The Undesirables Act 1: A Dry Run

First Impressions

There was an awkward moment when the contracted, potential members of The Undesirables arrived at the town square of Westerlose. Without much direction, the party was aimlessly waiting for instruction, much to the frustration of Kaeryn. There were introductions before she came out, demanding to know why they were waiting. Following her inside the city hall, they were shortly greeted by Magnus who laid out the details of the job and the pay. Despite some questioning of his confidence, he assured them that his trepidation was because it was his first time being a leader and that if they were smart about it, they could accomplish their goals. Setting out to take care of some of what needed to be done, he left the party to gather information and try and decide what they wanted to do as a course of action.

There was a slight argument between Gol’rotta and Kalgrim, as the silver dragonborn was indicating that they should go straight to the fort and confront the problem head on. It was settled that they should talk to people and get an general idea of what was going on around the town. They talked to Vitaal first, asking which of the villagers could be trusted. Given the introduction of Kaeryn, they opted to talk to the barkeeper, Herschel.

The party found him pleasant and agreeable, learning about positions, routines and habits of the bandits, as well as the name of one of the lieutenants that acts as the mediator between the villagers, Teevik. With promises to help and an idea for a plan, Tolliver suggested they peruse the town and stock up on supplies.

Talking with the blacksmith, they learned that sale of weaponry is currently forbidden and seen as an act of uprising against the bandit leader in the fort. An argument between Gol’rotta and Kalgrim and a separate one between the other two kobolds caught the attention of the patrolling bandits. Tensions rose as the criminals were ignored and when they demanded the party pay attention, Tolliver told them off, escalating the situation into a fight in which the bandits signaled for backup.

Gol’rotta acted first, immediately slaughtering one of them with the first strike. Defending both ends of the street as bandits arrive, their skills are put to the test. Teevik arrived to question the commotion. Muzu Compelled a Duel between them, leaving the episode at a cliffhanger as she failed her save and transformed into a bear to accept the challenge…

Toasts and Tactics

The battle was completed with all of the bandits in the inner village dead. Muzu defeated Teevik in solo combat with a critical Smite. Afterward, there was a celebration and a discussion of plans. The party decided to scout out the farms and had what appeared to be a successful venture, not getting caught or initiating battle.

When a Plan Comes Together

Discussing what was found during reconnaissance, the party decided to liberate the farms and get the people fed. As stealth is not a strong point of most of the group, Tolliver decided to romp down the main road. There they were stopped by Raul, asking for the toll set by the bandits. Taking a fight to them, the Undesirables attacked the bandits at the Southern tollbooth. The fight turned out a little tougher than expected, with Tolliver being knocked unconscious by the heavy handed thugs. Revived by Sedulous, the tiefling set a flaming sphere into their midsts, eventually burning down the tollbooth and Raul, the bandit captain. With the booth and its bandits gone, they decided to continue onto the farms as planned. Ursa, Romeo and Scumbag being the stealthiest snuck back into the area, dispatching lone and sleeping bandits. Still concerned about the ogres they had seen earlier, the group opened the dairy barn where they had seen what they supposed were their beds and prepared for another big fight.

The Face of the Enemy

After resting and stocking the town up on weapons, the Undesirables meet with Garth Darros as he brings an entourage with him to occupy the town again. Offering to hire them, all unanimously declined. Indicating the whereabouts of Hal'leae sister, Garth offered to let them come claim her as a prize for beating him in combat at the fort, which he has apparently refurbished into an arena. Ursa and a few others cleared out the newly placed bandits with extreme prejudice. Deciding to accept the challenge, but not to agree to one on one combat, they headed down the road to the West. Stopped at the toll booth, they engaged against the bandits holding the road. Kalgrim took heavy hits, going down as the party struggled to fight. Scumbag chased after one that was running toward the fort.

The Rider of Death

The battle was finished and Kalgrim revived without much further issue. While catching their breath, Gol’rotta and Kalgrim had a slightly heated debate over the ethics of their next course of action. While they bickered, Tolliver looked through the ledgers of supplies to determine what they might be up against in the fort. Running weapons and armor back to the main part of town, they eventually followed Gol’rotta to the fort to accept Garth’s challenge. The gates were closed and the man that greeted them suggested that since he might get in trouble for letting them in or turning them away depending on the mood of the former gladiator, he opted to leave them outside unless they were willing to strike a deal. Declining bringing him the head and body of Hal’eae, Ursa offered to fulfill the deal at a later date bringing other warriors, though he was not completely sure of intent or purpose behind it. They were let inside where they saw that the majority of the interior had been renovated into an indoor arena. Garth met them in combat and things seemed to be going well, but when Tolliver landed what seemed to be a decisive blow, he rose again, continuing to fight, seeming much more resilient than before. The cultists that worshipped him as an avatar of death began shouting that he had been freed from his mortal shell and started jumping down into the arena as well.

A Kobold’s Gambit

Scumbag went off to sabotage the warmachines, successfully making three of the four ballista unusable by weakening or severing the lines (one by chewing). On the last one, he decided to aim at the catapults, getting called out by the Wizard Zahkar. He fired immediately at the catapults, destroying them all and in the confusion, ran inside to aid his friends. Picking a couple of locks, he found some prisoners, but with the sound of Gol’rotta being targeted by the cultists, he ran inside to protect his captain.

Black and White

The fight continued, the released animals and cultists not proving much of a problem as the party finished off Garth. Tolliver landed the final blow and upon Garth’s death, a dark energy was released from his body. The leader of the cultists, Riskel, declared that the essence of the death avatar had taken root in Gol’rotta and sent the remaining cultists after her. She met her end with a mighty swing of her maul. The arena cleared, they searched for the infant and found an unconscious young elf holding a bundle of fur blankets with the baby inside. Deciding to give the baby to Tolliver and securing the elf to Artano, they prepared to make their way out of the fort. They were fired on immediately and another fight broke out. Scumbag’s sabotage helped keep most of the bandits occupied while he, Kalgrim and Romeo attacked the team using the still functional ballista. Muzu provided cover by calling fog around them. With the door blocking the exit, a message inside Ursa’s head asked to confirm their deal. Exasperatedly agreeing, an orb or darkness appeared in the courtyard and the gates were opened, giving them cover to escape. Most of the bandits dead, they began to surrender to the three remaining kobolds. Kalgrim went to the group, but Romeo stayed behind to kill the bandits down to their last. Scumbag tried to stop him unsuccessfully and only three bandits managed to escape. With none left to fight, they began their awkward walk back to catch up with the party, discussing their differences. The team arrived in the main part of town, getting ready to decide what was left to do.

Home, For Now

The Undesirables decided to clear out the final toll booth and with relative ease defeated the remainder of Garth’s forces. Afterwards, they put forth their recommendations for new leadership in the town, which ended up falling on Kaeryn. In addition, with few options for the rescued infant, they decided to take her with them back to their headquarters once they left. Magnus filled them in on some of the information found left by the cultists, but the meaning was unclear to everyone in the group. After a celebration of victory and freedom, The Undesirables headed out of Westerlose to Westfall, many of them for the first time seeing the mansion that served as their headquarters. After selecting rooms and setting in, our first chapter comes to a close with a rousing success of their first mission.

Date of Events
Polan 26-29, 156AT
Player Characters involved
Tolliver Brambleheart
Romeo
Muzu
Sedulous
Ürsa
Sivak Gol'rotta
Scumbag
Kalgrim Hordebreaker