User blog:MMetzner/Session 9 - Kyratown


 * By the docks at Hogstone, the Guardians discussed what had just happened. Ronan , feeling a paranoia about Claus , Dandeon and Oleon  coming to the island, had woken everyone and called them to immediately gather, only to telepathically tell them it was a false alarm.
 * Maiya headed to the Sleeping Stag to propose to Britta and Helena  that new arrivals on the island would be directed to the Sleeping Stag, with their first 2 weeks of lodging being paid for by the Guardians. Maiya  paid 9 gold to cover two rooms for 6 weeks, which Britta  gladly accepted.
 * The Guardians discussed their next steps. Having learned more about Doya and what had happened to the Tortle tribes, Maiya was keen to find out more about people's perception of Hogstone, although Ronan pointed out that these things happened 360 years ago, and anyone living now would have no memory of those times.
 * The Guardians decided that finding a spellbook for Mannaphi would be a priority, having previously been told that one could be found at Caedwella's Cauldron.
 * Just then, Inga came to the Guardians Tower. She had been speaking with Thyra  and had made a plan to head to Sailor's Wyk on the Jagged Pelt, meeting up with Thyra's contacts there to get supplies and learn the recent news on the island since their escape.  The Guardians mentioned needing to get a spellbook, which Inga suggested they could get while they were there. The Guardians gave her 100gp aand asked if she could pick up some other items including healing potions, incense and charcoal. Ronan gave Algie to Inga, in the form of a small bird so as to not to arouse suspicion, so that she would be able to check in visually with Inga and Thyra on their journey. With that Inga headed to the docks to sail out.

The Hall of Beasts

 * Maiya, Kyanna and Ronan headed to the Hall of Beasts to speak to Symond, while Farrus and Gauner stayed to assess how difficult it would be to repair the top floor of the Guardians Tower.
 * Upon entering the Hall of Beasts, Maiya trailed away from Ronan and Kyanna, looking around at the parts of the Hall they had not yet explored. She came across plaques for old exhibits, including 'Ice Bear', 'Lizardbeast - Longclaw' and 'Lizardbeast - Tri-Horn'.
 * While Maiya explored, Ronan began discussing with Symond about any potential quests he might have. He told her that the sea creature was the most challenging thing he had been told about recently. The conversation shifted to what creatures used to be in the Hall, to which Symond regailed her with descriptions of various lizard-beasts of up to 30ft tall. When Maiya asked whereabouts the lizardbeasts would have come from, he replied that they would have come from the Tamed Lands, Errykburgh, Andreiburgh , Kyratown or Great Myra.
 * Kyanna mentioned that she had heard Tortles previously lived on the Tamed Lands too, and asked Symond if he had heard of them, which he had not. Ronan remarked that as tortles were humanoid creatures, Symond probably wouldn't be interested in exhibiting them, to which Symond replied that he was interested in any rare or uncommon creatures which would be of educational interest to visitors of the Hall of Beasts. Having become increasinly enraged by Symond's views, Maiya  stormed out of the Hall, leaving Kyanna and Ronan to continue the conversation.
 * Symond asked the two why the sudden interested in the Tamed Lands, before reminiscing about a woman from his past, a Spice-Islander named Faera  who owned a tavern on the island named the Monster's Tusk.
 * Ronan and Kyanna caught up with Maiya outside the Hall of Beasts, discussing the grey area around what they considered a 'beast', vowing to think further about this on their adventures.
 * Meeting back up at the Guardians Tower, Farrus had discovered that fixing the roof of the Guardians Tower would be a bigger job than first anticipated.

Kyratown

 * The group decided that they could learn more about Kyratown from Doya himself, so Ronan  placed on the ring and asked Doya to talk about himself and Kai Po. Doya replied that Kai Po was beautiful, with a large lake, trees and mountains. He spoke of the Do-Tan, who he claimed were the friends of the native tortles and matched the descriptions of the Lizardbeast Longclaw and Lizardbeast Trihorn from the Hall of Beasts . Doya said that he understood the situation now, that he had been killed by the 'steelskin with the bull-head', but asked if the Guardians could locate his bones and keep them safe, so that one day he could come back. Ronan promised that they would do their best to help him, in whatever way that would be. They said their goodbyes and Ronan took off the ring.
 * Ronan check in on bird-form Algie, seeing that Inga and Thyra were well on their way to Sailor's Wyk. The group decided to set sail themselves for Kyratown. The voyage took around 8 hours, and while Maiya, Farrus and Gauner exhibited tremendous endurance to row continously, by the time they reached within sight of the island, Kyanna was exhausted.
 * From the prow of the Proud Pelt, Ronan could see smoke coming from two points on the island, one in the north and one in the south. They decided to head to the settlement on the south. Kyanna made Gauner invisible so as not to arouse suspicion travelling with a Tiefling. Seeing smoke rising from a building with a sign saying 'Lakeside Tavern ', they headed towards it. Inside the tavern they saw a young looking woman behind the bar, and one older man sitting alone drinking.
 * The group ordered drinks and sat at the nearest table. When the woman brought over drinks and food, she asked why they had come to Kyratown, to which Ronan told her they were writing a book on the islands. The woman introduced herself as Missy . She told the Guardians that there were around 30 people living on the island, that they were self-sufficient for the basics, and that the Mutt Clan had not decided to come to the island yet. She also informed them that they were currently in the town of Portshome, and that the settlement in the north was named Queenstown, with a 15 minute walk between the two settlements.
 * When the Guardians asked Missy who might be the best person to talk to about the history of the island, she directed them towards Faera at the Monster's Tusk . The group asked if they could lodge at the inn for the evening, and were told that there were three rooms available. Missy also provided the Guardians with a map of the island that they could make a copy of. Ronan immediately asked what the building between the two settlements was. Missy replied that is was named the Wayfarer's Rest, and that it used to be a good halfway point between the two settlements before the road was finalised, but that it was now abandoned.  The group also noticed an unmarked cave on the map, on the south side of the island.
 * The Guardians decided to head to bed, but before going to sleep Ronan checked back in on Algie, seeing Inga and Thyra sleeping in what looked like a barn or stable.
 * Before going to bed, Maiya asked Ronan if she put much stock in what she saw in dreams, before relaying the vision she had twice encountered recently of a ship made of black smoke, with black and red sails with closed eyes adorning it, before becoming encircled in a tornado of red smoke and the eyes opening again. Ronan remembered that Mutt Clan ships had black and red sails.

Day 11 - September 26th 420
 * The next morning the group discussed their next moves, deciding whether to explore the cave they noticed on their map, or to visit Queenstown looking for more answers. No longer invisible, Gauner decided to make a jump from the first floor window in order to not be seen, landing deftly and safely.
 * On their walk towards Queenstown, the group decided to briefly investigate the abandoned Wayfarer's Rest Inn, finding nothing of value but determining it looked similar in age and style to the structures in Portshome.
 * When they arrived at Queenstown, they headed to a small shop to be warmly greeted by the shopkeeper. Purchasing several bottles of locally made mead. When the Guardians asked for more information on Kyratown, she told them that their parents had lived on the island, but that there weren't really written records of the island. Before leaving, Farrus purchased some oil.
 * Next they headed to the cemetary, noting that most of the graves looked fairly recent and were simply marked with wooden stakes.
 * They headed towards a tavern in the centre of the town, noting a large swinging sign denoting it as The Monster's Tusk . The Guardians noticed three large horns on the sign.
 * Inside the Monster's Tusk the Guardians met Faera, who was drinking behind the bar. She offered Ronan a drink, which she downed in one before burping some of it back up.
 * Faera was pleased to hear that Symond had survived the Sack of Hogstone, she believed that everyone had been killed.
 * When asked about the history of the island, Faera told them that the brave men of Hogstone had settled the island, clearing it of what must have been incredibly ferocious creatures. She mentioned that she had bought the inn from an old man around 15 years ago. When Farrus asked about the cave, Faera replied that she knew it was dangerous, and that there were warnings of falling rocks.
 * Back on the south side of the island, Ronan placed the ring back on to ask Doya if he knew of a cave on Kai Po, he replied that he did know of one, although it was not part of Clan Tengo's territory. He also mentioned that the battle where he was killed was by the lake.
 * The Guardians headed to the cave, seeing the entrance blocked in with heavy rocks, and two signs, one saying "Falling rocks" and another saying "Do not enter under any circumstances".
 * Ronan checked in on Inga and Thyra, seeing a view through Algie's eyes from above Trader's Square looking down on Caedwella's Cauldron.
 * The group started moving the rocks from the cave entrance, with Maiya doing most of the heavy lifting. They entered the cave...

The Cave

 * Upon entering the cave, Gauner headed out in front, immediately noticing a loose looking stone that he identified as a pressure plate. He announced to the group to avoid it. Turning the corner Maiya  peered down a long stone corridor, with two doors built into the rock.
 * Heading into the first door, Kyanna spotted a rope ladder, and a table with a potion of red liquid with clear expanding bubbles, which she took.
 * Gauner headed into the second room, where he came across the bones of what looked like a warrior on the floor, and a treasure chest perched on a table. As Gauner opened the chest he heard a click, and a faint rumbling sound could be heard. Instinctivly Maiya unfurled her wings, climbing to the top of the 10ft high cavern. Farrus notched an arrow to his trusty bow.
 * Suddenly, triggered by the chest, a huge boulder rolled relentlessly towards Maiya, Kyanna and Farrus. With her wings giving her the height advantage, Maiya was able to lift her legs and avoid the rock, but Kyanna wasn't so fortunate. The boulder rolled right over her, crushing her against the floor and badly wounding her. Note.jpg
 * Safe in an adjacent room, Gauner spotted that the body in the room had a small piece of paper sticking out of his boot. Tentative after triggering the boulder trap, he asked Ronan to pull the note out with her Mage Hand spell, which she did. The note appeared to be from a former Hogstone soldier named Adreean and confirmed that it was Hogstone forces, under the command of 'Macen ' who led the slaughter.
 * Back in the corridor, Maiya flew over the top of the rock, trying to stop it's relentless velocity towards Farrus. The rock slipped through her fingers but Farrus was nimble enough to dive ut of the way of the rock before it crashed into a wall behind them.
 * Maiya continued down the passageways, scouting ahead and finding another smaller door and a much larger door across a rickety looking bridge.
 * Farrus investigated the body of Adreean, noting that there were signs of an axe wound in the spine of the skeleton.
 * At this point, Kyanna remembered something she had read in Ranulph the Old's 'Kings and Queens of Hogstone', a reference to a 'Macen the Bull' who was a Guardian of Hogstone under Queen Kyra I. The group's earlier feelings of anxiety about the history of the role they had taken on suddenly became even more worrysome.
 * Gauner and Ronan investigated another small room at the end of a corridor, finding an empty but bloodied cage, and a potion with a claw inside. Kyanna noticed some cave paintings on the wall of the cave that looked like it had been there for hundreds of years.
 * The Guardians discussed how they should deal with the extremely unsafe looking bridge that led to the large double doors, judging the jump to be be around 15ft, Kyanna morphed into a tiger, and was able to take a running leap across. Gauner was stealthy enough to tentatively tiptoe across. Ronan went out onto the bridge,holding onto a rope that was held by Maiya at one end, and Kyanna at the other. As Ronan fell, the rope was pulled from Maiya's hand, leaving Ronan dangling by a rope held by Kyanna's teeth. Ronan managed to pull herself up.
 * When Farrus suggested trying to make a running jump, Gauner wondered allowed if this was worth the risk, and that they should investigate the room ahead first. They opened the door...
 * A low growl filled the room, followed by a second roar as two huge cave trolls shambled towards the door. The creatures, looking shocked by the intrusion, atacked the Guardians immediately, hurling huge rocks at the group and attacking with two-handed greatsword and stone axe.
 * Having hunted and fought many trolls in his life, Farrus yelled to the group that fire would damage the trolls. The Guardians started to show much improved teamwork in the battle, flanking the trolls to gain the upper hand. Maiya's aggressive attacks made even these trolls fearful.
 * Having taken a lot of damage, Kyanna changed from her tiger form into a direwolf, attacking with teeth and claws. Gauner, growing in his combat skills, deftly dashed past one of the trolls before plunging his rapier into the creatures back, killing him. Kyanna jumped at the remaining troll, ripping off its arm. With blood gushing from the wound, the troll fell to its knees, dead. Farrus quickly exclaimed that the group would need to burn the bodies otherwise the trolls could regenerate.
 * The group decided to throw the trolls down into the pit underneath the now broken bridge, but first severed the head of one of them to take to the Hall of Beasts.