The Temple of Restenford

Though they have slain the bandit leader in Bald Hill, the area is still infested with bandits. Rose leads the Troupe back to the hill so they can clear the area of any remaining bandits, and find the supplies Almax and his family are missing.

5 Flamerule 1368

After a nights rest and some healing, we travel back to Bald Hill. It isn’t long before we find more orc bandits.

Fabio takes an arrow, but the orc is hit harder.

We discover that this orc was guarding a cave. Cautiously, we make our way inside.

Inside is another bandit, which Cat quickly takes care of. There are also some wagons here. These must have been moved here by the orcs.

Another orc is hiding within the cave, but Cat’s keen senses are able to hunt it down quickly.

One orc carried a scroll, this one containing a spell that can launch a freezing orb.

The second orc also had a scroll that could summon Acid Fog. These are powerful spells for us right now, so I store them in my scroll pouch rather than attempt to scribe them.

Deeper in the cave we find a stash of gold, as well as two gems.

On inspecting the gems we learn that they are pearls. They should fetch some good coin with a merchant.

We leave the cave and continue to explore Bald Hill. Rain starts to fall as a thunderstorm rolls over the plataeu. In the storm we come across a group of animated skeletons. A necromancer has passed through here, at the least.

We engage, and they don’t give us too much trouble.

But as we finish off the archers, more skeletons show up.

We get to work again. These things aren’t tough.

The do know how to flank us, though. These things are never ending.

Luckily their tactics don’t give them any real advantage.

As we destroy the last skeleton, an orc bandit sneaks up behind us.

Cat and Rose rush the bandit and end its life.

This orc had a powerful Scroll of Monster Summoning that can call forth wyverns.

Moving to the east toward the peak again, we encounter another bandit.

It dies quickly, but this one is backed up by a group of skeleton warriors and archers. Viconia turns some of the skeletons, forcing them to retreat.

The warriors that remain are quickly destroyed.

We chase down the archers next.

The orc, like most of the others, had another scroll with a powerful spell.

We loot the arrows and other equipment from the rest of the skeletons and move on. We encounter one of the skeletons Viconia turned, and Mur’Neth stops it from ever moving again.

We then encounter two wolves, only their fur is matted with blood, and some of their flesh appears to be rotting off their bones. I really hate necromancers.

Thankfully they turn out to be weaker than their living counterparts.

We climb to the peak of Bone Hill and face off against another group of skeletons.

After dealing with this group we encounter one more.

Once these are destroyed it feels like there are no more undead and no more bandits around. The only thing left of any interest is a house on the north-east of the hill.

We go inside and find a trapped chest. Mur’Neth has trouble trying to disarm the trap.

It’s nice to finally have some points in its Find Traps skill.

It can’t seem to work out the mechanism, so Cat goes to see if he can help. Unfortunately, Cat sets off the trap and is poisoned.

I rush over to heal my familiar before he dies.

Now that the trap is disable, we work on breaking the lock. Neither Mur’Neth or Cat can pick the lock, so we try to break it open with force. Unfortunately none of us are strong enough.

Mur’Neth has a Potion of Perception which should allow it to perform more intricate tasks. It drinks the potion and takes a look at the lock again. This time it manages to get the chest open.

Inside we find a small trove of treasures and weapons. There is 170 gold coins, and 4 water opals.

There is also an enchanted short sword…

A Scroll of Fireball…

30 enchanted arrows…

And four moonbar gems.

There is also another gem that we can’t identify – we’ll need to know what it is and how much it is worth before we sell it.

The sun has risen by the time we leave the house, and the hill seems clear of skeletons and bandits for now. We make our way back toward Sir Billybob’s Farm, encountering a single kobold on the way.

A little unusual for a kobold to be wandering around alone out here. We search the body for any indication as to why it is here, but find only an agni mani necklace.

There isn’t much else to do here, so we continue to the south.

After a few hours we reach the farm and talk to Sir Billybob again.

Aegon: Nothing really, just stopping by.

He’s busy tending to his fields so we leave him be. We go to Almax’s home to see if he needs an update.

Rose: A druid, eh? Do you have any spells or potions that we can purchase?

Almax: I do have a few items my family and I have crafted. I can also provide some healing if you need it.

We empty our Bag of Holding of all the equipment the orcs and skeletons were carrying, and Almax is happy to take it off our hands. While digging through the bag, we find an enchanted spear that we had forgotten about. I think we found this in the Cloud Peaks. Rose is good with spears and is taking point now, so she switches out her non-magical spear for this one.

We go inside Almax’s home to update Felwin on the supplies that we found.

Rose: We are looking for him, thanks. Could I ask you some questions?

Felwin: I suppose.

Rose: We are looking into some of the problems that are occurring here in Restenford. Is there anything you can tell us?

Felwin: I don’t know what all you are looking into, but some of our supplies haven’t arrived yet.

Rose: What do you mean?

Felwin: Amos and I make some of the healing potions that Almax sells. We have been waiting for some ingredients that haven’t arrived yet. The caravan of merchants that normally bring those ingredients is late. I haven’t heard anything to tell me why. Maybe that is something you can check into?

Rose: We fought some bandits near Bald Hill. I suspect they are the reason for your late deliveries. You may need to order more supplies. At least this time, the supplies should get through.

Felwin: Oh! That is terrible news. Those helpless merchants.

Rose: Can I ask you some more questions?

Felwin: I suppose.

Rose: Pelltar has asked us to look into some of the recent problems this town is having. Anything you can think of that may help us out?

Felwin: You should talk to Almax. He has lost contact with Martin out near Reddy Forest.

Rose: So?

Felwin: Martin is a young ranger who is assisting us in building a druid’s grove outside of town. Almax lost contact with him when all those gnolls started attacking the town. Maybe you can see if he is okay?

Rose: Okay, we will talk to Almax about it. Thanks. Can I ask you some other questions?

Felwin: I suppose.

Rose: No, I guess I have everything I can think of. Thank you.

Now that Felwin is up to date and the bandits are scattered about for now, it’s time for us to move on. The Reddy Forest is to the west if our map is correct, and that is where we need to go to find Martin. We make our way through to the west side of town, where we meet someone with some overdue advice.

Since we’ve already talked to him we see if anyone else has any useful rumours.

Maybe not. We approach a third person and they are a bit more conversational.

Rose: Your brother was right, we found an old cave system under that burnt guard house. It had some undead and hoards of rats.

Maybe Rose’s update on that situation will put his mind at ease. Then again, she did just tell him there are actual zombies in the town…

We approach a fisherman who is wandering around the town.

The rain has cleared up, so it’s probably a good time to set sail. Though I don’t know much about travelling across water.

To the west there is a house before a cliff. We knock on the door and are welcomed in by the occupant.

Rose: Hello Yalta. We are the party of Aegon. We are helping Pelltar with some problems plaguing Restenford.

Yalta: Ah, yes. We have our fair share of those. Is there something in particular you are interested in? Perhaps I can help.

Rose: I understand that bands of gnolls have been attacking the town?

Yalta sighs.

Yalta: Yes, this has been an on going problem for Restenford. Throughout the hills and wilderness around here, there are several clans of gnolls, orcs, goblins, and so forth.

Most of the time they leave us alone. Only during really cold winters do they make any attempt at attacking the town. It is always because of food shortages during the winter. The winters usually reduce their numbers, but they seem to breed like rabbits.

The latest attacks don’t follow their normal pattern. It isn’t winter, there should be plenty of food out there. So why are they bothering us? I think someone or something is organising them.

Rose: What makes you think that?

Yalta: The attacks are better planned. Now they are in groups and attack the wall at different spots during the raids so our guards are spread out trying to protect several areas. In the past, the gnolls would just throw themselves at the walls. Now they work with wolves to attack travellers or to hit any guards outside of the wall. Also, they are attacking during all hours of the day. In the past it was only at night.

Rose: We would be glad to check into this for you.

Rats and zombies in the south, orc bandits in the north, and a gnoll militia to the west. This town is under siege from all sides. Pelltar wasn’t exaggerating when he said there were troubles here.

To the south of Yalta’s home we find another guardhouse. The guards in here just repeat the usual speech about the laws of the town.

Further to the north there is a path leading up the cliff face. On the top we find a temple, an abbey dedicated to Phaulkon.

We go inside and talk to the priest at the altar.

Rose: Tell me about Phaulkon, if you could.

Almon: Phaulkon is the god of rangers and druids. His teachings are to care for the wilderness.

He also controls the weather. So you see, in Restenford, he is worshipped by all. The farmers, fishermen, and merchants alike are affected by his presence.

Rose: Could I see your services?

Almon: Of course, my sister… please come with me.

He provides the services typical of a temple – spells, potions, and identifying items.

We take a look around the temple, going down the stairs to the left of the main altar. Here we meet another of the priests that live here.

Rose: I would like to see your services.

Qualton: Of course, my sister. Please go see brother Almon, he is the curate here and he can help you. I’m a bit, um, preoccupied right now.

We leave him to his preoccupations, and Viconia decides to ask Xan about his outlook.

Xan: Ugh, must you speak to me, drow? Your presence here alone suggests our leader is a mad man, and that we’re all doomed. Do I have to suffer your prattle, as well?

Viconia: That doesn’t necessarily answer my question, though it does confirm my suspicions to a degree. I can imagine that such a fragile life always beneath the sun could get depressing.

Xan: Sentiments very similar to how I would hang myself for dismay at having to live my life crawling about in holes. But your current state doesn’t give you much room to needlessly harass your companions. That is, unless you find your own doom to be an inviting thing.

Viconia: Feh! Waela darthiir! You’ve made no attempt to conceal your disdain for me, and we would surely be at odds regardless of what I might say to you.

Xan: True. I can imagine your position could get quite depressing.

I know that elves and drow are supposed to hate each other, but I’ve never really felt it. I suppose being raised among mostly humans in the Keep has meant that I’ve missed out on certain parts of the Elvish experience. Elves passing through and teaching me about Corellon isn’t the same as a true Elven childhood…

There is another room on the opposite side, which happens to be empty. Cat and Mur’Neth start to check the room for traps. They give the all clear, but I have visions of the room filling up with flames. I stop Rose as she reaches down to a chest. Everyone agrees to trust my instincts and we leave before we set off any traps that may be here.

Outside the temple we find a side entrance leading to a library. Inside, we find a large number of acolytes, all offering the services of the temple.

The library has a second floor, and there are more acolytes all ready and willing to help if we need.

To the north of the temple is a graveyard. A couple of the graves here look fresh.

At the back of the graveyard are a couple of mausoleums.

We go inside to see if we can perform some light grave-robbing. Unfortunately both the tombs and the chests inside both a sealed tight, and we cannot open them.

The temple’s sister building, the Rectory, is also nearby. Inside there are more acolytes.

We descend the cliffs again and move west toward the wall. As we do so a storm starts to roll over the town again. I guess Phaulkon doesn’t want those sailors to leave just yet.

We find the gate that leads outside of Restenford. The guards remind us yet again of the rules as we leave.