[The Redwater Fellowship, a long-running D&D5e campaign in person since 2017]
Location: Somewhere in Darkreach - undead realm of the Dreadking - Lortmiill Mountains
Date: 8th of Ready'Reat - [Autumn] YEAR: 582 CY
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The RedWater Fellowship [Player Characters]
- Doc Holliday - Male 1/2 Orc | Gunslinger/Paladin of the goddess: Raven Queen [played by Connor]
- Nenwin Albion - Male Aasimar | Paladin of the god: Heironeous [played by Jake]
- Graxxuzzaz - Male Lizard-folk | Sorcerer/Warlock of the Great Old One - the King in Yellow [played by Braydin]
- Aeldred - Male Red Dragon-born | Barbarian/Paladin/Ranger of the god: Pelor [played by Campbell]
- Thogra - Male 1/2 Orc | Assassin/Cleric of the Egyptian god: Set
Dungeon Master: Dave
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Non-player characters of note:
- Lieutenant Spears - Male 1/2 elf | Phantom rogue/Echo Knight - an operative assigned by Lady Cowl's secretive organization to assist [played by Connor]
- Tibaltuous - Male half elf | Bard [on mission South near the Pomarj in the Wildcoast [DM: more details: Blogpost]
- NPC: Gothi | Female foreclaimer | Ranger [At town of Dragonkeep]
- NPC: Lars | Male elf [VAMPIRE] | wizard [At town of Dragonkeep]
- NPC: Skrit | Male kobold | Cleric of the goddess Istus [At town of Dragonkeep]
Summary
The Redwater Fellowship pushed deeper into the jagged Lortmill Mountains, crossing deep into the blighted necrotic realm of Darkreach. Formerly the verdant cradle of elven civilization, the land now groans under the iron-fisted rule of the Dreadking - see below.
Their primary objectives now are twofold: reach the city of Fax on the Wildcoast. On the way towards Fax, they decided to visit Darkreach [formerly the elvish city Enstad] the realm of the Dreadking. The Dreadking was a former member of the Fellowship named Robin, who had turned away to follow Orcus a demon prince of undead - ruling over all the former elvish lands now - an undead wasteland. Their goal, confront their former brother-in-arms and bring Robin "back to the light".
Overall plan:
The Fellowship is to travel overland to the city of Fax, on the Wildcoast still under Blackrune's control [the Fellowship's longtime enemy, the Blackrunes were a powerful but waning force - group of dwarven slavers in the area] where there were a number of quests and tasks of interest to the Fellowship.
Current quest or options for the party to look into:
The Fellowship's flying tower: Being upgraded at DragonKeep - good progress being made. Should be finished in 2-4 weeks. [DM: More details: Link]
City of FAX
- Request from Greyskulls' mercenary crew commander and mate- save son in Fax?
- A Doctor in Fax - potential contact ally against BlackRunes?
- Magic Portal to Sea of Dust (Blackrune expedition) located in Enstad - now called Darkreach - look into or not?
Personal quests:
- Aeldred - oath to find and save family of dwarf smith who repaired Aeldred's heirloom sword
- Doc Holliday - Elves in Bright desert east across sea in Bright desert (Doc personal potential quest)?
- Graxxuzzaz's circus (he was circus master and has heard rumours they are near Fax now - potential personal quest)?
- Tibaltuous' collect the bounty for drow - Locations Fax or Nulb? [Tibaltuous had the head of the drow still]
- Map to secret Blackrune base/island off Wildcoast - Fax area (Kantif has this - former party member now in or near Fax?)
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Above, the sun is a choked black disc, offering no warmth to a landscape where the horses of the Fellowship have already been claimed by the fog—lost to the precipice or consumed by unseen horrors in the gloom.
The Fellowship sought a momentary respite within a necrotic ravine filled with stunted, withered trees.
The peace was a facade. The putrid ground erupted with explosive force, revealing the Ash-Stalker Behemoth—a "demented" undead treant / shambling mound standing over thirty feet tall. A hollowed-out oak tree husk reinforced with frozen bones of a multitude of dead creatures the monster had consumed, the creature was powered by a pulsing, necrotic sphere of Shadowfell energy at its core. Clawed skeletal hands grasped and reached out while skulls attached to vine and roots clacked and gnashed broken fangs and teeth at the stunned party members. Shadow-life spectres circled the undead horror.
The initial eruption was devastating. Thogra and Nenwin were fully encased in the shifting, acidic soil, while Graxxuzzaz struggled to free himself from the crushing roots. Aeldred, showing the reflexes of a seasoned hunter, rolled clear and drew one of his many swords (DM: as favored by fortune’s roll), the blade humming with a blue light that cut through the gloom.
Aeldred looked down and only seeing one hand of Nenwin - he
was being crushed and absorbed by the
acidic flow from the necrotic treant's sap. The draconian utilizing his belt of firegiant strength, pulled with herculean level might and Nenwin came free from the oozing muck and grasping vines. Allowing the trapped Fellowship member to scramble free from the "digesting" ground.
acidic flow from the necrotic treant's sap. The draconian utilizing his belt of firegiant strength, pulled with herculean level might and Nenwin came free from the oozing muck and grasping vines. Allowing the trapped Fellowship member to scramble free from the "digesting" ground.
Graxxuzzaz eventually utilized a desperate Lightning Bolt using his sorcery skill to convert it to a bolt of fire to blast a hole through the necrotic mass so the lizardfolk could escape by casting Misty step.
Doc had been able to dodge back from the grasping vines, skeletal claws and pulling his pistol unloaded multiple rounds into the behemoth. Then was able to assist Thogra to escape the crushing muck. Thogra grinned up at his long time friend, "thanks Doc." Both turned to attack the demented treant.
Clouds of choking and blinding ash enveloped the party after any flaming attack which blinded and poisoned Nenwin.
Thogra called upon his god Egyptian Set to bring a powerful blessing on all the party [Bless spell - d6].
The berserkers ignored the necrotic rot, hacking into the Behemoth's trunk with great axes and a zeal beyond what the party had experienced before. Nenwin had not used the horn previously and all the party were amazed at the destructive force of the "wood-cutting crew".
Even though the Behemoth’s Shadowfell energy granted it resistance to non-magical strikes, Aeldred and Nenwin pivoted the tide. Using Radiant Smites, they bypassed the titan’s resistances entirely, searing the necrotic marrow of the Treant-husk. 
It appeared the Ash-stalker treant decided to retreat by oozing down into the muck but it was too late for the former treant it was completely destroyed by the Fellowship and Nenwin's "Cutting crew".
[DM: unfortunately the party neglected to search so missed a few some treasure] 😕
Following the Behemoth’s fall, a cavern entrance was revealed. Inside the cave it became worked stone - floor and walls consisted of worked dwarven flagstones. There appeared to be a trap door, marked with the dwarven rune "117"—a countdown of miles to the capital of Enstad - the party was to discover later. A pressurized yellow-red acidic ooze bubbled between the stones. This was sleuthed to have possibly affected the treant as the flow did exit the cavern down around the base of the former majestic tree.
Aeldred, eager to bypass the hazard, located a hidden lever. However, standing directly atop the trap door while pulling the mechanism proved nearly fatal. A torrent of acid washed him down the tunnel. While his mundane traveling clothes were disintegrated, his +1 Monkish PJs (magical robes) and magical boots mercifully survived the sluice.
Taking the claustrophobic tunnel - made by dwarves for their height - the party passed countdown Markers: Runes 116 and 115 were discovered every mile, indicating a 3-to-4-day trek remaining to reach Enstad.
The Redwater Fellowship’s journey through the underground passages of the Lortmill Mountains was a grueling descent into physical and psychological torment. Seeking a safer route to avoid the undead legions on the surface, the party entered a winding, lightless cavern system built by dwarves. What began as a strategic detour soon became a desperate struggle for survival. The travel was hampered early on by a glowing yellow-red acidic ooze that bubbled up from between ancient flagstones
This corrosive substance filled the width of the tunnels, forcing the party to wade through it. The ooze was so potent that it disintegrated the Fellowship's regular clothing and, more catastrophically, leaked into their packs, destroying all their remaining rations and water skins
Party members facing days of travel with no supplies. Graxxuzzaz had a magical item that allowed him to eat dust for sustenance. He avoided the spoiled rotten food as did Thogra.
When the party’s hunger and thirst became unbearable, Thogra attempted to use divine magic to create food and water. However, the necrotic blight of the Dreadking’s realm reached even into the magical weave:
Rotten Rations: The 45 pounds of magically created food appeared black, spoiled, and rotten
Tainted Water: The 30 gallons of water were slimy and filled with "pus and pustules"
Ritual Failure: Even after Thogra performed a purify food and drink ritual, the supplies remained fundamentally "off." While the literal poison and disease were removed, the water retained a gritty, necrotic quality that tasted like the digesting fluid of the shambling mound.
As the party continued for days in the cramped, 8-foot-high tunnels, the lack of clean resources began to manifest physically. After drinking the purified but tainted water, the Fellowship’s veins turned entirely black and became highly visible across their skin—a terrifying sign of the realm's corruption. Aeldred and Nenwin suffered from growing exhaustion and a claustrophobic effect, their spirits flagging in the oppressive darkness.
A Moment of Hope: Sanctuary
In the midst of this misery, the Fellowship encountered a rare sign of life—or at least, a sign that others had survived. Scrawled on a cavern wall in what appeared to be blood or dark paint was the word "Sanctuary" in Elvish, accompanied by an arrow pointing toward a circular ramp. This discovery provided a sudden, sharp moment of hope for the weary party. Following the sign, they moved slwoly up the ramp for a number of minutes possibly up 00 feet to find a set of mahogany double doors.
From the other side, they heard high-pitched screaming and voices calling out in Dwarven and Common about enemies "coming through the wall".
The Fellowship had to physically assist the survivors - who at first did not want to open the doors! - in opening the doors, which were secured with heavy chains and a wooden bar. Upon breaking through, they found themselves in the trunk of the Star-Reach Aerie, an abandoned elvish treehouse that had once served as a ranger waypoint.
The scene was one of chaos:
stand aimlessly while his companions fought. To quickly end the threat, Aeldred and Nenwin utilized powerful Divine Smites and radiant attacks, which carved through the shadowy forms and caused them to dissipate instantly.
The survivors were grateful but surprised to see anyone. Explained that they had been trapped there for two months, enduring constant attacks from mindless skeletons and zombies led by an intelligent wraith that called upon the putrid shades that could pass through walls. The only true safe area was a zone that the elvish noble Elowen was able to command forth being an elf of Enstad.
Once the immediate threat was neutralized, the Fellowship encountered a "ragtag group" of 12 individuals from two distinct - one potentially hostile - backgrounds:
The Blackrune Remnants (Dwarven Slavers):
- Kargun Ironfist: A cynical dwarf veteran and the group's de facto leader.
- Drok: Kargun's heavily wounded enforcer who openly voiced his distrust of magic-users
- Skara: A human scout who originally spotted the elven markings that led the Blackrune group to the Aerie.
- Brak: A young dwarf recruit who had suffered a mental breakdown due to the psychic "screaming mists" of Darkreach.
The Merchant Caravan Crew:
- Elowen: An elven noble and survivor of the fall of Enstad. He was the most vital survivor, as he knew the secret command words for the treehouse’s fading magical wards.
- Master Tibalt: A wealthy merchant from Fax who was attempting to bribe the Blackrunes for protection with a bag of platinum
- Miri: Tibalt’s daughter, who served as the group's medic and morale officer
- Garrick: A human caravan guard suffering from extreme exhaustion
- Finley: A halfling cook obsessed with the lack of "succulent spotted hair" to eat
- Sariel: A half-elf acrobat and circus performer [not Graxxuzzaz's circus]
- Oryn: A silent human traveler who registered as "slightly evil" to Nenwin’s divine sense, raising suspicions that he might be a spy
- Tessa: A traumatized orphan child who claimed to see the same "procession of children" in the mists that the Fellowship had witnessed earlier
Initial Distrust and the Final Solution
The encounter was immediately marked by deep-seated distrust, as the Blackrunes were the Fellowship's long-time enemies Kargun Ironfist even recognized the Fellowship, and the party debated the ethics of sending former slavers and a suspicious individual like Oryn to their home base at DragonKeep. The Fellowship ultimately devised a solution that prioritized both the survivors' lives and the security of their town:
Coordinated Security: The party used a Sending spell to contact Skrit, the acting mayor of DragonKeep. Skrit responded that the town would "prepare the usual interrogations" conducted by other Fellowship members: paladin Cedric and wizard Vencer and rogue Pyra to ensure the survivors did not pose a threat.
The Fellowship utilized a Teleportation Circle cast by Graxxuzzaz to bridge the gap between the Lortmill Mountains and the Fellowship's home base town of DragonKeep. The merchant crew was delighted to stay in DragonKeep, providing the town with a new professional caravan crew to help potentially expand trade. The Blackrune remnants were allowed to take their gear and weapons but were sent with the understanding that they would be closely monitored for any signs of "treachery" or "black confidence".
Before departing, the survivors left their remaining drinkable food and water with the Fellowship, which was essential for the party's continued journey into the heart of Darkreach. Elowen advised the magic of the sanctuary would last another 12 hours before an elf of Enstad had to activate again. So the Fellowship had time to rest.
While resting, Thogra also casts Sending spell again to their former member and ally Tibaltuous the bounty hunter/bard. Sending update from Tibaltuous:
The information provided by Tibaltuous is critical piece of intelligence regarding the Redwater Fellowship's enemies on the Wild Coast. At the time of the communication, Tibaltuous was operating undercover in the south near the Pomarj. His response, constrained by the spell to exactly 25 words, reported the following details:
Undercover Status: Tibaltuous has successfully gained the trust of a Blackrune commander, allowing him access to high-level strategic information from within the dwarven slaver organization.
Enemy Movements: He revealed that the Blackrunes are currently heading to the town of Highport.
Slave Raiding: The group is actively taking slaves and capturing other groups, the slavers are avoiding undead forces of the Dreadking/Robin.
Fortified Positions: He warned the Fellowship that enemy defenses have been significantly strengthened at Fax, which is now under siege by undead!
Enemy Morale: Tibaltuous noted a pervasive sense of "confidence" among the Blackrune forces. possibly over confident..?
Strategic Context
The Fellowship interpreted this message as confirmation that the Blackrunes in Fax and the Dreadking in Darkreach are adversaries now. They realized that the Blackrunes' continued demise and fall in power and confidence is directly tied to the surge in power and lands taken by the Dreadking's undead scourge.
Consequently, the party concluded that their mission to confront or redeem Robin is even more urgent, as any attempt to enter the city of Fax would eventually require them to contend with the Dreadking's reinforced influence. Unless they can covertly enter.
Many questions and few answers.
Next, to confront the Dreadking.. Robin former party member and once [maybe still?] good friend to Doc Sigmund Holliday.
Current Status MAP
1. Redwater Fellowship
2. Darkreach [ former elvish city of Enstad]
3. City of Fax [Blackrune control - under siege by undead]
4. Tibaltuous location
5. The Town of Dragonkeep [The Fellowship's homebase]
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