More Moat House

Well, it happened again. We had another session of Castles and Crusades last night, centered around the old favorite, Hommlet. And yet again, we had a change in players as well.

This time around we had Jeff, playing the ever lovable halfling thief, Frederick. My buddy, from the 4E group named Ed, playing a half-orc fighter named Roog. And to round it all out, my eldest daughter playing a human female paladin named Thyla.

First my recap, and then later, my observations and thoughts on the game itself.

Brush rustled, and out burst two muddy, torn and exhausted adventurers leading a bedraggled mule. The paladin Thyla and her "squire" Roog stopped there in the middle of the dusty road and observed the pair. One of the two muddy individuals turned and noticed the human and half-orc and gasped.

The other turned as well, and they both started babbling about being beset upon by horrendous beasts, and that their comrades were trapped within a building and in dire need of aid. Thyla, eyed the falling sun and estimated that there was no more than two hours of light left, and then asked the two what they were attacked by and how far off this building lay.

Most of the following information was garbled, but from the sounds of things the Moat House was only a short journey north through the marsh. The two "survivors" then took their leave and headed west towards the small village of Hommlet in order to recuperate and heal up from their tumultuous ordeal. With this, Thyla and Roog set foot to muddy, bramble strewn road, and the Moat House.

Thick brush and washed out trails made travelling difficult, but the two arrived in under two hours, with only about 20 minutes of light left. They surveyed the ruins from the low, dry ridge and then took a closer look at the small abandoned camp. While neither was a professional tracker, there was no obvious sign of a scuffle. What could have sent those two away then?

With more questions than answers, the two approached the draw bridge and noticed that the wood was terribly rotted. They'd need to find someway across and into the interior before nightfall... And this is when Roog notices the huge bug-eyed frog peering at him from the water of the moat.

An enormous "Croak!" precedes the leap from the water as the creature plops down in front of the stunned half-orc warrior. Their pony neighs and breaks loose, not wanting any part of this, it heads up the road at a quick trot. Thyla backs up a step as well, and draws her scimitar, but Roog beats her to the punch and levels a might swing with his heavy mace, which connects with a sickening crunch to the side of the head of the enormous amphibian. It drops dead and falls to the ground.

Two more pairs of eyes rise out of the water at this time and the paladin and fighter look at one another. More shark-toothed frogs? (Roog's running commentary was absolutely hilarious.)

The noise has drawn the attention of a halfling who has been resting up against the wall inside of the Moat House...He peers out of the arrow slit and takes notice of the fight. A tight squeeze and his exit to the outside is accomplished. With that he nimbly climbs the building and pulling his sword free he leaps with a yell into the moat attempting to pith a frog with his descent.

Splash! Frederick over estimates his leap and misses the frog just as the two beasts leap from the water. Roog, seeing the "child" who has obviously leaped to their rescue, meets the largest frog head on with another crushing blow. Thyla swings wide and drops to the dirt in an attempt to duck the sticky tongue. Her frog, seeing a now "smaller" target leaps upon the paladin and delivers a nasty bite.

The larger of the two frogs also darts in and crunches into Roog's side. This is not going as planned at all!

Now pinned on the ground, the paladin tries stabbing upwards with her scimitar in vain. Her blade's just too long for this type of close work, she misses again. But Roog, ignoring his assailant comes to her aid and smites the smaller frog another smashing shot to the noggin. It goes limp on top of the prone Thyla.

Meanwhile Frederick has climbed his way out of the moat and has crept up to the larger frog from behind. A quick strike and the monster also collapses upon the dirt and mud. Quick introductions are made, but the light is failing quickly and it's obvious that the trio now must retire to the relative safety of the interior of the Moat House.

The quick footed halfling makes his way across the drawbridge and climbs the wall in order to observe the courtyard and surrounding terrain. He spies a dark shape that climbs to the far roof, but is unable to determine exactly "what" it is as it drops off the far side. Bats flit in the darkening skies, chasing the plethora of insects as Roog attempts the bridge.

His heavy weight combined with a misstep though and "Sploosh!", he falls through to the water below. Luckily it's not all that deep right here and, with the paladin's aid he pulls himself free. But as he exits the moat he looks down and realizes that he's now covered in some pretty large leeches! This is not something that the tough half-orc warrior tolerates well and he strips down right there in the open and proceeds to attempt to rid himself of the filthy vermin.

Meanwhile Frederick keeps watch from atop the wall and every-so-often advises that the group be a little more quiet. Ten minutes later and Roog is ready to go, sans leeches. This time he very carefully and gingerly picks his successful way across the bridge. Thyla though looks at the pony, and then again at the bridge. She asks if Roog might be able to get the other gate and slide it across as well.

Muscle and sinew straining, the enormous fighter finally tears the ancient door loose from its one remaining mooring and with a bang, drops it across the moat. Frederick winces at the noise, but keeps a vigilant watch nonetheless.

Both Thyla and the pony (Jha) make it across successfully. They then make their way into the interior of the Moat House and are confronted by Elmo, who's standing guard in the hallway. Thyla mentions that Frederick sent them, and with this the red-head lowers his guard and lets them pass. The halfling joins them shortly.

Brother Fisk heals the newcomers with his remaining spells and draws a promise from each that they'd help sing Odin's praises with the morning light. They then all draw lots for guard duty and begin to bed down for the night. Stinging and biting insects, the howling call of night-birds and other creatures fills the night, but it passes without event.

Next morning the two, Thyla and Roog sing a praise to Odin as promised. Roog pulls forth his drum and accompanies the "signing" with his primal rhythms. Elmo and Frederick look worriedly down the hall...expecting visitors at any moment. But nothing stirs w/in the Moat House.

A couple hours of exploration and the party has covered the entire upper floor of the structure. Finding a room with what Frederick describes as a "rust" monster, which they leave alone, and another full of bats, they end up in the room that was once obviously occupied not much earlier by the bandits; The Black Room.

Drizzle has dispelled his "hold portal" and Frederick unlocked the lock, so Roog opens the door only to find himself facing the swining blade of an axe. He shouts and falls out of the way though, narrowly missing the crude trap. He pulls the rusting axe free and the others warily enter the dark, black room.

In the past the room was obviously a high-ranking officials room, but recently has been used as a camp sight and bolt hole for a group of bandits. But they've seemed to have had enough of the heroes, and have retreated into the swamps for now.

A careful search of the room reveals that the bandits have set up a "back door" escape route with the placement of some large stones in the moat. Brother Fisk stumbles upon an intact chest, hidden under a pile of rubble in the corner and Drizzle happens upon a hollow space behind one of the walls...A secret passage perhaps?

After uncovering the chest Frederick looks carefully for traps and finds none. He then sets to work on the lock, a "click" and a pin shoots forth to prick his hand...Ooops, guess there were traps. The weak poison is fought off and the needle broken. Soon the halfling bests the lock and the chest reveals its contents:

1. Two bolts of cloth
2. Several thousand copper bits
3. Four chalices
4. One decorative wooden box with ivory handles containing 4 arrows of masterful craftsmanship.

The secret door opened to a very narrow and steep set of stairs leading down into the depths. Dust and detritus proved that the passage hadn't been used in decades. Frederick led the way down the tight descent which ended on the back side of another secret passage. Opening up to a 3-way intersection, the left-hand hallway was rife with the croaking of frogs while the right-hand opened up into some type of chamber. The hall laying straight ahead disappeared into darkness… All ways smelled of moisture, fungus, mold and mildew, while the drip, drip, drip of water accompanied the croak of the frogs.

Choosing the right-hand hallway, the group, led by the Halfling, moved towards the circular chamber as quietly as possible. In the middle of the room stood a well of some type. Filled with water, the one foot tall wall was 10 feet in diameter. But even more interesting was that the room was completely covered in molds and fungus.

Roog led the way into the chamber and bent over the well to get a better look at the surface of the water. In so doing he put his hand in some kind of slime that quickly crawled up his arms and started quickly digesting the tough half-orc’s tissue. Screaming to get it off, the half-orc thrashed about attempting to scrape the stuff away with his hands, all to no avail. Thinking quickly, the Halfling and paladin come to Roog’s aid.

Thyla tries scraping the stuff off with a dagger and achieves some small success, while Frederick lights a torch and applies flame. This line of action works but also burns the thrashing Roog. After a considerable struggle, the green slime is finally eliminated and a gasping Roog is partially healed by Brother Fisk. Another green slime is found on the opposite side of the pool and is taken care of via the torch.

Frederick, ever the inquisitive Halfling, borrows Thyla’s pole and pokes around in the well. He clips something on the bottom and after roping up, decides to take a swim and retrieve it.

Lying on the bottom, in the gloom and flickering light, Frederick finds a silver sphere, which he brings quickly to the surface. It’s a container of sorts and, after flicking the latch, it opens to expose what appears to be some type of a small, black, stone tadpole.

And since it was getting late, this is where we stopped.

As promised above, a few thoughts on the game itself: I’m not sure how my C&C game is going to survive. The heart of the issue is that Wes runs a game every other Tuesday and I was initially intending to run my game on the opposite Tuesday. Well, I know Jeff K. can’t manage playing every week, and I seriously doubt that I’ll be able to continue doing it as well. So the question arises, what to do?

I love playing the Dungeons and Dragons. I prefer the older style of game to the newer 4E but…overall, I really like playing. I had mentioned last time that I’d stick w/ 4E as long as I could get my “fix” of old school goodness. It looks like things might be coming to a head on that front. I’ll play it by ear though and see what comes of it.

My daughter playing: She’s a very good player. She’s cautious and obviously has a lot of fun…I’d like to continue letting her play. BUT, there are a few issues. Her younger sister would like to play too, and unfortunately it’s a school night, so that might not work. It’s meant to be an adult game, and as such, some certain topics are of a more adult nature. I’m not going to make a decision right this moment, but I will have to come up with some kind of resolution soon.

I invited a new guy to play. We met last week and he seems to be a decent enough fellow. His name is Jason…I ended up inviting him to our game last night while we were chatting and he seemed excited to join. Well, he emailed me the day before and notified me that he’s not going to be able to play for two weeks. Auspicious start I’d say.

And finally, some more house rules:

• Shields will be broken: (I think this is from Jeff Rients) A player can opt to forgo damage done to them if they sacrifice their shield. The damage will be waived and the shield will break. For a magic shield every +1 will give them a 1 in 6 chance of the shield surviving this trauma. A sort of “save” if you will.
• Two weapon fighting: Anyone may wield a weapon in each hand as long as they have a Dex of 13 or greater. If they do so, each weapon must be a one handed weapon and when rolling damage they will roll the most damaging weapon’s dice twice, picking the highest roll. (This is similar to things I’ve seen done for LL and S&W)

Back (yet again) to the Moathouse

We had yet again another session of Castles and Crusades last night. But this one took a bit of a twist...We added a few people that haven't played the game before. Both of these guys are from the other Tuesday night 4E group; Wes and Jeff. Wes is our DM for the 4E game and Jeff is the store owner of Enchanted Grounds, a coffee / game shop at 8800 S. Colorado Blvd. in Highlands Ranch.

Now I knew that Jeff was still a pretty big fan of the older style of play, but I wasn't so sure about Wes. But I knew that he'd be a great role player nonetheless...and I wasn't wrong. So, in total, we had 3 players; Paul, Wes and Jeff.

Wes and Jeff got there a bit early and jumped right into rolling up some characters. (We stuck w/ the old 3d6 method) Jeff ended up rolling a halfling thief with a 4 wisdom named Five Fingered Freddy the Filch, or Frederick for short. Besides his 4 wisdom he had some really high stats...But as role playing games often work out, Jeff riffed off of his low wisdom wonderfully. He was awesome.

Wes rolled up a cleric named Brother Thabador Fisk. Now...there's a bit of history here. Brother Fisk is a regular NPC in Wes' Kaldrak Lyres campaign. He's a rather large, congenial, older cleric who's in charge of the daily duties at the largest church in the city. This iteration of Brother Fisk was obviously younger....but still an exuberant and colorful character. He was fantastic.

I'd like to preface this recap with the fact that we didn't get a whole lot done, but man-o-man, did I have a great time playing / DMing. These guys were just super role players.

On with the recap:

9 days have passed since the last foray into the Moathouse and Drizzle Spatchcock has finally healed to the point that he's not only stir crazy, but ready to get back to finding more loot...er, information. That same day, a couple of itinerant wanderers come in off the road, telling stories and purchasing extravagant meals. This unlikely couple, a large man dressed in the simple vestments of faith, and a spritely halfling of friendly demeanor, were the center of attention of a small crowd. All this commotion attracts the attention of Drizzle...

Drizzle might be called a dandy, or maybe even a fop, in some circles. And if outward appearances were all there were to a man then indeed this would be truth. But, thankfully there's more than that to a person. But Brother Fisk had only the large silly hat, and tastefully (if worn a bit) tailored, earth-toned clothes to go by as Drizzle came up and introduced himself. The first word out of the cleric's mouth is "Gesundheit"...an auspicious start.

Yet, Brother Fisk and Frederick invite Drizzle to take a seat and partake of some wine. Over the span of several hours and seven courses, the wizard has spun his tale, interjected from time to time by a parable or lesson from Brother Fisk of course. The two newcomers are intrigued by the Moathouse and agree to set forth on the morrow.

A bright and balmy morning (if 10 or 11 am can be called morning still) greets the adventurers as they prepare to set off upon the road heading east out of Hommlet. Joining them are the henchmen Wonkin "Fire Eye", Portly Tom, and the hireling, Elmo. After hearing that they will be travelling through swamps, Brother Fisk immediately decides upon changing his attire. He swaps out his light, padded armor for the chain shirt recovered from one of the bandits in the Moathouse. He also takes up the short spear and shield. Satisfied with that, he looks down and realizes that his sandals and robes will no longer do.

With that he drags the rest of the group through Hommlet to both the tailor's shop as well as the leather worker. In the span of an hour he has a workable pair of heavy wool pants (for 1gp and 3sp) that were meant for Ostler Gundigoot at the Inn, and a fine pair of low, soft walking boots. (for 2 sp...what a bargain.) Now, fully provisioned and prepared, the group sets off.

The dusty road provides little shade and the adventurers meet few, if any, travellers. Eventually the landscape slowly changes from rolling hills forested with thinly spaced trees to a low, boggy, swamp to the north of the road.

The drone of insects and the warm, humid air accompanies the party as they move off the road and onto the thin, rarely used trail heading north, straight into the swamps. Close brambles, grabbing willows and a washed out trail made the 2 hour journey nearly unbearable, but eventually the Moathouse was spotted.

Nothing moved in the still, close air as they spent many minutes surveying the wrecked edifice from the cover of a small ridge. But armed with the knowledge that guards had been posted last time, Frederick was sent forward to determine if indeed, a hidden observer had been stationed.

Moving like a small shadow, the small halfling flitted forward through the tangled growth to obtain a better angle of observation as well as to be able to "hear" if anything was amiss. Gaining a good vantage point, Frederick did indeed hear what he thought to be two voices, just inside the gates. Quickly, yet still quietly he moved back to the main group to inform them of his findings.

A plan was quickly hatched, Frederick and Drizzle crept forward again, to the same spot, while Brother Fisk and Elmo set off down the road towards the rotted drawbridge and gates. Speaking in normal tones, which for a standard person might be considered a quiet shout, Brother Fisk was telling Elmo of the time that he... Just then, a grizzled head popped around the broken corner of the gate to see who might be approaching without a care in the world.

This was the opening that Drizzle was looking for as he quickly cast his sleep spell. The sound of a body hitting the ground behind the gate caused the observing bandit no end of consternation as he ducked back into cover to find the problem. (*BTW, I don't know what in the world came over me, but generally sleep does not allow a save. Maybe the spell's edge just caught one bandit, and not the other. I'll make sure I adjudicate it correctly next time. My apologies.)

With this, Frederick and Drizzle sprang up and rushed the gate. The nimble halfling skipped quickly across the rotted drawbridge while the foppish Drizzle brought up the rear. Finding the bandit completely engrossed in his sleeping comrade, Frederick crept forward silently and made a few small repairs to the wakeful bandit's anatomy. Namely, two holes where his kidneys used to reside. Uttering not a word, the bandit slumped across his sleeping comrade.

Quickly Frederick arranged the bodies to appear as if they were both sleeping...but the huge pool of blood upon the broken cobbles was tough to disguise. Drizzle realized immediately what had happened and opted to dump them both into the moat. Frederick agreed, and since he had seen some type of large disturbance in the water as he crossed the bridge earlier, was most assured that neither bandit would wake again.

Meanwhile Brother Fisk and Elmo stood patiently across the moat and observed the bodies being quietly slid into the dark water. With raised eyebrow, the cleric pontificated upon the wisdom of disposing of enemies before proceeding onwards. Apparently he approved of the actions. After a creakingly slow shuffle across the old gate that they pulled from the moat, Fisk and Elmo take positions just inside the doors to the Moathouse courtyard.

Again, after close observation, nothing seems to move besides the tall grass that grows up through the heaved pavers that cover the courtyard. Frederick then uses the tall foliage to maneuver his way close to the main entrance. He peers into the dark and sees nothing untoward. The rest of the party take his cue and move forward.

As the party makes their cautious way across the courtyard, Frederick hears the sound of stone on stone come from his left...as if something large is moving about somewhere. When the group arrives he informs them of this and proceeds to climb to the burnt roof, utilizing Drizzle's offer of rope, but finds nothing.

While only darkness seems to occupy the large chamber beyond the double doors, the party takes it cautiously. After all, the tales told thus far are enough to instill prudence in even the most bold. A magic light is lit at the tip of Drizzle's staff and Frederick proceeds into the main chamber to find it in a state of disarray and abandonment. The thief moves through the shadows as if he's one himself...

Frederick checks down the right-hand hallway and finds three doors, two on the right, one of the left, while the end opens up into another large chamber. He motions to his comrades and starts sneaking down the hall.

Drizzle takes his lit staff and checks the floor, finding that the most worn path through the detritus leads from the two broken main doors straight through to a closed door at the back of the chamber. Noting this, he casts a hold portal upon the far door then proceeds after the rest of the group down the right-hand hallway.

Once there the halfling checks the first door for traps. Finding nothing, he pushes the door open just as the cleric spots something moving through a shaft of light in the far room. He spies undulating patterns on what appears to be a massive snake and whispers to Elmo to be on the lookout. The red-headed simpleton steps back a pace and mumbles that he doesn't like snakes.

Frederick has meanwhile opened the first door on the right and finds a small chamber festooned with fire ravaged furniture and a book shelf or two. Finding a loose panel, he moves it to the side to discover a well maintained broadsword. Its blade gleams brightly, an obvious sign of craftsmanship, while the hilt and grip appear rotted with water and time.

The next room divulges no secrets what-so-ever.

It is after this that Drizzle moves his staff, using mage hand, into the far room at the terminus of the hall. With the sudden light, an enormous snake, nearly 15' long, strikes at the closest warm body, which just so happens to be Elmo. Its fangs skid harmlessly across his armor though. The battle is on.

Elmo strikes back with his huge axe while Frederick uses this distraction to dart to the rear (if there can be a "rear") of the serpent. Both blows, Elmo's and Frederick's, fall wide as the wily snake moves quickly from side to side.

Brother Fisk sees that the combatants need help and he rushes to the fore, yelling the whole while, trying to provide a distraction. This works, as the beast swivels its attention to the rotund cleric. This time Elmo strikes true and opens an enormous gash along the creature's flank.

The snake though is riveted upon Fisk and attacks him with a vengeance. But the cleric's shield proves up to the task as he deflects the blow. He then stabs forward with his short spear and scores a hit causing the creature to quickly fall back, hissing and bleeding profusely.

Drizzle then hits the creature with a magic missile. This proves too much for the snake and it slithers as fast as it possibly can towards the far hole in the wall...seeking escape.

A thorough search provides a gorgeous gem encrusted dagger that adorned a long dead humanoid creature found in the beast's nest.

Drizzle, standing guard at the far end of the hallway while the others search, hears banging upon the door that he recently ensorcled. Soon afterwards the receding sound of men's voices and splashing from outside alert Drizzle that the room's occupants have now retreated.

And here's where we ended it. We didn't get a whole lot done, but the play by the PCs was superb. I missed a few cues here and there...I'm not sure if I was nervous or what, but there are a few things that I might do a bit differently. Hopefully they'll be a next time.

House rules used:

• Rule of 30 (by Jeff Reints): A player may opt to roll the D30 once per session to replace any previously rolled score. (Not for HPs or attributes obviously)
• Spells: Point system taken from Microlite20 and Ode to Black Dougal's Dark Sun game. Slight change though, instead of pulling directly from HPs, there's now a pool that is equal to HPs and if taken to 0 the spell caster collapses in exhaustion. If taken below 0, the sum is directly subtracted from current HPs and can not be healed by magic, only time can heal these wounds.
• Search: 1 on a roll of a d6 for most. 1 or 2 on a d6 for thieves, elves searching for secret doors, and dwarves searching stone features.

I told the guys that as long as I can get my "old-school" fix, I'd be joining them at the table for 4E.

Signing off for now. Until next time, adieu.

Second assualt on the Moat House

Welcome back y'all. Gather around for another rousting tale of success and failure, of life and death, and of love won and lost...Well ok, there's not a thing in the following excerpt that even remotely resembles love. Nonetheless, read on.

Paul, Chris and I met last night for a beer and pretzels game of Castles and Crusades. Paul rolled up another first level character to replace Stryke, his deceased 1/2 orc assassin that perished beneath the fangs of a giant hunting spider.

So both Chris and Paul rolled up characters at the table last night. Chris came up with a bard with fairly average scores. While Paul rolled up a wizard with quite high scores. A human male, the bard, one Sebastian Goosebury was just passing through, looking for extra coin. While the mage, one Drizzle Spatchcock, was also hungry for any type of arcane knowledge.

Each had briefly stopped in Hommlet while on a journey in search of "something", adventure, easy money, knowledge, it didn't matter. Our heroes meet at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, the only game it town.

It is morning and Drizzle sat at a table sipping his wine while reading a book, and Sebastian sat close to the door, tuning his instrument in preparation for the night's entertainment, for he's been hired for an evening by the proprietor.

Just then the door bangs open and three filthy dirty, disheveled and exhausted men stumble in dragging a body. The proprietor hustles forth waving his arms, stating that there's a strict policy against keeping corpses inside the Inn. All three nod and the fat one drags the corpse back out through the door while the "leader" launches into a story about the dangers overcome at the "keep" up the road.

Seeing his opening, Sebastian introduces himself while swiping the wine from in front of Drizzle and offering it to the parched story teller. Delvin by name, the self-styled leader of the small band begins telling the tale of danger and woe. His quiet companion, Wonkin, sits nearby, mumbling and rubbing his eyes. After hearing the intro, Drizzle gets involved by also introducing himself.

Eventually the story is told and the two are more than interested in exploring this "keep", or moat house as it is called locally. Arrangements are made with Wonkin and Portly Tom as henchmen. They will meet up w/ Drizzle and Sebatstian in the morning. They have one concern though, Rufus and Burne. It seems as if the previous party had been some how "sponsored" by the pair. So, a jaunt to the tower on the hill seems necessary at this point.

On their way to the tower, the two are confronted on the road by a armed guard who extorts the two for a toll, in order to pass. They unwillingly pay and pass on. As they top the path to the tower they find a small practice session with the town militia under way. Led by a grizzled veteran (think Iggy Pop w/ long white hair in a pony tail), the small group of boys and men swing wooden swords at one another.

A lone guard stands atop the small staircase leading to the tower. The young man stands to attention as the pair mount the stairs and asks what their business is. They declare that they're here to see Rufus and Burne...and Sebastian strums a chord announcing that he's a bard. Soon they gain admittance and after a short wait are sitting in the main chamber, speaking with the mage Rufus. (Yes, yes, I know. I mixed the two names up in the initial session. Sigh. Too late now.)

A brief meeting reveals that the Rufus and Burne are concerned with recent rumors that there have been strange goings on at the moat house. Figures have been seen passing to and fro during the evening hours, while the place is supposed to be abandoned. Any kind of reconnaissance that nets solid information will be paid for. And a 10 gp / person stipend is paid. 1/2 now, and 1/2 upon the return of any useful intel.

Rufus warns them though that the place is dangerous. It has been years since anyone has gone out there and many of the swamp's more nasty denizens might have taken up residence. The former employee, Stryke, met his demise there and should prove amply that the place is not to be taken lightly. With that they leave.

On their way out Rufus asks if they met a surly guardsman upon the road who charged them a toll. They acknowledged that yes, indeed they did. Rufus sighed and refunded the copper...That man is trouble, he mumbled under his breath as he did so. Drizzle asked if perhaps Rufus might want to allow the man an extended leave perhaps. Rufus agreed, and the party grows by one surly henchman.

Back at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, with Belsay, the surly guard in tow, they meet yet another interesting character, one Elmo. This dumb, yet large individual seems intent on making money for more ale. He pesters Sebastian and Drizzle telling them that he'd need a big axe and possibly some armor if he were to be convinced to go. They agree...and he wanders off, a smile on his face and a tankard in his meaty fist. (They have absolutely no intention of purchasing the stuff, but are going to try and bilk him out of the deal yet still have him come along.)

The next morning dawns bright and clear as the new group's members meet at the Inn. Elmo shows up with an axe over his shoulder, girded in mail. Drizzle tries to convince the simpleton that he's got what he needs but Elmo's insistent, his price is a big axe and mail....still. But, if he gets gold for ale then he'll take the axe and mail upon their return. All is agreed and the group heads out upon the road to the moat house.

Nothing untoward happens upon the road to the moat house, while the trail proves a difficult journey. Swamps, brambles and generally horrid conditions accompany the group as they trudge their way through the fetid landscape, mosquitoes plaguing their every step. Eventually though they make it to their destination. It's early afternoon by the time the moat house ruins come into view.

Close observation through the heavy, bug laden air, shows that nothing moves in the ruins. Wonkin and Portly Tom stay with the mule back on the trail while Drizzle, Sebastian, Belsay and Elmo make their way cautiously towards the crumbling walls. A rotted draw bridge lies open and a pair of wooden doors stand ajar, but still, nothing moves within.

Elmo is the one to spot something moving though and the group moves off the path into cover, and off to the side for a better angle. They spot a man, crossbow at the ready, leaned up against the door. He peeks out from time to time...

A nod from Drizzle and Sebastian sends Belsay's crossbow bolt whizzing through the air. It strikes right next to the man's head, vibrating madly in the wood. Sebastian sends a shaft from his bow on the tail of the bolt though, nearly simultaneously. This strikes true, piercing the throat of the leather clad guardsman. He tumbles back in near silence. Only his shoes, toes pointing to the heavens, prove he ever existed.

Slowly the group moves closer but are again stopped in their tracks as the boots begin to slowly disappear around the door. Someone is dragging the corpse. Drizzle stops, quickly readies his components and casts a sleep spell. A dull thump, and the movement of the boots stops. Apparently the spell has taken affect. The group moves on.

They make their way across the rotted drawbridge and enter the overgrown courtyard, light from the westering sun filters through the bug laden air and a light breeze sways the long grasses festooning the old cobbled area. Nothing but grass moves though. A pair of double doors opens off the courtyard but the darkness within reveals little from their current vantage point.

With this, Sebastian mounts the wall, intending to make his way around to the building's entrance, hopefully this higher vantage will throw any observation and prove an easier route. He makes it to the double doors w/out mishap just as the others clear the courtyard. They're all now gathered outside the double doors, one of which lies upon the ground.

Drizzle casts light upon the tip of his staff and slowly levers it around the edge of the upright door, in order to draw any fire from within. Nothing happens. So, the group slowly moves into the large room, one by one. Stillness and the smell of dampness, and old smoke greets them, nothing moves. Two hallways and a standing door prove the only exits from this old battered room.

Hacked furniture, old torn tapestries and garbage are all that remain in this great hall...rubble from the burnt upper floor protrudes into the chamber as well, throwing odd shadows. Sebastian moves as quietly as possible across the floor toward the left-hand hallway. Three doors lead off the hall, which itself opens upon a larger room. wherein light spills weakly through holes in the ceiling and walls. The bard moves to the right-hand hallway, group holding tight, and peers down that one.

It is the mirror opposite of the other hallway, but this one is chosen. So down it they proceed. Drizzle takes one of the three doors while Sebastian takes another. Just as they are about to take a look, a noise from the chamber at the end of the hall alerts them. Abandoning the doors, the group proceeds to the end of the hallway to look into the dim, yet large rubble strewn room. Sunlight streams in weakly from a few holes and dust fills the air...but also a strange scent, as if something has nested here.

And suddenly, from a shadow, a large four-legged beast slithers sinuously from the shadows with surprising quickness, catches Drizzle up in its mouth and delivers a bone-breaking bite. An enormous lizard of some type has made this corner of the moat house its lair and is now determined to take Drizzle with it, as a tasty snack. It attempts to retreat but the others jump on it, yelling and wielding their weapons.

A terrific blow from Elmo causes the lizard to drop the unmoving body of Drizzle and Belsay moves forward with his spear, attempting to push the monster back even further. Hissing and bleeding profusely, the monitor backs away from the dangerous foes. Sebastian takes this opening to patch Drizzle and pull him from harms way. With that though, the group finishes off the beast with arrows and bolts.

A chest is discovered amidst the rubble. Rotted, it proves little deterrence and disgorges a tunic of scale mail, a light crossbow with 20 bolts and 31 copper pieces of unknown mintage. Elmo picks up the bandaged, yet still living Drizzle, while the others tote the spoils from the chest out. It's time to retreat, heal some wounds and try the moat house again in the future.

While retreating across the courtyard, a leather clad bandit emerges from the darkness (random monster roll), shades his eyes and yells as he spots the PCs. He unslings his crossbow and takes a shot. The hurried bolt sails high though. A return shot by Sebastian though proves fatal, and the red-headed bandit falls to the ground with a groan.

But the noise has apparently stirred up a hornets nest, as the sound of more voices is heard from within. Quickly the group takes cover behind the gate doors as two more bandits appear from the darkness. One, armed with a halberd, sees Belsay and charges, bellowing the entire way. The other pulls his crossbow to his shoulder and places a bolt firmly in the surly guardsman's chest. Belsay topples backwards to the ground.

Sebastian, wild eyed, tells Elmo to get Drizzle across the bridge to safety, and to run and get Wonkin and Portly Tom while he holds off the bandits. The bridge breaks in the attempt, but Elmo lunges forward dumping Drizzle in the dirt, and grabs the opposite bank, pulling himself to safety. Off he trundles into the brush, heading for Tom and Wonkin.

Meanwhile Sebastian pulls his sword, ducks a wild swing from the halberd and thrusts forward, piercing the man through the femoral artery. The bandit screams, drops his halberd and falls to the ground, bleeding out quickly....to lie silently in the dust. Seeing that the odds are now tipped, the other bandit draws his sword and spins, running off into the darkness, yelling the entire way.

Sebastian again nocks an arrow and waits... Eventually Elmo returns, trailing Portly Tom, Wonkin and the mule w/ Drizzle's body slung across its back. No bandits have since emerged from the moat house and the PCs take the brief opportunity to loot the dead and make good their retreat.

They return to Hommlet, tails between their legs, to rent a room at the Inn and heal up. But, they fully intend to return to the moat house again, for it's obvious, there are riches and secrets yet to be gained.

To be continued...