Phill Eversons AD&D PBEM game - Merchant - Episode 8

From: malcolm@cstr.ed.ac.uk (Malcolm Campbell)

Date: Thu, 21 Jun 1990 15:13:22 +0000

Campaign: merchant
Date:     2-3 Mirtul, 1358DR Year of the Prince
Weather:  Clear, Warm (65), None, Calm,
Location: The Weatsheaf Inn, Mulhessen, Sembia

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DM:
                 Phill_Everson everson@cs.bris.ac.uk

Players:
 Dennis_Michaelson_Cooper          Alex_Newman troll@world.std.com
                Castellan      Charles_J_Cohen charles@zip.eecs.umich.edu
         Toran_Cimberlain        Daniel_L_Rouk gt6940a@prism.gatech.edu
                  Almarik         David_E_Wall wall@hubble.ifa.hawaii.edu
            Mortis_Bottar     Jason_Richardson mjolnir@ariel.unm.edu
      Riandor_El_Annoreth     Malcolm_Campbell malcolm@cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk
               Tas_Felric       Mark_Giaquinto wolf%carina.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu
                    Kroda             Sam_Bell bell@sgi.com
             Sedate_Foote       Terry_Kelleher terryk@encore.com
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This campaign episode compilation is Copyright '90 by Phillip G. Everson
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You notice that Castellan is sitting at the bar, sipping his mulled
cider, thinking private thoughts.  He has the key to the cellar given
to him by Heligal Shawn, and has attended to the room and the
prisoners.  He motions to Dennis and Riandor, calling them over, "I
plan to keep watch outside the cellar door tonight, perhaps one or both
of you could keep me company, or help me with a rotating watch.  If
not, I will just sleep outside the door.  Hopefully, I will sleep
lightly."

Castellan announces to everyone that he will help to bury the dead
tomorrow, and will say a prayer to them to Torm.  He then gets up, and
mumbles something about heading for the local church to review his
actions.  "I shall be back before dusk."

"I'll watch the prisoners until you return, Castellan.  You and Riandor
can hammer it out as to who's watching what overnight.  It just won't
do to have the 'caravanmaster' sitting his royal rump on a flagstone
floor at midnight."  Dennis smiles and takes the key.  "See you later."

"Well, if you don't mind Castellan, Ill take the last part of the
night.  I was always better at waking up, than staying awake.", Riandor
interjects.

"As guarding is what I was hired for, guarding is what I will do.",
says Sedate.  "Prisoners, Bags, whatever. I'm going to get something to
drink to clear my head - must keep my senses. Besides, my head still
hurts from my last night in Saerloon." Sedate goes towards the door.

Toran slumps back into a chair, saying "Phew - say, one of us needs
check out the local information networks and see if anyone knows about
these bandits and if others might try to take their revenge.  Almarik?
Do you know of any reliable people we might get into contact with in
these parts?"

"Pagh!  Reliable!?! You don't seem to understand the nature of cut
throats," says Almarik grinning around the words. "I don't think any of
them are reliable or trustworthy,... aside from me, of course,... but I
might be able to find a few things out early tomorrow."

Riandor grins drunkenly , "Well, you'd be shurprised what peoples tells
to a drunken shtorytellersh.. ", then regains his composure. "I'll see
what I can find out in the bar, I'll trust you guys to handle the stone
for now."

Riandor has a quiet word with Castellan on the way to the door saying,
"I trust you my friend, keep an eye on this lot, some of them would
slit you ear to ear for that stone. I'd like to see it reach its
destination, for the honour of its former bearer"

"Indeed I will, Riandor, indeed I will.  Sometimes I wish I were back
on my farm, where my hardest decision was whether or not to milk the
cows now or an hour from now..." whipers Castellan to Riandor.

A few seconds later you hear Riandor's cry in the distance, "A pint or
several of your best, landlord"

"I shall be your loyal guard, my friend Dennis.", Almarik says with a
superfluous bow and a sarcastic grin, before acting very strangely; he
goes around each of the group's four small rooms tapping at the walls
with the hilt of a dagger and checking the shutters giving them a good
shake mumbling to himself.

Almarik continues to look around the room very carefully, checking
bolts, window bars, and wooden pannels, and then settles down against
the shuttered windows, and folds his arms across his chest.  "You folks
still need some guardin'.  I'll get what information Riandor doesn't on
the morrow. Now, what have we here?  And, what are we going to do
next?"

Dennis watches the conversation from the corner where he has wedged
himself, sinking as deeply as he can into the grain of the wall behind
him.  One hand toys nervously with his white forelock, winding and
unwinding it around his slender index finger.  The other rests on
Dennis' stout wooden staff.

As Almarik sits down, Dennis rises.

"There are far too many things in this world, friends, that we
never... What good are bolts, bars, and barricades against forces that
can do this?"

Dennis crosses swiftly to a barred door, raises his hands before it and
sketches a rectangle in the air.  Grasping his staff, he mouths a few
syllables, and brings his it against the door with a resounding
*CRACK!*

The door jumps, as do many of the people watching this display, but
remains firm on its leather hinges.

"Ah well.  I still can't do it." Dennis smiles ruefully. "But there are
many who can.  Don't put too much faith in locks.  Watch your backs.
I'll be watching the prisoners while Castellan runs off.  If anyone
needs me, that is."

Dennis leaves the room.

Almarik says, "It sounds to me like we have woven ourselves into the
fabric of a deeper plot with the forces of the Red Wizards!  Our final
destination seems to be Tantras, if we think Milember's will to be
honorable, but for those of you not wanting to follow his path, we can
go to Searloon and get our pay from the Paskar family... and maybe they
would know more about this mess anyway.  At least we would have funds
to work with. Milember also told us his route, and we can see what we
have in the wagons.  If we think his route safe, then we can follow it,
as if we are the simple traders he was acting as.  Or, if you think
like me, and consider his route suspect as the bandits were waiting for
him... well, that could indeed be because there is only one caravan
route from back there so they could be waiting for his return...
dispite that... we could alter his route, once we make delivery of
these goods, and work our way via a new path to Tantras.  From his
words we only have until Midsummer's Eve... and I hope the 'Bell o'er
Water' is indeed in Tantras."

"I guess those of us with honest professions expect others to behave
honestly too...  Thanks for the reminder that some people live their
lives differently from what noblemen are born to.  If we can't get any
info about who this stone and scroll belong to I suggest we head on to
Tantras, or whatever the city is and try there.  Wake me when its my
watch fellows... g'night.", Toran says as he stretches himself out on
one of the upper bunks.

He pauses after this long speech, before continuing, "My vote is that
Milember's request is honorable, for I like not the Red Wizards... and
that we attempt to finish it for him.  But we might yet be on the wrong
side of things... for now I say that what I know of his story sounds
like he was double-crossing some red organization, and we are now
accomplices.  Like it or not. At the moment, I'm not really happy with
our present situation - the bandits being taken up to the tower and all
that. I hope we can convince the guards that our prisoners were bandits
and that we aren't slavers. I hear that the 'tax' on bondsmen is a
cruel one... I'm going out for a short walk to try to get a feel for
the lie of the land roundabouts.", he says as he heads for the door.

"Here... We still haven't mastered being a team. let me come with
you... your hired thug or bodyguard if you wish, to observe the master
thief at work.", Toran says as he moves towards the door with Almarik,
grinning evilly.

Almarik grins back with a crooked smirk, and replies "At the moment,
this *team* is much too vulnerable... why not one of you even glanced
twice at the tavern, its entrances, its exits, or the situation of our
rooms. If the 'red devils' are sending bandits to slay Milember along a
single road in and out of a town, and they might think their bandits
would fail, then wouldn't you think that they would have either their
agent or more 'bandits' waiting at the only town at the end of that
road? We are still in as much hot water as we were back on the road,
only non of *you* seem to notice.  That is why you need me." He begins
to spin a dagger in his fingers, as he walks out into the courtyard.

Kroda is sat at a table dividing up the money taken from the bandits
into small piles - one for each of the group. Divided amongst so many
people, there's only enough for perhaps a few bears each.

The night passes peacefully with a guard being kept on both the wagons
and the cellar door where the prisoners have been secured.

The next morning a patrol of guards together with a captain come down
from the keep and relieve you of the prisoners. Surprisingly, they
don't ask many questions and accept your story of being attacked on the
road from Searloon. They do not ask to see any papers relating to the
caravan. It seems that the bandits are well known as thugs in the
area.

It is about now that you all notice that Nerod is missing and hasn't
been seen since sometime last night - in all the confusion you didn't
notice his absence. A quick search finds a scrap of paper on the table
in one of your rooms with the words,

"I do not care to remain with the caravan in our changed circumstances
and so am heading West towards Suzail. Should be some more stable work
that way.

Nerod"

Glancing out of the window of your main room, Castellan stiffens and
then laughs. "Look", he says pointing down into the courtyard.

Just coming through into the coutryard is a particularly large muscled
horse with a diminutive halfling perched astride it. As you watch he
reigns in the horse to a stop and leaps down dashing in through the
door into the Inn.

A few seconds later, these is a hammering on the door to your rooms.
Almarik moves behind the door drawing a dagger and Castellan steps
forward and opens it.

The halfling from down in the courtyard is standing there. He looks you
Castellan up and down before saying, "Well, aren't you going to let me
in?" He walks in past Castellan too quickly to be stopped continuing,
"I'm here to join Galier Milember's group for Tantras."

Castellan shuts the door, but Almarik doesn't put his dagger away.

The halfling says, "I'm Mortis Bottar. Here I've got a map" as he takes
the lid off a leather scrollcase hanging from his belt and pulls out a
large piece of parchment which he lays out on the table. We need to get
the tokens to Tantras just the other side of Dragon Reach... Where's
Galier?"

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                                        \/ Shar

1 Moonsea
2 Zhentil Keep
3 Hillsfar
4 Shadowdale
5 Ruins of Myth Drannor
6 Ordulin
7 Saerloon
8 Selgaunt
9 Daerlun
10 Suzail
11 Arabel
12 Westgate
13 Aglarond
14 Impilitur
15 The Great Dale
16 Telflamm
17 Thay
18 Algahon
19 Turmish
20 The Viihon Reach
21 Mulhorand
22 Chessenta
23 The Chondalwood
24 Unther

References

Phill Eversons AD&D PBEM game
malcolm@cstr.ed.ac.uk (Malcolm Campbell)
Thu, 21 Jun 1990 14:57:27 +0000