Date: 5/6-13/1479 DR

TREASURE

Food = Kannarrs, Drinks = Travis

The Outsiders were hired to locate the Lost mines of Karak, but they found inconsistencies that made them suspicious of Bram Ironfell. Nonetheless, they set out to follow the 2 map halves. They travelled through the Rethild Swarmp and then through the Thornwastes. Along the way they met up with Mag Blackthorn, who agreed to lead them to Dunesend. They were also attacked by members of the Hammerfist Clan, rivals of Clan Ironfell who wanted to find the Karak Mines for themselves. They finally made their way to the village of Dunesend, only to find the people enslaved by a Demonic Gnoll and it’s Behir.

After dinner with Bram Ironfell the group returned to the House of Sleep for the night. Damaia and Galidion both had drinks before bed. Unbeknownst to the Netherese, he’d been asking too many questions about Kalaban’s family, so a potion was put into his drink to knock him unconscious for a few days. Before bed Searynox decided to do an Object Reading ritual on the two halves of the map they had received from the benefactor. As he performed the ritual on the half that Bram had given them, he saw:

• A great battle of dwarf against dwarf
• A bloody dwarf was crawling through the Thornwaste, carrying the map
• Sarshan locking the map piece up in a safe in a warehouse

On the second piece of the map, which they’d found in the trapped warehouse he saw:

• Dwarf fighting dwarf, almost in a psychotic frenzy
• Bram giving the map to Sarshan
• Sarshan hiding the map in the chest behind the trap

The Cleric came to the sudden realization that Bram Ironfell had held both pieces of the maps and wasn’t telling them the full story. He rushed over to Vylify’s room and filled him in. They would have told the others, but they were asleep. So they told them all about it over breakfast (except for the Swordmage who was still asleep in his room).

While Damaia and Elarinya did some last minute shopping in town, Vylify and Searynox went to visit Elder Stonefist. The aged Councilman was very happy to see them again, especially after their successess at the warehouse. He felt that their news was a little disturbing. The Council had always suspected that The Consortium was trying to usurp their power, but Master Ironfell had always spoken against them, standing up for the Council. Now it seemed that Bram was somehow consorting with Sarshan, but to what end, they didn’t know. They also told him how they’d been hired to search out the Karak Mines, so that if anything happened to them, their whereabouts would be known. Elder Morgoff thanked them for updates and promised to keep a close eye on Bram Ironfell, expecting some new coup was brewing. After their meeting, the Cleric and the Artificer did some last minute shopping as well.

Once the Group was absolutely certain that they were well supplied, Searynox conjured Spirit Steeds for them to ride. The Dragonborn had verified that Galidion wasn’t poisoned, just drugged and that it would wear off. So they tied him to a horse and set off out of Overlook.

Rinya led them Northward, skirting the Rethild swamp as best as she could, staying close to the edge of the Eastwall Mountains. They travelled for a couple of days, finding decent campsites every night. The group worked well together caring for their unconscious comrade. The Eladrin expressed a desire to try to make more potions for the group, so the Ranger agreed to help him hunt herbs every night to this end, so that soon became a nightly venture while Rinya was foraging for food and water for the group.

On the third day, they crossed over from the swamp into the Thornwastes, where ridges of knife-edged stone spread as far as the eye could see, interspersed with heavy growths of twisted brambles. Investigation of these reveal that their thorns are iron-sharp, capable of drawing blood even through the thickest clothing. No trail or tracks lead into the wasteland ahead. The skills of the Ranger are further challenged as she leads the group northward through the best paths that she could find. That night, Galidion awoke, groggy and wondering where they were. He couldn’t remember anything after order the drink before bed. While they were camping that night, Vylify thought he could sense someone watching them, but neither he nor his homonculus, Obi, could find anything.

The next day as they were making their way through the wastes, Rinya also sensed that someone was watching them. As they took a brief rest, slipping through the brush and brambles was a human male in a tattered black coat and leggings. A battered, wide-brimmed hat shrouds his face, his boots held together with coarse twine. He carried a spear in one hand, a leather-bound book in the other. He told them that his name was Mag Blackthorn, that he’s a ranger around these parts. The group doesn’t feel threatened by him at all and were actually amenable towards him (there was no “stabbing” involved) so he offered to guide them through the Thornwastes to Dunesend. Along they way they questioned him and found out that he lived in the wastes and protected them, keeping the satyrs at bay. As they talked to him, he let it slip that he serves his master, the Ghostlord. Vylify and Damaia recognized that name from history as a Druidic Lich who protected the Thornwastes, but who hadn’t caused trouble for years, so the PC’s were grateful for their guide and let this bit of knowledge slip. With Mag guiding them, the going was much easier.

On the fifth day of travel, both Rangers sensed that something was wrong up ahead. The group aproached a small ravine carefully. Suddenly the group was ambushed by a group of Dwarves wearing the Hammerfist crest. After they’d been defeated, they found a journal on one of the bodies. It spoke of the rivalry between Clan Ironfist and Clan Hammerfist. Somehow this other clan learned that a secret path to the “Karak Lode” had been found and they were sent to acquire the map. Galidion began to wonder if there was a way that they could use their information to sell the location of Karak to the highest bidder…

The next two days of travel passed without incident. On the evening of the seventh day, the Thornwaste began to thin out the desert spread on the horizon. Mag told the group that this was where he would leave them, and then disappeared back into the brambles. The group warily approached the village before them.

There wasn’t much to Dunesend. It seemed like it had once been a far greater settlement. The ancient serpentine wall at the edge of the desert was proof that the Ancient Serpent Kingdom really had spead here thousands of years before. A lone tower of dwarf design was still standing, but was the only stone building amidst a bunch of wooden huts. From the edge of the wastes, the group followed the sound of noise. As they drew closer to the well at the center of the village, they realized that the noise came from a Demonic Gnoll threatening a young man. Behind the gnoll loomed a Behir, looking hungrily at the villagers standing around the scene, who were giving it wide birth. The Gnoll then announced that the man would have to die as an example and killed him before anyone could react. The PC’s flew into action, engaging the Gnoll and it’s Behir. Once combat had begun, the villagers ran for their lives and Satyrs attacked from hiding. Searynox had the unpleasant task of fighting the huge Behir and soon found himself being crunched like a chew toy, until Galidion could get the beast to spit him back out. It was a long fight, ranging all over the central square, but finally the PC’s were victorious. Once the demonic Gnoll and the Behir fell, a man rushed back to the body of the dead young man, cradling him in arms and weeping.