On Sunday's Swords & Wizardry session (#20) I had the time-honored tradition of the players surprising the GM. When you are playing an online game with a lot of dungeon crawling this can be a real problem. I managed to ad-lib through it.
After last week, when the players learned of the location of the hideout of the Veiled Society, I expected they would head straight for the hideout. It was a short dungeon adventure so the day before play I added a little to it and I made sure the next adventure was ready. The party lost the NPC Dwarf Fighter they had for melee punch in the previous week so I had some NPCs added to the next adventure.
Instead, the players voted to return to Edgerton to recover from their injuries and recruit some hirelings. They figured that the Veiled Society was in hiding and would not be going anywhere. They paid town-criers and bulletin boards to advertise for a "group chaplain". If I had a little more time I might have had them get an imposter or something. But I just made up a human cleric off the top of my head with the first name I spotted online, Domago. Then they hired the local ostler's stable boy to be a horse handler for them. After several days in Edgerton, fully recovered, they returned to the King's Wood to deal with the Veiled Society. On the plus side, I am all ready for next week.
Session 20: The Veiled Society Hideout
Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elf Thief), Damago (Human Cleric of St. Aleena).
Finally, after a few days in Edgerton the Company of the Black Dragon sets out south for Cowfold. They make it to Cowfold as evening approaches without incident. The innkeeper mentions that one of the Rangers of Arkwood did come to the hamlet and pick up supplies.
The next day the four adventurers and their hireling set out with Carric leading the way. Carric tells them that he remembers the path to the former Elven watch post that they have discovered the Veiled Society is using as a hideout. They arrive at the site just before the sun goes down and make a cold camp a short distance away. From the outside, the outpost looks deserted. There is a single entranceway into the cliff face. They decide to approach it the next morning when the sun is up.
Domago and Lakima take the first watch. Domago sets out to hide just outside the campsite. Carric keeps a suspicious eye on the newcomer. Shortly after the sun goes down and the forest goes dark they spot a flickering light in the direction of the cliff outpost. Then everyone who is awake hears a pair of voices in the forest nearby. Domago goes to investigate and Carric secretly and silently follows him. They spot a pair of men dressed as mercenaries openly talking, apparently not concerned that they could be spotted. The men are walking back toward the watch post carrying a dead rabbit. Domago goes back to report what he saw with Carric shadowing him. Carric suggests that he sneak up on the men to see where they go.
Carric heads for the flickering light and comes upon a campfire near the base of a rock face a short distance from the outpost entrance. Four men are tending the fire and preparing the rabbit to cook it. The men discuss their unhappiness with their leadership and the names Emil and Antonito Radu are mentioned. He heads back to the camp and reports his findings. The adventurers decide to sleep on it and investigate the next day.
In the daylight, they investigate the rockface near the entrance to the watch post looking for another way in. Eventually, they do find the outline of a secret door near the cold firepit but they are unable to open it. The group discusses whether to wait and see if they can ambush some of the men when they exit the secret door or just go in the obvious entrance right now. They decide to wait.
As evening comes they wait in the forest near where they spotted the secret door. After sunset, the door opens and a man emerges. He starts to get a fire going in the firepit. Another man emerges and joins him. Then a third emerges and heads out into the woods. The heroes spit-up. Carric and Domago follow the man into the woods and Eathwund and Lakima move closer to the fire. After observing it for a few minutes, Lakima casts sleep, and one of the men tending the fire slumps over asleep. His companion notices and walks over to shake him awake. Lakima emerges from the shadows and casts Charm Person on him. The man falls under the thrall of the charm spell. Meanwhile, in the woods, Carric and Domago ambush the remaining man. They kill him after a brief struggle in which Carric is badly injured. Domago casts Cure Light Wounds on Carric to restore him to health. Back at the campsite Lakima’s newly charmed friend questions the shouting he can hear in the woods but Lakima assures him it is nothing.
Carric and Domago return to the fire. Lakima motions to Carric to slit the throat of the sleeping man by Domago puts a hand on Carric’s arm and shakes his head. They agree to tie up and gag the man instead. With the secret door still propped open Lakima bids the charmed man to lead them into the hideout. They come into a corridor and the man tells them to be quiet because the boss’s room is nearby. He leads them down the corridor to a guardroom to introduce them to his fellow guards.
“Hey fellows, you won’t believe who I ran into. It is those guys who caused us all those problems in Edgerton. But once you get to know them you realize they are great guys!”
There are three guards in the room, two at a table and a third in a bed. All of them are completely surprised. Domago and Eathwund rush in to attack and Carric dispatches the sleeping man. The man who was charmed becomes alarmed and attacks Carric. A bloody battle ensues and the two remaining men are killed. Knowing that the leader’s room is nearby the adventurers decide to head over to his chambers first. But before they can find the room they hear a door close a short distance away. Soon a guard comes down the corridor toward them. They set up an ambush and chase the man into the guardroom. Once he sees all of the dead bodies waiting there he agrees to surrender. He is bound and gagged and left in the chamber.
Carric checks a door in the hallway and hears nothing so he opens the door. As the door opens he sees the wire trigger for a trap he just triggered. A barrage of arrows fires out of the wall and he is struck several times and badly wounded. Domago gives him two potions of healing to recover. Chagrined, Carric carefully checks the next door. It does not appear to be trapped. Opening the door they find a storeroom piled high with crates and barrels. They check the other door in this area and find it is locked. Carric tries but he is unable to open the lock. Eathwund tries forcing the door but it is solid. Lakima suggests they try bluff the door open. Eathwund yells for Antonito (whom they surmise is behind the door) telling him they are under attack. They hear a flurry of activity through the door and then the sound of a distant door shutting.
Just then they hear more voices and footfalls coming from the direction of the guardroom. Heading back that way they see three men walking toward them. They immediately launch an attack on the men. The man at the back of the group turns and runs off into the darkness, the closest man advances with his sword ready. There is an exchange of sword thrusts. Then a fourth man emerges from an open door in the wall and casts a magic spell. The third man in the hallway chants a prayer. Once the prayer is complete Eathwund finds he is paralyzed and cannot move while Lakima fights it off. Lakima then casts Lightning bolt which bounces down the corridor hitting all three of his opponents. The cleric is killed instantly by the blast of lightning. The mage and the fighter survive but are badly burned. Eathwund then kills the fighter and advances menacingly on the mage who immediately surrenders. He tells them he is Emil Radu, one of the leaders of the Veiled Society. Emil tries to bargain for his release with the promise of passing over his stash of gold. He also gives them a key to Antonito’s chamber. Meanwhile, Carric and Eathwund run into darkness after the man who ran away. They find him in a stable trying to saddle a horse. They tell him to surrender but he attacks desperately and they end up killing him.
Taking stock of the situation the adventurers figure there must be a back entrance into Antonito’s chamber. The question Emil and he agrees but tells them he does not know where it would be located. They search and find a secret passage headed in the right direction. Carric and Lakima enter the secret passage while Domago and Eathwund head for the locked door. The key works on the door and they enter a large circular chamber with a raised platform. Eathwund climbs up to the platform just as Lakima and Carric enter through a secret door at the back of the platform. The chamber is well decorated but shows signs of being recently ransacked. There is no sign of Antonito. The adventurers realize that the head of the Veiled Society has gotten away.
Emil continues to try and bargain for his release but he loses his bargaining power when the heroes search his quarters and find the gold stash. They pack up all of the gold they find and also pack up a lot of the supplies onto a cart. They decide that they should drop by the Rangers Steading and give the supplies to the Rangers.
With the cart loaded with supplies and three prisoners, they head back to their camp.
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