Destruction
on the Road to Abiswick (19th February 2014)
The
Adventurers
Blaise
– Druid
Bow
– Ranger
Cormac
- Fighter
Hallan
– Fighter
Joan
- Cleric
Johan
– Cleric
Maximillian
– Thief
Ryze
– Magic User
Ulf
– Fighter
Vox
– Magic User
At
the Ruins of the Seven Stars - Thunorsday 25th Quattrober (Day 30) –
late afternoon
The
leaden clouds shrouded all colour from the heavens, the grey of the overcast sky
leached all the brightness out of what should have been a bright early summer evening.
The growing band of adventurers shouldered their newly cleaned arms and
continued their journey towards the wayside inn that would make a most welcome
sight over the next rise.
The
vista that greeted them as they crested the rise was bleak. The Seven Stars inn
had been destroyed by fire but a day or so previously and had been left as a
smouldering ruin. Smoke rose from the last few timbers that were thick enough to
hold onto any latent heat in the chill, wet weather.
The
party approached the gently smoking ruins wary in case of ambush, but their
fears were allayed when they noticed that the only signs of life were the
handful of crows fluttering around trying to pluck any remaining flesh from the
bodies that could be seen within the confines of the inn’s walls.
The
adventurers spread out and began to search for survivors or any loot, but found
nothing but mutilated bodies, burnt wood and cracked floor tiles. The cellar
proved to be ruined too; there was no sign of life in there amongst the smashed
and burnt wooden tuns and barrels.
Johan
prayed over the remains of the bodies and as the party gathered what was left
of them together Ulf, on lookout, spotted a pair of travellers on the rise to
the north. He approached them as unthreateningly as possible and asked them who
they were. The pair of wanderers accompanied the fighter to where the rest of
the party were digging through the ruins of the inn and introduced themselves as
Cormac, a sword for hire, and Joan, a curate of the goddess Freya, the Chooser
of the Battle Slain.
The
rest of the party introduced themselves and asked the new arrivals what they
were doing in these parts. The pair of adventurers responded that they had
travelled from Castleford cross-country to seek adventure around Staneford as
they had heard rumours that there were strange creatures roaming abroad, and a
Temple cult, newly risen, was causing trouble with the local caravan routes.
All
were at a loss as to what may have happened at the wayside inn as the rain had
obliterated all traces of any spoor that was left. The damage done to the inn
suggested a great force had turned up and razed the building to the ground. The
only anomaly was that the dozen or so bodies had a limb or two missing.
The
two newcomers concluded that the band of adventurers that they had just
encountered promised a better prospect of adventure, so agreed to join them on
a return journey to Castleford, albeit his time along the roads via the large
village of Abiswick.
The
party were tired and the mages were out of spells, so they decided to head for
the nearby copse of trees to rest for the night before continuing their journey
onwards the following morning. The ranger and druid found the warmest, driest
spot and made a small campfire that allowed them to have a hot meal and tea.
Encounters
on the Road to Abiswick – Freyasday 26th Quattrober (Day 31) - morning
Ulf
and Maximillian had drawn the straw for the last watch. The night had passed
uneventfully for everyone else, but just as the fighter and thief were about to
wake up the rest of the band, they heard the jangle of harness, the creak of
wagons, and the snorting of tired horses.
Ulf
kept watch from the cover of the trees whilst Maximillian woke up the rest of
their comrades. When all were awake Blaize, Ulf and Johan stepped out from the
cover of the trees and approached the halted caravan in as friendly manner as
possible. A dozen crossbows whipped up in their direction and two outriders
couched their spears in readiness for a charge. The half-a-dozen or so well-dressed
merchants huddled together and then met the small party a few paces from the
main door to the inn.
Greetings
were exchanged and the guardsmen dropped their crossbows to a safer, less
threatening pose. Both parties swapped stories and rumours. The caravan had
been travelling from Castleford but due to the weather slowing them down so
much their travelling times had been adjusted accordingly. They were hoping to
get some rest at the Seven Stars before continuing on to Staneford to deliver
the supplies, foodstuffs, and stone and timber building materials for the
repairs to the moat house.
The
adventurers within the trees joined their companions and then set off towards
Abiswick whilst the wagon train lumbered its way towards Staneford.
Brigand Doom – early afternoon
The
incessant drizzle kept the party under the cover of their hoods for the journey
along the road. This had the effect that they did not notice their attackers
until several arrows hissed through the air and struck a couple of them.
The
party looked around but could not see exactly where the shafts had come from. A
second flight of arrows thudded home but by now the party had readied their
shields. A shout of “Kill them!” was rapidly followed by the undergrowth bursting
open to reveal several brigands and their leader armed to the teeth and
promising death. The party adjusted their defences in readiness to stop the
onslaught from their right flank when a shout of “Charge” sounded upon their
left and several more brigands joined the headlong charge towards the band of
adventurers.
Weapons
were readied and spells were cast as combat was joined. The magic of the
clerics held many of the attackers in place whilst Blaize’s druidical powers
summoned heat and insects upon the leader of the brigands. A swirling melee
erupted but Ryze and Vox, the two magic users, were able to pick off the few
bandits that the fighters and clerics were unable to get to. Bow lived up to
his name and shot down bandit after bandit with his arrows. Once the heat and insects
had done their job on the leader of the brigands, the remnants of the attackers
stole away into the bushes.
Johan,
not wanting to kill too many people had dazed the enemies he fought so that the
party had a few survivors to question. The party made sure of the bandits that
were lying on the ground and began to strip the bodies just as the usual
warning about grey ooze went up; the two newcomers to the party had not
encountered this particularly nasty surprise before. Luckily no-one who was injured
had got any of the ooze within their wounds but that meant that the armour and weapons
of most of the brigands was worthless as booty. Their purses, however, were cut
from their belts revealing a small gem or two, a goodly amount of gold coins
and a large stash of silver coins. A few dozen arrows were available to replenish
depleted stocks and, after it was cleaned up, Joan replaced the chainmail shirt
that she wore with the banded armour of the leader. She felt a lot safer in
this heavier armour.
The
party turned their attention to questioning the last three bandits that had
attacked them. They asked them why they supported the demoness when there was
so little tangible reward, but the fanatical replies showed that they had
either been well and truly brainwashed or sincerely believed they would be well
rewarded when she was finally at large in the world again. Bow removed from his
pack one of the black cloaks with the Eye of Zuggtmoy embroidered upon it and showed
it to the bandits. He asked them why they attacked when the party were clearly
travelling under cover. The bandit retorted by asking how were they to know if the
tabards were not worn, but Bow responded by saying why did they not ask before
attacking them. The bandit followed the retort by asking if Bow knew the sign
he was supposed to give to legitimise the wearing of the cloak. Bow’s response
was a sword thrust to end the brigand’s life. The other two were also summarily
dispatched. The rest of the bodies, because they were infected with grey ooze
and could not be burned due to the weather and lack of decent firewood were decapitated
and strewn about the landscape in the hope that they would not resurrect as
zombies.
Arrival in Abiswick - evening
Just
as the light began to fade from the overcast sky, the party caught sight of the
glow of the street torches emanating from the village by the great River Abis. They
wended their weary way down to the large village and sought out an inn. They
easily espied the Rampant Lion; a tavern that was bigger than the Plough &
Stars but not quite as large as the Talehangers’. They stepped into the common
room and barked out their orders to the inn keeper. There was some confusion
over payment as the party tried to get the ranger to pay for it all, but he
soon put the tavern keeper back onto his companions and all paid up
accordingly, if not generously.
During
the course of the evening, the party got themselves cleaned up, fed and then warmed
themselves by the roaring fire in the communal grate with a mug of beer in
their hands.
Maximillian
Goes Missing
As soon as she was clean, Joan headed into the
village to seek out a trader to buy her spare coat of chain armour. She was
lucky and managed to get a very good price for it. She counted the coins out
into her purse and safely deposited it within the voluminous folds of her cloak.
She returned to the inn and spent the evening enjoying the warmth that came
from spending time with good friends and good food and ale.
Blaize also slipped out of the inn quite early on
and paid his respects to the local druid of the grove in the town. Snapdragon
greeted a fellow follower of Cernunnos warmly and introduced the adventurer to
his two young acolytes. Blaize was also made well aware of the large beast that
roamed within the shadows of the trees protecting the grove and its masters. The
druids swapped news about the weather and how it was upsetting the natural balance
of things.
On his sojourn through the small town Blaize also
noticed that there were no temples other than those committed to Sol Invictus.
The fortified tower on the hill to the western end of the settlement loomed
over the town like an eagle surveying its territory from its eerie. This small town
was definitely under the yoke of its Thuringian overlords.
Although the party saw Blaize leave the inn, no-one
noticed Maximillian take his leave. He sauntered around town looking for signs of
a local thieves’ guild. It did not take him long before he spotted a cryptic
sigil, made to look like part of a piece of graffiti, carved upon a street post.
He kept to the ever deepening shadows and cast about for other signs of the guild.
It did not take him long before he was on the trail and
he headed towards the guild headquarters down a dark alley close to the docks.
A squat stone building with a stone slate roof stood at the end of an alleyway
surrounded by several large barns. All of the windows were shuttered and barred
and no lights showed without.
Maximillian rapped upon the door and the small
grille opened a fraction a few moments later. He was asked what he wanted and after
his response the grille closed again. A few minutes later the door opened and
he was invited within. He spent the night with the guild learning the local
signs and power set up within the village of Abiswick.
Onwards
to Castleford – Godsday 27th Quattrober (Day 32) – early morning
The
following morning the party rose and ate a hearty breakfast of bread, ale and
sausage. They made to leave for Castleford when they realised that their thief
was missing. They asked about but nobody knew where he had got to. Vox
suggested that he might have been arrested and so the party headed to the town
gaol beneath the tower.
The
jailer asked the party who they had come to see and they mentioned that their
comrade had most likely been arrested and would like to pay the fine to get him
released. The party took a quick look into each of the cells but none of the half-dozen
inhabitants nursing hang-overs were their friend.
Vox
randomly chose one of the drunks and said that he would pay his release fine.
The jailer looked at the magic user disbelievingly but took the proffered handful
of silver coins before he released Bert and bid him a good day mentioning that
he would see him in here again tonight.
The
party shook their heads in wonder at Vox’s antics and decided to carry on their
journey to Castleford without their thief. Rogues seemed to work to a different
set of rules to everyone else, so they shrugged, set their packs upon their
backs, and started to head to the east end of town.
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