Players in Attendance: Chris Rocco (Pendrynn Hamut), Greg Sallee (Davros), Dustin Haugen (Barack Tenderfoot), Paul Brazelton (Poe), Erik Rehpohl (Kailithe Solace Guard), Jason Alway (Kurok Stonehammer)

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Recap: The Dragonslayer Cohort, returned to town having dealt with the Ambassadors of Erathis, were awoken in the night by a massive thunderclap and lightning. A giant beam of coruscating electrical energy is spearing down from the sky and impaling the magic shop Findings. The group grabbed their gear and reacted by rushing to the scene to lend aid. Floating insubstantial creatures comprised of a jumble of waving tentacles and toothy maws could be seen floating out of the building, the team leaps into action.

Date: Midnight, Morsday, the 21st of Rouenne, 617 S.R. Outside of Findings in the Town of Blackfield.

Kurok came running towards the assembled party, with a wicked looking new warhammer in hand. The remaining Taint outside the shop finished absorbing the life force of the fallen civilian and floated back into the shop.

The party carefully crept back into the shop and found that the other Fell Taint had retreated into the portal.

Barack found a hastily scrawled note pinned to Tristan’s office door with a letter opener; it looks to have been written by Kailithe and indicated that he’s through the portal in pursuit of a captured Tristan. The group decided to enter the portal, stepping through one at a time with the rogue leading the way.

The group stepped out of a jet black portal opening onto a barren desolate expanse dominated by black sand and looming obsidian shards violently thrust from the ground towards the sickly purple-gray sky. A pervasive sense of sadness and depression seeps into the periphery of the party’s consciousness. Several of the party members recognize this locale as the plane of existence known as the Shadowfell, a repressive realm of darkness and death.

In front of the portal, the party sees a large purple Fell Taint (Thought Eater) holding the unconscious form of Tristan in thick ropey tentacles. Several green Fell Taint (Lashers) can be seen floating in the opening directly ahead. The eerie silence is pierced with words of magic coming from behind an outcropping of obsidian to the left of the portal. Kailithe is revealed to be alive and in battle as a spear of fire lances from the dark sky to impale the form of the Fell Taint Thought Eater, causing him to drop Tristan’s limp form in a sandy heap.

The party bursts forth with a flurry of deadly activity to aid the embattled wizards.

• The Thought Eater reels under an unrelenting barrage of arcane and divine energy from the Wizard and Paladin. This all allowed Barack to maneuver himself to an excellent position to deliver the finishing blow in the form of a wickedly fast shuriken throw directly through the monster’s open maw. The Thought Eater’s translucent skin splatters apart as it quickly deflates to a puddle of purplish ooze.
• The lashers that were heading towards Kailithe were headed off by the dwarven warrior and the holy knight of Erathis/Bahamut. Short as he may be, Kurok, was able to run under the form of the floating lasher and proceed to disassemble it through a series of well placed shield bashes and decimating hammer blows. His immediate threat dealt with, Kurok quickly spun around searching for more free targets. Pulling a hand axe from his belt he hurled it with perfect accuracy, dropping an injured and fleeing lasher to the ground with a messy splash.
• Pendrynn fared equally well with his lasher, despite being in the unforgiving position of having the lasher whipping at his head with long spike tipped tentacles, he managed to deliver several well placed attacks to the underside of the beast. It seems to have distracted the lasher enough to allow Davros to flank the beast, directing his flying demonic Imp pet to attack the floating Taint from above it gave him the time to blast it to pieces with powerful blasts of eldrich energy.
• Several of the brown Fell Taint (Pulsars) that had fallen back into the portal from Findings floated up from behind an outcropping of black rock and proceeded to blast away at the members of the party. As the group scrambles for protective cover, Poe called upon the name of the Raven Queen to aid him, manifest a Guardian of Faith to interpose itself between the Pulsars and the Dragonslayers, driving the Pulsars away with its blinding divine aura.

Barack, Kurok, Poe, Davros, Pendrynn earn 250 XP, Kailithe earns 325 XP for combat with the Fell Taints and for rescuing Tristan.

After the party dragged Tristan’s paralyzed form back through the portal, they administered healing to him and he began to regain control over his limbs. Tristan vigorously thanked the party for their aid and recapped the story of how he was magically attacked while scrying the Mist Fens. He was doing this as a favor for the Elder council in regards to the “Metal Men” references the Dragonslayers discovered in Grumbles journal. He explained that while he was scrying, he saw a large metal tower on an island through a gap in the mists. Suddenly, an involuntary portal was manifested directly on top of his scrying crystal, and he was pulled in to the Shadowfell via several large tentacles. That’s all he remembered until being rescued by the party.

After making sure Tristan was all right, the group retired to their barracks and got some rest, Barack stayed behind to be sure Tristan was safe for the evening.

During morning muster, the group was given their orders. 5 days – training for Coal Caravan Duty, then a following the coal caravan route to Port Flume, Burrowdown and finally returning home after the 10 day trip.

Later that day, the custom crafted Dragon daggers were delivered, Pendrynn paid 30 gold to have his plate armor rushed to be available before departure and customized to be covered in etched symbols of Erathis and Bahamut. Additionally, he went to the temple of Erathis to have his shield painted with Erathite symbols. He sensed that some members of the temple were more distant than he had previously experienced.

After reporting to the wagonhouse on the Dig grounds, the group were trained in the use of the coal caravan puller wagons as well as what to expect during a typical Coal Caravan trip.

• Tactics and Organization
• steering/braking
• Weapons System (Ballista)
• Horse Enhancements (Feed)
• Route and Camp Sites – 3 Days to Port Flume, 1 day to Burrowdown, 1 day holdover, 3 days to return to Blackfield.
• 3 Pullers, 4-5 men on each wagon (Driver, 2 gunners, spotter/guard), 6 coal wagons
• Speed 10 (5mph), but effectively 20, because of the magically fortified horse feed allowing them to stay moving upwards of 20 hours per day before having to rest the horses.  Can do a speed boost up to 10 mph for up to 10 minutes before having to slow to half speed to rest the horses. This allows the caravan to move 100 miles per day.

The party was brought out to the field behind the Dig upper grounds where they were run through ballista training.  Poe and Pendrynn did the best (awarded 25 XP for becoming proficient using the ballista) and were assigned to be gunners on the middle and rear pullers in the Coal Caravan. Rule: Being proficient with the light repeater ballista will add +5 to attack rolls.

The next day, the Dragonslayers were given a lesson in driving the coal caravan pullers. Barack and Davros were found to be most proficient (awarded 25 XP for becoming a proficient driver) and were assigned as drivers on the middle and rear pullers in the Coal Caravan. Rule: Being proficient as a coal caravan puller will add +2 to any control checks while driving.

After the full week’s training, all members of the group earned 50 XP for learning how the coal caravan works.

During evenings off and before departure:

• Barack speaks to his most trustworthy underling, Ferris, “You’re in charge while I’m gone, keep your ears open, let me know what happens around here”; he then proceeded to give him 15 gold to feed the rest of the gang.
• Barack buys acid from Tristan on a 20 gold advance for his Impure residuum holdings (Tristan is holding the box, which has a symbol of Erathis on it).
• Pendrynn could be seen hanging out in the town hall’s codex poring over a heap of legal scrolls.

Date: Morning, Iounsday, the 2nd of Tyden, 617 S.R. At the wagon barn in the Town of Blackfield.

The party departs town on its northern trip to Port Flume via the sootway. It takes a while to get up to speed, but eventually, the wagon train is moving at full speed across the countryside. The Sootway road bed is made up of gravel and castoffs from the Dig, forming a heavily packed roadway capable of supporting the massive weight of the caravan.

They drove past saw the shattered remains of the coal wagon the Dragonslayers passed by several weeks ago, which at this point had been stripped down to a mere skeleton of it’s former self. It looks as if scavengers had been picking at the bones of the wagon’s carcass, leaving behind only minor bits of now rotten wood and fine chunks of coal and black dust.

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Continuing north, the caravan rolled through Korba pass; wildlife could be seen scattering in front of the thunderous approach of the Coal Caravan along the hills looming high on either side of the Sootway.

After nearly an hours travel, the party makes it through the claustrophobic pass and is greeted by a flat expanse of scrubby plains that seemed to fade into a gray mass to the north. The word is passed back from the lead puller that the Mist Fens are the cause of the gray, and for everyone to stay on their toes and alert when passing into the fetid swamp.

Getting comfortable on the Pullers was proving to be a nearly impossible task for most of the Dragonslayers, as every surface of the puller was vibrating from the speed and inertia of rolling down the packed gravel road.

As the caravan pushed into the eastern edge of the mist fens, a constant lingering mist bubbled up from the stinking muck reducing visibility to a mere twenty feet.

In the deepest part of the fens, Poe swore he could see several sets of green orb like eyes in the distance, beyond the mist line. They were always just barely out of sight, and soon were left in the distance as the pullers continued to haul the massive caravan onward.

After nearly 20 hours on the road, the caravan pulled off the Sootway. A member of Charger cohort in the rear puller dropped a knotted mass of ropes, chains and irregular wooden pieces behind each of the wheels in an attempt to mask the caravan’s trail. Slowly rolling towards a series of low hills, the caravan eventually pulled into the hidden cave entrance of Camp One.

While resting in shifts, Kurok and Poe heard something large and loud moving outside the rear cave entrance.

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Poe manned a ballista in the rear covering Kurok as he moved towards the dark cave entrance. He quickly found himself face to face (or more like face-to-midsection) with the source of the noise, a massive cave bear. In one smooth action, the dwarven warrior shouted a cry of alarm, and thumbed his warhammer off his belt into his readied hands.

• Combat ensues, other people wake up and leap into action
• Barack awakens in a flash, tumbling off the back of his puller in a graceful acrobatic bundle, running to aid the dwarf in combat. The forms of the other Dragonslayers could be seen dragging themselves hastily from their improvised sleeping arrangements and dropping to the ground from their pullers, weapons in hand.
• Poe noticed movement from behind the closest puller and swung the ballista around to cover the area, ready to loose a shot at a moments notice. He could see a glint coming from what looked to be several sets of small armored legs.
• The combination of Kurok unleashing a nearly continuous tide of swinging iron and shield bashes interspersed with distracting backstabs from the rogue chops up a series, the Dragonslayers began to notice that despite the massive amounts of damage the cave bear is taking, it isn’t bleeding at all.
• Kurok shouted a dwarven epithet and swung his hammer with all his might into the jaws of the bear when suddenly, a massive thunderclap emanated from the head of “The Last Word” blasting shards of teeth away in arcing fragments. The noise in the camp is deafening as the thunderclap echoed off the cave walls. Impressive!
• Kailithe swore that he heard one of the growls coming from the cave bear sounding very similar to goblinoid cursing.
• From the dark, large crossbow bolts nearly the size of those used in the repeater ballista arced in through the cave entrance, peppering anyone visible through the cavern entrance.

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• Pendrynn and Kurok were beaten to the ground under the unrelenting attacks of the cave bear and the stinging hits from the ranged attacks in the dark. As they crumpled to the ground, Poe rushed forward, a quick prayer to the Raven Queen knotted rent skin, reset cracked bone and refreshed his cohort brethren enough to get them back on their feet and back into the fray.
• Kailithe saw two small forms near the back of another puller. he whispered a quick cantrip enchanting a small rock with bright glowing light as he hurled it in their direction. The light illuminated the duo enough that the wizard could see a small metallic creature the size of a large hound accompanied by a short metallic humanoid as they hacked and chewed away at the the wagon’s coupler. Kailithe decided he’d have none of this and summoned up a flaming shpere of fire next to the creatures, forcing them away from the wagon and melting off small globs of their iron skins. The ball of fire distracted them enough for the wizard to summon powerful thunderclaps of force against them, rattling them to pieces.
• A second pair of constructs were found mangling another wagon’s coupler. Upon discovery, they spontaneously self destructed into a pile of gears, cogs and metal bits which soon started to smolder and dissolve.

All members of the group earn 250 XP for surviving combat at Camp One with the undead Cave Bear and constructs.

After the battle:

• Barack ran into the darkness in pursuit of whatever was firing into the cave. He could a large dark shape flanked by two smaller shapes retreating quickly to the south. Pushing himself to to catchup, the halfling was able to get close enough to see the attackers in greater detail. The larger figure was that of a metallic man wearing red robes covered in with arcane symbols and wielding a staff. The two shorter creatures appeared to be oversized crossbows that had sprouted legs and moved under their own power. The retreating shapes put on a surge of speed and disappeared into the black.
• A shout went up from the members of charger cohort to check the wagons for damage. It seems that the cave bear was to serve as a distraction as the smaller constructs disabled or destroyed the coupling mechanisms on several of the coal wagons.
• The party notices a golden box under the matted fur of the bear’s neck. It’s a rider box, with a needle inserted in the bear’s spine and brain stem. Kailithe and Poe worked together to analyze the arcane signature emanating from the box. It does indeed contain a soul, but to Kailithe, the emanation feels different than the one he discovered in the Rider box pulled from the neck of the Blazing Skeleton.
• Kailithe gathered a small piece from each of the constructs, hopefully to be used in discovering their origin.
• The party conducted a thorough search of the cave to figure out how the constructs were able to ambush them from behind. They discovered a series of four shallow depressions in the very rear of the cave that looked like the automatons had been buried there, lying in wait to ambush the caravan. Pendrynn and Kurok continued to search for any other buried ambushers, but they didn’t find any.
• After much discussion, the party was able to rearrange the caravan and offload around half of the coal from the completely disabled coal car to the remaining serviceable cars. Unfortunately, this still results in leaving behind a coal wagon half-filled with it’s precious dark cargo.

Tags: Coal Caravan, Construct, Fell Taint, Mist Fens, Puller, Shadowfell, Tristan