Garham to Greyhawk Campaign: Session Six - pt. 1

Session Six – June 26, 2010
Cast
Kevlamin Serpenthelm, Suloise warrior (Kevin)
Clair, Hobbit shield-bearer (Megan)
Flex, (mixed race) human shield-bearer (Ruben)
Rex3 (mixed race) human medium (Pablo) – deceased
Rex4 (mixed race) human medium (Pablo)
Mina (mixed race) human acolyte of Ehlonna (Beth)

On Flocktime 19, 610, Waterday morning, Kevlamin, Clair, Mina, their hireling Nodwick and their wardog Fang paid 3 sp to ride a barge down river to the City of Yggsburgh. They spent the afternoon in Yggsburgh on two errands. One was to alert the local guardsmen about the escaped fugitives Flex and Setch being on the loose (Kevlamin got laughed at for letting them escape with some comments about rural militias). The other was to sell Setch's spellbook. A bookseller with his shop by the chapel of Boccob bought it off them for 210 gp in gems. After that, the small company left by the road north for the City of Greyhawk and they made it as far as the next village and found shelter in a barn.

Meanwhile, Flex and Rex3 had walked to the City of Yggsburgh after separating from a determined-to-reform Setch. Flex and Rex3 had quite a lot of spending money on them from all the loot they had sold from the highwaymen they had defeated and spent the day shopping in town and bought a new horse.

Before leaving on the morning of the 20th, Mina asked about any trouble they could expect on the road and learned that they might encounter brigands on the road as they neared Castle Greyhawk. Sure enough, they encountered the brigands well before reaching the side road to the castle and had to flee when a dozen javelin-throwing men charged them from a copse of trees up ahead. They retreated until they encountered – of all people – Flex and Rex3 riding on their new horse together. Flex and Rex3 were eager for revenge on Kevlamin and there was almost a battle, but Nodwick convinced them that they should join forces against the brigands.

Mina and Kevlamin devised a plan to lay in the tall grass to either side of the road and use the horse to lure the brigands to them. Sure enough, the brigands showed up about 15 minutes later, but they heard the ambushers standing up and were not surprised. The ambushers only succeeded in dropping one of the brigands, but Nodwick was knocked unconscious, Flex, Mina, and Fang were seriously injured, and Rex3 was killed. Kevlamin and Clair threw their treasure to the brigands to make them stop and the battle paused while their leader, a man in black robes, examined the gems.

It turned out that their leader sympathized with his prisoners – most of the brigands had started out as adventurers, but found no profit in adventure and too much competition to find work as mercenaries. They complained that Castle Greyhawk, once a well-known spot for adventure, had become a tourist trap with inhabited upper dungeon levels and guided tours of the lower levels. A deal was struck whereby Kevlamin would duel one of their fighters to the death and, if Kevlamin won, they could have their gems back and go free. It was close, but Kevlamin beat a half-orc brute named Zod and the brigands kept their promise. They even pushed a new member on the company – an apprentice magic-user who bore an uncanny resemblance to Rex3 and, by an unbelievable coincidence, happened to be named Rex4. Nodwick was thrown over the back of the horse and everyone else marched on.

The company next reached the Village of Hawfair, where everyone spent the remainder of the 20th and half the 21st resting. Clair and Mina quite liked the tranquility and gorgeous view of the hills from the sleepy village and briefly contemplated an early retirement there, but Kevlamin heard from a shepherd that there had been monster sightings on the road ahead. Some rumors were that the monster was a werewolf and others were that it was some type of undead. More fearful of the first alternative, the company was desperate for a silver weapon, but the local miller was only willing to give them half what their gems were worth and they would part with neither their horse nor dog in trade. The company settled instead for buying some additional maces, believing they were more effective against undead and Kevlamin pushed everyone to leave Hawfair and press on to Greyhawk.

As the road reached the edge of the Menhir Hills, Rex4 betrayed the company by casting a Sleep spell on them all with the intention of killing Kevlamin. But, just then, some sort of man-animal-thing crawled over the nearest hilltop and scrambled down on them. Rex4 punched Flex awake and kicked Kevlamin until he woke up. Flex managed to hold the monster off while the others woke Clair and Fang. The thing pounced on Clair next and scratched her with its claws. After being stabbed with two swords and a dagger the thing bounded off and escaped. Mina and Nodwick woke up as if from a mysterious nap, oblivious to the danger they had been in. Rex4 decided he needed the others alive if he was to make it out of the hills safely and no one could prove his murderous intent, so everyone traveled on together.

At the end of the 21st , the company reached the Village of Stonewyck and the castle of Sir Alec Gaxhill II. Still desperate for a silver weapon, the company learned of a silversmith who worked for the local knight and they sought an audience with Sir Alec. Alec, for his part, took an interest in Mina and invited everyone to dine with him that night. He insisted his smith could make them a silver dagger, but that they might have to stay a few days until it was done. But Mina was of lower birth than Alec had guessed and he lost interest in her by the end of the 22nd. Gracious host that he was, though, he made a gift of a silver dagger to the company and wished them luck on their last leg of the journey to Greyhawk.

On the 23rd, the company reached the City of Greyhawk. They paid an 8 sp toll for admittance into the city, were briefed on some of the laws, some advice on not spending too much and watching their purses in the low market, and given rough directions to the Adventurers Guildhall. The guards also spoke about a “Challenge of Champions” and assumed the company was there for it. The Old City sported some of the largest buildings anyone had ever seen and the buildings just kept getting bigger the farther into the city they went. They paid a 4 sp toll at the Black Gate and made their way into the newer quarters of the city. Little in the market tempted them and they had more fun making a game of guessing which building was the Adventurers Guildhall and were a bit disappointed when it turned out to be smaller than some of the other buildings they had guessed.

The guildhall was fortified and not unlike an inn in layout. It was abuzz with activity, for it seemed they had arrived just in time for a tournament called the Challenge of Champions that was to start in three days! Their sponsor, Lilyana Ortiz, could not be found immediately, so a guild steward, Clifford Adelardi, referred them to the Silver Dragon Inn down the street to get situated. The Silver Dragon Inn was the largest inn they had ever seen – almost the size of Garham Keep back home and almost as fortified. It had its own guard, its own curtain wall, its own stable, its own brewery, and three separate tavern rooms inside, one of them in the basement. Musicians performed inside for a packed house. The innkeeper, Olaf Al-Azul, said his rooms were full but that they could squeeze onto the common room floor at night for 2 sp each. A typical breakfast there of white beer, yogurt, bread cake in honey, sausage, and eggs cost 2 sp. A typical lunch of clams and mussels with a side of blackberries and a dessert of candied sweat meats, with red wine costs 5 sp.