The Scourge of the Ratmen [Scarred Lands] - Updated 1/26

[Amaroq]

Issue #1, The Laughing Ogre. Episode 3

The first Corday of the month of Charder, the first day of autumn, is the first day that all six of us are well enough to assemble in the large common room of the inn. We are enjoying yet another tasty meal, with fine ale and a happy company, and are beginning to think about what to do next.

Over the large and well-appointed fireplace, there is an enormous skull, which we guess might be that of an ogre. Next to it is a sign that reads, “Don't Touch.” We can hardly fail to notice it. Each of us occasionally look at Stone and Chuck, to be sure that they aren’t going to touch it. Stone’s half-orc features - wide-set eyes, a flattened nose, and a sloped forehead – suggest that it is unlikely that he can read, and Chuck seems like the type to reach out and touch when he sees a “Wet Paint” sign. Neither of them touches the skull.

Paks, the only one who had woken up early enough to hear it first-hand, is recounting the story of our rescue. She is a tall woman, with shoulder-length hair, colored between a dark red and a red-tinted brown. She is well-muscled and moves with the precise poise of a swordsman or a dancer. She smiles readily, and her voice is pleasant. She still wears the uniform of a guard of the caravan, mended and patched.

“And then, just as we fell,” she says, leaning forward and putting high drama into her voice, “The militia crested the hill. They’d been searching for a force of ratmen since midnight, and there we were, a quarter mile away.

“Their lieutenant said that, just as he saw us, he heard Miriel yell for Madriel’s aid, and he said, as though in response, the first sunlight of dawn illuminated her. He spurred his troops to action and they rode to our rescue, scattering our pursuers on the points of their lances!

“They think that must be how you broke your leg, Goldpetal, that one of the horses must have trampled you in that initial charge. Anyway, the ratmen scattered and fled into the swamp. Luckily, the militia had a young priest of Corian with them, and he was able to save the six of us – it was too late for the others.

“They carried us on their horses, up the coast – you were right, Chuck, we were only a few miles from the sea – to the nearest town, Southport, laying us here at the Inn and summoning priests to heal us.”

Fergus says, “Well told!” and raises his glass to a toast. We all join in, and Paks sits, almost blushing at the approbation.

As we are finishing our meal, one of the other patrons, a thick-set man with an unintelligent appearance, walks over to the fireplace and touches the skull. It immediately begins laughing, long and loud. Some of the regular patrons call for Fox, and he comes out from behind the bar.

Amid joking cries of "When will you get that thing fixed!?" and “There’s always someone,” Fox walks to the skull and does something, we can’t quite see what, which stops it. When he turns around, he smiles at us, and walks over to our table.

“I’m glad to see you’re all feeling better,” he says. “If there’s anything you need, or you have any questions, just ask.”

“Thank you for taking care of us,” Miriel says. “What can we do to repay you for your hospitality?”

Fox smiles warmly, and says, “I’m pleased that you asked. There is something – I’ll be happy to get to that later – but right now I'd like to answer any other questions that might help you now that you're back on our feet.”

“Where are we?” asks Chuck. He is a young man, human, perhaps nineteen years of age. His eyes are green, and his hair is brown and seems to be permanently tousled.

Fox tells us, “This is the Laughing Ogre Inn, just outside the town of Southport. Southport is about a day's travel south of Lave, along the Hornswythe River. We're not far from the coast.”

Stone holds up his stein, which is empty, and asks, “Can I have another?”

Fox smiles. “Let me go fetch another round of ale,” he says, and turns away.

After bringing a round of beer for the party, he sits down with us, and, after a few minutes of casual conversation, he comes to the point.

“Back in the day,” he says, “My friends and I used to go adventuring about the countryside, before I settled down to run this inn. I’m too old for that sort of thing, now, but I’ve been hearing a rumor that I’d like checked out by a few strong sword-arms.

“Lately, I’ve been hearing some reports of mysterious lights in a ruined tower, down the coast. You asked how you could repay my hospitality, Miriel? I’d like you to go investigate it.”

“How far is it?” Miriel asks him.

“It’s about six hours to the south, perhaps eighteen to twenty miles,” he says. “There’s a road, so it should be easy travel.”

“What do you know about this tower?” asks Chuck.

“I’ve been there several times to clear out monsters that have wandered in,” he says, “Usually undead, ghouls and the like. It’s been used for storage occasionally, but nobody really lives near it, and its mostly ruined. The locals think its haunted, so its usually deserted. I don’t think anybody has lived there in my lifetime.”

Goldpetal asks, “Are there other dangers?”

“I’d stay clear of the Hag of the marsh,” Fox warns, “Another twenty miles or so to the south. Everyone stays away from her, and even the ratmen seem afraid of her. The people around here leave her alone, even though there are rumors of her chasing children. Any child who misbehaves around here is threatened with her Bag of Death.” He says this last with a smile.

“Why don’t people do something about her?” asks Paks.

“She is useful as a barrier to the ratmen,” Fox says. “They won’t come through her territory, which adjoins the coast, so even when there’s trouble with ratmen elsewhere, we’re usually left alone.”

We look thoughtfully at each other, and Fox rises to his feet. “You don’t have to answer me immediately,” he says, “You can talk it over.”

After Fox leaves, Miriel turns to the rest of us. “What do you guys think?” she asks.

Chuck sets his mug down. “I have nowhere better to go,” he says, blackly.

“I think we owe it to our host, to repay his generosity,” Fergus says.

“I’ve missed the convention I was going to,” Miriel says. “I’d like to get back to Lave, but that could wait a few days.”

“I have nothing else to do,” Paks says, nodding in approval at what the others have said.

“I’ll go,” Stone says.

Goldpetal is the last to agree. He’s been studying the wood of the table while the rest of us talk, and now he chimes in. “I must continue my journey,” he says, “But that can wait. I would repay our hosts as well.”

“It’s settled, then,” Miriel says.

“Let’s go,” Stone says, standing up as though to leave immediately.

“Now?” asks Paks, with a quizzical look.

“Let’s go tomorrow,” says Miriel, putting a hand on Stone’s forearm as though to restrain him.

“If we leave in the morning,” Chuck offers, “We can arrive during daylight.”

We’re all nodding in agreement. Miriel says, “I’ll let Fox know.” Stone sits back down.

While she goes up to find Fox, Chuck mingles with some of the other patrons of the inn, trying to learn more about the tower. He is unable to learn anything more than Fox had already told him.

Miriel informs Fox of our decision, and inquires if there is anything else to know. He tells her nothing more, saying only that he doubts the lights are related to the undead he found there years ago.
.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre, Episode 4

We have finished our meal, and Paks looks at the rest of us. “Let’s have a quick evening bout of sparring,” she says, “To help us loosen our injured muscles and get back in shape, in case we need to fight at the tower.”

“Sure,” Stone says, standing to join her. Chuck also agrees readily, and the whole group gets up to go outside.

In the courtyard of the inn, it is clear that we are just in time to take advantage of the last light of evening.

Goldpetal takes off the leg splint for the first time, gingerly stretching his leg. “I’m fit enough to take part,” he says judiciously.

“I’ll watch,” Fergus declines, to Paks’ apparent surprise. Miriel stands with him.

The four participants stretch and limber up, and Paks and Stone both have ritualized, almost stylized sets of movements, called forms, which they use as teaching and practice. They each run through their ritual before the fight, and are each surprised to discover that the other practices a similar ritual. Although the moves of Paks’ long sword and Stone’s fists and feet are very different, they share a quick bond in the discovery, and watch the other’s forms with interest.

When everyone is ready, Chuck and Paks make one team, opposite Goldpetal and Stone, who eye each other dubiously before turning to the fight. Paks wields a long sword and shield, while Chuck uses a long sword / short sword combination.

The reach of the two swordsmen gives them an advantage over Goldpetal’s scimitar and Stone’s fists, and it is clear that the elf and half-orc do not work comfortably together, while Paks and Chuck do. Goldpetal is still moving slowly, and Paks takes advantage of her longer reach to make him the first one touched out. When Stone is outnumbered, he is quickly dispatched as well, with Chuck getting the touch with his long sword.

We continue to work out sore muscles for a few more minutes, before the fading light makes it too dangerous to continue, and we retire to the inn for an early rest.



The next morning, the first Madraday of Charder, we awake early to begin on our journey. Fox provisions us with some bread and cheese for our journey, and, shortly after Goldpetal and Miriel complete their dawn rites, we depart the inn.

We travel on foot. It is a warm, late-summer day, but there is a breeze off the river to our left which makes it a pleasant walk. The road south is good, hard-packed dirt, and is slightly raised above the surrounding terrain. It is clearly man-made rather than natural.

Near the town, there are some outlying farms and homesteads, but as we move further south of the town, we stop seeing people, and the road becomes less well-maintained. The road runs between the Spiderwood and the Hornswythe River. The woods are to our right, and the river on our left. The road is rarely more than a hundred yards from either, and frequently much less, when the trees work their way near the beaches of the river. Both are very beautiful, and the walk is quite enjoyable. Birds are singing and we occasionally see small woodland creatures along the edge of the woods, and rabbits in the grass between woods and river.

The land rises slightly, relative to the river, as we travel, and eventually the beaches of the river are replaced with some slight cliffs, some as low as ten feet, and others as high as fifty.

We meet no other travelers along the way. We make good time, stopping only for a brief rest and lunch.
.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre, Episode 5

We arrive at the tower shortly after midday. The tower is circular, and stands about fifteen feet high, perhaps thirty to forty feet wide. Its base is made of solid white stones, but it looks like it used to stand almost eighty feet high. It has been knocked over, like a child’s set of blocks, and rubble, of the same white rock, is strewn southwest from the tower.

It looks like the tower is set on some cliffs over the river’s edge. There is a large wooden door on the northwest arc of the standing portion of the tower, facing us.

We approach the tower cautiously, listening for danger. Some of us hear horses – a whinny and a nicker, not the beat of approaching hooves.

“Hear that?” asks Stone. Seeing that only Goldpetal and Miriel are nodding, he says, “Horses.”

“Look here,” Chuck points to the ground. “There are cart tracks, hoof prints and foot prints leading towards the tower.”

Miriel nods. “That door looks large enough to drive a cart through,” she says.

As we approach to about a hundred feet of the tower, Chuck calls out “Hey, anyone in there?”

A man wearing a leather jerkin comes to the door. He carries a crossbow, which is loaded but he keeps it pointed at the dirt at his feet. Through the door behind him, we can see a wooden cart, like a farmer would use.

“Stop right there!” the stranger demands, while we are perhaps fifty feet away from the door.

Stone, looking at his appearance, says, “Hello, Mister Bandit,” as we halt.

“I’m no bandit!” the stranger declares angrily. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“We could ask you the same,” Paks says, resting her hand dangerously on her sword hilt.

Miriel, who is hanging back from the door, begins to cast detect magic.

The stranger sees her gesticulations and raises the crossbow to point it squarely at her heart. “Don't you cast any spells on me!” he says, and she freezes immediately.

“Witch,” he adds, with venom in his voice.

Chuck smiles disarmingly, and tries to ask the man, “So, what’s going on around here?”

By this point there is no chance of getting any assistance from the stranger. “Nothing,” he says curtly, hostility still evident in his stance.

“Have you seen any strange lights?” Chuck persists.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There aren’t any lights here!” He glowers about at all of us, the crossbow still aimed at us. “You should leave,” he says.

Stone begins flexing his hands into fists, clearly ready for a brawl, but before he can do anything, Miriel says, “Okay, we’re going.”

As Miriel, Fergus, and Goldpetal turn to leave, Paks takes Stone by the shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go,” she whispers, physically turning him around.

We head back up the road, walking north until we are out of sight of the ruined tower.



Once we’re out of sight, we stop to talk about what to do next. After some discussion, we decide to head back to the tower, out of sight, and watch it. The road is in plain sight, and the beach is too exposed, so we head into the edge of the forest, which is about half a mile from the road. As we go into the forest, we notice that it’s very quiet. We sneak towards the tower along the edge of the forest, about fifty feet in from the edge.

Walking through the forest, single file, we notice that there are a lot of spider webs, many more than usual. Some of the webs are small, but others are large enough to have caught birds. Looking more carefully, we can see many spiders, some as large as basketballs.

“I guess this is why they call it the Spiderwood,” Chuck says, jokingly.

Stone hefts his crossbow to his shoulder. “Shall I shoot one?” he asks.

“Don’t,” advises Goldpetal, who is leading the column. “If we leave them alone, they'll leave us alone.”

We walk on, keeping a close eye on the spiders, and Goldpetal’s lore is correct – the spiders stay away from us. Chuck periodically ventures to the edge of the wood to check our location relative to the tower.

Around sunset, we reach a point where we can see the back of the tower from the woods and are unlikely to be seen. It’s now getting dark, and although there is a full moon, just beginning to wane, there is also a fog coming in off the water.

As we sit around, mostly watching the tower, trying to stay under cover, we discuss the situation. Paks suggests, “Is there any way to lure the men out of the tower?”

After a minute’s thought or so, Miriel says, “We could make some lights of our own, to try and draw the men out of the tower.”

“I don’t know,” says Chuck, “Won’t they be suspicious?”

“I don’t think we should,” Fergus says.

“Why don’t we just go inside?” asks Stone. He doesn’t appear to prefer subtlety.

Seeing that Miriel isn’t getting much support for the plan, Paks says, “Let’s wait and watch for a night, to see if we can see the lights for ourselves.” We agree to wait and watch.

We wait, observing the tower through the trees, until midnight, but we don’t see anything. By two in the morning, Chuck and Stone are impatient, and ready to try something else. Over the objections of Fergus, we decide to sneak closer to the tower, to where we can see it pretty clearly. We listen. We don’t hear anything. It’s a quiet night. We all watch the tower. Miriel sees the bandit step out in the doorway and look around. He doesn’t see us, and heads back into the tower.

We wait a few more hours, but nothing happens. We never see any lights. The fog starts to lift, and dawn is coming. Before it gets light, we walk back to the camp at the edge of the woods.
.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre. Episode 6

Dawn comes on the first Taniday of Charder. Since we were awake all night, we decide to sleep through the day. We plan to sleep at the edge of the woods, keeping a watch on the tower, and see what happens on the next day. Stone and Fergus McAllister take the first watch and see nothing. Goldpetal and Paks take the second watch. Chuck and Miriel have the third. Nothing much happens. We do occasionally see two figures coming out, walking around, having a smoke, and using the outdoor facilities, but they never stray far from the tower. The day passes.

At evening, we discuss what to try next.

Chuck asks, “Should we just attack them?”

“No,” Fergus says. “We shouldn’t attack them. They have squatters’ rights. They were here first.”

“But they’re bandits,” Stone insists.

“We don’t know that,” Fergus says. “They haven’t done anything that we’ve seen.”

Stone says, “If they attack us when we're just looking around, then we're justified in defending ourselves.”

Chuck agrees with him. “I’m with Stone,” he asserts. The discussion is getting nowhere.

“What about Miriel’s suggestion,” Paks says, “of making signal lights to draw them out?”

“What did we agree to do?” asks Fergus, ignoring her.

“We agreed to investigate the tower,” Goldpetal says. He has kept an impassive face through the discussion, not taking either side, and concentrating on the interior of the woods, although none of us can see anything of interest there.

“What constitutes investigation?” demands Fergus. “We didn't agree to clear bandits from the tower. Our agreement with Fox was just to investigate the lights.”

Chuck says, “I’d like to clear bandits from the tower.”

“Me too,” says Stone.

Miriel agrees. “I’ll go along to clear the tower.”

Stone adds, “If they're nice guys, I'll say ‘I'm sorry for beatin’ ya up’.”

Fergus shakes his head, turning away in disgust.

Chuck suggests, “We could sneak up to the top of the tower, climbing the rubble, and see if we can get down from the top. This might let us get a good look at what is going on inside the tower.”

“I don't like the idea of sneaking around,” says Paks with a shake of her head. “I want to try luring them out.”

Fergus agrees with her. “I don’t think we should go sneaking about either, and I won't go in with weapons out.”

It seems as though we’ve reached an impasse, until Chuck says, “Okay. How about this? Stone and I climb the tower, while Paks and Miriel wait, hiding, below.”

Goldpetal says, “I’ll come with you.”

Fergus says, “Fine,” in a bit of a huff. His body language makes it clear that he is frustrated with the decision. “I’ll wait with Paks.”
.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre, Episode 7

The moon is not yet up when we start out. We stop a hundred yards away from the tower, where Paks and Fergus lie down hiding behind some rocks. The remaining four go up to the tower, wending our way through the stones. As we sneak up to the tower, we find that the fallen stones have left a few good-sized openings through which we can see in.

Through the opening we can see two men dicing on the floor. Light is provided by a small lantern, and we also see a cart, a pile of hay, and two horses. We also see a spiral staircase, built along the wall of the tower. One of the men is the one we met at the door the day before. Apparently, he is having bad luck, as he exclaims “Oh, damn it!”

His partner puts out his hand and says “Pay up, you loser.”

Chuck whispers, “This crack is big enough for me to shoot an arrow through.”

Stone puts his hand on Chuck’s shoulder, and shakes his head. “Wait and watch,” he says.

The bandits are dicing, cursing, swapping gold around. They start talking about our visit, and how suspicious it was. The bandit we met says that some guy named “Skelf” was really mad that they didn't just “waste us immediately.” After a few minutes, we also hear them talk about their job. They think it's pretty cushy, hanging out here in the tower, but they don’t like having to go the marsh to load the boats.

Miriel whispers, “I think we should inform the others. I’ll go.” Chuck and Stone make eye contact, and Chuck nods, once, in approval.

Miriel slips quietly away, rejoins Paks and Fergus, and tells them everything that was heard.

Fergus whispers, “I still think it’s a bad idea to go in. I think we have fulfilled our commission.”

Paks shakes her head. “Smuggling is wrong,” she says, “and if these guys have orders to kill anyone who comes around, then that leaves them as a threat to the general populace.”

Fergus argues, “Our commitment was to investigate the tower, not to go in and kill someone.” Before any resolution is reached, a commotion erupts at the tower.

The party at the tower is sitting watching, when someone slips on a rock. The two men inside hear, and draw their crossbows, preparing to go outside and check out the noise.

Stone rushes around to the front door, and draws his knife, while Chuck draws his bow and fires through the crack in the wall. His shot hits and wounds one of the bandits, who calls for reinforcements through the open trap door in the middle of the floor. Goldpetal runs around the tower toward the door. From afar, Paks, Miriel, and Fergus begin running towards the tower.

Stone meets one of the bandits at the door. Without breaking stride, he swings his right fist, and with a single punch, he knocks the bandit down and unconscious. Chuck fires again, and his arrow hits, just grazing the wounded bandit, who jumps down the trap door.

Just that quickly, the tower is ours. Stone hoists a bale of hay and uses it to block the trap door. Goldpetal goes to the horses, which are disturbed by the scent of blood and sound very frightened, to calm them. Chuck steps through the door, around the fallen bandit, to check out the wagon.

The other three reach the tower, and go inside to find out what happened within. They find their three friends, uninjured, standing over the body of the bandit Stone punched.

Miriel kneels next to the bandit, searching his throat for a pulse with her finger. “He’s dead,” she says, with a shake of her head. Chuck looks in the wagon, but there is nothing there. He loots the corpse, finding 6 gold and 18 silver pieces. He also finds some shabby equipment: a longsword, a dagger, and a crossbow. Chuck takes the cheaply-made dagger. Stone takes off the corpse’s boots.

Suddenly, three arrows come in from one of the opening in the wall! The first shot narrowly misses Stone, but Goldpetal and Miriel are both hit in the chest.

As we turn to react to this threat, a huge, muscular half-orc with a bastard sword appears at the front door. He yells a wordless battle cry, and attacks Paks. His first cut with the large sword misses, and Paks drops her bow. In a panicked response, she draws her long sword, but her swing is wild. He knocks the sword from her hand, and it tumbles, skidding into the middle of the room. Paks falls at his feet.

From another opening, a crossbow is firing. One bolt hits Stone and he falls to the ground, bleeding profusely. Another hits Goldpetal, and it becomes clear that the ruined tower has become a killing ground for us, with the half-orc stopping the door, and all the archers firing from the effective blinds of the ruined tower walls.

Paks begins scrambling backwards, away from the half-orc, drawing her short sword. Fergus draws his sword and steps between her and the burly attacker. Chuck lets loose a shot with his bow. The arrow buries itself in the half-orc’s shoulder, but he fights on, with Chuck’s arrow sticking out of him. Fergus swings his great sword two-handed, but misses. Behind the fighters, Goldpetal picks up Paks’ sword and starts carrying it back to her. Miriel goes over to Stone and lays her hands on him. “Madriel,” she prays, “Heal this man.” The goddess, working through Miriel’s hands, heals the half-orc back into consciousness.

At the doorway, the half-orc hits Fergus with the bastard sword. The clansman is hurt, but he grits his teeth and stays on his feet. Paks clambers back to her feet and attacks. She gets in a good cut across his chest, but the half-orc just snarls at her. Chuck misses with his bow.

The arrow fire continues to pour in. One arrow hits Miriel, who slumps unconscious to the floor. Goldpetal drops Paks’ sword and rushes to Miriel’s side. He staunches the bleeding with a makeshift bandage, stabilizing her.

At the door, the half-orc hits Chuck, who, with bow drawn instead of sword, can only poorly defend himself. Paks steps around to flank the half-orc, but he has a great advantage in reach, and he wounds her. Paks slashes him in return. Stone stands up, a bit woozy, and looks around; an arrow misses him. Another arrow hits the prone Miriel, catching her in the main artery of her right thigh. Blood spurts from her leg as she begins to bleed to death. A third arrow hits Goldpetal, who collapses unconscious, slumped over Miriel’s body. He is also bleeding, and their blood pools beneath them.

Just when things look their bleakest, Chuck puts an arrow right through the eye of the half-orc, and the burly warrior collapses in the doorway.

Stone grabs the wagon, trying to pull it over himself and the unconscious bodies, successfully shielding Goldpetal. Paks runs behind the cover of the wagon, and performs first aid on Goldpetal. She binds his wounds, and he seems much better, no longer bleeding, but still unconscious.

Chuck steps outside with his bow ready, and Fergus right on his heels. Chuck heads around the near side of the tower, while Fergus runs around the back of the tower, staying out of sight of the bandits.

Stone shoves Miriel behind the wagon. Paks goes to bandage Miriel, and sees that the wounds are very deep. Paks tries to bind Miriel’s thigh, but she is bleeding profusely, and blood quickly soaks through the bandage and onto her hands. In desperation, Paks prays aloud, “Madriel, save your priestess!” She tries to echo the words she has heard Miriel use. She tries to hold the wound shut with her hand, and under her touch, the bleeding subsides and stops. Miraculously, not only is Miriel stabilized, but she wakes up, blinking and disoriented.

As Chuck and Fergus meet on the bandits’ side of the tower, Chuck sees three archers running away into the cover of darkness. “They’re getting away,” he says with a sigh. He and Fergus watch the bandits until they are out of sight, and then return to the tower.

Back inside the tower, Paks turns to Stone. “Thanks for providing cover,” she says, gesturing at the overturned wagon.

“You’re welcome,” he says. He takes another bale of hay and blocks the largest aperture in the wall, where the collapse of the tower had left a large gap between the remaining stones.

By the time Stone has finished, Chuck and Fergus have reached the doorway. Fergus enters the tower. Chuck guards the door, looting the corpse at the door.

Miriel prays over the fallen elf, and through her hands Madriel heals Goldpetal back to consciousness.

Chuck finds forty pieces of gold, five silver, seven copper, a ring, some dice, and the bastard sword. As Chuck picks up the sword, he sees that it’s very nicely balanced, and a fine weapon. “Paks,” he says. “Check this out.” He offers it to her, hilt-first, and she takes the sword.

“Oh, very nice,” Paks says, moving it slowly through a few mock blows. It takes her two hands to wield it. She holds the blade out in front of her, lifting it near her eye to check its edge. “That’s quite well made.”

“Keep it,” Chuck tells her.

Miriel suggests, “I think we should go. Most of us are wounded, and I’m too exhausted to heal anybody else if those guys come back.”
.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre. Episode 8

When Miriel suggests leaving, Fergus shakes his head. “We should explore the tower before we go," he says. "I’ll go upstairs and check out the second floor.”

“Wait, I’ll come with you," Chuck says, "But Stone and I have to go get our packs.” He and Stone go outside to retrieve their packs, which they had both dropped at the start of the fracas.

When they return, Miriel suggests, “Let’s hook up the team to the wagon,” a plan which Stone and Paks adopt as the two eager explorers head upstairs. Stone flips the wagon over and Paks begins to harness the horses. After they finish, Paks steps outside to stand guard. Stone puts on the boots he took off the first corpse.

Fergus and Chuck climb to the second floor of the tower. It’s a ruin, open to the sky, which is dark with the night. They can hear the crash of surf against a nearby beach or cliff, and in the light of the stars, they can see that the ocean is just beyond the tower, less than forty yards away.

Stone rushes after them when he is finished putting on the boots. The three of them search the area briefly, but the only thing of interest is a lantern, set upon a stone block against the ocean side of the tower.

“Let’s explore the cellar,” Fergus suggests.

Chuck observes, “There were some guys in the cellar.”

“So? We can take ’em,” Stone says. He picks up the lantern and brings it with him as he starts back downstairs.

When everyone has gathered together downstairs, and Chuck says, “It’s open to the sky. Nothing there.”

“Just this.” Stone holds up the lantern, which is unlit.

“We’re going to explore the cellar, too,” Chuck tells the rest of the group. Miriel rolls her eyes, but nobody disputes their plan.

Goldpetal steps over to the trap door with a finger to his lips, for silence. He listens at the trap door, but after a moment shakes his head. “I don’t hear anything,” he says. He backs off, with his bow drawn.

Paks, still wounded from the first fight, says, “I’ll go up to second floor, where I can watch to make sure we aren’t surprised again.”

Chuck, Fergus, and Stone gather around the trapdoor. Goldpetal covers them with his bow, while Miriel crouches out of sight behind the wagon. Stone moves the bale of hay.



Fergus opens the trap door. Nothing happens. Stone peers over the edge, sees a ladder which goes about 10 feet down. Fergus carefully descends the ladder, and finds himself in a square room, perhaps thirty feet on each side. He looks around, but he can’t see anything more in the near-darkness. He calls for a torch, which Chuck passes down, while Stone climbs down the ladder.

With the illumination of the torch, Fergus sees a large rock slab, over nine feet tall and perhaps five feet wide, leaning against the southern wall. Several other rocks are piled against it, holding it upright against the wall. On the eastern wall is a wooden door. Chuck joins them, while Stone listens at the door. “I don’t hear anything,” he whispers.

Chuck tries to study the dirt floor for tracks. “There are tracks,” he says, “But I can’t make much out of them. It’s just a bunch of confused footprints.”

Miriel calls down, “Can we go now?”

Chuck yells back, “We’re just lookin’ at some stuff.” Stone winces, and puts his finger to his lips, reminding us to be silent.

Fergus listens at the rocks, but hears nothing. He shakes his head. He moves to the door, and listens at it. He looks to Stone and whispers, “Do you hear whispering?” Stone nods. Fergus tries to look under the door, but there is no crack. Upstairs, Goldpetal moves over to the trap door to cover the threesome, with his sling drawn.

The door opens inward, into the room which we are in. Fergus decides to try using some of the rocks blocking the slab to block the door. “Here,” he says. “Help me pick up this rock.”

Stone looks blankly at him, as though he doesn’t understand. Chuck shakes his head. “I’m not opening that,” he says, gesturing with his head towards the ominous stone slab.

Fergus bends his knees, and, with a grunt of exertion and a scraping noise, picks up one of the larger rocks propped against the slab.

Stone’s keen hearing catches, through the door, a voice saying, “They’re movin’ the rocks... good... maybe it’ll get them!”

“Fellas, don’t move the rocks,” Stone says. He looks at Fergus, who has the big rock braced on his shoulder. “Put down the rock,” Stone insists.

Fergus puts the rock back about where it was and looks quizzically at Stone.

Stone, speaking to the door, suggests, “Let’s leave, guys.” The door doesn't say anything.

After a silent half-minute Stone says, “Whadda ya wanna do, MacAllister? The guys on the other side say not to move the rocks.”

Chuck is aiming his bow at the door, and calls out, “How many of you are there?”

“An awful lot!” somebody responds.

Chuck looks at Stone, in amusement. He calls out, “Why don't you come get us, then?”

“Why don't you come in and find out?” one of the bandits retorts.

Stone says, to Chuck and Fergus, “In the next fifty seconds, I'm leaving. I suggest you guys go first.”

Stone waits for fifty seconds, while Chuck heads to the ladder, keeping his bow ready, and carrying the torch. Fergus stands staring at the door, so Stone heads up the ladder.

Chuck won’t leave Fergus. “Fergus, come on,” he says. Fergus shakes off his hand, staring fixedly at the door.

Chuck tries again. “Fergus! You can’t beat them by yourself.” When the stalwart clansman still refuses to leave, Chuck pleads, “Miriel won’t be there to heal you.”

“Fine.” Fergus finally agrees. He stares intently at the door for one last moment, as though through force of will alone, he could see through to our enemies on the other side. Then he turns, and they head up the ladder.

We’re all in the tower now except for Paks, up on the roof. Stone puts the bale of hay back over the trapdoor after Fergus and Chuck come up. Stone starts leading the cart out of the door, calling to Paks, “Paks, come on, let’s go.”

Everyone starts piling into the wagon. Paks comes down from the tower top, and notices all the weapons lying on the ground of the tower. She tosses all the weapons into the wagon, and then climbs in herself.

Stone leads the horses with the wagon down the road, while Paks and Chuck cover the tower with their bows. There is no sign of pursuit, and we ride north into the night, towards Southport and the safe confines of the Laughing Ogre Inn.
.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #2: The Tower. Episode 1

7th of April, 2002​

Issue #2​

The Tower​

The six survivors of the doomed caravan were rescued, and cared for in the Laughing Ogre Inn. The innkeeper, Fox Dunharrow, let us stay at the Inn and cared for us, as the priestess Verenia nursed us back to health. As payment for the hospitality of the innkeeper and the priestess, we agreed to go investigate some mysterious lights, seen at a ruined tower between Southport and the Mourning Marsh.

At the ruined tower, we found a group of bandits. They heard us as we tried to sneak into the tower after midnight one night, and, though we killed several, we were driven off after a pitched battle. Miriel and Goldpetal were knocked unconscious, but have been healed. We killed their lieutenant, a hulking half-orc named Skelf. Forced to retreat, we stole the bandits’ cart and fled into the night.



It is the darkest hour of the night, on the fourth day of Charder. It is Hedraday, the day of judgment. We are moving north along the coast road, heading back towards Southport with the cart, pulled by two old horses. Everyone is exhausted, and all of us were wounded in the fight.

When dawn breaks, it is clear that we are not being pursued. We are well out of sight of the tower, and there is nobody on the road for as far as we can see, either in front or behind.

Miriel, the red-haired priestess of Madriel, takes advantage of the sunlight to bind our wounds. Paks winces at her touch, and Miriel concludes that she has broken at least one rib. The rest of us are all wounded to some degree, after our skirmish at the tower, and Miriel bandages each as best as she can.

Meanwhile, Chuck divides up the gold. He has a slight build, with tousled dark brown hair and green eyes.

“I don’t want a share,” Fergus tells him. He is a big man, who wears the clan tartan of a highlander and has a two-handed great sword strapped to his back.

“I wasn’t going to insult you by offering,” Chuck responds.

Chuck passes out nine gold, four silver, and one copper to each of Miriel, Goldpetal the elf, Stone the half-orc, and Paks. Chuck keeps the fifth share for himself.

Miriel casts Detect Magic on the gold ring which we found, and finds that it is not magical, though it does appear to be gold.



When we resume our walk, Paks asks Miriel, “How did you come to worship Madriel?”

Miriel tells us, “I pretty much always knew that I wanted to become a priestess of Madriel,” and proceeds to share her story. “I was found,” she says, “by a Ranger wandering the moor near the town of Lave, with my identical twin sister, Liriel. We had no memory of who we were or how we got there. We appeared to be about 6 years old, perhaps half elven. Liriel and I were adopted by an inn keeping couple, Kendra and Clay. They keep the Sleeping Dragon Inn, in Lave. Kendra had been childless for the fifteen years of their marriage.

“Twins have always been special to Madriel, because she, of course, has a twin sister, Belsameth. A year after they adopted us twins, Kendra had their first child, a daughter. Of course, Madriel is the goddess of fertility as well as goddess of the sun. They took Kendra’s childbirth as a clear sign from Madriel that we twins were special to her, even more so than twins usually are.

“Liriel and I were sent to study at the school in the great cathedral of Lave. We studied during the mornings and day, and worked at the inn through evenings and holidays. I specialized in healing and religious study, while Liriel was more interested in arms training and diplomacy. We also studied cooking and brewing with Kendra and Clay.” Miriel laughs at a memory. “I was never very proficient at the latter,” she says, still chuckling. “The inn was famous for its beer, so their standards were quite high.

“Liriel left,” she says wistfully, “Without telling anyone, even me, her sister, where she was going, when we were perhaps sixteen, and I haven’t seen her since. I, however, moved into the student rooms of the cathedral and engaged in even more rigorous study. At eighteen, I dedicated myself as an Acolyte in Madriel’s order, and the rest, you know.”

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #2: The Tower. Episode 2

Since the heavily-laden cart with the two aged and dispirited horses moves more slowly than a walking pace, we don’t arrive back in town until mid-morning. The trip is uneventful.

When we reach the outskirts of Southport, we return to the Laughing Ogre Inn. We are greeted by the half-elven innkeeper, Fox, in the courtyard, and he leads us inside. He looks at our wounds, and asks what happened. Miriel cautions him that it’s a long story, so he brings us food and drink. We all sit at a long table, and Miriel tells him the story.

As she is recounting our adventure, a tall woman in a blue robe walks into the inn. She wears two peacock feathers in her long black hair. Some of us recognize her, while others do not. With her is a half-elven woman, about five and a half feet tall, pale, with long dark hair and green eyes, who none of us have seen before.

Miriel rises from her stool, and drops to her knees before them.

“Get up, my child,” the raven-haired woman says to her.

Fox rises to greet her with a hug and kisses her cheek. “Hello, Verenia, my old friend,” he says. He turns to us, and introduces her to us. “This is Verenia, the high priestess of Southport, who helped to heal you when you were first brought to my care.” He turns to her, and asks, “What brings you here?”

“My sources have told me of your trip to the old keep,” she responds, looking at us. “These sources also tell me that there is even more to discover than what we have already found, and that it would be a very good thing for you to keep investigating.” She appears to know much more about us than we have told anyone so far, though she says nothing specific.

“I agree,” Miriel says immediately, “But may I ask for healing for our company, before we venture out again? We are all wounded, beyond my ability to tend.”

“Of course,” Verenia says kindly, “That is part of why I’m here.” She heals most of the party without batting an eye.

When she reaches Fergus, he surprises her by saying, “No, thank you milady. I do not want your healing.”

She gives him a long look, but appears to take no offense. She heals Paks last, and healing the young warrior’s broken ribs takes longer than the sword cuts and arrow wounds of the others.

When she has finished the healing, Verenia introduces us to the half-elf with her. “This is Saraya,” she says, “A bard who recently came to the shrine of Madriel. I recommend strongly that you take Saraya with you when you investigate the tower.”

We briefly introduce ourselves, offering our names to the bard, but volunteering little else. Saraya sits with us, between Paks and Miriel.

Verenia is still standing, now at the head of our table. “Again, I encourage you to investigate the tower. It would be a good thing for the town.” She looks from Miriel to Paks to Stone to Chuck. “Ever since you arrived,” she adds, “There have been signs showing that more than one god are now influencing events in the area.”

Goldpetal asks Verenia about the creature or creatures that may be under the tower, but she cannot tell us anything more than that it would be a “good thing” for us to go back and find out more.

Fox offers to provision us, and store the wagon and stable the horses for us while we're gone. He says he can’t imagine why we would have found anyone at the tower, as there is no one around for miles, so it is very strange. We ask him about the creature under the tower, and he says once or twice he found undead there, but he really doesn’t know for sure.

Fergus, clearly remembering our differences about what our mission was the previous night, asks Verenia, “Just to clarify, should we investigate the tower, the smugglers, or the other unspecified strange occurrences in the area?”

She gives him a long look before she answers, and her words are mysterious. “Fate hangs on you to investigate the strange occurrences around the town. You are clearly destined to have important things happen around us.”

“What do you mean?” he asks her directly, but she shakes her head.

“That is all I can say,” she says. “I will offer you each my blessing, in the name of Madriel.” She gestures before us, looking at each in turn.

When she looks at Paks, she gets a strange look on her face. “Though you do not need it,” she says, “You already carry the blessing of Madriel.”

She turns last to Miriel. “To you, Miriel, I extend my invitation to the shrine of Madriel. You can always come to me if you need help.” She adds one last cryptic comment saying, “It may not be your fate to be the scholar you had intended to be.”

She turns, and strides out the door, leaving the table sitting in a bemused silence.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #2: The Tower. Episode 3

After Verenia leaves, we turn our minds to finishing the substantial and tasty lunch supplied by Fox. Paks asks him to look after the cart and horses, and Miriel asks to leave her gold with him for safekeeping.

As we finish lunch, a tall, thin young man, perhaps sixteen years old with short blonde hair enters the inn. He looks around the common room, spots us, and approaches our table.

“I am the messenger of Grilliam,” he announces, “Head priest of Hedrada, who requests that you come to visit him at our earliest convenience.”

“Of course,” Stone says, rising to his feet as the messenger turns to leave. Miriel gets up immediately, and they are followed quickly by the others.

As we walk through Southport, which turns out to be quite large, Chuck asks Fergus, “Why did you refuse healing?”

“I did nothing for her,” Fergus answers, “So I take nothing from her.”
We pass through the large market square, past which the town slopes down to a large wharf. On the west side of the market square is a large white stone building, in a classical style, with four square columns, topped by a giant set of scales. This is the shrine of Hedrada, an imposing building which is as much fortress as temple.

As we enter the shrine, one of Hedrada’s priests greets us. “Welcome, travelers!” he says to us with a cheery smile. “I am the Greeter of Hedrada, in the temple of Hedrada, god of Justice! Let us pray to the great Hedrada for guidance!”

He bows his head in prayer, and Stone joins him. The rest of us also bow our heads in a semblance of prayer, though only Miriel and Paks can be seen moving their lips.

After praying, the Greeter leads us through the temple to another priest. As we pass, we see that, as it is Hedraday, there is a trial taking place. We see Grilliam, the head priest, presiding over the trial. He is apparently chief justice as well as head priest. The Greeter of Hedrada leaves us with another priest, who begins telling us all about the temple, in more detail than many of us might ever have wanted. Only Stone seems interested.

Chuck whispers to Paks, “Who is this guy, the Tour Guide of Hedrada?” eliciting a soft chuckle from the taciturn warrior. The priest shows us the credos and frescos on the four walls of the temple.

1. Obey the laws of the land: On the first wall, there are frescoes of Hedrada giving out the laws.
2. Give to each person what they have earned, for good or ill: The second wall shows frescoes of Hedrada handing out rewards and punishments, which Chuck studies with great interest.
3. Share the blessing of learning: The frescoes on the third wall depict Hedrada in his aspect as a teacher.
4. Respect the bonds of ownership: The final wall has frescoes of Hedrada blessing commerce, cities, and architecture.​

As the Tour Guide of Hedrada shows us around, we learn that there are many, many, many, many rules of worship for Hedrada. Soon the trial is over, with the accused being sentenced to thirty days in jail for stealing. We are taken to a small office off to the side of the main hall to wait for Grilliam.

Grilliam, Head Priest of Hedrada meets us in his office. Seeing him up close, we realize that what looked like a mallet that he was using while holding court was actually a giant war hammer, much bigger than we had previously noticed. Grilliam himself is a very large man, clearly strong enough to wield that hammer at need. We guess that he is about sixty-five years of age, bald, with a salt-and-pepper beard. We recall from Fox’s stories that, as a younger man, Grilliam traveled the area with Fox, dispensing justice personally on many adventures.

“Please, sit down,” he says, gesturing at some chairs. “I have sources,” he tells us, “Which have told me of your adventures. It sounds like there are bandits, smugglers, or worse in the tower, which is very strange. I don’t know who they might be, but I’m sure they’re up to no good. Furthermore,” he adds, uplifting one finger before him as though giving a lecture, “Both banditry and smuggling are most definitely illegal in Vesh, so they are also criminals. Speaking as a town elder, I would ask you to go back and investigate the tower. The town cannot spare any members of the garrison, which must stay to protect the town.”

Paks glances at Fergus, and asks Grilliam, “Should we bring the bandits back for justice?”

Grilliam responds, “Of course. Wrongdoers should be brought to justice, but if they won’t come, you should do whatever you must to stop them. I can deputize you, and pay you as irregulars of the town. I’ll also offer two potions of healing as a bonus, if you accept the commission.”

Fergus looks at him, and asks, “Exactly how much will we be paid?”

Grilliam answers, “I must confirm it with the other elders, but that you could receive about two hundred pieces of gold, for your entire group. I’ll require a full report. Of course, any loot is yours, as long as it does not consist of illegal goods.”

“What about the stone door?” Stone asks.

Grilliam looks confused. “What door?”

“The stone door,” the half-orc explains, unhelpfully.

“I don’t understand the question,” Grilliam tries.

“Should we open it?”

Grilliam looks at the rest of us for help.

Miriel steps in. “There was a stone door, underneath the tower, blocked with boulders. The smugglers thought there was some sort of beast behind it.”

When Grilliam finally understands, he looks at Stone again. “All I can tell you is that I know, from previous visits, that there is a crypt underneath the tower.” Stone nods.

Chuck asks the next question. “Can we have some manacles to take with us?”

Grilliam rings a bell, and an acolyte steps into the room. “Fetch two sets of manacles,” he tells the acolyte.

Paks whispers, sotto voce to Chuck, “That must be the Gofer of Hedrada.” She blushes a bright pink when Grilliam looks at her, as though expecting a question.

After an embarassing silence, Grilliam stands up and says, “Well, I’m a busy man, and should get back to work.”

Miriel, Paks, and Stone stand up to leave. “Before we go,” Chuck says, “Can you tell us about the crime level in the town?”

Grilliam looks at him quizzically, and says, “Crime in general has been about the same, but there has been an influx of drugs recently.”

“What sorts of drugs,” asks Goldpetal. “Plants? Powders? Potions?”

Grilliam looks surprised, and asks, “You've never heard of ‘blackwind’? It’s made from plants found in the Mourning Marsh.”

The acolyte returns, carrying two solid sets of iron manacles. He offers them to Chuck, and the young man looks the over with eyes bright. “Thank you,” he says, nodding to both acolyte and priest. “These are very nice.”

We are all standing to leave, and Stone and Goldpetal have actually made it out the door, when Fergus asks, “Where should we start investigating?”

Grilliam looks like he is about to lose his temper. “The tower, of course!” he explodes impatiently.

Miriel thanks him profusely for the help, while Paks takes Fergus firmly by the shoulders and guides him through the exit.

 

[Amaroq]

Issue #2: The Tower. Episode 4

As we step out into the afternoon sun, Miriel suggests, “Let’s go back to the inn to sleep. We can set out in the morning.”

Goldpetal suggests, “Why don’t we leave this evening, so as to arrive in the morning?”

“I had heard that elves need less sleep than humans,” Miriel says. “But the rest of us have had little or no sleep for two days. Even though we’re fully healed, we could certainly use a good night’s sleep.”

Chuck, Paks, and Fergus all chime in their agreement.

When we reach the inn, it is still early in the afternoon. “If anybody wants to go shopping,” Miriel suggests, “You should have time. I’m going to rest here.”

Paks finds Fox, and shows him the bastard sword she captured from the half-orc at the tower.

Fox hefts the sword, and takes a few practice swings with it. “That’s a mighty fine weapon,” he says. “It’s a little heavy for me, but it should work for somebody your size.”

“Who in town could I ask to appraise it?” she asks.

“Look for a sign with a battle axe painted on it,” he says. “That will be Saylis, the weaponsmith in town.”

Paks announces to the rest of us that she is heading off to the weaponsmith. Stone and Chuck head out the door with her, but Chuck changes his mind at the door to the inn, and he goes a different direction.

Though the town is a largish one, it does not have many businesses, and Stone and Paks quickly find the weapons shop. As they walk in, they see a large counter dividing the customer area from the work area; only three customers can fit in the shop at any one time. All over the walls and shelves are weapons; it seems that practically any weapon you might could be found here.

From the work area at the back of the shop, out comes a burly female dwarf. “I am Saylis,” she declares. “What can I do for you?”

Paks says, “Fox referred me to you, to identify this sword, which I found in the ruined tower, and tell me what there is to know about it.” As soon as Paks holds up the sword, while she is still explaining, Saylis grabs it, inspecting it closely.

“See this mark here?” she exclaims, “This indicates that the sword was made in Mithril itself, by the smiths of Corian. This is one of the best swords I have ever seen!” After a little thought, she adds, “I'd give you, say, a hundred and seventy gold pieces for it.”

Paks asks, “Might the sword be cursed?”

Saylis shrugs her shoulders. “There's no telling,” she says. “I’m no mage, to detect magic and all.” She looks disappointed when Paks shakes her head and seems almost reluctant to give the sword back, but does so.

Stone asks for light crossbow bolts and buys a pack of ten. He and Paks head back to the inn.

Meanwhile, Chuck goes out to the shop of the trader Krinsa. He buys a few torches from her, and shows her the gold ring, asking how much it is worth. She points out that she’s not a jeweler, but she’ll look at it. She bites it, and says she thinks it could be melted down to make ten gold pieces.

Back at the inn, Miriel asks Fox for provisions for the trip. He cheerfully provides two days’ worth, in case we should spend the night again.

When Paks returns to the inn, she asks Miriel to cast detect magic on the sword. Miriel does so, but she shakes her head. “It’s not magical,” she concludes.

We have all gathered at the inn by sundown. Everyone gets a good dinner, and Stone, for some reason, buys some cheese from Fox. When we are finished, and ready to retire to our rooms, Goldpetal tells us, “I must leave the town for a little while. I will meet you here in the morning.” The rest of us accept this without comment, and retire to enjoy a good night’s sleep at the inn.

Goldpetal walks for about half an hour, up into the hills inland of town, where he finds a small glade. He builds a shrine to his titan, Denev, where he meditates. He prays in the strange, foreign tongue of the druids, which no watcher would understand.