ORDER OF THE FLAGON : SESSION 9+10 RECAP
The party made their way back toward Anathar’s Dell. The things they had seen in forest of Cormanthor sped their steps. Forlan scouted ahead of the party, moving through the trees his sharp Elven eyes searching for any dangers. They moved through the woods, cautious of the shadows around them, fearful of what dangers might lurk there. Their luck held and they eventually left the woods behind them and moved out into the grasslands.
Several days later they arrived at the inn and met with their patron, Aldeyr and told him of their adventures, that they had found signs of a struggle, and that they suspected that the niece of the man that had hired them had met her end in the forest of Cormanthor. They showed him the broken dagger with the onyx set in the pommel. The wizard took the broken weapon and said he would pass along the bad news to his friend. They then told him of the Orcs and their fear that they meant to strike at the Dalelands. Aldeyr was shocked at this news, but assured them he would let the right people know so that a group could be dispatched to the area to deal with them.
The party took their rest, and met with Aldeyr the next day to collect their payment for finishing the search and decided they would spend the coin on items that Aldeyr had for sale. They purchased a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Strength for Rhonin, a Circlet of Blasting for Milosh, magic arrows for Forlan, and an Amulet of the Drunkard for Ulbrik. After equipping themselves they asked the Wizard if he might have work for them. He said he had a friend, a retired adventurer who lived several days north in a cabin in a secluded forest. He had not heard from this friend in some time and was anxious something may have happened to him. The party agreed to go and check on him.
That afternoon they set out north eager to be on the road and hopefully find their patron’s friend alive and well. Their journey north was uneventful and they found the wood easily enough. It was not far from the Spiderhaunt Wood, where their first adventure took place. Forlan found a well used trail that led them toward the heart of the small forest, and they soon found a small stream that flowed out into a clearing, into a small pond. On the other side of the pond stood a small cabin. It looked peaceful, a simple home in a sylvan setting. Something about it set Rhonin’s nerves on edge.
Milosh went down to the pond’s edge and thought it a nice place to try his hand at fishing. He was tempted to retrieve his fishing pole from his pack, but thought it best to focus on the task they had been sent on before seeking such pleasant past times. Forlan scouted along the edge of the treeline, searching for signs of recent passage. Ulbrik stood guard while Rhonin searched the water’s edge. They found little of interest, but as they regrouped to head to the cabin, Rhonin set off a trap, nearly falling into a pit cleverly camouflaged in the ground, barely avoiding falling into it. Sword blades lined the bottom of the pit.
The party looked at one another nervously and decided to proceed cautiously. Whoever this friend was he took his privacy seriously. Forlan moved back to the edge of the woods to stand watch while his three friends moved toward the cabin. Rhonin cleared the way, finding two more pit traps along the way. As they approached the cabin, Rhonin decided to check the stairs for traps, but before he could, Milosh walked up them. As his foot found the second step he felt the wood give a bit and heard a hiss. Rhonin grabbed the Elf to prevent him taking another step, then lowered himself to get a look under the step. He found a small metallic cylinder hooked by a thin wire to a pressure trap on the second step. Without thinking he tackled Milosh and allowed his weight and momentum to carry them both back down to the ground. As they hit the grass the trap detonated, sending a greenish - yellow cloud of gas into the area of the stairs. The three could smell a sulphuric smell and knew they had barely avoided poisonous gas.
“Who is this man?” Rhonin asked aloud as he helped Milosh up from the ground.
“Someone who does not like visitors,” the Wizard replied.
“More like someone who worries others are out to take his life,” Ulbrik grumbled.
Forlan watched from the hundred feet away under the shade of the trees. He did not hear the approach of the figure that slid up behind him from the cover of the forest.
“Grumm always was a bit overzealous about his security,” a male voice whispered from near to his left side and behind Forlan.
The Ranger spun about to find an Elf dressed in woodland garb standing a few feet behind him. The stranger had blonde hair, green eyes, and a mischievous cast to his face that immediately put Forlan at ease. Had this stranger meant him harm he could have done so easily. The long bow held in his hand held no notched arrow and was held casually down at his left side.
“You know the man in the cabin?” Forlan asked.
“I did,” the Elf replied. “We adventured together for a time some years ago. I stop in on him when I am in this area.”
“You are Dantalas,” Forlan said realizing who this stranger must be. Aldeyr and the inn keeper both had mentioned that he roamed these woods and hunted evil creatures.
“You have me at a disadvantage,” Dantalas replied.
“I am Forlan,” he said simply. “My friends and I were sent to check on this Grumm by our employer, Aldeyr.”
Dantalas lifted an eyebrow at the mention of the wizard. “So the mage still sends others to do his work for him.”
Forlan said nothing, but turned back and moved in the direction of the cabin and his friends.
Rhonin checked the porch and found another trap, a mechanical blade mechanism, near the front door. He disarmed it and as he did he thought it odd no one had come out to see what had set off the gas trap. It had been loud enough to alert anyone that might have been inside, yet the cabin remained eerily quiet. Ulbrik moved past him to look through the window, seeing a simple open room with a river stone fireplace that was cold. A table sat empty with two simple wooden chairs. An open doorway led into the back of the cabin.
Forlan and Dantalas circled around the outside of structure, each moving in an opposite direction of the other. The three on the porch noted the stranger, but felt if Forlan was comfortable with him that he must be a friend. Rhonin tried the door and found it locked. It took some time, but he was finally able to unlock it, and pushed it silently open. Peering inside the Monk saw the lower part of a body lying in a doorway to the left. The smell hit him then, the sickly sweet smell of rotting flesh, as the odor trapped in the cabin found its way out through the open door. Each of them nearly retched, but were able to keep it down.
It appeared they had found the cabin’s occupant.
Moving inside they found the corpse lying in a pool of dried blood. Slowly turning him over they found what had once been a human, older, with graying hair and simple clothing. He had been torn apart as if by some wild animal, though there was no signs of a struggle. No overturned furniture, no signs of forced entry, no sign of tracks.
Dantalas and Forlan checked all around the cabin and clearing but only found one set of human sized bootprints, and those appeared to belong to Grumm. No animal tracks, no other humanoid tracks, no signs of passage at all.
Back in the cabin Milosh cast Detect Magic, finding a ring and two daggers, still in their sheaths, on the corpse. Ulbrik found a trap door hidden beneath a rug. Rhonin took the magic items from the body as the Dwarf opened the door and found a ladder down into what appeared to be a root cellar. They climbed down and investigated, eventually discovering a secret door behind a few half empty barrels of mead. Beyond the door lay a tunnel dug out of the earth.
Exploring it the party found a room adorned with weapons, potions, and a couple of small chests of treasure.
Dantalas explained that in life Grumm Xendarth had been an assassin, and a good one. As he grew older Grumm had feared that the relatives or agents of those he had slain may come looking for him so he had retired and disappeared into the forest hoping to be forgotten by the world. Apparently someone or something had finally caught up with him. Milosh suspected magic was involved as whatever had killed Grumm had taken him unaware in his own home, and had entered without using any normal means.
Dantalas told them to take whatever they liked as Grumm would no longer have need of it and he had no family who would come in search of it. The party found poisons, healing potions, and a small amount of gold and silver. Finding nothing else they thought might be of use, they left, wanting to be out of this place as the death was unsettling and they feared that whatever had killed the assassin might be back.
Once outside, Dantalas set the cabin ablaze, saying that is the way that Grumm would have preferred it. They watched the cabin burn, but soon decided that the smoke might bring unwanted attention. They told Dantalas of the Orc warband in the area and he told them he would scout the area they marked on his map to see if the could track them down to see what they were about.
The party left the woods and headed back toward Anathar’s Dell. They hated to be the bearers of bad news, but Aldeyr would want to know of the death of his friend. They just hoped that their next task might not lead to such a grim end.
We will leave you here for now dear readers. Join us again back here in The Maze to see where the path of the Order for the Flagon may lead next. Until then, keep your swords sharp and your torches lit. Take care!
