Adventure Notes – The Adventurers 52

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  • The party hears the Captain of the Caravan yelling for people to get ready to go, two days after resting in the cave
  • Along with the rest of the Caravan – the party leads the wagon down the path, and with some struggles of keeping the wagon on the narrow path
  • Reaching the bottom of the mountain pass on the other side of the Longstone Mountains, that path descends into a forested area, populated by the Elves of The Ferndale. Stories say that the Elves of the Ferndale are the direct descendants of the Elves who once populated the Broken Lands before it’d become the wasteland that it’s been known to be for thousands of years now. (DM Note – I actually forgot to look at my map and remember the Ferndale Forest was there, and dropped the party right to the entrance of the Broken Land, which is a shame; because I could have used the Ferndale Elves to perhaps give some hints of things to come! Ah well.)
The Trek.
  • The Captain of the Caravan calls everyone together just as they reach the edge of the sands that leads to the Broken Lands and warns everyone – sternly – “Listen, when we go into the Broken Lands – you will see things you’ve never seen before – there are creatures that are unique to this area – and everything in this land may well try to kill you. And when we get to the main city of Drastor, please – please – understand they operate very differently than we do. Once we’re here – know that we will now live by their laws. So you will see things that you may not morally agree with – such as slavery. In these lands, slavery is very much a thing – whether it’s from debts owed or people that have been purchased for work. If you do anything to interfere with it – you will be put on trial, and probably killed – or worse. And in these lands, trust me – you may wish for a quicker death than see what their ‘or worse’ is out here. Keep in mind, some people willingly go into slavery, because often times they serve someone who has a home, and can provide a roof and at least some meager food and drink – because some here don’t even have that much. They also find theft very, very, very dishonorable – and without taking you to some justice – if they catch you stealing – at the very least they may cut off a hand for stealing, an armor for carrying, or a leg for running – and they won’t bandage you up. If you happen to bleed out due to the wounds you earned for stealing, then it was the will of the gods to take your dishonorable life. Speaking of gods – do not try to enforce your gods on them – out here, they follow different gods and religions than those we know and cherish. Do not insult their religion and do not insult them, and everything should be fine. Honor is everything to these people. The people here are harsh because the land itself is harsh. Water is scarce, food is scarce, resources are scarce – so they will protect it by any means necessary.” He then takes a deep breath and adds, “As I said – there are things out in these desert sands that are unique to this area. This area is infused with magic – and strange and unnatural creatures exist here – and even the very laws of nature bend and break here. A simple sand storm can last for weeks, and in the heat of the Broken Lands – the grains of sand cane unite and form shards of glass, killing even unprotected giants – as they die from – literally – a thousand cuts and bleed out or swallow shards of small glass that cut them from the inside. So if I shout a sand storm is coming, I hope you bought the metal sheets for your wagons and the protective covering for your horses or you may not survive the three day trek to Drastor.” He takes a deep breath, “We rely on other travelers coming and going – because of the heat we will need to stop at the oasis’ scattered throughout the Broken Lands – however, these sandstorms can often times bury and oasis and reveal another somewhere else. And because of the constant shifting sands and the magic surging in these area – even the most well trained rangers and druids have died of dehydration or fallen victim to one of the many, unnatural beasts that roam these lands.”
  • Many of the merchants who had traveled back and forth are well aware of all of these; but some of the people new to going to Drastor are shocked by what they’re hearing
  • After awhile, the Captain – after answering a number of questions from some of the newer caravan members – calls for everyone to mount their wagons, preserve as much water and food as possible and carry on
  • It’s not long into heading into the sands of the Broken Lands, where the sun’s intensity increases so much that anyone in any form of metal armor is forced to take it off, because it heats the metal so much that it begins burning their skin; the distant forest behind them disappears into an endless wave of changing mirages
  • As the caravan continues into the hot searing sands, the party realizes they may have a problem on their hands
  • Kraun had proposition the party to fetch a gem (Session 44) which the party tracked to a local thieves guild in Lakefront (Session 45) – which they managed to recover, and while attempting to rescue Ragnaroc and Sephrenia (Session 46) they learn from Kraun’s guard, Bristor, that Kraun plans to sell it in Drastor. The party agreed that they would try to steal it from Kraun later in Drastor – or the person he sells it to – so they can destroy it (Session 47) – but if theft is a big issue – that could be a big problem.
  • As the caravan carries on, the intense heat causes one level of exhaustion for several of the party members who failed their survival check (Disadvantage on ability checks)
  • After several hours, the Captain of the Caravan calls for halting the wagon – and the shouts carry backwards for all wagons to halt
  • Korra pokes out from the back and asks, “Why are we stopped?”
  • “We’re in a caravan, the ones in front of us stopped,” Don replies sarcastically.
  • “Yeah, I get that, but do you see anything? Like, why we stopped?” Korra asked.
  • Don stares at Korra, agitated by the heat, and stands sees that up ahead – a number of palm trees and guesses there’s an oasis there – that the Captain of the Caravan had mentioned – but he also sees approximately thirty tents all around – and he then sees a humanoid lion creature approaching the captain
The Leonin, sighted for the first time by the party
  • After speaking with the Leonin, the Captain of the Caravan calls for Council of the Caravans and informs them that the Leonin refuse to share their watering hole, because they’d been driven out from one of their caves that they use for both shelter and water – by sand giants
  • The party listens closely – and though most of the party has certainly heard of giants – especially Hill Giants, probably being the most common – none have heard of Sand Giants, except for Korra – who comes from a rich family who afforded her great education (though she cared very little for it, and craved adventure)
    • She recalled that, according to legend, the gods bore children who were known as Immortals – better known as Titans – and that they’d been sent down to the world to deal with an ancient god only known as Terrorskew who ruled this primitive world and dinosaurs reigned supreme –  the Titans were sent down to destroy the dinosaurs and usurp Terrorskew’s hold on the world (the party had discovered one of the temples of Terrorskew had recently resurfaced – but had been taken over by cultists of Razataun – The Slime God (See Session 43)
    • Though the Titans had been victorious, the Circle of Shade had seen that the Circle of Light had been drained in their efforts to fight Terrorskew – and waged a War of the Heavens, which trapped the Titans on the Mortal Plane with no way to return to Aftgard. Over the many generations, the Titans eventually evolved into what is now considered the Giants of the land.
    • What was interesting is that Sand Giants did not seem to come from the direct bloodline of the Titans – from what she could remember – a war in the Broken Lands, among other kinds of giants – resulted in their blood spilling on the land – and the land – so deeply driven by magic – gave birth to the Sand Giants – making these bronze skinned, nomadic giants, a terror of the sands
    • Korra also recalls – due to the constant surging magic in the Broken Lands, and the constant exposure for hundreds of generations, has made them very resistant to many forms of magic (giving them Advantage on Spell Savings Throws and Resistance to many forms of magic) and that while a Sand Giant is holding any form of melee weapon – that weapon is considered magic while in the Giant’s hands
    • Most of the caravan guards are too reluctant to attack giants; they’d been hired to fight off the likes of brigands and orcs
  • The Captain of the Caravan explains that they could fight the Leonin, but they’re a massive nomadic tribe – and attacking one tribe is attacking all – even among enemy tribes, they strictly enforce protecting one another against outsiders – and that would make traveling in and out of the Broken Lands extremely dangerous – more so than it already is
  • Bupiddo decides he wants to ask the Leonin some questions – but he’s stopped by the Captain of the Caravan who explains he can’t go to them – and if he has questions – he can answer them
  • Bupiddo asks where the water supply is from
  • The Captain of the Caravan nervously answers, “No need to bother them! I can answer that. During certain seasons – the mountain caps of a nearby mountain will melt and runs through a stream – that goes into an underwater cavern – that ends in these caves the Leonin use for water and shelter.”
  • As the party is discussing what they can do about the giants – they start hearing screams and shouting around the caravan – and as they look – it doesn’t seem to be anything unusual at first – just a dust devil – but very quickly it becomes clear – it’s far more than that – it’s sentient – and they recognize it as some form of twisted elemental – a Sand Elemental
Sand Elemental Makes Their Debut
  • Sephrenia tries to cast Ray of Frost which doesn’t seem to impact the Sand Elemental (she missed)
  • Bupiddo sees that and tries Fire Bolt – and hits – but the results are not what he expected. With the sand of the Sand Elemental heated – shards of glass fly off of it, having turned to glass from the flame and spinning heat the Sand Elemental generates – forcing everyone on their wagon to try and take cover as a portion of the Sand Elemental’s form becomes a shard bomb
    • The glass cuts into: Ragnaroc, Buppido, Don Kannin, and Korra taking 5 points of piercing damage
  • Ragnaroc returns – or tries to – with Hellish Rebuke, however, the Sand Elemental’s body contorts so that it misses (successful Dexterity Save), but it disrupts it for a moment (so it takes half damage)
  • Don casts Hunters mark – and lands two solid hits into the Sand Elemental
  • Ragnaroc casts two Eldritch Blasts – one of them a Critical Strike (Natural 20!), and Ragnaroc pushes him back 20′
  • The Sand Elemental quickly covers 90′ and reaches Adrian – attempting to slam him twice – pounding Adrian both times for massive damage
  • Korra, despite seeing what happened when Buppido did it – fires Fire Bolt which hits and does damage – but heats the sand – and sends shards of glass back at the party forcing everyone to make a Dexterity Save
    • The glass strikes: Ragnaroc (Critical Fail), Korra, and Sephrenia for 4 points of damage
  • Adrian casts Protection from Good and Evil which will protect him from attacks from the Sand Elemental, but not if shards of glass are a result of fire damage
  • Sephrenia goes next, bleeding, and fires Guiding Bolt which hits and does an incredible amount of damage – dispersing the Sand Elemental near them – the party helps the rest of the caravan with dealing with near by Sand Elementals
  • Buppido casts Fire Bolt on the remains of the Sand Elemental, to ensure it’s encased in glass
  • The party hears the Captain of the Caravan shouting from the front, “Heal up quickly! Mend your wounds! Stop the bleeding!” His voice is greatly distressed
  • Don quaffs a healing potion, as does Korra and Sephrenia
  • The party notices their horses begin to act nervously – and before they can recover – the party finds themselves under attack again – this time, yet another creature like they’ve never seen before – Sand Sharks!
The Sand Shark Debuts
  • A sand shark suddenly breaches through the sand, but in its excitement bites deep into it’s own maw, clamping down hard on nothing as the party hits the floor (Critical Fail)
  • Ragnaroc fires an Eldritch Blasts and hits once – but misses the second
  • Korra fires a Magic Missile and hits for trivial damage followed by Buppido firing a Fire Bolt spell which also hits and does trivial damage
  • Don fires his Starbow and hits it as well, marking it with Hunter’s Mark
  • Sephrenia fires Guiding Bolt and misses
  • Another Sand Shark breaches and lands a massive hit on Don Kannin, spraying blood everywhere, as rows of endless teeth tear through Don’s armor
  • It proves to be a strong enough hold of Don – with the intention of shimming into the sand to pull his victim beneath the sand
  • Ragnaroc stands next to Buppido – and fires one shot and misses – and fires a second shot (Critical Miss) and uses Repelling Blast to shove Don out of the Sand Shark’s mouth, and causes additional damage as he’s ripped out of the sand shark’s mouth
  • The blood soaks the sand
  • The party gasps as Don’s face goes pale; he’s alive, but bleeding profusely, landing prone on the floor
  • Adrian rushes to Don’s side and uses a Level 2 Cure Wounds to help mend some of the wounds
  • Korra leaps from the back of the wagon and plunges her Dagger of Drown Venom deep into the Sand Shark doing some incredible damage
  • Buppido casts Fire Bolt at the Sand Shark and hits
  • Don Kannin manages to get to his feet – leaning against the wagon for support and misses his first shot, but lands the second shot
  • Sephrenia does Guiding Bolt but misses
  • The Sand Shark lunges at Sephrenia and bits hard – but critical fails as it tries to pull Sephrenia into the sand; and she’s able to maintain staying on the wagon
  • Ragnaroc fires two shots; one of which lands, one hits
  • Adrian does the same; swinging twice, hitting once, missing once
  • Korra tries to stab – but misses so Bupiddo does Poison Spray which the Sand Shark fails to save against
  • Don fires a shot; and hits once – and manages to finally deliver the killing blow
  • Several horses are lost as well as people on the caravan who perish in the Sand Shark attacks
  • The party slumps against their wagon, bleeding, breathing, and healing one another…

TO BE CONTINUED.