Mercenary Backstory - Zephir: Orchid Spellweaver

Meditation – calming, soothing, reflective meditation. Shattered by the screams of my family and friends back in our village. Immediately the natural world forces surged through my body and mind, propelling me quickly towards the chaos and noise. We knew they would return eventually…

The first time they came, the claimed to “own” the forest, what a silly notion! Bandits have such absurd ideas; I don’t think I will ever understand them. When they demanded payment it was all I could do not to laugh out loud. Payment?!? These Bandits were not even aware of the natural forces teeming and flowing though this cherished forest; and they wanted us to pay them? How silly indeed.

The leader started getting aggressive and I could not help but let out a hearty laugh. It surprised me when his blade flashed out and I barely managed to duck back out of reach.  The other Bandits took a few steps back and withdrew blades & bows – the fight was on. Fortunately, we were ready for such an outcome and using the natural forces we forced them to flee.

That was only three days ago, now moving quickly through the trees I started smelling smoke and the flicker of fires through the trees. I knew the Bandits had returned, they never seemed to learn from their mistakes. This was going to be fun…

Propelled by the wind magic I rapidly approached the outskirts of our village and saw all the buildings were on fire, how could this be?!? Stunned I slowed my approach and noticed there were a lot more than just a handful of Bandits, there were hundreds! Many of my friends and family lay slain and the few survivors were hard pressed against such numbers.

My sudden arrival was noticed by a group of Bandits, they yelled to alert others and charged towards me. A small group of bowmen turned at the alarm and let loose a volley of arrows at me. I managed to duck behind a building as the deadly shafts fell all around, I had no choice and sprinted back to the forest. Hopefully I could find others who had also sought refuge in the forest and we could band together for a counter attack.

The Bandits were everywhere and it took all my skills to avoid their chase and escape deep into the forest. This was a well-planned assault and somehow what seemed silly did not seem so silly anymore. I was exhausted by the time I had eluded the roving bands searching for me and I fell into a deep recuperating sleep in the hollow of an old tree.

Upon awakening the forest was silent, I cautiously started making my way back to my village. Just to be safe I headed for a nearby hilltop that had a good view of the village. The Bandits were still occupying the village and it was apparent they were not going anywhere soon. They were in the process of erecting a defensive palisade around the outside and I saw a huge wagon train near the center. I could also see some of the villagers were in chains and being loaded up into some of the wagons.

Lower down the hillside a small group of Bandits started heading up to where I was hiding. There were too many for me to fight alone and I had seen enough to know I could not possibly take them on myself. Silently I started slipping back from the hilltop and retreated to the safety of the forest. I needed to find some help to rescue what remains of my family and friends. I also needed to meditate soon to help alleviate some of the pain I felt creeping into my soul. The shock of having all my family and friends either dead or enslaved had not yet fully registered with me, but the realization is starting to set in.

Gloomhaven was a famous city teaming with Mercenaries, perhaps I could find some help there. The thought of heading to the city was intimidating. I preferred the natural world and suspected my connection with it would be strained. I would also have to be careful, these folks were very strange to me. I needed to meditate – and soon.

Peace

Week 3 - Crypt of the Damned

Using the map found in the Barrow Lair, we started our journey to located the bend in the Still River that had been marked. Walking along some foothills we entered a narrow valley and found a landslide of rocks blocking our way. No choice really, we all got our hands dirty and backs sore trying to move the rocks and clear our path. This was hot and exhausting work (Road Event: 29 - Discard 2 cards each).

Upon reaching our destination and as we started our search of the area, the Bandit Commander's question from the darkness in the Barrow Lair was heavy upon our minds; "Who are you to think you can interrupt the work of the Gloom?"

A few hours of searching revealed the entrance to the ruins of an ancient crypt (Map Location #4: Crypt of the Damned) half covered in moss and ivy. This history of this place is old and dark - so we descended a set of grimy stairs with caution. At the bottom of the stairs we stumbled across a large party of Bandit Archers and Living Bones. One of the Bandits suggested we had made a mistake in coming here...

Near the start of the fight Zephir opened up a devastating Icy Blast which Muddled and weakened all our opponents. Mal Drake pulled off a cool maneuver by stabbing a Bandit and dragging his opponent onto a nearby trap. The rest of our enemies fell quickly, the Bandit was wrong, we knew exactly where we wanted to be...

The second chamber was more of a challenge. Jax appeared not to think so and charged right in, perhaps a bit recklessly because the rest of us all paused to evaluate the tactical situation. We encountered some new enemies: Cultists. Unfortunately he took quite a beating until the rest of us were able to storm in behind him. Jax is not one to piss off, in his rage he pulled off  an amazing combo (10 HP) attack and turned one of the Cultist's summoned Living Bones to dust with one hit.

This fight went on for quite some time and we were all pretty beat up when we entered the third crypt chamber. New enemies: Earth Demons, these guys are creatures of pure elemental energy , enraged and demonic. Fortunately, it seemed Crush had caught some of Jax's rage and delivered a couple of massive attacks. His attacks shifted the balance of power in our direction and we did eventually defeat the Demons.

Most of us were nearing our exhaustion level by this time and a quick discussion ensued regarding our ability to continue into the last chamber.  Jax made some compelling arguments that suggested a retreat at this time was likely our best option, but Crush and Zephir both thought we ought to continue on. Mal spoke up and claimed he was too close to exhaustion and could not help much in the fight for the last chamber, but he would catch up to us and investigate the chest and some of the bodies in this room. Bad decision, the chest was trapped and Mal ended up getting Poisoned.

The fourth chamber held new horrors again: Wind Demons and more Cultists. This was indeed a battle with all the resources we had left within us. Jax went down, Mal was down and Crush was drawing his last breath when we finally dropped the last combatant. Unfortunately we did not have enough resources to examine the Chest in this room, we barely got out of the Crypt of the Damned alive.

Upon reflection, it seemed we had interrupted some sort of ritual here, these elemental demons belong on another plane. The Cultists were no doubt responsible for pulling them through to this plane. On an altar where Mal fell, there was a wealth of scribblings, from what looked like an ancient civilization, about these rituals. Among the scripts we found notes on a couple of other places of power in the area. One appears to see heavy use by the Cultists the other is marked as being overrun by vicious undead. It looks as though we can either attack the Cultists (Map Location 5: Ruinous Crypts) or help them by clearing out their enemies (Map Location 6: Decaying Crypt).

We beat a hasty path back to Gloomhaven for some much needed rest and recovery. On a trip to New Market for some supplies a Valrath Merchant's stall had an interesting sea chart prominently displayed. He noted our interest and asked us to make an offer for it, he promised it showed a location of wondrous and untold riches. (City Event: 08)  Mal Drake couldn't resist and offered him 20 Gold on the spot. (Lose: 20 Gold, Map Location: 93 - Sunken Vessel,  Party Achievement: A Map to Treasure)

Returning from New Market the Whiskey Bandits spent some time repairing gear, doing some training (Mal Drake, Jax & Crush Level Up) and discussing if we wanted to help or fight the Cultists. There were definitely pros and cons to both paths. Ultimately Jax said it best "Cultists are evil", Crush nodded agreement and it seems the matter was settled.

Peace,
Brent

Week 2 - Barrow Lair Conclusion

Our search for our quarry and the documents continues.... The stench of death and rotting flesh got thicker as we kicked past the corpses and headed deeper into the underground burial site.

Guided by the muffled sounds of conversation we came upon a small room and a handful of Bandit Bowmen - we were thrice Cursed (Scenario Special Rules: Add 3 Curse cards)!

Fortunately, we managed to make short work of them and they went down quickly. Somewhat alarming Zephir seemed really eager during this fight and opened the door to the next chamber before the battle was concluded, why was she being so reckless?!

The next chamber proved to be a bigger challenge and started with a question asked of us from the darkness "Who are you to think you can interrupt the work of the Gloom?" We found our Quarry! and two of his Elite Bandit Bowmen body guards. The Bandit Commander immediately jumped to a door and quickly opened it unleashing a few Living Corpse monstrosities on us.

The fight was ferocious and the battlefield cramped due to several Sarcophagus littering the room. The Bandit Bowmen were taking their toil and making the most of their ranged attacks. It also did not help that the Bandit Commander managed to summon a couple Living Bones skeletons. Mal Drake could have ended the battle at one point, but for some reason stayed her hand and let the Bandit Commander open the second room. I suspect greed for the chest inside was the motive, we assume it was not for the two Living Corpses also in the room.

The Whiskey Bandits did prevail, but just barely. In the end, Crush and Jax both fell, Zephir was drawing her last breaths and Mal was pretty tapped out. We did find the documents and managed to revive our fellow mercenaries and depart the Barrow Lair (Map Location #2).

We did peruse the documents we discovered and found a map with the location of the Crypt of the Damned (Map Location #4) and some writing in an unknown archaic language.

Once back at the Sleeping Lion we hooked up with Jekserah, handed over the papers and she paid us our reward of 10 Gold each. (Scenario Reward: 10 Gold and +1 Prosperity) She seemed pleased by our work and suggested we might be interested in another job regarding a tribe of Inox that has apparently been ransacking her caravans headed to the capital. She unrolled a map  that showed the Inox Encampment (Map Location #3). Jax and Crush wanted to pass on the extra job and seek out the Crypt of the Damned instead, Mal didn't seem to care one way or the other and Zephir seemed more drawn to the Dagger Forest. We will go to the Crypt of the Damned.

We decided to celebrate before heading off, after all we mercenaries just got paid! It was truly a marvelous night (City Event #15) with much drinking and storytelling. (Zephir Leveled Up) Heading back to our rooms we took a wrong turn into an alley and Crush tripped over a mutilated corpse making a lot of noise. A City Guard heard the noise at the end of the alley, turned, saw the body, drew his sword and asked "What did you do?" The Guard clearly thought we were responsible for the man's death.

We tried to explain that we had been drinking and were on our way home when Crush tripped over the already dead body. The situation got worse when the guard yelled and more guards showed up eyeing us with suspicion. Fortunately, Jax noticed that none of our weapons matched the man's wounds and the leader of the guards agreed with him. They eventually agreed to let us go (Lose 2 Reputation), but it looks like we will have to work to restore some trust and our reputation a little.

On our way to the Crypt of the Damn we came upon a hard-looking mercenary sitting on a patch of grass. (Road Event #28) He was looking weary and asked if we had a spare Stamina Potion we could sell him. Mal Drake had one he was willing to part with and the man (oddly) gave each of us 5 Gold for Mal's generosity.

Peace,

Brent

Mercenary Backstory - Mal Drake the Human Scoundrel

"Gloomhaven is a dump. Not that it doesn’t have its upsides. The law enforcement is a joke. It has a lot of potential for growth. Growth means money and opportunities. I have yet to pay for a meal or a drink and the rent to have a space of my own isn’t horrible. I met some “adventurers” that might be able to provide some muscle for my own investigations, so for now we are “friends”. This is why I am really here, because here is where all leads to figuring out who Xorn is and what power he/she/it can provide me point.

We got a job to chase some paperwork from some fancy girl. We managed to even make a few extra coins before we left Gloomhaven in pursuit of this paper rogue (not positive this helmet is a good fit though). We got surrounded by a bunch of Inox thugs just after leaving town, apparently the people of Gloomhaven are not well liked by the indigenous Inox.  I thought having an Inox Brute in the group would have helped more than it did, no challenge of a fight to the death or anything exciting. We managed to lie our way out of a battle, but for some reason it seemed that the Inox and the Spellweaver were uncomfortable with that, although the Vermling didn’t seem to mind. At least the group isn’t full of boring, handsy humans that like to slave away to barely eke out a living through honest work or adventuring to champion some joke of a noble cause.

We reached the bandit lair and I decided to take it easy and size up the group and its capabilities. Never slacking enough to not be a valued part of the team, but letting them do the brunt work with their might, spells and weird stuff. The Mindthief seems to favor poisons and I am interested in seeing what I can learn from “him”. I really thought I was going to clean up money wise with this group, but the Brute claimed more money than I was expecting… and to avoid scrutiny I certainly am not going to call him out for it. At first it was pretty boring, thugs and some bowmen… but I was surprised to see some living dead which might lead to something more interesting. The bones went down too easy to offer real promise, but where the dead walk Xorn rumors stir. I am sure I can steer things in the right directions as I learn more. "

Daniel Hammond wrote this up - Thanks Dan!

Mercenary Backstory - Crush the Inox Brute

"Crush" a most unusual Inox Brute

The hu-mans call us brutes. They consider us simpletons of limited intelligence. They began to call me "Crush" after my one and only attempt to teach them speak my true name. The sounds of my name being unpronounceable with the sound apparatus of a human throat.  It is mildly amazing that something so easy to crush cannot vocalize my name.     

I find it appropriate that the word hu (as in hu-man) in my language most closely translates as vile.  So here I find myself amongst the vile-men to further what is most important to me. I do find myself with a group that may prove to be less vile the norms of that race.  I think they can provide food, gear, and entertainment as I continue my researches. 

It is ironic to work as a "Brute" when in amongst my race, I am considered a failure because of my diminutive size.   I taught myself to read and think once I realized what I must do.  Of course once that was finally discovered, banishment was my only course.  Still there are benefits: Crushing vile throats has proved an unexpected pleasure. 

I have much to explore and research if I am to learn what must be learned.  I think maybe these Whiskey Bandits are useful to my needs.  Maybe Crush is useful to them too.  Maybe some fun with these Whiskey Bandits can be had.  The Whiskey does make them less vile.

I will stay with them as I get my feet down on this foreign land.

Mike Kent wrote this up - thanks Mike!

Week 1 - Beginnings and First Steps

"Mercenaries need to eat" the introduction in the Quest book for the board game Gloomhaven tells us.

We selected our starting characters which you can see listed at the top of the sidebar for easy reference. Then we started:

While we were spending quality time in one of our favourite establishments, the Red Lion, we were offered a job. Jekserah, a wealthy Valrath woman wearing a red cloak wanted us to find a thief and retrieve some stolen documents - Reward 10 gold. She told us of the Black Barrow (Map Location #1) and also notified us that Gloomhaven had of late turned Militaristic (Global Achievement: City Rule)

Everyone spent all their gold on the recommended starting items. We were broke.

Before we left for the Black Barrow though we were also approached by a heavily scarred Inox and hired us to steal a figurine (City Event #28). "An interested party" wanted to hire us to steal a valuable figurine from a residence in the Battlements in two days. Being flat broke helped make the decision to take this job as well. Fortunately, it really was easy work with Jax and Mal's skills who managed to slip in and slip out without issue. Each of us were paid 10 Gold.

Once on the road and well into the wilderness, we encountered a group of mounted Inox Barbarians who surrounded us and demanded to know our business (Road Event #18). The leader suggested that perhaps we had come to murder more of his people. We let the Crush the Inox in our group speak for us and tried for a peaceful resolution. We  explained that we meant the Inox Barbarians no ill will. The leader did not seem to believe us nor want to fight us, so he Cursed us and suggested we leave immediately.

Upon arriving at the Black Barrow hill we immediately found a worn set of stone stairs leading down into the darkness. As we descended we noticed both light emanating from below and the unmistakable stench of death. Six Bandits were in the room and a battle began. Dispatching them lead us to another room with 3 more Bandits and 3 Archers. Going deeper we found a final room with 4 Archers and 4 Skeletons. Unfortunately, due to our inexperience, we were all low on resources and Jax ended up falling near the end of the battle. Mal Drake managed to open a small chest that had a map to a place called Sulphur Mine (Random Side Scenario #65). We were victorious!

After reviving Jax we discovered our quarry and the documents were not to be found amongst the dead and wreckage. We did however find the entrance to the Barrow Lair (Map Location #2) and decided that the Whiskey Bandits had taken their First Steps (Party Achievement) on what is likely to be a long road and exciting adventure.

This ended our first game session. It seems somewhat appropriate to equate each session with a "week" of time, so the title of each entry will have a somewhat chronological ordering - even if the story timeline within each game session doesn't quite match up. Eh, I think it will work.

I will try and highlight "notable" locations and game events in Bold for easier reference back to the game cards/stickers/elements. Hopefully it is not too cumbersome to read this way.

Peace,
Brent