After staying a night within the Hanging Tree outside Livenoak, the PCs decide to do some healing, freshen up and head back towards the road with their new recruit. Once there, they head south for a few hours before they are beset upon by a wagon full of crossbow-wielding halflings, with a ballista and a pet ogre! The ranged mercenaries, who their leader refers to as 'CROSSBROS, AIM!' get the jump on our heroes, but aren't very successful, despite firing a ballista bolt directly into Gary's chest. Mel and Gary use magics to summon an illusory serpent and a spiritual hammer to harass and frighten their assailants, while Finian exchanges projectiles, and Indrid closes with the approaching ogre. The unfortunate Crossbros are having terrible luck with their shots, and its not long before the PCs turn the battle against them, when Gary attempts to calm chaos on the situation, causing most of the combatants to stop in their tracks and glance about confused...
...except Indrid, who pressed the attack, savaging the ogre and freeing it from the spell. The two trade blows (well, not exactly, Indrid delivers blows) until the ogre is slain, which frees up a number of the others. One Crossbro decides to change his life and leaves the scene, crossing the Crown Pasture to the East, back to his family. The rest eventually are picked off, with minimal damage done to our heroes. They load up the halflings' bodies and the ogre's severed head to the cart. They find chests full of payments and money belts, and a note from an 'H.H.' to a Captain Corlic of the Crossbros mercenary organization out of Nobbish, requesting the 'hit' upon Finian, Gary and Indrid. Finian had already shot one of the horses drawing the wagon in its leg to prevent them from bolting with the wagon, so Gary takes its place in horse form, and they tie up the wounded creature to canter along the best it can. This slows down the journey back through Halehusk to Floivin Keep a good deal.
Once they arrive, the Last Eidolorn Guards at the Eastern gate of the Keep are suspicious of the wounded horse, ballista, blood spatter, and pile of corpses in the back of the wagon, and decide to impound it while several escort the PCs to Armory Square to Major Winch, with whom they request an audience. First the wounded horse is dropped off at Runibald's Rest for patching up. Soon after, Winch hears them out, and offers to inter the dead mercenaries and provide the PCs a writ to get their wagon back. They do so, and then drive it past the Hosspotch Manor in the center of the city, glaring menacingly at the gate guards. One of them seems to recognize Finian and Indrid and heads into the manor house, while the PCs steer on to leave their wagon and healthy steed temporarily at Armory Square. They head off to do some errands, getting some of their new items identified, including the monocle of accuracy, some scrolls, boots of varied tracks, and the owl-headed footman's mace +2, the last of which they sell to Teven.
Next they retrieve the enchanted leather armor Indrid had commissioned, and head to the Cathedral of Blades, to which Gary donates liberally for numerous healing spells upon him. as evening is setting upon them, they arrive back at the Gravers' Guild to find Sir Stratton, Oskar, Creth, Tess and Oatmeal waiting for them. Sir Stratton introduces himself to Mel, who immediately attempts to pickpocket 'The Hat', but is caught by the superior scoundrel! He doesn't seem happy, and the gnome offers up all manner of nonsense for an excuse, but keeps his life. Probably because Sir Stratton thinks his gnome racial senses and knowledge of the Dwarf tongue could help in their venture. The Chapter Master asks if the PCs are well enough to head out that evening, and Gary thinks another morning of healing and night of rest would be best. Stratton agrees, and they all head to sleep, Oatmeal in the chair near the hearth, and Indrid gives Creth his room, staying in Finian's instead.
Martenin the 26th, 888 ID.
The PCs attend to last minute errands, such as Gary heading off to cast a weak cure light wounds on the wounded horse from the Crossbros' wagon. Once they all gather back at the Gravers' Guild, Sir Stratton asks Oatmeal to pull along something he refers to as 'The Cache'. Tess covers up her skeleton features the best she can, and the Guild marches out of the Keep to the Crown Pasture. After a few more miles they set up a camp, and Stratton opens 'The Cache' to reveal all the implements within: healing potions, tools, rope, wine and ale and water, and various other things that might be needed on the 'dig'. He also hands Oatmeal a fine leather bag and tells him to protect it with his life, as it will help him with his carrying capacity significantly. Once evening rolls across the grasslands, they pick up and travel once more to the foothills of the Vernal Wall, where they find a Last Eidolorn watch tent right near the entrance to the Dwarf Lords' Rest.
They meet with the elder Url Gnarlbottom, who is their contact with the Hall of Mercies and Monch Gnarlbottom, and fills them in on the details about what his clan is expecting from their finds. He says it's likely to be a dangerous place, but he has no maps or plans since they were lost in the Keep many years ago. He tells them that the last person claiming to have been in the Rest was a mischievous half-orc wizard who was once a hero of sorts in the Province, who claims to have teleported in and then back out again once he surmised where he was. Url sees the PCs off, and they put themselves into a marching order and approach the cavernous entrance to the Rest. Within is a cobbled floor with a facial pattern on it, in the center of a large, natural cavern. To the South a stone wall stands with strange dials and runes upon it. The PCs decide they need to match the rune on each of the four dials with one of the runes surrounding it. They leave Finian to do so while they retreat to the entrance. He tries several combinations and notices only a shifting in the space, a humming in the earth and walls. Finally, he comes upon a combination that showers spears down upon the cavern from stalactites above!
To Be Continued...
PCs: Finian Redfoot, Gary Greasewax, Indrid Hosspotch, Mel Sundersinch
NPCs
Fank (ogre male): A bald ogre wielding a spiked club, with a massive paunch, wearing only fur boots and a loincloth. Fank seems to have some sort of body dysmorphia and identifies himself with his halfling Crossbro squad-mates. He is slain brutally by the swordplay of Indrid Hosspotch.
Sheshoc (human male): A tall, lanky man in his late 20s with a long mullet of brown hair, he's a groom at Runibald's Rest who places great care and concern upon his equine charges...possibly TOO much.
Url Gnarlbottom (dwarf male): An elderly dwarf leaning upon a finely carven wooden walk-stick with the head of wood hammer. His whiting hair and beards are endlessly knotted in bad braids that cover half of a mouth void of any teeth, and his nose has at least two prominent, whiskery warts. He glares at you from beady green eyes behind a pair of spectacles, the left lens looking as if its misaligned, and a pungent smelling pipe hangs from the side of his mouth. He doesn’t look as if it could possibly be safe for him to be out here by himself.
