Expedition 4: The Fields of Moseley

Player created map.

Expedition Party: Feodor, Gossamer, Lief

Our adventures set out on a southward path back to the ruins of the tower they had found before. The day is grey, the wind is brisk, and the sky is foreboding. They make it to the tower without much trouble and after further investigation of the space they discover a trap door hidden among the debris of the abandoned camp. 

Inside they discover a small damp room with several puddles. It appears to have once been some kind of root cellar or larder. Most of its contents are rotten but they do find a grappling hook, rope, and some interesting fungus that Lief, a fungal forager, believes might have some bioluminescent properties. Not finding much of interest beyond that, they exit the trap door and decide to explore the larger area around the tower.

A small distance from the tower they find an area with strange whitish stones that jut out of the earth and grasses. They are oddly shaped, and one large stone appears almost like a large dome. Feodor, a bonekeeper, realizes that the stones are actually bone. He believes that they are standing among the skeleton of some kind of giant. While he examines them Gossamer hears two large things moving around inside the dome, which they now believe to be a skull. 

Soon two wolves emerge and the ground rushes to support one another as they fight off the wolves. They take down the wolves but only after taking several serious injuries, one knocks Gossamer to the ground. Afterward they investigate the inside of the skull and find the writing and the remains of a man with a gambeson and 10 gold. The writing is similar to the Imperial script they are used to but a bit different, so they can only make out bits and pieces. It hints at some kind of underground passage that is hidden in a building in an orchard. 

They return to the tower and treat Gossamer’s wounds with boiled rags, and debate how to best make camp. They question if Strotherine once had other structures and if there are still giants. They rest uneasy that night. During Gossamer’s watch he sees 4 figures stumbling in the fields  not far from the tower, he chooses to leave them alone, and they pass slowly out of sight. During Feodor’s watch he notices a storm blowing in from the west, and by Lief’s watch there is a dappled rain that is slowly increasing.

By morning there is a full blown thunderstorm dousing the fields around the ruined tower. They start their day by changing and cleaning Gossamer’s wound, and they discuss what to do. Eventually deciding to travel further south through the storm. As they go they see a group of figures in the distance fighting strange hound-like beasts with skeletal heads. They move quickly and the storm conceals them from the group engaged in battle. 

The party finds a large hill with a blackened oak on it and climbs to the top of it. There they see a well and the ruins of an old stone shrine. Entering the shrine see hulking beetles, the size of small dogs, feeding on the roots of the oak tree. They kill the beetles without too much trouble and decide to investigate the well. They lower a rope and Lief climbs down. He lights a torch and finds himself standing in a large room with a set of tapestries on one wall and a broken shelf on another. Directly in front of him he sees a hallway continuing into the darkness. Above the other two warn Lief that the sun is setting so he returns from the well and the group takes shelter in the old stone shrine. 

During the night when Feodor and Lief are keeping watch. They hear the sound of laughing children see figures wearing skull-faced masks moving just out of sight in the darkness of the storm. The next day the group takes stock of their supplies, realizing they are running low they start to head back to Strotherhine. Despite the continued dismal weather, they make it back to the ruined tower. While there they discuss the possible benefits of improving the tower and possibly adding a cache or making it more of a base of operations. They continue onward and notice the skull faced figures appear to be following them. When they finally get to Strotherine they realize that their remaining rations have been stolen.