HM | B2-LittleKeep / Session 1

Lost in the woods of the Borderland

The wizards trade spells and the cleric prays for healing (and guidence) while they try to find a path thru the wilderness. There may or may not have been a fifth donkey - we're not talking.

The Little Keep

Our (reluctant) heroes stumble on the Keep by sheer luck (or plot twist). They are saved!

The Gauntlet

As they approach the keep, the party is approached by a horde of halfings, begging money, offering services, slipping nimble fingers close to belt pouches, and lamenting the plight of their ickle children. Vanessa, a born sucker for babies in need if ever there was one, offers some coins, starting a rush for more coins for children. "Children." "Babies." Etc. Our more street-savvy Noer grabs the naive cleric and pushes through the crowd, fending off inquisitive hands, and giving a quick spiel about getting further aid at the temple of Sumar-Fareen. Oleum, noticing a halfing with fingers on his belt pouch, manages to kick the little blighter - in the head! He goes over backwards, and the rest of the horde disperses a little bit, the lure of immediate coin tempered by risk of steel-toed boots and the promise of future coin.

Abe, bless his heart, realizes too late that someone took his belt pouch.

The Outer Gate

Our Heroes are met at the Gate by a welcoming committee of several soldiers in the Keep's livery and a scribe. More soldiers watch all the proceedings from the battlements. The characters are called forward one at a time and asked their name, the spelling thereof, their business, travelling companions, and a few other questions. The guards (whose names turned out to be Nargus and Gnat. Nargus is the one with the mustache) didn't put up with much in the way of crap, much preferring to dish it out.

Vanessa. As it turns out however, the guards were unprepared to deal with the sincere eagerness of the priestess of Sumar-Fareen. Indeed, they didn't believe who she was at first, but were forced to accept her words as truth after employing some minor magical item (or they were pulling the party's collective legs the whole time). After trying to dig further into the party's business several times and running into a perfectly artless lack of information, they decided to let Vanessa pass.
Xylien. Xy was very respectful and clear when questioned and was waved through almost immediately.
Noer. I'm sure Noer almost got himself thrown into prison, but I can't remember any details, so I guess he got away with it.
Reginold. No one can remember Reginold Oswold Frank Eloy's name, including his player. But he did manage to convince the guards he was relatively harmless, after getting warned off casting spells in the keep.
Oleum. Oh, Oleum. Oleum named all his traveling companions well enough....except Frank. He wouldn't budge on Frank, and the guards weren't putting up with anyone not playing their game - they told him to wait, and made him *wait*.

The party paid a 5cp/donkey animal entrance fee, but Noer smelled something funny and refused to pay the 2sp "Helmet Tax" - he added a little on top of the animal fees and the scribe took it before Nargus (Mustache) could say anything.

Quote of the Day

"Veeeeeeeee." . . . . . . . . . . . . "Aaaay." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Ennnn." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Eeeeeeee." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . etc.

Note: Vanessa's player informs me, years after the session, that they could not, in fact, remember how to spell Vanessa's name. Okay, then. --GM

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