Tl;dr: A group of adventurers travel from Ruined Oak to the ZHT portal and return by land, all the way back to Ruined Oak. Many things of note were seen but mostly wurms. Giant wurms of many varieties. And a wurm mage. But everyone safely returned.
Adventuring tip : Maybe don’t trust adventurers who are immune to poison on what is safe to eat.
Session Title : Travel from ZHT to Ruined Oak aka Got Map?
Session DM : Geokhan
Session Date : 31 May 2021 @ 23:59 UCT
Characters:
“Chronicler” and “Trailblazer” Bardy (Bard 9/Cleric 1)
“Cartographer” Cober (Cleric 1/Wizard 11) with Anhinga the Familiar
“Scout” Eight (Monk 11/Wizard 2)
“Leader” Faenoa (Fighter 8/Wizard 2)
Joule (Barbarian 11/Fighter 3)
Oogway (Monk 12)
Ten’follat (Warlock 1/ Wizard 9) with Coco the Familiar
Our group met up in the Potted Plant in Ruined Oak and took the portal to ZHT with the intent of going north/northeast until we found ourselves back in known lands. A previous expedition I had been on discovered it was likely 360-400 miles from the portal to known lands. We took a great deal of food just in case, and cold weather clothes as the portal at ZHT is very cold. Thanks to the presence of Joule and the phantom steeds of Cober and Ten’follat, we can travel at a very fast rate.
Near the end of the first day of travel we found a waymarker that referred to sentinels of some kind in the area. As our mission involved a great deal of travel we elected not to explore this further. We then found a dilapidated house near some wild strawberries (which were delicious.) The house seemed disused within the last year but there was magic statue that seemed to ward off cold, dedicated to what is most likely a nearby primal entity (perhaps a forest spirit).
We settled in for the night. I was awoken by Joule to investigate a severed foot she and Faenoa (this was a memorable awakening) had found during their watch. It seemed like it had traces of acid and was severed by a bite. They also mentioned some crater and holes with movement sounds nearby. I told them we could check those more carefully in the morning. My watch passed peacefully into morning and then we examined the crater. It was roughly seventy feet in diameter, and had holes in the ground that were fifteen feet in diameter. Faenoa wanted to explore them now but we had a mission to work towards.
Starting out one the second day, it was warm enough to switch out of our cold weather clothes. We set out northeast. The terrain was a hilly grassland. We had no encounters in the first hours of the day, but we noted one spot the ground was riddled with burrows and holes in the ground. Some as large as an elephant. As we continued forward we were attacked by some large wurms, a robed caster and a roc. After some combat most of the wurms ran away, the roc was banished and did not to return.
Moving further northeast, we found a herd of camels as the terrain started to turn to badlands. Then we found a ruined farmstead, people had attempted to tame this land but failed. There was an intact signpost pointing east with the writing “Kalimar”.
Continuing northeast, Ten’follat fell into a chasm that seemed to have been made by a very large wurm boring through the ground. She found writing down there that said “Water at Horndal” as a sort of survival marking. We travelled a bit further northeest from there and found ourselves on a barren salt flats. We decided this barren land wouldn’t have much food or water to forage, so we ate rations and used magic to make water.
The night passed uneventfully and we continued northeast. More sign of wurm activity. We continue northeast. (Northeast is the way we went, I feel the need to emphasize that.) We saw way off into the distance to the east a very large constructed building. Some want to explore but we continue our travel northeast. (to my eyes that could possibly be a new portal location, perhaps a future mission will discover more.)
We approached a marshy area, near a lake. We had brought a folding boat, so unfolded that and we all boarded and started to cross. After we cross the lake, the land nearby has a forest of giant mushrooms, some fifteen feet tall. Some were edible and some were poisonous. We continued to cross marshy terrain, with Joule’s mastery of such protecting us from errant footfalls into the treacherous bog land. We found an ancient structure of some sort. (I could imagine the missing details worn away with time). We camped for the night there. Faenoa said she heard then saw blood dripping from something but nothing came of it.
The night was uneventful. As we continued northeast, the marsh became plains. The plains became hills. We did not notice or encounter anything noteworthy this day. We slept at the base of some hills.
The next day, continuing northeast, we find a sign that says “Swollen Tooth” pointing east, with mountains in that direction. Some of the party were familiar with a Swollen Tooth mountain range and a burned down inn named “Swollen Tooth“. The party decided to go east here. We walked by an abandoned tin mine, seemingly of goblin origin and continued east. Here we encountered dwarves, some named Wimbledon and Jord. There were a scouting party from Rehope (everyone in the party knows Rehope which meant we were getting closer to home) They say to follow the river east and cross the mountains and we will be at the Swollen Tooth Inn, or what remains of it.
We continued travelling east, following a river. We passed by some ancient ruins and a druid circle but felt the need to continue without exploring them. East was our direction, and we camped without incident at the base of the mountains.
We went east and found a stone well where skulls had been used to replace broken stones (eerie to see). Then we starting carefully traversing the mountains, using the dwarves’ information on an easier passage. Along the way we found an abandoned dwarf mine, but safely made our passage through the mountains and arrived at the burned down Swollen Tooth Inn.
A large group of hobgoblins (I think Ten’follat enjoyed seeing some of her kin and bugbears were camping at the burned inn. They were displaced from somewhere, (my old ears missed where) and were seeking a new home, but currently have intent on heading towards Rehope with some merchant goods. We spent the night with them. On the next day we found the familiar road and followed it all the way, safely, back to Ruined Oak.
I hope I’ve managed to contain most of the details of our journey. So many days travelled, much to see and not do. It rankled us adventurers a bit to leave so much unexplored, but the mission was paramount. My apologies friends if my information is inaccurate, I am but an old man weary from travels as I write this.
Bardy