This week
A story about saving an innocent girl that was taken because her father got in debt. And also about how adventures help in keeping crime alive. Not sure if we should trust these adventurers with our safety anymore.
Favor for an old friend by Elena
Lornan needed people to help an old friend of his, a former guild member. He felt a bit ashamed to ask for help and take up some of our time, I don’t understand why. He put in a mission and even paid for us to help, so that’s totally okay, right?
Cor’Torin and I both wanted to go, so we put Janet under the care of our wonderful friends and roommates, the Wanderfoots, but not after we had to promise her to return. I had given Cor’Torin a bit of a scolding after his last mission, when he had casually mentioned it had been very dangerous. Later during this mission I heard he even almost died a couple of times! He’s not allowed to do that, of course, so I am glad he went into this mission a bit more carefully. Others in our party were Rurik, Surron and a new, young looking woman named Cleo.
We were sent to Thomas, who lived in the woods with his daughter, who is about Janet’s age. We don’t know where he lives now, and we’re not going to tell anyone. Anyway, he had accumulated quite some debt with the wrong people, and he got threatened by them, so we had to make sure he was okay, and protect him if needed.
Somewhere halfway our journey there we found a strange cart with a changeling selling potions and telling fortunes. Although we were happy with the healing potions afterwards, it didn’t sit right with me. I really expected them to be fake or something like that, especially since he sold them for half the price asked within the city. Probably that is why he isn’t allowed into Arnheim either. We were lucky this time, but I urge the good people who read this to not look for this person, if you want to be safe, you’d better go to Mathilda or Doctor V, or even Otanyn I guess. Madam Nostra’s fortune telling was pretty good though.
At Thomas’ cabin, we saw the footsteps of several people going around it. We found him alive and well, but bleeding and with a broken leg. We gave him some healing, and heard that his daughter was taken by the thugs to be sold into slavery. With my dear’s background in mind and our own adopted daughter at home, of course we could not let that happen. I am glad to say the other adventurers in our party agreed. So we were sent on to Teill, to find Thomas’ drinking buddy Gryff, who might have information for us. We were also told that the tavern ‘The Headless Rooster’ was property of the Underkings, the people of whom Thomas got on the bad side.
On our way out of the woods, we had to help a farmer to get rid of some nasty, insect-like creatures, so we came into Teil a bit later than we hoped. The difference between rich and poor in Teil is worse than it is here. At least in Arnheim we have the possibility to make something of ourselves, right? Gryff clearly didn’t expect visitors, and he clearly didn’t want to talk. We heard some rumours about a woman, Lianna, wanting to become the leader of the Underkings instead of what was their current leader, Harbek. So we did go to The Headless Rooster to find her. We had a nice and awkward talk with her, and she agreed to get some people out of the place where Harbek was, so that we could help her rise to leadership, and save the girl in the process. It did feel wrong to help someone involved in an organization like that, but we had to to save Naelle.
At first we tried to talk to Harbek in private, but that didn’t work, so we fought. It was a hard fight, that cost us quite some healing, but in the end we were victorious. Harbek and his creepy, nasty trader Markus are dead, and I’m glad of it. Rurik drowned Harbek, and put Harbek’s head on his spear, which was pretty awesome, especially since it made the thugs stop fighting. To think that they looked at a pretty, sweet child as if they saw only a thing to trade … it is so horrible, I don’t want to think of it.
So, we reunited Naelle with her father, and made sure they have another place to live, so that they will not be found by the thugs anymore.
Favor for an old friend by Cor’Torin
Together with four other adventurers, Chloe (a new friend), Rurik, Surron and my darling Elena I reported to the office of Lornan, where we heard he needed help with a personal matter. He had received a troubling letter from a friend of his, a ranger named Thomas who had trouble with a gang over a large debt.
We eagerly made our way along the road to High Valley, following the road west to Teill, where we would find the way to the cabin of Thomas.
After a few hours of travel we encountered a heavily decorated cart, reading the text: “Fantastic Fortunes and Formulae. Your ailments alleviated, your fortunes foretold. '' The person who was sitting outside quickly went inside. When we reached the wagon and entered we saw a small shop, and the “Great and illustrious Illuvio” introduced himself. I got a great bargain for a few potions, really will have to find his shop again one of these days. He then threw up a red rug, and when it fell he was replaced by an old lady in a different outfit. Elena and me had seen a changeling entering the cart originally, but I did not know they could change their outfit as well, curious.
Surron had her read him his Fortune: Something beneath the ground, something about monstrous beings dragging him down. It was all rather unsettling.
We went on our way again and after another few hours made our way through the forest towards the cabin of Thomas. Along the way I saw a pale, feminine woman between the trees who vanished again, and we kept going on. Arriving at the cabin it looked very nice from the outside, but there were a lot of tracks around.
The inside was less nice, a real mess with broken earthenware scattered around. In a chair was seated a man with a broken leg, and missing his middle and index fingers on one hand. He was half passed out but we woke him up and healed him as far as we could. He told us that he was Thomas and that the gang we had been told about, the Underkings, had come to collect on his debt.
He also told us that he could not pay his gambling debt, and that they took his daughter, Naelle, as payment to be shipped off to the Sylvan empire and sold into slavery. The Underkings operate from Teill, from a tavern called the Headless Rooster.
When we went on our way on to Teill we soon heard shouting from a nearby farm, calls for help. We met a farmer who was in a panic because his cow was being attacked. As we rushed to his aid a giant insect and some giant worm came up from the ground, attacking us and trying to drag Surron down in the ground with them. Cleo managed to pull him back with some kind of magic whip, and we made short work of them.
The farmer, Altwin, rewarded us with some charm, and then we continued on to Teill. My friends talked our way into the city and we made our way to the home of Griff, a friend and drinking buddy of Thomas. From him we got some more information about the Underkings and their hierarchical structure. The right hand of Harbeck, the leader of the Underkings was called Eliana and she runs the Headless Rooster.
Next we made our way to the Headless Rooster for a talk with Eliana. After talking our way to her, and her big bodyguards, we discussed some options, noticing she wanted to become the leader of the gang and that we could help remove the current leader. She made sure some of the men would be out of the gang’s stronghold, and we got a guide to take us there.
Upon our arrival her guide, Bruno, helped to get us in through the door where we at first tried to talk with Harbeck to get him to release Naelle, however Markus, the slaver very much refused, saying she was too valuable. Eventually we ended up having to fight them and the remaining men.
Naelle was taken onto a boat, and the crew ordered to take the boat out, so I had to rush up. I attacked Markus, who was holding her on a leash and when he was dead I told her to hide behind me, and did my best to defend her as around the compound other fights were going on. Rurik had killed Harbeck, dragging him down under water and emerging with the head on his spear.
After clearing out the place we returned Naelle to Thomas, and told them about a new, safer location to live.
On the next issue:
Got Wood II: Brother were art thou?
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