First they were going to need information though. Halthor knew better than to just blindly do the ambiguous bidding of a cloaked group of men, so he figured it would be important to try and ask for rumors and information about the site. With that said, the party didn't ask anyone in Dolonia for more information.
Oops.
Rather, they figured if they were to travel south, the ruins would be near Filakopa, so the party, currently comprised of Matthias, Bodhi, Turni, Randon, Ursan, Halthor, and their newest recruit, an agreeable local named Joe, would travel there instead. Turns out the ruins are only seven hours away from where Dolonia. In fact, if they had kept their eye out when traveling, they may have already known that.
Double oops.
Not wanting to turn their departure into a waste of time, the CeeCees decided to set up camp near the tower, scout the location, and then depending on what they saw, return to Dolonia for furthur information. Unfortunately this plan was interrupted as the party was ambushed in the middle of the night. A group of bandits had arrived demanding the party give them their money or their life, and they had a lot of archers to try and ensure the latter happened upon refusal. Halthor wasn't going to be dealing with this many people, so as this group was harassing the party, he was quietly fishing out the red orb from his sack to use on them. As he was doing so, the bandits began firing upon the party, and sending their front liners into melee. Randon buried several of their men in a rain of snakes, but their arrows still found themselves in Ursan, as he collapsed to the ground and died. Between their fighting, Halthor was shot multiple times, but he mostly just ignored them as their arrows barely grazed against his armor. That was until he was somehow SHOT IN THE BACK. Shit hurt, but he continued to ignore them until finally pulling out the red orb.
"This is gonna be a great idea," he thought to himself as he approached within range to crack the orb and activate the spell.
"A truly fool proof plan indeed," he thought as he was punctured with more arrows and then collapsed on the ground, still alive, but in horrible agony whilst coughing up blood.
But it actually wasn't a bad idea on paper. The archer he used the orb on was quickly possessed and killed another nearby archer, and after he was killed by his men, a spear men who attacked him was possessed afterwards. With the influence of the red orb keeping the enemies fighting each other, the party was able to edge out a victory against the men...and then Randon got possessed after killing the last man who was possessed. Now, the biggest problem with this was the fact that Randon had a ray gun, and based on the weak constitution of most of the people there at the time, Randon could have unintentionally killed most of the companions in one blast. Thankfully Bodhi was able to tackle Randon, and though he was shot in the chest, he managed to survive, and subdue him as the effects of the mist eventually wore off.
The party wasn't looking too after this single encounter that wasn't even a day's travel from Dolonia, so the next day they traveled through the blistering cold back to town to lick their wounds over the next few days.
Everything involving the tower was an embarrassing failure, so they decided to leave that foe now, and try to do more scouting for something else that had peaked their interest, the Palace of Arekasadra in Saliagos village. Apparently the location was filled with treasures so notorious that it draws people to the location, so the men figured they would set out to find a path to this palace for the future. It was a treacherous journey through the forest, and into the mountains that led to an encounter with a group of massive ravens who had invaded their campsite. Thankfully Randon was able to keep the birds placated with fish from the barrel they were carrying. Quick thinking kept the party safe for the time being, and they were even able to find a sword along the way, which Randon gratefully equipped, and after a few days, they were able to successfully forge a path to the palace.
Now to just return to Dolonia.
Thankfully their return was without conflict. No monsters, or hungry ravens to trifle them. As they went through the forest to try and return to Dolonia hoever, they came across a familiar man, or rather, a man familiar to Halthor. It was the priest he had talked to, who, despite telling him to try and find a way to aquire a prisoner, or to literally get a warband to fight Likas, was somehow surprised that neither of these tasks were within a week. On top of that he somehow heard of the task Halthor was given to murder the guards in the tower, which he did not approve of. Halthor explained that he never went to the tower, and wasn't going to harm anyone until he had more information, which was true. He had to tell a few half truths here and there when interrogated for why he was traveling in the direction of the tower, but Halthor stood firm in the belief that he had done no wrong. The priest however, did not care in the slightest for his words, and revoked his offer to Halthor, claiming that he is not a holy man. Litte does he know however, that Halthor isn't just holy. He's a part of a holy FUCKING trinity, so he's just going to help him anyways because fuck that guy.
For now however, they have a palace to explore.
Session 30 Downtime Events
Upon his return to Dolonia, Halthor sought out information about the Knossian tribe. He learned that they lived amid the woods in the northwestern reaches of the Dolonia Island. He learned that after a few Dolonian warriors attempted to steal away a maiden the tribe barred it’s gates to any outsiders.
Joe sought to find companions to join him in his expeditions but was unable to find any who would join him. While he searched, he was ambushed by a group of 5 men who sought to rob him. When he would not give up his possessions they began to beat him senseless. Fortunately, the assault was seen by Matthias who ran one of the men through with his sword. The four remaining men retreated swearing venegance upon them.
Randon, Turni, and Bodhi sought to gain rumors while they stayed in Dolonia.
Rumors gained during downtime:
1) Buried within the Palace of Arekasadra, are the spoils of the war into the lands of ivory and spice.
2) Tomb-raiders from across the seas have gathered to loot the Palace of the Arekasadra.
3) Many who venture into the Palace of Arekasadra never come back.
4) Deep in the Palace of Arekasadra is a massive forest where unicorns are said to live.
5) A terrible beast who slaughtered a third of Arekasadra’s army was captured and buried within.
6) Aekis herself guards the treasures of Arekasadra and would bring doom to thieves bold enough to enter.
7) Six armed giants patrol the Palace of Arekasadra and feast upon man-flesh.
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