You have a comfortable night in the Shooting Star Inn and go downstairs for breakfast.
After a while the locals start to arrive but the atmosphere is as depressing as always.
3 of the castle guards enter the inn and head for the bar. As the guards look around at the occupants, the locals present sink in their seats, trying not to draw attention. ‘Three pints, prick!’ one of the guards orders Herbert the Innkeeper. Herbert quickly produces 3 tankards of ale and doesn’t ask for payment.
The guards turn around, with their tankards in hand, and survey the room menacingly. Each pulls a metal straw from a pocket which they put into the tankard and take a drink. You notice a slight bad smell in the air.
“Those outlaws killed 2 of my men yesterday. One of you knows who the outlaws are and where there camp is.” one of them states, as if it is a matter of fact.
Noone answers. Another guard walks over to one of the tables as the men their cower. He grabs on by the collar and shouts in his face. “Is it you?!” The terrified man shakes his head but doesn't answer. The guard drops him back down into his seat. Turning to another table he picks on another villager. “You know, don’t you?!. I can see it in your face.” This man holds up his hands to protect himself, his face full of fear.
Next he picks on an old man. “Yes. You. You know where they are, don’t you?”, he says pointing at him. As the guard walks towards him the old man says nothing and the guard backhands him across the face, drawing blood. The old man is stunned by the blow and the guard leans in closer and says “You will tell me where they are!”
When the man says nothing, the guard nods to his companions who come over and lift the man from his seat and drag him towards the door. The old man struggles, but he is too weak to fend them off.
As they drag him out of the door one of the guards says to the room “If none of you will talk then maybe the fate of this old man will encourage you to be more helpful.”
You follow out the door to see what is going on.
Two guards drag the man over to the large tree opposite the inn.
One of the guards takes a rope from his horse and fashions a noose which he throws over a branch and puts over the old man’s head, while another fastens his hands behind his back.
As the guards are doing this, from time to time they look up at the small group of villagers that has gathered. The villagers are silent and avoid meeting the guards eyes. You can also see an excited group of half a dozen beggars which has gathered on the periphery.
The old man struggles and pleads for his life but just gets a vicious punch in the stomach which silences him.
“Last chance?” asks one of the guards looking around the crowd.
Corrobreth who has prepared a sleep spell as he approaches, distracts one of the guards before touching him. The guard falls unconscious to the floor as Ravenclaw Darkwood charges in and slices the hand from her first opponent with her mighty, double-handed sword. The man drops to the floor, bleeding profusely. As Fleck savages the sleeping man on the ground, Ravenclaw chases the final guard, who is trying to get on his. She strikes him on the leg before the second swing cuts the man in half.
The villagers don't hang around and take the old man away. The dead bodies of the guards are stinking of decay and death and you drag them to the river and throw them off the jetty.
When you return to the inn, you meet Hilda Eysenck who says she will lead you to the outlaw's camp in the forest. You gather your things from the inn and set off.
The forest is dark and sinister. Tall trees writhe upwards to the sky, blocking out the light. The floor of the forest is covered with sickly looking fungal growths with unpleasant colouration and warty skin. Occasionally you see giant, bloated butterflies and moths flit between the trees and large grubs crawl across the forest floor. The cries of unknown creatures fills the air but none of these ever come into view and you see vague shadows from out of the corners of your eyes.
HIlda seems unaffected by her surroundings, but she keeps a wary eye out behind her. “The forest has changed a lot since the storm, but is usually safe during the day. It is not a good idea to be out here at night.”
She leads you further into the forest and you pick your way through the trees. After about half an hour you notice that the oppressive nature of the rest of the forest ends suddenly and you pass into an area of natural woodlands where the vegetation and creatures look normal again “Sigrid, our leader, used to be a cleric and this part of the forest is protected by Rhya. Unfortunately the evil surrounding this place presses and leeches in. I don’t know how long before it will be consumed as well”
A short while later Hilda puts her hands to her mouth and makes a hooting sound, which is returned after a few seconds. She beckons you to follow again and you arrive in an encampment in a clearing. There’s perhaps 20 people here, busy with tasks.
“Sigrid!” Calls Hilda to a blonde haired woman who is talking to some men sitting on stumps of wood . “These are the people who arrived in the village a couple of days ago”
Sigrid welcomes you and asks you what you are doing in Wittgendorf. You tell her that you are searching for an artifact which you believe to be castle. Sigrid is intrigued, and sees that your interests may coincide. She tells you that she leads the outlaws after the castle guards came to take her husband, and while she could not save him, she had killed on of the guards and was forced to flee.
You ask her about ways into the castle. “There are two known entrances to the castle," she says. "The main gate and the water gate. I don’t think a direct attack against either of these would be successful. However, I think there might be another way in. There is a cavern, underneath the outer bailey which I believe leads to a secret way in to the castle. I tried to go that way once myself, but I was driven back by something that lives in the tunnel. If you can find a way through, you should report back and we can plan our attack”.
Leaving the gear you don't need, you set off with Hilda for the tunnel. After about half an hour's walk,
Hilda beckons you to stop and whispers “Up there- Guards from the castle! It’s that bastard Kratz and some beastman creature”. Following where she is pointing you can see a group of 6 guards in their black armour following Kratz who is riding a horse. In front of them is a creature that walks on two legs but has a wolf like face. It is sniffing the air as it goes. They are heading in your direction.
“We’re downwind of them so they don’t know we’re here. Quick into the trees and we can take them!” Says Hilda drawing her bow. Wait for my signal!”
The castle guards are slowly picking their way through the forest, the terrain seeming no friendlier to them than you. You grip your weapons as you wait, the seconds feeling like minutes as they get closer. After 1/2 a minute or so they are just yards away.
“NOW!!!” shouts HIlda as she let’s loose an arrow at Kratz. It's a good shot, but the arrow bounces of Kratz's armour. Corrobreth sends a bolt of lightning at the beastman who sees it just in time to dodge out of the way and miss the worst of the damage.
The rest of you leap out of the bushes, but the ground is treacherous and you have to move carefully.
Thrumir Bhakdramis the first into combat, and with two well aimed blows cuts the beastman to bits.
Krats charges his horse into Thrumir and the two trade blows. Fleck also attacks Kratz whose horse is quickly killed by Ravenclaw. Unfortunately, Kratz leaps to the ground with more agility than you would expect for a man his size, and lands on his feet ready to fight.
Corrobreth sends a mass of lightning at the castle guards, managing to wound a few of them as they advance towards the party. HIlda continues to fire her bow but the armour of the guards is strong.
Kratz swings his great flail and brings it crashing down upon Thrumir's head. It is a mighty blow which should have killed him, but in a
Miraculous survival! Thrumir's helmet absorbs the worst of the blow, and he is knocked unconscious.
Things look bleak for the party as the guards close in and Ravenclaw is now in combat with Kratz and a castle guard. Rutger is at risk of being outflanked and another guard is advancing on Hilda.
Corrobreth conjures up a mighty gust of wind which pins Rutger and the 4 guards around him in place. Kratz turns his attention to Ravenclaw who manages to dodge one of the incoming blows. and kills her other opponent. Just as it looks like things are going to get worse for Ravenclaw, Fleck manages to get in to Kratz's damaged armour and mauls his abdomen, opening several deep wounds. Kratz collapses to the ground, bleeding, before Ravenclaw slices his head off
.
Meanwhile, Hilda has drawn her sword and with one stroke, disembowels her opponent and suddenly the tables have turned again.
Fleck and Ravenclaw charge into combat with one of the guards who is caught in Corrobreth's spell. Rutger has continued to battle with his foe, but it is difficult to land a telling blow because of the buffeting of the wind. The guard being attacked by Ravenclaw and Fleck is dismantled bit by bit before he is finally killed.
Thrumir finally starts to come around as Corrobreth releases his spell. The remaining guards try to flee but they are quickly cut down.
Whilst searching the bodies, Rutger removes the full face helmet from one of the guards and is shocked to see the rotting mass of decay and corruption that is underneath.
After a short break to recover, Hildaleads you to the cavern under the outer bailey.
The cavern entrance is well hidden in a tangle of twisted bushes and it is unlikely you would have found it without Hilda’s help. The area around the entrance looks undisturbed. HIlda tells you she will wait for you to return
The cave is dark and damp and slopes downwards into the earth. At this point it it s a good 2-3 yards wide and after you’ve gone about 5 yards, you become aware of a deep grunting, bellowing sounds from ahead. After another 10 yards it is joined by a high-pitched squeaking noise which sets your teeth on edge.
The tunnel continues on and on through the rock. Thrumir is quite at home underground, though Ravenclaw, Corrobreth and Rutger find the combination of the noises and being so far underground very unsettling. Even Fleck is not his usual boisterous self.
After about a 1/2 mile you come to a junction. Choosing the left branch you find a human skeleton. The bones have been snapped and the marrow sucked out. A blood curdling scream echoes around the caves. It’s difficult to pinpoint the direction the sounds has come from and it seems to come from all directions. This greatly distresses Thrumir and Rutger, who have to fight the urge to go back out of the tunnel.
You continue on through the dark and come to a cave filled with
strangely glowing mushrooms in all shapes and sizes. Shortly after you come to a stream. It is easy to jump over, but you find that way leads to a dead end. Doubling back your route takes you back towards the mushroom filled cave and at the edge of the torchlight, Rutger sees a disembodied face, grinning at him before disappearing. More squeaking and chittering sounds are heard and you take the other branch out of the tunnel. You come to another stream and crossing that, end up in a large cave. The squeaking is louder here and as you go further in you are attacked by six giant bats. They cause some minor damage to Corrobreth before you are able to fight them off.
Once, again, the grinning face appears and you hasten onwards. Down the next tunnel you find a spiral staircase leading upwards. The stairway goes up and up in the darkness. The stones are damp and some are slick and before long your legs are aching. It feels like you have been climbing forever when you suddenly find yourselfves in a seemingly featureless, two-yard square room. You quickly find a trapdoor in the ceiling and Corrobreth's
spirit familiar tells you that there is a ruined room above.
Going up through the trapdoor, you realise you are in a building on the edge of the courtyard of the outer bailey of the castle. There is a doorway with no door in the west side and the north corner has collapsed. The floor is strewn with rubble, and filth. It is quiet and a terrible rotting smell hangs in the air.
Looking out the corner you see you are in the the courtyard of a castle. The courtyard is strewn with weeds; the only clear path leads from the coach house towards what must be the gates and to the bottom of the steps. Many of the buildings have collapsed, but the outer walls seem well maintained. There are a number of makeshift shelters which a number of beggars are sitting against or lying in front of. Most of those you can see bear the mark of mutation- abnormal growths, extra limbs are evident and they make no attempt to hide them. There is one beggar with three eyes and no nose wandering around clutching a half-eaten green potato to his chest.
You discuss what to do next. Rutger isn't happy with the thought of going back down into the tunnel again, but you realise you need to get back to Sigrid and plan the attack.
Returning into down the stairs the noises start up again and you decide you should explore the rest of the tunnel system and clear out any danger that could affect the attack on the castle.
Just after crossing the stream again, Thrumir is attacked by two lashworms, which he and Corrobreth quickly dispose of. IN the next cavern you are attacked by 4 giant rats. As this is happening, Rutger feels a draft of wind behind him and hears a clang of metal on stone. Turning around he sees a
mutated human with a long neck whose body is covered in a hard, green carapace. Its hands and feet are covered with suckers and he is hanging from the roof of the tunnel. As the mutant babbles inanely, Rutger puts down the lantern and grips his
bastard sword.
As the others dispatch the rats, Ravenclaw charges at the mutant, and smites it down from the roof before killing it as it lies stunned on the ground.
Content that the tunnel system is safe, you head back to meet Hilda and return to the outlaw camp.
With Sigrid, you discuss your plan to attack the castle. You decide that eight of the outlaws will come with you to the secret entrance and they will try and open the gates and throw ropes over the walls to the outlaws who will hide outside the castle. You plan to set off as soon as it is light.