Session 4 Recap - 28 Jun 2025

Principal Characters

• Moby - mallard thief
• Grim aka Wolfshadow Durian Grimjaw - wolfkin fighter
• Sorilea Stormhand - human elementalist
• Ariana Graycape - elf animist
• Arasin the All-knowing - elf scholar
• Munin Sexy Urd Stormhammer - dwarf artisan
• Golden aka Garmander Griffinclaw - human knight

Chapter 4: Return to Outskirt

After their escape from the haunted depths of Riddermound, the party received troubling news from Grub. The goblins and orcs of the valley are not merely roaming aimlessly; they are searching for fragments of a key said to unlock a weapon capable of utterly destroying the demon Sathmog.

Even their chief, Maladuk, hunts for the pieces—not to unleash the demon, but to stop it, for even the orcs fear Sathmog’s return. Grub urged the party to seek Maladuk near the Kummer Mountains to the southwest, suggesting that their efforts might be joined for the sake of the valley.

With this knowledge, the adventurers turned back toward Outskirt Village. Their path was not easy: they became lost in the wilds and realised their supplies were insufficient. Food, cloaks, and other survival gear would be essential before venturing further.

Then came a grim omen—rain began to fall, but the droplets were not water, but blood. Evil was stirring.

Moments later, cultists ambushed them, demanding their fragments of the key. The battle turned when Alfilia Shadowleaf, a Dragon Knight of the Keepers of the Eternal Flame, arrived in pursuit of the cultists. With her aid, the attackers were slain, save for one survivor.

Under interrogation, the cultist revealed that their orders came through secret messages hidden around Outskirt—beneath rocks, near houses, and by the gates. Before more could be gleaned, Alfilia crushed the cultist’s skull, ending his usefulness but proving her conviction.

She introduced herself formally, explaining that her order serves the dragon emperor Eledain and seeks to prevent Sathmog’s return. The cultists, she warned, are after the Sword Um-Durman, a weapon that could secure the demon’s resurgence.

When the company returned to Outskirt, Captain Hardy welcomed Alfilia warmly. He repeated to the party the old tale of Riddermound: how a dark knight was buried alive there with his kin, cursed by the gods when the world was young. The adventurers knew the truth, having just emerged from that place, but kept their counsel.

The group scattered about the village. Munin sought Dranath’s tutelage and, after donating six gold pieces, mastered the spell Lightning Flash. Dranath hinted at greater opportunities for coin and knowledge in Bothild’s Lode, the legendary dwarven mine in the Kummer Mountains. Though abandoned, it is said to still hold mountains of gold and gems, as well as horrors unleashed long ago by Bothild the Vile.

Meanwhile, Grim came upon a grisly sight in the street: a bat carcass on the ground, pinned by a crossbow bolt, a tiny scroll tied to its leg.

The message, once deciphered by Arasin, read: “Newcomers in Outskirt, purpose unclear, keeping an eye on them. All might to Sathmog, our three-tongued liberator.”

Captain Hardy himself had shot the bat from the sky, though Grim—perhaps too cautious—told him he had seen nothing. He regretted the choice almost immediately.

That evening, the party gathered at the Three Stags Tavern, where Vagnhild the innkeeper served them stew.

Another adventuring band entered—a weary human thief, a wolfkin warrior, and a mallard wizard. They spoke of seeking the Troll’s Spire, a silver tower visible only beneath the full moon, rumoured to house an ancient alchemist who brewed an elixir of eternal life after angering the dragon emperor. Grim dismissed the tale as pointless babble and left them to their weariness.

At the same tavern, Annabella the serving girl inquired whether the party had found a key fragment in Riddermound. When they denied it, she hid her disappointment with a smile and offered another rumor. A farm boy named Roric had been taken, his tracks leading into the Iron Forest and the Oracle Cave. The Oracle is said to be ancient and all-knowing, seated on immense wealth—but at times demands human sacrifice. Annabella feared that Roric’s fate was already sealed.

There ended the session, with the party holding several threads of fate before them: the orc chief Maladuk in the Kummer Mountains, the gold and horrors of Bothild’s Lode, the mysterious Troll’s Spire, and the dire Oracle Cave.