Session 176: A mysterious journal entry

Journal entry for day 20 of Ready'reat through day 20 Sunsebb

Another day, another debacle. We're holed up in this glorified inn, the "Welcome Wench," while we supposedly rest. Rest? More like stew in our own incompetence. We managed to sell some of the gear we plundered--mostly damaged junk--for a pittance. The local merchants are nothing but a bunch of scumbags, offering a miserly four and a quarter gold pieces for scale armor that Zorla has been patching and cleaning regularly. Eventually they coughed up eight gold, only after she called them out for their thievery.

Then there's the matter of food. This place has the audacity to charge 12 gold and six silver for a month of their "plain meals," which I imagine taste like boiled gruel. At least we managed to get that settled; I’m sure the food will be as bland as ever.

The others are obsessed with magic and spells, especially one named Opelle. Apparently she has a spell that requires powdered pineal glands of all things. She's been harvesting them from various humanoids. She and others are going on about "clairvoyance" and "clairaudience," as if those will solve all our problems. Turns out the “clairaudience” spell requires a silver horn worth 100 gold pieces that is destroyed when used, and I’m sure that’s a fine use of coin. The other spell, “clairvoyance,” seems less ridiculous as it only needs the gland dust that Opelle is so intent on collecting.

We also had to go and see some of the local leadership at the tower - Burne and Rufus. They sent us to clear out some “moathouse,” which turned into a bloodbath. We fought gnolls, bugbears, and bandits – the usual suspects. They even offered a bounty for the leader’s tunic (50 gold pieces) and soldier’s tunics (10 gold pieces). I guess that’s better than nothing, but hardly enough for the risks involved. I swear, if I’m not going to be paid what I’m worth, I’ll just pickpocket it back from these fools.

These local rubes are obsessed with scalps as evidence. As if a uniform isn't enough; Apparently we are supposed to bring both. Honestly, the things we have to do to get paid around here…

The group was also very concerned about healing. Burne said there aren't any druids or clerics available for adventuring. But at least the local druids gave us each two vials of some herbal concoction. And then, we had to go to the temple because apparently the clerics might have some healing potions because we complained enough. The temple wanted donations before they'd help us. So, more of our hard-earned coin went into the offering plate. We managed to buy some healing potions for an exorbitant 35 gold pieces each! Who even knew they cost that much? Each of us got one potion which, I’m sure will vanish in the next battle.

I was even talked into going to the temple by Morwenna, and I suspect it wasn’t for my conversation or charm. But, I have to admit, it was nice to get another potion.

The party seems very excited to be heading back to the Moathouse. Maybe we'll get some decent treasure this time, but knowing our luck, we'll probably end up fighting more monsters and wasting more money on bandages and overpriced oil. This little town is bleeding us dry. There’s also talk of leveling up which I’m told costs a thousand gold pieces. I don’t even have half that much and there’s no way I’m working with the seamstress for three silver a day.

I'm starting to think I should just take matters into my own hands. Perhaps I’ll start a “side hustle” in town.

Anonymous

Session 175: Conclusion of the ambush

 A Grueling Battle in the Moat House

The adventuring party without a name found themselves in a desperate struggle within the confines of the moathouse. What began as a straightforward encounter quickly devolved into a brutal test of their skills and resolve.

The party faced a diverse array of foes, including:

•Bugbears: These large, brutish humanoids were a significant physical threat.

•Gnolls: Towering, hyena-like creatures standing seven feet tall, some wielding battle axes and others long bows.

•Guardsmen: Human opponents, including a captain, armed with swords and crossbows.

The Tides of Combat - the battle was a chaotic dance of steel, magic, and desperate maneuvers. Early in the fight, a spell of bless aided the party, but its effects soon wore off, leaving them more vulnerable. Characters like Zorla found themselves the target of relentless attacks. The party had to adapt quickly, changing tactics and working together as a team. 

Key Moments and Tactics

•Contristo's Oil: One party member, Contristo, utilized oil vials to inflict burning damage, proving surprisingly effective against the gnolls. This was a clever combination with his dagger attacks.

•Weapon Variety: The battle highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of different weapons. 

•Flanking and Backstabs: Characters like Crassus and Melissa were keen to gain tactical advantages like flanking and backstabs.

•Missile Fire: Missile attacks were limited by the lack of clear targets.

Casualties and Turning Points

•JT's Fall: The party suffered a major loss when JT was felled by a morning star attack.

•Zorla and Nathaniel's Wounds: Zorla and Nathaniel were also severely injured.

•Morwenna's Critical Blows: Morwina made a series of crucial hits to damage enemies

Despite the losses, the party was able to turn the tide, eliminating several of the gnolls using fire. They eliminated key threats and gained the upper hand. The last gnoll was finally killed after several wearying rounds of combat. 

The Aftermath

The battle left its mark. Several party members were rendered unconscious due to their injuries. A serious wound check revealed that Nathaniel, Morwenna, and JT would be out of action for multiple weeks. Zorla managed to recover, but the healing resources of the party had been depleted.

Loot and Recovery

•Loot: The party gathered a substantial amount of loot, including a silver necklace with gems, gold pieces, weapons, and armor. They decided to sell it in town, distributing what gold, silver, platinum and copper coins they found amongst themselves.

•Contristo was stent back to town to hire a cart to transport the wounded and the equipment back to town.

•The encounter ended with the group deciding to spend some time in town while their wounded recovered from their serious wounds, with an understanding there might be as much as 5 weeks of downtime. They also planned to sell the loot they acquired and to restock their equipment. The party had been through an intense and hard fought battle tested them physically and mentally.

Session 174: Afternoon of Day 20 Ready'reat: Moat House Mayhem: A Close Call

Moat House Mayhem: A Close Call

It was day 20 of Ready'reat and the afternoon found us still buzzing from our previous encounter at the moat house. We were riding high on our victory against some of the moat house forces, but were very aware there could still be more waiting for us.

After a quick strategy session, it was clear that we needed to decide whether to push further into the moat house or head back to town with what we'd already accomplished. We decided against retreating because we knew that time was of the essence and the situation might change if we left. We also had reinforcements with us this time, and we were determined to put them to good use.

Our strategy was to use the enemy’s own tactics against them. Contristo, with his disguise skills, would don one of the enemy uniforms (thankfully, we found some that weren't too bloody) and lure the rest of them towards us by pretending that they were under attack. We set up a marching order for our group, much like we have in the past. 

The plan was for Contristo to run up and call for reinforcements and then lead them back to our fortified position. We were concerned about a potential trap or ambush, so we decided to have a fail-safe in case Contristo's disguise failed. We organized our team so that some would be in a second rank and others a third, fourth and fifth rank.

We made sure Contristo had a crossbow and long sword to help with the disguise. One of our concerns was that there might be someone hidden at another entrance to the building. We discussed how to best handle the enemies once they arrived, considering whether to create a bottleneck or to surround them.

After a lot of discussion, we settled on a plan: We would lure them into the room and then ambush them, hopefully with some missile fire and oil. We had a bow, crossbows, and daggers for missile attacks. We were also considering using oil to turn them around and trap them.

It was then that we heard a shout from the west, calling for the "black wolf". This caused some confusion as to which direction was being referred to (east or west), but we quickly decided that meant they were coming from the east. Contristo yelled for help, using the code name. Zorla began banging her sword on her shield to create the sound of a fight, while Morwenna screamed as if she had been stabbed. A low hooting sound grew louder as our enemies approached.

We scrambled to get into position and Morwenna cast a bless spell to increase our chances of hitting our enemies. Suddenly, one of the enemy appeared at the entrance, shouted something about a pale moon, and then retreated. Contristo threw daggers at him as he retreated, hitting him a couple of times, and then finally killing him with the third throw. Zorla was going to drag the body back into the room, but was persuaded otherwise.

We then made the decision to secure the door behind us with a dagger, and Contristo wanted to retrieve the ones that were thrown. We were wary of another door and we tried to secure that as well. We lit torches to be able to see. After attempting to set some bedding on fire, we decided against it and then Zorla provided torches.

Contristo went to retrieve his daggers and was shot with a crossbow for some light damage. We now knew their location, but we also knew that advancing on them was going to be difficult. Suddenly a mass of enemies charged through the hallway at us. We had to move to form some kind of defense. 

The fight was long and intense. We took down several of their guardsmen, and a couple of bugbears, but not without losses. Our hawk companion, Echo, fell in the fight, and Azra was knocked unconscious. We made use of the oil to burn the guardsmen, and Azra made use of the grease spell to cause more havoc for our opponents before she fell. We were able to take down a number of our opponents but the gnolls with battle axes changed the tide against us. We managed to hold our position, but we were in a very precarious situation, facing the reality that we could be defeated at any moment.

Unfortunately, we were running out of time, but hopefully Farro will reappear to help us turn the battle back against our foes. This battle was one of our most challenging yet, and we were lucky to have come out of it as well as we did. We’ll regroup and prepare for the next round.