Paths Converge

Paths Converge is the 1st Chapter in the SKT Saga.

Short Summary
Four Strangers paths converge on the road, the four make their way to a town that appears to be in peril.

Long Summary
It started with Lox and Benedikt in a carriage together. They don't really notice each other until they get off at the same spot on the road where a path leads into a forest settlement called Nightstone

After some attempts at conversation by Lox and learning that they were both there looking for jobs to earn some gold, they continue down the path in silence for a while until some rustling in the bushes prompts Ben to throw a rock. A hand made of granite pops out and catches the rock and a large, muscular stone man pops up and chastises them for almost hitting the birds' nest he was putting back in the tree. Almond reveals himself to be a travelling monk looking for a resupply at the nearest town which is Nightstone so he joins the par

Some time after, a voice interrupts their silence and man standing in a tree tells them that their is something strange afoot at their destination. Nightshade jumps down and offers to accompany them to Nighstone as he has bussiness there as well. He doesn't reveal that he is on a mission by his people to gather information about a possible Zhentarim (rival organzation) operation in the town.

As the party gets closer to the town they hear the sound of a bell ringing. The town, which was built on a manmade island within a river so as to have a moat, had it's drawbridge lowered and they couldn't see any activity from outside. They proceeded to enter the town with caution

They see that the majority of the buildings they can see have been damaged by what looks like massive boulders that seem to have rained from above. Nightshade and Almond head into the building nearest to the gate, which turns out to be a church, to see what's happening. Benedikt refuses to go in (because he's undead and he doesn't want to risk it but the PCs don't know) and Lox is too spooked to go in. They go in and discover two goblins hanging on the rope that rings the church bell. Almond tries to negotiate and but them being goblins attack and almost kill him. Nightshade dispatches of them and a bit of help from a heavily injured Almond. He finds a health potion in a chest there with priest stuff and downs it to regain some hp. The others come in hearing the noise and Lox almost throws up. Ben pokes the dead bodies a little.

They go back out to the square to get attacked by a giant wolf (warg) and then another one later on in the fight. Lox almost dies and very freaked out. Nightshade carries him and leads the others to the inn where they find, among many other things, a potion that looks similar to the healing potion from earlier. Lox downs it and it turns out to be a potion of heroism and he gets 10 temp hp for an hour so he isn't dying anymore

They find someone else hiding in the inn. A priestess named Kella Darkhope. She tells them about what happened to the town. A floating castle showed up out of nowhere and started dropping massive boulders. The people ran out of the town across the moat. A while later a bunch of goblins entered the town and started looting. Kella stayed in the inn (she was in the upper floor and the floor in her room was smashed through by a falling boulder so she was stuck. She also had a pet snake with wings hiding in her sleeve. The party asks her to stay in the inn for her own safety and she agrees.

They go out to the middle of the town square and get attacked by yet another warg and decided to go to the larger castle like building they could see across town to check if there were people holed up in there. On the way there, they were ambushed by two goblins. They killed one and managed to subdue the other by shooting it through the upper arm. The goblin was called Flik and he told them that the goblins had raided the town after they intercepted the fleeing villagers and learned the town was empty. The party managed to gather that the villagers were somewhere north of town from their interrogation. Lox and Almond also attempted to reason with the goblin and try to explain that his life didn't have to be one of thieving and murdering. To their surprise, Flik laughed at their(in his opinion) foolish ideas. He explained that he liked his life the way it was and he wouldn't have it any other way. That the party and other people like them were tying themselves down with all their made up rules and making themselves more miserable in the process when they should be living life to the fullest, the right way, like goblinkind. He dies shortly after due to blood loss from his wounds leaving Lox in tears when he realizes that he had just killed a sentient being that he considered a mere animal till he spoke with him. Almond was also pretty shaken up due to the death and not being able to really process what Flik said and how he saw the world. Ben and Nightshade were mostly unaffected.

Characters

 * Strangers
 * Almond
 * Benedikt
 * Lox
 * Nightshade
 * Kella Darkhope
 * Goblins
 * Flik
 * Several Goblins
 * Two Wargs

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