TGAPP: Since Last Time

Hello Readers! I’m back to give a player’s recounting of the events the Inglorious Ingrates have faced since last time I have posted. Not all has been quiet since the fall of War and his forces near Red Fern, but rather the next chapter has begun to flesh out the interwoven storylines of our heros and where they will go next. This will primarily hitting up high points the party have encountered, so my notes may be a little shorthand as to what really happened.

With the defeat of War consequently causing his forces to become nothing more than a unorganized mob, the Ingrates and the forces of the Kingdom of Endyr were able to vanquish the rest of the followers and declare victory at last! There was much celebration and rewards were handed out like candy to the Ingrates for the pivotal role in bringing War down. However, unnerving reports shortly began to circulate in the capital of Red Fern of the true costs of war had wrought on the people of this kingdom. Tales of rampant famine, civil unrest, and troublesome raiding were taking a toll on the common folk who bore the brunt of the losses in the battle with War, and the Ingrates suspected the remaining horseman of Famine, Pestilence, and Death and their lieutenants were behind these most recent troubles. Seeking to restore a sense of order and security from the King of Endyr, the Ingrates were hired to escort a caravan containing supplies for several towns hemorrhaging for food and miscellaneous supplies, and our party soon set out for the closests town of Ryhb.

It did not take long for the rumored troubles to face the party head long, for only a few hours into the trip to Ryhb a group of raiders attacked the caravan. The party was clearly outmatched by figures resembling Tabaxi, yet a keen eyed revealed them not to be true feline humanoids. Before the party could gather more information, the raiders magically vanished into the darks of the plains surrounding the caravan, and they left the wounded party members with hesitation as to what the rest of their journey had in store for them. With a spring in their steed’s steps, the caravan was finally able to make it to the decent-sized city of Rybh (a medium sized town of about 5000 people who relied on shipping and fishing for income) along the western coast of Endyr. The Ingrates pulled the wagons into the gates of the town, and were expecting a night of full rest to recover their thoughts. Fate had other plans for our heroes for as soon as the gate was shut, the air became charged with a hostile energy as the guards sought to take Dacryia and Avery away to face trial for being of nobility, responsible for the town’s hardships. This turn of events did not bode well for the guards, for they were quickly dispatched by the Ingrates. The situation further evolved when a mob led by a disheveled man called King Randal came to parley with the group, and the party soon discovered the recent events that had led to this town’s new governance. The arcane members of the party used their magical deduction and investigations skills matched with expert negotiation skills to convince King Randal and the people of Rybh their woes were the direct effect of recent magical stones that had rained all over the kingdom after the passing of War, and to fix the problems they would need to gather those stones scattered throughout the nearby region and destroy them. In exchange for this information and the food from the caravan, the Ingrates requisitioned a ship to travel to their next destination which was the town of Borest.

The party sailed the burrowed galleon filled with food supplies to a beach close to the town of Borest, and discovered the town was plagued again by goblins blockading and bullying the folk. The difference this time facing the heroes was that a creature described as a Nilbog was leading the goblin hoards, and quickly made his presence known by assaulting the Ingrates with his hobgoblin and bugbear bullies. The luck of the Ingrates held out as they were able to vanquish the gang of goblinoids, and townsfolk of Borest revealed that the forces typically originated from the uncharted forest north of the village. Seeking to once again free the people from the strong arm of the Nilbog, the heroes traveled into the forest, and they found an abandoned fortress purposely built into a cliffside. Not seeking to fall into any likely trap laid in preparation by the goblin forces, the Ingrates identified and entered a well hidden entrance at the side of the cliff that appeared to lead towards the fortress. Inside, the companions discovered that this place was a home to the mythical and long forgotten dwarven people, but most surprising of all was that many dwarves had recently been killed in a great struggle for the fortress. A myriad of finely crafted dwarven items and iconography pointed to the evident worship of Falinora by the dwarves, and stranger still was the implications of the goblin forces taking over such a well defended location. The investigation of the area finally led the party to Nilbog who had prepared a deadly welcome, but caution and luck enabled the Ingrates to escape with no bodily harm while inflicting chaos and losses on the goblinoid forces.