The group had the opportunity to talk to a minion kobold who had a series of very good reaction rolls to Barb, Thalin, and Dizzy - and was just chatty about what he knew. Many things, but nothing concrete. Enough of a framework that the group has a good idea of the size of the Warren they are up against and the problem associated with it.
They liked him so much that the decision was made that if they did find him at the Warren, they were going to let him live. At least for now they say they are going to.
Write up follows.
After getting some information from the K’Morat we decided to crash the rest of the night and then send half the group back to the Base Camp to inform the Bailiff. So with everyone taking a watch and our two prisoners trussed up, we slept on and off till a bit after 7. From here we broke our fast and split up the group into two: Sybil, Hjalgrim, Merica, Shimlagesh, Connal, Einar, and Darius were going to take the 5-6 hour walk back to Base Camp and the rest of the group would stay here with the two kobolds (Barb, Avulstein, Negan, Grygmiir, Thalin, and Dizzy).
The walk back was without much problem as we trekked through the alternating misting and falling rain. Most creatures were resting or staying dry, so we had little to interest us. At one point we did see a trio of wolves looking at us in the distance, but assumed it was the Orcish druid Dunatis or his minions watching us. We arrived at Base Camp just before 2 and surprised everyone at our return.
After the customary back slapping and concern for what was beyond the walls, the Bailiff Youngston and the Reeve Donna escorted us to the Representative House and we had a conversation. We filled them in on all we had found, the Beacon Houses, the K’Morat, the “not” attacking force of 50 or so coming, and the two that we had and were going to send back and hopefully follow.
The Bailiff’s concern was simple – will the K’Morat be attacking in force in some short period of time? The reason was that he was going to send Teamster Trentis and his team back to Sorton to gear up more foodstuffs and weaponry – but more importantly, does the Third Reeve of House Illytch need to exercise the Base Camp Defense Initiative and outfit and send the other 12 armed and armored guards out to help defend the Base Camp here? If so, it is for the remainder of the time the Base Camp is out here and represents a LARGE cost in coin and manpower for the House. It also makes the “break even” amount of harvestable Firvin’s Cap mushrooms jump from between 3 and 4 daily to easily 4 and a half – and as of right now with all the delays in harvesting, we are only up in the positive about 18 mushrooms, or maybe 5 days.
We discussed it at length and gave the Bailiff our feeling that as of this time, we do NOT need to have House Illytch send any more staff out here. A variety of reasons, some economic as discussed – but also for the reason of perceived threat. The captured K’Morat we had talked to was adamant that one of the key points they were using to decide to attack the Base Camp was seeing if the Camp continued to grow with manpower – and a dozen well-armed dwarven guardsmen would be seen as an escalating perceived threat.
We rested after checking with Ruhild for more travel foodstuff and maybe a cask of water to take as well. Getting assurances they’d be in place, we retired to our barracks and then crashed for the night.
Meanwhile, the other group with the 2 K’Morat kept careful watch from the Beacon House, eventually feeding the two kobolds…the other dead kobolds! Avulstein joining them in the eating of the dead body. They were nonplussed about it seeing the dead as meat at best. At the end of it though, after mush of the innards, guts, and flesh had been stripped from the body, Avulstein performed a ritual and animated the meaty skeletal remains of the kobold back to life and had it stay by his side.
Barb had the idea on taking the kobold who did not speak Common away from the Shaman and questioning him separately. So Barb, Dizzy, Gryg, and Thalin brought him upstairs and out of the Shaman’s field of hearing, she got him to speak enough so the Ravenstone fired to life, and Dizzy cast a comprehend languages spell to help him communicate with the K’Morat.
He was convinced he was going to die and was surprised to have us talk to him. Accepting that he was an inferior, he was normally a builder back at the Warren; his job was to make ladders. Apparently the Warren needed them and many of them, and he was good at that. He was assigned to the Shaman at a time when he did not want to go.
Giants (blue skinned ones) have been visiting the Warren and one of them broke his Adler wood ladder which he wanted to repair. There were also gnolls that have come by to trade. The group talked to him slowly and with trust, guiding him gently around questions and coaxing out information from him. There was a Beacon House across the Lake in the Valley and to the east was something called Spire Pass Keep situated between two mountain peaks. 8 K’Morat are stationed there and they have colored dust they use to signal the Warren which we were told was by a Mountain with a White Top.
There were many colors but he knew only 3: red meant enemies coming, grey meant Rock Drake attack, and green meant people coming to trade.
There was an area below that led to the birthing rooms that was guarded by K’Morat spearmen and as for the Warren – it was large and sprawling and nestled in some valley with mountains on all sides. There were also slaves who worked: dwarves and orcs – which surprised the party.
We thanked him, and made a show of “dragging” him back to the Shaman but actually being gentle about it. The decision was made – we would be releasing both of the K’Morat tomorrow after the rest of the party returned, without harm.
Workmonth the 15th, the party was up early at 7 AM at Base Camp where we gathered all our belongings, the extra food, and were out the gates a good hour or so before the Teamster and his men were going to leave on their way back to Sorton. We walked hard, but not pushing our self, anticipating making it past 3-Rock Falls soon. It was here though, near the fording, that we saw a pair of giants come out of the tree line on the opposite side of the Enderlyn River. Both were over 15’ tall, bluish skin, white hair and beards, and Connal and Einar were suddenly ill as they recognized the larger of the two as being the same Frost Giant that the first Warren had made a deal with. F’nyr.
At just about a quarter mile away, near the fording, and 170’ of fast moving river between us, the two giants just looked at the party who froze in place, unsure of what to do. The nearest cover was almost 500 yards south. The giants looked at us up and down for almost 30 seconds, then the taller said something to the smaller, and they turned right around and headed North East, right back into the trees they had emerged from, walking quickly and with a purpose.
Crap, we wanted to get out of here now.
We double timed it towards the Falls and then beyond to the Valley, heading upslope to the Beacon House. We didn’t know what the giants were doing, but we assumed they were heading towards the third Warren and the K’Morat. It was about 3 PM when we all got back together and we shared everything we had learned from both sets of groups.
The decision was to NOT go to the lake now, still raining, and instead head across in the morning with the two kobolds, then release them, then portage down to our two canoes and help get all three of them across the lake and back to the group.
So we rested again, split up the food and water, shared more dead kobold with the kobolds, and had a good night. The next day was the 16th and we were up by 7 again. We broke our fast and then we all left the Beacon House, kobolds in tow. We picked up the canoe that we had moved and by 8:30, were at the shores of Broken Tower Lake.
Einar, Hjalgrim, Sybil, Shim, and the two kobolds all loaded up and paddled their way slowly and with great care to the other side. Once there, the two kobolds were let go and we watched them as they made their way north to the valley and pass and then took the time to hide in the thick grasses, losing us from sight. We made our way east, porting the one canoe, until we arrived at the far end of Broken Tower Lake and found our two outrigger canoes.
We spent the time lashing them together and then we rowed back across the lake towing the two other canoes with care. It was after 2 by the time we arrived back on the south side of the lake, and dragging the three canoes, it was after 5 when we were all together again. The thought was NOT to cross the lake tonight, and instead head back to Damlagast’s Tower and hole up there.
So we gathered up on the three canoes and made our way to the tower. A studied knock spell had us inside and we closed the door behind us. The furnace was still working so the tower was warm and inviting. We gave the place a once over and picked out places for the group to rest. Sybil made her way to the room with the pictures and hung the one with the food on the wall – making a loaf of nutty orcish bread, a bowl of fruit, and a few fingers of rich ale appear. Then her and Shim ate it, and took the picture off and did it again – making more appear.
And then more and again and again. After the 5th time, the picture had grown HOT and had to be knocked off the wall as it was burning the plaster behind it. Sybil was admonished NOT to do that again and we ate the repast for now. As for the rest of the group, about 5 of us made their way upstairs where we opened the crystal chamber and Connal made his way to the roof after getting tied on, watching the area in the dark to see if he could see anything. The rest of the party played with the chair, summoned the Mastiff Onycanim, tried a few things, and then let the evening make its way past.
Around 8:30 or so, Connal was sure we saw a group of 4 humanoids in the gloom cross the Lake on a fallen tree, assuming they were trolls, who then were lost in the gloom on the south shore and gone from sight. By 9ish we had all gotten back together after a round of studying and scribing, broke up into watches, and went to sleep.
Around 1ish we awoke Connal who went back to the roof and watched outside the northern section of the lake shore, hoping to see the Beacon House lit – but to no avail, it remained dark. By 2:30 he closed the roof and we all slept well, awakening at 7 AM on Workmonth the 17th, ready to head off and leave the tower and check out the north side of the lake and the valley beyond.
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Meet 60, Adv 4.2, 9/8/18
The anticipated kobold attack on the Base Camp was a ruse to keep the group focused there and hopefully make the dwarves pick up their stakes and go home. Obviously did not happen, so the kobolds are taking a "wait and see" approach - if the number of staff at the Base Camp increases or they appear to be making signs like they are going to continue to stay - the kobolds will grow wroth and take their anger on the Base Camp. Meaning the group has a window of time to investigate the Kobold Warren and then decide on an action.
Write up follows:
The group convened with Teamster Trentis and his men as we set up camp on the slope of the nearest ridge, some ½ mile from the eastern limits of Broken Tower Lake. By the time 7 PM came and the visibility had dropped due to twilight, we decided that we were not going to be able to see if the K’Morat were going to cross during the night. The idea was we’d take a look in the morning to se if there was any sign of crossing and then make up a decision at that time.
We all took turns on watch, with 13 of us as well as Trentis’ and his 6 – we felt pretty secure. For the most part nothing happened until a bit after 2 in the morning. We were awakened to see a glowing orange/white light on the slope of a ridge, at least 2,000 up, solid and clearly visible and had to be some 3 to 5 miles from here across the lake. We watched it for 20 minutes until it faded away slowly over the course of a minute until it was gone.
We discussed what it could be. A bonfire might have been more flickering, even over these distance, and a light spell would not have been that concentrated. We decided to check it out tomorrow. We awoke early enough, swapped a few spells about, and then made our way to where we assumed the crossing had occurred. Between Grygmiir, Einar, and Barb, we were sure that a single canoe had crossed during the night as evidenced by the drags and tracks, and there were few kobolds as well.
So…it wasn’t an army. It wasn’t 30, 50, 60, or even more kobolds. One? Maybe they were scouting? Perhaps that’s what the light was, a signal back to the kobolds that they shouldn’t come? That means there were a few on the other side of the river and most likely watching the Base Camp. The decision was to hurry back to Trentis and to get the caravan to the Base Camp as the food stuffs, weapons, and other supplies would be very welcome and we had an opportunity to do it now.
The teamster was surprised to see us return and after we explained the situation he had his men up and camp broken in 15 minutes. The 4 oxen were yoked and the two wagons were coaxed into heading north and west around the lake. We kept the pace heavy as we made great time, leading the animals up around the rocky out croppings of 3 rock falls until we arrived at the place to ford the Enderlyn. Everyone was roped on and the oxen crossed here, the current tugging at the wagons, the animals, and everyone, but almost 3 tons combined each of mass were not going to dislodge them from their path.
It was after 2 PM when we were on the far side of the river and we kept up a fast pace. Eventually we came upon a five count of Giant Killers and Randari Rangers out scouting about for the K’Morat! We told them what we had found and we all made our way back to camp. The Bailiff Youngston was thrilled to see us and we shared with him what we had learned.
We wanted to get out to the light area on the mountain and soon before the K’Morat arrived there or others managed to cross. From the way the ridges were set up, there was no chance the Base Camp could have seen the light so we needed to be there to verify. By quarter to 4 we left the Base Camp and force marched ourselves as quick as we could to the ridge. It was an “L” shaped area with the ridge running up to at least 4,000 feet. The weather had turned misty and lightly raining and we had a short time left before it was twilight so we wanted to get up the slope as fast as possible to try and find the light area.
With 2 Randari barbarians and the dwarven ranger, we made short work of locating the correct area. A few kobold tracks helped lead us along the way and around 1,000 feet upslope, we came upon a single long canoe covered by a thin smattering of branches. It was kobold in make, no out riggers, and could seat up to 8 of the smaller K’Morat. We decided to move the canoe a few hundred yards to the south and then continued up the mountain and the deepening shadows to find the possible source of the light. The cloud cover was fairly low, obscuring the top of the ridge but it was around a quarter to 7 that we spotted a tall stone “house” through the trees, just about at the cloud line. We spread out and split into two groups, sneaking up closer to get a better feel for what it was.
Orcish in its make and design, a single front door and shuttered windows on all three of its main floors. Beyond the 30, 305 foot mark was a framework of lead lengths and some sort of busted glass around the entire top. The building had some ivy growing on it, but it was obvious that someone made it a habit of pulling the vine lengths away, piling it around the structure. We were also sure that some kobold tracks were in the area.
Listening revealed nothing and we chanced opening the door. A single room, 25’ square, remains of a fire, some scraps of furniture, single set of metal steps spiraling up to the 2nd floor. We all came in and Einar and Grygmiir stayed outside obscuring every sign of our passage. We then checked out the second floor, split into two smaller rooms and a larger kitchen area – long abandoned. The top floor was a sleeping room with half a dozen older wooden pallets and the “ceiling” were was a metal meshwork of catwalks. It was open to the elements and rain was falling into this room.
Climbing up to the top we were able to piece together the fact that this was an older orcish lighthouse or beacon house. The beacon didn’t turn anymore, long rusted in place. The glass in the walls had busted out long ago and the oil reservoir was empty. But the beacon housing was still 3’ tall concave silvered steel reflective housing and it was pointing north and east – across the Broken Tower Lake to the Valley we identified and visible to where we had been camped out the night earlier.
No kobolds were here now but we assumed they were watching the Camp and would return here to signal across the lake again. So we scribed a few spells, ate dinner, and set up a series of watches in pairs with someone typically up near the busted beacon for maximum view.
Our diligence paid off around 1ish when we heard footsteps getting closer along with K’Morat voices through the mists. Einar was awakened while Grygmiir kept watch. The kobolds drew closer, 5 of them, when Einar called on Frey for a Dawning and awoke all the other members of the party with a single soft word. The group awoke, learned what was going on, and got themselves ready. Thalin, took a look outside, grabbed a handful of rose petals, and as soon as one of the kobolds pointed to the others for them to wait, cast sleep on them on, knocking the entire mass of them out.
We came out, trussed them up, gagging the one who “heard” us, and then brought them in where they awoke after 10 odd minutes. What followed was a mix of torture and poor race relations as the group interrogated the kobolds as to what was going on and what was their plan.
We learned that the mass of kobolds coming at this time to attack the party was a bluff. They want the dwarves gone. They did not want to attack the group, only scare them off. The 2nd Warren was a loose cannon and killing the orc and eating him was NOT condoned by this group. There are 6 Shaman at this Warren, and one of them is the High Shaman. They will not attack now, but if the dwarves don’t leave soon, they will end up thinking it is a long term threat and risk all out siege and war to remove them all.
We bought some time saying we had to go back and talk to our leader and then decide on whether to release the last 2 kobolds back across the river or not.
Write up follows:
The group convened with Teamster Trentis and his men as we set up camp on the slope of the nearest ridge, some ½ mile from the eastern limits of Broken Tower Lake. By the time 7 PM came and the visibility had dropped due to twilight, we decided that we were not going to be able to see if the K’Morat were going to cross during the night. The idea was we’d take a look in the morning to se if there was any sign of crossing and then make up a decision at that time.
We all took turns on watch, with 13 of us as well as Trentis’ and his 6 – we felt pretty secure. For the most part nothing happened until a bit after 2 in the morning. We were awakened to see a glowing orange/white light on the slope of a ridge, at least 2,000 up, solid and clearly visible and had to be some 3 to 5 miles from here across the lake. We watched it for 20 minutes until it faded away slowly over the course of a minute until it was gone.
We discussed what it could be. A bonfire might have been more flickering, even over these distance, and a light spell would not have been that concentrated. We decided to check it out tomorrow. We awoke early enough, swapped a few spells about, and then made our way to where we assumed the crossing had occurred. Between Grygmiir, Einar, and Barb, we were sure that a single canoe had crossed during the night as evidenced by the drags and tracks, and there were few kobolds as well.
So…it wasn’t an army. It wasn’t 30, 50, 60, or even more kobolds. One? Maybe they were scouting? Perhaps that’s what the light was, a signal back to the kobolds that they shouldn’t come? That means there were a few on the other side of the river and most likely watching the Base Camp. The decision was to hurry back to Trentis and to get the caravan to the Base Camp as the food stuffs, weapons, and other supplies would be very welcome and we had an opportunity to do it now.
The teamster was surprised to see us return and after we explained the situation he had his men up and camp broken in 15 minutes. The 4 oxen were yoked and the two wagons were coaxed into heading north and west around the lake. We kept the pace heavy as we made great time, leading the animals up around the rocky out croppings of 3 rock falls until we arrived at the place to ford the Enderlyn. Everyone was roped on and the oxen crossed here, the current tugging at the wagons, the animals, and everyone, but almost 3 tons combined each of mass were not going to dislodge them from their path.
It was after 2 PM when we were on the far side of the river and we kept up a fast pace. Eventually we came upon a five count of Giant Killers and Randari Rangers out scouting about for the K’Morat! We told them what we had found and we all made our way back to camp. The Bailiff Youngston was thrilled to see us and we shared with him what we had learned.
We wanted to get out to the light area on the mountain and soon before the K’Morat arrived there or others managed to cross. From the way the ridges were set up, there was no chance the Base Camp could have seen the light so we needed to be there to verify. By quarter to 4 we left the Base Camp and force marched ourselves as quick as we could to the ridge. It was an “L” shaped area with the ridge running up to at least 4,000 feet. The weather had turned misty and lightly raining and we had a short time left before it was twilight so we wanted to get up the slope as fast as possible to try and find the light area.
With 2 Randari barbarians and the dwarven ranger, we made short work of locating the correct area. A few kobold tracks helped lead us along the way and around 1,000 feet upslope, we came upon a single long canoe covered by a thin smattering of branches. It was kobold in make, no out riggers, and could seat up to 8 of the smaller K’Morat. We decided to move the canoe a few hundred yards to the south and then continued up the mountain and the deepening shadows to find the possible source of the light. The cloud cover was fairly low, obscuring the top of the ridge but it was around a quarter to 7 that we spotted a tall stone “house” through the trees, just about at the cloud line. We spread out and split into two groups, sneaking up closer to get a better feel for what it was.
Orcish in its make and design, a single front door and shuttered windows on all three of its main floors. Beyond the 30, 305 foot mark was a framework of lead lengths and some sort of busted glass around the entire top. The building had some ivy growing on it, but it was obvious that someone made it a habit of pulling the vine lengths away, piling it around the structure. We were also sure that some kobold tracks were in the area.
Listening revealed nothing and we chanced opening the door. A single room, 25’ square, remains of a fire, some scraps of furniture, single set of metal steps spiraling up to the 2nd floor. We all came in and Einar and Grygmiir stayed outside obscuring every sign of our passage. We then checked out the second floor, split into two smaller rooms and a larger kitchen area – long abandoned. The top floor was a sleeping room with half a dozen older wooden pallets and the “ceiling” were was a metal meshwork of catwalks. It was open to the elements and rain was falling into this room.
Climbing up to the top we were able to piece together the fact that this was an older orcish lighthouse or beacon house. The beacon didn’t turn anymore, long rusted in place. The glass in the walls had busted out long ago and the oil reservoir was empty. But the beacon housing was still 3’ tall concave silvered steel reflective housing and it was pointing north and east – across the Broken Tower Lake to the Valley we identified and visible to where we had been camped out the night earlier.
No kobolds were here now but we assumed they were watching the Camp and would return here to signal across the lake again. So we scribed a few spells, ate dinner, and set up a series of watches in pairs with someone typically up near the busted beacon for maximum view.
Our diligence paid off around 1ish when we heard footsteps getting closer along with K’Morat voices through the mists. Einar was awakened while Grygmiir kept watch. The kobolds drew closer, 5 of them, when Einar called on Frey for a Dawning and awoke all the other members of the party with a single soft word. The group awoke, learned what was going on, and got themselves ready. Thalin, took a look outside, grabbed a handful of rose petals, and as soon as one of the kobolds pointed to the others for them to wait, cast sleep on them on, knocking the entire mass of them out.
We came out, trussed them up, gagging the one who “heard” us, and then brought them in where they awoke after 10 odd minutes. What followed was a mix of torture and poor race relations as the group interrogated the kobolds as to what was going on and what was their plan.
We learned that the mass of kobolds coming at this time to attack the party was a bluff. They want the dwarves gone. They did not want to attack the group, only scare them off. The 2nd Warren was a loose cannon and killing the orc and eating him was NOT condoned by this group. There are 6 Shaman at this Warren, and one of them is the High Shaman. They will not attack now, but if the dwarves don’t leave soon, they will end up thinking it is a long term threat and risk all out siege and war to remove them all.
We bought some time saying we had to go back and talk to our leader and then decide on whether to release the last 2 kobolds back across the river or not.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Meet 59, Adv 4.2, 8/25/18
When the wandering monster came up twice, I had one with a passing Rock Drake at some distance away that the party easily avoided, and the other came up pilgrims. Here, in the wilderness? A fast check showed them to be lawful of bent and the wandering dwarven troupe working for the Andeers Mining Company was born. It's not often that wandering monsters come up as a group of good people willing to trade, so this was a nice change.
Write up follows:
The group spent a serious amount of time discussing all our options before daring to leave Damlagast’s Tower. It was finally decided that we would check out the north shore of Broken Tower Lake and see if there were any signs of kobold crossing or tracks in the area. We had been through there before with Teamster Trentis but had not looked for anything like what we were doing now.
We shut the Tower door for the last time and boarded our canoes. With great care we paddled our way across the water until we arrived at the muddy shore on the other side. We disembarked and spent almost 30 minutes looking around before we came across ruts in the banks that looked like what a canoe would do. There were at least half a dozen of them and they ran almost 40’ from the bank before disappearing, leading us to believe the kobolds’ ported their canoes as well.
At least having an idea where they cross we looked north from here and there was a natural valley between two ridges that rand north of here to the rising hills and mountains. We did not want to go an explore it and instead made our way back to the canoes and paddled carefully back. Once there it was a long 6 hour walk back through the shores and grasses and slopes of the foothills until we arrived once again at the Base Camp.
We were passed on through and then returned the canoes to the Store Houses. We then met with the Bailiff and informed him of our discoveries. We learned that the Camp had been taking our warning to heart and every barrel was filled with water, over two tons of stones had been brought in for ammunition and repair, every easily planable hardwood that was already down had been harvested, stripped, and cut to boards. And the hunters had been out almost thrice a day bringing in whatever wild game could be found. As it stands now, the Base Camp can withstand a siege for over 2 weeks if need be, over 3 if they needed to implement reduced rations.
The next concern was the K’Morat intercepting the caravan returning and killing our companions, the teamsters, the oxen, and getting the supplies for themselves. It was imperative that we do what we could to prevent that so we were going to head out early tomorrow on Workmonth the 12th and try to intercept the returning caravan near the east side of Broken Tower Lake. We hit the Mess Hall where Ruhilde outfitted us with whatever food stores he could. From there we went off to the barracks and dropped off to sleep.
We awoke early by 5:30 where whatever spells we needed to adjust we did so, prayed, and ate breakfast. By 7 we were at the gates where we took the canoes again and left the Base Camp amidst well wishes from those still here. Once again we were walking but today was hot. Very hot. With a high humidity. Within 2 hours we were drenched in sweat and were forced to swap the canoes about, giving everyone a chance to rest often. Because of this we were not making the same speed we had made yesterday and a few days ago.
At one point we heard the shrill cry of a Rock Drake and we took off to a copse of trees where we hunched under the canoes and waited for it to fly away. Soaked and exhausted we continued on and broke for lunch still some miles from Broken Tower Lake; disappointed in our progress to date.
At was at this time that we heard “Hail the Camp! May we approach?” What the hell? We had no idea there was anyone else out here. The voice was decidedly dwarvish and we gave permission, seeing a group of 7 tired dusty and travel worn dwarves emerge from the south and trudge towards us. Their leader was named Piso Deepcleft and he and his troupe were prospectors for the Andeer’s Mining Company in Sorton looking for new easy possible sites for future iron mines.
We invited them to sit and we shared a light version of our story with them, saying only we were hunting kobolds for bounty and had been here for some time. They had travelled south first and were making a circlet north hoping to find the Enderlyn River and follow it back to Sorton, or maybe with luck the rumored camp that House Illytch had out here. We downplayed the camp idea and let them know they were ½ a mile from the river.
We shared food, ale, and even did some horse trading with potions for draughts with them alchemist an Odinian priestess names Damillius. We talked for some time and the mining troupe were more than willing to walk back to Broken Tower Lake with us as well as travel with us east; including helping us port the canoes through the wilderness. At the end of all things it was about 4ish when we arrived at our desired crossing and shook hands, wishing the troupe a safe trip back.
From there we paddled once again across the lake to the heavier treed side and found a place to blaze some of the barks to mark where we were going to stash the canoes. We then travelled off to the east and around the nearest bend in the river we had the opportunity to see the approaching caravan where we made our way to them, shook hands with our counterparts, and filled everyone in on what the situation was at base camp and why we had come out this far to meet them.
Write up follows:
The group spent a serious amount of time discussing all our options before daring to leave Damlagast’s Tower. It was finally decided that we would check out the north shore of Broken Tower Lake and see if there were any signs of kobold crossing or tracks in the area. We had been through there before with Teamster Trentis but had not looked for anything like what we were doing now.
We shut the Tower door for the last time and boarded our canoes. With great care we paddled our way across the water until we arrived at the muddy shore on the other side. We disembarked and spent almost 30 minutes looking around before we came across ruts in the banks that looked like what a canoe would do. There were at least half a dozen of them and they ran almost 40’ from the bank before disappearing, leading us to believe the kobolds’ ported their canoes as well.
At least having an idea where they cross we looked north from here and there was a natural valley between two ridges that rand north of here to the rising hills and mountains. We did not want to go an explore it and instead made our way back to the canoes and paddled carefully back. Once there it was a long 6 hour walk back through the shores and grasses and slopes of the foothills until we arrived once again at the Base Camp.
We were passed on through and then returned the canoes to the Store Houses. We then met with the Bailiff and informed him of our discoveries. We learned that the Camp had been taking our warning to heart and every barrel was filled with water, over two tons of stones had been brought in for ammunition and repair, every easily planable hardwood that was already down had been harvested, stripped, and cut to boards. And the hunters had been out almost thrice a day bringing in whatever wild game could be found. As it stands now, the Base Camp can withstand a siege for over 2 weeks if need be, over 3 if they needed to implement reduced rations.
The next concern was the K’Morat intercepting the caravan returning and killing our companions, the teamsters, the oxen, and getting the supplies for themselves. It was imperative that we do what we could to prevent that so we were going to head out early tomorrow on Workmonth the 12th and try to intercept the returning caravan near the east side of Broken Tower Lake. We hit the Mess Hall where Ruhilde outfitted us with whatever food stores he could. From there we went off to the barracks and dropped off to sleep.
We awoke early by 5:30 where whatever spells we needed to adjust we did so, prayed, and ate breakfast. By 7 we were at the gates where we took the canoes again and left the Base Camp amidst well wishes from those still here. Once again we were walking but today was hot. Very hot. With a high humidity. Within 2 hours we were drenched in sweat and were forced to swap the canoes about, giving everyone a chance to rest often. Because of this we were not making the same speed we had made yesterday and a few days ago.
At one point we heard the shrill cry of a Rock Drake and we took off to a copse of trees where we hunched under the canoes and waited for it to fly away. Soaked and exhausted we continued on and broke for lunch still some miles from Broken Tower Lake; disappointed in our progress to date.
At was at this time that we heard “Hail the Camp! May we approach?” What the hell? We had no idea there was anyone else out here. The voice was decidedly dwarvish and we gave permission, seeing a group of 7 tired dusty and travel worn dwarves emerge from the south and trudge towards us. Their leader was named Piso Deepcleft and he and his troupe were prospectors for the Andeer’s Mining Company in Sorton looking for new easy possible sites for future iron mines.
We invited them to sit and we shared a light version of our story with them, saying only we were hunting kobolds for bounty and had been here for some time. They had travelled south first and were making a circlet north hoping to find the Enderlyn River and follow it back to Sorton, or maybe with luck the rumored camp that House Illytch had out here. We downplayed the camp idea and let them know they were ½ a mile from the river.
We shared food, ale, and even did some horse trading with potions for draughts with them alchemist an Odinian priestess names Damillius. We talked for some time and the mining troupe were more than willing to walk back to Broken Tower Lake with us as well as travel with us east; including helping us port the canoes through the wilderness. At the end of all things it was about 4ish when we arrived at our desired crossing and shook hands, wishing the troupe a safe trip back.
From there we paddled once again across the lake to the heavier treed side and found a place to blaze some of the barks to mark where we were going to stash the canoes. We then travelled off to the east and around the nearest bend in the river we had the opportunity to see the approaching caravan where we made our way to them, shook hands with our counterparts, and filled everyone in on what the situation was at base camp and why we had come out this far to meet them.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Youth Meet 22, Adv 3, 8/24/18
The Youths have been thrust knee deep into the town portion of this adventure and they are following the breadcrumbs as they play out. It isn’t easy because they can’t murder-hobo their way through the adventure as it would be a one way ticket to TPK. This was a nice get together because it was the end of summer meeting and as such, I took off half a day so they can have a double length session. I think it paid off as they got pretty damned far through the encounters and had a fairly sizeable fight during the middle lull.
Write up follows:
The group talked about the two options of either taking a room at the Leaky Tub or holing up in some burned out hovel, and we decided that we didn’t want Marshall Thurgood to have any reason to distrust us or look for an excuse to make an example of the party by doing something illegal. So we made our way to the two story, poor façade of the Leaky Tub Inn and entered the poorly thatched business.
The Common Room would normally sit around 50, but there were barely 8 here not counting the two tired looking wenches and the older woman behind the bar. As we entered a mangy cat slipped out and the barkeep screeched at us for letting it get free and told us to shut the door. The people in the bar were watching us without making it obvious they were watching us, as we made our way forward.
On learned we wanted a room, the barkeep called for a man named Yurlis Peebles to come out. Yurlis was a tall half elf with a tired look and pale skin. We greeted with “Sperthicus”, the formal version of an Elven greeting, and he broke into a smile and thanked us. We arranged a room for the 7 of us and were told that we could have room 2 on the second floor. He then gave us a log book and asked us to write our name down.
A fast look showed most every line in the log book had either a John Smith or an “X” filled in. We each took out turn making our mark, but during the exchange, Veldryn inadvertently used Talion’s real name, and then later on wrote her own name down in the book. Two of the patrons sitting around wrote something down on a scrap of paper and then casually got up and walked out – one through the front door, the other through the back.
Deja had seen all this and held back as the party made their way to the stairs, torn on whether to follow or not – eventually decided to just join the group. On the second floor the two doors on the left of the long hall were “1” and “2” – and we looked at “2”. Deja was sure that the many scratches on the lock were from attempts to pick it in the past.
We entered and were underwhelmed. There were 5 beds in here, a bit larger than normal, but the thatch was so poor in places that over the 5th bed could be seen bits of sky through the grasses. Deja let us know about the two men downstairs and the fact that this room was most likely a “target” room. We took the time to look around and discovered a secret door between this room and Room 1 on the west wall.
Deja snuck out in the hall to Room 1 while we watched. She looked the door over; the lock was new and not scratched, the hinges were on the inside of the door but the portal seemed to be well made and in good repair. She was going to open the door and decided at the last moment to leave it and return to the group.
We discussed what we were going to do next. We knew about the name Dru’uz as a possible contact, and knew the lizardmen were getting weapons from the Order of the Kraken – but we had nothing else at this time. One of the things we did know was that no matter where we were in Dunwater, we could hear the ever ringing hammers from the blacksmith district at all times. Perhaps we could go there and look around, ask a few questions?
So we decided to leave and before locking up, Ned took out a long strip of leather and unrolled it – the item already treated with many pins sticking straight up through it, and placed it just on the inside portion of the floor where the secret door was – just in case someone tried to come in while we were gone.
We hit the street and made our way to the town square, the village green having gone to pot. Most of the grasses were in poor shape and overgrown with weeds, a few citizens were either slumped on the ground drunk or leaning on the few bits of statuary in the area and drinking. There were no boards, no heralds, no nothing. We turned to the main street and made our way south. Many of the businesses were closed and boarded up, a few were still open, and a few more were just burned shells. But as we made our way towards the ringing hammers Magnus wanted us to stop in front of the Traders.
He stepped in to the shop, the place was about half stocked. An elder dwarven woman was behind the counter, missing two fingers on her left hand and had a nasty scar running down her right cheek just under her eye. Two burly looking younger dwarves, most likely relatives, were standing nearby, truncheons and crossbows at the ready.
Magnus admitted that he was looking for some clothes to better fit in and the shopkeeper came out to help, asking her son, Ron, to give a hand. Up close Magnus could see that Ron had the bearing of a skilled fighter but also had the numerous scars and pits in his arms and chest that a blacksmith would have. He was questioned about his armor; there was some suspicion that he was a member of the Order of Knights, which the paladin did not comment on either way.
They got to talking and learned that the dwarven woman had interrupted some thieves and arsons about 6 months ago and held them off for some time, losing 2 fingers and almost an eye. Her sons, Ron and Fred, left their jobs at Trilla’s Metalworks to keep the shoppe running and guard their mother. She hopes that at some point law will return to Dunwater as its been her home her entire life and she has no interest in moving.
Magnus ended up with some peasant’s clothes and Ron stacked the paladin’s armor within his breastplate and helped him bind it to his backpack so it was less obvious. With a slouch cap he now appeared to be nothing more than a local and less likely to draw attention to himself and the group. Coming out of the Tradegoods the party was happy to see his change and the party continued on their way down the block.
About half a block from the Blacksmith quarter, Deja had the group stop as she looked the area over. It appeared that three or four smaller smithies had been combined to the current larger smithy, and there were 8 anvils working at this time. The smiths and their apprentices all appeared to be in good health, dressed well, and did not have that sallow look the rest of Dunwater seemed to have. However, standing a good 30 feet away from the shop there were 6 guards stations around the smithy and watching the craftsmen carefully.
After looking it over, Deja had the group walk away from Trilla’s and once safely out of eye and ear shot, let us know that the entire situation bothered her. If we went up there, any of the Marshall’s 6 deputies would spot us and report. The Smiths appeared to be in good health and spirits. The guards were also NOT watching the street – but the smiths and the smithy. Were they protecting the smithy? Or watching it with care for another reason? We didn’t know enough to risk making contact for now and decided to shelve this conversation with Trilla for another time.
It was then that Magnus let the group know that the Tradegood shop keep’s sons appeared to have been smiths at some point in their recent past. We could do worse than by going to speak with them. The party agreed and were back at the Tradegoods at a bit after 4.
We spent some money and bent the ear of the three dwarves a bit more. During the back and forth banter and shopping, we did manage to share some of our actual status and jobs, which had the Shopkeeper very excited. It seems that before the Mayor’s house had caught on fire that night, he had his manservant deliver a sealed bounty bundle to her to be added to the next postal rider heading for Cymbarton. During the fire and the subsequent issues with the Sheriff, the postal rider to Cymbarton had been placed on hold and the missives had been taken by the Marshall. However, the Bounty Bundle was not in that pile and the Shopkeeper never released it because she never trusted the Marshall, and her duty as postmistress was to ensure any packages in her care were delivered to the right person.
With Talion as an ordained bounty hunter and related ranger, HE actually has the authority to review any bounties as issued by any government official at any time. And with Magnus as a suspected knight of the order, it added credence to Talion’s authority. The three dwarves were feeling pretty good at the party: a dissimilar cross sampling of races (3 humans, surface elf, sea elf, half orc, and a Halfling), visiting the town and looking around, not beholden to the Marshall, and a ranger and paladin in the mix – it was a promising group.
She gave the still sealed bundle to Talion who used his knife to open the seal. He unfurled the document and read what Mayor Isvar of Dunwater was concerned about 8 month ago. It seems that a group of slavers and smugglers known as the Red Crow Guild were working at the behest of the Order of the Kraken to arrange smuggled soft goods to be sold at various markets around Dunwater, undercutting normal business operations and funneling a large amount of money to persons unknown for the Order. The Red Crow Guild were growing continuously bold and brazen, actually challenging the Mayor and his bannermen at one point. Feeling no choice in the matter, Mayor Isvar had commanded a bounty on Ogan Yardbury and his 7 compatriots of the Red Crow Guild to be taken in for smuggling, fomenting dissent, crimes against the crown, and threats against the crown. The suggested bounty was 500 nobles dead, 1000 alive, with 110 nobles offered for each of the lesser members.
Talion read the paper to the group who was stunned at the knowledge. It was on the second read that we noticed the name, Ogan. Which had the party think on the original leader of the Order of the Kraken, Grabbi Ogansdottr. The Daughter of Ogan. Crap, connected. It had to be.
Mayor Isvar had tried to command the arrest of Grabbi’s daughter 8 months ago and then he and his family were burned in their home that night. And all the other issues that befell Dunwater followed.
We took the bounty, thanked the shopkeeper, and assured her that we were working on setting things right with Dunwater at some point; even if that wasn’t the reason we were here at this time. We then made our way to back to the warehouse district, convinced that we needed to talk to Dru’uz Thorson and do it soon. Of the three warehouse blocks, two had been burned but one was still standing. It had been quartered and according to the Tradegood dwarves, Dru’uz was a supervisor at one of them, the one with the black eastern wall.
We scoped the place out for a bit from across the street in the ruins of the second block of warehouses. It was a good 30’ to the front door, the warehouse was pretty big, 50’ by 90’, and was at the eastern corner of the block, about 75’ from the waterline. We guessed there were 5 or 6 people within and it was decided that Magnus and Talion would go in, try to talk to Dru’uz, and if things got hairy, would call for us as loud as they could.
The two of them went over and entered. There were neatly stacked pallets of goods in three large rows around the place, each of them further protected by a tarpaulin covering. A short look showed 4 humans and a gnome in here working, and eventually Dru’uz who was called out to meet us once we were noticed.
Dru’uz was wide for a dwarf and sported a forked beard that he kept oiled and weighted with a couple brass cylinders. He gave us a rough look over and assumed we were someone else. We followed him to a rear office that smelled of old ham and had a seat. We said that we were here to talk about the Order of the Kraken and he immediately launched into why Captain Siggurd wasn’t here. We had spotted some brandy and silk boles out in the warehouse so knew we were on the right track.
We tried to tell him that Captain Siggurd was not going to be able to make it and that they were here instead. Dru’uz was looking for more product as he has been forced to see his own private cut as of late and he didn’t want to keep doing so. It was at this point that Magnus changed his tone and let Dru’uz know that they weren’t from the Order. And that he was in big trouble.
At this point all hell broke loose as Dru’uz was yelling out for “Jerdrimm, get in here now!” and the party was yelling their heads off to signal the rest of the group. Hearing them call, the party started charging across the street while the warehouse working just inside the door saw us coming. He was shouting out for help while the gnome, Jerdrimm, was shouting for him to shut the door, as he drew a knife and charged to the office. Inside the office Dru’uz was forced to step back and defend himself with a hastily drawn club while Talion and Magnus each whipped out their swords and laid into the dwarf.
As the warehouse guy was trying to slam the door closed, Valerie put on a massive burst of speed and tried to slam her shield and body into the quickly closing opening. She misjudged though and while she was jumping and diving, the door slammed closed and she smashed into it, bouncing off and causing it to BOOM with a deafening clang. As she was on the floor trying to clear her head, Ned, Oceanus, and Veldryn hit the door and pulled as hard as they could, forcing it open before it could be locked on the other side. Through the narrow gap, Deja let fly a couple of daggers at the struggling warehouseman, hitting him and causing him to slip on the door a bit more.
Talion and Magnus each assaulted Dru’uz hard, hitting the dwarf a few times and causing him to stagger back but not fall. He returned the favor by clocking the two fighters until Jerdrimm charged in and tried to bury his long knife in Talion’s side, cutting him but that was it. There were three other warehouse workers and they were running through the building hoping to make it to the front door.
It was at this time that Valerie pulled herself to her knees, pulled on her holy symbol, and called on Lord Frey to summon a nature’s alley to help out. And with a loud BAMPF, a 350 lb. black bear appeared by the warehouse worker and MAULED him. Biting him, knocking him about, tearing into him, and then finishing him off with a massive hug that had his back torn open and blood spilling about the room. The group slipped in to the partially opened doorway while Deja slammed it closed to keep anyone on the street from seeing or hopefully hearing us.
We drew up into battle lines as a nearby worker was assaulted by Ned and the Bear, Valerie standing near, and Oceanus and Deja took shots down between an alley made by large pallets at an approaching thug with a crowbar.
The fight with Dru’uz was dragging on too long and Magnus shifted his blows from him hammer pick to just the hammer side, trying to knock the dwarf out. Talion was not exercising the same restraint and was doing his damndest to beat the gnome to death, broadsword flashing.
Meanwhile on the floor of the warehouse the battle was joined as scythe and crossbow hit crowbar and fire axe. One by one the warehouse workers fell to the party’s blows, a few of us getting knocked around in return, but nothing debilitating. Jerdrimm was finally cut down by Talion’s blow and with a final swing of his hammer, Magnus smashed Dru’uz in the head and the dwarf fell over with a groan, knocked unconscious.
The party was quick to reconnect and the first call was to tie up Dru’uz and then get rid of the bodies. For that, Oceanus took point and taking out his knife, slit open the belly of the nearest warehouse worker and started sweeping gravel and rocks from the warehouse floor into the bleeding cavity. Upon asking him what he was doing, the sea elf replied in his broken Common, “Fill, make heavy, floor of the ocean and then fertilize the kelp. Help me fill.” He then pointed at another warehouse worker and indicated the group should aid in filling him with rocks.
Ned managed to get a tarp for Oceanus and the elven ranger snapped it open and rolled the first body on it. He then rolled it up and flicked it over his shoulder and made his way to the door. After seeing if the coast was clear, he casually walked out of the door and down the long slope of the shore to the water. And with that, he just walked forward until he was gone from sight and under the water.
It was 2 or 3 minutes later that he trudged out of the surf, tarp rolled up at his waist, looking to his right at a number of people nearby and waving at them first with all five fingers. And then with one. The group heard some noises from that direction but were unable to see what was going on. As for Dru’uz, he awoke slowly and had Magnus, Talion, and Veldryn standing over him asking him questions.
Oceanus loaded a second body laden with rocks in its gut and inside a tarp, pressing the party to get the next one ready. He then once more hoisted the wrapped bundle up and made his way out the door and towards the water. As he disappeared beneath the waves, we noted three longshoremen had arrived at that part of the beach, harpoons in their hands and angrily pointing at the water. They waded in up to their knees and were staring at the dark water.
The party snuck out of the warehouse and made their way to the corner and when one of them hurled his harpoon into the water, it caused the group to gasp, thinking Oceanus was just struck. As the longshoreman was pulling the cable back towards him, a quarrel shot out of the water and struck the man in the chest. From our side, arrows and daggers flew and a second longshoreman hit the water. We did note that a blue tinged arm reached out of the water and dragged one of the gasping dock workers deeper and under the waves.
It was here that Valerie called on Frey and a swarm of bats burst from every burned out building nearby and harried the last longshoreman away from the water and back up the beach. This attracted the attention of others milling about…and gave Oceanus a chance to run out of the water, tarp under his arm, and back towards the party and the warehouse. We all went back inside and shut the door, waiting quietly to hear if anyone was coming to investigate, but with the bats and the other distractions, we were in the clear.
As for the questioning of Dru’uz, we learned a bit more about the smuggling operation. He was the warehouse man and arranged the sale between Siggurd and the Order of the Kraken and Ogan Yardbury and the Red Crow Guild. His fee for “not seeing or saying anything” was typically 5% of the smuggled cargo which he kept or sold at a premium. As for the money the Red Crows earned from selling their goods elsewhere (not done here in Dunwater), all he knows is that some of it went to pay for iron and weapons from Trilla Ironarms of Trilla’s Metalworks.
The group meanwhile were hiding the bodies throughout the warehouse but parking them under the tarps and in boxes. To further mask anyone finding them, Oceanus snuck back into the water and emerged with a few large fish which he placed under the tarps and in the boxes – the smell of the rotting fish should mask the smell of the dead warehouse workers.
We them covered our bases by sweeping the floors, raking the gravel, soaking everything down and slowly covering our tracks. At the door we left, shut it behind us, and made our way back towards the Tradegoods. We learned what we could from Dru’uz, but did not know where Ogan or the Red Crows kept their hideout. But we assumed since they had dealings with the Lizardman tribes that were supposedly near here, and we were tasked with resolving that threat, it made sense that we needed to find them next and avoid being in town when someone discovered Dru’uz and the other warehouse workers – and the Marshall would most likely want to ask us some questions on it.
At the Tradeworks we were not able to get any direct information but we were able to get the idea that a skilled trapper (and there were many that worked around here) might have an idea on where the lizardman lair could be. The best choice was trapper named Hrodd and might find him, when he was in town, at the Blue Dolphin Alehouse.
As it was already after 6 and we were exhausted, we decided to head back to the Leaky Tub, grab a meal, and rest before trying to find Hrodd tomorrow and getting out of Dunwater. The Common Room at the Leaky Tub was packed and we picked our way upstairs anxious to change out of our clothes when we noticed the secret door between the rooms was ajar, the pin strip Ned had put on the floor was disturbed and blood was on many of the needles.
We carefully looked in and saw a woman, late teens, somewhat attractive, lying unconscious; her moccasined right foot was bleeding. We bound her, Ned assured us the poison he used was knockout for a couple hours, and then Veldryn cast Cure Minor on the woman’s foot. Once secured Valerie called on Frey and cast Dawn, waking the women who looked around, saw us all staring at her, and then sagged in her bonds and smiled, “I guess you’ve got me then.”
Through a variety of conversation, we learned that she was a freelance bounty hunter who had picked up a job at Saltmarsh, sponsored from the Lyceum Slaver’s Guild to bring in Talion. They offered 50 nobles upfront for his location and then 500 nobles to bring him to Dilabria for questioning. Her name was Melunan and she had gotten a lucky break seeing the group loading on the ship to come to Dunwater a few days ago as she was disembarking. She bribed the wharfmaster to find out where our ship was going and then paid fare for another ship to take her here. Having been at Dunwater already a few times before she canvassed the area and had a chance to look at the log book here at the Leaky Tavern where she saw Veldryn’s name, a known member of the Talion’s adventuring group, the Tides of Valhalla.
So she snuck in here to see which would be the best place to administer a sleeping poison to Talion when she missed the pin strip and got caught instead.
She would be the first of what would soon be other bounty hunters who might try their hand against Talion and another reason we should finish out business here in Dunwater and get out of town. As for Melunan, Valerie and Veldryn seemed to like her and she was honest in her thoughts. There was some conversation about the jobs Talion had done before and that she was going to take some time off as she was lucky now and had gotten caught – other marks might not be so forgiving and she didn’t want to spoil Hermod’s blessing by assuming she would be this lucky in the future.
As for the evening, she and Talion spent it in her room where they got to know one another carnally and worked their aggressions out with one another.
We awoke the next morn, Spiritmonth the 7th, and broke our fast. After eating a mix of porridge and gruel from the Common Room, we decided to head to the Blue Dolphin and see if we might get lucky and find Hrodd the trapper there. The proprietor was not very helpful, refusing to answer many questions for us for a while until Veldryn had Hel bless her with a sparkling personality and amplified charisma – which had the taciturn barkeep suddenly change his tune. Hrodd was sleeping off last night’s excessive drinking in one of the cheap rooms upstairs. Still feeling Hel’s blessing bolstering her, Veldryn went upstairs in order to meet with and awaken Hrodd and try to get the trapper to come with the party into the Fens and help find the lizardman lair.
Write up follows:
The group talked about the two options of either taking a room at the Leaky Tub or holing up in some burned out hovel, and we decided that we didn’t want Marshall Thurgood to have any reason to distrust us or look for an excuse to make an example of the party by doing something illegal. So we made our way to the two story, poor façade of the Leaky Tub Inn and entered the poorly thatched business.
The Common Room would normally sit around 50, but there were barely 8 here not counting the two tired looking wenches and the older woman behind the bar. As we entered a mangy cat slipped out and the barkeep screeched at us for letting it get free and told us to shut the door. The people in the bar were watching us without making it obvious they were watching us, as we made our way forward.
On learned we wanted a room, the barkeep called for a man named Yurlis Peebles to come out. Yurlis was a tall half elf with a tired look and pale skin. We greeted with “Sperthicus”, the formal version of an Elven greeting, and he broke into a smile and thanked us. We arranged a room for the 7 of us and were told that we could have room 2 on the second floor. He then gave us a log book and asked us to write our name down.
A fast look showed most every line in the log book had either a John Smith or an “X” filled in. We each took out turn making our mark, but during the exchange, Veldryn inadvertently used Talion’s real name, and then later on wrote her own name down in the book. Two of the patrons sitting around wrote something down on a scrap of paper and then casually got up and walked out – one through the front door, the other through the back.
Deja had seen all this and held back as the party made their way to the stairs, torn on whether to follow or not – eventually decided to just join the group. On the second floor the two doors on the left of the long hall were “1” and “2” – and we looked at “2”. Deja was sure that the many scratches on the lock were from attempts to pick it in the past.
We entered and were underwhelmed. There were 5 beds in here, a bit larger than normal, but the thatch was so poor in places that over the 5th bed could be seen bits of sky through the grasses. Deja let us know about the two men downstairs and the fact that this room was most likely a “target” room. We took the time to look around and discovered a secret door between this room and Room 1 on the west wall.
Deja snuck out in the hall to Room 1 while we watched. She looked the door over; the lock was new and not scratched, the hinges were on the inside of the door but the portal seemed to be well made and in good repair. She was going to open the door and decided at the last moment to leave it and return to the group.
We discussed what we were going to do next. We knew about the name Dru’uz as a possible contact, and knew the lizardmen were getting weapons from the Order of the Kraken – but we had nothing else at this time. One of the things we did know was that no matter where we were in Dunwater, we could hear the ever ringing hammers from the blacksmith district at all times. Perhaps we could go there and look around, ask a few questions?
So we decided to leave and before locking up, Ned took out a long strip of leather and unrolled it – the item already treated with many pins sticking straight up through it, and placed it just on the inside portion of the floor where the secret door was – just in case someone tried to come in while we were gone.
We hit the street and made our way to the town square, the village green having gone to pot. Most of the grasses were in poor shape and overgrown with weeds, a few citizens were either slumped on the ground drunk or leaning on the few bits of statuary in the area and drinking. There were no boards, no heralds, no nothing. We turned to the main street and made our way south. Many of the businesses were closed and boarded up, a few were still open, and a few more were just burned shells. But as we made our way towards the ringing hammers Magnus wanted us to stop in front of the Traders.
He stepped in to the shop, the place was about half stocked. An elder dwarven woman was behind the counter, missing two fingers on her left hand and had a nasty scar running down her right cheek just under her eye. Two burly looking younger dwarves, most likely relatives, were standing nearby, truncheons and crossbows at the ready.
Magnus admitted that he was looking for some clothes to better fit in and the shopkeeper came out to help, asking her son, Ron, to give a hand. Up close Magnus could see that Ron had the bearing of a skilled fighter but also had the numerous scars and pits in his arms and chest that a blacksmith would have. He was questioned about his armor; there was some suspicion that he was a member of the Order of Knights, which the paladin did not comment on either way.
They got to talking and learned that the dwarven woman had interrupted some thieves and arsons about 6 months ago and held them off for some time, losing 2 fingers and almost an eye. Her sons, Ron and Fred, left their jobs at Trilla’s Metalworks to keep the shoppe running and guard their mother. She hopes that at some point law will return to Dunwater as its been her home her entire life and she has no interest in moving.
Magnus ended up with some peasant’s clothes and Ron stacked the paladin’s armor within his breastplate and helped him bind it to his backpack so it was less obvious. With a slouch cap he now appeared to be nothing more than a local and less likely to draw attention to himself and the group. Coming out of the Tradegoods the party was happy to see his change and the party continued on their way down the block.
About half a block from the Blacksmith quarter, Deja had the group stop as she looked the area over. It appeared that three or four smaller smithies had been combined to the current larger smithy, and there were 8 anvils working at this time. The smiths and their apprentices all appeared to be in good health, dressed well, and did not have that sallow look the rest of Dunwater seemed to have. However, standing a good 30 feet away from the shop there were 6 guards stations around the smithy and watching the craftsmen carefully.
After looking it over, Deja had the group walk away from Trilla’s and once safely out of eye and ear shot, let us know that the entire situation bothered her. If we went up there, any of the Marshall’s 6 deputies would spot us and report. The Smiths appeared to be in good health and spirits. The guards were also NOT watching the street – but the smiths and the smithy. Were they protecting the smithy? Or watching it with care for another reason? We didn’t know enough to risk making contact for now and decided to shelve this conversation with Trilla for another time.
It was then that Magnus let the group know that the Tradegood shop keep’s sons appeared to have been smiths at some point in their recent past. We could do worse than by going to speak with them. The party agreed and were back at the Tradegoods at a bit after 4.
We spent some money and bent the ear of the three dwarves a bit more. During the back and forth banter and shopping, we did manage to share some of our actual status and jobs, which had the Shopkeeper very excited. It seems that before the Mayor’s house had caught on fire that night, he had his manservant deliver a sealed bounty bundle to her to be added to the next postal rider heading for Cymbarton. During the fire and the subsequent issues with the Sheriff, the postal rider to Cymbarton had been placed on hold and the missives had been taken by the Marshall. However, the Bounty Bundle was not in that pile and the Shopkeeper never released it because she never trusted the Marshall, and her duty as postmistress was to ensure any packages in her care were delivered to the right person.
With Talion as an ordained bounty hunter and related ranger, HE actually has the authority to review any bounties as issued by any government official at any time. And with Magnus as a suspected knight of the order, it added credence to Talion’s authority. The three dwarves were feeling pretty good at the party: a dissimilar cross sampling of races (3 humans, surface elf, sea elf, half orc, and a Halfling), visiting the town and looking around, not beholden to the Marshall, and a ranger and paladin in the mix – it was a promising group.
She gave the still sealed bundle to Talion who used his knife to open the seal. He unfurled the document and read what Mayor Isvar of Dunwater was concerned about 8 month ago. It seems that a group of slavers and smugglers known as the Red Crow Guild were working at the behest of the Order of the Kraken to arrange smuggled soft goods to be sold at various markets around Dunwater, undercutting normal business operations and funneling a large amount of money to persons unknown for the Order. The Red Crow Guild were growing continuously bold and brazen, actually challenging the Mayor and his bannermen at one point. Feeling no choice in the matter, Mayor Isvar had commanded a bounty on Ogan Yardbury and his 7 compatriots of the Red Crow Guild to be taken in for smuggling, fomenting dissent, crimes against the crown, and threats against the crown. The suggested bounty was 500 nobles dead, 1000 alive, with 110 nobles offered for each of the lesser members.
Talion read the paper to the group who was stunned at the knowledge. It was on the second read that we noticed the name, Ogan. Which had the party think on the original leader of the Order of the Kraken, Grabbi Ogansdottr. The Daughter of Ogan. Crap, connected. It had to be.
Mayor Isvar had tried to command the arrest of Grabbi’s daughter 8 months ago and then he and his family were burned in their home that night. And all the other issues that befell Dunwater followed.
We took the bounty, thanked the shopkeeper, and assured her that we were working on setting things right with Dunwater at some point; even if that wasn’t the reason we were here at this time. We then made our way to back to the warehouse district, convinced that we needed to talk to Dru’uz Thorson and do it soon. Of the three warehouse blocks, two had been burned but one was still standing. It had been quartered and according to the Tradegood dwarves, Dru’uz was a supervisor at one of them, the one with the black eastern wall.
We scoped the place out for a bit from across the street in the ruins of the second block of warehouses. It was a good 30’ to the front door, the warehouse was pretty big, 50’ by 90’, and was at the eastern corner of the block, about 75’ from the waterline. We guessed there were 5 or 6 people within and it was decided that Magnus and Talion would go in, try to talk to Dru’uz, and if things got hairy, would call for us as loud as they could.
The two of them went over and entered. There were neatly stacked pallets of goods in three large rows around the place, each of them further protected by a tarpaulin covering. A short look showed 4 humans and a gnome in here working, and eventually Dru’uz who was called out to meet us once we were noticed.
Dru’uz was wide for a dwarf and sported a forked beard that he kept oiled and weighted with a couple brass cylinders. He gave us a rough look over and assumed we were someone else. We followed him to a rear office that smelled of old ham and had a seat. We said that we were here to talk about the Order of the Kraken and he immediately launched into why Captain Siggurd wasn’t here. We had spotted some brandy and silk boles out in the warehouse so knew we were on the right track.
We tried to tell him that Captain Siggurd was not going to be able to make it and that they were here instead. Dru’uz was looking for more product as he has been forced to see his own private cut as of late and he didn’t want to keep doing so. It was at this point that Magnus changed his tone and let Dru’uz know that they weren’t from the Order. And that he was in big trouble.
At this point all hell broke loose as Dru’uz was yelling out for “Jerdrimm, get in here now!” and the party was yelling their heads off to signal the rest of the group. Hearing them call, the party started charging across the street while the warehouse working just inside the door saw us coming. He was shouting out for help while the gnome, Jerdrimm, was shouting for him to shut the door, as he drew a knife and charged to the office. Inside the office Dru’uz was forced to step back and defend himself with a hastily drawn club while Talion and Magnus each whipped out their swords and laid into the dwarf.
As the warehouse guy was trying to slam the door closed, Valerie put on a massive burst of speed and tried to slam her shield and body into the quickly closing opening. She misjudged though and while she was jumping and diving, the door slammed closed and she smashed into it, bouncing off and causing it to BOOM with a deafening clang. As she was on the floor trying to clear her head, Ned, Oceanus, and Veldryn hit the door and pulled as hard as they could, forcing it open before it could be locked on the other side. Through the narrow gap, Deja let fly a couple of daggers at the struggling warehouseman, hitting him and causing him to slip on the door a bit more.
Talion and Magnus each assaulted Dru’uz hard, hitting the dwarf a few times and causing him to stagger back but not fall. He returned the favor by clocking the two fighters until Jerdrimm charged in and tried to bury his long knife in Talion’s side, cutting him but that was it. There were three other warehouse workers and they were running through the building hoping to make it to the front door.
It was at this time that Valerie pulled herself to her knees, pulled on her holy symbol, and called on Lord Frey to summon a nature’s alley to help out. And with a loud BAMPF, a 350 lb. black bear appeared by the warehouse worker and MAULED him. Biting him, knocking him about, tearing into him, and then finishing him off with a massive hug that had his back torn open and blood spilling about the room. The group slipped in to the partially opened doorway while Deja slammed it closed to keep anyone on the street from seeing or hopefully hearing us.
We drew up into battle lines as a nearby worker was assaulted by Ned and the Bear, Valerie standing near, and Oceanus and Deja took shots down between an alley made by large pallets at an approaching thug with a crowbar.
The fight with Dru’uz was dragging on too long and Magnus shifted his blows from him hammer pick to just the hammer side, trying to knock the dwarf out. Talion was not exercising the same restraint and was doing his damndest to beat the gnome to death, broadsword flashing.
Meanwhile on the floor of the warehouse the battle was joined as scythe and crossbow hit crowbar and fire axe. One by one the warehouse workers fell to the party’s blows, a few of us getting knocked around in return, but nothing debilitating. Jerdrimm was finally cut down by Talion’s blow and with a final swing of his hammer, Magnus smashed Dru’uz in the head and the dwarf fell over with a groan, knocked unconscious.
The party was quick to reconnect and the first call was to tie up Dru’uz and then get rid of the bodies. For that, Oceanus took point and taking out his knife, slit open the belly of the nearest warehouse worker and started sweeping gravel and rocks from the warehouse floor into the bleeding cavity. Upon asking him what he was doing, the sea elf replied in his broken Common, “Fill, make heavy, floor of the ocean and then fertilize the kelp. Help me fill.” He then pointed at another warehouse worker and indicated the group should aid in filling him with rocks.
Ned managed to get a tarp for Oceanus and the elven ranger snapped it open and rolled the first body on it. He then rolled it up and flicked it over his shoulder and made his way to the door. After seeing if the coast was clear, he casually walked out of the door and down the long slope of the shore to the water. And with that, he just walked forward until he was gone from sight and under the water.
Oceanus loaded a second body laden with rocks in its gut and inside a tarp, pressing the party to get the next one ready. He then once more hoisted the wrapped bundle up and made his way out the door and towards the water. As he disappeared beneath the waves, we noted three longshoremen had arrived at that part of the beach, harpoons in their hands and angrily pointing at the water. They waded in up to their knees and were staring at the dark water.
The party snuck out of the warehouse and made their way to the corner and when one of them hurled his harpoon into the water, it caused the group to gasp, thinking Oceanus was just struck. As the longshoreman was pulling the cable back towards him, a quarrel shot out of the water and struck the man in the chest. From our side, arrows and daggers flew and a second longshoreman hit the water. We did note that a blue tinged arm reached out of the water and dragged one of the gasping dock workers deeper and under the waves.
It was here that Valerie called on Frey and a swarm of bats burst from every burned out building nearby and harried the last longshoreman away from the water and back up the beach. This attracted the attention of others milling about…and gave Oceanus a chance to run out of the water, tarp under his arm, and back towards the party and the warehouse. We all went back inside and shut the door, waiting quietly to hear if anyone was coming to investigate, but with the bats and the other distractions, we were in the clear.
As for the questioning of Dru’uz, we learned a bit more about the smuggling operation. He was the warehouse man and arranged the sale between Siggurd and the Order of the Kraken and Ogan Yardbury and the Red Crow Guild. His fee for “not seeing or saying anything” was typically 5% of the smuggled cargo which he kept or sold at a premium. As for the money the Red Crows earned from selling their goods elsewhere (not done here in Dunwater), all he knows is that some of it went to pay for iron and weapons from Trilla Ironarms of Trilla’s Metalworks.
The group meanwhile were hiding the bodies throughout the warehouse but parking them under the tarps and in boxes. To further mask anyone finding them, Oceanus snuck back into the water and emerged with a few large fish which he placed under the tarps and in the boxes – the smell of the rotting fish should mask the smell of the dead warehouse workers.
We them covered our bases by sweeping the floors, raking the gravel, soaking everything down and slowly covering our tracks. At the door we left, shut it behind us, and made our way back towards the Tradegoods. We learned what we could from Dru’uz, but did not know where Ogan or the Red Crows kept their hideout. But we assumed since they had dealings with the Lizardman tribes that were supposedly near here, and we were tasked with resolving that threat, it made sense that we needed to find them next and avoid being in town when someone discovered Dru’uz and the other warehouse workers – and the Marshall would most likely want to ask us some questions on it.
At the Tradeworks we were not able to get any direct information but we were able to get the idea that a skilled trapper (and there were many that worked around here) might have an idea on where the lizardman lair could be. The best choice was trapper named Hrodd and might find him, when he was in town, at the Blue Dolphin Alehouse.
As it was already after 6 and we were exhausted, we decided to head back to the Leaky Tub, grab a meal, and rest before trying to find Hrodd tomorrow and getting out of Dunwater. The Common Room at the Leaky Tub was packed and we picked our way upstairs anxious to change out of our clothes when we noticed the secret door between the rooms was ajar, the pin strip Ned had put on the floor was disturbed and blood was on many of the needles.
We carefully looked in and saw a woman, late teens, somewhat attractive, lying unconscious; her moccasined right foot was bleeding. We bound her, Ned assured us the poison he used was knockout for a couple hours, and then Veldryn cast Cure Minor on the woman’s foot. Once secured Valerie called on Frey and cast Dawn, waking the women who looked around, saw us all staring at her, and then sagged in her bonds and smiled, “I guess you’ve got me then.”
Through a variety of conversation, we learned that she was a freelance bounty hunter who had picked up a job at Saltmarsh, sponsored from the Lyceum Slaver’s Guild to bring in Talion. They offered 50 nobles upfront for his location and then 500 nobles to bring him to Dilabria for questioning. Her name was Melunan and she had gotten a lucky break seeing the group loading on the ship to come to Dunwater a few days ago as she was disembarking. She bribed the wharfmaster to find out where our ship was going and then paid fare for another ship to take her here. Having been at Dunwater already a few times before she canvassed the area and had a chance to look at the log book here at the Leaky Tavern where she saw Veldryn’s name, a known member of the Talion’s adventuring group, the Tides of Valhalla.
So she snuck in here to see which would be the best place to administer a sleeping poison to Talion when she missed the pin strip and got caught instead.
She would be the first of what would soon be other bounty hunters who might try their hand against Talion and another reason we should finish out business here in Dunwater and get out of town. As for Melunan, Valerie and Veldryn seemed to like her and she was honest in her thoughts. There was some conversation about the jobs Talion had done before and that she was going to take some time off as she was lucky now and had gotten caught – other marks might not be so forgiving and she didn’t want to spoil Hermod’s blessing by assuming she would be this lucky in the future.
As for the evening, she and Talion spent it in her room where they got to know one another carnally and worked their aggressions out with one another.
We awoke the next morn, Spiritmonth the 7th, and broke our fast. After eating a mix of porridge and gruel from the Common Room, we decided to head to the Blue Dolphin and see if we might get lucky and find Hrodd the trapper there. The proprietor was not very helpful, refusing to answer many questions for us for a while until Veldryn had Hel bless her with a sparkling personality and amplified charisma – which had the taciturn barkeep suddenly change his tune. Hrodd was sleeping off last night’s excessive drinking in one of the cheap rooms upstairs. Still feeling Hel’s blessing bolstering her, Veldryn went upstairs in order to meet with and awaken Hrodd and try to get the trapper to come with the party into the Fens and help find the lizardman lair.
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