Tradition dictates that any decent adventure begin in the heart of a crowded tavern and this one is no different. The Laughing Goblin is host to our band of warriors who are sat at a table relaxing after their recent successful skirmish. News has spread of their presence and townsfolk occasionally come to the table to thank them for their services, they certainly seem to have lifted the general mood of the town since their arrival. After a short while Aleyd Burrel walks into the bar flanked by 3 Knights. She tells the party that they need to head out and rescue the Lord Regent from his captors but we need to make a slight detour on the way as there is someone who has a message for one of the party members. Downing the remainder of their tankards the party get to their feet and follow Aleyd and her guards out of the tavern.
Making their way through the streets of Phlan the group find themselves outside of yet another tavern, The Cracked Crown Inn. As they enter the tavern they notice that it seems to be being used as a centre of operations, various maps are strewn on the beer stained tables. A burly looking gent strides up to them and bellows, "We're closed! Be on your way" The party protest and try to explain that they have been asked to come here as someone is supposed to have a message for one of them. The man retreats to the other side of the room where a group of men are bent over a large map spread out on a table. He whispers in the ear of one of the men who stands up straight and walks over to our group. He introduces himself as Glevith and walks around the party before slipping a note into Lucian's hand. "We're done here" he exclaims and ushers the group out of the tavern.
Outside The Cracked Crown Lucian opens the note, reads it and hands it around to the others for them to peruse its content. The note's author, Olisara Lightsong, requests the assistance of our intrepid heroes to vanquish one of the Cult of the Dragon's most feared weapons, namely the Dragon known as "Sputnik" (or something like that, Olisara's handwriting left a little to be desired). It seems like this rescue mission just expanded to include the death of a Dragon. Unfazed by this addition, our group gather together along with Aleyd to discuss their next course of action. She suggests that the first part of the plan must be to rescue the Lord Regent who is being held near the gates of the castle and that it would be best to do so under the relative cover of nightfall. There is a ripple of nodding heads from our heroes and they head back to The Laughing Goblin to await the setting of the sun. Finn has one last ale to calm his nerves and steady his aim in preparation for the fight ahead.
Twilight fills the sky as our group of fearsome friends head out of the tavern and slowly and silently make their way towards the castle gates. The stench of poison gas permeates the air, people continue to flee from the direction of the castle but as our party get closer the streets become more and more deserted. Sigrid whispers a few words to Oscar the Eagle, perched silently on her shoulder. He takes to the skies and flies towards the Castle courtyard, circling a number of times before returning to the comfort of Sigrid's shoulder. It's beak nestles in Sigrid's ear for a few moments, she nods from time to time as information passes from bird to druid. Relaying the details of what Oscar witnessed it seems the odds may well be stacked against the group. 100's of prisoners, including the Lord Regent are currently being guarded by a multitude of armed guards, far too many for even our battle-hardened brethren. Aleyd once more offers a cunning solution to this problem, a diversion. She and her band of knights will mass outside of the courtyard to the west and draw out as many of the enemy as they can. Again, her plan is met with a series of nodding heads and she makes her way to her squad, the rest of the party begin their own preparation for the fight ahead, Finn casts an invisibility spell on himself whilst Garrick selflessly casts a similar spell on Lucian and Sigrid casts a stealth spell on the party. Farraine applies a few drops of oil to his armour just in case. Silently the group spread out to various parts of the courtyard and find suitable places to hide whilst they await the signal.
Anxious seconds turn to minutes as our heroes lie in wait. Suddenly there is a commotion outside of the courtyard. A number of the guards turn to see what is going on and begin making their way over, more follow. The clash of steel on steel and Battle cries echo through the night air and squads of knights begin to pour out of the courtyard to assist their allies. There is a brief pause whilst our group warriors realise that this is as far as the plan had gone and they had neglected to discuss what they would do once the signal had been given. Farraine decides to take the initiative and with all the subtlety of a fine feather tied to a large brick he confidently strides towards the handful of remaining guards.
"Oi you, Freeze!" shouts one of the men. Farraine continues to walk forward, "I said freeze!"
Farraine tries to intimidate the guards but stumbles on his words, the guards begin to unsheathe their weapons, "Oh fuck it" mumbles the fighter as he begins to charge at the nearest guard. Drawing his own sword he swings wildly at the astonished enemy, clinks of metal on metal ring out as his sword connects with the guard's armour before one of the blows manages to find a weak spot. The guard's hand grasps at the wound but he remains unfazed. Finn takes careful aim with his crossbow at Farraine's injured quarry and squeezes the trigger gently sending a metal tipped bolt streaking through the air. The bolt enters the narrow eye slit of the guards helmet, there is a gasp of surprise as the metal tip plunges deeper and deeper into the guard's skull before he collapses to the ground, blood dripping onto the cobblestones. A guard off in the distance raises his own crossbow and fires a shot at Farraine, the bolt manages to find a gap in his armour and so begins the game of How Many Crossbow Bolts Can You Stick in a Human. Another guard follows suit and fires another bolt at the fighter and adds to the tally (Bolts in a Human: 2). As well as the human guards a couple of Lizard-like creatures, Basilisks, are also starting to move towards our heroes. As they begin to close in, another guard fires his crossbow at Farraine (Bolts in a Human: 3). As Farraine grimaces slightly, his eyes wide in mild surprise, this is not how he had imagined this conflict to play out. Another guard decides to take a slightly different approach and throws a weighted net over Farraine.
Sigrid casts a magical net of her own, brambles burst from the cobblestones and wrap themselves around the legs of one of one of the guards, the animated strands attempt to ensnare one of the Basilisks but it manages to slip free of their thorny grip. Turning to Oscar the Eagle perched on her shoulder she commands him to take flight and seek out the location of the Lord Regent. As the eagle beats its wings and takes to the skies a large ball of fire erupts amongst a couple of guards and one of the Basilisks, the invisible Lucian has entered the fray it seems, one of the guards manages to escape the worst of the damage along with the Basilisks and they emerge, smoking slightly from the flames. The charred corpse of the remaining guard is revealed as the flames and smoke clear.
A guard who appears not to have received the "Shoot the Fighter" memo takes aim at Garrick. The bolt flies through the air and hits the Cleric, causing him to lose concentration for a moment. A startled Lucian suddenly pops back into view. Normal service is then resumed as a guard takes aim at Farraine and fires another crossbow bolt at the prickly fighter (Bolts in a Human: 4). Farraine slashes at the net and manages to escape its bonds. Lunging towards one of the guards, Farraine unleashes a whirlwind of strikes with his scimitar, wounding his enemy. The guard, with blood starting to drip from the inflicted wounds, manages to launch his own attack on Farraine who manages to parry one of the blows, but not all of them. Farraine staggers back as another guard moves closer to him and draws his sword. A flurry of swings from the guard's blade hit Farraine, who winces in pain, blood oozing from the many wounds.
Garrick summons a ring of spirit guardians which circle around him, he then moves in between one of the guards and one of the Basilisks, the guard screams and the Basilisks howls in pain as the ethereal guardians pass through their bodies. A guard attempts to hit Garrick with a crossbow bolt but misses the Cleric completely. Despite all of the carnage and chaos surrounding him, Finn has a wry smile on his face, he stands behind a cart seemingly doing nothing until suddenly Binky pops into view behind one of the guards. His tiny hand reaches forward and as it touches the Guard's head, arcs of lightning streak across the metal helmet and armour. The Guard convulses as the electricity runs through his body. The Basilisk close to Garrick, stares at the Cleric who begins to feel his limbs stiffening, his skin is slowly turning grey.
Farraine is once more subjected to a furious assault as one of the guards swings their sword over and over again at the belligerent fighter. Sigrid casts a blight spell on on one of the Basilisks and it howls in pain as necromantic energy washes over its scaled body slumping to the floor, its last breath escapes with a long drawn out rattle. Lightning streaks from the fingertips of Lucian and arcs through the air towards 3 guards standing together. Blue energy sweeps over their bodies, they recoil violently, 2 of the guards collapse to the floor clutching their hearts.
A guard moves up towards Garrick, moonlight glinting off his steel blade as it slices through the air, the Cleric winces as the blade slices at his flesh. Another throws a net towards Farraine but misses the punctured fighter. Escaping this attack Farraine unleashes a blur of blades of his own, blood spurts from the wounds inflicted by his scimitar and the guard falls to the floor motionless. Farraine manages a weak smile and he glances over towards Garrick to see if the Cleric saw the kill. But where Garrick once stood now stands a stone statue bearing a remarkable resemblance to the Cleric. Farraine's jaw drops in horror as his eyes meet the stony gaze of his friend. His attention is brought back to more pressing matters when another crossbow bolt tries to increase the Bolts in a Human count but ricochets harmlessly off his armour.
Finn, peaking from the shadows, takes careful aim once more with his crossbow and fires a shot at the remaining Basilisk, it howls in pain as the bolt pierces it's torso. Farraine is once more subjected to another attack from a nearby guard, he tries to parry the blows as best he can in his weakened state but he is unable to stop them all, colour is draining from his skin as the pool of blood at his feet grows ever larger. He stands there panting, as yet another bolt pings off his armour. As Sigrid wild shapes into a giant eagle and takes flight, Lucian, with all of the reckless abandon of someone who cares little for collateral damage, conjures a devastating fireball on the remaining Basilisk, not a thought given for the proximity of Finn's poor Familiar, Binky. The Imp disappears in a cloud of smoke, the Basilisk is reduced to a pile of steaming ash.
Sigrid takes flight and heads in Farraine's direction but a guard intercepts her path and swings his sword, feathers drop to the ground tinged with blood. Farraine musters what strength he can and attacks the nearest guard and somehow manages to get a couple of hits in. Finn tries to help his friend and fires a shot in the guard's direction but it bounces harmlessly of his armour. Farraine, now surrounded by guards is in serious trouble as blow after blow rain down upon the fighter. Farraine falls to the floor in a bloody mess.
Sigrid who was flying over to assist Farraine see's the guards surrounding the limp body and changes her mind. Lucian once more casts a crafted fireball around Farraine, when the flames clear 2 guards remain and a pile of ash where the third once stood are revealed. A guard is rushing towards the wizard who extends a middle finger and misty steps away to relative safety.
Finn casts a magical web on the 2 guards close to Farraine, their feet stick to the ground, preventing them from moving. Sigrid swoops down to attack one of the guards, her sharp claws gouging at his chest. Farraine coughs, blood spurts from his mouth. Finn looks over at Lucian and notices that he is preparing another spell to take down the ensnared guards.
"Careful", he shouts "the web is flammable"
"Good point" replies the Wizard who then proceeds to hurl a firebolt at the guard. The flames smother his body and indeed the flammable webbing at his feet. The flames spread and consume the web trappings, Farraine screams in pain as he takes one more step closer to death. Finn pierces the Wizard with an accusatory glare.
"Ooops" says Lucian.
Finn shakes his head in disbelief as he unsheathes his dagger, nimbly steps from the shadows and advances on one of the guards, he leaps up and spins around the guard's shoulders, the blade of his dagger slices the guard's neck, blood spurts out violently as the guard falls limply on to the cobblestones.
A guard searches the skies for any sight of the Giant Eagle, Sigrid but is unable to see her, instead choosing to unleash a crossbow bolt at Lucian who manages to cast a shield around himself causing the bolt to deflect harmlessly.
"Save him!" shout Finn and Lucian as they see Sigrid emerge from behind a rooftop and swoop down towards where Farraine lies, gasping for breath as blood builds in his throat. Lucian quickly fires another firebolt at a guard bearing down on Finn, it hits but the guard remains standing. Finn quickly pivots on the spot, his dagger glints in the moonlight as it slices the night air and plunges deep into the throat of the guard. He collapses to the floor, dead.
Sigrid changes into human form, presumably to administer a much needed healing potion to Farraine and save him from death's grip. But instead, for reasons known only to the druid, she decides to leave Farraine's fate to the gods and casts a blight spell on one of the 2 remaining guards, killing him instantly. Finn and Lucian look on in horror at her actions, but quickly act to take down the last remaining enemy, a well placed fireball coupled with a precision swipe of Finn's blade is enough to wipe out the final threat in the courtyard. Farraine coughs and splutters, blood dripping from his mouth, it seems the Gods have other plans for our heroic and punctured fighter and he slowly tries to push himself back up. With all enemies now defeated Sigrid finally administers a healing potion and colour floods Farraine's cheeks once more.
The battle has been won, but at what cost? Farraine begins pulling at the crossbow bolts sticking out of his flesh and dresses the wounds carefully. The final tally of bolts stands at 4. Now all they need to do is figure out what they are going to do about the stone statue of Garrick.
No comments:
Post a Comment