Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 91
Adventurers
| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tarkus the Promising | Cleric level 2 | Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom. |
| Beorg the Gravedigger | Fighter level 1 | Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers. |
| Darius | Cleric level 3 | Follower of Dacron, God of Craftsmen. |
| Rorik | Fighter level 3 | A fighter. |
Flowerbloom 8th, Earthday
“The farm should be up ahead.” Fabrio announced.
The adventurers met with him yesterday evening at the behest of Imrael Senior. Ever since they had a falling out with Pilter family, they've worked on getting Imrael' patronage. Well, the opportunity came knocking on the doors yesterday morning.
Apparently, Imrael's spider farm was raided in a night attack. Since the adventurers approached him several times, he thought this would be a fertile opportunity to prove their worth.
Fabrio the Ranger met adventurers yesterday at the Castle of the Wode. There they interrogated Trin, a farmer who escaped during the night raid.
“It was horrible! Creatures blacker than the night, with ivory white fangs and claws! Oh the screams! I jumped out of the window and fled as quickly as I could!”
The party wanted to know more about the lay of the land, buildings, and most importantly, where was antidote held in case of any spider bites.
“Lay low. We will take the lead.”
Darius, Rorik, Tarkus, and Beorg approached the farm from the south side. Fabrio and his three men-at-arms stayed few hundred yards away, observing the party.
A 500 feet chasm covered with wood planks split the farm in half. To the left were laborers' dormitories, supervisor's home, dinning hall, and the dissection house. To the right various sheds for processing spider webs into silk, and warehouses for produced goods.
The sun was up, and the farm was deathly quiet.
Or at least was, until Rorik spooked a horse in the stable.
Poor animal was tied so tightly it ground its ankles to the bone. Fighter managed to calm it down, only to notice the grisly sight in the adjoining pen—a beheaded pony.
Tarkus and Beorg investigated the larges house, that of the supervisor. All rooms were thoroughly ransacked. Pillows were cut open, drawers turned upside down, and chests smashed open.
“Hey, what's all that commotion! I thought you weren't some band of amateurs!” Fabrio whispered through clenched teeth to Darius.
“It's all cool. All under control.”
Party moved to adjoining building. This one was a simple timber construction with three windows. The latter were nothing but a opening covered with thick wool blanket.
Bunk beds and cots were arranged along the west wall, all with broken footlockers. There were some blood stains on the floor.
“Where are these guys going?”
Adventurers spotted Fabrio and his team sneaking on the other side of the chasm, approaching the south-most building to the east.
“Let's keep moving.”
Next building was similar, but smaller. The quarter arranged themselves in front of the door, and then burst in.
An obese man, matching the supervisor's description provided to them earlier, lied on the floor, bloodied and bruised. He was flanked by two ebony black, child-sized creatures. Monsters had lanky white hair, long crooked noses, and elongated ears. One was dressed in a flame-red robe, while the other had some sort of leather jerking and black cloth mask.
Tarkus and Rorik charged in, only to be checked by few more monsters that were by the side. Bloody skirmish ensued. Adventurers cut down three creatures, but not before they them-self had suffered few blows. Robed one weaved its hands and screamed incomprehensible profanities.
Beorg and Darius, whom were still on the outside, had witnessed house go through horrific metamorphosis. Timber shook and grew long, dark hairs. Out of its windows came long, hairy legs. The building became rounder and rounder until it transformed in ball of darkness. A nature defying arachnid writhed in front of them!
Whilst that transpired, Tarkus and Rorik gave chase to fleeing monsters. Alas, little buggers were too quick! But one made a mistake, and ran straight past Darius, and to the large dinning hall. Cleric caught up with it, and subsequently beat it to a bloody pulp as it banged on the wide double-doors, screaming.
“Take care of the foreman!” one of the adventurers instructed Fabrio and his crew.
Darius wondered how come everyone is unphased by the spider-house and enter and exit it so effortlessly.
Rorik gave chase after the masked creature. He jumped through south window, turned west, and after the monster. Chase led him north, towards the largest building—the dinning hall. The monster jumped through the window, poked out, and waved at the fighter to come right in.
Unbeknownst to him, other party members, reinforced by Fabrio and his crew, burst into the dinning hall.
A dozen or so farmers knelt some twenty feet ahead of them. Behind them a line of four monsters, shortbows at the ready.
“GET DOWN! DOWN AT ONCE!”
Darius roared as he charged at the monsters.
Alas, the farmers were too scared, too slow, and too confused to react in time. They did not react in time, forcing the cleric to wade through them.
Archers discharged a volley.
Darius was unhurt.
Four farmers slumped, dead.
Beorg and Tarkus each tried to circumvent the human-shield, only to be checked by a pack of hidden creatures on each side.
Although heavily outnumbered, the adventurers had an asset on their side. Sun. Monsters couldn't see well in the bright light, and often had to turn their head as they'd attack. This resulted in very few of their blows connecting.
Brave Rorik came through the back window, where he faced the robed and masked duo. He gave them hell, wounding both, but slaying neither.
Another volley. Another group of dead farmers. But Darius closed the distance, and begun smashing the archers. Beorg and Tarkus killed the critters by the entrance, one by one.
Seeing how this is going, the robed and masked monster decided to flee once more. The former managed to jump out the window before Rorik body-blocked it. The latter had no choice but to go for the main entrance—wide double doors, stacked with corpses of its brethren.
It evaded Rorik's stab with ease; and same with swing from Darius; and then it ran straight into the polearm braced by Tarkus the Promising. Few other pathetic survivors fled into the broad daylight, covering their eyes as they cowered and cried. And so they fled north, towards the Midnight Goddess hills.
But even in daylight they were too fast for the heavily armoured adventurers. Two more were downed by slings and arrows, while remaining two escaped.
“Thank you... thank you!” cried Ulayah Reyn, the farm supervisor.
“Thank you for saving my farm! Thank you for saving my lovely daughter!” he cried with gratitude, not asking too much about an arrow sticking out of his, similarly built, sobbing daughter.
He briefly explained that they were attacked and subdued two days ago. Since then the monsters had been looting the buildings, and torturing him for information about secretly stashed treasure.
“They had thrown six farmers into the spider pit... Would you be so kind to go down and get them out for me? It's terribly difficult to find good workers in these trying times... I'd happily pay you ten gold coins per saved one...”
Our party of do-gooders immediately went down into thirty feet deep chasm. It was dank, pitch black, and completely webbed. The party climbed back up.
“Oh, such is life in Wilderlands. You can't save them all!”
Following a quick breather, they escorted Ulayah and surviving farmers to Castle of the Wode.
“Thank you. It isn't much, but it is from heart.”
He gave twenty gold coins to each adventurer.
“Now I have to hire some new folk. We have to rebuild!”
Flowerbloom 10th, Spiritday
“Thank you for looking into it. Ulayah manages the farm well.”
Imrael congratulated the party. He took a long pause.
“From what you've shared, it sounds like these creatures might return. I don't want that to happen. Tell me, could you track them down? And end them? Could you do that for me?”
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