Dramatis personae
Xóran, fox-man scout
Kim, thief
Mayhem, short barbarian
Ash, squire
Grymálkus, whiny cleric of the war god
Caleb, wizard
Áttikos, holy warrior of the sun god
Kôštē, cleric of the farming goddess
Quid occurrit
They investigated. And Ash and Kim tried and failed to live off the land.
After three days of nothing, Kim started trailing Néttōr. He did spot her looking once, but did nothing. They asked around the village about Néttōr, but only heard the tales about his gambling issues.
Áttikos chose to look into the sun to see the way, and saw that the graveyard shone lighter in the midday sun. There seemed little remarkable about the graveyard, other than that there was little grass growing there. Grym didn’t think there were many spirits.
The graveyard was the spot where the Áttikos held the funeral for Višsīvós, the servant who blew up. The gang spent 30 copper on a wooden box for Višsīvós’s little green globules. A day or so after the burial, they checked on the grave, but found nothing amiss about it.
The gang set itself up in the social structure, with the clerics tending to the serfs. Grym gave 25 copper to Krellévos, the village cleric, to pay for free healing, which healed an old lady after a mishap. Over the week, they spent 150 copper to help fix up the village.
The Winter Solstice, the day of the Love Feast, came. The gang went with the villagers to Rēláištiš, where they set up a kissing booth. Mayhem had fun with an orc slave woman, while Áttikos went to bed with the Lady Lummenólē, one of her many lovers that day. (He had a critical success on a default Sex Appeal roll.) Caleb, who had been bummed all week, not only did not partake in the merriment, but he also got a case of the runs, which Kôštē healed. Grymálkus pulled away a few of the boys who tried to go a little farther with the village women than the women wanted.
However, not everyone walked to Rēláištiš. Néttōr stayed behind, and there he met two big men, who gave him a small sack. After this, Néttōr left. The goons dug up the grave of Višsīvós, but only found some dust, some bone shards, and the little green globules. They shrugged, put back his coffin, and dug up the next grave. This time, they found a fresh dead body from a few weeks before, so they rolled it up in a rug and put it on a sack.
And Kim saw the whole thing.
Kim had been in the manor house, and found little of much worth, other than the gilded box wherein Lady Dīdótē kept her clothes. After finding nothing worth stealing (the box wasn’t light), she went outside and watched Néttōr, then the goons. She followed the goons as they walked for a few miles then, once they started walking around some thick woods, she went back to Rēláištiš to meet the others.
Once Xóran heard what Kim had seen, he gathered the others and they left town. Mayhem picked up the trail of the goons, and they followed all day. When they made it to the Sarkērrêne River, they found the wreck of a raft. Caleb Levitated Mayhem over the river, but Mayhem did bad work of fixing it and they lost ground. They pressed on, and after the sun had set, they saw the campfire of the goons. Weary, instead of striking, they set up camp. All night, they kept watch, but the goons did not leave.
The next day, both sets set forth, and the heroes caught up. Kim and Xóran snuck up on the goons, and got first strike. Kim’s did nothing, but Xóran crippled the leg of one. Mayhem and Ash got off bow shots and Mayhem wounded the goon Kim did not, though Ash’s arrow didn’t get through his armor.
Blindsided, the goon on the ground gave in, but the one still standing started to run. Grymálkus and Caleb cast Might 3 and Shield 2, respectively, on Áttikos, who lumbered to reach the others, as did Mayhem and Ash. Xóran and Kim rushed to get the goon who had run.
Kim reached the wounded goon and grabbed him, as did Xóran after dropping his swords. The wounded goon shook off Kim, and the crippled goon started to crawl away. Kim and Xóran kept trying to take down the wounded goon, however, while the others kept trying to reach the fight. Kim, frustrated, tried to kick the wounded goon in the nuts, but missed, while Xóran tried to get his teeth on his neck, but also failed.
Ash and Mayhem at last made it to the others. Ash grabbed the goons’ horse, while Mayhem grappled the goon on the ground. He said, “Man, don’t hurt me, little guy!” and, and like the other goon, was unable to break free. Kim again tried to kick the goon she held in the nuts but missed, while Xóran again was unable to take him down. Áttikos made it to the fight, and got in on the dogpile on the wounded goon. Kim tried to grab his nuts, and somehow, his nuts got away from her grasp.
Nobody had this trouble at the Love Feast!
Xóran roared, which stunned the wounded goon, and at last he brought him to the ground. The wounded goon snapped aware once on the ground and tried to get free but couldn’t, but the crippled goon wiggled away from Mayhem. Áttikos grabbed the leg of the wounded goon, and Kim pulled out a dagger and tried to stab him, but couldn’t get through the chinks in his armor. Xóran and Mayhem each punched the faces of the goons by them, while Áttikos tried to break the leg of the wounded goon.
Kim turned her heed to the crippled goon and leapt to stab him, but missed. Xóran again slugged the mug of the wounded goon, while Mayhem sat on the crippled goon, stopping him. They both cried, “Uncle!”
And Áttikos broke the leg of the wounded goon anyways, making them both crippled goons. This gets the goon talking, who, after Áttikos asked, said they brought the bodies to the Wolfman after paying Néttōr, who didn’t ever watch them or ask what they were doing. What does the Wolfman do with the bodies? “We don’t ask questions of the Wolfman!”
Xóran and Áttikos took the gear of the goons, each grabbing a broadsword, then killed the wounded one, named Praidīvós, by short-drop hanging. Xóran put a note on him that read: “Here lies the penalty for necromancy.”
They then made the other goon, named Soddīvós, tell them where they could find the Wolfman, who said he lived in a fortified cave to the south of the hobbit village of Kīkídzā, which was less than a day’s trip. After this, Xóran ran him through, too.
Res aliae
Names in my game are in a constructed language; couldn’t you tell? Most of the time, I roll on a table of real-world names and translate them based on their origins (I’m a dork), but these guys have real-world names that befit their job: Hans and Franz.
They died like girly-men.
The grappling rules got another workout, this time the ones in Hall of Judgment. They’re easier to handle than GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling, though obviously the same idea. The players thought they worked alright, though were miffed that they’re not as easy as killing right away. I’ll count that as a success, and told Douglas Cole as much.
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