Black_Kaioshin
First Post
Yo, Capellan!! Love the story hour!! Keep it up! 
Company of the Random Encounter ('complete' 14 Nov 2004)
- Thread starter Capellan
- Start date
Capellan
Explorer
"Something's Cooking" and "The Ettin's Riddle" (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 12
Rubble from the ruins is scattered throughout the area, much of it concealed in clumps of the thick, overgrown weeds that have claimed most of the buildings. Up to this point, Twinkle has done avoided them all. But now, she steps on a concealed stone, which turns under her foot. The gnome staggers, nearly losing her balance, and her outflung arm knocks several small pebbles from the top of a nearby wall.
Everyone freezes, holding their breath and hoping that the noise did not wake the giant.
Their hopes are quickly dashed.
"Who's there?" the deep voice rumbles from inside the tower, in an oddly strained tone. Despite the volume, it almost seems like the giant is trying to whisper.
"Who's there?" the words are repeated with more urgency, when no-one answers. The adventurers glance at one another, unsure of what to do. Malwick readies his bow.
Macwood isn't sure what strange inspiration motivates him, but he finds himself striding forward and placing his hands on his hips. Throwing his feet wide apart and puffing out his chest, he calls, in a challenging and arrogant tone:
"I am Kyrnyn, chosen of Heironeous! Surrender, creature, or be destroyed!"
It's a pretty good bluff. The halfling sounds like he means it, and his voice has the deep and condescending timbre that so characterised Kyrnyn when the bard knew him.
The giant laughs.
"You lie."
"I do not lie -"
"Yes, you do. You lie convincingly, but you are lying." The giant talks straight over the top of Macwood's denial. "After all, it would be impossible for you to be Kyrnyn. I am Kyrnyn."
Macwood's mouth drops open, then closes with an audible snap.
"And you have the nerve to accuse me of lying?" he demands, "You look nothing like Kyrnyn."
"You know, your voice sounds familiar." From the changed timbre of the creature, it has moved closer to the door. "You're that halfling, aren't you? The one who said he was a bard ... Driftwood?"
"Macwood." The halfling sniffs, "You really are Kyrnyn?"
"I am ... or I was. Now that I've been cursed, it feels harder every day to remember who I was."
"Cursed?" Twinkle pipes up, "How were you cursed?" The gnome's eyes are wide and shine with excitement. "You mean like in the stories my uncle used to tell me?"
"I don't know about that." Kyrnyn sounds perplexed by the question.
"Tell us your tale, priest." Ming Li moves up beside Macwood and Twinkle. "And we will tell you ours. Perhaps we can help each other."
"Very well." Kyrnyn sighs, "But I shall have to be brief. The longer we talk, the more chance that Muk will awaken."
"Muk?" Macwood frowns.
"The other head on this body. He has his own intelligence ... of a kind ... and his own will, and when he is awake, this body is his. It is only at night, when he sleeps, that I can control this body's actions."
"Tell your tale, then, and quickly." Elspeth demands gruffly.
"I came here with my adventuring companions about a week ago, to slay an evil wizard who had been magically warping creatures in the dungeons beneath his tower. The battle was long and hard, and one by one my companions fell, but in the end I slew him." The priest sighs, "However, as he died, he pronounced a curse upon me, using the last of his magic. I believe, that as he died, he misspoke the spell, for I cannot believe that he meant to turn me into a giant. A toad or other harmless and lowly creature would have made more sense."
"This is the brief version?" Briar mutters under her breath.
"In any case, I was transformed by the magic into an ettin - a two-headed giant. And while I retained my memory of who I was, I soon learned that the other head had its own personality - Muk - with its own will and purpose. Muk delights in terrorising the villagers, hereabouts. I have mostly managed to keep him from hurting them, but he plunders their stock on a daily basis ... and every day, I grow weaker. Soon I will no longer be able to restrain him, and then I fear he will kill them all."
Rubble from the ruins is scattered throughout the area, much of it concealed in clumps of the thick, overgrown weeds that have claimed most of the buildings. Up to this point, Twinkle has done avoided them all. But now, she steps on a concealed stone, which turns under her foot. The gnome staggers, nearly losing her balance, and her outflung arm knocks several small pebbles from the top of a nearby wall.
Everyone freezes, holding their breath and hoping that the noise did not wake the giant.
Their hopes are quickly dashed.
"Who's there?" the deep voice rumbles from inside the tower, in an oddly strained tone. Despite the volume, it almost seems like the giant is trying to whisper.
"Who's there?" the words are repeated with more urgency, when no-one answers. The adventurers glance at one another, unsure of what to do. Malwick readies his bow.
Macwood isn't sure what strange inspiration motivates him, but he finds himself striding forward and placing his hands on his hips. Throwing his feet wide apart and puffing out his chest, he calls, in a challenging and arrogant tone:
"I am Kyrnyn, chosen of Heironeous! Surrender, creature, or be destroyed!"
It's a pretty good bluff. The halfling sounds like he means it, and his voice has the deep and condescending timbre that so characterised Kyrnyn when the bard knew him.
The giant laughs.
"You lie."
"I do not lie -"
"Yes, you do. You lie convincingly, but you are lying." The giant talks straight over the top of Macwood's denial. "After all, it would be impossible for you to be Kyrnyn. I am Kyrnyn."
Macwood's mouth drops open, then closes with an audible snap.
"And you have the nerve to accuse me of lying?" he demands, "You look nothing like Kyrnyn."
"You know, your voice sounds familiar." From the changed timbre of the creature, it has moved closer to the door. "You're that halfling, aren't you? The one who said he was a bard ... Driftwood?"
"Macwood." The halfling sniffs, "You really are Kyrnyn?"
"I am ... or I was. Now that I've been cursed, it feels harder every day to remember who I was."
"Cursed?" Twinkle pipes up, "How were you cursed?" The gnome's eyes are wide and shine with excitement. "You mean like in the stories my uncle used to tell me?"
"I don't know about that." Kyrnyn sounds perplexed by the question.
"Tell us your tale, priest." Ming Li moves up beside Macwood and Twinkle. "And we will tell you ours. Perhaps we can help each other."
"Very well." Kyrnyn sighs, "But I shall have to be brief. The longer we talk, the more chance that Muk will awaken."
"Muk?" Macwood frowns.
"The other head on this body. He has his own intelligence ... of a kind ... and his own will, and when he is awake, this body is his. It is only at night, when he sleeps, that I can control this body's actions."
"Tell your tale, then, and quickly." Elspeth demands gruffly.
"I came here with my adventuring companions about a week ago, to slay an evil wizard who had been magically warping creatures in the dungeons beneath his tower. The battle was long and hard, and one by one my companions fell, but in the end I slew him." The priest sighs, "However, as he died, he pronounced a curse upon me, using the last of his magic. I believe, that as he died, he misspoke the spell, for I cannot believe that he meant to turn me into a giant. A toad or other harmless and lowly creature would have made more sense."
"This is the brief version?" Briar mutters under her breath.
"In any case, I was transformed by the magic into an ettin - a two-headed giant. And while I retained my memory of who I was, I soon learned that the other head had its own personality - Muk - with its own will and purpose. Muk delights in terrorising the villagers, hereabouts. I have mostly managed to keep him from hurting them, but he plunders their stock on a daily basis ... and every day, I grow weaker. Soon I will no longer be able to restrain him, and then I fear he will kill them all."
Capellan
Explorer
"Something's Cooking" and "The Ettin's Riddle" (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 13
"If you are a priest, why is it you cannot appeal to your god to lift the curse?" Ming Li asks, obviously still unconvinced by the giant's tale.
"I have tried." Comes the rumbling reply, "But Heironeous has not granted my appeals. Instead, he has sent only a mysterious riddle."
"Riddle?"
"Yes: when I prayed, I saw a cryptic verse in my mind. I can still remember the words, as clear as if I were reading them from the page:
Two heads have we, but born with one.
We avenged, healed, and protected.
Our master was Invincible,
But punished we all who objected.
Heeded we the six-armed king,
And so by our god were rejected.
Thus, this is our fate:
One head, twice bisected.
I know not what it means."
"Me neither." Macwood mutters, with a shake of his head. "Typical god nonsense."
"Perhaps it means that we must destroy the other head, and then he will be freed?" Briar seems willing to believe the giant's tale, at the very least.
"There is a chance that is the solution." Kyrnyn - for it seems it is he - acknowledges, "But I would not survive being mistaken, if it is not."
The group discusses the riddle at some length, but are unable to come up with a better solution than Briar's proposal. They even ask the impatient Malwick his opinion, and the half-elf voices his approval of the young rogue's idea.
"After all, even if she's wrong, we're rid of the giant." Is his less than charitable appraisal.
"What do you think, Kyrnyn?" Ming Li gives Malwick an unfriendly look, "Are you willing to try it."
"I am." The giant sighs heavily, "I think it unlikely that this is the solution, but I have no better alternative. And, as your companion says, the worst that could happen is that I will be with my lord. Except ... you should know that if you strike me, Muk will awake. He will fight you, and some of you may be harmed or killed. You should prepare yourselves, before we try this task."
"Good idea." Elspeth is in favour of anything that will make killing the giant easier. "We'll let you know when we are ready."
"There's just one thing." Twinkle suddenly interrupts, "Before we try this idea. Kyrnyn, we came here looking for a jewel that was sold to one of your companions. It appears the item was stolen, and the rightful owner is very eager to have it back. Do you know where it is?"
"It is in the tunnels of the wizard's lair, beneath this tower." Kyrnyn replies, "Or at least, I assume it is still there. Arloys was carrying it when he fell, but I have not been able to enter the tunnels since I was cursed ... this body is too large."
"We can look for it once we've got the curse lifted." Briar says, very determinedly hoping for the best, with their plan.
The adventurers go into a huddle, determining what equipment they have on hand, that canbe used for the upcoming battle. Potions are quaffed and spells readied, and then they arrange themselves around the door, ready to converge upon their opponent-cum-ally.
"We're ready, Kyrnyn!" Elspeth calls. The ranger is ready to spring into action in the most literal of sense: having quaffed a potion of jumping, her role in the imminent combat is to leap in the air and try to specifically strike Muk's head.
"Here I come." Kyrnyn swings open the door, lifting aside the heavy wooden crossbar as he does so. The adventurers leap into action, swiftly surrounding him and striking with their weapons. Elspeth, as planned, leaps high, her sword cutting at Muk's head.
The sleeping Muk awakens with a roar, and visibly wrests control of the body. Moving in a jerky, reluctant manner, the giant's powerful arms swing the crossbeam from the door. The massive piece of wood catches Malwick square in the chest, crushing more than half of his ribs and sending the half-elf's broken body flying backwards to land in a crumpled heap.
Desprived of their ally, the adventurers redouble their assault, using their superior numbers to swarm around their larger opponent. Briar and Twinkle work in tandem, taking advantage of the giant's distraction to strike him with telling blows, while Elspeth continues to rain blows down upon his head. Macwood and Ming Li, lacking the special skills or magical enhancements of their companions, merely concentrate on unleashing the most powerful blows they can.
The barrage is telling. Though Muk bellows and swings his club again, nearly batting Elpseth out of the air with the force of his blow, the creature's shoulders and legs are covered with blood. The adventurers attack again, opening more wounds. Twinkle, in particular, lands a wicked blow on the back of the giant's leg, while Elspeth gives a mighty overhead swing of her longsword.
With a final, blood-choked roar of pain and defiance, the giant crashes to the ground.
For a moment, all is still. Then the creature's body glows, and shrinks, reforming slowly into that of the human priest Kyrnyn, lying silent and dead on the ground.
"I guess that wasn't the solution, after all." Briar bows her head.
"He met his end bravely." Ming Li kneels and closes the eyes of the corpse, then glances over at the body of Malwick, "Is he - ?"
"Dead." Elspeth confirms, "Probably never even felt it."
While the monk tends to the bodies of the fallen, the others head inside. Within, the tower is a ramshackle affair, the walls daubed with fragments of the prophetic verse Kyrnyn had recited, and the floor littered with the filthy, stinking remains of devoured cattle.
"His sword and armour are here." Twinkle points out the gleam of metal in the darkness.
"And the tunnels he mentioned are back there." Macwood indicates a dark opening in the floor. "We'd best head in and find the jewel, before those bounty hunters arrive."
And then Ming Li calls from outside, her voice pitched low, but her tone urgent:
"Someone's coming!"
"If you are a priest, why is it you cannot appeal to your god to lift the curse?" Ming Li asks, obviously still unconvinced by the giant's tale.
"I have tried." Comes the rumbling reply, "But Heironeous has not granted my appeals. Instead, he has sent only a mysterious riddle."
"Riddle?"
"Yes: when I prayed, I saw a cryptic verse in my mind. I can still remember the words, as clear as if I were reading them from the page:
Two heads have we, but born with one.
We avenged, healed, and protected.
Our master was Invincible,
But punished we all who objected.
Heeded we the six-armed king,
And so by our god were rejected.
Thus, this is our fate:
One head, twice bisected.
I know not what it means."
"Me neither." Macwood mutters, with a shake of his head. "Typical god nonsense."
"Perhaps it means that we must destroy the other head, and then he will be freed?" Briar seems willing to believe the giant's tale, at the very least.
"There is a chance that is the solution." Kyrnyn - for it seems it is he - acknowledges, "But I would not survive being mistaken, if it is not."
The group discusses the riddle at some length, but are unable to come up with a better solution than Briar's proposal. They even ask the impatient Malwick his opinion, and the half-elf voices his approval of the young rogue's idea.
"After all, even if she's wrong, we're rid of the giant." Is his less than charitable appraisal.
"What do you think, Kyrnyn?" Ming Li gives Malwick an unfriendly look, "Are you willing to try it."
"I am." The giant sighs heavily, "I think it unlikely that this is the solution, but I have no better alternative. And, as your companion says, the worst that could happen is that I will be with my lord. Except ... you should know that if you strike me, Muk will awake. He will fight you, and some of you may be harmed or killed. You should prepare yourselves, before we try this task."
"Good idea." Elspeth is in favour of anything that will make killing the giant easier. "We'll let you know when we are ready."
"There's just one thing." Twinkle suddenly interrupts, "Before we try this idea. Kyrnyn, we came here looking for a jewel that was sold to one of your companions. It appears the item was stolen, and the rightful owner is very eager to have it back. Do you know where it is?"
"It is in the tunnels of the wizard's lair, beneath this tower." Kyrnyn replies, "Or at least, I assume it is still there. Arloys was carrying it when he fell, but I have not been able to enter the tunnels since I was cursed ... this body is too large."
"We can look for it once we've got the curse lifted." Briar says, very determinedly hoping for the best, with their plan.
The adventurers go into a huddle, determining what equipment they have on hand, that canbe used for the upcoming battle. Potions are quaffed and spells readied, and then they arrange themselves around the door, ready to converge upon their opponent-cum-ally.
"We're ready, Kyrnyn!" Elspeth calls. The ranger is ready to spring into action in the most literal of sense: having quaffed a potion of jumping, her role in the imminent combat is to leap in the air and try to specifically strike Muk's head.
"Here I come." Kyrnyn swings open the door, lifting aside the heavy wooden crossbar as he does so. The adventurers leap into action, swiftly surrounding him and striking with their weapons. Elspeth, as planned, leaps high, her sword cutting at Muk's head.
The sleeping Muk awakens with a roar, and visibly wrests control of the body. Moving in a jerky, reluctant manner, the giant's powerful arms swing the crossbeam from the door. The massive piece of wood catches Malwick square in the chest, crushing more than half of his ribs and sending the half-elf's broken body flying backwards to land in a crumpled heap.
Desprived of their ally, the adventurers redouble their assault, using their superior numbers to swarm around their larger opponent. Briar and Twinkle work in tandem, taking advantage of the giant's distraction to strike him with telling blows, while Elspeth continues to rain blows down upon his head. Macwood and Ming Li, lacking the special skills or magical enhancements of their companions, merely concentrate on unleashing the most powerful blows they can.
The barrage is telling. Though Muk bellows and swings his club again, nearly batting Elpseth out of the air with the force of his blow, the creature's shoulders and legs are covered with blood. The adventurers attack again, opening more wounds. Twinkle, in particular, lands a wicked blow on the back of the giant's leg, while Elspeth gives a mighty overhead swing of her longsword.
With a final, blood-choked roar of pain and defiance, the giant crashes to the ground.
For a moment, all is still. Then the creature's body glows, and shrinks, reforming slowly into that of the human priest Kyrnyn, lying silent and dead on the ground.
"I guess that wasn't the solution, after all." Briar bows her head.
"He met his end bravely." Ming Li kneels and closes the eyes of the corpse, then glances over at the body of Malwick, "Is he - ?"
"Dead." Elspeth confirms, "Probably never even felt it."
While the monk tends to the bodies of the fallen, the others head inside. Within, the tower is a ramshackle affair, the walls daubed with fragments of the prophetic verse Kyrnyn had recited, and the floor littered with the filthy, stinking remains of devoured cattle.
"His sword and armour are here." Twinkle points out the gleam of metal in the darkness.
"And the tunnels he mentioned are back there." Macwood indicates a dark opening in the floor. "We'd best head in and find the jewel, before those bounty hunters arrive."
And then Ming Li calls from outside, her voice pitched low, but her tone urgent:
"Someone's coming!"
Thomas Hobbes
First Post
"Riddle? What riddle? Let's kill it!"
Capellan
Explorer
"Bounty Hunters" by Jim Gillispie's Module Workshop - Part 1
Mantreus whistles jauntily as he steps out of the small, rather shabby-looking shop. There is a very satisfied look on his face as he smoothes the front of his shirt, fingers brushing over the small lump that is the only evidence of his new set of finely crafted thieves' tools.
The whistle dies abruptly as the rogue freezes in place, his face going white, before he dives back inside the safety of the shop's dimly lit interior. Half-crouched beside the dirty window, he peers out into the street, eyes fixed on a group of three people as they ride by.
Only once he is sure the trio has disappeared from view does he throw an apologetic smile at the shopkeeper and slip out of the store.
"Bounty hunters." He mutters, hurrying in the opposite direction. "I hate bounty hunters."
An hour later, his immediate alarm has subsided, and the rogue-turned-sorcerer has begun making some quiet enquiries.
"An orc, a woman, and a shifty-looking fellow." He mentions them casually as he leans against the stained wood of the third tavern he's visited, "Funny-looking group, I thought. Did you see them?"
"Believe I did." The barkeep wipes the bar with a soiled cloth, sweeping up the unusually large pile of coins Mantreus has left there, "They was askin' about some woman named Marble McCray. Said they was lookin' for her for somethin' she stole. Said she was travellin' with three women and a runt - a halflin' - with a likin' for puns and limericks."
"Really?" Mantreus drains his ale with a shrug, as if the news is of no import to him. "Sounds like as odd a group as the three that are looking for them."
Less than ten minutes later, he is hammering on the door of the Padre's room.
"Bounty hunters!" he gabbles, when the Priest finally appears, "Chasing Macwood and the others!"
The Padre rubs sleep out of his eyes. Though it is the middle of the day, the Priest is still bone-tired from tending the sick in the recently plague-stricken town.
"I know." He yawns grumpily, "They came through town a couple of days ago."
"And you didn't say anything?" Mantreus stares at him, "I know of these hunters. If they catch the others, they'll kill them!"
The Padre's already less-than-cheerful expression takes a sharp turn for the worse.
"I was helping the sick." He pointedly replies, "Where were you? They said they couldn't find you."
The rogue's mouth closes with a snap. He shrugs away the question,
"I'm here now. We have to go after them and help the others."
"Agreed." The Padre's expression eases, as he turns his attention to the safety of his companions, "I think the local priests have the sickness under control, now, so there should be no reason we can't leave. It's fortunate Stormstrider returned this morning. You go and tell him while I gather my things."
"What about Anastria?"
The Padre can't quite hide a grimace,
"Her too, I suppose. If she's willing to come."
So it is that, within four hours of Mantreus sighting the bounty hunters, four members of the Company of the Random Encounter head out in pursuit.
"Did the kobolds leave as they said they would?" the Padre asks Stormstrider as the group bounces along the road. The suspension of their wagon makes the ride less than comfortable, but at least they have learned a little more about handling the horses in the past few days. Besides, the priest is firmly of the opinion that a third class ride is better than a first class walk, any day.
The elven ranger, riding a newly-purchased warhorse, is the only one not in the wagon. He shrugs his broad shoulders expressively,
"They did for the two days I followed them."
Mantreus, lying at the back of the wagon with his eyes closed, Shadow curled up on his chest, waves a languid hand,
"Those little beasts are the least of our problems." He declares, "Better to worry about what we're going to do if we catch up to those bounty hunters."
"We're going to go straight past them." The Padre answers readily, "Before the others left Duvik's Pass, they told me they were heading for a town called Newkeep. We'll try to reach it before the hunters, and join forces. Together, we should be a match for those three."
"Don't count on it." The rogue mutters darkly, before lapsing once more into silence.
Continually pushing their pace, the group moves on, making use of the elves' excellent night vision to press on into the hours of darkness. The effort brings reward: they manage to pass the bounty hunters while the latter are still four hours short of the village of Newkeep.
"It's a good job we knew where the others were heading, or we'd never have passed them." Mantreus remarks once they are out of earshot of the hunters, "They'll have to keep stopping to ask for news of Macwood and the others. Still, we will probably only beat them to Newkeep by an hour; maybe two at the most. Doesn't leave us much time to find the others and prepare for a fight. Not against those three, anyway."
Mantreus whistles jauntily as he steps out of the small, rather shabby-looking shop. There is a very satisfied look on his face as he smoothes the front of his shirt, fingers brushing over the small lump that is the only evidence of his new set of finely crafted thieves' tools.
The whistle dies abruptly as the rogue freezes in place, his face going white, before he dives back inside the safety of the shop's dimly lit interior. Half-crouched beside the dirty window, he peers out into the street, eyes fixed on a group of three people as they ride by.
Only once he is sure the trio has disappeared from view does he throw an apologetic smile at the shopkeeper and slip out of the store.
"Bounty hunters." He mutters, hurrying in the opposite direction. "I hate bounty hunters."
An hour later, his immediate alarm has subsided, and the rogue-turned-sorcerer has begun making some quiet enquiries.
"An orc, a woman, and a shifty-looking fellow." He mentions them casually as he leans against the stained wood of the third tavern he's visited, "Funny-looking group, I thought. Did you see them?"
"Believe I did." The barkeep wipes the bar with a soiled cloth, sweeping up the unusually large pile of coins Mantreus has left there, "They was askin' about some woman named Marble McCray. Said they was lookin' for her for somethin' she stole. Said she was travellin' with three women and a runt - a halflin' - with a likin' for puns and limericks."
"Really?" Mantreus drains his ale with a shrug, as if the news is of no import to him. "Sounds like as odd a group as the three that are looking for them."
Less than ten minutes later, he is hammering on the door of the Padre's room.
"Bounty hunters!" he gabbles, when the Priest finally appears, "Chasing Macwood and the others!"
The Padre rubs sleep out of his eyes. Though it is the middle of the day, the Priest is still bone-tired from tending the sick in the recently plague-stricken town.
"I know." He yawns grumpily, "They came through town a couple of days ago."
"And you didn't say anything?" Mantreus stares at him, "I know of these hunters. If they catch the others, they'll kill them!"
The Padre's already less-than-cheerful expression takes a sharp turn for the worse.
"I was helping the sick." He pointedly replies, "Where were you? They said they couldn't find you."
The rogue's mouth closes with a snap. He shrugs away the question,
"I'm here now. We have to go after them and help the others."
"Agreed." The Padre's expression eases, as he turns his attention to the safety of his companions, "I think the local priests have the sickness under control, now, so there should be no reason we can't leave. It's fortunate Stormstrider returned this morning. You go and tell him while I gather my things."
"What about Anastria?"
The Padre can't quite hide a grimace,
"Her too, I suppose. If she's willing to come."
So it is that, within four hours of Mantreus sighting the bounty hunters, four members of the Company of the Random Encounter head out in pursuit.
"Did the kobolds leave as they said they would?" the Padre asks Stormstrider as the group bounces along the road. The suspension of their wagon makes the ride less than comfortable, but at least they have learned a little more about handling the horses in the past few days. Besides, the priest is firmly of the opinion that a third class ride is better than a first class walk, any day.
The elven ranger, riding a newly-purchased warhorse, is the only one not in the wagon. He shrugs his broad shoulders expressively,
"They did for the two days I followed them."
Mantreus, lying at the back of the wagon with his eyes closed, Shadow curled up on his chest, waves a languid hand,
"Those little beasts are the least of our problems." He declares, "Better to worry about what we're going to do if we catch up to those bounty hunters."
"We're going to go straight past them." The Padre answers readily, "Before the others left Duvik's Pass, they told me they were heading for a town called Newkeep. We'll try to reach it before the hunters, and join forces. Together, we should be a match for those three."
"Don't count on it." The rogue mutters darkly, before lapsing once more into silence.
Continually pushing their pace, the group moves on, making use of the elves' excellent night vision to press on into the hours of darkness. The effort brings reward: they manage to pass the bounty hunters while the latter are still four hours short of the village of Newkeep.
"It's a good job we knew where the others were heading, or we'd never have passed them." Mantreus remarks once they are out of earshot of the hunters, "They'll have to keep stopping to ask for news of Macwood and the others. Still, we will probably only beat them to Newkeep by an hour; maybe two at the most. Doesn't leave us much time to find the others and prepare for a fight. Not against those three, anyway."
Capellan
Explorer
"Bounty Hunters" by Jim Gillispie's Module Workshop - Part 2
It does not take long for the group to make enquiries about their companions, and learn that they have headed out to some ruins in the woods, in search of a giant that has lately been troubling the village.
"They went after a giant?" Anastria grouses, "What are they, stupid?"
Wisely, no-one attempts to answer her query.
After gathering directions from the locals, the four adventurers leave their wagon at the village inn, and set out into the woods. Roughly an hour later, they reach the ruins, discovering the corpse of a human male outside the largest tower.
"A cleric of Heironeous." The Padre points out the man's holy symbol, "Looks like he was killed recently. We should be prepared for enemies." He readies his mace as the others draw their weapons.
"Woah, woah, woah! Don't kill us, big guy!" Briar appears out of the tower, hands held in a surrender position. Seeing the surprise on the faces of the four, she grins impishly, "Hi, I'm Briar, and I have bosoms."
"So I see." The Padre sounds disapproving of this innovation, "Have you encountered the giant?"
"He was the giant." Briar points at the body of Kyrnyn. "It was some kind of curse thing. We thought we'd figured out how to lift it, but we were wrong."
"Do you know you have bounty hunters on your tail?" Macwood reminds them all of the reason the four new arrivals came to the forest in the first place, "Nasty bastards, at that."
Briar nods,
"We gave them the slip in Amberdale, but we thought they might be on our trail again by now. How far away are they?"
"Not more than two hours." The answer causes Briar to wince, but then she shrugs philosophically,
"Come inside and we'll work out what to do."
Moving into the tower, the adventurers gather. Macwood and Briar explain the events that brought their group to these ruins, and Mantreus tells his group's story. This done, the Company review their options. The discussions are conducted quickly, as everyone is aware that they have little time before the bounty hunters arrive.
"So here's the plan" The Padre says at the end of the their conversation, "Ming Li, Macwood and Twinkle will stay on the surface, along with Stormstrider's wolf. We'll leave one of the two magical earrings with them, so they can use it to alert us when the bounty hunters get here. In the mean time, the rest of us will head into the dungeons beneath this tower, and try to locate the missing diamond."
Elspeth nods,
"Marble said that the hunters' main goal is to retrieve the item. Hopefully, if we offer them the diamond, they might be willing to leave Marble - and us - alone."
No-one discusses what might be done if the hunters prove unwilling.
"I think I should go into the dungeon." Macwood puffs out his chest, "You will need my mighty sword-arm."
"We'll try to muddle through without you." Mantreus just about manages to avoid rolling his eyes as he answers the Halfling, "The four of us are fresh, and Elspeth and Briar haven't been injured. We're the logical choices to go down there."
"Besides, you have the best chance of keeping the hunters talking, if we need a little extra time." Briar obviously has some experience at talking the bard around, "And the three of you are pretty good at concealing yourselves, so you make the best sentries."
Macwood, somewhat mollified, agrees to remain above.
Despite misgivings about the wisdom of leaving Twinkle and Macwood on guard ("At least Ming Li is there to keep them in order" the Padre mutters under his breath), Briar, Elspeth and the four newcomers head down into the catacombs below the tower.
The stairs descend to a short tunnel, which leads in turn to a roughly circular chamber, with exits to the right and left. More or less arbitrarily, the group heads left, walking past a couple of fallen doors that lie on the floor as they do so. Passing through an archway, they emerge into a larger, open chamber with two doors set into the far wall. Both these doors appear intact; unlike the wall to the south, which has been heavily damaged. A narrow, twisting tunnel has been dug through that rubble-strewn area, leading into darkness.
"Do you think this place is structurally sound?" Elspeth wonders, glancing at the damaged wall.
Mantreus shrugs,
"It hasn't fallen down yet." Is his philosophical opinion. "Do you see any sign of which way Kyrnyn's group might have gone?"
Elspeth shakes her head,
"Stone floors." She stamps her foot for emphasis, "If it was dusty, there would have been something to follow, but it's clean enough that I doubt we'll get any signs. We'll just have to check everywhere as we go."
With no better alternative, the others agree to this methodical approach. The first door they try leads only to a long-disused store room, filled with old and mildewed crates. Apparently the concept that they are on a time frame has not yet sunk in, as the group promptly wastes several minutes on a fruitless search for loot. Or maybe they just believe that this is the kind of place that you'd find a diamond.
Beyond the next door is another store room. Once more, precious time is occupied with a search. This time they turn up four light crossbows that have been sufficiently protected from the damp to still be in useable condition.
"There are also some crates of bolts in this corner." Elspeth reports, "Must be several hundred of them, at least. Most of them are warped, but if we go through them carefully, we might find some that are still intact."
"Great." Unlike Mantreus, Anastria has no qualms about rolling her eyes, "There could be a good half-a-gold's worth of treasure, there. And it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes to do. You do remember that there are three dangerous bounty hunters coming to kill you, right?"
Without waiting for an answer, the taciturn elf moves across the chamber. There is another door there, leading into an unexplored area. With a further muttered comment on the 'petty greed' of certain others in the group, Anastria opens the door, revealing a third store room, which she promptly enters.
Just as promptly, a pair of leathery grey arms flash down from the ceiling, trying to grasp her around the neck.
It does not take long for the group to make enquiries about their companions, and learn that they have headed out to some ruins in the woods, in search of a giant that has lately been troubling the village.
"They went after a giant?" Anastria grouses, "What are they, stupid?"
Wisely, no-one attempts to answer her query.
After gathering directions from the locals, the four adventurers leave their wagon at the village inn, and set out into the woods. Roughly an hour later, they reach the ruins, discovering the corpse of a human male outside the largest tower.
"A cleric of Heironeous." The Padre points out the man's holy symbol, "Looks like he was killed recently. We should be prepared for enemies." He readies his mace as the others draw their weapons.
"Woah, woah, woah! Don't kill us, big guy!" Briar appears out of the tower, hands held in a surrender position. Seeing the surprise on the faces of the four, she grins impishly, "Hi, I'm Briar, and I have bosoms."
"So I see." The Padre sounds disapproving of this innovation, "Have you encountered the giant?"
"He was the giant." Briar points at the body of Kyrnyn. "It was some kind of curse thing. We thought we'd figured out how to lift it, but we were wrong."
"Do you know you have bounty hunters on your tail?" Macwood reminds them all of the reason the four new arrivals came to the forest in the first place, "Nasty bastards, at that."
Briar nods,
"We gave them the slip in Amberdale, but we thought they might be on our trail again by now. How far away are they?"
"Not more than two hours." The answer causes Briar to wince, but then she shrugs philosophically,
"Come inside and we'll work out what to do."
Moving into the tower, the adventurers gather. Macwood and Briar explain the events that brought their group to these ruins, and Mantreus tells his group's story. This done, the Company review their options. The discussions are conducted quickly, as everyone is aware that they have little time before the bounty hunters arrive.
"So here's the plan" The Padre says at the end of the their conversation, "Ming Li, Macwood and Twinkle will stay on the surface, along with Stormstrider's wolf. We'll leave one of the two magical earrings with them, so they can use it to alert us when the bounty hunters get here. In the mean time, the rest of us will head into the dungeons beneath this tower, and try to locate the missing diamond."
Elspeth nods,
"Marble said that the hunters' main goal is to retrieve the item. Hopefully, if we offer them the diamond, they might be willing to leave Marble - and us - alone."
No-one discusses what might be done if the hunters prove unwilling.
"I think I should go into the dungeon." Macwood puffs out his chest, "You will need my mighty sword-arm."
"We'll try to muddle through without you." Mantreus just about manages to avoid rolling his eyes as he answers the Halfling, "The four of us are fresh, and Elspeth and Briar haven't been injured. We're the logical choices to go down there."
"Besides, you have the best chance of keeping the hunters talking, if we need a little extra time." Briar obviously has some experience at talking the bard around, "And the three of you are pretty good at concealing yourselves, so you make the best sentries."
Macwood, somewhat mollified, agrees to remain above.
Despite misgivings about the wisdom of leaving Twinkle and Macwood on guard ("At least Ming Li is there to keep them in order" the Padre mutters under his breath), Briar, Elspeth and the four newcomers head down into the catacombs below the tower.
The stairs descend to a short tunnel, which leads in turn to a roughly circular chamber, with exits to the right and left. More or less arbitrarily, the group heads left, walking past a couple of fallen doors that lie on the floor as they do so. Passing through an archway, they emerge into a larger, open chamber with two doors set into the far wall. Both these doors appear intact; unlike the wall to the south, which has been heavily damaged. A narrow, twisting tunnel has been dug through that rubble-strewn area, leading into darkness.
"Do you think this place is structurally sound?" Elspeth wonders, glancing at the damaged wall.
Mantreus shrugs,
"It hasn't fallen down yet." Is his philosophical opinion. "Do you see any sign of which way Kyrnyn's group might have gone?"
Elspeth shakes her head,
"Stone floors." She stamps her foot for emphasis, "If it was dusty, there would have been something to follow, but it's clean enough that I doubt we'll get any signs. We'll just have to check everywhere as we go."
With no better alternative, the others agree to this methodical approach. The first door they try leads only to a long-disused store room, filled with old and mildewed crates. Apparently the concept that they are on a time frame has not yet sunk in, as the group promptly wastes several minutes on a fruitless search for loot. Or maybe they just believe that this is the kind of place that you'd find a diamond.
Beyond the next door is another store room. Once more, precious time is occupied with a search. This time they turn up four light crossbows that have been sufficiently protected from the damp to still be in useable condition.
"There are also some crates of bolts in this corner." Elspeth reports, "Must be several hundred of them, at least. Most of them are warped, but if we go through them carefully, we might find some that are still intact."
"Great." Unlike Mantreus, Anastria has no qualms about rolling her eyes, "There could be a good half-a-gold's worth of treasure, there. And it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes to do. You do remember that there are three dangerous bounty hunters coming to kill you, right?"
Without waiting for an answer, the taciturn elf moves across the chamber. There is another door there, leading into an unexplored area. With a further muttered comment on the 'petty greed' of certain others in the group, Anastria opens the door, revealing a third store room, which she promptly enters.
Just as promptly, a pair of leathery grey arms flash down from the ceiling, trying to grasp her around the neck.
Last edited:
Thomas Hobbes
First Post
The return of the roper! I remember being quite worried that one of those bastards had gotten Twinkle, way back when.
Edit: But of course, now I'm really dating myself.
Edit: But of course, now I'm really dating myself.
Last edited:
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