DM: Seph
PCs: Viran, Orianna, Sneks, Zok, Thorg, TyilAs Thorg leans his shield against his small night stand after spending the last hour wiping off the charred bits left behind, he kneels by the side of his bed, clutching his amulet and beginning his evening prayer. A moment of calm passes, and Thorg stands up, and heads to his desk. Under the faint glow of the bedside candle, Thorg picks up his quill, and begins to write.
After arriving in Sleeper Island and spending the night, I ran into a curious group of adventurers who were looking to set out on an adventure. As I was still trying to get my feel of the place, I decided to join in, and seeing that the majority of the group was as new as I was, I volunteered to lead the party as we left the town. Running ahead of the group was Zok, our trailblazer, a goblin Monk who insists that he is an Orc. I do have my doubts, but time will tell. Our scouts for this mission was Viran the Githyanki Fighter, and Orianna, a Tiefling Rogue who had quite the fire in her eyes. Also walking with us was Tyil, the human warlock who kept wanting to go to the beach, and Sneks, a truly fearsome Kobold.
Together, we left the town and marched towards the west. Following a fairly uneventful half day, we found a smouldering campfire as we started heading south past the fork in the road. A brief investigation found a set of foot prints belonging to 2 gnome or halflings – an adult and a child. Around the campfire was a small pile of rabbit bones as well. With nothing else catching our eye, we head off. Little did we know, this was but our first omen from the Gods of what is to come …
Reaching the outpost, we decided to stay the night. With the help of Tyil and Viran, Sneks remarkably hunted down a Deer, and with Orianna’s dagger, he masterfully salvaged 3 days worth of food for us. As Zok did quick scout around, he noticed an abandoned cave. Tyil was quick to hold Zok back, recounting his own narrow escape from a certain “Nope-Rope” within the caves. With this, the group settles down for the night.
As we awoke, we took a quick dip southwest from the Outpost, and then turnd esharply towards some farms we see towards the west. We were greeted by some cheery farmers, and a creepy cornfield. After a quick conversation, we move on to the west, towards where the farmers had mentioned seeing smoke
Upon leaving the farm, the group felt the ground shudder, before a violent shake caused most of the group to fall onto the floor, with only the nimble Sneks managing to keep his footing. Right in front of us, we see appearing around one of the nearby houses was a black, opaque orb, with a purple door in the front. After the tremors ended, we cautiously went up to the door, and knocked. Out came a little Gnome, who introduced himself as Ezekiel.
Ezekiel tells us that this is his Family home, and he had come to protect them from what ever caused that tremor. In our conversation he brought up Yatari (to the delight of Orianna), the baby beholder Iris, and a truly irritating song that never ends. He tasked us with heading west to investigate the burning village, in order to find out what had happened and to come back with information. The group did not trust this Ezekiel, who seems like someone who definitely had the power to wipe us all out. We decided to head to the village anyway, but to keep the information for ourselves.
As we marched west yet again, we were greeted by a seemingly abandoned farm, with a bunch of rabbits running around the front porch. Convinced that someone, or something, had turned all the farmers into rabbits, we approached. Tyil’s eyes grow a magnificent blue as he tells the group that there was a faint magical glow on each of the bunnies – but it was too late. The bunnies had noticed us. And now that we were up close, we could clearly see the … tentacles coming out of their mouths?
Before we could react, a bunch of the bunnies charged right at us. Several surrounded me and Sneks. The group nimbly dodge bite after bite of their bites, and we quickly dispense of the Cthulu bunnies without taking too much damage.
A little shaken, but mostly okay, the group investigates the bunnies. Tyil realised that these are a unique type of bunny creature previously unknown, and in their corpses we found some Bone worms, which we suspect would be the cause of their transformation. Tyil, eyes still glowing, detected some magical auras coming from inside the house. Orianna, with her invisible mage hand, manages to pick the lock of the front door. The door opens up to yet another huge crowd of bunnies.
Blades glow with green fire and divine power as the group yet again starts hacking away at the bunnies. Zok jumps in to the fray, quickly dispensing of a bunny, but smashes his off-hand onto a well as he leaped at another. One of the bigger Cthulu bunny takes Orianna down with a huge bite, but the quick thinking Sneks feeds her a goodberry just as she was on death’s door. A two-hit punch from Tyil and Zok ends the final bunny, and the group sighs a huge sigh of relief, electing to take a short rest right there and then.
Entering the house, we discovered that the floors were covered in blood, and on the beds in each of the small rooms were skeletal remains. Searching the house, the group finds some pieces of loot, and I take the chance to say a small prayer to Tyr for the lives lost in this house. In the meantime, Tyil and Orianna take an interest on the abandoned crops and wagon in the front yard, and decide to pick some of the produce for the group.
With a keen eye, Viran manages to notice a trial of bloodied rabbit foot prints coming from the south east part of the village. The group approaches the house cautiously. Viran opens the door, and right infront of him was yet another hoard of bunnies. Orianna peeps in and gestures quickly, casting a wave of fire that knocks out a few of this Cthulu bunnies. Zok catches a glimpse of a horrifying creature through the side window, and I dash to the back door, coming face to face with a true Demon of a Rabbit.
Orianna attempts the same trick once again, catching me in the flames. However, the fire left the Devil Rabbit untouched, betraying its Fiendish nature. As the group rushes in yet again and releases a flurry of strikes, we defeat the foul creature.
The group recollects and does some final checks of the remaining houses in the village, as the small house in the south east begin to burn down, in technicolor flames, courtesy of Orianna. Heaving the wagon behind us, we head back towards the outpost.
A fairly uneventful night passed, followed by a rather uneventful day of travel, with the exception of yet another appearance of the song that never ends. Strange. We set up camp by the intersection, slowed down by our cart of cabbages. There, as we were avoiding the advances of a Gnoll pack, we came across an abandoned house, which we decided against exploring. Thankfully, the night passes by safely, and we head back towards the town.
Midway back to the town, however, something strange caught our eye. The message “Lord Jamb Loves You” was etched onto the road. The group elected to not pursue it, but we were all clearly intrigued.
By the end of Day 4, we were safely back in town. Praise Tyr for the safe passage, and for the truly strange welcome to Sleeper Island.