[Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Pardon my ignorance' date=' but I am unfamiliar. To which movie do you owe this plot ? Please describe.[/quote']

 

Seven Samurai by way of The Magnificent Seven.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Ahem... do you intend to give out extra XP if anyone tells Calvera "We deal in steel' date=' friend"?[/quote']

Funny you should mention that...

FMH Recap for April 21 2007

The heroes decided to stand in front of the oncoming bandits and demand that they leave these people alone. Castilla and Justin elected to be in the lead, while everyone else hid behind some nearby bushes to watch.

The bandits stopped short when they saw the warriors standing before them. “Who are you?” the lead bandit – a tall fellow in chainmail, with a big moustache – asked. “Get out of our way!”

“We can’t do that,” Justin said. “This village is off limits to you and your men from now on.”

The bandits laughed. “They hired you to stop us?” the leader asked, puzzled. “I don’t think 2 of you can stop us.”

“We come cheaper by the dozen,” Justin said.

“Generosity!” the bandito snorted. “That was my first mistake. We leave enough for these people to live on, and this is the thanks we get. It just goes to show you, you must pay for every good deed.”

“Generosity?” Castilla demanded. “These people are starving!”

“My men are starving,” the bandit said. “If I leave here without rations, how are we to go on?”

“That’s not our business,” Justin said.

“Then what is your business?” the bandit asked.

“We deal in steal, friend,” the paladin said, fingering the hilt of his blade.

“We’re in the same business!” the bandit laughed.

“Only as competitors,” Justin responded. “Ride on.”

“You tell me to ride on?” the bandit leader shouted. “There is only one way that this will end! You will have to kill us all!”

“That’s your call,” Justin said. “But it’ll hurt.”

The bandits in the lead – riding horses and armed with spears and chainmail – spurred their horses and charged. The footmen behind them also charged, and the horsemen bringing up the rear. The fight was brutal, each side giving and taking brutally. Illy immobilized the footmen by turning the ground beneath them into a sheet of slippery ice. Castilla knocked one horseman off his mount and took it for herself. Justin and Trouble traded off fighting the bandit leader, who was as tough as he was fierce. Trouble finally brought him down with a mighty blow, and the rest of the bandits began to falter.

Thinking the battle was won, Leth and Justin moved in to chase off the rest of the bandits. Suddenly, Castilla was overcome with the feeling that something terrible was about to happen – that despite appearances, danger was looming. “Look out!” she shouted at the others, spurring her horse to get away from the center of the battle.

Leth and Justin looked around for what Castilla was shouting about, but saw nothing. Suddenly, something hit Justing – hard. It felt like he’d just been struck by a falling tree. He flew through the air and landed with a thump, dazed and barely conscious. Leth raised his shield to protect himself, but the same thing happened to him as well.

Then, standing in the center of the formerly-empty road, was a huge, misshapen giant. At least two stories tall, with a hunched back, deformed limbs, and two hideously ugly heads, it appeared out of nowhere and laughed.

“Are these the ones giving my men so much trouble?” one of the two heads asked.

“They don’t seem so tough now!” the other one answered.

“Who are you?” asked the dumbfounded heroes (hoping to stall the monster long enough for Justin and Leth to get back to their feet.

“I am Calavera, and this is my brother Corteo,” one of the heads said. “And who are you?”

“We’re the Fearless Monster Hunters,” Trouble exclaimed. “And I’m very glad you’re here – you’re just about the first real monster we’ve had the chance to fight!”

The giant(s) quirked and eyebrow at this show of bravado. The two heads looked at each other. “The Fearless Monster Hunters? I’ve heard of you – but that was a long time ago. Well, nevermind that. We think this fight is over,” Calavera said. “You fought well, but you lost. There’s nothing further you can do here; now it’s time for you to ride on.”

“But these people asked for our protection!” Castilla protested.

“These people are no longer your concern,” the giant responded. “This village is ours. But we are generous – we admire your bravery and your skill, and that is why we don’t just kill you all. Gather up your things and leave now.”

“This village isn’t yours!” Castilla continued to protest. “You can’t just take what you want and leave them nothing! Their children are starving!”

The giants laughed. “If the gods didn’t want them sheared, they wouldn’t have made them sheep. Now, whatever these people promised you, you can take. A deal is a deal, and you kept your end of the bargain. You want food, supplies, horses, a woman? Take them. Take them and go.”

By this time, Justin had managed to shakily rise to his feet. “OK, men, they are being very generous. Our job here is done. Let’s go.”

Trouble started to protest, but Chrissie gave him a signal that let him know to play along. Reluctantly, he did so (muttering under his breath the whole time).

The heroes gathered up their things and started to leave, but Justin had an idea. He grabbed all of Castilla’s booze (and she had a lot of booze) and brought it over to the bandits. “Take this as a show of goodwill,” he said. “No hard feelings.” Castilla whined and grumbled about having to give up all her liquor, but Justin wasn’t listening.

A group of bandits escorted the heroes out of the village and down the mountain. They rode for many miles under the watchful eyes of Calavera & Corteo’s men. Just before nightfall, the bandits turned around and headed back up the mountain. One of them turned in his saddle and called back, “You should feel lucky they let you live! They must have been in a good mood. Farewell!”

As darkness fell, the heroes had to determine what they were going to do next.

It was about then that Kaira piped up. “Hey, has anyone seen Shauvaughn?” It was true – no one had seen the Kalonese law-woman since shortly before the battle with the bandits. Had she been captured? Killed? Did she run and hide? Or was she secretly working for the bandits? No one knew…

TBC!

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

“We deal in steal, friend,” the paladin said, fingering the hilt of his blade.

 

Amusing misspelling there, GM; specially for a Paladin.

 

[SatinKitty]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Which Character is played by BunnySue ?

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Which Character is played by BunnySue ?

 

Kaira the Hobbit Druid

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

FMH Recap for April 28 2007

Using the cover of darkness, the heroes headed back towards the village. They stopped at the foot of the mountain, far enough away (they hoped!) that the bandits' guards wouldn't notice them.

Kaira turned herself into an owl and flew up to the village to scout around. Castilla snuck through the darkness toward the village as well, to see what she could see. Illy and Leth took a roundabout way around the village, in order to scout out the ridge above the tiny town.

Kaira saw that the village was overrun by bandits. They were systematically raiding each house, carrying away everything of value – food, clothing, everything. The people were begging and pleading with the bandits, but to no avail. The miscreants were taking everything. Kaira spotted a group of men – horsemen, by the look of it – hanging around one particular house. She swooped over and landed on the chimney, where she could overhear most of what was going on inside.

"Please," she heard Tomas pleading. "You can't take everything! We'll starve!"

"Ha!" laughed a cruel voice (she thought she recognized it as Calavera's voice, but it didn't seem as "large" as before). "You should have thought of that before you hired mercenaries to stop us! Before, we were content with leaving you enough to live on. Now we see how you repay our generosity, so you get nothing! We're going to take everything you have, and you can all die for all we care!"

Tomas left the house, weeping. Kaira then heard another conversation coming from the house. "I think this is a bad idea," said an unfamiliar voice.

"Why?" Calavera asked. "They defied our will, they pay the price. It's as simple as that."

"But what about the oath?" the other voice asked.

"Hang you and your stupid oath!" Calavera swore. "It means nothing! There is no retribution, no punishment from the gods, nothing to stop us from taking what we want without fear or mercy! Even those stupid mercenaries ran like cowards when they saw us. Who is left to stop us? No one, that's who!"

"If you say so, brother," the other voice said hesitantly. "But I still think…"

"But nothing!" Calavera laughed. "You'll see."

About that time, Kaira noticed furtive movement down below – someone was sneaking away from an approaching group of raiders. Kaira recognized her – it was Shauvaughn! As soon as the Kalonese law officer was out of sight of the men, Kaira swooped down near her and transformed back into a Hobbit.

"You!" Shauvaughn said. "I thought you ran away!"

"That's what we wanted everyone to think," Kaira explained. "The rest of us are waiting out in the woods. We're formulating a plan to take the village back without anyone else getting hurt."

"Seems like I underestimated you," Shauvaughn smiled. "Take me to the others."

Meanwhile, Leth and Illy scouted along the ridge, looking for a spot where the FMH could lay an ambush. They knew that the bandits had numerical superiority – not to mention an immortal, two-headed giant! – so they had to come up with a tactic that would minimize those advantages. They found a good spot that had a wide, smooth approach but narrowed quickly into a difficult funnel, surrounded on one side by a pile of rocks and on the other by some thick undergrowth. Cavalry would have a lot of trouble turning around if they came up here. Furthermore, the approach ended suddenly at a steep drop-off. If the heroes could lure the horsemen up here, they could pick them off at their leisure.

Leth got busy chopping down some trees to help narrow the approach (Illy helped by dampening the sound of his axe). After a couple of hours of sweaty work, the trap was set. They hurried back to where the others were waiting.

Meanwhile, Castilla was scouting out the village. It didn't take her long to find out that the bandits had raided the village's supply of hard cider. Most of the footmen were indulging heavily. Castilla managed to steal a jug of cider for herself and sneak away without getting caught. Things were winding down at the village, so she headed back to meet the others.

Chrissie, meanwhile, had been casting a spell which would allow her to (hopefully) figure out how the giant had managed to break or subvert the oath it had been forced to take. When she finally emerged from her trance, she muttered six cryptic words: "Two brothers, but only one oath."

A light went off over the heroes' heads – when Adrom forced the giants to swear to never harm humanity, only one of the two heads swore the oath. The other brother was not bound by the gods' decree!

The FMH realized that Calavera was not bound by the terms of the oath. If they could somehow force him to swear the oath, or if they could incapacitate him and let Corteo assume control of their shared body, the giant would have to leave the village alone from now on. Of course, such a thing was easier said than done.

There were only a few hours before dawn. The plan was this:

Illy, Chrissie, and Leth would ride into the village at dawn, making enough noise to wake the dead and shouting challenges to anyone who could hear. Illy would create an illusion that made it look like the entire FMH was there. Hopefully, this would lure the cavalry out to chase them. The heroes would ride away, up the ridge to the site they set up. Leth would spring the tree-falls, trapping the horsemen in a narrow channel. Illy and Chrissie would then use their magic to cause the horsemen to stumble or become lost, or trick them into falling off the ridge. Leth would pick off any survivors.

Meanwhile, once the horsemen had ridden off, the rest of the FMH would attack the giant with everything they had. They didn't think they could kill it (being immortal and all), but if the gods were with them they could subdue it, and possibly force it to swear an oath to never harm these people again.

Just as the rosy fingers of dawn crept over the horizon, the heroes assumed their positions. They would need a lot of luck, but it is said that the gods favor fools, so they just might be able to pull this off...

TBC!

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

It occurs to me that perhaps I should tell y'all what "the oath" is...

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

The Age of Giants

As told by Chrissie Rocks, Taleweaver and Knower of Many Things

"In the age when mankind was young and was still taking his first few, uncertain steps into the world, the forests and mountains of Kalon were home to a race of giants known as the Formorians. Though powerful, these monsters were hideously misshapen. They saw the beauty of the world as a mockery of their own ugliness, and so they lashed out at everything — smashing trees, killing wildlife, hurling rocks into the sea… but their greatest joy was hunting and devouring humans, for they loved the taste of manflesh.

 

"Legends tell of the great hero-turned- god Adrom, who came to rescue mankind from the depredations of these creatures. He warred with the Formorians, drove them away from civilized lands, and made them swear a powerful oath that their kind would never trouble humans again.

 

"The Formorians went into hiding, and have seldom been seen since that day. And yet, on dark stormy nights, sometimes the Giants can be seen walking abroad, looking for a tasty morsel — a solitary traveler or a lonely shepherd — to devour...

 

"They say that the Formorians are still bound by the oath their king swore to Adrom, though (as I mentioned) sometimes they find ways around it. But if you can get a Formorian to swear an oath, he will be bound by its power. But they are actually pretty smart (unlike the types of Giants you see in Demoria sometimes), and not that easy to trick.

 

"The Formorians have a lot of magical powers. According to some stories, they were the first spell-casters on the planet, and humans had to learn magic to defend themselves from the Giants! Formorians are supposed to be able to turn themselves invisible, or make themselves look like other people, or make you see things that aren’t there (or not see things that are there). Some of them could call down lightning from the heavens and summon storms out of clear blue skies. Others could fly on the winds. I think it’s a pretty safe bet that Calavera and Corteo can turn invisible, and given the reaction of the villagers when they saw him, I bet he can make himself (themselves? ) look like ordinary people. No telling if they possess other powers.

 

"Also, the Formorians aren’t the only kind of giants in Kalon. There are also the "Stone People," who are as handsome and straight as the Formorians are ugly and crooked. They tend to avoid humans more than anything, but for those few lucky heroes who attract their favor, they can lavish great gifts – magical weapons, or training in lost and forgotten skills.

 

"I don’t know if that helps or not, but maybe someone will think of something... "

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

FMH Recap for May 12 2007

The plan was set into motion. Trouble, Justin, Chrissie, Kaira, and Shauvaughn snuck through the orchard to the edge of the village to await the signal. Meanwhile, Castilla, Illysandri, and Leth (flanked by illusions of their comrades) rode into the center of town.

But while the "sneaky team" was waiting for the right moment, a pair of guards wandered over. "I could've swore I heard something," one of them said. The other was skeptical – "You're just hungover," he said. "It's probably just a dog or something." That's when they came around a tree and saw Justin. The paladin didn't hesitate; he punched one bandit right in the nose, dropping him like a sack of dirty laundry. Trouble bounded out of the tree in which he was hiding and tackled the other one. The heroes quickly tied up the bandits and left them hidden in the orchard.

Meanwhile, Castilla rode at the head of the team, shouting out profanities and insults, calling the bandits cowards and worse. A group of bandits (led by Tuco) ran out of one of the huts. "We told you to never come back!" Tuco yelled.

"Yeah, but I don't deal well with authority figures," Castilla laughed, flipping him the bird.

The bandits charged, but our heroes just rode off laughing, so Tuco ordered his men to get the horses and give chase. Leth, Illy, and Castilla led them on a merry chase, culminating at the bottleneck they had prepared the night before. Leth dove off his horse in order to spring the trap. Illy rode a bit ahead, then cast a spell to turn the ground into a slick morass.

The bandits charged at the spellcaster and found themselves unable to control their horses. The majority of them tumbled off the edge of the cliff, plummeting to their doom. Two of them managed to stop their horses before they went over, but they couldn't get them to move. However, Tuco spotted the trap before it was sprung, and stopped one of his men from riding into the ice-slick.

Meanwhile, the "sneaky team" crept into the village, hoping to catch Calavera and Corteo by surprise. They managed to get past most of the bandits (who had been roused by Castilla's shouting but weren't quite awake yet) and right up to the house where C&C were staying.

Just as they were approaching, the giant stepped outside. "Who is making that racket?" he shouted. "Be quiet! I'm trying to … You!" he spotted the heroes. "How dare you come back here, after I let you escape with your lives? Once again, my generous nature comes back to haunt me!"

The heroes took no time to exchange words. Trouble, Justin, and Shauvaughn moved in to surround the monster, while Chrissie and Kaira cast defensive and buffing spells on their friends. The combatants struck ineffectually at one another, sizing up their opponent.

Meanwhile, Illy summoned a windstorm to try to blow the remaining horsemen off the cliff, causing one of them to tumble off his mount and down the steep slope. The other horse stumbled and fell, landing hard on its rider's leg and trapping him. Leth unlimbered his axe and called out a challenge to Tuco, who charged the Dwarf and cracked one of his vambraces. Castilla hurled a dagger at the other horseman, but it bounced off his armor.

Meanwhile, Corteo healed himself of the minor amount of damage the warriors had caused the giant. Afraid that his spellcasting abilities would cripple the heroes' effectiveness, Chrissie cast an enchantment to reduce the amount of ambient magic in the giant's vicinity and making it harder for him to use his spells. Kaira cast a spell at Calavera, blinding him momentarily.

Meanwhile, Leth, knowing that Tuco had the advantage as long as he was mounted, attempted to kill the horse. He succeeded in wounding its hind leg, which forced Tuco to ride away before turning around. But by this time, Leth had moved to the edge of the ice-field so the horsemen couldn't charge him again. Castilla continued hurling daggers, and Illy cast a spell to slow Tuco down.

Meanwhile, Calavera was having a hard time spotting his targets so he swung his club blindly at where he thought the heroes were, and managed to connect with Shauvaughn. Luckily, she was ready for this and leapt back, so only the edge of the club caught her. Corteo found himself unable to cast his most devastating spells. Kaira then blinded Corteo, leaving the giant at a distinct disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Illy mesmerized the remaining horseman into wandering out onto the ice-field to help his trapped comrade. Leth continued to exchange blows with Tuco and managed to hit him hard enough to rattle him badly. Castilla took advantage of this and leapt onto the back of the villain's horse and, from her new vantage point, cut his throat. Tuco collapsed to the ground, bleeding profusely. The fight was over.

Meanwhile, Justin and Trouble continued to rain blows on the blinded giant. Shauvaughn got up and shouted, "In the name of the King Who Never Was, Is Not, And Never Shall Be, I order you to surrender!"

Corteo recognized this title and immediately threw down his club, but Calavera was stubborn and refused, so Justin and Trouble resumed their attack, forcing the giant to his knees. Finally, he cried out "I surrender! I surrender!" The fight was over.

At the ridge, Leth applied first aid to the dying Tuco (despite Castilla's protests). Illy noticed that one of the horsemen who had fallen off the cliff was hanging on to a tree branch about twenty feet down. She asked if he would surrender and he assured her that he had no intent to continue the fight, so she helped him up (miscasting a Levitate spell that basically turned him into a human helium balloon). They took their prisoners back to the village.

Meanwhile, the heroes were trying to extract an oath from the giant to never harm humanity again. The giant attempted several times to weasel out of it, but with enough threats they finally managed to get him to promise to never bother anyone again. With that, they kicked him out of the village and he disappeared into the mountains.

Since they didn't have any way of holding so many people, the heroes told the rest of the bandits to leave and never come back (and to take up an honest profession, if they were smart). The bandits ran away in small groups, leaving behind most of their weapons and their loot.

That night, the villagers threw a party to celebrate the heroes' victorious return. Illy, never one for parties, wandered off into the woods to be alone for a while. The children who were once so afraid of Trouble now swarmed around him, cheering him for his bravery. Several of the young women of the village flirted with Justin, and the young men made eyes at Castilla.

The next morning, the heroes gathered their belongings and continued their journey south…

To be continued!

PS: Meanwhile, back in the orchard, two bandits, still tied up, wondered if anyone would come back and untie them before they starved, or before wolves discovered them…

[SatinKitty]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Bunny already repped.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

The heroes had been on the road for four days, heading southward though the mountains towards Mount Olympia, when they heard a loud wailing up ahead. Sounded like someone was in trouble! The FMH spurred their horses to take a look, and they found a wizened old man next to an overturned cart.

 

"Oh woe is me!" the old man wailed. The heroes asked what happened, and he said he had been taking his harvest to market when a giant serpent came out of the woods, knocked over his cart, and grabbed his infant daughter before slithering back the way it came.

 

The heroes asked a few things of the old man to verify his story (and make sure he wasn't just a bandit looking for easy prey). There was no question that they would help, and they told the old fellow not to worry, that the Fearless Monster Hunters were on the job.

 

"Fearless Monster Hunters?" the old man asked. "Why, I've heard of you! You helped drive Corteo and Calavera away from that little village, didn't you? If that's the case, I have no doubt you'll do all you can to save my little girl!"

 

Castilla, however, had her doubts. She didn't trust the old man, and lingered a bit behind the others when they went into the woods to track down the giant snake.

Soon the heroes found a large cave. Inside, they could faintly hear the sound of a wailing baby, so they went in. Castilla, still feeling a bit apprehensive, stayed behind. "If you herd the snake outside, I'll build a trap for it," she told the others. While they went in, she started building her trap, but her efforts were half-hearted at best.

 

Inside the cave, the heroes came into a large gallery filled with large boulders and detritus. The heroes fanned out to search the chamber. Without warning, a huge snake lunged at Leth – its mottled body was perfectly camouflaged against the dark stone floor, and Leth didn't see it until he almost stepped on it! The battle was joined as the rest of the heroes rushed over to help.

 

Meanwhile, outside, Castilla was surprised by the arrival of the old man. "What are you doing out here?" the old man demanded. "Don't you know your friends need you?"

 

"They don't need me," Castilla said. "I'm not a warrior; I'm sure they can handle it all by themselves."

 

"You may not be a warrior, but you're still supposed to be a hero," the old man countered. "An innocent life is at stake (my wee baby daughter). It's your duty as a hero to do what you can to save her."

 

"Yeah, but I'm not a hero," she said. "Just look at me – red skin, fangs, the whole bit. I'm evil."

 

"What you look like on the outside doesn't have anything to do with what you're like on the inside," the old man argued. "You shouldn't use your looks as an excuse to behave like less than the hero you should be."

 

"So what do you expect me to do?" the Jill asked. "Go in there and help them?"

 

"Aye, that's exactly what I expect you to do!" he practically shouted at her.

 

Grumbling the whole time, Castilla went into the cave to find the others. The old man followed close behind her.

 

Inside the cave, the heroes had managed to surround the snake and bash it on the head, over and over. By the time Castilla and the old man arrived, the snake was on its last legs (so to speak). "See? I told you they didn't need my help!" she yelled at the old man.

 

But the old man wasn't so old anymore. He was now tall, and strong, and young looking, with a thick red beard and a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "Good job, good job!" he laughed. "You managed to kill the Great Serpent of Loch Mire, a fearsome beast that's swallowed many a traveler in these lands!"

 

The heroes demanded to know who he was, and what was his game. "You can call me Angus," he said. "I've been searching for a group of heroes to perform a little task for me, a trifle really, but it's something I can't do myself and you look like you'd be perfect for it."

 

"You tricked us!" Castilla said. "How can we trust you?"

 

"I admit I used a little subterfuge," Angus admitted. "But I had to make sure you were up to the task. From now on, my dealings with you will be completely straight, I swear on my own name."

 

"OK, what do you want from us?" Illy asked.

 

"An old enemy of mine – name of Gorshen – stole something from me," Angus said. "Something very precious to me. He stole my diamond, and I want it back."

 

"Why can't you get it back yourself?" Justin asked.

 

"Oh, that's a long story, but the short of it is that I've sworn an oath never to harm the bastard."

 

"...But you can get someone else to hurt him for you?" Illy asked.

 

"Aye, well, that's a loophole," Angus winked.

 

"No way," Castilla said. "You lied to us. You get back your own stupid diamond."

 

"You're heroes!" Angus protested. "You've got to help me!"

 

"We've got another place we have to be," Castilla said. "The sooner we get done with that, the quicker we can get back to civilization."

 

"Fine," Angus said. "I'm well acquainted with these lands, and I know many secret pathways. I'll show you a path that'll take you to your destination quickly if you help me."

 

"A path to our destination, and then another one to get us back home," Castilla insisted.

 

Angus was reluctant, but finally he conceded. "Fine and well," he said. "Get my diamond back for me, and I'll show you two paths to wherever you want to go on the island." Castilla and Angus shook on the deal, and Angus explained what he needed.

 

"Gorshem lives in an old abandoned church on top of a hill in the midst of the moor," he said. "He's bigger than a bear, and smells worse than one too. He hates humans and isn't above cannibalism when the mood strikes him. He carries a great big meat cleaver that he's not afraid to use."

 

So warned, the heroes headed out. They were no longer in the midst of the mountains, instead finding themselves on a flat, grassy moor. A thick mist obscured vision and dampened sound. They followed a trail up the hill, passing by ancient stone markers and obelisks, until they came to a gate. Castilla started to go first, but something warned her that danger was about, so she told Trouble to go ahead.

 

Trouble stepped through the gate and found himself in an ancient, mouldering graveyard. Seeing no apparent threats, the others joined him – but as soon as they were all through the gate, the ground erupted and they were surrounded by the hideous animated remains of dead warriors!

 

There was a fierce battle, and it wasn't long before the skeletons had been returned to the dust that spawned them. However, Castilla had been hurt in the fight. She was complaining about her injury when she noticed that Angus was sitting on a nearby tombstone watching them. "Great job, heroes!" he cheered.

 

"I got stabbed!" Castilla complained. "What are you going to do about that?"

 

Angus simply shrugged. "Part of being a hero is accepting the risks that go with it," he said. "Sometimes that means getting hurt. Sometimes that even means dying."

 

Castilla was not reassured. "Hey, I thought you said you couldn't come up here?" she asked.

 

"No, I said I can't do anything to hurt Gorshem," he laughed. "There's nothing that says I can't watch *you* hurt him (and what a show it's bound to be!). Oh, and I think I forgot to mention – a few decades ago, Gorshem lost his one good eye in a fight with a stag. He replaced it with a gemstone, and since then, he's been obsessed with collecting gems of all sorts. That's probably why he stole my diamond, the great brute. I'll tell you what," he continued. "If you kill the bastard, I'll give you a shiny gold piece."

 

"A gold piece apiece?" Kaira asked.

 

"Now don't be getting greedy," Angus admonished.

 

The heroes approached the ancient church. They saw a light burning inside, so Illy cast a spell to let her see what was in the building. She saw a huge, hairy man sitting on a rock in front of a big bonfire, roasting some meat on a stick. Next to him was a huge meat cleaver. Nearby was a beautiful white horse, securely tied to a stake hammered into the ground. The horse looked terribly frightened, like it knew it would be next on the chopping block. In one corner of the room were several sacks and a treasure chest. Illy detected the glint of gemstones spilling out from one of the bags.

 

Everyone looked at Castilla. "What? What am I supposed to do?" she asked.

 

"You're a Jill," they said. "Sneak in there and steal his gemstone eye. He'll be blind – then the rest of us can jump him!"

 

Reluctantly, Castilla climbed up into the window and quietly slipped into the room. There was a nervous moment when she thought Gorshem heard her, but he put it off to the wind. The horse, however, noticed her right away. She gestured to it to be quiet, and the horse nodded assent. The wily Jill snuck up right behind the monster (who was busily gnawing on his hunk of meat), carefully reached around him...

 

And slipped on a rock. "What's this?" Gorshem roared, jumping to his feet. Castilla tried to run, but Gorshem managed to grab her in his giant hairy fist. The rest of the heroes, waiting outside, heard what was going on, but decided not to jump in just yet.

 

"Who are you?" the smelly, hairy creature demanded. "Did Angus send you?"

 

"Yes, he did," Castilla answered. Gorshem was taken aback by this show of honesty and seemed a little bit confused. While he was thinking about this, Castilla reached out and tried to grab the gemstone again, but he held her away from his face.

 

"I don’t think I want to work for Angus anyway," Castilla confided in the monster. "He lied to us and he's always lecturing me."

 

"Aye, that sounds like Angus all right," Gorshem laughed, his corpse-like breath washing over Castilla. "Me? I'll never lie to you. I might eat you, but I'll never lie about it."

 

While he was laughing over this private joke. Castilla once again tried to grab his eye, but once again missed. "Can I have something to drink? You smell really bad and it's making me ill," she said.

 

"Aye, you're looking a little green, Miss Red-Skin," Gorshem laughed again. "How about a drink from my private stock?" He reached down under his fur and whipped out a jug, pulling out the cork with his teeth (both of them) and taking a long swig. He offered it to Castilla, but it smelled like fermented roadkill, so she declined (perhaps the first time ever that Castilla has turned down a drink!). While he was drinking, she reached out once again for his eye, but grabbed his huge fat nose instead.

 

"You're a pretty one," Gorshem said.

 

"You're not," Castilla groaned. "And you stink. You need to take a bath."

 

"Ooh, are you offering to take a bath with me?" he leered at her. "It's been a while, and you do smell pretty..." He held her under his nose and took a long whiff, breathing in her bouquet.

 

Finally she was close enough to his face, so she made one final grab for his gemstone eye – and got it! With a loud "POP!" she pulled it out of its socket and threw it across the room.

 

"Argh! My eye! What have you done, you little wench?" The giant grabbed for his meat cleaver, but Illy (watching from the window) cast a spell to make it vanish. The rest of the Monster Hunters kicked down the door and ran in, surrounding the blinded beast and pummeling him mercilessly. Illy jumped down, grabbed the horse, and led it out the door so it wouldn't get hurt in the melee.

 

Poor, stinky Gorshem didn't stand a chance, disarmed and blinded as he was, but he put up a fierce fight. When it was all over, the heroes stood over his body and felt a touch saddened. Gorshem was the first intelligent creature that they had slain, and though he was undeniably evil, they felt sort of bad for him.

 

Except Castilla, who was off in the corner being loudly ill.

 

Angus showed up again and wrapped his arms around the horse's neck. "Oh, my beautiful Diamond!" he said, openly weeping. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

 

"So 'Diamond' is the name of your horse?" Justin asked.

 

"Not my horse!" Angus retorted. "She's my beautiful daughter, kidnapped by that brute to get his revenge on me!"

 

"Your... daughter?" Kaira asked.

 

"Aye, and the apple of her daddy's eye," Angus said. "Her mother was the finest mare this side of Tir na og, and she..."

 

"No. No no no," Justin said, waving his hands dismissively. "I don't think we need to hear this. No, I'm pretty sure we don't need to hear this at all. In fact, I'd like to just forget that we've heard even this much..."

 

While this was going on, Leth and Trouble poured the contents of Gorshem's jug over his body and used a brand from the fire to ignite him. Though the heroes couldn't provide the massive creature a proper burial, at least they could give him a funeral pyre.

 

Led by Angus and his... um... daughter... they headed back down the hill. "Hey!" Castilla said. "You promised to show us a way to get where we were going!"

"Aye, that I did," Angus said. "I'm a man that's as good as his word. Where did you say you were going?"

 

"To Mount Olympia," Castilla said. "The faster we get there, the better."

 

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Angus asked. "Nothing's easier to get to than Mount Olympia, if you know the way. Just take that path behind you and it'll lead you right there."

 

The heroes looked behind them and, sure enough, there was a path (though they were certain there hadn't been one there before). "Farewell heroes," Angus called out. "And I won't forget I still owe you one more path." Before he disappeared into the mist, he flipped a large gold coin to them.

 

The Fearless Monster Hunters walked up the path. Not more than a hundred paces in, they found themselves in the middle of a narrow canyon, walking alongside a fast-flowing, sun-dappled brook. A few more steps and they exited the canyon onto a well-traveled mountain road. And there, before them, stood a tall mountain that could only be Mount Olympia.

 

TBC!

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

U R A bad man! I love that.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

U R A bad man! I love that.

 

What'd I do?

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

I wanna play in your campaign.

 

"Her mother was the fairest mare in all of Tir An Og"...

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

No weirder than Zeus, who seduced women in the form of a swan, a bull, and a shower of gold coins.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

I had a lot of fun with this one. I ran it entirely by the seat of my pants -- no written notes or anything (very different from how I normally run). I came up with the whole thing while moving seven tons of gravel into my yard.

 

I like doing occasional weird, non-sequitor plots like this one, then later explain "They're the Fair Folk. They don't have to make sense."

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

No weirder than Zeus' date=' who seduced women in the form of a swan, a bull, and a shower of gold coins.[/quote']

yeah, but Zeus seduced women. He didn't seduce livestock.

 

The fact that the women inquestion went for the livestock is thoughts best left to news groups I don't take part in

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

yeah, but Zeus seduced women. He didn't seduce livestock.

 

The fact that the women inquestion went for the livestock is thoughts best left to news groups I don't take part in

 

Okay, so if the guy was in the form of a horse when he did the seducing, than what?

 

Actually, y'know what it means?

 

It means the Fae are some really screwed up individuals, that's what.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Okay, so if the guy was in the form of a horse when he did the seducing, than what?

 

Actually, y'know what it means?

 

It means the Fae or some really screwed up individuals, that's what.

 

QFT, brother.

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Okay, so if the guy was in the form of a horse when he did the seducing, than what?

 

Actually, y'know what it means?

 

It means the Fae are some really screwed up individuals, that's what.

 

 

But hella fun at parties.

[hooligan x]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

If I could turn into a swan that'd be awesome. Cuz hey, free stale bread.

[Markdoc]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

yeah, but Zeus seduced women. He didn't seduce livestock.

 

The fact that the women inquestion went for the livestock is thoughts best left to news groups I don't take part in

 

Actually, in my game too, the Færie folk do that sort of thing from time to time. That's where beastmen, fey beasts and annoying talking animal sidekicks come from

 

cheers, Mark

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Actually, in my game too, the Færie folk do that sort of thing from time to time. That's where beastmen, fey beasts and annoying talking animal sidekicks come from

 

cheers, Mark

 

So that explains Eddie Murphy!

[Markdoc]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

So that explains Eddie Murphy!

 

And Antonio Banderas!

 

cheers, Mark

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

No FMH this week, or next. Players on vacation.