Session 173 "Fire in the hole!" Day 19 and 20 of Ready'reat

The group gathered back together the evening of day 19 of Ready'reat at the Inn of the Welcome Wench. The group decided to order dinner and discuss their plans. The dinner choices included grilled trout, mushroom stew, or a seven-course meal, with varying prices. The party's spokesperson and caller for the session was a topic of discussion, with Contristo being a default character leader. It was noted that Azra would likely participate in any discussions. 

The group then turned its attention to three fighters who had recently arrived: Melissa, Jensen, and Nathaniel. These fighters, hired by Rufus, were introduced as frontline fighters, each with different weapon preferences: broadsword, warhammer, and battle-axe, respectively. They mentioned experience fighting various creatures, including brigands and other humanoids, and highlighted their preference for organized combat. The fighters also expressed loyalty to Hommlet and Rufus, expecting a share of any treasure found. They agreed to meet the party at 9:00 AM the following morning to go to the moat house.

After dinner, the party members discussed their plans and settled their lodging expenses, with Zorla and Contristo paying for additional nights. The next morning, the party prepared to leave, with breakfast options including a plain meal or an elaborate one, and the ability to purchase sack lunches. Oppelle bought six vials of oil and prepared them with wicks. The party then moved to the main map, with Contristo leading the group through the town. 

The party met the three fighters and prepared for the journey to the moat house. A marching order was established, with Melissa and Zora in the front rank, followed by Jensen and Nathaniel, and JT in the third rank. The party proceeded to the moat house, encountering snow and some covered tracks in the grove. Upon reaching the moat house, the party decided to plan their next steps and revisit the location where they encountered ogres and gnolls. They were wary of a potential ambush in the corridor. It was observed that no new footprints were visible, and even their own previous tracks seemed to be swept clean.

The party gathered in a cold, damp room, discussing possible plans of attack. They decided against checking the side rooms, aware that the rats would likely be there. The group discussed various strategies, including luring the enemy into a trap and setting up an ambush of their own. There was a debate over the potential locations of an enemy ambush and the use of a trap. The possibility of an ambush from both east and west was raised. The group also discussed using magic for reconnaissance, but found their current magical resources limited.

Morwenna experimented with a glass eye of the seer, but it did not seem to have any immediate effect. The party debated sending Farro ahead to scout. There was a discussion about the potential ambush location, with an emphasis on the stairs and the room at the bottom. The discussion included reviewing a map of the area. A plan was formed to check out the west first.

The party discussed the likelihood of a necromancer being present. They debated the usefulness of stealth and recon, as well as a rush attack using a shield wall and missile weapons. The group noted they had no stealthy characters besides Farro. They considered different spells that could be useful, but determined that none would work at the moment. The party also reflected on their previous experiences in the location.

The party ultimately decided to send a scout to investigate another way down via the zombie room. The group recalled burying the zombies and whether the enemy would be aware of that. The party considered sending scouts down both staircases but decided on the zombie room route. Farro volunteered to scout and snuffed out the light source before heading down the stairs. It was suggested that the elves would have an advantage with dark vision. Opelle attempted to use a portent spell on Farro, but the spell was not well understood. Farro proceeded to scout the area. He found the room quiet, and the doors where the zombies had appeared were open, and reported that the temperature was moderate. After scouting the zombie room, Farro reported his findings to the group. The party agreed to move through the zombie room, and Morwenna was concerned about being sandwiched.

The group discussed who should be responsible for using oil and for light sources. They decided that Zorla and Farro would carry light sources. The party discussed plans with the map. They moved to the basement, with Zorla, JT, and Contristo first to enter the room. The group then carefully explored the room, noting that it was undisturbed. The group moved down the stairs into the room and towards the door to the next room. Jensen reported that the door was open. The group noted that the location connected to the room where they were previously ambushed.

Farro put out his light source. The group moved near the door, and Farro peered inside, hearing low noises. Farro relayed the information that the room had at least six figures in a tactical position. The party discussed whether to move silently, despite their light sources, and decided that they would move quickly but as quietly as they could. The elves decided to move ahead into the room without light sources. The elves moved into the room, noting multiple figures, and then relayed the information.

They discussed the range of oil and set up positions. Nathaniel suggested missile fire support followed by a melee charge, with oil being the first wave of attack. The group then assigned positions, and those with missile weapons moved to their spots. Azra prepared grease to use. The group gathered and Azra cast bless. Those in the tactical positions for missiles were moved to their positions. Opelle and Contristo prepared to throw oil, targeting a crossbow-wielding figure and someone who appeared to be the leader respectively. Contristo was successful in killing the crossbowman, while Opelle missed, causing splash damage to both an adjacent gnoll and herself. Farro fired arrows at a gnoll, hitting it with one. Contristo threw another oil at the leader and hit, and Farro fired again. Farro attacked the leader again. Morwenna cast a sleep spell, with a very high roll of 16 hit dice, putting all the remaining enemies to sleep. The party then moved in and killed all the sleeping enemies except the leader.

The party collected treasure, including gold pieces, silver pieces, copper pieces, a gold chain, and platinum pieces. They determined each party member's share of the treasure. Azra used detect magic, but none of the items were magical. Opelle removed the pineal glands of the fallen. They redistributed the gold and gave each member three more gold, with the remaining gold going to the party fund. Nathaniel reminded the group to be cautious moving forward.

The gained significant experience from the battle. The group discussed the importance of planning combat scenarios to maximize success. The group had a significant victory, and they decided to collect all the equipment from the fallen. The group discussed the different types of fallen enemies, noticing that the gnolls had far less treasure than the bugbears. 

Session 172 - Hamlet's Shadow: A Roleplaying Session

Afternoon and evening of Ready'reat 18 and Morning of Ready'reat 19. 

Town Meeting Preparations:

Before the town meeting (scheduled for around 1700), the group had some private and group conversations. They strategized about how to handle information gathered from a suspicious individual named Vince, who offered to sell them secrets for 50 gold pieces. Concerns were raised about trusting Vince, and the group decided against paying him, preferring to gather information at the town meeting instead. They selected Contristo as their spokesperson for the meeting due to his higher charisma. They discussed what information to present, ultimately deciding to focus on the ogre presence at the Moat House, led by Lareth, and the involvement of necromancers, omitting details about Vince.

Town Meeting and Aftermath:

The meeting was held in the basement of an inn due to weather conditions. The group attended alongside various village officials and other individuals. The meeting covered village security concerns, including bandit activity and robberies. Contristo presented the group's findings about the Moat House, revealing the presence of ogres, gnolls, necromancers, and their leader, Lareth. This caused considerable concern among the villagers. The group discussed their plan to return to the Moat House, anticipating resistance and traps. They received advice on tactics from Rufus, including the use of oil and organized formations. Concerns about dealing with necromancy and raising the dead were also addressed, with the village cleric and druid offering assistance. The group's concerns about the Moat House were validated by the villagers, and they received support and offers of assistance. Rufus offered to provide three additional fighters to aid in their next expedition.

After the meeting, the group had dinner at the inn. Laira sang ballads that touched upon themes of betrayal, magic, and trust. There were interactions with other characters, including some playful but potentially awkward encounters with a young woman named Bella and her mother, Wendy with JT. The group discussed the need to be careful and avoid misinterpretations, emphasizing respecting boundaries. The group finalized plans for their next adventure, scheduling it for the following day after resolving financial matters and discussing personal activities. 

Here are the two ballads that Laira sang: 

"The Moat and the Mage"

A haunting tale of betrayal and magic centered around the old Moathouse.

"By the crumbled stones of the moated keep,

Where shadows long and secrets sleep,

A mage once wove his dark intent,

And in his halls, the cursed were sent."

"But the dawn it came, with sword and flame,

The villagers rose, to end his name.

Yet whispers linger, 'neath the moon's pale glow,

Beware the halls where the dark things grow."

"The Shepherd and the Wolf"

A moralistic ballad about trust, community, and courage.

"A shepherd walked the meadow fair,

His flock beneath the willow’s care.

A wolf approached, with hunger's eye,

And spoke with words, instead of cries."

"‘Share your wealth, and I’ll spare the rest.’

But the shepherd saw through the cunning test.

With a horn's sharp blast, his friends came near,

And the wolf was driven by blade and spear."

"Trust in your kin, for alone you’ll fall,

But together you’ll answer the danger’s call."

Discussion of Character Dynamics and Concerns:

Opelle expressed fear and uncertainty about participating in the upcoming adventure and the group offered support and encouragement, highlighting Opelle's valuable skills and the team's need for all members. Rufus brutally and directly addressed Opelle, and her desire to be an adventurer, and that she needed to toughen up for the group, and provide the support that she is capable of. 

The morning ended with the players planning their future in-game activities, including training and preparing for the impending Moat House expedition. The session highlighted the challenges of balancing in-game strategy with character development and interpersonal dynamics. The conversations covered a wide range of topics, including tactical planning, moral considerations, character motivations, and even real-life scheduling concerns.

Session 171: Zorla Muses About Unresolved Tensions and Grug's Legacy

It was Day 17 of Ready'reat and we spent the day in town to prepare for the town meeting that evening. A few interesting things happened and a lot of not-very-interesting things happened. I'll tell you about the interesting stuff.

First, Morwenna attempted to talk with Laira about the song she sang which was clearly about Elmo and the moathouse, but Laira denied the whole thing even happened. She insisted that she had actually sung a song about "Elmer the Great". I was sitting at the table nearby and listened in horror as the usually-logical Morwenna walked away from the conversation totally confused and actually questioning whether she misheard the whole thing. But I don't believe it. Somehow Laira knows things about what happened at the moathouse. It can't be a harmless coincidence. Maybe it's some magical influence or even something more sinister. We need to keep an eye on that girl.

Speaking of keeping an eye on someone, Azra was acting very strangely, even for an elf. She was clearly on edge from watching a secretive exchange between Contristo and Farro, but isn't everything Contristo does secretive and questionable? We need to just get over it with that guy, but Azra became more and more agitated by it all. She then started a strange staring contest with Ostler, the innkeeper. I have no idea what that was about but maybe she was hoping he would give in to her staring and give her some answers? Or maybe she's seeking a sense of control while caught up in a situation far beyond her control? I'm not a mind-reader and even if I were I don't think I'd want to know what is going on in that girl's mind.

Another thing: that Mergun guy sure is persistent. He has been trying to sell off his unusual wares and some of the group is giving in to his sales pitch with far too much interest—especially in that whispering bell. Even I was overly-interested, but we should all be more hesitant with this guy. He's up to something, even if it's just fleecing people with ridiculous things no one needs. Morwenna bought the strange "Glass Eye of the Seer" from him and gave herself a chill as soon as she touched it. She also said it felt like she was being watched, and that the thing then shifted it's gaze to Azra. Rightly so. That girl needs watching. Maybe both Ostler and the glass eye are on to something there.

Speaking of getting fleeced, we went to the traders to sell the last of Grug's belongings to help fund our continuing efforts in the area. They bought his leather armor, shield and backpack for reasonable prices, considering the smell. But then they pretended his ancestral weapons were junk and finally offered a pittance for them. I can't believe we fell for that. At least we were smart enough to divide his rations and a few other belongings between us where they will be respected and continue to be of use. I bought a sewing kit and I'm going to sew that old tattered piece of rug that he carried around to my backpack, in his memory.

Another thing: That JT kid is exceptionally strange. I'm not sure he's even as bright as Grug was. He insisted on attempting to sell his silver sword to the traders, even though I made every effort to drag him outside by his collar to prevent him from potentially going through with it. I mean, they just bought ancestral armor for a few copper! Of course they offered him a significantly lower price than its actual value. Turns out he just wanted the price quote, but I wonder if it means something more. Hopefully he can be trusted to make better choices in a fight.

It sure does seem like there are a lot of mysteries going on around here that could probably be solved if people would just sit down and have some conversations. It's like living in one of those romance stories that people talk about reading. If the characters just talked to each other like normal people the premise of the whole story could be resolved in five minutes.

Another thing: We decided to establish a group common fund, purchased a cloth bag to hold our coins, and gave over handling it to Contristo. For some reason we all trust the shadiest guy in the group the very most. Not sure what that says about us. I'm going to go lie down and take a nap. Thinking about all this is making me sleepy.

Session 170: Bury a Friend

It's day 17 of Ready'reat and party morale is low. Our last battle was a crushing one with the death of Grug and four party members falling in battle. Farro, Crassus, and I (Morwenna) had all been revived by magical means, but Zorla still lays unconscious. With Azra, Contristo, and Opelle, our pitiful party makes an attempt to drag Grug and Zorla's hefty bodies back to Hommlet. But first, there is the insulting obstacle of the cage blocking our way out. I blame Grug. He separated himself from the party, triggered the cage's fall, and impeded our assist by trapping several of us inside. That same cage was now halting our egress. Even in death the barbarian is a pebble in my boot! I'll be honest, our primary objective of hauling his large corpse out of the moat house is so that he is not turned into a giant zombie that we will need to fight in the future. But a part of me also owes a duty to a former member of our party for a dignified end of life ceremony. But before any of that can happen, we need to get past this cage!

We brainstorm about how to get the entire party past the obstacle. I muse about perhaps going back and toggling the switch Grug had thrown, but Contristo pooh-poohed that as not likely to work. I observe the the cage and notice that it is connected to some sort of mechanics that could lift and lower. We set about to search the area for a hidden switch that could retract the cage. Keen-eyed Farro spots a subtle catch on the wall. When it is thrown, a doorway opens up to a hidden room. This place has a history of vomiting out ogres from opened doors, so I am apprehensive. But Farro investigates and sees a winch with an unspooled and taut chain. I roll up the chain onto the winch and the cage raises. The winch catches and seems to hold the cage in place. Farro muses that this is a valuable piece of information that could potentially be utilized in the future to trap an enemy.

We are carrying both Zorla and Grug when Contristo questions why Zorla hasn't been healed yet. I point out that I have no more healing spells, but Azra recalls that she in fact does and heals Zorla. We now focus on the task of determining what to do with Grug. Several ideas are floated. We first attempt to burn his body in a spot where we don't think it will smoke up the place, but it becomes clear that we do not have enough oil to do a competent job. I suggest weighing him down and sinking him into the moat, but several of the party don't believe that will be sufficient and don't want to fight a bloated Grug zombie. We contemplate venturing away from the moat house and digging a grave in the forest, but the ground is sloppy and wet from the rain and we are short on shovels. Opelle suggests (too zealously and repeatedly) that we perform some sort of gruesome butchering to prevent the necromancers from being able to use his body, but I don't possess that level of cold detachment. It is a distasteful idea to me and I shut it down every time it is brought up. In the end, we decide to lug the lug back to Hommlet. Zorla and I do the heavy lifting, slogging along in the slushy rain.

On the way back, we run into a figure on the road. He is wrapped in a cloak with a lute over his shoulder and wears mismatched boots. This fellow introduces himself as Vince and offers to sell us "dry capes" for one gold piece each. These "dry capes" are wretched burlap sacks with holes cut out for the arms. I, for one, have not sunk so low and roll my eyes at the offer. I bet Grug would have been interested, though. Poor Grug! I'm trying to call up some fond memories from our short time together when I realize that Vince is singing. What's more, he's singing about Grug? That can't be right. I must've misheard. We trudge on as the rain turns to snow.

Back in Hommlet, the rest of us wait with the corpse as Farro and Contristo set off to visit the wizard. Vince turns to us and tells us that he knows secrets about the moat house and is willing to share them with us, for a price. Turns out that price is 50 gold pieces! We all stare at him a bit stunned as he says he will come to the inn for our answer and then disappears quickly into the woods. This guy is so mysterious! Even if we could scrape together 50 gp, could we even trust the intel he feeds us?

The wizard had given Farro and Contristo an order to take with Grug's body to the burial grounds. We left him there with some workers that seemed eager to earn money digging a grave, even on a cold and snowy night. We all make our way back to the inn, with Farro stopping to buy some warmer clothes first. 

In the common room we meet up with a fellow that calls himself James Thomas. He seems keen to join the party. Well, we find ourselves with an opening at the moment. He comes with a hawk named Echo and an expensive-looking silver longsword. Of all the pets one could bring on an adventure, a hawk doesn't seem too intrusive, though Ostler didn't let the bird stay inside. JT is ready to earn some coin because he says he's broke. Then he orders a fancy dinner. Okay?

The atmosphere of the inn is a welcome respite. It's warm and friendly with good food and drink. Tonight there is even a half-elf singing as entertainment. She's not half bad! Everyone's mood seems to be lifting. Opelle pays for Farro's room because he has run low on funds and Azra drinks and chats with Gremag, Rannos, and Charles. I finish my dinner and sip my ale listening half-heartedly to the words sung by the bard. Then I listen closer. She is singing about the heroic escapades of the adventurer... Elmo? How does she know the specifics of his last stand? The details she includes are startling and specific. It almost feels nefarious. I need to speak to her to better understand how she knows what she knows (and if she is associated with Vince).

Session 169: Running Straight into Death

 Day 17 of Ready'Reat

What a miserable day this is turning out to be. The rain has soaked through most of our cloaks and clothes. Fortunately, we have made it to the moat house before we got too chilled from the cold and rain. We gathered some broken furniture from one of the rooms and built a fire in one of the broken fireplaces that this ruin has. It has allowed us to warm up and dry off our clothes. After sufficiently drying off, the group decides the best course of action is further exploration, and Morwenna directs us toward the basement, which we haven't really explored (the last time we were there we were attacked by the undead and nearly died). The impulsive barbarian Grug leads from the front. We reach the basement with little fanfare: nothing impeded our progress or try to kill us yet. Shortly after arriving, Morwenna discovered a small, hidden latch, that she hadn't noticed before. Elves truly are the superior race, and she is among the best of us. Once the rest of the group prepared themselves, she pulled the latch, and it revealed a passageway with stairs heading downward. Once again, we head down, with Grug leading the way. As we travel, Grug is offered Zorla's 10 ft pole, but opts to check the floor for traps using his spear instead. That barbarian's logic sometimes, baffles me. 

Eventually we are led to a room that diverges into two passageways: one to leads to the east, and another to the south. Morwenna wants the party to go east, but Grug it seemed has other intentions. He claims he needed to go to the southern passage so he could "relieve himself". Both Contristo look at each other with the same skeptical look, we don't believe him for a second. Contristo follows him a few steps behind, and I use my natural abilities to slink into the shadows and dark crevices to disappear from the view of others and follow both Grug and Contristo. The others it seems decide to continue to travel on the east passage. It would appear Grug is looking for sources of magic. He triggers something (I couldn't quite see what he pressed) which caused a large clanging noise in the area where we just were. Hopefully the rest of the party is okay. All of sudden I hear Grug make a sickening cry, which sounded an awful like a death cry. The sound a person makes when their essence is beginning to leave their body. It is a sound that is unmistakable, and the fact Grug made it, causes my hair to stand on end. I move out from the shadows to behold quite a sight: the fallen body of Grug, with an ogre standing over him. Just then the rest of the party joins the fray. Apparently, they were trapped under a huge cage that was sprung on them (the clanging noise!), heard Grug's cries, and came to investigate. A large group of gnolls, armed to the teeth, and equipped with bows and axes are prepared for us.  Contristo throws a dagger that looks slightly different than normal: it has a slight glisten to it as if he coated it with something (a poison maybe?). The poisoned dagger finds its mark, and poison begins to course through the creature's body.  The gnolls, for whatever reason, view Morwenna as the greatest threat to them, fire a volley of arrows at her, hitting her. She falls down, unconscious and mortally wounded. Azra, sensing the danger Morwenna is in, steps up and casts her healing magic on her, and brings her back to consciousness. I try to distract the gnolls while Opelle and Azra bring Morwenna to a safer location, by throwing a lit vial of oil at the gnolls. I missed the one I was aiming at, though I did hit one, cause him to burn some. They launched a volley of arrows at me as a result. As the arrows pierce my skin, and I quickly lose consciousness, the last thing I see is Morwenna dragged safely to safety. 

The next thing I remember is the warmth healing magic as I was brought back to conscious by Morwenna. Apparently, the gods have more things for me to do in this life yet.  I look around and Crassus is lying on the floor bleeding, apparently shot by the gnolls, and Zorla is attacking the ogre that killed Grug. Zorla is not winning the fight by the looks of it. She swings, somehow misses, then gets hit by its counterattack. Opelle, Azra, and Contristo sense this might be a losing fight, begin to disengage and start to back out of the passageway. Both Morwenna and I are in no condition to fight, having each nearly died, decide to rest and watch a moment. We look at each other, then look at the body of Crassus, then nod. We stand up and quickly move forward, grab Crassus' body and move him back to the safety of the passageway where we were resting. Apparently, this took the gnolls by surprise as they didn't fire an arrow at us. Morwenna used the last of her magic on Crassus, and he returned to the land of the living. We watch as the ogre strikes Zorla hard, causing her to fall down bleeding. It would appear she has lost this fight. But in a twist of fate, so does the ogre. Contristo's poison takes full effect, which kills the ogre instantly. The creature gurgles sickly, then collapses on the body on the fallen Grug. Morwenna persuades me to go get Zorla, since I can disappear seemingly at will. After waiting a few minutes, I walk slowly to Zorla, piveting my head side-to-side, watching and waiting for an ambush or any sign of danger. Finally, I get to her large body. I quickly look for and find what I'm looking for: bandages. I find and bandage the bleeding, stabilizing her. I drag her slowly back to the others, a few paces at a time. I do this both to ensure the bandages don't tear, as well as to check for danger. Finally, I place her in the caring hands of the others. The gnolls apparently, have gotten bored or got different orders because they decided to leave shortly after the ogre was defeated. Constristo, Azta, and Opelle, decide to come back, and the rest of the group start to discuss what to do with Grug. Contristo offers up a great suggestion taking what Grug no longer needs: his earthly possessions. We will discuss what else to do with this big impulsive barbarian body. 

Signed,

Farro Eagerstar  

Session 168 Azra Blog Placeholder

Session 167: Ogres, Druids, and Bears! Oh my!

Dictated by Zorla.

It was day 16 of Ready’reat and we were in a room in the basement of the Moathouse. Grug was digging through piles of trash and the rest of the party seemed to be wandering a bit and either watching Grug’s odd behavior or staring at the door to the south. Contristo, who had been watching the door, suddenly cried out that something was coming through it.

He shouted “Ogre!” and scrambled back and away from it. This ogre was smaller than the last one, but had a hungry look in its eye. Don't ask what that looks like. It just looked hungry somehow.

Opelle actually asked the ogre if it spoke common and it answered by swinging its fists at my head. I ducked and Morwenna cast sleep on it, then I slit its throat and closed the door behind it. Grug came running up and was quite bothered that he didn’t get to hit it. He smelled like smoke but I don't know why. The ogre was wearing a tunic with some letters on it but I have no idea what they were. Maybe someone else with an "education" knows.

Morwenna suggested we get out and head back to town before any more ogres showed up. We all agreed and soon emerged from the moathouse into the mid-autumn afternoon.

Back in Hommlet at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Ostler called Contristo over and offered him a free ale for helping out his friend, Elmo’s father. I forget his name.

Contristo told the innkeeper that we fought two ogres and Ostler's face went pale. He said we needed to report this to Jaroo, the local druid of the grove, to Terjon, the cleric of St. Cuthbert, and of course to Bern and Rufus and to the village elder. Ostler also told Contristo about some local lore of dangerous people but I didn't understand most of it. Just that there were a bunch of bad guys who had done bad things in the past. Something like that. He also mentioned the upcoming meeting of the village elder on day 18 but we already knew about that.

I had to laugh because Ostler then warned Contristo about Furnock, who cheated at cards and regularly fleeced merchants passing through town. No idea how anyone could not have figured that out about Furnock on their own already.

Gremag, Rannos, and Charles then came in and sat together at a table. All of our party members paid for their rooms and Morwenna talked Azra into sharing a room with her. I was going to talk with Charles but that was too many people at one table and those guys talk a lot, so I ignored them.

The serving girl announced mealtime and Grug and Farro both ordered the elaborate dinner. When the food started coming out from the kitchen, the inn's dog—which had always shied away from Grug and even growled at Morwenna—went straight to Grug’s table and started whining and begging. Of course, Grug started slipping him bites of everything he was served. He even gave him bites of peach pie right off his barbarian-sized spoon! That dog ate better than I did. Farro kindly left an extra tip for the cook.

During dinner, Burne came in and sat at a table with Contristo. They talked about Elmo and Burne said there must be a response and restitution for Elmo’s death. He said it must be a powerful necromancer who could create zombies. Contristo told him about the ogres and Burne frowned and shook his head. He said that probably means there are other demi-humankind there, such as goblins, bugbears, gnolls, and maybe even trolls. Burne told Contristo to be cautious and agreed that the creatures could be related to those that had attacked Contristo’s original group on the road to Hommlet.

While they were talking, Burne also did a weird thing. He silently took out a packet of something and handed it to Azra. Contristo raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing. I really wanted to know what was in the packet but was not about to ask Azra, especially because it probably had something to do with magic and I didn't want to get Grug started on that subject.

Furnock had also returned with his cards and dice to a table for the evening. Farro pointed him out to Grug, who sniffed and refused to look at the gambler. I guess he hadn't figured it out for himself. I almost feel sorry for him.

Burne continued talking to Contristo and said there would be a reward from the town plus a reward from Elmo’s father for returning his equipment and defeating whatever evil is at the moathouse. Contristo got that hungry look in his eye at the mention of a reward.

Everyone eventually finished up their dinners and went up to bed.

The next day was day 17 of  Ready’reat. It rained all morning. When Grug went down for breakfast, the inn's dog started following him as soon as he came into the common room. He knows who to beg from now.

When Contristo came down for breakfast, he pulled out two more potions, offered them to Grug, and told him he didn't know what they were but that he was welcome to try them out. I can't believe that big guy never questions anything. He drank one and nothing seemed to happen, but soon after drinking the second one he took off running for the privy and didn't come back for about 15 minutes. No one dared go in there for the rest of the morning.

It was a cold day with all that autumn-season rain and everyone wrapped up in their cloaks. I ran up to the merchant for some more torches and hurried back to the inn.

Farro had announced he was going to the temple of St. Cuthbert but came back looking disappointed as well as soaked-through from the rain. Apparently he had asked the cleric about healing potions or if they needed ingredients for making them and the priest replied that they don't have any available, and they don't have anyone who can make them. Farro was annoyed that the cleric suggested going to a larger city, like Verbobonc.

Azra had also set off with Opelle to go to the grove, but returned quickly to the inn as the temperature dropped. Opelle kept going because she was much warmer than the rest of us in her fancy waterproof cloak. She later told us that the druids actually seemed invigorated by the rain, which I guess makes sense because they're druids. She talked with one of them about the ogres and he asked for a five-gold-piece donation, which she gave him. He then said he would assist with any combat injuries, for a price. Of course.

He also said the druids were interested in more information about the moathouse and might even offer a reward for it. That sounded good to me, but he told Opelle that because of her donation she is now a friend of the grove and wouldn't be attacked by the bear. That's ridiculous. If anyone should be a friend of the grove it's me because Fharlanghn is my diety. I decided to visit and be the one to give them an update the next time we came back to town.

After everyone made it back to the inn, Morwenna suggested we set out for the moathouse. No one was especially excited to go in the rain, but no one disagreed either. We left and trudged through to that dark and creepy place. At least the weather was appropriate for the mood.

That's enough for today. I need to go clean my axe and repair my armor.

Session 166: Grug the destroyer

It's Day 16 of Ready'reat and I (Morwenna) find myself with the party in the moat house looking at the corpse of a defeated ogre. Opelle chipperly suggests looting the corpse while Grug uses his spear to probe around the room. This room was apparently the living quarters of the late ogre and it is disgusting and slovenly. Glancing around the room with a slight feeling disgust, I notice a member of the party I've never met before. I wasn't with the group to fight the ogre, so I don't know when this gentleman joined, but he introduces himself as Crassus. He's a halfling which doesn't inspire too much confidence, but he claims to be a thief, so his occupation may prove him to be a shrewd character. Time will tell.

The party goes about their various tasks, some searching the room, while others eat. Opelle finds a chest and bardiche (some sort of polearm) and Crassus attempts to pick a locked door. When Crassus fails at this pretty basic thief task, Azra uses her elven wits and a simple cantrip to unlock the door. Crassus 0-1. Opelle opens the chest and finds some mundane treasure including glass beads, brass candlesticks, and a mess of coins. Crassus, meanwhile, pokes his head in through the opened door and catches a big snoot full of stink. There is a rotten smell that immediately sends the halfling into waves of nausea and vomiting. Crassus 0-2. Grug, Azra, and I are near the door, but I guess we are made of tougher stuff, because we aren't affected. I take a few steps away from Crassus and his growing pile of sick and sit down to eat.

Opelle seems quite excited about the glass beads and starts counting them while Contristo zeroes in on the coins. Should we be more concerned about overseeing Contristo? Who knows, but he seems to divide the treasure up evenly and fairly. As I finish up my lunch, I see that Farro has joined us and is beaten up and unconscious (possibly from the battle with the ogre, though I don't know where he disappeared to until now). I heal his wounds enough to revive him and we observe the curious actions of Grug.

Grug has begun to act twitchy. He is positively vibrating with agitation. He makes a swift surreptitious movement toward a pile of detritus and then quickly bolts to leave the room. Farro points out this unusual behavior and Grug calls out that he is leaving to relieve himself. There is something off about his demeanor, so I attempt to cast a distract cantrip on Grug, but the oaf somehow overcomes my magic. Azra and Opelle take a beat and then chase after the barbarian, but Grug got a head start. By the time the two clever elves have caught up to him, he is smiling self-satisfactorily and standing over a pile of smoldering, ashy something. The three of them rejoin the rest of us. Azra and Opelle are clearly upset, with Opelle nearly on the verge of madness ranting about how Grug had deprived her of knowledge. We all round on Grug, trying to work out exactly what he had done, but the brutish fellow evades questioning and slips away again proclaiming his need to urinate. Even after returning to the group, Grug seems immune to our interrogations. He simply will not state what it is he found and destroyed. Contristo takes another tack, and offers Grug a potion. Grug willingly accepts and downs it in one. I don't think Contristo knew what the potion would do because it didn't seem to have any effect and Contristo appears disappointed. Note to self: stay on Contristo's good side and don't drink any mystery potions he offers.

Session 165: Bring Out Your Dead! Bring Out Your Dead!

 Day 15 of Ready' Reat

The group and I (Farro) gathered at the inn for some grub and to get cleaned up after dealing with those decomposing meat puppets. After I grabbed a quick bite, I saw Furnach and Charles playing some cards, so I had join in. I did pretty decent (if I do say so myself) last time I played these two. Grug of course had to join in as well. The forest fates weren't with me that hand because both Grug and I lost to Furnach. Grug went to bed after losing, but I wanted another chance at winning. A halfling I kinda recognize decides to join the next hand. I realize that I recognize him from similar thieving circles from the Duchy of Ulek. He keeps eyeing the patrons for marks to pickpocket. I play the second better and end up beating Furnach and the new halfling, Crassus for the full pot. I leave to go take a bath and then bed because man do I stink.  

Day 16 of Ready' Reat

Following a decent breakfast, the group and I head up to replenish some supplies from the local merchants. I buy a shovel, and some needed oil. When I asked about some thieves' tools, the shopkeeper directed me to his nearby companion who introduced himself and sold me what I desired. I will have to keep him in mind for future jobs. Once shopping has been concluded, the group heads back to the moat house. We decide to investigate a door in the northeast of the main room. I look and study it for some time, but I can't see any traps of any kind on it. Grug opens the door, and the room is full of rubble, trash, and grease. There is an area that clearly shows signs that some sort of a treasure has been unburied and moved from this room. I notice a hidden lever on the wall and ask in elvish to my elven companion if I should pull it. They respond: "of course".  I pull the lever, and it opens up a section of wall, and a set of stairs downward. Grug runs headlong down the stairs. I roll my eyes, and slowly walk after him, hoping he doesn't end up setting off a trap or getting himself killed because I'm not pulling his giant body up these stairs. Others of the group follow after me and we end up in a small 10 ft by 25 ft room with no apparent exit. Grug, frustrated, punches the wall, and heads back upstairs. Opelle and Constristo follow him soon after. Something catches Azra's eyes I think, because she sees a very hidden lever and pulls it. A door is revealed, and a low gutteral growl comes from the new doorway. A large creature, an ogre, comes barreling into view, with blade in hand. He stares menacingly at me for some reason. He seems to say something, but I don't speak weird hostile animal tongue. He steps forward to attack me, but Azra quickly hits it with some sort of magical spell. It clearly does damage to it, but also makes it very mad. It takes a quick strike at me. I try to dip and dodge out of the way, but he hits me hard. The last thing I see as I collapse to the ground is the group attacking the creature that just bested me...

Session 164 A Beautiful Day

Grug and Zorla were super brave and stood in front. The group was honestly so nice to let me borrow their water and cup to turn it into firewater. I’ll have to thank them later. This is crazy that this is my first official fight, and my hands can’t stop shaking from fear and excitement. I honestly just want to run away from the zombies, but I can’t leave my friends behind. They’ve done so much for me already, and I’m so grateful.
:
/ /
Oil flies by us after I cast firewater, and the zombies just go up in flames. It’s scary, but the group holds firm. After a while, Contristo throws some knives or daggers or something dangerous like that, and they accidentally hit Grug.

.

Poor Grug! I’m sure Contristo feels so bad about it, so I’ll have to ask if he’s okay and make sure he doesn’t feel too guilty. I’m quite worried about Grug, and the only thing I can think of is healing my friend.  

We stop the zombies, and my heart hurts when I think about how they used to be living people just like us.

.

They had feelings, emotions, and everything! I’m trying not to cry just from the thought of it all. The group is extremely respectful to the bodies and tries their best to find them a final resting place.

/

They place the bodies in a room and try to mark the door, so that no one else can get hurt. I never would have thought about marking the door. I remain quiet for a moment to say a silent prayer in my head for the dead.

/

We carry Elmo back to his father, and I nearly start sobbing with him when he breaks down in tears. I never knew how hard being an adventurer could be. People get hurt, and I just want to save all of them. I try to comfort him the best I can, but I don’t think it would ever be enough. He offers us money, but it feels wrong to take money for doing the right thing. He tells us he will pay us more if we return with Elmo’s things, but I don’t think I’ll take the money next time. I’ll probably just give it back to him or donate it to some sort of charity. I’m excited to help these people. I just really hope I can make a difference somehow.

/

We head back to the inn, and I have a super awesome conversation with Morwenna. She’s so cool! We talk about how her dad owns a shop that sells buttons and clothes, which I get super excited about. I love sewing and making clothes. I think that’s something we can totally bond over. I can’t wait to get to know my friends better throughout our adventure, and I feel like our first time as a group went pretty well. Everyone was extra careful when we set up our plan with the zombies. I think we all get along great!

/

To be honest though, I’m scared to go back to that mote house, but I know I need to learn to be brave. I can’t wait for our next adventure and for us to save Hommlet!

Session 163: Foray to the moat house

I (Morwenna) found myself in the village of Hommlet on the morning of Day 15 of Ready'reat. The local inn has good food and a mix of interesting characters. The first fellow who caught my eye was a large blonde guy who was trying to pet the dog curled up in front of the fire. I later learned his name was Grug. The animal growled at Grug and the bar maid asked him to leave the dog alone. He was undeterred, however, and fed the creature strips of dried meat in an attempt to win it over. Grug's efforts seemed to be paying off, time will tell though.

As I sat at the bar ordering breakfast and chatting with the barkeep, an elf approached me. I'm always excited to see another elf and was happy to speak to him. His name was Farro and he invited me to join his adventuring party. Farro mentioned that they were intending to visit the moat house. I was a little on guard about that because I didn't have any idea what goes on there. Was it a cult? Farro didn't have too many answers, but he gestured to a table where a third elf and a half elf were seated. What luck! If I joined up, we were sure to be the cleverest and quietest party to ever raid a dungeon! My mood was somewhat spoiled to learn that there was also a human, half-orc, and that giant barbarian, Grug in the group. I'm sure they have their uses. Regardless, I'm looking for adventure, and here were a group looking to head out today. So I joined and we headed out to this moat house.

The human, Contristo, had been to the moat house with his previous party who had mysteriously disappeared and were presumed dead. He guided us there with a mix of anticipation and dread. I walked alongside the elf Azra and found that we are both from Celene. I think she and I will be good friends! The half-orc, Zorla, kept mostly to herself. On the roadside, we saw the bones of some large herbivore. For reasons I can't articulate, I felt a little sad at the sight. Soon enough, we rounded a bend and saw a crumbling facade with a rickety drawbridge. Grug decided the bridge wouldn't hold his weight, so he ran and leapt the length of it (and actually cleared it!) while the rest of us walked over it one by one.

Inside, we explored a few rooms that Contristo explained he had already searched with his former compatriots, but we searched again for whatever reason. Grug came across a broad sword and added it to his pack. We stopped to eat lunch. Before leaving the inn, I followed the half-elf Opelle's example of purchasing a sandwich packed by the barkeep. It was good! As I looked at the others gnawing on dried fruit and meat, I made the mental note to try and bring fresh provisions as often as possible. I'm worth it!

Azra shuffled and dealt her tarot cards and placed an ominous one. I'm not familiar with the practice, but it caused a chill among the group. She mentioned that she felt something was below us. Grug, meanwhile, came across a scrap of a rug. Poor guy was so excited he leapt up and hit the ceiling, knocking down dust and rubble onto himself and Farro. Moving through the rooms, we encountered the skeletons of dead rats and some stairs that led down. With a feeling of dread, we descended...

The party noted a large smudge mark at the base of the stairs and a foul odor. There were large piles of trash that the group started to sort through when we noticed that Farro was not with us. Suddenly we heard the sound of doors opening and looked to the hallway to the south and saw a horrible sight: zombies! We still could not see Farro, but Contristo could see that the zombies were the reanimated corpses of his former comrades. What a gruesome spectacle! Suddenly, we could see that Farro had been hiding in the shadows and emerged to stab and kill one of the zombies. Opelle was terrified and immediately began retreating to the stairs. I attempted to call on Solonar to turn the undead from our presence, but in my terrified state, I could not connect with his spirit. One of the zombies hit Grug with a devastating blow and the entire party decided to retreat up the stairs. Contristo and Farro held the last position and Contristo poured some oil and went to light it as a fire-wall to guard our backs as we retreated. For one heart-stopping moment, the oil almost didn't ignite. Then it exploded in flame, catching two undead alight and killing one of them. Sickeningly, the rest did not stop where the flaming corpses lay. Instead they stepped over the moldering mounds and trudged their decaying bodies ever closer to us.

Session 162: An Odd Group Forms in Hommlet

It was day 14 of Ready’reat. Contristo was hanging out in the inn, where he had been for the past couple of weeks.

A strange, large, and incredibly tall figure with platinum blonde hair came into the inn and sat at a table, staring at Contristo, who eyed him sideways as he ate. The tall man then stood and approached Contristo, grinning, just as a group of elves came in.

The elves included two grey elves, a half-elf, and a wood elf. They appeared to know each other and sat together.

The tall, blonde character introduced himself as Grug Coldsnap and asked if Contristo was an adventurer. He talked a lot. Contristo found him mildly entertaining.

Just then, a man calling himself Ben Oldham—and saying he was the father of Elmo—also approached Contristo, looking for information about where his son had vanished to and offering a reward for information or for his safe return.

Contristo shared that he was also anxious to find out what had happened to the entire party and readily agreed to Ben's request.

As Ben left, Grug enthusiastically invited Contristo to create another adventuring party with him. Contristo emphasized that his last party had gone missing and there was quite a commotion about it. It seems he had been interrogated extensively but found innocent of wrongdoing.

Grug seemed unconcerned and clapped Contristo on the back, nearly knocking him over.

As they talked, another strange figure entered the inn. She was taller than most human women and of an unusual complexion, with odd ears more like an elf, though much too tall to be a half-elf. She carried herself with the self-awareness of a fighter and sat alone at a table, ordering a simple meal.

Grug immediately turned his attention to the stranger and approached her boisterously, asking if she were a fighter and brandishing his broadsword in an oddly friendly manner, asking to see her broadsword as well.

She looked cornered but hesitantly shared that she was indeed a fighter, though she did not use a broadsword. Her name was Zorla. Grug enthusiastically invited her to join him and Contristo, who shrugged as she peered over at him. She said she would think about it.

Grug grinned and turned his attention to the elves, approaching their table and inviting them into his new adventuring party as well. They eyed him strangely and introduced themselves as: Azra, a cleric/magic user, not-Zofia (her name was unintelligible), Farro Eagerstar (who appeared to be a wood elf fighter of some kind), and Opelle Elenaril (the half elf).

Azra talked a lot and seemed very excited about joining the group. Really she just seemed excited in general about becoming an adventurer. Opelle went along quietly with the idea and the other elves nodded their agreement. Farro didn't say a word but ordered his food and ate while listening to Grug and Azra's conversation. Zorla seemed to be listening from the next table as well.

The innkeeper approached and asked if any of them would be needing rooms for the night. Opelle, Grug, Ferro, and Zorla engaged beds in the common room and the others took private rooms. Before they all retired for the night, Zorla begrudgingly agreed to join the group.

The next morning the group gathered at breakfast and decided to visit the trader before leaving town together to seek the other adventurers at the moathouse that Contristo had told them about.

Gremag, a tall, thin, sharp-featured trader with oddly-protruding eyes, greeted them with an oily manner, drywashing his hands and otherwise appearing too-friendly-to-be-trusted. He told the group about a man named Charles who was willing to hire out as a hireling for 1gold piece per day, provided they also give him armor and a weapon.

Contristo shrugged again when the others looked to him for advice on Charles, so they told Gremag they might consider it another day.

Grug was browsing and eating a sandwich. He told Gremag that he was very interested in rugs, but Gremag explained that they don’t stock rugs and the townsfolk usually buy such things from traveling traders who come through town. Grug nodded enthusiastically though no one could quite understand what he he was so excited about.

Azra bought a notebook, quill, and ink, then went out back and skipped around picking wildflowers.

Leaving the traders, the group decided to pay a visit to the village elder. Contristo led them to a manor house surrounded by an 8-foot-tall stone wall and Zorla approached and knocked on the heavy gate.

A young girl came out and Azra approached the gate to talk with her. The girl asked if the group had an appointment, which of course they did not. She explained that the village meeting was once a month on day 18 of Ready’reat, but the elder did not usually take walk-ins.

The group then returned to the inn, where Azra sat at a table and took out a deck of tarot cards. She turned over four cards: a Euryale, key, skull, and a fool. Grug watched each card with growing excitement and looked up at Azra for an explanation, seeming to think it was a gambling game. She smiled and told Grug that he won, making him even more excited.

Farro quietly stepped up next to Grug and nodded to Azra, who then put down a star, a jester, a fool, and an idiot. He, too, seemed to think that it was a gambling game and that he had won.

As Grug and Farro congratulated each other, Burne and Rufus entered the inn. Azra invited them to sit, asking in an overly-friendly way for information about the town and if there were any bandits in the area.

Burne said that bandits didn't come to town as such, then told her about the other adventurers and the moathouse. He explained that the moathouse had been ruled by the demoness of spiders, and how a force of people went to lay siege to it and destroyed the demoness. He said there was now a rumor that some unknown being or creatures—something—was in the moathouse.

He also suggested there could be a reward for more information about what newly-possessed the moathouse, and told Azra that he could teach her about spells and lore. He then proceeded to sell her a treatise on the fall of the temple of elemental evil, for the price of 10 gold, to be written and completed in two days.

The group's attention turned to Furnock, who had appeared at another table, playing poker, and seemed to be winning more often than not. Two traveling merchants were playing and drinking with him, generally enjoying themselves even when they lost.

Contristo pointed out someone else playing with them—Charles. Farro approached the group and asked to join a game. Charles stepped out of the next game and watched instead as Farro won the hand.

Grug also joined and continued playing after all the others pulled out, ultimately gambling away all of his gold and his handaxe. Grug claimed the handaxe wasn’t that special, but he seemed oddly shaken up about it anyway.

Furnock bowed deeply to Grug and the others, then closed the game for the night.

Session 161: It's Game Over Man! It's Game Over

 Patchwall Day 27

The Merchant Group of Hommlet has been informed that the group that escorted them safely to the city, has recently fallen in battle in the moat house ruins outside of the village proper. What little information we do know about them, we present to the public for a proper tribute for their commendable, albeit sometimes questionable actions. The departed members are as follows:

• Tylendal Adamant -
  
  
  
  
  With worry over his missing twin sister, Tatania, he began a life of adventure, determined to find out what became of her. He headed towards the area she was last heard of, hoping to get some experience under his belt in order to mount an effective rescue.
  
  
• Maeve -
  
  
  
  
  Maeve grew up in a traveling circus known as the Five Tents until tragedy struck. One night they were attacked by giants and many of the circus performers were slain. Maeve, her sister, and her sister's fiancé survived fortunately. The trio set out to leave the circus life behind, but Maeve couldn't quite leave the adventuring behind.
  
  
• Lucius Hopewind -
  
  
  
  
  
  Lucius grew up seeing the good in those around him, whether it was a lowly animal or half elf. He took it upon himself to defend those can't defend themselves and heal those that need it. He became a cleric to serve both those needs. His companion dog, Rufio, perished by his side. He was with him at the very end. 
  
  
• Francis - 
   
  
  
  Growing up as a misunderstood, orphan half-elf, Francis often had to steal to survive. He would often hear the music of the traveling minstrels and that would bring him comfort. Music, whether he heard it, or hummed it, often brought him great comfort. When he was able to save up enough money, he purchased a flute and learned the bardic training. He became a proper bard. 
  
  
• Emberia Ravendream -
  
  
  
  
  Little is known about the wood elf fighter. It is said that Emberia had a distaste for magic users, and usually kept to herself as often as she could. 
  
  
• Eris -
  
  
  
  
  Unfortunately, our records seem to be missing on this party member. What we do have on Eris was she was pretty effective with illusion magic, and thought the rest of the party members were carpenters trying to overthrow the town of Hommlett in some grand conspiracy. Upon further investigation, some journal entries of hers have been discovered. What journal entries we do have, she made to-do lists, with the apparent goal of self-improvement. So that is something. 

So, as you can see citizens of Hommlet, while no doubt flawed, these fine people layed down their lives in an effort to make this town a little better, and a little safer for all of us. 

           -Merchant Group of Hommlett

Session 160 Bunnies, Snakes, and Rats, Oh my!

Session 160 (Homlett) Day 27

Dear Diary 💖

Elmo decides to play tour guide and drag us around the “town” to kill some time before the vendors open.  Granted, “town” is a very generous word for this place.  Elmo points out this church of St. Cuthbert and that it’s a new faith.  There’s also this old faith that’s run by some guy who lives in the woods.  I bet he knows the Robin Hood knock-off.  Speaking of which, I met a guy at the inn who had similar clothes if I remember correctly?

We ask for more info about all of this, and Elmo says he’ll trade news for treasure.  I would feel bad about giving him financial support for his drinking habit, but it’s hard to find good fighters these days.  He seems to have some sort of mutual understanding with the bartender, which I find rather odd.  If information is as valuable as gold in this town, I should start bribing the bartender.  I bet he has overheard some interesting things from drunks.

Elmo must have had a bunny attack him when he was younger because he has some serious emotions to process about bunnies.  The fluff ball must’ve climbed out of the nine hells themselves and demanded his soul for him to be like this.  Despite everything, he has channeled his trauma into art.  It’s just a shame that the art really isn’t that good.  If you’re going to have emotional outbursts like that, you might as well make a profit off of them.  Maybe someone will buy them if he becomes one of those “tortured artists”?  I think the vendors talked about a gnome or someone riding a giant rabbit at one point.  Maybe I’ll have him chase Elmo around for a little bit.  New business idea:  profit off of Elmo’s childhood trauma of bunnies.

For some reason, someone thought it was a good idea to go visit some cabinet makers.  I think they knew that there were some carpenters in our group?  Our carpenters are just very interested in doors, but to be fair, cabinets are just mini doors if you really think about it.  If they did know that we had carpenters in our group, I’m glad they decided to keep it civil.  I doubt committing arson to a shop that’s somewhat close to a church is a good look.  When I die, a bunny may drag my soul to hell.

Anyways, the bard asked to have a snake painted on his flute, but he decided against it due to it taking too much time.  He should’ve casted an illusion on his flute to have a snake on it.  A snake illusion would work quite well against rabbits.

Elmo takes us to the brewer for an excuse to day drink, which I’m fine with because it’s never a bad idea to have some liquid courage before heading into danger.  Then, we sell some stones, a dagger, a chain, and an ivory box for a decent amount of coin to a guy with two hellhounds.  They probably chased the bunnies out of hell, and now they’re domesticated.

We go to the traders, and they don’t have a single book on the town’s history or on some of these faiths.  I don’t like the traders, but maybe that’s because I just tend to not like people in general.  I also don’t trust the majority of the people that we’ve met so far.  For example, we tossed one of our hostages to a wizard, and we haven’t heard anything about what happened with that yet.  The wizard, BURNE, seems a little too eager for information.  I wonder if he changed his name when this whole elemental nonsense happened just to fit the aesthetic.  I’ll investigate and have a chat with him soon.

If Elmo keeps whistling during these little strolls to the moathouse, I might poison his ale at some point.  Actually, I’m sure his liver is so strong that it’ll process any poison without a problem.  He tries to talk to the mule at one point, but the mule is even annoyed by the whistling.

We get to the moathouse, and we investigate some noises upstairs because that’s a thing we’ve been doing now I guess.  An adventurer's lifespan would be significantly longer if they just ignored some noises here and there.  Low and behold, rats spill out of the hallway.  I cast an illusion of a giant snake, and the only name I could think of was “Steve.”  This choice will haunt me for eons to come.  Maeve is still drunk from earlier apparently and throws an ax at Elmo.  It was hilarious.  She can handle weapons, but not her liquor.

We kill the rats and find a flask of oil.  I’m surprised Elmo didn’t immediately start chugging the flask, but he was able to find the restraint.  We find a set of stairs, so I send Steve down them.  I don’t trust the structural integrity of this building.  Everything seems fine at first, but then Rufio starts growling and barking at something.  We decide to take the subtle and tactical approach by throwing a lit molotov cocktail, and two large slime balls fall from the ceiling.  They immediately burn, and the place smells even worse than before.  As if we haven’t made enough poor choices today, we go downstairs…

Session 159: Is that... Deeb?

It's halfway through Day 26 of Patchwall and our troop is feeling battle-worn after our encounter with the lizard and ticks. Lucius first floats the idea of returning to Homlet because he's low on healing spells and another encounter with a dangerous creature could be disastrous. Elmo chimes in that there are three good reasons to head back and they are: ale, ale, and dinner. Can't argue with that.

We are in pretty good spirits on our expedited walk back to town (thanks to our competent guide) when Emberia catches sight of a familiar face. Deeb! Our former compatriot peeks out from behind a bush and asks "found anything today?"  He seems to be feeling out his decision to leave the group. Francis produces a goblin skull as if it's something to be valued, but Deeb just rolls his eyes. Eris mentions our haul of 33 copper pieces (which, is not much, but it's not nothing!). Nobody brings up the sundry other items we've found. Perhaps it's because their value isn't as tangible. Deeb decides he will join us on our walk. I ask him what ever happened to those two adventurers he was planning to join up with. He has no clue what I'm talking about. Maybe it really was all just a dream.

Back at the Welcome Wench, Francis and Elmo are drinking ale (what else?) and Elmo is telling Francis that his collection of skulls is a little pedestrian. Collecting common woodland creature parts (like a snake skull -- even if it is a giant one) will make people believe you are common. What he needs is something legendary! The rest of us order dinner and Burne the wizard walks in. I go over to talk to him and relay the information we have gathered so far about the moat house. He rewards our group with five silver pieces each with a promise of more for additional information or evidence of bandits of the Temple of Elemental Evil. 

Most of us turn in for the night, but Eris and Francis linger in the dining hall. Eris meets and chats with a fellow named Zert. He's a mercenary for hire whose usually quarry is guarding caravans, but he has some time until the next one rolls out. Zert is intrigued by the moat house and the prospect of finding treasure there. He offers himself as a hireling for tomorrow's excursion, but Eris demurs and says she will need to get permission from the entire group. Francis, meanwhile, chats with the druid Jaroo. He knows Burne and is also interested in whatever intel he can gather about the moat house. Jaroo entices Francis to indulge in some "nature's punch" (which is just water) and a plate of delicious mixed nuts. What a wholesome guy! Certainly his motives are pure and he is to be trusted! After this thrilling nightcap, the last two of the party retire.

It's the morning of Day 27 and the party straggles back into the dining hall where we hear of Eris' offer to extend our party by one. Tylendal and I are happy to put another beefy body between us and danger, but Contristo and Lucius are loath to split the pot any further. So with no hard feelings, we tell Zert his services are not needed. Instead of heading straight out, we plan to visit some shops this morning.

Session 158: Ruined Ruins and a Reptile Rumble

 Day 26 of Patchwall

After my morning prayers and mediation, I headed to enjoy a filling breakfast the inn had cooked up for us. It was quite delicious. When I sat down to enjoy the meal, I absent-mindedly sat down next down to Burne, the mage in charge of half the town it seems. Any who, he wanted to all about the day's previous adventures in the moathouse. He mentioned that nobody had been there in a hot minute and was quite interested in what the group encountered while there. I of course told him about the giant spider attacking Maeve, the large snake attacking the group, and some large tracks that were discovered, possibly by a humanoid creature. Since none in the party were rangers, we couldn't make heads or tails of the tracks. Burne thanked me for the information that I could provide and mentioned possible rewards for further information: if we brought scalps or other things of value from the suspected bandits that call the moathouse home. He said that the moathouse was once a base of operations for an evil cleric who worshipped a demoness name Loth, and this evil cleric was a member of this bandit gang. 

Following this chat the group chatted up the new hireling, that is free with his ale cups, named Elmo. He demanded a battleaxe before he will join the party, and oddly enough the party agrees. Emberia went to the local trader and purchased one, but not before apparently being hassled by the shop keeper about how the previous hireling Charles was treated. When the elven fighter delivers the axe, Elmo took off, apparently to get ready for the adventure. Constristo and I went to the traders. He needed some glasses bottles or vials I think, and I wanted to kill time. The shop keeper wanted some additional answers from me and Constristo, and we tried to answer them as best we could about the group's treatment of Charles. I think he accepted our answers a little more than Emberia's. We headed back to the group when Constristo got what he needed from the shop. The group is met by Elmo who is ready to go: fully clad in chain mail armor and battleaxe in tow. 

Elmo is one heck of a guide. He guides us in more efficient paths we wouldn't have thought to take, and we make it to the moathouse in record time. When we enter into the ancient den of evil, Elmo takes notice of the footprints and comments that they are less than a week old. He points out the different prints: some belong to the party last time they adventured here, other prints belong to other humanoids, and some belong to a gnoll. He decides (with group consensus) that it would be best to sweep the tracks as well as those of tracks we leave behind. We show him the various areas we have explored, and upon seeing the headless corpse of the snake, he comments and takes offense. He says something to the effect of respecting natures creatures, and then puts the body of the creature in the moat. I don't know about you, but I respect something until it tries to eat me, then all bets are off. The group does a bit more exploring and Emberia finds a pouch of broken glass, Maeve finds a leather ball, and Eris finds a pair of ugly green boots. She uses her cantrip and dyes them black, and immediately puts them on. She is a weird one for putting on garbage boots without checking them first. Tylendale finds a bottle of reddish hue liquid which may or may not be a container of blood. The group entered a room with a few wooden chests. When Emberia gets close to one of the chests, a creature bursted up from its hiding place and attacked Emberia. It is a giant lizard. 

Constristo, trying to show off I think throws some daggers at it, and misses it wildly. Maeve missed in her thrown attack as well. The lizard, who initially saw Emberia, attacked her, but she easily dodged out of the way. Tylendale hit it with his staff, and that made it mad. The party tries to hit it, but most miss their attacks. The lizard does bite Emberia, but I ended up healing her right back. After several more misses Elmo strikes and kills the creature. The lizard was guarding a light crossbow and bolts, and a scale mail tunic. Constristo graps the tunic and Tylendale grabs the crossbow and bolts to sell in town. Maeve heals Tylendale (he had been hit by a few of the party's darks) with one of her healing potions. 

Emberia leads us to a room that looks kind of like an old kitchen. When she enters, a large tick-like creature attacks and attaches itself to her face. She tried to clear it off with her sword, but the angle was too awkward, and she is unable to do so. The rest of the party are unable to figure out how to attack or remove it without hurting Emberia. Elmo finally just rips it off and throws it against the wall, killing it. In the commotion, another tick showed up to attack the party and attacked and knocked out Tylendale. The party takes turns attacking the creature, but I finished it off squishing it with my staff. 

Session 157

 Day 25

Dear Diary,

We went back to the moathouse today.  It was the same moathouse where I was like super heroic and killed that giant spider.   There’s this guy that keeps following us for some reason.  He really doesn’t do anything other than just huff and grumble.  If he actually killed anything, then maybe he would be useful.  Granted, I’m not even sure why I’m with these people in the first place.  I joined for like one job, and now I’m doing this other thing with them.  It’s one of those things where I wasn’t planning on being here for long, so it would just kinda be too awkward to back out now.  I’m not even sure if I was actually invited to be honest.  I just heard there was money, and I decided to follow that sweet sound of gold clinking together in a pouch.

Anyways, some of the people were really into the doors.  Not sure if they’re just carpenters or what, but they seriously examined every door and random details within the rooms.  I think I’m following a group of aggressive carpenters.  I bet they want to kick out those vendors from Hommlett, so that they can take their business and become a monopoly.  I don’t know how businesses work, but I’m guessing we’ll be fighting the vendors soon.

At one point, I nearly died.  There were some bats that flew by and nearly took my head off.  After that scare, we were met with this giant snake.  That guy who was following us did nothing of course, while we did all of the hard work.  I think his name is Milk?  I casted Spook on the snake, and one of the carpenters killed the snake while it was fleeing to the water.  He decided to go for a swim as if giant frogs weren’t in the water the day before, but he lived I guess.

We finally got back to town, and a drunk guy comes in and starts asking for people to pay for his drinks.  He offered to help us with this whole moathouse thing, and a part of me died a little because I was hoping we weren’t returning to that place.  The giant creatures were annoying but fine.  The place just smelled like mold.  I’m sure this drunk guy’s aim will be a lot better than Milk.

One of the carpenters talks to Milk, and Milk loses his mind and storms out.  I’m pretty sure the chainmail was a rental, and I think he thought he was going to be able to keep it?  Not sure.  Doesn’t really matter now because we have the town drunkard.  Just a silly little group of several carpenters, a birthday clown who was probably fired from their previous gig, a band nerd with an alarming amount of skulls in their collection, a town drunkard, and yours truly. 💙

To-Do List:

• Figure out how business works
• Find out how many skulls in a collection is considered an alarming amount