Aeshuura's DDEX 1-01 Defiance in Phlan (Adv League) (Inactive)

Game Master Aeshuura

I could use a blessing of healing...

Satisfied that the others are well enough to travel and that the mission has been accomplished, Senka sets off toward their next rendezvous.

Sir Adrian, when did you take that damage? I went back and only saw Ander and Wrath taking hits. You only got blinded and tripped on that natty 1, I think. :)

After tending to your wounds, you all head back to Madame Freona's, stopping by the stables to meet your benefactor. You see the Harper waiting in the shadows. As you approach, he raises the hood of his lantern to illuminate the area in dim light.

"Is it done?" he looks at each of you, "Where's the egg?"

I have no idea, but I do not see it either and I know that I update that tag line regularly.

Maybe when I said Ander you thought it was you? No worries, you should all get a long rest soon.

Wrathmire catches his breath and gets his second wind before heading back.

Second Wind: 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

The tracker was planted. The egg was a fake, and exploded. I believe Scribe here picked up a few pieces.

The Harper frowns a bit, "Pity, I had hoped that we had a real lead."

He turns to Presmer, "You have some pieces of the egg? Have you inspected them at all?"

After a few questions, the Harper seems satisfied, "Well done, my young friends. Here is the promised payment. " He tosses Ander a hefty pouch and continues, "We have seen an increased interest in all things related to dragons. More and more reports of dragon sightings in the Moonsea region and beyond have been coming in. Keep your eyes and your ears open. Any information you can gather on dragons and any activity in the region could save your lives and the lives of the people."

EDIT: In the pouch is the promised 100 gold pieces.

Wrathmire nods and accepts his share.

You can talk amongst yourselves, or ask any questions of the Harper. Otherwise you will be able to get a nice long rest at the Tea Kettle. I will continue on Monday. (I will answer any questions you may have of the Harper throughout the weekend.)

What is the split?

Sorry, I misremembered, it is 200 gp. It should come to 28 gp each then 4 gp to split 7 ways. (5 sp, 7 cp)

Ceidith lick his lips as he gets his share of the gp. Approaching the Harper agent, Ceidith whispers into his ear.

Wrathmire heads to the armory and trades in his leather armor for studded leather armor. He also buys another case of bolts.

+5gp sell leather
-45gp buy studded leather
-1gp case of crossbow bolts (20)
total: -41gp

Ok, we can say that you go early morning, just as the shopkeep opens up. We will say that if anyone else wants to make a purchase they go with you.

After a peaceful night's rest, Briez, another of Madame Freona's daughters, is serving you all (with the exception of Wrathmire and anyone else that rushed off to the shops early morning) a delightful breakfast of eggs, ham, spiced potatoes, and fresh, warm biscuits with a home-made wildberry jam.

"My sisters and I picked the berries ourselves," the young halfling woman remarks, brushing her long black hair out of her face. "Some say the wildberries in this area are--"

Before Briez can finish her thought, shrieking erupts from the street outside the Kettle. While the words are mostly unintelligible, you do make out "help" and "family."

Wrathmire and whoever else went shopping are just returning to the Kettle as they come upon this commotion.

"This place is crazy," Ander mumbles through a mouthful of jelly-biscuit as he stands and rushes outside to see what the commotion is.

As you head out into the street, townsfolk are rushing to assist a middle-aged woman. She has collapsed in the middle of the road, crying hysterically, clutching an infant boy in her arms.

Wrathmire looks around at the rooftops or for anyone else that might be suspicious.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Wrathmire looks around, but notices nothing out of place.

Sorry, been a busy weekend? GM can I assume 100 xp and 1 renown for Harpers?

Presmer heads out of the Tea Kettle his books in hands. He stays by the door watching the scene erupt in the street. He is a priest, just not that kind of priest. This after all has no impact on the resurrection of Mystara.

Yes, if you are keeping track, you each get 100 xp, 5 downtime days, and if you are already in the Harpers faction, or choose the Harpers faction, you gain 1 renown.

@Aeshura: Will you be totaling this all up at the end and update the Log Sheet like you did after the last game?

Yes, I will be compiling the whole adventure's rewards on your previous logsheets and making a new one for our newer PCs.

You rock!!

Indeed! Thanks!

Ander rushes to the woman's side. "What's happened? Are you hurt?"

Ander quickly scans both the woman and the child for any obvious signs of injury or illness.

Medicine, if necessary: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Uriah saunters out after Ander

My my, he's polite and he looks after women and children. Take notes lads, this is how a hero acts! Uriah makes a joke and then looks bored.

As Ander comes up to check on the woman and her child, she clutches at him with her free hand. She is hyperventilating and frantic, but you manage to calm her enough to hear her tale.

"My husband! My children! You must save them! Please!"

You find, through some soothing, that her name is Millie. She and her family mine peat from a bog about an hour outside of town. This morning, they were attacked by goblins. She only managed to escape by leaping onto the wagon with her son, Bo, and escape to get help. She only turned to look back long enough to see that the goblins were dragging her husband and the farmhands away to the East. Just seeing that gives her hope that they are still all alive...

"Please, will you help me? Will you help my husband and children?"

By this time, the commotion has drawn two Black Fist guards. They look at her and look at you. One of them pulls a piece of paper from a pouch and hands it to Ander, "Here. It is out of our jurisdiction, but not yours. Go check it out, then return to Stonajow Gate and you may collect your pay."

The slip of paper is a promissory note entitling its bearer 50 gp from the city's coffers for services rendered.

Ander smiles warmly and gives Millie's shoulder a squeeze. "Of course I'll help, Millie," he says softly. Taking the guard's note, Ander stands and says loudly, "Anyone else who would help a threatened mother, or who would at least risk their lives for money, come with me. Any takers?"

I am with you, Ander.

Wrathmire nods, let's go.

And miss the next chapter of Sir Ander the Unfailingly Polite! Not a chance! Uriah struts around and makes a grand gesture

Never fear good madame, your husband and farmhands are as good as rescued!

Let's go Ceidith draws his shortswords and follow's Ander.

After a noticeable internal debate, presmer packs his books and follows behind the group of intrepid heroes.

Presmer, your alias is showing! ;) I am going to assume that Itzal also chimes in, or follows silently.

Millie takes you all to her wagon and drives you back to her family's peat harvesting farm. She shows you where the raid took place and tells you again that it looked like the goblins were taking her family and the help to the East. She didn't make a count of the goblins, claiming that there were too many to count. That anyone trained in Insight, or with an Insight bonus of +3 or higher, can confirm that she truly believes without a roll.

Her husband Haldred, her daughters Alleena and Kithian, her sons Quayle and Volland, as well as six hired hands were there during the attack. None of you find any bodies, so it is reasonable to believe that they may all still be alive, but you do not know how long they might have.

The surrounding area is considered swampland, so you think tracking should be fairly easy.

Anyone want to make a Wisdom (Survival) check? Itzal, what is your Natural Explorer terrain?

Wrathmire assists Itzal in finding tracks.

Itzal, you may roll your Wisdom (Survival) checks with advantage, if you will be taking lead on this.

Sorry for the delay. I don't think my favored terrain will help; I tried to go with oddball choices. I'm away from my computer right now, so looking up my charsheet is annoying.

survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 231d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Itzal wanders the area, looking for any signs of where the prisoners were taken as well as indications of how many goblins may have been in the raiding party.

Got it, I looked it up for you. I have to remember that your sheet is right there for me! :p

Itzal picks up the trail easily. She stops to inspect the tracks...

Assuming that you head on, Itzal leads you through the swampy bog for somewhere near an hour. As you come to the end of the trail, you see that it leads up to the mouth of a cave on the side of a hill rising up from the bog. Brush and other vegetation dot the terrain, giving you a lot of cover to approach unseen.

You are able to sneak up close enough to see a goblin speaking to a human-sized figure in a heavy cloak, a hood obscuring his face. The style of his cloak is entirely different from that of the Harper, if you are curious. You can hear them talking, though the voices are somewhat dampened by the distance.

You hear the goblin speaking in broken Common, "Only one raiding group come back. Theys bring-ed pris'ners. Otter raiding goblins come back soon. No more snake coin people finded."

The human nods, apparently happy with the news, "Excellent! Tell Gorrunk that my friends and I will pay bags of coin and give lots of gifts for all of the dragon artifacts you can find." He turns to leave, but stops, "Oh, and kill any more humans you find near your home."

The goblin nods and enters the cave, while the cloaked figure whispers a single word and simply vanishes!

Sir Adrian whispers.

Well, our task seems clear. Kill the goblins, rescue the humans. They obviously have ill intent towards all nearby settlements. I am wondering if we should track the human when he leaves? He app4ears to be the source of the problem.

Uriah draws his rapier with a flourish. Lead on Sir Adrian! he motions the paladin forward

I am wondering if we should track the human when he leaves?

"Do you have the means to track someone who vanishes with a mere word?" Ander asks, with one eyebrow raised. "If so, then color me impressed."

Sir Adrian draws his Greatsword quietly, and he pauses to address Ander.

Well, I know what he looks like, and that, my pessimistic friend, is a start.

He moves up the hill in the brush to approach unseen before attacking.

Stealth: 1d20 ⇒ 17
Stealth Disadv: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Wrathmire stays about 30 feet to the side of the paladin, trying to remain hidden.

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Itzal also sneaks closer, looking for a good vantage for shooting.
stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Map has been updated, if you need to see it, just click on the link under my name. It is a Google doc, so hopefully you all can view it.

As you approach the cave entrance, you huddle around the shrubs just outside. The passage in is unlit, though the sunlight reaches far enough into the 10-foot wide cave passage to let you see that it travels about 25 feet before turning South. Piles of rubble are strewn about the passageway, large enough to hide behind.

As Sir Adrian begins moving up, the others are quite aware that he will give away their position, should you decide to mention it or go in "guns" ablaze.