Chapter 21: Siege of Crossing Dust
I really need to keep my mouth shut! You guessed it – we ran across a goblin army: the Bonechewer Clan. Besides the sizeable group of the diminutive green-skins, there were a number of orcs and a group of four “shamans” who led the force. Upon closer inspection, I realized that they were Pasacha! Unfortunately, not the dim-witted group that we encountered in Spearrow but intelligent spellcasters. Shane’s command of the goblin tongue allowed us to listen in on their plans. They were going to attack Crossing Dust!
We quickly hatched a plan to delay them and get warning to the town. Lily snuck into a position upwind and released the entire bag of amnesia powder into the breeze. The army was thrown into complete confusion as the dust took effect, making them forget virtually everything.
We mounted up and rode hard for the town. Shane’s expertise in the woods was invaluable for making good time even though Fasa’s riding skills (or lack thereof) slowed us a bit. We made it to Crossing Dust the next day and immediately went to the one person in town who knew us: Heratha. The elven wizardess listened with concern and took us to the captain of the town guard, vouching for us as we explained the situation.
Preparations began immediately and my friends and I were at the heart of it. Shane and I reassembled a catapult that hadn’t been used in decades while Fasa began making slings for the townsfolk to use and Lily moved out to the woods to set traps for the oncoming attackers. Once the catapult was ready, we organized a group to practice with it while continuing to organize the defenses. Crossbows and bolts were readied for guardsmen to use on the walls. We set up traps at the main gate to deal with the heavy battering ram that we saw the army preparing.
I worked with the clerics for the three temples in town to prepare triage centers for the wounded. Shane and Lily prepped more surprises around the city with the assistance of the townsfolk. We sent riders on the roads north, south and east (to Spearrow, Qualm, and Bennit, respectively). Heratha and I readied some magical defenses while Shane, Lily and another Ranger from town moved out into the woods to look for advance scouts. We also made sure they had arrows for signaling. After the battle, I learned that they dealt with some advance scouts and a sapper crew. Without their efforts things would have been more difficult.
The army arrived with a pounding of drums and chanting. First, the group of Orcs charged forward carrying their battering ram. Unfortunately for them, they stumbled straight into the spiked pit we had dug in front of the gate. As they floundered in the hole, the guards above the gate dumped a large cauldron of boiling water onto them. One of the goblins called out to the archers to send a valley of arrows at me. While I ducked the volley, the revealed Pasacha waved his hands and muttered some arcane phrases. The group of dead Orcs suddenly began to rise as zombies.
I called for three actions: launch the catapults at the Pasacha and the group around him; Heratha to send a fireball into the group of archers, and oil dumped onto the zombies and set on fire. The goblins were thrown into disarray. At the rear of the group a number of wagons were pulled up. Shane’s whistling arrow flew from the trees and I saw the big man race across the road. A group of dog-like creatures burst from the cage and chased after him into the woods. During the fighting, Lily rushed out of the trees and was brought up to the battlements with the aid of our magical winch.
A horn blared from the North wall of the city and Fasa, Lily, Heratha, and I charged off to see what was happening. When we arrived, the situation was very bad indeed. The three remaining pasacha had used powerful magic to warp a large hole in the palisade. Goblins and orcs were already charging through the gap led by a large Orc warrior. Fasa charged out to engage the warrior while lily and the guards opened fire. Heratha and I moved into position where our spells would be most effective. She began channeling a large spell, which I assumed (incorrectly) was a summoning spell. I jumped down off the wall and unleashed a blast of lightning into the group of spellcasters. Did I forget to mention that I had embraced my djinii heritage and began training as a Sorcerer?
Heratha yelled for me to get out of the way before she unleashed her spell – Chain Lightning. I followed up with another lightning blast. Slipped up behind the remaining Pasacha and buried her sword into its back. I turned to see Fasa finish off the Orc leader with a flurry of powerful attacks. Seconds later, horns sounded from road to the north as Grusk charged in with a group of mounted guards. The fighting quickly ended and we found that main gate was secured by a group of fighters from Qualm and Bennit. Celebrations began immediately and though the town had some casualties, there was much to be thankful for.
Chapter 22: Horror at Wagon Wheel
We left Crossing Dust to head back to the Goblin's lair. Unfortunately there was little there of interest: some copper coins, some large cauldrons, a magic shield, and a set of strange leather armor made from something called an Armadillo. I will NOT repeat the joke that was made. The pun was just too painful.
From the goblin caves, we traveled North with a brief stop in Bennit before continuing north through the woods. On Fennic’s map there was a town labeled Wagon Wheel. None of the townsfolk from Bennit had heard any news from the place so we decided to check it out. We arrived in late morning and then place was deserted and eerily quiet. Buildings seemed to be intact but there was no sign of life: animal or people. Houses were empty, but Lily found one house was trapped by turning the floor into quicksand.
The largest building in town was the mayor’s house and inside we found something extremely disturbing. In the dining room, laid on a serving platter surrounded by nine place-settings, was a rotting corpse. I’m ashamed to say that I had to rush out of the room to violently empty the contents of my stomach. The others informed me that the body had evidently been partially eaten, carved up like a holiday feast. In the kitchen, we found a large oven which had been used to cook the man. I managed keep my stomach under control but we left the grisly scene and checked the rest of the town.
In the jail-house we found another crude spike trap set above the door and Shane recognized it as goblin-made. We found a journal which belonged to the sheriff. The town had been plagued by disappearances. Every night someone disappeared, often with no sign of a struggle. The cleric in town developed a powerful ward against evil and no one was taken that night, but the following night, goblins of the “Runny Eye” clan attacked instead. When the protection spell ran out, the disappearances began again but soon after this part of the journal, the entries stopped completely.
We checked the temple of the God of Luck and Travelers. The priest was gone and the temple was empty and desecrated. About this time, we saw that the sun was going down. We took a vantage point on the roof of the mayor’s mansion since it was the highest point in town. As we waited, we heard noises coming from inside. Lily snuck in to see who was inside. While we waited for her, Fasa spotted a woman wander into town. She was well-passed middle age and looked terrified. As she stumbled around, eight dark figures seemed to appear from nowhere and begin stalking her.
Lily rejoined us and told us that another man was inside and that she found him cleaning the dishes and that dining room table was already cleared. A sinking, sickening feeling washed over us as we realized that the woman below was going to be next on the menu. I could see that the figures stalking her were highly magical, in addition to being undeniably attractive and unnaturally menacing. One in particular seemed extremely powerful. The only tales that I could recall were of vampires, but I had never heard of any that ate their victims.
The next events are a complete blur. I remember a blinding flare of light from the temple and a feeling of righteous might poured into me. We fought the creatures and I have fleeting horrific memories of their bodies erupting like foul sacks of rotten meat and organs. The key seemed to be destroying their heads.
As the heady rush of power faded from us, we found four of them had been destroyed. Near one of the “bodies” I spotted a book a book titled “Secrets Between the Teeth” which radiated magic.
The other things had fled without a trace but the woman was safe. She led us back to a cave where she had been kept prisoner along with the other survivors, including the goblins. In another room in the cave there was fancy dining room table set with nine settings of solid gold dinnerware. There was also a large banner which read “Our home shall grow to befit us, for we are men who would be gods.”
Shane seemed to recognize the words but couldn’t recall enough of the details. Not willing to leave treasure like the dinnerware lying around, Fasa and I went to collect them. As soon as he touched one of the plates, a terrible power rushed through him and his face changed. He looked angry and hateful. Every few seconds he shuddered and changed again, becoming increasingly agitated and threatening. Lily sapped him into unconsciousness. I used my telekinetic cantrip to put the rest of the dinnerware into a sack and we put it carefully out of sight.
The survivors, both human and goblin wanted nothing more to do with this area. We offered to let them come with us to Spearrow and they were very eager to do so. I sent a message to Oslo as we began to finish our preparations to travel and I suddenly found myself in the presence of my Master, along with the sack of cursed plates, cups and silverware. He was extremely alarmed when I told him what I had and he took everything to a special room to dispose of the items, along with the magic book.
They belonged to a group known as the “Godsmen”. They used to be people but they had fallen under a curse, subtle at first but one which made the individual more and more powerful as they became less “human”. The curse had been created by evil gods of Greed and Gluttony and when the curse became complete the victim would become an Archfiend completely enslaved to the two gods. The book was the key (which is why he destroyed it) and the plates and such were the foci of their power. Touching them would either kill the person or making them increasingly more twisted and evil.
Oslo gave me four scrolls of Protection from Evil, just in case the group wanted to replenish their numbers. After resting, he sent me back to the group who had already arrived back in Spearrow. Now we have to decide where we are going next: east again to some of the other points of interest on Fennic’s map and then north to Hammer Fell. It’s time to get our gold mine operating!
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