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Addermarch Campaign - Session 1

Desolation at Torvaine Watch: in which the party battles zombies

Featuring: Yvan, Drou, Fazoth
In Taelgar: Apr 25, 1715 DR to Apr 28, 1715 DR
On Earth: Sunday Sep 08, 2024
Torvaine Watch

The adventurers face unexpected dangers on the road, and encounter zombies in Torvaine Watch while escorting a merchant to Roscombe.

Timeline

  • Apr 25, 1715 DR, dawn: In Valcroix, Drou, Fazoth de Brune, and Yvan Greenrabbit agree to escort merchant Oona Stonebridge to Roscombe; the small caravan sets out under clear skies along the road.
  • Apr 25, 1715 DR: Travel is slow but peaceful through orchards, fields, and hamlets as the company heads north-west toward the forested hills.
  • Apr 26, 1715 DR: An uneventful march sees the road leave the river valley and begin climbing into the shadowed reaches of the Torvaine Forest.
  • Apr 27, 1715 DR, morning: The party clears a wind-fallen tree from the road; a sunning adder spooks the horses, throwing Oona, but she is quickly healed and the team presses on.
  • Apr 27, 1715 DR, late afternoon: Only a few miles from Torvaine Watch the caravan is ambushed by two burrowing mohlers; the creatures are slain, yet their presence so near the garrison alarms the travelers, who camp for the night.
  • Apr 28, 1715 DR, morning: On the final approach the group discovers a peddler’s corpse drained of blood and apparently fleeing the fort.
  • Apr 28, 1715 DR, early afternoon: Arriving at Torvaine Watch they find the portcullis locked and silent, encounter a ghostly knight who warns of death, and fight a mess-hall full of zombies. A key taken from the undead opens the gathering hall; more zombies in the barracks are destroyed, loot is gathered, and in Marshal Hildo Brask’s quarters the party uncovers a bloody trail and the marshal’s troubling letter.

Cast of Characters

Places

  • Valcroix – riverside town at the confluence of the Velan and the Umber, starting point of the journey
  • Roscombe – trade city and destination of the caravan
  • Torvaine Forest – upland woodland through which the road climbs
  • Torvaine Watch – hilltop garrison/keep now overrun by undead

Narrative

Sunday, April 25th, 2 Robert I

The session begins at dawn in Valcroix. Drou, an elf from Orenlas, Fazoth de Brune, a human from the Enst river valley, and Yvan Greenrabbit, a halfling from Sembara, all on their way to Roscombe to join the service of the mysterious alchemist Caradoc, have been stuck in Valcroix for several weeks, as late snow and early rain have turned the roads to impassable mud. Now, the weather has cleared, and the group has agreed to escort the halfling merchant Oona Stonebridge to Roscombe. The caravan – Oona, her horses and wagon, Drou, Fazoth, and Yvan – departs under sunny skies, and spends the day slowly making their way north and west, following the road to Roscombe along the Umber, past fields, orchards, and small villages.

Monday, April 26th, 2 Robert I

An uneventful day of travel, as the road turns southwest, leaving the river and the settled valley and beginning to climb into the Torvaine Forest.

Tuesday, April 27th, 2 Robert I

Morning. The road continues through the forest, ascending in broad curves towards the height of land, where the small garrison of Torvaine Watch guards the road and collects tolls from travelers. The travel is not entirely uneventful, as Drou, Yvan, and Fazoth de Brune manage to successfully push a deadfall tree off the road. Later, just before lunch, the horses are spooked by a common adder sunning itself in the road, and Oona is thrown from the cart. Fazoth heals her (getting a mild bite from the snake and scaring it off in the process), while Yvan calms the horses.

Afternoon. After lunch and a short rest, the group continues along the road. In the late afternoon, Yvan notices the road ahead is slightly dug up, and the group is immediately ambushed by a pair of burrowing pig-like creatures called mohlers. Although they are defeated, Oona is nervous, as this is only five miles or so from Torvaine Watch and there should not be danger on the road so close to the garrison. The party camps for the night.

Wednesday, April 28th, 2 Robert I

Morning. The morning dawns cold and gray. The group continues towards Torvaine Watch, anticipating arriving around lunchtime. Part way to the watch, Fazoth, scouting ahead with his pseudodragon familiar, spots a dead body of a human on the road. Some investigation reveals this person is completely drained of blood, and is missing their pack and gear. Drou recognizes them as a peddler who was in Valcroix, and Fazoth notices tracks that seem to suggest the peddler was fleeing from Torvaine Watch when they died. Finding no other immediate clues, the party continues, cautiously.

Early afternoon. A few hours later, the party reaches Torvaine Watch, to find the iron portcullis locked and no sign of any guards. There is a door, on the western tower, that is no locked. Entering the keep, they are met by a spirit dressed in heavy knight’s armor, the breastplate caved in, who warns them “You’ll find only death here!” and vanishes. Exploring, the party finds zombies in the mess hall downstairs, who they manage to kill thanks in part to Fazoth’s dismembering one and using its head and arms as weapons, Drou’s critical hit with a dagger, and Yvan managing somehow to make one burst into fire.

Early afternoon, continued. After the battle, Yvan notices a large iron key carried by one of the zombies, which unlocks the door to the gathering hall, where there are stairs leading up, as well as eleven sets of cloaks and boots - and one empty peg where a cloak should be. The party continues up, only to find more zombies in the barracks. Drou’s dagger skills and starry wisp spell, Fazoth’s familiar clawing at zombies, and Yvan’s seeming inexplicable ability to make zombies burst into flames while yelling at them to go away lead to victory. With the zombies dispatched, the party searches the room, finding some treasure, as well as a bloody cloak and bloodstains on the wall (as if a wounded person passed through). Entering the bedroom of Marshal Hildo Brask, the second in command of the watch, the party finds more treasure, as well as a letter on the desk. The session ends in the Marshal’s bedroom as the party contemplates their next move.