The Giant and The Druid

AK510-34 Cool Summer Start Week 2
[Charon Guiding, Shale Resting, Cycles Watching]

Tim Tanner leads the party in prayer while holding the Book of Creation and their prayers are answered by the Gods, infusing them with zeal. Ivellios calls upon the power of Draiocht to speed the party with unnatural haste, then a Giant Double headed Lizardfolk mutant with mottled skin, red green and steel, wielding massive stone axes charges at the party. A badly wounded John Appleby takes the brunt of the attack, reeling from the assault of an enormous stone axe.
The creatures attacks are vicious but the party soon have his measure. Appleby summons one of Naduirs air spirits as a decoy and then escapes the creature while it swipes at the swirling flyer. Bob unleashes a hail of arrows at the giant and it roars in pain. The Swarm closes upon it and sting it however its enormous bulk saves it from the poisons grip. The frenzy of the swarm confounds the simple minds of the creature and it thrashes about heedless of its other attackers. Tim smashes his mace into it as it crashed past. Bob lets loose another trio of arrows with blinding speed and punctures his chest and neck. The creature is in terrible pain and the swarm menaces it relentlessly. Jo darts about and loosing occasional yet well aimed arrows at it. Tim lands another cruel blow. Then Appleby returns to the fray sending the Naduir spirit before him. The last thing the weakening creature feels is the crushing power of the Applewood staff cracking its skull and breaking its neck.
The creature falls lifeless at the druids feet.

Jo and Bob notice movement in the woods but the poison dusk tribes reinforcements are too late to save their champion. At a glance from the woodsmen they skulk off back into the woods. While surveying the area for possible threats, Jo notices that there is a strange disturbance in the air near the wagons. He calls to Ivellios who declares it to be a scrying sensor, which would allow someone to spy upon others over vast distances. Appleby surmises that the sensor may well belong to the Wild Marsh Druid.
The party scavenge the remainder of the wagon and recapture the horses. The Ranger and the Druid tend to the animals and ensure they are fit for the journey. They recover arms and equipment from the raiders. The Steel Clan Captain was exceptionally well equipped. He had crafted his own weapons, a magical longsword and short sword and his own armor a magical shirt of fine chain. He also carried a couple of cure potions.
Vedic Tanner, tends to the wounded and the dead. The later are given the last rites of the Chosen and are burned. The former are blessed with Crois healing touch and are brought back from the brink of death. Of the original fifteen strong caravan only three survive. Almost instantly Vedic and Todd Stuffitt pounce upon them to sell them their wares. Quickly they are persuaded to join Woodhaven as town guards serving under the hastily elected Chief Constable Stuffitts command. He negotiates a 50gp a year salary, with free room and board for each of them as well as a night of free booze once per month to be donated by Jo of Kell. Once the negotiations are complete the mercenaries take up their posts and assist with the ordering of the wagons. The Chief issues their orders and draws up rotas for their service in Woodhaven.
Meanwhile Vedic Tanner has been examining the mutants back and noticed that the skin on his back was grotesquely marked with painful looking marks. He was unsurprised to recognise the mark of Athru. He believed that this was evidence that the Wild Marsh Druid was a Fallen worshipper. Ivellios all but had to be restrained from marching straight into the Dark Swamp to confront him there and then. Tim Tanner admired his enthusiasm for assaulting The Fallen but not his wisdom.

As they are engaged in this Appleby notices that there is another disturbance nearby. The water is moving in a strange manner. A large spirit of Naduir lurks beneath the river waters. With a roar a pair of waives rise out of the water and onto the river bank. Standing majestically on the top of the waves is a blue skinned creatures covered in glistening scales. She wears strange leather clothing and a breastplate of coral. A vicious looking two handed trident rests casually in her hands.
She introduces herself to John Appleby and addresses him as Holy One. She is a Triton Druid called Shella Waterweaver. She wishes to advise the Fey druid and guide him in the ways of the druidic order. She is most impressed that he has learned his druidic powers directly from Naduir by meditating with the Applewood staff, but she is eager to teach the ways of the order and even more eager that Appleby join them. She has decided that The Wild Marsh Druid has broken the druidic council's laws and must be opposed. She advises Appleby to journey to the Thornwood forest and bring the staff to The Pool of Naduir where it can be joined more powerfully with the God and with Nature. She tells him that he is revered among the fey and that he will be welcome in the Thornwood forest where others would not. They spend they spend the rest of the day and night discussing the ways of the council and the powers of the druids and both of them learn much.