[Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

An old man leaning on a cane was hobbling up the hallway, surrounded by a large group of the shambling dead. "You see, of all of them Hob was always the most connected," the man said. "He kept track of all the others. That's how he arranged for this little "reunion junior" of his. I get Hob, I get everyone – names, addresses, closest relatives… hell, even ancestors! The whole deal! Once I've got their families, bada-bing bada-bang, it's a done deal – so long Fearless Monster Hunters, hello prize! The contest is mine!"

 

Then he stopped short, apparently noticing both Castilla and the other Fearless Monster Hunters. "Oh dear," he said. "It's you…"

 

The battle was joined! Trouble rushed up to attack the undead monsters. Leth advanced in a more cautious manner. Castilla climbed up the wall in order to escape the reach of the horrors. Finnegan and Styggiad moved up to support the others. Kaira enchanted Trouble's mace and Chrissie began singing to bolster the heroes' strength.

 

Olfilion moved back behind his minions, who moved into defensive positions, blocking the hallway. These creatures seemed considerably tougher than the ones the heroes had fought before.

 

Illy cast a spell on Leth, causing him to grow to enormous size and strength. He picked up Finnegan in one hand and hurled him at the necromancer. Finn, though surprised by this maneuver, managed to roll and get to his feet. He struck Olfilion with his sword, and the necromancer retaliated with a spell that drained away a part of the warrior's precious life force!

 

Castilla scurried along the ceiling and managed to light two of the zombies on fire. Unfortunately, they didn't react as a normal person would, and kept attacking blindly. Illy teleported Leth to the other side of the zombie guardians, where he could attack the necromancer directly.

 

Only Trouble and Styggiad remained on the front lines, and one of the zombies got a lucky shot in on Styggiad, dropping her. Illy panicked and shot the zombie with a bolt of magical energy, inadvertently releasing the spirit of Wyssian within her. In seconds, her personality shifted and she began laughing riotously.

 

Olfilion, outnumbered, cast a spell and vanished in a puff of black smoke. Castilla heard a noise from an adjoining room, and suggested the heroes check there. While Chrissie, Leth, and Trouble continued fighting the zombies in the hall, the rest of the heroes broke through the wooden door and found the Necromancer again. He welcomed them warmly – with a blast of fire through the doorway, singeing all of them badly.

 

Castilla ran forward and knocked a table down on top of Olfilion, pinning him. Styggiad and Finnegan sprang over and pinned the master's arms to the floor with their weapons. Trapped, Olfilion began shouting, "OK, you win! I surrender! Stop stabbing me!" Castilla demanded he call off his goons, and a few seconds later the zombies in the hall stopped attacking.

 

Wyssian had an unorthodox idea. He remembered the last time the original FMH fought Olfilion. Illy's mother Plisianna managed to get past his supernatural defenses by using her feminine wiles, a feat which they hadn't been able to do via force of arms. Quietly, he cast a spell to give Castilla the idea that she should try to seduce the decrepit creature. "Maybe we should leave these two lovebirds alone for a bit," he suggested.

 

Finnegan was reluctant, not knowing what the necromancer might be capable of, but eventually he relented. The heroes left the room (making sure to keep Olfilion safely pinned beneath the table). About five minutes later, Castilla came out of the room. "He's dead," she told them. "And he answered some of my questions, too." The story the Jill related to the rest of the party was this:

 

She asked him what the "contest" was that she'd overheard him mention. "With the rebirth of the legend of the FMH," he told her, "Many of the company's old enemies are coming out of the woodwork looking for a rematch, or vengeance, or whatever. Well, with all these guys running around, someone is bound to step on someone else's toes, so we've made it into sort of a contest. Whoever wrecks you guys for good gets an enormous prize!"

 

So what was the prize, she asked, but he suddenly found himself unable to answer. He apparently had completely forgotten what it was, which confused and alarmed him. He also couldn't remember who was sponsoring the prize. "If you'd asked me five minutes ago, I could've told you, but now, it's just gone…"

 

Since she didn't seem to be getting anywhere with that line of questioning, she asked him who was in on the contest?

 

"Hell, who isn't?" he laughed. "All the big names from back in the day, even a few new guys I'd never heard of. Let's see… there's Hilgar the Barbarian (I have no idea how he's still alive. Dude must be like 110 by now!). There's the Warlord X'Athis. The Crimson Cabal. The Guild of Hexxus. Dr. Rohrbach and his minions. Fozwel the Great is in on it, but I wouldn't take him too seriously. Shaylarra the Sorceress of Shileen was there. Some new group called the Circle of Thunder. A Druidess named Nikki (yowza! I'd plant my sacred oak in her fertile grove any day!). Someone who calls himself Jade Eye; never met the fellow. That's all I know, I swear!"

 

"So," Castilla asked. "What do you suppose we should do with you?"

 

"One of the rules is, you get one try and one try only. If you fail, you forfeit the prize," he admitted. "The contest is over as far as my part in it is concerned."

 

"You're right. It is," Castilla agreed, driving her sword through his skull.

 

When she was finished, Castilla came out and related what she'd learned to the others.

 

Everyone groaned when they heard that Nikki the Vengeful was in on it.

 

Leth recognized one of the names – the Circle of Thunder was the organization that was smuggling drugs along the coast of Pasion.

 

Castilla recognized the Guild of Hexxus, a minor thieves' guild in her hometown.

 

Illy remembered Hilgar the Barbarian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth. He was supposedly killed by her mother Plisianna, just before Illy was born.

 

Illy had also heard of Doctor Insimus Rohrbach, a crazed wizard who bred and cross-bred monsters.

 

Trouble recalled hearing stories about Shaylarra, the Sorceress of Shileen. She was a cruel and powerful wizardess who controlled a town on the border of Morjiim and Korma – a tyrant who raided the surrounding lands and who enslaved all those her armies captured. She used this slave labor to build a great tower in her honor in the center of the town.

 

Trouble also knew of Fozwel the Great, a slightly demented would-be world conqueror with a... childish demeanor. The FMH ran into him on several occasions. He was brilliant in his own way, but the original FMH considered him more of a harmless crank than someone dangerous.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Hello, I'm a newbie to HERO System, but I've been reading the boards lately and this storyline has been great! Sounds like your group has a lot of fun, Bill, I hope when I get one together we can have as much.

 

I've been reading this thread for a few days and finally got caught up, I really enjoy the way you incorporate various movie themes (The Seven Samurai, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Carribean) into your game. Great job, please keep posting!

 

Thanks, Dave! Welcome to the Hero System! I'm glad you're enjoying these recaps. It's good to know people are reading them.

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Fozwel? *groan*

 

And since you have a Conan pastiche, you missed your chance for an Elric and Fafhrd and the the Grey Mouser ones....

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Great' date=' as usual, Bill. I hope I get to Game with you sometime. Might you run at Gen Con next year ?[/quote']

 

I don't know. I might like to run at Gencon sometime, but most of my games involve miniatures, and maps, and props, and all sorts of stuff. It's a pain in the butt to lug around just for local conventions; I'm not sure how I'd get everything on the plane to bring to Gencon.

 

Teh Bunnie's gotta come to HERO Con!

 

I'd love to, but it's probably not going to happen. If we go to any out-of-state conventions next year, it's going to be Gencon. Unless I win the lottery or something.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Fozwel? *groan*

 

Blame Bob Greenwade!

 

And since you have a Conan pastiche, you missed your chance for an Elric and Fafhrd and the the Grey Mouser ones....

 

I thought about an Elric ripoff, but it wouldn't be the same without a magic sword that "accidentally" killed all his friends. And magic swords are rarer than hen's teeth in my world.

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

I'd love to' date=' but it's probably not going to happen. If we go to any out-of-state conventions next year, it's going to be Gencon. Unless I win the lottery or something.[/quote']

 

Crud.... oh well, we can only hope!

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Back home in Areian, the heroes had a few days to sell off their loot and arrange for their trip to Brills. While Castilla and Finnegan were working on that, the rest of the heroes were approached by two hobbits (one man, one woman) in traveling gear. "We've traveled very far," they said, "To seek the aid of the Fearless Monster Hunters. We beg you, will you hear our tale?"

 

The heroes were (of course) willing, so the two Hobbits begin their story. "I am Abbo, and this is Thora," the young man said. "We come from a small, out of the way village north and east of here, near the north shore of the Ithykan Sea. A few weeks ago, our village came under attack. Normally, we would rely on our town sheriff to protect us, but just before the attacks began, he disappeared! We have come all this way to ask for your help in defending our village and our stock. Our village is small, but we are prepared to pay for your services!"

 

The FMH were intrigued, and asked the Hobbit to continue. "Thank you, heroes," he said. "Our village is called Honeybee Lane. Have you heard of it?"

 

Kaira had heard of it – Honeybee Lane is famous for its honey. She'd had a taste once, but it's pretty rare and quite expensive. Abbo was flattered that the druidess knew of their product. "Yes," he said. "We make the world's finest honey, bar none. We export it all over the world. It is served on the tables of kings, from Demoria to Kidbod. But just a few weeks ago…"

 

"It was horrible!" Thora cut him off. "They slaughtered our babies!"

 

This alarmed the FMH. "By babies, do you mean your children, or your bees?" Illy asked.

 

"Our bees," Abbo clarified. "An entire hive, wiped out. Decades of work, gone. And anyone who tried to help… well, Barry and Gary are still recovering from their injuries; thank the gods they weren't killed. And that was just the first time! Two more hives have been slaughtered, and who knows what's happened since we left to come here! We're not warriors," he went on. "We were reliant on Scotius to protect us, but with him missing, we have no choice but to call on you. We've heard your reputation, and we hoped you would help us."

 

The Fearless Monster Hunters indicated their willingness to help, but they needed a few questions answered first. "Who – or what – is killing your bees?" Leth asked.

 

"Yellowjackets," Abbo said. "Gigantic ones, mean as hades! Each one is as big as a cat! We tried to drive them off, but they are so aggressive, and so big. They caught the scent of honey and nothing would stop them! They killed every bee in the hive, then ate the larvae and most of the honey. After they were done, they left. A week later, they came back and did it again! And then, again the next week!"

 

"Yellowjackets?" Illy asked. "Didn't we fight giant yellowjackets once before? When we were dealing with that psycho redheaded druid?"

 

The rest of the FMH nodded. This did seem to fit in with Nikki's MO… and she had even been mentioned among the contestants that Olfilion had told them about. "Did your village have any strange visitors lately?" Leth asked.

 

Abbo thought about it for a moment. "Well," he finally allowed. "A wandering druid came through our village a week before the attacks started. We gave her some honey and told her about our village. She had long, flaming red hair, a leather helmet with deer antlers on the front, and a loud laugh. But she seemed nice enough," he said. "She even told us stories. That's how we learned about you guys!"

 

Kaira sighed. "Yep, that's her all right. Very well, we'll come to help you with your problem," she told them. The two Hobbits rejoiced at the good news while the FMH prepared for the trip.

 

The journey to Honeybee Lane was uneventful, and took about a week by ship. Once the FMH arrived at the port town, the Hobbits led them north, to the village of Honeybee Lane. Just before they got to the village, Leth split them up into teams. "If this whole thing is a trap," he said, "We'd best try not to all fall into it."

 

He sent Castilla in first, to scout out the area quietly. He, Kaira, Chrissie, and their guides would go straight into town. Finnegan, Styggiad, and Illy would remain outside of town, patrolling the area to make sure the heroes wouldn't be waylaid.

 

Unfortunately, the village was closer than Castilla had thought and she blundered straight into town. Embarrassed, she hung around in the town square until Leth and the others showed up. When the rest of the party came into the village, Hobbits swarmed around them, crying, "You're back! You're back!"

 

"Has anything happened while we were away?" Abbo asked. "Has anyone seen Scotius?"

 

"Scotius is still missing," one of the villagers replied somberly. "And there was another attack! We lost Hive #13!"

 

Abbo's face fell. "That's four hives gone," he said, turning to the heroes. "Now you see why we need your help."

 

"How many hives do you have?" Leth asked. "And how many bees in each?"

 

"Fourteen," Abbo said. "Well, only ten now, after all the attacks. There can be anywhere from 200 to 1200 bees in a single hive. After you're all settled in, I can take you over to see them if you like."

 

The tiny townsfolk were very gracious, showing the heroes to the biggest house in the village and telling them to make themselves at home. Apparently, this is the house that visiting merchants use when they come into the village to buy honey. After Leth's crew was settled in, Abbo took them on a tour of the village.

 

The town was pretty typical of its type – a small village of 350 or so people. The west of town was surrounded by enormous fields of clover, sunflowers, and other types of bright flowers. Just about every house in the town had large flower gardens out front as well. The heroes could hear the hum of bees everywhere.

 

"Why do you have so many flowers?" Castilla, always the city-girl, asked.

 

"Each type of flower produces a particular type of honey," Abbo proudly explained. "Honey made from roses tastes very different from honey made from clover, or from sunflowers, or from other types of flower. It's like different types of wine or beer, just a few subtle changes in the ingredients makes a very different product."

 

"Speaking of beer," Castilla said. "Isn't there a type of beer made from honey?"

 

"Oh, yes miss!" Abbo smiled. "It's called mead, and we make it. Would you like to try some later?"

 

Catilla happily agreed to try both some honey and some mead (lots of mead!) – after the heroes got their job here done.

 

The heroes then went to check Scotius' (the town guardian) house. It was a nice place, one of the larger houses in the village. It was neat and fairly Spartan, except for all of the animal and monster heads on the walls. "Scotius was an adventurer like you before he settled down here," Abbo explained. "He was a very powerful spellcaster, and he always kept the town safe. Until he disappeared, at least."

 

The heroes searched Scotius' office, but found little of interest. Abbo told them that Scotius frequently went on patrol around the village's borders to make sure no wild animals or people of questionable morals came in and tried anything. A day after the visiting druidess left town, he went on patrol and never came back. The villagers searched for him, but found no sign.

 

"Did Nikki seem attracted to Scotius?" Kaira asked. Abbo thought about it for a moment. "She did seem to flirt with him a lot," he said. "Not that Scotius would ever be interested in her – he's one of nature's confirmed bachelors. And I don't think he likes tall women much, either."

 

The heroes went into a huddle. "Odds are, Nikki kidnapped him," Kaira said. "Maybe because she wants him as a boyfriend, or maybe just to further bait the trap."

 

Leth agreed. "We'll assume she's holding him hostage. If she wanted him dead, the townsfolk would have found the body by now. She's not subtle."

 

After they finished looking through the sheriff's house, Thora took them to the hives, north of town, through a grove of fruit trees. The sound of the bees was overwhelming, and soon the heroes saw why – the hives themselves were enormous, each as big as a house, and the bees that flew in and out were equally huge. Each one was the size of a softball! Hobbit beekeepers moved in and out of the hives freely, not disturbed at all by the ginormous insects swarming around them.

 

"So this is why there's only 14 hives," Leth opined.

 

Thora agreed. "We could trade more of our honey, but we don't want to flood the market. Our bees make several tons of honey per year, but we limit our output. The rarity makes our honey, mead, and beeswax products much more valuable to the outside world. Also, each hive takes years of hard work to build up to a suitable size. Our village was growing prosperous, but now the losses we've experienced will take decades to fix." With that, she started weeping again. "Our poor babies," she cried.

 

"Where did these giant bees come from?" Chrissie asked, trying to distract the Hobbit from her sorrow.

 

"Oh, we are the first people (that I know of) to have domesticated the giant honeybee," she said, wiping her tears. "Giant honeybees are rare in nature, but not unheard of. They are not as gentle as normal domesticated bees, but we know lots of little tricks to keep them happy and productive. They're pretty friendly, if you know what you're doing."

 

The heroes went back into town to formulate a plan. "How often do the yellowjackets attack?" Leth asked.

 

"The third day of every week, like clockwork," Abbo told them. "Usually in the early part of the afternoon. It takes them a few hours to kill all the bees, and then a few more hours to eat all the larvae and honey."

 

Noting that today was the second day of the week, the heroes didn't have much time to plan. "Tomorrow around noon, we'll set ourselves up near the hives," Leth said. "Illy and Styggiad, and Finnegan will wait in the woods nearby, keeping an eye out for the attackers. We'll try to drive the yellowjackets off, and then the guys in the woods can follow them back to their nest. If we can find the nest, odds are good we'll find Nikki."

 

That evening, the Hobbits held a feast in the heroes' honor. They served a bewildering variety of foods, all of which involved honey in some way – honey-barbequed chicken, honey glazed carrots, honey-top bread, lots of mead, and honey cakes for dessert. After dinner, Leth snuck into the woods to find the others, let them know the plan, and deliver some plates of food.

 

The next day, Leth's crew prepared themselves to hang out at the hives. One of the beekeepers stopped them and said that if things got violent, the bees would go into a frenzy to defend their hives. To keep the heroes from being stung by the very ones they were trying to defend, the Hobbits rubbed the FMH down with beeswax, making the heroes smell like bees themselves. The (male) beekeepers took extra time making sure Castilla was fully rubbed-down.

 

That afternoon, as Abbo predicted, the yellowjackets attacked. Finnegan spotted them first as they flew over his hiding place. He fired a shot at one of them from his bow, hitting it in the thorax, but it did not alter its trajectory. The aggressive insects swarmed over to one of the hives, and the heroes rushed to meet them.

 

Castilla bravely leapt in front of the main entrance to the hive, using her own body as a shield to prevent the yellowjackets from going in. A half-dozen of the enormous insects swarmed around her, trying to sting her, but she dodged and leapt, narrowly avoiding their painful stings. But one of them got through and jammed its deadly stinger into her shoulder. She cried out in pain as she felt the poison course through her veins.

 

Kaira, thinking quickly, cast an antivenin spell and Castilla's burning agony dulled to a sharp throb. Leth rushed over to protect Castilla, attracting the attention of several of the deadly yellow-and-black aggressors. Kaira and Chrissie tried to avoid the attention of the insects, but a couple of them flew over. One of them stung Kaira, causing her to momentarily black out from the pain. Chrissie, in a panic, unleashed her only offensive spell and managed to knock the yellowjacket unconscious! (Yay Chrissie!).

 

Finnegan, from the cover of the woods, fired arrows at the yellowjacket stragglers. Illy cast a spell that allowed her to "smell" the pheromone trail left by the hornets. "Come on, Styggiad!" she called to her sister. "We're going to follow their trail!" Styggiad reluctantly followed her sister. Finnegan, seeing that he wouldn't be needed to chase the insects, leapt into the fray, swinging his hand-and-a-half sword left and right, cutting through the swarm of flying insects.

 

Kaira, recovering, threw an enchanted wall up behind Castilla, so the hornets couldn't get into the hive. Castilla, no longer needing to block the entrance with her body, began attacking the beasts and managed to kill a couple of them. Kaira knocked one out of the air with an elemental arrow, and Leth and Finnegan continued slaying them by the bushel.

 

Despite a great number of losses, the yellowjackets continued to attack until the heroes killed them all, but finally it was all over. Styggiad and Illy had already left, so Leth ordered the others to follow them to the woods, leaving the Hobbit beekeepers to count the losses and clean up the mess…

 

TBC!

 

[SatinKitty]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

As I said way back earlier in this thread when Nikki supposedly "drowned", all together now: "If you don't see the body, the Villain is not dead ! " This was a neat installment. Also your poor PCs don't have to be paranoid : everyone is really out to get them !

 

I wonder if this is Nikki's attempt at the Contest and she loses, will she follow the Rules and quit ? My guess is no !

 

Great work, Bunny.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

As I said way back earlier in this thread when Nikki supposedly "drowned", all together now: "If you don't see the body, the Villain is not dead ! " This was a neat installment. Also your poor PCs don't have to be paranoid : everyone is really out to get them !

 

I wonder if this is Nikki's attempt at the Contest and she loses, will she follow the Rules and quit ? My guess is no !

 

Great work, Bunny.

 

Nikki escaped again tonight (after the heroes killed most of her yellowjackets and were coming after her). I'll post a full recap later this week.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Illy and Styggiad pursued the wasps' pheromone trail into the woods, followed closely behind by the rest of the heroes, but eventually she lost the trail – wind and/or time had dispersed it. Still, the heroes guessed that the yellowjackets had followed a straight line in the most direct route, so they continued in that direction to see what they could see.

 

Eventually, they came to a clearing in the forest. They immediately noted the large number of (normal-sized) yellowjackets swarming around the area. In the center of the clearing was a tall, leafless, dead tree. Something was odd about it… it seemed lumpy. Leth got a little closer and realized what was so off about it – the entire tree was covered in dozens of gigantic yellowjacket nests!

 

Kaira pronounced that such a thing was not natural, so the heroes thought they should burn the tree. But then they wondered if they might accidentally start a forest fire, so instead they decided to freeze it solid. Illy concentrated and formed a small thundercloud directly over the tree. The rest of the heroes spread out around the edge of the clearing as rain began to fall.

 

Suddenly, the air was filled with a loud buzzing noise, coming up over the trees. Six enormous yellowjackets flew up into the clearing, each one as big as a pony! On the back of one of them rode Nikki, laughing riotously. "At last you've come!" she screamed. "Now it's my turn to get my vengeance on you!"

 

Five of the giant yellowjackets swarmed in to attack, while Nikki's lingered behind. Illy cast a spell that shrunk Nikki's mount down to half its size. The psycho-stalker druid struggled to keep aloft, but she dropped something she was holding – a burlap sack, which tumbled down into the tall weeds beneath her. Castilla, well-hidden and not yet spotted, began sneaking around the edge of the clearing to try to find what Nikki had dropped (assuming it to be the missing Hobbit sheriff). Finn fired an arrow that skewered one of the giant insects before it had a chance to close, but then the rest of them swarmed in!

 

Leth squared off with one hornet and Finn did battle against two. Styggiad tried to get over to Nikki, but was intercepted by another giant yellowjacket. The final insect began chasing Kaira around, until Illy blinded it with a flash of bright light. Nikki, bereft of her perch, vanished in a whirlwind, only to reappear seconds later on the other side of the battlefield (right near Kaira). "Now I've got you, you little rat!" she sneered, laughing loudly.

 

The crazy druidess summoned an enormous air elemental. As a tornado formed around her, she laughed again. "Grab the little one!" she shouted. Kaira, thinking quickly, summoned her own elemental. "Keep the air elemental away from me!" she shouted, rapidly backpedaling.

 

Leth broke away from the fight with his yellowjacket and rushed to help Kaira. His axe bounced off of Nikki's defensive enchantments, but he did manage to distract her. "Kill the Dwarf!" she shouted at her elemental. The elemental paused and looked at her, wind whistling loudly.

 

"He's the short one!" Nikki sighed. The air elemental continued to stare at her. "Yes, I know they're all short…" she said, rolling her eyes. "The one who's shorter than the others, but not as short as the really short one… and… why am I having this conversation with you? Get that blasted runty Dwarf!"

 

She paused again as the wind continued to whistle and groan. "Oh… so now I'm a racist, is that it? Just… You know what? I'm not dealing with this right now. Just get him, already!"

 

By that time, Finn managed to kill both of the hornets attacking him, and he turned to help. Drawing his bow, he let an arrow fly directly at Nikki. Once again, her enchantments deflected it, but the attack took her by surprise. "I have no idea who you are, pal, but you are officially on my list now!" she yelled at him.

 

But by this time, most of her yellowjackets were dead, and the FMH were closing in around her. "Oh, you haven't seen the last of me, Fearless Monster Hunters!" she laughed. "I'll be back, and… oh, no, wait… I can't come back. Aw, Dammit!" With that, there was a concussive burst of air and when the dust cleared, she was gone.

 

About then, Castilla wandered up, bringing along with her a shell-shocked Hobbit. "Everyone," she announced, "This is Scotius, from Honeybee Lane. He told me the last thing he remembers was going on his daily patrol, running into Nikki in the woods, and after that, everything is a blur."

 

The FMH hunted around the area for any sign of Nikki, but the only thing they found was her abandoned campsite, some miles away. So they headed back to the village, a bit disappointed that they didn't catch Nikki, but happy that they had foiled her plan.

 

The people of Honeybee Lane were overjoyed to see the heroes back and to hear their tale. They hosted a great feast that evening, and the next morning they rewarded the heroes with a large amount of honey, mead, wax, and bee pollen. Illy arranged for much of it to be shipped directly to Hob's place, and began negotiations to let Hob be one of the village's distributors.

 

Then it was back to the Endeavor. The heroes were heading for the great city of Brills, hoping to find the Guild of Hexus and perhaps get an idea of why everyone was suddenly coming after them.

 

Castilla, Finn, and Chrissie would go ahead of the rest and try to ingratiate themselves into the Guild (posting as newly-arrived thieves); the rest of the heroes would come into town a week later with the Endeavor. Hopefully by then, the others would have some information…

 

TBC!

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Nikki needs help. I volunteer.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Nikki needs help. I volunteer.

 

Just make sure you never even look at another woman. She's the jealous (and homicidal) sort.

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

I can be subtle.

[Enforcer84]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

...no I can't.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Castilla, Finnegan, and Chrissie hopped a ride on a cog heading for Brills. Upon their arrival, they made discrete inquiries about the Guild of Hexus and quickly made contact with Ironbeard, a representative of the Guild of Thieves (who control almost all of the illicit activity in the area). They told the Dwarf they wanted to join an up-and-coming gang (the Guild of Hexus), and he just laughed. "Up and coming? You could do much better than those guys if you had a mind to," he told Castilla, but she insisted. "Well, if you want to set your sights that low, you need to go to the Aldea del Grimeo neighborhood and find a hole in the wall called The Pet Shop. That's where they hang out."

 

Castilla knew where that was and they immediately headed there. They found an impoverished, run down neighborhood. Many of the buildings were crushed and knocked over (a dragon had stomped through this area a year or so ago, but no one has ever bothered to repair the damage). The Pet Shop was easy to find, and the heroes entered. Despite the name, the place does not sell animals, though it certainly smelled like it could've.

 

All eyes turned to them. "What do you want?" a dirty, gangly youth shouted.

 

"We're new in town, and we heard about this up-and-coming gang," Castilla said. "We're here to sign up."

 

The gangers were flattered to be described as "up and coming," but they demanded a test of skill before they allowed the heroes in. One of the tougher looking guys stepped up to Finn and said, "You think you're pretty tough, huh? Let's see how good you are!"

 

The two of them stepped outside and, using wooden boards, attempted to beat the tar out of each other. It wasn't even a contest – Finn dodged the big guy's clumsy blow, then smacked him in the jimmie. The gangers were even more impressed and welcomed Finn with a toast.

 

The leader – a 40-something year old named Dante, then told Castilla she had to be tested too. He said they had a locked chest that they couldn't get into. If she could pick the lock, she was in.

 

She began to work on the lock, but a little feeling told her that something wasn't right. She carefully examined the lock and found it had a needle trap in it! Deftly, she disarmed the needle, then opened the lock. Dante was impressed, and said she'd make a good member of their little guild.

 

Everyone had a drink and Castilla asked what the routine was around here. "Do you guys have any big scores coming up?"

 

"Nah," one of the younger members sighed. "The Guild of Thieves (which pretty much owns this town) doesn't let up-and-comers like us take any big, profitable jobs. Greedy bastards!"

 

"Yeah, but we've got one thing in the pipeline," Dante said. "The Boss came back from a meeting recently with big ideas about how to crush a rival gang called the "Fearless Monster Hunters." They're rich adventurers. We steal their money, steal their cargo, steal their ship – that'll build up our rep (and our coffers) enough to be considered serious players!"

 

Most of the younger guys thought this was a waste of time and effort, being as none of them had ever heard of these Monster Hunter guys and who cares about them anyway? But none of them had any better ideas, so mostly they sat around the bar, drinking, gambling, and fighting.

 

The few times they went out, they mostly did simple muggings and shoplifting. Finn and Castilla went along with them to integrate themselves into the gang, and soon everyone was like old friends.

 

While this was going on, the heroes kept trying to figure out who the "Boss" was. Dante was getting orders from someone, but he never seemed to leave the bar. Eventually, Chrissie pointed out that he often went into the back room, where no one else was allowed, and frequently came back out with new orders. Finnegan wasn't sure about this theory. He thought that maybe Dante was the "Boss," and was pretending to take orders from another for some reason.

 

After about a week, Dante told the gang to get ready for action – he just got word that the Fearless Monster Hunters had just arrived in town. Secretly, Finn told Chrissie to go out and find them and let them know what was going on. She immediately set out on her mission.

 

Meanwhile, The FMH arrived in town at the first tide to little fanfare. Brills is the largest city in the world by an order of magnitude. Sprawling, smoke-filled, dirty, and dangerous, it is home to an uncountable number of people. Hundreds of ships enter and leave its docks every day. Barges are dragged up the shallow Flor River, bringing needed supplies inland. Caravans filled with colorful carts and laden wagons enter and leave the city via the Trade Road (to the east) and the South Road (to the south), carrying tradestuffs to every corner of the world. It is a busy, busy, busy place, and if you pause too long you're likely to be run over.

 

Leth wanted to make sure the local law was aware of their presence, so they set off in search of the constabulary. Before long, they found a couple of cops – beating up a guy. Leth approached them and they demanded to know what he wanted. "We're new in town," he said. "We wanted to introduce ourselves and..."

 

The officers cut him off, laughing. "Another idiot from the sticks," one of them guffawed, and the two of them walked off.

 

"I hate this city," Kaira said. "Let's leave!"

 

"No," Leth told her. "We have a job to do. Let's see if we can find a police station. Maybe the duty officer will be more willing to talk with us."

 

Eventually, they found the local guard tower. There was a long line of peasants outside, each waiting to file a complaint. The heroes shrugged and stepped to the front of the line. People protested, but seeing how well-armed the heroes were they didn't make too much of a fuss. The duty sergeant looked up at them. "What do you want?" he asked, obviously bored.

 

"We're the Fearless Monster Hunters," Leth said. "We're new in town. We're looking for a group of thieves who have apparently put out a hit on us, and we'd like to speak with your captain."

 

The sergeant rolled his eyes. "Listen, stumpy," he said. "You guys are new in town, so I'm going to be nice and tell you how things work around here. First, nobody cares. You're after some guys, some guys are after you, it's all the same to me. I don't want to see any bodies piling up, but you keep your weapons in their sheaths and there won't be any trouble. And believe me, you don't want any trouble. Second, welcome to Brills. Now, f**k off."

 

Illy gave the man a few silver pieces for his trouble (having heard that bribery is the custom here), and the heroes left. They found an inn and settled in to wait to hear from the others. The next morning, Chrissie found where they were staying and told Leth what they had learned.

 

Leth thought about it and then told the others his plan. "Chrissie, you get back to the Pet Shop by about 10:15. Tell the others that you saw us coming this way and that they should all get out of there quickly. Tell Finn and Castilla to watch where Dante goes and follow him – he should lead us to the big boss, and maybe even the boss's boss. We'll show up at 10:30 to roust any stragglers."

 

Chrissie headed off and quietly let Finn and Castilla know the plan. She then banged through the door. "They're coming!" she shouted. "We need to get out of here!"

 

"Assume battle stations!" Dante said (surprising all the heroes). The gangers jumped to defend their turf. Castilla and Chrissie hid in a corner, and Chrissie turned the two of them invisible so they could sneak around. Leth and the others burst into the room, and the Guild moved to fight. Illy cast a spell to blind almost everyone in the room, taking out more than half of the enemy.

 

Styggiad ran in, stabbing one thief in the stomach with her spear. Leth hacked another in the shoulder with his axe. Dante cast a spell and froze Styggiad in place. Finn (blinded), lashed out with his quarterstaff and caught one of the gangers in the stomach. Chrissie and Castilla crept towards the door of the backroom, but found it locked.

 

Castilla picked the lock and burst into the room, where she found a decrepit old man in a wheelchair. A nearby desk was covered in papers. "I knew you'd come!" he wheezed. "Sending me all these goddamned riddles – riddles, riddles, every damn day a new one! Tormenting me, taunting me, I knew it was you all along. All along!"

 

He pulled the blanket off his legs, revealing that they were both gone. "Your parents did this to me, fifty years ago, and now it's time for a little payback, you bastards!"

 

With that, a steel door dropped down over the only entrance to the building, and glass spheres filled with some sort of liquid dropped down out of the ceiling. When they hit the ground, they exploded in a burst of fire! Within seconds, the whole building was burning!

 

Styggiad, freed from the spell that held her, rushed into the backroom. She saw that the old man was laughing madly, despite being on fire. She scrambled through the flames to grab him and drag him out, through the smoke and the flames. Castilla, injured by the exploding flames, drank a potion of Ghost-Form and slipped out of the building into the street.

 

The thieves were all in a panic, until Chrissie jumped up on the bar and ordered them to be quiet and listen. They did so immediately (as did the members of her own team!). Gasping in the thick smoke, she ordered everyone to try to bash a hole in the wall in order for everyone to escape.

 

Leth rushed to one of the outside walls and began hacking at it with his axe. A handful of thieves ran over to help. Other members of the Guild tried to put out the flames, but the dry wooden building was going up too quickly. Illy summoned a group of small water elementals, who tragically died (well… evaporated) while putting out a fire near her. However, this gave her enough breathing room to use her magic to cause the wall next to her to collapse!

 

"Everyone, this way!" she shouted, but those on the other side of the building were cut off from her by the fire. Finn grabbed a couple of gangers (passed out from the smoke) and dragged them out, then prepared to go back in. Leth and his crew continued chopping at the walls – which were not the simple waddle and daub they appeared to be, but were reinforced stone covered with mud! Finally, they managed to make a big enough hole and began crawling through.

 

Chrissie, by this time, had succumbed to the smoke, but Dante found her unconscious form in the darkness and dragged her toward the exit. Leth and Finn rushed back into the burning building to make sure no one was left, and managed to drag out the last of the Guild just before the building came down.

 

The Guild of Hexus were grateful that the heroes saved them, and were confused and angry that their boss tried to kill them. After questioning them, the FMH learned the whole story:

 

Dante was a down-on-his-luck thief (he flunked out of wizard's school at a young age) who didn’t have any good prospects, until an old man approached him with an offer to start up his own minor-league Guild. The old man was Hexus, formerly a great thief until a building collapsed on him and took his legs, and he was willing to finance the new gang. Dante jumped at the chance, and recruited this group of young ne'er-do-wells.

 

Despite a lot of big talk, though, the Guild of Hexus never did anything. They just sat around the guildhouse, drinking the booze that the old man supplied them with. The heroes deduced that the old man was drugging the liquor to keep the gangers pliant. Once the heroes came here, the old man meant to kill himself with fire – and take the FMH with him! That his own Guild would die too didn't seem to matter to him at all.

 

Fortunately, only one part of his plan succeeded – his suicide. The heat and smoke were too much for the wizened old man, and despite Kaira's best efforts he died there in the street.

 

The Fearless Monster Hunters didn't hold a grudge against the hapless gangers. "You were tricked just as we were," Finn told them. Leth and Illy asked if they would work as contacts for the FMH in this part of the world, "As long as you follow a moral code," Illy admonished. "No hurting people," she insisted. What was left of the Guild readily agreed (especially as the offer was greased with a little cash), and Dante declared the gang's new name was "The Hunters' Eyes."

 

Meanwhile, Castilla slipped away from the group and disappeared into the city...

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

So... these were The Pet Shop Boys???

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

So... these were The Pet Shop Boys???

 

Sometimes you're better off dead

There's gun in your hand and it's pointing at your head

You think you're mad, too unstable

Kicking in chairs and knocking down tables

In a restaurant in a West End town

Call the police, there's a madman around

Running down underground to a dive bar

In a West End town

...But no. The players asked what the name of the bar was. Of course, I had no idea. In a panic, I looked around the room for some idea and my eyes lit on our cats' pet carrier. "Um... It's called the Pet Shop," I stammered.

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

FMH Recap for November 3, 2007

After the fire at the Pet Shop, the heroes retired back to their hotel to rest. A messenger came looking for Wyssian, so Illy left with him. A couple of hours later, the same messenger came looking for Leth and invited the entire group to go to the Marta family townhouse. Leth and the rest of the team followed him back to a large townhouse/compound near the docks.

 

There they found Castilla, Illy/Wyssian, and Castilla's older brother Cayo waiting for them. Castilla told them that she just learned her father recently passed away, and she wanted to go up to the family estate to pay her respects. The whole party was invited to go if they wanted. Leth shrugged and said it sounded like a bit of a holiday, so a few hours later they found themselves sailing up the coast.

 

The ride was uneventful, and after two days they arrived at the small coastal town of Marta. Cayo and Castilla took a carriage up to the family estate, leaving the rest of the heroes to carry their own luggage. Once there, the FMH were given rooms in the guest house (the most opulent digs most of them had ever seen!) and more-or-less left to their own devices.

 

Leth had the opportunity to share a drink with Cayo. He found the young man to be intelligent, quick-witted, and curious about the new team's adventures (though he himself would never want to expose himself to such risk!). "I've heard quite enough of my father's stories," he said. "I'll happily remain behind the scenes and take care of business the old fashioned way, thank you very much."

 

On the second day, after visiting her father's crypt, Castilla became ill and asked to go back to Brills. Her brother was quite concerned about her well being, and after speaking with her privately, arranged for his ship to take them back at first light. He seemed very upset by what she had told him, and informed the party that he had to stay here to "Take care of some important things."

 

The heroes headed back to Brills. When they got there, Castilla said she needed to go speak with her mentor/surrogate father Giorgio. Leth went along to keep her company. Giorgio ran his own fairly successful thieving organization, and he invited the heroes into his garden to talk. He looked older than Castilla remembered, but he still had a twinkle in his eye and a ready grin. "Tell us about the Riddle King," Castilla urged him.

 

"The Riddle King?" Giorgio said. "Well, back in the day he was a thief – a damned talented one, too. He could get into and out of anything he set his eye on. He could steal the axe right out of your hand," he said, pointing at Leth. "And you wouldn't even notice until you needed it for a fight. He was very, very talented," Giorgio continued, "But he wasn't very good."

 

"Explain," Leth said.

 

"Well, a good thief tries hard not to get caught. But the Riddle King? He made an effort to give people the opportunity to catch him. Everything he stole, he left clues behind, usually in the form of a riddle."

 

"What kind of riddle?" Castilla asked.

 

Giorgio shrugged. "Doggerel," he said. "Puns. Stupid word plays, usually. Kids' riddles. 'Which burns longer, a white candle or a green one? Neither, they both burn shorter!' type of stuff."

 

"Did he ever do any more sophisticated riddles? Poems? Anagrams? That sort of thing?" Leth asked.

 

Giorgio laughed. "No, never," he said. "His clues got tougher as time went on, but they were still they same silly kids' games. Why are you so curious about the Riddle King?"

 

"He's started a contest," Castilla said. "He's gathered up all the FMH's enemies (old and new) and offered a prize to the first one who kills us."

 

Giorgio was shocked. "Kills you?" he asked. "That hardly sounds like the Riddle King I know. He was a thief. A contest, maybe. That would fit with his sense of humor. But murder? I can't believe he'd hurt anyone; his greatest pleasure was matching wits with people, not killing them." He pondered this for a while. "Besides, he would have to be pushing a hundred right now if he were still alive. He never gave me the impression that he was an Elf…"

 

"Never gave you the impression?" Leth asked. "You don't know what he looked like?"

 

"No," Giorgio said. "He always wore a mask. No one ever got a look at his face. In fact… I wonder if I still have it?" The old thief began rummaging through some boxes and eventually came up with a moth-eaten scrap of cloth. "Look, it's one of his old masks!" Giorgio said, putting it on. It looked ridiculous on the old man. "Well, green's not really my color," he sheepishly admitted. "But you get the idea."

 

"So, what do you know about my past?" Castilla asked, changing the subject. "About my father? And why I'm the way I am?"

 

Giorgio didn't want to say much at first, but eventually he opened up. "When you were born, people were a little bit shocked. But Darkbloods aren't unknown in this part of the world, even among the nobility, and your parents tried to raise you as best as they could. But your dad was involved in a lot of politics in those days, trying to get the family name on the map so to speak. Politics in this town is rough, and people will look for any way to get an advantage. So he tried to keep you at home, away from people who would try to use you to harm the family."

 

"One day, he came to me with a terrible confession. He said that when you were born, he thought about killing you. No one would have been the wiser – crib death is all too common. But after everything he had sacrificed for you, I asked him, why would he tell me this now? He told me it wasn't about the politics. It was about where you came from."

 

Giorgio shook his head. "He told me that he had been cursed, years before you were born, on some unnamed island to the north. The Fearless Monster Hunters went there to stop some mad goddess from being freed from her chains. He somehow found himself alone, separated from the others, and that's when it happened. Some of the goddess' essence somehow merged with him. 'We slowed her down,' Roderigo told me. 'But we didn't stop her.' He thought she would come back, somehow using you as a conduit to this world." Giorgio shook his head.

 

"He wanted to kill you then," the old thief continued. "He knew he should, for the fate of the world. But he couldn't. He just couldn't bring himself to harm you. So he left you with me. He didn't trust himself any more, you see. He told me that I was the noblest man he'd ever known, and if anyone could raise you right, it was me." The old man wiped away a tear. "And that's the story of your past, Castilla."

 

Castilla hugged her mentor, thanked him, and went off to catch up with some of her old friends.

 

While this was going on, Illy went to meet up with Dante and find out if anything had happened in their absence. Turns out something had. "Apparently," Dante told her, "A caravan from Larosovia, moving along the Trade Road, was attacked at night by a huge winged beast. A woman who was traveling with the caravan – a Masubian princess named Anya Zaria Nadia Raminovich – was taken during the attack."

 

"The Masubians are up in arms about this attack against their princess," he continued. "They're threatening the Queen with war unless the woman is found -- and found quickly. What's worse is that several nobles have been siding with the Masubians, saying that the Trade Road has grown dangerous and is cutting off valuable trade from the east."

 

"Everyone knows that the Queen is in no state to fight even a limited war against Masube (especially given the precariousness of her position and the hostility of her own nobles). Word has leaked out that a reward is being offered for the return of the princess and the head of the creature that took her. That's when we caught wind of it. I thought that you guys, being monster hunters and all, might be interested."

 

Illy was, indeed, interested. "Try to find out everything you can about where and when it happened, and what people think is behind it," She told him. "Get the information back to us as soon as you can."

 

The heroes then began preparing for an extended trip into the desert, buying supplies and horses for the trip. A few hours later, Dante contacted them again. "We found out some more information," he told them. "According to the Masubian guards who witnessed the attack, they think it was a dragon that took the princess. And there's only one place around here to find dragons – the Lost City of Kaarn."

 

Finnegan had heard of this place before. For centuries, Kaarn was the nesting spot of a great dragon named Pyrolucidus. The dragon was killed by a great dragonslayer named Erom Soulskin some 30 years ago, and its body was left to rot. But rumor has it that Pryolucidus had hatchlings, and the hatchlings are still there in the ruined city. Soulskin supposedly still lives here in Brills, having retired many years ago.

 

"Furthermore," Dante continued, "There are other parties interested in this case. One of them wants to meet you before you set out."

 

Dante couldn't say who, except that whoever it was, was highly connected with the Guild of Thieves. He gave the heroes an address where the "interested party" would meet them, so Leth, Finnegan, Castilla, and Illy headed over there.

 

They arrived at a nondescript building in a working-class neighborhood. The building appeared to be abandoned, boarded up and unused, but Finn found a staircase in the back leading down into a basement. The shadowy basement was empty but for a large table and five chairs. As soon as everyone sat down, a hidden door opened up and a shapely woman dressed in black, with a mask covering her face, entered. She sat, introduced herself as "Petra," and welcomed them.

 

Castilla noticed immediately that the woman was wearing a very expensive perfume. She also noticed that the way the woman spoke, the way she carried herself, the way she moved, everything about her said that she was a devotee of the temple of Istar, goddess of love. The Demimondes (as they call themselves) are very politically powerful in this part of the world.

 

"So you're the Fearless Monster Hunters?" Petra asked. "Well, we have a monster for you to hunt. Surely you've heard by now of Princess Raminovich's disappearance? Our agents believe she was taken to the ruined city of Kaarn. We would like you to find her and bring her back here – preferably unharmed. We would also like for you to kill the creature that kidnapped her, and bring back proof of its death. If you succeed, you will be richly rewarded. Time is of the essence."

 

"How rich is 'richly rewarded'?" Finn (ever the mercenary) asked.

 

"Will silver trade bars be acceptable payment?" Petra replied. Finnegan nodded – if they were being paid in trade bars, it would mean serious money.

 

"How about a guide?" Illy asked. "And supplies for the journey?"

 

The woman considered this for a moment, and nodded. "We can supply you with a knowledgeable guide and enough supplies to get there and back," she agreed.

 

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Leth asked.

 

"Yes," she said. "There are other interested parties in this affair. Don't speak of it to anyone, especially Lord Raminovich's people. Your friend Dante knows how to contact us when you return."

 

The next morning, the heroes found a small, jumpy, dark-skinned man waiting for them. "I am Bennie, your guide," he told them in a quavering voice. He had a mule-driven cart with supplies in it and was in a hurry to get moving. Unfortunately, he knew little about what was going on except that he had to guide the heroes to the City of Kaarn, and he was not really that eager to do so.

 

Along the way, Chrissie told the FMH the legend of the City of Kaarn. "Nearly a thousand years ago, after Durom slew the Demon Morianis, the world had completely changed. This whole area was wracked by civil wars that continued for over a century. When the dust had settled, the great city of Kaarn, sitting in the Flor River Valley not far from the salt flats they call The Furnace, was the victor.

 

"Kaarn grew to be a mighty city, powerful and wealthy. Its temples were made of solid marble, its walls were 50-feet high and impregnable, its palaces were roofed in gold and gems. But the kings of Kaarn were debauched and cruel, famed for hosting bloody gladiatorial games in which innocent people were mercilessly dispatched for the pleasure of the crowd. Though the Demon Morianis, who never conquered this stretch of land, was long gone, it seemed as though his cruelty lived on in Kaarn.

 

"However, about 400 years ago, there was a great earthquake, which caused the river Flor to change its course. The city dried up; its fields no longer fertile, its people no longer able to support its insatiable appetites. Despite several belated attempts to shift the river back to its original course, Kaarn could no longer support itself and slowly, over many decades, died. The kings of Kaarn refused to believe that their reign was ending, and if anything their increasing poverty caused them to become more and more cruel. The final blow came when the slaves rose up and set fire to the palace. The slaves were slaughtered, but the city was finally abandoned. Today, the Great City of Kaarn lies empty, a crumbling ruin slowly being buried in sand.

 

"The earthquake was obviously punishment for their wicked deeds," Finnegan said.

 

"Nonsense," Illy disagreed. "Earthquakes are just natural phenomena." Everyone rolled their eyes at this obviously insane theory.

 

"Even though everyone knows it's there, few people are crazy enough to actually go to Kaarn," Chrissie continued. "Travelling there through the desert can be deadly, and once you reach the city itself… well, it's said there are the unquiet dead who haunt its streets, and of course the young dragons, who are supposed to be extremely territorial. There's also a story of a giant slug that comes up from the catacombs beneath the city at night and drains trespassers of their blood." Chrissie shuddered. "Maybe I shouldn't tell any more stories about Kaarn for now…"

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Bennie?

 

:rofl:

[teh bunneh]

Your strength gives me strength

 

Bennie?

 

:rofl:

 

Yes, played by Kevin J. O'Connor, of course.

[Susano]

Re: Your strength gives me strength

 

Yes' date=' played by Kevin J. O'Connor, of course.

 

:thumbup:

[TimC]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Any chance of seeing the PC's sheets posted?

 

Great Story!

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

FMH Recap for November 24, 2007

The heroes traveled along the Flor River Valley for about five days, then Benny had them turn northward. They left the fertile valley and entered the scrubby desert. It was hot and uncomfortable, but nothing like what they were about to encounter. After two days, the scrub brush and grass grew sparse, the air got drier, and the sun beat down hotter than ever. Soon they were on the edge of what Benny called "The Furnace" – a great salt flat hundreds of miles across. This was a land of death -- very few plants could grow, and the only animals that could survive here were the fiercest of the fierce.

 

"Travel for about a day east-northeast of here," Benny told them. "You will come to the ruins of the city of Kaarn, if you don't meet your death first. I've been instructed to wait here for two days for you to return; after that, I'm going home."

 

"Two days?" Castilla demanded. "If it takes us a day to get there and a day to get back, how's that going to leave us any time to find the princess?"

 

"Not my problem!" Benny protested. Leth and Illy threatened to leave the rat out here in the desert, and he quickly recanted his position. "Oh, I forgot. They said to wait for five days. Silly me!"

 

Leth demanded to know who really hired him, but he did not know. "I wasn't hired to kill you, I swear! Look at me, how could I kill anybody? It was a woman, a priestess of Istar who hired me. She paid in silver, and I did not ask questions!"

 

Satisfied that Benny was not part of the "contest" to kill them, they told him to wait here for five days – or else. He whimpered but did not protest too much, and the heroes set out toward Kaarn just after nightfall.

 

They traveled for about six hours through the desiccated landscape, then Kaira spotted a light. It looked like firelight, but it was impossible to see how big or how close it was. She transformed into an owl and flew towards the light to scout it out – wary that it might be dragon-sign.

 

In fact, it was not – it was a campfire, carefully stoked to avoid anyone seeing it. Apparently, a gust of wind had fanned it enough that the light reflected off the salt so that it was briefly visible for miles. She circled overhead and saw a small campsite, well-guarded. She counted four tents plus a larger pavilion. A pennant fluttered above the pavilion – a white dragon rampant on a dark blue field. She made note of the design, though she did not recognize it. Stealthily, she landed near the pavilion and hopped over to listen to the voices she heard coming from it.

 

"Do not worry my dear," a male voice said. "Soon this will all be over. Our uncle's plans will come to pass and you will go back home."

 

"Do not take me for a fool, Dmitri," a female voice responded. "I know that once Mikhail's war has started, he will have no further use for me."

 

"That may be true, but I may still have a few good uses for you," the male voice replied. "If you play your cards right, I can make you a very happy woman."

 

"Indeed, cousin," she said. "Nothing would make me happier than that." Kaira couldn't help but note the sound of dejection in her voice, though she hid it well.

 

Having heard enough, Kaira flew back to the team and related what she had heard. "I don't know what's going on," Leth said. "Politics and the dealings of kings and dukes are beyond me. But it sounds like we need to get the princess away from those people and get her back to the city as quickly as possible."

 

The heroes circled around the camp as stealthily as they could and set up their own temporary base of operations. By then the sun was rising, and with it the heat of the day really began to hammer on them. They hunkered down in what shelter they could find and debated their plan.

 

Finnegan recognized that the banner Kaira saw was indeed the Raminovich coat of arms. Everyone remembered Petra's admonition not to speak with or trust the Raminovich family, and they wondered what these people's angle was. However, they decided that they should avoid killing any of them if at all possible – the death of a Raminovich at the hands of a random group of adventures could spell war just as easily as the princess' death by a dragon.

 

And speaking of dragons, while the heroes were talking, Chrissie and Kaira began to grow agitated, nervous, frightened, and then terrified -- but they weren't sure why. Chrissie was on the verge of bolting when Illy grabbed her hand and pointed upwards. High up in the sky they spotted an enormous winged beast circling overhead. It was a dragon! Luckily, it didn't see them, concealed as they were in the ruins. After a while, it flew off towards the east and disappeared. Once it was gone, Chrissie and Kaira's terror faded. The presence of the dragon added a new wrinkle in their plans – was the dragon allied with the Raminoviches? Or were they hiding from it just as the heroes were?

 

The FMH decided they needed more intel, so Illy turned herself and Chrissie invisible and they snuck up to the camp to see what they could see. They saw right away that the guards were very alert – even invisible, one of them almost spotted the two heroines. They counted six guards on duty at all times, each of them hunkered down behind a ruined stone wall or chunk of rock. The camp was very well defended, and a frontal assault (in their humble opinion) would be suicide.

 

However, they also noticed that the north side of the camp – the side bordering the ruined city itself – was mostly undefended. Either the Masubians had some form of defense that couldn't be seen, or they didn't bother guarding that side for some unknown reason.

 

After much debate, the heroes came up with a plan. After the guards changed shifts, Illy and Finnegan (backed up by Styggiad) would creep along the north wall until they got close enough to teleport into the camp. Once there, they would grab Princess Anya and her cousin Dmitri and teleport out – hopefully before anyone was the wiser. Kaira would stage a diversion by sneaking into the camp (in owl form) and stampeding the horses. If things went south, Leth, Chrissie, Castilla, and Styggiad would attack the camp.

 

Against all odds, the plan worked almost without a hitch. Illy and Finn teleported directly into the pavilion. Illy cast a spell of blindness on everyone in the tent, then hypnotized Dmitri before he could say a word. Pliant to her commands, he stood motionless while she teleported the two of them out. Meanwhile, Finn rushed over to the Princess. "Who are you?" she demanded, imperiously.

 

"No time to explain," Finn said. "We were sent by the Queen of Kidbod to rescue you!"

 

Princess Anya told him that if he was here to take her away from her cousin, she would go with him. The two of them teleported out just as one of the guards regained his eyesight and rushed them.

 

Meanwhile, Kaira snuck into the stables, summoned a fire elemental, and told it to keep the guards busy (but without hurting them!). The elemental ignited the tent and stormed out, chasing the nearby guard away. The horses, already frightened by the fire, were easy to lead off through the camp – where they knocked down tents and sent men running in every direction.

 

The party met up in the desert and jumped on their horses. They knew that the Masubians would be in hot pursuit, so they rode hell-for-leather through the night. Come daybreak, they spotted a cloud of dust not far behind them, so they continued through the day. On the way, they passed Benny and his wagon. "OK Benny," they called out as they rode past. "You can go home now! Good luck!"

 

"This is why I hate adventurers," he muttered miserably.

 

The FMH rode until they reached the Flor River (nearly killing their horses). They hailed a passing barge and bargained for passage back to the city.

 

Now that the chase was over, they sat down to speak with Princess Anya and Dmitri. "There was never any dragon," Anya said. "My caravan was traveling along the Trade Road when suddenly we left the road and headed southward. I demanded to know what was going on, and Dmitri told me that there had been a change in plans. Our uncle was determined to start a war, so that Kidbodish allies of his could take control of the Trade Road away from the Tyrant of Brills.

 

"Dmitri told me that it would all be over in a few days, the war would only last a few weeks and then we would be back in Larsosovia again," she continued. "The pig, he thought I would marry him when we returned. He thought he would be able to talk our uncle into letting me live. But Mikhail is as smart as he is ruthless; he would never let me live once the war began. I am more valuable to him dead than alive."

 

They then tried to question Dmitri, but he refused to speak to them, instead hurling epitaphs like only "one to the manor born" could.

 

The FMH were worried about all these politics. They had no idea who was on whose side. They didn't even know if the woman who hired them was a good guy or not. They decided to contact Dante and ask him to set up a safehouse for the princess and her cousin until they could sort things out.

 

Finn took Princess Anya aside and told her that he would protect her from any harm. She promised that he would be richly rewarded for his service, but he realized that since she was so far from her homelands and her family, she was about as poor as a churchmouse. He didn't point this fact out to her, though.

 

When they got back to Brills, Dante and his crew were waiting for them. They took the heroes to a ramshackle inn and tried to make the princess as comfortable as possible. Leth and Castilla headed out to meet their contact, who was waiting for them at the rendezvous point. "Did you find the princess?" Petra asked. "Did you kill the dragon?"

 

"Yes and no," Leth told her. "She wasn't taken by a dragon – she was kidnapped by her own people, who were hoping to start a war."

 

Petra nodded. "That's what we thought, but we couldn't prove anything," she said. "Where is the princess now?"

 

"Not so fast," Leth said. "How do we know you're trustworthy?"

 

"You don't," Petra smiled. "All I can offer you are my assurances that my people have the best interests of Kidbod in mind. Our goal is to maintain the status quo, and a war would be bad for us."

 

"You'll forgive us if we don't trust you," Castilla said. "But we can't just hand the princess over to you, especially since we don't even know who you are. We want to turn her over to the rightful authorities – and that means the Queen herself."

 

Petra thought about this, then said, "Would you be prepared to lie in order to preserve the peace?" The heroes agreed to the lesser of two evils, so Petra continued. "The story we will weave is this: That Dmitri kidnapped the princess on his own initiative, without his uncle's permission or knowledge. He wished to gain power and glory in the inevitable war. This lie will preserve the status quo – Duke Mikhail will not risk implicating himself by contradicting this story, and his allies in court won't risk the loss of face and power by continuing to side with him." Leth and Castilla agreed that this was a good story, and went back to explain the situation to the others.

 

No one had a problem with this story (except Dmitri, but they didn't care about his opinion). However, Princess Anya had one concern. "My life will be worthless if I return home," she said. "And I do not know who I can trust here, in the courts of Kidbod. Uncle Mikhail's reach is long, and he is ruthless. Master Lochlan tells me that you have a ship. Will you take me with you to some foreign court where I will be away from my enemies?"

 

The heroes knew that to leave her here would be a death sentence, so they agreed to take her with them to Ariean when they left Brills.

 

Castilla spent some time making sure everyone would be properly dressed for their date at the Queen's Court. They gave the princess a veil, and they put a sack over Dmitri's head so no one would recognize them before they got where they were going.

 

At the appointed hour they headed for the palace, where they met Petra – no longer dressed in featureless black clothing, but instead royally appointed in a beautiful (and flattering) dress and glittering with jewelry. The men of the party could barely take their eyes off her, and even the ladies were fascinated by her beauty. Truly, this was a follower of the goddess of love (and lust). "Follow me," she instructed.

 

She led them through a maze of corridors, and finally opened a door. "Good luck," she whispered, ushering them in. They found themselves in a grand hall, filled with courtiers, guards, and nobles from every family in Kidbod. At the head of the hall was a massive throne, and sitting on the throne was a dark-haired beauty who could only be Queen Andrea, the Tyrant of Brills.

 

A man stood before the throne, making a passionate speech. "If the Sovereign cannot protect her own borders, she does not deserve her title!" the man shouted. Several nobles shouted their agreement. "The Trade Road – the lifeblood of your nation and mine – has become saturated with bandits, monsters, and dragons! Kidbod is the crossroad of the world – if trade cannot get through, if the east is cut off from the west, everyone will suffer! I demand a reckoning – and I do not stand alone in this!"

 

A pair of guards stepped out from the crowd and told the heroes to come with them. They forced the crowd to part and escorted the FMH into the center of the room. "Fall on your knees as soon as you are on the red carpet," one of the guards whispered. "And say nothing until commanded to speak." The heroes did so, and the crowd began to murmur at their appearance.

 

Duke Raminovich turned around and saw the heroes behind him. "What is this?" he demanded. "Does the Queen of Kidbod allow vagabonds and beggars into her court?"

 

The Queen's seneschal stepped forward and asked the heroes their business. Instead of saying anything, the heroes removed Dmitri's hood and Anya's veil. The crowd gasped, and the Queen smiled slightly. "The princess wasn't taken by a monster," Castilla said. "She was kidnapped by her own cousin, who wanted to force his uncle into a pointless war."

 

Duke Raminovich turned red with anger, but said nothing. The Seneschal turned to Princess Anya and asked if this were true. Anya stood and told the entire audience that it was all true, every word. She went on to tell them that her Uncle Mikhail had nothing to do with the kidnapping, and she was certain he would punish her cousin for his transgression.

 

The Queen turned to the Duke and asked if he was satisfied. He looked around and saw the support he had mere moments ago had dissolved like morning mist, but he managed to roll with it with admirable dexterity. "How dare you, Dmitri?" He demanded of his nephew. "My Queen, forgive my earlier words. I had no idea the boy would cross me this way! I beg your leave to bring him back home where he will be punished most severely!"

 

The Queen assented to this. "Furthermore," the Duke went on. "My poor niece has suffered such an ordeal that I must bring her home with me as well!"

 

"Such a decision is one the Princess must make herself," Queen Andrea said.

 

"Your Highness," Princess Anya said. "I came to your country as an ambassador and an envoy. I would be derelict in my duties to my people and to yours if I abandoned my mission so lightly. I wish to stay."

 

"You are free to stay or go as you choose, Princess," Queen Andrea said. "And you, Duke Raminovich, may leave my lands."

 

Raminovich's own guards came over to take Dmitri, and the Queen's guards escorted the FMH out of the throne room. Outside, Petra was waiting for them. "That went quite well," she said, smiling brilliantly. "Your payment will be waiting for you at your ship. Thank you very much for your help."

 

The FMH (with Princess Anya) immediately headed for the docks, where they found the crew of the Endeavor waiting for them. "A package came for you, just moments ago," Captain Kit told them. "We didn't want to take it aboard without your permission." He handed Castilla a key, and she used it to open the chest. Inside was a stack of silver trade bars, each stamped with the symbol of the Queen of Kidbod.

 

There are twenty silver bars, each weighing three pounds. Each is worth 300 silver rumees, for a grand total of 6000 silver rumees. Ka-ching!

 

Now the heroes have to decide, where will they head next?

 

[teh bunneh]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Any chance of seeing the PC's sheets posted?

 

Great Story!

 

Thanks. These sheets are not up-to-date (need to get everyone to send me their current charsheets).

[Susano]

Re: [Campaign] The Fearless Monster Hunters

 

Poor Benny.