So in this second session, we were missing two pc's, Lokrim the Fighter, and Draco the Dragonborn bard. I had an idea on how to fit their absences into the story, and I think the session went rather well, despite being down two players.
The heroes last saw themselves fighting a bunch of skeletons, and a minotaur skeleton, a badass mofo with huge skeletal horns. A couple of flesh golems also saw their way into the combat, albeit from a distance, throwing boulders and zombies at unsuspecting warriors, from under the cover of an unnatural sandstorm.
Thor managed to turn several of the undead skeletons, making the fight easier than expected. I had hoped to roll better, but truth be told, my rolls were unusually low this night. Only the minotaur, and one other skeleton remained in battle, along with a flesh golem to the north of them, and another one to the south-east. Draco, meanwhile, was low on health, and fled to the south-east, exactly where one of the golems materialized.
Yes, the golem's, and other baddies, the party soon realized, seemed to materialize anytime magic was used. It was fun seeing some of the players figure this out, and then use different methods to engage the enemies.
The party soon dispatched the remaining bags of bone, but not before Draco had been captured by one of the golems, and unceremoniously dragged to wherever they were going. Meanwhile, Lokrim had left the party under the influence of Genghis, the dwarf they had briefly met earlier, to do who knows what.
After the battle, the party followed the path that Genghis and Lokrim had taken, and soon met up with them (well, only Lokrim), in a cleverly engineered hiding spot, in the side of a mountain. Hidden from view, and safe from enemies, the party took a long rest, and decided to instead navigate the forests towards their destination, but not before Lokrim had told them what he and Genghis had spoken about.
The heroes discover that Genghis is actually a Duergar, changed by the magic of the place, into a neutral being, and not one of pure evil, hence why he is helpful to the party, in odd ways, like allowing them to use this safe haven.
After the rest, the party decides to head into the forest. As dm, I had planned some encounters here with kuo-toa and another more hideous beast. But pressed for time, and due to the nature of the short campaign (as well, as being inexperienced with water fighting), I decided to forego the forest fight, and head directly to the "pre-main-battle".
The group found themselves at the bottom of a great chasm, opposite a wall of cages, where it looks like beings are held captive. In fact, their lost friend, Draco, is seen being put into one of those cages by a flesh golem. The top of the cliff is about 100ft high, and the chasm is at least 25 feet across. The walls to the palace are scalable, but since they are made of polished stone, the climb would be exhausting, so the party decides to split the party into a group of one, and another group of two.
Bad on me, I forgot about the absent party member, Lokrim. But in hindsight, and how the story will unfold, this kind of makes sense.
Thor decides to be Thor, and heads directly to Draco, crossing the questionable rope bridge (it doesn't break, and never was meant to, but it was entertaining to hear the group chatter about the possibilities of using this rope bridge somehow). Avacyn, and Lazarus (a Warlock replacing Guruuk), head right down the pipe, across a great bridge constructed of redwood trees, and rope.
To everyone's surprise, none of the beasts seem to notice them until they cross over into the palace territory, which is guarded by six scarecrows.
Naturally, the spellcasters of the party cast some spells, which, of course, causes flesh golems to materialize. This time only one golem materializes, guarding the bridge from retreat, but does not engage in combat, even though it had been attacked.
In the end, the party dispatches the scarecrows, with some good use of the battleground, and finally meets the "Samurai".
The Samurai telepathically speaks to them, suggesting that they rest and regroup, to prepare for an encounter between them and him. Although they could not notice anything specific about the Samurai, Avacyn did notice that he is equiped with a familiar looking Katana.
Hopefully the players enjoyed the session, as I was better prepared, and felt more comfortable rolling dice, and leading gameplay (to a small extent). Hopefully the finale will be one to remember!
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