The Hollow Harpy & A new ally

The Hollow Harpy
A few days into their journey north to Fort Abner, the group stopped in the aptly named town of Hollow. As they ask around, they are relieved to find no word of them and their actions in round town. Instead, several people tell them of a strange man who has been working on some invention. Apparently the man is supposed to be making a big announcement today in the local inn, that he claims will change the world. Deciding that they might as well sleep inside tonight, they head for the Hollow Harpy.

The group spent their time waiting at the Hollow Harpy, with no sign of the storied inventor. As the evening wore on, and Ryze struggled to stay conscious despite his valiant effort to keep up with Kelsier and Levi, the group eventually gave up waiting and headed to their rooms. The next morning, they were awoken by a commotion downstairs in the bar. There, an exhausted boy is telling a crowd of villagers about monsters attacking a man who needs help.

When the crowd realizes there are adventurers upstairs, the begin clamoring to get up and beg for the group’s help. Levi immediately takes up their charge, but Scourge, reluctant to even bother, demands that they be granted an award if they are to go save this stranger. The oldest man agrees to gather up what he can find, and to have it when the group returns. Once recovered, the boy leads the party to a strange portal. Kelsier determines that while the portal is unlike any he has seen or heard of before, it should work fine, and heads through. The rest of the group follows with varying levels of urgency/reluctance.

The Rescue
On the other side of the portal, the party finds themselves at the base of large cliffs with a narrow pathway leading through the cliff. On the other side, they find an unusual sight. In the middle of the sandy ground between them and the ocean, a cottage stands with a curious garden and on its roof, sits the apparent owner of the cottage. He begins waving his hands in the air and out of thin air in front of them appears a message asking for their help. Before the group can take in much more, the grounds around the cottage begin shaking as three large monsters move underground to attack the newcomers.

Immediately, the party tries to react, moving to defend themselves, with Levi stepping forward to meet these strange beasts head on. Launching their attacks, the party tries desperately to fight the beasts, but with the sand being kicked up, and with little clue as to how to fight these creatures, the party struggled to even wound one of the beasts. In the meantime, the cottage owner, from the top of his roof, casts spells, trying to help the group and distract at least some of the monsters, while a fourth monster circles his home. He succeeds in driving one off into the water, where it eventually would drown. Finally, giving up on reaching the man, from the side of the house, the monster burrowed under the house and explodes straight up through it, causing the entire house to collapse.

As the owner quickly moves to get away from the destroyed cottage, he manages to use an illusion to attract a second beast back towards the now smoldering cottage. At the same time, the party, gaining a better feel for these monsters, begin landing attacks, quickly bringing a monster to its doom, just in time to see a massive explosion erupt from the cottage, consuming the cottage, garden, and final two monsters utterly.

A New Companion
With the battle over, the cottage owner introduced himself as Fayne Thaddicus Tidfara James Àblican the Drakin Seeker. A wizard who had spent his life apparently studying dragon droppings amoung other things. Recently, he had managed to make a potent fertilizer with it allowing him to bring life to the desert wastelands of Almantiando. Overall, the party wasn’t sure what to make of this strange old man, until, that is Fayne, upon hearing Levi’s introduction of himself, he mentioned that he had heard of the Leviathan Hoarde of the Capillarian Crest, and showed great interest in Levi’s tale.

Before Levi could get very far, the party managed to turn the conversation back to Fayne and his work. Fayne happily took his rescuers to his grotto. Nestled in the cliffs near the ocean, the party found an it a wondrous pocket of trees and shrubs, in stark contrast to the dry parched land all around them. Enjoying it more than anyone in the party, Nerisora eagerly explored the small grotto, helped Levi carve an excellent new lance, and together with Kelsier, gathered many nuts from the plants. After a brief stay there, the party, with a dissatisfied Scourge leading the way, headed back to the portal to return to the town of Hollow.

Back at the Hollow Harpy, the villagers gathered happily to welcome Fayne back and thank his rescuers. Scourge quickly collected the meager award from the village elder, while Fayne greeted the other villagers. Once things calmed down a little, Fayne, Levi and Kelsier moved to a table to get further acquainted (through both conversation and mead). During the several hours that they conversed on topics ranging from Levi’s clan, the party’s quest, and Fayne’s work, Ryze, Nerisora, and Scourge sought refuge upstairs to rest. When the next day began, the party, now including Fayne, continued North, leaving the small town of Hollow behind.

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