Gnome's Folly?: Game 8

General Summary

The Angharad Fawr, his Celtic warrior guards, and the Party ambushed a group of orcs that were planning to ambush the flotilla of merchant boats at a Waystation beneath an old abandoned Fultonian castle called Caer Rhufenadd upon a hill overlooking the river. The orcs were surprised and defeated. After slaying the orcs, the gnome Gemme elected to investigate Caer Rhufenadd on his own, fell into a pit with zombies, and hid in a small hole in the wall. After discovering that the gnome had snuck off for some likely nefarious, risky and foolhardy reason, the Party marched up to the old ruined castle and quickly engaged the orc guards in combat. The next game starts in medias res.

Ambush the ambushers

The leader of the merchant flotilla is Angharad Fawr, the son of the old Celtic warrior merchant Rhodri Fawr and brother of Fianna Fawr. The merchant flotilla consists of the two boats of Emer Mor Emer, Emer the Boatwoman (one led by Emer and the other by her daughter Enid Ni Cuhail), two merchant boats (the Brand and the Swan's Feather), a guard boat (Bitter Tooth), and a boat with followers of the deviant sect of Tya Nehru (the Persecuted Faithful). Complete descriptions of the boats and their passengers is in Rat Treasure and Back Down River: Game 7.
When they first met him, Angharad came off as a haughty young man apparently ill suited to leading merchant flotilla and the Party expected that his leadership would quickly lead to death and destruction (of the Party and not its enemies). Angharad has remained condescending and boastful; however, the Party has been surprised that he has capably managed the day to day operations of the merchant ships, ably negotiated with the Celtic chiefs of Torg and Alchlth or Mucmag, cautiously used augury spells at appropriate times, developed sound tactics, and proven to be a fearsome warrior and skillful leader of his warriors. That said, he still is haughty, especially towards the gnome that he calls the forest midget.
Before arriving at each of the three stops on the river (Torg, Alchlth, and the way station), Angharad has an augury cast with the a sacred chicken. Before brining the boats up to the third night's stop at the way station or camp ground, the sacred chicken ate its grain in a manner that clearly communicated: "Deadly danger lurks. Surprise the Danger: great risk and great reward."
Angharad and the Party developed a careful plan in which the Party and the Celtic warriors ambushed the orcs, slaying them all. The orcs included large almost seven foot tall Orogs, a particularly vicious breed of orcs as well as orc witchdoctors and drummers.
Plunder from the orcs consists of:

• 25 Celtic gold coins
• 10 Fultonian gold royals
• 12 Fultonian silver denari
• An Obsidian lamp
• Two-dozen large iron nails pierce this carved wooden statuette of an orc deity. Crude holy symbols of enemy gods decorate each nail’s head. One of the symbols defies identification.
• Six glass jars hold pale chunks of meat floating in foul-smelling brine. A thick layer of yellow wax seals each. While these pickled meats are hard to stomach, they function as iron rations.
• A leather purse tied with an intricate knot contains 4d6 bear’s teeth, each dipped in molten gold. Each tooth is worth 1 gp—perhaps more to a collector or an orc.
• This thoroughly vandalised spellbook is missing over half its pages; various foul substances smear the remainder. Careful cleaning may salvage some spells.
• A small leather pouch contains the dried remains of a brown fist-sized toad.
• A tattered war standard bears the faded crest of a not yet identified kingdom.
• Seven brittle human ribs carved with glowing orcish runes.
• A worn leather dog collar with a silver medallion bearing the letter ‘V’ in Fultonian.
• Slender metal eating utensils.
• Several strings of dried orc and human ears dangle from frayed cords. One ear is still fresh and bloody and clearly elven. Three elegant silver studs pierce the lobe.
• A beautifully cut fire opal sits in the centre of a cracked leather eyepatch.
• Six dusty green glass bottles wine remain in a wooden crate, and an empty bottle and three tankards.
• Graven orcish runes decorate a pair of great ram’s horns bound together with copper bands and end in a shared mouthpiece.

Gnome and Zombies

The gnome elected to explore the ruined castle, and failed to locate a pit trap. The original Fultonian name of the castle is unknown, but it is called Caer Rhufenadd, which means Old Fultonian Castle in Celtic.
A round hill rises from South Kozar River, standing tall above the surrounding river and trees. From a distance it is unremarkable, with an overgrown dirt trail climbing its southern slope and then meandering down its eastern side. By climbing one of these two trails, one comes to the hill’s broad top and sees the ruins that stand there. They are the remnants of the old Fultonian castle. With the exception of a cylindrical stone tower, only the castle’s foundation walls remain. The stonework is clearly the stout and precise construction of dwarves, but it’s built to support a castle in human style. Over the thousand years of passing seasons erased all trace of the wood fortifications that stood atop these walls. The ruins have been used as a landmark and campsite for going down river, and as a home to none. The natural landing space along the river, which once must have held docks in the time of the ancient Empire of Fultar before the Guar Conquest and Arrival of the Great Worms. Now, it is only a way station, as no humans have dared construct a permanent hamlet or village, or at least those who may have regretted and soon abandoned their foolish ways.
The gnome triggered the trap and fell into a pit with zombies. Through agility, luck and the DMs grace, the gnome found a small hole in the wall and escaped into it. The gnome is now trapped, and it is questionable how much longer the gnome will remain alive.

The Rescuers

Once the party discovered the gnome was missing, they followed him up to the old Fultonian castle. Accompanying the Party are Cormac, Trystan and Bayleaf. The Party could see that there was at least one fire in the old ruined castle and learned that the ruined castle it is guarded by orcs. Orcs man the walls, most of which remain strong. However, there is a gapping about 40 foot wide hole in the south eastern corner of the castle close to the gatehouse and stone arch between the gatehouse and the main wall.
The Party was discovered, and has engaged in combat with the orcs. Orc archers opened fire, hitting Bayleaf and dropping him to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Bayleaf is still alive, and is being carried to hopefully a safe location.

Area 1 on the Map:

The rising path to Caer Rhufenadd passes under a great stone arch that connects the foundations of the main curtain wall to the base of a detached tower to the south. The keystone of the arch is adorned with the eroded relief of a harp within a triangle of stars. This likely has some indication to the original, Fultonian rather than Celtic name for the castle. A roofed wooden structure with several windows stands on the stones of the arch. North of the arch, a sizeable portion of the foundation wall has collapsed, leaving a gap partially obstructed by a heap of rubble. Two orcs lazily watch this entrance from area 12, which is an arched guard hall. From here the orcs shot arrows from windows at the Party approaching the castle.

Area 16 on the Map:

This chamber has a conical shape due to the tower roof. Six windows open in the tower walls, although all are covered.

Area 10 on the Map:

A fire is burning in this area, likely a cook fire in one of the ruined buidings.

If the Party Is Not Eaten By the Zombies

The goal is to reach the town of Orlane, where multiple clues point to being the end point of the gnome smuggling and someone or something called Explictica Defilus. The Party also has clues that the smugglers have contacts in the coastal village of Saltmarsh.
The next stop on the South Kozar River is the Celtic town of Harmarthen in the tribal territory of the Venebones. This trip can be taken via the South Kozar River.
The Party will then travel about 200 miles overland starting with a 70 mile trip to the Celtic village of Olbat, and another 50 miles to the Celtic village of Mawatt, both of which are in the land of the Celtic tribe of Albae.
Finally, there is a 75 mile trip to Immersea, in the Empire of Fultar, and one of the main towns of Northern Fultar.
From Immersea, the party can travel down the Tesser River Valley. As explained in Tar Eneemena: Preface to Game 1, Monell is expected to return to the village Hommlett to report back to the Druid Ashstaff of the village of Hommlett of the good news regarding the oracle's direction that the people of Hommlett should not molest Temple of Elemental Evil. However, Monell's primary goal and plan to assist in the solving the mystery of the forgetful forest man with the big nose.

Map of the ruined Fultonian castle, Caer Rhufenadd.

Report Date

13 Jan 2023

by By farmerownia (www.farmerownia.pl)