New Surroundings (7th August 2013)
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The Dragon Warriors
Aethelfrith – Thane
Sir Erich of Barton – Knight
Hillson – Warlock
Nazir al Khalid – Barbarian (NPC)
Solaran – Elementalist
Karban Telos – Sorcerer (NPC)
An Encounter in the Woods (Day 64 (144) - afternoon)
The rest of the night and morning passed uneventfully. The
party rode through the wooded hills, the sun beating down on their backs as
they headed ever eastwards. They were about to call a halt for a rest and to
take on water when they heard the rapid approach of several armed men. They dismounted
swiftly, passed their horses to the warlock’s apprentice, and formed up their
battle line to face down the approaching barbarians. Those of the party armed
with bows let loose and managed to hit one of the charging bandits who were
making their battle cries and drawing their weapons.
The knight and thane stood shoulder-to-shoulder and faced the
main onslaught, taking on two bandits each whilst the warlock and the elementalist
used their magical abilities to shoot flaming arrows into the midst of the
bow-armed bandits now on either side of them. Outnumbered, both of the fighters
were hit, but the new plate armour of Sir Erich and the superior shield skills
of Aethelfrith blocked all of the attacks that got through their fence of whirling
steel. The magic wielders fared less well to begin with, and the elementalist
found himself hit by one of the arrows fired at him.
The bandits that attacked the two fighters gained some
initial success as their numbers told against the two stalwart warriors;
Aethelfrith caught a nasty cut to his shoulder, but the two magic users, however,
managed to out-shoot their assailants for a short time and thus kept them at
bay. The tide soon turned though as the superior fighting skills of the party’s
two warriors began to tell; Sir Erich cut down one of the bandits with his
magical battle axe, and Aethelfrith’s magical sword began to take his opponents’
defences apart piece-by-piece. The magic wielders also began to get the upper
hand in the missile fight, with Hillson’s barbs finding a target and dropping
one of the bandits from a distance.
The missile-armed bandits realised that they could not win the
melee at a distance and thought maybe that their numbers would tell in the main
melee if they advanced rapidly on the spell casters to put them out of the
combat and therefore allow them to all then concentrate on two well-armed
fighters. Hillson counter-charged against two of the bandits but was sorely
injured for his troubles, but Solaran was able to avoid his opponents by moving
out of range behind his fighter companions.
Aethelfrith’s magical sword bought a third bandit his
journey to the otherworld, and Sir Erich finished off his last opponent before
moving to help Hillson who was struggling against his two opponents.
A fourth, and then rapidly after him a fifth bandit were
then brought down by Sir Erich’s magical axe and the attackers realised they
were truly outclassed by the knight and his companions. They made a run for it,
but the fighters decided that they had too much of a start on them to pursue
them. Solaran, wanting revenge for his injuries, had other ideas; his last shot
managed to dispatch one of the last remaining bandits at the extreme range of
his abilities.
As it was now rapidly approaching nightfall, the companions
decided to quickly strip the bodies of any coins they carried but left their
make-shift weapons and armour. They called for their mounts and rode for a
short distance before making camp for the night in the woods.
Ogre! (Day 65 - afternoon)
The following day saw another fine sunrise and an uneventful
journey until just after lunchtime. As they were travelling through a small
ravine the party’s horses were startled by a huge ogre stumbling out of the woods;
a large war hammer in his hands. Luckily, all of them were able to control
their mounts and avoid being thrown, but they decided to dismount and fight
this new foe on foot. Although they were a little wary of the huge hammer their
enemy wielded.
Hillson cast his phantom warrior spell but, surprisingly,
the warrior failed to find his target. Solaran was more accurate with his
magicks however, and the fire arrow struck the ogre a severe blow, and set
light to the furs he was wearing. Sir Erich seized this opportunity and struck the
ogre with all his might, causing a traumatic wound to its left shoulder.
A fireball from the elementalist failed to find its target
and another phantom warrior also failed to hit its mark. The ogre, by now,
hurting and extremely angry pressed his attack against the knight, but the
superior speed and agility of Sir Erich meant that he avoided all of the blows
aimed at him. Aethelfrith finally found his mark with his magical short sword
which opened up the ogre for a fatal blow from Sir Erich’s axe.
The fight was over almost before it had begun. The party
breathed a sigh of relief as no one had been injured or even come remotely
close to being hurt.
The companions rode on for the rest of the day, but the dust
of their journey and the aches from their exertion against the ogre began to
tell. Up ahead they espied the inviting walls of a chapel and rode towards the
sanctuary with hearts uplifted. The nuns welcomed them within the walls but
said that they would not be able to stay the night within the confines of the
abbey itself. The party were happy to spend the evening tending to their horses,
and slept soundly in the clean stables safe in the knowledge that others would
watch over them that night.
Eastmarch (Day 66)
The following morning, after an early service and alms
giving, the party broke their fast on a simple meal of oats and fruit, and
gathered directions to the town of Eastmarch from the nuns. The abbess seemed
rather chatty for a nun and was happy to divulge many rumours about the situation
in the local fief. It seemed like she had taken a liking to Sir Erich and
talked rather more than would be the norm for one of her station…
·
Strife had been bubbling under in the marches
for a short while now. The rule of the overbearing Albion Marcher Lords was
resented amongst the native people of the town’s shanty suburbs and the lands of
the fief. A local Old Faith priest had raised the cry for support against their
cruel overlords
·
About 40 years ago, the local king had been
defeated and all of his thanes had been replaced by lords from Albion – the local
warden’s name is Sir Alec Brandwen
·
On the king’s escape, his crown and a hoard of treasure
had been lost in the marshes
·
At certain times of the year, a Black Knight (does
not seem to be on anyone’s side) is seen to block certain routes and bridges,
offering to fight all-comers. No-one has ever beaten him
·
The local nuns do not seem to be happy with the
new overlords
The party only needed to travel a further few hours before the
crenellations and walls of the town began to show through the wooded cover of
the hills. Rather than immediately pay the town’s new entry taxes the nuns had warned
them of, the party wanted to make a few enquiries about the rumours of the situation
in the environs.
The warriors took a walk around the small shanty town of round,
thatch-roofed mud huts, surveying the castle and surrounding area for its
defensive capabilities. The suburban area was surrounded by an earthen rampart
with just one main hall in the centre of the ramshackle buildings. There was
nothing to be found of any real value to the party, so they tried to see what
they could find out from the two guards posted at the entry to the main hall.
The guards were very nervous at the approach of the heavily armed party, but
soon relaxed when they realised that they only wanted information about the
town and its taxes.
They asked about where they could find a decent room in
which to bed down for the night before carrying on with their enquiries but
were told by the guards that the only tavern for miles around was actually
situated within the confines of the castle, unless they wished to travel up the
road to the next village about three or four hours’ journey away. So, the
companions thanked the guards for the information about the taxes and accommodation
situation and headed into town.
They were stopped at the gates by four well-armed guardsmen;
fully alert to any sign of trouble. They were polite but efficient in their
dealings with the party, quickly extolling the gate tax from them and
mentioning that no weapon, with the exception of daggers and short swords (much
to Aethelfrith’s delight) could be taken into the confines of the walls unless
strapped up. All missile weapons had to be left with the guards but a receipt
was given for anything left with them.
The party asked about accommodation and were pointed towards
The Drunken Heron Inn – a place where they could stable their horses safely and
rent a room and board each for a reasonable sum. They thanked the guards and
headed towards the named inn safe in the knowledge that they should be safe for
a while at least.
Upon arrival at the inn, the ostler showed them where to
take their horses and a stable boy immediately began to unharness and rub down the
horses as agreed. The rooms that the landlord showed them to were very
comfortable, so they decided to pay up front for a week’s stay. It would be a
start, and would offer enough time to gather their resources and rumours to
work out how to make the most of their stay in the east marches.
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