Scant days after their first expedition downriver, Rylee,
Kern, Lorek and Erijay (joined again by Eazam) were preparing to leave for the
ruins of Nasper, to follow-up on the
rumors of hobgoblin armies on the march. Apart from themselves, and the hirelings Largesh and Narmor, in their own
magical boat, they hired Gundar and crew to transport their supplies and the
Barons` men-at-arms. As they prepared to head out on the river, the town guards
informed them another boat had run under the bridge during the night, whcsh immediately
put the group on guard. They resolved to take care going down river, and to especially
watch for trouble at the spot where they met the first boat a few days before.
Stopping again to spy on that spot, Kern discovered another
boat pulled up in the creek, apparently loaded with cargo, and this time
guarded by many more men. They choose not to challenge this group, but continued
on their mission, reaching the Citadel of Amrath at nightfall. Intercepted by
the Kings White Company on the river, a quick discussion reveled the garrison
was not particularly worried about any activity on the far side of the Great
River, having neither the inclination nor the manpower to do anything more than
monitor traffic travelling on and across the river.
Finding little aid from the citadel, the party chose to
leave Gundar and the second boat there, and approach the ruins of Nasper on
foot. Reaching the outskirts, they saw signs of activity throughout the ruined
town, noting especially the ruined castle on an island in the River Thaytis,
and the remains of some large building on a hill on their side of the river. Waiting
until nightfall ,the party cautiously moved through the ruins towards that
hill, Kern scouting in front. Halfway there, Kern broke into a clearing in the
brambles only to see a band of men
dressed in wolf headpieces. They were likewise surprised, but with a whoop chased
him back through the ruins, only to run straight into the rest of the party. Choosing
mêlée over parley, they band swiftly dispatched the tribesmen, but not before
the hireling Largesh fell with a spear through the chest.
Leaving the men-at-arms to bury the unfortunate Largesh ,the
party pushed on, skirting around a group of mostly intact buildings which seems
to be home to the wolf tribesmen. Reaching the base of the hill, they discovered
some earthworks on the crest, occupied by a band of hobgoblins. Erijay handled
these with a quick sleep spell, followed by a charge up the hill to bind and
gag the fallen creatures before anyone
might notice. At the top, they found the sleeping hobgoblins, a watch fire, and
a brass gong in the earthwork. The building next to it proved to be a ruined
temple to Velas, which Rylee and Lorek reverently explored before getting to
the task at hand; squeezing information out of their prisoners. One by one,
they awoke the prisoners to question them, breaking legs as they went to get
them to talk. The hobgoblins' military discipline was strong though, and it
took several dead prisoners before one talked. Unfortunately, he must have been
a new recruit, and he couldn't provide a lot of information. The party did learn
about a 100 hobgoblins occupied the town (the 3rd Century of the 3rd Cohort of
the Hobgoblin Occupation Army), guarding a forward supply depot and receiving supplies
from the river smugglers from the east. And
that a much larger army lay in wait further back from the frontier, ready to
sweep down on Westmist and the rest of the Kingdom of Kellowai.
As dawn was now approaching, the party decided to get away
while the going was good. First they had the men-at-arms take the dead
hobgoblins back to the site of their battle with the wolf tribesmen, to make it
look like they had died at each others hands. Then taking their prisoner in
tow, they headed back the way they came, and were glad to be away when they
heard an uproar in the town behind them when
the hobgoblins discovered their guard post was unoccupied. Recovering Gundar and boat, they headed back
upriver to Westmist. Along the way, they did note the second boat at the creek
was gone, but on the opposite bank signs of a recent fire and crude rafts could
be seen.
Back in town, they
met with the March Baron, and presented their prisoner and their story. He was
more than a little skeptical of their tale of vast hobgoblin armies about the descend
on his land, pointing out all they saw were a few watch fires, basing much of
their story on what their prisoner had told them. He was not prepared to raise the alarm based
on such thin evidence, but did agree a closer watch would be kept on the river
to intercept any further boats, something the party also wanted to do. And he
agreed the honor his agreement of freedom of the town, and a house for the
growing group.
Of the house, there was a hitch; it was abandoned, boarded
up and reported to be haunted. The brave
adventurers didn't let that worry them, so guided to the spot by one of the Baron`s
men, they bolding burst inside and began rifling through their new furniture.
Little was found beyond old clothing and junk, although Eazem did recover a
fine locked box (which he was able to have opened latter, to find a handful of
coins and two gems, one a ruby of impressive size). On the upper level they encountered
their haunt, a wraith who was dispatched withòut too much worry, but not before
Lorek felt it`s chill hand of death drain him of vigor and power. Also of
interest was a secret door found in the cellars, with a spiral staircase
leading some 150`down. In a room at the bottom, they found a curious oval archway,
filled with a purple shimmering haze. No one wanted to tempt fate by walking through the arch, but they did note
on closer examination there were 6 holes or cavities scattered around the perimeter
of the oval, each about the size of a sling stone.
The band threw a great party in their new digs, and things
got a little out of control. Lorek and Rylee got well into their cups and
barely avoided mishap. Kern, unfortunately, got himself into some trouble. By
the next morning, all he could recall was asking his god for help, and for once
the god listened. And had now laid a quest on Kern to repay the his benefice.
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