C1E14: Quarry, Lost and Found

A Complicated Relationship The full moon finally arrives, and Phelan, alone, spends some time doing some solid emo monologuing [https://aedificium-arcanum.com/a-complicated-relationship/] before a horrific and painful transformation into his hybrid werewolf form. Ferric, in noble clerical fashion, tracks him down and distracts him both prove him wrong about feeling abandoned and to keep him from hurting random people who might be around.

The two circle for several hours of lure, distract, fight, parry, and chase before Phelan finally manages to get his monstrous impulses under control. That means there's a big PvP fight! Much sound and fury signifying very little, other than two big furry beasties in a cage fight. And, you know, Ferric contracting lycanthropy. But apparently, that's NBD.

Exhausted, Phelan and Ferric have a brief conversation in which Ferric tells him that they are not leaving him behind, whether he likes it or not. Touched, but unsure how to respond, Phelan shifts to wolf form where he has an excuse not to talk. The two of them pass out, exhausted, in a fuzzy grey pile in the clearing where their battle began.

The Threw Pasage Ferric and Phelan don't return until past dawn, and they both look awful. Despite taking little damage, the sheer length of the conflict took a heavy toll on them.

Continuing to follow the trail, a few hours further down the road the FGC finds a small building with a tidy paddock behind it that looks very newly, if slightly haphazardly, built. The building bears a crudely written sign reading The Threw Pasage.

Ducking inside, the FGC finds a tidy general store. There’s a loft area above what appears to be a makeshift storefront combined with a living area. Behind is a paddock with a small barn, managed by a very large orc who introduces himself as Thar Thunderhand. Thar sells basic adventuring supplies, and he is a budding herbalist and naturalist.

> Thar is huge, with a sleeveless tunic that shows off his full sleeve tattoos and his “dad bod.” He wears a septum piercing that’s circular and probably bone, a single, battered silver ring, and a large leather apron. His hair is in a braid tight to his head, shaved off close at the sides. His face is fierce, but his eyes are gentle. It is a bit difficult to judge his age. Thar constantly has to manage his young daughter, Tawar, a snaggletoothed orcling with bristly pufflike pigtails. She is just learning to talk, and has a beautiful opal ring (which she loves to stick in her mouth). A beleaguered Thar tells the party that it was a gift from the princess – after an ill-advised attempt from Suraka [that's Suria + Khoraka, y'all, because I'm so funny] to demand it's return, resulting in an awkwardly embarrassing moment accompanied by orcling tears.

Thar tells the party that the lady and her guide had stabled their horses here while they ventured into the eastern side of the swamp, and had stayed with him overnight the night prior on their way back out. They set out only a few hours ago.

While the party shops, Sable and Thar discuss recent events here in the Marrow Valley. In the last few days, there have been reports of a Kryn incursion in Felderwin, which is only a short way southeast of Zadash. It's the furthest in to the empire the enemy has ever traveled, and the breadbasket of the empire. The locals are understandably on edge. The Kryn came from underground, and rumors are spreading like wildfire of giant purple worms with mouths full of teeth exploding from beneath the placid fields.

Thar and Tawar had just recently moved here from the eastern edges of the empire; his partner Vanchu fought with the Righteous Brand and fell at the battle for the Ashguard Garrison. After her death, he settled here with his daughter to try to give her a more stable life. But there's no stability in wartime, and he fears they may need to move again.

Gold and alchemical trade secrets swap hands. The FGC sets out again after the princess, now concerned that the lead will become insurmountable. Sable offers to race back to Barelben and procure the party's mounts and then meet them on The Amber Road. Feeling the pressure of time, they agree and part ways.

Quarry, Lost and Found Erash takes to the air while the others race back towards the main road. Ferric and Phelan begin to fall behind, their exhausted state coupled with the fast pace becoming to much to handle and slowing them down. They stop to rest to try to recoup while the others speed onward.

Well out in front, Erash scans the road from the skies. He does indeed see a group on horseback, but it's larger than the party of two he is looking for. On examination, there are four horses and four riders, but two cloaked figures ride together leaving a single horse riderless.

Looking down the road towards Zadash, Erash spots dark carrion birds making lazy circles in the sky. Streaking towards them, he finds the tangled, lifeless body of a young man in the same grey and green attire that Sable favors. He quickly realizes that the party he saw heading back to the north must have the princess as their hostage.

Deciding it is a time for action, Erash attempts to intercept the party, first with words, and then with a fireball.

The ensuing mushroom cloud causes his friends to pick up their pace. A fierce battle ensues, and something ... happens... which causes the mysterious brand that Erash first experienced in the dragon temple to flare (literally) back into existence.

Erash retreats and regroups with his friends, and the bandits do the same. The fighting is intense, as the leader has military training, and refuses to be cowed by Khoraka, instead calling him "spawn of Asmodeus" and redoubling his efforts.

Ultimately the FGC wins the day. Khoraka speaks with the now-dead army deserter and learns his plan: to take the princess hostage in an attempt to force the empire to bring his men home and end this terrible war, so they could all go home to their families.

The princess comes out from under the spell that was keeping her held, Ferric and Phelan eventually catch up with the group, and as the dust settles, they consider what to do next.

Read the Quote Napkin [https://aedificium-arcanum.com/quarry-lost-and-found-quotes/]