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Thu 28th Apr 2022 11:49

Nightstone's New Troubles

by Thomas Tallfellow

As the party rested within the keep, making plans for a recon mission to the Whispering Caves, Thomas heard horses riding into town. Already a little uneasy with the disappearance of the stranger, he stealthily made his way from the keep, back to the village proper and close enough to the group of riders. Low and behold, in the town center the stranger was conversing with several of the riders. Thomas overheard her tell them that all the able bodied men were out of the village and only women and children were in the keep. She boldly stated that the Nightstone was theirs for the taking.
 
Ruby also had suspicions and had crossed the bridge and was attempting to untie it from the village side to make access to the keep more difficult. Thomas quickly informed Ruby that the riders, along with the stranger, were trouble, lent her a shortsword to cut the bridge free once Thomas crossed over to the keep. Once Ruby was back across the gap, Thomas relayed to the guards and Prax what he overheard but there was no time to make plans. One of the riders was already present at the gap in the bridge hailing an audience. The party and guards made their way to hear what the newcomer had to say. The rider informed them that they were a mercenary company called The Seven Snakes and were working under order of Governor Demetree to take the village for their use. The rider might have been more persuasive if Thomas hadn't overheard the conversation between the riders and the stranger. Not wanting to tip his hand to his own skills in stealth, Thomas played along with "believing" the rider meant no harm. The townsfolk had until dusk to either flee the village or face an assault from these newcomers. The odds were stacked too heavily against the party and remaining guards, so it was decided that they would surrender the village to the Seven Snakes and lead the villagers to the Whispering Caves to rejoin with the villagers that had already fled. Knowing the mercenaries would take anything of value, Ruby, Prax and Thomas attempted to smuggle some of the town's wealth, in the form of golden necklaces, out of the village. Thomas' skills with stealth enabled him to hide his necklace upon his person that it wasn't found when they were searched prior to being granted passage out of the village. The same cannot be said of Ruby and Prax.
 
At this point, it was dark and the ensemble had to make their way through the woods to the caves by torchlight. It was difficult going but fortunately the guards knew the way and it was only a mile. After some troubles, mostly suffered by Ruby and Prax being less accustomed to traveling through the woods at night, the caves were spotted. There was no apparent signs of any inhabitants, so it was decided that the party, along with Gregg and Ford would approach the caves, announce themselves and their intentions to reunite the villagers. Upon making themselves known, a voice was heard from within the cave, encouraging to make their way to the caves. To Thomas' ears, the voice appeared to struggle with the common tongue and the demeanor of the voice felt menacing. The guardsman Gregg confirmed that this was no voice he recognized, so the two of them were able to persuade the rest that it would be wiser to find a copse in the woods to make a suitable camp until daylight.

Continue reading...

  1. The Beginning
  2. King Baptiste's Feast
  3. Pursuing the Goblins
  4. Nightstone Under Assault
  5. Nightstone's Last Stand
  6. Nightstone's New Troubles
  7. The Whispering Caves
  8. The Goblin Boss
  9. The Goblin's Prisoners
  10. Nightstone's Residents Come Home
  11. Returning the Crown
  12. The Council's Decision
  13. The Departure of the Congenial Bastard
  14. Turtle Bay
  15. The Party's New Look
  16. Arrival in the Dwarven Isles
  17. Cleansing the Mine
  18. Explaining the Mine Mission
  19. Exterminating the Fire Newts
  20. The Diner at the Edge of the Universe
  21. The Underground Fights
  22. Another Ghostly Encounter
  23. Jade and Eebrock's Fight
  24. Maxwell Boulder's Story
  25. Dino Island
  26. Cornelius Doolan's Mission
  27. The Dinosaur Research Cave
  28. The Crystal's Ultimate Purpose
  29. Return to Arcadia
  30. Something's Up in Arcadia
  31. The Rush to Nightstone
  32. The Comfy Room
  33. The Final Puzzle
  34. Chaos Erupts in Arcadia
  35. A Bold New Voyage
  36. The Derelict Ship
  37. The Rock of Bral
  38. Commodore Krux
  39. Trouble on Braal
  40. Off to See the Wizard
  41. The Wizard Topolah
  42. The Vampirates
  43. Retaking the Last Breath
  44. Off to Doomspace
  45. Vocath's Arena

Find your way!

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 06:25, Nov 2 2024