Hank, I will start with I am not fond of bards —but you know this. To have to suffer two in the expedition is a horrid kind of…thing. They turn everything into some kind of awkward musical. Alas, we have two bards on our expedition. I could see Haulid, our porter, with a missing hand -one she gets super defensive about; she also does not like bards.
Post is our scout; he is human along with the last Vatatze - do not cross her! More on that later.
We spent most of the morning soaked after crossing the Swift river. The next half of the day, we ascended the cliff adorned by two massive statues of Arden and Vul, the founders of the now-ruined city. Another torrential downpour as we arrive at the top. The landscape is vast, wild, and full of ruins. We push on through the downpour.
The last Vatatze and I take time to appreciate the Obelisk of Thoth, a cryptic monument. She aspires to be a student of the arcane. I like her best as the vengeful sword wielder.
I find what is possibly the oldest tree in the whole of creation, and I talk the elf bard into lifting me closer, so I can have a piece of it…silly elf bards.
Though it is late, we ascend the pyramid of Toth, complete with a Thoth statue accompanied by baboons. We solve the riddle to open the way -and I might sell the answer later and descend into the dark, deep chambers. Relighting torches at least once on the long way down…only to find thieves! halflings even! Little vermin attempting to racketeer us out of silvers through some licensing scheme. Post showed them our license alright, a ‘Molotov cocktail’ he called it! I promptly followed up his flaming device by unleashing a cacophony of ghastly wailing dead, the spell we learned from the traveling musty wizard with the skulls. That unsettled the lot of the rascals - I inquired if there were any Berrygroves, though I think now, I should have led with that! A brazen fellow spit at our family name, and he quickly found himself ran through with the spear of the Last Vatatze! I do like the cut of her jib! We did take one of ‘em, prisoner; the bard got him talking…but I’d tell a bard anything to keep them from singing!
All in all a good foray out and back. Covers the cost of my stay at the Yellow Cloak Inn, with plenty of silvers in my pouch and a stout pipe! Much better than those poor fellow adventures camping outside of Gosterwick, just waiting to get rolled. I wonder if they’ve gone out to the ruins yet? Hard to tell yet. Most of these folks are tight-lipped about their expeditions so far.
I didn’t seem to recognize any of the study practitioners of the mystical ways at the Arcane Club in Gosterwick. Elitest dogs, I’ll be forced to shank one or two of them before it’s all done.
Anyways, until next time Hank.
An unreliable account from a West Marches/Open table game using Freebooters on the Frontier I am enjoying being a player in. Jason Lutes is running 30+ players in the Arden Vul setting. I am jealous and excited. I am curious about the choices Jason has made about rules, and procedures and how they shape the player experiences. I’m looking at it from my run on the Mad Lands and what I would do differently now. I believe he’ll be a busy man running expeditions through the end of the year!