T w e n t y S i d e d

They move south, passing several small farms and into the open grasslands. Eomer leads them at a strenuous pace. As the day wears on, Thu’fir notices that several back birds have been circling them for most of the day. The birds are too distant to be identified, but their dark outlines can be seen clearly against the blue sky of late summer.

The birds are too distant for them to do anything about it. The day passes as the hills to the south draw near.

As the sun drops low they see the outline of Joland Village ahead. They wonder what to do about this. Is the town occupied? Certainly they shouldn’t just march into town together. Eomer puts on the “good” Alidian uniform they own (the other one is bloody and slashed) and walks into town alone, while the others hide in the grass outside of town.

Dusk settles as he enters town. The little village is very quiet. Angry eyes peer out at him from the homes, but nobody speaks. A old man is sitting on the stoop in front of the blacksmith shop. He’s rocking back on his chair, looking thoughtful. He has a hard, creased face and a bushy white mustache.

At last he looks at the uniform and greats Eomer, “You lost, friend?”

Eomer is evasive, but as they talk his ruse about being in the army wears thin. He is alone and speaking with the wrong accent to be an Alidian.

Finally the man asks him, “You’re not an Alidian, are you?”

Eomer doesn’t need the disguise anymore, “No, I’m not.”

The man cheers up at this and introduces himself as Polan. He is the closest thing the town has to a leader. He asks how the towns to the north are doing. It’s clear he doesn’t have any idea the north has lost. When Eomer tells him that Fort Bolland and Breakshore are taken, the man concludes that the war is over. He looks sad.

He asks if Eomer knows anything about missing children. He doesn’t. Polan tells his story:

“About four days ago one of the little ones, a kid about seven years old, disappeared from the fields just north of town. Two days later, other kids were picking hardberries at the bushes over yonder”, He points to an area west of the town, “and the kids say a man jumped out of the bushes and took one of them and carried the little girl off. Now, the soldiers took all our weapons when they took this town. That don’t matter much ‘cuz they also took all the young men and women capable of using weapons. All we have left are the sick, the old, and the children.”

Eomer asks where the parents are. Polan explains that the mothers are here in town, but the fathers were taken south weeks ago.

Eomer gets up and calls the other party members into town. It’s obvious the enemy sodiers left this town to its fate ages ago and aren’t likely to come back any time soon.

He explains the situation as the evening closes in. By the time he’s finished the tale, it’s dark out.

Thordek and Eomer want to go right now and look for the kids.

Skeeve is not so sure, “Look, we don’t even know if the children are still alive.”

Beck shruggs, “Sure, but the guy who took them is, and we can at least fix that.”

A debate ensues. Skeeve is sensitive to the plight of the villagers, but doesn’t want to get dragged into helping everyone they meet on the way. He reminds them that they are chasing Endo, who left over a day ahead of them, riding horseback.

Enoch insists he will go and look for the kids, even if he has to do it alone.

Thus overruled and outnumbered, Skeeve agrees to go along, but suggests they wait until morning.

Eomer and others protest, wanting to begin now. Polan suggests that trying to track someone in the dark, even with the aid of magical light, is foolish.

The party relents and checks into the inn.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

The party sneaks back into town, on the way seeing a number of soldiers leaving, heading back towards the house. They are rolling a large barrel. They crouch down and consider taking these guys out. Eomer points out they could kill these guys and hide the bodies in the woods or dump them in the ocean. Enoch responds that even if the bodies are never recovered, the Alidians will still assume the townies are responsible, and take revenge on them anyway.

The party goes to the tavern. Beck is passed out at the bar. The bartender is red-faced and wearing a large bruise on the side of his face. They realize the soldiers must have come here and taken some ale. They wake Beck.

His head snaps up, “Alright! Let’s go get those guys.” He doesn’t realize they have already finished.

They lead him out of town to where Skeve has made camp. Skeeve examines the horn and identifies its magic properties. Apparently if you blow the horn it will stun anyone caught in front of it. The horn will be unnaturally loud, as well, perhaps even reaching miles away.

Thu’fir goes to the blacksmith and lets him know how things went. He shows him the horn. The blacksmith tells him the owner of the horn died several days ago, killed by Alidian soldiers. Thu’fir gives him fifty gold for it anyway. They look over Thu’fir’s map and Gereg explains that if they want to avoid the road, then there are two ways they can travel south.

Northern Mar Tesaro.
Click for larger view.

“The first way is that you could head west, cross the bridge, and then head south through Upper Bolwood. The woods are dense and unyielding, and some travelers tell tales of Ettins prowling on the edge of the woods from time to time. If you come through the woods you should find yourselves in the village of Woodhurst.

“The other way you could go is to head due south over Tinderward. This would be much faster by my count, but it would take you over flat open grasslands where you have no hope of hiding. If you encounter the enemy soldiers, you’ll be discovered for sure. Furthermore, you would have to pass over the Weather Hills, which are home to a nasty and devious tribe of Goblins.”

Thu’fir examines the map before he replies, “Which way would you say is the most dangerous?”

Gereg shruggs, “Beats me. I always take the road. “

In any case, Gereg has no idea which way Endo went. Thu’fir thanks the blacksmith and returns to the party where they debate over what path they should take. There is much discussion about which path would be better. They argue about which way Endo might have gone, and if he would want them to follow him. Eventually they decide on the south way, over Tinderward. They sleep.

At dawn they set out. Beck awakens but doesn’t seem to be too hung over. He doesn’t say anything about the night before.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

While Enoch translates the text at the library, the Eomer and Thu’fir gather at the blacksmith’s shop. Upon learning that the party had lost many of their basic supplies in the shipwreck, he suggests they help him with a problem he’s having.

Before the city fell, he had stored away a cache of weapons, armor, and other provisions in the case of invasion. When the attack came, it happened a bit quicker than he anticipated, and he didn’t have time to reach the supplies or distribute them. Worse, soldiers came and siezed his house and have been living there ever since. The supplies are hidden in a secret room in the basement, but he can’t hope to sneak past the guards to reach them.

The blacksmith suggests that the party try to sneak in and retrieve the items. If they do so, they can keep some of the stash for themselves. The only requirement is that they not kill any guards. If they do, the soldiers will simply retailiate by coming into town and killing people in order to exact revenge.

Eomer asks about what unforms the northerners used. It turns out they didn’t have proper fancy uniforms like the Alidians, but instead wore simple black sashes around their waist or arms.

Thu’fir asks what they have been fighting about. The blacksmith explains that the war was over territory. Apparently there is a valuable mountain here called Mount Khelberg. It seems to be a rich source of both gems and gold. The blacksmith explains that the mountain is the birthright of his people: King Lorman (their leader) is the great great great (etc) grandson of the first foreman of the miners. He dug the first shafts and the land should be his. This is why they attacked the Alidians.

Finally Eomer get back to the subect of the supplies they need to steal.

Gereg draws a quick map of his house.

A crude drawing of the layout of Gereg’s house.
Click for larger view.

There is a front door on the house that faces west, towards the town. Behind the house is a storm door that leads into the cellar. There is a secret door in the cellar that conceals the goods in question. Unfortunately, the door is barred from the inside, so they can’t just pick the lock to get in. Someone will have to sneak in the front door.

Right behind the house, about ten feet from the rear door, is the woods. Gereg suggests leaving the heavy items there in the woods where he can recover them later.

By this time the sun is going down. Eomer goes east through the woods to the backsmith’s shop, which is a ten-minute walk. Everyone else gathers at the tavern and waits with a glass of ale. (Skeeve has Tea, Enoch abstains.)

Eomer watches the building as the sun sets. It looks like there is a circle of tents in front of the house, and a number of guards are gathered there, talking. He sneaks up to the back of the house and peeks through the rear window with his mirror.

A soldier is inside, working on something. Eomer can hear the banging of pots. This room is clearly the kitchen. After watching the place a bit longer, he returns to town.

They discuss their plans. Thu’fir suggests that instead of sneaking in the front door, they could just pull off the hinges. They worry that perhaps this would be too noisy. Enoch points out that he could create a zone of silence. This magic power of his will deaden all noise in a 20-foot radius.

They agree on this. Skeeve decides to stay at the tavern. He realizes they have no place to stay for the night. The soldiers tooks several houses, and the displaced families have filled the small inn.

Beck cuts in, suggesting they go in fighting. He’s clearly drunk. Thu’fir buys him another drink, and gives the bartender enough money to keep them coming all night. They slip out and leave Beck to his ale.

Eomer, Thu’fir, Enoch, and Thodek sneak through the woods to Gereg’s house. Enoch and Thodek stop well short of the house, not wanting to make a lot of noise in their heavy armor. Eomer moves forward silently and looks around.

Juding from the light, there is a campfire in front of the house. He listens carefully and determines that two guards are having a conversation. Using the mirror, he peeks in the window, but it is dark and quiet inside. He gives the signal, and Enoch casts silence on the door. Eomer takes the hinges off and Thu’fir takes the beam off. The beam falls soundlessly down the steps within the zone of silence.

Eomer sneaks in and goes to the secret door, which is a pegboard of tools. He moves one of the tools and finds it makes a very slight sound. The door is just outside of the silenced area! So, he needs to open a door which is covered in hanging metal tools, and he must do so without making any noise. He takes a deep breath…

…the door opens silently. He signals to Thu’fir, who is at the bottom of the steps looking in, letting him know where the edge of the zone is. They begin moving boxes. There are seven boxes of varying sizes, plus a sack and some other loose goods. Thordek and Enoch help move goods from the house into the woods, just on the edge of the zone. There are seven crates, a sack, a book, a lantern, and a longbow.

The goods unloaded, they realize that Eomer needs to stay inside when they put the door back on. If they want to hide all traces of their work, then he needs to place the bar on the door again, which can only be done once it’s in place and closed.

Enoch casts silence again, since he guesses that the five-minute duration is nearly up. They replace the door, attach the hinges, and Eomer places the bar on the door again. While this is happening, the members outside see a group of five guards head off towards town, carrying a torch. They conclude they can’t do anything about this now. They have to wait for Eomer.

Eomer, still inside, must sneak upstairs, out the front door, around the house, and meet them in back. He makes it upstairs and to the front door without difficulty.

Just before he leaves the house he pauses. He goes around into the kitchen and checks it out. He finds lots of dry goods. He also finds a sack of iron rations. He opens one, pisses on it, and then carefully re-wraps it and places it back in the sack.

He slips out the front door and rejoins the party out back.

While this was going on, Thu’fir had gone through the crates, suspicious of the smith’s story and wanting to make sure the story they had been told was true. He found the following:

• 3 bucklers
• 3 tindertwigs
• Very large bundle of arrows
• Several longswords wrapped in blankets
• 30 iron rations
• Another map
• A purse of gold.
• A very ornate horn
• A pile of blankets
• 3 iron skullcaps
• 10 sets of heavy boots
• 10 empty water skins
• breastplate
• Longbow
• lantern
• map case
• several backpacks

They take enough backpacks, blankets and waterskins to supply the party. They take enough food to supply themselves for two days, and they take the horn. They leave everything else hidden in the bushes.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

Mar Talos is home to the Elves. Other races are not allowed to roam the land, and must remain in the capital / port city of Talosport. It is also the home of Sagemaster Teerin Forwinol.

Sagemaster was a major figure in our first campaign. He’s over 400 years old. He is respected and known throughout the other islands and Dunlock. He’s wise, thoughtful, and slow to act on anything. He prefers to watch and let things play out instead of getting involved, even when he has the power to intervene. He loves peace, and gets along well with other races.

Mar Talos has benefitted over the last 100 years with him as the leader. The island is strong, prosperous and secure.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

Beck points out that these soldiers were without supplies, so therefore they must have had a base or camp nearby. Eomer changes into the guard’s uniform he scavenged from the least damaged soldier, disguising himself as one of the guards, telling his party to stay about 200 hundred yards from him. He follows the way the soldiers had come and finds a clearing with the remains of a fire and camp. While searching the area Eomer finds a cut length of rope, the cloth wrappings from iron rations, a dead soldier, obviously the captain of the band they saw, who was wearing a scale mail and has a horn. His neck has been snapped.

Eomer calls the rest of the party and they join him. Thordek searches and finds four backpacks with bed rolls and three iron rations. He also finds Endo’s staff.

Eomer is concerned at this. He knows Endo would not have left this behind on purpose. He searches as well, and using his knowledge of the wild he determines that a horse had been tied here, then was ridden east, towards Breakshore. Other horses were here and have gone west. Skeeve, Thu’fir, and Beck each take a backpack. The party stays to rest. Thu’fir starts a fire and the rest go to sleep. Thu’fir heads about 100 yards toward the conquered town (west) to watch for any more activity.

At 1 am the party sets out on the road. They follow it to Breakshore.

The village of Breakshore

The city is a medium-sized village along the coast. There are no ships in the port, which means they will not be escaping the isand soon.

Enoch and Skeeve go into town and head for the church. The church is overflowing with books. They speak to the head priest who explains the situation to them.

The Alidians (the southern forces) took the town without much resistance about a fortnight ago. They took the mayor away, but left everyone else alone. They commandeered a few farmhouses, took a goodly supply of food, all of the horses, and slew a few men who resisted, but they departed after a week and headed in the direction of Fort Bolland. The lands here in the north are still under martial law, and nobody is permitted to travel in the north without official papers. Anyone found in the wilderness will be assumed to be part of the resistance (of which there was very, very little) and arrested. The priest suggests they might be able to travel to Crossway and appeal to the local governor for papers if they explain their situation. They might also be able to buy forged papers.

He also tells them he has seen Endo and that he had quickly left town with a friend.

The rest of the party goes to the inn while Eomer goes to the priest and tries get an explanation of whom Endo was traveling with.

The rest of the party goes to the tavern / inn. The bartender welcomes them and says that meals were free for Alidian soldiers. Thu’fir claims to be a soldier for a free meal.

He is quickly found out when the bartender checks with the priest.

The bartender offers to help. He explains that there were supplies hidden in the smith’s house but that the house had been taken over by the soldiers.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

Above deck there is a horrific crack as the mainsail rips free, unfurls and catches the wind. The loose ropes whip about violently in the wind. Beck is sent out with Eomer to secure the sail (if they can) or cut it loose (if they have to) lest the mast be broken.

Eomer and Beck struggle to secure the sail. They have to climb the rope netting and recover the sail. Eomer is blown off as he reaches and misses. He falls into a wet coil of ropes on the deck.

Eomer is still conscious after the fall but is hurt. He gets back to his feet and attempts to climb back up. He climbs back up but nearly falls off again, managing only to catch hold. The mast creaks loudly. The ship is listing heavily as the wind shoves the vessel around. Not wanting to waste any more time, Eomer and Beck draw their swords and cut the sail free.

They climb down and get belowdecks again. Inorem stands by, furious that the sail has been cut.

A wave wash over the ship. Thordek losses his grip and is knocked over while sliding across the deck, getting caught in the the ropes. Thu’fir holds on to the wheel.

When all recover, they see that the captain is gone.

Beck yells, ” Bring us about, we must rescue him!” over the wind.
Inorem shouts, ” Belay that! Hold your course!”
Beck, “We can’t leave the captain!”
Inorem, “I’m in charge!”
Beck, “You won’t take his ship!”
Inorem, “Going back is suicide!”
Beck, “Leaving him is suicidal for you!”

They draw their swords and start to fight as they fall down to the quarterdeck. With them gone, Thordek, Thu’fir, and Eomer are free to choose who they will obey. Should they abandon the captain, or risk the entire ship by trying to come about? Cutting accross the wind will be very dangrous.

They choose to go back for the captain and begin trying to turn about. As the ship turns accross the wind, they loose control of the wheel and the ship turns sideways. Eomer and Thu’fir try to regain course. Waves wash over the deck. Thordek looses his footing and slides away, ramming into the railing.

A flash of lightning reveals the two combatants on the Forecastle Deck. Beck has run Irnoem through. He pushes the elf off of his sword and into the sea.

Thordek grabs the banister and tries to work his way down to the quarterdeck.

The ship starts to list. A wave comes across the deck and the ship begins to lean to starboard. Water pours over the deck. One of the hatches dips below the water for a moment and the ship takes a big drink. The wave relents and the ship corrects itself. Those at the wheel find it is much easier to steer but nothing happens when they do.

Beck shouts above the din, “The storm has pushed us too far south. We’re being drawn into Stonehelm!”

Lightning flashes, and they can see the dark rocky teeth of Stonehelm jutting out of the water. There is nothing they can do. The ship is beyond their control, and all they can do is wait to be dashed against the rocks.

The rocks are hidden for a moment as they are engulfed by waves. A moment later the wave passes and the rocks are even closer. There is an overpowering crash as the ship is torn apart.

All manage to keep their weapons and armor, but are obliged to leave their packs behind. Thordek and Thu’fir, dressed in scale mail, were sure to sink unless they gave up their armor. Thordek suggests they lock arms over the captain’s barrel. They do so, and jump in, using the barrel as a raft. Skeeve uses his arcane magic and takes to the air. He lights his staff and provides light over a rock jutting from the water. He acts as a beacon to the others. Enoch calls on his holy powers and walks on water with Eomer and 3 other of the crew he grabs. Together they head toward the rock where Skeeve hovers.

The ship slides beneath the waves, and they are left among the churning waves. Everyone ends up at the rock, clinging to it. They have no food, no water, no way to rest, and no idea which way land is. Enoch passes out from exposure. Those that survive are exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, barely holding on in the midst of the storm.

As the night draws on, the storm relents.

Dawn comes at last to show that most of the crew has drowned. Many bodies are face-down in the shipwreck-filled water about them. As the sky brightens, they can see the island to the south, less than a mile away. Of those Enoch saved, there are only two sailors left. Thordek and Thu’fir are kicking their way toward shore. Enoch helps the others get to shore walking on water.

Thordek and Thu’fir get to shore and are waiting for the rest. Bits of the ship litter the beach.

Endo is gone.

Way down the beach they find Beck digging a hole with a part of a stool as a shovel, making a grave. Nobert is dead, and Beck wants to bury him. He finishes the shallow grave and puts Nobert in. After a moment of silence, Beck resolves to travel with the party back to Bayhaven and marry Talla.

It is drizzling and cold. Everyone is exhausted and has been without food and fresh water for about 10 hours. Nobody has slept in over 24 hours.

Eomer goes off looking for Endo. Enoch casts helping hand (a mystical floating hand that searches a 5 mile radius) The magical hand drifts away in search of Endo.

Thu’fir and Eomer search for roots etc to eat in the woods. Beck gives them the gist of the island by drawing in the sand (what he has seen on a map.) Obviously they are near Stonehelm and the river. They are not sure however, if the Alidians have taken Breakshore and decide to try to avoid them. Skeeve levitates and finds the river ¾ of a mile west. Everyone heads to the river except Enoch who decides to stay at the beach in case Endo comes. The dwarf rinses off in the river. Thu’fir cleans up as well.

After some time, the hand returns without Endo, and then disappears.

Enoch rests on the beach with the two who were saved while waiting for the others to return. Everyone else rests by the river. Thordek offers the use of his helmet to carry water back to Enoch. Beck washes it out and fills it. They walk slowly and carefully back to Enoch. Enoch drinks, sharing with the other two who decide to rest a bit before moving on.

After a rest, they head for the road, which should be somewhere south.

Thu’fir goes first, then Eomer, Enoch, Beck, Skeeve, then Thordek.

The party encounters a group of soldiers coming from the underbrush ahead of them. They are scratched up and covered in leaves from running through the brush. Immediately the soldiers begin to question them. There are three soldiers and one unarmed soldier.

They conclude the party is a group of mercenaries come to help the northerners, and attempt to arrest them.

The party refuses to surrender their weapons. The uniformed unarmed man speaks in the ear of the head soldier and the group spreads out.

The party see this is leading to combat and act first. Skeeve summons a flaming sphere, rolling it toward one of the soldiers. The underbrush catches fire in its wake. Weapons are drawn.

The unarmed soldier stands behind the others, casting magic at the party. It is a hard battle. Both Enoch and Skeeve had spent much of their magic in the night before, and had not had time to refresh themselves.

One by one the soldiers fell. Skeeve and the other wizard end up in a sort of duel, tossing fire magic at one another. Finally the opposing wizard backs into the underbrush for cover. Skeeve commanded a flaming sphere to travel around him in a tight circle, setting the brush on fire. Thus surrounded, the sphere rolls onto the wizard and he perished in flames.

As the last soldier fell, Eomer cries out, “Isn’t anyone everglad to see us?!?!?!”

The party retreats for a few minutes, as the fire spreads. Eventually it burns itself out on the soaked vegitation and leaves a smouldering hole in the woods. The smell of burning skin and hair surrounds them. The party scavenges for usable items amongst the dead.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.