the story so far

[Old Man]

Part of my first session GMing FH. If you folks are interested I'll continue as long as the weekly sessions hold out.

 

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Lavenus the Most Pretty wearily walks towards Cowscrossing after weeks of stomping through thick forest and swamp. "When I find him, I will take his hide, that bastard! 'Follow the western trail' he says, 'Cowscrossing is a huge city' he says, 'You can't miss it' he says..." Looking at his clothes in dismay, "These swamp stains will take hours to get out! and what if somebody notices the smell?"

 

As it turns out, Cowscrossing is a small town. Calling it walled would be generous, fenced would be a better term as the timber barrier is barely five feet high. The local militia give Lavenus a few odd stares but let him pass through the gates unmolested.

 

Finding a laundry and bath was fairly easy. The cleaning was quick and cheap - just the way he liked it. Feeling better in clean clothes and polished horns, he made his way over to the local tavern for a beer. Plotting revenge requires beer. The Most Pretty had just sat down when a tall white haired man entered closely followed by a huge monk.

 

"Your ways are evil, you must repent and refuse the calling of the dark side!" the monk bellows.

 

"Who said I was an evil necromancer?"

 

"My teachers at the monastery have taught me about such things, and look at you! Black leather, pale skin, white hair, skull like features, you must be an evil necromancer! Besides, he said, " pointing towards a stone skinned Vashon "you're Aleister Carloss the evil necromancer."

 

Taking this as his cue, the grey skinned fellow steps in front of Aleister and puffs out his chest. "Yes, see here everyone! This is the evil necromancer!" the rest of the patrons look on in mild interest but no one supports him.

 

"Do you really want to find out if I'm evil?" Aleister glares down at the four foot tall man "Do ya?" Looking around desperately and finding no support, the stone skinned man, storms off into the street. The monk once again tries to convince the necromancer that his ways are wrong and that he should repent before the one true god.

 

Lavenus ponders the pair and decides revenge can wait. If these two provide enough of a distraction, he might be able to pick up a few baubles from the dirt.

[Old Man]

A woman's scream and cries of alarm from the street cause some of the people in the tavern to go out. More out of idle curiosity than than anything else, Aleister, Yor (the monk) and Lavenus follow them outside.

 

Just as their boots hit the street, a large riding bird (Yackle) stops before them. It's rider falls in a bloody heap at their feet. He is unconscious and obviously close to death.

 

"OK monk, show me the way. Show me the power of your god." Aleister declares.

 

Yor kneels before the injured man whispering prayers to Saint Sebastian. Soon his hands begin to glow with a holy golden light. As Yor moves his hands over the man's body, the worst of the wounds stop bleeding and his breathing becomes more regular.

 

The locals recognize him as a caravan guard that regularly comes into town. His injuries hint at why the caravan is overdue.

 

By now more people have gathered around including several members of the militia. Looking at the long barbs that were pulled from the rider's back, Lavenus as well as others mention that this was the work of Muskies.

 

The militia sergeant says "Somebody should find out what has happened to the others."

 

"Yeah you, evil necromancer, prove that you're not evil." taunts the grey skinned Vashon.

 

"So how many of us are going?" Aleister asks.

 

The militia looked startled and afraid "We have to stay and uh..guard the town."

 

"Then give me your mount."

 

"No."

 

"I am surrounded by idiots!" Aleister glares at the crowd before sweeping past them. Yor follows soon after to make sure the white-haired man practices no evil magick. Finding himself with an empty mug and an empty pouch, Lavenus trots after them.

[Old Man]

not entirely accurate but my mind is fuzzy...

---------------

The trail was easy to follow. Even Yor with little worldy experience could see the bloody signs. About a mile out of town, the trio crested a hill to see the caravan, or what remained of it, a short distance away. Three wagons were on the road, their drivers dead in their seats or lying nearby. The yackles appeared dead as well. Several mounds in the tall grass indicated the locations of the guards and their mounts.

 

No living humans could be seen, but the Muskies were very much alive. Four of the man-sized badgers were carrying goods and bodies towards a wood at the top of a hill. A fifth musky, posted as a guard, barked out a warning to his companions. All of them dropped their loot and drew their weapons.

 

"I wonder if I can hit them from here?" Lavenus said launching an arrow towards the nearest musky. The musky which was 25 yards away didn't even flinch as the arrow sailed over it's head. "Nope, guess not." Lavenus continued to fire a series of arrows while advancing on the muskies.

 

Closing his eyes in concentration, Aleister called out words of power and drew symbols in the air with his fingers. A seeping yellow mist gathered around his feet before propelling him towards the wooded hill.

 

Gagging on the foul odor left behind, Yor rushed down the road to engage the muskies bare handed. Whispering prayers to the All Father, his hands and arms become a blur of motion. The musky attacks seemed clumsy and slow. Yor avoided their blows with seemingly no effort, and in seconds left two of them lying in the dirt.

 

Lavenus finding it impossible to hit anything with his bow, dropped it in favor of his staff. His plan to guard Yor's flank came too late as the threat they presented was already neutralized.

 

After landing, Aleister called upon the spirits of the dead to hurl a Musky 21 yards into the grass. He had just finished his spell when a musky barb sprouted from the armor protecting his vitals. The blow made him gasp in pain, but no serious harm was done.

 

Another musky was aproaching quickly, ready to cut Aleister into meaty chunks. Drawing a deep breath, the necromancer once again concentrated and flung out a small mote of greenish light. The musky stopped in it's tracks as maggots began to pour from it's eyes.

 

Seeing that his project was being threatened, Yor lifted his arms to the glory of Saint Sebastian and flew through the air to land nearby. He was determined to make the evil man repent, he couldn't do that if Aleister was dead. His thinking was almost prophetic as the atlatl armed musky threw another dart into Aleister's vitals

 

The musky that was thrown into the grass recovered and ran towards Lavenus looking for an easier kill. The badger-like creature and the horned man were nearly equal in skill trading blow for blow, neither gaining a real advantage.

 

From the top of the hill, Yor thought, "Do I have to save you all?" Taking up a horse stance, breath hissing between his teeth, Yor unleashed a glowing bolt of justice into the head of the musky dueling with Lavenus. Warm bits of brain splashed accross the Toth's face, arms, and chest. With a bloody bit dripping from a horn, Lavenus almost cried... These stains might not come out at all.

 

The necromancer, not satisfied with merely making maggots pour from the eyes of his opponent, cast another spell upon the helpless creature. It's skin began to fall loose about it body as the muscle beneath atrophied to nothing. It fell to the ground in a heap of mewing fur.

 

The last musky released another dart before dashing into the woods. It grunted in satisfaction as the necromancer dropped to ground with yet another shaft in the vitals.

 

Yor dashed into the woods after it. A rustle or branches and a loud thump later had Yor return dragging a musky corpse behind him.

[Tetsuyama]

Cool. There's at least one folk (this one right here) who's interested in how this turns out.

[Old Man]

Aleister openned his eyes to white clouds and blue skies, feeling rather peaceful. His peace lasted long enough for him to blink. Then the ache in his groin came rushing back making him groan in agony.

 

While the necromancer was recovering from his bruises, Yor and Lavenus policed the area gathering up the bodies and what remained of the caravan goods. Aparently, two wagon loads had been carried off before their arrival along with 7 guard bodies.

 

After they were for the most part rested and healed, they made their way back to the town of Cowscrossing.

[Old Man]

The townspeople were mildly upset that the caravan was attacked. The fact that the bodies were stripped of money but not weapons was strange. Usually only small groups of people were taken or attacked by the muskies. A dozen trained and armed men should have kept them away. In any case, the townspeople gladly paid the bounty for the musky kills.

 

The three still newly acquainted companions came to the conclusion that finding out what happened to the rest of the guards and supplies would be a good idea. Yor for the sake of righting an injustice, Lavenus to score more booty and bounty. Aleister had nothing better to do.

 

Lavenus demanded a chance to clean up and wash the guck off of his clothes and polish his horns. The bath house owner was quite pleased to see him again.

 

The necromancer took this chance to visit the local herb dealer. He made sure that he was alone with the shop owner before locking the door behind him. Unfortunately, he did not notice that he was followed by an unhappy stone-skinned man. The Vashon did his best to hear the conversation within but could only make out the words "slime demon".

 

Yor found himself with a semi-captive audience and began to preach about the glory and power of the All Father.

 

------

 

Lavenus was just leaving the bath house when he spied a familiar face. "You! you lying sack of piss!" he shouted. "I'll have your ears for sending me into that swamp! Do you know, I got bitten by leaches and had to walk through mud?! mud!"

 

Macarrandir was about to make an unwise remark when both of them were lifted by their collars. "Gentlemen please, we're all friends before the All Father. We shouldn't be fighting among ourselves, we have muskies to bring to justice." Yor gave them a big smile.

 

Lavenus squirmed but gave up the struggle. Macarrandir gave a smirk knowing the huge monk just saved him from another ass kicking. "Now where could that necromancer have gone?"

 

The new three amigos spent some time asking about Aleister but nobody knew where he had gone. "That is unfortunate, but come! We have muskies to thrash!"

 

------

[Old Man]

Finding their way back to the site of the attack was easy. When they got there they found no further signs of muskies nearby. The only thing making noise were birds and hungry flies. The wagons were still on the road and undisturbed.

 

The muskies made no effort to hide their tracks so in spite of the thick forest and limited sight, it was easy to follow their trail. Exercising caution as they moved through the wood payed off as the three avoided a dangerous confrontation with a huge blade beetle. 10 feet of armored beast wasn't something Lavenus, Mac, and Yor wanted to play with.

 

The forest started to thin out after a few more hours of travel. Lavenus caught the smell of smoke in the air and was rewarded a short time later by seeing the flicker of a fire ahead. Lavenus and Macarrandir moved ahead using every bit of cover to remain unseen.

 

As expected, there was a musky camp set up in a clearing. There were only a few muskies present along with two huge dogs. The camp seemed large for the number of beings there, but the others might be close by. Lavenus turned to go back and give Yor an update when his horns brushed against a bang fungus. The resultant crack and cloud of yellow spores made him stand out quite clearly to all.

 

Barking and hissing alarm, the muskies drew steel and the dogs were set loose. Lavenus barely had enough time to draw his sword before his was being pressed by the pony sized canines.

 

Mac sighed in disgust while putting an arrow to string. He wasn't spotted so he had his choice of targets. Rather than helping Lavenus with the dogs, he aimed for two muskies standing in the camp, thinking they might be easier to hit. He pulled back on his bow and loosed, the arrow flew straight into the the ground between them.

 

Yor hearing the increased activity said a prayer to Saint Sebastian asking for a blessing. He feared his two skinny associates must be in dire need. His body was filled with holy power giving him the speed to run through the wood faster than a horse.

 

The dog handler and another musky advanced intending to add Lavenus and Mac to the cooking pot or smoking rack. Even if the food is dangerous, it's still food. The man-badgers still in the camp looked down at Mac's arrow and grunted in effort as they flung yard long darts at the Skinny Wythir. Their aim was better but Macarrandir managed to jump out of the way.

 

Lavenus fought with skill but only managed to give one of the dogs a scrath on the shoulder before having his guts ripped out. Both dogs were eager to start feeding but heard a whistle from their master. Fight others first, then feed.

[Old Man]

Yor bounded through the forest ignoring the whipping branches and pulling vines. Bulling his way into the dog handler, he managed to knock it off it's feet. The creature was shaken but still alive. With an angry stomp, the monk crushed it's windpipe before it could get up.

 

Macarrandir the Proud had just enough time to drop his bow and draw his swords before he was assaulted by the killer dogs. Wythir are known for their speed and agility, Mac used both to keep the dogs at bay.

 

Not wanting to harm the dogs, the atlatl armed muskies launched a pair of darts towards Yor, but could not hit the large nimble man.

 

Almost as an afterthought, Yor backhanded the musky closest to him crushing it's face and sending shards of bone into it's brain. Saying another small prayer to Saint Sebastian, he leapt with the Grace of God into the middle of the throwing muskies.

 

The dogs were persistant in their attacks against Mac. One of them seeming to make a sacrifice of itself in order to make an openning for the other. With swards lodged in the chest and leg, one dog fell while the other latched onto the Wythir's thigh. The dog swallowed a chunk of flesh as Mac fell to the ground bleeding.

 

Yor saw both of his companions fall and his vision turned slightly pink. A rapid combination of punches and kicks dropped yet another musky. The last badger-man tried to defend itself but was totally outclassed.

 

Now it was just Yor and a huge dog. The dog snarled while foam dripped down it's bloody jaws. As Yor advanced, the dog jumped on him and bit his arm. Yor gasped in pain while hammering the dog in the ribs. It look a little while for him to realize that the dog was no longer moving - it's jaws were locked on his arm.

 

He was exhausted but checking on his companions was a priority. When he checked on Lavenus, the flies were just beginning to feast. In spite of the horrible wound tothe stomach, the Toth was still alive - barely. Singing praises to the All Father, Yor's hands began to glow with a golden light. As the healing energies flowed into The Most Pretty, the bleeding stopped and the wound began to close. Soon, the wound was nothing more than a pink scar.

 

By the time Yor reached Macarrandir, he found the skinny man in a lot of pain but conscious and binding his own bleeding leg.

 

Lavenus ignored the tenderness of his newly healed gut and made sure their enemies would never get up. He thought the scalps and coins he found were worth the pain.

 

"We can only rest for a short while before heading back to town." Yor said "It probably be dark before we get there."

[tgaptte]

Cool, keep 'em coming! What happened to Aleister in the last adventure? Player didn't show?

 

Tim

[Old Man]

Deaming themselves fit enough to travel, the three puds, started on their way back to Cowscrossing. The sun set while they were still a good distance away, but there was enough moonlight to see by.

 

As they got closer to the town, they saw an ominous glow in the sky. Even Yor who was lacking in worldly experience knew the signs of a large fire. All of them dashed forward to see what was wrong, any large fire in a town was a bad thing. Yor and Mac outpaced the much slower Lavenus and were the first to see several parts of the town in flames.

 

Four more hands wouldn't do much for putting out the flames, so they did what they could for the wounded. Sadly to say there were many. From the scores of barbs scattered around the town, they guessed correctly that muskies had raided while they were gone. Most of the militia had been wiped out and carried off before the muskies were "driven away". Macarrandir knew a little about musky culture, and thought it was more probable that the muskies had more food than they could carry so they left.

 

It took hours before the last flames burned out, the last wound bandaged. Looking over the damage, Mac approached one of the militia men. "You're telling me that a score of muskies tromped into town, burned down five houses, the leather worker's shop and the smithy, and they got away?" he asked.

 

"No no sir, we got three of them! Our losses were higher than expected but we won!" the new militia captain pronounced.

 

"Captain, how many people were in the militia before the raid?"

 

Thinking for a short while he answered "30 I think....yes, 30."

 

Shaking his head, the skinny Wythir walked away. Joining up with Yor, he said "How is it that these people think they won? They inflicted 3 casualties, and suffered 20 of their own!" Yor shrugged, not knowing what to say and lead Mac to the bath house to wash off the blood and ash.

 

As they made their way down the main street, a familiar stone skinned man pointed an accusing finger. "You! you were with that necromancer. Why did you let him do this to the town? Aleister the Evil was with the muskies, I saw him!" The shock showed on their faces and more than a little disturbed, Yor and Mac continued on their way.

 

Almost as expected, Lavenus was already soaking in one of the large wooden tubs. Looking at his ash covered companions he smiled, "Is the fire out? All those ashes and sparks were terrible on my fur..." Yor was easily able to restrain the much weaker Wythir. They all had a long day (and night) and all needed to get clean and rested.

[Old Man]

It took a couple days for the group to fully recover and get equipment repaired. If the tanning shop and smithy hadn't burned down, the work might have been faster.

 

During this time, Lavenus and Macarrandir found two people interested in actions against the muskies. Zin, a travelling Manling entertainer; and Chip, a Vashon priest in exile.

 

The townspeople were still clearing the debris from the fires as the new group set off through the burned section of wall. They had not gone 50 yards before Lavenus stopped. "I have to go back." Ignoring the questioning remarks, he turned around and went back towards the town. He called, "I'll be back soon, don't worry."

 

Needless to say, they didn't worry. After half an hour of waiting, they still didn't worry, they started to get irritated. Mac was about to charge back to town and drag Lavenus back by the horns when they spotted a figure approaching.

 

Neither Zin nor Chip recognised the man for what he was, even though his clothes, the pale skin, the sunken eyes and skull decorations gave it away. Yor was a little surprised to see the black clad necromancer. "Greetings," Aleister said "we still hunting muskies?"

 

"We were told you were helping the muskies, not killing them." Mac mildly accused. "I didn't think it was true, but we haven't seen you for days."

 

"Your friend, the stone-man told us he saw you giving aid to the ones that raided the town." Yor commented. "You haven't been praticing evil necromany have you?" He glared.

 

"No, no," Aleister said in an offhanded manner "I was fighting off a nasal slime demon. It took longer than expected. So, what happened to Lavenus?

 

"That bastard probably went to take another bath. Let's get going already." With that, Macarrandir took off at a trot, following the light trail into the forest.

[Old Man]

Macarrandir was in his element, scouting ahead of the group looking for signs of ambush. As he moved ahead, he left signs for the group to follow. Even though he was a mere 15 yards ahead, his companions could not see him.

 

An odd shift in the foliage before him caused him to stop. The motion didn't continue so the tall Wythir moved forward with more caution. Pushing a final thich branch aside brought him face to dripping mandibles with a huge blade beetle. The creature immediately took notice of Macarrandir and charged.

 

The loud snapping of branches and thrashing bushes caused Yor, Aleister, Zin and Chip to stop. The commotion alerted them to a threat but they didn't know what it was until the crashing started to circle towards them. It was then that they heard Mac shouting "Big....Bug...Coming!!" The scout ran through the group and back into the forest.

 

Zin didn't need further prompting, she scrambled up into a tree with almost no effort. Yor chanted prayers to the All Father while Aleister gathered his dark powers. Chip barely had time to pull hig great mace free before he was knock over by the largest bug he had ever seen. The creature was truly fearsome, 30 feet long, 10 feet wide covered in thich armored shell. Lying on the ground he thought he was a dead man, but the beetle completely ignored him and continued to trundle after Macarrandir.

 

Gathering his holy forces, Yor unleashed a glowing bolt of justice at the beetle's retreating back. The white mote drilled a small hole in the armored skin causing a clear goo to leak forth. Zin proceeded to throw a hail of daggers at the beetle every time she caught of glimpse of the creature.

None of them seemed to cause any damage but several were caught it's armor.

 

Macarrandir was doing his best not to become beetle food, just barely staying ahead of the rushing monster. Feeling that it was close to catching it's prey, the beetle started to drip a green ooze from it's jaws. Not wanting to get lost in the forest, Mac circled towards the group again.

 

As Mac ran past, Chip hefted his mace and swung at the beetle as it came into range. The blow was like hitting a wall, sending a shock up his arm. But that wall of armor now had a crack in it. The pain was just enough to turn the beetle from it's prey.

 

Yor rushed forward trying to summon his holy energies, but failed. Finding some small amusement at the monk's failure Aleister waited for an oportunity to strike. When it came, he send draining energies towards the beetle. His senses told him the spell worked, but no outward sign was visible.

 

Zin continued to throw daggers at the armored shell hoping for a lucky strike. Several hits landed on the beast's head but none of them penetrated the thick carapace. The rain of daggers didn't distract the blade beetle from it's new target. It lashed out with both of it's massive claws gouging deep furrows in the earth next to Chip.

 

Chip reacted by taking another swing with his mace. The studded steel head landed squarly in the dirt forcing Chip to regain his balance. Yor once again sent prayers to Saint Sebastian but his fist did not take on it's usual glowing might. Striking the armored hide made him flinch and did nothing to the beetle.

 

Mac continued to run in a large circle coming around to the side of the beetle. Drawing forth his short swords, he charged. Hacking away at the legs of the beetle did no damage but he continued his assault hoping for a lucky hit.

 

Aleister summoned an unsettled spirit which lifted Chip off his feet and landed him on the beetle's back. The creature focused on Yor and tried to bite off his head, but with cat like grace, the monk avoided the dripping jaws.

 

The monk focused again, and said another prayer to Saint Sebastian but again, his prayers were ignored. Without the infusion of holy might Yor was unable to harm the beetle. While the rest of the group provided a distraction, Chip gripped his mace with both hands and started to hammer the armored back of the beetle. The swaying beetle made one of his swings go wide, but in a short time, Chip cracked open the shell causing clear goo to splash over him. The huge monster gave a final shudder before settling to the ground.

 

"Hmm," Chip said as he slid down the side of the beetle, "smells like mint." Rubbing the goo off his face, he commented, "Tastes kind of hot though."

[Old Man]

*semi- accurate account of events*

 

Zin clambered down from her roost and walked over to the beetle intent on retrieving her daggers. While examining the corpse, she found a glistening membrane protruding from the beetle's abdomen. Slicing through the thin skin caused four grapefruit sized spheres covered in slime to pour out. Apparently, the beetle was a female with eggs. The entertainer spent some time collecting s good portion of the beetle gore and packing up the eggs.

 

It didn't take long for the group to find the Musky trail again. Mac was once again scouting ahead. If not for the threat of blade beetles and Muskies, the walk would have been fairly pleasant.

 

Aleister whispered foul words and flicked his fingers in arcane patterns every quarter hour. Several of his attempts resulted in him muttering "hmm, nothing." But after a few hours, he said "Hold on, what's this?" A look of concentration came over the necromancer's features and he seemed to peer into the forest. "Mac, there's Muskies ahead about 150 yards away."

 

With Aleister guiding them, the rest of the group moved ahead cautiously. The had just entered a clear portion of the trail when half a dozen Musky barbs sailed into their midst - they were spotted.

 

Mac ran ahead as fast as his skinny legs could carry him. Yor was intent on outpacing him but his prayers fell on deaf ears. Zin, thinking defensively jumped into another tree. Aleister took up a guard position on the ground near her. Chip followed in the wake of Mac and Yor.

 

Loud barking alerted Macarrandir and Yor to the presence of Musky dogs just as the canines charged through the bushes at them. The first was taken down quickly by Yor and his mighty fists of holy might. The second was much luckier. Before Mac could block effectively, the pony sized beast clamped it's jaws on his shoulder. The tall man went limp from the pain and loss of flesh.

 

An unsettled spirit lifted the unconscious scout and placed him at the feet of Aleister. Zin caught a glipse of the Musky dog near Yor. Her sight was true but her arm failed her, instead of her dagger striking the dog, it sank into Yor's flank.

 

The dog looked at Yor with seeming intelligent eyes. The two circled each other waiting for the right moment to strike. As it was about to attack, the dog's focus on the monk was broken. Chip came crashing down the trail widly swinging his great mace. Yor took the oportunity to land a blow on the dog's stomach stunning it long enough for Chip to cave in it's chest with studded steel.

 

More Musky darts were thrown at the two dog slayers but none found their mark. The Muskies didn't follow their usual pattern of advancing. Instead of running forward, they faded back into the forest.

 

Yor was determined to catch them. With a holy shout he ran forward with the grace of god. His face broke into a grin as he charged. Within seconds the Muskies were before him. Within a footstep, he found himself falling into a spike lined pit. One of the sharpened wooden stakes pierced his leg but the injury wasn't great.

 

Moving his hands over Macarrandir's torn shoulder, Aleister siphoned up a bit of the Wythir's soul. Using this energy, he stopped the bleeding and brought the scout back from the brink of death. Chip ran after the Muskies but it would take a short time before he could reach them. Losing sight of her companions, Zin considered following them.

 

A warning hand by Aleister made Zin pause. "Something coming..." the necromancer peered behind him and started to feel a vibration from the ground.

[Old Man]

Yor invoked the strength of St. Sebastian leaping out of the pit to land behind the three startled Muskies. Spinning on one foot, the massive monk kicked one of the hairy creatures in the back throwing it into the pit.

 

Crashing branches announced the arrival of Chip Oblach, Disciple of The All Father. Roaring a battlecry, he too almost landed in the pit of spikes.

 

With a crumbling of dirt and rock, two Muskies emerged from the ground about 5 feet away from Aleister. Zin threw her last axe at one hitting it in the thigh. The Musky's eyes rolled back as it fell back into the hole it came from.

 

Aleister faced off against the other Badger-man. The two of them traded blows only for a short time. Aleister's old fencing lessons came back to him allowing him to strike a death blow with his sword.

 

Fighting off two Muskies was almost child's play for Yor but he couldn't get a solid hit through their combined defense. They in turn could not hit the huge, nimble man.

 

Leaping over the pit, Chip took a spear in the gut before he swung his mace into a Musky side. The other, shocked by his companion's sudden demise, allowed Yor the openning he was waiting for. Half a dozen punches to the Musky's hand and shoulder left the last of the Badger-men lying in the dirt.

[Old Man]

Cleaning up the cuts and bruises took only a short time. Yor was granted the ability to close Chip's deep spear wound. Macarrandir while conscious, was no longer in fighting trim. With one member down, the group thought it would be a good idea to return to Cowscrossing.

 

Their return was thankfully uneventful. No more wandering blade beetles, no burning town, no ambush by Muskies...

 

"You! You're the evil necromancer that helped burn down part of the town!" shouted Jymn, the all-to-familiar Vashon. Jymn had recognized Aleister weeks ago and was a common irritant. He decided to confront Aleister just as the group passed through the town gates.

 

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" Aleister glared "Huh? What are you gonna do little man?"

 

You'll see," the stone skinned man stammered "just you wait. You'll see." Jymn turned his back on the group and trotted off down a side alley.

 

Lavenus was just leaving the bath house and saw the little conversation. "Was that that same guy that's always harassing you?" At Aleister's nod, "I think I'll go have some fun." Lavenus took off at a jog. Mac shrugged and followed right after him.

 

--------

 

The next evening, Aleister, Chip, Lavenus and Zin were having a farewell dinner in the Prancing Pansy. Zin's entertaining troupe was to leave town the night and they wanted to say treat her to a good bye pint. Mac was abed, still recovering from his wound with help from Yor.

 

"Learn anything yesterday?" Aleister asked Lavenus.

 

"It turns out that Jymn guy is looking to hire some heavy hitters to teach you a lesson - a bruiser of a Vashon, and two ladies. They were prettier than me, I'm very bitter."

 

As if by fate, Jymn walked into the tavern closely followed by a thick, dark skinned Vashon, a tall brunette woman with a sheathed great sword, and blond woman of medium height carrying a staff. As already stated by Lavenus the women were stunning.

[Old Man]

The tavern common room was large, smokey and fairly crowded. That being the case, Jymn did not notice that his target was in the same room with him. Aleister meanwhile was watching Jymn and wondering when the fool would notice him.

 

It did take a while. Zin finished her meal and bade her friends good bye and happy travelling. The necromancer finished a fine meal and was on his second cup of wine before Jymn choked on his beer and a firey gleam lit his eyes. "There he is!" pointing to Aleister. "Kill him! go go!" pushing his three hired swords forward.

 

The tavern's patrons were as fast as any in the kingdom, they got out of the way and made for the walls. Some few were beginning to place bets as the three attackers closed on their target. The stocky Vashon pulled free a heavy hammer, the dark haired woman unsheathed her great sword and the blond gave her staff a practice spin. Jymn jumped behind the bar to hide.

 

Our heroes continued to sit and drink.

 

Taking this as the sign of an easy victory, the blond beauty leaped into the air, did a fancy spin, and landed on the table scattering cups and dishes everywhere. The move would have been truly impressive if she didn't land on her butt.

 

Lavenus took this as a great chance to cop a feel. The woman screamed in outrage and easily broke free of the horned man's embrace.

 

The commotion alerted Yor and Mac that something was wrong, they just reached the top of the stairs overlooking the common room when the Vashon found another stone-skin blocking his path.

 

"Stop right there," Chip said as he slapped the hired hammer. "We're both holy men, you don't have to kill anybody."

 

"Holy man? You're in league with that necromancer!" The Vashon priest took a swing at Chip but the hammer was deflected by Chip's buckler.

 

With a banshee scream, the brunette charged Aleister swinging her two handed death razor. Her blow would have split him from head to belly but lodged itself in Aleister's chair instead. The necromancer prepared himself to dodge another attack.

 

Yor jumped over the rail to land near Jymn. The floor behind the bar was very slipery. Poor conditions placed the monk at a disadvantage for only a second, but that second was long enough. Jymn swung his hammer and connected with Yor's shoulder. The force of the hit was enough to knock the young man out.

 

Mac pull out his swords and bounded down the stairs intending to help Aleister. The dark haired woman needed to free her sword from the chair and used Macarrandir's chest to do it. The Wythir fell to the floor among bits of shattered chair.

 

An exchange of attacks between the Vashon priest and Chip resulted in Chip resorting to lethal force. Chip was able to eliminate the priest by crushing skin and bones with his great mace.

 

Stick girl rolled to her feet and swung her staff over her head. With a single sweep of iron capped wood, she struck at Lavenus and Aleister. The blow to the necromancer's temple knocked him to the floor. Lavenus got a chill as the staff missed his groin by a hair.

 

Jymn seeing an advantage moved closer to make sure Aleister was dead. The woman with 5 feet of sharpened steel wanted to be sure as well. Her sword gave the pale man a very deep cut to the chest.

 

Macarrandir and Yor recovered within moments of each other. Both were a bit dizzy but the knew they were needed. Mac gripped his swords and attacked the woman with the great sword. His blades struck solidly but the deep cuts didn't seem to faze her.

 

Yor bounced after Jymn taking him down with a single kick to the spine. In spite of his armored skin, the Vashon went down in a heap. While Lavenus continued to make groping passes at the blond woman, Chip yelled for Yor to help Aleister.

 

"I can't attack her," he shouted back, "She's a woman."

[Old Man]

With a satisfied gleam in her eye, the dark haired woman reversed her grip on her sword and plunged it into Aleister's chest. "Ha! He's dead Jymn." Apparently she did not know here employer was down for the count.

 

Yor seeing that brutal act, overcame his moral objections and ran towards the woman. She tried to defend herself but the attacks of twin swords and flying fists were too much. In a last ditch effort she lunged at Mac piercing his gut with her sword. A final kick from Yor ended the fight. She was bleeding badly but still alive.

 

Lavenus happily got another grip on the blond woman suffering only minor bruises in exchange. The Toth was able to swing her around right into a double handed mace blow from Chip. The impact powdered her pelvis, she was dead before Lavenus droppped her to the floor.

 

"Aw man, you mashed the good parts."

 

Calling upon the power of the All-Father, Yor closed Aleister's wounds just in time. The pale man was even more pale than normal and in spite of Yor's healing power he did not rise.

 

Macarrandir's wounds looked bad, and smelled worse but Yor was able to heal him as well. While binding Mac's wounds, Yor heard the whacking of a hammer on stone?

 

"I can't watch this" Chip declared, leaving with the body of the Vashon priest.

 

Lavenus had taken it upon himself to remove hands and feet from Jymn using of all things, the Vashon's own hammer. Macarrandir greatly angered by the assault on his companions staggered over and made sure the Vashon didn't die from the ragged wounds. When that done, Lavenus dragged the two female corpses out to the forest to bury them.

 

"What you are doing isn't right, just kill them and be done with it". Yor carried Aleister's body as if it weighed nothing. Taking him up the stairs, Yor put the necromancer to bed.

 

Further details really aren't necessary. It goes without saying that Lavenus should be the evil necromancer.

[Old Man]

While waiting for Aleister and Macarrandir to recover from their wounds, Yor received a message from his brother. Brother? yes, brother. The information contained in the message could only be known to a Strulie. Intrigued by the prospect of meeting this man claiming to be his brother, Yor set off for his homeland.

 

Running with the Grace of God, Yor was able to reach Cliffside in record time. Booking passage to Seabrook was a simple matter as the monks of St. Sebastian are well respected in that city. Before boarding Yor sent a messenger to Cowscrossing to let his companions know where he had gone - this trip might take longer than expected. The sea voyage was for the most part uneventful.

 

When he reached the fishing town of Seabrook Yor went in search of the man calling himself Yor's brother. Lars Strulie was tall, blond, and blue eyed. Looking at the two of them, the resemblance was remarkable. As it turns out, Lars was indeed Yor's brother - half brother anyway. To make a long story not so long, Lars inherited the name and preservation recipe when Sven disappeared years ago. Lars was told by a passing trader about a man that looked just like him. He decided to take a chance and confirm the story that his brother might be alive after all these years.

 

Although Yor was happy to meet his brother, he didn't wish to neglect his duties to Aleister and the people of Cowscrossing. He could stay for only few days. The brothers spent the time getting to know each other better and going over the Strulie family recipe. They were on an excursion in a sea cave to collect ingredients when a massive quake shook the island and nearly collapsed the cave around them. When the dust cleared Yor and his brother found a new section had been openned. This new cave held several small ceramic figures and a single yellow metal one. They took the figures to Gunter the dealer in pre-Seige antiques. Gunter was very interested in them as he had never seen them before. Another trip to the caves was planned.

 

The next day during an exploration of the caves, there was another earthquake. This time the explorers were not so lucky and the darkness took them all.

 

-------

 

Yor's companions spent many days getting to Seabrook and searching for Yor. So far, they have not found him.