From the journal of Lythande Syldorei
1st Desnus, Moonday
I had forgotten to include in my journal that when we were at Oleg's Trading Post we received a new writ from the Swordlords of Restov, offering a reward of 5,000 gold pieces for the Stag Lord. It seemed that we were truly meant to pursue this miscreant, despite his lair lying outside the borders of the territory we had been tasked to make safe.
2nd Desnus, Sunday
This morning when they woke, Chahana and Maria both told how they had experienced another dream of Nettles, but this occasion it wasn't disturbing, or not in the same way, and didn't deprive them of rest. Instead it told them the story of how the Stag Lord and his bandits had demanded Nettles give over all his wealth to them, then when he refused they slaughtered him and his family and burnt their home to the ground. Maria was especially disturbed that they had slain the Nettles family dogs.
Zander insists that he had no such dream, but Reislin and I doubt he is speaking the truth. He also swore the oath to Nettles.
We've come the place where the Shrike and Thorn rivers meet, which provides a ford for us to cross over the river and seek the fort the Stag Lord reportedly holds. To the south of us lies the lake called the Tuskwater, and the fort is said to stand on its shores. Chahana examined the fording point and found no sign that anyone had crossed recently.
After crossing the ford we found the land still rolling as it is to the north. We can see the forest of the Narlmarches to the west.
Late in the day as we reached the peak of a hill, we could see a taller hill in the distance from which a plume of smoke issued. There appeared to be a structure on the hill's bald peak. As we suspected this might be the bandit fort, Chahana and Zander volunteered to go down and take a closer look, Zander's sharp eyes serving to help Chahana find her way in the waning light.
After darkness had come, Chahana and Zander returned to report that the structure was indeed a ruined fort, surrounded by a crude wooden palisade and occupied by an unknown number of men. Three wooden watchtowers looked out over the palisade. They had also discovered an overgrown trapdoor on the hillside.
We conferred for a time over whether we should attack them now or wait until daylight, but quickly came to agree that attacking after midnight would be our best chance as most of the bandits might be sleeping. We would attempt to enter through the trapdoor. We took a short rest until the appointed hour arrived, then left the wagon and horse behind as we crept down to the fort, Zander and I leading the others as only we can see in the darkness and though the sky is clear it is a new moon.
We managed to scrape away the soil and grass from the trapdoor and pry it open, then crept inside before Maria cast a spell of illumination on her shield. The tunnel was low, obliging all of us to walk in a stoop, but Reislin affirmed that the structure was still sound. After a short distance we came to a second trapdoor. Zander prised this one open and peered up cautiously, then informed us that it exited into a storage area beneath a flight of stairs.
We climbed out and gathered around the foot of the stair. Maria transferred her light to a pebble and put it in her pocket. To one side stood a crudely built wooden wall with many gaps large enough to pass a hand through. On the other side was the stone structure of the original fort. It was quiet.
Zander made his way along the wooden wall and peered through one of the gaps, catching sight of a man who left another space to Zander's left and walked into a larger room in which several men slept on benches. Up above he could see one of the watchtowers and a walkway that led to a second tower. The towers were manned as he and Chahana had observed earlier, but they each had only one small window for looking out. There was also something underneath the nearest tower.
Chahana joined Zander, and caught sight of a man who seemed to be listening, as if he had heard her movement. She watched to see if he reported this to anyone but there was no outcry. She decided to climb quietly up the stairs and cross to the watchtower to eliminate the sentries there.
Later on she told how when she reached the watchtower the man on duty happened by chance to hear the walkway creak and appeared in the doorway. He was quite shocked by her appearance and she shot him before he could react. He died without a sound. Then she went into the tower and pushed his body over the side into the narrow space between the tower and the palisade.
After Chahana had dealt with the first watchman, she put on his hat to disguise herself and crossed the walkway to the next tower. The man there noticed her soon enough to fire his own bow, but his shot went well wide. He half-shouted a warning to the others below. Chahana shot him in return and he collapsed.
Reislin had gone to peep through the wooden plank wall, and I joined her. I heard a noise, which was the watchman above shouting to his fellows, so I told Reislin to remain where she was thinking it would be safe for her as there was no exit through the wall on that side. I then ran to warn Zander, who was around the corner of the stone wall. He informed me he had heard horses beyond the wall. Both of us moved to the far end of the stone wall, which had no opening, until we came to the area just inside the gate, under the third tower. There were two ill-treated horses there tethered below the tower. A light spilled from an opening beyond the poles that supported the tower.
Maria had run up the stairs after Chahana, but once the cry went up she jumped from the tower, landing before a room that lay underneath the first tower. That was where the first person Zander had seen had come from. Inside this room Maria saw a filthy bed occupied by a many clearly deep in his cups, a bottle still dangling from his hand. On his head he wore a mask in the form of a stag's head with antlers. Maria cast a warding spell upon herself and entered the room with her sword in her hand.
Chahana also jumped down from above and spied the same man in the room. The man dropped his bottle and began to shout loudly.
Just as I was about to round the corner and head for the light, I saw a bandit come out onto the walkway overhead, followed by two more. Only one man had a bow. To my surprise I heard the second man, who was cleaner and looked healthier than his comrade, say, "I've strayed too far from my lord," as he drew something from the front of his tunic. Then he took the dagger he held and stabbed the bowman. Afterward he looked down at me and nodded, then headed toward the stairs leading down from the tower.
Just after he left another man emerged onto the bridge, but this man I recognized: it was Holk*, the massive brute who had been driven away from Restov for attacking everything within reach. He clutched in his hands a huge club and what appeared to be a child's toy dragon. I decided to pay him no mind for the moment as he showed no interest in me, and I followed Zander.
Zander and I faced a roomful of bandits, but several of them were sleeping, one on the floor, which led me to suspect that Reislin was responsible for their slumber. One man rushed out to attack me but his blade scraped off my shield. I could see one man still awake who was pulling on a rope, seemed to have opened a door. Something beyond that door roared in animalistic rage.
The gate or door burst asunder as a large creature covered in fur and feathers erupted through it, clearly enraged. The man who had been trying to bring it out fled from it back toward where Chahana and Maria battled the Stag Lord.
Just as the beast burst free of its prison, Holk jumped down from above and swung his club at Zander. When he landed he crushed one of the sleeping men. His club also dealt Zander a crushing blow.
While Zander and I fought Holk, Chahana and Maria struggled with the Stag Lord, who despite wearing no armor and little clothing proved to be quite resistant to wounds. Reislin aided them by pointing her wand through the gaps in the wall and firing her tiny unerring missiles at him. The man who had run away went to the Stag Lord's aid, making the battle more difficult for my friends.
Holk bashed Zander with his club again and I saw that he was suffering. I laid my hand upon him and called on Sarenrae's healing light. Holk was oblivious to the raging beast behind him. Zander managed to stab the huge brute several times,wielding his sword with both hands. Then the beast attacked him as well. It had already slain two of the bandits who lay helplessly sleeping outside its prison.
Another two-handed attack from Zander left Holk staggered. Suddenly the man from the bridge appeared behind me. I realized he bore the holy emblem of Erastil. I asked him if he could do anything with the furious creature. By this time Holk had fallen to the ground unconscious, leaving nothing between the beast and Zander. The man responded that he did not have that kind of knowledge, and to my surprise he moved in to attack the creature, saying, "I'm Akoris. Remember me if I die." The beast grabbed him in its claws and snapped its beak-like maw on his flesh.
I dropped my scimitar and drew out the boar spear I had won, stabbing it at the beast but it dodged my thrust. To my surprise Akiros seemed to have entered a state of battle frenzy and was slashing at the beast with his sword.
A pair of Reislin's missiles shot from behind and struck the monstrous creature. It had already been slashed several times by Zander and I managed to make a good thrust at it, after which it slumped to the ground and released Akiros. I went to him and administered the Dawnflower's blessing to him, then gave the same care to Zander.
Chahana and Maria reported that the Stag Lord was dead, though he had been difficult to bring down. Chahana then went back up to the second tower to check on the man she had felled with her arrow. When she carried his unconscious form back down, we discovered that he was Falgrim Sneeg, the man Kesten Garess had set a bounty on after the man stole from the mercenary company and fled. Truly Sarenrae has blessed us to allow us to remove the Stag Lord and his bandits from this territory and also capture the craven thief Sneeg.
Reislin told us the creature was an owlbear, which none of us had ever seen before. We at first desired to free it to the wilds, but it had been badly mistreated by the bandits and we feared it would attack people or livestock if we let it go, and we were not prepared to take on the task of trying to tame it, nor did we have any practical way to transport it to Erastil's temple as Chahana suggested. In the end we decided it would be more merciful to take its life, though this was hurtful especially to Zander, who has spent many years among the druids and feels much kindness toward wild creatures. Chahana took upon herself the task of ending its life of suffering.
Akiros then told us about himself, describing a tale of woe in which he had begun as a holy warrior of Erastil who had been betrayed and accused of a crime he did not commit. This led him to a life of a vagabond and a criminal and finally to the Stag Lord. He regretted this, but was uncertain if he could return to the Deadeye's embrace. I suggested to him that he might consider my lady Sarenrae as she offers redemption, but I don't know if he will take my recommendation. Maria and I are satisfied though that he is not a threat to us. When we asked about the tale we had heard of someone being kept beneath the fort, he showed us the trapdoor down to the cellar.
In the cellar we found the corpse of an old man who had clearly been beaten and abused before he starved to death. According to Akoris this was the Stag Lord's father. I felt no regret that we had slain the Stag Lord, not even when the removal of his minimal armor revealed that he too bore the scars of abuse upon his body.
A search of the fort and the fallen bandits revealed a considerable amount of coins, gems, weapons, armor, tools, and trade goods they had robbed from the poor people of this land. The stag helm was enchanted, as were the wearer's belt, bracers, and leggings. Reislin told us that these pieces together acted as though he wore leather armor, hence his lack of a shirt or any armor covering his chest. On the upper level of the ruined fort we found a bedroll and a collection of child's toys. I wonder if those were Holk's.
Our wagon will be full of goods when we return to the trading post. We will send the Stag Lord's helmet to Restov as proof we have fulfilled the writ, and take his head to Nettles. I hope that will send him to Pharasma's arms at last.
We rested that night at the fort, though it was not a pleasant place. The bandits were all filthy and everything was covered in blood after our battle. Perhaps we will be able to find someone to restore the place in time.
End of Book 1. Characters are now 4th level.
*The character is called Auchs in the adventure but the GM changed his name to Holk.
Next: part 9, Attending to Business
