//------------------------------// // Session 02: Traveling Companions // Story: Adventures in Valatorium // by X3n0heart //------------------------------// "That'll be $42.75," the clerk behind the counter said. Sunset handed him her card and waited for him to return it with the receipt. Giving him a slight smile she grabbed the plastic bag and headed out the door. It is a really nice day out as Sunset headed down the street back towards her apartment. She gave herself a slight giggle as her thoughts turned to tonight's adventure. Excited for the game, Sunset stepped into her favorite cafe and stepped up to the counter. There is one other in front of her but they were finishing up their order allowing her to place her's "Hey Sunset!" The girl at the register called to her. "Hiya, Lyra. How's it going today?" Sunset replied with a smile. "It's a bit slow today but alright. The usual?" "Yes, please. Could you add some extra whipped cream?" "Sure, no problem!" Lyra smiled back as Sunset paid her then stepped to the side waiting for her coffee. It only took a few moments that she had to wait before receiving her hot cup of coffee with extra whipped cream of course. Waving a good bye to Lyra, Sunset stepped back out into the warm sunlight as she continued her trek back home. There were still a few hours left before her friends would arrive but Sunset already had everything set up as she walked into her apartment. Setting the bag down on the table, along with her coffee, Sunset double checked her information for tonight's game, making sure she had it all covered for her players. As her friends started to arrive she greeted them with smiles and hugs as they took their seats, each one seemingly just as excited to play as Sunset is to DM. Applejack brought a home made apple pie, Fluttershy made some sandwiches for them, while Pinkie had a whole bag of randomly assorted candies. Once the girls were all set, each with their food or drinks, Sunset started the session. "Before we start I got something for each of you," Sunset said as she brought forward a plastic bag. Reaching into it she pulled out a small figure still in it's box. She handed each girl their own before explaining. "I was able to find miniatures of all your characters," she smiled to them as they opened the boxes taking a closer look at them. "They will represent each one of you as we play." The girls all thanked her and placed them on the table as Sunset reminded them where they last left off. "So we last left off as Roxanna, Lady Lavanya, Thandra, and Lohen made their way through The Sanguine Forest with Lohen's guidance. As they approached the small town of Breeze, sounds of battle could be heard as the party rushed towards the town. Some of the buildings were on fire as the people fled all around them. They spotted a wizard protecting some of the locals as another caster was blasting down upon a barrier she had up. Roxanna," Sunset pointed to Applejack, "rushed to the wizard's aid letting her and the locals she was protecting run to safety as she recognized the other caster as Rystion the Mad. He suddenly vanished as the party helped put the fires out and gathered more information as they met Jeana Sparks, the wizard, and a bard named Aresim who just seemed to pop out of no where." Sunset nodded to both Pinkie and Twilight as she continued, "You all now find yourself in a make shift tavern for the actual one was on fire, collapsing under it's own weight. You were all served some food and drink from whatever the locals could scavenge up. Sitting in front of you is the elder of Breeze. An older gentleman with small glasses resting on his nose, a graying beard with matching short hair." "Thank you for saving our small village," the elder said in a tired voice. "I know it's not much but please accept this as a token of our appreciation." He reached into his robes and pulled out a small bag and held it out to the party. Being quick, as well as the closest to him, Thandra snatched it from him and jingled it hearing the familiar sound of coins clinking together. "I guess it'll have to do," Thandra commented. "I want to open it and see how much is in there," Rainbow said looking to Sunset. "Okay make a Dexterity check." "Natural twenty!" Rainbow called out as the rest of the girls around the table cheered. "Okay then," Sunset smiled as she went on, "as you opened the coin purse you could see a handful of platinum coins in there. As if having a sixth sense you immediately tossed the purse away from the group as it suddenly explodes filling the room with a bright light. You managed to save the party from any damage but as your vision clears you all find yourselves in the middle of a forest." "Is everyone alright? Anyone hurt?" Lady Lavanya asked as she looked at her companions. "All that money..." Thandra frowned slightly. "Forget about the money, what just happened? Where are we?" Roxanna called out as she took a look at their surroundings. "These trees are not familiar to me," Lohen said as she inspected the plant life around her. "Give me a Nature roll, Lohen." "I got a twenty." "The plants look the same but you can definitely tell they aren't the same nor do they have the same smell as you are used to. As you guys continue to look around you noticed that the area you are in has mostly been undisturbed. There is no path you can see and the forest does not seem to respond to you, Lohen." "I'm not sure where we are. It all looks the same but it's not," Lohen explains as she continues to inspect the trees. "Well I like it here. It's quite peaceful," Aresim said with a giggle as she skipped around the area, playing a few chords on her lute. "I'm not sensing any magical presence around us," Jeana informed them as arcane magic flowed about her. "Where ever we are its real. I'm just not sure exactly where we are." "Well what ever the case is, I'm just glad everyone is safe," Lady Lavanya chipped in as she walked back over to her friend Roxanna. "Aye, thank Bahamut, for that," Roxanna agreed then added, "perhaps it's best that we move on and see if we can find a way out of this forest." "As you guys continue to travel through the trees and bushes you find your footing pretty easily even though there is no path to walk upon. The forest is relatively quiet as small beams of light shower down from up above through breaks in the canopy. About an hour of traversing the trees suddenly end and you now find yourselves staring out into an endless plain of rolling hills. A slight gust of wind suddenly crops up and the stench of burnt flesh and fresh ash accompanies it." "What's that awful smell?" Lady Lavanya held a hand to her nose as she pulled a face. "Smells like somebody cooked their dinner for to long," Aresim said as she smiled to Lady Lavanya. "It's coming from over there," she pointed towards the East where a small hill rose before them. "I could go check it out real quick," Thandra offered as the group agreed that would be probably the best course of action for the time being. "Give me a Stealth roll," Sunset told her. Rainbow rolled her die as she looked at the stat, "Eleven." "As you feel hidden you slowly move up the nearby hill and upon reaching the crest of it the smell is almost unbearable to the senses. Give me a Con save." "Another natural twenty!" Rainbow cheered with a big grin. "Way to go, sugar cube!" "You're awesome, Dashie!" "Good job!" As the girls commented on her roll Sunset explained what happened. "Even though the stench assaults your smell and vision you shrug it off, holding back the vomit that wants to come up. Looking over the top of the hill you see a large fire pit which what looks like it held a pretty big bonfire which has now been reduced to embers. Around the pit you see a small group of kobolds who seem to be gnawing on some bones and chattering among themselves." "Is the smell coming from the fire pit?" Rainbow asked. "Yes. It looks like there were a few bodies which look badly burned. One of them is fairly large while the others seem to be about average." "Okay, I head back to the group and tell them what I saw." "Well that doesn't look good," Thandra said as she reached the others. She went on to explain all that she saw. "So, what do you wanna do? I mean it's really none of our business but I'll continue along with you guys till we figure out where we are." "Perhaps it would be best not to involve ourselves in this strange land. Let us head in that direction," Roxanna pointed to the North as she continued, "and see if we can find a vantage point where we can get a better look of the area." They all agreed with her decision as they turn away from the awful smell and headed Northward. "After traversing the rolling hills for what seems to be about an hour or so you notice that the day light has been dropping very rapidly. Almost unusually fast as you stop to watch the sun set behind the horizon. What would take about an hour's time for the sun to travel it seemed to move within minutes." Sunset explained as she looked around the table. "Do you stop and make camp or carry on through the night?" The girls looked to each other for a few moments and decided to make camp for the night. "Alright who's going to take first watch?" Sunset asked them. "Oh! Me, me!" Pinkie said as she waved her hand in the air. "I'll join 'er," Applejack said. "Got it. Who's taking the second watch then?" "I will," Rainbow replied. "Me too," Rarity chipped in. "Okay. So that leaves, Jeana and Lohen for the last watch." Sunset marked down who's on which watch as the girls placed their minis around the fire on the small map Sunset had made for them. Making a few rolls behind her screen Sunset then continued with the story. "The night passes mostly without incident but on the last watch Jeana and Lohen you hear some noises coming from the other side of the hill where you guys are camped at." "Do we recognize the sound?" Twilight asked. "Give me a Perception check." "Seventeen." "From the description that Thandra gave you earlier it almost sounds like it could be a band of kobolds." "Do you hear that?" Jeana said as she stood from reading her spell book. In the quietness of the last few hours before dawn multiple sounds could be heard not far from their camp. "What is it?" Lohen asked as she also stood looking the possible direction from where the sounds were coming from. "I'm not sure but maybe we should go check it out. What do you think?" She turned to her new friend with the question. "I don't know. Maybe we should just stay here," she replied, worried about the others who were sleeping. "Okay you stay here and keep watch. I'll go take a quick peek and see what's making all that racket," Jeana told her as she crept off into the shadows. "Roll Stealth," Sunset told her. Taking a quick look at her character sheet she replied, "I rolled a fifteen." "So slipping into the darkness around you you quietly make your way up the side of the hill to take a look over it. Laying down to remain hidden you spot a small group of roving kobolds circling the base of the hill. From what you can gather it looks like they will cross into your camp within the next few minutes." "Okay, I make my way back down and wake the others," Twilight replied. "Roxanna, Thandra get up," Jeana called out quietly as she made her way back into the camp. "Lohen wake the other two as quietly as you can, please." Lohen nodded to her and within a moment the party was awake as Jeana explained what she saw. "There's a small group of those kobold things, that you saw earlier Thandra, heading our way." "Which way are they coming from?" Roxanna asked as she put on her armor. "From that direction around the bend," Jeana answered as she pointed towards the darkness. Just then a loud screech could be heard as many hastened footsteps headed towards them. "Okay everyone roll Initiative," Sunset told them. As all the girls rolled their dice and added up the numbers Sunset went around the table writing down each number. She then pulled out 5 minis and placed them near their camp site on the map and explained to them that they are charging in. "First up is Roxanna. What are you doing to do?" "How close are they to us?" "About sixty or seventy feet from you guys," Sunset told her. "I move closer to them so I'm between both of the groups," Applejack told her as Sunset moved her mini closer to the kobolds. "Jeana you're next." Looking over her sheet Twilight's gaze turned back to the minis on the table and her sheet before making her decision. "I would like to use Magic Missile." "Alright, on one target or a few? You can choose up to three of them if you want," Sunset explained. "The one right in front, closest to Roxanna." "Got it. Go ahead and roll the damage." "Nine points in total." "Nice one," Sunset told her as she took the closest kobold mini off the table. "As magical energy flows from your hand you watch as three magical bolts fire at the kobold and he falls to the ground dead." "That takes care of one of them!" Jeana called out as Roxanna runs past her to protect the group with sword and shield in hand. Raising her shield in front of her Roxanna blocked an incoming attack and returning one of her own, slaying the creature as it stumbled past. Out of the shadows Thandra appeared and struck another one in the back as it spun around to counter attack. Suddenly a thorny vine wrapped around it's neck as it took a swing at the rogue but was pulled back out of range of the attack, knocking it to the ground where it lay still. "Thanks, Lohen!" Thandra called back as she turned to face another one. The last two kobolds were ganging up on Roxanna as Lady Lavanya ran to her side swinging her mace at one of them. "Go ahead and roll to hit." Rarity pouted as she replied. "Five." "That's a miss. Okay their turn now. Both of them are going to try and hit you Roxanna," Sunset said as she rolled her dice. "Both of them miss you. You're up," she said to Applejack. "You alright?" Lady Lavanya asked as the kobold ducked away from her swing. "Ayep. Let's finish these two," She said as another powerful swing from her long sword brought down one more. There was only one left as Thandra moved up behind it, striking it true with her dagger before Jeana dealt the final blow with another blast of missiles. When things finally settled down and the only thing they could hear was the crackling of the fire along with their heavy breathing they took a few moments to search the bodies. "Ohhh shiny!" Aresim said with a grin as she showed them a handful of gold and silver coins. Nothing else was worth taking as the party took their places around the fire, not one of them ready to go back to sleep just yet. Morning eventually came without any other further incidents as they packed up and continued their trek through the hilly area. Around noon, as they crested a rather large hill, they spotted what looked like a walled city in the distance. "Finally! Maybe we can get some answers to where we are now," Thandra said with a sigh as they started to descend the hill. "Do you think they are friendly?" "We won't know till we get there," Roxanna answered without looking at the druid. It was still about another half a day's march at least before they would arrive at the wall. "Who goes there?" A guard from atop the wall called down to them. "I am Roxanna Mourneblack and this is my party. We seek a place to stay for the night and some information about where we currently are." There was a minute of silence before the thick wooden doors opened up and a few more guards stepped out to confirm her words. After the inspection they let them through the gate as it closed tightly behind them. One of the guards told them that the only place open right now is the Spider's Nest which can be found down the street a bit to the left. "As you walk down the dirt roadway you noticed that most of the buildings have no lights on or closed signs posted on the doors and windows. As you near the Spider's Nest it becomes clear that it's a popular place as it's lights shown brightly and lots of sounds of people come from inside it. As you enter the tavern you see that most of the tables are full and there are quite a few people at the bar as well. Almost every one in there seems oblivious to your entrance." "I would like to walk up to the bar keep and see if we can get a couple rooms," Rarity said. "Alright, as you do that a few of the patrons at the bar give you a look over but then go back to their drinks as the bar keep walks over towards you." "What can I do for you missy?" "Yes, hello, I would like a couple of rooms for me and my companions, please." "Let's see," he says as he pulls a book out from under the counter and flips through a few pages. "You're in luck tonight. I have two rooms available at the moment. It'll be five silver pieces a night. How long do you plan to stay?" Lady Lavanya turned to look back at her party who took a seat at one of the empty tables before turning back to the bar keep. "Hold that thought, dear. Let me find out." Stepping over to her group she asked them how long they want to stay and told them the price for a night. They debated for a moment before agreeing to stay three days here to get as much information as possible. When Lady Lavanya gathered up the coins she walked back over to the bar keep and told him they were going to stay for three nights. Coins where traded for two keys as she said her thanks and walked back over to the party. "Well I think we should get a good night's rest and start bright and early in the morning. By the way, has anyone seen where Aresim went off to? Jeana asked as they all started to look around the busy tavern. It was Lohen who spotted her and pointed to a small stage near the far wall. "There she is." Right as the rest of them lay eyes upon her, Aresim bolted out into song and dance as she played her lute. The crowd watched and cheered as she kept going playing a few songs before stepping down holding her hat out as everyone in there cheered for an encore. Sunset rolled some dice behind her screen before she turned to Pinkie. "Your performance was pretty good and you receive a total of four gold pieces for it. As the night wore on you guys split into two groups and head upstairs to your rooms for the remainder of the night. And we will call it there for the night. Good job everyone! You all get four hundred experience points for tonight's session. Make sure to look over your class and any new skills for you reached level two now." The girls smiled and made small talk with each other as they started to clean up. As they all started to leave Sunset couldn't help but smile to herself as she hugged each one and reminded them to look through their books at their class. Closing the door as just shook her head slightly as she walked back over to the table and picked up one of the minis to stare at it for a moment. "What will happen next week girls? Will you find out where you are or will you dig deeper into the unknown?" Sunset couldn't help but giggle to herself as she finished putting her things away and took a seat on the couch, closing her eyes. They are getting the hang of it and I'm so happy that everyone is having such a great time. Sunset thought as she yawned slightly. Getting up she headed into her room to get ready for bed for tomorrow she continues working on her world.