Sessions 36 & 37 - Deserts and Bones
28th May & 30th July 2022
In-game timeline: DR1489 Eleint 24 - Eleint 25
Our "Heroes" recover from a battle with crystal skeletons. Having used Mahtis' super-smell as a dog to track the path taken by the dead halfling, she manages to lose the trail, which is, after all, some days old in the shifting sands of the desert. And so our "Heroes" wander aimlessly.
Before long, they discover something. Unfortunately it is more crystal skeletons. Let battle re-commence!
Somewhat more battered and bruised, especially Kandi, they emerge from that battle with some more red crystal hearts from the skeletons.
They press on, though without much of a plan. After another 300 yards or so they encounter even more crystal skeletons. This is starting to get a little repetitive.
Carro seems to favour his sharpshooter ability, TC switches between swishing his sword and using Eldritch Blast. Mahtis calls upon her entire range of abilities and spells, and Kandi likes to insult as much as possible, though intersperses with some bowshots and hands out Bardic Inspirations like candy (Kandi/candy - get it?!). Eventually they take these skeletons down.
Even more battered and bruised again, the party decide to rest for a short time. Then the planning REALLY begins.
Using the scrawled note which they think contain distances and directions, they draw a line on their imaginary map, on the assumption that the last direction ends at the beach. They hope that the end of that line will potentially contain a large rock. They are near to this point, so they head for it.
And meet more skeletons.
This time, the skeletons are jumbled together in a great mass of bones - these seem to be 'real' bones rather than crystal ones. The party does not have much time to ponder this difference, however.
This jumble of bones powers towards them. TC's force damage from his Eldritch Blast does not seem to be as powerful as against the crystal bones of the previous combatants, but still seems to be doing some damage. It takes a while, but by working together, the party manage to take out this Skeletal Juggernaut.
They are getting fed up with skeletons now. Out of game, the group needs a rest, so the session ends.
With players refreshed, they restart two out-of-game months later.
Scanning the area, they spot a large dune to the north of them, higher than most other dunes around them. They decide to clamber up this dune to get a better view of the land ahead. They spot the end of the small desert area to the north and, possibly more importantly, a large, reddish rock to the north at the edge of the dunes.
They decide to head straight for the rock. And face more skeletons.
This time, the skeletons are grouped together in two "swarms" of bones - not crystal, but regular bones. The party are now well-versed in battling skeletons, so they manage to eventually take care of the swarms.
Deciding to be a little more careful, and thoughtful, the party use their conceptual map of the area, they are able to plan backwards from this rock, using the directions on the piece of paper. Rather than head for the big rock, they move onto the path that they have plotted, and follow it southwards, ensuring they stick to the route sketched out, presumably by the dead halfling. They reach the end of the path without encountering any more skeletons. However, at the end of the path, they don’t find anything unusual. Carro looks around carefully and spots some halfling tracks around in this area, but nothing else.
It is starting to get dark, so they quickly follow the path back again, ending this time at the large rock as they emerge from the sandy desert. They see nothing moving around the rock, and night is falling, so they decide to head a short distance to the north west, where there seems to be a small wood, which will provide some shelter and cover for them to rest.
Not wanting to show their presence by lighting a fire, the party set up a cold camp as night falls. The elves share the watches overnight, whilst TC and Mahtis sleep. Nothing seems to disturb their rest, and they awake the next morning somewhat refreshed, though without a fire they didn't have a perfect night's sleep.
And it seems something DID encroach upon their camp overnight, as they awake to find their weapons missing. Except Kandi, who presumably was on watch when the theft happened. They all glare at Kandi.
Mahtis turns into a dog to try to track the culprits. She immediately spells the fragrance of cooking fish. They follow the smell and soon all can smell the pleasant aroma of breakfast. As they approach what seems to be a clearing, a deep voice booms out, for all to hear, with a jovial laugh,
"Heh, heh, heh. Ah, you're awake then. Come and join us!"