DF Session 3: A ship?

PCs:

Alvin (Dave) -- Human bard, equipped with wit, song, and rapier.

Bjorn (Craig) -- Northman barbarian, armed and armored with anything he can get his hands on.  (Built “freehand” and including the “Northman” racial template that exists in another campaign, he’s still a classic barbarian -- big, strong, good in the outdoors, etc.)

Enneric (Rich) -- Human wizard, of the Coma Bat school of wizardry.  (Coma Bat started as a typo for “combat”, but it has become something of a running gag; this warrants a Magical Style® of its own.)

“Hustaba” (Alaric) -- Human thi--er…  Human “acquisition” specialist. (“Ivan” is the assumed name of the week for this character -- this may become a running gag as well.)

Session:

The adventure resumed with the bedraggled party returning to Swallowfeld.  The greatful townsfolk couldn’t offer much in the form of reward, but expressed eternal gratitude.  After some rest and healing, the party decided to go slaver hunting.  After all, these “degenerate” goblins were trading the girls for something, and that something must be valuable enough to make it worth the effort -- and corresponding risk.

    Sammeth was forthcoming after some negotiation -- he was willing to turn on his former comrades provided that there would be a space for him on the new ship, and provided that he could pretend to not be helping them.  In other words, he wanted to play both sides.  After some debate, Alvin agreed.  The general reasoning went that if they failed, they’d likely be dead anyway, and if they succeeded they would do so with his aid.

    A small group of mercenaries from the slaver ship were to meet the goblins and exchange the girls for weapons.  Sammeth agreed to take them there so that they could set an ambush for the mercenaries in hopes of taking the ship.  The weapons, Sammeth informed them, were already stashed for future exchange.

    After a few hours of walking, they found the clearing -- and the weapons (see treasure and xp for this session!).  They prepared an ambush, but it wasn’t fully ready when the mercenaries arrived.  Sammeth was bound and “threatened” at swordpoint to beckon the mercenaries onward.  Once again, Hustaba ran amok, using stealth and deadly accuracy with his knife to slit throats down the line.  By the time the mercenaries realized it was a trap, there were few enough left to do much about it -- Bjorn and Alvin made quick work of the remaining men.

    Two were captured alive, “aggressively” questioned (their account was more or less in line with Sammeth’s, only they apparently knew him by a different name).  It seems that their captain had a witch consort, and either together or separately they had as an ally (or minion?) a terrible beast that had done great damage to enemies in the past.  

With the mercenaries dealt with, the party worked its way through a network of caves connecting to a smuggler’s cove beneath the clearing.  There they found a boat to carry them to the slavers’ vessel, which was mostly concealed by the fog.

    They rowed the boat carefully to come alongside the ship, then Hustaba crept aboard, followed closely by Alvin and Bjorn.  Hustaba killed a man quickly, then moved quietly through the hold (which is exposed to the elements).  Alvin and Bjorn, and shortly Enneric, Jory, and Alysa, then came aboard.  

    Hustaba went straight for the captain’s cabin (really a permanent tent below the steering “deck”).  A strange perfume hung on the air, and before too long Hustaba found himself entranced by dark hallucinations.  He nonetheless entered.  The witch lay supine upon a soft bed in a state of near undress with a silk garment hanging loosely about her.  The censor which put out the intoxicating smoke hung from the ceiling.

    Hustaba tried to stab her, and a fight began in which her garments sprung to life, strangling him and grappling his arms as he stabbed her repeatedly.  At the same time, he slipped deeper into a trance-like state of calm hallucinatory detachment.

    Meanwhile, Bjorn and Jory faced opponents along the rails, making quick work of them.  Alvin followed Hustaba toward the cabin and was faced by a sailor, who he likewise dispatched quickly.  Jory fell to the captain, taking his bosun with him.  Soon Bjorn faced a terrifying monster which somewhat resembled a giant potato bug with mandibles and striking arms in the middle of his body.

    Enneric found himself facing the captain, who struck him as rather a good match for Autumn.  A massive Air Jet spell knocked him back, and a second blast knocked him over the rails and into the dark water into which he disappeared.  Enneric turned his attention to the difficult fight Bjorn was having with the monster on the oar deck.  

    Meanwhile, Hustaba was aided by Alvin, who was not nearly so affected by the smoke.  The witch dispatched, Hustaba curled up and slipped into a deep and contented sleep.  Enneric returned to the deck and joined Enneric and Bjorn in dispatching the potato-bug monster.  Both Bjorn and Enneric were badly wounded before the beast fell into the black water.

    The ship suddenly clear, Alysa came and provided medical aid.  The day was won, and the party had sole possession of a cog!  Freedom of the open seas awaits...

DF Session 2: Into the Hall of Bones

It came as something of a surprise to have two back-to-back DF sessions.  No worries, though.  The adventure continues!

PCs:

Alvin (Dave) -- Human bard, equipped with wit, song, and rapier.

Bjorn (Craig) -- Northman barbarian, armed and armored with anything he can get his hands on.  (Built “freehand” and including the “Northman” racial template that exists in another campaign, he’s still a classic barbarian -- big, strong, good in the outdoors, etc.)

Enneric (Rich) -- Human wizard, of the Coma Bat school of wizardry.  (Coma Bat started as a typo for “combat”, but it has become something of a running gag; this warrants a Magical Style® of its own.)

“Ivan” (Alaric) -- Human thi--er…  Human “acquisition” specialist. (“Ivan” is the assumed name of the week for this character -- this may become a running gag as well.)

Session:

With Autumn’s player absent (our actual reason for playing DF again), I wanted an easy out for her.  Simple -- she was the most badly hurt.  But how to get the rest of the PCs healthy and introduce “Ivan”.  Again, simple: Alysa and Jory were both in the Salt Wolf (back in Wolverton) the day that the rest of the party left early in the morning.  That afternoon, Ivan’s vessel arrived.  He naturally went to the nearest watering hole to find out what opportunities for profit might be found along the Lonely Coast.

    It didn’t take long for a slightly inebriated Jory and a very determined Alysa to interest Ivan in an opportunity for reward.  Ivan, wanting to share as little of this reward as possible, coaxed the pair into setting out immediately.  It being late afternoon and the journey being 14 miles on poor roads, this would put them there well after dark.  But this hardly seemed a problem to the trio, who made the journey without incident.

    Upon arrival, they found the village in a bit of an uproar -- it seems that some adventurous sorts had been attacked by a band of these “degenerate” goblins, with several injuries resulting.  Alysa headed straightaway for the farm house where the rest of the party was, save Bjorn, in a bad way.  She set to work, using Healing Slumber liberally, and quickly determed that Autumn was just too wounded to head out the next day.

    Why the next day?  Bjorn had some information, and at least two goblins yet lived, and also that the goblins may well be about to sell or trade them with slavers (this last he had obtained from the human rogue who identified himself as “Sammeth Kinesson” -- it was assumed to be a nom de guerre rather than his true name).  With some effort, the goblins might be persuaded to reveal the location of the missing girls and Sammeth the location of the slaver ship.  

The following morning, with the goblins and Sammeth expertly tended to (though not magically healed), they were interrogated by Alvin and Bjorn.  Sammeth did in fact admit to being a slaver, his purpose in Swallowfeld being a covert meeting with the goblins.  He also gave what Jory, a former local fisherman, claimed to be a fair description of where the slaver ship might be.

The goblins, it turned out, speak Common.  So they had heard that they were being sold out.  A judicious application of bard-song and brutal threats caused them to join in and sing -- in exchange for their lives.  The first received the promise from Alvin that he -- Alvin -- would not kill him, which was sufficient for him to confirm the slaver’s tale.  The second chimed in, but not without receiving a more stringent promise from Alvin that he do all he can to spare his life.  He promised to guide them to his village, grumbling that this whole dealing with human slavers had soured him on his tribe.

All but Autumn were up to snuff by late morning, and so the PCs set out, accompanied by Alysa and Jory.  The goblin led them through a number of twisty, turny paths each much like the last, which were something more than a game trail and something less than a true pathway.  Nonetheless, by late afternoon they were at the edge of a clearing, beyond which the goblin claimed was a short path down into his village, which, he said, was in the “Hall of Bones”.

Goblin Village

The party held up, with Ivan volunteering to scout the village.  Two minutes after he left, Bjorn followed.  Both worked their way around the clearing, taking care to be as quiet as possible, and of course to remain unseen.  They were helped in this by an overcast day and a persistent light rain.  Ivan circled the clearing until he found a path down to the village.  He found the village, and discovered that “Hall of Bones” is apt, as the village lies at the bottom of an old sinkhole, and is completely surrounded by bones suspended from rope, with an awning formed of bones ringing the pit-like village.  He looked down into the village, with its dwellings built into the walls of the old sinkhole, to see which of them might be the most important.

He guessed that one of them belonged to the village shaman and decided to scout it, at the same time getting a closer look at the rest of the village.  He worked his way around the top of the pit until he came to another path, one he assumed opened near the shaman’s home.  He was correct.  

Quieter than a mouse, he crept down onto the swampy pit floor and investigated the shaman’s house.  He peered through the dim light, saw no signs of movement in any of the homes, and thus proceeded to investigate the shaman’s house.  He looked in through an unshuttered window and saw what he thought to be the shaman’s supine form, his sleep loudly pronounced by his snoring.  

Ivan took a piece of wood and wedged it into the packed mud so as to block the shaman’s door.  He then took a long look at the two bejeweled idols standing to either side of the door.  Finding no traps, he proceeded to denude them of their gems.  One of them had a secret compartment.  Inside were two narrow openings to the outside, both plugged with small glass cylinders.  There was also a bag of an unknown powder.  Ivan took them all and placed them into his purse.  He then began his return trip to meet with his comrades at the edge of the meadow.  

In the mean time, Bjorn had followed him, never quite seeing him.  He found a good overwatch spot and settled in with good concealment to observe the village.  He watched as Ivan investigated and denuded the idols.  Very shortly after Ivan left, a trio of goblins had met in the middle of the “courtyard”, then moved out along three different paths.  One passed Bjorn’s position without noticing him; a short time later, another returned by the same path.  It seemed to be the changing of the watch, which had narrowly missed Ivan.

A few minutes later, Ivan spotted Bjorn, who told him he’d seen a guard change while Ivan had been working his way back around the village-pit. This started a sort of game between the two, as Bjorn hadn’t heard, and had only just barely noticed Ivan, who had seen through his camouflage with (relative) ease.  The two would play a dangerous game of hide and seek.

Ivan made his way quietly up the path until he spotted a one-way blind looking out into the meadow.  He saw the goblin peering out across the clearing apparently oblivious to his presence.  Ivan pulled out his sling/flail (a combination weapon modeled on the weighted scarf) and whacked the unsuspecting watchman on the back of the head.  Though dazed, he was still conscious.  Wanting to end it swiftly, Ivan punched him in the back of head, dropping him.  He then bound the hapless guard and dragged him back to meet the others.

Ivan sketched the map for the rest of the crew, mentioned the “barn” doors he had seen, and decided to return to investigate.  Alvin would interrogate the goblin to see what he could tell them while Ivan searched the barn.  

Alvin was able to learn that the village was thinly defended -- it seems that a sizeable portion of their fighting strength was missing.  Before much else could be determined, however, a trio of goblins came down the trail and attacked without hesitation.  A short, sharp fight left Jory slightly wounded and three goblin corpses.

In the mean time, Ivan had worked his way back to the village.  Along the way, he snuck up behind Bjorn and tapped him on the shoulder.  Bjorn was understandably upset -- having been caught off guard, he had quick-drawn a weapon and was about to use it, but checked himself before striking his new companion.  Ivan was amused and set out for the barn.

Bjorn changed position somewhat, finding a slightly less advantageous observation post that left him with his back to a stout tree-trunk and offered better concealment as a compensation.  He then settled in to overwatch.

Ivan slipped quietly into the village, still unobserved, and crept to the barn door.  Inside were the missing girls, or at least some of them. Unfortunately, they weren’t very quiet, and he tried to silence them.  After a small commotion and a few tense moments of waiting in the open, none of the goblins seemed to have roused themselves and so he sought to finish things in one fell swoop.  He tried to lift the heavy bar which sealed the door, but it refused to budge.

Returning to Bjorn -- this round of hide-and-seek mostly a draw -- he asked for help.  Bjorn, still annoyed, refused and asked him to go fetch the rest of the party.  Ivan finally agreed and brought them to Bjorn.

There was discussion, but the only plan that came out was a pell-mell rush into the village to retrieve the girls.  Ivan snuck down in advance, then together with Alvin and Bjorn, the bar was lifted free and the girls came out noisily.  The village was finally roused.  

Some goblins took to shooting crossbow bolts across the courtyard.  Another, coming from his home, was cut down quickly.  Alvin used his bard-song to sew the seeds of discord, telling them to kill the chief to surprisingly good effect -- a sharp battle took place between the chieftain and two of his men.  The door to the shaman’s house rattled but never opened.  One of the girls was hit by a crossbow bolt, but kept her feet.  Yet in spite of the disorganized attack, the goblins were more disorganized.  

They made it to cover, healed the girl, and set out through the woods.  Through the course of the night, their goblin captive guided them, afraid now that if he were caught he would suffer a terrible fate.  Exhausted, they made it back to the village at sunrise.

---------

A note about this adventure:

There were numerous encounter rolls, and a timetable that I used but was unknown to the players involving when the goblins would be active, guard changes, etc.  Had an encounter roll come up, had they done things differently, they would have faced stiff resistance.  There was an element of luck to this to be certain.  

But there was also an element of skill: the blocking of the shaman’s door was far more effective than I had thought at the time, but the shaman had trouble getting out.  The bard song worked, since the goblin’s morale was quite low (they were missing 13 of their male villagers, including a party of 3 who went to look for them) and so some of the goblins were unhappy with the chieftain.  He and the shaman together with the remaining warriors could have been quite a bit more difficult even if not organized; organized things would not have gone nearly as well, and the girls might even have perished.  

So be it -- the chips fell where they fell.  It’s DF.  Sometimes things go spectacularly well and sometimes they don’t.  TPKs are a possibility, and I will feel zero remorse unless I know that I designed a no-win scenario.

Treasure & XP

There sadly was little treasure this time.  The bodies of the fallen goblins weren’t really looted.  Only Bjorn and Ivan know that any loot was taken, and Bjorn has said nothing.  Ivan’s player will receive an accounting of what he found.

All of the PCs received 4 XP, with Ivan being voted the bonus XP point for his shaman-blocking.  Alvin was a close second for the utility of his bard-song.

Treasure, XP, and Other Odds and Ends

Goblin Treasure

There were 10 goblins in all, though they were larger than any the PCs had ever seen.  They had a bonier forehead and generally somewhat "lumpy" or "brawny" features, making them exceedingly ugly even for goblins.  Here is what each was carrying:

(1)     Battered clay pot with the top cleanly removed, the bottom rotting away.  A pourous sack leaking stinking but harmless greenish ooze, which stains clothes and skin.  The sack contains a lumpy, congealed stew.  Studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, paring knife, battered wooden small shield, throwing axe, small purse with 13 copper and 2 silver coins.  [This one lives.]

(2)    An impossibly tangled ball of multi-colored thread, a well used key with its teeth heavily chipped and scratched, studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, small knife, battered wooden small shield, throwing axe, hooded cloak, and a purse with 9 copper and 6 silver coins.  [This one lives.]

(3)    A scratched brass ring, with three empty settings for precious stones; a glass eye, its iris to pupil ratio obviously meant for an elf rather than a human; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, small knife, new wooden small shield, axe, bright blue broad brimmed leather hat with long chin strap, and a purse with 27 copper and 2 silver coins.

(4)    A single copper coin melted and warped almost beyond recognition; a small ceramic figurine that has been crudely painted enough times it is more paint than clay nailed to a fishing hook that has been bent straight and thrust through a small rubber ball; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, dagger, battered metal small shield, throwing axe, short red cloak, and a purse with 19 copper and 1 silver coins.

(5)    A shuriken with a different insect impaled on each of its tines; a leather strap with buckles that seem to have been from some article of armor; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, small knife, battered wooden small shield, axe, blanket cloak with iron clasp, and a purse with 11 copper.

(6)    A heavily defaced angel pendant with its wings snapped off leaving ragged stumps; a large, well-groomed and heavily waxed moustache, some scraps of skin still cling to it; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, large knife, new wooden small shield, throwing axe, and a purse with 2 copper and 8 silver coins.

(7)    A reddish paste, presumably the remnants of some fruit made into a crude jam, that gives off a rancid stench; a pair of small ceramic figures depicting a bride and groom, the bottoms of which show some signs of being gnawed; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, small knife, battered wooden small shield, throwing axe, green felt hat with a battered crows feather in it, long black cape with black rabbit fur collar in excellent condition, and a purse with 29 copper and 7 silver coins.

(8)    A fist-sized gray rock, smooth and round, perfect for skipping across a lake and little else; a small harmonica with only three intact reeds, allowing it to produce only a handful of sour notes; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, small knife, battered wooden small shield, axe, loose woolen pullover with hood, and a purse with 4 copper coins.

(9)    A well used sling stone which shows signs of gnawing; a small chunk of soapstone carved into the likeness of a finger; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, long knife, new red painted wooden small shield, axe, and a purse with 3 copper and 6 silver coins.

(10)    A heavily oxidized brass nail, the deep green of a pine needle;  a crumpled and torn wanted poster displaying the uncanny likeness of Alvin; studded leather haubark and leggings, leather boots, small knife, battered red painted wooden small shield, throwing axe, homespun hooded cloak, and a purse with 9 copper and 3 silver coins.

XP

The PCs all received 4 points for the session.  Autumn was voted the bonus point for her out of combat moment of supreme awesomeness in slicing and catching the thrown apple in mid flight with her blades.

Odds and Ends

Allies as a power-up.

At any point, there should be at least one or two “shield grogs” in Wolverton.  These will be large-shield carrying henchmen built with the Guard template from DF 15: Henchmen and adjusted to the appropriate point level.  Such a character is worth 25% of your points, and appears all the time.  This costs 4 points.  A porter is also possible, though is more likely to be a paid henchman rather than an Ally as an advantage.

Spending points.

Learning new spells or other new skills not used thus far isn’t possible at the moment.  That said, feel free to improve any existing skills with earned XP.  Saving for advantages such as Combat Reflexes, improved attributes, etc., is also allowable.

Finally, a young man offers to join you on your quest:

That’s right, a 20-something fighter-type hears of your heroic battle and the capture of the stranger and asks to join you in your quest to find the missing women.  He’s detailed below.  He, too, could be purchased as an Ally if someone chose to do so.  Otherwise he can be brought along, rejected, hired, etc., as the PCs please.

Jory                                                                                                                                 62 points

Based on the Guard template from DF 15: Henchmen.  Jory was raised in Swallowfeld, the son of a fisherman.  Unlike the rest of his family, when he went out to sea, he saw endless possibilities, so at the age of 15 he enlisted with a passing naval vessel, eventually becoming a marine.  Now, after 4 and a half years, he has returned.  The military life just wasn’t for him, though part of his still longs for adventure, ever looking to the horizon.  When he mustered out, he purchased his sword and his haubark.

Attributes:

ST 12 [20]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 12 [20].

Secondary Characteristics:

Damage 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will 10 [0]; Per 10 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic Speed 6.00 [5]; Basic Move 6 [0].

Advantages:

Fit [5], Striking ST 1 (1d/2d-1) [5].

Disadvantages:

Callous [-5], Easy to Read [-10], Overconfidence (12) [-5],  Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5].

Quirks:

TBD (x3), Horrible Hangovers [-1], Wanderlust.

Skills:

Armoury (Body Armor) (A) IQ-1 [1]-9, Boating (A) DX+1 (Unpowered) [4]-12, Brawling (E) DX [1]-11, Climbing (A) DX [2]-11, Fishing (E) IQ [1]-10, Knife (E) DX [1]-11, Seamanship (E) IQ [1]-10, Shield (Buckler) (E) DX+1 [2]-12, Shortsword (A) DX+2 [8]-13, Wrestling (A) DX-1 [1]-10.

Gear:

Blanket Cost: $20; Weight: 4.

Canteen Cost: $10; Weight: 3.

Large Knife Dmg: 1d cut / 1d imp; Reach: C, 1 / C; Cost: $40; Parry: 7; Weight: 1; ST 6.

Leather Haubark (Arms, Body) DR 2; Cost: $150; Weight: 12.

Light Metal Buckler DB 1; Cost: $125; Weight: 4; DR/HP: 8/40; Block: 10; Damage: 1d cr.

Personal Basics $5, 1 lb.

Sack (Holds 40 lbs.) Cost $30; Weight: 3.

Shortsword Dmg: 2d-1 cut / 1d imp; Reach: 1 / 1; Parry: 9; Cost: $400; Weight: 2; ST 8.

Torch (×2) Cost: $6; 2.

$239

DF: The Pick-Up Game

PCs:

Alvin (Dave) -- Human bard, equipped with wit, song, and rapier.

Autumn (Bill) -- Human swashbuckler, armed with a rapier and main-gauche, she needs little else.

Bjorn (Craig) -- Northman barbarian, armed and armored with anything he can get his hands on.  (Built “freehand” and including the “Northman” racial template that exists in another campaign, he’s still a classic barbarian -- big, strong, good in the outdoors, etc.)

RC (Rich) -- Human wizard, of the Coma Bat school of wizardry.  RC is a stand-in until I can determine his actual character name.

The campaign/scenario:

This has been conceived as a “pick-up” game we can use if/when we’re missing the player(s) required to move forward in our slated campaign, or if the slated GM just isn’t quite ready to go.  Everything I have done has been put together with the idea in mind that the PCs in question may be ported over to another setting, or so that adventures/locations can be quickly inserted after a brief travel montage.  

All of the PCs save RC have been ported into a “generic” setting.  I let them keep their previous loot, save for their horses, which don’t make much sense in the current location, mostly because I thought it would be more fun that way, and the player making a new PC (RC) didn’t mind starting with a new “unestablished” DF character with only $1000 in gear.  New PCs are, at least for now, 250+50+5 point GURPS DF characters.  Maybe if this game is played more often it will eventually be bumped up to something higher, such as “avg PC point level -50” or something similar.  Otherwise, the name of the game is “get characters together, start (and hopefully finish) a single session adventure.  (I, for one, won’t mind playing a starting DF character even if everyone else is of much higher point value, as starting DF characters in the default mode are highly skilled within their niche -- just pick the right niche and you’re good to go, and instantly valuable.)

World building involved 30 seconds to draw on a map and 30 minutes to read some supplements.  The former was done at the table on the day of the game, the latter had been done the previous week.  Using Raging Swan’s Lonely Coast, which is available for free -- making it easy for players to obtain if they so desire, coming up with a quick adventure was easy enough.  I really enjoyed the random weather, which enhanced play by providing even better cover for a dastardly trick a villain played on Autumn -- not to mention providing some much needed local color.  (BTW, There are also a handful of scenarios and village details available inexpensively for the Lonely Coast from Raging Swan at Warehouse 23 -- good products IMO.)  

The First Session

The game begins with the PCs, for reasons not quite determined, decided to make a fresh start here on the Lonely Coast, and arriving in Wolverton, the big town and heart of commerce.  Even so, it’s actually a small town with around 1800 inhabitants that sits across a sandbar from the baronial castle of Lord Locher.  Given $50 as walking around money by the ship’s captain as thanks for their working passage, they are cut loose.  Time to find an adventure!

The four adventurers end up following the half dozen sailors to the Salt Wolf, the dockside tavern and brothel.  Alvin trades performance for free ale, food, and companionship for himself, while the others figure out how to walk on land again.

    There’s an actual inn -- the creatively named Wolverton Inn -- about halfway up the hill.  Wolverton sits on a hillside leading down to the docks, and relative wealth can generally be measured by how high up the hill one lives, with the poorest living in dilapidated houses on the waterfront which are prone to flooding during the frequent periods of inclement weather.

The following morning, the party decides to go and visit the Baron.  The castle sits across a sandbar from Wolverton.  During high tide, you can cross the sandbar; otherwise, you can row a boat across the treacherous channel.  It’s an impressive castle built on the ruins of previous ancient fortification on a spot that is itself naturally fortified.  

The cross the sandbar and are met by a lone guard standing in a wooden watch tower next to the open gate.  He tells them that they have 45 minutes to visit the castle, or they’ll be stuck for much of the day.  The trip to the castle takes 15 minutes, so they decide to stay for the bulk of the day.

In the main courtyard, a minstrel is in stocks.  This gives Alvin an opening, of which he takes full advantage.  Upon meeting Lord Locher, he offers himself as a minstrel.  The Baron agrees, and so he joins him for lunch.  During this time, he learns that all of the young women of Swallowfeld have been taken.  Aha!  Adventure!

Meanwhile, the rest of the party goes to eat with the soldiers.  Autumn, the only female fighter or adventurer in the barracks, is given some less than good natured ribbing, especially since she wears no armor and carries “light” weapons -- rapier and main-gauche.  She decides to bring on a moment of sublime awesomeness to silence her critics.  She asks a guard to toss her an apple.  As the apple is in flight, she rises to her feet, fast draws sword and knife, cuts the apple into thirds, and impales those thirds onto her parrying blade.  She then calmly sits down and enjoys her apple.  This makes quite an impression.

The party meets to return to the inn.  En route, they decide to head out first thing in the morning to Swallowfeld and determine if they can be of service.  (Roll for weather: cool and drizzling.)  Their one piece of preparation is to purchase rain cloaks made of old sailcloth -- these come from the lost and found bin at the Salt Wolf.  Nothing else of significance is readily for sale; the next market day is two days hence, and they’d really prefer to get moving, since they suspect that Lord Locher will send out some of his men to deal with the situation within a day or two.  By then it might be too late; either way they’d lose and reward.

They set out early and make the 14 mile trek by just past lunchtime.  Once again, Alvin trades his entertainment services for free ale and food.  The others pay with coin.  As evening sets in, the place livens up with a mixture of people from the local tin mine, farmers, and other laborers.  One stranger catches Alvin’s eye, as he isn’t mingling and seems out of place in spite of his garb.

Alvin approaches him.  The conversation is… Odd.  Obviously the guy just wants to be left alone.  But in speaking to him, Alvin catches sight of a concealed shortsword, and possibly another blade.  Suspicious, he resolves to keep an eye on him.  He returns for another set, at which point the stranger rises and exits the tavern.

Alvin signals his comrades to follow.  They catch the “subtle” hint, and Autumn and RC follow him.  (Roll for weather -- it’s time again: cold and light fog.)  Out into the fog.  To aid her, RC casts invisibility on Autumn, who follows ever so quietly.  She’s able to follow him around a stable, where she suddenly finds herself struggling for stealth in muck in the dark and fog.

In the battle of Stealth vs. Perception, Autumn loses.  A stab in the dark to her vitals causes her to cry out in pain.  She ducks into the stable, back against the wall, ready to lash out at anyone who comes at her in the dark.  Several heart pounding moments pass without incident, though she thinks she might hear something in the dark.

Meanwhile, RC hears the cry and heads -- cautiously -- for the sound.  He moves into the dark and otherwise empty stable.  With a bit of luck, the two meet without incident.  RC cancels his spell and begins first aid, casting Continual Light at the highest level on a rock.  Light to work by…

After a couple of songs, Alvin gets nervous about his friends.  He stops, joking that the “ale really runs through you,” and brings Bjorn with him.  They find the pair in an empty stall.  RC casts another Continual Light on Alvin’s knife blade at torchlight level.  Then they set out to find the stranger.  Their quest doesn’t take long -- they pick up a trail that leads them to a narrow space between two houses across the street.

Following through the narrow passage, Bjorn hears barking and obvious struggling -- the stranger has found a dog, and that dog has taken exception to his presence.  Bjorn hurls his Axe of Return, strikes the stranger, and recovers his weapon.  The man drops.  The ruckus causes the owner of one of the houses to come out and watch.  

Shortly thereafter, Alvin and Bjorn take the stranger into the farmer’s house.  The farmer’s daughter is one of the missing girls, so he’s eager to lend assistance.  They use his table for first aid -- just to stop the bleeding and awaken the stranger.  As they finish, Autumn and RC find them.  The stranger wakes up and seems a bit cooperative, but not enough to give any useful information.

Alvin attempts to use bardsong to influence the stranger.  But something goes horribly wrong, and everyone in the room seems prepared to believe the worst of him.  Before anyone can act, or even really discuss this, both the front and rear doors fly open.  Some sort of -- goblins? -- come rushing in.  Not in the least prepared for this, both RC and Alvin require time to recover from the suddenness of the attack.

Autumn and Bjorn are in no way so constrained.  The battle drags on with Autumn and Bjorn generating piles of bodies around them, while the farmer, RC, and Alvin are clonked on the head.  But both Alvin and RC manage to recover and join the fight.  At the end, only Bjorn is unharmed.  Autumn is ready to collapse, and Alvin and RC are somewhat worse for the wear.

And so the session ends…

Seven Kingdoms Session Seven

Seven Kingdoms Session 7
Players: Iago (Alaric), Kiri (Bill), Perceval (Dave)

June 5 Thursday (cont'd)
The party regroups no more than 100' away, as nothing pursues them.  There is a brief debate, after which Perceval has persuaded everyone that they cannot simply leave Sokar to his fate -- he's one of them.  The wounded guard goes back to town to get reinforcements after being healed.  Perceval and Valerian go in to try to recover Sokar, along with the other guard, who reluctantly agrees to help pull him out.
Inside, the interior double doors have been closed again.  They're barred from the inside, so Perceval and the guard batter them down.  Once inside, they face the creature again.  This time, Perceval draws him out, fighting defensively.  The creature bashes again and again, but Perceval is able to keep him at abay with his shield and sword.  Meanwhile, the guard pulls Sokar free.  Perceval maneuvers such that Valerian can send fireballs into the creature.  It takes only one massive fireball and it is engulfed in flame.  Two sword strokes later, it is stretched out at Perceval's feet.  Nothing comes from upstairs.  They have a terrible feeling that something bad is going on up there.
In the meantime, the excorcist and Kiri debate, Kiri gives in and is sent back to town as the "junior" clergy to call for clerical reinforcements.  Iago and the blind mage, whose blindness has returned (the Relive Blindness spell having ended), speculated about what might be going on inside.  When Sokar is returned to them, Iago decides to go inside and help stop the dark rituals he supposes are occuring within.
Once inside, they charge up the stairs.  Iago firing holy water, Perceval behind him and Valerian and the guardin the rear.  There is a brief fight with several cultists, who prove to be no match even for Iago's fighting skills.  They are swiftly dispatched.  The sacrificial victim, it turns out, is none other than Stan the mage.  They fullfill his desire for death.   
They proceed to loot before the exorcist, clergy, and town guard arrive.  Iago takes Sokar's ring and the other two they have from the mages they have killed or captured.  When the clergy and guard arrive, they've already claimed just about everything.  Iago gives two rings to have the 3d cleansed, then returns the now non-demonic ring to Sokar.  Sokar is taken to the temple and healed.
Victory!

Interim: June 6 - 25
In the aftermath, Valerian & his companions determine the name of the demon (Zav'Zelligoth) from the writings.  Perceval tries and fails to save the fomerly demon possessed Sarah, who eventually disappears.  Perceval, having completed a brief apprenticeship with Valerian, is released.  He goes home briefly to cleanse himself of the taint of spiritual dissonance.
Iago, in the mean time, is able to determine how the suggestions were encoded into text.  He tests it on a local chandler, then atones by purchasing many candles.  The chandler is not amused, but appreciates the business nonetheless.  Kiri receives her sword, and Sokar's armor is completed.  The plague seems to disappear, with the few new cases being cured by alchemy, spell, and Iago.

June  26 Thursday
Perceval has returned to town.  Valerian is eagerly awaiting him, and calls Kiri, Iago, and Sokar to meet him.  It seems that he may well have discovered information revealing the wherabouts of information about the Demon Singers -- possibly part of the same puzzle that caused the plague.  The Demon Singers were invaders from across the Western Ocean about 500 years before.  They seemed to be able to use demonic power without being greatly corrupted by it.  This knowledge has been the "unholy grail" of demonologists and students of demonic lore ever since.  Local legend holds that a group of them fled into the Dark Wood very near where Darwood Towne itself lies.  Valerian and his friends are willing to pay handsomely for the items, if recovered.  They are paying these four to head out in search of evidence, writings, etc., of the Demon Singers. 
They spend the rest of the day preparing for a journey.  Iago, by way of preparation, tries to create a "disease" stick, in the pattern of the other "pixie stick" items with the clouds of sleep.  He thinks he has succeeded, but cannot be certain without a field test, which he hopes he will find along the way.  The rest concern themselves with more practical matters, such as bedrolls, tents, etc.

June 27 Friday
Stopping at a roadside tavern, they run into Haley again.  She still doesn't really know them, and both Kiri and Perceval are saddened by this.  The bartender refers to her as one of his "best earners."  Sokar opts to spend some coin to find out why.  They press on rather than staying there.

June 28, 29 Sat & Sun
Travel without incident.

June 30 Monday
Walking along the road, Kiri senses low santity.  Investigating further, they find a trail.  Iago opts to stay behind with the horse while Kiri, in rat form, Perceval and Sokar follow the bath.  After about 100 yards, it opens into rocky depression.  The path skirts the depression, leading to a house at the other side of the depression. 
Kiri hides while Perceval and Sokar head to check it out.  There is a man sitting there in a rocking chair.  Four other chairs are with him on the porch.  He greets them, offers them food and drink.  He knows their names, and even knows that Kiri is hiding nearby.  She flees at this.  After evading the question (asked by Perceval), he finally agrees to tell them his name.  Speaking it is like a thunderbolt, and both Sokar and Perceval are overcome, losing consciousness. 
When they awaken, he tells them that he has been here a long time, and indicates that he his a god.  He tells them they can swear to him and receive blessings, or refuse and suffer misfortune, since they had received his hospitality.  Sokar, impressed, chooses to swear to the god dubbed "Thunderbolt", and follows the ritual prescribed, cutting himself and speaking the name of the god in front of a sacred rock at the center of the depression.  Perceval refuses.
They ask about the demon singers, and are told that they, too, were offered this choice and refused.  They passed to dust as all mortals...
With that, Sokar and Perceval return to the others and leave.  Quickly the sanctity returns to normal.  That night, Sokar finds a small bag of coins stashed near his bedroll.  Perceval accidentally puts his hand into bear dung.

July 1 Tuesday
Traveling, they crest a hill and see a distant spire of earth.  Kiri and Perceval have heard of this -- it's called Dragon's Perch.  As they come down the hill, they see the keep they were seeking.  This is an area once held by the Barony of Blythe, before it was taken over and subsumed into County Darkwood.  But that area was overrun by orks and later abandoned.  The Countess has rebuilt the keep and is trying to expand back into this region.
They arrive at the keep and call up to it.  Perceval makes introductions, but it seems his father is "the bastard who betrayed my lord."  This misunderstanding persists long after they're admitted.  The captain of the watch refuses to "grant satisfaction" -- he needs every man he can get, as the area is "teeming with orks, goblins, and their ilk."  Later that evening, the misunderstanding is sorted out and the corporal of the watch apologizes sincerely for offending Perceval, who graciously accepts.
The keep is in need of  healers and healing, so Iago and Kiri set up shop, with the encouragement of the watch captain.  Kiri meets Jobob, a priest of Arsalon the Just.  Jobob was wounded and seems to have lost his marbles, forgetting what has just been told and being given to delusional spells.  She is saddened by this.
They spend a bit of time trying to find out information that might lead to the Demon Singers.  The only lead they pick up is a rumor of a mystic or madman seen wandering the area...

End of session...