Author: Mike O'Regan

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Dramatis Personae
Noah playing Igorok the wizard.
Karl playing Bobo the rogue.
Tess playing Tinus the sorcerer.
Issac playing Issac (B’Fai) the barbarian.
Elliott playing Varis the druid.

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Dawn found the group at the western gate of Pelville. They approached and were challenged by the guards, who all carry shields with the Pelville coat of arms, a blue and green field with a white sea-horse. The group shouted up that an army of the undead were coming this way, only minutes behind them. The captain of the guard met them at the gate and escorted them to a holding area.  She told them to wait for Lady Hurwich who would discuss the matter with them. They asked if any refugee boats had come from Arlsfort and were told that they had not.

While waiting they noticed a wanted dead or alive poster for four mutinous soldiers, Sergeant Jar Santon, Corporal Larshall Miner and Privates Ront Weaver and Elsienora Rolate. These were the four they had killed and they bemoaned the loss of the reward.

Lady Hurwich arrives and informs them that there is no army of the undead outside the walls. However she has sent a patrol out and they will pass by Arlsfort and report back.  She has other things to worry about. The takings from last night’s show at The Shell are missing and strange things are happening. A young noble lady has gone mad and is going around claiming her expensive jeweled necklace has been switched for wooden painted baubles when it’s clearly right there on her neck.  In the meantime the group are free to enter the town as long as they obey the law, cause no trouble and do not alarm the citizens. They agree.

The group enter the town and wander around. They notice that they are being followed by guards but can do nothing about it so they start by finding a place to stay. Tinus and Bobo perform at The Twelve Oaks and the proprietor offers them a room for the night if they perform that evening. They haggle a room for all of them for 1 gp.

Wandering the town they admire The Shell Theatre, a large theatre in the shape of an open oyster shell. They recognise the play that is on, it is The Tragedie of Queene Flavia. There is an evening show and an afternoon matinee. They decide to avoid it. They visit a blacksmith and an apothecary. There are potions for sale but they are expensive. Back on the streets Varis turns into a mouse to try to avoid the prying eyes of the town guard and is soon running for his life from an alley cat.

Igorok wanders the town and spots the Thespians’ wagon behind The Shell Theatre. He tries to get in the back door but it is locked. As he walks around the wagon he is confronted by Murter. Igorok runs for it as the actor suggests he come back. Igorok barely resists the instruction and he casts a fire-bolt back at the actor. A guard steps from the shadows and sticking his fingers in his mouth emits a sharp shrill whistle. He is answered by several other whistles and in moments Igorok finds himself surrounded at sword point by six guards. They take him to the north gatehouse. Take all his gear and all his clothes except for spare underclothes. They put him in a cell.

The rest hear the commotion but can do nothing about it. They are still worn out from the night before in Arlsfort. They decide to rescue him later and they all go back to The Twelve Oaks and get a good sleep. Igorok sleeps as best he can in his cold windowless cell. He awakes to the happy news that he is to be hanged at dawn and he is given some thin sloppy gruel with slivers of unidentifiable meat as his last supper. He decides it is probably best that the meat remains unidentified.

When the group awake they hear of the sentence of death and find out that he will be hanged outside the battlements in the morning. They plot and plan for his rescue.

They find Lady Hurwich and she tells them that the patrol returned safely but that Arlsfort was abandoned. Nobody, living or dead, or for that matter undead was there. She is clearly suspicious that they have done something and made up the story of the undead when there is a shout from the quay along the river. Three boats full of refugees from Arlsfort arrive. They verify the group’s story and Lady Hurwich doubles the guard on the walls and send messengers out to all the local farms telling them to come inside the walls before dark. She however refuses to release or pardon Igorok. He is a common criminal and is to die at dawn.

The town is busy with farming families coming in. Their wagons line the streets with their little children peeking out. The Arlsfort refugees are bedding down wherever they can, still in shock. Everyone is frightened. The sun goes down and the blood red moon rises.

Everything is quiet for about an hour. Then there is a shout from the watchtowers. Something is coming fast through the fields of wheat straight for the walls. The group rush to protect a section of the wall just as giant skeletal spiders clamber effortlessly up. The battle of Pelville has begun.

The group find that the spider’s bite is bad but they still retain their poison and this makes their bite almost instantly deadly. The four battle for survival on the narrow parapet.

Meanwhile two guards march into Igorok’s cell. His execution has been brought forward because of the emergency. They gag him and tie his hands tightly behind his back. He cannot speak and he cannot move his hands, so he cannot cast any spells. They try to take him up onto the battlements of the gatehouse but there are undead spiders there fighting their fellow soldiers. So they take him to the watchtower near where the group are fighting for their lives. They put a noose around his neck, tie the rope securely. One asks him, if he has any last words, the other points at the gag, shrugs and pushes him off the tower. Igorok hears a loud snap and the world goes dark. Which is just as well because a giant skeletal figure crawls over him onto the top of the tower and attacks his executors.

 

There are spiders attacking all around the walls of the town but the group notice that a large number are gathering at the section just above the west gate. They clamber up and more and more join together into a large mass hanging from the wall. Slowly, painfully the section of wall tears away from the adjoining watchtowers and crashes to the ground. The walls of Pelville have been breached!

Varis jumps off the wall, lands with a painful grunt and runs to a spot below Igorok. He firebolts the hangman’s rope and the dwarf tumbles down onto him, tipping over and smashing his nose. Varis scoops him up, sends the magic rope of climbing up to the top of the watchtower and starts climbing up. Meanwhile Issac holds the spiders on the rampart at bay as Bobo and Tinus climb up the stairs of the watchtower. The guards are gone pursued by a spider and so Bobo and Tinus are able to start to pull Varis and Igorok up.

With one hand free, now that he doesn’t have to climb Varis opens a potion of healing and pours it into Igorok’s mouth. The dwarf splutters awake just as a giant skeletal form crawls over them up into the watchtower. The battle continues. Tinus goes down and is revived. Igorok goes down again and is again revived. But eventually they kill all the spiders in their area.

Meanwhile a division of skeletal warriors advance into the breach and are met by Lady Hurwich and the Pelville guards. The battle is hard but slowly the guards start to gain the advantage and then they annihilated the undead.

A lull comes in the fighting. The group look around. From the watchtower they can see figures on the hill to the north of the town. There is one skeleton which appears to have a small skeleton of another creature in its chest. The second skeleton has its snout embedded in the base of the humanoid skull. It looks like it might be that of a tiny malformed dragon. The red light from the moon seems concentrated on this figure and it glows with an eerie unsettling light. The figure raises its arm and another division of skeletal warrior step from the fields of wheat and advance on what is left of Lady Hurwich’s troops. Then the figure turns and raises its other arm in the direction of the town’s graveyard on the same hilltop. The ground around the graves starts to shake and burst and figures can be seen clawing their way to the surface.

The group dash from the watchtower and as they pass the gatehouse they run in to retrieve Igorok’s possessions. In the guard room they encounter a strange looking woman in impressive armour. She has copper coloured skin and golden eyes.

“I don’t know you” she said to Issac.
“And I don’t know you, or you”, she continued to Bobo and Varis.
“I don’t know you either”, she added to Tinus
“And I don’t think I want to know you” she said to Igorok who was wearing very little.

“Hi I’m Issac” replied the friendly half-orc and the rest also introduced themselves.
“Who exactly are you?” they asked.

“I can’t find it, I know it’s nearby, but I can’t find it” she replied.
“Is that it over there?” asked Igorok pointing at a small pile of his possessions.
“No, there’s nothing interesting here!” she answered somewhat annoyed.
“May I?” he asked and when she didn’t reply he ran to his gear and started dressing and repacking it.

“I don’t have much time, I have to find it”
“Find what?”
“The Crown of Azertina of course!”
“Eh, okay, why do you want that?”
“It has Talbor’s soul. Well it has a ruby that has Talbor’s soul in it. If I can find that and destroy it, then I can stop him.”
“Who is Talbor?”
“Who was Talbor?” she corrected, “He was a powerful wizard who fought in the first war against the Dragonlords. Not the war we lost fifteen years ago, the one before that, the one that everyone thought the Dragonlords had lost.”
“Talbor was captured near the end of the war and was turned into a Dragonlord himself. But then when the war ended he became something even worse and now he has awoken and he is leading an army of the undead this way.”
“Is he a glowing red skeleton with another skeleton inside him? Likes to order battalions of skeletons around and can raise a graveyard full of undead at the wave of a hand?”, Bobo inquired innocently.
“Yes” she replied with a raised eyebrow.
“Well he’s not coming. He’s here. Outside on the hill.”
“This crown you’re looking for, maybe the actors have it? They have one in their play.”
“No, I saw that today. That play is all wrong, it’s not the way it happened at all. Rock was much funnier and Flavia wasn’t mad just young. Betty didn’t just hate Amet, she hated all the gods. Nesing was not a mean dragon, he was a frightened young dragon just trying to stay alive. But anyway the actors’ crown is just wood and paint. We must find the real one or this town and all this land will die!”
“Okay, we’ll help you” they said, “What is your name?”
“Oh I can’t tell you my name, your little tongues could not pronounce it. But you may call me Coop.”

Outside the noise of battle intensified.

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XP

Trying to warn Lady Hurwich: 300XP
Getting a room for the night at The Twelve Oaks: 200XP
A bit of mischief at the actors’ wagon: 300XP
Destroying 8 Bone Spiders: 8 x 200 = 1600XP
Surviving an execution: 500XP
Meeting Coop: 300XP

For a total of 3200XP, divided between 5 is 640XP each.

Igorok 1895 + 640 = 2535XP Level 3
Bobo 1895 + 640 = 2535XP Level 3
Tinus 1895 + 640 = 2535XP Level 3
Issac 1595 + 640 = 2235XP Level 3
Varis 1566 + 640 = 2206XP Level 3

Rashi 1895XP Level 3
Yartalla 679XP Level 2
Lil 600XP Level 2

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Next Session is Saturday 8th June

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Dramatis Personae
Robin playing Rashi the rogue.
Noah playing Igorok the wizard.
Karl playing Bobo the rogue.
Tess playing Tinus the sorcerer.
Issac playing Issac the barbarian.
Elliott playing Varis the druid.

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The blood red moon rose over the hills and the group looked down on the town of Arlsfort. There were walls extending from a gatehouse, but they stopped before they reached the river to the east and in the west they just stopped at a small watch-tower.

From there on there were markings on the ground showing where the walls would be once they were built. The gatehouse itself looked reasonably complete, but only one half of the gate had been completed. An excellently crafted study gate, but without a companion it did not block the road into town. There were about twelve or fifteen buildings which made up the town. One large inn, The Gingerbread Cat, and a smaller one down near the dock called The Bad Penny. There was a general store, a livery and a blacksmith’s workshop. Add to this and a dozen small houses in a varying degree of completion and you got the impression that Arlsfort was more of a concept than an actual town. Beyond the town a half finished bridge jutted out over the river Shunder.

Pulling the blankets more tightly over the bodies in the cart the group headed for the main gate. The prisoners in the barrel must have heard them talking about the town and they started to make noise. Issac opened the lid and persuaded them otherwise; they might wake again in a few hours.

They steered the cart through the gate and down main street. An impressive looking man approached them.
“Ah”, he said, “the heroes from Red Mills! I’m so glad you could come”, said Baron Feldar.
“Yes, we thought we could build a theatre and attract more people to the town.”
“Oh, perfect! Take a note of that!”, he added over his shoulder to a harried looking clerk. “What sort of a theatre?
“We were thinking of making it in the shape of a duck” and Igorok slipped the wooden duck from under his cloak to demonstrate, much to the alarm of the others.
“Oh my! How wonderful!”
“And it would float. A floating amphitheatre in the shape of a duck!”
“Splendid! I’ll build it if you do some small jobs for me!” and turning to the clerk he added, “Give this priority over everything else! This is key to our future!”
The clerk rolled his eyes as he unrolled his measuring tape and noted the proportions of Igorok’s duck which then quickly disappeared to a chorus of “What duck? What are you talking about?”
There was an awkward duckless red moonlit pause.
“Err, we should get some rooms for the night”, they said.
“Yes, may I recommend The Gingerbread Cat” said the baron.

The group went into The Gingerbread Cat and whereas it seemed like it would be a nice place when it was finished the view of the moon and the stars through the roof did not sit well with any of them apart from Issac. They moved on to The Bad Penny. When they opened the door the noise of the crowd and the smells of alcohol free beer and plain cooking hit their nostrils. Tinus and Bobo jumped on stage and played some merry tunes and Jana Jeve, the landlady, offered the two of them room and board. When they asked about the rest, she narrowed her eyes as if suddenly recognising them and tapped on the counter-top.
Tum-te-tum te-tum.
The group froze, she was Kalla, they were just about to plead for their lives when she added, “Special rates for members, one gold for room and board for all of you for the night.” Sighing they accepted and went back out to look after their cart and its contents.

They debated for a while as to what to do but eventually agreed that they should at least dump the bodies which were starting to smell in the summer heat. So they took the donkey and cart north out of town towards the small woods on the hill above the river. Issac, Igorok and Varis were in the cart, Tinus and Bobo were somewhat behind and a barrel with Rashi’s legs sticking out of it came along behind.

Once in the woods they took the live prisoners, Corporal Larshall Miner and Private Elsienora Rolate, from the barrel and began to interrogate them.
“What have you done to the moon?”
“That wasn’t us.”
“Maybe not you, but it was your cult!”
“No, no, honestly no”.
“How many of you are there in Red Mills?”
“About twenty.”

They were debating what to do with them when Varis spied a campfire through the trees further up the hill. They stuffed the prisoners back in the barrel and crept forward and saw that in the ruins of the original Arlsfort there was a large campfire with three Blood Moon orcs sitting around it. There was also a smaller fire, probably for cooking further back. Tinus, Bobo and Rashi joined the others and they all crept up to the low walls of the ruined fort. They noticed that the orcs were very still and didn’t seem to be moving at all. Then they realised that they were dummies made of old cloth stuffed with straw.

There was however movement near the smaller fire and Issac stole forward behind the wall to get a closer look. He could just make out one large female orc cooking at the fire and bringing food to smaller figures behind her. Then he heard a child’s voice say in orcish. “Why do the hoomans want to kills us?”
“Because we have come into what they think are their lands” said the she-orc in a gentle voice.
“Will they kills us? I’m frightened of them.”
“No, they’d have to find us first and our warriors will find a new place for us to live.”
“Away from Them?”
“Yes away from Them and the hoomans.”

Issac stepped out from behind the wall and walking forward he dumped his weapons and held up his empty hands.
“We come in peace”, he said.
The orc children started screaming in fear. Their ancient grandparents tried to quiet them as the only adult stepped forward to protect them all from the murdering invaders.
“No, no, we come in peace”, Issac insisted, “see, no weapons!” Then turning towards the others he repeated what he had heard and added “Show yourselves. Slowly.”
The rest of the group emerged from the shadows.
“Are we the bad guys?” whispered Varis.

“I am Issac” said Issac, “my orc name is B’Fai”.
“I am Hazzog” said the she-orc.
“Here have this food” said Issac, handing over a haunch of meat.
Hazzog took it gratefully and put it on a pan to fry.
The children whimpered in the background, but were encouraged by the smell of frying meat.
“Are you Blood Moon tribe?”
“Yes!”, she said defiantly.
“What have ye done to the moon?” he asked as the others came forward slowly.
“We did not do that” said Hazzog, “that was Them.”
“Why are you attacking hoomans?”
“We need to get away from Them and to do that we need to pass through your lands.”
“What’s going on?” asked the group and Issac translated.
“Okay”, said Bobo, “who exactly are Them?”
“Zekel” replied Hazzog.
“The Dead” translated Issac.

Hazzog explained that the Blood Moon tribe was running from a horde of undead coming down from the north. Some warriors had gone on ahead to try and find a way through the human lands or find place they could defend. Others like her were trying to move the young and the older members of the tribe. While others had stayed behind with the leader Shalzal, to try to slow the undead, but they were all gone now.

Everyone was just beginning to relax when one of the children complained of the cold.
“Sshhh” said Hazzog and stared in horror at her breath as it turned to fog in the summer evening. It was suddenly cold.
“They’re coming!” she hissed and from out of the shadows stepped skeletal figures, dressed in tattered clothes and armour, brandishing short swords. There were at least a dozen of them.

The group sprang into action and Hazzog unwrapped a very shiny sword from some old cloth by the fire. During the fight Varis was badly wounded but everyone gave a good account of themselves. The group gathered around the orc children to protect them and they slowly overcame the large number of skeletons. Then just as suddenly as the skeletons had started, they stopped coming.

Relieved the group caught their breath. They looked out over the crumbling wall and by the eerie red light they saw hundreds more skeletons moving in their direction.
“Run!” they said and fled into the trees.
They soon reached the cart and the prisoners. They dumped them on the ground and moved on through the trees.
“We have to get to town and warn the people!” they agreed.
“But we can’t go into a hooman place” said Hazzog “and the Zekel will catch us, we are slow with the children and the old ones.”
“Take the cart!” they said and helped the children and older orcs onto their small wagon.
“Goodbye B’Fai and thank you!” said Hazzog and drove the cart at speed to the west.

The group ran on into the town. With the walls incomplete there was no way that the town could be defended. It had to be evacuated or everyone would die. They ran into the inns and raised the alarm. But no one would believe them at first, eventually a few went out to check and quickly came running back in alarm. The group then helped everyone onto the three boats that were tied up at the wharf and asked them to warn the other towns; Pelville and Red Mills. The people of Arlsfort sailed out into Lake Berleka to safety.

Running back to the livery our heroes took a horse each and rode through the gatehouse past the incomplete gate. They noticed Baron Feldar was there on the battlements with his ten soldiers. They tried and tried to convince him to leave, but he refused saying he would defend his town to the death. In the end as the hoard of undead drew near they gave up and galloped into the red moonlight all the way to Pelville.

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End of Episode 5

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XP

Meeting Baron Feldar and arranging to build the Duck Theatre: 200XP
Getting a room for the night at The Bad Penny: 200XP
Interrogating the prisoners: 300XP
Spotting the campfire and investigating: 300XP
Realizing that the three orcs were guard dummies: 300XP
Befriending Hazzog: 500XP
Protecting the orc children in the fight: 500XP
Destroying 12 Skeletons: 12 x 50 = 600XP
Giving Hazzog the donkey and cart: 500XP
Evacuating the town: 300XP

For a total of 3700XP, divided between 6 is 616XP each.

Rashi 1279 + 616 = 1895XP Level 3
Igorok 1279 + 616 = 1895XP Level 3
Bobo 1279 + 616 = 1895XP Level 3
Tinus 1279 + 616 = 1895XP Level 3
Issac 979 + 616 = 1595XP Level 3
Varis 950 + 616 = 1566XP Level 3

Yartalla 679XP Level 2
Lil 600XP Level 2

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Next Session is Saturday 18th May

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Dramatis Personae
Robin playing Rashi the rogue.
Noah playing Igorok the wizard.
Karl playing Bobo the rogue.
Tess playing Tinus the sorcerer.
Issac playing Issac the barbarian.
Sam playing Yartella the fighter.

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It was getting dark in the late afternoon of the day of the fight at Santon’s Mills. The heroes spent some time exchanging weapons and buying supplies. Then Lady Altea found them and thanked them for saving he cousin’s daughter. She gave them all 10 gold pieces as a reward. She told them that the traveling actors wanted to leave and that even though she felt it was unsafe to travel, she couldn’t delay them any longer. So Lady Altea wondered if the group would be willing to travel with them for a while so that everyone benefited from the extra security of numbers. She had a patrol out and would know more about the orcs later. They agreed to travel with the actors and then she invited them to stay one last night in the main gatehouse .

In the morning everyone decided to go to The Globe before they left town. They found the actors loading their costumes and props into a hard covered painted wagon. They went into The Globe to do some final investigations. The owner Pease Shaker was heart-broken. He was financially ruined. All his money was gone and he had no way to pay his debts. He would have to sell The Globe, but he reluctantly rejected their offer of two gold pieces to buy it. He needs thousands.

The group searched the Box Office again and under the stage. They could see where the thieves had entered but they found no new clues. Then they went to the prop storage room and found many strange stage props. On a shelf that contained mant wooded animals they was a dust mark in a familiar shape. Igorok took the wooden duck out and it fitted exactly on the dust mark. The duck was back in its rightful place. However they felt they couldn’t just leave it there, they had been through so much together, so Igorok put it back under his cloak.

Outside the actors were packing up. Some members of the group wanted to ride in their caravan, but the lead actor, Murter, was anything but friendly and frankly got downright insulting at times. His insults really hurt and so the group decided that they needed their own form of transport and they pooled their resources to buy a cart and a mule to pull it. Rashi found a comfortable barrel to take with them and the others thought barrels would be useful for holding things, so they got a few more.

While they were out shopping a hand reached from the shadows and pulled Bobo into yet another conversation.

“Have you got our money yet?” asked the Kalla.
“Err, why is it always only me?” wailed Bobo.
“True”, said the Kalla and pulled Tinus in with him.
“So have ye got our money yet?”
“Err, not exactly”, they replied, “we’re working on it.”
“Not planning on skipping town are you?”
“Just an escort job to earn your money”
“Hmmmm. You’re up to a thousand now you know.”

And with that the Kalla vanished back into the shadows.

The group then discussed which way they would go. The actors didn’t seem to mind. So they voted to head for Arlsfort, where they knew that Baron Feldar was trying to clear the region and start a town. Townsfolk need entertainment and they could maybe start their own theatre there.

They followed the actors’ wagon to the north gate. Lady Altea met them there. She had grave news. The patrol she sent out yesterday had not returned. They asked who was on the patrol and Captain Dalker produced a manifest. The group looked at it briefly and noted the number of soldiers.

They should have been back early last night. Could the group keep an eye out for them.

With that she wished them luck and thanked them for all their services to Red Mills. The wagon and the cart rolled out onto the road and the shadows of the nearby houses shifted slightly as if they had seen something they were not too happy about.

As they moved north toward Pelville the group tried to engage the actors in conversation, but alas the actors found them an annoyance and bid them stay away. When Igorok persisted, Murter whispered, “I suggest that you stay away from this wagon.” Igorok immediately felt compelled to stay clear of the wagon and found it hard to even look in its direction.

 After a mile or so they heard the approach of galloping horses and around the corner came four soldiers on horseback. They were in chainmail and on their shields was the red waterwheel representing Red Mills. It must be some of the missing patrol.

It was a sergeant, a corporal and two privates.
“Hi”, said Tinus, “where’s the rest of the patrol?”
“Who’s asking?” demanded the sergeant.
“I’m Tinus and these are Bobo, Yartella, Issac and Igorok”, he didn’t mention Rashi who was in her barrel., “What’s your name?”

 

“I’m Sergeant Jar Santon”, said the sergeant and I know who you are alright”.
“Well where are the rest of the patrol? Where is Captain Cutler?”
“None of your business, out of our way!” demanded the sergeant.
“You’re feeling very tired aren’t you? Why don’t you go to sleep?”, whispered Tinus gesturing softly.
One of the privates slumped on his horse which wandered off a little.
“Why you!!” shouted Jar, spurring his horse forward and slicing into Tinus with his sword. The corporal and the still awake private threw spears at the sorcerer both piecing poor Tinus.
Igorok whispered some arcane words and a thick web enveloped the three soldiers and their horses. Yartella threw a javelin but missed, Rashi appeared out of her barrel and thumped an arrow into the sergeant. Issac who was driving the cart moved it away from the entangled soldiers but as he did that Jar swung his sword again and despite the webbing he hit Tinus again. Tinus was bleeding badly and was just barely conscious. Bobo fired his crossbow and squeezed in front of Tinus to protect him.

The soldiers struggled in the web and the private managed to break free. He spurred his horse around the entangled area and attacked the cart. Bobo took the brunt of the attack but was okay. Yartella threw another javelin, this one thumped into the sergeant’s chest. Rashi fired at the private attacking the cart, another hit. Issac swang at the private cutting him. Tinus whispered magical words and glowing arrows sped into the sergeant. He was starting to lose confidence. Bobo attacked the private, he was hurt now. Then Igorok finished sent more glowing arrows into the private and he fell from his horse, dead. Issac jumped from the cart and rushed at the sergeant, cutting him with his axe. Tinus followed but missed his attack.

The sergeant could see he was doomed but decided to take the wounded Tinus with him. He swung his sword, but this time the web hindered him enough so that he just missed. Meanwhile the corporal was frantically trying to break free. Yartella rushed him and tried to wrestle him to the ground. Bobo and Igorok finished off the sergeant and then Issac joined in the wrestling match. In the end the two of them pulled the corporal from his horse, subdued him and tied him up. Then they round up the sleeping private and tied her up too.

They searched the soldiers and found some gold. Looking at each other and then at the gold and then back at each other, the group decided that from now on they would share treasure evenly. So they each got four gold pieces. They also found two potions with cultist symbols on them. After a short debate Issac sipped one and a small graze on his finger that he had barely noticed healed up instantly. He handed the potion to Tinus who gulped it down and immediately felt a bit better.

The actors had moved off a bit, but were watching carefully. The group loaded the dead bodies on their cart and then woke the prisoners. At first they weren’t co-operative but soon Tinus could tell when they were lying and when they were telling the truth. They questioned them at length and even though they mostly lied, Tinus was always able to tell.

The prisoners were Corporal Larshall Miner and Private Elsienora Rolate. The dead soldiers were Private Ront Weaver and Sergeant Jar Santon. They were all members of the Gruumsh cult that the group had interrupted the day before. In fact they were all related to the people they had killed. They were indeed working with the Blood Moon orcs and the rest of Captain Cutler’s patrol had been captured and taken to a nearby abandoned  tower which the orcs had taken over. They were vague about the Kalla being in the cult, but Tinus could tell that they weren’t, nor was Lady Altea.

After the interrogation they gagged the soldiers and put them in the barrels. Then they covered the dead bodies and moved up to the actors.

Issac approached them and demanded entry into the wagon.
“I suggest that you return to Red Mills and report to Lady Altea what has happened here”, whispered Murter.
“I’m going back to Red Mills to tell them what happened here”, said Issac.
“Aren’t you very tired?” asked Tinus, “Shouldn’t you get some sleep first?”
“Yeaahhhh”, whispered the barbarian, “I …. zzzz” and he slumped over.
They lifted him gently into the cart and tied him up until he got over his compunction.

They drove their cart around the actors wagon and carried on toward Pelville. The wagon followed but at a distance.

After half a mile they noticed an old tower west of the road but they didn’t approach it, but rather kept going. When they got to Pelville they skirted the town and carried on along the narrow road which was really little more than a path to Arlsfort. After Pelville they did not see the actors’ wagon any more, it must have stopped there. As the group drove they discussed what they would do when they got there. Apart from avoid the Kalla and not tell about the soldiers they also decided that they would like to build a theatre, in the shape of a duck! And if the duck could float on the lake that would be even better! Yes, they wanted a floating theatre in the shape of a duck.

The grass, the trees, the very gods who made this world sighed deeply.

As the sun was setting they arrived at the new town of Arlsfort, which was more of a concept really than a town. There was very little here. And as they assessed the place the moon rose. A full moon, but not the usual warm yellow, it was now blood red.

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End of Episode 4

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XP

Further investigations in The Globe: 200XP
Unfortunate discussions with the actors: 450XP
Getting out of town despite the Kalla: 200XP
The fight with the soldiers: 3 x 25 + 1 x 50 = 125XP
Uncovering that the soldiers were part of the cult: 500XP
Arriving at Arlsfort “safely”: 500XP

For a total of 1950XP, divided between 6 is 329XP each.

Rashi 950 + 329 = 1279XP Level 3
Igorok 950 + 329 = 1279XP Level 3
Bobo 950 + 329 = 1279XP Level 3
Tinus 950 + 329 = 1279XP Level 3
Issac 650 + 329 = 979XP Level 3 !!!
Yartalla 350 + 329 = 679XP Level 2

Varis 950XP Level 3
Lil 600XP Level 2

So congratulations to Issac, Issac has leveled up to level 3.

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Next Session is Saturday May 11th

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Apologies for the mix up with the room this time, I believe that it is sorted now and that our booking is properly recorded on the library’s system.

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Dramatis Personae
Robin playing Rashi the rogue.
Elliott playing Varis the druid.
Noah playing Igorok the wizard.
Karl playing Bobo the rogue.
Tess playing Tinus the sorcerer.
Issac playing Issac the barbarian.
Ruth playing Lil the fighter.

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Tinus came round and joined Bobo, Rashi and the dripping wet Igorok. Varis lay unconscious but breathing at their feet. They were still deciding what to do when they heard the sound of fast marching boots coming at them from both directions. Soldiers appeared led by Captain Alstine Dalker. She greeted them with a smile. “Looks like you’ve done my job for me again” she said. Bobo and Tinus started to explain but both explanations seemed garbled, so Igorok also added a third version and soon the captain was very confused. But the one thing she understood was that there was a duck involved. She turned to her second in command and said, “Lieutenant Borhill, search for that duck, it err emm seems important. Somehow.” The lieutenant took some soldiers to search the banks of the millrace for a duck, their hearts weren’t really in it though and they found no duck. Meanwhile Igorok shifted his cloak further over a lump of wood he was concealing.

“Well we better report all this”, said Captain Dalker, “Come on, let’s go to the main gatehouse and you can get a meal and a bed”. At that moment Issac arrived smelling of the horse dung he had been shoveling for the last few days. “You too”, said the captain, “but you gotta take a bath”. The barbarian seemed unimpressed with this idea, but he agreed to come along nonetheless.

“Captain!” said Sergeant Skinner, “there’s a blood trail here, leading toward the town”. But the captain was still trying to figure out what had happened and the group of heroes made light of the blood.

So they all went to the northern gatehouse where they were fed and then given beds in a common area. There was a halfling there who had just arrived in town. “Hi”, she said, “I’m Lil” and with that she was in the gang. The next morning Issac had a bath under protest and they all had breakfast trying to decide what to do. They all had different ideas, so they decided to go their separate ways and meet at Chenette’s perfumery for lunch.

Igorok decided he would go to The Dead Man’s Wife. He had a plan. Lil went with him, to keep him out of trouble. When they got there he started conjuring fire but just as he was about to try to set fire to the place a hand reached out from the shadows. “Hello” said the woman from the Kalla. “Up to something are you?” “Err, no” said Igorok. “Got our money then?” “Err, no” said Igorok. “Hmm” said the Kalla contact, “well we have some information you might find useful. It seems that no one except the person with the horse’s head and the duck left the theater last night during the performance. So either they have our money or you have our money or it’s still in The Globe. Now get out of here!”

Issac went fishing and Rashi found a handy barrel to hide in.

Bobo and Tinus headed to the bridge and followed the trail of blood to a mill a little way up the millrace. Santon’s Mill was written over the heavily barred door. Looking in one window they saw a normal looking mill with a grinding stone and sacks of gain and flour but there was an internal door to a room on the other side. The windows on that side had their shutters closed, except for the last one which was out over the river. Unperturbed Bobo climbed out tied to a rope that Tinus held. He peered in the window. Inside he saw a large table with a Blood Moon orc sitting at it. There were six figures in red hooded cloaks drawing symbols in flour on the ground. At the top of the room was a makeshift altar behind which stood a figure in more elaborate robes. Tied up on the altar was a young townswoman. She did not look happy.

Bobo and Tinus left and went to Chenette’s to find the others, interrupting their lunch with the news. Our heroes headed back to the mill and approached the door where they had a long conversation about making a plan without actually coming up with one. In the end Rashi started to climb the outside of the building while Varis turned into a rat and ran in under the ddor. It was barred with a plank on the inside. Then Bobo used his thieves’ tools to open the latch on the window near the door and he swung in, followed with varying degrees of stealth and acrobatics by Varis, Igorok, Issac, Tinus and Lil. There was a lot of noise inside the mill from the splashing of the mill-wheel and the grinding of the mill stones. Nevertheless the group managed to make even more noise and startled a previously unnoticed orc asleep amidst the sacks of flour. He jumped up and started to run for the inner door. They all let loose on him and he fell onto the grindstone. They watch as his body went around in a circle and got mashed up by the gears, only to go round again to get more mashed up.

Rashi came into the building and climbed into the rafters joining Bobo who was already there. Bobo crept down the length of the building and peeked through a ventilation shutter into the inner room. There were more evil symbols inscribed on the floor now and the red cloaked cultists were setting up candles while the one in the impressive robes was sharpening an elaborate dagger. The woman on the altar continued to struggle.

The heroes approached the door. What was the plan again? Then Igorok knocked on the door. Bobo fell out of the rafters in surprise but was caught by Tinus. Varis shook his little rat head in disbelief and turned back into himself and created magic goodberries which he knew would soon be needed. Everyone headed for the door as quickly as they could. All except Rashi who climbed down a rope which obligingly tied knots in itself to make the climb easier. She took a hook from the end of one of the cranes in the mill and then climbed back up the obliging rope which she then ignored.

The door opened. Igorok said something about a food delivery and then the air was suddenly full of arrows, spells and screams. The cultist who answered the door died quickly and Igorok the unarmoured wizard ran boldly into hand to hand combat. The others followed mostly by the door, although Issac was trying to make his own second door. They got into the room just in time to see the wizard fall to the ground under the slashing of many scimitars. Lil ran in and killed one then surged forward toward a second who she totally missed. Varis healed Igorok with a sigh. Bobo fired arrows from the doorway. A flaming sword appeared in the door slashing at Bobo in fury. Tinus slid onto the table holding her hands out towards the cultists. Flames erupted from her hands burning three of them to death.

Igorok stood up and ran around the remaining cultist to get to the head cultist behind the altar. The others polished off the last cultist while Tinus fired three magically glowing arrows into the head guy. He staggered back and held out his hand. Igorok froze where he was. The head cultist turned and opened the shuttered window behind him. He was trying to escape. Varis put the goodberries in Igorok’s mouth and moved his chin up and down. Somehow the wizard swallowed the healing fruits. Issac stepped in and hammered a javelin through the evil cult leader pinning the body to the window.

Suddenly it was silent in the room, the only sound was the orc outside on the grindstone getting flatter and flatter.

Varis headed for a chest he spotted in the corner. Igorok searched the body of the head cultist. Tinus searched the other cultists. Bobo released the woman. Her name was Jattie Grembe, the same surname as Lady Altea. In fact her father is Lady Altea’s cousin. She knew all the cultists, the main one was Osca Santon whose mill this was. The others were townspeople she had know all her life. The women were Eula Englid, Paustacia Fir, Olidna Rolate and Britricia Miner; the men were Vinuel Edgcoville and Cucy Weaver. Jattie didn’t understand what was happening and just wanted to go home.

Igorok found some gold, an ornate dagger and a small key on Osca’s body. He handed the key to Varis who had just discovered that the chest was locked. The key fitted and turned and he lifted the lid. A dart flew out, the fletched feathers tickling his cheek as the missile just missed him and embedded in the ceiling. Varis looked up as a drop of vile poison fell from the dart. Then turning back he found a small velvet bag. He opened it and reached inside. The bag was much bigger on the inside! It was clearly a Bag of Holding. Inside he discovered 375 silver pieces and 110 gold. Also there were two small bottles with liquid in them. Tinus found different small sums of gold on the cultists.

Varis cast a spell which lit all magic items in his sight. The dagger was clearly magical as was the bag and the liquid in the bottles, but when he went out into the main mill area he noticed that the curious rope was also magical. Putting his hand on it he mentally asked it to untie itself and it did, then it coiled up and attached itself to his backpack.

On the table they found a note. It read:

Proo gslhv hrmtvih zmw gsvri uirvmwh, zmw blf droo kovzhv Tiffnhs.
Sziow Lmv-Vbv

Taking the tatooed orc’s arm out once more they deciphered it to be:

Kill those singers and their friends, and you will please Gruumsh.
Harld One-Eye

They knew that Gruumsh was a god that the orcs believed in and they guess that Harld was a leader of the orcs. Obviously the heroes were now getting famous enough to have come to the attentions of the leaders of the Blood Moon Orcs.

The group decided to get rid of the bodies and threw them in the millrace. Then Bobo took Jattie home and asked her to ask Lady Altea for a reward for them. Shortly afterwards everyone was at the Cheham Butcher’s , the blacksmith’s. The cultists’ scimitars were sold for cash, a hand-cross bow was purchased amongst other things. Then Igorok sold the magic dagger. He asked for 30, Cheham offered 25 and they settled on 27 gold pieces. Later Rashi asked how much it was on sale for and the dwarf replied 200.

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End of Session 3

Next Session is Saturday 13th April

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Experience Points

Not mentioning the duck to Captain Dalker at all, not once. 100XP
Getting the group back together nicely, including bath. 100XP
Further negotiations with the Kalla. 200XP
Scouting the Mill. 300XP
Breaking into the Mill. 200XP
Killing a lone orc. 100XP
Tackling the cultists. 6 x 25XP = 150XP
Killing the head cultist. 450XP
Rescuing Jattie from sacrifice. 200XP
Decoding the note. 100XP
Finding the treasure. 100XP
Commercial dealings at the blacksmith. 100XP

For a total of 2100XP, divided by 7 is 300XP each

Rashi 650 + 300 = 950XP Level 3 !!!
Varis 650 + 300 = 950XP Level 3 !!!
Igorok 650 + 300 = 950XP Level 3 !!!
Bobo 650 + 300 = 950XP Level 3 !!!
Tinus 650 + 300 = 950XP Level 3 !!!
Issac 350 + 300 = 650XP Level 2
Lil 300 + 300 = 600XP Level 2
Yartalla 350XP Level 2

So congratulations to Robin, Elliott, Noah, Carl and Tess;
Rashi, Varis, Igorok, Bobo and Tinus have leveled up to level 3.

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I think some of you were interested in how quickly you will level up. I usually go with one adventure at level one, two at level two and so on up to level five. From level five on I try to level people up every five adventures. So the amount of XP you get per adventure is based on this. But it varies depending on how successful you are in an adventure. The idea is that you get used to your character’s abilities before you move up a level. If you can’t make it, you don’t get the XP.

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