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Jodo Kast Does The Adventure Path
- Thread starter Jodo Kast
- Start date
THE SUNLESS CITADEL
Part 6: The Old Road
The next morning Renaelus arrived at the Ol' Boar Inn wearing manacles. He was escorted by the fat deputy Ben, as well as a short wiry deputy named Lu. Each of them gripped one of his arms as they guided him through the entryway to the inn. Ren saw that Kerowyn Hucrele was there, dark circles under her eyes and her lips pursed tightly together. She was standing near another woman, this one a real looker, young and unflinching. That would be Brynja, he reckoned.
Brynja's eyebrows raised into thin crescents at the sight of the shackled prisoner being thrust into the room. Renaelus shrugged the oafish guards free and stepped several paces into the room before bowing, hands still manacled behind him. "Renaelus at your service, ladies."
Brynja watched skeptically as Ben unlocked the constraints that bound the roguish young man. Ren massaged his wrists for a while and rolled his shoulders, feeling the blood flow return to his hands. "I ...," began Brynja hesitantly. She sighed. The fat guardsman handed the thief a rapier in a worn leather scabbard, and though he surely was no warrior his blade might help deliver her friends.
"I am Brynja." Brynja extended her hand and Renaelus took it. She applied some force and he gripped back, more firmly than she had anticipated. Perhaps he would prove useful after all. "We are expecting one more, a priest I believe...."
The words died on Brynja's lips as she saw the mysterious man emerge from the stairwell leading to the inn's guest quarters. This could not be ... certainly not ... but looking at Kerowyn Hucrele she saw that it was. The merchant was actually sending her off with a thief and what appeared to be some type of necromancer or death cultist. Just perfect. She whispered a quiet prayer for Talgen and Sharwyn.
"Not scary guy, right?" asked Renaelus softly, his eyes wide. Brynja just nodded as the man slowly approached. Renaelus shook his head, shrugged and summoned up a smile. He swaggered forth, and gave the stranger an audacious wave. "Scary guy! Welcome aboard," he called.
The newcomer cocked his head at a funny angle, assessing Renaelus with eyes that gleamed brightly from the depths of dark ashen circles. In a haunting voice that raised the hair on the back of Ren's neck, the man said, "I am Tothla, humble servant of Sheol. You may not know my master yet, but you shall someday." With that introduction he stepped forward and offered his hand, which Renaelus pumped quickly, released, and backed away from.
Brynja stepped into the space where Renaelus had stood and shook Tothla's hand resolutely. "I'm Brynja. This is Renaelus." Brynja reached into her pack and withdrew two stoppered flasks, tossing one to each of her new companions. "Healing elixir, courtesy of our employer, Madame Hucrele. She has also agreed to purchase whatever mundane supplies we shall require from the general store. We must make haste, however. There is precious little time to spare."
The three obtained several useful items from the general store, and soon set off on the overgrown Old Road. The road wound through rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak, and past several abandoned farm shacks. On one low hill Tothla thought he saw a pile of scattered marker stones near the fallen remnants of a hovel, but when he looked again the sunlight shone brightly in his eyes and he could not tell if it had been his imagination.
After half a day of walking, most of it spent in silence, the three arrived at a ravine that ran for several miles in either direction. The Old Road passed to the east of the narrow ravine. At the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jutted from the earth and the ravine widened, opening into something more akin to a deep, narrow canyon. Two of the pillars stood straight, but most of them leaned against the sloped earth. Others were broken, and many bore crude writings in an alphabet the companions could not discern.
"Don't need to know what they say," muttered Renaelus, "to understand what they mean. 'Keep out.'"
Part 6: The Old Road
The next morning Renaelus arrived at the Ol' Boar Inn wearing manacles. He was escorted by the fat deputy Ben, as well as a short wiry deputy named Lu. Each of them gripped one of his arms as they guided him through the entryway to the inn. Ren saw that Kerowyn Hucrele was there, dark circles under her eyes and her lips pursed tightly together. She was standing near another woman, this one a real looker, young and unflinching. That would be Brynja, he reckoned.
Brynja's eyebrows raised into thin crescents at the sight of the shackled prisoner being thrust into the room. Renaelus shrugged the oafish guards free and stepped several paces into the room before bowing, hands still manacled behind him. "Renaelus at your service, ladies."
Brynja watched skeptically as Ben unlocked the constraints that bound the roguish young man. Ren massaged his wrists for a while and rolled his shoulders, feeling the blood flow return to his hands. "I ...," began Brynja hesitantly. She sighed. The fat guardsman handed the thief a rapier in a worn leather scabbard, and though he surely was no warrior his blade might help deliver her friends.
"I am Brynja." Brynja extended her hand and Renaelus took it. She applied some force and he gripped back, more firmly than she had anticipated. Perhaps he would prove useful after all. "We are expecting one more, a priest I believe...."
The words died on Brynja's lips as she saw the mysterious man emerge from the stairwell leading to the inn's guest quarters. This could not be ... certainly not ... but looking at Kerowyn Hucrele she saw that it was. The merchant was actually sending her off with a thief and what appeared to be some type of necromancer or death cultist. Just perfect. She whispered a quiet prayer for Talgen and Sharwyn.
"Not scary guy, right?" asked Renaelus softly, his eyes wide. Brynja just nodded as the man slowly approached. Renaelus shook his head, shrugged and summoned up a smile. He swaggered forth, and gave the stranger an audacious wave. "Scary guy! Welcome aboard," he called.
The newcomer cocked his head at a funny angle, assessing Renaelus with eyes that gleamed brightly from the depths of dark ashen circles. In a haunting voice that raised the hair on the back of Ren's neck, the man said, "I am Tothla, humble servant of Sheol. You may not know my master yet, but you shall someday." With that introduction he stepped forward and offered his hand, which Renaelus pumped quickly, released, and backed away from.
Brynja stepped into the space where Renaelus had stood and shook Tothla's hand resolutely. "I'm Brynja. This is Renaelus." Brynja reached into her pack and withdrew two stoppered flasks, tossing one to each of her new companions. "Healing elixir, courtesy of our employer, Madame Hucrele. She has also agreed to purchase whatever mundane supplies we shall require from the general store. We must make haste, however. There is precious little time to spare."
The three obtained several useful items from the general store, and soon set off on the overgrown Old Road. The road wound through rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak, and past several abandoned farm shacks. On one low hill Tothla thought he saw a pile of scattered marker stones near the fallen remnants of a hovel, but when he looked again the sunlight shone brightly in his eyes and he could not tell if it had been his imagination.
After half a day of walking, most of it spent in silence, the three arrived at a ravine that ran for several miles in either direction. The Old Road passed to the east of the narrow ravine. At the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jutted from the earth and the ravine widened, opening into something more akin to a deep, narrow canyon. Two of the pillars stood straight, but most of them leaned against the sloped earth. Others were broken, and many bore crude writings in an alphabet the companions could not discern.
"Don't need to know what they say," muttered Renaelus, "to understand what they mean. 'Keep out.'"
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Wolff96, Madriel, Rel, Horacio ... thanks for the kind words. I'm going to try desperately to catch up over the next week or so. We have a session on Sunday, and I don't want to get too far behind.
My notes are poor for the first portion of the Sunless Citadel proper, so I'll do my best to reconstruct the action. Renaelus (cthuluftaghn) did a great job taking notes at our most recent session, so details shall become clearer as the heroes progress into the depths of a place where evil grows.
Rel, let me know how your solo run goes! Good luck. The nice thing about these Adventure Path modules is that they are what you make of them. There is plenty of good stuff there, and with a little imagination and effort they can be a lot of fun.
My notes are poor for the first portion of the Sunless Citadel proper, so I'll do my best to reconstruct the action. Renaelus (cthuluftaghn) did a great job taking notes at our most recent session, so details shall become clearer as the heroes progress into the depths of a place where evil grows.
Rel, let me know how your solo run goes! Good luck. The nice thing about these Adventure Path modules is that they are what you make of them. There is plenty of good stuff there, and with a little imagination and effort they can be a lot of fun.
Sounds like they're almost ready to start... not to mention, almost ready to meet my favorite adventure path NPC.
When I ran Sunless Citadel, I switched Meepo over to monk -- I don't remember why, it made sense at the time -- and the party loved the little guy. In fact, he made a cameo appearance much later in the campaign, riding Calcryx. It will be very interesting to see how your PCs react to him.
(As one of my PCs commented later: "It's annoying that an NPC, played by the DM when he has time, has more personality than <one of the other players>.")
When I ran Sunless Citadel, I switched Meepo over to monk -- I don't remember why, it made sense at the time -- and the party loved the little guy. In fact, he made a cameo appearance much later in the campaign, riding Calcryx. It will be very interesting to see how your PCs react to him.
(As one of my PCs commented later: "It's annoying that an NPC, played by the DM when he has time, has more personality than <one of the other players>.")
ShawnLStroud
First Post
And the Next Thing....?
Love the intro to the Sunless Citadel, Jodo! Looking forward to see how your stalwart heros deal with the multitude of threats therein!
Anxiously awaiting your next input!
Love the intro to the Sunless Citadel, Jodo! Looking forward to see how your stalwart heros deal with the multitude of threats therein!
Anxiously awaiting your next input!
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