DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 8 / Thief 8)
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 7 / Fighter 7)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 8)
Chanee (Human Paladin 7)
[Baqua Irontoes (Halfling Fighter 4 / Thief 6)]
Date/Time
Harvester 11 (day) - Harvester 14 (morning)
The party is sitting in their inn, commiserating over a lack of ready funds, when a foppish young man enters. He goes to the bar and speaks to the barkeep, who points in the party's direction. The man comes over and introduces himself as Tristram Whackerton-ffoulkes, chief clerk to the Honourable Judge Porthos, a senior judge of the Free City of Greyhawk. The judge it seems is in need of short term bodyguards; very short, as in just for one night. Based on what Tristram has heard, the party is both highly capable and highly broke. Well, he's not wrong there, so the party accompanies the clerk to Judge Pothos manse in the Garden District.
They find Judge Porthos awaiting them; a short round man in saffron and gold robes. He is unwilling to provide many details of why he needs protection, but is willing to pay 1000gp per person to keep him safe here in his mansion this night. Probing by the party reveals little more (though Solcha uses ESP to later learn someone is stalking the Judge, someone the Judge seems to have unknowingly wrongly convicted and had executed), but in the end they settle on a fee of 1350gp each and a free raise dead should they need it. The Judge is also adamant that he not be left alone at all during the night, and he refuses to spend the night anywhere but his mansion.
The party spends the day preparing the manse with traps and tripwires, identifying choke points, and preparing spells. Judge Porthos treats them to a fine meal (but no wine, please) before dismissing the servants. The Judge then equips himself with what the party assumes to be magical defensive gear, and they all settle down inside Goro's protection from evil 10' radius to await what may come.
What comes first is two groups of humanoids, a quartet of troglodytes and one of gnolls. These stumble into the room where the party and Judge are hunkered down, but only fight briefly before fleeing. presumably to let someone/something know the target has been found. All is quiet for another hour, until Skeef hears faint chanting outside. And suddenly the wall of the room bursts inward, revealing a blocky earth elemental. Unable to pass the protection circle, it goes to work on the ceiling trying to collapse it onto the party and the Judge. This forces the party to act, with Solcha and Skeef heading for the hole in the wall and the rest of the party battling the elemental and protecting the judge.
Skeef and Solcha see, on the patio below, a shadowy human form who is obviously directing the elementals' actions. Flanking him are the gnolls and trogs, who now begin to climb up the rubble from the wall to attack. Druid and magic user drop a series of spells on the figure, which results in the elemental breaking free of control and turning on it's summoner. The figure quickly flees into darkness, but not before hurling something up into the house and shouting a word. And suddenly there is a mastodon creaking the floorboards in the room. While most of the party fights the beast, Goro drags the Judge away to a safer place while Skeef (as a bat) and Chanee head outside to find the shadowy figure. This is easy, as he has circled back to the front of the house. Confronted there, the figure screams "Make way! I have no fight with you! I want Porthos!!!" before finally falling to the paladins' blade.
Dawn finds the manse somewhat worse for wear that before. But the party fulfilled the terms of their contract, and walk away with a few more gold to prepare for their next adventures.
GAINS
6 x 1350gp
chime of opening
wand of paralyzation
figure of wonderous power (marble mastodon)
scroll (limited wish)
KILLS/VICTORIES
4 troglodytes
4 gnolls
1 earth elemental [16HD]
1 mastodon
Arkalyne Tottoni the Shade
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