Loose ends: Tim the friendly Frost Troll in a cabin; aggressive Merfolk
Participants: Delcan Bray, Kodzak, Hecret, Kane, Guhdhag, Blight
Locations: Greyspine Mountains, Avis River
Short summary:
A group ventured past the Greyspine Mountains and towards the delta of Avis River, in search of bog iron for the smithy of First Landing. Along the way, they crossed treacherous terrain, met Tim the friendly Troll, and were attacked by aggressive Merfolk. Ultimately, they were successful in finding a rich source of iron in the marshlands.
Full report: Delcan
Problems of Three Little People
Day 1
Our troupe, having earlier determined that the marshlands near the Avis River was our best bet, set out to find a source of iron for the smith. Heading westward our group decided it best to avoid the Kobolds which left us with the daunting task of traversing the Greyspine Mountains. We spent the better part of the day making our way through the rugged terrain but with the aid of our nimble steeds we moved swifter than expected and after a swift descent ended up making camp near the mouth of the river.
Day 2
The day broke and we pulled up stakes before plotting our route for the rest of the morning. We followed the river a good way before heading into the interior of the Avis River Delta. It was not long before much to our surprise we came upon a cabin, clearly not abandoned due to the freshly cut and stacked wood and the light coming from it. After our previous adventure we were rather hesitant about who or what lived out here all by themselves so far from the Landing. We worked up the courage to find out when to our surprise the body of a massive Frost Troll nearly spilled out of the front door. The creature, Tim, was far too big for the cabin and although we were initially suspicious the Troll seemed rather friendly and mostly interested in what we might have to sell it. He seems particularly susceptible to pitchmen and a discussion about the virtues of non-boring beans kept him enthralled. Eventually, bean fever sated, the troll offered information about the iron we were looking for but for a price. Luckily for us Hecret managed to convince the creature to enter a game of chance, which seemed perhaps rigged as the Troll lost. Alas no useful information was given to us and seemingly upset the Troll promptly shut the door.
I’ve marked his Cabin down for future reference.
We continued on past the cabin determined to find the source of iron without the help of the Troll. As the sun began to set, we came upon a river that looked treacherous enough that a night-time crossing felt ill-advised. We made camp a bit away from the river and we were fast asleep.
In the dead of night, we were beset upon by group of Merfolk. Two Warriors with tridents and two Wavecallers wielding powerful magic. The Warriors struck several puncturing blows into Kodzak and Guhdhag but they managed to weather the blows. The Wavecallers struck out forked electric attacks, bolts of ice, and a wave of violently rushing water that even managed to push back our powerful Barbarian. The most striking thing perhaps was the enthrallment of Hecret by one of the creatures who seemed to convince him that they were no threat to us.
Eventually we managed to gain the upper-hand and win the battle that night. Sleep was uneasy afterwards.
Day 3
The morning came quicker than we’d hoped after a night of interrupted sleep. The challenge ahead of us was the river that still needed crossing, affixing a magical tight-rope across it provided us with a bit of entertainment as Hecret attempted to walk it before floundering and flopping into the rushing waters only to find out it was shallow enough for us to simply ford.
The rest of the day we continued to venture deeper into the marshlands as the environment changed and grew increasingly swampier, until we hit the bogs we were hoping to find. A combined effort leads us towards a natural murky spring, and some mineral vents. Just as we thought we’d found what we were looking for, much to our surprise, a gigantic figure came lumbering down towards us at rapid speed. We readied ourselves for a fight only to discover that Tim, the Frost Troll, had somehow tracked us down only to let us know that he required our help in remedying the tedium of his everyday cooking woes. After helping Tim we got back to the job of sourcing the iron and with a bit more searching we discovered what appears to be an abundant source of bog iron. The location is marked, and samples have been brought back to the smithy for inspection.