Company of the Random Encounter ('complete' 14 Nov 2004)

Preamble

I originally developed Company of the Random Encounter as an alternative game to run on the weekends when my "main" campaign had to be cancelled. This is no longer the case, but because of this origin, things work a little differently than in a "standard" game.

Essentially, the way this campaign works is that, whenever I want to schedule a session of "CotRE", I send an e-mail out to a pool of players (the members of which has changed as the campaign progressed), and as long as 4 people are available, we will play (a maximum of 6 players are accepted for each game).

The campaign's guiding principle is to have fun - hopefully that comes through in the story hour!

A collection of the story hour, containing everything up to the 8th of June, 2004, is now available for download:

Company of the Random Encounter - Volume 1

If you've read the PDF and want to skip straight to the stuff that was written after this date, you can click here.

As of 14 November 2004, this story hour is 'complete' ... circumstances brought the campaign to and end, and I've written up everything I have notes for.

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 1

The small town of Amberdale is usually a quiet and peaceful kind of place. But even the sleepiest village livens up every now and then, and in Amberdale's case the usual awakening is the Harvest Festival, a time of celebration at the end of every farming year. People flock from all over the district to attend the festivities, filling the tavern and the inn with noise and colour and celebration.

Of course, it's a natural law that any time when gold and people congregate in large amounts, there will be a certain number of undesirable elements attracted. Whether they be cunning charlatans or simple bandits, such folk can be guaranteed to be active during the festival. After all, this is the time of year when the pickings are at their richest and the town guard are at their busiest.

All of which makes Amberdale at Festival time the perfect chance to begin an adventuring career ...

And thus five prospective adventurers gather at the Birdwhistle Tavern, as so many adventurers have gathered before them.

* Padre Wolfgang Priem, Priest of St Cuthbert, a grim and pragmatic sort, with a 'take charge' attitude. The Padre travels in search of the men who murdered his parents.

* Ulfgar Torunn, a doughty Dwarf, bearing the mighty war axe of his people in one battle-scarred hand, Ulfgar has all the courage you would expect of one of his race.

* the elf who calls himself Stormstrider, an accomplished hunter from the wild lands, but erratic and prone to sudden swings from bravado to fearfulness.

* the charming but ever so slightly unsettling Mantreus, who is possessed of nimble fingers and an 'acquisitive' nature that takes full advantage of that blessing.

* the quiet but skilful swordswoman, Gabrielle, a steady and sturdy addition to any party of adventurers.

Having arrived at the tavern quite late in the day, the five are obliged to share the last free table together, and soon discover a common thirst for adventure - and, more to the point, treasure!

It seems the Gods must indeed be smiling on them, for no sooner have they agreed to band together, but a local farmer enters the tavern, and begins to move from table to table, questioning those who were seated there.

In time, he comes to the table of the five neophyte adventurers, and explains his errand: "I'm Bill Parmer. I be needin' guards for m' wagon tomorrow. Gotta make three, maybe four trips inta town, and the east road's getting' pretty dangerous of late. Some dangly little monsters are attackin' anyone that tries to come that way."

This story, perhaps inevitably, is met with a chorus of voices asking one simple question:

"What's in it for us?"

The farmer has obviously dealt with adventurers before, because he doesn't blink an eye.

"10 gold for each o' ya, plus another five gold for each of the nasty little runts ya have to kill."

There are eager nods from all at the table, followed by an agreement to reach the man's farm as early as possible the next morning.

As they had promised, the group sets out at dawn the next morning, despite the steady rain that beats down, turning the dirt road to slippery mud. The wet conditions stretch the two mile journey over a full two hours, as the new adventurers experience the glamour of wading through puddles and falling face first in the mud.

Eventually, somewhat bedraggled, they reach the home of Farmer Parmer, where they find their employer lashing the last of a load into his wagon.

"Mornin' folks." He greets them cheerfully, "I'm about ready wi' the first load. Throw your packs in the wagon an' we'll be off."

The first two trips to town progress without incident, though after four hours of Farmer Bill's slow, monotonous tales of country life, most of the would-be heroes are beginning to pray for an attack, if only because it might shut the man up.

After having lunch at the tavern, the group returns to Parmer's farmhouse for one last load of goods, consoling themselves with the thought that at least they'll pick up ten gold apiece. However, they are only halfway back to town when the horses spook at something ahead and come to a stop. Everything is quiet: blessedly, even Farmer Bill has fallen silent.

Weapons rasp from their scabbards as the group prepares for trouble.

"Ambush?" someone asks, in a hopeful tone, their mind no doubt on the extra gold that they could earn.

As if in answer, five small, reptilian humanoids with dog-like heads emerged from the woods on either side of the road, gesturing aggressively with their spears. The leader of these kobold bandits steps forward and speaks in broken Common:

"Give food. Not kill."

The party, as might be expected, responds with bravado, and battle is joined. Farmer Bill immediately leaps down into the mud and cowers under his wagon as the shouts of battle and the clash of steel rise into the air.

Raising his heavy crossbow, the Padre looses a bolt at one of the kobolds, but his shot flies wide. Moments later, Ulfgar and Gabrielle charge; strangely enough, in opposite directions to one another; each striking down one of the kobolds with their first blow.

Mantreus risks a shot into Ulfgar's melee, but his bolt travels wide as the Dwarf gives a yelp of surprise and alarm. Meanwhile, Stormstrider also joins the battle, his scimitar and sickle cutting down a third of the luckless kobolds, who are yet to even react.

At last the reptilian dogmen spring their all-but-broken trap, with two crossbow bolts whistling out of the trees, fired by hidden ambushers. One flies wide, but the second strikes deep into the Padre's side, knocking him to his knees. Moments later, both the remaining spear-wielding kobolds stab at their opponents, but each fails to hit.

With a curse, the sturdy churchman wrenches free the bolt and staggers under the cover of the wagon, his eyes searching the woods for a sign of the sniper. He quickly spots the creature, but his injury has slowed him enough that he does not have time to begin loading his heavy crossbow.

Ulfgar cuts down another kobold, but neither Gabrielle nor Stormstrider is so lucky, whilst Mantreus fruitlessly scans the woods for targets, unable to spot them despite the Padre's attempts to point them out.

Down to less than half their initial number, the kobolds break and run, disappearing amidst the trees. The young heroes have won their first battle, and earned their first treasure.

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 2

The Padre invokes his deity to heal the wound he has suffered as Farmer Bill crawls out from under the wagon.

"You folks were just marv'lous!" he exclaims expansively, "You really showed them dangly little critters! That was so good to see that I'm gonna pay you for the ones you killed right now!"

So saying, he produces a pouch from within his shirt and slowly counts out twenty gold pieces. From the look of them - the mint's stamp rubbed almost smooth - they have been in circulation for a very long time.

"I tell you what," the farmer adds with a decisive nod, "If you're willin' to find out where the rest of them little buggers went and finish 'em off, I'll even pay you for them as well - five gold for each pair o' ears ya bring me."

Seeing that the group is ready to charge off into the trees immediately, he quickly raises a hand to stay them,

"After ya get me safe 'n' sound to town, o' course."

Flushed with their success, the group have no hesitation in agreeing. First, however, they loot the bodies of their fallen enemies, then toss the remains into the bushes alongside the road.

The remaining trip to town passes without incident and the group soon returns to the scene of their great (and thus far, only) battle, intending to follow the tracks left by the fleeing kobolds deep into the forest.

Stormstrider has no difficulty in following the creatures' tracks in the soft earth, and leads the group to a huge, ancient tree that stands almost a mile from the road. Although not a great deal taller than the trees that surround its clearing, this ancient oak has a massively thick trunk, nearly 50' in diameter. As they approach, the adventurers can see a 10' wide opening near the base of the tree. The interior is dark, but even at this distance, they can hear the squabbling, sibilant voices of the kobolds within.

Mantreus attempts to sneak up to the tree to spy on the kobolds, but just as he approaches, the noise of the argument suddenly ceases. Mantreus freezes beside the opening, wondering if he has been detected.

A moment later, this question becomes irrelevant, as Stormstrider impulsively calls on the kobolds to surrender. Instantly, all hell breaks loose.

As Mantreus turns and dashes around the tree to get out of sight (just a moment too late, as it turns out), a kobold - more foolish or brave than the average - leaps out of the opening and fires a wild crossbow shot over the fleeing rogue's shoulder. More crossbow bolts fly out of the opening toward the others, whose hiding places in the trees prove less than well-chosen. Ulfgar in particular is badly exposed and attracts no less than five of the remaining bolts. Fortunately for the stocky Dwarf, he has his shield raised, and the attacks glances harmlessly off this metal barrier.

Both the Padre and Gabrielle are similarly lucky, but Stormstrider is all but felled by a bolt that tears through the fleshy part of his throat, inflicting critical damage.

As the Padre moves to tend to the injured Stormstrider with a cure minor wounds, Mantreus shoots back at the visible kobold. His shot is just as wide as the creature's. However, Ulfgar's axe is far more deadly, as the reckless Dwarven fighter charges out of hiding to strike the creature down ... and incidentally leave himself exposed to every kobold sniper in the tree.

Gabrielle fires an arrow into the opening, in the hopes of keeping the kobold's heads down, but it is nowhere near enough to prevent the volley of fire that now sweeps over the exposed Ulfgar. Three of the eight bolts strike home, staggering the fierce Dwarf backward, but miraculously failing to find any vital point.

Perhaps if the injured Ulfgar had charged into the tree itself, his sheer ferocity would have overwhelmed the kobolds, already disheartened by their failure to kill him where he stood, but instead he chooses the path of discretion, and runs to the side, joining Mantreus about twenty feet to the right of the opening.

His bleeding wound stanched, Stormstrider runs to the left of the tree, followed by Gabrielle. Cursing folk who run away before he can properly tend them, the Padre rushes to the aid of Ulfgar, sacrificing another spell for a cure light wounds.

Deprived of targets, the kobolds seem to be staying put, and none of the group is eager to brave another volley like the one that almost felled Ulfgar. As the seconds tick by, it seems that they are in a deadlocked position.

"First squad! Break left!" the Padre roars, attempting to bluff the kobolds into surrender, "Second squad, move into positions!"

There is no apparent response from within the tree, so Mantreus and Stormstrider begin to search for some sign of a second way into to the tree, hoping that the kobolds have all their attention focussed on the main entrance. Unfortunately, they are searching the trunk of the tree, when in fact the kobolds' "back door" is a tunnel leading to a concealed opening inside the tree line.

Spooked by the Padre's Bluff attempt, the kobolds have meanwhile fled down the tunnel and are now beginning to emerge into the forest, while the Padre continues to issue orders to his imaginary cohorts. Finding there to be no sign of any troops, the malicious little dogmen filter back toward the clearing and prepare to unleash an ambush.

The surprise attack doesn't quite come off as well as it could - some of the ill-disciplined kobolds open fire before their comrades are in position. However, the attack still catches the party while they are badly spread out. The group's immediate reaction compounds the problem, as Mantreus and Ulfgar both race to support Stormstrider and Gabrielle, who are the party members under fire.

The Ranger and the human Fighter both fire back at the kobolds, as does the Padre, but none have any success. Unfortunately, the Cleric has been left alone and dangerously exposed by the recent movement of Ulfgar and Mantreus: a position that is about to be shown up as very vulnerable.

A pair of crossbow bolts slam into the tree near the Padre's head as two more kobolds open fire. He feverishly cranks his crossbow to reload.

Meanwhile, Mantreus races toward the trees about 50' from where the other kobold snipers are firing, and practically runs into another trio that is moving up to flank the party. All four fire reflexively with their crossbows, but only Mantreus connects, dropping one of the three kobolds.

Ulfgar races to the Rogue's assistance as Gabrielle and Stormstrider fire ineffectually into the trees, with Gabrielle suffering a light wound in return.

The crossbow fire against the Padre is much more effective, however: both of the next two bolts slam into him, and the pain and shock instantly sends him into unconsciousness.

The two kobolds left facing Mantreus change weapons and stab at him with their spears, one of them inflicting a light wound. However, seconds later Ulfgar charges into melee, killing another of the small humanoids. Using the distraction as a chance to get out of the melee, Mantreus moves toward the fallen Padre.

Seeing Gabrielle and Stormstrider still trading fire in a losing battle with the kobolds (who inflict another light wound on Gabrielle), Ulfgar exhorts them to charge into melee, slaying another kobold as proof of the success of this tactic.

Mantreus attempts to bandage the Padre while being fired upon by the two kobolds who felled the Cleric, but fails. Luckily, he escapes harm in the process.

Ulfgar, Stormstrider and Gabrielle all charge the group of kobolds who have been peppering them with crossbow fire, forcing the dogmen into melee combat. Unfortunately, none of them manage to connect. However, the kobolds are just as unsuccessful with their own attacks.

Mantreus again attempts to heal the Padre, and again fails. This time, however, he does not manage to evade the crossbow bolts that come flying his way, and his injuries collapse him into semi-consciousness. Believing both of their targets to be slain, the two kobold snipers rush to their comrades' aid against the three remaining adventurers.

There follows a period of almost farcical ineptitude on both sides, with only one wound (an insigificant scratch by a kobold on Stormstrider) actually being scored in the next three exchanges of blows.

And then finally, the adventurers superior strength and skill takes effect, and the remaining kobolds are slaughtered in the space of a few seconds, landing only one more weak blow in the process (this time on Gabrielle).

Stormstrider quickly rushes to use his healer's kit on the Padre, and the Cleric's bleeding is finally stopped.

All of the party are sorely wounded, with one of their number unconscious and another able to move only with assistance. Still, this does not prevent them from looting the bodies of the dead kobolds before they head back to town to get healing for their wounded Cleric. One must have priorities, after all.

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 3

Having reached the safety of the town, the group goes to the local Chapel of Pelor - known as the Sanctuary - and shells out the gold for a cure light wounds to get the Padre on his feet again.

Next, they review the loot they recovered from the kobolds. It is mostly just coins, but there is also a copper pendant with strange markings. The Padre tests it for enchantments, but it does not appear to be magical. For now, the group resolves to keep the item rather than sell it, as it appears to more mysterious than it is valuable.

Having split up the treasure they acquired, the group heads back to the Birchwhistle Tavern, where most of the group takes the opportunity to view a two-man play put on by two of the staff. Only the Padre declines, dragging himself to bed and rest.

After the play, those members of the group who are still awake fine themselves approached by the proprietor of the tavern, Brent Birchwhistle.

"I heard from Bill Parmer that you saved his life from some kobolds, today. He said you fought very bravely. We can always use people with courage and weapons skill around town, particularly with winter on the way. That's when the goblinkin are at their most active. All of which leads me to why I've asked you to this meeting. I'd like to offer you membership in an organisation known as the Brewer's Guild, with whom I am associated."

"I like a good ale." Ulfgar admits companionably, "But I don't see why we'd want to join such a group?"

Brent nods in understanding,

"The Brewers' Guild is more than just a collection of ale and mead makers." He explains, "It's also a network for information. As an innkeep myself, I can tell you that we hear a great deal about the goings on in the countryside. If you want to be well-informed, there is no better way to do it than join the Brewers' Guild."

"What does it cost?" Mantreus gets to the heart of the matter.

"On that front I can set your mind at rest, my friend." Brent smiles, "the fee for associate membership, which is all each of you would need, is a mere copper piece a month."

The group confers briefly, but has little hesitation in accepting the offer. They are not sure how useful this 'network' will be, but they are all willing to risk a copper a month to find out.

"Excellent." Brent pauses, "Have you perhaps heard of the Adventurers' Guild? As associates of the Brewers' Guild, you are entitled to join this organisation. Membership in it is the surest way to attract the highest paying jobs - jobs of the kind you did for Bill Parmer today." He pauses again. "Unfortunately, membership of this guild is rather more expensive - you must be able to prove your ability to survive the kind of work it entails, you see."

Someone snorts, "Figures there would be a catch. What does it cost?"

"One hundred gold, each." Brent raises his hands to forestall any angry comments, "I realise that you would not have such funds as yet, so I will make you an offer: we will help you find you the jobs to earn your membership fees, to prove the efficacy of the organisation."

Slowly - and markedly less cavalierly, given the money involved - the group agrees to accept Brent's second offer.

The next morning, after the Padre has invoked his deity to heal them all as best he can, they fill him in on the previous night's conversation. It does not take long before he too becomes a member of the Brewer's Guild. At this point, the group makes plans to rest and recuperate for the day, due to their injured condition. However, this soon proves unnecessary as the priests from the Sanctuary arrive.

It seems that the group has achieved a measure of celebrity for their actions against the kobolds, and the sanctuary priests not only offer free healing to the "wounded heroes" but even refund the 25 gold they had charged for healing the night before.

Newly fortified, the group sets out for the Guard barracks.

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 4

As the party walks across town to the Guard barracks, they see an elderly gnome putting up a sign. On inspection, this turns out to be a reward notice for the recovery of her missing cat. Astonished to read that the woman will pay 50 gold to get the animal back in healthy condition, they call out to her.

"Oh, my poor Scratches!" she wails, in response to their enquiry, "I miss him so much! He's such a clever cat, but now he's been missing for days, and I'm really worried about him!"

The group readily agree to keep their eyes open, though it is clear that their motivation stems more from the shiny gold on offer than any concern over the creature's welfare.

Moving on to the barracks, the group quickly secures a meeting with Captain Jarrek of the Town Guard; a large, bluff man with a direct, no-nonsense manner.

"So yer the folks Bill Parmer's makin' all that fuss about, eh?" his tone is warmer than the doubting words would suggest, "Well, yer look like yer might be able to handle yerselves, at tha'. I tell yer what, there's a ranger tower near here ... 'bout a half-day's walk. Apparently it's been overrun with rats and the local ranger don't have time to deal wi' it. He asked me to send some boys over to clear it out, but I can't spare anyone till after the Festival. So if yer interested, the pay is fifty gold."

"Each?"

"Are yer daft? It's fifty in total. It's only rats yer fightin'."

Although the pay is not as rich as they would have like, the party heads out to the tower in the forest, keeping an eye out for any valuable cats on the way. They are keenly aware that finding the missing feline will double their reward for the day's work.

It's a warm and pleasant day, and as they walk through the trees, the group's mood is light and jocular.

"So if someone stole Scratches, would they be cat-napping?" Mantreus quips.

"The furball's probably at the tower." Ulfgar mock-growls back, "Stealing our gold by killing the rats for himself."

"Or maybe it was the rats that took him." Even the normally stern Padre seems to have relaxed, "They're striking a blow for rodent freedom."

The group's jocularity fades, however, then the Padre realises that he has already used his full allotment of spells for the day, and that they are about to go into battle without healing of any kind.

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 5

Approaching the tower, the party soon sees evidence of the rodent infestation: three huge rats are tearing at the plant growth near the front door of the tower, apparently unaware; or in any event unconcerned; about the group of adventurers crouched in the underbrush nearby.

Whatever the reason for the rats' disinterest in the party, it serves the group well, as they unleash a volley of missile fire that immediately slays two of the beasts. Mantreus' bolt is particularly well-aimed, pinning the unfortunate rodent to the stone wall of the tower.

It is left to Ulfgar, who has no truck with cowardly missile weapons, to gleefully charge and slay the third and final rat with a mighty sweep of his war axe.

With the first challenge easily surmounted, the group moves inside and checks out the lowest floor of the tower. It proves to be an empty space with a bare earth floor, and a winding flight of stairs that rises 40' around the inside wall of the tower, reaching further storeys above.

After an abortive search for the non-existent basement, the group heads in single file up the stairs, cautiously approaching the all but destroyed door to the second floor (the door had been chewed through by the rats). As they draw close, they are able to observe a number of rats moving around in the room beyond the door. The rats again seem more or less oblivious to the party's presence, though they are not bunched together in such an inviting target group, this time.

The group withdraws slightly and confers. A clever plan is constructed: Ulfgar will take the lead while Mantreus stands just behind him to shoot one of the rats: when the other rats charge out and attack, they will have to rush down the stairs to do so. At this point the rest of the party, who will wait further down the curve of the stairs, will have a clear line of fire.

The plan starts perfectly: Mantreus' shot is superb, skewering a rat straight through the body.

Unfortunately, the rats do not react by charging, but by running for cover. So the party finds themselves advancing cautiously into the room, with vermin extermination foremost in their minds. However, the rats are nowhere in sight. Instead, the group sees only a few beds, a rack of weapons, and further stairs leading up.

Reasoning that the rats are most likely hiding under the beds, Stormstrider, Gabrielle and Ulfgar move over to the closest and prepare to flip it over.

Which, of course, is exactly when the rats swarm out and attack.

However, swarm or not, they are only rats, and the armed and armoured adventurers make short and bloody work of the verminous little beasts. It is only because they are so numerous that any of the creatures survive to reach melee at all, as the party lays about itself with vigour, crushing and slicing the rats with a variety of weapons.

Within twenty seconds, the fight is over, and the group is free to explore the chamber. The beds do not reveal anything interesting, but the gleam of silvered weapons catches the covetous eyes of the party. Sure enough, both a silvered dagger and a silvered shortsword are propped against the weapons rack, and the group makes short work of justifying their "borrowing" of these items, particularly when the Padre remembers from his study of the arcane that he has read of creatures called lycanthropes, which are vulnerable only to silver and magic. Though none of the group thinks it likely that such a creature would leave these weapons in its lair, they take them "just in case".

Thus, Stormstrider claims the dagger, and Gabrielle the shortsword. Ulfgar seems content to stay with his war axe, evidently feeling that the silvered weapons were not appropriate arms for a Dwarf.

The Padre's knowledge proves very beneficial, as the creature that lurked at the top of the tower is indeed a repulsive and diseased lycanthrope: a wererat. The creature wasted no time in leaping out against the party, striking Ulfgar with a solid blow of his rapier, and following up with a vicious bite.

Caught in single file on the stairs, it suddenly occurs to the group that it was a tactical error not to put someone with a silvered weapon at the front of the party. There follows a short period of internal dissension, as Stormstrider (at the rear) first wants to push to the front (a dangerous proposition on such narrow stairs), and then seems reluctant to move back and let the others retreat to the room below, where they can more readily fight the wererat.

However, the confusion is sorted out in short order, and the party retreats hastily down the stairs, Ulfgar narrowly avoiding another strike from the wererat's rapier.

With the rage of combat fully upon him, and trusting in his resistance to normal weapons, the wererat leaps to the pursuit, striking Gabrielle a severe blow with his rapier. Both the injured fighter and Stormstrider strike back ineffectually, and the creature attacks again, this time biting Ulfgar, who refuses to retreat from melee, despite his lack of a silvered weapon.

And then suddenly Gabrielle strikes a mighty blow, and the creature falls instantly to the ground, its heart pierced with silver.

With the wererat slain, the party explores the rest of the tower, finding more treasure: a masterwork suit of chainmail, and a masterwork heavy mace. Ulfgar and the Padre claim these two items, respectively. There is some discussion on how the tower's owners will react to this, but they decide not to worry about that just now.

Finally, on the roof of the tower, the group discovers a strange and repulsive statuette, surrounded by small gems. In the best adventuring tradition, they steal the gems and head for the exit.

As they reach the door of the tower, however, they hear voices from the forest ...

I like this Story Hour. It sounds fun. Waiting for the next update...

Glad to hear you are enjoying it, Hammerhead. The sessions so far have indeed been a lot of fun for us ... hopefully that's coming through in the Story Hour!

As a house-keeping note, the next post marks the start of a new session, though events follow on directly from those which have gone before. I generally won't flag this in future, though you should be able to tell by the fact that the line-up of characters will change when a new session starts.

And without further ado, I'll move on to posting part 6 ...

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 6

Elspeth of the Crescent Range strides along the path leading to the Amberdale Ranger's Tower. A sturdy and taciturn Ranger of Elven blood, she has heard tales that the tower was overrun with vermin. Though she can barely give credence to the idea that the local ranger would let this occur, she has resolved to look into it herself.

Nearing the tower, she spots a group of three people standing on the path ahead of her. All are dressed simply, in sandals and loose-fitting cotton clothes, despite the late season. From the size of their packs, the rest of their belongings seemed as limited.

"Good day." The eldest of the three inclines his head to her as she approaches. "You look like one who has travelled far. Is the end of your journey close?"

"Good day to you." She replies, instinctively stopping a short distance away from the three. "As it happens, my journey is nearly done - I am on my way to that tower." She points at the building, which can be seen through the trees.

As she does so, a group of five people exit the tower. All are armed and armoured, and two seem badly wounded. Having noticed the Elspeth and the trio she has just met, they are approaching slowly, hands on weapons.

"Good day." The old man calls again, seemingly amused by the suspicious behaviour of those he is meeting, "I am Ai Quan, and these are my students Ai Ling and Ming Li." He gestures at the two younger people accompanying him.

"What were you doing in the tower?" Elspeth interjects.

"I am Padre Priem." The tallest of the newcomers responds. "And we are an adventuring group - the Company of the Random Encounter. We were hired to clear out this tower of rats. We did so, but we also discovered a terrible abomination - a creature half man and half rat. I believe it was ... a lycanthrope." (DM's note: Yes, the player really said that. The ham. )

"It seems the creature wounded some of your friends quite severely." Ai Quan indicates the two injured members of the company. "Such wounds can be very dangerous - they may spread the disease of lycanthropy."

"I had heard as much." The Padre nods, "But we have no means to heal them. Do you have anything that could help?"

The old man shakes his head,

"I regret we do not, but I heard in the village we just left that a great Priest of Pelor will attend the Harvest Festival there in a few days. Perhaps he could assist you."

"We will see what he can do." The Padre pauses, "May I ask your business in these parts?"

"We are monks from the eastern lands. My student Ai Ling is ready to undergo his testing." Ai Quan indicates his male student, "I am taking him to the Cave of Challenge, which lies near here."

"I am a Ranger -" Elspeth begins.

"You are?" the Padre thrusts out his hand, palm upward, "Well, we cleared the tower out like you wanted. The agreed price was fifty gold."

"I did not hire you." Elspeth replies icily, "Though I would like to learn more of the one who did. He should never have allowed the tower to be overrun this way. Were you hired in this town Ai Quan speaks of? If so, I would accompany you there."

The company of adventurers have no objection to her joining them, and so, bidding a farewell to the three monks, the six of them set off toward the village of Amberdale.

Amberdale 0 : "An Introduction to Amberdale" by PDabble Games - Part 7

The adventurers' first stop is the Sanctuary, a Chapel of Pelor where they enquire about healing for their companions. The village priests explain that they lack the power to cleanse the disease, but that their superior from the great city of Tarkamul would soon be arriving for the Festival, and would be able to do so - though the price would not be cheap.

Though not sure how they would pay the fee, the Company agree to the terms and leave their injured friends; Ulfgar and Gabrielle; in the care of the Priests. From there, they head across to the Guard Barracks, in order to advise Captain Jarrek of their success.

"A wererat!" Jarrek exclaims on hearing their story, "That weasel of a ranger! He never mentioned anything like that. My boys would have been slaughtered if they'd gone up there." He slams his fist on the table, "Wait till I catch up with him. Damn halflings are always giving me trouble." He points at one of the cells in the barracks, where a young female halfling is sitting. "I caught this one loitering on the edge of town this morning, clearly up to no good."

"Loitering?" Mantreus asks "Was she actually doing anything illegal?"

"What are yer talking about?" Jarrek snorts, "She's a halfling. In leather armour, and carryin' thieves tools, t'boot. Festival time is busy enough for me without having one of these little pickpockets runnin' around robbin' everybody blind."

"But she hadn't actually done anything?"

"Look, if yer so worried about her, and yer promise to keep her on a short leash, yer welcome to take her outta here." Jarrek points to some thieves tools lying on his desk, "But it'll be yer arses on the line if she starts using those around here."

The Company are apparently sensitive about their posteriors, because they subject the young halfling to a barrage of question in order to see if they should risk taking her under their care. This reduces the poor young lady to tongue-tied confusion for some time, but eventually it becomes clear that she "might" be able to help them with any locks or traps they come across.

"Listen," Jarrek suddenly scrawls something on a sheet of parchment and hands it to the Padre, "My boys woulda been wiped out if they'd tangled with a damned wererat. Here's a little something to make it up to you. Take this to the Sanctuary and they'll see you right." He growls under his breath, "But wait 'til I catch up with that damn ranger."

The Padre's eyes widen as he looks at the note he has been given. It reads, in Jarrek's hurried scrawl;

Some of these folks have done the town a service. Give them five of the healing potions.
- Jarrek, Captain of the Guard

The group barely remembers to thank the captain before they scurry across to the Sanctuary, all but shoving the note into the face of the first priest they say. The five potions of cure light wounds are duly produced, and tucked away by those who took part in the fight with the wererat: this included Ulfgar and Gabrielle, who are still confined within the sanctuary by their wounds.

Then, with night fast approaching - and with their new charge in tow - the group retires to the inn for a meal and a good night's sleep.

Maybe in the morning they'll think to ask the halfling's name.