Session 13 - A few assumptions were proven wrong.Into the Wilds!The party gathers themselves, their gear, their dinner...I mean donkeys, their guide, and head out from the keep. They pass by the ramshackle camp that houses the horde of halflings desperate for work, follow the road north from the keep a small bit, and then in a spot where the mountains dip down, step off into the trees of the unmapped* wilderness. * - at least...the *party* has no maps As Angel led, with Oleum walking next to her on point, the day gradually got hotter. Lunch came and passed. There was a brief bit of excitement when something seemed to be following them, but they ignored the encounter hook and left whatever-it-was behind. After that, there was only the party, occasional squirrels, and the wind in the leaves for company. As the sun started to get low in the sky, Angel managed to find a small dell to camp in - she judged shelter from view as the most secure option. Assumption the FistThe First NightIn the empty wildernessall aloneamong strangersVanessa is woken up in the middle of the night by Tilden, the fighter on guard. Tilden tells her that they think the new guide, Angel, is crying. Noer hears her stirring and crawls out of his bed; Vanessa is crouching by Angel's tent and asking if she's alright. He comes quietly over as Angel, sniffling, tries to tell Vanessa that she's fine, and nothing's wrong, and Vanessa reaches out to her and then there's a sobbing half-elf in her arms. "They're all gone, they're all gone, and I'm all alone, and I won't see them again and I don't know what to do and..." Angel just breaks down, while a bewildered Noer and Vanessa try and find comforting words. Slowly, Angel's story comes out. Angel BlueAngel parents were a mixed-race couple living on a small farm in the woods out west of Farzy. She's half-elven, their only child. A few days prior, some bandits attacked the homestead and killed her parents and the other family who lived there. Angel was out picking berries when it started, and she had the sense to hide. The fight was brief and brutal, and the bandits trashed the place, took what they could, and left quickly. There wasn't much left for Angel, but she gathered what few supplies and tools she could find, and ran off. She found a caravan going to the Keep and joined up. She was asking around, looking for work - something to feed herself, when she heard about the party looking for a guide in the woods. She figured it was better than nothing, and better than some somethings, so she called on the party. Oh, and she's 14. She's a half-elven child.
Okay, new planNew plan: keep the prepubescent half-elf safe. Bringing her back to town wouldn't really put her in a safer position - she'd be back to being out of a job, an orphan, etc. So, the party seems to have adopted a child. Assumption the SecondThe next day, the party is continuing into the wilderness and about mid-afternoon they stumble across the remains of what might have been a road. Cautiously following the road, they espy a very exciting feature - a mine shaft set into a cliff face! Could this be the entrance to the Mines of Chaos? They backtrack a teensy bit, find a safe place for camp, set up, leave Angel and several fighters, and head back to the mine! As they can closer, they can peer into the mine entrance - there's the glint of treasure! Gold! Silver! Noer cautiously scouts ahead and discovers something. Something very surprising. Also very pointy. And painful! That's no mine entrance, that's a mouth!As Noer starts into the mine entrance, there is suddenly a loud cry from the woods around. Some sort of animal? Everyone pauses, and then it turns out the mouth of the mine entrance turns out to be the mouth of a giant Cave Chameleon! The lizard lunges forward and takes a bite of Noer, Oleum rushes forward, Roger looses an arrow, and battle is joined. Highlights of the battle:
Loot? Loot!They discover a few things.
Loot:
Onward!The party spends the night in their camp and then returns to searching for the Mines the next monring - Angel thinks they went too far South, so they'll head a little bit North. Quote of the Day, often repeated"Sh*t!"
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