The Road to Karnstown - Group 2, Session 1

he trial of the poachers has been over for a few days. The guilty are now somewhere deep in the forest "taking root", and the adventurers Sergeant Major Aryk the Dwarf, Aliya the Halfling, Half-elven Thornas, and Tanalith, the ranger from the central plains - as well as the Gnomish priest Zatqualmie "I'm not an adventurer" Timbers - were relaxing in the common room of their inn in Spirit Lake.

They were pondering over what would be next for them when a young woman entered the inn and approached them. She identified herself as Maretta Colifer, the wife of the livery stable owner that had been involved in the poaching ring. She explained that she had no idea what her husband had been up to, but claims he was at least a good husband and father to their 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter. Now, between the shame from association with the criminal, and "shunning" the village seems to be imposing on her, and the fact that the town elders had essentially given away the livery's stock of animals (to the party as rewards, by the way), she finds it impossible to remain in the village. She asked if the adventurers would escort her and her children to Karnstown, where she hoped they could make a new life.

The party, convinced the young woman was being honest and wasn't involved in the poaching ring herself, agreed. The next day, they would set out with the Colifers and their wagon. The group was also given the wagon and draft horse of the merchant as a reward, so as they set out, Thornas and Tanalith were riding their new mounts, Aryk drove the wagon with Aliya and Zat riding along with him. They estimated it would be two weeks on the road, so they made sure they were fully provisioned for the trip.

The first several days - eight days, in fact - were uneventful. They traveled the road by day and camped by the roadside at night. After two days travel away from Spirit Lake, they found themselves along a road that was narrower than those they had traveled before, cutting through forest that was denser than before. The road was not deserted - there were travel marks of merchant wagons. The coach service between Dryad Falls and Karnstown that ran this road every three days also made its appearances - these were challenging as the road was not wide enough for a wagon and coach to pass each other easily! As the ninth day dawned, the party was looking forward to reaching the Inn at the Fork - a traveler's waystation at the point where the Spirit Lake road met the Karnstown - Four Rivers road.

At about midday, as the group crested a small hill, they came across what appeared to be other travelers in some difficulty. A wagon had apparently thrown a wheel. The wagon itself was now resting... tilted into the air at a precarious angle... bare axle on the ground. It's occupants, a woman and a frail-looking man, were assessing the situation.

Aryk wasted no time. He jumped down from the wagon and trotted forward, offering his assistance. Tanalith dismounted and accompanied the dwarf, intending to focus on the two draft horses that seemed to be in some discomfort. Thornas held the reins of Tanalith's mount. Zatqualmie also scampered down from the wagon and scurried to catch up to the Sergean Major, while Aliya held the reins of the wagon team.

The woman at the wagon explained their dilemma - the wagon wheel fell off, and her husband was too frail to be able to right the wagon to restore it. The wagon was indeed loaded with a tarp-covered cargo that appeared to have shifted to the back, throwing its weight over the bad axle. As Tanalith moved past the wagon to the horses hitched to it, and Aryk sized up the situation and started looking to move the cargo forward in the wagon bed, the woman said she would retrieve the repair tools from the wagon's under-seat storage box. She climbed up the oddly tilted wagon and lifted the bench seat.

Something made Tanalith look over his shoulder at this point, and he did so just in time to see the woman withdrawing not hammer or wrench, but what appeared to be a pre-loaded crossbow! She glanced at the Elf at the same time, and realized she had been "caught in the act". At the same time, Aryk was discovering that the "cargo" - nothing more than a pile of rocks that was quite obviously - to him - placed to keep the wagon off-balance. Things happened quickly from this point.

The woman rapidly tossed the first crossbow to her waiting companion, who suddenly did not appear to be nearly as frail and hunched over as he was before He caught the weapon and leveled it at the Elf who was circling around the horses. At the same time, she withdrew a second loaded weapon from the toolbox for herself, jumped down from the wagon and pointed it at the dwarf. Aliya's keen eyes discerned what was happening, and without a word, she jumped down from the party's wagon and dove in the forest bushes - planning on circling the confrontation and sneaking up from behind it.

Aryk simply glared at the threatening bandit and crossbow as he readied his axe and shield. The glare seemed to have some effect - hesitation was seen across the woman's face. Nevertheless, she pulled the trigger on the crossbow and struck the dwarf point blank. Any but a stalward dwarf would have been sent reeling, but he held his footing. Or perhaps it was the three arrows, fired from positions of cover in the forest behind the dwarf and to either side of the road, that kept him on his feet by balancing the impact force. In any event, Aryk the pincusion kept his feet and his resolve.

Aryk advanced on the woman, slashing with his axe, as she dropped the crossbow and readied a shortsword to parry. Tanalith retreated a few paces to get a better shot at her companion and continued to fire his bow. Thornas, seeing the melee unfold before him, rapidly dismounted and, after quickly securing the horses, dashed into the fray to help out. Zatqualmie, deciding this was no place for an observer, jumped into the bushes along the road, but not before delivering a significant burst of healing energy to Aryk, who was clearly suffering after the opening volley of arrows and bolts found him as their target.

Aliya, meanwhile, suddenly found herself one bush away from one of the forest snipers - and that sniper (a female dwarf) hadn't noticed her. She took notice, though, when Aliya leapt forward and plunged a blade into her back! Dropping the crossbow, the dwarf drew a handaxe to respond.

THe battle raged for only a few moments. Aryk and the bandit woman traded blows, and while she managed one more quite severe strike on the dwarf, Zatqualmie's healing magic from the bushes kept him on his feet. Tanalith actually managed to strike home on the male bandit with an arrow while Thornas peppered him with fists. Arrows continued to fly from various - and moving - points in the forest, but most of these missed their marks.

And then, suddenly, the bandit woman disengaged from melee with Aryk and shouted one word: "Scatter!!" before dashing off into the forest and diving for cover. Her male companion also decided to turn tail and dash into the forest away from the Elf and the monk. Even the dwarf facing off against Aliya decided to run, stopping only to turn and hurl her axe at the Halfling (who just barely ducked the projectile as it flew past her face).

And then all was quiet! The party examined the wagon and discovered some coin along with what was possibly a magical fluid of some sort. Aliya retrieved the personal purse of the female dwarf she had faced off with; this pouch had fallen during the fight. The wagon was repaired well enough to push it off the road, and the horses - which had clearly been maltreated - were unhitched.

The party made its way slowly (because of the two unwell horses left by the bandits) to the Inn at the Fork. After a restful evening and night, and after arranging to leave the two emaciated draft animals with the innkeeper, they continued south on the road to Karntown.