The Blacksmith's Blight: Session 4 - THE PUNISHMENT

Pounding on the door rouses Frederick and opens it to see his guards standing with the elf from before. "Where is the rogue?" "Detained at the moment. I came to get the information you promised us." "Where is your proof?" "I am sure you heard about the state of things in the town with the blacksmith and heard of the goblin head that was with my blood-stained comrades. What again is this information?" Seeing there was no give in the elf, the master thief begins to outline the lord's manor. He brings forth a map and discusses how there are 50 guards in the town with 2 accompanying the lord at all times. Xanaphina satisfied with the information thanks him and leaves.

Back at the tavern, Temmie is helping clean Shireling of the goblin blood with a bath. Thokk is drinking and tries to persuade the guard to join him however he is intent on keeping an eye on all of the party members. After many futile attempts to get information out of him, Xanaphina finally arrives and the group prepares to follow the guard to the barracks. As they step out into the street another patrol of guards has arrived to help escort the motley crew. Shireling readies his crossbow as they walk to the barracks getting the guards attention. This however is a distraction while Xanaphina quickly flashes the map to the party. Once they arrive, they are greeted by the captain and he invites them into the building. Their weapons are requested and all but the rogue's are begrudgingly handed over. The tiefling skillfully pulls out his rapier and hands it to the guards while also rotating his belt so the rest of his daggers and boomerang are hidden beneath his cloak. They look around the room and realize there is only one way in or out of this building and it is through the barred and locked door they just entered. Inside they see more guards, in total there were 2 posted at the entrance and another 6 inside, along with the captain and the lieutenant.

"Please follow me," the captain motions them through the dining hall back to a long conference room before they reach a hall of cells. From the last cell, they can hear a voice yelling in a strange and ancient language. Thokk gets excited and tries to hurry past all the guards down the hall but is stopped. He yells down the hall in the same foreign language causing the prisoner to cease his commotion. A moment or two passes and a deep voice yells, "I want to talk to him" "Who?" "The captain. I want to talk to the captain." The captain brings the lieutenant over and gives him some instructions and then motions the rest of the party into the conference room. The captain moves to the head of the table facing the door, Temmie runs down and sits directly on his right, Thokk sits across from the captain at the other end of the long table and Shireling pulls out a chair for Xanaphina a few down on the left hand side and then sits on her left using his tail to try to pull her chair a little closer. The rest of the guards except one go back to the dining hall and they close the door.

The lieutenant looks up from the fumbling keys in his hand as he struggles to pick the right one to open the cell. Inside of it, there is a large dragonborn. He is a copper color almost 6'6" and basically 300 lbs of pure scales and muscles. He asks, "Where did the captain go? I heard a door. I want to speak to the captain." "He told me you were too much trouble to continue to hold here, he wants me to take a patrol and escort you to the edge of the town and have you leave. We don't have enough evidence to make anything stick so we just need you to go." "On the one condition, that I speak with the captain first." "He is in the middle of an interrogation so I will only give you a few seconds but only if you come quietly." "Fine." The dragonborn turns and gathers his cloak from the corner, "I will need my book back. Where did you take it?" "I have it with me and will return it to you if you come quietly at the edge of the town." The dragonborn with his back still to the lieutenant grins as he puts on his cloak.

"For the last time, I don't want to hear any more lies. No more from you," the captain points to the halfling. "And nothing from you. I remember you from the tavern," he says as he looks at the tiefling. "You have been been quiet the whole time," speaking at the elf. "What about you, half-orc? Let's start with your name. Maybe we will eventually get to the truth." "Thokk." "What do you do?" "I am a monk from the order of the Drunken God of Brawling." "Explains your gear at least... What can you tell..." There is a knock and the guard pushes the door open slightly and says loudly, "The prisoner wanted to say one last thing before we escort him out of the town, sir. I told him to be quick." The dragonborn sticks his head through the door and talks in a deep harsh tongue that no one except the Thokk recognizes as draconic, "What are you in for?" Thokk replies in kind, "There will be bloodshed soon." The captain waves them away not understanding anything but suspicious to the purpose of the intrusion, "What did he say?" "He asked what we did." "And?" "I told him that we killed a man." The whole party looks at Thokk stunned.

"You see I normally am a drunken brawler and I go looking for a fight. The men and creatures that I destroy are fighters and brawlers too. The blacksmith however was not. It haunts me to think of him naked, tied to the tree, swinging that axe at him. It felt like splitting a new pine stump. Sticking inside his head and the blood oozing out like sap from wood. It's hard to know what I should feel in that moment..." The captain interrupts him, "So you were one that killed him? Why?" The monk looked up from his hands and down the table into the eyes of the captain and began to recount the tale of the blacksmith's blight.

As the dragonborn neared the door to the barracks, he took a moment to look around. There were 6 guards in this room, filled with tables, the kitchen just off to the side, he saw some locks on the door that led to the cells but outside of that there were only a few other people that were coming and going that he had noticed since he had been held here. As they reached the door and the bolts and locks came off, he readied a spell to perform as soon as he was motioned through the open doorway. The lieutenant approached him from behind and beckoned him through. The dragonborn wizard spoke the incantation in just a few short words and in a moment vanished from view causing all the guards nearby to draw their swords and yell for everyone to be on their guard. Both doors were slammed shut and immediately locked and one of the standing guards outside ran to the manor for reinforcements. Grabbing their swords, spears, and shields the remaining guards spread out in formation near the front door preparing to sweep the room until they found the dragonborn. Appearing in the center of the room, he reappeared as he was reciting another spell. Suddenly a thick cold mist appeared in the air as the natural water vapor began to thicken obstructing the guards view. "Alright men. Be on your guard, he is a large creature so he should be easy to find. Keep an ear out and move forward carefully. Stay together. This will be over quick."

The commotion from the dining hall was loud enough and the monk had told the captain everything he needed to know. The captain stands and leans forward with both hands on the table, "I am going to put you all in prison for being the accomplices and murderers of the blacksmith. We will have to interrogate your other tiefling friend that is playing the part currently of our local blacksmith and figure out what to do with her. You will all be tried and most likely executed before the lord's son arrives home. Do you have anything more to say for yourselves?" "I don't plan on dying today!" yells Shireling as his whole party springs into action. The first thing that occurs is the rogue pulls his hidden boomerang out and throws it around the elf at the captain. The spinning weapons grazes his companion and as the tiefling rolls across the table he hears the captain yell out in pain as it slashes his shoulder. However the elf upset with how closely she is to being cut returns the favor and hurls an axe at the tiefling purposefully missing him. The halfling isn't so lucky because after being attacked the captain swings his sword at the closest target and nearly cuts Temmie in two. Bleeding, he runs beneath the table to cover so he can heal and prepare an attack. Thokk decides he is going to try to pin the captain to the wall using the long table. He bellows out a drunken roar and is able to move the table but not by much. Frustrated, he too tries to rush around to attack. The other guard moves up to assist the captain shield at the ready.

Back in the dining hall, the guards not knowing where to look continue advancing slowly. Like a cat stalking its quarry they move however little did they know that the predator was about to become the prey. The lieutenant had been cursed in the confusion and was being stalked. He was deaf and blind and was struggling to find his friends or foe. His companions sensing his confusion prepared for the unexpected and out of the darkness came a soft voice saying, "It's time for you to die." The wizard appeared next to the lieutenant blade in hand, stuffing it up through the man's throat. As he fell to the floor bleeding the killer again fled into the darkness. One man rushes to the fallen officer's aid and the rest regroup and continue to press forward.

Temmie recognizes that Shireling is without his boomerang and focuses on it. He reaches out with magic and an invisible hand retrieves the boomerang and returns it to him. The rogue is shocked but relieved that he is once again armed. Without his rapier, he dashes forward using the boomerang as a dagger this time, once again slashing the captain but the blade injures him in the process. The other guard again moves to assist and the rogue disengages. An arrow flies from the elf's direction and is deflected off the waiting shield. Thokk decides to charge the pair and leaps over the table however, he is not as athletic or acrobatic in his drunken state and his foot catches an edge and falls right at the captain's feet. Seizing the opportunity, the captain stabs down into the half-orc's leg burying the weapon deep into the bone. Thokk screams out in pain but grabs the weapon.

Now that the barracks is in complete chaos, there is a druid near the cells that sees kitchen staff rush past him back to the bunker. He hears yelling from the dining hall and the sound of steel on steel from the conference room. He quickly runs to the cells. One of the prisoners comes to the bars and they begin to converse, "Karr, why are you here?" "I came to free you but clearly now is not the right time. How did you get put in here?" "The captain of the guard had me arrested. I got caught so I have no excuse. He may still have the keys on him! I saw him go into the conference room over there!" The druid leaves his friend after assuring him he would do his best to survive and runs to the locked door. Unable to break it open, he begins casting a spell on the door. There is an explosion of sound near his open hand damaging the door but not breaking it. He repeats it again with more damage. Again, a third time - finally, it blasts off its hinges and flies into the room.

Shireling was lucky and ducked at just the right time sensing danger. The door flies across the room, slamming the guard assisting the captain into the wall. Temmie grants Shireling bardic inspiration causing him to run to Thokk's aid. The tiefling jumps onto the back of the captain, grappling him and wrapping his tail around an unrestrained wrist, exposing him even further. The elf also runs to aid Thokk and seeing this bravery, brandishes her sword and stabs at the captain. It was not a clean hit and bounces off his armor. The captain attacks the rogue, missing any vitals but does manage to slice his tail. Karr realizing that the enemy of my enemy is my friend decides to ignore the captain for now and focuses again on the other guard. From out of the air, he materializes two ice knives and hurls that at his target striking him. The guard ignores the pain and does make it to his feet fast enough to give a hard blow to Shireling's back. Because of the damage, he releases the captain, disengages and moves around the fight to hide and down a quick healing potion in the shadows. Thokk is able to regain his footing as Xanaphina takes another swing at the captain with her sword. Karr decides to repeat his trick with the door again but on the guard directly and runs up and tries to thunderclap his head. The force is strong enough to pop off the guard's helmet exposing his head. The group prepares for their final attacks.

Not liking his odds of fighting 5 armed guards alone, the wizard raced to the locked door leading to the cells. Deciding he didn't have any other choice, he uses his dragon breath shooting acid at the lock melting it completely. Instead of rushing through it, he casts another spell and this time a shimmer falls across the wizard as he transforms into a guard. Moving back around and meeting one unsuspecting and nervous soldier, he persuades him to move forward and shows him the lock saying that the prisoner must of fled deeper into the cells. They venture forward while the other three guards continue to creep on. The last guard realizes that there is really nothing he can do to save the dying lieutenant and moves on to follow his friends.

Thokk is tired of getting cut and beaten by the captain and this time just wraps his burly orc arms around the captain lifting him into the air only to slam him into the ground. He hears a snap of his neck and Thokk rolls on top of the captain and starts beating his head into a bloody pulp going fist, elbow, elbow fist. The druid has grown to an enormous size, his body covered with a dark thick fur and large paws with dagger-like claws bursting from them. Before the guard has a chance to scream, this huge bear bites down on his head crushing it instantly. This is the same moment that two new guards come through the door to the conference hall and look up in shock to see the back of the half-orc as he beats the captain's mangled body and a bear eating another guard like it is a big cookie.

"We've got company!" yells Shireling as he dashes forward to stab the nearest guard from the shadows. He jumps back as the rest of the party adjust their gaze and Xanaphina her aim. She looses two arrows at once at the injured guard, burying them deep into his eye sockets. To their surprise, the other guard fades away and the wizard reappears, says something in draconic and begins to loot the guard's body. "He said that there are four more coming. We should charge them now!" interprets Thokk for the rest of the party. The bear starts to hurtle forward and Thokk chases after it. As they get to the doorway, three guards enter into their view. Combining their shields they absorb the charge of the lumbering bear and prod it with their spears and swords injuring it. Thokk mounts the beast and with a large swig of his keg breathes fire in their faces roasting the middle guard. The survivors yell to the trailing guard still making his way through the dining hall to go back and get reinforcements. The bear roars and with Thokk on top its body, they barrel after the guard running to the entrance.

Meanwhile, Temmie realizing he has an opportunity to escape quickly runs to the captain's body and begins looting it. "Hey! I almost died for that! Come here!" yells the tiefling. Temmie b-lines for the open doorway and nearly makes it dodging a swing from the two guards alive and still standing. Shireling loots the rest of the captain's body finding two rings - one gold signet ring and another plain silvery ring and pockets both of them. Xanaphina takes careful aim and timing her arrow just right let's it fly past the little halfling into one of the guards as Temmie desperately stabs the door frame mistakenly with his rapier. If he wasn't about to die, it would have been funny. Upset to find all the gold gone, Shireling turns and hurls his boomerang at the thief, missing the halfling but hitting one of the guards instead.

From the other room, the bear lets out a huge roar and tramples the running guard. Turning he reels back and begins to maul the poor man. Thokk hops off the bear, realizing that there is nothing left to do runs all the way back to the other guards. He runs up behind the closest and once again wraps his arms around the guard and does another suplex like he had performed on the captain with the same result. Temmie immediately disappears behind Thokk and is gone. Shireling runs forward again in pursuit. The remaining guard turns and runs down the hallway past the cells. Shireling takes his boomerang from the corpse by the door and expertly pins it into the back of the fleeing guard, dropping him instantly. With that, the barracks is silent.

The party catches their breath and begins to check the bodies for more loot and weapons. They examine the armor to see if any of it is at all usable. Then they start to realize that they just got saved by a half-elf druid that changed into a bear and a dragonborn wizard plus their bard has completely vanished and is gone! Before they can do introductions, there is pounding on the front door. And they all realize that the soldier reinforcements must have finally arrived. "Quick! Go check for other exits! You go to the kitchen and you go check the back! I saw people run that way before!" "Hey! What is the status in there? Are we coming in or are you coming out? How many are still alive?" The party splits and the rogue runs to the door with the elf, trying to come up with a plan. "All of this because of a stupid blacksmith," Shireling mutters under his breath.

The Blacksmith's Blight: Session 3 - THE PATSY

As Shireling tests the edge of one of the boomerangs he asks, "So how does this work again?" "You throw it just like a throwing knife but you have to keep an eye on it because if you don't hit your target it will come flying back to you." "Seriously?" "Yes. That's why I wanted it! I don't run very fast so in case I miss I want it to find me not the other way around," says Temmie. "Makes sense." "So do you like them or what?" asks the impatient blacksmith as he eyes the growing party. "A few more test throws," says Shireling. "The halfling holds the coin for the party so you have to negotiate with him." "We already agreed on a price yesterday. No more deals! I already took one bribe to move your order to the top. Now where is my money?"

The problem with halflings, especially lightfoots, is that they can vanish very easily. In fact, Temmie just had to hide behind any one of his colleagues for a second and he was able to disappear. This was calculated though. Before the blacksmith realized it, there was the halfling. He had changed costumes into what seemed to be some kind of swimwear... banana boat I believe they are called. Due to his size, his garment could have come from any number of other party members including the eye patch of a fallen enemy. The surprise musical attack that came from the halfling was again being produced from his saxophone. This time the little man had pulled out all the stops and swayed with the music, closing his eyes as he leaned in to savor ever note. As it hit the blacksmith, you could tell he tried to resist but the halfling won him over so deeply that the blacksmith was their prisoner for the day. Similar to the love potions, any damage would release the blacksmith from this spell so they made sure that Thokk stayed with him at all times. Next, they raided his store, signed away the deed and work to Urza and had him write a note saying that he was off to seek adventure in the forest. In essence, he was their prisoner. The party left behind Urza but ventured off heavily equipped and with part of the wealth that the blacksmith had accumulated from his work. This was okay with most of the party because she seemed to not mirror their chaotic nature as much and there was only room for one tiefling in this party.

It took our adventurers not long to make their way through the town and into the forest that morning. It was still early so no one to really worry about. As they made their way, Xanaphina took lead along with Shireling. They made sure to look for the traps made by the huntsman and to look for clues as to where the goblins may be. After a hour or two, they arrived at the cave. Temmie riding on the blacksmith's shoulder was assigned to be lookout along with Thokk on the southside of the cave as the hunters inspected the stash. Following Frederick's specific instructions to not open it, they looked at the cave and the entrance and while Xanaphina watched to the north, Shireling prepared himself.

Shireling was still frustrated with the bell alarm he had tripped at the thief's hut but it was a good design and he planned to mirror it here. He studied the entrance to the cave and found a young willow tree. It was still small so it was pliable and had some nice bend to it. There was a strong stump across on the other side as well. He took out his supplies and decided to wrap the string around the stump, cross the path and then up the tree so he could hide the bell above, disorienting whoever would spring the trap. It was a good plan. It was poorly executed. With all his preparations he couldn't remember what knots to use or how to tie them so eventually he picked at least the three he could muster up and combined them into from what a practiced eye like the elf's could see - or anyone for that matter - was an utter mess. Functional was what he was going for, he said to himself. However, what he couldn't do with the string, he made up for with his ability to hide it. He gathered fallen leaves to cover the knot, took mud and wiped it along the thread so it wouldn't shine when the light hit it and took every precaution necessary so that if Xanaphina hadn't watched him build his contraption, she certainly wouldn't have seen it now that it was hid. To be frank, she was actually impressed.

Now with the first step of the plan completed, he walked out of the cave and looked above it. There was a spot there that they could lie in wait but how to get there... He looked in his bag again and this time pulled out his hammer, rope and pitons. He hated heights but in front of the elf, he had to show his skills and athleticism. He found the path he wanted to take, placed his pack at the base of a tree and took a few steps back. He ran at the wall and pushed up off the edge reaching for his grip. Hanging by only a few fingers he continued to climb higher but the weight of the rope and hammer was something he wasn't used to. In cities, there was natural handholds and so much easier. He looked down to examine how high he had gotten but by distracting himself, lost grip of the wall and fell backwards towards the ground.

The elf laughed which caught the attention of the rest of the party. Apparently for all that effort, the tiefling had only climbed maybe 5 feet off the ground and had another 15 or so to go. Humiliated and not determined to make a greater fool of himself he handed Xanaphina his gear which she gladly took and then slowly turned and returned to his pack. Confused he watched as she carefully walked around the cave and disappeared from view. A few moments later, he heard a small birdcall from above him and looked up to see her atop the cave. He smiled and took out a small bag and tied it to a bolt for his hand crossbow and fired it up into a nearby tree so she could retrieve it and throw the bolt back down. He quickly rearmed the weapon and gave a thumbs up to the rest of the party. Before he could find a good place to hide, he saw the other two waving their arms wildly, pointing to the north while the blacksmith spun in circles and twiddled his thumbs. The goblins had finally arrived.

Frederick's information was good. There were four goblins. Two small scouts, a large bruiser and one that appeared to be the leader was riding atop a warg - a large wild dog the size of a lion with fangs to boot. They had come to inspect the cave. As they approached all of the party found places to hide behind trees and whatever cover they could find, doing their best to disappear into their surroundings. Xanaphina crept closer to the edge opening the small bag revealing ball bearings that she hoped to drop onto her targets below. At the entrance to the cave, the leader started to bark commands and the bruiser stood guard while the other two looked around and then slowly entered the cave.

Tripping the alarm, the bell startled the goblins not knowing where it came from and out of nowhere the party attacked! The ball bearings did their job, raining down onto the two scouts below, one moved slowly so not to trip and fall prone but the other still scared from the bell was not so cautious. He fell and collided with his colleague making both tumble down into a pile. At the same time, Shireling fired his hand crossbow hitting the bruiser high in the chest near the armpit where his armor was lightest and out of the air came a screaming halfling that had been flung by Thokk yards away. As he landed near this group, the two goblins outside the cave sprung back defensively which saved the lead goblin as Xanaphina fired an arrow just missing him from above. Temmie sprang to his feet, smile spread across his face as he jumped up and performed a thunderwave! From his small body burst a large clap of thunderous sound and the vibrations decimated the surrounding area from the explosion. One of the goblins just inside the entrance died instantaneously. The lead goblin and bruiser reacted instinctively heading towards the most dangerous and obvious targets - the half-orc and the elf.

Temmie tried to disappear quickly but the goblin scout scurried after him injured and enraged. Goblins are not large creatures but to a halfling, everything is a big. As his pursurer knocked him to the ground and reached with both hands on his weapon above his head to deliver a killing blow, the creature froze and a sharp point suddenly protruded from his open mouth. The goblin's foot twitched right before his body was pushed to the ground by the tiefling who cleaned his rapier quickly from the assassination causing the halfling to burst into giggling as he scurried away. So much blood. So much fun.

Above the elf had knocked her third arrow that she fired at the goblin leader as he and his mount bounded up to the top of the cave. He had found the deer path on the northeastern side so quickly that he must have used it before. Her arrow sliced past the goblin pounding into the warg's back leg. She leaped from her perch rolling into a somersault as she hit the ground below, chased by the vengeful leader. As he and his pet fell, they landed on top of the unsuspecting hero below, clawing Shireling with its hindquarters. The halfling was not hit because he had scurried round to observe his mentor and companion the half-orc.

Thokk did not have it easy either. The bruiser was an experienced fighter and both dodged expertly not being able to land a blow, the goblin with his axe and the half-orc with his gauntlets. The goblin would swing a horizontal blow making Thokk spring back unable to close the gap, jabbing when he could to screw up the goblin's concentration. What took both fighters by surprise was a whipping and slashing sound that came through the air as Temmie's boomerang soared around the trees they were fighting next to and back to the halfling hidden in the brush far away. The goblin followed the arc of the weapon to locate his next target but should have known not to allow himself to become so easily distracted. Thokk punched hard into his abdomen knocking the wind out of the beast but not causing it to fall. In an immediate reaction, the goblin again took a fast swing with his axe at his large opponent who dodged causing the axe to lodge itself into the nearby tree. In one fluid motion, Thokk used his momentum and swung round with a haymaker to the goblin's face. The spikes on his gloves caught both the cheek of his enemy and slicing its throat as the half-orc powered through the blow. The enemy's lifeless body fell to the ground nearly decapitated as the blood began to pool. Again, from the bushes came the roaring laughter of the little evil halfling.

By this time, the lead goblin watching his band die one by one heard the familiar ping of the elfin bow but this time felt the arrow as it pierced his side. Reaching round to steady himself atop his mount he barked in pain and looked back to find the arrow just below his ribs. Shireling, still bleeding from his chest, seized this moment. Dropping his weapons, he jumped up behind goblin onto the warg, drawing two daggers while in the air. As he landed onto the beast he stabbed both knives high and deep into the goblin's back, removing one and twisting the other only to reach round and slice the leader's throat, pushing him off and onto the ground. The tiefling now covered in blood only had a second to exhale and catch his breathe before the wild dog bucked him off. Now free from all its tormentors it started to bolt for the woods. "I want to keep him! I want to ride him!" screamed the orc, looking up now that he finished taking the bruiser's head from its body. As he ran to intercept the animal, all the rest of the party made one last ditch effort to capture or slow the beast. The elf loosed an arrow. The tiefling rolled onto his feet and reached for his weapon while he ran forwards. The halfling sprang into action and readied his boomerang, throwing it with all his might! But again, he was not skilled with this new weapon and it whipped through the air barely missing Shireling's head as he ducked for cover missing his opportunity to capture the beast as well. A pointed glare was sent the tiny man's way as he again giggled in glee.

With all the chaos ended, there was but one last thing to do. Thokk took the head of the bruiser and tied it to his keg to bring Frederick proof that the deed was done . This is when light singing brought the blacksmith back to everyone's memory. He was still sitting there humming a nice little diddy as the halfling approached the man who he believed had gotten the better of him before. "Remove your clothes and sit next to that tree," instructed Temmie. He sat patiently as they took some rope they recovered from the goblins and tied him to the tree. "Do it Thokk." The monk paused for the moment not knowing what to do with a helpless victim. He was a brawler and enjoyed fighting when there was a challenge and when danger loomed but not like this. Still, he lifted the goblin's axe and made one swift strike downwards with both hands. As they made their way back into town, he knew that decision would haunt him for many moons to come. He only needed now was some fire whiskey so he could forget the guilt.

By the time they neared the town, the sun was starting to set and they began to feel tired. It was a long day goblin slaying and as they past a few of the shops they could see a crowd gathered near Urza's new shop. Business must be good they thought but still curiosity made them venture closer. The rogue stealthfully made his way through the crowd to see multiple guards investigating the shop and a very frightened and upset tiefling yelling back at them. That is deja vu for you, thought Shireling. He crept back to his associates telling them the trouble that Urza was in and they discussed how this will probably create havoc for them with their plan to rob the lord by drawing so much attention to their interactions with the tradesmen in the town. Plus, they would be hard pressed to get to Frederick's hut with these guards running around.

At this moment, a recognizable voice asked, "Where have you been and what have you been up to?" It was the guard from the tavern and this time he was fully dressed wearing his captain's uniform accompanied by two more pairs of guards. It was hard to not be noticeable when your party is trashed and when it comes to the half-orc and the tiefling, covered in blood. Temmie, never being afraid, confronts the guard not realizing that they had met before, "Sir, we just returned from a tragic afternoon in the woods. We left to go on a short hunting expedition and brought plenty of rations for our party when we were set upon by a band of goblins. As you can see, we defeated our foes but not without some trouble," as he motioned to Thokk who proudly displayed his trophy. "That does sound like a terrible time my tiny friend however survival would mean your whole party would have returned. Where is the blacksmith?" "The blacksmith?" replied Temmie. "Yes. There was a note in his shop saying that he left with your band to go adventuring which is odd. He is a strong man and used to be a great warrior. He has no family so it is interesting that he would give up his lifelong dream of settling down with his very successful store and leave with your party especially when he could have been armed to the teeth. Goblins would not have given him any trouble yet where is he?"

Shireling seeing that the halfling didn't recognize the captain of the guard tried to help, "Well captain, the blacksmith was providing us information like a guide and eventually he decided that instead of getting us lost that it would have been best to just join us instead." "Still, which weapons did he take? I checked his inventory and none are missing? Why sell his shop? I don't think I really understand..." Temmie responded, "It was like I said before. We were ambushed and unfortunately in our surprise, they were able to kidnap the blacksmith. We tried to save him but it was too late. He is dead in the woods. We killed most of his captors but some got away." "Your story has changed again my small friend. How about your group comes with me and we can sort this out at the barracks." The party watches as the guards close in with their hands on the pommels of their swords ready to draw them at any moment. Shireling weighs the gravity of the situation and sensing Temmie's excitement for more blood intercedes, "We accept your offer but could you do us one small kindness. I hate to draw so much attention to myself. Can we go back to the tavern to clean ourselves up and gather the rest of our supplies? We left some on the edge of the forest." The captain contemplates this briefly and nods in approval and motions for one guard to stay behind as their escort and then the rest of his patrol returns to the shop for further investigation. "Perfect. Xanaphina if you would be so kind to return and get our supplies that would be greatly appreciated. Return the items we borrowed to our friend that gave us the intel. He does get impatient." Xanaphina understands and separates from the group, heading to Frederick's hut while the rest of the party size up the guard as he waits for them to lead him to the tavern. "This is going to be interesting."

The Blacksmith's Blight: Session 2 - THE PLAN

As the morning rises, our party leaves the tavern after eating a small meal and drinking a little to Thokk's delight. "A sober Thokk is a bad Thokk," the half-orc mumbles. "I have heard something similar before and I am sure both are true," Shireling winks at Xanaphina. Temmie giggles and the elf rolls her eyes. "Let's get going. We need to get rations and weapons as well as visit the apothecary and the huntsman." As they head through town many of the townsfolk give them a large berth. It is clear they are afraid of this crazy and ominous group.

The tiefling slows from time to time and stops once they arrive at the apothecary. "What have you been doing?" remarks Xanaphina. "I am reading the thieves cant. It is the small symbols written on the shops. We should do our best to not steal anything from the apothecary. He is well-armed and has guards." "Okay. Temmie and Thokk stay out here and don't cause any trouble. We are trying to keep a low profile." Thokk hands over some gold and replies, "Only if you buy me some health potions and some fire whiskey... If they have any!" As the pair walk into the shop they see many vials of liquid around the store in all shapes and colors. A white-haired old man slowly reading aloud a massive book with his glasses down on the end of his long pointed nose looks up once the pair get close enough to notice them. It was clearly the store inventory by the sound of it. "Excuse me. Can you help me find my spectacles? Then, I would be happy to help you with whatever you need." The pair in surprise begin to look around the room and then slowly the elf steps forward and pushes the glasses up the brim of the man's nose. "Oh! Thank you! I am so forgetful. So what can I do for you?"

"We are looking for health potions. About 8 of them if you have that much in stock." "Of course I do! One second while I hop down here and grab them for you." The little old man disappears behind the counter and to their surprise it is another halfling! The man comes around the corner to a storage of blue vials and shakes them briefly and they begin to shine brighter. "Still good potency. Excellent! You said 8, correct?" "Yes but out of curiosity, what else do you have to sell?" asks Shireling. "I have lots of different potions. What might you be interested in?" "Love potions." "REALLY?" say the apothecary and Xanaphina as they look back and forth at each other in shock. The halfling shrugs and turns around to sift through his cupboards and says, "Well, I do have some love potions. There are ones that are incredibly potent that are very valuable and then there is a smaller vial I can sell that is more temporary and probably more in your price range." "Ridiculous," Xanaphina mutters aloud, "Let's get one of the smaller ones then." Shireling steps closer and whispers, "It is so Thokk can put it on darts and stun or immobilize the goblins." "That is surprisingly strategic. I think Temmie will go along with it as long as he can kill them." The apothecary locates a vial and inspects the label and continues talking as he approaches the counter, "The potion works so that once consumed or injected, the subject will fall in love with the first thing it sees but if they get hurt at all, the spell wears off immediately." "Perfect. That is everything we are looking for." Goods and money are exchanged and off the party goes again.

They just finish explaining to Thokk and Temmie their plan to inject the goblins and throw Temmie like a missile into them so he can cast thunderwave and kill them all when they arrive to hear a large commotion in the blacksmith shop. As the party ducks through the doorway into the expansive shop the loud voices echo from the near the forge, "I have already been waiting for a week and a half and the armor's quality is questionable at best! I need this done soon and done right!" "As I told you before, I am the only blacksmith in town and the lord has me outfitting the garrison. I barely have time to work on your order. It won't be done until next week." As the group rounds the corner, they feel the blast of heat from the forge and furnace and the shadow of a man that fills the doorway to the practice yard behind the house. The blacksmith is one of the biggest humans many of these adventurers have ever seen. Next to him stands a tiefling. Her aggressive stance and complaints heard all the way from the street remind Shireling of a common phrase: the stubbornness of dwarves. This is not another rogue but a soldier. "You told me that you would have it done by now. It's not done. You are either lazy or a liar. Which is it?"

As the tiefling and elf pay close attention to the confrontation with the blacksmith, Temmie and Thokk explore the shop. Drunken Monks are natural brawlers and Thokk finds himself examining a few different options but settles on a pair of gauntlets, basically metal boxing gloves with spikes. The only reason why it is even necessary to draw the analogy was as Thokk is trying to fit himself with the gloves, Temmie is shadow boxing on the table providing whatever encouragement he can muster. It is also at this moment that he spots Shireling sizing up the blacksmith. Temmie loves a good brawl so he comes over to ask the tiefling what he was thinking, "I chose to be a rogue and a mercenary not because I was strong but because I have cunning and finesse. I am curious if he could melt down my shortsword to make something else that would better play to my strengths." "How are you with throwing knives?" "I can hold my own. Why do you ask?" "In my travels, I once saw a blade that was bent so that when you threw it, it would turn in the air and will come back to you. I couldn't steal it but you have enough metal that I bet I could talk the blacksmith into making two of them from your sword..." "Give it a shot." "I get one of them of course." "Fine but you pay your portion and we will need them for tomorrow," passing him some gold.

They are about to attempt to talk to the blacksmith when the other customer gives up her attempts to get her items quickly and storms out of the shop. Thokk passes her like two ships in the night coming up to the blacksmith with hands outstretched and asks, "Do you have any fire whiskey?" "No but you have to pay to keep these," reaching for the gauntlets. Thokk recoils quickley and looks to Temmie. The halfling smiles as he is in his element. Shireling motions Xanaphina to follow the other customer while he works to calm Thokk, reminding him that he carries his own keg. For all the bravery and charisma the little halfling has, his overconfidence failed to realize the subtlety of timing. He never really had to work hard in negotiations because many things were given to him as a performer but the blacksmith was as hard of a negotiator or he was a man. After fighting with the tiefling, he didn't have time for halflings however business was business and the halfling did have gold.

Outside, Xanaphina was exhausted. She didn't deal with people well to begin with so her ability to not only empathize but care about what had just happened was a struggle. Unless she had to ask questions, she only got bits and pieces of what someone said, "Shireling! This is Urza Mulaga. She is a tiefling like you and I feel like she would make a good member of our team." "I think she will too. Temmie wants to murder the blacksmith but we got our order of weapons expedited for tomorrow by offering to pay him a little extra so we ought to hurry up and go find the huntsman before things get even more out of hand." "TOMORROW!! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR WEEKS!" "Calm down! We will explain on the way..."

Temmie explains how he described the curved flying daggers to the blacksmith in great detail - how they worked, their design, how dangerous they were and the more he talked and acted out the flight of it with his hands, the more excited he got. Then the halfling's persona changed to pure rage as he began to describe how the blacksmith ignored the halfling's requests for using the value of the sword and it's exceeding craftsmanship to discount the work required to make the boomerangs. Honestly, the halfling was trying to have the blacksmith pay him for the new and innovative designs and the old soldier wouldn't have it. The blacksmith's rationale was this was an unproven weapon and would probably not be as effective as a traditional sword. "I wanted to thunderwave him right then and there! I couldn't though. Shireling told me that we needed him to make our boomerangs and then promised me that we could kill him tomorrow when we come back and pick them up." "I did NOT... However there is some potential profit in that idea." And then the tiefling mumbles, "We could dart him with the love potion and then use him as bait for the goblins." "Can I thunderwave him then?" "Taking damage would cancel out the spell though... How strong is your charming ability that you used before on the men in the tavern?" "I could be the new blacksmith if he was to die," Urza interjected. "I was support staff to the army back when I served in the war." Xanaphina sighs and shakes her head saying, "Not this again..." "You were right! She is a perfect addition to our party! Let's kill the blacksmith!"

A hour or two pass when they finally arrive back at the tavern with the huntsman's shop across the way. By this time, Thokk has proceeded to become more irritable with a hangover beginning to ensue. Fortunately for the rest of the party, it makes their shopping quick. They restock Xanaphina's quiver and prod the huntsman for information. They discuss the area around the stash, which is easily recognizable by caves near a large rock formation not far from town, traps in the forest, and different predators or monsters out in the forest that they need to be careful of. "Maybe we can feed him to a pack of wolves..." "He will wake up the moment he is injured so forget it." "Not if I charm him multiple times..." The elf interrupts and motions back to the tavern, "We need a plan and we should discuss it in private. Plus, we should get some food and drink in Thokk. Let's go." They all nod and head to the library inside the tavern to design a plan for the goblins and the blacksmith. As they walk in Temmie begins to inspect the health potions and love potions more. He realizes that if he shakes them, they brighten in color. This is fun and exciting so as the party discusses the plan, he jumps from one piece of furniture to the next shaking the vials like maracas dancing about.

Later that night, the party splits up to prepare to go to sleep. Temmie offers to share his room at the tavern with the elf and the tiefling which the half-demon wholeheartedly accepts with the idea of what that might mean. Unfortunately, any foreplay he attempted was quickly shutdown by the elf and he wasn't really interested in the halfling. Still, this gave him time to prepare the half-orc's darts. He slowly began meticulously adding the love potion like a poison to each dart one by one. Below their open window, Thokk and Urza have prepared their bedrolls for a long rest on either side of a large tree. Thokk has begun his nighttime ritual prayers. Sitting cross-legged behind his keg and swaying the barrel in rhythm with his body, he recites a silent prayer. As his lips and barrel moves, the sloshing of alcohol from within continues to become less turbulent. His prayers have been accepted and the keg is beginning to be filled by the power of the Drunken God. After a long day, Urza also is relaxing and has begun to play an ancient and forgotten musical instrument. Temmie can't sleep with that sound so he crawls out from where he had cuddled up next to Xanaphina to the window, stirring the rogue as well. He looks out and sees Urza and decides to curse Thokk from the window. He hopes by doing so, the half-orc will attack the tiefling not sensing the halfling was the real attacker above him. Shireling does sense what Temmie is doing and runs to stop Thokk. Still tired from the days events, he unfortunately stumbles and trips straight out the window and with a large thud falls flat on his face in front of the upset Thokk. Shocked from the unexpected surprise, both Temmie and Thokk burst out in laughter breaking the curse. Luckily, tieflings are acrobatic so though the fall was far and the landing wasn't perfect minimal damage was taken. Shireling picks himself up and dusts himself off while glaring at Temmie. He walks over to Thokk and convinces him to go inside and have a drink with him, averting another potential disruption to their plans. Soon everyone returns and goes to sleep.

With the sunrise comes the unusual sound of steel smacking into wood followed by a large bang! The Drunken Monk eager to test out his new gauntlets had awoken early, totally forgetting about Urza sleeping just on the other side and was practicing his punches on the tree. The startled tiefling reacted out of survival instinct and had attempted to deflect and counterattack the blow using one of her hand axes but had luckily missed. Once the rest of the party stopped the two from killing each other and pulled the weapons from the tree, they quickly reminded them that they were allies and that they needed to prepare for the goblins later today. They shook off the shock and went inside for food and preparations for the long hunt ahead of them.

The Blacksmith's Blight: Session 1 - THE PARTY

In a small town called Brass Wood on the edges of the newly formed nation of Uthiria, there was a tavern. This was like any other tavern. You had your barkeep cleaning glasses and surveying his bar and a relatively empty room. The morning light peeking through darkly covered windows and cutting across the floor from the open doorway. There were a few rough-looking stragglers scattered at tables from the night before. There was a small stage at one end of the room lit by candles and on it was a little halfling bard. He was playing to his heart's content on his saxophone caught up in the music. In the darkness surrounding him there were a handful of men here and there but a large half-orc collapsed in the corner. Like most bards, he was wearing a costume. His was a slightly comical one - a little lion costume no larger than a house cat due to his size. The odd thing was not just the lion costume but that these two individuals were connected. The bard and orc had come to town together only recently but the barkeep had allowed them to stay because the little halfling had brought in quite the crowd with his charisma and amazing performances. If he hadn't been so busy himself trying to keep order in the bar, he too would have been applauding. The real problem was his companion.

The half-orc was a drunken brawler. If that was the end of it then that would have been fine but it was his religion. For you see, he worshiped the Drunken God. Thank goodness he was only a monk otherwise he may have been better armed but even using his simple fists as weapons, he was able to create a considerable mess. The outcome of last night was evidence of that however, the halfling made up for the cost of damages and if he hadn't been a follower of the half-orc's peculiar religion then the barkeep would have had them both thrown out the night before. A very odd pair in deed.

On the other side of town, a devil slipped from the alley between merchant shops into the light. A tiefling - part human and part devil - cloaked and walking almost silently. One look at his attire one could see that this being had been a mercenary at one point in his life but since then had run upon some hard luck and was starting anew. He strolled across town avoiding contact and protecting his tail almost like a cat as he weaved through the crowds. His gait slowed until he stopped beneath the manor of the lord of the town. A large stone building - not a castle but impressive nonetheless. His eyes darting around the ramparts counting and watching and measuring the time between patrols. One guard noticed the rogue but followed its gaze when the tiefling quickly looked off to his left. Once the guard recognized it was nothing, he glanced back to only find that the cloaked figure was gone.

Entering the town gate on the northern side nearest the tavern was an elf, more specifically a ranger. Carrying both a longbow and swords, her movement had not just elvish grace but characteristics of a hunter. She was one that knew the woods and not only could survive in the wild but preferred it. She distanced herself from other travelers and guards. She liked the company of animals more than humans but short on supplies she came to town to take care of business and return again to the trees. It was a long hike so first on her list was to find food and shelter. She wanted to be prepared for later in case the unexpected happened. Looking at the different signs near the buildings, she decided to stop in at the tavern for some breakfast and information because none was better informed than the local barkeep. As she stepped in she took out a few coins from her purse and placed them on the counter which summoned the man to her side. He took her order and left with gold in his hand as she took a few moments to survey the room. A barmaid fluttered about like a mouse hunting for crumbs among the various guests taking orders and cleaning up after them. There was the half-orc still sleeping and a little lion still playing his saxophone at one end of the room, a pair of men with their drinks talking quietly at a table near the window, an off-duty guard at the other end of the bar, and another man moaning in pain collapsed in his chair leaning upon a table. Uninterested and unalarmed, she focused on the pressing matters that were going to take up her day.

At this point, the half-orc began to stir. He straightened up, picked up a chair and sat upon it. He looked around drunkenly searching for something then realized that a keg the size of a large child was beside him. He reached around the table to find an empty glass and tried to pour himself a drink from his barrel but to no avail. Clearly upset with his lack of success and impending hangover, he spotted a prize -  a mug of fire whiskey on a table not far from him beside the moaning man. He reached over to take the drink ignoring that clearly this was not his and possibly even drunk enough to think that this heavenly liquid had been simply abandoned and chocked it up to his good fortune. This was not the case of course. In fact, the man below his outstretched arm had been recovering from an interaction with this beast from the night before and recognizing the smell began to turn around to confront the monk, spilling his drink onto the floor in the process. Perplexed but upset the half-orc struck the man knocking the wind out of him and dropping him. He reached down and recovered the glass. He wiped the bottom of the glass with one finger and licked the contents before looking around. No barmaid nor barkeep to be found.

The halfling had paused his beautiful song to watch this scene in admiration and realizing an opportunity to help his religious friend, leaped down from the stage to approach the other gentlemen talking quietly by the window. He approached them with what seemed to be all the swagger and confidence in this world that could possibly be afforded a halfling in a lion costume. He asked, "Did you enjoy the performance, my fine men? If so, might I ask for a small token of your appreciation? Your drink sir for my small friend..." as he beckoned to the half-orc that sat staring into his empty glass as if waiting for it to fill itself on its own. "Bugger off." The halfling's face darkened into an evil grin as if saying that he was happier, even justified in what he was about to do. He reached for the saxophone once again and began to play a tune. This harmony was not like the other songs he had played before. In fact, the elfish ranger stirred as she felt the magic mixed among the melody. She watched as one of the men went rigid. He suddenly stood as if he was a puppet on a string. The halfling had charmed him and the man unexpectedly began to disrobe. Before a moment had passed, she shockingly saw the man walk out the door of the bar and around the corner leaving the room the same way he entered the world - completely in the buff. The halfling snickered as the other man jumped up and raced out to rescue his enchanted friend. The halfling took the man's drink and strolled back to the half-orc as the elf listened intently only to hear screaming women and children and guards in the distance. The men were most likely being arrested for public indecency. Typical halfling. It was at this moment that she was startled to hear a small chuckle followed by a laugh come from a shadow and a chair near the door. A cloaked tiefling stepped out and walked across the room to talk to this pair. Here comes trouble, she thought as she once again brought her mind back to the tasks at hand.

The rogue swept his hand across the now empty table picking up the abandoned drink. He approached the halfling, "I think you forgot this my interesting little friend." The bard spun around upset from his surprise but quickly excited to realize his forgotten prize. Not only did he help his friend the monk but this glass was beyond the size of any glass he had ever gotten before! His eyes filled with mischief as he began to pour the golden liquid down his throat. "How long have you two been in town?" the tiefling asked. "Would you be interested in some fun? There would be gold for you and probably some mischief and a few fights as well?" The half-orc stirred and grunted his approval - still preoccupied with his newly acquired drink. He lifted the little bard off the ground to sit on his keg, leaning against his shoulder. "Great. Don't go anywhere my friends. I need some information before we leave..." The tiefling slowly turned scanning the room until he spotted the man still rolling in pain on the floor. "Ahhhh. Han Duo! What happened to you?" "Them. If these two are your friends, you could have at least warned me before you told me to meet you here last night." "You are my only friend, Han. I got detained last night with business. They are only newly acquired colleagues. But in regards to our meeting, I am looking for information about the lord of the manor in this town. What can you tell me about him? About his patrols? About the garrison?" He paused. Suddenly the language changed and they whispered something quickly for a few moments after which the injured man stood and left the bar. The off-duty guard had noticed the conversation and had been listening in until the rogue had switched to thieves cant - a language common but unique to criminals. He drummed his fingers quickly on the table. Clearly irritated about the interruption but intelligent enough to stop before he aroused too much attention, the rogue stood up and appeared to walk directly to the guard. Although off-duty, his fingers found the pommel of his sword easily enough under his uniform only to release it when tiefling passed by. He had approached the elf.

Sitting beside her he said, "Clearly I am not the only observant one in the room. My name is Shireling. What might your name be?" "What is it to you?" "It could be a lot of things. Business. Pleasure. A bit of both." The elf slapped away the devil's tail as he had tried to slip it up to caress her face. "Not interested." "But you haven't even given me a chance yet to explain." "Shireling huh. That is a stupid name. I am going to call you Shirley. My name is Temmie Temmerson. The big drunk one's name is Thokk." The halfling had climbed unnoticed, up on top of the counter next to them. The tiefling batted him away, focused on the elf, "We could use your keen eyes and your apparent skills. You are a tracker, aren't you? We could use someone skilled with a bow. There is a profit to be..." "Later." said the elf. Her eyes had darted to the guard now on edge at the other end of the counter.

The devil's eyes also narrowed. Acknowledging the guard, Shireling said, "Sir, you must be tired from the ruckus last night. My colleagues wanted me to apologize if there was any inconvenience." "None taken. It is a tavern. To be expected." Moving past the elf, the rogue readied a small hidden blade. "Any news for a passing traveler just making his way through town? I hate to miss anything." "I am sure you wouldn't," said the guard. This devil thought he was clever but he was clearly not as good at lying as he thought. "What do you do for the lord?" "I am a simple guard currently off-duty. I try to help keep the peace. How about you?" "Nothing important as that. Outcast really. If I was looking for work, maybe become a guard perhaps, how would I sign up? Is there a garrison in town?" "There is one near the manor." "How many men?" "I couldn't really say." "Oh well. Best fortunes for you then. Maybe we will cross paths again!" Both men relax their grips on their weapons as the guard stands up to leave the bar, finished with his drink. He clinks coins together on the bar and the barkeep passes by making them disappear as the guard leaves through the open doorway.

"What did that other man say to you?" The rogue turned back to the elf, "He is part of my criminal network. A contact for me really. He said that we ought to talk to a man named Frederick on the other side of town." Elves naturally don't trust tieflings. Not many races do. He brought forward a hand-drawn map like magic as he whispered, "Only sleight of hand my friend." He continued, "I plan to rob the lord of the manor. It is likely that Frederick has information for me. Care to join me for a walk this afternoon?" "What about us?" said Temmie. "You and Thikk..." "Thokk!" "You and Thokk should find some way to entertain yourselves. I feel like our friend the elf needs a little more convincing. We will meet back here later tonight to discuss things further." "No problem!" squeaked the little bard. As the three of them stood to leave, the half-orc waved them off and started to sleep again in the corner.

A few hours later, our little party is still making their way across town, talking as they go, "What is your name? You never gave me it to me before." "You are careless. That guard was listening to everything. He was clearly an officer from his tunic." "Well no one is listening now. What is your name?" "I am listening!" squeaked Temmie. Annoyed, Shireling repeats himself while the elf smirks responding to the halfing's outburst, "What is your name? It is hard to work with someone you don't know or trust." "I doubt I will ever have either of those things when it comes to you but my name is Xanaphina." Slightly confused and even a little uninterested he replies, "Alright. I apologize because I am not the best with names so I will call you X or Xena. Do you have a preference?" "Neither but if you have to then X will work." At this point, Temmie found the conversation boring. He lost pace with the other two and had become distracted with the crowds of people. He loved the chaotic nature of crowds. He ran beneath people as he investigated the carts, surprising animals and people alike. Crowds were an opportunity for him to not just entertain himself but to perform! He is not just a bard but had always been an entertainer and when there is crowds there was money and he was going to make some.

Back in the bar, Thokk woke up. The silence of the bar disturbed his slumber and since he had to wait for his tiny friend the halfling, he might as well put his skills to good use. After steadying himself for a moment and seeing the barkeep cleaning a glass again at the counter, he staggered over, "Fighting champions... Does your town have... Do you have a fighting pit? A fight club?" "I own the bar. We don't have any fight clubs." The half-orc growled in anger as he gripped the counter. "I don't want any more trouble. If there were such a thing, it would most likely be past the shops and down the street. You would be able to hear the gamblers outside if you paid attention." Thokk wiped his mouth and staggered back to his keg, pulling it onto his back and headed out the door and down the street.

By this time, Xanaphina and Shireling had just stopped near the lord's manor as they pretended to look at the map. "How many guards? Before, I counted maybe 8 on the walls and there are pairs patrolling the grounds as well that rotate every 5 minutes or so." "I count 3 pairs on patrol, 12 guards on the wall but you didn't mention the 6 on the gate." She is good, he thought. "Well, let's go and see what information Frederick has before it gets dark. We are likely only halfway there. Plus, it looks like some of the patrols are heading the other way. Something must be going on."

There was something going on. By this time, Temmie had finally made his way up on top of a stage near an opening in the center of the market. It was a perfect location. Finally, prepared to begin his performance he changed his costume in the middle of the market, pink bum shining in the late afternoon sun. In a flash, multiple things happened. First, the lion costume flew into the air spinning and landing artfully on the ground below the stage, leaving the hood with the mane opened perfectly like a hat ready to accept coins from the crowd. Then the tiny man spun around dramatically as the cape of his batman costume exposed the artful performer as he strummed a perfect chord across an exotic-looking guitar! People turned to watch as he continued to perform to the stunned crowd. He danced acrobatically on the stage, singing and playing the most captivating music ever imagined. The crowd grew and grew as the sun began to set. With the crowds came guards but like the night before, the halfling knew he had done nothing wrong! To the contrary, this was a challenge and he knew what he must do. He had to play as if the devils themselves had asked him what was the greatest song in the world and he would play that song. It was glorious.

There was another crowd gathering too but this time in private. Across town, the barkeep had been correct. The fighting ring was not hard to find, even for a drunken monk like Thokk. As most fights start, there were a few small warm up matches for amateurs and then the Champion would beat up a few small contenders to get the crowd excited. This created the best atmosphere for gambling. "Does anyone dare challenge our great undefeated Champion?" A belch roared from the back of the room in response. "I'll fight." Thokk had just arrived. The previous Champion was not like these puny humans. He too was a half-orc and a beast as well. Thokk climbed into the ring and saw that in terms of size this brawler may become a problem however, Thokk was the Drunken Monk and drunks are unusually resilient fighters. He knew he was going to be just fine as he began to offer a prayer to his god of alcohol and brawling. The burden of being drunk is you always felt like you were fighting more enemies than actually were there so he needed the God to guide his fists because he didn't know which of the "three" half-orcs he was seeing in the ring, he was actually going to be fighting.

"I can only count two. Bodyguards are across the street with clubs," the elf said. It was night but luckily she and Shireling have dark vision. "I count two figures inside as well," said the tiefling as he pointed towards the hut on the edge of the town. Xanaphina would not have seen him if she didn't know he was there. Having dark purple skin and black eyes makes it easy to disappear like a shade, not to mention the tiefling's cloak. "Let's check around the back." For rangers and rogues, this was second nature. Rogues typically choose to become either thieves or assassins if they don't go the way of magic given time. Rangers meanwhile will choose one of two traditional routes: hunter or beast master. Sneaking through the shadows to edge closer to their prey was easy for both of these practiced hunters. The biggest obstacle was the door.

The rogue focused on the lock. It was heavy and it was old but he had broken into places more heavily guarded than this before. Both companions were silent as they listened to the muffled conversation coming from inside and as he reached into his bag finding the lock pick he was looking for. CLANG! He was mistaken. It was not a pick at all. "Idiot." Ignoring the elf, he realized this was his hammer. He uses it when he fixes spikes with his rope to scale up high and difficult walls - part of his plan for the manor. "Get ready..." The lock clicks as he pulls back his tools and readies a dagger. He didn't want to deal with this but with amateur mistakes, you need to be prepared as well. He slips his hand around the door's edge and slowly pushes it inwards. RING! A trip wire and bell alarm the pair of people inside, followed by falling chairs and the rogue is pushed up against the door frame by a scarred old man with a dagger.

"Frederick I presume?" "Who the hell are you?" "Han Duo sent me for information concerning the lord of the manor." "About damn time. What took you so long?" The old man stabs the dagger deep into the door frame near the rogue's face. "Better to be careful than to be dead," replies the grinning tiefling. "What happened here then?" "I was distracted by my beautiful colleague. The elf is with me." "Come in then. And QUIETLY." He whistles and the two can see the shadows of the guards from across the street turn around and head back to their post. "Next time use the front door. It is why we pay them to be there." "As I said before, what can you tell me about the lord of the manor?" "Not so fast. I don't give away information for free. I have a problem that I need you to deal with first. You may need more people than just the pair of you." Xanaphina responds, "Tell us more about the job."

"In the forest, I have stashes that have been raided in the past by goblins. Normally I would deal with them myself but in my old age I have to be more careful as you can see." Frederick pulls out a map of the forest and points to a specific location and continues to provide details about a stash that he wants them to protect. "From what another huntsman has told me in town, by the number of tracks he has seen in the area, it should only be 3 or 4 goblins. Leave the stash alone and any information I have on the lord and the manor will be yours. Do we have a deal?" "Sounds easy enough. How much time do we have?" "I would say you have less than a week. The lord's son is returning from the war and there is going to be a large celebration in his honor in the town square with a feast with merchants coming from all over Uthiria. You will want to be back by then." "Alright. You have a deal." Hands are shaken and the pair are led to the front door. "Don't contact me again until after the goblins are dealt with. Understand?" With a short nod, the two disappear into the night and as they head back to the tavern, Shireling says, "We are going to need supplies and weapons now." "And a plan..."

Temmie stopped whistling long enough to finish packing up the gold he had made. 26 gold was not a bad take for one night's performance! He had been playing for hours and at one point the people were ready to leave and he had rallied for an encore. Eventually though he was asked to get off the stage. Or at least what he had thought was a stage. A homeless man called it his bed and only then did Temmie release that due to his size he had actually been playing on a park bench next to the fountain in the town square. Either way, it was a performance for the ages! Now he just had to find his way back to the tavern to show Thokk... Just my luck, he thought! He spotted the elf and tiefling from the tavern crossing the town square. "Shirley! Xena! Wait for me!" as he ran off into the darkness.

As they arrive at the bar, they hear cheers of "Thokk! Thokk! The new champion of Brass Wood!" Temmie scurries up to his half-orc companion and shows him his bag of gold. Thokk grins and shows him his own bag of 32 gold pieces and a large orc tooth trophy added to his keg. Apparently in the ring, Thokk had unexpectedly demolished the previous champion fighter. The champion was used to intimidating his opponents so he had prepped to give out a roar but was rudely interrupted by a strong kick to the groin. Thokk was a tavern brawler so as his opponent crumbled to the ground, he quickly rushed his disabled foe only to gouge his eyes with his thumbs. Swinging blindly the champion missed completely but quickly finds Thokk as he is spearing him into the ground. Enough is enough. The champion, fully enraged and disgraced by this dishonorable fighting style, throws Thokk off of him, stands fully erect and cries out in fury. But Thokk had fought his own kind before and had readied himself, dashing back to his opponent, he put all his weight into his fist and connected cleanly through the champ's chin with a full-force uppercut lifting him off the ground. Thokk walked over, knelt down, inspected and sized up the body and then almost surgically removed a large canine from the now defeated and unconscious orc's lower jaw. Temmie and Thokk reveled in their victories with drinks and food all around as they celebrated the successes of the night. Once they finished their reunion, the party went upstairs and shared the information from Frederick and decided to sleep on the information and gather supplies tomorrow before heading out to the goblins. And so our unexpected group of strangers became a chaotic party in search of their fortunes.