Dates: Saturday February 13th Noon (EST) 5pm (GMT)
Level: 1-2
The Storm Wizard Ulrich Orrander needs bold souls to seek out the rare Alias Skyflower to aide in his attempt to construct a flying ship. He cannot spare the time from his studies and has instructed his apprentice to find a group of likely individuals to venture into the perils of the Serpent Mire and seek out the elusive flowers!
Session 1: The adventurers are hired by the pathetic apprentice Rombus, who has been tasked with retrieving the Skyflowers. Rombus it emerges has already dispatched at least three groups of adventurers previously, all of whom have failed, and some of whom have returned apparently enchanted in some way. The group seek of a Swamp Drifter - basically a raft with a hovel on top - to take them to the island where the flowers have been sighted.
The group select the sturdiest looking of the shabby vessels moored in the Swampside Shanty and pay a one armed old man extravagantly for his services. The man offers his daughter Ferry to the group, to use as they may for their generous payment, and is astonished and delighted when Frederick offers him 100gp for the girl. Ferry is pretty, obviously abused by her father, and has been branded across her forehead with the W of the whores mark, she does not appear pleased with developments.
The group pile into the drifter and see that they are also accompanied by a ragged old woman huddled in one corner. The old man pushes out into the swamp and after just over an hour the old woman prepares some snake meat, caught on the journey by the old man, to which Ferry applies an acidic citrus smelling juice. Most of the group accept this snake cerviche when offered, and most find themselves paralyzed! The dish having been spiked with carrion crawler juice!
The old man and old women then attack the parties few remaining active members and a strange pulsing something is spyed beneath the old woman's rags. As the old man attacks Pope, the old woman hurls herself bodily at uugh and manages to get smashed into a bloody pulp for her trouble. But from the corpse crawls a grotesque glistening black leech. The leech pulses and suddenly Uugh finds he has a new friend, to whom he helpfully extends a hairy leg. The leech crawls onto the neanderthal and takes control of its new slave! The old man then hurls a leech at Frederick and despite the creature charms the paladin before crawling onto his flesh and taking him over to! pope endures valiantly against his dominated comrades before the rest of his allies manage to shake their paralysis and join the fray. Frederick inflicts a painful blow to an ally, but not before the old man is slain and the group set about targeting the leeches. After discovering that the leeches tiny size and agility makes them difficult targets the group finally manage to finish the things when Jacob plucks the one from Frederick and flings it into the swamp to be gobbled up by unseens creatures beneath the water and Pope pops the other with an inflict minor wounds spell!
Searching the old man's body Frederick retrieved his gold, and the group discovered five of the flowers they had been sent for in the pouch from which the old fellow had pulled the leech. Close inspection revealed that their were tiny bite marks that appeared to match the leeches needle-like fangs upon the flower - which Rombus told the adventurers was deadly to eat as it acted as a powerful sealant and released an expanding gas…
Speaking to Ferry the group learned that the leeches came from the isle they sought and that the Swamp Drifters had been transporting dozens of them into Port Drambath! Many of the Swamp Drifters, Ferry claimed, were either completely dominated or charmed by the creatures. After some discussion the group decided to go onto the isle and try to destroy the threat at the source. Ferry guided them to the isle.
XP: 200
Treasure: 50gp each payed up front by Rombus
Session 2:
The mangrove shrouded isle provided a welcoming commitee in the form of six ensorcelled adventurers! Combat soon erupted as a spiked chain wielding knight by the name of Sir Aryll Smythe lead his team against the party. At first things looked dicey as the foe moved with precision with the elven archer piercing Archadeus's side! But the battle sorcerer soon got his own back by showering three of their foes with a hail of stone, badly injuring them all! Uugh and Frederick took on the knight and a shortsword wielding rogue, and finally after being rebuffed by the knight's fullplate several times downed him after Frederick swept his blade through the unfortunate rogue's throat! While the archer continued to hit true, downing Archadeus, and the enemy sorcerer pounded the heroes with magic missiles they proved no match for the party. The enemy sorcerer surrendered, three of his companions were knocked unconscious, and either were tended by the party or saved by their own luck.
Interrogating the sorcerer, Hengst, the party confirmed that the group has been charmed by their friends the leeches. After managing to convince Hengst they meant his leech buddies no harm the likable sorcerer told the party about Serpent Priests at the isles' center tending a pond filled with leech eggs. Healing themselves up with their supplies the group determined to press on and finish the priests and destroy the spawn!
The group headed through mangrove corridors to reach the isles center where they found a gentle hill top covered in leeches! Luckily most of the leeches were juveniles and had not yet developed the psionic abilities of their elders. Three cowled figures tended a pond filled with murky water and slimy spawn! The group managed to dispatch their foes also encountering small, but terrifyingly toothy creatures that came to their foes aide.
XP: 1350
Treasure: 3 masterwork scimitars
3 masterwork longbows
3 master work heavy steel shields
3 masterwork studded leather and three pouches.
500gps of ruby dust
Everburning Signet Ring bearing the mark of a reptilian eye and crudely made.
A wand
Two pairs of magical boots.
Enchanted Adventurers Gear:
Sir A. Smythe: Fullplate, MW Spiked Chain, Greatsword, 35gp.
Genk Chander: 2 MW Shortswords, Light Crossbow, 20 Bolts, 2 Alchemists Fires, Chainshirt, 200gp
Arim Kompt (DEAD): MW shortsword, Dagger, 3 Acids, MW Thieves Tools, Studded 76gp LEATHER
Jallo Breen: MW Composite Longbow (+2 Str), Longsword, Chainshirt, Heavy Wooden Shield
Hengst Pabst: Magical Gloves, Spell Component Pouch, Silver Skull Signet Ring, 3 Scrolls
Marsden Bale (DEAD): MW Bastard Sword, Morningstar, Chainmail, Heavy Steel Shield
