Well that was just super. Remind me to let you negotiate everything for us next time," said Xanaphina. "Seriously just shut up," said Shireling "It was a lot of pressure in the moment plus the best way to figure out what someone wants is to spring the trap." The party was being escorted to the Lord's manor. There was no other way out of the barracks. The only way to survive was to surrender. Of course the halfling was completely gone. No one knew where he disappeared to. Probably off spending his gold somewhere. He mentioned something about an elephant but whoever knows what that is. Still, as they approached the manor surrounded by about a dozen guards they were greeted by some kind of herald. He and the main guard spoke a few moments as the party stood in the front room scoping out their surroundings. A few different doors leading to different places, a window or two and some tapestries hanging from the walls. The herald beckoned to the group to follow him and they pressed forward through two large double doors into a large and long meeting hall.
There were columns heading up a carpeted path to a raised seating area where a fat old man that was balding was sitting. Next to him was a tall cloaked figure and again many guards in the room. The party approached again noting the windows behind the lord and a few doors to either side. The herald bowed and left the room. The lord sat there and watched the party as they nervously stood waiting. This continued for a few minutes that felt like hours. Finally the lord motioned with his hand and said, "Are you going to tell me what happened at the barracks or will I have to have my advisor cast a spell on you to loosen your tongues? Why are you all covered in blood? Who are you? Where is my captain and his guards?"
"My lord, we are simple adventurers who were reporting to the captain of the guard about a recent mishap. As we were in conversation, there was breakout in the cells and when the fighting arose, the captain was unfortunately killed. We were fighting for our lives and luckily survived. Some of us are wounded but a few people died. It was tragic and we are here to ask for your assistance in helping us leave the town and be on our way." "That is an excellent tale my tiefling friend however Brass Wood is small so I know who are in my cells and what were their crimes and it appears you have one of those individuals with you. Since you are obviously not telling the whole truth I have to ask my guards to leave us while my adviser and I interrogate you thoroughly." He motions for the guards to leave and they march quickly from the room.
As the party prepares themselves, the Lord stands up and he and the hooded figure shuffle slowly down the stairs and he chuckles as he says, "The captain of the guard is dead... That is very interesting." From a side wall, a secret door opens and Frederick walks in almost on command, surprising the party and confusing them. "Is this the group that you gave the information to?" "Yes, it is. I am surprised they got caught so quickly after dealing with my goblin problem. I am not sure you want to use them to be honest," replies Frederick. "Well the captain of the guard was always sniffing around and he wasn't a weak fellow so they saved me the trouble of killing him myself so they will have to do," says the lord as he stops a few paces short of the bewildered group. He waves his hand across his face and a shimmer flows over his body as his personage changes to show a tiefling with arms crossed and a small pseudodragon on his shoulder.
"Wait. What just happened? Are you the lord? What is going on?" responds the party. "The lord has been dealt with and you have taken care of another one of my problems but that's all you need to know. Since clearly you killed the captain I will have to imprison you however I will reward you with a choice. I will tell the townsfolk that you have been executed for killing the captain and the blacksmith. The choice is this: Be imprisoned forever in isolation so no one knows of my lie or accompany my adviser to Shurdrax to deliver a package for me. What say you?" Quick glances are exchanged and a few heads nod in agreement. "Will you give us supplies and our weapons returned to us?" "Of course." "How about transport?" "No, you will be escorted discretely out of town and that will be it." "I am not going," says the elf. "I won't be a pawn and I didn't even get any real reward from this last endeavor. I will stay in your dungeon unless you can find some other use for me." The rest of the party is dumbfounded but before they can protest, the druid and wizard readily accept the offer in unison. Frederick calls out to them to follow him and they are lead down to the cells through the secret passage. Once reaching the dungeon, he takes Xanaphina off on her own after locking the party into a large open room. Moments later he comes back and says, "Be ready later tonight," and leaves. Everyone pans out and finds a comfortable spot in the cell and begins to make bedrolls and take off their bloodied armor.
As the party is about to go to sleep, an unseen door in the wall begins to creek open and the hooded figure reappears. He extends his hands revealing the party's weapons and puts a finger up and makes a shushing sound. Everyone prepares to leave and Karr kicks Thokk to rouse him to his feet. They make their way through darkened passages and begin talking amongst themselves. The druid introduces himself as Karr and explains his friend who was imprisoned at the barracks and that the bear transformation was part of being part of the Order of the Moon. The dragonborn is only interested in talking with Thokk in draconic and later the orc relays that his name is Wet Wizard. It was probably not his name but a poor translation for something else however the wizard does speak common and didn't correct Thokk so the name sticks. He had been arrested but not convicted for breaking into the apothecary's shop. Far ahead they see Frederick standing by a small gate. He hands the hooded figure a small engraven wooden box and says, "Artimus, keep this safe. Remember to deliver it to King in 5 days time in Shurdrax. He trusts you. Stay safe and try not to spend too much time on the roads. You're wanted in Brass Wood so please don't come back unless you are disguised." He waves them farewell and they start down the trail into the woods.
The road is dusty and long and the group is tired. As they progress farther they find a nice place to set up camp a day's journey from the town. They found a small stream and wash up. Hunt some game and prepare a meal. Everyone has begun to settle in but there is still suspicion surrounding the hooded figure. Karr can sense magic surrounding and emanating from him. Karr and Shireling discuss near the fire their interest in exploring the package he carries and who or what he is.
The next day as they are walking, Shireling decides to start up a conversation with the new adventurer, "So I heard Frederick call you Artemis. That is a name typical of elves and wizards. Where are you from?" "None of your concern. I just need an escort to help me with protecting the package," he replies in a deep gruff voice. "Well it would be easier to protect if we didn't have to carry it out in the open. You could always have Karr keep it safe for you," motioning to his open bag. "It is safest on my person but I am grateful for your concern," responding sarcastically. "All on the same team here..." replies Shireling as he tries to use his tail to lift the cloak of his comrade from behind him. "Hello there travelers!!" Shireling's tail straightens as he is surprised by the sudden shout. The party had wandered into a traveling merchant.
There is a small caravan of carKts with a small little man at the front. He introduces himself as the leader of the party. "You appear to be coming from Brass Wood. I hope you are well equipped! The woods are always dangerous in this season." "We have the weapons that we need. Do you have any health potions, armor or ammunition to sell?" "I do indeed." He begins searching the carts and a worker comes forward with a small trolley full of supplies. Money and goods are exchanged. "One more thing. I hate to inquire about these items for a man that is traveling because I feel they may be somewhat rare." "No issues here friend, I have all SORTS of items to sell. What are you looking for exactly." "I am unusually cautious and I worry for myself and my comrades in the woods. Do you have a disguise kit so we can help our hooded figure to seem less ominous and perhaps a poisoner's kit so I can prepare our weapons in case of an attack?" "Those are hard to come by but I do have one of each. They will cost you though." Thokk approaches, "Do you have any fire whiskey? We will trade information and some gold for the kits and the whiskey." "What information do you have to offer someone like myself?" "The old blacksmith has left town and one of our friends replaced him. If you are looking to have a connection in the community you just have to mention my name, Thokk, and she will help you." "Connections are excellent! Would there be anyone else that would help as well." "No. No one in connection to us. The tavern owner seems amiable but please mention our name to no one else," emphasizes Shireling. "Interesting. Well I will sell these to you for the standard price. You information has limited value so I appreciate it but that will be all. Is there anything else?" "No. Thank you and safe travels." "You as well." The party reassesses their armor and continues onward toward the town only a day or two away.
The following afternoon they are continuing down the path when Karr motions them to be silent and approaching stealthfully. As they approach his position they notice a few yards down the path there is a large bear-like creature sleeping in the middle of the road. They can see its body moving as it lay on the earth breathing heavily. "Oh it's cute and furry! We should pet it!" says Arty uncharacteristically. Shireling jumps up onto his back to grapple and silence him. Arty dodges slightly and Shireling gives him a death stare. "You don't want to wake it. We don't even know what it is. It could be a trap!" And this is when out of the shadows of a nearby bush, another large bugbear appears right over Thokk's shoulder.
The large creature surprises the monk and attacks him with incredible power using its morningstar. Before the party can react, it swings a second time again hitting Thokk, knocking him prone but not unconscious. At this point, the party springs into action. Karr changes into bear mode, Shireling circles behind the enemy preparing to strike, but the other two party members do the most unusual things. Wet Wizard decides to watch. He moves slightly out of sight of either creature, sits down and casts disguise self, turning himself into a rock. He clearly isn't too worried though because if anyone listened hard enough you could hear him whistling a small tune and could envision him twiddling his thumbs. Artimus however moves his hands in some kind of conjuration motion and directly in front of the attacker another bear appears. It is large, furry but the reason it catches the bugbears attention is that it is bright pink. This illusion distracts the bugbear long enough that the rest of the party are able to revive Thokk while Shireling takes aim with his boomerang. He throws the weapon and it soars across the wooded clearing landing in the bugbear's upper thigh, cutting veins as it flew across. The creature is squirting blood out in all directions from its leg and groin. As it crumples to the earth dead, the group turn to find the other bugbear has vanished. It appears from out of the trees above them landing on the party. Karr and the bugbear battle one another exchanging blows. As his health drops low enough, Karr resumes his human form, yelling out, "I need fire! Someone cast something on fire!" Thokk pulls his keg out and takes two quick swigs, swallowing the first and then blowing the rest at the bugbear. He pulls out a light and throws it at the wet creature. As the creature catches flame, it screams out in pain and quickly begins to pat it out. Karr focuses his mind on the animal's morningstar and the heat from the fire goes out as it transfers from the bear to the metallic weapon. It is so hot that it burns the creatures hand, dropping it instantly. Realizing he is surrounded, it reaches down again to pick it up and swing it at its now attackers preparing to back away but the heat from the metal is so hot and it is so exhausted and bloody from battle that it falls fainting and burning from the heat. The party reassesses their situation and looks over their wounds. Thokk continues to drink, regaining some of his vigor and strength as they inspect the brush and woods around the path.
This battle was a trap set by the bugbear raiding party. The pair had obviously done it many times before to unwary travelers. So as the party licked their wounds and tried to recover, the tiefling begins to look for their tracks. Artimus offers Thokk some candy to help him feel better and they are able to get Wet Wizard to turn back into his normal appearance. "It is getting late. We need to set up camp. Should we keep on going and find a secluded spot in the forest?" explains Karr. "I think we should find the lair for these bugbears. They probably live in a cave nearby and they will have shelter and loot from their attacks. It is highly unlikely that any creatures that know they live there will avoid it and we will be safe for the night," replies Shireling. Too tired to really care, Karr agrees and turns into an ox. The rest of the party help the wounded Thokk onto Karr's back and the party begins to track the bugbears trail back to their home. Before arriving at the cave, they can smell it from a little way off. It stinks of rotting and burnt flesh and fecal matter. Artimus refuses to go inside. He has been acting unusual for his size, as he had been picking flowers along the way and feeds them to the ox. Suddenly Karr resumes his normal form and begins coughing and then is crushed under the weight of the half-orc on top of him. "What were those flowers?" Arty looks more closely at them and replies, "Oh! I thought they were something else. These appear to be slightly poisonous. My mistake! I will go find some more." "What???" Thokk gets up and follows Shireling into the cave. They begin to explore its contents more extensively.
They find a small cooking area with rotting flesh nearby. The possessions of the murdered travelers is in a pile by a fire and some of the things are covered by other carcasses of animals the bugbears had killed. Wet Wizard performs another spell generating a broom and begins to sweep out the cave, cleaning it for places to sleep and eat. Thokk rummages through the dead finding animals that would be salvageable if cooked properly for food. He also finds some coin purses and starts sifting through them discovering gold. Shireling recognizes the glitter of the treasure and joins him saying, "If we find anything we should share it with the rest of the party. We are too weak right now to fight over something so small." Karr hears the conversation and also joins in looting the purses. They find a relatively good size of gold and start to split it up when Shireling opens his last bag and finds a peculiar amulet. He quickly pockets it so he can investigate it more thoroughly later.
Arty returns and Wet Wizard finish cleaning the cave and they all split the booty they have found. Artimus again offers candy to all the party members and after Karr was poisoned, only Thokk and Wet Wizard decide to take a piece. They finish eating and finish setting up camp and their bedrolls. Thokk, Wet Wizard, and Artimus are the first ones to fall fast asleep. After waiting a short time to make sure they are out, Shireling sits up and Karr still upset from earlier follows him. The tiefling motions to the bag near Artimus. He carefully pulls it open and with practiced hands steals the package away from its protector. He and Karr move out of the cave into the moonlight to better inspect the item. Karr looks over the markings on the box and makes some incantations, studying it for any magical properties. "There is a trap on the container. It needs a key to open otherwise a defensive spell will shoot us with a firebolt if we open it." Shireling motions him to be quiet and takes the box back inside and stows it back into the bag. He returns empty handed to discuss it further with the druid.
"He is acting really odd. We still don't know what HE is." Karr responds, "I know what you mean. Plus I am only just now having the poison run through my system. We should try and get someone to open the box tomorrow. We can't charm them otherwise the damage will break the spell so we have to convince them to do it willingly." "It would be more fun if they were charmed though. Do you want to charm Thokk?" Laughs and replies, "I'd rather not have him angry at me and I don't think he would care what's in the box anyways." "Patience it is then."
The party wakes in the morning and makes their way back to the road and finish their journey to the city. As they approach Shurdrax, the size of it dwarfs Brass Wood many times over. The gate into it is large and a wall surrounds the entire city. Before they enter the town, Shireling decides to disguise himself using his disguise kit. Not many people trust tieflings so it is better to have a less conspicuous appearance. He does his best work but because he is still new to the craft and didn't have the best sleep in a bugbear lair, his attempts to look like a half-elf were spotty at best. As they approach, the guards question them about where are they coming from, why are they here, that sort of thing. They give the ugliest elf they have ever seen a sideways glance but the dragonborn is able to get them to focus. Wet Wizard lies through his teeth and they quickly make it through the gate but not before getting information on where they could find several shops and a good tavern to stay at inside Shurdrax.
The party decides to split up. Wet Wizard heads directly to the tavern to await the contact for the box, procure some lodgings and drink away the afternoon. The rest of the party proceeds to the apothecary to find some health potions. Once they have refilled their stock, Thokk and Artimus get bored and head off to the blacksmith. Thokk needs some work done on his gauntlets. He is looking to upgrade the metal and damage that they do and afterwards he and Arty were going to go look for a fight club. Shireling and Karr continue to explore the apothecary finding different herbs and mixtures for remedies and antidotes as well as components to make various poisons. Once completed they discuss how they want to spend the rest of the afternoon and they decide it would take too much work to find out what is in the package so they head to a library to search for various pieces of rare knowledge that might help them in their quest.
"You with the wheelbarrow! Where can I find a fight club in this city?" the half-orc demands after cornering a poor merchant. The man is clearly terrified after being surrounded by this beast and his tall hooded companion. He gives them the information they need and he runs away crashing his cart once or twice. "It's so hard to get good directions nowadays." They struggle for a while longer until they are able to locate the fight club. Artimus and Thokk talk about their plan. Arty is going to figure out how the gambling pools work and Thokk is going to either enter one of the fights or simply start one - which ever is easier. As the orc watches the fighters he sees them disarm themselves and enter the ring. This is bare knuckle fighting focusing on a combination of both technique and strength. Thokk adds his name to the lists and waits for his turn in the ring. When his name is announced, he sees another fighter, a young human in the opposite corner. He is young and fit, moves like a boxer, quick and agile. Thokk feels like this will be another short win. From behind him he hears Artimus calling out the odds and collecting money. As they step to the center of the ring, the young man raises a hand and motions to Thokk's hands, "You need to make this a fair fight. You have to leave those behind," speaking to the half-orc's gauntlets. "Even without these I would have to leave more behind to make it a fair fight," mutters the drunken monk. "I will take a trophy from you when I win," he warns the man as he hands his gauntlets off to a small boy and returns to the center of the ring. They each take their fighting stances and after taking a deep breath, they both move in unison. The young man is extremely quick, dodging a blow and coming in to clock the orc across the face. Thokk spits blood to the side and turns and smiles. This wasn't going to be fun. They continue to exchange blows back and forth, the young man doing his best to stay out of reach. Thokk takes hit after hit and Artimus getting nervous about losing his bets, makes a small incantation and a small mist begins to rise from the floor of the ring. Thokk reaches forward and grabs the shoulder of his disoriented opponent, pulling him in close and headbutts the fighter. Dazed, the young man staggers back and Thokk swings with a haymaker knocking the young man both prone and unconscious. As the mist clears, the crowd makes an audible cry for foul play as the orc stands over in triumph and looks down respectfully before reaching down with his large hand into the unconscious man's mouth, pulling out a tooth. Artimus comes running into the ring with a fistful of coin purses high above his head.
On the other side of Shurdrax, Karr and Shireling approach a tall marble building. As they push open the solid stone door, the pair see a large open room with a single individual at a desk far away. The two approach talking quietly as the dragonborn librarian looks up from his books and speaking in draconic, "How can I help you fine gentlemen?" Karr responds, "Well my friend and I are looking for books that outline the following subjects: druidcraft, herbalism..." "Remember to find out about magical items and poisons," whispers the tiefling. "And anything about enchanting items with magic as well as poisonous creatures and plants in the region." "We have various scrolls from scholars that have written extensively on their years of observations and experiments." "If you can write down the areas here that we can find that information, we would both be extremely grateful." Once the librarian finishes the note, he hands it down to the druid and asks in Common, "In order to be permitted into the library, all I need is your names to record into our entry log. What are your names?" "My name is Karunungan." The tiefling quickly responds, "I am Saeros Turgon." The scholar waits and looks at the rogue in disbelief. After several moments, he eventually concedes, "It's Shireling." They are brought back and led to several stacks of books. They are able to identify many different species of poisonous plants and herbs that will help with both curing different diseases and conditions. There are diagrams of how to use the plants to create both poisons and antidotes. Druidcraft however is briefly mentioned and it explains that it is typically passed down from pupil to pupil.
"Karr! Can you read this?" Shireling looks all over for his friend. Unable to read the elvish script, the tiefling continues to try to read the scroll he found. Two words he recognized from the scroll were weapon and magic. He tries to find anything else in the scroll that he can read but when he is so unsuccessful he looks back at the beginning of the scholar notes and finds a few items that give him hope. The name of the scholar appears to be Theta Oakshade from Heletha Woods. Karr finds Shireling and he inspects the scroll. He is able to ascertain from the writings the process from which enchanted items are crafted. He explains that in order to create a magical item, the craftsman must have the magical and technical skills to build it along with the necessary physical components of both the metal and relics. The pair begin to scour maps and charts to find the location of the forest within a far away elvish nation. The longer they study, the more they find out about how elves and dwarves are expert craftsmen and the various kinds of magical items that have been made throughout time. Within a hour or two, the pair have digested as much information as they could retain and leave the library to head to the tavern to create a plan with the rest of their party.
As the sun rose and the group gathered to discuss the night before, there came a knock at their door. "Do you have the package?" The party readies their weapons as Arty cracks the door so a rogue can enter the room slowly. "I am the driver. Do you have the package from Brass Wood, Artimus?" The wooden engraven box is presented to the visitor. He asks, "Did you open it?" Karr responds, "We only did what was asked. We brought it here and awaited for your arrival." "Good. If you had opened it, you would have had a nasty surprise." Shireling and the druid look to each other nodding slightly remembering the firebolt charm that was placed on the box. "If you are all here, the King is ready for you. I will have the carriage out in front of the tavern." The party begins to discuss their next move as their hooded companion heads to the door. They all concede to follow the rogue's instructions. The carriage begins moving through the Shurdrax but instead of heading to the castle at the center of the city, it heads to a manor on the outskirts of town. The carriage comes to a standstill and Karr asks aloud, "What kind of king is this?"
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