At the Pipe and HONEY (not hunt!), we cobbled together a number of plans and contingencies – hoping to rely on Dizzy for as many buff spells as he could get out. Eventually the Falsers showed up along with 3 of their trusted half-orcish companions: Ralf, Hrelf, and Rulph. We added them to our planning and it was pretty obvious that we should be in good shape.
Before 11:30 we arrived at the site in question and the 3 half-orcs proceeded to entice every street thug and squatter to move on. Some coins were given to the watch in the area to look elsewhere. Dizzy was consecrating the area, holy water splashing about. A light spell was hung in the street to preclude the need for torches or lanterns which alerted more locals. Which had the Ralf trio wander around and get them to leave.
Malted was in 1 alley across the way, Uke another. Gryg was positioned behind Uke. Dizzy was in the street but not too close, Wilhelm on the other side of the street. Leaving Eoghan, Connal, and Grendel to man the area in front of the suspected undead. Uke cast a spell getting the exact time and Dizzy went on with spells on Connal and Grendel, giving them resistance, as well as an enchanted weapon. The Ralf’s were told to hold their ground and then, Midnight.
And the undead coalesced to a 7’ tall free floating apparition. And it was numbingly cold. Gryg shot, the enchanted bolt flying out in hopes to pin the undead there, but it missed and went down the alley! Rulph went running for it as we hit and fired. Spells shot off, 4 magic missiles from Malted ripping the undead wraith along the edges. Uke tried a Disrupt undead spell but it missed. Dawn blade swung along with Grendel’s now magic sword. Connal realized that his silvered master’s staff did hit – but failed to do more than half damage. Dizzy was going to magic weapon the staff.
When the undead ripped the air above Uke and Gryg and dropped the amorphous blob of Horace’s animated and flayed skin on the two of them – where it immediately tried to hold them in place. Fuck! Distracted, it couldn’t get a real shot on Connal but we poured on another cycle of attacks. “Why aren’t those two Ralphs in this fight!?” Dizzy called to Malted who shouted back amidst another magic missile spell, “Wait! Something’s coming!” He pointed at his two orcs, “Stay there and be ready!”
As more of the wraith was ripped away, Rulph grabbed the enchanted bolt from the alley and was running back to the party. Pulling, twisting and ripping, Gryg managed to get partially free of the skin as the group slammed at the wraith some more. And then from the sewer grate a horde of rats, over 100 or so in number boiled free and charged the group. “There!” Malted called out to Ralf. “There! Stop them!” Ralf waded into the mass of vermin, axe swinging back and forth like a scythe, bodies flying. But he was getting bit and slashed and the wraith ripped the air over the party again.
And the entrails and wolf guts spilled out and flopped on Grendel – wrapping around the elf scion’s arms, neck, chest, legs – trying to suffocate him. “Get it off!” Rulph finally made it back, tossed the bolt to Gryg, and then using his knife, pulled out at the skin over Uke and stabbed, stabbed, stabbed! Gryg took aim and fired – this time the enchanted bolt hit the undead – pinning it to this spot spatially for the next 4 rounds! Huzzah!
Seeing Ralf getting overrun, Malted changed tactics, called out to him orc, “Cover up and clench them!” and then ripped the air open, hurled a bit of sulfur and guano, ignited it magically, and intoned, “IN VAS FLAM GRAV POR!!” And a fireball in the middle of town ripped into the rat swarm, burning maybe 40 of the vermin’s bodies away, and allowed Ralf to get up – smoking and singed – but standing!
Wilhelm called on Frey and summoned a black bear who waded into the fight next. Grendel was losing consciousness and the party hit the wraith with another series of attacks. Another sewer grate burst open and more rat swarms entered the street and raced towards the group. Spells flew, blows were struck. The wraith grabbed at the summoned bear, sucked a level away, and then plunged its talons into its chest and crushed its heart, drawing strength on the kill of the ursine.
The swarm hit Dizzy, Eoghan, and Hrelf, rats biting and ripping. Rulph and Uke managed to rip Horace’s skin apart and Gryg fired two more bolts at the wraith, both dipped in holy water, spiriting more of the etheric figure apart. With Grendel now out, another wave of energy flowed out and two humongous rats came from the sewer over here. Wilhelm called for his own swarm and with a final blast of spell and steel – the wraith was vanquished and faded away – ending the ambulatory questing of the guts and allowing the party and the Falsers to finish mopping up the area. It was a fucking mess – burned rat bodies, ectoplasm everywhere. A few vials were taken and the Falsers invited us back to their factory to heal up, rest, lie low, and share a drink. We agreed.
It was a surprisingly good time. At least 50 gnomes joined us and thanks were given (as well as some gnome sex). They also gave us some magical healing candy as a thanks and said that if we were ever afoul of the law (Captain Arsin), to just come here and they’d help us dodge the watch. They also expressed admiration to Connal and Eoghan – two humans, 1 missing a hand, at the front line doing this. We slept in and were up the 13th at 10 AM.
Leaving the Falsers we returned to the Third Breech where we were talking to Dizzy about where we were going to go next. Ironcamp? Eoghan suggested we check his parents’ house and see if the Recordkeeper had an answer yet on the elven champion Grendel wanted to know about. But we were hearing a catchy tune in the background, going on and on. And then Dizzy grew upset at the 3rd playing of it as he recognized it was a minstrel’s tune excoriating him!
Freya knows how to work a shaft
Hairless as a slug and about as daft
A roger with a giddy slump
And shaky as a horse’s rump
Dazed you are when getting jerked
And muddled in the dark you lurked
Shorn of locks and feeling fuddled
Wailing babe and acting muddled
Stunty dwarf had been so giddy
Looking to leave and acting shitty
Lost at sea, key with no lock
Weakest of the Ragnarock
The Reeling faint unsteady git
Easy to spot the piece of shit
Oily smooth from scat and jizz
Filled with euphemisms about fucking and dizzy, along with a number of crude comments on his appearance – he went to the hammer dulcimer player found out that some patron had arranged to have the song played in a bunch of places and paid the minstrels well for their time. Thinking it was Lord Rockhome, Dizzy was going to take the dulcimer and smash it but was dissuaded real fast. We left, Connal detoured north to the Rockhome Demesne, and the rest of us going with Eoghan to his family.
The monastic had to wait a bit to get an audience with the lord who did allow it – 5 minutes tops. He tried to talk about what they did and killing the wraith, and Lord Rockhome was not sure what that had to do with him. It was then that Connal learned that Kridi, the Cleric, was the one who patroned the Dizzy song. Some insults were traded and then Connal offered, “If you’re done being a dried cunt about it.”
(*record scratch noise*)
Audience ended here and Connal got the feeling that besides burning a bit of that bridge, that in 3 or 4 days there’ll be a minstrel song about him around town as well.
As for Eoghan, we met his family. Dylan was horrified at Eoghan’s missing hand. You’ve thrown your life away. What are you going to do? You had a gift and it’s gone now. Gone! His mother Leila was more worried about him and hoped he was ok and sister Seren again turned it around to how it affects her. Dylan thanked his son for getting his debt cleared up but was just too hurt (personally!) that his son was no longer a Bowyer. He left before it got more heated.
As for information, we did have it. According to the packet the Recordkeeper from the Passian Traders got for us – the Champion’s name was Byrag Dragonsbreath. Half-elf, 46 years ago he won 2 championships in a row and then one of his dalliances got Fadia Maexoff, daughter of a local merchant house and now former virgin, pregnant. He was tried and ordered to produce a dowry and then marry the girl before she showed anymore. He had been spending his winnings freely and only had some of the coin needed. So he pawned his sword but kept one of the family gems from the hilt.
Records show they were hastily wed and then went north to another location of the Maexoff family shipping and trading locales. Ironcamp? Thak? Madar? We weren’t sure but we were going to go up that way anyway for Dizzy. We could find out a bit here and then maybe with some luck, somewhere else get more information. We contacted Darius who was willing to drive with us and Rhygar north and then eventually get the Grue body to Sorton and the Vault of the Heorot. We would need to get food, water, ask about the Maexoffs, maybe the Falsers? And Eoghan wanted to bury the rings while we still could. We were leaving tomorrow the 14th at 9 AM – so we had some time today to get done what we needed to (it was a bit after 1:30 PM).
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