KINGMAKER:
The Wardens of the Greenbelt
Entry 9.
Traveller's Woes & Some Trouble With Mites
The Wardens regrouped in Oleg's trading post. Ione and William explained how they had got on in Restov, especially the meetings with Yelena and with the Mayor. They also regaled their companions with their fine dining experiences in the city. Unimpressed, the rest of the party told them how they had pursued the bandits and killed all but one of them.
The captured bandit was questioned. He struck a deal for his life giving the Wardens information about the Stag Lord's Fortress. He confirmed the location, details about the Lord's lieutenants he knew; Dovan and Auchs. He hadn't met the others. He also gave them the current password but said that it was of little use as it would have already been changed. Anza and Oleg confirmed the location given as the fortress was well known as an abandoned settlement. Anza said it was “built on the remains of the dead”.
The two dwarf miners set off with the Wardens to continue their exploration. The dwarves were dropped off at King's Kiln where they were welcomed by the other two dwarves as Rogar was a smelter. The Wardens then agreed a joint claim on the new mine with all the dwarves.
Later they came upon a wagon stuck whilst fording a river. Ione managed to calm the horse whilst the rest of the Wardens helped T'lef push the cart free of the mud. The travelling cleric & merchant, Felin Pennythicket, was grateful for their help and the group escorted him to a nearby farm. After they had calmed the farmer and assured him they weren't bandits here to collect their tithes, they were all made welcome.
The Wardens then made their way back to where they had found the hanged bodies previously. The party was attacked this time by two giant centipedes. The fight did not go well with Sidhe, Havrik and T'lef all being wounded and poisoned before the centipedes could be killed. The wounds were dressed and the poison successfully treated. The party took the poison sacs from the centipedes as they were considered useful. Finally they took down the bodies from the gibbets and gave them a respectful burial under the guidance of Jarn.
The Wardens continued their explorations arriving on the banks of a river which flowed north west. They followed the river for some time until it reached a narrow defile where the track rose high above the river and became quite narrow. They continued slowly but upon turning a corner found that the road had fallen away down towards the river below. A voice shouting for help attracted their attention and they saw below them an injured traveller on a ledge below. His horse lay further down the cliff obviously deceased. Between the group they arranged for T'lef to climb down and rescue the man who was then roped back up to the roadway. T'lef continued down to the horse and collected up the unfortunate man's belongings where they lay next to the horse. T'lef managed to climb back up more easily than he had imagined he could. Their rescued traveller turned out to be Raine Eronen, a wizard. He had been travelling to see his friend in the next village. The Wardens tended to his wounds especially his broken leg and considerable bruising. He rewarded the party with 500gp of gemstones and taught William the “Web” spell on the short journey to his friend in the village.
The village was Hillhome where Raine's friend, Yegor Firebearer, was the proprietor of the Old Curiosity Shop selling potions and cures for all ailments. The village was quite large with a brewery, blacksmith, two inns and a variety of stores. The Wardens explored the village meeting the brewer who they discovered could produce potions and poisons along with his selection of ales and spirits. They also met the local cleric, Georgiy Lubanov, a priest of Gorum. He assured Jarn that the village were capable of fighting off any bandits seeking trouble and his calling was therefore appropriate for the needs of his people. During their time in the village they heard about the crossing further down river where Davik Nettles had built a bridge over the Shrike River. Apparently Nettles had refused to pay the Stag Lord's bandits. As punishment they had killed him, throwing his body into the river and broken down his bridge. The locals warned the Wardens that Nettles was said to haunt the river.
The Wardens soon came to the remains of the bridge. Upon ringing the bell beside the ruined bridge Nettles rose from the water and approached the party. He said he had no argument with them but that they must kill the Stag Lord and throw his body into the Shrike so that Nettles' spirit could find rest. The Wardens promised that they would.
Their explorations took them away from the river into the surrounding hills. Here they spotted a hill with a dead tree on its summit resembling a grasping hand, just like that described in the map they had found previously. Digging beneath the tree they found a hidden cache including a magic wand, a ring, a quality dagger and a damaged spellbook including five spells.
The Wardens continued further into the hills where one hill in particular dominated the surrounding land and on its slopes a huge, old sycamore tree. On further examination they discovered a hidden door opening into the base of the tree and a passage beyond leading down below the hill.
This was the lair of a colony of mites. The Wardens first came upon an area which was a hatchery guarded by an elderly female mite and a giant centipede. She suggested they go see her chief Grabbles further into the tunnels. The party split to explore the tunnel system. The first group entered the barracks of the complex where their progress was barred by aggressive mites. They were attacked by giant centipedes from the hatchery and by the mites ahead of them. The Wardens managed to kill them all before heading further along the tunnels. This led them into a large room with a makeshift table at its centre. Here they disturbed and had to fight five more mites including their leader Grabbles. A giant tick joined the battle but soon fled into the next room where it escaped by descending into a dark chasm that split the room. The mites were slain except Grabbles who was badly injured but still alive. The table contained a strange map which the Wardens tried hard to decipher it seemed to show the mites' tunnels and another, enemy complex of some sort. Following the tick, T'lef found the chasm which was crossed by a number of knotted roots. He decided to not risk the root crossing and proceeded no further and waiting for his companions to catch up.
Meanwhile the rest of the party had headed towards the other branch of the complex and found an area where traps were being prepared. The mites there ran away and led them into a larger room where kobolds had been chained to the walls and tortured. One of these beasts was still alive. The Wardens fought off all the mites in here and freed the kobold, Mikmek. They continued to explore, reaching the other side of the chasm, across from T'lef. At that point both parties made their way out of the tunnels.
In amongst the treasure they had brought out of the tunnels was a small statue to an unknown deity. Once they had cured the wounds of Grabbles and Mikmek the kobold was released and he ran off into the countryside. Grabbles wanted his statue back but Jarn decided that it was an idol to an evil deity and reduced it to dust in front of the mite's eyes.
