Session 9- Assault on the Moathouse Day 32 late afternoon
The party surveils the fort. It seems to be an old ruined Keep outpost surrounded by a crude moat set low against the swamps of the Rushmoors. They check both sides of the structure, it seems very muddy and slow going on both sides, though the outer walls are completely crumbling in a few places. They elect to approach the moathouse quickly and cautiously via the main gate, which is a ruined drawbridge spanning the moat. They first are lept upon by some giant frogs lurking in the swampy waterways, and they quickly dispatch them. Again, because of sharpened adventuring skills, Thantas narrowly avoids an ambush through an arrow slit from a bandits crossbow. They were waiting for the approaching party, missing their shot, they run into the interior of the moathouse, but a well placed arrow fells one, but two others make it inside the moathouse’s inner structure. It looks to be a one story inner keep structure with a very ruined, broken roof structure. The party rushes in in pursuit into the main hall of the inner moathouse, ruined furniture and piles of debris everywhere. They quickly begin searching, finding a closed door, and two passages leading out one west and one south. They decide the bandits are most likely behind the door and promptly smash it down, bursting into a den of bandits perched throughout a ruined room, and a few crossbow quarrels are let loose. The battle begins, its 8 bandits and their leader vs the party. A heroic combat ensues, ending with the bandit leader making a last stand, calling for his comrades to flee, and he succumbs to two mighty blows from both Mandigor and Belgium, as two bandits flee over a ruined outer wall and onto the wilderness over a few well placed rocks in the moat. Thantas goes to climb over the wall after them and hopefully get a shot off, but instead on the other side of the pile of rubble he finds Mondius and Manuel, the hirelings, bound and gagged and pleading to be untied, but relieved that their bosses came to rescue them. The hirelings are untied and given first aid, then equipped with the remnants of the dead bandits. The party pauses to see if any more bandits or other encounters will occur, then elect to rest, out of wounds and exhaustion from their long, hurried romp through the Rushmoors. Day 33. On the dead bandit leader, the party finds a mysterious note from “L” speaking of a kidnapping ring that goes through Orlane, a nearby village, and into this person’s lair in the Dim Wood to the north. It would seem there are agents of “L” in Orlane that will take the bandits' kidnapees on to this “L”. It also seems there is some other evil at work, because in the letter L mentions that he has negotiated some type of truce with an unknown group/person allowing him to use the moathouse in exchange for not kidnapping in or near Orlane. The mystery deepens. The party decides to check out more of the moathouse, only to encounter a nest of bats, and a giant snake, which Belgium puts the fear of death into, and it runs away. From the exploration in the moathouse, the party finds a fine broadsword, a jeweled dagger, and coin from the dead bandits. Day 33 noon.
Session 10- Return to Civilization, Seeking Rest Day 33 afternoon
The party assesses to complete searching through the unexplored moathouse, hoping for unfound treasure. The party is finding its own as dungeon explorers and Thantas does a rather crafty job of checking doors and walls for traps. An unnoticed Giant Tick does adhere itself to Thantas in the ruined kitchen of the moathouse, but it is quickly dispatched. An impatient Belgium, Cleric of Death, kicks in a few doors and provokes a few combats from a giant lizard and a giant spider, and hastily leads the clearing out of the last few rooms of the moathouse, finding a fine silver baton, some coins, a crossbow and some magic bolts in the process. Never before has the party seen the death cleric so closely approach the gates of death, the spider bite he incurred was resisted save by only his stout dwarven constitution. With the moathouse cleared out, and the party low on spells and wounded from combat, they decide to sleep again in the now much less dangerous ruined outpost. Day 34 dawn- after an early rest and pre dawn rise the party is again emboldened by their new experience and some members level in power. Belgium’s death god is pleased and he is blessed with more powerful spells. Draden and Malden also gain more arcane and divine power respectively, and Draden uses a Detect Magic spell on the loot the party has acquired over its tenure. They detect and equip appropriately the following- a masterwork broadsword, 20 magic arrows, 20 magic bolts, a jeweled dagger, a second dagger, and the Dwarven Battleaxe found in the Stonehand tomb. All of this accomplished before dawn, they set out at first light, gathering that if they head north keeping the Rushmoors to their left, within 20 miles they should hit the east-west road that leads to Orlane, and back west to the Mar Millor region. Through warmer than usual fall temperatures and a light drizzle of rain, the party uneventfully makes it to the road and the outskirts of Orlane by dusk, probably covering 16-18 miles of desperate hiking in search of civilization and lodging. Draden is able to recall that Orlane has 2 inns- The Slumbering Serpent, and the Golden Grain Inn, and the filthy, exhausted party happens into the first of those they see- The Golden Grain Inn. Bertram, the curious but pleasant innkeeper, rents the party 2 rooms. After cleaning themselves up and settling into their rooms, the party is unable to gather any rumors or talk up any patrons in the Inn’s main room, the few guests keeping to themselves. Mandigor tries to drop some hints gathered from the information gleaned from the dead bandit’s letter, but the innkeeper seems perplexed. Stymied, the party tries to find some other night life in the quiet town, perhaps at the other inn. Across the bridge at the Slumbering Serpent, the party, or more particularly Draden, is immediately met by Rev. Ramsey, the cleric from his former adventuring party that was routed. They are delighted to see each other alive, and recant their tales of survival. Rev. Ramsey also imparts that he is in desperate need to get back east to their homeland of Safeton on the Wild Coast, which has recently been plagued by buccaneers who attack the city by boat and enslave any who are captured. Calls for help are emerging from Safeton and other communities along the Wild Coast, and Rev. Ramsey cannot get east soon enough. End session late evening day 34.
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