Session2

Summary of Situation

Upon reaching Havenford it was obvious that we had stumbled into trouble. Eagle's trading post was a smoldering ruin, elves were being blamed, and tempers were flaring high among the townfolk. Every able bodied man was planning revenge on the elves, and a harried Sergeant Gorden was there with a detachment of men from Woodhaven... Sergeants Gorden had been putting his men on 12 hour shifts to keep the situation under control. So far he had kept the villagers from trying to burn down Rumblewood to get revenge on the elves, but the village was on the verge of disaster. Greeting Sergeant Gordon Sergeant Gorden sighed. "It was a good thing we were sent to clean up that bandit ambush of yours... This place is about to declare war on the elves, and to hell with the consequences." We have 3 eyewitnesses that saw the elves dancing starting the flames at the eagle trading post. But something doesn't sit right for me. Elves hate fire, for them to burn down something shows that they hated the object more than they hate fire. That is a pretty potent statement coming from one of them point-ears. I would pay heavily to know just what is going on. Do you fellows have any idea what the elves might have had against the Eagle Trading Company? He sounds like a regular trader to me, but he must have done something to get this reaction from the elves. But I can't spare the men to investigate." Joseph slipped off the wagon to address the Sergeant. "We don't know what Eagle was doing. We were actually hoping to speak with him regarding some shipping invoices... Did he escape the flames?" Gorden nodded, "He was out making a delivery, but he never returned. Either the elves caught him or he is afraid to return. I'm guessing he is holed up somewhere happy to be alive. The house was deserted went it was burnt down. Even Eagle's man servant, was out when the place was torched. If we had lost anyone in the fire, the townsfolk would have stormed Rumblewood already." Lando had moved up from the wagon, "Are we certain that the arsonists were elves?" Gorden scratched his beard, "Well there were 3 witnesses, and the tracks aren't human if that's what you're suggesting. No I am pretty certain Eagle did something to piss off the Elves." Checking into the inn The group took their leave of the sergeant and went to the inn to speak with Franklin who had interrogated the eyewitnesses. Since he was stationed at the inn the group took the opertunity to stash the wagon. After paying off the stableboy and "warding" the wagon, the group felt safe enough to begin investigating. Franklin turned out to be exhausted, and dispirited just like the other guards. The group bought him a drink, lent him an ear, and got the names and locations of the eyewitnesses. Franklin also mentioned some tough looking men had been seen heading north during the last week, and that Eugene (Eagle's man servant) might know Eagle's current location. Terramill took this opportunity to start playing the bar. He seems to cheering up the townsfolk with his stories and music. The inn is noticeably more subdued when he is playing. The group found Eugene sitting nearby in the bar. Eugene was simple, perhaps retarded. The group treated him kindly and he eventually told them that Eagle was near "the Monolith". Also someone named Andy had accompanied Eagle to the Monolith while Eugene had been left behind. The group left Eugene a few coppers to help him with his recent unemployment. Also while hanging out at the inn, the group learned the townsfolk seemed to be giving the guards 3 days o come up with a solution before taking matters into their own hands... This was heard in several different areas. The Scene of the Crime Lando and Joseph investigated around the town. The eyewitnesses seem pretty confidant aout the figures being elves, and the tracks seem to back them up. The tracks also seem to indicate that the elves were a war party. One set of tracks to and from the scene, no Idea how many elves were present during the attack. Corbett and Hounds The group met Corbett while looking for Andy. (an eyewitness to the fires). Corbett's house was filled with "Rottweilers". Corbett wears a full suit of hard leather to protect himself from the dogs. When asked what he hunts with the dogs, Corbett was evasive but mentioned wolves, bears, and more live in the woods. Asked about the "bigger" creatures, he reveals that one of his bear traps was ripped apart by an animal recently. Corbett recognized the group from talk at the inn, and he mentioned some of his friends know where Eagle is "camped". Corbett says he might speak with his friends in the next few days, but the group pays him 2 silver to hunt down his friends immediately. Back at the Inn Back at the inn not much has happened. Terramill takes a break from his storytelling, and the group discusses what it has learned. Elga had been seen briefly around town, but she aparently decided to go speak with the elves when her attempts to reason with the humans failed. Terramill recognized the reference to the Monolith as a possible description of the "key of Valdeen". Valdeen was an archmage obsessed with eternal life who built a tomb in the center of an island to prevent his spirit from escaping his aging body. (Spirits have trouble crossing water) It is possible that the tower could be in this vicinity. It has been lost for hundreds of years. Very little is known about the tower, Terramill only recognized the description as part of an epic tale popular several hundred years ago. According to the tale, the archmage failed to achieve immortality. Meet Harvey and Wynn At this point the guides arrived. Harvey and Wynn were eager to set out. They were well armed and had two of Corbett's dogs to scare off animals. They suggested heading out immediately so that the group could reach the camp before dark. The group started off on the road, but the guides suggested a shortcut through the woods. The shortcut was not able to be taken by Eagle's wagon, but should cut a few miles off the trip. Only a few minutes off the road the group is attacked by a pack off wolves. The wolves seem to be interested in ripping apart Corbett's dog's. During the battle Karn enlarged Lando to about 10 feet tall and weighing several tons. Also during the battle Ghel noticed something vaguely wolflike watching from a hundred yards away. The creature was far too large to be a wolf, and the party suspects a werewolf of instigating the attack. Corbett's dogs proved able to hold their own against the wolves, and with help from the party the wolves were driven off. The enlarged Lando also proved truly fearsome, and despite the guides apprehension, the group decides to keep Lando enlarged. Bridge over the Fae River The group came to the bridge that prevented the wagon from coming by this route. The bridge was 5 feet above water about 5-6 feet deep. The bridge was old, damp and missing its hand rails. Wynn crossed first with his dog to show that it was safe, but he came back across to help Harvey guard the rear against the "Wolfbeast". Lando (weighing hald a ton) decides to wait while the rest of the group goes across first. When the group is almost to the other side, Corbett bursts out of the woods in front of the party with his dogs snarling. It turns out that one of the "guides" was related to a "bandit". The group had killed and beheaded the guides brother and hot for revenge they had tricked the group into this ambush. They had "mage killer" leaden arrows, which they used to disable Karn and reduce Lando back to normal size. Fortunately Joseph had been keeping his magic abilities hidden among the guides, so he was able to summon flames to hurt Corbett and his hounds. Ghel and Lando also were able to do a considerable amount of damage. Fortunately the group was able to force Corbett and his dogs into retreat, and Wynn and Harvey were then easy to defeat with the group's combined might. Note: (You rolled good perception rolls... If the group had failed, the dogs and guides would have gotten a round of free attacks... The battle might have ended much differently. Even bumpkins can be deadly. These just screwed up... Also if Joseph had been hit by the magekillers instead of Karn.... Very different results....) When interrogated Harvey reveals that Wynn's brother had been a bodyguard/ archer for Northwind. After his brother had disappeared Wynn had found his brother's burnt, beheaded body unburied and savaged by wolves. At that moment Wynn and Harvey had sworn death to those responsible. The group had left before the two could get revenge, but when the group returned they walked right into Harvey and Wynn's plans. At this point the group noticed a camp nearby. It turns out that the guards from the town were camped nearby and the group was actually very close to the road at this point. The guards take Harvey and Winn off the group's hands. At this point someone noticed a tower far off to the east (5-10 miles) Further examination reveals what seemed to be the monolith and a man using the tower as a lookout point. The sent Lando to scout the bandit camp. (Lando was sent due to his stealth and experience.) Karn was able to find some Wolvesbane and some Hogwort for Lando to carry. The wrap of herbs were to keep animals (and Lyathropes) away from Lando the length of the scouting trip. The Camp The "bandit camp" by the monolith turns out to be well run. Guards are everywhere and posts are changed at 15 minute intervals. It is likely that there are 2 dozen armed men in the camp. There was no obvious magic, but the distances were too great to be certain. (A magic user would have to move much closer than Lando had scouted from.) The camp was on an island in the middle of a lake. There was little cover around the lake, so Lando had to stay pretty far back. The island is more than 100 feet from shore. There is a wagon in the camp, and a group of horse in a pen. Lando also spotted Raerick (poleaxe guy) in the camp. Raerick was seen leaving the center tent to take up a position on guard. Objectives The group needs to somehow stop the humans from attacking the elves. This can be done by finding proof of some sort. Eagle has not yet been seen in the camp, but the wagon looks like it could be his. The group is obviously out classed, out armed, out numbered.... Need a plan to get proof about Eagle's involvement and the possible Lothian connection. Someone in the camp should be Andy. And wasn't Andy both Eagle's guide and an eyewitness to the attack? Tune in next month for our next exciting installment! ----------------------- GM SECTION ----------------------- Base Experience 500 Short session but the roleplaying is definitely improving... Awards +200 to Karn for "casting" the wagon spell and "suit fiasco" in previous session. +200 to Lando for a good summary Favorite Moment of the Night: Karn "casting" a warding spell on the wagon. GM Notes: Good playing last night.... Everyone did a good job with the mystery and puzzles. Heck, you almost have things right.... But there are still a number of surprizes for you. Lando's summary was good, (it was more to the point than mine) Unfortunately the current summary needed a lot of details he wasn't privy to... I will probably send his out just for fun. It was pretty decent. I did edit is slightly. __ /__) Adventure one: "Book Deal" || /8xxxxx8===============================\ \8xxxxx8===============================/ ||__ \__)