Tales of the Bard 002

A businessman and an earless goblin

Abe welcomed our weary travellers back to Ostwick and offered them good work. “I need a good crew to head on down to Proteria and make sure the roads are clear of highwaymen” Little did Abe know of the coming tide. The party decides to make preperations for the road, as well as find someone to decipher their little goblin text they found. Well let me tell you, a sorry soul is a pedler who depends on a dancing earless goblin named smitty to earn his supper. Old Joe Treark was all too eager to get his goblin meal ticket to translate the note Seig had found at the highwaymen encampment. By Joe's translation the note read: “We need ~~ move ~~~~~ position, they ~~~~ been pushing ~~~ further and further, ~~~~ supplies ~~~~~~~~~ brothers and sisters ~~~ join ~~~~~~~.”. Smitty also did a nice little dance for the party seeing as they paid for him and Joe to eat like kings for the next few weeks.

Decidedly the party thought it prudent to warn the local guardsmen and do a perimeter walkabout to see if there was any goblin activity in the works. Well let me tell you, Dex and Jaspyr tried to talk some sense into Jeb Thornsvein(current head guardsmen due to the local militia's best and brightest being up north with lord Brightholm). Jeb wasn't too worried about it, goblins he said “aren't smart enough” to give Ostwick much trouble. Meanwhile Aranel, Seig and Heimdel found some goblin tracks but they were weeks old and not in great numbers.

Pull up a stool

Our intreped adventurers decide to spend the night telling stories drinking and oogling poor barmaid Molly at the Lambs Head inn. Had Molly known what was to happen that night maybe she would have taken the brazen and drunk dwarf Heimdel, up on his various, and numerous winks, leers, and offers. As Jaspyrs eyes get squintier, his slurry more apparent and his cup empty, Seig tells a tale of slavery, gladiators and rebith into religion. Aranel keeps to him self, preferring the company of his bow to that of the dozens of strangers and his new travelling companions that mill about at the Lambs Head inn. And local douchebag Lance Hoodfelt sends multiple stink eye's towards Dex, free of charge of course. All in all, a good evening for our Hero's, were the world to end tomorrow their souls would be content and full of life.

12/4th/735ce

Hero's of Ostwick

As the night turned into predawn morning Seig is awakened by the sounds of guardsmen shouting. Springing to the window Seig notes a thick fog has set in to obscure any view his window should normally portray. As the others wake some hear goblin noises among the clashes of swords shields and shouts from the guardsmen. Aranel and Heimdel rush down to the street to get a better view of events, sure enough goblins are running through the streets. The strange thing though that Aranel points out is that the fog is not of the natural world. Greenish gray in hue and a heavy musk to its scent, the very presence of this fog makes everyone uneasy. As Heimdel causes a panic with the less seasoned travellers staying at the inn, Seig makes them wet their breeches, ordering them to remain “calm” and in their rooms. The party heads out into the unknowable fog. Many goblins dart past, almost shadows on the fog, and they refuse to engage our fellowship, who wouldn't mind expanding their ear collection. Then it dawns on Heimdel first, these goblins aren't invading....they are running from something.

Thrum Thrum Thrum

Aranel hears an army sized force opproaching the blind and ill prepared sleepy town of Ostwick. As Dex is “advising” Jeb to begin an evacuation and light the 6 story hilltop signal tower, the eerie thrum thrum thrum is shatterd by the piercing screams of a young boy running towards the party. Some 20 feet away, the boy is suddenly pounced upon by what appears to be a Proterian armoured man. As the Party rushes in to help the boy they can note the gruesomely twisted features of the assaulting man. Bloodsoaked clothing, sickly skin and black tendril like veins jutting over his bare skin. Over developed jaw and claws this didn't seem so much like a man anymore. Seig was first to the abomination but Dex managed to wrest the Proterian from the boy. That boy would live another day thanks to our hero's. After 2 more Blighted Proterians join the fray the first one pounces upon Dex looking to replace his lost meal. After escaping the sickly grasp, the party fights on. Our pouncing Proterian tries one last time and as he leaps towards Dex Heimdel rings true with his trusty sap covered warhammer. The hammer swiftly knocks the jumper out of the air and crushing its spine back into the ground which it so briefly left.

As battles erupt throughout Ostwick the party sees a guardsman plummeting out of the top of the signal tower to his death. The decision to go up the tower and light it themselves weighs a heavy burden on our hero's. I suppose that is why they are the “Heros of Ostwick” in this tale, and not just “they guys that ran away” or some such.

Quickly they make their way up the tower, encountering waves blighted men, hounds and soldiers. Seig turned to use his peoples gift on the shambling masses following them up the tower. Freezing and shattering their life and limbs to tumble down the cold hard stone steps. Heimdel and Jaspyr face ravenous dogs with the same blight veins. Now no one today knows what got into the dwarf that day, if he was in the moment, stepping up to his responsibility or just the crusted sap and leaves caked onto his warhammer, but that hammer rang true, over and over again. Heimdel surely this moment was meant for you.

At the top of the signal tower a large beast of a man crouched in waiting, supping at another poor guardsmen while jumpers skittered about him for 'scraps'. Our party fought on and through to avenge that guardsmen and the dozens others that were slaughtered that day. Aranel made quick work to light the signal fire and send warning all the way to Eastbourne of their demise.

Successfull in their task, this did not come without cost. Wave after wave of blighted climbed up the tower after our Hero's. In the end however they could not fight off an entire army. Piles of the slain tumbled down the tower, and still it was not enough. In their last conscious moments the party could see the thousands of men swarming through Ostwick along with giant masses of the unknown towering over the fog. And as a last breath of hope, they could see the twinkling light off in the distance of the next signal tower being lit in response to their warning. Take some solice in that, take some pride.