Two new adventurers hiked up the causeway to the Lute Bastards' mountain fortress.
- Grimm Dundragon, Ranger, bonus mercenary.
- Delgal Haberkorn, student Wizard from Red Ball, arrived a day early
The Magic User Laguna Tempest teamed up with Median the Yellow to put the finishing touches on his Stone Golem, a big red chunk of animated hematite that he named Slagface. Umbrich Brisbane went under the base to earthquake-proof the foundations in case Gorrister sent his Earth Elemental in retaliation for the tower raid.
Looking out from their mountain fastness into the cold and rainy landscape, the Lute Bastards immediately noticed a change in the surrounding environment. The malarial swamp on the northern shore of the lake was now an ancient barrow. Laguna Tempest, Slagface the Stone Golem, Zigar Kneecapper, Datura the Elf and the two new adventurers set out to investigate.
Datura split off from the group and went west, using her Boots of Speed to move quickly. It was important to inform the Orcs enslaved by Gorrister the Great that the Lute Bastards had liberated their ancestors' bones from the tower and they should change allegiance. There was a chance Gorrister would kill them all before they could leave his service and the faster the Bastards got the message across the better. The other four adventurers and the golem went to check out the mysterious barrow.
The barrow was an earth mound with a prehistoric tomb underneath. It wasn't a recent addition to the landscape, it looked older than any of the other structures in the region. Yet just a day before it had been a featureless swamp. The Ranger Dundragon spotted a hole in the earth, half filled with rainwater, which turned out to be a secret entrance to the hideout. The group sloshed through the half flooded tunnel and into the tomb.
The grave was made of stacked megaliths in a cruciform pattern, with a central chamber and two wings. The main entrance opposite the secret one was trapped with a net and bells. Aside from that the only sign of habitation was a pile of bones in one of the arms of the cross, heaped in a pit. The most recent skeleton was a Cave Elf, defleshed about a day ago and covered with marks from tooth and claw. The ancient statue of an Orc chieftain holding a severed Owlbear head was more interesting to Laguna. The Deep Gnome and Dark Creeper archaeologists at the Iron Cup outlet had told him they'd trade magic items for artifacts, and this was clearly an artifact. The statue was too heavy to move by hand, and a Floating Disc wouldn't hold up for the multi-hour hike to the coffee stand. He just told Slagface to carry it.
The bells jangled and the net fell down on nothing as a tiny figure, previously unseen, dashed out of the dolmen and into the pouring rain. Zigar and Delgal ran after it. They spotted a Gnome running down the hill and ran after him, but were immediately ensorceled when the tiny mage cast Hypnotic Pattern. The shifting colors covered the little guy's escape, by the time Laguna went outside to shake the duo out of their stupor he was long gone. It occurred to the group that the barrow might have been concealed by an illusion created by the Gnome.
The four adventurers and golem hiked through the abandoned lakeshore village, avoiding the now-flooded swamp of the now-exterminated Bullywugs. They encountered a large group of patrolling foot soldiers armed with pikes and swords, muskets left behind in the pouring rain, and were suspicious of the approaching adventurers. Suspicion turned to relief when the Sergeant recognized Laguna as one of the Lute Bastards. He warned the adventurers that rebel activity in the area had increased. They caught a Cave Elf trying to assassinate one of the dignitaries from Brazenkragg and there was a possibility of more high level goons running around killing people.
The rain let up a little by the time they reached the Iron Cup tent. The Ettin sat outside under a huge awning, one head eating roasted coffee beans from a bag. Inside, the Archaeologists were happy to receive the prehistoric Orc statue. It was rare to find artifacts of the Green Man religion that predated the local tribes' conversion to Holy Mountain by missionaries from the Monarchy. They offered the Bastards a choice of magic items in trade. The experienced dungeoneers gave the choice to Ranger Dundragon, who selected a Ring of Control Animal from the pile.
Meanwhile, Datura ran ahead of the gang to recruit the Orcs. She spotted a group hiding in the devastated village on the lakeshore and informed them of the change. Her expertise at negotiation and the handful of small bones she took with her convinced them to switch sides and sign on with the Bastards. They swore an oath on their swords which she couldn't understand and set off for the Dwarf outpost.
The Elf thought it best to avoid Gorrister's keep and the Neanderthal camp at the base. She skirted north through the fields infested with Flail Snails. Her greensight and the stink of hydrogen sulfide through the trees alerted her to the danger ahead before it became alert to her: Gorrister himself, astride the evil horse Garl the Nightmare, throwing javelins at the snails. He was strong enough to pierce their shells by throwing the iron-shod sticks at them, blowing big holes through the magical chitin. Clearly he was sick of their interference with his operations. Datura gave him a wide berth and continued toward the charcoal camp where the rest of the Orcs were supposed to be.
Datura followed an old hunting trail to a cabin, where a light was visible through the greased hides filling the windows. She ran past and the door burst open. A Satyr staggered out, protected from the rain by a parasol held by an Orc woman. He pissed drunkenly against the side of the cabin, unaware Datura was even there. She was almost caught on the way to the Orc camp by a party of mounted Cavemen, riding Rhinos and carrying sacks of charcoal. They fanned out to search for her but the heavy rain and mud stopped their mounts from sniffing her out, and they abandoned the pursuit before they got too spread out.
A handful of Orcs tended earthen mounds of burning charcoal, which smoldered even in the rain. Datura got the attention of a sentry, who grabbed the leader: a larger Orc wearing a soot stained breastplate. She showed him the sample bones and told the Orcs that Gorrister no longer had their ancestors' bones hostage. The Orcs weren't thrilled about fighting the Brigands of All Nations, who seemed really tough, but it was more important to ensure that their remains rested in the crypts of the Holy Mountain. The boss Orc yelped a command to the tribe and they packed up their things, leaving the charcoal fires burning to give any visitors the impression they were still there.
Datura cut straight for the road, fcounting on her greensight to alert her of approaching threats. Nevertheless she was ambushed by a blind Thri Keen as she loped past his drystone hut, clawed and bitten before she could dash away using her Boots of Speed. A Manscorpion scuttled out from under a rock and pursued her further, shouting invective. He fired at her with his giant bow and came very close to stinging her before she convinced him to cut it out. He hated the worshipers of Iron Hand, Oil Lamp and the God of Mercy, but was indifferent to her lord Fat Sun. He'd wait until the tournament to devour her. She took the giant arrow with her on the way to Iron Cup.
Datura met up with the other adventurers over drinks and they debated what to do next. They were interrupted by the Illusionist Cangue, clad in a brilliant CYMK coat, recently released from the service of Wilusa the Lamia. He was a braggart and the group goaded him into explaining the situation: the barrow on the north shore of the lake was her hideout, concealed with Hallucinatory Terrain. The Lamia decided to relocate after robbing the Lute Bastards' hideout, setting out for the forest around the old Halfling fishing village in the southwest corner of the region. The last thing he remembered was something swooping out of the air.
The Lute Bastards wanted an Illusionist in their party. They paid Cangue a thousand silver pieces to retain his service in battle on the day of the tournament, then decided to spend the rest of their adventuring day productively. There was an old temple of the Ancient Empire maybe ten miles north of the Iron Cup. It would be dark when they got there and darker when they hiked back through the woods, but they needed to get the new members of their group some experience. On their way into the forest, they spotted a gang of Goblins from the army of One Ear, defacing the billboard which advertised how many days until the tournament. The little Green Men scattered when they spotted the approaching adventurers.
The forest was dark and wet. Delgal cast light to illuminate the path. Datura spotted a glitter of gemstones in the dark: fluorites and diamonds studding the carapace of the Manscorpion who had chased her earlier. Annoyed at being spotted, he scuttled away and fired a flare into the air. The Bastards picked up the pace, concerned about reinforcements. The ruined temple was home to a pair of Owlbears dozing in the rubble. Grimm used his Ring of Control Animal to wake one of them up and command it to lead the other one away from the temple, letting the Bastards loot it. They found old silver coins and a Curse Tablet under a loose floor tile. They debated using the tablet immediately to curse Gorrister, or saving it for the day of the tournament so he wouldn't have time to remove it.
A trio of Brigands came out of the treeline and approached the temple. The Manscorpion and Thri Keen from earlier, plus an Elf in Plate Armor who wore jewelry Delgar recognized as a Ring of Control Djinn. Datura spotted a fourth bandit creeping around behind them, an Acrobat armed with a punch dagger and a handful of darts. The Elf tried to extort them for the treasure dug up in the temple. Datura told him to fuck off. Delgar pulled his wand and fired a Magic Missile at the Elf, and battle was joined.
Cory Trego Erdner
Laguna immediately cast Charm Person on the flanking Acrobat, removing her from the fight. Delgar Hasted the group with the wand given him by the Bastards and kept firing Magic Missiles. Grimm ran off to get the Owlbears and bring them back into the fight. Slagface fetched up Mantis Man the Thri Keen in his stone fists and squeezed him. Hoborg the Elf Hasted his own party and summoned a Djinn. Uzza the Manscorpion rushed forward and stung Datura, poisoning her fatally. Zigar pounded her chest and commanded her to live, sparing her instant death. The scorpion kept stinging her, crazed with hatred and ignoring the wounds the team piled onto him. Slagface broke the Thri Keen in half. Laguna finished the scorpion off, grabbing the stinger and driving it into the back of the human head. The Elf realized he wasn't going to win and commanded the Djinn to cover his escape. The spirit summoned a cloud of thick fog and disappeared, allowing the Elf to get away. Grimm returned with the Owlbears just in time for the fight to be over.
The Bastards quickly pried the gemstones out of the scorpion's carapace and ordered the bears to eat the bodies, not that they needed much convincing. They set off for Ishizaka's blockhouse, intent on getting out before the Elf brought reinforcements. But the only Brigand of All Nations they encountered was Lobsang the Yeti. He dropped out of the trees but didn't attack, and engaged them in conversation. He was sick of Gorrister's shit. The bandit chief didn't even try to save the Bullywugs, he turned on them the second an authority figure, a civilized woman demanded their death. That was completely contra to the principles under which the Brigands of All Nations were founded. Lobsang wouldn't kill for such a man. The Bastards tried to recruit him but he declined. He was even less interested in fighting so an Umber hulk fuck a Giantess. He leaped off into the trees and the adventurers continued their furtive journey back to safety.
Something flew overhead as they broke out of the treeline, and for a moment they thought Gorrister had found them. Then it flew in front of the moon for just a moment and they realized it was a Pegasus, a beautiful winged horse. Either it didn't see them or didn't consider them worth stopping for, and in a moment it was lost against the night sky.
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