Continuing from the previous session, the party begins experimenting with the gates in Azêllay's fortress in an attempt to locate Erasmus and/or return to where Ibiza was left behind.
After some time, though, they realize that too much time has passed and the gates are too chaotic. While they do manage to reunite with Ibiza, they decide there is no good way to find Erasmus and so decide to rest for awhile and try again later.
The next day, they continue opening the gates and soon find a group of Hobgoblins in a hilly area torturing a dwarven prisoner. Strangely, the Hobgoblins do not attack. In fact, the party emerging from a magical gate does not seem to faze them at all. Apparently, the hobgoblins were waiting for the gate to open – and probably assumed the party had been hired by Azêllay.
For a variety of reasons (not the least of which is a dwarf in danger), the party chooses to engage them, knowing they will have to leave the one-way gate behind.
Soon after the battle begins, a half-elven sorcerer joins the fray on the party's side. With his help, the bulk of the Hobgoblins are defeated – with the sole survivor fleeing towards a cave entrance. The new ally insistently warns the party not to enter the cave – but it is a Drow Demon casually killing the fleeing Hobgoblin who convinces the party to heed the half-elf's advice.
Deciding the demon is a little out of their league, the party follows the half-elf's lead and flees toward a nearby river. As they approach, the waters seem to magically calm – allowing the party to easily swim across. The demon hesitates at the water's edge, but eventually plunges in to pursue. As soon as the party reaches the other side – with the demon still swimming – the waters suddenly begin churning violently, sweeping the demon downstream and under the surface – never to be seen again.
The dwarf they rescued tells them he is a scout from Hammerfast who was out spotting recent Goblinoid advances. Since the city is only a day's walk away, the party decides to head there. The half-elf is a sorcerer named Majid who claims to be in the forced servitude of a man named Izemrasen – who is, in turn, working for Azêllay. Despite this connection, Majid is allowed to join the goup – as he demonstrated his allegiance by attacking the Hobgoblins.
The first encounter was a home-brew using the “???” map1) from one of the “Fantastic Locations” books. The party entered from one side, with a total of nine Hobgoblins spread around somewhat randomly.
Since I'm writing this report nearly a month after it happened, the details of this fight have not survived in my brain. Suffice to say that the party defeated the Hobgoblins and rescued the dwarf. Huzzah!
The second encounter was a home-brew using the “Caves of Chaos” map from “Fantastic Locations: Frostfell Rift”. It was meant to involve a group of demon-critters, alongside a bunch of spider-things. Near the end of this encounter, a level-inappropriate Drow Demon was to emerge and force the party to flee to the river.
However, time did not permit use of the full encounter, so I opted to have the surviving Hobgoblin flee directly to the cave – and use the Drow Demon at the end of the first encounter.
| # | Challenge | Type | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Hobgoblin Soldiers | Soldier/3 | 150 |
| 4 | Hobgoblin Fleshcarvers | Elite Controller/6 | 500 |
| Total XP | 2,900 | ||
| (6 PCs) | 483 | ||