A quick recap of the D&D game from the other night, a first draft of an ongoing, improvised story…
Player Characters:
- William “Willie” Brewer, human priest of Rhoban, and brewer
- Maira, half-elven wizard (with Fith, her viper familiar)
- Matla, barbarian of the north
- Xanril, human rogue (and architect/engineer)
In the town of Warjos Dos, in late fall, on the farthest edge of the Old Empire, a group was formed in the weeks just prior to the festival of Redtoberfest…
It all started, as it often does, in the tavern down by the docks. Over beers and dinner (fish and cranberries), Willie and Xanril reminisced and Maira and Matla were looking for work.
Ilbhaan the Dark, keeper of the lighthouse, did not show up for his normal afternoon round of drinks. Some sailors, three men, remarked that they might not get their shipment. Maira questioned the sailors and they were cagey and did not want to answer any questions, and immediately beat a hasty retreat. The bartender asked Willie if he could check on Ilbhaan since it was so out of the ordinary
Xanril followed them to the docks, and was able to overhear a conversation between the captain of the ship and the leader of the gang about their shipment, which apparently is “building supplies”. The captain said to keep an eye out for the half-elf girl, but that she was of no concern. He ordered them to go find the dwarf. The sailors did not want to go back to the tavern, where they thought the half-elf girl was, so instead they began searching in the marketplace.
Xanril caught up with the rest of the group and filled them in. Willie and Xanril knew of several dwarves in town, but couldn’t think of which one the sailors could be looking for. Matla decided to go check out the lighthouse.
At the lighthouse, they found the dead bodies of Ilbhaan’s wife and 12 year old son, murdered in their beds, with slashing weapons.
While the others debated what to do, Matla decided to search the lighthouse. On the first floor, they found a library – and Maira immediately went looking for spellbooks. To Willie and Xanril’s surprise (because they never knew Ilbhaan was a wizard back in the day), there were not just one or two, but eight full spellbooks.
They search the rest of the lighthouse, but find nothing: no other clues, no other people… or creatures. They light the fire at the top of the tower, and prepare to guard the bodies until they can take them back to the cathedral in the morning.
Shortly after nightfall, as Maira and Matla stood guard outside, someone approached: a dwarf from town, by the name of Mavel. He’s suspicious, until he sees Father Willie. Mavel is saddened by the deaths, and over beers and dinner (fish and cranberries), Mavel shares his story. He is looking for his brother, Gorm, who, many years ago, was an adventurer with Ilbhaan and Worjos. On their last adventure, they found… something… out, something that was enough to make Ilbhaan swear off magic entirely. But that was many years ago; now Gorm, who is a miner by trade, has been approached by the same sailors that were acting suspiciously earlier. Mavel didn’t think that Gorm was in any kind of trouble, but he also didn’t think his brother wanted anything to do with the sailors.
After dinner, Fith the snake felt some creatures approaching, and Maira felt it through her empathic link. The creatures were approaching along the beach, below the cliff on which the lighthouse stood. The group went outside and tried to spot them; Willie stood and loudly demanded that they reveal themselves, and Matla tossed his torch down onto the beach to get a better look, but all they could see was shadows.
Willie was pelted with stones from down below! The creatures, who hid in the shadows at the base of the cliff, were attacking! Xanril, Willie and Maira shot arrows and crossbow bolts, and Matla climbed down the cliff to take the creatures on face to face. Xanril took down one creature, which Willie identified as a kobold, before taking a deadly blow to the eye with a well-placed sling stone; he was unconscious and bleeding to death…
Willie was able to heal him with the loving power of Rhoban, but when Xanril returned to the top of the bluff to take aim, he was hit again!
Maira got off another shot but missed. Instead of continuing, she picked up on the way the kobolds avoided the torch on the beach and cast a light spell on a rock near the center of the group. The yapping little creatures scattered, half of them going north and the others going south – straight for Matla, who had had some blood drawn by a slung stone but was still ready for a fight!
Matla’s greataxe made quick work of the small creatures, and soon only one was left. The cowardly kobold, wounded by Willie’s crossbow, threw down its spear and prostrated itself before the mighty barbarian. Matla showed it mercy and told it to go – and with a leap, the creature was off and running to catch up to its comrades.
Xanril once again felt the power of Rhoban, and the group convened to watch the lighthouse for the rest of the night, which passed uneventfully.