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Chapter 2: A Blighted Land

Turn 43: Street Fighter Men

As the last surviving rat-man fled, Luger cast an incantation intended to stop the creature in its tracks (cast hold person) and called out to Aseneth at the same time:

“Aseneth!” he shouted. “Can you hit the fleeing rat-man with another volley of missiles? We must kill these vermin before they can harm more innocents!”

Even as the sorceress gritted her teeth and fired off more missiles, Nanoc, having heard her scream when she was bitten by the rat, literally leapt to her side, yelling, “I am here, Asya!”

As he landed, Nanoc’s greataxe cut the rat that had bitten Aseneth clean in half (attack: 16+12=28; hit; 20 damage). Unfortunately, the rat he had been facing took advantage of his distraction to bite him in the heel, its teeth sinking right through his thick leather boots (hit for 4 points; fortitude save: 10+6=16; success).

Like Nanoc, Karzak used his axe to slash one of the rats to pieces (attack: 18+8=21; hit; 11 damage), but he too was bitten by one of the others (hit for 4 points; fortitude save: 11+8=19; success).

Danton missed the rat nipping at his own feet and legs (attack: 1+5=6; miss), but he did manage to leap out of the way when it lunged at him, and the thing’s teeth missed his legs by a matter of inches.

Even as he moved closer to Aseneth to try to help Nanoc protect her from the rats, Luger kept his gaze fixed far down Old Ford Road as the moving target that was the rat-man dodged and weaved amongst the wreckage of carts and stands, as well as confused fairgoers who had still not cleared the street. He watched for some sign that his spell had worked, but then it became a moot point—all three of Aseneth’s magical projectiles slammed into the rat-man, blasting him off his feet and sending him careening into a fruit stand. Apples, oranges, and every kind of berry imaginable went flying, right before the stand and the rat-man smashed through the window of a shop behind the stand with a spectacular crash.

“Nice shooting,” complimented Luger, as he used Geistblatt to eviscerate one of the remaining rats (attack: 18+6=24; hit; 5 damage).

“This is more like it!” bellowed Karzak as he cut apart yet another rat (attack: 10+8=18; hit; 12 damage). “This is how me axe is s’posed ta work!”

The last rat was left for Aseneth and Nanoc. It bit Nanoc again (hit for 2 points: fortitude save: 5+6=11; failure) just before Aseneth hit it on the head, stunning the creature and causing it to freeze in its tracks. This gave Nanoc an easy opportunity to cut it in half (attack: 8+12=20; hit; 15 damage).

And with that, the confused melee was over. The street immediately around the party was all but deserted, save for a few vendors cowering behind the wreckage of their carts and stands, but farther down the road in both directions a few people could be seen gazing towards the party.

With the fight over, Karzak ran his fingers along the edge of his axe. “Now, what in the name a' all that be strange an' odd in this outside world be wrong with me fightin' axe that it dinna do anything ‘gainst those beasties?”

“I believe these ‘men’ were were-beasts,” said Luger. “Do not let them bite you or you will likely become one of them, and I am not yet powerful enough to remedy that. Only silver or magic has any effect on the foul creatures. Fortunately, I do not believe anyone was bitten by them.”

“I dunno,” said Karzak with a smirk. “Hey, Nanoc, did yer lassie git bitten by them rat-men? If so, she ginna be lookin' a wee bit worse then me an' even possibly you. Har! Har! Har!”

“Even the bite of the rats could be dangerous,” said Luger. “I will need to cast curing spells on everyone that was bitten. I do not have so many such spells ready now, but I can take care of Aseneth immediately, and the rest of you later today or tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Luger,” said the sorceress when he cast one of his more powerful healing spells on her (cure moderate wounds: +15 HP).

“Healin’, schmeelin,” said Karzak. “Even though these creatures dinna make me break a sweat, I be in need of an ale! Let’s go find a place ta quench me thirst.”

“That would be unwise,” said Luger. “We need to make straight for the temple of Heironeous—at least all those who were bitten need to do so. There should be more powerful clerics there who can ensure no infections have set in.”

“Ya think Asya could be getting’ sick ‘cause o’ those rats?” asked Nanoc.

Ignoring Luger, Karzak turned to Danton, “So, smooth-face, what was all this talk 'bout the halfling lasses? Ya ginna be countin' me in an' all?”

“I cannot be certain,” said Luger in response to Nanoc’s question. “We should go to the temple to rule out the possibility.”

“Then let’s get goin!” blurted Nanoc. “I don’t want nuthin’ bad happenin’ ta Asya!”

“I suppose there is little else for Danton Verbrugge to do here in Woodstock save to debase himself yet again,” said the Velunese to Karzak, “but perhaps we might least first acquire lodging for the night and a place to stow our gear ere the debauchery doth commence.”

“Fair ‘nuff,” said Karzak. He then turned back to Luger. “So, do ya false god allow ya ta indulge in some exotic passions with the little lasses? Har! Har! Har!”

“Heironeus does not require his priests to be chaste,” said the cleric, “but I do not see myself ‘frolicking with the halfling lasses of Woodstock’ as Danton put it. I find myself attracted to human women and I do not think I can overcome that simple bias. Ale is another matter altogether. I'll be happy to share drink with my friends—but only after we are sure that no one is infected by rat bites.”

“Yer loss,” said Karzak. “More fer me, Danton, an' big Nanoc here, me be thinkin'.”

Before the discussion could go any further, four members of the town guard finally arrived on the scene. Wearing red tabards and chainmail like those at the gate, the soldiers approached the group cautiously, coming down Old Ford Road from the northeast with swords drawn as if they expected additional trouble might leap out of an alleyway at any moment.

“What in the world happened here?” asked one of the guards as he and his fellows approached.

“Were-rats,” said Luger. “Creatures able to switch back and forth between rat and human form—as well as having a hybrid form in between. You and the rest of the guard have certainly done a poor job of protecting the townspeople and the fairgoers. Had we not been here to slay the were-rats and their rat minions, many people would have been killed.”

“It’s true!” shouted one of the merchants, finally crawling out from behind his wrecked pottery stand. “Those rat-things were destroying everything till these folks showed up an’ killed ‘em all! The guard did nothing to help! Nothing as usual!”

After this shout, the floodgates were opened, and merchants and passersby seemingly appeared out of the woodwork to denounce the town guard and its passivity, even as they praised the adventuring party for eliminating the threat to the fair. This verbal barrage unsettled the guards, and they became even more shaken when they examined the bodies of the rat-men. To the surprise of the party, not one of them said a single word to anyone about the group having removed the ‘peace-bonds’ on their weapons and other equipment.

While Luger kept the guards busy and provided them additional details of the party’s encounter with the were-rats, Danton made the most of the opportunity to search the bodies of the creatures for anything of value. The three killed close at hand carried nothing of note, but the one who had fled—and been blasted through a shop window—had several unusual items in his possession. Aside from what appeared to be a very well made rapier and a fine set of thieves’ tools, the dead creature carried a scroll and two potion vials. One of the latter had shattered and spilled its contents during the trip through the window, but the second remained intact, and Danton scooped it up, along with the toolkit, the scroll and sword.

Luger took advantage of the gratitude of the merchants and the discomfiture and uncertainty of the guards to question the former, right in front of the latter, as to whether attacks by rat-men were a common occurrence in Woodstock. It seemed most strange to the cleric that such creatures would attack the crowded fair in broad daylight. Luger had no experience with lycanthropes, but he had a great deal with thieves and assassins and knew well that they rarely launched such public, showy assaults (Luger gather information: 19).

One merchant, who seemed more than a little unhinged by the attack, said: “There haven’t been any attacks like this before, but something’s been wrong for a while. The captain of the guard, a fellow named Merdick Forren, disappeared somewhere in Chatterstreet Market the day before the fair began, and the guard hasn’t done much ever since. But I expect this attack will lead the baron to make a speech in the morning. You’ll know it’s going to happen when you hear the heralds’ trumpets.”

A young man picking up woodcarvings off the street and trying to place them all back onto a bent and twisted cart had the following to add, “There’ve been a number of really nasty murders in Southspur lately—no bodies were ever found, but people have gone missing and the sheer quantity of blood found in the neighborhood in the mornings makes it pretty clear what happened to ‘em.”

Beyond these ‘clues’, for whatever they were worth, Luger picked up little information that made any sense. One thing was clear, the streets of Woodstock had a lot of problems of late and there were all manner of wild rumors as to what the cause of it all was.

By the time Luger had gathered this much information, the rest of the party was anxious to get moving again. With Luger’s own admonitions in mind, Nanoc insisted that they take Aseneth straight to the temple of Heironeous, while Danton and Karzak wanted to secure rooms at the Stony Gaze. The group thus diverged, agreeing to meet at the inn in Eastgate for dinner in several hours.

***

The temple of Heironeous in Woodstock, really more of a shrine or church given its small size, was located in West Hill, not too far south and west of the baron’s keep. It was a simple single level wooden structure with the lightning bolt symbol carved on the front door. When Luger knocked on the door, a young blond woman approximately his own age, wearing platemail engraved with the same symbol as the door, opened the portal.

“Luger Borchardt,” said the cleric, “a fellow servant of the Invincible in need of assistance. These are my associates Nanoc and Aseneth, and both have been bitten by rats in the company of lycanthropes. May we come in?”

The young woman blinked once before nodding. “Of course.” She spun on her heel and led the group inside the small structure, which Luger and the others could now see was really little more than a house with a small shrine in the room just inside the doorway. A second armored woman, this one perhaps twenty years older than the first and with darker hair, emerged from a back room.

“This is Torea,” said the younger woman, “and I’m Alein. We maintain the shrine.”

When Luger explained what had happened at the fair and how both Aseneth and Nanoc had been bitten by rats, Torea healed the wound Nanoc had taken from the rat bite (gain 6 HP) and she then did something else that the barbarian did not really understand, laying her hands on his arm and somehow drawing forth the vague nausea that he had felt ever since the melee (Remove Disease). Alein did the same with Aseneth.

When the pair were done with their healing, the whole group sat down around the shrine and Luger explained how and why the party had come to Woodstock, apprising his fellow clergy members of the rise of the cult of Tharizdun and what had transpired in Hommlet. He told the women of the group’s plans to travel to Rastor to thwart the cult at the Temple of All-Consumption and noted that any information or assistance towards this end that they might be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.

”What a story,” said Torea when Luger had finished his tale. “It is all new to us, but if you are right, it might explain a great many things. Something has simply felt wrong in Woodstock for some time now. We had thought it an isolated problem—something troubling the town, but with this cult you mention and their efforts to bring about the end of the world as we know it, perhaps the malaise and troubles here are part of something larger. But as for the Kron Hills, we can offer little help. The way is closed and neither of us had ever been south of the hills even before the gnome insurrection began.”

“What else can you tell me of the troubles of the town?” asked Luger.

This time it was Alein who answered. The young woman’s eyes grew wide and she said, “There are a lot of stories—and a lot of problems, murders and disappearances in Southspur, thieves shaking down merchants in Chatterstreet Market, and then there’s the Laughing Ghost of West Hill.”

“Oh, please, Alein, not that story again!” complained Torea.

The young woman ignored her superior and plunged on: “I’ve heard it, Torea. Weird, unnatural laughter in the night right here in this neighborhood! Some people say an old scholar, driven mad by his explorations into things mortals were not meant to know, took his own life and his ghost now haunts the neighborhood. I’ve only heard the laughter when I’m alone on the street at night, but others say they’ve actually seen things—specters in the dark and strange otherworldly creatures.”

“A lot of nonsense,” remonstrated Torea. “This town has a crime problem that the baron and his guard can’t seem to handle—that much is fact. The rest is hysteria, probably cooked up by halfling storytellers down by the river.”

“This is rilly interestin’ an’ all,” said Nanoc, “but we ain’t gonna be in town long an’ we gots lots ta do ‘fore we heads on. It was real nice meetin’ ya ladies, but Asya an’ I gotta be goin. Luger, you kin stay an’ talk more if ya want.”

“I will go with you for now Nanoc,” said the cleric, “but if it’s all right with the two of you,” he added, addressing Alein and Torea, “I’d like to stay at the shrine tonight in order to be able to pray and commune with the Valorous Knight in the company of fellow priests. It has been far too long since I was last in a town with a shrine such as this.”

“Of course,” said Torea, “you may stay as long as you like. We have extra bunks in back for just such a purpose. And it has been some time since we last had a visitor. We would welcome your company.”

***

By the time Luger, Nanoc, and Aseneth made their way into the Eastgate neighborhood and approached the East Gate of the city, where the Stony Gaze was built on the main road leading to the gate and out of town, the dinner hour was approaching and the trio was pleased to discover that Danton and Karzak had somehow managed to secure two rooms for the party. Considering how crowded the town was with visitors to the fair, finding two rooms was a minor miracle. Nanoc and Aseneth took one room, leaving the other for Karzak and Danton since Luger would be staying at the shrine of Heironeous.

Over dinner and a round of the famous Delkin wine, purchased for all by Nanoc, in the inn’s common room, Danton sought to engage several serving staff, as well as other guests at the inn, on the subject of travel through the Kron Hills and where he might best find a guide for such a journey (gather information: 15+9=24). Virtually everyone the Velunese talked to advised him strongly against making any trip through the hills. Danton heard story after story of how the gnomes of the hills had closed the road south. For several years now, every group that went south along the old trade road from Woodstock ended up coming back frustrated a few days later, having been forced to turn around by armed, obstinate gnomes in large numbers. Other groups had never come back, but had never turned up on the southern side of the hills either, or at least so the common wisdom had it.

In fact, the only small bit of encouragement Danton heard came from one serving girl, who mentioned an ‘elven smuggler’ who sometimes passed through Woodstock and claimed to have traversed the hills since they were ‘closed’ by the gnomes. But as for the name or present whereabouts of this smuggler, if he really existed, the serving girl claimed to know nothing, and no one else Danton queried had even heard of such a person.

After dinner, with an hour or two of daylight left, the party left the Stony Gaze and went in three different directions. Luger wanted to visit the market district and then return to the shrine for the night, while Nanoc wanted to take Aseneth into Southspur to the wresting pits, hoping for the opportunity to show off for the sorceress. Although Danton would have preferred to be more discreet, Karzak announced to everyone within earshot that he and the Velunese were off to the halfling riverboat encampment to go ‘whoring’ for the night.

***

Although the chaos of the fair and the crowds that had returned all along Old Ford Road after the disturbance earlier in the day was cleaned up made it somewhat difficult for Luger to find the specific merchants he sought, eventually he was able to do so simply by walking systematically up and down Old Ford and all the nearby side streets. First the cleric sold the cockatrice feathers he had recovered from the moathouse to a scribe (gain 80 gp), then he purchased additional healing herbs (healing kit-50 gp) to restock his collection of medicinal items. Finally, Luger found a potion maker willing to sell him a strong healing draught (cure moderate wounds) and five vials of Furyondian Fire for 400 gold. The high price for the latter items could not help but make the cleric miss Spugnoir and the generous discount he always gave the party when they were in Hommlet.

Aside from these sales and purchases, Luger inquired with each merchant he met as to the troubles plaguing the town (diplomacy: 4, 16, 14). Some of the merchants were rather abrupt, clearly not wanting to waste time on talk when there were other customers about and money to be made, but others were happy to share their opinions and pass on the latest gossip and rumors. Unfortunately, none of this seemed particularly substantive or useful, and by the time it was finally getting dark and Luger made his way to West Hill for the night, he had learned little that was new. Alein and Torea welcomed him into the shrine, he offered them his regular tithe (50 gold), and the trio spent the remainder of the evening in prayer and conversation before turning in.

***

When Nanoc and Aseneth departed the Stony Gaze to venture into Southspur, both left most of their money and more valuable items at the inn under the protection of the sorceress’ viper. Nanoc carried only his axe—to deter any troublemakers—and 100 gold for wagers on his wrestling. Nanoc had not really thought about such precautions the last time he was in Woodstock, but then again, he’d had little worth stealing at that point.

Southspur was much as the barbarian remembered it. Once he and Aseneth headed west from Eastgate Way, the neighborhood deteriorated rapidly. Most of the streets were dirt, rather than cobblestone, and an unpleasant smell rose from the crowded rowhouses and narrow alleyways between them. The heat of summer had eliminated the pools of stagnant water that had filled the area when Nanoc was last here, but the number of thugs lounging about on stoops and street-corners seemed to have increased as if to compensate for the lack of fetid water. Nanoc could not help but notice the way that every single one of these men and boys stared at Aseneth as she walked by with him. The locals were bold enough, or stupid enough, to ignore the glares that Nanoc shot back at them.

Though the fair generally did not extend much into this rough neighborhood, at least a few groups of entertainers had decided to set up a stage in Southspur, hoping to find an attentive audience. When Nanoc and Aseneth were still several blocks away from the wrestling pits, they drew near one such group of entertainers. Prancing about in the back of a wagon, a trio of halfling actors was engaged in a lame farce, though the object of their lampooning was not immediately obvious. Passersby slowed their pace for a moment, watching, then shook their heads and moved on.

Suddenly, just as Aseneth and Nanoc drew near, the back curtain of the stage on the wagon was torn open to reveal a massive, gray-skinned humanoid with wild black hair and no eyes. It lifted an axe high over its head, apparently savoring the screams of terror this produced from all directions, while more of its kind spilled onto the stage and the surrounding street.

[Initiative: Nanoc: 9, Aseneth: 21, Humanoids: 2]

“Asya! Helping!” shouted Nanoc, pointing towards the gray humanoid standing over the actors on the stage. The barbarian might have leapt onto the cart himself, but that would have left the sorceress alone to be mobbed by the other four creatures.

Responding with the blink of an eye, Aseneth fired off magical projectiles that slammed into the axe-wielding humanoid and blasted it off the back of the cart before it could bring its weapon down on the terrified halflings.

The remaining four creatures made no distinction between Nanoc, Aseneth, and the screaming and running actors and inhabitants of Southspur. Two of the creatures ran down and struck down a pair of panicked half-elves, while the other two stalked towards Nanoc. The barbarian cut the legs out from the first one (attack: 20+12=32; potential critical hit; 2^nd roll to determine critical: 18+12=30; critical hit: 45 damage) in a strike that could have felled a horse.

The second gray creature hit Nanoc with its own axe before he could recover from his swing (9 damage). The barbarian snarled, dodged a second attack from the creature, kicked it hard in the stomach to get it away from him, and then brought his axe down into its midsection (attack:15+12=27; hit; 15 damage). Amazingly, the creature survived the devastating hit, wrested itself free of the axe blade, and came at Nanoc again. But when the mighty half-orc slammed the curved blade into its body a second time (attack: 16+12=28; hit; 10 damage), the eyeless creature fell to the dirt unmoving.

When Nanoc looked about for Aseneth and the remaining two humanoids, he saw that the sorceress had run down one of the creatures and was firing spells into it at close range. He saw her hit the thing with a green-glowing acid arrow that caused its gray skin to burn. But to Nanoc’s horror, the thing managed to slam his axe into the sorceress’ chest before the spreading acid overwhelmed him and caused him to drop his axe and collapse to the ground shaking and quivering as the acid burned the life from him.

“Asya! You okay?” screamed Nanoc in fear as he ran to the woman’s side, expecting to find her grievously wounded. To his amazement, although he had seen the axe hit her with his own eyes and though there was a large tear in the front of her black cloak, the enchantress seemed entirely uninjured.

“I am fine,” she said. Pointing down the street to where the last gray humanoid had cornered a group of men and women against a wall and was stalking towards them, she added, “Getting last one!”

The bizarre creature had time enough to kill one more young man before Nanoc charged up behind it and slammed his axe into its back (attack: 10+12=22; hit; 11 damage). The thing writhed briefly on the blade of the axe before slumping to the ground.

With the fight over, screams still echoed up and down the street and Nanoc saw that at least three people had been killed during the sudden attack and numerous others injured. Because Nanoc lacked any sort of healing skills, it was left to Aseneth to do what she could to assist the injured until the town guard arrived. A good ten minutes passed before a patrol, consisting of four soldiers, showed up, looking as though they were at least as concerned about what the inhabitants of Southspur might do as they were about the scene of carnage they found in the street. While waiting for the guards to appear, Nanoc tried to figure out where the strange gray creatures had come from, but with darkness falling, he had trouble finding any obvious tracks or trail behind the stage-cart where they had first appeared.

***

It was nearing midnight when Danton and Karzak finally left the brothel hidden in the center of the collection of halfling river barges outside the city. The gates were nominally closed at night, but a small bribe to the guards got the duo back inside without undue difficulty. The streets of Woodstock were now very different than they had been only a few hours earlier when the Velunese and the dwarf had made their way through town going the other direction. The fair seemed to have come to a sudden end for the night, although Danton seemed to remember celebrations lasting until dawn the last time he passed through town. Mist off the river restricted visibility and distorted sounds, making each footfall on the cobblestones of Old Ford Road sound strange and foreboding, at least to Danton’s ears. Karzak, by contrast, seemed entirely unfazed by the deserted streets.

“Ah, that did me right good,” grunted the dwarf loudly. “Right ya were that them halfling ladies’re not ta be missed when passin’ through Woodstock,” he continued, his voice echoing off the stone buildings to either side of the road.

“Must we wake the entire town to tell them of our exploits?” hissed Danton. “I want only to sleep and forget this whole misbegotten day. Nanoc is right. We should depart Woodstock as soon as possible.”

“Is there no place ta git a' ale fer a thirsty dwarf 'round these parts?” shouted Karzak to the surrounding buildings.

“Keep it down, damn it!” said Danton. “Can’t you feel that something is…wrong…here? It’s just too quiet…”

Karzak laughed. “After what those halfling girls done ta me, I can’t feel a thing no more! Har! Har! Har!”

The dwarf then broke into the first bars of some drinking song Danton had never heard before and careened wildly back and forth across the street, his arms extended as if he thought he were flying. “Woo! Woo!” he screamed.

Danton was about to tell Karzak to shut up once again when some instinct told him to look over his shoulder. There, for just a fraction of a second, he could have sworn he saw someone following him and Karzak. It had been a big man, with long, black hair and a rapier at his belt. He had disappeared into the mist the moment Danton brought both eyes to bear on him, but the Velunese was certain he had been there…and he might have had companions.

The streets were deserted, and Danton was at least a half-mile away from the Stony Gaze, accompanied only by a drunken, singing dwarf.

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 44:

Please send postings for Turn 44 by the end of Friday, February 9th.

Current date/time/location: 10 Srpanj; approximately 2100 (Nanoc and Aseneth), 2350 (Danton, Karzak, Luger); Woodstock.

Items gained this turn: see below

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold this turn: none

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in bold.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Note: known magic items listed in bold.

Nanoc

AC: 17

Hit points: 50/59

New XP: 1350

XP total: 14056

XP needed: 15,000

Equipment: masterwork great axe, great axe +1, silver-plated short sword, masterwork studded leather armor, 69 arrows, 2 quivers, backpack, waterskin, 24 days trail rations, bedroll, 2 sacks, 2 flint & steel, bearskin, tent, 50’ rope, 1 sap, masterwork mighty composite shortbow, masterwork shortsword, 6 iron triangles with inverted ‘Y’, three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, a bead of force, metal scroll tube, a black cloak, two inverted ziggurat pendants; 2 potions of bull’s strength, potion of cure light wounds(X4), potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of water breathing, potion of spider climbing, Aseneth’s House Torquann dragon ring, heavy riding horse and riding equipment, spare light riding horse and equipment, pack mule (mule carries: 3 tents, most of party’s rations and water, ‘peace offerings’ for gnomes).

Gold: 1960

Silver: 220

Danton

AC: 15 (16 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 22/22

New XP: 600

XP total: 13306

XP needed: 15,000

Equipment: rapier, 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, waterskin, 24 days trail rations, hooded lantern, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap, 1 metal key from Yusdrayl, Everburning Torch, scrolls with pyrotechnics and melf’s acid arrow, old journal, 8 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside, 1 protection from fire scroll, 5 scrolls of cure light wounds, 2 scrolls of cure moderate wounds, new journal, notebook, pen, ink, parchment in sealed waterproof box, pipe, tobacco, metal box, whetstone, six packets of tinder for lighting fires, gold inlaid dagger, Journal of Geynor Ton, a folded piece of parchment with a note addressed to someone named Festrath, spider pendant, a wand, tattered black cloak with burning eye emblazoned on it, disguise kit, letter to Master Dunrat, ochre-colored robe, bead of force, potion of cure light wounds (X2), cure moderate wounds (X2), scrolls of animal messenger and stone shape, wand of magic missiles (5 charges), unknown potion from tavern in Nulb, light riding horse and equipment, potion of spider climb, a dozen vials of lantern oil, masterwork thieves’ tools, unknown scroll, unknown potion, rapier taken from were-rat leader.

Gold: 1667

Silver: 0

Luger

AC: 20

Hit Points: 34/34

New XP: 600

XP total: 8756

XP needed: 10000

Equipment: longsword, heavy mace, light x-bow, dagger, 20 bolts, chainmail +1, large steel shield, 3 belt pouches, large bag, 50’ rope, 5 torches, hooded lantern, 3 oil flasks, flint & steel, 24 days rations, silver holy symbol of Heironeus, 3 flasks holy water, 3 healer’s kits, backpack, cleric’s vestment, traveler’s clothing, waterskin, bedroll, iron triangle with upside down ‘Y’ inside, eight cockatrice feathers, scrolls of cure light wounds (2), cure disease, neutralize poison, potions of cure light wounds, bull’s strength, cure moderate wounds (X2), and haste; Geistblatt (ghost touch longsword +1), light riding horse and equipment, 5 vials of Furyondian Fire.

Spell Selection:

Level 0(5): Detect Magic X3, Light X2
Level 1(4+1): Summon Monster, Obscuring Mist, Detect Evil, Comprehend Languages, Domain: Protection from Evil

Level 2 (3+1): Bull’s Strength, Domain: Spiritual Weapon

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 7 of 7

Gold: 297

Karzak

AC: 19

Hit Points: 34/38

New XP: 600

XP total: 3,600

XP needed: 6,000

Equipment: backpack, water skin, 4 days rations, aleskin, flint & steel, heavy crossbow, 4 cases with 40 bolts, 2 daggers, dwarven waraxe, large steel shield, banded mail, short sword, bedroll, sack

Gold: 29