We continue the tale with our group already on their way, with the intent to confront Andrea and return the Greenblood to its full glory. Depending on whom was directing them, one had priority over the other.
Tyrone seemed conflicted when he last spoke with the group – he wants Andrea dealt with but would rather they not fight her. This, among other happenings, has led to some discussion within the group as to Tyrone’s end-game. Tyrone insists it is to preserve lives; the group questions whether this is meant to prevent learning the details behind the Tyrone-Andrea falling-out.
Mors, clearly taking advice from Tyrone as trusted council, says he is interested in both, but it seems as if he truly cares more about the river than dealing with Andrea.
The group — composed of our protagonists, Tirius Granes (Mors Martell’s right hand man), and 10 guards — awakens on another bright, desert morning and ready themselves to continue their journey toward the Scourge-Vaith conflux.
As they are traveling, the guiding crystal, given to them by Tyrone to locate the Amulet of Lightbringer, begins to glow a faint red, indicating they are on the correct path to the Amulet – and Andrea.
Some time goes by and the terrain to the north fades from rocky mountains to a hint of forest.
TIRIUS: Keep a look out here fellas – ogres have been sighted in these parts – stories tell of an ogre population in those forested mountains (points to the right, directly north)
GUARD: And I hear they especially like the sweet taste of dwarves!
The guard then laughs and is quickly joined by the rest of the guards, glancing at Burton.
TIRIUS: And next you’ll tell us that they like grumkins, elves, and other mythological creatures! Truth is, I’ve never seen ’em myself and I have little faith in the stories of wayward wanderers…
GUARD: Well my brother’s friend’s wife’s cousin actually DID run into one and it killed him!
TIRIUS: Yeah, yeah… and who was with him to tell the story I ask?
This seemed to quiet all of the guards and no additional comments are made on the topic.
As the ride continues, the terrain shifts on their route, with small mounds of dry loose sand. The horses’ hooves slip a bit here and there. The air continues to be calm, dry and hot. The horses seem unfazed by the climate and terrain, but the group is all from Essos — deserts like this are far removed from normal life.
After another hour or so of traveling, the mounds become dunes, and those dunes continue to grow in stature. The winds are picking up slightly, blowing this dry hot air. The winds have almost no cooling effect other than to dehydrate everyone more quickly. Luckily, the provisions allow them to remain in good spirits without resorting to rationing.
Tirius stops his horse dead in his tracks, raising his fist up and to the side. The guards, stop immediately, showing off their training. He turns his head to the side so everyone behind him can see him and raises his finger to his lips, “shhhh”.
The guards begin to look around nervously, showing off their lack of experience.
Shadowsilver and Qarzdaq are the first to hear what Tirius must have heard. In the distance, words approach in a foreign tongue – short, deep-voiced syllables floating in the air without a clear direction of their source.
Tirius gestures to the group by lowering his fist, pointing, and sweeping it back around him. The guards immediately take action to move behind the dunes outside any line-of-sight from where the voices seemed to be coming from. They dismount and draw their swords. Tirius remains mounted.
All of the group can hear the voices now as the get louder and all follow suit from Tirius’s instructions, using the dunes as cover.
Two ogres can be seen walking between the dunes – Tirius dismounts to gain more agile footing and the battle begins.
[feel free to add your own accounts of the battles here]
The ogres are eventually destroyed, losing no men in the process, but gaining a healthy respect for Tirius and his greatsword. Though he did not make contact many times, the damage dealt was a devastating force.
Each member of the party gained 175XP.
After settling back down and regaining composure, Tholannan notices the crystal glowing a deeper red than earlier. They know they must continue – and they are getting close.
Every 30 minutes or so, the crystal begins glowing, growing deeper shades of crimson each time.
As the sun sets, the telltale shimmer of fire can be seen reflecting off the dune’s surfaces – a camp is nearby – is it…
…Suddenly the ground begins to shake, spooking all of the horses, and all but Qhortho are thrown from their horses – some more gracefully than others. The loose horses run off into the desert in random directions.
Fire erupts out of the ground vertically, creating a ring around the entire entourage.
As the rumbling fades away, a spectral being appears between the entire party and the source of the fire holding a sword and a shield with a flaming sword on it. This being seems very familiar
A booming female voice comes from the heavens “Tyrone is not who you think he is! I urge you to join the Lord of Light and not have your inner fires doused by the Drown-ed Lies! Place down your weapons and join me in the Light!”
A silhouette of a hooded figure on a horse is poised atop a dune, raising a glowing amulet – clearly the Amulet of Lightbringer and the crystal confirms this with a distractingly bright, deep red glow.
Burton manages to make out a nipple in the silhouette against all odds and everything below his waist turns to stone.
Shadowsilver begins to state that she holds no allegiance to Tyrone, but Andrea takes this as a way to buy time since no one else makes a move to drop their weapons. She rides off to the west. As she rides out of sight, the fire falls back into the sand and the spectral being evaporates.
Tirius yells out in anger – clearly not accustomed to being outwitted tactically.
He turns to the group, “we camp here tonight…” He then notices that all 10 guards had been roasted alive in their gear. A combined look of sadness, anger, and fear take over his normal battle-readied expression. He turns away, facing the glow of the fire, and starts toward it.
The rest of the group follows him, leaving Burton to drag himself there without the use of his legs.
The remainder of the night is solemn, with each remaining member holding watch.
The next morning, everyone awakes with the somber knowledge that 10 young men gave their lives on this quest, that their deaths were in vain since the Amulet is not in their possession, and that the task of reviving the Greenblood still looms.
Burton’s legs appear to have returned to normal by the morning.
As they approach the conflux, everyone sees that it is blocked by sand, not magic. Whoever did this, did so with ordinary means.
Upon inspection, it appears that although the river was diverted, it does not appear that the ones behind this cared about where the river flowed in its new state, just that it did not flow in its original direction.
Tirius, just wanting to finish this mission, begins to dig out the obstructing sand, building up the southern bank in the process and the river gushes as it once had.
A discussion commences about who may have done this since this clearly did not require the meddling of magic. Looking around, Tirius notices and calls out a rider in the distance. Obviously realizing he had been noticed, the rider takes off towards the north.
The group sets up camp at this point to keep watch for anyone who might be involved – though no one appears.
Before heading back to The Sandship, the remaining group decides to visit the nearby town of Godsgrace.
The town is a bustle of many small merchants, all selling common wares, with none of the “lush” amenities found nearby The Sandship. This town seems the sort to have appeared out of merchant necessity rather than the typical staking of land by a lord.
Everyone in town seems have a cold, standoffish demeanor and certainly not willing to divulge any information. “Either buy something or move along” – or words along those lines – is the default response as members of the group try to gather intel around the blockage. It was as if the entire town did not want to be involved or bothered with anything outside their day-to-day business.
The group purchases some provisions for the journey ahead and leave Godsgrace.
As they begin their journey, they all simultaneously notice another rider in the distance, who again takes off towards the north.
Could they be going to The Tor?
Are they trying to get us to follow them?
Is it a trap?
All valid thoughts, and Qhortho, being the only one with a horse, decides to go check it out. He makes it to the point where the scout had a very small covert campfire. With no other information to go by, and no rider in sight, he heads back to the group.
Upon reuniting, the group continues on their way.
It is not long before they are stopped by a group of 5 thugs, which are pretty easily dispatched, earning each member another 100XP.
Within minutes, a man in a dark green cloak rides up and dismounts.
Tirius recognizes him… “Jonah Bick? What are you doing out here?”
As he gets within 40 feet, the rest of the group recognize him as well – it is the assassin from town.
JONAH: I do not appreciate having to chase my fee in this way. The price is now 800 gold. Voluntarily or not, you will pay this price.
Tirius draws his sword.
Jonah makes no move.
Tirius places his sword on the sand and steps back, “I have nothing to do with this quarrel.” He then turns to the others asks what this is about.
Jonah calls out Shadowsilver as he did back in town as the one with primary responsibility.
Burton sneaks over to the river bank in some dying vegetation.
Shadowsilver asks if they can speak privately. Jonah agrees and they walk off behind a dune and out of earshot.
Burton continues to sneak along the bank, in the direction of The Sandship.
Upon Jonah and Shadowsilver’s return, Jonah expresses his satisfaction and that he will no longer be hounding them. He deftly mounts his horse and rides along the river to the west.
Burton comes out of the brush and meets back with the group. Because of how the group dealt with this encounter, they all feel more experienced in the world –200XP worth of new experience to be exact.
The rest of the journey goes smoothly, with no other happenings worth mentioning.
As they approach the town, they see The Sandship in the distance, the sun low in the morning sky. The Greenblood flows swiftly now and a strong feeling of accomplishment is felt by all – though they are still scarred by the loss of lives. Ah… home….
As they get closer, a few ships can be seen near the coast, a foggy haze clouding the horizon. As the sun rises it lifts the haze, revealing what must be over a hundred ships. Too many to actually count.
Tirius draws his sword, “We’re being invaded!! To arms! Let’s move!”
Qhortho and Tirius head towards town, the others heading north to circumvent the town en route to Tyrone’s Temple.
As Burton, Qarzdaq, Tholannan, and Shadowsilver approach the temple, it is entirely deserted. As they look south towards The Sandship, the ships are visible off the coast – and many of them have plumes of smoke rising from their decks. As the group looks on, they can tell that the ships are on fire. They start towards the town, cautiously.
As Qhortho and Tirius follow the main street, they notice there is no murderous commotion as would be expected from a town subjugated to a raid. There is a stronger bustle in the town, but nothing that conveys danger.
Baffled, Tirius lowers his guard, dropping the tip of his sword near the ground. As they walk the main street to the keep, Tirius eventually stows his blade. Qhortho follows suit.
As they round the corner to enter The Sandship, they encounter a courtyard full of people. Townsfolk. Not soldiers. Women, children, elderly. Back in the main hall, Tyrone and Mors are fondly talking with a raggedly-dressed woman who clearly possesses some clout.
As Qhortho and Tirius make their way through the crowd, Mors greets both of them.
MORS: Tirius! You did it! The Greenblood now flows as it had!
He then notices the lack of companions, and asks about the rest of the group.
Tirius explains that Andrea killed the other men, but Tyrone’s group was with them until just before entering town and that he is not sure where they are now.
Mors, distressed by the news of losing almost all of his remaining guards, is distracted by some other news he is eager to share.
MORS: I want a full report, but I need to introduce you to a new friend.
As he mentions this, the rest of the group arrives.
Gesturing towards the raggedly-dressed woman, “this is Princess Nymeria of Ny Sar, beacon of hope for the Rhoynar peoples. Nymeria and her people,” he sweeps his arms, gesturing towards the crowds in the courtyard, “are welcome guests. They are refugees of the Valyrian War to the east.”
TYRONE: Friends, I was the high cleric under Nymeria’s rule in Ny Sar many years ago and left the Mother Rhoyne to make allies to the west in the dire case that my people had to leave the motherland.
Tyrone turns to Nymeria.
TYRONE: Nymeria, I’d like to introduce you to the unlikely band of travelers that saved the Tear. They have dubious backgrounds to be sure, but they are all good people. Tholannan here is Rhoynar himself, son of the high cleric in Chroyane.
NYMERIA: I am pleased to make your acquaintance, all.
Tyrone turns to address Mors and Nymeria together.
TYRONE: Please excuse us, but I need to speak with our friends here at once.
The group goes into a separate chamber off of the main hall. A room that looks strangely bigger on the inside that it appears from the outside.
This room, in line with everything else at The Sandship, is utilitarian: sand-colored stone walls and entirely unadorned. There is along mahogany table in the center with 10 very basic dark wood chairs – 1 at each head and 4 on each long side. The smell of mahogany is a welcome change from the common air around town with all the newcomers.
After leading them inside the room, Tyrone closes the large wooden door.
TYRONE: I sense that you did not retrieve the Amulet. This is quite poor news indeed…
After spending some time speaking with Tyrone about the trials faced on their journey, Tyrone admits that it was a probably good that the opportunity to engage did not arise, as that may have ended even more tragically. He then says that he will get back to the Water Gardens now that the Greenblood flows once again. He adds that Mors still wants to discuss some details and he will be in shortly. Tyrone then opens the door and shuffles off.
Moments later, Mors enters the room and closes the door. At this point he asks about any details of the encounter and asks if there is anything else that might be important.
The group tells of Andrea, the riders, Jonah the Assassin, and about the blockage at the Scourge-Vaith conflux.
MORS: Friends, as promised, here is 200 gold each. As I mentioned before you left, you are welcome to the ship or you may sell it – or even keep it here at our docks at no charge if you wish.
I will cover all the costs associated with keeping it here. On to other matters. I wonder if you would be interested in another important task. I know Andrea is still out there and Tyrone believes this is the greatest threat, but now that the Greenblood flows, there is an opportunity raised by Nymeria’s landing.
As you know, we had to send our remaining troops to The Marches. I would ask – and would reward you of course (he looks at Burton) – for aid with a risky and critical matter that may shift the balance in all of Dorne.
Tholannan expresses his wish to chase down Andrea and retrieve the Amulet. The group collectively decides that if they retrieve this artifact, that they want Mors to keep it – not Tyrone. Mors hesitantly agrees to this – and promises on his word that he will abide.
MORS: One more thing. Once you intercept my troops and have them return to The Sandship, I ask that you take on a few covert operations along the Boneway and in a few other areas around Dorne.
However, if you get caught, I will deny any association with you and will label you outlaws from Essos. Nothing personal, but if this gets out, my Name will be destroyed and I will likely be sent to The Wall.
You continue to gain experience with this land and the workings of the world, and thus gain an additional 300XP each.
The grand total earned in Session XIII was 775XP, bringing your totals to 2250 out of 2700 needed for next level.