Table top synopsis, in parts
Part I.
Slowly, gradually, the sounds of a summer’s late morning return to the grassy clearing—-grasshoppers' whirring, song sparrows' calls, the cry of a far-off loon, the irritated chirruping of a Douglas squirrel on a nearby pine. These homey sounds are punctuated by the harsh breathing of the survivors of the battle in the clearing, and the death rattles of those who were not so fortunate. Orc bodies, ogre bodies, and the bodies of the fallen blink dogs litter the open grassy space that surrounds the ancient, mossy stone structure standing in the middle of the clearing.
Garryn wipes the sweat from his brow, forgetting that his rapier hand is covered with ogre blood from wielding his weapon. Forehead smeared with a mixture of sweat and gore, the rogue reflects on the road that led them to this clearing.
The journey back to Borderton was both necessary and unfortunate. The encounter with the gnolls had gone badly—very badly. Both Villhalas and his half-brother Totmacher had been brutally killed, and the rest of the party had suffered grievous wounds. The retreat from the site of the caravan massacre had been a critical necessity.
Along the way, Garryn had sighted a lone rider in the distance, to the rogue’s dismay. Another hostile encounter would likely prove fatal to the rest of the party, and the rogue was worried—-worried all the way to the gates of Borderton. Fortune favored the party, however, and the presence of a lone rider did not result in another battle.
Once inside the gates of the frontier town, the party sought out divine aid as well as more mundane accommodations at the Sparrow and Briar inn. The bodies of Totmacher and Villhalas were arranged in simple state within the Mithran shrine to Mairya-canha, and the party retired to the inn.
Once within the comforting confines of the Sparrow and Briar, the surviving party members ordered drinks and began to relax. A strange dwarf approached Garryn and Caylin as they stood at the bar, and engaged them in an odd conversation. The opening topic concerned the party’s recent forays into the Central Wilds—-the dwarf seemed to have some knowledge of the party’s adventures in that untamed region. Soon enough, the strange dwarf—-one Gilrak Kilring by name—-came to an offer. Apparently and for his own reasons, the dwarf was in search of the same brigands that had ambushed the caravan. Gilrak offered to join the party, and the companions agreed to consider his offer.
The following day, Pater Erik, a Mithran priest of the sect of Cautes and a recent arrival in Borderton, was contacted by Perrato and the local clerics. Pater Erik agreed to the Blessed Ceremony of the Reintegration of Soul and Corpus—-but only on Totmacher, as the party lacked funds for raising both of the half-brothers. The ceremony was arranged for the next day, while the party went about re-equipping themselves. Following another supper at the Sparrow and Briar—-and an agreement to accept the dwarf Gilrak as a traveling companion-—the party retired to sleep and prepare themselves for the dawn ceremony to bring Totmacher back to life.
The next day, the party arrived at the small Mithran shrine, meeting with Pater Erik to begin the Blessed Ceremony of the Reintegration of Soul and Corpus. The ceremony took some time, but was successfully completed. Totmacher was brought back from beyond, albeit in a weakened and semi-conscious state. Perrato applied his healing arts and magic, bringing the barbarian back to full strength. As thanks, the half-orc removed the severed head of his half-brother, tucked it into a sack, and simply left—-leaving the rest of the party scrambling to explain or excuse this sacrilege to the Mithran clerics. Only the presence of Perrato calmed the brothers, but the party was required to remove the now-desecrated body of Villhalas from the shrine. They did so, taking the headless corpse to the burial grounds outside of town, and interring the body in a shallow grave. Totmacher did not help in the burial process. Along the way and as planned, they met with Gilrak, and the dwarf joined the party.
The party, already outside of town, elected to leave on their journey back to the site of the caravan massacre. The day was quite warm and pleasant for those who did not travel in metal armor, and somewhat less pleasant for those who did. Nonetheless, mounted and ready, the trek to return to the Wilds began.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:11, Fri 07 Oct 2005.