This weeks recap sees the PC's unsuccessful in their bid to rescue Anna McDunugh a second time. They also apparently seem to leave Fengis to fend for himself in the wilds of the Laandsraad.
Recap: We left off the week before with the aforementioned "Question of Morality". The decision ultimately, was to send Patch and Cor'Nal after the kidnapped wife of Briggs McDunugh and daughter of Piter MacBrady and leave the rogue Ademar to stall the merchant Fengis from leaving town as he had planned.
Neither plan was successful.
After giving Piter MacBrady his word that he and Cor'Nal will return his daughter to him Patch suggests they begin. Ademar stays behind and heads to intercept Fengis to attempt to stall him.
Recap: We left off the week before with the aforementioned "Question of Morality". The decision ultimately, was to send Patch and Cor'Nal after the kidnapped wife of Briggs McDunugh and daughter of Piter MacBrady and leave the rogue Ademar to stall the merchant Fengis from leaving town as he had planned.
Neither plan was successful.
After giving Piter MacBrady his word that he and Cor'Nal will return his daughter to him Patch suggests they begin. Ademar stays behind and heads to intercept Fengis to attempt to stall him.
Cor'Nal and Patch leave and as Ademar stays behind he is approached on foot by Ryan MacBrady. After some initial confusion Ademar convinces him that he and his friends had nothing to do with Anna's kidnapping and instead the other two went to save her (again). Ryan accepts his explanation and begs Ademar for his horse. Being ever the diplomat and showing the utmost regard for his friends and Anna's well-being, he says no. He tells Ryan that maybe Fengis can help, after all not all of his livestock died from the earlier "plague". He takes Ryan to see Fengis who is packing a small wagon for his journey through the Laandsraad. He allows Ryan to take a horse from the rear of the warehouse. He also tells Ademar he will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Ademar says he'll be there on time...
Giving chase through the trails north of Snoam-Schlabach tracking them by Cor'Nal's survivalist skills and the nose of his wolf companion, they were eventually led east, once again into the Pinefore. The trail was fairly easy to track due to the recent snowfall and droplets of blood left behind by one of the kidnappers wounded during the battle with Piter and his guards. The wolf led the group to a clearing, possibly the largest you've seen in the Pinefore and a dead end. The kidnappers have been cornered here by Briggs and his brother Willis, two allies from the MacBrady constabulary. The men have formed a circle, everyone on horseback facing each other with Willis and Briggs at the southern-most end of the circle. Apparently, though outnumbered the McDunugh brothers have the upper hand because the kidnappers have no means of escape. Five of the kidnappers have crossbows drawn however so there seems to be a standoff. The sixth kidnapper holds Anna, bound at the hands and feet, blindfolded and apparently unconscious
When the PC's arrive the kidnappers become visibly uncomfortable as they clearly did not expect any more followers. Briggs attempts to assay their concerns and tells them not to fear and assures them no sudden moves will be made. He apparently has taken the stance of negotiating with the kidnappers for the life of his wife, or so it would seem. Patch orders them to release Anna or he will kill them all as he jumps off his horse. His threats do not seem to help as the kidnappers do not stand down nor do they release Anna, despite the fact that the odds seem to be swinging in the good guy's favor.
Briggs manages to calm the aggressors and tells Patch to be silent. After a short negotiation, Patch and Cor'Nal, neither on horseback by this time, are beckoned forward into the circle by Briggs. Reluctantly they agree as Briggs and Willis spread apart from one another to make room for them. When they settle after joining the circle Briggs utters a single word in orcish: Fire!
The crossbow armed kidnappers loose their bolts at Patch and Cor'Nal. Patch takes several hits but avoids further damage by saving against the poison imbued in the missiles. Cor'Nal leaves his wolf behind to assist Patch and scrambles away to cast spells from the cover of the thick pines. Once there he casts entangle, trapping four of the seven assailants in roots ripping up from the ground.
Their treachery now apparent Patch engages in combat with both McDunughs. The wolf shields him from Willis but he is met face to face with Briggs. Briggs is the more experienced warrior but Patch bests him in short order, though taking quite a bit of damage himself. Cor'Nal casts Mass Vigor to slowly heal the group during battle. The wolf is taken down by Willis who leaves his horse and advances toward Patch.
During the melee all but one of those entangled are able to free themselves, along with the now enraged Willis (just witnessing the death of his older brother) they advance on Patch. One of them has spotted Cor'Nal and approaches him, firing his poisoned-tipped crossbow bolts.
Unfazed, Cor'Nal turns himself into a bear and nearly rips the head off of his attacker. In so doing the attackers mask falls from his face, revealing the orc beneath.
This is bad. Now the PC's realize that not only are they fighting enemies within Snoam-Schlabach (Briggs and Willis), and Schudlichton. They are fighting outsiders from the nearby orc tribe as well. Yay!
Shortly after the fall of Briggs the kidnapper who held Anna at knifepoint ends her life. Stabbing her in the throat with his dagger and letting her lifeless body slump to the snowy trail from horseback. He leaves his horse when he realizes he cannot flee northward on horseback as the forest is too thick, and decides to take his chances on foot. He is successful in making a clean getaway.
After taking more crossbow bolts and a near deathblow from the blood raged Willis, Patch is bloodied and near-death. What saves him is Willis, himself near-death as well retreats long enough to imbibe a healing potion. Patch sees an opportunity and does the same. When both combatants are fit to fight, the sound of horse hooves can be heard. Fearing the worst, the PC's prepare for the inevitable infusion of enemy reinforcements.
Instead, they are delighted to see the hated MacBrady brother Ryan ride up on horseback. He is alone, but becomes enraged as he sees his sister laid dead dozens of feet in front of him. He jumps from horseback and immediately cuts down Willis. Moving past Patch he cuts a swath through the crossbow-bearing enemies on the west side of the clearing as Patch and Cor'Nal finish off those left in the center. Once that is done Cor'Nal follows Ryan and assists (still in bear form) in killing the few that are left.
Upon finishing off the last orc Ryan turns on Cor'Nal and swings his Greatsword, a critical hit doing its best to try and finish him. Fighting the temptation to fight back, Cor'Nal instead decides to return to his true form before Ryan can take another swing. Although he fears the "witchery" involved in such a display Ryan honorably lowers his sword and acknowledges the outsiders as heroes who attempted to save his sister. Cor'Nal accepts the apology and then heals his wolf enough to bring him from unconsciousness. After cursing the dead McDunugh brothers for their treachery and his father for the arranged marriage between his sister and Briggs he apologizes to Cor'Nal and Patch for his earlier treatment of them and admits that he was wrong. Somberly, he wraps his sister in a blanket he retrieved from a saddlebag and lays her over a spare horse. Patch does the same with the bodies of Briggs and Willis.
Searching the bodies reveals that all the masked assailants that were killed (only the one who killed Anna escaped) were orc. Cor'Nal thinks proof of this should be brought to Piter and so he straps a body over a spare horse himself. They agree to ride in together to present Piter with the terrible news.
During this Ademar stalls Fengis by showing up 30 minutes late. Annoyed but unfettered Fengis insists they hurry off but inquires to the whereabouts of the other two companions. Ademar says they'll meet them on the trail to Schudlichton. This is sufficient enough for Fengis and together in the driver's seat of the two-horse wagon they head north.
Ademar begins to question Fengis aggressively about his desire to leave Snoam-Schlabach so hastily. Fengis assures Ademar that it is only good business to leave a burning building once it catches fire, as staying inside isn't profitable for anyone. Ademar is unswayed by the logical answer and insists Fengis is hiding something. He draws his dagger and puts it to Fengis throat. Growing annoyed and impatient with his vague implications, and now obvious aggression, Fengis orders Ademar to come out with it. Ademar asks questions about the recent bad luck in Snoam-Schlabach (dead livestock, wine turning to vinegar and so forth) and Fengis insists he has no knowledge of what happened and had nothing to do with it. A short silence ensues and Fengis orders Ademar to put the dagger away as he has already done irreparable harm to their business relationship and he would hate for things to become "personal". Ademar complies and then asks what the fee for escort will be. Fengis replies by saying "100 gold pieces". Ademar says that 100 gold each sounds fair, but Fengis corrects him and tells him the fee is 100 gold to be split amongst them. Ademar accuses Fengis of taking advantage of the people of Snoam-Schlabach by asking exorbitant prices for everyday items. Fengis tells him that he gives these people what they need as well as what they want, yes, perhaps at a fair mark-up but still less than what he could get in larger economies. Ademar is unimpressed by Fengis "generosity". Fengis then compares Ademar, Patch and Cor'Nal to himself, saying that they offer the people a service they can't get elsewhere at a price. Fengis offers goods, they offer mercenary services and take the job of the highest bidder. The irony is lost on Ademar as he attempts to negotiate a larger sum. Using his apparent leverage he says "200 gold pieces to split or you travel the Laandsraad alone". Fengis is not impressed. He looks away from Ademar who guesses his answer to be "no". He jumps from the wagon, expecting Fengis to stop it. He does not and instead continues northward to the Laandsraad. Ademar heads back to Snoam-Schlabach on foot. (Which is good 'cause he loves snow.)
Heading south Ademar meets with his bloodied companions who have Ryan MacBrady, several horses and four dead bodies in tow. He is briefed on the tragedy of Anna. He tells his friends he was unable to get anything from Fengis during his interrogation. Seems everyone has had a lousy day.
Upon return to town they march directly to Piter who is devastated but maintains his composure. He asks Ryan to help him prepare for Anna's funeral pyre. Cor'Nal and Patch head to Frost Bit Inn to see Loomis and to get some much-needed rest.
Ademar however, is unhurt and decides to investigate further. Using his rogue skills he picks the lock to Fengis' office and makes his way to his desk. Once there he opens the lock on the right drawer and rummages through some worthless looking shipping and order documents, among them he finds a sack full of common gems, he pockets them for himself. He attempts to unlock the right drawer and is poisoned by the needle trap he springs. It seems worth it however as the poison is not lethal but weakens him slightly. After the lock is picked he finds two wooden scroll cases and a small wooden box. He opens the scroll cases to find one with an enormous amount of writing he cannot understand. He assumes it to be magical in nature and so puts it back in the case for inspection by Cor'Nal. He opens the second case, finds the scroll inside to be blank, however hidden inside is a small, greasy piece of parchment with characters written in charcoal in a language Ademar does not recognize. Again, he puts it away and thinks it best to consult Cor'Nal on the subject.
He leaves the office, careful to replace the locks he picked and leaves the area, however not before a quick peek around Fengis' warehouse which bears no fruit. He bursts through Cor'Nal's door, thrusts the evidence he has procured from "uh, the wagon" he states when questioned about where the items came from and bids him look at them. The first set of scrolls does indeed turn out to be magical in nature. Most of them being healing spells. The box holds a magical ring of unknown nature and the letter in the second case turns out to be written in orcish. A language Cor'Nal has some familiarity in. It reads:
Giving chase through the trails north of Snoam-Schlabach tracking them by Cor'Nal's survivalist skills and the nose of his wolf companion, they were eventually led east, once again into the Pinefore. The trail was fairly easy to track due to the recent snowfall and droplets of blood left behind by one of the kidnappers wounded during the battle with Piter and his guards. The wolf led the group to a clearing, possibly the largest you've seen in the Pinefore and a dead end. The kidnappers have been cornered here by Briggs and his brother Willis, two allies from the MacBrady constabulary. The men have formed a circle, everyone on horseback facing each other with Willis and Briggs at the southern-most end of the circle. Apparently, though outnumbered the McDunugh brothers have the upper hand because the kidnappers have no means of escape. Five of the kidnappers have crossbows drawn however so there seems to be a standoff. The sixth kidnapper holds Anna, bound at the hands and feet, blindfolded and apparently unconscious
When the PC's arrive the kidnappers become visibly uncomfortable as they clearly did not expect any more followers. Briggs attempts to assay their concerns and tells them not to fear and assures them no sudden moves will be made. He apparently has taken the stance of negotiating with the kidnappers for the life of his wife, or so it would seem. Patch orders them to release Anna or he will kill them all as he jumps off his horse. His threats do not seem to help as the kidnappers do not stand down nor do they release Anna, despite the fact that the odds seem to be swinging in the good guy's favor.
Briggs manages to calm the aggressors and tells Patch to be silent. After a short negotiation, Patch and Cor'Nal, neither on horseback by this time, are beckoned forward into the circle by Briggs. Reluctantly they agree as Briggs and Willis spread apart from one another to make room for them. When they settle after joining the circle Briggs utters a single word in orcish: Fire!
The crossbow armed kidnappers loose their bolts at Patch and Cor'Nal. Patch takes several hits but avoids further damage by saving against the poison imbued in the missiles. Cor'Nal leaves his wolf behind to assist Patch and scrambles away to cast spells from the cover of the thick pines. Once there he casts entangle, trapping four of the seven assailants in roots ripping up from the ground.
Their treachery now apparent Patch engages in combat with both McDunughs. The wolf shields him from Willis but he is met face to face with Briggs. Briggs is the more experienced warrior but Patch bests him in short order, though taking quite a bit of damage himself. Cor'Nal casts Mass Vigor to slowly heal the group during battle. The wolf is taken down by Willis who leaves his horse and advances toward Patch.
During the melee all but one of those entangled are able to free themselves, along with the now enraged Willis (just witnessing the death of his older brother) they advance on Patch. One of them has spotted Cor'Nal and approaches him, firing his poisoned-tipped crossbow bolts.
Unfazed, Cor'Nal turns himself into a bear and nearly rips the head off of his attacker. In so doing the attackers mask falls from his face, revealing the orc beneath.
This is bad. Now the PC's realize that not only are they fighting enemies within Snoam-Schlabach (Briggs and Willis), and Schudlichton. They are fighting outsiders from the nearby orc tribe as well. Yay!
Shortly after the fall of Briggs the kidnapper who held Anna at knifepoint ends her life. Stabbing her in the throat with his dagger and letting her lifeless body slump to the snowy trail from horseback. He leaves his horse when he realizes he cannot flee northward on horseback as the forest is too thick, and decides to take his chances on foot. He is successful in making a clean getaway.
After taking more crossbow bolts and a near deathblow from the blood raged Willis, Patch is bloodied and near-death. What saves him is Willis, himself near-death as well retreats long enough to imbibe a healing potion. Patch sees an opportunity and does the same. When both combatants are fit to fight, the sound of horse hooves can be heard. Fearing the worst, the PC's prepare for the inevitable infusion of enemy reinforcements.
Instead, they are delighted to see the hated MacBrady brother Ryan ride up on horseback. He is alone, but becomes enraged as he sees his sister laid dead dozens of feet in front of him. He jumps from horseback and immediately cuts down Willis. Moving past Patch he cuts a swath through the crossbow-bearing enemies on the west side of the clearing as Patch and Cor'Nal finish off those left in the center. Once that is done Cor'Nal follows Ryan and assists (still in bear form) in killing the few that are left.
Upon finishing off the last orc Ryan turns on Cor'Nal and swings his Greatsword, a critical hit doing its best to try and finish him. Fighting the temptation to fight back, Cor'Nal instead decides to return to his true form before Ryan can take another swing. Although he fears the "witchery" involved in such a display Ryan honorably lowers his sword and acknowledges the outsiders as heroes who attempted to save his sister. Cor'Nal accepts the apology and then heals his wolf enough to bring him from unconsciousness. After cursing the dead McDunugh brothers for their treachery and his father for the arranged marriage between his sister and Briggs he apologizes to Cor'Nal and Patch for his earlier treatment of them and admits that he was wrong. Somberly, he wraps his sister in a blanket he retrieved from a saddlebag and lays her over a spare horse. Patch does the same with the bodies of Briggs and Willis.
Searching the bodies reveals that all the masked assailants that were killed (only the one who killed Anna escaped) were orc. Cor'Nal thinks proof of this should be brought to Piter and so he straps a body over a spare horse himself. They agree to ride in together to present Piter with the terrible news.
During this Ademar stalls Fengis by showing up 30 minutes late. Annoyed but unfettered Fengis insists they hurry off but inquires to the whereabouts of the other two companions. Ademar says they'll meet them on the trail to Schudlichton. This is sufficient enough for Fengis and together in the driver's seat of the two-horse wagon they head north.
Ademar begins to question Fengis aggressively about his desire to leave Snoam-Schlabach so hastily. Fengis assures Ademar that it is only good business to leave a burning building once it catches fire, as staying inside isn't profitable for anyone. Ademar is unswayed by the logical answer and insists Fengis is hiding something. He draws his dagger and puts it to Fengis throat. Growing annoyed and impatient with his vague implications, and now obvious aggression, Fengis orders Ademar to come out with it. Ademar asks questions about the recent bad luck in Snoam-Schlabach (dead livestock, wine turning to vinegar and so forth) and Fengis insists he has no knowledge of what happened and had nothing to do with it. A short silence ensues and Fengis orders Ademar to put the dagger away as he has already done irreparable harm to their business relationship and he would hate for things to become "personal". Ademar complies and then asks what the fee for escort will be. Fengis replies by saying "100 gold pieces". Ademar says that 100 gold each sounds fair, but Fengis corrects him and tells him the fee is 100 gold to be split amongst them. Ademar accuses Fengis of taking advantage of the people of Snoam-Schlabach by asking exorbitant prices for everyday items. Fengis tells him that he gives these people what they need as well as what they want, yes, perhaps at a fair mark-up but still less than what he could get in larger economies. Ademar is unimpressed by Fengis "generosity". Fengis then compares Ademar, Patch and Cor'Nal to himself, saying that they offer the people a service they can't get elsewhere at a price. Fengis offers goods, they offer mercenary services and take the job of the highest bidder. The irony is lost on Ademar as he attempts to negotiate a larger sum. Using his apparent leverage he says "200 gold pieces to split or you travel the Laandsraad alone". Fengis is not impressed. He looks away from Ademar who guesses his answer to be "no". He jumps from the wagon, expecting Fengis to stop it. He does not and instead continues northward to the Laandsraad. Ademar heads back to Snoam-Schlabach on foot. (Which is good 'cause he loves snow.)
Heading south Ademar meets with his bloodied companions who have Ryan MacBrady, several horses and four dead bodies in tow. He is briefed on the tragedy of Anna. He tells his friends he was unable to get anything from Fengis during his interrogation. Seems everyone has had a lousy day.
Upon return to town they march directly to Piter who is devastated but maintains his composure. He asks Ryan to help him prepare for Anna's funeral pyre. Cor'Nal and Patch head to Frost Bit Inn to see Loomis and to get some much-needed rest.
Ademar however, is unhurt and decides to investigate further. Using his rogue skills he picks the lock to Fengis' office and makes his way to his desk. Once there he opens the lock on the right drawer and rummages through some worthless looking shipping and order documents, among them he finds a sack full of common gems, he pockets them for himself. He attempts to unlock the right drawer and is poisoned by the needle trap he springs. It seems worth it however as the poison is not lethal but weakens him slightly. After the lock is picked he finds two wooden scroll cases and a small wooden box. He opens the scroll cases to find one with an enormous amount of writing he cannot understand. He assumes it to be magical in nature and so puts it back in the case for inspection by Cor'Nal. He opens the second case, finds the scroll inside to be blank, however hidden inside is a small, greasy piece of parchment with characters written in charcoal in a language Ademar does not recognize. Again, he puts it away and thinks it best to consult Cor'Nal on the subject.
He leaves the office, careful to replace the locks he picked and leaves the area, however not before a quick peek around Fengis' warehouse which bears no fruit. He bursts through Cor'Nal's door, thrusts the evidence he has procured from "uh, the wagon" he states when questioned about where the items came from and bids him look at them. The first set of scrolls does indeed turn out to be magical in nature. Most of them being healing spells. The box holds a magical ring of unknown nature and the letter in the second case turns out to be written in orcish. A language Cor'Nal has some familiarity in. It reads:
Sell the feed like you would normal.
Take the money we give and leave town.
We do this as favor because you find us many things.
Tonguescum
The undersigned is a name you've not yet heard, and this information, although it is not addressed to Fengis, seems to implicate him as Ademar suspected. It would also seem that he may have been a victim of circumstance. Doesn't seem to matter as Patch insists, "Let’s go get the bastard!" and apparently the hunt will be on. Or will it? Seems the idea to head south to the tomb was a popular one...
Will you find Fengis alive? If so what will you do with him?
Will you find him dead, his body torn apart by terrors unknown, his wagon ransacked by those same terrors?
Will you yourselves survive your journey to the Laandsraad and within if you so choose to venture there?
Will you forget all about Fengis and venture South to the Olde Snoam Mine to enter the MacBrady Family tomb?
Will you forget about this gods forsaken region and leave altogether?
We'll know next week, barring any emergencies. (We're looking at you, Ademar.)
I think I got everything. Let me know what I missed.
ReplyDeleteI know that I forgot to mention Piter's wish to rush off to battle Schudlichton on the following morn. Its not likely to happen in your estimation but it should still be noted.
ReplyDeleteIt looks to me like you hit on everything that I can remember except for Piter's wish for war and that after his rage Patch also fell due to his wounds.
ReplyDeleteOops! I completely forgot that Patch passed out after his rage ended. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteAdemar left Fengis with his horse. Unless the dm didn't hear him stating that which, is fine. He can get a, uh, 'loaner' horse if needs be...
ReplyDeleteYes you did state that you got down from the wagon and undid your horse from the wagon and rode away. Even if you didn't I would assume that Adamar would have probably either taken one of his horses or killed him and took everything before he would walk all the way back on foot in the snow.
ReplyDeleteI remembered Ademar hitching his horse to the back of the wagon, but I completely spaced on him taking it back once he left the wagon. You're right though. I'll fix it.
ReplyDelete'...taken one of his horses or killed him and took everything before he would walk all the way back on foot in the snow.'
ReplyDeleteCor'Nal is getting to know me well!
Well it took a little longer than you might have wanted but you killed off poor poor Fengis and now your driving around passing out all his goods.
ReplyDeleteWell, even thieves can be charitable!
ReplyDelete*As a side note, I don't think we have seen the last of Fengis...