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Message: <blockquote data-quote="William Ronald" data-source="post: 1524783" data-attributes="member: 426">I will do, first finishing the trip to Dartham and then adding in Rath's version of the latest adventure. (In a separate post.)The Road to Dartham, or The End of a Mission We continued south by night, the moon giving its light to the road from Jalston to the small village of Dartham, half a day's journey south.  Mookesh, Grizz, Arronn and I walked down the road, as I lead my mule Liath down the road. Liath carried the extra gear I had brought with, as well as a bedroll that might be useful in hiding an abducted acolyte of Toeffer.Both Grizz and Arronn seemed to have sound proposals on how to accomplish our goal.  I suggested that we needed to have some idea of the lay of the land, to find to see if we might gain some tactical advantage over our foes. As we discussed our plans, the night was interrupted several times by piercing howls coming form either side of the road.  Both Arronn and Grizz seemed stricken with fear; their paces pale and their steps uncertain.  We hurried faster down the road to escape the unearthly howls, as I wondered whether wolves or worse creatures of the night hounded our steps.We came to the first of several scattered farmhouses on the outskirts of Dartham.  Seeing a distant light in one of the windows, our band resolved to learn a little more about the town.  I suggested that Grizz take Liath the mule and talk to the farmers.  After all, the sight of a man of over six feet in armor with a sword is perhaps not the friendliest sight in the pre-dawn hours to a farmer.Grizz returned several minutes later.  The farmer's name was Thornton, and he had told Grizz that the town was near .The mission was the tallest building in the town, a two-story tall former inn.As we approached the town, the dawn slowly lit the eastern sky.  A small house stood on a low hill near the road.  Already, several people were up and about.  So, our plans to find a good spot to hide were ruined by the day light.The first man we passed, wished us good day and hurried.  He seemed to be as wary as a rabbit cornered by a pack of hounds.  The next man, who was building a fire to roast some meat, directed us to the mission to register our presence with Duncan, the local sheriff.  A paior of mean stabled my mule with some horses, near a large two wheel drawn cart.Arronn explained that we were travellers on the Road to Kes, and that we needed to rest for the day.  Duncan, a tall man in a well maid chain hauberk, ordered an old woman to make room for us in her home.  The woman nervously arranged space for our bedrolls, and went to fetch some food from a store.After removing my scale mail, I fell soundly asleep as Mookesh kept watch.  When I awoke, the mage calmly told me were being watched from the mission by men with crossbows.  I commented that this was the least friendly villageI had seen in some time.   The old woman had supplied us with a meal of bread, cheese, and fruit. We learned that Duncan was fairly new to the town, as was the mission.  She seemed reluctant to speak.As the day wore on, we meet a travelling merchant and prepared to head out of town.  We camped a few miles from the town that evening with the merchant and his family. We purchased some carved wooden goods, including a flask from him and learned that he would be at a trading meet in  two weeks. Arronn arranged for the merchant to watch Liath, as our plan to sneak back into Dartham would have been more difficult with a mule in tow.   It was our hope to retrieve the mule once we had captured the alcolyte.  I did nto intend to carry a grown man back all the way to Jalston.We found two guards protecting a shed at the back of the mission house, and quickly overwhelmed them.  To our surprise, the shed hid a hole with a ladder leading down to rough hewn tunnels.  We explored briefly, finding a few chambers full of skeletal remains and a large structure of worked stone where the Toefferites had clearly been digging.  Now, we knew there was more than just a casual interest in this village by the Temple of Toeffer in Jalston.With haste, we returned to the surface.  Arronn's mace and Mookesh's magic made short work of two guards by the front door of the mission.  With my longspear, I made short work of the guards -- only one who roused himself from slumber to face me.  Duncan, dressed in his chain armor and drawing a well-crafted sword charged at us from the stairs.  My spear bit into Duncan''s side, as a look of shock passed across his face.After I pulled my spear out of Duncan's mortal remains, we ran up the stairs, where as we reached the second floor, I felt two sets of hands touch me.  I felt a wave of cold and tiredness come over me, as my vision blurred.I awoke to find a worried Arronn standing over me, explaining that he had to heal me.  I was weak and weary, but resolved to go upstairs.  Arronn lead the way, when two sets of hands -- one sturdy and broad, and the other delicate -- touched him and he collapsed.  I stabbed at a woman in robes with my spear even as Mookesh's staff struck her on the head.  The woman lay bleeding on the floor, as Grizz and I urged a frightened young man  --Ponsfer by name -- in the robes of a priest of Toeffer to heal Arronn.  He agreed to do so, but healed his older companion first. I bound her, briefly noticing a  gold locket with the sign of a cat o'nine tails whip,  as Grizz ensured that the acolyte healed Arronn.Later, we found a box that the priestess of Toeffer claimed was hers. Grizz decided not to open it, but to bring it back to Jalston.  I rested and awoke to stand guard in what had once been the common room of the inn.  A man calling himself Billius had arrived with a large dog, claiming he was here to work.  Despite my protests, he insisted on coming to work. It was only an order from the acolyte  -- and some of Mookesh's gold --that sent Billius home.We later talked with the old woman, who was pleased to learn that we had slain Duncan and the guards he brought into the town.  She told us that it was the Toefferuns who had built the house on the low burial mound near the road.  She told us that Billius was merely a local man hired to do chores and hunt for Duncan -- and most importantly bore no loyalty to the Temple of Toeffer or his late employer.After sending for Billius, we explained what had happened during the night. He was pleased to see Duncan gone, and even more pleased when Arronn asked Billius to keep an eye on the shed and the entrance to the burial mound.We gathered two of the horses from the stable and the cart and left for Jalston, with a large tarp hiding Ponsfer and the priestess. Both were bound and gagged, and looked up in horror as we brought them to the grounds of the Temple of Darien  in the late afternoon.Arronn's superior thanked us for our hard work, and urged us to rest as he took custody of our prisoners and the box.  Later that evening, he explained that the chest had an ancient tome on the burial mound that would be translated shortly. The chest itself had been trapped so that tampering with it would have destroyed the book.  The older priest thanked us for exceeding his expectations, as now the Temple of Darien could exact its revenge on its rivals.  Trainz-- I will discuss the loot in the next post shortly.</blockquote>

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