D&D Adventures II

The adventurers set off down the tributary of the Black River that no one travelled anymore, as it led to the gatormen’s lands.  The Fortune, a steamboat captained by the shifty Squint, and crewed by his companions, Anouar and Killian, brothers, made its way south under the employ of those selected by Dumas for this task.  Charmer and Arya continued on their initial journey, promising to help Dumas save the Cygnarian countryside from the threat the Witchfire brought, and, if possible, his niece Alexia as well.  A’ine, after learning the possibility of the Fey realm being threatened by the use of the Witchfire in conjunction with the machines at Cyriss’ temple, decided to accompany along.  Apart from Charmer’s attraction to danger (and the associated rewards) and Arya’s desire to do good for the people of Corvis, A’ine is determined to be the logical side of the group, forcing the party to think things through before jumping into action.  Her companion, Tiberius, the mysterious swordmage, still stands at her side, but for what purpose and reason, he has given none.

Rounding out the pish-posh collection of would-be heroes is the stowaway, Leto.  While technically a stowaway, Leto has essentially become part of the crew, due to Squint’s reluctance to toss the boy back to the streets.  Leto says he doesn’t get paid because he is a stowaway, but it is still a good life because he gets fed, clothed, and housed by the men on the boat.  Anouar said once he looks at the boy like a mascot.

During the first day of travel, Alexia sent the party a clear warning.  Knowing she would be followed, she set up a trap for passing boats.  When the Fortune tripped the trap, a number of undead were immediately summoned to the boat’s deck.  The party, together with the Fortune’s crew, fought the creatures off tooth and nail.  The danger so early reminded the adventurers that they were in for no easy picnic.  Knowing they had no choice but to protect the land, they plodded on.

The evening of the first day brought them to the final outpost along the Black River, to the small mining village of Krim.  A nearby mine uses Krim as it’s transfer point, loading their metal onto the occasional passing merchant’s boat to be brought to Corvis for use in the iron foundries.

The villagers of Krim reported that a boat had passed in the early night, but refused to stop, despite the horrible sight the  forest surrounding the Black River gave to navigation in a moonless night.  They had recognized on board what looked to be a very young woman dressed in bright white.  Seemingly unrelated, the villagers also reported their cemetery and all ten of its graves having been dug up the night before.

As the adventurers rested, the village came under attack by the same skeletons that had been “robbed” in the night!  It turns out that the close proximity of the dead to the Witchfire caused them to move on their own!  They were easily dispatched, thanks to the heroes, who had decided to spend the night in the small village’s inn, instead of on the boat with Squint and his crew, but not before Anouar had been charmed by Alexia, and forced to attack the party.  Quick thinking by the party nullified Alexia’s hold, and the party set about reburying the dead properly.

At first light, a tired party set off again towards the temple of Cyriss.

The morning was relatively quiet, allowing for the party to trance safely, and rest from their tired night.  But later, before noon time, Squint started calling for an emergency stop!  Killian and Anouar put their all into stopping the Fortune, and narrowly missed a huge collision with a large tree that had been cut and toppled across the expanse of the river!  They still nicked it, however, and the crew went downstairs to check on the hull’s damage.

Before too long, a thick fog rolled in, and a group of swamp gobbers raided the Fortune!  Well, they attempted.  Charmer’s lightning speed and skill with the crossbow kept any of the gobbers from the east bank of the river from approaching.  Tiberius manned the west bank, and despite A’ine’s best attempts, Leto fought hand to hand with the gobbers as well.  A number of gobber wizards attacked during the chaos, but A’ine and Arya deftly kept them minimized while the fighters did their work.

And in the end, they captured the gobber’s fog-making machine!  Not bad for a day’s work!

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OUTTAKES

1. The scenario with the fallen tree was drawn out and presented to the players.
   Ken:  “I have a question,” and begins to point to the map.
   Johanna and Dan simultaneously:  “It’s a tree!”
   
2. Jacob to Edna after Dan used his dice by mistake:  “Hey, can you touch these for me?”
   (Jacob is rather superstitious about his dice.)
3. Dan to Jacob, in response to a question of why the DM didn’t do a certain thing or other: 
   “Because I’m not an asshole, asshole.”
   
4. Dan: “Nuklifying – a mixture of nuking and liquefying.”
   
5. Jacob, referring to the newly captured fog machine:  “Johanna has the fog balls for it.”
   Dan:  “Which is more balls than you.”
6. Edna, still deciding what action to take on her turn:  “I’ll do…”
   Jacob:  “My Grandma?”  (He hadn’t been paying much attention, and started to talk about something unrelated.”
7. Dan, noticing that for the first time, Edna scored the highest initiative roll:  “Wow, for the first time, Edna’s on top!”
   Ken:  “Wouldn’t be the first time she’s on top.”
   
8. Jacob:  “Alright, then I’m gonna hang from the ceiling and trance.”
   *silence*
   Dan: “You’re not a bat, dumbass.”