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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 1352851" data-attributes="member: 16069">The Wednesday KnightsSESSION XII.Chewsday 8th Fibber 2000Year of the DarkSir Malcolm’s terrible Moustache.Dramatis PersonaeMallaria Half-Elven Barbarian 1Whirlwind Human Fighter 1Sam Fox Human Fighter 4Karl Los Val Da Rama Gnome Priest of Pelor 1Arriving in Travensburg the group are greeted as heroes-“Who’s ‘em?”“’Em’s ‘eroes.”“Mmm?”“Mm.”“I thought an’ they’d be bigga.”“M’m.”The Knights then go there separate ways- Gorgoldand explains that the caravan will be in Travensburg for at least seven days, waiting for another cargo- so the Knights should have some fun, “but don’t kill to many of the natives”, everyone looks pointedly at Mallaria. “On second thoughts, I’d better find something to keep you busy. Mallaria- how are you with men with moustaches?” Mallaria just grins.Endrin heads into Travensburg and visits bar after bar until he locates a likely candidate- a fellow Bard, soon money passes hands and Endrin begins training, he’s up to third level.Bob too takes a wander into town eventually bumping into a member of the local militia- he’s given directions, and after a short journey, half-a-day, enters a Ranger Tower and finds someone to train him to second level.For Liandri it’s also the call of the wild, he gathers some of his treasures and heads out into the Amberdale Forest, there to commune manu-a-lizardu with “Eric” his blue lizard friend. (DM’s note- Kev who plays Liandri has absolutely no idea what Eric is, he thinks he’s just a little blue lizard- he’s in for a shock). See next session for more on this event. Xeolus has flipped, it’s not enough that he keeps reminding the Knights to “mind as they go”, or, “watch that, it may be EVIL”, he has decided to join the Church, to fight the good fight. Travensburg is home to a shrine to Hieroneous- he packs his stuff and heads along. After a brief demonstration of his abilities he is put on the fast track Priesthood scheme, motto “convert or die.” He is of course the star pupil within hours.Meanwhile Felix is taken to the Temple of Pelor and put to bed- Gorgoldand leaves him an uncut ruby to play with should he wake. However the price for Felix’s recuperation is not monetary, rather a “boon”, at least that’s how Sir Malcolm sees it.A large man in Full Plate, with a moustache wider than his face, strides into the “Healing Chamber”.“Aah Gorgoldand- allow me to introduce myself I am Sir Malcolm de Heehaw- I am in the region on a Holy Quest. A Vision Quest one might say.”Gorgoldand raises his eyebrows, Sir Malcolm is known to him- a vain braggart and member of the “who asked the poor anyway” society. Sir Malcolm has undertaken many such quests- usually to find lost crowns or recover Holy Relics, the most the man has to show for it is a pronounced limp, which supposedly came from one leg (the left) seizing up after his armour rusted into place. The reason for this being his incontinence when faced with danger, and the fact that he dresses to the left. He did however ride for two days uncomplaining with his left leg unable to move. This is the only sign of stoicism the Knight has ever demonstrated- bloody hereditary peerage.Nevertheless there might be something in this- Gorgoldand thinks. Imagine if he ever met Mallaria- she’d eat him alive (hopefully). The knight continues…“I have been charged by Almighty Pelor, may his beneficent light shine down upon me and all such valorous souls etc. etc. Where was I?”“Valorous souls, Sir Malcolm.”“That’s right, that’s right. Valorous souls… erm, I have been charged… done that… Valorous Souls… check. Ah that’s it- lost my bearings there- what, what. Charged to vanquish the terrible armies of the Kobold Barbarian Hordes, damn swine- they’ve been interrupting the path of Pelor… er the trade routes. Can’t get a banana for love nor money, it’s not on, I can tell you. Not on at all.”Gorgoldand nods and before he’s realised it he has agreed to provide a team to accompany Sir Malcolm on his quest- he has just the person to lead them. “Is he a warrior Knight like myself”, Sir Malcolm asks.“She is a…”, Gorgoldand is lost for words, “… a lady warrior.”“A lady eh!”Sir Malcolm begins to twiddle and pull at his fine moustache, a glint in his eye.“Well tell her I know all of the fighting positions.”And so the deal is done- all that is left to do is to get a team together for Mallaria to lead.Fortunately Gorgoldand does not have far to look for his first recruit- waiting in the wings of the Temple is a small but excessively hirsute Gnome, actually the Gnome has an Afro.“Are you Gorgoldand?”“I am he.” Gorgoldand replies.“Then I am Karl Los Val Da Rama,” with that the Gnome bows low, “at your service- I was sent by the Priests- to see something of the world, and to go forth in the name of Pelor.” The Gnome looks uneasy- a pure novice.Gorgoldand nods gravely, although kindly, and places his arm on the young Gnomes shoulder- “then welcome Karl Los… can I call you Karl.”The Gnome nods and follows Gorgoldand out.The second recruit is The Whirlwind, still eager to show his true spirit in battle, and with Mallaria that makes three, perhaps one more is needed.As Gorgoldand is pondering this he notices Sam Fox, the group had saved her (or so they claimed) from an Ogre and Orc attack; he’d not been close enough to see what actually happened for himself. Xeolus had however come to him later and told him the truth, the woman had killed the Ogre on her own and the Orcs were certainly no match for her. Sam Fox would make an ideal fourth member to the Knights- she’d keep the others safe if push comes to shove, messages are sent asking for the four to meet later that evening at the Inn.And there Sir Malcolm is introduced to the party-“MMmmmmm. Sir Malcolm de Heehaw at your service Madam.” Mallaria looks at the peacock before her, “ha” and goes back to drinking.“Madam Sir Malcolm de Heehaw.” He reaches out and grasps Sam Fox’s hand and kisses it his moustache twitches uncontrollably. Sam Fox flutters her eyelashes, more out of form, and scans the bar for any sign of Endrin. “Hello sonny”, Sir Malcolm pats Karl on his Afro head. Karl looks put out, but says nothing.“Ugghh. Charmed.” He turns to Gorgoldand, “what is it?” “This is Whirlwind”, Whirlwind wipes his nose with the back of his hand and then inspects it.There follows a brief over-view of the plan/scenario- a number of farms, villagers and travellers have been attacked near the road to Tinkle, attacks have also taken place in the Amberdale Forest to the north. Sir Malcolm and his retinue will travel north into the forest with the Knights as escorts and guards. About two days travel away is an ancient Elven fort (underground) that has been identified as the possible base camp for a large Kobold presence. The Amberdale Rangers have spotted large groups of Kobolds on the move and strangely co-ordinated attacks have been reported. The group is to attack and/or infiltrate the Elven fort and investigate it. If Kobolds are found then they must be destroyed.After turning down a hand of whist with Sir Malcolm the new group make their individual excuses and head off to be bed. The Kobold Mansion- part 1.Woodnesday 9th Fibber 2000The next day the Knights (B Team) form up and head off into the woods with Sir Malcolm and his retinue. The group is huge in number, and as Gorgoldand observes, highly armed and armoured- they should come to no harm.DM’s note I’ll leave that last statement hanging in the air, “they should come to no harm…”The army comprises- Sir Malcolm on his charger “Faustino Asprilla”, ten well armed mercenaries on foot, Sir Malcolm’s personal priest- Father Lucas, and his personal bodyguard, the Monk, Brother Fist. Tagging along are the four party members.The first day goes entirely without incident Mallaria is foraging ahead of the group while Whirlwind is hanging back ensuring that nothing is following them- together they make a formidable partnership. The first night is spent deep in the forest under the stars- Sir Malcolm comes alive and grabs a lute from his saddle. He cosies up to the fire and staring through the smoke begins to sing to Mallaria…“Strangers in the night…”Mallaria spits into the fire and pulls hard at the bottle.Thorsday 10th Fibber 2000The next morning Sir Malcolm offers Sam a place on his saddle- she politely declines, later he tries the same with Mallaria, who offers him a seat on her index finger. After an hour or so of travel, Mallaria discovers a trail that seems to be a natural avenue through the woods- heading in the direction of the Elven fort. A brief discussion takes place and Mallaria states contrary to popular opinion that the party will follow the trail for a while to see where it goes while Sir Malcolm and his troops should stay and await the Knights (B Team- the lawyers insist) return.“Well I’m not sure, perhaps we should camp here and head out tomorrow in force.”“We could head a bit of the way in and see if it continues in the right direction.”“You”, Mallaria looks at Sir Malcolm, “stay here- we’re going in, now.”Karl and Sam look a little embarrassed, Sir Malcolm looks hurt, and not in a good way. After finishing her speech Mallaria rises and after nodding to Whirlwind heads off down the trail at a gentle trot, Whirlwind is quick to follow, then Karl and finally Sam- who have the good grace to at least wave goodbye.The Knights travel down the path through the woods at a gentle trot for 30 minutes, when Mallaria still at the lead, flanked by Whirlwind, spots movement in the trees to one side of the track about 200 or so feet away. She signals to Whirlwind who immediately comprehends. Mallaria dodges left from the trail, Whirlwind right- once in the woods the two sprint as fast as possible to their target. Karl and Sam have no idea what’s going on and decide to follow Whirlwind (who is slightly less deranged than Mallaria). They jog through the woods attempting to keep an eye on the sprinting Whirlwind.Ahead a pair of Kobolds break cover- they have been spotted and have in turn spotted the Knights approach. They run as fast as there little legs can carry them. One escapes completely- dodging into the undergrowth and disappearing from sight before Whirlwind and a few minutes later Sam and Karl can catch up. The other Kobold is not so lucky, Mallaria goes up a gear and is soon ripping through the forest in pursuit of the creature and gaining quickly, feints and dodges are attempted but Mallaria is on her game. Judging the distance perfectly she reaches over her shoulder and draws her Battleaxe. She notches up another gear and begins her swing-“Thuuunk”“scccccccccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeccccccccchhhhhhhhh.”Mallaria skids to a halt, her Battleaxe having passed through the creature’s back and now protruding from its chest. The Kobolds arms and legs are spread wide, caught in mid-flight in some mad star jump. Mallaria giggles and treads on the creatures head to pull the huge axe free. She then makes her way back to the forest pathway, where the others are waiting.“Did you get it?” Sam asks.“Yep, killed it dead.” Mallaria grins.“Couldn’t you just have captured it?”“What for?” Mallaria looks around non-plussed, Karl begins to wander off holding his head groaning. Whirlwind smiles weakly.“So we could interrogate it, ask it questions- find out what’s going on. I mean that’s what we thought you were doing- so we could at least have an idea of what lies ahead. Ohh bloody hell Mallaria.”“Oh, no. I was just after killing it.”                           “So you went hell for leather racing through the woods just to kill one Kobold?”“Yes.”“Why?”“So it was dead.”“And it never occurred to you once to just capture it?”Mallaria is beginning to enjoy this game. “No, not once, because if I had captured it then it wouldn’t be dead- now do you understand pretty lady.”With that Mallaria turns around and continues to head down the path- Whirlwind once again silently falls into line.Sam and Karl- hold a quick conference-“She’s fecking mad.”“I agree, Pelor forgive me, she’s mental.”“Let’s go back.”“Agreed.”Sam shouts towards the receding figures- “we’re off back”, and then again, and again- Mallaria & Whirlwind don’t look back.Meanwhile back with Sir Malcolm…The Knights have been gone about forty minutes when the Kobolds attack- the first wave consists of a dozen or so spear throwers- the mercenaries are caught unaware and unarmed, many are wounded in the initial onslaught. At the same time a dozen crossbows fire and this time two of the mercenaries are brought down, as is Father Lucas. The Kobold warriors then emerge from the undergrowth and charge- all thirty of them. The missile throwers soon after join in the fun- the attack and subsequent rout takes less than five minutes. Further down the track.“Haven’t we gone far enough Mallaria?” It’s the first time that Whirlwind has spoken. Without a word Mallaria turns and then heads back down the track back towards the camp at a good pace. Maybe it’s guilt, maybe it isn’t.And that’s how it came to be that Sam Fox and Karl, and then two minutes later Mallaria and Whirlwind came upon the remains of Sir Malcolm’s party. The Mercenaries are all killed, Father Lucas also dead, Brother Fist nowhere to be found and Sir Malcolm, Sir Malcolm is hanging on to life by a thread, a miraculous thread. Karl is frantic for the next few minutes eventually stabilising the pitted bleeding Sir Malcolm. A minute later after healing potions, scrolls, spells and skills Sir Malcolm opens his eyes and with an expression which makes even Mallaria shiver points at a blood soaked and obvious trail down which the Kobolds must have departed. “Kill them, kill them all.” Two wrongs make a right.Mallaria looks once at Sir Malcolm and then again at the spot in the woods at which he is pointing, then she’s off again, like a flash, Whirlwind as ever at her side. Sam looks at Karl, who looks back again- “not again, not again”, she says before laying Sir Malcolm’s head down and rushing off into the woods. “Pelor save me, Pelor save me”, Karl dances from foot to foot before drawing his mace, muttering a few prayers, and running as fast as he can into the woods.Minutes later Mallaria and Whirlwind both hear and spot the back markers of the Kobold offensive, they’re singing there victory songs and generally making a noise. Without breaking stride they heft their weapons and run on, killing stragglers, loners and small groups as they stumble upon them- looking for the centre of the army.Sam catches up about minutes seconds later- following the trail of dead Kobolds strewn about the forest- she joins the harum-scarum melee, when she finds it. A minute or so later yet Karl arrives, or at least believes he has- bodies are strewn through the trees, every now and then sudden dog-like screams followed by the various cries of Mallaria and Whirlwind. He turns round to see three Kobolds hiding behind a tree, one aiming an arrow at him- it misses and he remembers in an instant not the peace of Pelor but the Gnomish hatred for Kobolds- he hurls himself into the maelstrom.Thirty or so minutes later the group find each other, seemingly alone in the woods- they each look shattered. Mallaria has raged, fought, been weakened, and fought on- all are wounded, some severely, there is no healing left, without a word they return through the forest to Sir Malcolm. DM’s note they managed to kill a little over 40 Kobolds between them- I’ve never seen anything like it, it took over an hour and a half of rolling.They take what they can from the decimated group, some scraps for the loved ones of the deceased and then grab the barely alive Sir Malcolm and head back to Travensburg, a day hence. They are fortunate the night and following day pass without major mishap and they are soon home, but not to a heroes welcome.And so endeth the session that is numbered 12Next time Mallaria, more than a little rash.</blockquote>

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