8.1 All Too Familiar

SESSION DATE: November 30, 2024
PRESENT: Rory, Renaldine, Freya, Kemurial

Deep Dive

![[Rory - 8.1 All Too Familiar.mp3]]

Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[All Too Familiar.mp4]]

World Anvil Journal

sooo... we wan fwom the in tword pinnath shop and it wath all on fier and their wath a buncha orkth wunnin away fwom it. we fot them off weel quik but win we got ther i jutht had to go inthide to thee if i cud find pinna or here her in there but i cudnt find her or here her but i did gwab thome poshinth fwom tha shop in cathe we find her and they can help her owt. i wint bak owt and thtawted helpin wondaline and kimiweel and fwaya taik owt all the orkth. we got em down pwetty quik but ther wath thtill no sine of pinna n e wear. aftew tha fite i wint bak in the shop jutht to thee if i mithd n e thing but i dint. i did find her pendint that we thaw her wering befor tho im pwetty shur sheth not here wite now.

jutht then a buncha wike miwitawy peepel caim up to uth and wath wike hey did u find pinna and we wath wike no but we fownd thith pendint if that cud help u find her. but they dont hav the kinda majik to do that tho i geth well haf to chathe the orkth who tuk her. they thaid to meet thim tomowwow and well maik a pwan tho we wint bak to the in and wint to thweep.

wondaline woke me up and we cud here a buncha noithe owtthide tho we all wint to thee what wath up. evwybody in tha town wint to tha church and wath tawkin abowt wat happind. thith guy naimd cawwoc wath ther and he weminded uth of pewwitin fwom yethterday cuz he wath all wike IM GONNA FIND HER AND KILL THA ORKTH AND GET THA BOWNTY AND NOBODY BEDER GIT IN ARE WAY AND THETHE OWTHIDERTH DONT DETHERVE IT THEY NEED TO WEEVE TOWN CUZ THEY R NUTHIN BUT TWUBBEL. i cudnt help it and i wath wike hay wath i chekd we wath the onwy wonth who wint to help we dint thee any of u ther and i dint go into the burnin bilding fow fun tho thit down and shut up. i think wondaline wath altho abowt to get fierd up but she wath wike oh yah well if u want to march urthelf and thethe viwwagerth to there deth then go ahed thath deffinitwy wat u shud do. there weeder thaid u no i think there wite wat do u all think we shud do and they votid to wet uth go find her. father beldrone akthd uth if we wantid hith thpell agin and of corthe we thaid yeth tho he put it on uth and off we go to tha fowetht acwoth the wiver.

a wanger ow thcowt wady caim up to uth and she thaid hay i thaw u all watht nite and i never towd u my name ith awitha teeweef and i can help u twak them if u want and we wath wike yah that thowndth gud. she thaid pinna ith a gud fwend and she felt wike she shud help find her cuth pinna wud do that for her. wondaline taketh the weed and awitha helpth wondaline twak the orkth.

evenchuwy wondaline thtopth uth and thaid ther wath onkegth muchin on thome ded orkth. she thaid we shud go awownd them inthted of fiting them tho we twy to go awownd and thith tiem it wurkd they dint notithe uth at all tho that wath cool.

we keep goin but hin BOOM A BIG WIKE BUSH TWEE THING GOT WONDALINE AND TUK HER INTHIDE IT and i wath wike whoa thath cwazy. kimiweel wath abel to git her owt by comandin it to dwop her and we helpt kill it but thin a nuther won showd up and thith tiem it got me and i cudnt thee n e thing. thankfuwy kimiweel wath abel to maik it dwop me win he kild it. kimiweel theemth to no how to handel theeth dirt mownd thingth pwetty gud.

we keep goin until we fownd thith wike wuind pwathe with cwumbwing walth and touerth with a buncha orkth and dier woofth awownd it and on tha wallth. awitha thaid thith pwathe ith calld cathle wind but the thot it wath abandind a wong tiem ago but now it theemth that thith ithnt the cathe n e mor. she thaid it uthed to bewong to tha bwue dwagin flanx but i dont no who that ith but ith got dwaginth in the name tho that got my atinshin

dwaugnir pweethe keep pinna thafe and help uth find her. she ith to yung to be taiken by theethe guyth. i no wat ith wike to be taiken fwom ur home wike thith. ith all to famiwiar...

Private Notes

• Rory takes off sprinting toward Pinna's Shop. As we approach, we see a rear guard of orcs, which we assume are from the White Tusk clan, crossing the river away from the shop, which is now burning with purple flames. Rory taps his helmet to understand languages. One orc he can hear orders the others to "hold them while the others get to the forest!". Rory relays the info, and suggests that the others go after the orcs while Rory searches for Pinna in the flaming shop. INITIATIVE!!!
  • Kemurial does good acid damage on a few of the orcs in and near the river.
  • Renaldine casts Spirit Guardians and makes quick work of a couple orcs.
  • Rory sprints into the shop as he rages, looking for signs of PInna. Inside, he only finds the charred corpses of two orcs, but doesn't hear anything from Pinna. He notices a few potions that have as yet been unbroken. With no intentions of stealing, Rory takes the potions in his haste to get out of the flames in hopes that they may help Pinna once we find her. The potions he finds are 2 Potions of Healing, 1 Potion of Greater Healing, 1 Potion of Animal Friendship, and 1 Potion of Poison Resistance.
  • Freya gets some good hits in with her Eldritch Blast.
  • Kemurial goes all out on the White Tusk War-speaker, doing some good damage after pumping a Divine Smite. This causes him to radiate light for 20 feet. Cool!
  • Rory gets a good crit on the War-speaker, causing him to drop his concentration. He almost kills him, but he's still kicking.
  • Freya's Eldritch Blasts are unerring on these guys! She takes out the War-speaker with just one blast, and the other two have the Juggernaut's name on them, and are delivered right to his face. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Tonight, it's buy-one-get-one-free night as Freya delivers THREE MORE Edritch Blasts at the Juggernaut, which he takes straight to the face again. He's still kicking as well, but she's doing some WORK!
  • We see the last glimpse of a last orc running off into the woods to the southeast. Combat over.
• After Renaldine casts Prayer of Healing, allowing us a short rest, a few members of the militia arrive. They do as much of an inspection as they can without burning themselves alive. They say they'll have to track them, but let's plan on moving first thing in the morning. Rory holds out Pinna's pendant/spellcasting focus, asking if it might help track her with some magic, but they don't seem to have such an ability. Renaldine agrees that we should rest first before going head-first into the forest. We head back to The Reluctant Pig to get our rest.
• TNGBU
• As Renaldine wakes everyone, we all see that all of Gravesford have gathered at the Saint Gaed church to discuss the commotion from last night. We head that direction.
• We see Father Belderone, Mayor Ozric, some higher-ups in the town, Gizelle... Just about everyone in the town is here. The wealthiest man in Gravesford, Carroc, has brow-beaten the others into silence. He believes that if he and the local militia can route the orcs, they could claim the bounty, and similar to Sir Pelliton, warns others not to mess with them. He says Sir Pelliton wouldn't have caused an uproar if it weren't for us, the outsiders, whose presence he believes is unwelcome. He intends to organize a posse of adventurers from the village, who are hesitant to join him.
• Rory says "We've been through this before. This isn't the way to do this." Renaldine, in a sarcastic tone, says "Sure, go ahead and march your lowly villagers to their deaths." Her intimidation works, causing him to stop talking over us. Renaldine attempts to persuade them to stand down. The villagers are poorly equipped for the fights ahead should they proceed. She is able to persuade the town against Carroc, at least enough for them to take a vote. They ultimately agree that we should represent them and earn the reward in retrieving Pinna. He seems to reluctantly relent. Renaldine says we've got work to do and the day is young, we should be going. Father Belderone stops us as we turn to walk away, asking us if we would like their blessing once more. We of course accept the Death Ward, thank him once more, and head on out.
• Renaldine offers the coin we found from the orcs last night to the church, and they graciously accept.
• As we approach Pinna's Shop, the halfling scout from the night before runs around the corner and introduces herself, saying "We met last night, but my name's Alyssa Tealeaf and Pinna was a good friend of mine. I'd love to join you, Pinna would do the same for me. I'm not overly strong, but I can track the trail." We graciously accept her assistance.
• We continue to the east-southeast to continue tracking Pinna. Renaldine finds them with ease. We head off into the forest.
• Renaldine notices mounds of unearthed soil dotting the area. She also notices, just behind some bushes ahead, some ankhegs devouring some orc corpses. She suggests going around them instead of fighting. We attempt to move stealthily through the wooded area, and are able to bypass them successfully.
• While tracking the tracks, Renaldine keeps her head down a bit too much as she finds herself engulfed by a shambling mound that she didn't see. INITIATIVE!!!
  • Renaldine casts Word of Radiance, doing some decent damage to the shambling mound right away.
  • Kemurial successfully commands the mound to drop Renaldine.
  • Once again, Freya's Eldritch Blasts do some work.
  • A second Shambling Mound reveals itself and reach out toward Kemurial and Whinny the Poodle, but isn't able to engulf him or his companion.
  • Rory is able to take down the first shambling mound and makes his way toward the second one and crits it. Nice!
  • The second shambling mound turns its attention to Rory, hitting him with both attacks and engulfing him.
  • Rory can't see, but he can hear Kemurial as he finishes the second shambling mound, causing Rory to be released from its grasp. Combat over.
• Kemurial looks for anything worth anything around here, but finds nothing. Renaldine follows suit, and is able to find some gold and a Potion of Climbing.
• We continue pushing forward. The faint chirping of cicadas can be heard. This area has been heavily trafficked in the recent months. A pair of orcs and their dire wolves patrol the area. Renaldine stops us when she finds a path through the underbrush allowing us to pass silently by the sentries.
• Through the thinning tree line, we can see the walls and crenelations of a fort, with orcs standing atop the battlements. Alyssa says "This is Castle Rend. I don't know when the orcs claimed it. It has been vacant for years." Obviously it's well-populated now.
• Where once two watch towers stood, only one stands now amongst the crumbling ruins of this fort, once the proud home of the Blue Dragon Phalanx. Rory gathers that they were an order of knights that protected the lands south of the mountains. Other than that, he doesn't know much about them.

That's it for this session!

Adventure Loot

• 10g
• Potion of Climbing

(We found other loot, but we decided to give it all to the villagers as they were so poorly equipped to handle battle should it arise again.)