Dramatis personae
Jiro, swordswoman
Felcanis, cleric
Horace, magic-abusing nerd
Lucdalen, magic-abusing self-hating elf
Kurt, hobbit henchman of Lucdalen
Quid occurrit
Yengrátōr, the barkeep at the Scarlet Harlot, offers Jiro 2,000 copper farthings to help pay for their adventure. In return, he asks for a one-fifth share of the loot. He says he isn’t interested in the sword, but wants a cut of everything else. Jiro thinks this sounds like a good deal. Yengrátōr also asks Lucdalen to not have his “friends” show up again.
Felcanis is about to come back to the Scarlet Harlot, but Bašêr, the high priest of Saundīvós, says, “I’m having an issue casting spells, so you might want to back off for a day.” Felcanis asks him with what he needs help, and Bašêr says, “There’s an old man with a mustache who needs some healing, so if you can help him out.” This man has a gash from a farming instrument, which Felcanis heals by casting Major Healing on him. Afterwards, she goes back to the Scarlet Harlot.
From there, they start stocking up gear. Horace buys Blasphemies & Excommunications by The Grand Heresiarch of Ažbrátōr for 4 copper. The bookseller tries to sell him a map of the Eldalîva Woods, but he balks at the 50 copper price. However, when Lucdalen comes in, the bookseller makes her sale to him. Ca-ching! Sadly, the Curious Cairn of the Collector isn’t on the map.
Horace, however, is able to remember a small passage from his many studies about the Curious Cairn of the Collector being the home to a religious cult pre-Undead Plague that had a big indoor garden. Lucdalen hires a hobbit henchman whose name is Kurt.
The next day, they set forth. On the road to the southeastern villages, they run into ten armed folks in tattered armor. The heroes cast spells to get ready: Great Haste on Jiro, Flaming Weapon and Shield on Horace, starting Invisibility.
The shifty-looking folks greet them with “Oh, hello there!” After Kurt greets them back, one in a nasty wig asks, “Do you have any good loot on you? We’ll help you out for some good loot.”
Horace, unhappy about the 2,000 copper loan, says, “Well, considering that they’re in debt for two grand, they’re not likely to help you out much.” The bandits ask what they got for the money, and Kurt blabs about the quest into the woods. The bandits ask to join, and after some stalling, Kurt gives up and charges them.
It was a short battle before the bandits give up. Kurt has tackled one and head-butted him into unconsciousness before they tell their awful secret: “We just got robbed ourselves!”
Res aliae
The bandits gave in partly owing to good Reaction rolls, and partly owing to time.
Our next game will be tomorrow, online. I expect half the game to be fiddling with Roll20, which I mostly know as a player. Since it sounds like COVID19 restrictions are going to be with us for a few months, I suppose I get baptism by fire as a Roll20 GM.
