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Storms in the Port (Update: Now with 100% more drugs!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Jacob the Impaler" data-source="post: 3540919" data-attributes="member: 42087"><p>This story hour is going to follow the first urban campaign I have run. This is mainly writing practice for me. I've never really written fantasy or science fiction before, so this will be a bit out of my comfort zone.</p><p></p><p>The PC's:</p><p>-Grus "Bearkiller" Orlaf: CN Human Barbarian 2</p><p>-Aldaian Renoux: LG Human Cleric of St. Cuthbert 2</p><p>-Samuel Greenapple: TN Halfling Rogue 2</p><p>-Taren Duskbrook: TN Elf Conjurer 2</p><p>-Froderick "The Red" Firehammer: NG Dwarf Fighter 2</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>CHAPTER 1: THE GOOD TRAITOR</p><p></p><p>There was no transition. They stepped under the cloud's shadow and it poured. Everyone scrambled to put on thier cloaks. Grus shut his backpack to shield his nervous new lapdog from the rain.</p><p>"He's gonna suffocate under there, bonehead," Samuel said, placing his gear into his waterproof saddlebags.</p><p>Grus shrugged with a yellow smile.</p><p>"He's a real little feller. Figure there's enough air in there 'til this sonuva_____ blows over. Much rather he get stuffy than rain-death."</p><p>"I don't think this will blow over soon," Taren said, gazing at the sky. "These clouds haven't moved since we've seen them. It's unnatural. And don't keep that poor animal in there. Keep him in your cloak."</p><p>"Well, if you care so much about the runt, why don't you hold onto him?"</p><p>Aldaian trotted his horse ahead of them, giving each a fatherly smile as he passed. With his gray hair and sunken cheekbones, he looked the part more and more every day.</p><p>"Let's get moving, you kids. The sooner we get to Anvil City, the sooner we can get out of this infernal weather."</p><p></p><p>The flooded farmland gave way to rocky fields. The rain slowed a bit, but the clouds still showed no signs of moving. They were joined by a dour-looking dwarf riding a stout pony when the road began to slope down between two cliffs. He explained that he was Frederick "The Red", a warrior on a noble quest to slay the goblin-king Naur in the lands south. This accursed rain was just slowing him down.</p><p></p><p>Finally, they reached the humble gates of Anvil City. A lone guard huddled under the archway, grimacing as the travelers passed.</p><p>"What's eating you?" Samuel asked, not expecting any kind of answer.</p><p>"Don't talk about eating, twerp," the guard grunted. "I haven't eaten in a day."</p><p></p><p>The infamous Anvil City seemed rather tame. The few people in the streets trudged purposefully between buildings. The gloomy peace was broken by the occasional distant shout or clang of steel. Grus and the dwarf exchanged eager grins. As they turned down a street to search for an inn, the city changed dramatically. The street grew narrow and steep. Rickety, tightly packed buildings on either side formed a grim corridor. Then they ran into Maria.</p><p></p><p>She was young, pretty and struggling under a heavy pack. Grus approached her with a big smile, but Aldaian hurried ahead of him before he could do any damage. As a compromise, Grus was allowed to carry her pack. She thanked them.</p><p>"This is all for the tavern. Those merchants are gouging us dry, what with the ports being closed..."</p><p>She talked almost nonstop over the rain for the rest of the journey. Soon they reached streets flooded with thick, brown, stinking water. Samuel's big riding dog, Dotty, plodded along with head raised in disgust. The flooding and rain had closed the ports for four days. Dockworkers, especially the half-orcs, had been rioting and looting in the waterfront. They had finally died out long enough to walk around with relative safety. Maria pointed out the notorious Fishbones District as they passed it, an essentially lawless strip rife with taverns, brothels and opium dens. An ugly din rumbled from its streets. Samuel admired with giddy excitement. Maria worked at the Whale Bone Tavern. It was a nice place, although it was now crowded with stranded sailors from a dozen ports. Scents of sweat, beer, tobacco, salt and baking bread congealed in the stifling heat. There was scarcely room for the new patrons to walk across the balcony and down the stairs to the main bar.</p><p>"We bring booze!" Grus announced. Raucous applause and hoots rang out and soon the bar was teeming with life. Maria handed out mugs of beer and shots of spirits with smiles. Suddenly a kobold popped up behind the bar. Samuel nearly drew his crossbow, but nobody else seemed alarmed.</p><p>"Welcome to the Whale Bone Tavern, friends. The name's Azik-takt."</p><p>Fortunately, the party had enough more than enough gold left from their previous adventure to afford the inflated prices. Soon, everyone was sweating and drunk. Aldaian drank moderately enough to notice half-orcs positioning themselves strategically on the balcony and stairs, watching the kobold behind the bar and reaching under their drenched cloaks. They must have seen him too, because they moved into action with a yell.</p><p></p><p>Drunken patrons scrambled to avoid the thugs' clubs and daggers. Aldaian dropped one at the bottom with a single swing of his mace before two more fought him into a corner. Grus managed not to kill any bystanders with his greatsword and teamed up with Froderick. Taren conjured supernatural grease on the stairs, slowing the advance of the orcs and causing moderate property damage. Samuel's inebriation made him a poor shot, and he almost hit two orcs as they jockeyed for position on the balcony. The orcs lowered themselves onto the bar from the balcony and hurried to the huddling kobold, who gave one of them a crossbow bolt in the arm. They grabbed him nonetheless and rushed through the fray. Before they could reach the stairs, however, they staggered and fell exhausted to the musky tavern floor along with two other patrons who'd been panicked moments before. Taren stood above them with a triumphant grin. The rest of the fight was downhill. When they all stopped moving, Grus finished off one of the sleeping thugs. The kobold stopped him before he could do the other in.</p><p>"We need to question this one," he explained.</p><p>Grus restrained himself with an indignant grunt. The tavern cleared, and soon only a few brave or truly plastered sailors remained.</p><p>"They'll be back," the kobold said. "Thanks for saving me, by the way. I owe you."</p><p>When the half-orc awoke, Grus and the kobold sent him through a rigorous interrogation in the kitchen. He was dumb, even for a half-orc, and knew only that he was working for kobolds who wanted Azik-takt dead. Something about revenge. He never met his employer, but he was offered the job at the Silver Scarab.</p><p>"The opium den, you know?" he pleaded.</p><p>Azik-takt withdrew from his captive, shuddering.</p><p>"I used to be the leader of a kobold tribe in the sewer. Ten years ago, the last count offered money and this tavern for my territory. It was miserable down there, how could I refuse?"</p><p>The sewers had flooded, and the kobolds who had been sold out to the city authority were</p><p>forced to the surface, thirsty for the blood of the "traitors". After some negotiation, the</p><p>party agreed to stop these kobolds. Froderick drank while the rest tried to sober up. They would find the Silver Scarab.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jacob the Impaler, post: 3540919, member: 42087"] This story hour is going to follow the first urban campaign I have run. This is mainly writing practice for me. I've never really written fantasy or science fiction before, so this will be a bit out of my comfort zone. The PC's: -Grus "Bearkiller" Orlaf: CN Human Barbarian 2 -Aldaian Renoux: LG Human Cleric of St. Cuthbert 2 -Samuel Greenapple: TN Halfling Rogue 2 -Taren Duskbrook: TN Elf Conjurer 2 -Froderick "The Red" Firehammer: NG Dwarf Fighter 2 --- CHAPTER 1: THE GOOD TRAITOR There was no transition. They stepped under the cloud's shadow and it poured. Everyone scrambled to put on thier cloaks. Grus shut his backpack to shield his nervous new lapdog from the rain. "He's gonna suffocate under there, bonehead," Samuel said, placing his gear into his waterproof saddlebags. Grus shrugged with a yellow smile. "He's a real little feller. Figure there's enough air in there 'til this sonuva_____ blows over. Much rather he get stuffy than rain-death." "I don't think this will blow over soon," Taren said, gazing at the sky. "These clouds haven't moved since we've seen them. It's unnatural. And don't keep that poor animal in there. Keep him in your cloak." "Well, if you care so much about the runt, why don't you hold onto him?" Aldaian trotted his horse ahead of them, giving each a fatherly smile as he passed. With his gray hair and sunken cheekbones, he looked the part more and more every day. "Let's get moving, you kids. The sooner we get to Anvil City, the sooner we can get out of this infernal weather." The flooded farmland gave way to rocky fields. The rain slowed a bit, but the clouds still showed no signs of moving. They were joined by a dour-looking dwarf riding a stout pony when the road began to slope down between two cliffs. He explained that he was Frederick "The Red", a warrior on a noble quest to slay the goblin-king Naur in the lands south. This accursed rain was just slowing him down. Finally, they reached the humble gates of Anvil City. A lone guard huddled under the archway, grimacing as the travelers passed. "What's eating you?" Samuel asked, not expecting any kind of answer. "Don't talk about eating, twerp," the guard grunted. "I haven't eaten in a day." The infamous Anvil City seemed rather tame. The few people in the streets trudged purposefully between buildings. The gloomy peace was broken by the occasional distant shout or clang of steel. Grus and the dwarf exchanged eager grins. As they turned down a street to search for an inn, the city changed dramatically. The street grew narrow and steep. Rickety, tightly packed buildings on either side formed a grim corridor. Then they ran into Maria. She was young, pretty and struggling under a heavy pack. Grus approached her with a big smile, but Aldaian hurried ahead of him before he could do any damage. As a compromise, Grus was allowed to carry her pack. She thanked them. "This is all for the tavern. Those merchants are gouging us dry, what with the ports being closed..." She talked almost nonstop over the rain for the rest of the journey. Soon they reached streets flooded with thick, brown, stinking water. Samuel's big riding dog, Dotty, plodded along with head raised in disgust. The flooding and rain had closed the ports for four days. Dockworkers, especially the half-orcs, had been rioting and looting in the waterfront. They had finally died out long enough to walk around with relative safety. Maria pointed out the notorious Fishbones District as they passed it, an essentially lawless strip rife with taverns, brothels and opium dens. An ugly din rumbled from its streets. Samuel admired with giddy excitement. Maria worked at the Whale Bone Tavern. It was a nice place, although it was now crowded with stranded sailors from a dozen ports. Scents of sweat, beer, tobacco, salt and baking bread congealed in the stifling heat. There was scarcely room for the new patrons to walk across the balcony and down the stairs to the main bar. "We bring booze!" Grus announced. Raucous applause and hoots rang out and soon the bar was teeming with life. Maria handed out mugs of beer and shots of spirits with smiles. Suddenly a kobold popped up behind the bar. Samuel nearly drew his crossbow, but nobody else seemed alarmed. "Welcome to the Whale Bone Tavern, friends. The name's Azik-takt." Fortunately, the party had enough more than enough gold left from their previous adventure to afford the inflated prices. Soon, everyone was sweating and drunk. Aldaian drank moderately enough to notice half-orcs positioning themselves strategically on the balcony and stairs, watching the kobold behind the bar and reaching under their drenched cloaks. They must have seen him too, because they moved into action with a yell. Drunken patrons scrambled to avoid the thugs' clubs and daggers. Aldaian dropped one at the bottom with a single swing of his mace before two more fought him into a corner. Grus managed not to kill any bystanders with his greatsword and teamed up with Froderick. Taren conjured supernatural grease on the stairs, slowing the advance of the orcs and causing moderate property damage. Samuel's inebriation made him a poor shot, and he almost hit two orcs as they jockeyed for position on the balcony. The orcs lowered themselves onto the bar from the balcony and hurried to the huddling kobold, who gave one of them a crossbow bolt in the arm. They grabbed him nonetheless and rushed through the fray. Before they could reach the stairs, however, they staggered and fell exhausted to the musky tavern floor along with two other patrons who'd been panicked moments before. Taren stood above them with a triumphant grin. The rest of the fight was downhill. When they all stopped moving, Grus finished off one of the sleeping thugs. The kobold stopped him before he could do the other in. "We need to question this one," he explained. Grus restrained himself with an indignant grunt. The tavern cleared, and soon only a few brave or truly plastered sailors remained. "They'll be back," the kobold said. "Thanks for saving me, by the way. I owe you." When the half-orc awoke, Grus and the kobold sent him through a rigorous interrogation in the kitchen. He was dumb, even for a half-orc, and knew only that he was working for kobolds who wanted Azik-takt dead. Something about revenge. He never met his employer, but he was offered the job at the Silver Scarab. "The opium den, you know?" he pleaded. Azik-takt withdrew from his captive, shuddering. "I used to be the leader of a kobold tribe in the sewer. Ten years ago, the last count offered money and this tavern for my territory. It was miserable down there, how could I refuse?" The sewers had flooded, and the kobolds who had been sold out to the city authority were forced to the surface, thirsty for the blood of the "traitors". After some negotiation, the party agreed to stop these kobolds. Froderick drank while the rest tried to sober up. They would find the Silver Scarab. [/QUOTE]
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