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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 1526369" data-attributes="member: 16069">The Wannabe Wednesday Knights.SESSION XXXIV.Chewsday 21st Mork 2000Hit the road.Characters presentZanakand Male Dwarf Fighter level 1 (Kev. M.)Greta Goldgarth Female Elven Priest of Corellan level 1 (Wayne)Fred Male Human Fighter level 1 (Emma) Lea Female Halfling Thief level 1 (Erin)The fall out from the mine escapade is all too real, half the town thinks the adventurers are heroes, half believe they’re the instigators of the trouble- and that they should have left well alone. No one however can deny that times are going to be hard- all in all, seventeen families are without brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons or daughters- the town is devastated. The mayor, Alton Gimlick has taken to his bed, and the Guard Sergeant has been arrested for failure to protect the mine- chaos reigns.It seems an ideal time for the three friends to vamoose, Zanakand has no reason to stay- his father, his only relative, lies dead at the mine. Greta has no ties to the area, she came to Barrak merely to study. Lea, the youngest of the Way family has no desire to stick around- the cobbling business is not for her, she prefers something a little more “tricksy.” Late in the night the three get together to decide a course of action. “We can’t stay.”“There’s nothing to stay for.”“Where too, then?”“The next caravan out.”“Where’s it going?”“Wherever, it don’t matter- I just need to get out.”“Will you miss anyone?”“No.”“No, only…”“Fred.”“Yeah.”Silence.“Let’s take him with us.”“How d’you know he wants to go?”“He will when I tell him he wants too.”Laughter.“When?”“Tomorrow- there’s a caravan due, Iron Ore- they’re going to be disappointed. They won’t stay long, we’ll hitch a ride.”“How?”“Leave that to me.”A little later Fred is told that he wants to see the world, he wants to go adventuring, he wants riches, gold, fame and fast carts and even faster women. Less than twenty minutes later Fred’s convinced that the adventuring life is all he’s ever wanted- a childhood dream.The only difficulty will be persuading Fred’s mum- Fredbold who’s, how best to put it- a little fiery. The story goes- she met an Orc, no ordinary Orc but an Orc Chieftan, on the way to the river one day. The Orc made friendly, in an unfriendly way- she played along until he got his “fireman” out, at which time she pulled it off- actually, physically- off, right off, in her hand- the Orc died of blood loss. Fredbold keeps the offending member in a jar in her kitchen, which she waves at bad kids who get in her way or make fun of Fred.Fred for the record is a six foot monster of a man, actually only sixteen years of age, who does odd jobs around Barrak- making use of his great strength, alas he’s not the quickest on the uptake. Emma plays strong but dumb Fighter types (See Bob) that do the killin’ and leave the thinkin’ to others.Windsday 22nd Mork 2000And so the next day…“So you see Mrs. Fredbold, Fred just needs to get a bit of air, spread his wings-like.”“He’s not a bird y’know.”“Still it’d do him good to see something of the world.”“Mmmm.”“And Kadel the merchant will keep him safe- all he’s got to do is help with the loading of the wagons, he’ll get his Cart License as well.”Fredbold slowly nods.Lea looks up, and up, and up, and then smiles.A little later…“So you see Kadel, you’ve got to take him. I mean she’s a reasonable woman…”Kadel winces. “But when she gets an idea in her head…”Lea trails off, then shrugs.“I just wouldn’t want you to get hurt, you know what happened to that Orc.”Kadel goes white.“He’ll help out with the loading which’ll save time, and all you have to do in return is teach him how to drive the cart.”Kadel looks from Lea to Fred, who’s grinning like Pelormass.He nods.Lea looks up, and up, and up, and then smiles.A bit later still.The wagon is turned round and is on its way back to Arduat- empty, there’s no Iron Ore to be had in Barrak, although slightly heavier as the four adventurers stare wide-eyed over the side of the cart at the strange and unfamiliar land.Fryday 24th Mork 2000The gates of Arduat are open, a snake of traffic- mostly merchants and farmers, stretches from them, about a hundred yards from the gate Kadel and the caravan wait their turn. Time passes, slowly.Ten minutes later they’re only yards from the front when the sound of shouting can be heard from behind.Pushing past the queue of traffic come three Orcs or Half-Orcs, warriors from one of the many Barbarian Clans that dot the plains. Several merchants shout and gesticulate but none are prepared to stand their ground. Kadel likewise scrambles sideways and out of the way, as do the other adventurers, which just leaves Zan.The huge Half-Orc warrior stops short of the Dwarf and spits.“Move.”“No.”“MOVE.”“No.”Greta, the Elf, moves over to stand behind Zan.In the meantime the two Orc warriors move towards the caravan- spears at the ready Kadel and Lea find something big to hide behind- Fred.One of the Orc prods out with his spear, Fred grabs it off him and breaks it over his knee.It begins…The Half-Orc, in one swift move, unleashes his two-handed club and brings it down…“STOP.” Greta shouts.The Command spell takes hold and the Half-Orc turns statue- Zan charges.“AAAARRRGGGGHHHH.”And thumps into the creature’s legs in an attempt to rugby tackle him, the Half-Orc remains rooted to the spot, with the fat dwarf vainly trying to tip him over.Lea quickly darts round and shouts in Orcish at the two Orcs, one now without his spear, who are menacing Fred and Kadel.“Leave them, this is not your fight.”The Orcs marvel at the Halflings ability to speak there tongue, till the one with the spear shrugs and attempts to spike Fred- but not quick enough, Fred punches the warrior on the side of the head and the two Orcs break and run.Meanwhile the Half-Orc comes round from the Command spell and sees red, he begins to Rage- Greta dodges away, while Zan, still holding onto the creatures legs, is kicked into the air- he lands a good dozen feet away, his pride hurt.Fred looks at Zan then at the Half-Orc with Greta dodging blows he draws his sword.DRINGDRINGSLLLITTTTThen a gurgling sound as the huge creature, slumped on the floor, spills its guts- Greta sidles over to check for a pulse.“Dead.”Zan shrugs, while Fred looks… well, looks like he’s going to cry.“Chin up Fred.”“The bastard deserved it.” Zan spits.“We’re all in it together.”Suddenly the stamp of feet, the crowd parts to reveal the Arduat Guard- motto “better late, than never.”“Who did this?”The crowd grow quiet at the Guard Captains words, he scans the adventurers faces- each in turn nods or motions towards Fred, who puts his hand in the air- just like he never did when he was at school.The Guard Captain strides over while his men begin to examine the body.“So…”Fred sniffs, tears still stain his face.“Put your hands out.”Fred slowly complies, his hands shake, he closes his eyes, waiting for the cool metal of the manacles.Then a sudden weight in his hands, he opens his eyes.A fist sized stitched leather bag- it feels like…The Guard Captain smiles broadly,“You deserve it- vicious bastard, we’ve been after him for a while, twenty five dollars- good work lad.”The Guard Captain gives Fred a chuck on the arm and then moves off- one of the guardsmen wanders over to take Fred’s name and complete the paperwork. The line moves again, with dozens of folk either tipping their hats or giving a small wave to Fred- several merchants’ daughters come over to hug and kiss the strapping hunk.Red-faced the big lug eventually finds his way to “The Dragon’s Roost”, the Inn in which Kadel and the adventurers are staying.Have you seen the light, son?The wine and ale is flowing and the backslapping continues apace, the adventurers are dining at the expense of an unknown benefactor- the landlord merely stated that they should keep their money in their pockets, and no it wasn’t him paying either.Eventually with brandy in hand the foursome make a go of smoking some of “Ethanbach’s Skunk Cigars”, it’s an unfair contest- only Zan wins, even Lea has to call it a draw, as for Fred & Greta well they remember little of what happened next.“Have you seen the light, son?”“No sorry, father, I haven’t sat on it have I?“You mistake me my child, the beneficent face of Almighty Pelor.”“Oh is he in tonight.”The adventurers scan the bar- looking for Almighty Pelor.“That thing he does with the snake and well… there’s ladies present, I’ll leave it there… but fantastic.”“No once again child”, the grey-haired Priest’s face begins to show signs of doubt, “perhaps I should explain.”“Yes.”“Do. Take a seat father.”“How much father.”The adventurers collapse in laughter, the Priest sits down and waits for calm.“My name is Jehrid, a Priest of Almighty Pelor, the Light of the Ways.”Greta, still sober, nods.“I saw you, er… in action at the North Gate, I was… impressed, you see I have a problem and I thought well… well I thought I’d buy you a meal and then broach the subject.”A silence descends.“Do you mean an adventure?” Lea looks sternly at the priest.  “Y…Y…yes.”“We’re in <HIC>.”Zan and Fred nod, Greta however motions for the priest to follow him and the two depart the table.”“You three enjoy yourself- I’m just going to clear up some of the details.”Zan, Lea and Fred wave at the departing clergy, Zan then bursts into song.“SEE-LING’S, NOTHIN’ MORE THAN SEE-LIN’S,TRYIN’ TO FORGET THESEE-LIN’S I LOVE.”Satyrday 25th Mork 2000“Ah me ‘ed.”“Come on then.”“What?”“Get up, we’re off in an hour.”“What?““Adventurin’”Fred pulls on his pack and re-fastens several buckles while Lea looks… worried.“What?”“You agreed.”“What?”“The priest- Jehrid.”“What?”The above conversation continues, in a circular fashion, for twenty minutes or more- I won’t bore you with the details. When Lea eventually arrives in the taproom the rest of the group are crowded round a table with Jehrid marking their route on a crude map.“Look, what’s happening?”“We’re just studying the route, come and have a look.”Sheepishly Lea nudges her way to the map.“… so you should be able to cross the river at this point, there’s a lot of swamp, but it’s the highest point for miles- just take it easy. It’s another two days maximum from there, the temple, while long abandoned, should be fairly easy to spot- there was a fortified compound, an Inn, many orchards and vegetable gardens, and all the usual things you’d expect from a temple complex home to over fifty priests of Pelor.”The priest unfurls several scrolls-“I’ve brought you these just in case”, he hands several Cure Light Wounds Scrolls to Greta, “don’t lose them.”“Now what I want you to do is to search the place and discover all that you can about the complex, find as many artifacts as you can. I will pay each of you a hundred dollars on your return. I will also compensate you for all holy items of Pelor that you return with.”Lea’s eyes light up.“Right then what are we waiting for?”Attack of the Huge Killer Swamp Monster.The four adventurers are wading through the Arduat River, heading into the swamp proper, the first leg of their journey. Greta at the front of the party, somewhat indecorously, is carrying Lea, while Zan is on tiptoes with his head just above that water, bringing up the rear is Fred.Unseen and unheard a huge beast seemingly created from gobs and splodges of the brown muck of the riverbed rises up directly behind Fred, till it towers over him- ready to engulf the Fighter. It attacks, the DM rolls a “1”, and the creature collapses in on itself having over-extended, with a load “SLURP” it is sucked back under the water- Fred turns to see… nothing. The adventurers press on.And that’s the only creature the adventurers encounter on the first day’s journey… which doesn’t mean they’re not attacked.Later in camp for the night- a fire is going, using what dry wood they can find, beneath the branches of a Mangrove tree the adventurers cook dinner and congratulate themselves on a successful days adventuring, that is until…“I thought I saw something… There… Pelor.”Several small spiders leap from the branches above into the midst of the group, one lands by Lea who’s ready for the attack, alas she swipes but doesn’t connect- Greta, bow in hand, fires and wings the thing- it flees. A second spider leaps past Zan’s ungainly attack and bites the Dwarf who winces in pain, however his back stroke mashes the creature- dead. The third spider catches Fred in a doze, lying on the ground, and has bitten him before he knows what’s going on. He knocks it away with his hand and struggles to rise, Lea leaps in but misses the spider by a mile and instead buries her sword in Fred’s thigh. The Fighter looks at Lea for a second and then collapses, a huge gaping wound in his leg, (Sayon who plays Lea rolled a “1”). Greta rushes over and instantly begins healing the Fighter, Zan dodges by and smashes the spider into the swamp- dead.“Sorry Fred, sorry… I didn’t mean…”The Fighter opens his eyes.“That’s ok little one.”Greta applies a poultice and orders the human to rest, Lea will cook and feed Fred this evening to ensure he’s fully rested for tomorrows exertions.Sunday 26th Mork 2000The second day passes without incident, Fred’s leg is much better, and at the end of the day Greta declares him to have a clean bill of health- with no infection.Moonday 27th Mork 2000Lea has still got her head down after badly wounding Fred, Fred however gets the joke- bested by a Halfling. Late in the afternoon the group pushes through a dense area of Mangrove trees in a huge flooded clearing.“Bloody hell, what’s that?”“Er… I don’t want to worry you but I think that’s it.”“What?”“The Temple.”“How can it be, it’s a lake?”“But it’s a lake with a Temple in it… Look.”Greta points into the distance where the slanted roof of a religious looking building peeps from behind a wooden (now rotten) palisade. “Look there, the Orb, sun symbol of Pelor… this is it.”The adventurers look less happy.“Let’s circle it and find a way in.”And off they go, they’re journey is interrupted just the once when several human shaped creatures, dressed in tattered robes, lurch from the jungle and towards them- Zombies.Greta quickly fishes out her Holy Symbol of Corellan and two of the four Zombies head back towards the tree line. Lea fires her crossbow into one of the creatures, Zan rushes in and hacks at another, while Fred obeys tradition. He runs ten yards, hits and then trips on a tree root, and ends up sprawled face down in the marshy water- unconscious and drowning.Greta quickly rushes in to drag the Fighter out of the water. Meanwhile Zan and Lea step in front of the creatures and begin slashing- they make short work of the already injured Zombies.Greta discovers that the creatures are wearing crudely made black sun or disc shaped amulets on leather thongs- clearly there’s some greater evil here, controlling the undead possibly.Soon after, when the circumnavigation is complete, it is decided that someone must be sent to swim to the palisade wall to check out the inner compound. Zan is volunteered, by Lea.Zan makes hard work of the two hundred or so yards but eventually makes his way over to a small piece of dry land at the base of the Palisade wall. From here he watches and observes, a little while later still he is back at lakeside, having already tied a rope to a sturdy looking stone pillar.However the meeting is interrupted when the trees part and the remaining two (turned) Zombies lurch forward, this time it’s Fred and Greta that are to the fore- between them they slash and kill the creatures. Once again both creatures are wearing crudely made black discs, Greta is certain that the temple is inhabited, she makes her feelings known.The adventurers decide that enough is enough, the temple will still be there in the morning- they set up camp and settle down to a night’s rest. Precautions are taken, two on guard- two sleeping, for two-hour shifts, the night passes without further attack.Deliverance.Chewsday 28th Mork 2000It’s Zan again the water baby, although I wouldn’t say that to his face, the big-boned Dwarf wades into the lake and then begins his doggie paddle across to the palisade wall using the rope he left yesterday as a guide. Alas the journey is not as successful as the first when just over half way across he encounters a morass of stinking weed, which he of course gets caught up in.“Go round, GO ROUND- not this Dwarf, laddie. The only thing that’s round about this dwarf…”The joke goes untold, a shadow passes beneath him, a Lacedon, an Aquatic Ghoul- the creature begins to float to the service.“Help. HELP.”On the shore Lea and the others shake their heads and tut loudly.“I’ve got weed in me ears. Help.”The Lacedon is closing fast when thrashing out to the Dwarf comes Lea and Fred (without his heavy armour), they soon grab the Dwarf and then head to the palisade. They all arrive safe and sound, Zan explains.“Weed in your ears, it can be fatal, my Grandfather died of it- my grandmother told me that an Orc weed in his ears, never trust an Orc she said.”Lea and Fred look on in astonishment they are however disturbed by Greta’s shouts.“I’ve tied all the armour on, now pull it across.”Greta tugs the line to make sure everything’s secure- Lea, Zan and Fred form up like a tug-of-war team and begin to pull, the equipment with Greta swimming alongside is dragged across. Until…“Aaarrgghh blubblblbubll.”Greta disappears beneath the water, the Lacedon clawing and biting at the Elves legs. Greta fights back as best she can- unarmoured, out of her element, trying to stay afloat etc. The odds are against her, when…“Pull the blubblubbblublll…ing rope.”The others comply, and with alacrity, Greta is borne towards them as if she were on water skis, the Aquatic Ghoul left floundering in her wake.Seconds later she makes the palisade and the danger has passed.Slightly more reluctant to get in the water the adventurers do the best they can to island hop, using the roofs of the buildings that poke out of the water to make there way over to the largest island, on which stands the Temple of Pelor. The only item of interest they discover on the way is a very large dead Frog.“You know what’s for tea?”“Frog’s legs?”“You know there’s a joke about that.”“Yeah, here he comes…”Zan approaches- Zan’s so bandy-legged he couldn’t, as the saying goes, “stop a pig in a passage”.And with that the session that is numbered 34 comes to an end.Next week… The Fecking Frog Fiasco.</blockquote>

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