| Player | Characters |
|---|---|
| Mike | Oscar, Jade, Jorella |
| Corky | Willie, Furion, Jerri |
| Mac | Tyrade, Jack |
| Felix | Warrex, Garan, Alydra |
| NPC's | Jeb (potion slaesman), Calin (trail boss), Meercon, Sasha |
As they rolled in to the sparse town, crossing small field and farm areas they encountered some of the locals. One woman was very unhappy to see them and gave them very little courtesy. Another they met sitting on the front porch of his home sitting in a rocking chair. Jeb was willing to tell them anything they needed to know about the town and advised them on the better places to eat and stay as well as where they were looking to hook up with the caravans. But Jeb had a hidden treasure and he offered it to them for a small price. Jeb informed them that he sold potions that would prevent the ill effects experienced by those crossing the wasteland. A bargain was struck and the group purchased enough for the whole team and the horses.
Some were suspicious and some were leery calling the potions everything from poison to snake oil. But one thing was certain, Jeb's advice about where to stay and eat were dead on and his directions were flawless. They stopped at the general store to find out about the caravan and found it was due the next day. So they went to make arrangements for the night.
The next day they met the trail boss, Calin, at the general store and he agreed to take them on if the team would agree to act as additional protection for the small wagon train. They group agreed and set off later that day and made they way north towards the wasteland. The first night out they stopped a few miles away from the area and camped. Calin made sure to not start a camp fire due to wandering creatures that it would attract and he was right as a small group of some type of creatures passed on a hill top a little ways off without noticing the party.
The group took their potions that night as directed by Jeb and felt wonderful in the morning. They mounted up and headed for the wasteland. The typically dangerous trip was completely uneventful and not a single member of the group felt any ill effects from the zone. The caravan made their way north heading for the large city of Middeltown, a trip Calin said should take a few days in total.
But the first night was not to be a quiet one. They had made their way to a sparse forest area and camped and this time they were attacked in the middle of the night. The creatures were spotted moving in by the party members with infravision and they moved to wake up the sleeping people. Those on watch maneuvered to get in firing positions. As the group started to wake the leepers, the party of Flinds hit in two groups on either side of the wagon line.
A flurry of arrows were shot in to the attackers and one of the caravan Paio-Shih guards dropped the leader with a wave of darts. This did not slow the Flinds and they slammed in to the group and the 2 caravan guards were hit hard as they stepped in to the line. Some in the group were slow to wake including Meercon, Jeri and Calin. But Jeri did wake, spotted what was happeneing and rolled under the wagon for protection as a second Flind was killed by one of the guards.
But the groups success was about to turn as the southern pack hit the line formed by Tyrade and Furion. Tyrade was struck cleanly by a Flind club and fell to the ground. He quickly scrambled back to his feet. Willie, now awake, moved to cast a Cause Fear at the creatures, but his evocation failed and he was surrounded by several Flinds coming in to combat. One of the guards who had been meleeing with the Flinds fell with a thud after a poor attact attempt.
Most of the group was now up and moving in to position. Calin was up and engaged with several and landed a huge open handed attack dropping another Flind. Jeri, from under the wagon, attempted to hit one fighting alongside the cart but instead buried his blade in the wagon's undercarriage. Most unfortunate was this as Tyrade, already wounded, was struck by a masterful blow and he fell. Almost simultaneously, Willie who was now surrounded, was hit several times and fell to the ground out and in serious condition. The creature started hunting through Tyrade's things as he lay dying. Furion continued firing at the Flind as he backed off and eventually killed the creature.
Calin moved in on another and made excellent contact killing yet another Flind, but there were more than could be quickly counted and they kept coming. Jeri, from under the wagon and now having dislodged his sword from it, took several swings at a large creature moving around the wagon as it ignored him. But his luck had also run out, missing twice and barely nicking it with a third attack. Jack Daniels began another trend for the group by dropping his weapon during combat leaving himself in a vulnerable position. Oscar, who was trying to move towards Willie, was now struck by several attacks and also fell in a thud but was able to get back to his feet.
All was not lost for the group as Jade began firing her bow, and deadly it was. In the first few volleys she dropped 3 of the Flinds to thin their ranks. She moved quickly about the battle area striking at any she could hit. But that was the most damage the group was dishing out. The rest of the party was only chipping away at the Flinds and more damage was being taken than given.
Warrex attempted to shift to assist others and was struck hard by two critical hits, losing his grip on his 2 handed sword. Jarella's Broad Sword was dislodged from her hand and fell to the ground, snapping in two pieces. And Furion had his bow string snap off just after felling another Flind leaving him to use his not often used sword.
The tide then turned as the Flinds ranks had thinned. A kill here and there and Jade's arrows eliminating enough of the creatures to shift the power in several of the skirmish sites. Garan now attacked with a ferocity and dropped another, but was hit and dropped unconscious. Meercon attacked and dropped another Flind. Oscar moved to assist his dwarven cleric brother but tripped as he maneuvered and fell on top of Garan, providing a perfect attack option for the Flind and he struck down killing Oscar.
Jade continued her arrow fire killing yet another and Alydra got her first kill of the battle in a similar fashion. Calin also dropped another and the battle was almost over, The last ones were surrounded and finished off in short order ending the encounter. But the group paid a heavy price. Tyrade, Willie, Oscar and Garan were all down. Fortunately Garan was only unconscious. Each of the party members were attended to by those with the Healing skill. Tyrade and Oscar were stabilized and Garan was revived. Garan moved to use his healing on Oscar so he could also use his abilities. Tyrade was revived and his possessions retrieved from the looting Flind. Willie was too far gone and could not be saved. They buried him in the wild, Garan attempting to perform as much of the rituals as he could recall that were used by Willie's church.
The rest of the night went by uneventfully and they moved on the next day. One day later they were in Middletown and looking forward to some rest. Calin agreed to a couple days break to recover. With the pause in travel, some of the party looked for entertainment and Sasha led them directly to a local speak-easy that had gambling, which was Oscar's idea. He had brushed off Garan who was heading for a local church to put in some prayer time and wanted to make some fast cash. Sasha bankrolled him with 1,000 gold and they went to the club.
Oscar played well and made a good amount of cash for the evening. Jeri was at the next table and doing just as well at a lower stakes table. Oscar took his winnings and beat a hasty retreat from the club with a nice little pot of cash, but Sasha was disappointed in his inability to score big. They would go back the next night, but it was time for rest and recovery. Garan and Oscar used their prayers to heal the group and undisturbed rest made the healing fast work. Following the first night, they still needed more rest, but they were in better shape and the same group headed back to the bar. This time more of the group followed and Warrex made short work in finding two hostesses to attend his needs in a private room. Sasha played this time and won big. Jeri played again and after a scare or two ended up ahead for the night again and made tracks with his gambling winnings.
After the second night of rest and prayers the group was close to full health, but the prayers used by Garan on Oscar would not work. Something prevented them from functioning. Oscar went to the local church to make a donation. If it was enough, only time will tell.
Next time ...
This page and its contents are presented solely for the purpose of the RPG game events conducted by a private group. Any references to people or places is explicitly within the context of these RPG games and has no connection to any other similarly named source.
Bob Senkewicz / Howell, New Jersey / senk@optonline.net