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 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 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 155: We need to find a new adventure

It was the morning of Day 26 of Patchwall and we were all set to head out with the two adventurers that Deeb had met. One problem: neither Deeb nor the adventurers were anywhere to be found. What had happened? Had Deeb departed with them in the middle of the night? Had there been some foul play? Was it all a dream? With zero answers and no leads to get any, we decided to head back into the inn for some drinks and contemplation of what to do next.

There was one character who immediately caught Francis' eye. He was an older fellow, slightly drunk and singing. Of course the bard was drawn to music -- no matter the quality. Francis sat down and began to play his lute. The gentleman sang along (can you call it singing along if you sing the wrong words?) and introduced himself as Elmo. Then Elmo had the cheek to ask Francis to buy him an ale. Francis obliged and used it as an opening to prod for some information. Elmo shared some of his life of being a chicken farmer and the pursuits of his brother, Otis, who had gone off on a quest with a priestess of the temple of St. Cuthbert. Elmo then requested the bard share the story of the fall of the temple. Francis shared what he knew of the story and Elmo embellished it with details.

Contristo was working on a concoction. What is he hoping to accomplish? Who knows! But I'm sure its nothing to worry or even think too hard about! He found himself needing a mortar and pestle and a brazier. We went to the traders where he obtained the brazier, but the mortar and pestle needed to be ordered. I eyed some darts which, while serviceable, were clearly subpar. I talked the chatty trader, so called Greemag, down to a cost I was willing to pay. He tried to sell me a new set of motley, but I was highly offended. What sort of jester would I be if I put on the colors of who-knows-what troupe that I had bought off of some random trader? No, my Five Tents garb will will be the only colors I wear until I find another company. Greemag chatted to us about our travels protecting the caravan and the different creatures we had fought. He dropped some knowledge about gnolls, bugbears, hobgoblins, orcs and ogres. Meanwhile the trader Charles watched us silently from a corner. It was brought up that we had intended to venture out to the Moat House, but were unsure of the way. Greemag offered up Charles as an escort for the low, low price of two gold pieces a day (and 40 gold pieces to purchase some chain mail). We agreed to this arrangement -- hopefully if pays off!

The group travels to Hommlet

The group had an uneventful sleep for the rest of the night, after the attack by the bats. In the morning, just as the group was getting up, a large group of people approached from the south. They were eight fellow travelers. After some initial suspicion, the groups planned to talk together. Just at that moment, a strange squeaking noise approached rapidly from the east. The group was attacked by 15 giant crickets. The crickets quickly overwhelmed three of the newcomers, and several of them feasted on the dying. The two groups banded together, except for a few cowards, that fled to the south. Most of the crickets were dispatched by timely punches or small weapons, although a couple of the newcomers swung clubs in close quarters, incidentally damaging their fellows. The remaining crickets fled after they had glutted themselves.

The group washed off and dealt with their dead; some were ceremoniously buried in the nearby creek, others were casually dumped on the side of the road. The group decided to travel together, but there was a disagreement about splitting up the loot of the dead. Timmy desperately wanted the net, and fought for it, throwing several punches, but he was overcome by numbers. One of the spiteful members dumped a bag of night soil on Timmy's head, and he fled into the woods.

The group proceeded on their travels north, and traveled three more days, mostly uneventfully. Timmy reconciled with the group, and one of the newcomers, and herbalist named JC, found some juicy tubers that served as a meal for the group. Nevertheless, the group was running low on rations and water and were very grateful to be able to finally arrive in Hommlet.

New skills were learned by the group, and several of the members went off to the inn. The remaining six were these: Dusty, a dwarven miner with exceptional strength and skill, particularly with a war hammer. Relentless, an elven navigator, with a chosen patron of the King of Elfland. He recalled a special magical ceremony where he would be able to transmute a chose weapon and suit of armor to mithril based on a keyword. Golden, a female weaver chose the warrior profession. Dimble, a humble turnip farmer, chose to also serve the King of Elfland as a travelling wizard. So, an Ostler, chose the wizarding profession as well, although he is still considering his patron. Finally, Cowrin, a squire, chose to take up the cause of his order as an acolyte cleric.

The group approached the first farmhouse, with two large dogs. Despite their fears, they knocked on the door and were greeted by a welcoming farm woman and her curious children. She gave the weary group directions to the Welcome Wench inn down the road. The group went to the inn and were dismayed by the price of room and board, but were grateful to get common room assignments of one silver apiece, which also included warm water, towels, morning tea and bread! The wonderful scents of the evening meal tempted the group, but they all ate simple bread and water, with a little beer.

Sleep was uneventful, and they awoke to a beautiful spring day. The groom had taken care of their animals at 2 coppers a piece. They asked directions to the merchant, and were directed north and west. They went out and explored a bit before opening time. The owners of livestock decided to sell them for some much needed equipment. After an initial discussion with a local farmer, they went back and retrieved their animals, which had been well kept for. They then went back to the local traders, who were only too glad to trade for the animals. The cow, a goat, and a fine set of clothes were traded for what seemed a princely sum (8 gold for the cow, 10 silver for the goat, and 7 gold for the clothes). Dusty was able to purchase a fine war hammer and a wooden shield for exactly 8 gold. Relentless traded his prized spyglass directly for a broad sword and 10 silver, and invoked his birthright on it, transforming it to precious mithril. Golden bought a fine battle ax for 6 gold.

The group is now feeling more confident and is looking forward to further adventure.

A Simple Group

A group of straggled, poor, but enterprising adventurers converged on a lonely tavern, nestled on a traveled road. Sixteen in number, they also possess some random livestock: a female cow, two male goats, and a male sheep.

After negotiating for use of the common room, they purchased a meager meal of bread and water. They observed some other dirty travelers before going to bed for the night.

Waking up in the morning, the group was tempted by the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. A few succumbed to the rich price of 1 silver for the meal, but most settled for bread and water again.

Golden (a female human weaver) and Slob (a male herbalist) clumsily attempted to stir up conversation with the fellow travelers, but were horribly unsuccessful. After being warned by one of the maids that the mood was turning ugly, the group left the tavern and considered their options. The animals had eaten provender over the evening, and they considered the position of the tavern, which was situated on the east side of a muddy road, that roughly ran north to south. There was a sign near the tavern, pointing north, that said "Hommlet".

Bacon, a woodcutter of some renown, had an idea of making a cart from available lumber. Searching around, he found an dead aspen tree. With his handy hand axe, and some assistance, he was able to fell the tree. However, he then considered the problem at hand, and realized that he didn't have the skill to make a cart or really anything from the chopped tree.

After some discussion, the group decided to proceed north on the muddy road. About an hour in, the group realized that they only had one water-skin with about two liters of precious liquid between them all. Swiss, a hunter, was sent ahead of the group to scout out a water source. He searched for about a half hour to no success. He came back and informed the group, where on they decided that the best choice was to go back to the tavern.

They went back to the tavern, and talked to the owner. He indicated that he did indeed have water-skins for sale, and also some rye bread. They bought eight water skins at 6 silver a piece, and ten loaves of rye bread (all that was currently in stock) for a copper a piece. The cook was preparing a savory meal of roast chicken, and Dusty, a lusty dwarven miner, could not quench his desire for a tasty meal. The rest of the group tightened their belts and tersely waited for the hungry dwarf to finish his expensive meal (3 silver).

By this time, it was past noon. The group retraced their steps on the road and passed the point that they had traveled earlier in the day. As they traveled on the crooked road, the livestock became more animated, and moved quicker on the road. The group was indecisive, and the the animals made it around a corner before they responded. The group rounded the corner to find a bubbling creek with a footbridge before them, and the livestock greedily drinking.

As the group approached the creek, a buzzing sound came to their ears, and seven basketball sized insects rapidly approached them. These were hungry mosquitoes, and one of them drained sufficient  blood from Caleb, a potato farmer that he succumbed. Call (a scribe), threw a dart and downed an insect. Many of the group realized that their weapons were dangerous in such close combat (a few of the group had the insects attached and sucking blood). Many used their bare hands to slap and smash the insects. Several were downed in this manner. Unfortunately, Relentless (an elven navigator), used an iron spike in a haphazard manner, and damaged Timmy (a rutabaga farmer). Fortunately, the group dispatched the remaining insects. The livestock were all left alone, and sated their thirst. The group, realizing that they were both thirsty and filthy, sated their thirst and cleaned themselves off of blood and muck.

Evening approached and the group decided that this was an ideal spot to spend the evening, especially as there was a meadow that had been used by travelers in the past. They were able to make a fire, using a portion of a bundle of wood and some parchment to get it started. A guard was established, and sleeping positions around the fire were setup.

A few hours after the group had gotten to sleep, the guards had let the fire go low. A squeaking sound was heard to the south. The group moved to alert the sleepers, and Swiss, using a lantern, moved towards the creek. The livestock had been tethered to impromptu posts. Unfortunately, seven rapidly flying bats attacked the livestock. The sheep was taken down, and the cow and one of the goats took wounds. The group fought in the dark, and were able to take down five of the bats. The remaining two, sated by sheep and cow blood, flew off into the night. Matt, (a radish farmer), somewhat skillfully cut up the dead sheep and prepared some portions. The rest of the group treated to the wounds and prepared to sleep again.