Two wagons bobbed and creaked along a rutted path in the Rift Barrens, taking slaves to be consumed by vampires at a “dinner party”. The first was driven by a mostly silent Hobgoblin with Khesh riding shotgun. They were carrying various foodstuffs. The second cart, driven by Thag, held eight dirty slaves in ankle chains. They huddled together, silent and stinking under a loose tarp. One of the slaves, a dwarf, was in pretty bad shape. The entourage also included about a dozen goblins, following beside and behind the carts. Khesh and Thag were resistance members posing as wagon drivers.
Thag tossed a bag of sticks into the back of the second cart. In common he commanded “Take Stick. When we stop, get out of wagon. Copy me. Fight.” The slaves stared at the bag of sticks for a moment, then most of them grabbed sticks.
A moment later the wagons came to a stop. The Hobgoblin in the lead wagon called out “Ambush! Right Front!” as arrows flew from the scrub wood into some of the lead goblins. It was the last thing he said before Khesh slit his throat.
Thag jumped down and drew a sword on the closest goblins. A few of the slaves got out of the rear wagon. One slave seemed to side with the goblins and called out to the goblin commander to the rear, speaking in goblin, pointing “Treachery! This Half-Orc told us to fight you!”. This slave hid by the wagon, fumbling with his chains, attempting to work himself free with a hidden lock-pick.
The rest of the slaves set about freeing one another, and a few of them began helping the resistance fighters kill the goblins. A few slaves died.
Khesh cut down the slave that warned the goblin commander. Thag and Khesh made short work of the remaining goblin escort and a few surrendered. After the remaining slaves were freed they were offered a place in the resistance. To earn it they needed to execute one of the surrendered goblins. One of the slaves refused and was killed.
All of the bodies were put in one of the wagons and the meat was delivered to the Rift by Thag. Khesh escorted the former slaves now recruits to the Yammery (runner 9).
The recruits met Hanrick the Halfling; Yammery farm manager. They learned of Skreg, a bribed orcish overseer on the farm. During the day they performed various labors around the farm. At night they were trained in guerilla fighting skills. Some basic survival knowledge was passed to them:
- don’t reveal your true name.
- Never operate close to villages because reprisals are brutal.
- Faith can help sustain you in tough times.
- Outdoor travel is perilous. Humanoids are everywhere. Civilians will turn you in. Restful sleep is difficult to come by.
During a small amount of downtime some of the party set about personal tasks.
Dulgarn retrieved an important weapon.
Fallon (I forgot what happened here. no notes)
Khesh; haunted by a past combat where he was forced to trap his overly powerful adversary in an outbuilding and burn them alive.. made his way back to the battleground. In the charred ruins he found a magical weapon.
After a few months of training, the party was sent on their first mission. They were to meet Thag at a tavern in the Midlands named The Dancing Bear (known to the resistance as checkpoint 7). There they met Gaiyle Markhalla and she asked them to “liberate” Nandris Leshite on his travel through the Midlands. Former adviser to Graf Demmel Tadurinal, Iuz priest and ruler of Midlands. Gaiyle offered payment by way of prevention of a bad outcome for Hanrick.
The party accepted the task, and set about planning their next move.
(end edit: bad notes where taken here so please anyone edit as you like, or put changed in the comments and I will edit later)
1 Comment