Episode 12 "Deadman Walking"

Session #28: 1/12/2020

6th of Portanium 2350 of the 5th Age

Recap

 * The session began as Vykissa Thokk first embraced her son and then scolded him for not warning them ahead of time that he planned to challenge Bugbearspine Dorgad, suggesting that perhaps they would have liked to have been present for the Kihivas.
 * Vykissa took the party aside to assess the state of Thokk's rule. She suggested that it would be wise to drive Gruumsh's church from the island, as the teachings of Gond stand in opposition to the Orcish god.
 * Thokk asked after his father and found him on his deathbed. Weakened after many years of illness and injury, he was just strong enough to learn from his son that he had been avenged. His final words were to tell Thokk "To be honorable, always."
 * The party partook in a celebration of Dragonstone's life, drinking with the Thokk family and the other members of the outcast community which included the remnants of the Circle of the Tree, a druidic community that had been decimated by Dorgad.
 * Thokk learned that his brother Raptorclaw had married an elvish druid named Nalia Leafwind.
 * The next morning, Thokk yearned for battle. The party decided to head out into the canyons and hunt down the rest of the dinosaurs that threatened the island.
 * Before leaving, the party instructed Skord and Rain to bring all of the outcasts to the Kingmaker so they could be transported back to Sarkenholm.
 * The party began methodically searching the Esik canyons for the beasts, following the tracks found by Zeevah and a scent found by Hermes.
 * Vendrin sent his familiar, Brynsmithe, into the air and saw that there was a large ship beached at an entrance to the canyons. The group decided to head that way.
 * The party realized that they were being watched from above and quickly engaged the spies, discovering them to be two huge yetis.
 * The party fought the yetis for several minutes, at some points finding themselves nearly killed by the magically powerful beasts. Ultimately though, the Good Samaritans won out.
 * After the fight, the bloodied party decided to take a rest. While most simply rested at the foot of the cliff, Kandra and Vendrin decided to investigate the cave deeper, finding that it sloped upward to an opening atop the canyon walls.
 * At the other mouth of the canyon, they discovered the fresh corpse of a dark-skinned human in colorful robes who wore intricate gold jewelry. They also found what appeared to be a shipping manifest, though it was in a language that neither of them spoke.
 * Vendrin and Kandra rejoined the party and Zeevah was able to read the scroll, realizing that it was in Chultish, and discovering that it was a shipping manifest that listed the dinosaurs they were after.
 * The party traveled the rest of the way to ship and found a single survivor, a strange man who introduced himself as the Merchant Prince Ar'Bilar. Ar'Bilar told the party that the ship had crashed in a storm after escaping from some ravenous pirates. The Dinosaurs were bound for Tik'Covir originally.
 * Ar'Bilar asked the party to escort him to safety in exchange for all the money he had on him. His only request was that they not open a chest which held a holy relic inside, claiming that to open it would be to desecrate the object.
 * The party agreed, taking the gold and the chest but decided they had to find the rest of the carnivorous dinosaurs.
 * Hermes was able to find a scent that would lead the party part of the way, but Venrin thought he could use some help, so he polymorphed Kandra into a Direwolf as well and they ran together.
 * The party found the end of the scent just under an hour later in the middle of an empty opening. However, they quickly found themselves surrounded by 10 fully grown Allosauruses.
 * The fight was brutal but quick. The party attacked with fury and slayed each of the dinosaurs in turn, defending the seemingly useless Ar'Bilar all the while.
 * After the fight, the party realized how late it was getting and decided to head back to the crashed merchant ship to stay the night.
 * Zeevah confided in Vendrin that all her life she had been hunted by someone. Vendrin decided it was high time they did something about that.
 * While their, Vendrin scryed on Skord to make sure the outcasts had made it safely back to the ship. He found that they had, but heard Skord and Greatforge remarking on a fleet of ships headed for Sarkenholm.
 * Vendrin decided that while he was at it, he would check in on Florence. He found her hurrying through the hallways of the Imperial citadel in Stormwind with her handmaiden and a knight. She hurried into her room and began packing. The knight told her that her boat was ready, and they made to leave but were intercepted. The knight was cut down, and Gideon Ireburn grabbed Florence, growling that she would marry him and the throne would be his.
 * Vendrin told the party what was happening and they decided to abandon their quest for the dinosaurs and rush back to Sarkenholm.
 * They quickly made it back to their ship and brought themselves around to the city, but were dismayed to find the harbor filled with ships flying Dorgad's colors.
 * Thokk told the party that he had to stay in Sarkenholm to lead his people, and though the party was saddened, they understood. They also decided they would stay in Sarkenholm long enough to see through the business with Dorgad's pirates.
 * Thokk used his mother's sending stone to contact his brother, Deadman, who he asked to return to Sarkenholm and accompany his friends. Deadman agreed, saying he would be more than happy to.
 * They were met at the dock by manmaster Jahruuk who apprised Thokk of his situation. Dorgad's right-hand man, an orcish pirate called Commodore Keelhaul Orn. If Thokk was to avoid war, he would have to either confront or convince Orn.
 * Incredibly, Thokk was able to win over Orn who had been prepared to take the Kingmaker hostage. Thokk suggested to Orn that they would guard the very merchant ships they once pillaged, and be free to pillage any pirate who strayed into their path. This would also allow them to expand their reach. Orn was pleasantly surprised by the shrewd new leader and agreed to his conditions.
 * Returning to the harbor, the party found the ships tearing Dorgad's colors from their masts.
 * Thokk accompanied the Good Samaritans to the dock, wishing them a warm farewell and promising to see them again soon.
 * Just as they made ready to leave, a fog rolled into the harbor. A ship with tattered black sails floated into port, manned by a crew of skeletons. OIf of this ship, The Tale Untold, walked a half-orc who resembled Thokk, but he wielded no weapons and was much slighter in size. He introduced himself as Deadman Thokk, their new party member.
 * Vendrin asked Thokk to have his new fleet spread the word of Zeevah's location, hoping to lure her attacker into the open.
 * As the party boarded the Kingmaker and set a course for Romalia, Vendrin used his message spell twice to convey the same message to both Florence and Ireburn: "I'm Coming"