Clean up business….

The west trip party recovered nicely with their restful night sleep in Gulfmoor. They trekked out in to the kingdom to have their armor cleaned, removing the salt water potential damage gathered when they all went in to the ocean as part of their escape. Tyrade took a side trip to a jewelers in search of Mother of Pearl. And Books used the last Talking Crystal to communicate with SD, filling him in on the events that took place as they left Unundu, the battle that raged on and their plans to head to Sudalon. Mei asked for news of Phan Lo, but she had not yet arrived in Midway. SD made a point of having word passed to the town constabulary to keep an eye out for her.

Wagon East!

It may be akin to time travelling but the notes now step back in time to when the Eastward trip begins. The party gathered up in S3 identifying supplies deemed needed. Everyone was purchased a backup melee weapon and Healing potions were purchased from GDA for each member. Added in were spare ammunition for the ranged attackers, food and water for everyone and the horses. Oh, did I forget the extra horses too. With everything gathered up and the brand new wagon loaded and configured for travel, the party started their journey east.

Hachi had been able to draw up a rough map of the area in and around the direction they were headed. She had come from that general area and had knowledge of enough to provide some guidance and landmarks to look for. The first stop planned was in the heretofore unmapped Halfling kingdom of Englehome. This land was a straight shot east between Midway and Oolm. The march was relatively easy as they left Midway heading north, leaving the mountain passes and skirting the north edge heading east. They made good time seeing only natural wildlife more afraid of them than the reverse. They were eight days in to the trip before any trouble found them.

Lillianne called out an odd movement in the ground, pointing it out to all who could hear. Anyone in range prepared their weapons, the sound of ‘Pffft’ coming from Harlford in the shotgun seat of the wagon as he readied his darts. Eyes on the ground, two large insect creatures burst through the surface. The rangers identified them as Anhkhegs. Lillianne wasted no time drawing first blood with an arrow shot. Angel followed with a Bless and Rispin scored hits with a Magic Missile. Jade reduced the number of enemies successfully casting Sleep on one, which dropped to the ground, out cold.

The huge creature still up was now engaged with Erik. In a masterful maneuver, Lillianne and Renalla spurred their horses in to a passing attack so they could swipe with their swords. What they did not account for was the hard chitinous exoskeleton of the creature as their swords banged off. The bug was then able to sink its mandibles in to Erik inflicting a serious wound leaving behind a digestive saliva that continued to burn away at him.

Gwyn wanted to finish off the one that was sleeping. He moved to it and swung down at the head using his hammer. But the hard skin shell provided protection. He caused damage but not enough to kill it as the bug was roused from the magical sleep. Seeing the bug awake Cord attempted a bow shot at it but his bow slipped from his hands and fell from the wagon. Rispin managed to kill the first with another Magic Missile and they all concentrated their attacks on the last. Gwyn used his first Spiritual Whip, Cord, now off the wagon, was bitten deeply by the bug while Jade gashed the creature with her thin blade. Now severely wounded, Cord was able to finish the creature with a scimitar blow.

Cord and Erik continued to suffer damage from the digestive juices of the anhkhegs left behind by their bite attacks. The rolled around in the grass trying to wipe off as much as they could. With a little help from others they eventually removed all the fluids. The battle done and ongoing damage stopped they party saddled up and moved on. They were now in to the hilly territory they knew surrounded the Halfling kingdom. It wasn’t much longer before they encountered their first citizen.

As Hachi crested one hill she spotted a diminutive resident standing on the next hill. Surprising her, he waved his little arm towards her. Not completely sure, they approached the Halfling who had no fear of the strangers and greeted them enthusiastically. He introduced himself as Lyle, pointing out his land and the farm he was tending. Lyle was more than a little energetic and almost overly friendly. He graciously offered them directions and provided a proud sample of his sugar beets. He was also the first to have some reservations about the dwarves of Oolm when asked. Not that he disliked them, only that they were brusk and not nearly as friendly as he would prefer.

Bidding him farewell they followed his general direction to the ‘center of Englehome’. But this territory was odd to everyone. There were no above ground structures to be found and identifying where they should walk was only identifiable by the fences surrounding farms. Lyle told them if it was important you put a fence around it. So they weaved in and abouts the fencing looking for someplace to stop. After some time they began to see quite a few Halflings out and about. Stopping one they asked where there would be a place they could stay and they received directions that led them to what appeared to be the only above ground buildings. A two story hotel called the Engle Inn and the barn / stables around back.

Dismounting, they went in looking for a place to stay and a meal. The desk clerk let them know they had space for them but there was a party of a number of teenaged halfings at the inn celebrating. And they were rather loud, boisterous and…. distracting. They were able to book rooms on the second floor all to themselves and board the horses, keeping the wagon in the corral for safety. Something they came to believe was not a concern. Everything about this town gave them comfort. There was an ease and warmth to everyone, even the partying teenagers. So much so they approached the Inn manager to see about wine trading and were joined by him for dinner. Harmon even ordered for them ‘off the menu’, enjoying a fabulous and delicious meal with the group. They broke out two bottles, a red and a white Harmon far more thoroughly enjoyed.

Fully satisfied by the meal it left some to understand why the Halflings ate so often. Harmon took his leave returning to his work. Feeling it was not really necessary to keep a watch on their equipment they decided to drop the idea of posting watches. Gwyn and Erik did still sleep outside by the wagon but only because the beds in the Halfling Inn were not truly fit for their over 6 foot frames. Everyone got to sleep, enjoying a serene and restful evening.

That is, until they were rousted in the morning by a frantic Harmon, pounding on doors, looking for help. The town was being attacked by giant bugs and he needed help!

This episode has been immortalized by our reesident bard!

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