Flight Downriver; a Fight Downriver | d&d session #2

The Mürmaids Travel Downriver

The band of thieves now known as the Mürmaids met for their second session of dungeons and dragons on Tuesday evening. All in all, I think everyone had a fair amount of fun. New players became more familiar with their characters and the rules, and many mentions of cognitive dissonance happened.

To recap from last week's introductory d&d session, the party tested some of their skills with no equipment, and somehow ended up swindling their way into the harbormaster's good graces, boarding a small merchant's vessel, pilfering some things from the captain's quarters, scaring off his guards, murdering a city official, harpooning one dwarven bodyguard, taking the second captive, subduing the ship's captain and making off with the boat itself.

Not wanting to wait to raise sail, they drifted downstream, plying the ship's oars to gain some distance on the city guards, who were rallying to acquire a boat to pursue. Eventually they did raise sail, and fell out of sight of the city. The descision was made to travel further south, to attempt to locate a band of highwaymen they used to work with, who are known to use the area surrounding a fork in the river as a hideout.

Inventory the Loot

With Horace piloting the River Maven, they made good time downriver. While he sought some help in manning the sails and oars from Clyde, their dwarven captive, the remainder of the Mürmaids searched the ship. Oliver found some tools, cooking supplies, fishing line and a small iron stove belowdecks, Guido & Phil searched the crates and barrels above decks to see what of value they had. They each also took a turn in the hold, finding cramped living spaces, and among other mundane things, a light crossbow. None discovered anything more hidden on the boat other than supplies required to pilot it, so they turned to inquiring after the good Captain Conchlan. Guido went first, using his intimidation proficiency (demonstrating with a dagger how he would pry out the captain's fingernails), and had some measure of success. Still, even after gathering a full inventory of the goods on deck, as well as help discerning the value of each (based on notes in the ship's manifest), it was believed that the captain was trying to hide something from them. Phil decided to go next, but when verbal threats failed, he went a step further and actually attempted to chop off the Captain's right hand with a dagger. Not enough damage was done to remove the limb, but the shock sent the captain back into a state of unconsciousness.

A Momentary Pause

Around dusk a full day after the battle at the pier, Horace stopped the boat to give himself a rest and attempt to search the boat as well, as soon as they reached the fork in the river. Pulling west into the smaller tributary, they tied off to a nearby tree, and within a half hour, concluded that they had found everything on the boat. At this point, Guido passed a detect noise roll, and heard the coming sounds of an approaching boat, with someone yelling in the common tongue to "row harder!"

The Approaching Squad

The party decided it would be best to ditch their ship now, and travel on land to find the bandit hideout.

Phil looked to the unconscious Conchlan, and kicked him overboard, to allow him to float downstream. A 50/50 roll was made, and luckily for him, Conchlan landed face-up in the water. With the city guards in their smaller boat gaining on their position quickly, the Mürmaids rushed to pull off as much material of value as they could, and carry it to shore, planning to hide it in the underbrush Oliver, his halfing stature making him less useful for unloading crates and barrels, tried to ply his ventriloquism proficiency to throw his voice downriver to lead the guards astray. It worked, marginally, and bought the party another round while the guards attempted to fish Conchlan out of the river. The ruse didn't last too long, though, as the party attempted to move silently through the underbrush while the guards' boat passed by. Horace ran into Clyde, forcing him to drop his crate and fall on top of it, crushing it with a clatter. Phil failed his check so severely that he shouted "Will you two be quiet?!!?"

The squad revealed their force, having spotted the Mürmaids, three humans, one piloting the ship, led a group of four goblins, obviously hired to help in the party's apprehension.

We're Running? No, Fighting!, No! Running! Okay...I Guess We're Fighting!

Guido won initiative, and was the first to measure the costs of a combat here. With a heavy bag of the silver pieces he had found in the harbormaster's office, and the small barrel of spices, the most valuable item they had found on the ship, as well as the crossbow (in the running for second most valuable), he turned, with the majority of the remainder of the party between him and the enemy, he fled. Passing a move silently roll, he tiptoed quickly through the brush. Phil also turned to flee, and also moved quietly enough to disappear into the foggy dusk that was settling in. Horace and Oliver weren't so lucky, and one of the humans aboard, carrying a shortbow, pointed them out the remainder of the group. Two of the goblins attempted to go through the brush to catch up, when Clyde saw that they were goblins, and rushed forward to combat. The other two goblins, and both humans, spotted a faster route, boarding the River Maven, and using it as a bridge around the patch of woods, quickly covering the distance between them and the Mürmaids.

Clyde suffered very poor rolls, and the two goblins, together with a shot from the shortbow, quickly had him subdued. Horace was also very unlucky, taking a shot from the shortbow in the back, and within a few rounds, he was the first of them to fall. Guido did his best to resist, damaging three of their opponents over time, but before long, he fell as well. Things did not look good for our all-male party of Mürmaids.

Phil lifted Horace's body, ensuring that he wouldn't die from his wounds, but then once unable to carry him away, decided the wisest move would be to use him as a sort of human shield. Oliver also ducked behind them, hurling rocks at his opponents in between efforts to confuse by throwing his voice.

Eventually one of the goblins and the archer dropped. The human guard retreated back to the boat to secure a more defensive position, and the two goblins stuck in the underbrush also moved back to the boat. Phil combated the last goblin at the waterline, going between wrestling him to the ground and throttling him, and attempting to stab him with a dagger. Finally, the blade parted the grey-green flesh of the goblin, slowly and deliberately, it felt hot in his stomach as the goblin gurgled river-water and blood out of his mouth. The third human, who took no part in the combat, was heard to be yelling "you ain't payin' me enough to risk my boat," as he sailed back upriver, with two goblins and one of the guardsmen still aboard, the guard shouting at him and throwing a fit the whole way that their quarry was almost defeated.

All of the unconcious Mürmaids, including their new henchman Clyde were able to be awakened the next day. They gathered supplies and wares back onto their ship, and limped on further up the tributary. The group realized, with Conchlan perhaps still alive, and now able to identify each of them, that it was unlikely that Meis Osley would be a proper place for them to return for a long, long time. They all agreed that Ckyde could be set free to walk back to town, but he offered to stay on as a henchman, pending a conversation about what would be considered a fair payment.

Emissaries from the Bandit Camp - Meeting Friends and Identifying Enemies

Within a half day, the Mürmaids were approached by Two-Coins, a man they had worked with before, and the most trusted henchman of the bandits' leader, Jed. They were instructed to stop their boat, and stay aboard, as Jed wouldn't want the trouble this group could bring to be brought upon his camp, and were they captured, they wouldn't be able to reveal the exact location of his hideout. Jed Brought with him, when he arrived, his cleric, who tended their wounds, for a cost, and he brought laborers who could unload the Maven, and paid out for half the value of the items. With roughly 10 gold pieces apiece, plus however much each of them had uncovered outside of party funds, they went about purchasing equipment. Guido properly outfitted himself with weapons he was familiar with, Horace bought himself arrows for the shortbow he had acquired from the corpse of the guardsman. Oliver paid for a tailor to sew up the fine shirt and cloak he had taken from the captain and other men they had defeated, and Phil bought supplies to aid in their survival, like flint & steel, torches, and other more mundane gear (he could not yet afford a longbow).

While they rested and recuperated for a few hours, Jed informed them that it was likely that there was a gang of street thugs in Meis Osley, led by a brutish half-orc named Kazmarak. It was Kaz' band that likely robbed them at the onset of this adventure. Though the order may have come down from some shadowy figure that Jed seems to believe must exist.

A New Adventure

While they were taking care of their needs, and meeting with Jed, their trusty hireling Clyde was off speaking with a pair of orcs that Jed had brought from his gang to help carry the crates and barrels back to camp. Apparently, they were all disgusted that there were new goblin arrivals in their camp, hired on by Jed to take part in their bandit activities. Clyde told the party after they returned to the boat that the goblins had apparently been chased from their homes by a mob of kobolds that had recently moved in. It was upsetting to the goblins, laughed the orcs, since this home included a temple to one of their puny goblin gods, and apparently the surviving goblins had to leave behind their most valued treasures.

Faced with the choice to go back to Meis Osley and track down Kazmarak, or to go seek a possible fortune rumored to be northeast up this tributary, the party chose to hunt for the abandoned goblin treasure. Clyde grew up in the area (unbeknownst to the party, his family was chased out of the hills to the northeast by invading goblins), and thinks he can provide a general idea of where the goblin lair may be. And so the next session will begin.

Be Excellent to One Another; and Party on Dudes.