Session 08: Contact the North West Tribe

While we were traveling, a sudden storm started, the sky turned this bright blue, and a heavy snowstorm hit so hard we had to drop everything and wait it out.

When the weather cleared, we headed northwest toward the mountains, which has a waterfall. That’s where we came across a Minotaur (Tauren) settlement. Opalesence managed to talk to them using an elemental language.

The Minotaur (Tauren) told us they’ve been dealing with Nerubian Spiderling for a while and agreed on helping us get rid of them. They had a pile of dead Spiderling but none of them were turned to Scourge, they use blue tipped weapons that stop the Scourge from taking hold on the dead creature. They did not want to share how or where to get the material but would be willing to coat our weapons into it if we pass a trial. They also told us that the Nerubian base is abotu 12 hexes in a horseshoe shape where 1/3 of the base is above ground the rest is below. We gave them directions to our Inn. 

On the way back to the Inn, we ran into a group of Spiderlings and ended up fighting them. We took them out, Theia went down during the fight because Dalinar didn’t manage to protect her.

Three items were discovered from the spiderling that were killed

• Apparition Gloves
• Necklace of Knives
• Set of dice (still needs to be identified)

     We started the journey taking the north west route around the ring until we got to the road.  We all bought snowshoes for this mission which helped us cover more ground each day.  Nothing of note occured on the first day and we set up camp for the night close by to some of the hooded ring people.  During the night however the sky started turning into a very weird green glow.  The ring people almost immediately packed up and headed out.  We eventually realized this meant a big storm was comming and hunkered down by tieing our tents together and anchoring them to some trees where we rode out the night.

     The next day we continued and made our way to the road we've moved along a couple times now.  We eventually went off it to move further north, towards a light we saw one night on a previous mission.  It has a high vantage spot and we figured we might find the people who lit it.  Or in the very least have a vantage spot to survey the area.  We found and moved past several burrial sites of bodies wrapped tightly in cloth and left out on stilts.  We had concerns that these might eventually turn into scourge but left them untouched.  We later met the people who left the bodies and they seem to know what they are doing.  While I dont know the specifics I am fairly confident they are aware of the dangers and know how to deal with it.

     We eventaully stumbled upon some Tauren guards.  We didnt speak any similar languages so communicating was rough.  Dalinar learned to be careful to to speak the language of death too, they definitely didnt like that one.  But Opal was able to calm them by speaking an elemental language.  They took us back to a good sized village where we stayed the night.  Glitz did a great job lightening the mood by performing for them and sharing alcohol.  Opal helped communicate a lot with them throughout the night.  While they didnt speak the elemental language directly they had a book with them they used for translating.

     They do have scrimmages with the spiders from time to time and seemed receptive towards the idea of taking the fight to them to clear them out once and for all.  They are still somewhat on the fence and havnt fully committed to the idea.  But we made an offer of supplies from the coalition and told them where they could find us.  Overall it was a productive encounter and we departed on friendly terms.  Hopefully they will be an ally in the upcoming fights. 

     Another thing of note about this village is they wielded weapons with strange blue crystals of some sort.  As far as we could make out they weapons are useful for dispatching of enemies and ensuring they never come back as scourge.  We werent able to acquire any and they were tight lipped about where they get the blue crystals.  But learning more and/or getting some could be a worthwhile goal for the future.

     On our way back to the inn we were ambushed by spiderlings and got into a fight.  Dalinar put up a heroic demonstration of his training, keeping their mobile archer moving and unable to finish Theia when she was downed rather quickly.  He eventually cornered and tripped the spider, allowing it to be quickly dispatched and Theia brought back up safely.  But as it is often like with spellguards protecting their mages, the mages often dont appreciate the help.