Nex Please!!

Journey into Nex (15 Feb 2012)

Having solved the problems in Wildsgate and said their goodbyes to Ancilith, Marshak, Nazost and the other friends they had made, the party prepare for their journey across the wilds of Nex. With a gypsy wagon and two good horses, the party are ready to go.  Following the road, they decline to visit the small town of Wester and like-wise, though they see it in the distance, they avoid the water-pools around the grassland oasis of Sheneny.  The signs and tracks across the grasslands speak of huge dinosaur-like herbivores dissuade them from exploring too far from the road.

During the first night of camping, the guards are disturbed by a large tyrannosaur stalking past the camp but concealed inside the instant fortress or hidden inside the wagon, the great beast doesn’t recognise them as prey.  The ruined city that they can see to the north glows in the night with the sickly corpse-shine of magic gone awry.  The spell-casters related a little of the history of this country and of how it’s great war with the necromancers of the country of Geb to the south resulted in the dangerous and unpredictable areas, both fixed and free-floating, of wild magic plaguing the country.  The cities and larger towns are able to protect themselves from the vagaries of this wild magic with huge protection circles cast around them but outside of the towns, magic is not so safe and reliable.

Investigating the ruin of the city of Petcarlham the next day, they discover first one and then a number of what they at first take to be skeletons but under investigation are revealed to be a simplistic form of bone construct or golem generally referred to as thralls.  Investigating further into the city, Tay Vorn discovers the bodies of the fools who attempted to mine the city of its valuable marble using the bone constructs only to have the magic that animated them go wrong and rebound on them in a hostile fashion.  Confronted by one of the thralls that is different to the others, it’s animating runes shining and crawling, Tay Vorn decides that discretion is the better part of valour and they party flee the ruins for now.

The party camped in the grasslands for a second night, this time south of an unnamed ruin marked on their map and again the evening was not without its incident.  During the night some kind of strange, blind and blighted dragon-like creature with the intelligence to use mimicry to lure its prey attacked the party and only quick thinking by Gith’orl saved the wagon from destruction by the napalm-like breath of the dragonspawn.

The next morning put the party close to the town of Powmonoah where they stop to allow Moretta to get the wagon a fresh paint job.  While in town, Tay Vorn tries out some of the firearms that have been imported from Alkenstar in the Mana Wastes and Talum and Nazel investigate the steamjacks; steam powered constructs that aren’t vulnerable to the wild magic but aren’t all that reliable either without skilled maintenance.

Leaving Powmonoah, the party find themselves on a much more well-travelled and well maintained road and, as they are travelling in the same direction, they give a ride to a currently unemployed mercenary called Laris.  Laris seems to keeping an eye out for someone but seems friendly enough.  He hasn’t been with the group for many miles when he spots a possible ambush and dashes into the woods at the side of the highway. Tay Vorn rides after him and is in time to see Laris changing into a kind of were-wolf but the distinctive feeling of wild magic is in the air and from his behaviour, Tay Vorn realises that Laris is cursed in some way rather than evil. Subduing the beast, the group save Laris, at least for now and he accompanies them on the last leg of their journey to Quantium.