All Good Things

DM's Note: The idea for the adventure "All Good Things" stems from the notion that all good things must come to an end. Sadly our group discovered this notion first hand as good friend and long-time gamer Chris Harris is forced to leave the group and move to Florida. On this parting adventure Chris' character Dane Bramage returns home only to find that his village has been besieged by an ancient unnamable evil; a spirit from olden times.

Background: Long time party member Dane Bramage has received a cryptic message from his home village of Hawk's Point. An ancient spirit, thought to exist only in legend has begin preying on members of Dane’s tribe. Can the village of Hawk’s Point be saved or is it already too late? The party must travel to the Forlorn Forest and discover what is happening. Can this evil spirit be stopped or will the hunters become the hunted?

All Good Things Outdoor Map

Completed Adventure

June 28, 1203: The party consisting of Dane, Quinlan, Renchor, Steven, Lady, and Mirazda board Steven's spelljammer ship for a journey to the Forlorn Forest. The trip takes about 5 days, but due to the dense layer of foliage, Steven is forced to anchor his ship in White Fanged bay and the party must hike to Hawk's Point.

July 3, 1203 (Kobold Ambush): The party is ambushed by a party of Kobold fighters. To make matters worse, the Kobolds have dug pit traps around their position in hopes to trap an unsuspecting victim. The trap was easily overcome and although the Kobolds were more powerful than first anticipated, the party was able to turn them away and claimed a small amount of treasure in the process.

July 4, 1203 (The First Clue): While traveling on this day, the party notices several vultures circling above the forest about a mile to the south. It is decided that only Renchor and Quinlan will investigate and the rest of the group will continue to Hawk's Point. Renchor and Quinlan discover the remains of 5 badly mutilated bodies. The eyes have been removed, muscles stripped from the bone, and the organs and skin have been removed as well. Although Renchor searches for tracks, the bodies have been here for quite sometime and only a few faint prints are discovered.

July 7, 1203 (Hunter's Rock): Rather than going straight to Hawk's Point, the party takes a detour to the village of Hunter's Rock. This village is about 15 miles north west of Hawk Point. It is a small village of about 125 and mainly consists of Humans and Half-Elves. The village has a tavern, an inn with a limited number of rooms for rent, and a small outfitter’s shop. Hunter’s Rock has been attacked many times by evil spirits from the forest. In all, over 30 residents have been lost in attacks and about another 50 more have fled the village for safety. While there, the party is introduced to the town's leader, a half-elven sorcerer who is called “The Duchess”. Duchess Starshine was born in the Forlorn Forest and does not believe that evil spirits are lurking about. She feels out creature, perhaps trolls are to blame.The last attack at Hunter's Rock occurred just yesterday; a family living on the outskirts of the village was attacked. She believes that 2 family members were killed and the other 4 family members are missing. She has kept the area clean so it may be investigated. Eyewitnesses say the creatures were is about 7 feet tall, walked on two legs, and had 3 eyes.

Searching about, Renchor discovers a total of 12 distinct sets of large wolf-like prints and that these creatures were guilty of the attacks. Inside the house 2 large bloodstains are found. In addition, there are 4 areas in the house where it looks like struggles took place. The wolf-like prints can be tracked exiting the house and many of these prints are deeper than they were when they entered the house. It could be assumed that the creatures were either carrying something when they left or they had just eaten a great amount of flesh.

July 9, 1203 (Hawk's Point): The party arrives at Hawk's Point and finds a village that sets atop the grass covered mound and overlooks a small valley. The village is a sad sight; buildings on the outskirts of town have been abandoned. The outfitters shop, the local inn, and the blacksmith shop are all closed. The village defenses are in poor shape and only a scant few guards can be seen guarding a Viking style long house near the center of town.

As the party approaches the long house, they are greeted by Eton Hathgar, a Half-Orc warrior, and are taken to meet the village Chieftain, Lord Flos Hathgar. Lord Hathgar tells the group that Hawk’s Point has been under attack for over 3 months and that the attacks generally happen during the dark of the moon or on foggy nights. In addition, the village has plagued by a terrible disease called "The Curse". Of the 33 survivors 17 have fallen victim of The Curse a plague that has been blamed on the Vendol. Those inflicted include Lord Hathgar, Mouton Hathgar, the Chief's daughter, and an assortment, of men, women, and children.

To make matters worse, By-Tor, the tribe’s champion, and his party of warriors disappeared over a week ago, and By-Tor was in possession of the Lord Hathgar's double handed war axe called “The Vanquisher”; a legendary weapon used to keep the village safe from the evil.

Hawk's Point

Victim of the Curse

July 7, 1203 (Roan Oak): Rather than going straight to Hawk's Point, the party takes a detour to the village of Roan Oak. When they arrive, they discover the front gates are gaping open. Baskets, wagons, and other supplies have been left in the courtyard. There is evidence of great struggle although there are no bodies present. There is evidence of scavengers such as wolves and coyotes, but nothing on a grand scale. After searching about, the party discovers the tattered and ripped clothes of 33 other victims. Judging from the blood, mess and torn clothing, it appears that these unfortunate souls met a gruesome and violent death. In some cases, a bone, skin, hair or other body fragment may be found near the torn clothing.

Using his tracking skills, Renchor discovers 11 distinct sets of large wolf-like prints and that these creatures were guilty of the attacks. These prints are older than the wolf and coyote prints. The wolf-like prints can be tracked exiting Roan Oak with a wagon and team of oxen. Many of these prints are deeper than they were when they entered Roan Oak. It is assumed that the creatures were either carrying something when they left or they had filled up on villagers or both. One interesting note is that there are 9 separate pairs of prints entered Roan Oak while there are 11 the left.

July 8, 1203 (Tracking the Wagon): It is an easy matter for the skilled Renchor to track the wagon. He and the party tracks the wagon for about 8 miles. They discover that the wagon has hidden by brush and that the wagon, and the area around the wagon contains several bodies. Searching about, the party discovers at total of 21 bodies. Judging from the size, the bodies are from adult male or females. An interesting note about the bodies is that most all their flesh has been removed, but the limbs are still connected by tendons and ligaments, except in the cases where it looks like scavengers have gotten to the remains. Near the front of the wagon are the remains of 2 large oxen in pools of blood. Flies blow the mess, but there are no maggots on the remains. In addition, it appears that scavengers have gotten to the remains as well.

Using his extraordinary tracking abilities, Renchor discovers a carefully hidden trail which the party follows to a cave about a half mile away.

July 9, 1203 (The Cave of Secrets): At the entrance to this cave are the remains of a campfire. A small circle of stones about 3 feet in diameter are set around the fire it and the center of the burnt remains of the Logs used as fuel. Judging from the condition of the ashes and the burnt logs, it appears the campfire has not been used for quite some time. Renchor surmises that a fire was set 6 six months ago by a skilled fire builder and that several humans stayed and that they were carrying some type of game.

Searching further, the party discovers a portion of the cave that is decorated with crude but violent cave drawings. The drawings depict men dressed in skins and hides, armed with spears and battling a variety of creatures. The first set of drawings depict a group of hunters battling a horrific, troll-like creature. The second set of drawings depict the hunters in an area of the forest populated only by dead trees and battling a three-eyed creature that is covered with black fur. The third set of drawings depict the hunters in the woods battling a Hag-like creature with long fangs, sharp claws and long black hair. Although the drawings show the hunters battling the different creatures, three of the four scenes ends the same way; the hunters are slain and their blood is drained by the creature.

The fourth and final set of drawings depict a powerful warrior wielding a mighty two-headed axe. In the first drawing, the warrior is in a clearing doing battle with troll-like creature from the first set of drawings. The warrior has cleaved deep into the creature’s chest and has his fist raised in victory. In the second drawing, the warrior is in a forest of dead trees battling the three-eyed creature from the second set of drawings. The warrior is injured, but has defeated the monster. In the warrior’s hands he holds the same mighty two-headed axe which is held high in victory. In the third drawing, the warrior is in the woods battling the Hag-Like creature from the third set of drawings. The warrior is badly injured and has cleaved deep into the creature's chest using the same weapon as in the other drawings.

As the party continues searching the cavern, they discover a carefully hidden passage which leads them is an array of caverns. In one cavern, the party discovers a large pile of rotting muscles and organs that is laying next to a body. They discover that the body is still alive and that it is connected to the mass of organs by a network of tendrils. When the party separates the body from the from tendrils, the shock is too great and the body dies.

In another cavern, the party discovers a large pool of coagulated blood. Searching for tracks, Renchor discovers that several small humanoid creatures came out of the pool and that one other creature entered and exited the pool several times. They also discover a mighty two-headed axe that had been left in the bottom of the pool. The weapon is easily recognized as "Vanquisher", the legendary weapon of Hawk's Point.

The party searches the remaining caverns, but discovers only smudged footprints and tattered clothing, and broken weapons.

Exiting the Cave of Secrets, Renchor and the party discover the tracks of several creatures moving in the direction of Hawk's Point.

The Vendol.

July 10, 1203 (The First Battle): The party tracks several creatures from the Cave of Secrets to a hidden lair centrally located between Hawk’s Point and Roan Oak. From this lair, the creatures can attack both Hawk's Point and Roan Oak. Upon entering the cavern, the party is ambushed by four Hag-like creatures that bear a strong resemblance to the Hag-like creatures depicted in the cave drawings. These creatures, The Vendol as they are called by outsiders, prove to be very challenging. Although not powerful physically, their innate spell-like abilities add an interesting challenge for the group. During this first battle many of the party members are injured. During the fight, Steven's mighty sword decapitates two of the Hags before they can inflict much damage. Not to be out-done, Quinlan attacks in a flurry of fists, knees and feet. His power is too much and another Hag goes down. Calee and Renchor team up on the final Hag and it cannot withstand Calee's spells and the damage sustained by The Sword of Legends.

The Blood Spirit: Continuing further, the party discovers a large pool of blood in the center of a low cavern. The cavern smells heavily of blood and when the pool is approached, it springs to life and attacks the group. Lady is snatched up by the pool and plunged into its murky depths. Steven, Dane, Calee, Renchor, Mirazda, and Quinlan are quick react. As Steven, Renchor, Quinlan, Dane attack, Mirazda and Calee add support by casting spells. As the group struggles to free Lady, the helpless priest struggles in vain, the vile evil of the Blood Spirit soaking into her soul. Fortunately for Lady, the Blood Spirit is overwhelmed and is quickly slain. Lady emerges from the pool covered in deep red blood and only mildly injured. Has Lady escaped the vile evil of the Blood Spirit or is her soul stained by evil? Only time will tell.

Vendol Hags: The party enters a squarish cavern of slate and shale. The flat gray and blue-gray stones seem to absorb light make odd shadows that trick the eyes. As they enter, 4 Vendol Hags rush to the attack. Dane, Steven and Quinlan are the first to enter battle landing several blows. Calee blasts another with Magic Missiles as Lady calls down a column of Holy Fire. Mirazda and Renchor join in and soon one of the Hags lays dead on the floor. Landing a perfect blow, Steve severs the head of another Hag. Calee strike again casting more spells as Lady shoots a Bolt of Lighting from her hammer. The Hags retaliate, but the party is prepared and little damage is sustained. Dane attacks with a fury few of the party have witnessed; another Hag falls. The final Hag attacks Renchor, but the ranger fends off the blows and lands several of this own. Steven, Dane, and Quinlan help surround the Hag and it cannot withstand their attacks. The party survives this encounter with only minor injuries that are easily healed by Lady.

The party searches another cavern; a large high-domed affair whose floor is covered with bat guano. The guano is several inches deep and the party is reluctant to enter and search through the mess. All doubt is pushed aside, however, when the party discovers a pile of bodies in the center of the cavern. Each body is missing its skin, muscles, and vital organs and while some of the bodies appear to be weeks old, other appear to have been recently slain. The party counts 18 bodies and realizes these victims have most likely been taken from Roan Oak and Hawk’s Point. This discovery angers the group and they push forward, more determined than ever.

The Blood Cocoon: Another cavern; the smell here is unpleasant and the air here is thick, humid and reeks of blood and flesh. In the center of the chamber, the party discovers a large mass of muscles, eyes, and other organs that are covered with a thin transparent slimy membrane and interconnected with large veins. The mass pulsates; the lungs breath, the hearts pump, the veins and arteries pulse. The pile looks like the organs of dozens humanoids that has been thrown together and brought back to life by some unholy magic. It’s not known exactly what this mass is, but all agree it should be destroyed. As the party attacks, the mass lashes out with tentacles. Steven’s sword cuts deeply into the mass and as it does, the mass ruptures in milky spray of mucus and infant creatures. These infants, Vendol young, the party surmises, attack the group squirming in the slimy mucus and gnashing with pointed teeth. Steven, Dane, and Renchor destroy the mass while Quinlan slays the young. The discovery of the Blood Cocoon only enforces the belief that there can be no peace with this drastically different and vile race.

More Hags: The party enters a bag-like cavern filled with rotting leaves, bones, skulls, dung, and other debris. As they enter, the group is ambushed by 4 Vendol Hags that land savage blows against both Steven and Renchor. During the ambush, Renchor is paralyzed and faces a grim fate. Coming to the aid of his fallen companion, Dane attacks the Hag and occupies the creature long enough for Lady to pull the Ranger to safety. Mirazda and Quinlan push their way into the cavern and join the battle. As Dane continues his attack, Steven lops off the head of the first Hag he encounters. The warrior turns just in time to attack another Hag and in a matter of seconds this Hag is headless as well. Quinlan and Mirazda continue to fight as Calee’s spells daze and confuse the out-classed Hags. Wielding Vanquisher, Dane makes short work of his opponent and pivots to attack the final Hag. It seems the last Vendol has been destroyed. Could it be that easy?

July 11, 1203 (Back to Hawk's Point ): The party returns to Hawk's Point with great news; the Vendol have been destroyed. Word of the news travels quickly and villagers gather at the great hall to rejoice with songs, music, and dance. Lord Hathgar announces that there will be a great feast to celebrate the death of the Vendol, to grieve the dead, and to honor Dane and his brave friends.

Many of the villagers call for Dane to take over as village Chief. Realizing that he is no longer able to protect the Hawk's Point, Lord Hathgar agrees to step down and allow Dane to take overt. Hathgar's son Eton is outraged challenges Dane’s for right to become Chief. The battle is short and is victorious. He spares Eton’s life and villagers breathe a sigh of relief.

As the villagers drink and sing songs of glory, battle, and love. Dane and the party are seated in positions of honor about a great feasting table. At the far end of the table, seated in places of respect are Lord Hathgar, Eton, and Mouton. Roasted pork, mutton, bread, and cheese are served as well as all the mead and ale the party can drink.

The party is unclear what happened next, Mouton exploded into the form of a Vendol Ravager. So great was her strength that she flipped the feasting table atop Dane, crushing his head and knocking him unconscious in the process. Screams could be heard coming from other areas of the great hall; the party turning to see more Vendol attacking. With great fury Mouton attacked Eton, slashing his throat and sending him flying across the room; crashing against the wall mortally wounded.

The party managed to defeat one of the Vendol and drive away two others. This battle was costly as several villagers were lost. During the rest of the evening, the Vendol continued to harass the party. In an attempt to discover their intentions, Quinlan spoke to the Vendol and discovered that they feel the people of Hawk's Point as well as the rest of the humans in the forest are trespassers. With their goal being to destroy all who trespass in their forest. With Lady and Renchor recovered from the earlier battle the group decided that it would not be a wise decision to face the creatures that night.

To help better fortify their position, the party moved Dane to the 2nd floor of the long house along with most of the adventuring party. Renchor stood guard over the villagers on the 1st floor. Steven took first watch while Quinlan and the rest of the party rested. After about an hour, the party was attacked by five invisible Vendol Stalkers. The initial attack put Steven, Lady, and Calee down with grave injuries. Quinlan, badly hurt, retaliated and managed to drive the creatures away. Before they retreated, they took some of the group’s belongings; their purpose, other than common thievery, is unknown. Calee lost her Haversack, Steven his Vorpal Sword, Lady her spell casting Warhammer. The Vendol also issued a grave warning. “Leave our forest!” Advice the party elected not to follow.

After the party was healed, they realized that Steven was missing. The ventured down to the 1st level and found Renchor alive but down and most of the villagers dead. After being healed, Renchor discovered that the Vendol had stolen his magic longbow as well as his arrows.

The party decided to assess their losses and begin a search for Steven and the Vendol at first light. The rest of the night was uneventful.

July 12, 1203 (Tracking the Vendol): At first light, Renchor begins tracking the Vendol. Their tracks are easily discovered as the creatures where not concerned with concealing their movements. He tracked them into the forest for quite some distance; returning was evening fell. Calee, Lady, Quinlan, and the surviving villagers used the rest of the day to remove the dead, set pyres, and morn their looses.

July 13, 1203 (Searching): The next morning, Renchor took Lady, Calee, and Quinlan into the forest search for Steven and to investigate the Vendol's path. The tracks are still easy for the ranger to detect and the party realizes the Vendol are headed north to some unknown location. The party returned to Hawk's Point and the long house.

Shorty after the party returned to Hawk's Point, Steven returned walking out of the forest. Apparently he had managed to escape the attack by using an ability or an item to teleport away, but Steven's explanation is vague. During the night while Calee was resting she was visited by a vision (See Dreams / Omens). The night was uneventful as the creatures had apparently retreated to the forest.

Shortly before dawn, when the group began making ready to follow the Vendol. Quinlan shared a vision he had received. The vision was of a ghost-like creature, another monk perhaps, killing monks by aging them. The creature's open hand attack would age the monks very rapidly and they would die of old age.

July 14, 1203:  At first light we set out with Renchor tracking the creatures. We tracked for the biggest part of the day with the ranger having some trouble but able to get the group back on course. Sometime along mid-afternoon the group was surprise attacked by three Vendol. I had cast a Foresight spell which warned me of the attack and helped us gain the initiative. Renchor, however, tracking ahead of the group was separated and quickly went down. After a hard battle we defeated the creatures, but in the process Lady was stricken with paralysis. When Renchor and Lady recovered we set off again and in a short while tracked the creatures to a cave. With caution we made our way into the cave. Again my Foresight spell warned me of an ambush lying in wait in a small chamber just ahead of us. I used a spell to make myself and Quinlan invisible so we could move ahead to scout and gain an advantageous position. The rest of the group entered and was immediately attacked. As melee combat began Lady cast a Blade Barrier that unintentionally split the group. The group was wracked by a invisible spell caster flinging magic missiles and lightning bolts. Having cast a spell to see invisible creatures, it was up to me to take care of this threat. With the first creatures defeated more Vendol were on the way. I cast a Wall of Ice at the caverns mouth and we waited for the monsters. The first through the wall was a large Vendol fighter. Quinine tumbled through the mouth of the cave behind the monster to get a better position. He was immediately attacked by another spell caster. Quinine being separated from the group was forced into single melee combat with the Vendol spell caster. After a hard fought battle and many injuries we slowly gained the upper hand. Five of the six creatures were down, including one of the spell casters, with the other spell caster and Quinine trading punch for spell in an even contest.  Once the fifth creature fell the group descended on the last opponent and ended the encounter. After some healing we continued on, the first cavern we came to contained a circular pool of blood not unlike one we had encountered a few days earlier. We attacked the pool and on the first round of combat Quinine was grappled and taken under. We destroyed the creature and Quinine made his way from the pool. Feeling the need for urgency, I cast a Wall of Ice over the pool to either hold in or destroy the small Vendol within if they tried to escape, and we moved on. In the next room we came upon a cocoon like the ones in the other Vendol lair. The group immediately set to destroy it, but as soon as it was hit it released a shriek to alert the other Vendol. The party continued to attack the cocoon while Lady and I went to hold off any reinforcements that were on the way. I cast a Wall of Ice across the corridor and waited to the fighters to arrive. Steven, Quinine and Renchor arrived and we broke down the Wall of Ice. Ahead of us were two creatures, one of the large Vendol and one of the smaller ones except this one had white hair instead of black. We entered combat and after a trying battle in which Quinine was killed, we emerged victorious. With hope in our hearts that the scourge that is the Vendol is vanquished we took time to rest, heal, and search the caverns. We found no more creatures and a small amount of treasure. We decided to return to Hawks Point to see if Quinine could be raised, identify the magic items and divide the treasure. When we returned I teleported and retrieved the coin needed to raise Quinine and teleported back. Lady raised Quinine with some difficulty, after which he told of a encounter he had in the spirit world. Also finding Dain still in a coma and near death, Lady used her healing skills to turn the barbarian towards recovery.

 With Dain on the path to recovery and the Vendol defeated, the group decides to teleport back to Stevens ship. Once aboard the ship, the group is approached by a Jonahs Crumby about a mission to retrieve an item that looks like a golden egg, buried in the ice on the glacier. At this time, I warn the other members and relay my vision to them. The group declines and agrees that we should warn my people of this threat. I escort the party to the land of the Shadow Spires, I am not openly welcomed even more so for bringing outsiders to my homeland. We are taken before the Council of Elders, and tell of my vision. It is refuted by all of the younger council members as a fairytale, however the older members of the council recognize the name at the end of my vision. After an exchange with Renchor's weapon, “Moradin, the sword of legend”, the elders thank us and assure us it will be taken care of.

With that finished we return to New Moret, to prepare for facing the threat shown in Quinlan's vision. We will depart in one weeks time.