Session 029 Setha Heath Boars and Nithra Dante

• As the party travels across the Setha Heath with the Shomos River to their left and enter a clearing they hear a clamor from the forest to their right. The light from the sun is fading as dusk approaches and it is difficult to see into the shadows. Suddenly, several boars burst from the trees charging in their direction!
• Rook, Askelon, and Weyliri spin to face the threat and may take one action, one bonus action, or one move. The rest are caught flat-footed, having been unable to determine the direction of the attack. Rook runs behind a tree and yells "Incoming, right!"  Askelon casts Chromatic Orb and hits the Giant Boar with thunder damage. Weyliri casts Bless on Faelon, Rhyna, and Hjalgrimm.
• INITIATIVE!
  • Faelon advances and uses a Ki point to enhance his defense. Boar 2 shifts into hybrid form, draws a longbow, and breaks it accidentally. It throws down the broken bow and moves up to attack Faelon. The monk dodges and the wereboar misses. Weyliri casts Command at wereboar telling it to "Drop!" and it goes prone. Rook slashes the Giant Boar with both of his daggers. Rhyna moves up to give flank. Hjalgrimm steps up and attacks the prone wereboar, hitting it twice and adding smites. The wereboar transforms into a female Sindarin wearing very tattered ranger clothing and is unconscious. Hjalgrimm yells for everyone to stop attacking. The other wereboar attacks Hjalgrimm but misses with its tusk. It transforms into hybrid form and swings a maul at the Khuzdul and connects hard. The Giant Boar lunges twice at Rook but cannot hit its target. Askelon fires another Chromatic Orb at the Giant Boar but misses. 
  • Weyliri tries to cast Toll the Dead at the Giant Board but messes up the chant. It fails. Rook tries to leap onto the back of the Giant Boar but misjudges badly, getting gored for his effort. Rook uses a Cunning Action to disengage and run behind a tree near the rest of the group. Rhyna steps up to the Giant Boar and caves its skull in with her warhammer. Hjalgrimm looks around and sees that the other Wereboar is not letting up, so he slashes it with his greatsword, adding a smite. He turns and casts Healing Word on the fallen Sindarin ranger. Her eyes flutter open and she appears to be confused. He tells her "Tell your companion to stop!" She replies weakly "I cannot, it is a trueborn lycanthrope." Faelon slashes the wereboar with Dragon, then hits the creature critically with Phoenix. For the first time, the team witnesses a phantom red phoenix emerge from the wakizashi, shred large chunks from the wereboar, drawing spirit animus from the creature, and then merge into Faelon, flooding him with revitalizing energy (temporary hit points). Weyliri moves up cautiously and casts Cure Wounds on the fallen Sindarin ranger. Rook steps up and delivers two more cuts to the wereboar. Rhyna steps over to that group as well, and as Hjalgrimm says "don't kill it, use subdual," she slams the creature with her weapon and it drops to the ground.
  • The party watches, waiting for the wereboar to transform, but it does not. 
• Askelon approaches the Sindarin ranger and declares that he is Askelon Gelarhun, and she should explain this situation. She sees his clan crest and begins crying in relief. "My lord, my prince, please, I am sick. I am cursed. I am Genadryn Gwydian. I am a Nithra Dante ranger. My brother and I were advance scouting this area when we discovered a group of boars. We though they would make good hunting and food, so we tracked them to their lair. We were set upon by two ferocious adult boars. We killed one of them after realizing they were lycanthropes. That Giant Boar" she points to the carcass nearby "charged in and killed Fenrian with a single blow." She stares blankly at the ground for a few moments. "The other wereboar wounded me grievously, so I fled up a nearby tree. Unfortunately, that is all I remember clearly. I have been afflicted with the lycanthropy for many cycles of Yaelah (Full Moon)." 
• Askelon buts in to explain that a true lycanthrope, like the unconscious one at their feet, can only be cured with a Wish spell, which is clearly beyond their means. He explains that a Remove Curse will remove the affliction from the ranger woman. Weyliri confesses that she has not been granted that level of power by Halea yet. Hjalgrimm kneels down and lays his hands on the Sindarin ranger and attempts to cure her with a Cure Disease. It does not remove the curse, but it will prevent her from transforming into a wereboar until the next full moon, which is on the 15th.
• Genadryn tells the group that the boar's lair is about 100 yards to the north, and that Fenrian's gear is there. His body is there, too, along with a Navehan Augur they killed a while back. While she is explaining that, Rook quietly kills the other wereboar. Askelon and Rhyna combine their Medicine and Survival skills, augmented with Guidance from Weyliri, to obtain 3 vials of blood from the wereboar and both tusks from the Giant Boar. They give one of the tusks to Hjalgrimm. Weyliri heals up those who were wounded. Miraculously, none of them were gored by the lycanthropes. The party butchers some meat from the Giant Boar.
• The party follows Genadryn to the boar's lair. There they found the badly decomposed bodies of a wereboar, a human in tattered black robes, and Fenrian Turval, the dead Sindarin ranger. They talk about whether to bury or return the ranger to Evael, and because of his decomposed state and the fact that he is a ranger, they decided to bury him here. They climbed down into the cave area dug out below a broken tree trunk and a boulder to find a cozy 12' diameter space with bedding and a firepit. They recovered:
  • 13gp, 27sp
  • Navehan Kris Dagger and Holy Symbol
  • Sindarin Hornbow STR 15
  • Quiver with 18 arrows (plus Genadryn's quiver with 12 arrows)
  • Andsigil x2 and a Sindarin Longsword

  
  

  The group decided to camp here overnight. Askelon tells Rook that the fancy cloak he is wearing is magical. He casts an Identify ritual and tells the group it is a Cloak of Protection! Rook offers the Cloak to Faelon who accepted it happily.

• LONG REST.

NOLUS 11

• Full day of travelling, nothing interesting. A little hunting of local fauna.

NOLUS 12

• As the party loaded up the horses and mule, Rook noticed that there were two humanoids standing in the path to the west, maybe 100' out. He also spied a green-furred dog or wolf just to their north. Askelon could see that they were Sindarin. Others in the group spotted other Sindarin to their north and behind them in the woods. Askelon approached the two men in the path, and as he got closer he recognized one of them as a Lieutenant he had worked with at the Pesino site in western Evael, Ser Tenali Halirien. He greeted him, and Tenali informed him he was a Captain now. Askelon recalled that Tenali was the officer in charge of the Leaves of Pesino detail that protected the Pesino site, and had sternly informed the young prince that it did not matter who his father was, he was not entering the site. 
• Askelon told the party that these are Nithra Dante rangers, and friends. Ser Tenali declared that this was the most interesting thing they'd seen in Setha Heath. He asked about the Khuzdul companions, and Askelon explained that they were on a mission, and that Hjalgrimm was actually of noble blood. The Sindarin came out of hiding and formed a semicircle. They invited the part to sit with them, and they did. The Sindarin introduced themselves:
  • Ser Tenali Halirien, Male Sindarin, a Leaf of Pesino Paladin, Oath of the Ancients. 
  • Lozian Etain, Male Sindarin Nithra Dante Ranger, Beast Master, with a CooShee named Garav.
  • Tereli Sidhean, Female Sindarin Nithra Dante Ranger, Drakewarden with a Green Drake
  • Donedd Slifrith, Male Sindarin Nithra Dante Ranger, Monster Slayer
  • Thanasyn Rhibin, Female Sindarin Nithra Dante Ranger, Hunter
  • Daelda Arien, Male Sindarin Nithra Dante Ranger
• Askelon knows that Clan Halirien is the royal seat of the Kingdom of Evael, and that Tenali is the grand-nephew of King Aranath. He also knows that Clan Arien is the third royal clan, below Clan Gelarhun, and that Daelda was the Sindarin king slain at the battle of sorrows. That young ranger has a bold name. 
• The party members introduce themselves, and all share bread and board meat for breakfast. They share pleasantries. Ser Tenali tells them that Genadryn and Fenrian have been missing about eight months. He is glad they have been found. When he learns of her lycanthropy, he casts Remove Curse on her to cure her of the affliction. Hjalgrimm's eyes go wide when he realizes the high rank needed for a paladin to cast that spell. With her curse removed, Tenali requests that her andsigil and quiver be returned to her. Tereli and Thanasyn provide her with fresh clothing and a longbow.
• Ser Tenali offers to escort the party to Ulfshafen, and informs them that they have seen a large group of Pagaelin in the area, maybe two dozen. They'll likely not attack the group if they travel together.
• The combined parties head west along the northern shore of the Shomos River. They travel for a full day and make camp. Rook is intrigued by the way the rangers are able to move through the woods unseen and unheard. He asks how they do this, and spends time learning what he can from them.

NOLUS 13

• Travel west continues. About halfway through the day the group spots some humans across the river, presumably Pagaelin. As they mirror the party they gain in numbers, at least 20. The party spies one they believe to be the leader, wearing studded leather armor, carrying nicer weapons, and astride a nice stallion. They also spy a human with pale skin and greasy black hair dressed all in black and wearing a Navehan holy symbol around his neck. The Pagaelin are repeating a phrase in low voices - Ser Tenali explains that they are calling the group "Forest Devils". The Pagaelin have a respectful fear of the Nithra Dante rangers. After a few hours of mirroring the party as the travel west, the Pagaelin peel off and turn south. The party continues traveling until sunset.