Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 2
Adventurers
| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Owsley | Thief level 1 | A rugged survivalist dressed in greens and browns carrying a special-made spear quiver. |
| Saga-Bhoy | Thief level 1 | A slender man of many careers, including, but not limited to: gambling, almanac-writing, and pranking. |
| Jaha | Dwarf level 1 | An old dwarf looking for some adventure. |
| Aedh the Funereal | Elf level 1 | Grim and spooky. His attempts to make friends mostly consist of morbid humor. |
| Allon | Cleric level 1 | Worshipper of Umannah, the Sun God, The Radiant Death. Lawful blonde goodie. |
| Norval | Cleric level 1 | Bald, old, and bee obsessed; a true evangelist of Vidmor. |
Thawmist 9th, Fireday
Another day, another adventure to be had. After some back and forth the party decided to investigate the rumours of abandoned keep south-east of Kestizar. Convinced they will find numerous riches, they opted to get themselves a proper torchboy.
It didn't take them (too) long to recruit a young man of reddish skin, a true local Antilian, who was more then eager to join them. His enthusiasm was only boosted by all the generous gifts he received—a short sword, a shield, a bundle of torches, and a single gold coin.
And so they set of to find this abandoned keep. With Saga-Bhoy's innate talent of finding the right direction, and good weather, they reached a ruin consisting of two towers and a gatehouse. Since the sun started to set, they opted to hide and observe.
Lo and behold! An hour or two later a torch lights up in front of the west tower. Unfortunately, the party was too far to make who—or what—is carrying the torch. By the time they agreed on their course of action, the figure disappeared in the gatehouse.
Few rounds of back-and-forth later, adventurers decided to circle the keep, intending to figure out if there are any other entry points, or anything of a kind. Nothing of interest was notices, besides some bats on top of the east tower.
By the time they finished circling the keep, it was proper night. Which, of course meant that now is the best time to sneak in. And so they approached the doors to the western tower—which turned out to be locked! Or stuck. But that did not deter our brave adventurers, no.
Allon, the blonde worshipper of the Sun God, shook the doors with all his might! Twice! Failing both time! Resolute as always—for no wood is to stand in the righteous path of the Sun worshipper—he took to bashing in the door with his weapon.
Figuring it is a bit difficult to strike in the dark, one of the wiser members set the torch alight and passed it to Rodolf, their most enthusiastic torchbearer. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm was cut (pierced?) short by an arrow to the neck. Others, who happened to be a bit better armoured, went unscathed. Agile Saga-Bhoy was quick to safely distance himself...
Owlsey, a thievish survivalist and certified quick-thinker, picked up the torch without delay and threw it to the east. Two bow-wielding figures came into light; one was immediately shot down by the light-footed Saga-Bhoy. His actions were rewarded by four arrows, one fatally striking him.
But lady luck did not abandon the slender lover, and he managed to both stay alive and conscious. In the chaos some (unnamed) heroic adventures tried to prop-up Rodolf's corpse as an improvised tower shield, whilst Aedh managed to break open the doors—on his first try!
The attacking figure dropped back into the darkness, and no new arrows were shot at the team. Naturally, our brave adventurers decided to investigate the tower. They did not break those doors for nothing, right?
Finding another doors at the end of relatively short corridor, Norval calls Aedh to use his opening skills. Which the latter does with gusto. Doors fly open, revealing six humans pointing their bows at them.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, stout dwarf Jaha charges in, yelling and swinging his battleaxe like there is no tomorrow. Owsley throws an improvised firebomb, burning four to death. Unfortunately, he missed the one in the corner of the room—and that one did not miss Norval, downing him with an arrow. Sad buzzing noises were heard.
Unfortunately this was not the end of it. Being now in the center of the room, Jaha noticed more figures coming at them from the north, east, and west! In no time five humans with short-swords and maces surrounded him and pummeled him like there is no tomorrow. It seemed like they didn't appreciate seeing their friends burned to death.
Proving that he indeed is stout, Jaha took the beating like a champ. Trying some of that Owsley-quick thinking he offered his coin to these fine gentlemen, politely asking them to stop roughing him up so much. They kindly refuse.
By now the party realised that tactical retreat might be their soundest option, accentuated with profound exclamations like “We're all going to DIE!!!” and “Turns out there's a lot of bandits in here, huh?”
Unfortunately, both Saga-Bhoy and Jaha were badly wounded, and required help to move, making a joint escape a tad bit difficult. The former, barely conscious, managed to escape in the darkness with Owsley's help, while the latter was helped by Aedh.
Unfortunately (again), just as Jaha and Aedh were to reach the exit, floor gave in, and both were lost to the darkness. Aedh landed face first, breaking his delicate neck. Against all odds Jaha managed to survive this ordeal as well.
Allon was resolute to wait for his friends. He oiled his blade and set it aflame, and said his prayers to Umannah. Then he oiled the doorstep, and readied a fiery trap for the pursuers. Alas, he did not count on his friends taking a downward detour.
Dwarf—did I mention how stout he is?—managed to climb out of the pit, feinting just when he crawled out. Cleric tried to drag him to safety, but was caught by two bandits and beaten unconscious. He managed to set the gate aflame before fading to black...
Owlsey and Saga-Bhoy managed to find some bushes to hide in and tend their wounds. It was dark and chilly, but they decided to take their chances, and headed back to Kestizar. Somehow they made it unmolested. Except some fluttering they heard in the darkness.
Thawmist 11th, Airday
Having a full day of rest, Saga-Bhoy and Owsley set out to recruit some new adventurers:
| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sybil | Cleric level 1 | Peppy worshipper of Vicon. |
| Jacob | Magic-user level 1 | Suspiciously young-looking magic-user with a strong dislike of poisonous gases. He also happens to be missing some teeth. |
| Richter | Fighter level 1 | Ugly looking figure with ruddy face, belching speech, and single tooth. |
Being a bit wiser after their last expedition, the party set out to look for some other work. They found Euphemia, a sage dressed in emerald robe with curvy purple stripes, who happened to be looking for some muscle to escort her to a cave she'd like to investigate.
Unhappy with her offer, the party promptly and repeatedly insulted her, irrevocably sabotaging this business avenue. Who knows what might they do next?
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