Warning: Spoilers below for the adventure, Rescue at Rivenroar (albeit a modified version).
When we last left our intrepid party of adventurers, they were rushing headlong towards Rivenroar…wherever and whatever that might be. Yes, our impetuous heroes only knew that Rivenroar lay somewhere to the east of Everlund. Heading out of town, they spent a short period of time looking for tracks or other evidence of the recent invaders. They discovered that many small bands had come from various directions. There was no clear path to follow and so they headed up the old Dwarf Road along the Rauvin River.
After walking for a couple of hours, Yuri noticed that a river barge was heading towards the group from upriver. As the barge got a little closer, it became clear that the ship had been attacked. Dead goblins and halflings were scattered about the deck and blood was prominent over most of it. Large blood splats, followed by long downwards streaks, could be seen against the walls of the deckhouse. One halfling lies slumped over the barge’s tiller and, when Yuri hails the craft, appears to move slightly.
After assuring that he is firmly attached to a rope…that is, in turn, firmly grasped by other members of the party to be rapidly pulled in in the case of danger, Yuri swims over to the barge. As he reaches the tiller, the halfling slumped there begins to mumble, “Braaaiiinnns.” Fearing the worst (and being alone on a barge full of halfling zombies), Yuri prepares to leap overboard but the halfling lets Yuri know it was just a joke.
Zale, the halfling, is captain of the River Whore, the barge, and they had been attacked, upriver, by a group of ogres and goblins at some sort of roadblock. Although the ogres could not reach the barge, they tossed many goblins at it. A good number of the goblins were killed or badly damaged by their “landing” but enough survived to give his crew a tough fight. He, in fact, was the only survivor (among both the crew and the attackers). The barge is brought over to the riverbank so everyone can meet Zale and converse with him. Ruben, in fact, knows of Zale…he’s a greedy, womanizing, cheat.
In exchange for some money (to help the poor starving families of his deceased crew, of course), Zale agrees to tell the party everything that he knows. The party learns:
- Goblins and their ilk have been seen to the west of Lhuvenhead (where Zale had come from). They had been attacking and harassing travelers but had made no move towards Lhuvenhead itself. Zale was hired to travel to Everlund and warn them.
- Rivernroar lies about halfway between Lhuvenhead and Everlund. It lies up a smaller tributary of the Rauvin River and cannot be seen from the main road. In fact, the old castle is pretty much completely ruined but catacombs are rumored to lie beneath it. (Good thing Zale happened by or the party may never have found Rivenroar…or spent way too much time looking for it. Yep, total coincidence that Zale happened along…total coincidence.)
- Zale has never been to Rivenroar himself…it is supposed to be haunted. In fact, he’d heard that no one who has ever gone to ruins has ever returned. Rumor has it that the old Rivenroar family were some sort of cultists dedicated to some dark god or goddess.
- The ogres have a roadblock set up upriver a bit. It is before Rivenroar.
Zale heads downriver towards Everlund and the party continues on its way towards Rivenroar. Bolstered by his success on scouting the barge, Yuri scouts ahead of the party looking for the ogre roadblock. It is found fairly quickly and relatively easily…it is hard to miss a bunch of downed trees stacked to block the road after all. A goblin comes forth and tells the party that they need to pay a toll to pass. The party hems and haws about paying and the goblin shouts, “They no pay!”
A number of goblins, an ogre, and three ogre whelps attack. As the battle turns against them, a few of the goblins attempt to escape but the party is quite thorough in their slaughter. None of their opponents survive the battle.
Pushing onwards, the party reaches the tributary and head up it towards Rivenroar. After an hour or so, they find some ruins. The entire area seems somewhat darker and more oppressive than its surrounding area. There is no obvious magic involved. Closer to the ruins, Yuri spots quite a few tracks…especially near a large pile of rubble and a stairway leading down. Some doors at the bottom of the stairs have a red hand symbol painted upon them (still upside down). Opening the doors, the party sees a room with several hobgoblins waiting…(yep, this must be the place.)
End of session.
