Location: Slune
Time: Early morning.
Party in play:
Rae - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 4. One of the original members of the party that originated in the town of Little Plains. She is somewhat of a strategist and creative tactician always looking for an edge when the situation gets dicey.
Wulfe - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 4. Originally from a small town north of Ptolus near the Moonsilver Forest, he wandered westward to satisfy his curiosity about the frontier areas of the empire. Joining the group early in their adventuring career he has been a steadfast companion and effective in any dangerous situation. He wields Cheval, a Faery forged longsword known for occasional bursts of radiant energy.
Korved - Human. Cleric 4. An itinerant priest, he arrived in Little Plains hoping to come to grips with his recent experiences. He had joined the Gaen faith at a young age and over time found his thinking more in line with her masculine aspect Hannan. The non-violent and amicable split in the church was his signal to explore the world.
Sparky - Human. Fighter 4. She's a force to be reckoned with in a toe to toe fight. Recent life as a sword for hire had led to some less than respectable jobs and little in the way of pay. Joining an adventuring group seemed a wise choice.
Celestia - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 2. A bold and confident adventurer, she puts forward an unfearful countenance. A recent addition to the group Celestia is making herself at home as if she were there all along despite lacking the experience of the other members.
Jill - Human. Fighter 3. A sell sword by trade, she has recently been down on her luck and in need of work. Hired to deliver a bag of coins to this group she ended up joining as a means of escaping from the butt end of the empire. Capable with sword and bow Jill is a good fit for the team.
The bright light streaming through the shutters brought them to full wakefulness. There was no hesitation in their actions and no notice of hunger or inclination to have breakfast. Possessions were gathered, armor donned, gear stowed and off to the stables they went.
Elsewhere in the lower reaches of Slune, Jill had been hired by a man claiming to represent the gnolls that live in the caves southwest of the city. Her task was to find a group of adventurers comprised of elves and humans, and to give them a bag of gold coins. She would be paid by the group according to him.
Elves were very rare in Slune and Jill had the name of one of them to help locating the correct group. "Find Wulfe and you've found the right group."
It had to be legit, why else would someone just hand you a bag of money and expect you to deliver it to someone else. You could just take off with it yourself. What might the catch be and why was he too lazy to deliver it himself?
Sparky and Wulfe waited below while Rae and Korved rolled the headless corpses off the roof into the waiting wagon below. The loud thumps would surely draw attention so they covered the bodies quickly.
As they pulled away into the main street Korved tossed the bag containing the two severed heads into the back of the wagon. "Lets get to the gnolls quickly. Maybe for half of what they owe us they'll dispose of these two where they won't be recovered."
They were halfway to the edge of town when Jill spotted them coming. "Hi, are you Wulfe?'
"Who's asking?"
"I'm Jill and I have something for you."
Rae reacted, knocking an arrow to her bow. "What do you want?"
The paranoid and confused exchange continued until they were interrupted by the arrival of a little girl and her three fully armored companions. Little Maru couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old. She wore a frilly pink dress, a big red bow in her pigtailed blonde hair, and shiny black shoes with silver buckles.
"I'm Maru. Master Ayumu sent me to buy your pink crystal. He offers 300 gold for it."
Wulfe split his attention between a confused Jill and this puzzling new arrival. "What pink crystal?"
"Master Ayumu said you have a pink crystal that causes trouble. He says bad things follow you."
Korved took a step forward. "We don't have a pink crystal." He looked back and then again at Maru. "Nothing's following us so you can go home."
Maru looked annoyed. "You're mean. I WANT THAT CRYSTAL!"
With that Little Maru knelt down, slamming her palm to the cobblestone street. A line of fire tore along the road toward Korved, erupting upward at his feet narrowly missing him. She spoke in a language none of them understood and her three metal guardians started toward the group.
Jill rushed toward the rear of the wagons seeking to avoid this confrontation, one she hadn't planned on or expected. Rae watched her closely as Sparky drew her bow unsure of who to target. It was Korved and Wulfe that would meet the oncoming metal men head on.
Two of the metal men engaged Korved with one dealing him a heavy blow with its armored fist. The third made a grab for Wulfe missing by a wide margin. Their horses chuffed nervously as the battle commenced and the metal onslaught continued.
Korved led his assailants around while carefully defending himself, giving Rae and Sparky time to realize Jill was not the threat. Rae took the opportunity to create a fog cloud fully engulfing the steel clad enemies and their tiny commander making it hard for them to target the party and vis versa.
The battle dragged on with Korved being burned by Maru and beaten upon by steel gauntlets. Sparky moved around to join Wulfe against his opponent alternating who would enter the fog to engage with it. Meanwhile Jill joined the fight firing her bow, narrowly missing the wall of living steel confronting Korved.
Little Maru poked her head and arm out of the side of the fog shrouded area blasting at Korved again, but this gave Rae a chance to launch an arrow her way. Maru, wounded and crying ducked back into the fog.
Eventually through martial might and use of spells the metal assault was defeated. As each one fell the animated armor tumbled apart spilling gold coins from their chest compartments. Onlookers rushed to scoop up what money they could from the scattered coinage.
Their immediate threats dispatched and no sign or sound of the little girl that started the attack, they took advantage of the chaos and fog to ditch the bodies from their wagon.
Jill realizing it would be good to get out of Slune and still possessing the party's payment said as much and asked if she could join them on their way. They consented to having a new companion for the time being and again headed for the edge of town on their way to Ptolus.
Reaching the city gate they encountered their friend Celestia returning from some undeclared business of her own. Introductions with Jill were quickly made and away from Slune they travelled.
Back in the city a pair of eyes watched them fade off into the distance as Maru clutched a single gold piece in her small hand. Master Ayumu would be unhappy with her. And she wept.
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