Decided on our plan to visit the Moathouse in search of adventure and treasure, and accompanied by our new pal Charles, we prepared to leave town. The trader sold us a few more items, including some machetes to cut through the apparently-overgrown trail we were headed for.
We followed his directions out of town until the trail diverged, then asked Charles which way to go. He seemed to think we should know the way, so we assumed the more-overgrown of the two trails was our correct path and took it. Some of the others assisted as I hacked away at the weedy, thorny growth and cleared a path along the trail. It was hot work and slow going. Contristo kept offering to take over for someone—for a price—but no one wanted to pay for a break. After an hour the flies and mosquitos betrayed some boggier land ahead, and soon we could see the jagged silhouette of a building of some kind. We weren't too far from our goal when Eris finally decided she was worn out and paid 2 silver to hand over her machete to Contristo.
As fits the name, the moathouse was surrounded by water with one strip of land that led to a rotting drawbridge. The whole thing appeared to have seen better times. The roof was damaged and there was a lot of rubble where walls were broken or falling down. As we looked around at it all, some creatures appeared from the weeds and quickly hopped toward us: giant frogs!
Two frogs attacked Francis and his mule, Jequavious. One of them managed to wrap his tongue around the bard and begin dragging him off the mule and into the water. The others attacked Maeve, who was also taken by the huge tongue of an enormous frog. I leapt in and cut off the tongue of the frog that had Francis in its grip, and the wily bard managed to play a sleep spell on his flute long enough to put them all to sleep. He really seems to be as skilled with that flute as some of us are with a sword. As soon as the frogs passed out we finished them off.
Charles took too much credit for killing one of the frogs, then refused to help by crossing the drawbridge first, so I used my 10-foot pole to test its sturdiness and crossed to the entrance. One of the two doors fell as soon as I pushed on it, and we stepped inside. It was dim but I could make out a courtyard area, and one door immediately to our left.
Francis was oddly determined to take the skull of one of the frogs, so he slung the creature's dead body across his lap and rode toward the entrance. Jequavious easily crossed the rotting bridge, but as soon as Francis steered him through the door and into the courtyard the mule began braying loudly, so the bard walked him back out and tied him up on a tree outside. Jequavious stopped braying and warily chewed on some grass.
There was rubble and stone littered across the floor and we split into two groups to trace our way around the edges of the room. Past the closed door to the left, part of the wall was broken down in a large pile of rubble. To the north there were three windows that looked into three rooms. To the northeast there were stone stairs up to another door, opening up into another larger room. We could see a few sets of footprints of some kind in the dust on the stairs and into the next room, but they appeared to be headed out, not going in. The large room was a huge hall, seemingly richly-decorated before it was destroyed.
As we glanced around the hall (and the distracted bard continued to saw away at the frog’s head), Eris and Maeve took Charles and headed back toward the entrance to see what was behind door #1. They opened it and saw gold! There were coins on the floor, along with some bones and husks… a suspicious scene that made Maeve immediately lift her torch toward the ceiling, where she discovered a giant wolf spider descending toward them! They all attacked, creating a ruckus that alerted Rufio to their plight.
Two frogs attacked Francis and his mule, Jequavious. One of them managed to wrap his tongue around the bard and begin dragging him off the mule and into the water. The others attacked Maeve, who was also taken by the huge tongue of an enormous frog. I leapt in and cut off the tongue of the frog that had Francis in its grip, and the wily bard managed to play a sleep spell on his flute long enough to put them all to sleep. He really seems to be as skilled with that flute as some of us are with a sword. As soon as the frogs passed out we finished them off.
Charles took too much credit for killing one of the frogs, then refused to help by crossing the drawbridge first, so I used my 10-foot pole to test its sturdiness and crossed to the entrance. One of the two doors fell as soon as I pushed on it, and we stepped inside. It was dim but I could make out a courtyard area, and one door immediately to our left.
Francis was oddly determined to take the skull of one of the frogs, so he slung the creature's dead body across his lap and rode toward the entrance. Jequavious easily crossed the rotting bridge, but as soon as Francis steered him through the door and into the courtyard the mule began braying loudly, so the bard walked him back out and tied him up on a tree outside. Jequavious stopped braying and warily chewed on some grass.
There was rubble and stone littered across the floor and we split into two groups to trace our way around the edges of the room. Past the closed door to the left, part of the wall was broken down in a large pile of rubble. To the north there were three windows that looked into three rooms. To the northeast there were stone stairs up to another door, opening up into another larger room. We could see a few sets of footprints of some kind in the dust on the stairs and into the next room, but they appeared to be headed out, not going in. The large room was a huge hall, seemingly richly-decorated before it was destroyed.
As we glanced around the hall (and the distracted bard continued to saw away at the frog’s head), Eris and Maeve took Charles and headed back toward the entrance to see what was behind door #1. They opened it and saw gold! There were coins on the floor, along with some bones and husks… a suspicious scene that made Maeve immediately lift her torch toward the ceiling, where she discovered a giant wolf spider descending toward them! They all attacked, creating a ruckus that alerted Rufio to their plight.
Rufio began barking loudly and the rest of us immediately turned and ran back toward the entrance. Contristo got there first and tried to join in the melee, narrowly missing Maeve with a thrown dagger, just as she managed to kill the spider. After Maeve finished her victory dance, we examined the floor and found an ivory box, along with some gold and copper coins. We decided to use the empty ivory box to keep our group treasure.
Despite having no skill, Contristo tried to harvest the poison sac from the spider. We all held our breath, fully expecting him to turn green, but the dolt somehow managed to do it! It was slimy and gross, but he lifted it out and deposited it in his bag. That guy is a bit too obsessed with poison, and not the smartest. If he suggests cooking for the party, I think I'll stick to my hard tack for meals.
Despite having no skill, Contristo tried to harvest the poison sac from the spider. We all held our breath, fully expecting him to turn green, but the dolt somehow managed to do it! It was slimy and gross, but he lifted it out and deposited it in his bag. That guy is a bit too obsessed with poison, and not the smartest. If he suggests cooking for the party, I think I'll stick to my hard tack for meals.
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