Dark Age of Eracost Session 11

 Party

• Baron Fingol Innes, Navgarine Keeper of the Stars 4

• Tavenna, Navgarine Keeper of the Stars 3

• Kilosz the Cataphract, Fighter 3

• Baron Gregoire, Paladin 3

• Saporobir Caan, Explorer 3

• Bartosz, Fighter 2

• “Lord” Kramrakir, Tratkean Thief 2

Recap

From my perspective, playing Fingol.

August 26, 427

After their swift and painless eradication of a nest of luminous beetles the day before, Fingol and Saporobir were eager to spend more time clearing the wilderness around Vigilant Keep.

Fingol’s fellow oligarch, Baron Gregoire, arrived after being delivered from the power of the cursed ring he found in the north. Fake-baron Kramrakir meanwhile, left to take care of some business in Amtolosz. Fingol took little notice, figuring it was no doubt some kind of slanderous self-aggrandizing nonsense.

In the afternoon, Sapporo spotted some hide tents. Getting closer, he found that the inhabitants were undead skeletons! The party dispatched the boneyard without issue, but the fight didn’t go as they expected. While Gregoire was able to turn the skeletons as expected, some of them also faltered as the fight began to go against them, and fled as if in fear. This went against everything Fingol thought he knew of undead.

Inspecting the tents, they found something very strange. On loose sheaves of paper was a crudely written testament of sorts.

We walked the Void, until we were torn away. Torn away by a dark power, wielded by a man. We fought against him, but he escaped, and we fled. Soon we will return to the Void, and find the Silver Fields.

It seemed that these skeletons were animated by souls taken from the Void (roughly purgatory) and remained self-aware, unlike other undead. The party decided to investigate, and Saporo set to tracking the skeletons back to where they came from.

August 27

After camping overnight, the party continued following the trail until it met the road north to Amtolosz. Here they crossed the path of a group of Tratkeans, who greeted the group aggressively. Upon hearing of the two Barons' rank, they demanded money. When Fingol warned them to back down with a display of Navgarine lightning, they showed no fear, but rather attacked, transforming into some kind of hounds.

These apparent lycans lacked the feared immunity to normal weapons, but they were quite sturdy. They may have overwhelmed the war dogs if not for a flanking attack by Gregoire’s hunting bear, and Kramrakir, who arrived from the north with uncanny timing. Fingol repaid the insults of the Tratkean leader by personally choking him with the violent wind control of his Navgarine Natural Power.

Strategic Overview

Experience

Reserve xp: 346

Fingol Keeper 4 10395 / 14560

Tavenna         Keeper 3 4114 / 7280

Kilosz Fighter 3 4811 / 8000

Domain

Vigilant Keep

Barony of 1 6-mile hex

Population: 0

Stronghold value: 60,000gp

Mercenary garrison (282gp / month):

• 10 light infantry

• 14 heavy infantry

• 6 bowmen

Notes:

• 1000gp has been invested in clearing farmland. Population should begin to grow at the end of August.

• Keep contains an alchemy lab worth 4100gp

Expeditionary Force

Fingol and Tavenna on Riding Mules

Kilosz on Medium Warhorse with backup War Mule

Animal handler with 2 hunting dogs, 5 war dogs

Baggage train of 7 draft donkeys

Mercenary squad of 3 crossbowmen

Dark Age of Eracost Session 10

 Party

• Baron Fingol Innes, Navgarine Keeper of the Stars 4

• Tavenna, Navgarine Keeper of the Stars 3

• Kilosz, Fighter 2

• Saporobir Caan, Explorer 3

• Bartosz, Fighter 2

• “Lord” Kramrakir, Tratkean Thief 2

Recap

From my perspective, playing Fingol.

August 9, 427

The party arrived back in Amtolosz, bearing significant treasure. Most of the treasure was turned over to Gino (the venturer), but Fingol stored the dragon’s monster parts in his cottage, and donated the ancient scrolls to the Keeper Academy.

Having significantly pushed their limits, Fingol and Tavenna both sought the Keeper Academy to learn new Natural Power techniques. Fingol picked up one new technique, but Tavenna had unlocked the capacity for four!

While they studied, Recesil the head Keeper of Amtolosz approached in a fury, hurling the scrolls at Fingol and accusing him of slandering the Keepers and the Navgarine people. The scrolls contained a controversial legend that the ancient Navgarines had been corrupted and become dragonmen. Fingol assured his superior that this was a legitimate discovery, not a forgery on his part, and swore to keep it a secret from the general public.

August 16

Fingol, having finished learning Battering Ram, spoke with “Lord” Kramrakir, who asked him for an introduction to the Earl of Amtolosz. Since Kramrakir had fought well alongside the forces of Vigilant Keep, Fingol acquiesced. His status as Baron got them an immediate audience with Earl Ilcarion, who held court alongside his wife and the wife of Tarvon the bandit king, both of the bloodline of the heaven-daughters, and Recesil.

After having explained to the Earl the story of their recent adventure and the slaying of the wyrm, Fingol introduced Kramrakir.

Kramrakir spoke about a song he had commissioned (allegedly telling the tale of the dragon-slaying, but making Kramrakir himself the hero!) and a statue he intended to commission. After obtaining the Earl’s generous permission to build a monument, Kramrakir begged for a free parcel of land to build it on. Fingol intervened and offered 90 gp for a plot, on the condition that Kramrakir have inscribed the true story of the dragon slaying on the monument, not neglecting goodest boy and dragonslayer Esquire the war dog.

Fingol spent the following week looking for hirelings, and eventually found three crossbowmen and an animal handler.

August 23

Fingol went drinking with Saporobir who had been drinking heavily the entire week. Apparently his horse archer mercenaries had become local celebrities after being caught up in the dragon-slaying story and tried to demand much higher salaries, after which Saporobir had dismissed them.

He had also apparently had an encounter with a man by the name of Darszan, a member of the Unpledged. They had taken notice of our party’s recent accomplishments slaying Tarvon and the young wyrm. He solicited out help in preventing the corruption of the land by the heaven-daughters - claiming that they were the source of the corruption in Gadaszin and the river of blood (related to the fleshy plant abominations we’ve seen recently).

August 24

Not knowing what to make of this, Fingol and Saporo visited Tavenna for her historical perspective on Darszan’s claims. She gave us a few pieces of info:

• The Unpledged had by all accounts fought well against the corruption generations ago but had been quiet since then

• Szerfaila, the Queen of Gadaszin is a heaven-daughter.

• Szerfaila encountered the corruption of the Queen of Tiny Shells after losing her kingdom and birthright. Tavenna believes that her fall was merely human, not something inherent to heaven-daughters.

• Many fear the heaven-daughters and there are different approaches. Some rulers keep their power close. Others, like the Paladin Protectors of Rantal, keep them in seclusion.

Fingol and Saporo decided not to reach out to Darszan and set out looking for monster lairs around Vigilant Keep instead. At the last moment, Kramrakir arrived with a teen carrying a bloody short-sword who he claimed was “the chosen one”. This level of madness seemed par for the course with the Tratkean “nobleman”, so Fingol paid it little mind.

August 25

After spending a night at Vigilant keep, the party set out exploring, and came across a lair of luminous beetles. Fingol found this a perfect opportunity to show off his Flight technique, and the beetles were destroyed with lightning from above and arrows. The dead bodies inside the bug nest yielded a small amount of coin, some gems and a single potion of ogre strength.

Strategic Overview

Fingol’s Squad

Reserve xp: 346

Fingol Keeper 4 8945 / 14560

Tavenna         Keeper 3 4114 / 7280

Kilosz Fighter 2 4086 / 4000 (advances to level 3)

Domain

Vigilant Keep

Barony of 1 6-mile hex

Oligarchs: Fingol, Ambrogino, Gregoire

Population: 0

Stronghold value: 60,000gp

Mercenary garrison (282gp / month):

• 10 light infantry

• 14 heavy infantry

• 6 bowmen

Notes:

• 1000gp has been invested in clearing farmland. Population should begin to grow at the end of August.

• Keep contains an alchemy lab worth 4100gp

Expeditionary Force

Fingol and Tavenna on Riding Mules

Kilosz on Medium Warhorse with backup War Mule

Animal handler with 2 hunting dogs, 5 war dogs

Baggage train of 7 draft donkeys

Mercenary squad of 3 crossbowmen