More Adventures in Tellene - Main Tale

[EvilGinger]

Prelude.

A Bit of Trouble with Rats I
Dramatis personae
Telec a Human priest of the wayfarer from some where in the new kingdoms
Aetlred an Elf raised half elf  Ranger
D'rek a Human warrior and journey man blacksmith

Three travelling companions going to the Caravanserai at A'rakum Mannor to seek work as caravan escorts going across the spine of the world from greater Brandovia to greater Kalamar

The events of the session
after travelling with each other for a couple of days our putative hero's where with in a days march of their objective when around mid morning whilst passing a road side farm they where waved down by a child. The child asks them if they are adventurers and when they say yes proceeds to lead them through the hedge across the field behind it to her family farm where the family is apparently just sitting down for the mid day meal. The family consists of two adults in early middle age apparently the girls mother and father, three young male adults her brothers at a guess and a man in his sixties  who is latter revealed to be her grandfather.

The girl announces to the family in general and her father in particular that this group of adventurers have come to help out. there i s a little discussion in the family & some evidence of  internal familial conflict but eventually the father admits he does have a problem the adventurers could help with & offers them a  share of the family meal.

The problem is that some kind of large aggressive vermin has invaded the farms barn & root store & local resources have proved unable to drive them out. Two of the farm cats are dead & the third an ill natures semi feral creature has decided to become a house cat. The whatever they are bit the farmers dog & it now wont go near either the barn or the root store. So the Ratman was summoned and he lost his terrier in the root store and was himself bitten badly on the leg by a rat the size of said terrier and he returned his fee saying he could not help.

The Farmer is worried about where he will store the crops currently growing in the fields & does not really want to go to the trouble of building a new barn & root store at the other end of the farm for fear that this will just get invaded by  the big rats as well gaining him nothing.

Telec & Aetlred  offered to take a look and went out of the back of the farm house to go and have a look at the larger and nearer barn D'rek took up the offer of a plate of food  and leaned his bulk on the wall of the house as the other two moved with as much stealth as possible across the yard and entered the barn.

Inside Aethred was immediately aware of the recent presence of animals when his eyes started to itch and he had to suppress the need to sneeze. However looking round there was no sign of any animals indeed little unusual except the barn was both remarkably empty and a the same time very untidy. Closer inspection revealed the remains of shredded sacks and that the handles of the scattered farm implements had been gnawed at. At the other end of the yard there was a half second floor the latter to which was leaning rather crazily to one side and what appeared in the dim building to be a hole and some disturbed earth.

Mean while outside D'rek having finished his food was approached by the girl who producing a lantern offered her services as a torch bearer if she was allowed to join in the "adventure" D'rek was in the process of explaining that this was not a good idea when her mother intervened calling Elvie back in.

Inside the barn Altred advanced  raised his Spear and struck the mezzanine floor from below a resounding blew & in the heavens risk lord of chances rolled its dice  

To be continued.....

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

adventure awards

lots of role playing got done and no one role-played badly  so every one gets 15xp for that and all involved get +1 honour for helping out.


The honour issue

Starting honour         Honour awards           Averaging effect

Aelthred   11                12  (+1)                          11 (-1)
Telic        10                11  (+1)                          10 (-1)
D'rek         8                  9  (+1)                          10 (+1)

Group average honour 9 at start  10 at the end of the session

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

I now have the World book for Telene and am working on some more details of it based on the location I cose for the start of the game watch this space for details.

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

The game starts on the eastern fringes of the Braddobian kingdom of Cosdol in the foot hills of the Largossa mountains  known locally as the spine of the world. to the east is the best pass over those mountains which leads into the lands of the young kingdoms via the famous or is that notorious Frandor's keep.

Population
The people here are largely Bradodobian in origin as the original & possibly even aboriginal Dreji clans who where here before the coming of the Brandobian empire have completely subsumed into the later comers. The very few Dreji in the area are migrants from the east who came when this was briefly under the rule of Kalamar and since. Some Kalamarans came with their conquest & occupation  of the region as did numbers of Felloki who where used as federate auxiliaries by the Kalamarians to police the border between Kalamar & Brandobia whilst it lasted.  More people came form the east after the fracture of Brandobia into its current three kingdoms & even more after the collapse of Kalomarian power in the region now known as the young kingdoms.

The Demi human population of the area is rather limited, to scattered elven settlemets with the usual asociated spattering of half elves thought significantly fewer than in the western and  central parts of Cusdol.  There are no resident Halfling & no known dwarf or Gnome settlements either though as the elves tell it and only they live long enough to recall there where a lot of both here in the distant past before the coming of the Brandobians however no trace of this remains beyond the memories of the elves. The region is however beset by humanoid tribes from the Largossa mountains mostly Orcs and Goblins with relatively few Hobgoblins and those of an oddly primitive sort

Languages
The dominant local languages are eastern Brandobian, B'paran the western Kalamarian dialect and Low Elvish thought that is limited to those who are either of elvish stock or who have lots of dealings with elves. Many communities along the Kings road speak as a second language merchants tongue or at least have some understanding of it. The former human dialect is dominant in the west of this region and the latter in the east with the point at which the adventures are being the cross over point where most communities are effectively bilingual even if they use one or the other tongue as their day to day language.


Geography
Through this increasingly hilly region passes the kings road form  passes out of Cosdol & passes into territory technically part of P'bapara the other side of the Laggossia mountains however the writ of P'bapara does not run much beyond the villiage of Vue at the top of the first pass on the approaches to Frandors keep



More will be added to this post but I need 

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Episode II – Trouble with Rats Part II
Dramatis Personae
Telec Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer
Aelthred Half Elf Ranger
Dreck  Brandobian Human Fighter.

Location
Melacs farm – on the eastern border of the kingdom of Cosdol

Events
At the end of episode 1 Telec had disturbed something in the loft of the barn by striking it underneath with his staff so the session began with a swarm of rats he disturbed by doing this swarming down upon Aetlred who was waiting for them. Some just hurled themselves off the edge into the face of the unfortunate Aetlred others scampered down the rickety ladder to join the fray. A brief fur ball of a fight followed as the rats angrily plied there claws and teeth almost exclusively against Aetlred who plied his heavy spear his eyes streaming and his rhythm of strikes interrupted by staccato sneezes. All the while standing some what clear the Wanderer Telec thrust his staff spear wise into the fight breaking backs & crushing skulls. Then it was all over Aetlred was surrounded by the broken bodies of the fury foe & Telec was chasing down the last of them as it tried to flee the barn.

Mean while D’rek stood outside the farm house across the yard chatted to “the girl” who very much wanted to join in with the adventure & slowly ate seconds or was it thirds, he had rather lost track. This was interrupted by Aetlred & Telec coming out of the barn & suggesting that he might actually help. This he agreed to do after naturally finishing off the last morsel whilst Aetlred in the absence of any one else to do so tended to his own wounds.

This done a further search of the barn revealed where the rats had come in a hole gnawed in the wattle & daub wall near the ground in the eastern wall under the loft as well as a well used track leading across the back of the yard through a hedge into north field & to the small stilted root store, This same exploration revealed that the north west corner of the barn had a hole in the floor around which the floor was rather unstable. The company noted this for latter exploration, first deciding to deal with the rats as the mater at hand. So Telec, Aetlred and D’rek moved over to the root store which was little more than a large wattle and daub thatched shed on stilts of finely worked stone.   A quick inspection found several rat sized holes in the walls and in the shed door. It was decided that the store was full of rats & that given it had the dimensions of a granted good sized shed it was unwise to enter & confront the rats inside where they would be at an advantage against combatants of larger size who where employing spear length weapons for the most part. Preparations where made to smoke them out with Aetlred a skilled woodsman starting a smoky fire under the store & then with Telec and D’rek taking up positions to hack or strike any rats which tried to flee. The smoke flushed out the rats and a short fight ensued as the three attempted to cut down the escapers as well as to hold as many as they could inside for the smoke to work its wicked work. In this they where largely successful with only a few rats escaping & running to wards the copse on the opposite edge of the field. These where tracked to a large patch of brambles and dry ferns in the midst of this copse. Once again deciding not to battle the rats at a disadvantage & the bramble and underbrush being dry a fire was set and with care the cover was burned slaying all the rats that yet remained.  In the cooling embers of the fire a worked iron hoop was found the sort which is used on fancy lidded wicker pet transporters & a sign of a loaf of bread riddled with worms was also found cut into one of the scorched trees on the edge of the fire. This sign looked some what Familiar to Telec but he could not exactly identify it.

Leaving this mystery for a while as it was late Aetlred Telec & D’rek returned to the store and found on entering it the smoke dead corpses of a score and more baby rats & several nursing or obviously gravid females the main nest it would seem was dealt with

It was then decided that the hole in the corner of the barn needed to be investigated. Some preparations where made which involved laying the loft ladder across the area of unstable ground around the hole & tying a rope securely to one of the supports of the mezzanine floor above so it hung down the hole.

Aelthred being the lightest descended down this rope and investigated the area below finding an earth cave partly walled by worked stone and backed by a plain but sturdy stone double width door. This door proved to be unlocked and unbarred and at this point Telec joined Aelthred in the area and together they explored beyond it finding a large yard like hall with several doors off of it a stable as well as what was obviously the top of a mine shaft of some sort. All very defiantly deserving of a lot more investigation, however the day had been a long and eventful one & some of the company had been injured so it was decided to leave further exploration till the morning.


Aelthred Telec & D'rek then returned & spent the night at the hospitality of the Melac's family



 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Adventure Awards

Episode II – Trouble with Rats part II

Awards are each player

In the Barn
Althread & Telec Fighting Rats          36xp       0 honour 
Althread & Telec Exploring the Barn          10xp       0 honour
Dreck In the Farm Yard                10xp      0 honour 
Dreck humouring the kid               0xp      1 honour 

Rats in the store
Althread, Telec & Dreck Fighting Rats         24xp      0 honour
Althread, Telec & Dreck Fumigating the store      20xp      1 honour

The Basket in the woods
Finding & destroying the basket and the last of the rats    20xp       1 honour
(Althread, Telec & Dreck)

Down the hole
Althread, Telec & Dreck exploring down the hole      20xp      0 honour

Miscellaneous
Role playing over the session       15xp      0 honour

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

The honour issue

Starting honour         Honour awards           Averaging effect

Aelthred   11                13  (+2)                          13 (+0)
Telic        10                13  (+2)                          13 (+0)
D'rek        10                13  (+3)                          13 (+0)

Group average honour 10 at start  13 at the end of the session

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Episode III – The Hole & what was down it Part I
Dramatis Personae
Telec Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer
Aetlred Half Elf Ranger
D’rek  Brandobian Human Fighter.
Melias B’Paran Human Mage-Thief
Lalia Halfling Thief
Namless  Elven Mage

Location
Melacs farm – on the eastern border of kingdom of Cosdol

Events
In the morning Aelthred Telec & D’rek breakfasted at the hospitality of the Meliac’s family once again and when farmer Meliac & his three sons went out to work to repair the damage to the root store, it was decided that the hole in the barn needed further investigating if only to finally make it safe for Farmer Meliac & his sons to repair it & to start using it as a barn again  in this they where assisted willingly or not by Elvie Meliac who is adventure struck as some others her age might be stage struck or mad on ponies, it not helping that her grandfather Elvas was for a time an adventures & has been telling her stories for as long as she can remember.

Meanwhile on the road some where to the west trudged Melias a young fellow of B’paran descent who had gone to Cosolen the capital to further his interests in the magical arts a Lalia young Halfling & the Elven mage for such was obvious form his garb who had not yet vouched safe his name to his newly met travelling companions. They where they hoped within easy march of the Caravanserai at A’rakum manor or so their informant at the road house they had stayed at last night had indicated but the road was proving longer than hoped and despite expecting the appearance of the large stone Caravanserai over the next hill it failed to appear. Indeed it very much looked like there informant had advised them wrongly & not particularly wanting to spend a night in the open if it could be avoided they decided amongst themselves that they should try to get a nights shelter at the next farm they passed.

Mean while at the in the Barn, leaving Drek up top for the moment mostly to intercept Elvie who had realised that there was a dungeon in her own dads barn was very eager to see it by giving her jobs to do to help in the adventure so as to keep her out of danger.
Further explorations reveal that the stables are long abandoned & that the only remaining fixtures and fittings in them are stone & built into the structure. The same is true of the area around the mine shaft where only the massive stone double A frame remains in place and what where obviously solos for mined material are empty with no trace of what might have been in them save for the odd discoloration on the ground and the odd lose bit of material which neither Telec & Aelthred can identify. The whole place has a look of long abandonment.

Telec & Aelthred then turn their attention to the single stone doors on the left of the yard area as they entered form the hole. Being systematic they decided to start with the one nearest the front door to the yard area and work along the wall. The first door opened easily despite its weight a slab of stone seven feet by three feet and at least six inches thick is not going to be light. Inside they found an empty room large vaulted like the yard and devoid of any fixtures and fitting save for a collapsed wooden round table so rotten it had all but disintegrated. Here again fixtures seemed to have been deliberately striped out with the only sign of what might have been several wall sconces being the holes the spikes that held them in place had heft and some very ancient blackening of the wall above. And the shadow of what might have been a rack for weapons perhaps shown only by a faint shadow on the walls and some empty holes.

The next room was the same size as the first and seemed as barren save it had a few more fixtures some stone bed frames remained as did a pile of detritus & large bones just to the left of the door and with in spears reach. Telec &  Aelthred moved into the room for a better look as before they disturbed the pile of Detritus & the bones began to move on there own & to coalesce into a whole, the skeletal form of a man. Shocked Telec & Aelthred readied their weapons hastily. As the skeletal form turned towards than its bony fingers striking like claws

a brief fight ensued as the monstrosity clawed first at Aelthred who lunged at it repeatedly only to have his heavy spear head slip between its ribs or strike empty air where on a fully fleshed man there would have been flesh a plenty and then at Telic whose staff proved more adept at shattering ancient bone until finally the thing had taken enough of a beating that the foul magic which powered it could hold it together no more and it collapsed into the pile of detritus from whence it had risen. Shaken still by the encounter Aelthred & Telec decided to leave and to at least fetch D’rek before returning and continuing their exploration.

On the road our other three travellers spied a suitable farm coming into view and decided after a brief conversation that as it was the first they had seen since they decided to try to put up at one for the night they should approach this farmer for hospitality..  Making their way to the farm along the lane between the two south fields they reached a substantial farm house and went around into the yard to speak to the farmer.

When the door was finally opened they encountered Kalan Melias, the farmer who said he was unable to offer the hospitality of his house as it was spoken for already but he was happy to offer them a meal and allow them to bed down in the barn for nothing. Mellias became suspicious at this point and wanted to know what was wrong with the barn that the farmer would not charge for it. At which point Elvie arrived on one of her many little missions to help out the adventurers and became a fascinated with the Halfling who she first mistook as a child of her own age.  

Whilst all of this was happening D’rek had been persuaded to join Telec & Aelthred. The showed him the remains of the animated skeleton and together they raked thought the pile of detritus on which it lay and confirmed that the bones where try thought of a man rather than a dwarf which Telec & Aelthred had decided without any real knowledge or evidence had built this place. They found nothing save for some corroded bits of twisted metal which might once have been fittings for clothes.  Though no one present could work out what they might once have been. D’rek was unimpressed and pointed out that it was late and he was hungry so every one decided to go back to the farm, for some food & some time to think and plan. This resulted in them running into the other three who where still discussing  accommodation with farmer Meliac. Melias in particular was being stropy and making increasingly unreasonable demands about having a fire lit in the barn & farmer Meliac was equally obstinately refusing them as he did not want having just recovered his barn from bloody huge rats to have it burnt down. Besides it was spring and not cold and the barn would more than keep the rain off should there be any. The discussion grew to encompass the first group and they all set off to view the barn and to try to explain to Melias the situation with the barn. he was not happy but when all said and done it was free shelter for an night not a tavern  

to be continued...




 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Episode III – Down the hole part I

Down the hole
Althread & Telec exploring down the hole         20xp      0 honour
Althread Telec & Dreck Humouring the kid           0xp      1 honour
Althread & Telec Fighting the servitor Skeleton       16xp      0 honour

Mean while on the Road
Lalia, Melias & Nameless                          10xp      0 honour

In the Yard
Every one involved in the game             15xp      0 honour


 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

The honour issue

Starting honour         Honour awards           Averaging effect

Aelthred   13                13  (+1)                          14 (+0)
Telic        13                13  (+1)                          14 (+0)
D'rek        13                13  (+1)                          14 (+0)

Group average honour 13 at start  14 at the end of the session

Melias      12               12 (+0)                            13 (+1)
Lalia        15               15 (+0)                            14 (-1)
Nameless  12               12 (+0)                            13 (+1)

The second group average honour 13 at start 13 at end of the session



 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

A small adjustment

owing to the running of a prequel adventure for Lalia the halfling I am going to have to re do the honour table above it now looks like this

Starting honour           Awards                           Averaging effect
Melias      12               12 (+0)                            13 (+1)
Lalia        19               19 (+0)                            18 (-1)
Nameless  12               12 (+0)                            13 (+1)

The second group average honour 14 at start 14 at end of the session


 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

The region - politically & human geographically

Over view
It is fertile country and only its distance from the central regions of both Cosdol, mostly along the coast, and P’Bapar, on the other side of the Laggosa range keep its inhabitants so few.


Cosdol
Cosdolan county of Gerive
Fief of the willows

Fief of the Willows is centred on a small village just to the south of the king’s road. The village itself is little more than a score of very modest buildings clustered around a small but sturdy stone keep built on a low round hill. Beyond the village is a lose ring of farms scattered in amongst rather scrubby woodlands and heath which slowly becomes more hilly towards the B’paran border. The East most of these farms is owned by the Meliac’s family and has for at least four generations.

The fief was reputedly founded by a Knight of the founders creation just after the end of the Brandobian Kalamarian war whilst the Kingdom of Brandobia was whole. The keep features a prominent chapel to the founder but at the moment no resident priest.


P'bapar
A'rakham Manor

An odd arrangement a large very solidly built stone inn standing alone for a scatter of ancillary buildings on the north side of the kings road All of the buildings are notable for being stone built in  a region where building in stone is rare and even more so that the stone used seems mostly to have been reused. The whole site is surrounded by a wide cluster of lumps and bumps of the sort which would excite an archaeologist if such scholars existed in Telene.

According to the inn keeper he holds the title of lord of the manor, but that title exists on the rolls of no kingdom and the name which is certainly spelt in the B’parian style is not a word which is found in either the Brandobian or Kalamarian tongues even in their oldest recorded forms. Nor is it Elvish   unless it has been very much twisted form its original form.

The inn seems to post date the rise of the young kingdoms and the splitting of Brandoibia but there may have been an ancient Brandobian village here about’s and Kalamaran records show that there was defiantly a way station on the road some where near the same site.  Either may account at least for some of the lumps and bumps, however the locals all inn staff say that the lumps and bumps are all natural and in any event best left alone.

To the south of the inn is the domain of the Elvish ranger known only as one eye who is almost never seen and is taciturn to the point of silence even then.

To the north the scrubby woods thicken and the heath land disappears as the land becomes the forested foot hills of a spur of the Laggosa range. There are no known settlements amongst these woods.


Village of Etis wall

Just over the Cosdolan B’paran boarder and stands just to the south of the king’s road built around a low knoll, and it is the last settlement on the king’s road west of the Pass. It is a village of some two hundred souls almost all humans with around the same number living in scattered farms with in about a half days travel of the village

Falax Bridge

A temple to the Wayfarer built around an old Kalamarian way station at the ford of the River Falax on the Kings road - here the Wayfarers have built a stone bridge as the ford is dangerous due to strong currents at the best of times and completely impassable at times of high flow. The Order here request a toll to keep the bridge in good repair & its current priest would very much like to raise enough coin to also pay for mercenary patrols of the road and to do other work to keep the road open but his faith prevents him for imposing such a toll and voluntary donations will only just pay to keep the bridge maintained & the temple guarded.  

The temple guard consists of about two dozen mostly retired caravan guards about a quarter of who can be mounted at need, this number varies considerably. Guards are always free to take up their old trade or to return to the homes and home lands they left often years before.


 
 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Episode IV – The Hole & what was down it Part II
Dramatis Personae
Telec Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer
Aetlred Half Elf Ranger
D’rek  Brandobian Human Fighter.
Melias B’Paran Human Mage-Thief
Lalia Halfling Thief
Namless  Elven Mage

Location
Melacs farm – on the eastern border of kingdom of Cosdol

Events
Events
The next morning every one awoke ready for the new day & breakfast over which there was something of an argument between Farmer Meliacs & Mellias who was rather unimpressed wit the Meliac's style of hospitality. Farmer Melic was equally unimpressed with Mellias's attitude and finally pointed out that it was free & he was running a farm not an inn. The argument ended when Farmer Melic & sons who had been chipping in, in support of their father & looked more than ready to batter Mellias decided they had work to do & Farmer Meliac angrily pointed out that there was an inn half a day to the east. Melias & Nameless left though Nameless had not been involved in the argument and indeed had said little to any one except Aeltred & only spoke to him as Aeltred kept talking to him in high Elven.

The remaining members of the company many of whom where still smarting form the previous days activities fell to a day of domestic labour. Aeltred sorted out the materials to make several arrows. D’erk  Telec & Lalia  to fixing the hole in the barn floor & generally staying away from D’rek who had striped to the waist to use the Meliac’s small improvised blacksmithy and so revealed rolls of flesh best left unseen despite wearing the farms leather apron. Aelthred  after failing to find any flints suitable to make points out of resorted to having D'rek make some out of the bar stock he was busy turning into nails & hinges and the like for Lalia and Telec  to use improving the entry to the hole and allowing it to be secured against prying children if nothing else. By the end of the day this had been done and Aelthed had the makings of a half dozen arrows though sadly no glue for the fletchings. He did whilst out foraging take a look at the rouble and stones in the banks at the bases of the field hedges and found a lot of worked stone some of which had carved decoration on though most of it was too broken to identify what it once might have been. Chatting to the farmer and his sons as they worked he also found out that the majority of the worked stones where to be found in the north east field and that in grandfathers great grandfathers time enough cut stone was recovered clearing the site of the farm to allow the house to be built with a hardcore floor & its walls to have at three courses of cut stone at their base.

The following morning with every one much rested despite their labours, Aeltred sent Evie out to do a survey of where the work stones where to be found around the farm to help with the adventure and to keep her out of the way whilst the company went down the hole again.

Descending the new ladder in the new wood lined shaft the company moved to explore beyond the two doors on the west wall through which they had not yet passed. They did so warily after the encounter with the animated skeleton the last time. Through the first they found an empty room long ago striped of all features but a line of alcoves on the north wall all of which proved to be empty of all but dust. Above them they found a line of holes suggesting something perhaps a shelf had been there once and some scrapes on the paved floor hinting at the presence of heavy furniture long ago. The room’s unique feature for in size it was like the other two already was a further stone door in the west wall.  This the company approached with caution Lalia listened at it and heard nothing at all so they entered and where there confronted with a bizarre sight.

The room was furnished and appeared to be occupied. To the left and right of the door where stacks of what looked like human bones and ahead slumped over a lectern with a great tome on it was a figure in heavy brocaded robes, the sort that shout wizard to even the greenest and most naive peasant around him partly hidden in a layer of dust was a circle scratched ion the floor with a star inside & the stubs of black wax at each of the cardinal points of the star inside.

Shouting a curse Aeltred said smash the bones before any magic can raise them & with a will both he and D’rek fell to smashing the ancient bones which did not stir as each hammered them to fragments with their weapons. The figure did not stir and the company took in the rest of the rooms fixtures. There was a small bronze bound coffer and a half collapsed wooden truckle bead to north, over which was inscribed a passage in an unknown angular script, and a set of benches to the south.  On the bench where animal bones laid out as if in the middle of a dissection some very corroded bronze surgical tools and scrolls which crumbled on being touched under the bench where decayed sacks full of what once may have been clothing but which where so rotten that colour or form where beyond guessing.

Still the figure which was revealed to be sitting on a high perch stool did not move or react. Eventually after exploring the room Aeltred prodded the figure with the but of his trusty spear it stood up the piercing stool collapsing into ruin as it did so, & the gods of chance and battle rolled their cosmic dice.

The company stood stunned whilst the skeletal mage raised its hands and started to incant some terrible magic except no incantation came form its decayed mouth and it swung its arms in useless gesture. Lalia snapped out of it first and shouting a warning readied her sling sending spinning in ever faster arcs about her head. Followed by Aeltred who drawing back his heavy spear struck the vile thing such a blow it that is rotted arm fell off & the creature was hurled into the back wall where it slumped to the floor and remained motionless. A tense moment passed until it became apparent that the malice had given the long dead thing the semblance of life had fled.

Searching the body revealed it was long dead and half decayed with bone showing where the desiccated flesh had long ago turned to dust. It was clad in fine brocaded robes which crumbled even as they where searched and wore a belt of pouches each filled with some trace of what once might have been at Aeltreds guess a spell component all long gone to dust and decay.

Mean while on the surface Elvie had fallen to her mission with a will and was crawling about in the bases of the farms hedges looking for worked stone so she could tell the adventurers what she had found when they came to ask her. Her mother did try to give her something else fro her to do but her grandfather put his hand on his daughter in laws arm and said you kept my son and his sons form the sell sword life but I fear you have lost that battle with the lass just as much as my father gods rest him lost it with me. It’s a madness which burns itself out after a while and such things burn out quicker in the young if you let them.

Elvie’s mother was not happy at this and chided her father in law for his foolishness & his telling tales to her easily lead daughter, but she let Elvie alone to get on with her task all the same. 

Down the hole the company thoroughly searched the wizard’s room but found many more questions than answers especially as almost every thing they touched was so aged that on even the gentlest investigation it crumbled to nothing.  The only thing of interest which survived was the tome form the lectern a heavy book with fine velum pages covered in diagrams of an apparently arcane nature but unfathomable to the company there present accompanied by notes in a foreign script no one could read exept it was certainly in the hands of several scribes.

Other than the tome, the prime exception to this was the coffer at the foot of the bed which thought covered by a fine layer of the dust of ages was whole and intact. A sturdy wooden box made form one of the dark woods form the far south bound in thick bronze straps and secured by a small lock for which the company could find no key. However the small lock proved to be only a small challenge to Lalia once she had ascertained that there where no traps to catch the unwary, inside the contents of the coffer where remarkably well preserved.  A small book Aeltred guessed almost certainly a personal spell book written in an unknown script similar to that of the tome but all the same hand as far as could be seen. Some coins of an unfamiliar type a couple of good leather multi pocket pouches full of spoilt bits which might have been spell components. A dozen sheets of the finest velum and an exquisite bronze leaf bladed dagger, which looked to be Drejii work from one of the plains clans east of the mountains according to Telec who has travelled a lot.

Puzzled and the company decided to press on and to explore the last room. Entering all the more cautiously the company found the thing was some sort of a prison & perhaps torture chamber though fortunately nothing of that remained. Fully half the room had been made into four small cells by the installation of a cage work of sturdy bronze bars.  In each cell was a manacled skeleton lying in a position which suggested that they had been probably alive and fleshed when cast into the cell. Each cell was secured by a sturdy if simple lock which Lalia reckoned she could open easily but the company decided not to given their recent encounters and settled to examining the skeletons as best they could with out entering the cells or unlocking the doors. After a short examination the company pressed further on.

To the double doors on the north wall, a quick examination by Lalia seemed to indicate that these doors which stood easily eight feet high and wide enough for a cart to enter where not locked or at least not locked by any mechanism which there was access to from the outside, D’rek being the strongest bay far pressed on the  doors but they did not budge but an uncanny thing happened the face of what appeared to be a dwarf by the elaborately platted beard and hair appeared in mid air just behind D’rek and spoke in at least three tongues possibly four of which only one was known to the company, Dwarvish.  This Telec for it was he who had the rudiments of the language said apologised in the name of the king that there was no entry for strangers such as they and directed them around to the front gate, where they should seek entry.

A discussion followed and it was decided that the other messages must say something like that which had been said in Dwarvish and that the gates where almost certainly secured by something like magic. An idea confirmed when detailed scrutiny of the whole area around the gates failed to find   any hidden mechanism which might open them form this side.

Then it occurs to Aethred to try the cloak broach they found in the spoil around the hole on the first day the one with a missing pin and yellow glass eyes & with it presented strongly the gates swing open revealing a dark road way leading slightly down and the nauseating smell of stale air which is very familiar to Lalia. A quick look round the inside of the gate reveals nothing of interest save an inscription on the wall in angular characters similar to that on the wall above the wizards long rotted bed, which is assumed to be dwarvish. Even thought non present could read the tongue or actually knew what Dwarvish script look like.

Confronted by a puzzle wrapped in an enigma the company discussed what to do next and decided that they needed more information and the advice of a wizard. So the shut the gate & returned to the surface intending to spend the night once more at the Meliacs farm and press on in the morning.

Over supper the company talked with grandfather Meliacs abut his adventuring life & questioned him as to weather he had encountered any thing like what they had found and he spoke of a raid on a goblin foot hold in the mountains to the east a strong hold which had once long ago been some sort of large town. He spoke of the guide an elf ranger called Vagarion who had lead them there and of the hard fights they had had with the goblins before being forces to withdraw and the companions who had not made it back. Trading tales of his own extensive travels Telec recalled that there was a sage who lived in an old Kalamaran watch tower to the east and Grandfather Meliac also remembered that possibly the same tower had been used by a middling powerful wizard in his time. Perhaps the Sage was the heir to or the apprentice to the long ago wizard.

To all this little Evie Meliac listened with wrapped attention, she had heard her grandfather’s tales before but not this one, nor any in such detail.  She wanted to add what she had found in the fields around the farm but the wanting to hear what passed between adventurers stilled her tongue & even drew in her brothers and her parents who had not heard such an exchange before either.

In the morning the company awoke rested & they all breakfasted with the Mellics family before being taken around by Elvie and shown what she had found yesterday.  She had noted every worked stone in every hedge bottom looked for fragments in the plough soil and walked the ground with an almost processional eye.

From what she had found it became apparent that there had been a large and well appointed building in the north west field possibly more than one perhaps a manor house and its out buildings and that there might have been other smaller lesser buildings scattered over much of the rest of the farm.
 

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Episode IV Down the Hole Part II

Experience & honour    all awards are each character                                          
                                                                                                 Experience                     Honour
Working on the farm
All The discussion in the farm yard in the morning                                   20                               +0
Telec, Aeltred  D'rec & Lalia Yard work                                                 20                               +1
Aetlred Geting Evie to do something actually useful                                10                               +1

Down the hole
Telec, Aeltred  D'rec & Lalia Down the hole (general delving)                    25                               +0
Aeltred ( getting the skeletons before they got them)                             10                               +1
Telec, Aeltred  D'rec & Lalia destroying the skeletons                              33                               +0
Telec, Aeltred  D'rec & Lalia destroying the Skeletal magus                       50                               +1
Aeltred using the cloak broach as a gate key                                           5                               +0
Aeltred "strike mighty blow"                                                                  0                               +2
Lalia picking locks & trap checking                                                        15                               +1

Misc
Telec, Aeltred  D'rec & Lalia general role playing down the hole & after        20                               +0

Lalia & Aeltred have levelled up!

 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

The honour Issue
This gets very confusing & a bit brain burning but bear with me please

We have two groups as before but different members this time.

Starting honour         Honour awards           Averaging effect
                                  Awards                      Averaging effect
Aelthred   14                20 (+6)                             19 (-1)
Telic        14                16 (+2)                             17 (+1)
D'rek        14                16 (+2)                             17 (+1)
Lalia         18                21 (+3)                             20 (-1)

Group average honour 15 at the start  18

Starting honour           Awards                           Averaging effect
Melias      13               13 (+0)                            13 (+0)
Nameless  13               13 (+0)                            13 (+0)

The second group average honour 13 at start 13 at end of the session

 Ginger