The Bleak and The Pearl [SoloDark] Part 15 - Entering the Everburning Forest

The Everburning Forest

In his youth, Jonias Grunkheart was fascinated by a strange stretch of land two days travel from the Grunkheart Manse. In old tongue, it was the Tarulukki Ran: the Valley of Sulfurous Smoke. In the distant past, before the Barthic Empire had largely pushed aside all Ancient Technology and buried it out of fear of a Third Cataclysm, the Ran had been the site of contact. This fact Jonias found in scrolls written in Pre-Barthic tongue that his family treasured above everything else.

Something, a creature of long eyes and many teeth, had arrived there. Seeking tarulang: now known as sulfur. The Ancients and the Outsider built an engine to pull great rivers of molten earth up to the surface and harvested from the destruction. The scrolls do not make it clear whether or not the outsider got what it needed. The next story takes place hundreds of years later. A young techno-priestess named Elizin Urnlight, attempted to save the everburning valley by settling the eruptions and by creating an entire ecosystem of flora and fauna that could survive the sulfurous atmosphere. The roots of the unburning trees helped to heal the stones and eventually the lava ceased to flow so freely. 

Thus the place of fiery death became Tarulukki Ran, a place where the air was harsh to breath and the heat was unbearable to many, but a place where life could grow. 

As Jonias grew older and had begun gathering the great families into the new city of Grunce, forming the Pentarchy to fight back, he knew their final stand would be brief without a weapon against the Bleak. The rumors had been ignored for too long and the amount of soil left free from the spreading darkness decreased by the day. 

He went into the now nearly forgotten Ran and built up a network to tap into Elizin's network of lines and conduits of power, barely understanding the science he used but desperate to harness it to his own ends. At the spot where the machine had once been planted to cleave the earth into fire, Jonias built a workshop. He believed there was a source of primal Light, there, a energy left over from the Outsider, which could be harnessed and elevated and magnified. The same light that Elizin Urnlight had used. 

There he met an outcast Efreeti named Uuld Alloces and made a pact with the creature of fire. He would leave the valley to Uuld with the old technology still potent enough to keep the Bleak out. 

After a tense decade where the Pentarch was under siege not only by the growing number of refugees and the Bleak-filled monstrosities beginning to increase in frequency, but by other great houses from now destroyed cities who demanded their own right to rule. At a time in which the five core families were on the cusp of losing Grunce, Jonias managed his last great miracle. Five fuel stones carved from the rocks of the Everburning Forest to channel a form of Elizin Urnlight's forgotten technology into a singular source: the Lighthouse. 

Where the Light shines over the city that was once the Grunkheart Manse, the Bleak cannot encroach. 

While two days ride away, the Ran still sits in acrid yellow smoke and things entangled in that ancient magic seek a way to leave. The very mystical technology that gave hopes to the last bastion of a crumbling empire weakened the original version of the techno-priestess's great salvation. Different things crawl there, now, things that might grow in power if the Bleak can find a way in...

The Everburning Forest is a place of feral magic where a great working has destabilized natural order and given forth to great energies. In the core, a hole to another place has allowed strange creatures to come forth.  At that place, a group of people long twisted and broken by exposure to the nearly toxic air and high heat have dedicated themselves to the worship of Them. Placating Them so They will be content with a small grove. [Worlds Without Number (WWN): Ruins Tag --> Feral Magic + Wilderness Tag --> Devil's Grove]. 

The Tower

At the top of the valley there stands a tower once used by Jonias Grunkheart to store supplies while he struggled through the rough air and heat. 30' by 60' at the base and rising four stories in the sulfurous, it was much more a wayfinder than a defense of any strength. In the three hundred years since, the top two floors have been eaten away and collapsed into the path. 

At its base, two paths stretch. One east along the side of the valley and one south down into the depths. The east-most path quickly splits with a north trail going to one of the crags and peaks surrounding the valley while the trail continuing east goes to mines used by Jonias once to harness the mystically-infused stone used to carve the fuel stones. 

The tower is currently home to a group of nine gnolls who have been gathering old equipment and junk from the tower. 

Gnoll

AC 12 (leather), HP 10, ATK 1 spear (close/near) +1 (1d6), MV near, S +1, D +1, C +1, I -1, W +0, Ch -1, AL C, LV 2 

Rage. 1/day, immune to morale checks, +1d4 damage (3 rounds).

The gnolls know the way through the path to the south but do not go far into the valley to avoid conflict with the Salamanders and the other things which live in the valley. 

The most recent find by the gnolls is a strange statue of a viperian orphid that has been buried under rubble. It is made out of the same stuff as the fuelstones and represents an early draft worked out by Jonias: a symbol of House Mistamere before the design was perfected and the four statues of the non-Grunkheart houses were replaced by replicas of Pentarch leaders (the fifth, the Cyclops, is carved like a large version of Jonias with a single eye looking up into the base of the Lighthouse, the only non-human variation). 

The tower has otherwise long been ransacked by the gnoll tribe and mostly filled with their own refuse and junk. However, in the second floor is a locked door (DC18 DEX to open) which has been closed off by collapsed rubble (DC15 STR to move one of the pieces of 1d6 rubble). Inside, most of the books and notes used by Jonias have been long destroyed by the climate but one magical book, a Tome of Dead Words remains. 

Tome of Dead Words

Contains each of the following scrolls: create undead, magic circle, protection from evil, and speak with the dead. Can also cast Turn Undead but on fumble draws undead to attack the holder. 

[ShadowSpark (ShS) Treasure 8 and Dungeon Encounter Card 41. Increased number of gnolls to better fit party size and altered the powers of the Tome slightly to make using it more a threat]. 

[Doug's Note: In the interim since episode 14, the quartet have gained and had made dragonsilk cloaks, boots, and gloves. These will get advantage on saves versus fire and will (in notebooking terms) make it where "incidental" checks versus heat are not required. I was not going to make those, anyhow, so there you go.]

"Krs'kal'k SHEBAK!" shouts the voice from the tower and the four adventurers come to a stop. 

"You would think we could sneak into a lake of fire without so much hassle," quips the shortest of the four, the Halfling Inar Gale. Invoker of Gede. Jokester. And a person who decided around six months ago that the adventurer life might not be for him. 

"It is the little things, Inar, we should cherish them. By the way, do you recognize the language?" The person asking the question is Rance Uffolt, the Seer. Human and walking encyclopedia for the group. Also the person who's apocalyptic dreams lead the group to a city called Grunce and got them involved with protecting the last major stronghold of civilization in the Bleak.

"No, you?"

"Yes. Bugger. Goblin. Guess I'm doing the talking, then. Umm, Binoshi chok? Akka NObak?" After a minute, screams and angry shouts can be heard inside as rocks and rubble are flung, ineffectively, at the adventurers. [1]

"And what did you say, Uffolt?" asks Grusk Obe, half-orc Barbarian. Many assume he is the group leader, including him. He at least makes it his business to be the group's big brother.

"They asked us to leave and to go away. I said that we were not worried about them and would pass by the tower. Roughly speaking."

"Roughly," says Spotted Tom, the fourth and final member. A goblin Outlaw. One half of the Inar + Tom comedy duo. Also the moral compass of the group. 

"I kept my sentences short just in case but it was something like 'We stay, Nevermind Tower' which really is ripe for misinterpretation now that I say it out loud."

Tom looks at the others and says, "We can ignore them mostly. If they had bows and arrows I am pretty sure they would have already shot us."

"I don't like having enemies at my back, Tom." Grusk is friendly enough but there's a reason he carries an axe called Bloodlust. 

The group talks a minute and with the exception of Tom decides that having folks potentially stalking them or gathering reinforcements or somehow blocking off an exit would be a bad idea, so now they make plans for attack. [2]

"Uffolt, watch our heads, shoot anyone who tries to brain us with your magical sparkles," says Grusk before slamming bodily (and painfully) into the rubble to knock through the door. Inar and Tom help. Only a minor dent is made. Inside, they can hear the creatures' voices tracking downstairs. "So much for a quick entry," says Tom. [3]

It takes a surprisingly long time for the group to bust their way inside with Grusk finally punching through (and pushing back two gnolls were keeping the door shut). He lands inside as Tom and Inar pull and push bits out of the way to get a more even shot. [4]

Grusk erases one of the gnolls behind the door from existence with a single chop while one of the others gets a glancing stab against Grusk's side. Inar rushes in to help while Tom and Rance prepare for long distance fire the next turn. [5]

Grusk returns the favor by removing his stabber's head from its shoulders and pressing deeper into the fray. Inar and Tom miss their shots while Rance's magic missile catches a third. The enraged gnolls have come to some consensus to focus on the halfling and one of them manages to stab Inar deeply in the guts. [6]

A very angry Grusk fails to connect as Tom's arrows and Inar's swings go a bit wild. Two more stabs catch Inar who collapses. Grusk barely notices that he, too, has been hit. An acid arrow flies out and strikes the already injure gnoll. [7]

Grusk drops his shield and shoulders aside all but one spear thrust and he brings his now double-handed axe deep into the chest of the gnoll who struck down Inar. Tom whispers the activation word to his bow, Lucifer's Breath, and the arrow flying out catches fire as it strikes another gnoll. Rance keeps the acid arrow burning inside his victim as he follows up with a magic missile and another gnoll falls. With four gnolls down and another one injured, the five remaining Enrage and press forth with the attack. [8]

Grusks whittles the remaining down to four with another heavy blow while Tom puts another arrow into his target and drops that count to three. Rance dives in to start tending to Inar as the bleeding Halfling is at the edge of death. The gnolls are being pushed back by Grusk and are unable to get him with their spears. [9]

One of the remaining three gnolls gets a hefty stab into Grusk's chest while both the half-orc and goblin fail to keep up their tally. Rance stops the bleeding and starts pulling Inar back through the door to safety. [10]

Grusk's delaying tactics have cost him dearly as the half-orc hits the ground himself. Rance shoots off another acid arrow which is especially potent as it slams into the chest of the one the remaining gnolls. Tom tracks the same target and lets' loose another flaming arrow. With only two left alive, the remaining two gnolls push past the Seer and Outlaw and start fleeing into the forest. [11]

Rance runs in and rips off Grusk's platemail and staunches the blood flow. 

Tom enters pulling Inar back inside and begins rapidly building the ersatz door he helped tear down just a few minutes ago [12] . Rance is covered in the blood of his friends and surrounded by dead bodies. The Seer had just managed to keep his friends alive. 

The goblin sniffs, upset but as always hiding his anger behind a joke, "I told you attacking was a bad idea." 

== MECHANIC NOTES ==

1. Unless I am missing it, Gnolls don't have a language specified. I rolled a 15 on an INT check for Rance (+3 for 18) so I figured it's a language he does know. Goblin being one of them. Unfortunately, with Rance's -2 and a reaction roll of 4... this means the Gnolls are going to be extremely hostile. 
2. Vote Dice. Gave everyone but Grusk a d6. Grusk got a d8. Rolls 4+ were for attack. 3 to 4 with Tom being the only vote no. SoloDark, Is the door still intact (disadvantage)? No. How intact is the not-intact door? 1d6 --> 5. So the gnolls have piled bits of the long corroded door and rubble up in a way to make a door. STR15 with 4 total success to get through it. Otherwise DEX15 to get up to the second floor windows in anything like a successful fashion with gnolls jabbing spears. 6 of the gnolls (just rolled a d8) are on the second floor, leaving only 3 at the bottom. However, this will change depending on sneaky the characters are.
3. Only one success on the first round of rolls. SoloDark, "Do the gnolls start running downstairs?" 18. So yes. In 2 turns all 9 will be on the bottom floor.
4. Took 4 turns which gave the gnolls plenty of time to prepare. Grusk ended on a nat 20, so he is a bit more in control. The others will have issues joining in on this turn of the battle. 
5. Grusk gets a crit. With Bloodlust, that's a minimum of more HP than a Gnoll has. All the gnolls missed but one who got 2 points of damage. 
6. Another crit by Grusk. A crit by Rance. Misses for both Inar and Tom. All gnolls chose Inar as a target and one of them got a critical (!) hit for 14 points of damage. Inar is very hurt. 
7. Inar takes another critical hit (only 2 doing 2 damage this time) but then a regular hit that drops him to 0. Only Rance's Acid Arrow hits and it only does 1hp damage (leaving that gnoll with 4). 
8. Grusk will be AC16 but do more damage. Tom has 5 rounds with his bonus. Inar has 3 rounds to stabilize (failed the first time). 
9. Spent all the Karma trying to Inar stabilized. He has one more turn to live. 
10. This is the last round of the gnoll's enrage. They do make their morale check, though, and will keep pushing the fight the next round. Rance makes the stabilize roll (finally). Tom and Grusk miss but one gnoll gets the hit with the +4 damage. Grusk is ALSO hurting. 
11. Grusk is downed and only has one round to go. Rance is going to have to get to him. Luckily Rance's own critical hit gives him a slightly better chance to stabilize the orc. 
12. Got a WIS 16 so tearing it down will require a STR 16, etc. 

== DOUG'S NOTES ==

Considering the last fight (versus the technically more dangerous cyclops) went really well it seems the tides needed to change. Two downed heroes kept alive at the very last second in both cases. Since the group will need to regroup and next time will pick up with a few checks for random encounters (which will be bad) while the other work on protecting their friends. This is the closest this campaign has gotten to new characters. 

Current plan is to have the The Bleak & The Pearl posts go into a weekly cycle. Sunday's at 5pm, my time zone. 

== CREDITS ==

This campaign is played primarily using Shadowdark and SoloDark, both by Arcane Library and Kelsey Dionne (et al).

Additional sources include a variety of things for tables, especially Knave 2nd Edition and Maze Rats (both by Ben Milton), Random Realities by Cezar Capacle, Universal NPC Emulator by Zach Best, and various pieces from Worlds without Number and Scarlet Heroes (both by Kevin Crawford).

The illustrations are created by me using GIMP and Hex Kit (featuring the Lil Hex Pack and Strange BW Hex Pack). The sources of the images I edit to make the "two color" splashes range from personal photographs to Pixabay Stock Art to a few old pieces generated by ChatGPT/Dall-E (though I am planning to generate no new AI content for this blog due to a lot of reasons).