peteyfrogboy
Explorer
This post brings the story up to the current point in the campaign. The next session won't be until next weekend, so the next installment should be shortly after that.
-
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Freeport Forever [3/6 - Company Of Heroes] FINAL UPDATE!
- Thread starter peteyfrogboy
- Start date
peteyfrogboy
Explorer
Well, we didn't play this weekend, so no new updates yet. We may be adding a couple new players, so I may post some introductory information on them once their characters are put together. On a more immediate note, I'll be working on a related story for NaNoWriMo: the history of Rachel's mother Sarah Caldwell. Chapters are being posted here. There are some in-game spoilers, so my players should keep out.
Last edited:
peteyfrogboy
Explorer
pogre said:
No, but we should be playing this coming weekend. I'm also planning another campaign with a different group in the same world, but there's no telling how that will pan out yet.
peteyfrogboy
Explorer
I really would like to update the story hour, but this month has been a disaster for getting everyone together to play. While this is bad for the story hour, it has given me lots of time to write The Legend Of Black Sarah, which is drawing quickly to its exciting conclusion.
peteyfrogboy
Explorer
Coming Attractions
Tune in soon tosee our intrepid heroes as they race against time to save the citizens of Freeport from horrors from beyond the grave!
SHUDDER as they battle bloodthirsty monsters!
GASP as the secrets of the Tanglewood are revealed!
Join the saviors of Freeport as they welcome new faces to their ranks, though not all who left the City of Adventure will return!
Tune in soon tosee our intrepid heroes as they race against time to save the citizens of Freeport from horrors from beyond the grave!
SHUDDER as they battle bloodthirsty monsters!
GASP as the secrets of the Tanglewood are revealed!
Join the saviors of Freeport as they welcome new faces to their ranks, though not all who left the City of Adventure will return!
peteyfrogboy
Explorer
Murder In A Small Town
I don't know if anyone's still reading this, but if you are, thanks for putting up with the long wait!
***
Parika banged on the door. "Hey, is anybody in there?"
After a few heartbeats, the door opened a crack, a locking chain could be heard rattling as it opened, and a wary eye peeked out. "Who's there?" The eye looked over the battered travelers, then back to Parika. "You shouldn't be out at night." The door closed and they could hear the chain being removed. The innkeeper opened the door again and ushered them in quickly before closing and locking the door behind them.
"What are you so afraid of?" asked Rachel.
The innkeeper wrung his hands nervously. "We thought it was over." He shook his head. "Since the thaw began, we've had a rash of murders here in town. Not normal killings, mind you -- we see those from time to time -- but horrible, gruesome mutilations. A Manhunter came last week and caught the murderer. We thought it was all over when he went to the gallows, but two nights ago the murders started again, worse than ever. No one's safe outside at night now."
"Are you sure you hung the right man?" asked Parika.
He nodded. "No doubt about it. He confessed to all of it, even showed us bodies we hadn't found yet. Sure enough it was him. And we all heard his neck snap when they hung him. We're cursed, I tell you."
The companions exchanged uncertain glances. As much as they wanted to help the unfortunate citizens of San Frinalo, they were on a strict deadline that was already looming dangerously close. Parika turned to the innkeeper. "I wish there was something we could do, but we really need to get back on the road as soon as possible. We were really only stopping to pick up a couple of fresh horses."
"Can't say as I blame you," said the innkeeper. "I wouldn't want to stay here either. I'll sell you two horses for a hundred and fifty crowns. If I'm still alive in the morning, maybe I'll take the money and leave myself." Money changed hands, and he directed them to the stable out behind the inn. There was no guarantee given on the condition of the horses.
***
The half moon ducked in and out of the clouds as the five travelers made their way around to the back of the inn. The alley was not especially narrow, but the two story inn on one side and the high wall of the town's church made the space feel somewhat claustrophobic.
As Nevroth passed the rear of the church, he was surprised to see three figures walking toward them through the graveyard. "Funny, I thought everyone in this town was afraid to go outside," he muttered to himself.
Parika came up beside the perplexed Manhunter just as the moon made a fleeting appearance in the sky. The pale light revealed an unhealthy pallor to the advancing trio. Moreover, it showed one of them to be wearing a noose about his neck. The half-elf reached for an arrow.
The distance between the two groups closed rapidly; swords and claws were bared and blooded. Aside from an obscure ballad about undertakers that came to Delthic's lips, no words were spoken as justice was visited once more on the murderer and his two most recent victims. Nevroth was slashed several times by the claws and teeth of the restless dead, and Rachel felt her body stiffen as though she were cold and in the grave herself.
Ferocious though they were, the creatures were no match in the end for arrow, blade, and magic. There was no fanfare for the heroes' efforts that night, but they did end up getting their horses for free.
DM Notes:
* This whole encounter was really just a baroque way of saying "you get attacked by three ghouls".
* Not all undead are the products of ambitious necromancers. Some are just people too evil to stay dead.
I don't know if anyone's still reading this, but if you are, thanks for putting up with the long wait!
***
Parika banged on the door. "Hey, is anybody in there?"
After a few heartbeats, the door opened a crack, a locking chain could be heard rattling as it opened, and a wary eye peeked out. "Who's there?" The eye looked over the battered travelers, then back to Parika. "You shouldn't be out at night." The door closed and they could hear the chain being removed. The innkeeper opened the door again and ushered them in quickly before closing and locking the door behind them.
"What are you so afraid of?" asked Rachel.
The innkeeper wrung his hands nervously. "We thought it was over." He shook his head. "Since the thaw began, we've had a rash of murders here in town. Not normal killings, mind you -- we see those from time to time -- but horrible, gruesome mutilations. A Manhunter came last week and caught the murderer. We thought it was all over when he went to the gallows, but two nights ago the murders started again, worse than ever. No one's safe outside at night now."
"Are you sure you hung the right man?" asked Parika.
He nodded. "No doubt about it. He confessed to all of it, even showed us bodies we hadn't found yet. Sure enough it was him. And we all heard his neck snap when they hung him. We're cursed, I tell you."
The companions exchanged uncertain glances. As much as they wanted to help the unfortunate citizens of San Frinalo, they were on a strict deadline that was already looming dangerously close. Parika turned to the innkeeper. "I wish there was something we could do, but we really need to get back on the road as soon as possible. We were really only stopping to pick up a couple of fresh horses."
"Can't say as I blame you," said the innkeeper. "I wouldn't want to stay here either. I'll sell you two horses for a hundred and fifty crowns. If I'm still alive in the morning, maybe I'll take the money and leave myself." Money changed hands, and he directed them to the stable out behind the inn. There was no guarantee given on the condition of the horses.
***
The half moon ducked in and out of the clouds as the five travelers made their way around to the back of the inn. The alley was not especially narrow, but the two story inn on one side and the high wall of the town's church made the space feel somewhat claustrophobic.
As Nevroth passed the rear of the church, he was surprised to see three figures walking toward them through the graveyard. "Funny, I thought everyone in this town was afraid to go outside," he muttered to himself.
Parika came up beside the perplexed Manhunter just as the moon made a fleeting appearance in the sky. The pale light revealed an unhealthy pallor to the advancing trio. Moreover, it showed one of them to be wearing a noose about his neck. The half-elf reached for an arrow.
The distance between the two groups closed rapidly; swords and claws were bared and blooded. Aside from an obscure ballad about undertakers that came to Delthic's lips, no words were spoken as justice was visited once more on the murderer and his two most recent victims. Nevroth was slashed several times by the claws and teeth of the restless dead, and Rachel felt her body stiffen as though she were cold and in the grave herself.
Ferocious though they were, the creatures were no match in the end for arrow, blade, and magic. There was no fanfare for the heroes' efforts that night, but they did end up getting their horses for free.
DM Notes:
* This whole encounter was really just a baroque way of saying "you get attacked by three ghouls".
* Not all undead are the products of ambitious necromancers. Some are just people too evil to stay dead.
peteyfrogboy
Explorer
Into The Woods
It was almost a surprise two days later when they came upon the vast expanse of the Tanglewood. The road led them to the city of Luni, which was a refreshing change from the small towns they had been traveling through. The city had a long and winding wall built of timbers and filled with stone, a testament more to the city's easy access to lumber rather than its defensive readiness. The wall was unguarded and the gates looked as though they hadn't been closed in years.
The vast majority of the buildings in Luni were constructed of wood and plaster, and every exposed surface was brightly painted. The beams and eaves of the houses were carved into fanciful shapes, each one competing with its neighbor for intricacy and imagination. These carvings were painted as well, whether realistically or gaudily.
The festive atmosphere that seemed to pervade the city lightened the mood somewhat, but there was no time to experience the city's charms. Delthic was dispatched immediately to meet with his bardic contacts. Attempts to engage Avandrae's services almost always came through Luni, so information on how to contact her was easily obtained. They were put in contact with a local woodsman named Ricardo Correia, who had been taking hopeful producers into the woods for decades. He seemed mildly surprised at the heavily armed crew, but agreed to take them all the same.
"It's just as well that you've got weapons," he said as they stabled their horses at an inn on the eastern edge of the city. "The wood's been more dangerous lately."
"Wonderful," muttered Parika.
"I don't make any guarantees," said Ricardo, giving the same warning he had given a hundred times before. "The elf sings for who she wants and won't be persuaded otherwise. She's been even more reluctant than normal of late, so don't be surprised if this trip is for nothing."
"We don't have much choice," said Nevroth. "It's a matter of life or death."
The woodsman shrugged. "It always is. I just wanted you to know that I don't give refunds."
The well worn path into the Tanglewood was fairly easy to follow, though it wound through the woods and crossed many other tracks during the day they spent following it. As they started out on the second day of their journey in the woods Ricardo told them that they were very near their destination: a small clearing in the woods where the elves of Sialentha Village traditionally met with outsiders. It was not long after this announcement that they met some of the other denizens of the forest, who leaped out of the woods around them with howls of lupine hunger.
Wolves seemed to materialize out of nowhere, dashing through the dense foliage on either side of the narrow path. Most of them were average sized; fearsome, but no match for the griffons that they had fought the previous week. The two who blocked their path forward, however, were far closer to those monstrous proportions.
Ricardo grimaced and reached for the sword strapped across his back, but before he could get it clear of its harness the two worgs leaped upon him, each grabbing a leg in its powerful jaws and dragging him to the ground. Nevroth ran to the woodsman's aid, but the great beasts were not easily distracted from their little game.
The other wolves surrounded the rest of the group, nipping and biting. Parika dodged fangs as she fired arrows at dangerously close range, while Delthic struck up a tune and hoped he wouldn't die. Seraphim managed to put some distance between herself and the wolf pack, sending streaks of fire toward the slavering worgs further down the trail. Rachel was not concerned by the smaller wolves, laying about herself with her cutlass as she advanced on the greater threat.
Her advance wasn't quick enough to save Ricardo, however. The worgs dropped his bleeding legs and snatched up his arms instead, yanking and ripping until he hung limp and lifeless between them. Rachel settled for vengeance as she slashed at them, her blade cutting through fur and flesh and sinew. Nevroth hewed and stabbed, aiding Rachel in her butchery.
Meanwhile, Parika and Seraphim whittled away at the pack surrounding Delthic. The bard managed to avoid major injury, and his voice remained strong as he bolstered the spirits of the others. The surprise that had accompanied the wolves' appearance was long gone, and the battle turned quickly against them. Soon they were all slain or fled. There was nothing they could do for their brave guide except build a cairn above him amid the trees.
***
The elves' clearing was close by the site of the wolves' attack, and there they rested and bound their wounds. The sun moved slowly through the sky as they waited, and soon it was hidden in the west by the great trees that stood at the edges of the clearing. After weeks spent in hectic travel, it was frustrating to have no option but to wait. Wait they did, however, and as the setting sun painted the sky in pastel hues their patience was rewarded.
Four slim figures emerged silently from the trees, draped in cloaks cut and dyed to match the leaves of the trees around them. Each of the elves held a bow with an arrow fitted to the string, though none were drawn. One of the elves cast his gaze over the group, a slight scowl on his face. He spoke with the accent of one who has little use for foreign tongues: "Why have you come here?"
Seraphim stepped forward. "We have come to engage the talents of Avandrae Sialentha for an important performance in the city of Freeport."
The elf's scowl did not soften. "Where is Ricardo? His absence is worrisome."
"Sadly, we ran afoul of wolves on our way to meet with you, and he fell in battle."
"This is ill news," said the elf, "but unfortunately we have had little of any other kind of late." He studied the five road-weary travelers more closely for a moment, then returned his arrow to its quiver. "Normally I would tell you that it is unlikely that Avandrae would comply with your request, but in truth I must admit that it is impossible. For a year and more she has been the captive of a giant who lives in a tower near our village. I would send you away, but you may be our only hope to save her."
"Why haven't you tried to rescue her yourselves?" asked Parika.
"He has threatened to kill her if we attempt such a thing. You, however, are not subject to that promise. If you would be willing to risk an assault on his fortress, I will provide you with a guide to get you there."
Nevroth shrugged. "I don't think we have much of a choice."
It was almost a surprise two days later when they came upon the vast expanse of the Tanglewood. The road led them to the city of Luni, which was a refreshing change from the small towns they had been traveling through. The city had a long and winding wall built of timbers and filled with stone, a testament more to the city's easy access to lumber rather than its defensive readiness. The wall was unguarded and the gates looked as though they hadn't been closed in years.
The vast majority of the buildings in Luni were constructed of wood and plaster, and every exposed surface was brightly painted. The beams and eaves of the houses were carved into fanciful shapes, each one competing with its neighbor for intricacy and imagination. These carvings were painted as well, whether realistically or gaudily.
The festive atmosphere that seemed to pervade the city lightened the mood somewhat, but there was no time to experience the city's charms. Delthic was dispatched immediately to meet with his bardic contacts. Attempts to engage Avandrae's services almost always came through Luni, so information on how to contact her was easily obtained. They were put in contact with a local woodsman named Ricardo Correia, who had been taking hopeful producers into the woods for decades. He seemed mildly surprised at the heavily armed crew, but agreed to take them all the same.
"It's just as well that you've got weapons," he said as they stabled their horses at an inn on the eastern edge of the city. "The wood's been more dangerous lately."
"Wonderful," muttered Parika.
"I don't make any guarantees," said Ricardo, giving the same warning he had given a hundred times before. "The elf sings for who she wants and won't be persuaded otherwise. She's been even more reluctant than normal of late, so don't be surprised if this trip is for nothing."
"We don't have much choice," said Nevroth. "It's a matter of life or death."
The woodsman shrugged. "It always is. I just wanted you to know that I don't give refunds."
The well worn path into the Tanglewood was fairly easy to follow, though it wound through the woods and crossed many other tracks during the day they spent following it. As they started out on the second day of their journey in the woods Ricardo told them that they were very near their destination: a small clearing in the woods where the elves of Sialentha Village traditionally met with outsiders. It was not long after this announcement that they met some of the other denizens of the forest, who leaped out of the woods around them with howls of lupine hunger.
Wolves seemed to materialize out of nowhere, dashing through the dense foliage on either side of the narrow path. Most of them were average sized; fearsome, but no match for the griffons that they had fought the previous week. The two who blocked their path forward, however, were far closer to those monstrous proportions.
Ricardo grimaced and reached for the sword strapped across his back, but before he could get it clear of its harness the two worgs leaped upon him, each grabbing a leg in its powerful jaws and dragging him to the ground. Nevroth ran to the woodsman's aid, but the great beasts were not easily distracted from their little game.
The other wolves surrounded the rest of the group, nipping and biting. Parika dodged fangs as she fired arrows at dangerously close range, while Delthic struck up a tune and hoped he wouldn't die. Seraphim managed to put some distance between herself and the wolf pack, sending streaks of fire toward the slavering worgs further down the trail. Rachel was not concerned by the smaller wolves, laying about herself with her cutlass as she advanced on the greater threat.
Her advance wasn't quick enough to save Ricardo, however. The worgs dropped his bleeding legs and snatched up his arms instead, yanking and ripping until he hung limp and lifeless between them. Rachel settled for vengeance as she slashed at them, her blade cutting through fur and flesh and sinew. Nevroth hewed and stabbed, aiding Rachel in her butchery.
Meanwhile, Parika and Seraphim whittled away at the pack surrounding Delthic. The bard managed to avoid major injury, and his voice remained strong as he bolstered the spirits of the others. The surprise that had accompanied the wolves' appearance was long gone, and the battle turned quickly against them. Soon they were all slain or fled. There was nothing they could do for their brave guide except build a cairn above him amid the trees.
***
The elves' clearing was close by the site of the wolves' attack, and there they rested and bound their wounds. The sun moved slowly through the sky as they waited, and soon it was hidden in the west by the great trees that stood at the edges of the clearing. After weeks spent in hectic travel, it was frustrating to have no option but to wait. Wait they did, however, and as the setting sun painted the sky in pastel hues their patience was rewarded.
Four slim figures emerged silently from the trees, draped in cloaks cut and dyed to match the leaves of the trees around them. Each of the elves held a bow with an arrow fitted to the string, though none were drawn. One of the elves cast his gaze over the group, a slight scowl on his face. He spoke with the accent of one who has little use for foreign tongues: "Why have you come here?"
Seraphim stepped forward. "We have come to engage the talents of Avandrae Sialentha for an important performance in the city of Freeport."
The elf's scowl did not soften. "Where is Ricardo? His absence is worrisome."
"Sadly, we ran afoul of wolves on our way to meet with you, and he fell in battle."
"This is ill news," said the elf, "but unfortunately we have had little of any other kind of late." He studied the five road-weary travelers more closely for a moment, then returned his arrow to its quiver. "Normally I would tell you that it is unlikely that Avandrae would comply with your request, but in truth I must admit that it is impossible. For a year and more she has been the captive of a giant who lives in a tower near our village. I would send you away, but you may be our only hope to save her."
"Why haven't you tried to rescue her yourselves?" asked Parika.
"He has threatened to kill her if we attempt such a thing. You, however, are not subject to that promise. If you would be willing to risk an assault on his fortress, I will provide you with a guide to get you there."
Nevroth shrugged. "I don't think we have much of a choice."
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