Pork and Shadow - part 2

 

Present:

• Balder Dash. Gnome Wizard from Toluene - Jamie
• Kosha Pickle. Human Rogue from Lakeside - Darryl
• Red Feuersturm. Human Temple Fighter of Hob from Toluene - Chris
• Griza Muso. Human Thief from Lakeside – Jeff
• Malcom Gandhi. Gnome Thief from Brian – Kevin
• Phoebe Lacrosse. Human Barbarian from Pugtown – Andrew
• Joe Manco. Human Fighter from Toluene – Shane
• Napoleon Twig. Elf Priest of Caribou Gorn from Pugtown - Ian
• Galena Alfdis. Elf Priestess of Vingt et Un from Palantir - Steven

By Jeff

...

Back at the Pig & Whistle inn, Galena had returned at the end of her designated shift. She hadn't even spotted Griza but knew he would have been in place before she left the pig farm. After reporting on the odd behaviour of the pig farmer and the barmaid, the party discussed what needed to happen next.

"We wait for Griza's report" suggested Kosha, "Then we go in and check out those sheds"

"Yeah" agreed Napoleon, "And Tiny can get a sniff at that farmer, and the pigs"

"No need" gloated Balder, "It's definitely him"

A few hours later Griza returned to the inn and quietly reported that the barmaid, who was also now at the inn and working behind the bar, had left the house through the front a while back. 

"Looks like she came straight here, to work" Griza concluded.

"Yeah" asked Gazala, "But did you see he go into the house?"

"Nope, just out" replied Griza.

"A secret tunnel?" wondered Phoebe.

"No doubt" grumbled Kosha, "When wasn't there a secret tunnel?"

"What are we waiting for then?" said Phoebe, "Let's go"

"Wait, let's make an actual plan first" exclaimed Kosha.

Plans were made, then Phoebe, Napoleon and Tiny, and Kosha led, off to have a chat to the pig farmer and distract him. Balder turned to Griza, "Your turn" he grinned, waving his arms in a circle.

As Balder concentrated and summoned his arcane power, drawing on the essence of the night and silence, he cast an Invisibility on Griza, who immediately faded from sight and slipped out the door after Kosha. "Ten minutes" whispered Balder at Griza's invisible back.

The stone shed of the pig farm

Unseen, Griza made his way down the lane behind the others and as they hailed the pig farmer who was working in his yard, he silently vaulted over the fence and drifted over to the big stone shed that sat to the side of the house, in front of all the pigsties. Keeping a mental timer running in his head Griza listened at the door of the shed. All silent, and the bolt slid back easily, not even locked. With a quick glance around to make sure no one was looking in his direction, Griza eased the shed door open and slipped in. 

The door clicked quietly closed behind him as he surveyed the room. The air was chill, and the room was dark. A series of salami sticks and slabs of meat hung from the ceiling. A butchering table sat along one wall, and buckets of blood slicked offal sat on the floor. The smell was bad, almost thick enough to taste, and Griza had to breathe shallowly in order not to gag. One closed door on the left wall obviously led to a further room. Griza crossed the room towards the other door, glancing quickly around. There didn't appear to be anything of interest in here, but the door to the next room was locked!

Bending down, Griza peered at the lock.

"Is there time to check for traps?" he wondered.

"Yes, and definitely not a place to be trapped alone" he decided.

His senses tuned and focussed on the lock and the surrounding door frame, Griza exercised his skills.

"All clear" he figured and slid his picks into the lock.

With a deft twist the lock clicked open and Griza eased the door open a hairs breadth, just enough to get a whiff, hear anything, and peer inside. 

The smell in the room beyond was even worse, and it looked even darker, but it was all quiet.

Slipping through the door into the small room beyond, Griza let his eyes adjust to the dark.

Which was just as well. There was a large hole in the centre of the room, just in front of him!

A hoisting frame was rigged over the top of the hole, and the top of a ladder protruded up from below.

Otherwise, the room was empty. Apart from all the bloody entrail remains and offal staining the floor and splattered around the walls. Taking a small step forward, Griza leant over the hole and peered in.

The ladder quickly dropped into darkness, and the cloying rank smell that permeated the shed was wafting up from down there.

"Nope" decided Griza, "My ten minutes is nearly up"

Spinning around, Griza slipped back into the main room, relocked the door behind him, crossed to the door out, and listed to check for any problems with exiting. The murmur of voices sounded distant, and Griza could make out Phoebe's accent as she demanded answers from the pig farmer.

Griza slipped out through the door, gently closed it, and made his way back over the fence, down the lane, and back to the Pig & Whistle. Reconnaissance mission complete.

"Why didn't you down the hole?" grunted Malcolm a little later.

"No time, too dark, and it really stank!" noted Griza.

"You'll need to go back and see what is actually down there" Balder confirmed, handing Griza a bag.

"Pull the stone out of there if you need a light" Balder instructed.

A more in-depth reconnaissance mission was planned to check out the hole.

Galena slipped into the trees and kept an overwatch. 

Griza and Malcolm went full stealth mode and made their way over the fence and back into the shed. Standing over the offal hole, Malcolm declared "That ain't too bad" and started down the ladder.

"About fifteen feet down to the bottom" he whispered.

A few seconds later he stopped, about five feet from the ground below. The chill was intensifying and all the hairs on Malcolm's arms sprang up as a tingling sensation swept across him. Looking down into the room, Malcom could see a similar small room as above, but the wall on one side had collapsed, and a dark tunnel led away. The air there seemed to swirl, the darkness flickering, as if shadows were moving.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Malcolm clambered back up the ladder as fast as his little Gnome legs could carry him and burst up in front of Griza.

"Let's go" he hissed, "discretion is the better part of valour I hear" and bolted to the door.

Griza quickly pulled the magic light out of Balder's bag and shone it down the hole. The light pierced the darkness, illuminating the room below, including a hole out through one wall with a tunnel leading off in the general direction of the pigsties. Blood stained the floor and walls of the basement space, and remnants of offal were piled up around the base of the ladder. The light also illuminated a translucent shadowy figure which was drifting up the ladder just below him. With a quiet squeal, Griza turned and rushed after Malcolm, slamming the door and locking it firmly. As Griza backed away from the locked door, he felt and heard some muffled thumping from the other side.

Barely remembering to move stealthily, Griza quickly left the shed, and followed Malcolm back to the Inn.

Reporting back to the party, Griza and Malcolm relayed everything that they saw, and felt.

"We shouldn't go there again" Malcolm stated defiantly. 

"Undead" hissed Phoebe, "We must kill them all"

"What" squealed Malcolm, "Is there more than one?"

"It doesn't matter" replied Phoebe, "Any and all undead must be dispatched immediately"

"Sounds like a Shadow" noted Galena, "Magical weapons required to damage them!"

"Well, I have one" stated Phoebe, brandishing her longsword.

"Anyone want this one?" asked Griza

The discussions continued late into the evening, but nothing was resolved.

In the morning, there was quite a hue and cry in the town. Apparently, a body had been found just outside of the town, a little into the forest. A young man from the town had been out in the evening with his girlfriend. He was found by one of the woodcutters just before Light, brutally eviscerated by some huge creature, but of the girl, no sign.

"That's our giant boar!" Balder decided, "Let's go"

The party followed the hubbub out of town to where the three volunteer town militia were milling about with a number of other townsfolk arguing about what to do.

Darius, the pig farmer, and the party's prime suspect was the leader of the town militia.

Not surprisingly, Darius initially declined the party's offer of help in their investigation.

Red strode up in front of Darius, looked down at him, and forcefully repeated our offer. 

"Maybe ... you could help a little" Darius stuttered, sweat just starting to bead on his forehead.

Phoebe cast about and located some pig tracks leading off into the forest. 

Napoleon had Tiny led the way, Tiny barking loudly and racing off ahead.

"We'll follow these tracks and investigate" stated Red.

"Um ... sure" nodded Darius nervously.

Tiny led the party out into the forest, then slowly curved around and back towards the town. Tiny stopped at a fence just outside the town. It was the fence to the pig farm.

"Ha" exclaimed Balder, "Just like I figured"

There was a brief hesitation as the party considered the laws around trespass, but Red confirmed that they had effectively been commissioned by the town militia to investigate the tracks.

"So, get over the fence" he suggested.

Everyone clambered over the fence and checked the ground on the other side. 

No tracks, no smell, no clues.

"The pigsty" confirmed Balder, "Where the woman disappeared. The "tracks" lead straight there"

The pigsty was occupied, a large sow and a heaving mass of piglets were all over the floor, but Malcolm slipped past them and reported the presence of a trapdoor. Red hustled the pigs out of the way, lifted the trapdoor, and climbed down. He looked back before his head dropped below the floor level.

"Come on then" he called.

The tunnel at the bottom of the ladder was quite low, Red had to stoop to move forward. It looked to head in the direction of the farmhouse, as expected. There were no strong smells so Red led off along the tunnel. He held his two-handed hammer out to the front. There wouldn't be much room to swing it, but he figured a good thrust to the face would be just as effective.

The smell of blood and offal slowly increased as Red moved forward, until after about a hundred meters a side passage branched off to the right, probably towards the shed, where the Shadow creature had been seen by Malcolm and Griza. The stench was also pretty bad!

"Magic weapons" reminded Gazala.

There was a bit of a shuffle. Phoebe moved to the front with her magic longsword, Griza with his just behind her. Napoleon followed third, but cast a Detect Evil spell before setting off after Griza.

"Evil ahead" Napoleon reported.

"And behind" he quietly added, turning to look back.

A slight purple aura shimmered surrounded Balder.

"What the...?" Napoleon wondered briefly, before assigning that problem to later and moving on.

The stench quickly intensified, and before long a disturbance in the air could be felt.

A shadow detached itself from the general darkness ahead and rushed forward towards Phoebe.

With her magic sword raised (+0, but magic in terms of creatures) Phoebe braced for an extended battle with the undead minion of evil.

In the end, its wasn't much of a battle. Phoebe sliced and diced with her +0 magic sword, Balder loosed a Magic Missile, and the Shadow faded out with a poof, without even getting a hit on Phoebe.

(Andrew rolled a couple of critical hits during the melee, with bonus damage and the Shadow automatically losing a few attacks. It was all one way, fortunately for Phoebe! Although Napoleon had also cast a Bless spell, to help with saving throws if that proved necessary, which it didn't).

The party moved forward, Phoebe still at the fore, with Griza, Balder, and Napoleon immediately behind. Tiny and the others followed them down the tunnel and through the hole into the offal pit under the farmhouse shed.

Galena immediately threw up all over the floor, and even the sturdier party members were suffering from the stench. Griza slipped up the ladder, popped his head up into the room at the top, and reported back that it all looked just as it had yesterday. 

The party backed up through the tunnel and took the other branch, presumably to the farmhouse. Phoebe arrived at a solid wooden door.....

Refer to the part 1 post to reveal what was discovered on the other side of the door!

Pork and Shadow - Part 1

  

Present:

• Balder Dash. Gnome Wizard from Toluene - Jamie
• Kosha Pickle. Human Rogue from Lakeside - Darryl
• Red Feuersturm. Human Temple Fighter of Hob from Toluene - Chris
• Griza Muso. Human Thief from Lakeside – Jeff
• Malcom Gandhi. Gnome Thief from Brian – Kevin
• Phoebe Lacrosse. Human Barbarian from Pugtown – Andrew
• Joe Manco. Human Fighter from Toluene – Shane
• Napoleon Twig. Elf Priest of Caribou Gorn from Pugtown - Ian
• Galena Alfdis. Elf Priestess of Vingt et Un from Palantir - Steven

By Jeff

At first light, Jack the logger led the party away from the logging camp, along one of the muddy cut tracks, towards the location of the giant boar attack. Apparently, the boar had attacked about a week ago, killing a number of loggers and carrying off another. After ten or so minutes Jack pointed out a small clearing ahead.

"It was there" he said, "Thats where Douglas was grabbed by that thing"

As the party approached, they could see that the ground was very disturbed with gore and piles of dried blood scattered around the clearing, Many tracks cris-crossed the area, mostly human, but Phoebe got down on her hands and knees and slowly prowled around the perimeter of the clearing.

"Over here" Phoebe called.
"Giant boar tracks lead off this way"

With Phoebe in the lead, Joe immediately behind, and the rest of the party following, they set off after the tracks, directly away from Emerald which was somewhere behind them. Somewhere ahead lay the small village of Arque.

"I'll leave you to it" called Jack from the clearing, "I'm back off to the camp"

Phoebe managed to follow the tracks, which were clear and deep, for about an hour before they began to fade out. After dropping into a small creek and then entering some thick scrub on the other side, Phoebe stood up and scratched her head.

"Gone" she complained, "Just disappeared in this bush"

"I can't see anything either" muttered Kosha, after a quick poke around.

"We could just keep looking in this same direction" suggested Joe.

"Duh" grunted Malcolm, "If I was trying not to be found, I would change direction right here"

"Just cast about in a circle" suggested Griza, "Say one hundred metres out from where you lost them"

Phoebe bashed through the scrub for another hundred metres, then cast about in a clockwise circle keeping a close eye to the ground and the bush.

"There is a smaller pig track here" she called, "Heading off almost back the way we came!"

"Let's follow those then" suggested Balder.

After a half hour, the tracks led down into a creek, perhaps the same one, and then disappeared again.

Phoebe again used the one hundred metre circle routine and found a different set of tracks. Two sets of pig tracks this time, one quite small and shallow and the other larger and deeper.

"They just start from nothing" noted Phoebe, "Really suspicious!"

"Follow them then" instructed Balder, nodding sagely.

They led off towards Arque.

The forest camp

"Ahhh" concluded Balder, "Arque again. That must be the source of all this boar problem"

"Well," noted Phoebe, "no way we will be getting there by Dark, so we better find a camp"

A comfortable site was located near the tracks, the party's tent was erected, watches set, and everyone settled in for the night.

"No boar in its right mind would attack us" decided Red as he warmed his feet by the small fire and drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, the party set off again. Phoebe in the lead, following the double pig tracks on towards Arque. Part way through the morning the tracks angled onto a well-used woodcutter's track and Phoebe stopped.

"They disappear again here" Phoebe confirmed, "And this is probably only about an hour from Arque"

"See" noted Balder, "Definitely Arque. Let's just head straight there and poke around"

An hour later, the track opened up to reveal the quaint old village of Arque. The centre of town sported two inns, the Bell & Boot and the Pig & Whistle. 

"The Pig & Whistle" sighed Balder, "It's a sign!"

The party crowded into the Pig & Whistle for a drink and some lunch.

"No dogs in here" grunted the barmaid, "You can tie him up outside"

Napoleon and Tiny stayed out on the veranda while Phoebe and Joe ordered lunch and chatted to the barmaid. There were only a few older folks in the place, mostly at the bar, and it was very quiet.

"So" noted Phoebe pleasantly, "This is a tidy place, how did it get named for a pig?"

"Well" replied the barmaid, "The owner here is a pig farmer see, so it's just logical"

"Pig farmer" whispered Balder at the table, "Told ya this is the place"

After some lunch, a few of the party headed over to the pig farm to nosy about a bit. Tiny was put on a leash, and Napoleon approached a sturdy looking fellow working on the pig farm.

"G'day" Napoleon called, "Any chance of getting some decent pork bones for my buddy here"

"Sorry son" the farmer responded, "Try the butcher in town, we sell all our stuff there"

"And don't let that dog loose" he concluded, "Don't take kindly to mutts here!"

The pig farm had a house on the street, then a large fenced in yard between the street and the forest edge, with some outhouses and a number of separate pigsties. The pigsty's each had their own small enclosure, and numbers of pigs, the grunting of which was very loud and distinctive. Smelly too!

Since it was only just after midday and a covert investigation of the pig farm would be best after dark, the party decided to head back along the woodcutter track and do a bit more investigation where the double pig trail had disappeared at the track. But this proved uneventful. No further tracks of significance were found, and even a Detect Magic proved unhelpful. Two wood laden wagons rolled past on the track, with a bunch of attendant woodcutters, but nothing raised any suspicions.

Napoleon decided to use his Animal Companion talent (Spend two luck to experience Tiny's sense of smell for ten minutes) and was able to identify a distinctive piggy smell where the double pig trail ended. The smell was also detected on the woodcutter's trail and did indeed lead off along the trail towards Arque.

"Naturally" grinned Balder, "Like I told ya"

The Pig & Whistle

An hour later, just before they arrived back in Arque, Napoleon again used his Animal Companionship talent, and was able to track the same piggy smell into town, where the sent faded away just outside the Pig & Whistle Inn. 

Needless to say, the party took three rooms for a few nights! And Napoleon even managed to arrange a large kennel out by the rear stables for Tiny.

A stakeout reconnaissance of the pig farm was organised with Kosha taking the first watch from before Dark, Malcolm for the midnight watch, and Galena and Griza of the morning watch till after Light. A small copse of trees was selected that would have a good view of the front and rear of the house, with easy access off the street, and Kosha slipped cautiously into the bush and settled himself into a comfortable spot. 

"But not too comfortable" he thought to himself, "I better not fall asleep!"

Some hours later Kosha watched as a figure strode up the street from town and entered the front door of the pig farmhouse. He figured from the gait that it was a woman. Nothing else happened, and then Malcolm relieved Kosha for the midnight watch. All was silent, apart from the grunts and snuffles from the pigs. Malcolm kept a worried half eye over the sty's, but thankfully no giant boars appeared. 

At around 2am Galena tapped Malcolm on the shoulder and sent him back to the Inn. Galena settled in, expecting a quiet morning, but shortly after she head a quiet thud from the house. The rear door had closed. The pig farmer and the barmaid from the Pig & Whistle emerged, each carrying a large bucket. They strode quietly out towards the stys and Galena slipped silently from the hide and followed. He feet barely touched the ground as she drifted behind the pair, her elven infravision providing a clear field for observation. The pair went from sty to sty, feeding out whatever was in the buckets to the pigs. The pigs sounded like they were in heaven, much squealing and guzzling as they ate their full. 

Galena contemplated slipping into one of the sty's to see what had been in the buckets, but figured there was no way she could do that without the pigs becoming fully aware of her. And then the pig farmer turned back towards here and she had to retreat anyway. Tucking herself behind a fence, she watched as the farmer carried his much lighter buckets back inside the house, although the barmaid stayed out in the sty's. In fact, the barmaid opened up one of the shed doors in one of the sty's and went in. And didn't come out!

Galena found a new observation post where she could watch both the sty, the shed, and the back door of the house. The front door of the house was out of sight, but surely keeping tabs on this strange woman, feeding out pigs in the early hours of the morning would be more beneficial. She settled in and watched.

At around six, a couple of hours before Light, Griza made his way cautiously to the designated hide. No Galena! This raised a small dilemma in Griza's mind. Should he report back that Galena wasn't there, or should he keep his designated watch? 

"Galena's a big elf" he figured, "And what if someone comes out of the house?"

Sure enough, just after Light the barmaid walked out of the house through the front door and headed down the lane into town. Griza noted the time and stayed in place until the designated end of his watch, at which point he slipped out of the tress and also headed back to the Pig & Whistle.

Back at the inn, Galena had returned at the end of her designated time. She hadn't even spotted Griza but knew he would have been in place before she left the pig farm. After reporting on the odd behaviour of the pig farmer and the barmaid, the party discussed what needed to happen next.

"We wait for Griza's report" suggested Kosha, "Then we go in and check out those sheds"

"Yeah" agreed Napoleon, "And Tiny can get a sniff at that farmer, and the pigs"

"No need" gloated Balder, "It's definitely him"

....  refer to subsequent part 2 for exciting underground adventures with evil undead etc.   ... 

The dark tunnel led straight on to a solid wooden door, closed, in front of them. The stench here was less than in the ghastly offal pit behind them, but still foul. Galena was still cleaning her vomit off her cloak as Malcolm slipped to the front of the party and rested his hand lightly against the door.

"I'll check for traps" he stated, leaning forward to peer at the lock.

"WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP" screamed an alarm.

"Ah, yup, trapped" confirmed Malcom sheepishly, "And its locked".

The noise was so loud in the confined tunnel that everyone winced and tried to block their ears. Malcolm quickly slipped his picks into the lock and did the thief thing.

Stepping back after the click, he yelled to Phoebe, "All yours now"

Phoebe hefted her sword, twisted the door handle, kicked in the door, and charged into the room beyond. Any surprise advantage had been lost by virtue of the alarm, still booming through the tunnel, and only speed would now be their saving grace. Phoebe skidded to a halt just inside the door, a ghastly scene laid out before her. The others rushed in behind her, spread out, and stared, horrified.

Four human bodies hung by their feet from a wooden ceiling overhead, eviscerated, their entrails (what was left of them) dangling towards the ground. All looked to be young, teenagers by the look, and the closest one was obviously the missing girl. Her blood was still dripping, running down from her eviscerated core, along her arms, and dripping from her dangling fingers into a pair of buckets carefully laid out below.

The gagging stench of death and decay hit the party like a fist, and a cloud of flies swirled up from the floor like a dust storm in a hurricane. Galena turned and immediately threw up again.

"Now we know what they were feeding out to those pigs" confirmed Joe.

"Oh Hob" exclaimed Red, "This needs a cleansing fire!"

"No doors" noted Napoleon, "But we must be nearly under the house"

One they were up to it, Napolean and Malcolm split up and went around the walls in opposite directions, checking for any hidden doors. 

"One secret door here" called Malcolm, tapping on the left-hand wall.

"And another here" called Napoleon, tapping on the right-hand wall.

"Open yours Malcolm" instructed Balder.

Malcolm checked the left-hand secret door location for traps, and finding nothing he released the hidden latch and stepped back for Phoebe to lead the way. The door swung open into a cluttered storeroom, filled with what looked like old supplies and junk, with a ladder fixed to one wall leading up to a closed trapdoor above. Just as Phoebe put her foot to the ladder before rushing up, Napoleon yelled.

"No" he called, "Check the other secret door first, we don't want things behind us as well as in front"

Malcolm checked the right-hand secret door location for traps, and finding nothing he stepped back for Phoebe to lead the way. Phoebe twisted the hidden catch and pushed open the secret door.

"Argghhh" she screamed as a needle sprung out from the door frame and pierced her hand.
"What do you call this you bloody useless twat?" yelled Phoebe.

"Hurry up" yelled Kosha from the back, "Speed is our friend now"

(Phoebe made her saving throw against Poison and was able to push on into the room)

Shaking her stinging hand, Phoebe pushed open the secret door and charged forward, sword raised ready for anything. But the room was empty. Well, empty of enemies anyway. This room looked like an office space, or a study, with library shelving, a desk, and some comfortable lounging chairs. A staircase led upwards into what must have been the main farmhouse. Papers and ledgers were spread across the top of the desk, and a number of books filled the shelves.

Balder quickly scanned the papers on the desk, while Malcolm went through the drawers, and Kosha charged up the stairs into the house, Phoebe right behind him.

"Invoices and bills of shipping" mumbled Balder, sweeping all the papers into his bag.

"This drawer is in fact trapped" mumbled Malcolm as he prodded the bottom drawer.

"Quick, quick" yelled Kosha as he rushed off the stairs into a lounge room at the top.

"Slow down" yelled Phoebe as she rushed after Kosha.

"Argghhh" winced Malcolm as a needle shot out from the drawer lock and stabbed into his fingers.

"Wasn't in the bloody haystack after all" Malcolm grumbled, pulling open the drawer.

(A successful roll against Find Traps, a fail against Remove Traps, and successes against Open Locks and Save vs Poison)

Napoleon cast a Detect Magic at this point, just before Malcolm scooped up the contents of the drawer, some bags of coins, some vials of liquid, and a long knife, the vials and knife all glowing magically. Just then a a crash followed by a yell sounded from above.

The lounge upstairs that Kosha had charged into had one door opening from it, leading deeper into the house somewhere. In Kosha's excitement and rush to immediately search the whole place, he quickly kicked open the door, just as the huge dog on the other side launched itself at Kosha.

Kosha battles Dog

The proverbial melee of limbs, weapons, and teeth resulted.

Kosha was in front and took the initial attack while still in the doorway. He would need to hit and knock the dog back before Phoebe could engage or be knocked back into the lounge by the dog hitting.

Fortunately, Kosha hit on his first swing and did force the dog back in a miraculous David vs Goliath moment. This enabled Phoebe to step into the next room after Kosha and engage the dog as a secondary attacker.  The fight was quickly over. Kosha and Phoebe looked around to find themselves in an entry parlour/kitchen space. 

(A bit of luck in this battle! Darryl rolled a miss for his first attack but elected to spend some of his Luck to improve the roll into a success. The dog rolled a hit too, but Darryl's luck improved hit was a larger roll, thus he won the combat and hit the dog. Darryl also rolled a hit in his second attack, while the dog rolled a miss. And Andrew as the secondary attacker (two attack rolls, use the better) also hit. Darrly's third attack was also successful, with a maximum damage roll of twelve points, dropping the dog. It never even got a hit in)

The parlour had two doors, one leading outside into the lane, and the other closed, but obviously leading further into the house. Kosha rushed forward and kicked it open. A hallway down the centre of the house, with three closed doorways towards the rear of the house.

Is there anyone even in the house at all?

Where is the pig farmer and barmaid?

Have they heard the alarm?

Tune in again to find out what perilous encounters will befall our party of heroes and miscreants next!

From the sea to the forest

 Present:

• Balder Dash. Gnome Wizard from Toluene - Jamie
• Kosha Pickle. Human Rogue from Lakeside - Darryl
• MARMALADE: Red Feuersturm. Human Temple Fighter of Hob from Toluene - Chris
• Griza Muso. Human Thief from Lakeside – Jeff
• Malcom Gandhi. Gnome Thief from Brian – Kevin
• Phoebe Lacrosse. Human Barbarian from Pugtown – Andrew
• Joe Manco. Human Fighter from Toluene – Shane
• Napoleon Twig. Elf Priest of Caribou Gorn from Pugtown - Ian
• Galena Alfdis. Elf Priestess of Vingt et Un from Palantir - Steven

By Jeff

The Treasure

The adventurers crowded around the large wooden table in the mess of the Frolicking Imp, barely noticing the pitch and yaw of the ship. Their month's long sea journey from Hackerton to Spite Anti was nearing its end and everyone was looking forward to getting their feet permanently back on real ground. Sure, they had gone ashore at numerous stops during the trip, but life on a ship just wasn't the same as having terra-firma underfoot, all the time!

Kosha smiled wickedly as he recalled the stay in Porn City just a few weeks ago, then turned his attention back to the table and the small collection of magical treasure resting there.

"Of course it's magical" stated Balder, fingering the gleaming Long Sword, "It just doesn't give the normal advantage that you might expect. Kind of +0 you might say"

"Well, I can't even use such a puny weapon" grumbled Joe, "Why couldn't we find a magical real weapon?"

"I could use it," mused Phoebe, "But it's too shiny. Everyone would see me coming."

Balder reached down and picked up the candlestick. 

"One magical point a night you say?" he queried, "I'll definitely have this", and tucked it away in his bag.

Griza cautiously lifted the dagger and tossed it spinning towards the ceiling. Catching it deftly as it fell back towards the table he grinned. "An extra D6 poison damage would be very helpful" he chuckled, and the dagger disappeared.

Everyone looked down at the Long Sword, then up at each other.

"Sell it maybe?" proposed Malcolm, always looking for a quick buck.

"It would definitely be useful if we encounter Undead" noted Balder.

"Not for me," confirmed Phoebe.

"Weeeell, I suppose I could carry it," offered Griza, "Just in case"

That just left the wooden chest, sitting alone on the table, the reason for this whole journey. Everyone looked down at it.

"So, why haven't we opened it yet" asked Malcolm, fingers twitching, "I could you know!"

"Edmund Hume definitely said not to even attempt to open it, and he's the boss on this delivery" reminded Kosher.

"And remember" stated Balder, "That lock is imbued with magic. You can't just pick it with those fancy picks of yours"

"Humph," signed Malcolm, "Killjoys, the lot of you"

The Familiar

The ship docked in Spite-Anti the next day, and everyone made their way down the gangplank and onto the docks. The ground was swaying back and forth, and the party stagged their way to the nearest Inn.

"Flaming sea-legs" grumbled Phoebe, "I feel sick just standing here on dry ground"

"So, where is this great forest?" asked Napoleon, looking around, "I'm eager to get in amongst actual trees again"

 Although not the Great Elven Forest itself, the Emerald Forest was like a daughter forest, and very famous in its own right. It was a six-day journey from Spite-Anti to Emerald, down the coast for a few days and then inland (in the Anti direction) to the forest and then Emerald itself. 

Everyone was keen to make a start on this next great adventure, particularly Napoleon. But it was late in the day, so two rooms were hired at the Obtuse Harlot, and everyone settled in for the night. Except for Kosher and Napoleon who slipped out to organise transport for the next morning. 

After hiring a wagon and three horses for the morning, they were heading back to the Inn when a strange noise emerged from a nearby street, a low and threatening growl. 

"Ggggggrrrrrr" 

"Awww" exclaimed Napoleon, "Look, a cute giant doggy"

Dropping to his knees, Napoleon produced a sweet potato from somewhere under his cloak. Putting forth his hand, he offered the mastiff the sweet potato, which was quickly gobbled up. Then he gave the mastiff a gentle rub behind its ears.

"It's a bit malnourished" commented Napoleon, "He can't have a responsible owner!"

"Leave it" grunted Kosher, "We don't have room for such a giant dog on the wagon"

As they left and headed back to the Obtuse Harlot, the mastiff followed.

"See" quipped Napoleon, "He likes me"

"And since he's so big, I'll call him Tiny" 

And thus, Napoleon acquired his Familiar, a lovey Brindle Mastiff, who would prove to be be faithful and protective of Napoleon for the rest of his days.

The Journey

The next morning the party loaded up the wagon with supplies and set off down the costal road, one day to reach the small settlement of Sylar, then another to Koal. Others were on the road, but both days and the night between in Sylar were uneventful. Everyone managed to regain their "land-legs", and Napoleon's mastiff Tiny must have found the fresh air, exercise, and increased diet agreeable as he was soon bounding around the countryside investigating every rustle and creak from the the surrounding countryside.

The next morning dawned fine and clear, and the party set of inland, skirting the Klib edge of the Emerald Forest. That night they would arrive in the small settlement of Torbin for a peaceful night in the Frigid Monkey Inn, and then on the next day to Dolvin and another peaceful night in the Dove & Pine.

The Dolvin locals noted that it was a two-day journey through the forest to Emerald City and to be prepared to camp out overnight near the mid-point of the trip.

After Light in the morning, the party peered out to a grey and drizzling day. Everything was damp and small puddles pooled in the streets. Even Tiny seemed subdued as the party hitched the horses to the wagon and set off into the forest. 

The road led beneath the mighty trees of the forest, gloomy beneath the overcast sky and the thick canopy, rain dripping from every leaf and branch. A sea breeze battered at the forest from above, throwing random bundles of water from the trees down onto the party. Everyone was feeling despondent, except for Napoleon, who gazed off into the forest with wonder and excitement, and Tiny who leapt about and sniffed at every log and pile of leaves.

"You know that there are Starfall deposits all around here" Napoleon exclaimed, "The magic from the Starfall seeps into the ground, into the trees, into the animals."

"And can produce strange and wonderous effects" he concluded with a grin.

"Oh grand" grumbled Phoebe, "Magically enhanced creatures"

"Starfall. Might we find some?" asked Balder with some excitement.

"Nope" replied Napoleon, "I hear all the easy deposits are mined out"

Towards the end of the day the party arrived at the ruins of Downs Grove, an old Starfall mining village, abandoned many years ago after the local Starfall deposits had been mined out. It was about halfway between Dolvin and Emerald and the party figured that since some of the old buildings were in a reasonable condition, it would be a nice, sheltered place to spend the night. In fact, there was an old Inn with its sign swinging off one end, called "The Shack" that still had all its roof and looked pretty habitable.

Napoleon checked out the nearby trees, now encroaching into the village.

"Lots of birds around here," he reported.

The rest of the party explored the empty rooms of "The Shack" with Kosha keeping an eye on the street front.

Joe kicked open a bunch of doors opening up from a corridor behind the old bar area.

"Mostly empty" he yelled, "But there is an old skeleton in this one"

"What?" complained Kosher, "I ain't staying with some old skeleton"

Kosher led the horses over to a neighbouring building and began setting up an alternative camp.

Dark fell and the village became very dark, and much more menacing.

Joe poked around a bit more in "The Shack".

"Hey" yelled Joe, "There is an old storeroom back here, with a basement"

It was about then that Kosher noticed the horses, now relocated to a neighbouring yard, were getting skittish and nervous of something out in the darkness. Kosher grabbed an arrow, drew his bow, and snuck out to the fence line and peered up the street. Despite the darkness, he spotted four glowing green eyes looking his way from some distance down the street. Letting fly his drawn arrow, he yelled for help.

The rest of the party tumbled out from The Shack and peered out into the darkness. Except for Malcolm.

"I'll keep watch back here in the Inn" he proclaimed, In case that skeleton starts dancing round ... or something"

"Do you see them?" yelled Kosher, Eyes, green eyes out in the darkness"

"Where?" asked Galena, an elf who could actually see a bit in the darkness.

"Over there" pointed Kosher, "But they have withdrawn now, after I shot them with my bow!"

"There is an overturned cart out in the street around there" noted Galena, "With some arrows stuck into it"

"How many did you fire off?" asked Galena.

"Just the one" answered Kosher, "But it was a perfect shot"

Galena noticed two pairs of glowing green eyes, connected to small humanoid bodies with pointy ears, dart off from behind the overturned cart and disappear down a side street.

"That Inn is too open to defend against creatures that can see in the dark," ranted Kosher.

Griza, Joe, and Malcolm stumbled off behind the Inn to see if there was a more secure place to retreat to.

Kosher, Galena, and Balder waited at the front of the building to see if the glowing green eye creatures came back.

They did, and two arrows came flying in from the darkness, one striking Kosher in the shoulder.

Balder cast a Light spell, and the creatures backed off. 

But noises could be heard out in the darkness in a number of directions now.

"There seem to be a lot of those things" noted Joe.

"Hey" yelled Griza from behind the Inn, "There is a big old shed back here that seems defensible"

"I definitely think these are Goblins" stated Balder as he retreated back behind the Inn.

Everyone else followed back to the large shed, some form of old stables, and barricaded the doors and windows.

Watches were set to keep an eye on the surroundings, and the party settled down for the night.

But it wasn't long before the smell of smoke alerted those on watch to a big problem.

One of the doors had been barricaded from the outside, and the wall set on fire.

Six pairs of green glowing eyes could be seen outside the main doors.

Malcolm attempted to sneak out a back window, "To check the side for an escape route" but slipped on the sill and fell, catching his leg on a broken board. He was dangling out the window, trapped by one leg, 

"Elp, elp" Malcolm called weakly, scared to make too much noise, but no one heard him!

"Protection from Missiles" exclaimed Balder, "That will protect you from their damn arrows"

Said spells were cast on Joe and Phoebe, who subsequently charged out the main doors, straight towards the six pairs of glowing green eyes in the near distance. Arrows fell all around them as they charged, pretending to be hit and injured, and it looked like they would quickly close on the goblins.

But Balder had spotted the goblins and was taking matters into his own hands. With a loud crack and a huge crump, a mighty Fireball landed in the middle of the goblin pack. Smoke and flame billowed out, bringing the charging Joe and Phoebe to a halt. As the smoke cleared a smoking circle with six dead goblins was revealed.

"Nice," commented Joe.

Kosher had hitched up the horses to the wagon by this point, just in time too, as the old shed was well alight now, and he led them out. Malcolm had managed to free himself from his dangling predicament, and everyone bundled into the wagon. With Phoebe out in front and Joe at the rear, still with their Protection spells active, the group hastily made their way out of the old village and rushed off down the road towards Emerald. Looking back, they saw smoke and flame billowing up from the old Inn, and lots of pairs of glowing green eyes watching them leave.

After about an hour the party pulled off the road to the side and pitched a camp for the rest of the night.

In the morning (nothing further happed that night) they packed up and headed off to Emerald.

 

Upon arriving in Emerald, rooms were obtained in the Merry Mermaid for most of the party, although Napoleon and Tiny wandered off to the local Caribou Gorn Temple, and Balder made a beeline to the Mages Guild.

"You stopped in Downs Grove?" exclaimed the proprietor of the Merry Mermaid.

"Noone stops there anymore, there are Goblins there!" she explained.

"Everyone just camps on the road, well away from that old town"

"Humph, why didn't anyone tell us this before?" wondered Phoebe.

In the morning, the magic box was taken to the Militia headquarters where Alexandra Montrose requested us to meet her at her residence a few hours later. Which we did. The magic box was exchanged for the agreed upon sum of gold, and Alexandra suggested that in a week's time she would likely have another commission for us if we were able to hang around Emerald until then.

"Indeed, we can, and we will" confirmed Balder.

A Filler Job

Back at the Merry Mermaid, Malcolm was wandering around the common room and poking into corners when he noticed the traditional message board had a few adventuring jobs posted.

"Hey guys, we could do one of these while we wait" he suggested.

• Adventurers wanted for magical experiments - excellent pay!
• Investigate and clear out Downs Grove - refer Boric Silveraxe at the Guard
• Trouble with Brigands near Bamford ....
• Wild boar attacks near Lague

"I'm not going anywhere near Downs Grove" stated Kosher firmly.

"Let's check out the pay for the brigand and boar ones" suggested Phoebe.

The two contacts for those jobs were contacted, pay rates discussed, and the local map carefully studied.

"Lague is much closer" noted Balder, "We could be there and back within a week, easy."

"And it's right inside the forest," said Napoleon.

Leaving a brief message for Alexandra Montrose about our plans, and that we would be back, we provisioned for a week's travel and prepared to leave at first light the following day.

Before Light, the party assembled in the common room for breakfast. 

Napoleon and Tiny bounded in from the Caribou Gorn Temple.

And Balder staggered in from the Mages Guild.

"Yawn" exclaimed Balder, "Did anyone else have terrible dreams? I could hardly sleep"

"Nope" replied everyone, all looking bright and bushy tailed, ready for a day of travel.

"Seems there is someone in trouble ... I suspect" noted Balder, "I kept hearing a voice in my dreams 'Help me, help me' it called, over and over, all frigging night. It was so disturbing"

"Who was it?" asked Galena.

"No idea" replied Balder, "That's all I heard, 'Help me, help me', all night. Yawn ..."

"Nothing to be done about it now" stated Napoleon, "Let's head off into the forest"

The day was clear and fine, above the forest canopy, although it was still somewhat gloomy along the road as the party climbed aboard their wagon and set off on the Klibward road towards Torque. Tiny darted ahead excitedly and investigated the smells and smaller forest creatures of the forest.

The Fog

After about four hours of travel, near midday, Tiny slunk back to the wagon and lay down near Napoleon's feet. He gave a little whimper and a low growl. Concerned, Napoleon stood and looked cautiously about.

"Stop" Napoleon commanded.

"There is some sort of fog building up there in front of us" he noted.

"Let's back up and see what happens" suggested Joe.

"It's behind us too" squealed Kosher, "What is it?"

The mist thickened from all sides, and soon enveloped the party in its damp and cloying grip.

Everyone was alert, all senses straining to detect danger, but there was nothing.

No sound, no movement, just the clammy embrace of a moist fog.

"Yawn" exclaimed Balder, chin dropping to his chest, eyes closed, "ZZZZZzzzzzz"

"What the ...?" exclaimed Phoebe as everyone except for Griza, Malcolm, and herself slumped quietly to sleep.

Even Tiny and one of the horses settled gently to the ground, fast asleep.

"Stay alert you two" Phoebe demanded, "No telling what may come at us now"

With most of the party sleeping on the wagon, Phoebe, Griza, and Malcolm peered cautiously out into the fog. Nothing moved, and there was no sound, apart from the constant rattle of large drips of moisture falling off the trees to the ground. For thirty minutes they watched, until Joe groaned from the floor of the wagon and sat up groggily.

"Why are they all asleep?" Joe asked.

"Not sure" replied Malcolm, "But you were too till just now"

Another thirty minutes passed until Kosha stirred.

"Ohhhh" Kosha complained, "My throbbing head"

Thirty minutes later the sleeping horse twitched, snorted, and reared to its feet.

"Let's get out of here" demanded Malcolm.

With all the horses back in action, the wagon was able to be got moving again, and they travelled slowly on, carefully navigating through the still present thick fog, senses alert for any hidden threats.

An hour later Galena sat up and stretched. Now only Balder and Napoleon (and the marmalading Red) remained curled up in the bed of the wagon, snoring loudly.

After another hour the fog began to thin, and the wagon popped out into a clear forest.

The road continued straight on, Torque hopefully somewhere just ahead.

Sure enough, the wagon rolled into Torque shortly thereafter. 

"There" pointed out Joe.

The Inn was named the Amorous Fox and the party pulled the wagon up outside, just below the well-designed sign board. Rooms were hired, and the two sleepers lugged upstairs to be laid on the beds.

"Arrr" noted the bartender, "That'll be the famed Emerald Mists. They roll in occasionally. It's the Starfall you know, gives them some magical powers." 

"Best to avoid getting caught in them all together. I'm surprised no one warned you about them" he concluded.

"I'm very annoyed that no one warned us about them!" grumbled Kosha, his head still throbbing.

Early that night, Napoleon suddenly snorted and leapt up from his bed.

"Why is it so dark suddenly?" he asked, "And how did I get in this room?"

The next morning, the still snoring Balder was bundled into the wagon, along with Red, and the party set off for Lague, the location of the reported boar attacks. It was an uneventful day, and the wagon arrived in Lague with plenty of time before Night. Rooms were again hired, in the Sweet Tamarillo, and the party settled in for the night. Balder was laid out on one of the beds, and shortly thereafter awoke, moaning, groaning, and complaining of the most massive hangover he'd ever had.

Napoleon couldn't stand the constant grumbling and eventually cast a Cure Serious Wound spell that seemed to fix whatever the problem was that the famed Emerald Mist had caused.

{Napoleon and Blader had fumbled their initial saving throws against the effects of the mist and had been seriously affected. Griza, Phoebe, and Malcolm had made their initial saves, while the others had just failed}

Napoleon and Joe then headed off to the local militia post to find out about the boar attacks.

The Boar

"Oh aye" confirmed Harry Puce, a local villager who was to guide the party out to one of the nearby forestry camps the next morning, "I've heard all about it. It's a Giant Boar, as big as a horse! It's killed heaps of the lumberjacks, and snatches whole men away, never to be seen again"

The next morning, Harry led the party out to the camp, about a half day into the forest from Lague. Harry talked constantly for the whole trip, all about the local forestry, the lumberjacks, the Lague villagers, girls, the boar attacks, and just about anything you can think of. Everyone switched off and just followed. Even Tiny kept away, bounding off into the forest at every opportunity. Fortunately, they arrived at the camp just before lunch, and Harry headed back to Lague.

"Thank Vingt et Un he's left" sighed Galena.

One of the loggers at the camp points the party towards Jack, an eyewitness to a boar attack.

"Yup, as big as a horse! I seen it myself" Jack confirmed.

"Just a little way off there" he pointed, "It killed two men, picked Douglas up and run off with 'im"

"Are you sure it's as big as a horse?" asked Napoleon.

"Yup" confirmed Jack, "Well, at least three times bigger than your dog there"

Everyone turned to look at Tiny, and calculated what something three times bigger would be like.

"Oh crap" grumbled Kosha.

The party concludes that they will need to investigate the location the attack occurred, and where the woodcutter, Douglas, was taken by the Boar. Jack would lead them there tomorrow morning.