ETRAN'S FOLLY
2020-02-07
Background Text:
It has been three days since we left Elidir, climbing into the back of
one of Bort Bargith's wagons bound for the faraway capital of Almas.
The smiling caravan master cut our travel cost to only a
handful of coppers, so long as we promised to protect the wagons should
any trouble arise. Fortunately, our journey through the
hinderlands of Isger has been quiet, even if the ride itself has been
far from comfortable.
As we broke camp this morning, Bort announced we should arrive at the
town of Etran's Folly by nightfall, and he promised a comfortable bed
for the night as a reward for a long day's travel. The caravan's
teamsters shared a chuckle between them, trading knowing glances and
subtle nods, but soon enough we are on the road again, the wagon
bouncing and creaking along the uneven trail.
The members in the caravan are:
Bort Bargith - Male Dwarf Merchant - Leader
Cooky - Male Elf - Cook (only on ear)
Glunda Grapeleaf - Female Gnome - Animal Wrangler
Olf and Ulf Redfren - Male Humans - Teamsters (pranksters)
Tamli Grent - Female Half-Orc - Overseer / People Wrangler
Wolves:
We are getting close to the hamlet of Etran's Folly -- which the
caravaneers are calling "Plague Stone". The story is that there
was a plague, several years back, and to minimize exposure food and
other articles of exchange were laid out on a large, flag stone, such
that only one person would be at it at a time.
The road is curving through a forest, and we've lost sight of the other
wagons in front of us. Suddenly wolves burst out of the forest
and charge our wagon.
1. Brother Young casts Bless; Wolf1
misses Alric; Wolf2 bites Nell and transmits fleas; Nell
hits Wolf2 for 4 and wipes fleas off; Mila casts Electric Arc on Wolf2
and Wolf3 for 4.
2. Brother Young casts Divine Lance on Wolf4
for 6, kills; Wolf1 misses Alric; Wolf2 bites
Nell for 6 and transmits fleas; Wolf3 misses Mila; Alric
casts Magic Missile
on Wolf2 for 3, kills, on Wolf1 for 6, kills;
Mila casts Ray of Frost
on Wolf3 for 8, kills, casts Shield on herself; Large
Wolf howls -- Alric reacts with Counter Performance, all
four make our Will saves; Nell moves to, hits Large Wolf for 10, 9.
3. Brother Young casts a spell
which fails; Alric casts Shield
on himself, moves up next to Nell; Mila casts Hydraulic Push on Large
Wolf for 12, pushes it back 5'; Large Wolf vomits acid on Nell for
(with save) 6; Nell hits Large Wolf for 13, kills.
Brother Young casts healing spells to bring Nell back to full health.
XP: 60
The rest of the caravan have dealt with the wolves which attacke their
wagons. Bort and Tamli ask our help in getting one of the wagons
back onto the road. Alric becomes fatigued during this effort.
Dinner
As we enter the hamlet, we can see that it is dilapidated, run down.
Bort stops the wagons next to a feed mill, which doubles as a
bar, general store, eatery, and inn. Edra, a female halfling
stablehand, comes to take the oxen, who had been pulling the wagons,
off to be fed and pastured. Inside we are greeted - Bort and his
crew by name - by Delma Fulst, the female human innkeeper. We see
a huge, brutish-looking human at one of the tables, being served by a
male goblin. (We learn that the goblin , Phinick, is a helper at
the inn; and that the human's name is Hallod.) Staying at the inn
costs five coppers (Alric has to borrow this amount from Mila).
To pass the time, Mila and Nell work on knitting; Alric refocuses
to regain a Focus Point.
Bort's business in the hamlet goes well. He invites the four of
us to join his team for dinner that evening - his treat. We are eating
at a long table on the dais. There is entertainment in the form
of an extremely inept singer named Flonk, off key and accompanying
himself with (Alric notices) a lute with missing strings. Bort
makes sure that everyone has been served a bowl of his favorite dish -
he himself has an extra large bowl of it.
Suddenly, down on the main floor, two men yell at each other, stand up,
and start throwing punches. This rapidly turns into a room-wide
brawl.
1. Brother Young
jumps down off the dais to rescue a server who has been knocked
down in the fighting; a thrown chair hits Brother Young for 4; Alric
uses Stealth and hides under the table; joined by Mila.
2. Brother Young tries using
Diplomacy to urge everyone to calm down and stop fighting; Nell
wastches Brother Young's back; Alric and Mila hide.
3. Brother Young shoves pairs
of fighters apart; so does Nell; Alric and Mila hide; Sheriff Rolth
Garley steps in and yells.
4. Fighting stops; Brother
Young starts healing those most hurt; Sheriff Garley starts collecting
stories; Bort starts choking - dies despite Brother Young's best
efforts to save him.
XP: 10
Sheriff Garley interviews everyone and comes up with a timeline:
??? spills (possibly deliberately) a bowl of soup on Eallom, a male
human farmer;
Eallom throws a punch at ???;
General mayhem breaks out;
Trin, a female human server, is knocked down;
Brother Young steps in to rescue Trin;
Sheriff enters and brawl stops;
Bort starts choking, dies.
Brother Young says he thinks Bort was poisoned.
Sheriff Garley detains us, the rest of the caravan team, and the inn
staff (including Amora the female human cook and Kolnral the male human
other server). He explains that this needs to be brought before
the Justice, Lord Mubbage Cranberry (?), who can be expected to return
to Etran's Folly next in about a month. Nell raises the highly
relevant question of how the hamlet will provide us and the caravan
team with room and board for that month. Sheriff Garley decides
to draft us four as under-sheriffs and sets us to solving the murder --
if we can, then we'll be allowed to continue to Almas.
end of run