Session 2 Report
General Summary
Winter-rain 18th, 2191
Our party was traveling from Valera to Saltmarsh along the main road east. After about five days of traveling, they arrived in a small village called Ledchurch. They found the local inn, known as the Tavern Inn. There they met the innkeeper, fat man wearing all brown named Ruth, who secured them a room and meal for the evening.
It was while eating their hot ham-water soup that Ruth told them about the recent troubles that Ledchurch had been facing. For one, soldiers from the capital came through recently and nearly cleared them out of food and drink. Although Ruth was kind and did not want to speak ill of the soldiers, it was clear that they took advantage of his hospitality. Another issue that the village was having had to deal with a nearby outpost that patrolled the road. No one had heard from any of the soldiers in a few weeks and people were growing concerned.
It was at this time that the party heard screaming from outside the inn. From the east, they saw a cloud of insects descend upon the village and begin attacking everything. They witnessed as one elderly man was quickly eaten alive by the swarm. Eager to help, Garnus led the others in trying to stop the insects.
Stinkbreath tried to use a torch to smoke them out, but instead was engulfed by the swarm that began biting him all over. Garnus used his hammer while Azid threw spells at the swarm (and Stinkbreath). Measle, seeing his brother in desperate need of rescuing, tore a pants leg off and then soaked it in acid. He then cast it like a wet blanket over the mass of bugs and his brother. Fortunately, Stinkbreath was able to draw his rapier and began swatting the fist-sized beetles out of the air until they finally dispersed.
The village mayor approached them and introduced himself as Mayor McCheese. He told them that he was concerned that the swarm of insects might have been carrying plague and came from the direction of the outpost. He wished aloud that someone would go and check on them to make sure they were alright. Garnus offered the aid of the group since it was on their way to Saltmarsh.
The group left the village and not much more than an hour later could see the outpost across a grassy field. As they walked through, a pack of Compsognathus attempted to ambush Measle. Garnus was quick to spot them and allowed the party to quickly counter the ambush. Surely the local outpost would have seen to keeping the local population of compys under control.
The party saw that there was serious damage to one portion of the fortress palisades. They also noticed a warning flag on the locked gates. The warning was for plague. Confident that he could handle it, Garnus urged the party on. So, they decided to go in through the collapsed wall.
They find themselves in the stables fort he fort. No one is present and they find that the horses had been devoured in their stalls. It didn’t take long for them to find out what had killed them as a cackle of hyenas surprised them. Upon further investigation, they found that hyenas had infested the fortress.
They found the body of the cook first. It appeared that he been eaten by the hyenas, but that wasn’t what had killed him. They discovered signs of plague that had killed him first. They found the sergeant of the fortress in his quarters. He also had died of plague, but the hyenas had not made it into his room to eat him. His personal journal confirmed that the plague was the cause of their problems. The group also found 810 GP and a payroll for the soldiers, which Garnus insisted that should be delivered to the families of the soldiers.
They still needed to confirm the fate of the other soldiers before they left, so they made their way to the largest building. They entered into the mess hall left in disarray. They then heard a weak voice call from upstairs asking for help. In hopes that they would find a survivor, the group quickly moved up to the barracks.
To their surprise, a cackle of hyenas waited for them on a pile of bones. They were led by some mutated version of a hyena with black, oily fur that spoke to the group as if it was a person. It called itself Crocotta and said that it had found the fort abandoned so it claimed it as its lair.
Garnus recognized the Crocotta and called out to in it a language not known to the rest of the party. The monster sneered at him, understanding what he said, he charged for him. Battle ensued with more hyenas coming to the aid of their master. Once Crocotta was defeated by Garnus, the other hyenas seemed to snap out of a trance and fled.
The group returned to Ledchurch and reported what they found to Mayor McCheese. Garnus handed over the chest of gold with the payroll and asked that it be sent to the families. The mayor, grateful for their service, rewards them each with 10 SP. Ruth the innkeeper refunded the party and told them that any time they were in the village, they could stay at his establishment for free.
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