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The Band of Four (The Village of Oester)
- Thread starter Hairy Minotaur
- Start date
Hairy Minotaur
Explorer
Tharhack Clears the last eastern house of the Hamlet, and walks along the edge of a wheat field that's been partially harvested. Beyond the wheat field is a vegetable patch and beyond that grassland. Tharhack can just make out a small structure in front of the tree line at the end of the grassland. With the sinking sun to his back Tharhack makes his way around the vegetables and towards the shrine. Tharhack sees Rillkep and four other halflings digging a grave for Roplin off to the right. They stop and give Tharhack a passing look then continue with their digging. Tharhack reaches the Shrine and takes out the green gem from his pouch, and removes the greatsword from his back. He places the greatsword down on the ground in front of him, then places the gem on top of the blade. Calling Kord's name and saying his prayer Tharhack then asks for guidance on what to due with the magical gem.
Something feels wrong however, like a nagging feeling in his gut. Tharhack feels cold and it's not the wind causing it. Tharhack tries to ignore the chill and focus on listening for Kord's judgment, however he hears several voices in a language he doesn't understand. They're all shouting and screaming, then the sounds of animals fills his ears. Tharhack breaks his concentration and opens his eyes.
The shrine's stones have turned black and have cracks running through most of the stones. The cracks begin to bleed a vile thick green liquid that smells rancid. The grass in a circular pattern centered on the shire and extending for thirty feet, has died and turned brown. Confused Tharhack looks around him nothing else has changed. He looks over to the graveyard and sees Rillkep still digging away. Suddenly the cracking of many branches comes from the woods past the shrine. Tharhack turns to see a huge blue skinned humanoid emerge from the woods. It's hair is a greasy black and two small yellow horns protrude from his head. Having never seen a demon Tharhack believes this must be the first time. Tharhack tries to reach for his sword but feels like he's reaching through molasses, his movements are slow and it feels like a strain to do them. Tharhack looks down and sees the hand of the demon picking up the gem.
The demon holds the gem above Tharhack's head, it sheds an eerie green light over the immediate area. Dozens of large grotesque humanoids seem to materialize out of thin air all around Tharhack. They snarl and shout at Tharhack, they sound just like voices Tharhack heard just a moment ago. Tharhack's movements have completely stopped and he seems paralyzed and unable to move. The demon turns his back to Tharhack and retreats back into the woods, the other creatures follow him retreating into the woods as well. A couple of them pick up rocks and throw them at Tharhack, hitting him in the face and chest, but Tharhack cannot feel their blows.
After they've all retreated into the woods, Tharhack hears a deep and gravely laughter echoing through his skull. Then the sound of someone yelling, straining to make out the words Tharhack finds he's able to move again.
"Hurry, run!" The shout came from Rillkep who's gesturing Tharhack to get up and come to him.
Tharhack reaches for his blade and stands on weak legs, he starts to walk to Rillkep, but has to stop repeatedly to steady his step. Finally reaching the halfling Tharhack turns back to the shrine. "What was that thing? What's going on?"
"I have a message for you from Raziel." The voice was an elderly woman's.
Tharhack turns back to catch a knife blade digging into his ribs. An intense feeling of cold permeates Tharhack's entire body, he falls face first into the ground and his body becomes painfully ridged. Tharhack can see the feet of Rillkep walk over to his head.
"Tell your tree swinger to meet me here," an elderly woman's voice invades Tharhack's head. Then a flash of color shoots through Tharhack's vision. This gives way to a picture of the Hamlet, Tharhack seems to be floating above it. Then he begins to fly towards the northeast, unable to control his body, Tharhack watches the ride. The ground flies by, and soon trees appear. Tharhack watches as a small brook appears below the tress, and the ride stops.
"Midnight, tonight, here," the voice says.
There's another brilliant flash of color and Tharhack feels his face slam into something hard. Opening his eyes he finds himself laying face first on his sword. The shrine just next to him. He jumps to his feet, and grabs for his ribs where Rillkep stabbed him, and finds a nasty scar. Tharhack then looks at the shrine, the stones are back to their original gray color, however there appears to be some green fluid at the base of the shrine. Tharhack then looks up and finds Rillkep and his men gone from the graveyard.
"Hey, you OK?" That voice, Tharhack remembered that voice.
Spinning around Tharhack wraps his massive hands around Rillkep's throat and lifts him off the ground. The other halflings stand there stunned for a moment, before yelling for Tharhack to let him go. They start beating on Tharhack trying to get him to release his grip, but that only makes Tharhack squeeze tighter. Already Rillkep's face it turning red as he claws at Tharhack's arms and hands.
"You, I'll kill you. Assassinate me will you." Tharhack spits in Rillkep's face
A shovel slams into Tharhack's knee and he drops Rillkep. Falling onto his knees, Tharhack tries to reach Rillkep again, but the other halflings grab onto Tharhack's arms and hold him down. Choking out a few breaths Rillkep pulls himself to a sitting position.
"You're under arrest for attempted murder. Try anything else and all that strength won't save you from my blade." Rillkep states.
Rillkep comes over and relieves the halfling holding Tharhack's left shoulder down. He tells the halfling to run and tell Wilby to bring lots of rope and meet them out here. The halfling takes off in a sprint back to the Hamlet.
Something feels wrong however, like a nagging feeling in his gut. Tharhack feels cold and it's not the wind causing it. Tharhack tries to ignore the chill and focus on listening for Kord's judgment, however he hears several voices in a language he doesn't understand. They're all shouting and screaming, then the sounds of animals fills his ears. Tharhack breaks his concentration and opens his eyes.
The shrine's stones have turned black and have cracks running through most of the stones. The cracks begin to bleed a vile thick green liquid that smells rancid. The grass in a circular pattern centered on the shire and extending for thirty feet, has died and turned brown. Confused Tharhack looks around him nothing else has changed. He looks over to the graveyard and sees Rillkep still digging away. Suddenly the cracking of many branches comes from the woods past the shrine. Tharhack turns to see a huge blue skinned humanoid emerge from the woods. It's hair is a greasy black and two small yellow horns protrude from his head. Having never seen a demon Tharhack believes this must be the first time. Tharhack tries to reach for his sword but feels like he's reaching through molasses, his movements are slow and it feels like a strain to do them. Tharhack looks down and sees the hand of the demon picking up the gem.
The demon holds the gem above Tharhack's head, it sheds an eerie green light over the immediate area. Dozens of large grotesque humanoids seem to materialize out of thin air all around Tharhack. They snarl and shout at Tharhack, they sound just like voices Tharhack heard just a moment ago. Tharhack's movements have completely stopped and he seems paralyzed and unable to move. The demon turns his back to Tharhack and retreats back into the woods, the other creatures follow him retreating into the woods as well. A couple of them pick up rocks and throw them at Tharhack, hitting him in the face and chest, but Tharhack cannot feel their blows.
After they've all retreated into the woods, Tharhack hears a deep and gravely laughter echoing through his skull. Then the sound of someone yelling, straining to make out the words Tharhack finds he's able to move again.
"Hurry, run!" The shout came from Rillkep who's gesturing Tharhack to get up and come to him.
Tharhack reaches for his blade and stands on weak legs, he starts to walk to Rillkep, but has to stop repeatedly to steady his step. Finally reaching the halfling Tharhack turns back to the shrine. "What was that thing? What's going on?"
"I have a message for you from Raziel." The voice was an elderly woman's.
Tharhack turns back to catch a knife blade digging into his ribs. An intense feeling of cold permeates Tharhack's entire body, he falls face first into the ground and his body becomes painfully ridged. Tharhack can see the feet of Rillkep walk over to his head.
"Tell your tree swinger to meet me here," an elderly woman's voice invades Tharhack's head. Then a flash of color shoots through Tharhack's vision. This gives way to a picture of the Hamlet, Tharhack seems to be floating above it. Then he begins to fly towards the northeast, unable to control his body, Tharhack watches the ride. The ground flies by, and soon trees appear. Tharhack watches as a small brook appears below the tress, and the ride stops.
"Midnight, tonight, here," the voice says.
There's another brilliant flash of color and Tharhack feels his face slam into something hard. Opening his eyes he finds himself laying face first on his sword. The shrine just next to him. He jumps to his feet, and grabs for his ribs where Rillkep stabbed him, and finds a nasty scar. Tharhack then looks at the shrine, the stones are back to their original gray color, however there appears to be some green fluid at the base of the shrine. Tharhack then looks up and finds Rillkep and his men gone from the graveyard.
"Hey, you OK?" That voice, Tharhack remembered that voice.
Spinning around Tharhack wraps his massive hands around Rillkep's throat and lifts him off the ground. The other halflings stand there stunned for a moment, before yelling for Tharhack to let him go. They start beating on Tharhack trying to get him to release his grip, but that only makes Tharhack squeeze tighter. Already Rillkep's face it turning red as he claws at Tharhack's arms and hands.
"You, I'll kill you. Assassinate me will you." Tharhack spits in Rillkep's face
A shovel slams into Tharhack's knee and he drops Rillkep. Falling onto his knees, Tharhack tries to reach Rillkep again, but the other halflings grab onto Tharhack's arms and hold him down. Choking out a few breaths Rillkep pulls himself to a sitting position.
"You're under arrest for attempted murder. Try anything else and all that strength won't save you from my blade." Rillkep states.
Rillkep comes over and relieves the halfling holding Tharhack's left shoulder down. He tells the halfling to run and tell Wilby to bring lots of rope and meet them out here. The halfling takes off in a sprint back to the Hamlet.
Hairy Minotaur
Explorer
pogre said:1st, Ed Cha is paying you right?
2nd, this is one of my favorite updates despite its brevity. The action was totally unexpected, and now I look forward to the next episode with great anticipation. Well done!
Actually this story hour has brought me more wealth than Ed could pay me. I've become a better DM for it, I've met some fine fellow RPGers (yourself included), and I've had opportunities open for me that I could never have dreamed. I should be thanking and paying you for this privilege.
Ed Cha
Community Supporter
pogre said:1st, Ed Cha is paying you right?
2nd, this is one of my favorite updates despite its brevity. The action was totally unexpected, and now I look forward to the next episode with great anticipation. Well done!
LOL!
Nope, but I should be paying him! I agree on the great update and I'm looking forward to reading more....
Hairy Minotaur
Explorer
*******************************************************************************************
"I concede you've served your purpose witch. I've decided to let you live." Says a large blue skinned human shaped creature
"Well I would certainly hope so, I led you to your little gem." speaks Raziel
"Yes, tonight will be the first of many glorious conquests."
"I agree, for both of us. Just leave me a couple of them to play with." Raziel says
"Foolish witch!" The blue skinned man says as he backhands Raziel across the face. "I shall leave nothing in my wake! I shall drain every last bit of life from those puny runts."
Raziel wipes the blood from her mouth, and steadies her feet. "I am more than capable of tormenting your dreams Okag"
"Bah!" Okag slams his clawed fist into Raziel's head again "Your pitiful parlor tricks are of no concern to me. You have my decision leave now and retain your existence, or stay and join my army of the dead." Okag says spreading his arms out to reveal a dozen transparent ogres, all of them with grievous wounds. They slowly drift on the air to form a line behind Okag.
Raziel gets the hint, and flees the area. Transforming into a small bird as soon as her fear quiets down.
"Come my cousins, tonight we show the world the power of the ogre!" Okag shouts
******************************************************************************************************
Berlin is in the middle of a card trick when Rebrey stumbles through the crowd carrying a young boy. The crowd gasps and goes quiet, Xanoniel gets up and runs to Rebrey, taking the boy from him.
"What happened?" Xanoniel asks as Opee joins them.
Rebrey relates his story. Opee suggests they ask Balrin for his help, after all his is a great wizard.
"Balrin! We need your help over here." Opee calls out
Balrin looks around and points to himself, as if there were more than one ten foot tall human wizard with that name.
*cough* "Um yes, Uh lets have a looksie." Balrin makes his way to the boy. He bends down and feels the boy's head. He then makes some hand gestures and spouts some arcane sounding words. "Him, I shall have to consult my books on this matter. I shall research this, and return with an answer in the morning."
"What about me Balrin? I think I've been poisoned." Rebrey asks
"Hmm. Let me check." Balrin makes some more hand gestures, this time ending with a middle finger. He then chants some kind of profanity laced poem. "Yep, looks like poison. You should rest for at least two days. Totally bedridden"
Balrin then catches the face of Xanoniel. "Now you my dear, can help me mix up some elixirs that might help both of them. Won't you join me?"
"Wow, I've never seen a wizard at work before, this is going to be fascinating for sure." Xanoniel replies, and goes to get Balrin's bags and props.
"Don't worry I'll find you some comfortable beds." Opee reassures Rebrey.
"First I must find Alriand. I have something I need to tell her." Rebrey insists
"How about you tell me, and if I see her I'll let her know what the message is." Opee states
"No, I must find her." Rebrey tries to pull away from Opee, but only manages to trip over his own feet.
Alriand watches the parade of idiots from inside a shadow from a house. After watching Xanoniel leave with two men in the clothes of one, and seeing Rebrey fall all over himself like a drunkard, she decides she's seen enough and makes her way along the eastern side of the last row of houses in the Hamlet heading south. She passes almost four houses when she sees Tharhack being led by seven halflings plus Rillkep. Staying out of sight she tails them to the jailhouse where Tharhack is led inside. Alriand then realizes she's hiding behind Opee's house, and decides that with everyone preoccupied, now would be a good time for a shopping spree.
Alriand opens a window on the south wall, and dives inside the elder's house.
"I concede you've served your purpose witch. I've decided to let you live." Says a large blue skinned human shaped creature
"Well I would certainly hope so, I led you to your little gem." speaks Raziel
"Yes, tonight will be the first of many glorious conquests."
"I agree, for both of us. Just leave me a couple of them to play with." Raziel says
"Foolish witch!" The blue skinned man says as he backhands Raziel across the face. "I shall leave nothing in my wake! I shall drain every last bit of life from those puny runts."
Raziel wipes the blood from her mouth, and steadies her feet. "I am more than capable of tormenting your dreams Okag"
"Bah!" Okag slams his clawed fist into Raziel's head again "Your pitiful parlor tricks are of no concern to me. You have my decision leave now and retain your existence, or stay and join my army of the dead." Okag says spreading his arms out to reveal a dozen transparent ogres, all of them with grievous wounds. They slowly drift on the air to form a line behind Okag.
Raziel gets the hint, and flees the area. Transforming into a small bird as soon as her fear quiets down.
"Come my cousins, tonight we show the world the power of the ogre!" Okag shouts
******************************************************************************************************
Berlin is in the middle of a card trick when Rebrey stumbles through the crowd carrying a young boy. The crowd gasps and goes quiet, Xanoniel gets up and runs to Rebrey, taking the boy from him.
"What happened?" Xanoniel asks as Opee joins them.
Rebrey relates his story. Opee suggests they ask Balrin for his help, after all his is a great wizard.
"Balrin! We need your help over here." Opee calls out
Balrin looks around and points to himself, as if there were more than one ten foot tall human wizard with that name.
*cough* "Um yes, Uh lets have a looksie." Balrin makes his way to the boy. He bends down and feels the boy's head. He then makes some hand gestures and spouts some arcane sounding words. "Him, I shall have to consult my books on this matter. I shall research this, and return with an answer in the morning."
"What about me Balrin? I think I've been poisoned." Rebrey asks
"Hmm. Let me check." Balrin makes some more hand gestures, this time ending with a middle finger. He then chants some kind of profanity laced poem. "Yep, looks like poison. You should rest for at least two days. Totally bedridden"
Balrin then catches the face of Xanoniel. "Now you my dear, can help me mix up some elixirs that might help both of them. Won't you join me?"
"Wow, I've never seen a wizard at work before, this is going to be fascinating for sure." Xanoniel replies, and goes to get Balrin's bags and props.
"Don't worry I'll find you some comfortable beds." Opee reassures Rebrey.
"First I must find Alriand. I have something I need to tell her." Rebrey insists
"How about you tell me, and if I see her I'll let her know what the message is." Opee states
"No, I must find her." Rebrey tries to pull away from Opee, but only manages to trip over his own feet.
Alriand watches the parade of idiots from inside a shadow from a house. After watching Xanoniel leave with two men in the clothes of one, and seeing Rebrey fall all over himself like a drunkard, she decides she's seen enough and makes her way along the eastern side of the last row of houses in the Hamlet heading south. She passes almost four houses when she sees Tharhack being led by seven halflings plus Rillkep. Staying out of sight she tails them to the jailhouse where Tharhack is led inside. Alriand then realizes she's hiding behind Opee's house, and decides that with everyone preoccupied, now would be a good time for a shopping spree.
Alriand opens a window on the south wall, and dives inside the elder's house.
Jon Potter
First Post
I love this Story Hour! Thanks for keeping me regularly entertained, Hairy Minotaur.
I really like all the characters with the possible exception of Alriand - she's just so darned amoral that it's tough to really like her. What level is everybody at this point in the adventure? They'll have to be higher level than I thought they were to handle an ogre mage and an army of of ogre ghosts.
I don't own Hamlet of Thumble, but after reading this SH, I'm considering a trip to my FLGS.
Keep the adventure coming!
I really like all the characters with the possible exception of Alriand - she's just so darned amoral that it's tough to really like her. What level is everybody at this point in the adventure? They'll have to be higher level than I thought they were to handle an ogre mage and an army of of ogre ghosts.
I don't own Hamlet of Thumble, but after reading this SH, I'm considering a trip to my FLGS.
Keep the adventure coming!
Ed Cha
Community Supporter
Jon Potter said:
Yeah, I think he's doing a great job! Hairy Minotaur has a knack for describing things. Also, I love the dialogue.
I'm also curious to know what level the PCs are and how they're going to handle this encounter. Hopefully, if Hairy Minotaur is running "The Village of Oester", the PCs will be ready for that adventure.
Jon, thanks for checking out my book! I hope you enjoy it and please do share with us your feedback. Also, if you can't find it at your local gaming store, remember you can always pick it up at d20 Books or Amazon.com!
Hairy Minotaur
Explorer
Jon Potter said:
Thanks! it's been fun writting it.
Evil elves are very fun to play, especially greedy insensitive ones. Her player has run Alriand's alignment and motives so well, that I keep shelling out reward X.P. to encourage the job he's doing.
Everybody is at level 4. Xanoniel however is at ECL 7 due to her race. Her player and I are still wrangling over whether to make her a permanent addition or not. I let her be played as is, because I knew I wanted to run this encounter this way. In the book this doesn't have to happen at all. The encounter has already occured, and without giving away anything, I will say that there is still a Hamlet left and someone shows that big things can come in small packages.
I do plan on running 1B The Village of Oester. However I want another 2 levels on the party before they get there, so they will have a little side trek before reaching Mullikin.
Hopefully I will have enough time to get the entire encounter posted (my 1 year-old still only sleeps about 3-4 hours a shot) but that is my goal. It was a tense session and one they still talk about.
Hairy Minotaur
Explorer
Alriand quickly rummages through Opee's house, looking for anything halfway valuable and light enough to put in her backpack. Locating only some silver dinnerware, and a pair a gold candlesticks. Opee has some nice cherrywood cabinets but unable to carry those out of his house, Alriand considers burning the house down to show her frustration but decides that would be hard to pin on someone else. Instead she decides to slip back out of the house and head to the jailhouse to see what's going on with Tharhack.
Rebrey is led to Roplin's old house by Opee, who tells him he won't be bothered here. He reassures Rebrey that someone will be by at dawn to check on him, and he will make sure his friends know where he is located. Rebrey settles into the small bed and tries to make the best out of the situation. Opee soon leaves, but Rebrey who's feeling no ill effects from the powder can't sleep and just sits in the dark, pondering the boy's words.
The last of the sun's rays are dipping below the horizon, the halflings of Thumble are heading home to dinner. A frigid wind begins to blow in from the north as the temperature plummets. The howling of the wind turns from a high pitched whine through the Hamlet, and into a low constant moaning. The sound starts off low or maybe in the distance, however it soon drowns out all other sounds. Rebrey gets up and looks out the window but can't see where the noise is coming from. Alriand who had been listening to Rillkep grill Tharhack over and over about choking him and trying to kill him, which improved Alriand's thoughts about the 1/2 orc. However the chill of this winter's night was beginning to seep through her clothes, plus that annoying moaning sound was getting irritating. She leaves the jailhouse in search of a warm place to rest for the night.
Rillkep has been interrogating Tharhack for the past hour, Tharhack though is uninterested in Rillkep's questions. He just sits in his cell staring at the opposing wall and replaying the events back in his mind, and discovering nothing further to help his sanity. Rillkep send Wilby out to get him some carrot tea before he starts hour two of the questioning. Wilby had only been gone for a moment when the groaning sound stopped abruptly. Then the sound of a hair raising scream shatters the temporary silence. Rillkep grabs his shortsword and heads to the door. The scream goes off again, only this time instead of sounding like the person ran out of air, it's sounds as though they were cut off. Rillkep opens the door and sees Wilby running around the corner.
"Ghosts! lots of them! They're at Borendil's, I think that was Tessee screaming. There's also some demon with them, they're headed into town." Wilby says breathlessly
This news perks up Tharhack who jumps off his low bed and grabs the bars to his cell. "I know this demon, He attacked me while I was praying. Let me out so that I might help defend the village."
"The only thing you'll be defending is your swill. I'm not about to let you anywhere near a resident of this Hamlet." Rillkep says as he exits the jailhouse with Wilby, locking the door behind him.
The two halflings head up the main road, and once they reach the well, they can see the pale white forms of a dozen ghastly creatures. Some are missing limbs, one is missing a head, all of them have bloody wounds all over their bodies. Then they see the large bluish creature pointing out fellow halflings, to which the pale creatures hunt down. The blue man is holding a glowing green object in his right hand, holding it high above his head, it casts a sick pallor on anything it's light illuminates.
"Run! Save yourself!" halflings run screaming past Rillkep and Wilby.
Opee catches up to them and his face tells the whole story. "Where's Balrin? Someone get Balrin!" Opee shouts
Rillkep sends Wilby to hunt down Balrin who's staying at Durac's former house.
"Well, the instructions call for the sweat of a beautiful woman." Balrin tells Xanoniel " I don't know what else to say"
"Can't we just use the sweat from my brow, it's very hot in here anyway?" Xanoniel asks
"Um.... No, it calls for a pint of sweat. It'd be easier if disrobed so we could collect the ingredient quicker. I mean you do want to help the boy right?" Balrin replies
"Let me see that book." Xanoniel demands
"Sure here you go." Balrin hands it over, however it's in a language Xanoniel's never seen.
"Come on hurry up, the boy's not going to last much longer." Balrin says getting agitated
"You said he'd be fine if he rests." Xanoniel counters
"Not if we don't collect this sweat. He'll be dead by morning." Balrin responds
Xanoniel thinks it over, and decides to help Balrin out. She begins to undo her belt when there's a loud knock at the door.
"Oh, for the love of....." Balrin bemoans. "What!"
Wilby busts through the door. "Mister Balrin come quick! Ghosts are attacking. We need your help!"
"GGGGhosts? Uh. I was in the middle of something here. Maybe you could hold them off until I finish here and then I could come see your ghosts?" Balrin counters
"Sir we think they've already killed one person and they're headed for the center of town!" Wilby yells "And they're led by a demon, with bluish skin, and it's got some sort of magic light."
"Oh well in that case I shall uh be right there, um tell them to wait for me." Balrin manages to get out through his chattering teeth.
"Ooh a real wizard in action. I better go with this halfling and see if I can stall these ghosts for you." Xanoniel tells Balrin, she then leaves with Wilby.
"Way to go Mylner, ###hole. How in the heck are we going to get out of this one?" says the man carrying Mylner on his shoulders.
"Shut up stupid. The plan is still the same Culley. We just have to do it faster." Mylner replies
Culley is in the process of letting Mylner down, when the door flies open and Opee appears.
"Hurry you must come now, or we'll all perish!" Opee grabs the hand of Mylner (Balrin) and attempts to pull him through the door. Mylner slams his head into the door frame several times before he contorts his body enough to clear the frame.
Culley begins shaking with fear as Opee leads Balrin to the main road where they see Rebrey and a couple of halflings trying in vain to keep the transparent beasts at bay. Then the ogre mage comes into view. Mylner quacks with fear and loses control of his bladder all over Culley, who staggers trying to get the sting out of his eyes. This throws Mylner off balance and he flops around on Culley's shoulders. All this flailing about has gained the attention of Okag, who sends a welcoming party to greet the wizard.
Rebrey swings and swings but is unable to affect the ghosts at all, luckily however they seem uninterested or unable to return the attack on him. The ghosts are more interested in tracking down Thumble's residents. Rebrey wonders as to the fate of the rest of his party as he seems to be the only one present.
Alriand who had been hiding out at the house next to the jailhouse, watches Rillkep and Wilby run towards the northern part of town, and she can also see Wilby come back and get Xanoniel and Balrin from the house just north of her. Wondering what's going on, and wondering how to cause more of it, she heads to the jailhouse. Picking the lock on the front door she enters and finds Tharhack attempting to pull apart the bars to his tiny cell. She picks that lock as well. Tharhack thanks her as he pushes past her on his way out of the jailhouse, and up the main road.
Alriand then calmly strolls out of the jailhouse and decides to head to Diargren's house, he probably has a bunch of useful stuff, being an ex-adventurer and all.
Rebrey is led to Roplin's old house by Opee, who tells him he won't be bothered here. He reassures Rebrey that someone will be by at dawn to check on him, and he will make sure his friends know where he is located. Rebrey settles into the small bed and tries to make the best out of the situation. Opee soon leaves, but Rebrey who's feeling no ill effects from the powder can't sleep and just sits in the dark, pondering the boy's words.
The last of the sun's rays are dipping below the horizon, the halflings of Thumble are heading home to dinner. A frigid wind begins to blow in from the north as the temperature plummets. The howling of the wind turns from a high pitched whine through the Hamlet, and into a low constant moaning. The sound starts off low or maybe in the distance, however it soon drowns out all other sounds. Rebrey gets up and looks out the window but can't see where the noise is coming from. Alriand who had been listening to Rillkep grill Tharhack over and over about choking him and trying to kill him, which improved Alriand's thoughts about the 1/2 orc. However the chill of this winter's night was beginning to seep through her clothes, plus that annoying moaning sound was getting irritating. She leaves the jailhouse in search of a warm place to rest for the night.
Rillkep has been interrogating Tharhack for the past hour, Tharhack though is uninterested in Rillkep's questions. He just sits in his cell staring at the opposing wall and replaying the events back in his mind, and discovering nothing further to help his sanity. Rillkep send Wilby out to get him some carrot tea before he starts hour two of the questioning. Wilby had only been gone for a moment when the groaning sound stopped abruptly. Then the sound of a hair raising scream shatters the temporary silence. Rillkep grabs his shortsword and heads to the door. The scream goes off again, only this time instead of sounding like the person ran out of air, it's sounds as though they were cut off. Rillkep opens the door and sees Wilby running around the corner.
"Ghosts! lots of them! They're at Borendil's, I think that was Tessee screaming. There's also some demon with them, they're headed into town." Wilby says breathlessly
This news perks up Tharhack who jumps off his low bed and grabs the bars to his cell. "I know this demon, He attacked me while I was praying. Let me out so that I might help defend the village."
"The only thing you'll be defending is your swill. I'm not about to let you anywhere near a resident of this Hamlet." Rillkep says as he exits the jailhouse with Wilby, locking the door behind him.
The two halflings head up the main road, and once they reach the well, they can see the pale white forms of a dozen ghastly creatures. Some are missing limbs, one is missing a head, all of them have bloody wounds all over their bodies. Then they see the large bluish creature pointing out fellow halflings, to which the pale creatures hunt down. The blue man is holding a glowing green object in his right hand, holding it high above his head, it casts a sick pallor on anything it's light illuminates.
"Run! Save yourself!" halflings run screaming past Rillkep and Wilby.
Opee catches up to them and his face tells the whole story. "Where's Balrin? Someone get Balrin!" Opee shouts
Rillkep sends Wilby to hunt down Balrin who's staying at Durac's former house.
"Well, the instructions call for the sweat of a beautiful woman." Balrin tells Xanoniel " I don't know what else to say"
"Can't we just use the sweat from my brow, it's very hot in here anyway?" Xanoniel asks
"Um.... No, it calls for a pint of sweat. It'd be easier if disrobed so we could collect the ingredient quicker. I mean you do want to help the boy right?" Balrin replies
"Let me see that book." Xanoniel demands
"Sure here you go." Balrin hands it over, however it's in a language Xanoniel's never seen.
"Come on hurry up, the boy's not going to last much longer." Balrin says getting agitated
"You said he'd be fine if he rests." Xanoniel counters
"Not if we don't collect this sweat. He'll be dead by morning." Balrin responds
Xanoniel thinks it over, and decides to help Balrin out. She begins to undo her belt when there's a loud knock at the door.
"Oh, for the love of....." Balrin bemoans. "What!"
Wilby busts through the door. "Mister Balrin come quick! Ghosts are attacking. We need your help!"
"GGGGhosts? Uh. I was in the middle of something here. Maybe you could hold them off until I finish here and then I could come see your ghosts?" Balrin counters
"Sir we think they've already killed one person and they're headed for the center of town!" Wilby yells "And they're led by a demon, with bluish skin, and it's got some sort of magic light."
"Oh well in that case I shall uh be right there, um tell them to wait for me." Balrin manages to get out through his chattering teeth.
"Ooh a real wizard in action. I better go with this halfling and see if I can stall these ghosts for you." Xanoniel tells Balrin, she then leaves with Wilby.
"Way to go Mylner, ###hole. How in the heck are we going to get out of this one?" says the man carrying Mylner on his shoulders.
"Shut up stupid. The plan is still the same Culley. We just have to do it faster." Mylner replies
Culley is in the process of letting Mylner down, when the door flies open and Opee appears.
"Hurry you must come now, or we'll all perish!" Opee grabs the hand of Mylner (Balrin) and attempts to pull him through the door. Mylner slams his head into the door frame several times before he contorts his body enough to clear the frame.
Culley begins shaking with fear as Opee leads Balrin to the main road where they see Rebrey and a couple of halflings trying in vain to keep the transparent beasts at bay. Then the ogre mage comes into view. Mylner quacks with fear and loses control of his bladder all over Culley, who staggers trying to get the sting out of his eyes. This throws Mylner off balance and he flops around on Culley's shoulders. All this flailing about has gained the attention of Okag, who sends a welcoming party to greet the wizard.
Rebrey swings and swings but is unable to affect the ghosts at all, luckily however they seem uninterested or unable to return the attack on him. The ghosts are more interested in tracking down Thumble's residents. Rebrey wonders as to the fate of the rest of his party as he seems to be the only one present.
Alriand who had been hiding out at the house next to the jailhouse, watches Rillkep and Wilby run towards the northern part of town, and she can also see Wilby come back and get Xanoniel and Balrin from the house just north of her. Wondering what's going on, and wondering how to cause more of it, she heads to the jailhouse. Picking the lock on the front door she enters and finds Tharhack attempting to pull apart the bars to his tiny cell. She picks that lock as well. Tharhack thanks her as he pushes past her on his way out of the jailhouse, and up the main road.
Alriand then calmly strolls out of the jailhouse and decides to head to Diargren's house, he probably has a bunch of useful stuff, being an ex-adventurer and all.
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