A strange world of Random Doom - episode Nine

Preamble 

In the end  I  managed to make it home in time to join in after all as there was no magic tournament and our cadre of board gamers had bought all they wanted early enough that I could make a sharp exit and leave them playing till the boss got back form his race at Donnington

the region 

On with the game

• we started at the Port - shown in purple on the map on the coast  in the gap in the mountains the and having decided that we needed to be in the swamp of Gorundy by the time all the moons where full at the same time we rode taking Relemir to hold the horses and act as camp servant.
• We also decided we had time to check on the state of more of the villages in the north lands on  on our way, this the Gnome moaned about as he was wanting to get it over with or just not liking so much time on pony back. As is traditional in the company now we ignored him. 
• We rode under overcast skies with the air full of acidic drizzle and the smell of burning low grade coal. Through untended crop fields slowly dying form neglect and the exposure to acid rain. 
• our first night out we camped not far form the lake in the dying crop lands where last time we had seen the shadows flying over head. This time the night passed without incident and we pressed on to the nearest village on the map we had taken from the bandit’s fort.
• We found the first settlement a village as far as we could tell form the little that remained of it, the one marked with the group icon a backpack had been scorched to the foundations. Investigating this revealed that it had been done by ritual magic and the ritualists or some one had gone west and perhaps north from there but we lost the trail very quickly and where unable to follow.
• After completing what investigations we could at the scorched village we had still day light and we reckoned we had the time to we should check out another settlement on the way choosing the nearest one marked within the boundaries of the woods in which the burned bandit fort stood.
• This village proved to be more intact and we sent Faz the gnome in to scout it out with the aid of Coradwin’s magic which enhanced the gnomes considerable stealth skills by rendering him silent, this also had the hilarious side effect of rendering unable to speak and gave the company the first time free of gnomish banter since they had met up. Oddly Faz found this unfunny well gnomes have odd senses of humour don’t they
• The gnome’s report suggested that the village was uninhabited but apart from one collapsed building, which radiated what the gnome felt to be evil, it was safe so it was decided that we could investigate more closely once the magic had worn off Faz.
  
  
  

  

  Naiad's Pool

• The company approached the little settlement and found it not quite uninhabited but its one inhabitant a naiad was friendly and hospitable, sadly the Gnomes lack of any residue of tact offended her and she left. However before that we found out about the fate of the villagers here they had fled after a wraith attack which the naiad had driven off because they felt unsafe even so. More about the Dryad Gorundy and her habits including her buying children of the slavers which explained something which we had seen the first time on the way to the swamp and of a blood cult which had dwelt in and possibly built the bandits fort in the first place. We also learned who had put out the fire; it was the Naiad who did not want her woods burning if it spread.
• After talking to the Naiad we investigated the rest of the village avoiding the collapsed building which Faz had reported as being in some way evil, however out new recruit was fascinated by the place and poked about in it regardless of instructions and Faz bodily dragging him away on one occasion. He appeared to stir up the lingering evil but escaped with out immediate ill effects.
• The rest of us found a crystal grotto which radiated good peace and well being and even though Faz wanted to sample the crystal incase it might be of use powering one of the infernal contraptions he is always planning
•  Having partaken of the Naiads hospitality found we needed no rest but spent the night in a warded sanctuary possibly a temple of the wayfarer or on of the other faiths that worships in the open air.
• In the Morning we rode directly to the swamp approaching from the north as we had learned that this was the easiest way in.
• On arrival at the swamp we left Relamir in charge of the horses and continued on foot through the increasingly wet and difficult going as we headed for the village of the children which was  at the centre of the swamp

Approaching the children's Village

• On reaching the vicinity of the village the majority of the company took cover as best as they where able and sent Max forward to scout out the village as we considered that the children would find him the least threatening and did not want any stand up fights with the vine lizards which we knew to be in the village with the children if we could avoid them. Most especially not in front of the children who we knew treated them like pets
• Max caused quite a stir on his arrival at the village but he didn’t scare the children and managed to report back with useful information and based on which we decided to risk all visiting the village
• This produced more information about the swamp Gorundy and the children
• In the centre of the swamp we took shelter at the warded stones and planed what to do next