Departing the Barony, the group travels along a river ‘road’, stopping at the occasional village for food and gossip, The priest of Torm bestows minor cures and spreads the word. A few days out they encounter a trio of escaped slaves who tell a tale of imprisonment at the hands of Miles, the outlaw. This gets the group onto a side track off the main road and into the deeper wilderness.
They arrive at a dilapidated and ramshackle village – stuffed to the gills with armed toughs and sporting only a few bedraggled looking peasants. The group navigates the environment without starting a major event and so no blood is spilled – but information is gathered from some men in Mile’s employ.
The group journeys even further onward, eventually arriving in a collection of huts, scare large enough to be called a village. There they make contact with a large red-capped ogre and his human advisor. They inform the group that they are waiting for Miles, but do not know where he is. As the group is riding out of town, they make contact with a ranger who claims to be in Mile’s group. He explains that they are in hiding – for there are many bounty hunters about. Miles is apparently in the area, helping the gnomes – whatever that means.
The group rides into the woods, then sends back the invisible mage to spy on the place. Little is learned save one of the occupants is a dwarf. They seem careful to remain hidden from the main road.
Pressing onward, the group becomes hopelessly lost, and stumbles upon a mining operation where enslaved gnomes toil under the gaze of a half-dozen orcs and a quartet of burlier humanoids. The group gives battle and during the fight they are aided by Miles and his men. This prompts a parley and Miles reveals that he is the rightful heir to the seat in Ludensheim, but his place was usurped and he has retreated to the wilderness to fight a guerrilla war.
The group ponders the many twists and turns that the story has taken so far and wonders what to do next.
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