Pool
of the Standing Stones (9th April 2014)
The
Adventurers
Bow
– Ranger
Cormac
– Fighter
Gull
– Thief (NPC)
Johan
– Cleric
Vox
– Magic User
RnR in Nulb - Moonday 15th
Quinquember (Day 48) – dawn
The
smell of acrid smoke from the Pool wafted down the river towards the
half-a-dozen battle weary adventurers on the late morning breeze. The Boatmen’s
Tavern and several surrounding buildings had been razed to the ground thus
ending the pirates’ stranglehold on the surrounding area. The screams and
shouts of glee from the children at play beside the river resounded around the
village and were welcomed by the fisher folk who cast their nets upon the
water. Barge traffic across the Pool and up and down the short stretch of the
Imeryds Run beside the village increased as the Nulbian locals realised their
new found freedom.
The
adventuresome party spent the remainder of the day resting, and occasionally helped
the baron and lady Mathilde with a few tasks before they got stuck into the
free drink at the newly conquered Waterside Hostel for the rest of the night. Whilst
the Thuringians had sent most of their troops, equipment and prisoners back to
Castleford throughout the day, they had left enough troops behind to enable
them to carry on with constructing the motte and palisade of the fortification
and to protect the two Thuringian nobles on their return journey the following
day.
After
a late evening hog roast and plenty of ale, everyone involved in the battle for
the village lay up for the night and got a good rest before they headed back to
Castleford the following day.
Castleford – Tirsday 16th
Quinquember (Day 49)
The
bright sun greeted the companions as they mounted the wagons that were to head
back to the town. They heard a command barked by the baron Tancred and saw
several of the men-at-arms who were to be left behind cast torches upon the tavern
to raze it like they did the other inn in the village. Johan questioned the
baron as to what was happening and he was told that the village was now under
the control of the Thuringian Empire and would be brought into the fold with a
brand new tavern, a temple dedicated to the almighty Sol Invictus and a
fortification to protect those that they had just rescued from the clutches of
evil.
Upon
arrival back in Castleford the party saw what had been going on in their
absence. The pirate ship that had escaped from Nulb was scuttled mid-river, its
keel burst and its wooden hull holed in several places. The second pirate ship
and several of the dockside buildings had also been destroyed in a raid that had
captured many of the Temple recruiters, as well as ferreting out some of the
Iron Ring thieves’ guild for close questioning.
Castleford – Tirsday 17th to Thunorsday
25th Quinquember (Days 49-58)
Vox
visited the castle every day where he paid the lady Mathilde for several days’
worth of training. He could see that she had a soft spot for him but as time
went on he realised that her affections could go no further than just a
professional relationship; the gap in social status was just too great, not to
mention the gap in ages.
Bow
spent the bulk of his time searching out an improved magical sword. He was able
to find one being sold by a merchant, but the cost meant that he had to sell
his original magical sword in the bargain. To try to make up the difference he
decided to buy into a shipment of grain headed from Loidis to Castleford. His
idea was that as the harvest was due to be very poor this year, there would be
a need for grain in the coming winter months. Unfortunately his investment went
awry as many other merchants had the same idea and the price of the goods when
sold dropped in value due to the glut.
Cormac
spent his time looking after his weapons and getting the blemishes out of the
plate armour he had stripped from the fallen Temple captain in the Waterside
Hostel in Nulb. Then, seeing that Bow had grabbed a nice shiny new magical
sword, he decided to look out for one of his own. As magical items were hard to
come by, it took him a little longer to track one down, but he managed to find
another merchant that was willing to sell one within a few days.
Gull
was just happy to be in the presence of his fellow adventurers, knowing that
their next job would benefit him greatly financially. He spent most of the
ten-day as a time to carouse and reconnoitre the town. He was able to find and
present himself to the Iron Ring but due to the hammering that the organisation
had taken recently he was not tasked with anything to prove his loyalty and
start paying his way just yet.
Johan
spent most of his time at the Temple of Woden. It turned out that this too had
been a secret den of the Temple cult. The head cleric was a High Priest of
Zuggtmoy and he, along with several others, was caught at prayer when the raid
on the docks happened. Johan took over the duties of the head priest until such
a time as when a replacement could be sent from the west. He saw to the needs
of the sick and the poor, and the congregation flourished during his time in
charge. His god, Balder, saw to it that he was rewarded with more spiritual
powers for his efforts.
A New Mission – Thunorsday 25th
Quinquember (Day 58)
On
Thunorsday 25th (day 10 at Castleford), the baron Tancred called for
the party to attend him. He outlined the next mission that would help in the
fight against Zuggtmoy and the Temple cult. He mentioned that after the last
rise of the Temple, the demoness was bound within the confines of the ruined
Temple by several of his fellow lords and ladies. Four great portals were
magically sealed to stop her escaping until they could find a way to banish her
to her own realm for good. The keys to the great portals were given to four
guardians. These were not powerful people but it was hoped that they would be undetectable
by their anonymity. Unfortunately, over the last ten years, the amulets had
been discovered by the Temple’s agents and taken from their guardians. One
amulet had most likely already been used to open the first portal if the earthquake
and lightning that was experienced last new moon were anything to go by. The
second amulet had been traced to the traders in Staneford but when men-at-arms
were sent to arrest them it was found that the amulet had made its way up the
chain of command within the Temple hierarchy. The third amulet was found to be
on the person of Lareth and was now in safe keeping. The fourth amulet was
missing still.
However,
the means of rejecting Zuggtmoy from the world rather than just imprisoning her
had also gone missing. Zuggtmoy owned a powerful talisman; a golden skull
missing its lower jaw – also known as the Golden Orb. The four amulets were
made to be placed upon the orb to curb its powers and thus keep the demoness
imprisoned more tightly than just using the portals alone. A sword was then
crafted that would enable anyone brave enough to use it in her realm within the
Temple dungeon to destroy the orb and the four amulets thus banishing the demon
princess back to her own realm within the Abyss for 666 years. However, just as
the sword was finished being forged it was stolen.
The
person who stole it remained unknown but it was last seen in the possession of a
druid known as Ash. He managed to grab the sword about a year ago before he
fled into the Gnarley. His last known whereabouts was a village called Steeplefell,
a small village that lay about two days’ travel from Castleford in the
south-east of the county.
The
job of the adventurers, the baron stated, was to now hunt down Ash, take the
sword from him and return it to Castleford. In the meantime a search was being
conducted into the whereabouts of the last amulet and the Golden orb, and
questions were being asked of all of the prisoners as to how the Temple was
going to react to these set-backs.
The Story of Steeplefell (Days 59-60)
After
a good night’s sleep and a restock of their adventuring equipment, the party
set off towards Steeplefell. They travelled by day and camped at night without
being attacked by bandits or their like and arrived at dusk on the second day.
They quickly booked rooms at the local tavern, and then they washed away the
dust of their travels from their parched throats and ate a hearty meal. The
common room of The Gryphon was busy and patrons came and went all evening. Bow
spotted a group of merchants and vowed he would take revenge upon them for the
money his last encounter with their ilk had cost him.
The
rest of the party caroused for a few hours, and closely watched the locals.
After a while they noticed a young lad had been nursing his drink all night
whilst watching the party. Vox approached him and thrust a jack of ale in front
of him whilst asking him what was wrong. The beer soon loosened his tongue and
he told his story. He recounted that about a year ago a druid named Ash had
come to their village. At first all was great as he helped out with various
husbandry and farming tasks. Around mid-summer last year though, he invited the
whole village to a celebration up by the old standing stones within the forest.
He enticed several of the young girls from the village (one of whom was his
sister) to come forward and got them dancing with some strange looking woodland
beings. The girls were then led off to the dismay of the crowd but as soon as
they tried to do something the druid ensorcelled the plant life to bind the
villagers from pursuing their daughters.
The
blacksmith managed to escape from his bonds but was struck by a bolt of
lightning the druid called from the heavens. He was killed instantaneously. The
druid sauntered off laughing an evil laugh and the girls have not been seen
since.
The
party asked the youth directions to the standing stones and was told that this
area had many such monuments to the old people but the old northern trail led
directly to the circle. This particular set of stones could be recognised by
the fact that it was the only set of stones that surrounded a pool of water. It
lay about two or three leagues’ distant, and should be reachable after an hour
and a half to two hours’ hike. It was situated at the top of a very large hill
deep within the Gnarley.
Bow
was a little suspicious of the youth and his sob story so asked him if he could
take him to where he lived. The young man agreed and Bow was introduced to his
mother, who recounted the exact same story, albeit with a more stoical air.
Later
that night, Bow concocted his plan of revenge against the merchants. After the
tavern was closed for the night he snuck out of his room and into the stables
where the horses and wagons were kept. He poked his head inside the stable door
and spotted the solitary guard asleep at his post. He investigated the
merchant’s wagon a little more closely and found that he appeared to be
shipping barrels of fish from the Silver Lake to Staneford.
The
ranger slipped back outside and wondered what he could do to scupper the
merchant’s deal when he espied a few empty wine barrels of about the same size
as those used to store the fish. He quickly filled a couple of them with enough
soil to make them feel as if they were full of fish, and then very carefully
and quietly replaced two of the barrels on the merchant’s wagon right under the
nose of its snoring, drunken guard.
He
then carried the two barrels of fish out of the stable and dumped them deep
into the forest where they would not be found for a few days at least. With a
smile of satisfaction of a job well done, he returned to his room for a restful
slumber.
Copyright Games Workshop - Image taken and amended from White Dwarf #12
The Pool of the Standing Stones - Sunday
28th Quinquember (Day 61)
The
party set out at dawn towards the standing stones deep within the forest. They
took the directions proffered by the young lad from the night before and found
that their journey north through the forest was exactly as he said. After a few
miles, the narrow path veered off to the east for a few hundred yards, as he
said it would, before it opened out into a glade that contained a circle of
about sixteen large menhirs that surrounded a large rectangular pool.
The
party approached the pool carefully before Vox noticed that there was writing
in an old magical script (over a millennium old) that ran around its low
plinth. He cursed himself for not learning that particular Read Magic dweomer for this mission so asked the party if they
would mind sitting around for an hour or two whilst he tried to decipher the
cryptic message. The weather was balmy, so they readily agreed and either used
the opportunity to rest up or explore the rest of the glade.
There
was nothing unusual about the standing stones that they could make out, but the
ancient clearing did leave them feeling rather on edge. The ancient trees and
weird bird calls did nothing to assuage the feeling of pent up evil.
Bow
decided he could not rest so began to investigate the pool at the centre of the
stone circle. He was warned not to cross the threshold of the pool or to touch
the water just in case. He peered into the depths and saw that it was maybe ten
or twenty feet deep. Wondering how he could get around the boundaries put upon
his exploration by his fellow adventurers he made his way to the edge of the
glade to grab a branch with which to poke around.
The Druid Ash
As
soon as his hand touched one of the branches several shafts with fire hardened
points burst from the thickets catching him unawares. He yelled in anger and
pain which roused the rest of his companions from their reveries. He could not
see where the shafts had come from so blundered into the thickets to find their
source. The rest of his companions charged across the glade to his aid,
including Vox who had now lost concentration on learning his new spell. Johan
began to cast defensive magiks to aid his fellows.
No
sooner did they get up than they were struck by several more shafts coming from
the treeline. Bow was able to spot a small feminine shape flit between the
trunks and branches of the trees so he returned fire. The rest of the
adventurers closed into combat.
The
ranger and fighter both managed to hit one of their targets but upon causing
what they felt were hefty wounds, the fay creatures disappeared from sight.
After seeing his prey disappear before his eyes, Bow turned round to see where
more of the shots were coming from. As he searched through the thickets he
caught sight of a man in an undyed robe; most likely the druid Ash he surmised.
Just as he was about to shoot at the druid, the trees and thickets all around
grew up and engulfed his legs and torso so he could not fire as well as he
might.
Vox
tried to hide behind one of the standing stones but he found that wherever he
went he could find no peace from the buzz of arrows. Cormac crashed into the
woods and managed to bring down another of the fay creatures before he noticed
on the other side of the glade things had gone very quiet; the druid had been Silenced and Held by Johan’s magical conjuring. The rest of the party rushed to
take down the druid but his four remaining woodland companions tried to carry
him away from the melee until a series of Magic
Missiles from Vox and a volley of arrows from the fighter and thief put
paid to the attempt.
The
combat was over within just a few minutes and the trussed and gagged druid was
brought back within the glade for questioning. He was held down beneath the
vast bulk of Cormac sitting upon him, and the apple used to gag him was removed
from his mouth under pain of death if he tried anything silly.
Gull
was sent back to the village to gather a posse who would no doubt be more than
happy to put the druid to trial for the kidnapping of their daughters a year
ago. The rest of the party either prepared spells whilst they awaited the
arrival of the villagers or asked the druid questions of their own. He answered
most of them to their satisfaction and they were pleased to know that he was
indeed Ash who had stolen the sword but he had passed it on into the ownership
of a bone-devil called Dando that lived within the hill. He told them of the
two entrances that he knew of, but mentioned that the easiest way in was down
through the pool as the other entrance was very well guarded. He also mentioned
that he did what he did for the good of the Temple and that he was trying to
redress the balance between good and evil in the area. He also mentioned that
the bone-devil had the girls from the village but was not sure if they would
still be alive.
When
the villagers arrived and caught sight of the druid they had to be restrained
from lynching him there and then. The village leaders said that he would get a
fair trial, which was more than could be said for their daughters. The
villagers made sure of his bindings then knocked him unconscious for the return
journey to Steeplefell.
Into the Pool – early afternoon
In
the meantime, Bow had tied a long rope around the standing stone nearest to the
southern end of the pool and had lowered it into the water. It fed in without
any ill effects, so the ranger held his breath and plunged in after it. The
adventurers saw the splash he made and awaited the outcome of his foray. Bow
held his breath while he descended far too quickly the ten feet to the bottom
of the pool. He realised that something was amiss when he found he could hear
perfectly well and did not feel at all wet. He opened his mouth and took a deep
breath … of air. He laughed as he realised it was only an illusion; albeit a
very great one.
He
called for his companions to join him, which they did do, sliding one-at-a-time
down the rope. They looked around and saw that they were in a very wide
corridor that was almost entirely composed of a long, wide stone stairway. The
walls were decorated with friezes of cavorting forest creatures that Johan
recognised from his studies of the grimoires and texts at the various Sol
Invictus temples he had frequented recently. The bottom of the stairs ended at
a pair of large wooden doors with carvings of satyrs’ faces upon them.
Beside
them was a shield-sized bronze gong with a small, padded hammer hung beside it.
Bow took up the hammer and struck the gong once, allowing the sound to
reverberate and die down before doing the same thing twice more.
Nothing
appeared to happen so the party made their way down the stairs towards the pair
of giant wooden valves, the faces carved upon them seemed to leer at them every
step of the way. After a few moments, Vox felt a tickling sensation at his
neck. He scratched at the itch but it started to get worse as he dislodged
several tiny darts. He yelled out in anguish as the poison coursed through his
veins and the party looked around for the source of the darts.
Gull
began to search the walls for secret nooks and crannies but could find nothing,
whilst the two fighters and the cleric looked for a way to open the doors. Then
the thief too found that his flesh started to itch and he began to cast about
himself for the source of his pain.
Cormac
and Johan kept on trying to push open the doors but they felt as if they might
as well have been painted on bare stone. Bow returned to the gong and beat out
a succession of notes, but it was only when he tapped out three gongs in rapid
succession that the darts seemed to stop flying.
The
magic user and the thief were now in a real state of panic as the poison slowly
made its way to their hearts. Johan stepped in and gave magical aid to their
dwindling health to keep them alive long enough to administer better aid when
the panic was over.
Bow
rapidly returned to Cormac and Johan at the doors and struck at one of the
faces carved thereupon with the gong hammer. The bash was answered by a magical
voice that stated there was no need for that kind of behaviour. Bow, shocked by
the response he got from the door asked it to open, which it did do, revealing in
the darkened corridor beyond the snarling visages of six angry gnolls.
