Campaign Journal: Damned Horses!

"Yeah, when the riding animals start fighting, we're in new territory" - Frederick

More on that later....

Tonight was a small contingent:

• Frederick
• Fulvus
• Rondel
• Slick
• Three brave henchmen

Departing Axwold, the group dead-reckonned their way westward in search of the next point along the Barrier network. Things were progressing quietly. The party spread out, Fulvus scouting ahead. He bravely avoided a snake, but Slick did take a look at it to confirm it was Just A Snake. Yes.

As the party broke for lunch, they were set upon by pests. Because they show up to every picnic... 

Like this, but 3' long

Dispatching these flying pests, Slick climbed into their roost tree and recovered a puse with some coin and a potion. He also scouted westward, spotting clearings and paths that offered easier travel. Finishing their repast with no more vermin, they continued onward. 

With no more significant encounters, the party found an abandoned and collapsed farmstead. They posted up watches for the night. Third watch, and sure enough, visitors. Fulvus kept watch on the movement, sending his henchman to awaken the crew. Several humanoids were spotted, and the party struck out. Sure enough, more mutant dudes. The mutants charged in, causing some injury before being struck down. Rondel charmed one who had attacked his cleric henchman. Rondel now had a pincher-handed new best friend. 

Interrogating the fellow ("Toby") they found that the group was attempting to track another party, and had rushed our heroes in mistaken identity. Toby also proselytized as to his conversion and path toward perfection by the "Shapers." 

The day dawned, the party did their due diligence in looking for pocket change from the bodies, and they moved on, searching for ruins.

Not too long into the morning, and sounds of struggle and combat were heard. Fulvus darted ahead, spotting several armored individuals in running combat against a number of Chaos mutants and their leaders. As he watched, one of the armored figures was felled. The party didn't know who the pursued were, but they knew their foes. 

Slick (and Flick) and Fulvus angled for sneak attacks, while Frederick used his invisibility scarf to infiltrate the melee, aiming for a potential spellcaster. Stabbing happened, the apparent spellcaster was one-shot, and the Chaos knight took heavy damage. 

Rondel found himself alone except for a couple of henches, and prepared sleep. The baddies won initiative, and Slick found himself staring down not only the Chaos knight, but his warhorse. Something like this:

source

Although the knight was feeble, his mount wasn't, critting Slick. Not enough to require 3d6 down the line, but enough to be concerning. Flick also got hit, and Rondel took another crit (thankfully weak damage) but enough to keep him from using that cheaty spell ;). 

Another round, and between our heroes and the other party, the muties were routed. 

The three surviving warriors caught their breath and sagged, exhausted. Meet Petre, Tamaz, and Zejo: survivors of an Opharel expeditionary force into the mountains. They had started with 30, found a stronghold in the mountains, were discovered, and fled, their number now down to these worn survivors. Petre, missing an arm after amputation to prevent a Chaos affliction, Zejo, diseased and rotting, and Tamaz, a paladin exhausted from using his limited healing abilities to sustain the others.

The party shared that they were also in search of hte source of the Chaos forces, as well as the fabled Barrier nodes. Petre perked up, and noted that their forces had located one node, and that one of their academics had been researching it. Perhaps sharing information would be productive. In any case, they would appreciate and escort back to Acroria (the Opharel Duchy stronghold) from an obviously capable group of fighters (if a bit sketchy), and there might even be a reward.

Sold.

The party provided some healing, and retreated to the old farmstead, where they spent a restful night. Returning to the main road, and Axwold, they fortuitously discovered that a high level priest of Khador was in town, visiting their local temple, and was able to rid Zejo of his affliction. Petre was still one-armed.

The party checked in to their local contact, Remy the Tanner. When they arrived, they found a crowd gathered, and the town guard warding people away. Glimpsing through the crowd, the body of the tanner was seen in a vat. As the body was pulled from the vat, a slashed throat showed this wasn't accidental. Murmurs and rumors among the crowd. The man was a good man, with no known enemies. A caravan had passed through, and he may have been seen talking to someone from out of town, perhaps another trader.

After the crowd dispersed, Slick and Fulvus crept into the shop, looking for anything out of place. A tool rack was knocked over, and some signs of struggle, blood, and drag marks indicated Remy's last moments. 

The party found the tanner's apprentice, who had been sent on an errand. He reported that he saw a woman approaching the tanner's shop as he left. Interrogated more, and he recalled that under her travel cloak he spotted red hair, and that her skin had an odd, leathery appearance. The party thanked him and considered their next moves.

And scene...

DM Notes:

Well, that was fun. Quite a bit of moving things forward.

The beleaguered party of holy warriors has been in the queue for quite some time, waiting for the appropriately dramatic moment, as another gamerunner likes to say.

First of all, the night attack was truly random, via my campaign encounter tables. The dice just know. And when one got charmed, he was a good candidate for clueing the PCs to be on the lookout for another party.

On to the Opharel contingent: I'd put them into my list of happeneings and encounters, one that hints at larger machinations out in the fringes. Of course, the party is already aware of the Chaos mutants and their platoon leaders, but illustrating that Big Things are on the horizon is always fun. "We started with a force of 30, and now we're... this..." 

Making the horses nastier was just a fun last minute addition. And now canon. And yes, I named them Damned Horses in my notes, even before Slick made the same comment upon staring down the barrel of one.

Anyhow, the party has been skirting around significant interactions with either of the Duchies, other than interactions with patrols or small contingents, so getting to know one of the powers that be sould be fun. And whether their goals and bjectives alighn with the party, we have yet to see...

And poor Remy. Well, now the party senses that there may be a tail...

I guess I have some more building to do.