The One True Game: According to Hoyle, and Others

[howandwhy99]

[DAY 98 – Moonday, Sceptre 2nd, CY 81]

During the night each of the ten travelers squirmed and spoke out in their sleep. The watchers at different times complained of bizarre dreams, but did not discuss the details. When Rose and Diedre awoke to take the final watch however, Rose told the gypsy what she had dreamed. “Maybe you can tell me what this means,” she said. “There was a group of woodsman walking along inside a big forest. Only where we… they were walking was towards was a fallen tree and its stump. Something was oddly familiar about it. Near the stump ran a familiar river; I think it was the Greenwillow River I followed to enter into Margrave. Anyways, the woodsmen were human and looked ready to cut down more trees. Only before they could a volley of arrows flew out killing them.” Rose had not noticed, but Diedre’s eyes had gone wide with fright. “The really strange thing was…” Rose paused. “The fletching on the arrows was black and white – fae arrows, like we saw at the moathouse.”

“I see horrible death in all our futures,” said Diedre trembling. “I had the same dream. I saw the same woodsmen and the same arrows.” Rose looked skeptical. Diedre continued using her cryptic voice, “Perhaps it is some power of the pool. I believe we saw the future. Or perhaps what has already passed. I cannot be certain. But we will all die horrible deaths. Of that I am certain!” It took a few minutes for Diedre to convince Rose she had actually dreamed the same dream, but in the end Rose said she believed her. As soon as the sky turned blue outside the two woke the rest of the team. “We need to talk,” said Rose. The little elven-fae explained what had happened and recited her dream again to the rest of the group. After finishing everyone else admitted to having strange dreams as well. None had dreamt of the woodsmen, but the visions had been vivid. Darius ordered them all to sit in a circle and recount the dreams they just had. “And if any a’you had the same dream, say so. This is strange stuff and I’m still not convinced it’s got nothing to do with that witch.”

Dram went first. “When the dream started I was looking at this gnoll, like Kayla’s friend gnoll back at the Chaos Caves. He was injured, shot several times with arrows. He said something like: ‘a group o’ gnolls has destroyed this village that was… something something’... I forget. But he seemed to think it was important. Then I noticed we were in a farmhouse or a barn. And it was on fire. Outside the open door I could see an entire village being overrun by gnolls. They were torching the buildings and killing the people. That was it really. At the end the injured gnoll hocked up a lung and died.” Father Ben raised his hand. “Uh…I had a dream kind of like that… The gnolls had destroyed the village and were taking slaves. The gnoll captain, of sorts, died spitting blood everywhere.” Darius nodded curtly. “Next!” he called out looking at Dalin.

“My dream was about little blue men.” He chuckled to himself uneasily. “Well, they really were that. They were small, about the size of the kobolds we fought, only not scaly and a whole lot hairier. They had big eyes and skulls, and deep sloping foreheads. And they were all bald like old men. Only they weren’t old.”
”What happened?” asked Darius. Dalin sighed before continuing.
“Well, they were roaming around during the night in the dark. Only I could see in the dark, like I was a dwarf like you.” Darius nodded patiently. “They were all painting each other with fresh blood from a creature they had killed. I couldn’t tell what it was, but the form on the ground was obviously somewhere in the wildlands we have been passing through. That was it.”

Darius asked around, but no one else had the same dream as Dalin. “Next!” Darius called out. Ormand the Redd started softly, “I saw a horribly ugly woman. She was tall and had gray wrinkly skin. She looked right at me like she was going to kill me. I could see she had one green eye and one blue eye. She was some kind of… of half-breed,” he said trying not to look at Grog. “Her face and cheeks were fat and hung down like the aged, only her cheeks had jowls like a big dog.” “THE WITCH!” shouted Dram. He looked around for agreement, but no one else had seen the witch behind the mushroom compound’s wall. Ormand went on, “She said gruffly ‘take this misshapen fellow’ and shoved the skinny Kusnlir man to the ground in front of me. Then two blue men like Dalin described, only I was the same height as they were in the dream, they held him down. ‘Off with his hand!’ yelled the woman. Then I took a big carving knife and cut off Urkwin’s hand, the hand with the glove on it.”

Ormand was very embarrassed. “I didn’t want to cut it off. I mean, he didn’t attack us or anything. But when I, or the dream me, did so Urkwin, that’s what the skinny man’s name is (or was), he started laughing hysterically. He didn’t even scream out when his wrist was cut.”
Darius told him it was just a dream. After confirming Ormand was the only one to have this dream, Darius decided to tell his own. “I was back in Hamfast. I saw the jail again where we had freed the villagers. There were many wagons around. I was sort of walking through town and watching all the activity going on around me. At least two strong humans were inside a smithy shop. They both smiled at me falsely. Lots of small red men, goblins really, ran to unload the wagons. Larger ones, hobgoblins, were ordering the smaller ones about. I couldn’t see what they unloaded from the wagons, but there were no orcs anywhere. That seems odd to me as orcs were the ones who controlled Hamfast. At the end of the dream I saw a group of large hairy beasts dicing behind the smithy. I’ve never seen anything like them before. They were as tall as gnolls and as strong, but with very different features. I do remember the finely crafted armor they had on. They would be very difficult in a fight.”

No one had dreamt Darius’s dream either. Kayla was called upon next to report. “I was flying through the air. It actually felt wonderful and very liberating. I soared over and around mountain peaks. Below me I could clearly see my shadow upon the stone far below. I was a massive creature, with large, muscled wings and cruel, taloned feet.”
“The dragon of Gone’way, perhaps?” asked Darius. He was deep in thought.
“Perhaps,” said Kayla.
”I had this same dream,” said Pax. “The wingspan must have been twenty feet wide. And I had feathers, I’m certain of it.” Kayla looked doubtful. She started again with her story.
“As I flew, I began circling around and round. On the mountainsides I saw little yellow and red creatures. They were running from me in fear. They shouted in the goblin tongue ‘Run! Run! It’s a dragon, I swear! Run!!’” Kayla looked at Pax certain she had been a dragon in the dream. Pax admitted he had not understood the goblin’s speech.

 

[howandwhy99]

Darius turned to Grog who was last. “Grog have flying dream too,” he said. “Grog miss the mountains.” The big guy looked as despondent as ever. Darius stood up and dusted himself off. “Pax, Rose, Ormand, Diedre. You are to accompany Father Ben to the town. He has contacts who might be living there and possibly help us. Their names are Sebastion and Celestia Wainwright.”
“Why hasn’t he told us this before?” barked Dram. “Does this have something to do with those rocks from last night?”
“What rocks?” balked Rose. “Husband, you have never told me this!” She looked genuinely annoyed.
“It was not to be said,” responded Ben hotly. “These are folks I have never met, Dram. And I cannot say how I know them.” Darius agreed with him and clammed up about the details. He ordered everyone to prepare to leave. Dram stormed out of the cave entrance fuming with anger.

Outside the Dram spotted smoke coming from the south. Climbing up to the top of the hillock behind the cave he scanned the horizon. About a half mile from where he stood at the wood’s edge he saw several buildings billowing with smoke and flame. “Orlain,” he said to himself. Closer he spotted a large mass of men riding towards the forest line. They would pass close to the cave entrance in a few minutes. Outside of the cave Father Ben and his welcoming party had just exited. Dram ran forward and jumped to the floor in front of the cave. He shouted to the five on horseback. “Dozens of riders! Moving fast. (huff, huff) Sacked the town. (huff) Headed this way!” Ben and his followers halted and doubled back. Darius ran outside and started shouting orders.

Everyone quickly broke down the encampment. Rose called out to a bird in the woods nearby. They whistled to each other and then it sped off in the direction of the riders. “What did they look like Dram?” asked Darius. Dram could not make out more than a common armor all wore and a tall banner one rider carried in front. The bird returned, but was no help. It could not understand the difference between humanoids or give good descriptions. The team mounted and trotted their horses towards the oncoming force. The land’s hilly terrain kept both groups out of sight of each other. Rose took point and swung a wide loop around. With her uncanny direction sense the team planned to cut off the marauders. As they crested a small rise Rose saw the other group come to a halt. “We’ve been spotted,” she warned the others.

When they crested the next hill a band of mercenaries was displayed before them. Three covered wagons were in a line along the far side. Several riders and more on foot pointed crossbows towards the team and their horses. All of them were gnolls over seven feet tall. From behind, Grog jogged, finally catching up with the team. “No one make any sudden moves,” ordered Darius. It was obvious the gnoll warband was headed back to the forest with their plunder. Activity could be seen from inside the covered wagons. A rider in front stood up in his saddle and waved a white flag. Diedre supplied a white veil for Grog to wave up high. The gnolls on horseback cautiously dismounted. The warband moved closer together into an oval with the horses in the center and the wagons behind. Each one had a crossbow out and a small shield propped in front of them. Darius looked on appreciatively. He knew a well-trained fighting force when he saw it.

He dismounted and signaled for his friends to do likewise. “See how they are battle scarred? They’ve seen some fighting recently…and from more than just villagers. By Thor, they’re bigger than you Pax!” When the whole team had dismounted (it took some time to convince Dram to do so), three gnolls walked forward with the white flag in hand. “Who can speak gnoll?” asked Darius. Pax said he could. Grog could too. They were accompanied down the hill by Kayla and Dalin at their backs, their best wizard and best warrior. Grog defiantly held the white veil high in the air. “Perhaps I should conduct the parley, Grog,” Pax said flatly.

“Do you wish to buy some of our slaves?” yelled the leader in the gnoll tongue. Pax took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
“How many do you have for sale?”
“Twenty adults. 15 children.” Pax rubbed his chin trying to look shrewd.
“How much for all of them?” he asked.
The three gnolls yipped with laughter. “50 gold”, said the leader staring hard at Pax.
“Hmm…. including the wagons?”
The leader barked. “No! No wagons.”

The terms were set. Kayla asked Pax to try and move them closer to the oval of gnolls. Pax turned back to the leader and made friendly conversation trying to ingratiate himself. He asked to inspect the slaves before purchasing. The leader took Pax back towards the wagons. Kayla and Dalin quickly followed along. Grog was confused and stayed with the two gnolls who began to shift nervously. As they moved the large oval of crouched gnolls shifted direction so Pax and the other two were covered by crossbow as well. The gnoll leader seemed friendly, but his forces had not relaxed at all. Kayla looked knowingly into Dalin’s eyes. She wanted to cast her sleep spell now she was close enough to catch everyone in it. Dalin counted at least forty gnolls in the oval and shook his head slightly.

The leader pulled a small human form from the back of one of the wagons. Inside its’ covered bed were several more gnolls guarding other wrapped bodies. Each one was covered in cloth from head to toe. It was impossible to determine if any were alive or dead… or even human. “We give them something to keep them quiet,” said the gnoll leader. “They should wake up tomorrow sometime.” Pax was not sure he could trust the warrior. The leader spoke again, “No. Sick, but okay. They will vomit.” Pax smiled broadly. He was fearful of what might happen should he lose their trust. A second gnoll slit open the wrappings of the small bundle. A human child of around ten years old slipped out unconscious to the ground. Moving slowly, Pax examined the body. The boy appeared to be asleep.

Just then the gnolls’ horses started neighing loudly. Something had disturbed them. Pax heard the gnoll force creak as it shifted before firing. “No! No!” he shouted waving his arms above his head at his friends on the hill. He looked at the leader. “That was not us. We wish to do business.” Up on the hill Father Ben looked over at Rose. She was whistling innocently, and then stopped. After another tense minute the leader laughed in the peculiar manner all gnolls do and slapped Pax on the back. Negotiations were back on. “Let us go into the forest where it is safer,” he suggested. Pax was not exactly thrilled by the proposition.
“There is a cave nearby. I think we would be safer inside than in the woods,” said Pax. The leader grinned and said no. Each side was too scared of an ambush.

 

[howandwhy99]

Pax spoke with the leader and everyone else waited out the tense moments. In the end he had bartered down the price to only thirty-five gold for the entire collection of slaves. Kayla pulled out her smallest money pouch and began counting out the price. She used small coins (silver and copper, picking out the lead) to appear poor. “Good?” asked the leader when he was finished counting. Pax agreed. The leader spit in his hand. So did Pax and they shook on it. The leader hollered and waved his hands giving orders to his soldiers. Pax, Dalin, and Kayla dropped back ready to pull their swords. At the same time, the tarps of all three wagons were pulled off and the gnolls inside started unloading the wrapped bodies to the ground.

Pax and the others eased their stance. “You have been very successful,” complimented Pax. The leader was in good spirits and agreed. “Has slaving always been this good? I hear Kera has many people,” said Pax.
“Livinia says this place is open,” replied the leader. Pax took a wild guess.
“A gray skinned witch?”
“You know her?”
“I have heard of her,” said Pax trying to look disinterested. “What did she say?”
“She is not to be trusted. Lavinia traveled from this way before us. She was with her sons and another, a stranger.” Pax shook his head to show he had not seen them. “One of the sons kept pets,” the leader continued. “Animals from the forest. He makes them do bad things.” A low growl like a wild animal grew in the back of the gnoll leader’s throat. Pax did his best to stand his ground. He thought to himself, “the wildcats that attacked Grog?”

“What was the stranger like?” he asked aloud.
“The stranger wore all black and covered its face,” said the leader. “It was hunched over.” Pax’s great intellect sifted through the possibilities. He remembered Igor would have fit the description, but that was long before he had met Darius or the chef. “He’s probably dead now anyways”, thought Pax to himself.
“Lavinia’s failing cost us five gnolls,” the leader rambled on.
“Where was she going?” asked Pax. “Does she live around here?”
“She lives in the caves far away. Through the pass and over the mountains.” It sounded to Pax like Urkwin was not going back to Kusnir any time soon. He decided to change the subject.

“What is your troop called? I see your banner and everyone in the same mail armor. Do you have a name?” The leader laughed again, which got the other gnolls laughing too. He reached into a nearby pack and pulled out a large metal shield. “Your calling card, I presume?” said Pax. The shield was embossed with a tankurd with a skull on the side and had writing in the Common Tongue etched along the bottom. ‘Murylind Mercenary Co.’ He gave it to Pax as a gift. The two chatted on as all thirty-five bodies were unloaded and accounted for by Kayla and Dalin. The rest of the party maintained their position on the hill.

“Are you the leader?” asked Pax. The gnoll shook his head. He explained he was the captain. Their leader was a troll in the mountains eastwards. He smiled broadly.
“He has a bigger, meaner friend though who sleeps during the day. (laughs) Don’t wake him during the day.” The gnoll captain started laughing like he had just told a joke, so Pax join in. When the gnolls were finished Pax, Kayla, and Dalin retreated back to Grog’s side at the bottom of the rise. The gnoll warband stood up and started marching away in orderly lines with the mounted cavalry at their flanks. “I hope we meet again!” shouted the gnoll captain to Pax and gave him a salute. Pax saluted him in return.
“It has been most profitable.”

Father Ben and Rose stayed at the top of the hill to keep an eye on the gnolls in case they doubled back. Everyone else circled around Pax asking him what had happened. He summed up the transaction as best he could. As he talked Darius rewarded him with a few gold pieces for his own. Kayla was deep in thought about the black, hump-backed man. Dalin, Dram, and Grog ignored the dull storytelling and went straight to the bodies. They slit open all of the bundles just enough to learn what was inside each of them. “AAAAhhh!” Grog started screaming. Five of the bundles were actually strange blue men. Four were taller and one the size of a child. Dalin recognized them from his dream. Grog called the short one his mushroom friend. The blue men were taken out of their wrappings and they found the four tall ones were actually dead. “The little one is still breathing,” said Dalin trying to cheer Grog up. But he knew one out of five was bad odds all around. They examined the humans too. All were in various states of health, but none were dead.

Darius called everyone over to Grog’s side. “We need to make some decisions and fast.”
“What are we doing now?” asked Dram boldly. The town in the distance was on fire. The black smoke billowing from it was as thick as ever. There was still the problem of moving all thirty-five of the slave bodies. “We could try pulling them on large litters?” suggested Dalin. They would need to collect wood from the forest’s edge to build them however. Darius was adamant about saving the town. “It’s all these townsfolk have left.” Kayla had an idea.
“What if we collected all the litters and Grog used his sword to grow to Giant size? Then we could pull them all at once?” Darius agreed. He put Kayla in charge of the team and rode up the hill to Ben and Rose on lookout. He recruited them to help him save the town and the three galloped off towards the burning blaze.

 

[howandwhy99]

As he coaxed his horse down the only road in the small village Darius could see every building had been torched. Several were beyond saving, but some still had a chance. Father Ben and Rose helped him quickly count the dead that lay all around the street. They counted the buildings too and looked for any that might have goods or people inside. It did not take long to survey. Thirty-three buildings once stood, but most would be ash by nightfall. Perhaps fourteen to fifteen bodies were discovered. It was difficult to tell for certain. At least one safe building was found that could easily be extinguished. Rose turned her horse around to go back and tell the others.

Father Ben and Darius dismounted to check for people inside the buildings. The paladin heard suddenly heard coughing from somewhere within a small hay shed. He ran up toward the open door and large dog jumped out attacking him. Ben turned around when he heard Darius shout. Near the edge of town, Rose’s pointed ears picked up the noise as well. Darius grappled with the dog unsuccessfully as Ben ran to his side. “Call off your dog!” Ben shouted into the shed hoping for a response. Behind them Rose galloped up on her horse, leapt off it’s back, and tumbled in behind Darius. The dwarf was struggling, but finally pulled his sword. He swung at the dog with the flat of the blade. Ben heard Rose start barking at the dog, so he ran into the burning building looking for an owner. It was roughly twenty deep and forty feet wide. The ceiling was slowly filling with smoke. Across from the door was a gnoll lying on its back. Nearly a dozen arrows stuck out of its chest. It was dying.

“They left me,” it croaked.
“Call off your dog or we could die!” demanded Ben. “We worked with your company. We even bought slaves from them. We are friends!”
‘Ah HA!!” growled the gnoll. It lifted a crossbow it was hiding under the hay and shot Ben in the shoulder. Behind him Darius saw what happened. He broke away from the dog and ran up to the gnoll. He lifted his sword with its point hovering over the creature’s eye and said, “we mean you no harm. I can even save you, but you need to call off your dog!”
“What’s going on in there?” called Rose from outside. The dog was refusing to listen to her. Taking another tactic, she swung at the dog with the sharp edge of her sword. She hit and it bolted away.

Fear flowed through Ben’s body. This was the dream sequence he had shared with Dram when they first awoke. Ben swung his flail at the gnoll, but the bolt in his shoulder shifted as he moved doing further damage. Darius attempted to deflect Ben’s blow as well. “I am here to protect you, if you need aid,” he said to the gnoll. “It is my duty to protect all in need.” The paladin laid his hands on the gnoll and healing power coursed into the monster. The arrows in its grey-green, rubbery skin pushed their way out. The wounds sealed up and the gnoll’s gaze became more focused. Ben could see it gaining in strength. Stunned by the dwarf’s actions he shook off his fear. In a fit of rage Ben lunged forward in trying to strangle the creature before it fully revived.

He failed. The gnoll deftly squeezed Ben’s head into an armlock and grasping for the cleric’s flail. Darius realized his confusion and swung at the beast missing. Rose had made her way inside through the growing smoky haze. Using her club she helped Darius attack, but only succeeded in hitting Father Ben. Fortunately for him, the blow bounced off his chainmail. Ben struggled to break free of the gnoll’s grasp, but it was far stronger than him now. All its wounds were scarred over. It hunched down and took a bite out of Ben’s shoulder. Darius pulled out a torch and lit it off the flaming walls. Rose did the same, but neither landed a solid hit.

For the next few of minutes the gnoll attempted to devour Ben. It took two more bites out of him mitigated only by his armor and helm. Blood poured from his wounds and weakly Ben flailed at back without effect. Rose and Darius battered at the beast with their torches, but their luck had failed them. Not one blow landed square. Furthermore, all three were getting fatigued from the exertion and smoke. Ben and Rose were coughing loudly. Regrettably, the gnoll was stronger than ever.

Darius swung and missed yet again. “Blast it!” he cursed. Ben swung, but only managed to hit Darius. He was bit a fourth time. Ben staggered in place. He was woozy and could feel his consciousness slipping. Coughing uncontrollably, Rose backed out of the front door. Darius swung again. Another miss. “This is the end”, thought Ben to himself. Before he could fall unconscious however, he felt a muscle in his head twitch. His body pushed up into the air. He screamed, but could see fear in the gnolls eyes. “The Gods will Destroy you NOW!!!” he shouted with his last breath. Darius looked dumbfounded up at the floating cleric. Fresh urine stained the gnoll’s leggings.

“Ben? Get down here right now!” ordered Darius. Rose curiously peered back inside the shed and was amazed by what she saw. The gnoll was being pulled upwards by Ben. It let go and ran towards the exit in panic. Ben bounced up into the ceiling and hung there. Ironically, Rose and Darius landed two devastating parting shots on the gnoll before it reached the street outside. Rose watched it sprint out of town towards the forest. Ben released the muscle in his mind and floated back down to the ground. He quickly healed himself with a prayer and walked out to the street with Darius to one side. “Well that was…” and he fainted dead away.

 

[howandwhy99]

Dram stood watch on one of the higher rises in the broken lands. His eyes scanned for gnolls coming back from the forest, but nothing had happened since they left. Turning back to the burning village he spotted a figure running toward him. “Hot Damn!” It was a gnoll. “Looks like it just left the fire for the frying pan,” Dram said. He spurred his horse to a gallop. Riding up to Pax’s horse he grabbed the big man’s lance. The crazy-legged gnoll came back into sight. Dram charged lowering the lance just as he reached the gnoll. OOOF! He planted the tip into the ground and nearly toppled off his horse. The gnoll ran by without a second glance. Pax and Ormond were watching to see what was happening and began peppering the creature with arrows. It fell down dead.

Dram rode back to the kill and hogtied the creature just to be on the safe side. From behind him he heard another horse coming. This time it was Rose. He took her back to Kayla who was working in a rocky flat trying to situate all the sleeping bodies within the litters. Only three quarters could fit without crushing some of the bodies. “Father Ben can fly!” exclaimed Rose. Dram and Kayla looked at her incredulously. Rose repeated herself, “Father Ben can fly!” but they simply shook their heads in disbelief. “The town is on fire and we need your help!” That got their attention. The slaving team was regrouped pulling back the wood collectors near the forest’s edge. Grog was ordered to stand watch over the excess slaves until the party returned. Pax took Grog’s sword and grew to Giant-size. “We’ll be back for the second load later,” said Kayla. The caravan moved towards town protecting the large series of litters pulled by Giant-Pax.

Darius found a well in the center of town and filled a bucket with water. He dumped it over Ben’s head. “We are going to talk about this flying business later! Right now, get up and help me save some of this town!” Ben slowly struggled to his feet. Darius was already tossing water on a building that looked like the village inn. Another bucket was found for Ben and the two set about dousing the flames. Then the earth began to shudder beneath their feet. Behind them Pax’s massive form lumbered, towering over anything else in the village. The massive litter was unloaded and Giant-Pax slowly walked back towards the remaining slaves. “Look, more vultures,” said Rose pointing to the sky.

Kayla, Diedre, Pax, Ormond, Dalin, and Rose left the unloaded villagers sleeping in the road as they ran to help put out the inn. Hours passed, as bucket after bucket was needed to quench the fire both inside and out. Pax returned after collecting the remaining villagers and Grog. He attempted to stomp out some of the smaller house fires, but only succeeded in smashing the buildings with his foot. By mid-afternoon the inn was thoroughly soaked but saved. Darius selected a nearby warehouse to douse next. Giant-Pax picked up the villagers, one in each hand, and placed them inside the inn’s front door. A loud BOOM echoed from the far side of the village. Kayla ran over and discovered the remains of a silo blown to pieces. She quickly surveyed the rest of the town as the others saved the warehouse. The process was taking too long. Most of the houses had already been burned to the ground and the larger buildings were infernos comparatively. Thankfully, there were no other silos, but Kayla did locate a general store. “Over here!” she shouted. Darius split the group and buckets.

By the time night fell, four buildings had been saved: the inn, warehouse, general store, and a small, one room home. Inside each the goods and foods were ruined by heat and smoke damage. With the light quickly dimming, the team piled the dead bodies into a funeral pyre alongside a burning building. Father Ben and Darius prayed and chanted holy mercies for the dead. “Hold one minute,” said Darius to Ben. The dwarf pulled a blue man from the pyre. This one was taller like the four others they had found wrapped up. Darius used a pole to search the rest of the burning corpses. “There’s another!” Ben helped him douse the two bodies. No more blue men could be seen. Both of the creatures had their arms manacled behind them. “Prisoners of the town, maybe?” Ben pondered aloud. Checking the pile he realized most of the bodies were of old men. Darius set aside the blue corpses for later study. Late in the evening, when the pyre had finished burning, Giant-Pax buried the ashes in a hole outside of town he had dug up with his hands. “May ye rest in peace”, intoned Darius.

Before resting two rooms upstairs in the Inn were swept out and cleaned. Ash and soot had covered everything, even the tops of the sleeping slaves. Diedre and Ormand the Redd helped remove the wrappings from the saved villagers. Each needed a good washing down as well. A few had blood on them and most an assortment of bruises. Each one was laid down on the floor in the common room. Rose went out to hunt for food, while the rest of the team retired to bedrooms upstairs. A double watch was set, one person inside and one on the roof above.

 

[howandwhy99]

[DAY 99 – Feastday, Sceptre 3rd, CY 81]

Ben awoke to the sound of birds singing outside the window. Immediately he smelled smoke, but after untying his bed ropes he saw no sign of a new fire. He and Dram were the last to take watch. As Dram climbed up to the attic, Ben descended downstairs. Slaves were scattered all around the floor, so he started counting them to check their number. Before he could get halfway to thirty-one a woman near his leg spit up vomit. Quickly, Ben turned her on her side. Then he proceeded to turn all the slaves on to their sides, but it only caused to wake more of them. As each one aroused he or she doubled over and threw up on whatever (and whomever) was around. Father Ben ran back and forth trying to help, but the common room soon became a vomitorium. Ben ran out the front door before he lost his own lunch.

Several minutes later he ducked back inside braving the stench. The villagefolk were almost all awake and many were helping one another control the sickness. Dram arrived at the bottom of the stairs with Darius behind him. The slaves shrank backw upon seeing the two. In fact, Ben felt they were all deathly afraid. Darius rapidly discovered their de facto leader, a woman named Mathilda. “What happened?” he asked.
“The gnolls struck in the night, just before daybreak,” cried Mathilda. “They came in and killed the men and captured everyone else!” Darius asked if anyone was missing besides the men. The woman looked around. “Some are missing still, some women and children. Where are the men?” Darius did not answer her question.
“We’re going to clean you all up and get you some fresh clothing. Can you help us do that? We need everyone here to follow orders.” Mathilda nodded solemnly

Dram and Ben went upstairs to wake the rest of the team. They were all a little sleepy, but started moving once they heard the noise below. The team members collected what clothes they could from among the saved buildings and inn. Darius looked over all the purchased slaves and could find not a single adult male among them. “This is why they sold them so cheaply,” he thought to himself. “PREPARE YOURSELVES!” he shouted to get everyone’s attention. “We are traveling to Kera very soon. Get ready!” The villagers cringed, but hurriedly started packing what they could.

Outside Dram mounted his horse and left to check for signs of unwanted visitors. Ben prayed near the remains of what had been the funeral pyre. Out of nowhere Rose walked past him toward the inn. She was stretching and yawning. “Has she been sleeping outside this whole time?” he thought. Ben vowed to be more observant around her. Upstairs Kayla and Diedre prepared their castings by reading the books Kayla carried. Dalin, Pax, and Ormand simply sat around waiting for the villagers to finish.

Retracing his tracks, Dram came upon the gnoll carcass he had killed yesterday. (He had killed it in his mind at least). It was still dead. Its friends had not come to collect the body. This was simply another sign of the savagery and disrespect for their own kind. Dram gave the corpse a few hard kicks, but it did not move. He road back to town and pulled up some of the well water for his horse. As he took a sip he noticed it smelled funny. It tasted coppery on his tongue. Using his finger he made himself vomit. “Are you sick too, Dram?” asked Rose walking over. He did not answer, so she took a sip of water. It tasted like metal – horrible. “It’s spoiled with blood,” said Dram. Rose licked her fangs inquisitively. Calling Darius over the dwarf looked into the well. Far below he saw a body partially submerged in the water.

Dram retrieved his grappling hook and rope from his horse. All three struggled to pull up the body. It collapsed over one side of the well. It was human, tall, and obscenely bloated from the water. The stench was overpowering. Chained around its ankles was a block of salt. Darius looked down the well again. He reported that there was another salt block, this one attached to a long metal rod. “It’s for moving the saltlick around the fields,” said Ben. He had walked up unnoticed. The four pulled up the other block and tossed it aside. When asked, Ben had to admit his divine power was far to weak to purify the entire well. He decided to check the corpse’s wounds instead. It was a wise move. “He was killed in battle,” Ben declared. “Not from drowning.” Several wounds penetrated deep into the flesh and blood still oozed out thicker than normal.

Darius went to fetch Mathilda from inside. “Who is he? Your leader?”
“We do not know him”, she answered. Ben reflected that she was not even close enough for a proper look. He guessed she might have seen him killed as the body had died but a day ago. “He does look sort of familiar now I think about it”, said Dram. Dalin, Pax, and everyone else standing around the village square moved closer to view the body. “CERTA!!” several cried out in unison. “The perfect sleeper,” whispered Rose silently. A table from the inn was brought outside and Certa was set upon it. The body was stripped of clothing and they found tattoos underneath. A pair of crossed axes was on his chest. On his back was a large rising bear. Dram recognized it instantly. He was of the Bear Clan in the Greenwillow Forest.

 

[howandwhy99]

“More and more puzzles are going unsolved,” thought Ben. Darius collected the team back upstairs in the bedrooms for a meeting. “We need to plan our next move,” he said. “The villagers cannot be left here. They have no homes, lodging, or protection from another attack. Even the food Rose collected will run out in a day or two. I have told them they are to prepare for travel to Kera. I think we should take them. What do you say?” Everyone agreed. They began to make plans for overland travel with thirty-one on foot. “Where’s Grog?” asked Rose. The last anyone had seen he was speaking with the blue man downstairs.

In one of the back booths of the common room Grog was snorting happily. The little blue man was telling him jokes in a strange chittering language. They fell silent when the team approached. “I’m glad to see you happy again Grog,” said Darius. “Who is your friend?” The blue man made a honking noise. “Zvart” it said. This was the smaller ones found in the bundles. Its huge head was disproportionate to the rest of its body.

“How did you get here?” asked Kayla.
“Livinia brought us here,” the creature spat brusquely. It spoke swiftly and in a whiney voice. Darius explained to it that we had cleared out his farm.
“It’s a hobbit hole, right?” asked Kayla. Apparently she knew more about littlefolk than anyone else. The blue man honked rudely in response.
“This is Grogfriend,” said Grog smiling happily. “He is a mushroom friend.”
“What about Certa. Did she come with Livinia too?” said Dram directly.
“No. She brought Serta with her. And the other two.” sneered the creature.
“Was he wearing black clothing, or maybe a hump on his back?” asked Kayla.
“No” it honked again. “That was farther on to Kera when we met the gnolls.”

Rose dug a couple of mushrooms out of her pack and handed them to the strange man. “Mine! Mine!” it shouted. “My precioussss…” It cooed as it held the mushrooms. The team asked more questions, but the creature was hardly forthcoming. Lavinia was a customer of theirs. She had told them she wanted the skinny man with the glove on one hand. The skinny man had been paying the Xvarts to stay inside the mushroom farm. “Do you remember his name?” asked Kayla fingering the map they found in her pocket. It honked another “No”. It was never told the man’s name. He had only stayed two nights. He paid and babbled and scribbled all over the walls. Zvart complained about having to clean up after it – and after Lavinia’s sons.

“How many sons did she have?” asked Darius.
“There are four. And a new one now,” the blue man responded slyly. Her sons were half-orc and half-human. He believed Lavinia was too. One of the sons took animals of all different kinds from all over and made them do strange things. Dram leaned over and whispered into Ben’s ear, “Livinia sounds like villain.” Ben smiled. “Live in ya?” he joked back. The blue man honked loudly at them.
“Are you a hobbit or a halfling?” asked Kayla. It began to laugh loudly in a vulgar way.
“We eat halflinghobbitses. We are Xvart. My name is…” Ben lost all ability to understand what it said. The name sounded like a minute’s worth of run together nonsense words and honking.
“What may we call you in short?” asked Darius using his charm.
“I answer to nothing!” it honked back. Darius attempted to smooth over the situation.
“Do you live in very deep holes then?”
“You are thinking of gnomes. We are not gnomes,” it replied disgusted.

The team had just about enough. Darius gave a short goodbye and was ignored for his efforts. Everyone but Grog was ordered upstairs to prepare for the journey. Walking across the common room Darius looked for Mathilda. He wanted to find out just how safe the city of Kera was before leaving. He found her in one of the back rooms whispering to some of the other women. “I have a question.”
“Yes”, said Mathilda smoothly. The other women cleared out of the room.
“Are there slaves kept here or slave traders?”
”No. We farm. We have no slaves,” she answered carefully.
“What about Kera? Do they deal in slaves?” asked Darius. Mathilda hesitated.
“Kera does not slave either. They mine ore.”
“We could take you to another farming village then…” started Darius. She shook her head.
“No. We would prefer to stay in Kera. If you would let us.” This was baffling to Darius.
”Do you know the Wainwrights? Are they here in town?” Mathilda stopped breathing and went still. Darius started again, but she cut him off.
“Are you selling us?” she asked. Darius scoffed at the idea. He tried to clear up the confusion.
Finally he just stated, “You are free. You are all free! Why are even asking me this?”

“Aaaaaeeeigghhhh!!” Mathilda let out a loud, shrill scream. She bolted out the front door of the inn screaming all the way. Darius saw a number of other villagers run out the front door too screaming in fear. It was perplexing. A second later the rest of the team came stomping down from upstairs. They went outside. Not a single villager was in sight. Rose skipped out to the village’s edge and searched for tracks. No recent footprints were towards the east and Kera. Then she noticed a few villagers hiding amongst the remains of a burnt building. She went back to Darius and reported. “They’re hiding from us.” Darius was irritated.
“Fine. Let’s go without them,” he said.

The team loaded up their horses to leave. Father Ben asked if he could hold back for a minute or two. “I’ll catch up.” Darius shrugged in response. Ben went back into the inn’s common room and pulled out some of the parchment he used to write Father Stauk-Flezr. Hastily he scribbled a note: “TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY”. He opened one of his large sacks of gold and counted out one hundred gold pieces. He left them on top of the letter. “I only hope that’s enough to save them” he said to himself. Afterwards, he scrambled atop his horse and cantered to catch up with the party.

 

[howandwhy99]

The ground under the horses’ hooves became thick with grass. They were leaving the badlands. No one talked for a long while after leaving Orlaine. Finally, before noon Grog broke the silence. “Once Grog keep slaves”, he said. “Grog give it up. Trolls convince owning slaves was a bad idea. Grog was very bad at keeping slaves. Slaves never worked right. Grog not know how to treat them.”
“I’m sure you treated them very well,” said Darius.
“Maybe, but Grog have very hard time carrying slaves everywhere Grog go.” Everyone burst into laughter. Grog joined in though he missed the joke. “Slaves too heavy,” he complained. “And too many. And they squirm all over Grog. Pull Grog’s hair. Complain all day. So Grog give up slaving.”

”I think you made a wise decision,” said Darius. When the laughter had died down he switched subjects. “Grog, we need to find a good place to stay once we arrive in Kera. Do you know of any goods inns within the city?”
Grog nodded roughly. “Yes. Very fine inn. Named ‘Sleeping Horse’”.
Ben looked up. “Uh…Grog. Did you say ‘Sleeping Horse Inn’ or “Sleeping… uhhhh.”
“What the Father’s trying to say,” said Dalin, “is it named ‘Sleeping Whores?’”
“Sleeping Horse” repeated Grog. Only he might have said whores. It was difficult to tell.
“Is it like your inn?” Dalin asked.
“No! Grog inn much better.” Dram and Dalin started laughing again.
“Well, is it like your inn or is it like the Sleeping Dragon Inn back in Kustler?” Dalin tried again.
“Like Sleeping Dragon Inn. Not nice. Not nice people there.”
“Are there women there?” asked Dram loudly.
Grog shrugged. “Some.”

They gave up trying to get a straight answer from the half ogre. Grog still did not know Gerda ran his inn as a brothel and no one wanted to risk his leaving if they told him. Ben thought back to Orlayne. He still felt bad about leaving the villagers to fend for themselves. Something else was nagging in the back of his mind too, something he had forgotten. “Something to do with a table,” he thought to himself. He pulled out his pack and looked for his bowl and utensils. They was not it.
“Husband? How is it you can fly?” asked Rose. Ben was shocked back into reality.
“Rose, I cannot fly. We should not talk of this now. We need to plan on what to do while we’re in Kera. We really need to think of how to find Dram's brother Tankard.”
“You mean the wainwrights?” she asked. Ben groaned.

Rose recited the story of how she, Darius, and Ben had fought a lone gnoll trapped back in Orlain. She said Ben had flown up into the air to frighten the gnoll away. Ben saw thankfully that none of the other members believed her story. They let her continue on without question. All but Darius and Grog. They traveled ahead in front ignoring the story.

By the end of a full day’s travel Kera City finally came into view. It was near nightfall, but Ben could see the full breadth and length of it. He had never seen a city before. Beyond, hills rose up higher and higher until just at the horizon Ben could see a row of tall mountain peaks. Kayla pointed out the city was much smaller than Harling, but the team had spent very little time there. As they approached a road formed nearby. They followed it and passed by several outer farms, small cottage homes, and even a few large outlying noble estates. A large stone wall was built around the city. It was easily twenty feet high with towers along its length every so often. Dram pointed out several large weapons on top that could launch things. “That one there is called a catapult,” he said. He had not forgotten Radcliffe’s teachings. The large doors leading into the city were open wide with an armed guard standing to each side. Without thinking the team rode their horses straight through the gate. Inside were a small square and several houses of various sizes stretching away in every direction. “Hold on,” said Darius. He led the team back outside to the door guards.

“What are the laws and customs of this city?” he asked one of the guards.
“HA! Hahahaha… Didja hear that Franklin? Laws of the city? Hahahaha.”
The one named Franklin said, “Just don’t piss off the Earl. Earl Kera. He runs things here.”
Darius walked his horse towards Franklin. “How?”
”You know, beat him at gambling, taking women he likes, that sort of thing.”
“He’s not usually about these days,” said the other guard.
“Is there much crime in this city?” Ben asked. This brought about another round of guffaws from both guards.
“No. No crime whatsoever.”
”What of the church? For your religion?” he asked.
The two guards looked at each other quizzically. “Religion? What’s that?”

 

[howandwhy99]

Father Ben offered to teach the guards the tenants of his faith, but Grog was in a hurry. At least that what everyone else said. Once again inside they rode along a wide, main thoroughfare into the heart of the city. Many different sorts of people were walking and standing around. Several side alleyways branched off from the central street giving a glimpse of even more cityfolk. Along the road shops were pushed up right next to each other. They displayed finely carved signs with both pictures and written names upon them. There was a top hat, an anvil, a cauldron bubbling, and more. It was almost too much to take in. Ben looked around for a banner of the city, but there were none. There were no flags or statues or fountains anywhere either. He had been raised to believe cities always had these things. But then he had never visited one before either.

Grog took a sharp turn down one of the dingier alleyways. “Lots of fights at the Sleeping Horse Inn” he said. “Grog like. Grog not been in a good fight for a while.” Farther on they saw a small, seedy tavern built onto the rear of a larger building. “Best ale in town,” declared Grog. Above the entrance door was a small wooden sign. A picture of a horse was on it upside down. All four of its legs stuck straight up into the air. Dram and Dalin burst out laughing again. “Dead Horse Inn,” whispered one to the other. The two dismounted and agreed to accompany Grog inside for a drink. Fishing out some gold from their pouches they handed over the rest for safekeeping, as well as their horses and supplies.

After the three entered the rest of the team rode back up to the main street again. The shops were much nicer looking there and soon they found a large stable. The stableboy quoted them a price of one gold per horse per day, very expensive. The stables were of high quality however so they paid for all eight of the mounts. Darius ordered Ormond the Redd to stay with the horses and guard them. The team tried to memorize their horses just in case of trickery or horsethieves. “You can stay up in the loft,” said the stableboy pointing to the rafters overhead. “One silver per night.” The team browsed around checking the other horses within. They were in good health and well fed. Ben recognized Margrave brandings on many of the horses. He had been raised on a horsefarm. It seemed strange to him, as there were no roads leading back to Margrave. The saddlebags and supplies were taken off to bring with them. Pax managed to carry five.

The sun was down and the city was getting dark fast. They hustled further into the city along the central thoroughfare and soon came to a section where many inns lined both sides of the street. Every inn was richly decorated on the outside. Darius, Kayla, and Diedre separated to price check each one. They read the names as they went. Standing in the street Ben watched the crowd pass by. Most of the people were human, but there were several nonhumans too. He was glad for Darius when he saw several dwarves walking around without fear. Lots of half-breeds were about too. Ben thought he recognized orc and goblin blooded humans. Some were impossible to tell. Rose spotted some half elves, but they ignored her calls for attention. Darius came back with Diedre and Kayla in tow. “The average price is about five gold per night. We’ve decided on a nice one over there for that price,” he pointed. “It’s called The Wyvern.”

Inside was a large, well lit, finely appointed waiting room with plush furniture and tables. Darius secured the team two rooms for the night. Both were next to each other and had two large feather beds, tables, and chairs within. The windows and doors had several locks as well. Ben had never lived so well in his life. Because he was a priest he volunteered to sleep with the three women in one room, while the rest of the men shared the other.

 

[howandwhy99]

Dram and Dalin looked around the smoky Dead Horse tavern. Unbathed men and women sat suspiciously sipping their drinks. Dalin noticed one table of customers dicing over in the corner. He decided not to join in right away. Grog moved over to an occupied table and sat down. The other occupants stood up and moved elsewhere. Dram and Dalin joined him. “Best ale in town!” said Grog again. A bar wench brought over a pitcher and they started drinking. After awhile Dram noticed a Bard come in and pluck away at his lute in another corner. No one paid him any attention.

Dram and Dalin tried to strike up conversations with some of the other patrons. It took some doing, but they learned a bit of local gossip. Something large had been circling the skies above. Some thought it was a dragon. Others suggested it was something even more sinister. One man bemoaned the fact that almost all the Sky Knights were away. Dalin put two and two together. He guessed the knights were probably Kera’s contribution to the war effort. Another man told them a dark and terrible creature lived in the caves to the northeast. “I shouldn’t tell ya this, but ee’s preparin’ ta unleash the power of several volcanoes to destroy every human and our allies throughout the region.” Dram and Dalin took it with a grain of salt. Grog wanted to know more. He was seriously worried, but the man left after the half ogre took an interest in his ramblings.

A group of licentious, young women walked inside later in the evening. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for,” said Dram. He succeeded in drawing one over to their table. She toyed with him, but did not sit down. She and her companions had heard a new, powerful ogre was rallying warriors to his standard up in the mountains. They were thinking of going to join in. “Maybe you should come?” she suggested. Dram hesitated. Grog did not speak, but his expression towards the woman spoke volumes. She decided not to wait around for an answer. “This isn’t exactly working,” said Dalin stating the obvious. Across the room the Bard finally began strumming a tune. He was pretty good. In fact, he was really, really good. The other patrons stood up and started to cheer. Then began singing along. Overcome with emotion Grog and Dalin stood up too and sang with big smiles on their faces.

“Whoa…” said Dalin. “I feel weird.” Dram felt a bit woozy himself. The music sounded strange to him. “Must be the beer,” he told Dalin. It was uniformly bad. “I need to clear my head,” said Dram. He stood up to go outside for some fresh air. As he walked out the door a stranger bumped into him walking in. The stranger pushed hard. Dram braced himself and pushed back, harder. “I’m sorry,” said the stranger. Dram did not let him by. “I’m very sorry,” the man said again. Dram checked his own pockets for gold, then for his weapon. Both were still there. “Hmmmm….” He let the stranger go by into the tavern. Dram stood outside for a few minutes, clearing his head, and gathered his thoughts. He felt tired from the long day’s journey.

Turning around he went back into the bar. All of the patrons and staff were slumped over in their chairs. There was no music either. Dram took a step inside and saw the Bard hunched over one of the patrons rifling through the man’s pockets. A flash of steel bounced off Dram’s shoulder and brushed near his face. The stranger was hiding behind the shadow of the door. Dram crouched and reached for his sword. Before he could unsheathe it the Bard turned around and tossed a dagger at Dram’s chest, right into his heart. It pierced his cloak and shirt, but it deflected off his hidden armor. Scrambling, Dram backed away towards Grog and Dalin who were both asleep. He shook them, but neither awoke. “There is no need for fighting,” said the Bard. Gracefully, he walked forward, picked up his dagger, and retreated to his stool and lute.

Dram was in no mood for talking nice. Unshouldering his bow he fired two arrows. He hit the Bard straight in the back, but the arrow bounced off his cloak with a metal clang. His second arrow plunged deep into the other rogue’s neck. The stranger fell dead to the floor. Picking up his lute, the Bard strummed a peaceful little tune and Dram realized he had been in the wrong all along. This musician was not such a bad guy after all. “Help me collect my donations,” ordered the Bard. Dram nodded happily. He moved over to the rogue he had killed and searched the body. He recovered his arrow intact and found a solid gold arrow besides hidden in the man’s vest. “I’ll just put this with my other one from the Fair…” He seemed to have misplaced it. “Ah ha!” Secretly he hid his arrow just in case his new friend tried to take it as a donation. Next he moved to Grog and Dalin and tried to shake them awake again.

“What are you doing?” asked the Bard.
“They will help us?”
“No!” The Bard changed demeanor. “I mean… they would want a big share. But let them keep theirs.” Dram moved away to the other patrons and searched for whatever valuables he could find. He collected over two hundred coins. It was mostly copper and some silver, but five gold pieces were in the barkeep’s till. The Bard moved close to one of the young women and pulled out a pair of pliers. He plucked out several gold teeth from her mouth. “Why didn’t I think of that?” pondered Dram. When he was finished the Bard fixed his gaze on Dram again. “I will head back to my room now. You stay here and when I return we will leave.” It sounded like a poor idea to Dram. The Bard went up some back stairs. Dram moved over to wake up Dalin and Grog so they could get ready to go with the Bard too. “Damn fine ale here,” said Dalin groggily.
“What a great time, just like always,” agreed Grog
They went out the door weaving as they walked. Grog dragged a struggling Dram after him out into the dark night. “That one good inn,” said Grog.