The Southron Tavern

02 - The Toll in the Mist

7 min read

Opening Situation

the Company began the night at the Stone Marker Campsite, guarding Elk’s Wagon before entering the Shifting Forests. Karis had taken the first watch, Nadia the second, and Shallie volunteered for the midnight watch.

Company Present

Locations Visited

Events

Wolves in the Grass

during Nadia’s watch, she heard tall grass rustling beyond the camp. She approached, heard a low growl, and continued investigating. A pack of wolves then attacked.

the fight became dangerous quickly. A wolf brought Shallie to 0 hit points and left her unconscious, and Corvex came to her aid. Karis was knocked prone but continued attacking with Eldritch Blast. Nadia fought with both bow and sword, striking one wolf as it rushed past her. Corvex breathed poison across the pack. Shallie made repeated attacks but struggled to connect.

the Company killed the wolves, including the dire wolf leading them. They later harvested meat and pelts from the pack. Varynx kept some wolf blood in an empty bottle.

Three Guardians and a Captive

while the wolves attacked the camp, Varynx was roughly one hundred feet away and encountered three tiny winged guardians. They accused him of disturbing the woods and called him a “foul creature.” Varynx caught one of them and intimidated the other two into fleeing.

varynx returned to camp holding the furious captive. The Company began calling the tiny guardian Jeffrey, but Jeffrey refused to answer when asked for his name. Corvex examined him with Detect Good and Evil. Jeffrey remained uncooperative and was confined inside Varynx’s lantern, which Varynx carried at his hip.

Watches Before Dawn

during the remaining watches, the Company discovered bootprints with a P-shaped impression encircling the camp. They could not trace the person who made them.

a drizzle came during the night. Nadia and Shallie pitched tents for the Company. Shallie took the midnight watch. By morning, everyone ate from their rations, while those wounded during the wolf attack shared Shallie’s Goodberries.

Lost in the Mist

the Company set out in its usual formation and entered the Shifting Forests. The woods first appeared ordinary, but mist soon surrounded them and broke their formation apart. Shallie and Corvex remained together on the driver’s bench while Nadia, Karis, and Varynx became separated.

karis marked trees with Prestidigitation. Shallie dusted trees with magical alchemical powder. Varynx cut marks into trunks with his axe and climbed trees in an attempt to see beyond the fog. Corvex cast Light, but it offered little help in the mist.

corvex then amplified his voice with Thaumaturgy and called, “JUST PUSH FORWARD!” His voice gave the others something to follow.

The Toll Demand

varynx reached a treetop outpost, where two bandits demanded 10 gp for passage. He sprinted away and avoided an arrow fired after him, then encountered Nadia in the fog.

elsewhere, Shallie and Corvex found Karis’s trail and reunited with him. The three reached the same outpost, where the bandits demanded 10 gp from each traveller. Corvex again magnified his voice and shouted for the Company to push forward. Nadia followed the sound toward the outpost.

varynx took a different route. He climbed through the trees, gained sight of the outpost from above, and approached while Corvex kept the bandits occupied below. Varynx emerged between the two men, wrapped an arm around each, and greeted them. Both tried to break free, but neither escaped his hold before combat began.

Traps and Falling Bandits

karis spotted the ladders leading into the outpost. Nadia climbed first and triggered a rockfall trap connected to the first rung, but narrowly avoided the falling stones. Shallie tried the other ladder despite the warning. It carried the same trap, and she swung herself aside while the rocks fell past her.

the fight ended quickly when Varynx threw both bandits from the outpost. One fell directly onto Corvex, reducing him to 0 hit points and leaving him unconscious. The Company stabilized him, but he remained unconscious while they searched the outpost.

Searching the Outpost

karis searched the two bandits and recovered two shortswords, two shortbows, miscellaneous scraps, a Toll Ledger, and a crude “Things I’ve Killed” List. Papers found among their belongings revealed the names Rusk and Pell, although nothing established which name belonged to which man.

shallie searched an alchemical workbench and found a Potion of Healing. Nadia pried open a false plank beneath a rug in the workshop and recovered a Hidden Workshop Letter, which she showed to everyone. The letter mentioned the Black Mark. After examining it, Shallie thought its writer might once have been a druid who had turned to other pursuits.

varynx searched the living quarters for medical supplies but found only scrap. Shallie carried the Potion of Healing down to Corvex and administered it, returning the aid he had given her during the wolf attack. Corvex regained consciousness.

A Warning in Blood

before the Company gathered beneath the outpost, Varynx pinned one of the dead bandits to a tree by driving an arrow through the man’s hand. Using the wolf blood he had bottled, he painted, “SToP StEaLing frOm oUr WaGon!!” on the trunk. Blood dripping from the dead bandit’s hand ran into the bottle, replacing the wolf blood Varynx had carried.

the marked tree became the Bloody Warning Tree.

Decisions

  • The Company entered the Shifting Forests and continued toward the Keep despite the mist.
  • Varynx kept Jeffrey confined in his lantern after the other two guardians fled.
  • Nadia showed the Hidden Workshop Letter to the entire Company.
  • The Company stopped beneath the treetop outpost for a short rest.
  • The Company will begin the next session at level 2.

Discoveries

  • Unexplained bootprints with a P-shaped impression circled the campsite during the night.
  • Three tiny winged guardians watched the woods and objected to Varynx’s disturbance of them.
  • Mist within the Shifting Forests separated the Company and resisted their first attempts at navigation.
  • Two bandits operated a trapped treetop toll outpost and demanded 10 gp from each traveller.
  • Papers found after the fight revealed the names Rusk and Pell, but not which name belonged to which bandit.
  • The Toll Ledger showed only one successful collection.
  • The Hidden Workshop Letter mentioned the Black Mark and may have been written by someone who was formerly a druid.

People Encountered

  • Jeffrey, the name the Company gave the captive guardian
  • Rusk and Pell, the names found in the dead bandits’ papers

Objects Involved

  • Elk’s Wagon, which the Company continued to escort through the forest
  • Varynx’s lantern, in which Jeffrey remained confined
  • two shortswords and two shortbows recovered from the bandits
  • Toll Ledger
  • “Things I’ve Killed” List
  • Hidden Workshop Letter
  • a Potion of Healing that Shallie used to revive Corvex
  • Varynx’s bottle, which held wolf blood and then blood from one of the bandits

Open Questions

  • Who left the P-shaped footprints around the campsite?
  • Why did the three guardians call Varynx a “foul creature”?
  • What is Jeffrey’s real name, and what does he know about the forest?
  • What caused the mist to separate the Company?
  • What is the Black Mark mentioned in the Hidden Workshop Letter?
  • Who was the letter’s writer, and why did Shallie think the writer may once have been a druid?
  • Who was the single traveller recorded as paying the bandits’ toll?

Current Circumstances

the Company is taking a short rest beneath the Treetop Toll Outpost in the Shifting Forests. Rusk and Pell are dead. Corvex is conscious after Shallie gave him the Potion of Healing. Jeffrey remains confined in Varynx’s lantern. The Company still has Elk’s Wagon and intends to continue toward The Keep. Everyone will begin the next session at level 2.

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