Session 1 - Leaving Home

[Griznuq]

First Session: April 25, 2003

Early spring, the first days of the first new moon of the new season (New Year's day for Himo's people). Himo has left home (given all the newness to the timing, this is considered a good day for starting a new journey), following the urge to see the world. He has headed southwest, where it is rumored that there is another forest similar to the one where he lives ? where he has thus far spent his entire life.

He and his cat spend three days walking across the plains that separate his forest with this new one. Investigating, he finds that this forest is basically the same as his own, except that where his home forest is full of life (elves, sprites, and the like), this one is apparently void of life.

He has been in the forest for several days. The moon is large and gibbous, and casts quite a bit of light through the skeletal fingers of the branches above, when he espies a shadow moving among the trees just at the edge of the light shed by his campfire. Hi cat takes to the trees. Presently, three men jump out from behind trees and attack Himo. The first falls to a well-placed crossbow bolt, and a battle ensues.

Other men come to the aid of the brigands, and the battle leaves Himo badly wounded, two of the assailants dead, and another shot in the leg. Himo is taken captive.

Himo awakens later. It's unknown how much time elapsed while he was unconscious. He finds that his hands are tied together behind his back and to his ankles. He is laying face-down on the dirt floor of the forest.
Near by, there is a large campfire, and men are carousing about.

"Our guest is awakening". Says one of the men, drawing Himo to his feet. The men (there are more than ten of them all told) gather around. One man is calling to the right to kill Himo; this man has a bandage on his thigh and he is limping badly.

All of the men are filthy, drunk, and stink. They play with Himo, the apparently leader making a show of trying to decide what to do with him. Suddenly, a sword erupts from the leader's chest and his eyes fly wide. Another man dies before knowing what was going on.

Himo finds himself face to face with the chest with the tallest man he has ever seen or heard of. This man is almost two heads taller than Himo, and at least twice as wide as the elf. He is covered with chain mail, and wields a double-bladed sword. He yells at Himo to turn around. Himo does, and feels a momentary pull on the ropes that bind him; he is free. The large man yells at Himo to run ("Run, fool!!") Himo runs.

The brigands, drunk as they are, are no match for this new man, [That's one tough griznuq] but they are numerous; the big man delays the brigands a bit, and chases after Himo. What follows is a flight through the trees in the dead of night.

A man steps seemingly from nowhere to block Himo's escape, and an axe embeds itself in the man's forehead. Himo continues to run, the sounds of pursuit dying in the distance.

Someone is still following him, however; heavy boots fall near on his heels, and the sound of metal chains continues behind him. It is also falling behind a bit.

Presently, Himo is surprised to come upon a side rode. The forest floor dips suddenly, and the elf stumbles out onto the road and in front of Belwar.

Edited 6-6-2009