Author: roll4insomnia

As the party becomes acquainted with the other inhabitants of the longhouse and begin their training, they notice that many people have wraps around their skin and seem to be suffering from some kind of illness. Circe, always eager to learn and help those who are hurting, asks the housekeeper, Mae, about it, who explains that the disease comes from the north in the Court of Sun from the ice dwarves. Circe and the rest of the party offer to keep an eye out for a cure or soothing balms.

Over the next 2 weeks, the party trains, learns some of the language, and successfully delivers the package from the Ru to the bakery. At the end of 2 weeks, the town gathers for a traditional ceremony to wish the party safe travels complete with a bonfire, great idols of Velra (the same woman with antlers that Circe saw in her dreams on the first night of their exile), and a shaman beating rhythmically on a drum. In the midst of the ceremony, Circe sees fey creatures playfully dancing in the fire, appearing and disappearing, and reaching out to her.

In the morning, Meira introduces the party to Veyra, a halfling hunter, who will guide them to the Court of Moon to see if they know what’s going on with the Yesir’s missing son and the dead messenger. Before setting out, Mae gives the party small wooden idols of Velra and Celestrys for luck.

Podbean (Podcast): Part 1

After arriving in Helristarn, the party inquires after the Yesir of the town and are led by Gerda, a hill dwarf guard, to a great longhouse filled with people. Sitting in a big chair at the end of the longhouse, they are introduced to the Yesir, Revna Thurinsdottr, a tiefling with gray-blue skin and white eyes, along with her seer, Targyrn, an earth genasi druid with black skin resembling obsidian and orange agate eyes. The exiles deliver the scroll from Argan to the Yesir, gaining some trust with her.

Suddenly, as Targyrn is attempting to read the party’s uncertain future with bones on the floor, someone rushes into the longhouse with news that a messenger has returned. All the people in the longhouse shuffle out onto the street to see the messenger hanging dead from his horse. The horse is branded with what appears to be a sun, bright on one side and darkened on the other.

Back inside the longhouse, the party learns that the Yesir’s son (who they refer to as the Fateweaver) had been kidnapped and this messenger was sent out to find him. The courts currently had a peace pact, but this may be a sign that the peace is over. She asks the party to travel to the Court of Moon to get more information, something her people are unable to do in secret as they would be detected by magical means if they cross the border. In return, she promises them rewards, equipment, and the removal of their armbands that have been the cause of so much pain and limitation.

The party is introduced to Meira, a huge goliath Rune Knight covered in tattoos, who will guide them to the secluded and secret village of Nu where the other “Lost Ones” live. The group is led to their own temporary longhouse in Nu, where they also meet 3 others who will assist in training the party over the course of 2 weeks. Zeldur, a gnome bard, will teach Fin; Tris, a tiefling monk, will teach Cetatia; Yarin, a half-elf druid, will teach Circe; and Meira will teach Fergus. Meira successfully removes the party’s armbands, but tells them that they are still vulnerable to being watched and that they should see the head Yesir’s Fateweaver as soon as possible.

Podbean (Podcast): Part 1 & Part 2

Having safely arrived back at the cabin, the party is able to get some desperately needed rest and sustenance thanks to their host, Argan, the young and mysterious boy who welcomed them into his cabin. As they warm themselves by the fire, the group learns that Argan, as part of his punishment, is unable to leave the cabin and its surrounding area. In exchange for his help in aiding the party back to health, he requests that they deliver a scroll to the leader of the Court of Stars in Helristarn, one of three courts in the Exiled Lands, along with the Court of Sun and the Court of Moon. He explains that the Fateweavers, people with unique abilities, in Helristarn keep disappearing. He also informs them of rather large woman there known as Meira, with black eyes and a tattoo of a dwarven rune meaning “strength,” may be able to help the party with their pesky arm bands that make it difficult for them to use their special abilities. After providing them with some warmer clothes, boots, and rations, Argon shows the party to the path to the river. Using a few clues they pick up along the way, they discover that Argan is actually a great silver dragon before they part ways.

 Once they arrive at the river, they find two houseboats manned by friendly River Folk halflings (or “Ru”), Belras and Barrin, who are easily convinced to give the party a ride upriver to Helristarn. They provide the party with shelter on the boat and a feast of delicious Ru foods. As the sun begins to set, they warn the party to keep quiet as danger lurks along the river at night. Suddenly, one of the guards spots 3 creatures resembling fish creeping through the water. The party wakes and springs to action in an attempt to kill the raiding fish-people, but not before one of them is able to make off with a few crates of goods.

Eventually, the boat arrives safely to Helristarn where the party sees a town full of peat houses, bustling with people of a variety of races, from tieflings and dragonborns to goliaths. Will the party find the leader and deliver the scroll safely? Find out next time on The Exiled!

Podbean (Podcast): Part 1 & Part 2

As the little boy grumpily opens the cabin door, he notices that snow has begun to fall and warns that the first snow fall is a sign that Krampus is coming to snatch people and judge them, sending those he deems bad to his “hell” at the bottom of his tower. The snow begins falling very heavily and the wind picks up, creating a whirlwind of snow that obscures the party’s vision.

Suddenly, Fergus and Circe find themselves magically transported into individual cages inside of a dark room. Using her druidic shapeshifting skills, Circe transforms into a rat, crawls out of her cage, and retrieves a lockpick to free Fergus. Together, the two adventurers stealthily travel down a set of spiral stairs from room to room of Krampus’s tower, searching for their companions and means to escape and solving puzzles along the way. The route is treacherous, but Fergus’s axe convinces an old man in a Krampus mask to bring them to their friends and even reveal a secret bookcase passage that opens to another spiral staircase that leads out of the tower.

Before they can open the final door to freedom, Krampus suddenly appears before them! With two of their party members knocked out, Fergus and Circe struggle to battle the beast, eventually managing to subdue him. Before he disappears in a puff of black smoke, he glares at Circe, takes out a scroll, and crosses something out on the paper.

Carrying their incapacitated companions, Fergus and Circe escape back out into the cold where the original cabin in the woods still stands. The little boy, wide-eyed and impressed that the group escaped the clutches of Krampus, invites everyone in to sit by the fire and rest.

Podbean (Podcast): Part 1 & Part 2

Having a deep hatred toward non-holy magic because of the destruction it caused so long ago, King Sargos, ruler of the Kingdom of Syl, issued “The Cleanse” which sought out all individuals who practiced or showed any signs of non-holy magic, and brought them to trial for treason. Those charged are either sentenced to death, sold into servitude, or exiled from the kingdom.

Among those recently exiled is a group of misfits: Fergus, the Mountain Dwarf Fighter, Circe, the Fey-touched Human Druid, Cetatia, the Water Genasi Monk, and Fin, the Tabaxi Bard. After being pulled from their dark prison cells, they are blindfolded and travel by ship to the distant shores of the exiled lands, where they are abandoned with no means for survival other than their combined skill and wit.

With only a rocky beach and tall cliffs as far as they can see, the exhausted group is forced to climb the cliffs and make a shelter for the night under a tall tree. Here, they notice, the sun doesn’t linger long in the sky, and those who have magical abilities experience difficulties casting spells properly and suffer from pain originating from their prison arm bands. Shortly after settling in for the night, the exiled are attacked by a severed hand and a ghoulish creature, causing the group to realize quickly that danger lurks in these dark woods. As she sleeps, Circe has a dream in which a beautiful woman with long hair, tall antlers, and black-painted eyes appears to her, reaching out her hand as if asking for help.

In the morning, the group sets out along a path toward a cabin in the woods after seeing its chimney pouring out smoke during the night. Fergus politely knocks on the door while the others remain hidden not too far away. Someone inside the cabin loudly stomps around before grumpily opening the door.