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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster |
Borax returned to the Mageguild, to add the information provided by the Eye to what was known about the golem - to whit, that Gathien, Archpriest of Mithlendel in Lomegor, was the only likely candidate for changing the construct's commands. He also looked into selling off his collection of monster teeth - eight Gorgon and a hundred and sixty Hydra. Astowyr was honest in his response; he'd buy some of them, but Borax would get a better price from a professional alchemist. The dwarf enquired about the possible value of the gilem, to which the specialist Bowman hedged a bit, thumbnailing a price of around a hundred thousand for a human-made, properly working one. For collectors, this could go higher, though possibly not in its' current inert state.
While all this had been going on, Calvis, Meepo and Neithar had been spending their shares of the loot upgrading their own gear, with Calvis lending some to Neithar. The kobold had gloves which improved his defences and accuracy with the ray spells rapidly becoming his trademark; Neithar had bought in Hats of Disguise for himself and Zalia, allowing them to pass as Loyalists on a continual basis. Additionally, Calvis had heard tell that the Lynien temple in the Ducal capital Armush had some Belts of Healing, which he strongly recommended for any and all of the party. Calcryx hadn't quite got the hang of 'shopping' yet, and was still hoarding his loot to sleep on.
A trip to Armush seemed a reasonable idea. Borax and Ruby, considering it as a tax-deductible item for their business, bought themselves a nice covered wagon with two draught horses, both for speed of travel and shipping larger quantities of material. With the addition of a neat little gimballed stove under the cover, they could brew tea and cook meals on the move.
Young Transen had already been handed the job of refurbishing the upstairs and the roof, and had separating a slice of the new property off to make a stables, plus a birdbox and kennel for the magpie and dog added to his list.
Setting off into the grey, cold morning, the wagon rumbled out of Utkinton's western gate and out into the Newlands. They passed the Fist, where the absence of the Baron's personal flag suggested he was still away .. wherever he had gone. Soon, they reached the main road linking the Fist to Armush, and were able to move a bit faster.
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They'd passed a few villages in the course of the day, and as the light began to fail were reaching another. The warm glow of lights made everyone think of a cosy inn, good dinner and comfy bed, and the party decided to stop.
As they entered the village from the south, they passed well-tended fields, and saw clean, cared-for houses; an inn was visible to the east. In the centre was a very large tree in a paved area all by itself. Under the tree was a stone plinth, clearly of some importance, although the flat top was completely empty.
As they rumbled through the streets, they noticed that the people didn't quite match the town; everyone they saw was looking troubled, eyeing their neighbors with suspicion and distrust.
The inn, the Gauntlet and Dragon, was open, and the stable-boy came to take the wagon and horses. They asked him what was the matter with everyone, and with the air of stating the obvious, he replied that "the Stone is gone." When they just looked at him, he was a bit nonplussed; "Everyone knows about our Stone," he protested; "The Stone of Good Fellowship? And now it's gone."
Ruby and Borax looked at each other. This was exactly the sort of thing the Eye was able to sort out. While they planned to start charging for it, they were ready to get the lad to ask this question, until Calvis pointed out that he was unlikely to be believed without witnesses. Instead, they got him to shake it and ask who his father was - possibly a dangerous question given village life! However, its answer was correct and the lad went off to see to the horses, wide-eyed.
Entering the inn, they found it distinctly quiet, with only a few customers. The innkeeper greeted them as if they'd come to save his life, welcoming them in, pouring drinks, and offering them rooms for enormously reduced prices. Curious, they asked him what was happening, and he told them as supper was cooking.
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Duskbie as a community owned a stone, the Stone of Good Fellowship, which stands – stood – proudly under the town tree in the village. The core of the town’s success, the stone was magical; if someone touched it and made a statement, all present would know if he spoke true; and if two people touched it and promises were made between them, not only did all know if they were spoken in earnest, but if one breached the promise, the other would immediately know. Because of this, Duskbie was a most honest, moral and remarkably happy place. Until eight days ago…
The stone vanished. The two guards who were kept on watch there were killed, horribly and near instantly, by the looks of them by some kind of beast. Since then, more villagers had been slain in similar ways, and a couple - Corbar and Rowor, Boatwright and fisherman/monger - had disappeared completely. The authorities were at a loss; Zelcane shook his head over the fact that their elders, normally so capable, seemed to have no ideas. Trust within the community was in a death spiral; adding the stress of murders to the sudden inability to prove what anyone says, people were rebounding into paranoia and distrust.
Borax leaned back in his chair. "Call your town leader to come here with a big bag of gold, and we can solve this right now," he suggested. After the lad had been summoned to support this, Zelcane sent him to the elders.
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Over the next three-quarters of an hour, the pair checked their rooms, dropped their gear in them, and arranged shifts - choosing two of the five rooms for actual use. Finally, the three Elders - Galor Shatter, Boril and Folnester - arrived, asking what was all this about a talking jar?
Ruby and Borax explained how it worked, and told them that - for a big bag of gold - they would let them ask the Eye where the stone was. As a taster, they offered the three the chance to test it with a mundane question. Boril accepted, and asked it "How many people have died here since the Stone disappeared?" The Eye answered correctly; listing the two guards, three other farmers - all killed by some kind of beast on or after the night of the stone's loss - and Talagath the horse-trader, slain in an argument the night before.
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Rather strangely, the elders did not leap at the chance to present the big question, protesting that Duskbie, sucessful as it was, was not a rich place, and their suggested fee of a thousand marks was more than could be readily assembled. Ruby haggled with him further as Borax headed to the bar - as the beer was better than the food - where Meepo stretched up to whisper in his ear "I don't think that man's telling the truth," nodding at Boril. Eventually the Elders left to see what they could pull together, with Borax underlining his point with "See you in the morning with a big bag of gold."
Neithar struck up a lively melody as the evening wound down and eventually everyone turned in.
Borax, sitting quietly on watch, looked up sharply as a scraping noise above him attracted his attention. It was repeated, and he leaned over to Neithar, putting a hand to his mouth to wake him quietly; though Neithar woke before he actually made contact. Sending the elf to wake the others, Borax climbed up onto the windowsill at the front of the building and cautiously lifted his head up over the level of the eaves.
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A tall, humanoid figure was balanced on the roof on two legs and a long, sinewey arm. Covered in harsh fur, its face was turned away, but Borax had no doubts about what it was. Slipping his Wand of Entangle out of his pouch, he rested it on the roof and triggered the spell. The werewolf's head whipped around as the command word was softly spoken, but there was no evading the spell - all the moss carefully chinked into the roof erupted into frenetic growth, twining around the monster's body as wooden shingles exploded in all directions.
In the other room, Ruby had leaped to her feet and grabbed her new sword, heading down the stairs and out through the back of the stables, scanning the edge of the roof for a target. Alert as she was, she was taken entirely by surprise as a second werewolf hurtled out of the shadows and lunged at her.
"Meepo!" shouted Borax, "Pass me my crossbow!" The little kobold struggled but managed to lift the stock to where Borax could reach it, and he pulled it up, sank a bolt into the trapped lycanthrope, and shoved it back through the window. He couldn't help noticing, as the creature howled in fury, that the missile didn't seem to have done as much damage as he'd expected. An answering howl from the back of the inn made him shout, "Someone go and help Ruby!" Belatedly, it struck him he should have asked someone to stay as everyone bolted for the stairs, except Calcryx, who hurtled past him through the window and arced up over the roof. As the others clattered down the stairs, Neithar burst into song while Meepo cast his own Expeditious Retreat and shot ahead of the elf.
Shrugging, Borax ducked back in for his shield and hammer, then hung from the window and dropped to the ground, where he cast Expeditious Retreat before setting off for the corner of the building.
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Ruby ducked under another flailing claw, and lashed the Cold Steel blade across the creature. The steel cut deep - though not as deep as it should have done - and the edges blackened and shrank as if frostbitten as the blade began to emit an icy pale blue glow and a trail of mist. As Ruby was painfully clawed while frantically evading the lycanthrope's bite, Calvis appeared in the stable doorway behind her, took in matters at a glance and cast Bless. Above, Calcryx swooped across the entangled werewolf, blasting frigid breath on it and climbing away again. The monster growled and started to slowly tear its way along the roof towards the back of the pub. Inside, Meepo had reached the back door of the inn, but couldn't reach the bolts to get it open, and had to wait for Neithar to catch up. The tall elf grinned as he casually snapped the bolt open.
 DM Note: Double Natural validated - instant kill. What a first outing for the Frost Sword! |
Picking his moment, Calvis dropped into a forward roll, somersaulting past the wolf and popping to his feet behind it, ready to stab it in the back. His rapier drove deep, jolting the monster visibly. Above, the other werewolf was snarling abuse at Calcryx who was striking from a safe distance. As Borax reached the back corner of the building, Neithar and Meepo fanned out beyond the wolf, Meepo smacking it with a couple of Magic Missiles. This distracted it for a crucial instant, and Ruby's new sword crackled across its throat, taking its' head clean off.
Borax trotted along the wall behind Ruby and Calvis to where he guessed the first werewolf was going to land when he left the roof, ready to attack it. He ignited the Hammer of Vengeance and blinked as it flamed significantly more brightly than it had ever done before. Selecting one of his lesser spells, he sent an Acid Splashup into the werewolf's face, grinning at the roar of fury as it struck.
The head on the ground shimmered, and Ruby was suddenly looking at the Elder Galor Shatter's face. There goes our theory of it being the boatman and fishmonger, she thought.
Meepo was also smiling at Calvis until the latter suddenly pointed over his shoulder in horror. Meepo glanced that way to see a third wolf barrelling towards him from behind. His kobold nature took over and he bolted to a safer position behind Ruby. Calvi tried a Hold Person, but the monster ignored it and lashed out at him, nearly knocking him over, and biting him on the arm. Ruby had stepped across to his side and struck twice at this new arrival. Both Ruby and Borax noticed that their weapons were dealing more elemental damage than before. Meepo hit it with a Scorching Ray, while above Calcryx bit the werewolf, the impact unbalancing it to the point it had all it could do not to fall.
Recovering, the one on the roof dropped down - straight into a strike from the Hammer. Neithar stepped across to flank it, but failed to sneak attack it. Both were near death, but their berserk bloodlust would not let them flee. Blows rained down from all sides, and soon all three town elders lay dead outside the Dragon and Gauntlet. Staring from the doorway, Zelcane the landlord goggled in horror at the scene. Clearly, someone else would need to ask the Eye where this Stone was....
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Session Date: 14th September 2026 |
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