Game night happened the Sunday before Independence Day as planned. We gathered around our virtual table and continued the story of Bran, Fang and Theren on their quest to Piketon to find Mert and, hopefully, some information about the sigils on their hands. Since this started, I think they would like to know more about why someone/thing like Slythis wants them dead, too…
Bran, Fang and Theren cleaned up the mess created by Slythis and the subsequent fight. They burned Slythis’ remains to make sure there was no chance of a return to life. They also put the bone dagger into the fire to try and burn the fused hand of Slythis off of it. This did burn away the hand, but also damaged the dagger slightly. They could not tell if the damage was only cosmetic, though, so they wrapped it back up and decided to stick with the plan of presenting it to Mert for examination once they found her.
After burying the body of the traveler that died at Slythis’ hands, they looked over his cart. It was not badly damaged at all. The wood did not catch and truly burn. It was singed and had smoldered a bit, but the cart was in working order.
The group saw it as an unfortunate opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless. They decided that they would make use of the cart to haul supplies and such on the rest of their journey. Even without the horse, the cart could be pulled by hand while on the road. The minor repairs could be made once they made it to Piketon.
The journey to the south side of The Great Lake was not without incident. During one of their nights camping on the side of Piketon Road, a dire wolf happened upon them. It was seeking the source of the smell it had picked up and apparently hoped to get a meal. Unfortunately for the wolf, that is not how that worked. Fang, Theren and Bran took down the very large animal with only minor injuries.
At the edge of The Great Lake, they came upon a couple of houses, a staging area for caravans and a peer where sailing barges could be tied off at the edge of the lake.
They were greeted by one of the barge pilots. He explained the pricing and that they could leave at first light the next day. With the arrangement for a three-day sail to Piketon made, the adventurers spent one more night under the stars in the staging area.
Piketon: a small town of about 100-200 people that have set up their lives on the north shore of The Great Lake. They live near the lake and into the forest nearby. Piketon is well kept and was built to “blend” with the forest. There is space between houses and buildings. The land was not cleared bare of trees and, thus, retains a woodsy feel. Piketon’s existence is predicated by the need for a way station for travelers. This need was discovered by Bran Touchwater, an Elwyn that recognized an opportunity and a means to fulfill a simple dream of living in a nice village/town that caters to all those that pass by. With the help of the Kingdom, that dream has come true and Piketon is a small, but thriving community led by Bran and his family.
After an uneventful journey across The Great Lake, Theren, Bran and Fang disembark from the sail barge and enter Piketon. They split up to explore the town and seek out information about the location of Mert. Bran also wanted to find the origin of the battleaxe that he recovered from the fallen Dwergar blacksmith, one of Slythis’ victims. Bran’s connection to the Dwergar people is simple enough having grown up near the smithy in Braiton and becoming a soldier that depends on the work of a good blacksmith. Bran has felt compelled to return the battleaxe to the clan/family if possible and to let them know that his murder was avenged.
And that is where we ended the session. It was a good stopping point, and I needed to come up with more background information to help drive the story along.
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