NDT 10: ransacking

The bulk of the goblins' treasure was held by their chief and stored under or in his throne, and included an ancient and well-made shield that was claimed by Pavel. And he carried it into melee after failing once more to turn the undead creatures that beset the party, in this case three of the especially horrid re-animations of hobgoblins that Pavel himself had once encountered in the Caves of Chaos. Not only did turning the thouls fail, but so did attempts to lure them into a pit or burn down the roof on top of them. It was Roger who took on this last effort. When Cromartie heard him get dragged down from the roof, the rest of the party rushed into the Thoul's lair and hacked and slashed them Surprisingly satisfying after all the failed attempts to get creative. And then we ransacked their master's chambers. No sign of the map we expected to find to help us find Xitaqa, the place where the goblins had taken Stefan.

Night's Dark Terror Session 9: 5,000 gobbos

There we were . . . gobos shooting us with arrows as we crossed the bridge, and then ambushing us from behind. And when we crossed the bridge and entered their noisome den, it was demon dogs assailing us from all sides, while the cowardly gobbos shot at us from the darkness. Did I despair? No, I called on the Law and our enemies were transfixed. And then a great figure of scourgingsmitning appeared to aid us, driving the demon dogs yelping like puppies before a toddling child with a threshing flail. We rested and Lo! the lawless gobos broke in upon our rest. For this they were thoroughly scourged, smited, smitten, smitened, desmittened, and destroyed. And like the burst of driving rain that sweeps the garbage and shit and dead rats and the little nasty bugs crawling over the whole mess right down the alley into the gutter and then through the town into the river, so we the driving rain of Law swept through the goblin’s hall and killed their disgusting king and shivered his throne into pieces!

goblin, a photo by earlywill on Flickr.

Night's Dark Terror Session Eight: demon fish and attacking the goblin stronghold

Pavel: “Allele did not return because he was DEVOURED by a legion of vicious demon fish!” (raises his left hand to show jagged lump of scar tissue at the base of his thumb; reaches his right hand into his pocket to pull out the dried, crumbling remains of a coldwater piranha) “It could have happened to me, it could happen to you.

a photo by mario dns (Mess-45590-2€ da fisso- 1€ sms) on Flickr.

“That’s how we decided that the time for sneaking around had passed and that it was time to confront evil head on.”

Night's Dark Terror, Session 7

The party moved through a forest of stone. More than petrified wood, the trees, most of them still standing, bore branches, leaves, birds and their nests all turned to grain stone. They locaed the lair of the Wolfskull goblins, a rough fortification of stacked stone logs on the other side of a dark river crossed by a narrow river. They moved up river and then sent Allelle down to the river to scout. He hasn’t returned.

york, a photo by zoe seed on Flickr.

PM of 13th - Moldain, 14th Thaumont AC1000

Mayro and the House of Jourdain Part 4 ("What's the pay?")

After Mayro had spent about a week recovering from his wounds, Madam Guto came to him with an offer. The House needed more protection and he had shown that he was a brave and skilful fighter. Would he like to take up residence in the House, guarding her and the women? She offered 30 tael a month plus benefits.


Mayro accepted the offer, and they agreed that he would begin service in a couple more weeks after he fully recovered from his wounds. He asked for his belongings to be brought from his inn and this done. He asked to see Golfo and Nardon; this was attempted, but proved impossible since Beatriss, their patron had been placed under house arrest, and her associate had likewise fallen under official suspicion.


After about a week, and in anticipation of a large party, Mayro was moved from his luxury quarters to the humble room that was intended to be his residence while he stayed in the house. Small, windowless, and obviously not intended for entertaining high-paying guests, the room was clean, private, and located on the upper-floor of the House, otherwise reserved for paying customers.

A few nights later, Mayro’s rest was disturbed by the sound of someone breaking in through the and then running past his door. Grabbing his sword, he followed cautiously. He heard a door being battered down and then screaming. He arrived at one of the bedrooms in time to see a large, fearsome, humanoid creature, green-skinned and covered with sores leaping out the window. There was a woman in the bed, bleeding from cuts caused by the creature’s claws, but not seriously injured. Her companion was completely unharmed, but thoroughly outraged. Madam Guto arrived, told him he has having a bad dream, and convinced him to go to sleep. The injured woman slipped out and another replaced her in the bed.


The next day Madam Guto asked Mayro if he was ready to go to work. She needed him to remain in his room, listening carefully for any outside intruders, and be ready to intercept them. He was ready. Later that same day, one of the women came to him and explained that she was especially afraid of the monster and would he please take up his guard duty in Room Number 4, under the bed? He agreed.

Predictably and yet not so predictably, Madam Guto came to check on Mayro at a time, when Room Number 4 was very much occupied by a customer. He could heard her distinctive walk and he could hear her first lightly rapping on the door and then opening it. Mayro waited for an opportune moment to slip out from under the bed and get out of the room. But the woman beat him to it. He heard a whispered conversation, then the sharp blow of Madam Guto’s cane, then the sound of the woman collapsing on the floor. He got out from under the bed and dashed into the hallway, disturbing the dosing customer.

And the customer was very disturbed. Madam Guto tried to calm him down, but that only outraged him more. Who was this man in his room? Why was his girl lying on the floor here in the hallway? And when Kura, the ostensible of the Little Foxes gang, came upstairs to see what was going on, and then started making insulting threats, the angry customer became outraged. Madam Guto asserted herself once more. She sent Mayro to his room, sent Kura downstairs and tried again to tell the angry customer to calm down. He ignored her, and after putting on his clothes, stomped downstairs, shouting challenges to Kura.

After hearing Madam Guto stride away on her cane, Mayro crept out of his room to check the woman in the hallway. She was dead. Hearing the gang members amassing in the foyer downstairs, Mayro decided not to wait see what was going to happen-- he charged downstairs, and seeing the front door already barred, hurled himself through the window.


No one tried to stop him, and some of gangsters even laughed with surprise. But none of them laughed for long. The angry customer and his bodyguard-- four well-armed fighters were in the courtyard with their swords out demanding that the door be open or that Kura be handed over. There were gangsters in the courtyard, too, and on the roof, but they're defense wa unorganized and feeble. Mayro took out his own bow and assisted the angry customer in fighting his way to the window. Then after, taking a couple blows himself, Mayro ran for the open gate and the open night.

Mayro circled the building, listening to the sounds of fighting, and picked off the gangsters still on the roof. It got quiet, and we waited. After a short time, the angry customer and his men burst out of the gate, singing a song of victory. He watched them go, then set off into the ruins, looking for a safe place to spend the night. He encounter a group of the Emperor-Khan's men, riding on patrol. At once suspicious and deferential, they escorted him to a decent inn in Fun Town. Most of his money and his main spell book had been left behind, but he had enough to pay for his room.

The next day, he went to see Xiao the merchant and ask for a job. "Come back in a few days." He did, only to find that Xiao had left town, called on sudden business. After knocking on a few more doors, he found another merchant he'd served once before, and who, thanks to several profitable seasons, was interested in hiring a well-armored household guard. 6 tael per month, plus upkeep.

Mayro and the House of Jourdain Part 3 ("What's the price?")

Mayro spent a week or so resting, and hanging out in both his secure, comfortable inn and in the common rooms of the seedier inns that he used to call home. He heard rumors that of frequent closings at the House of Jourdain for the purpose of “renovations.” Business was down and they were relaxing their door policy, which as some joked, was likely to bring in more of the guests who create the need for renovations in their wake. Mayro returned to his stakeout point in a half-ruined building.

behind the door, a photo by Brayo on Flickr.

After a few days and nights, Mayro saw a rowdy customer being ejected by a crowd of gangsters with spears and torches. The ejected customer yelled and cursed, threw stones, and banged on the gate, but was ignored. He tried to apologize. “I didn’t mean to.” “I wasn’t going to eat her.” And was ignored some more. After some more threats and stone-throwing, he finally collapsed on the ground outside and fell asleep. In the morning, after the other customers had awakened, the ejected customer woke up. In the morning light, Mayro saw that he bore a striking resemblance to Lord Jourdain, as represented in the portraits hanging in the music room. And the man’s clothes, still distinctively “foreign” despite their ragged filthiness might be those that belonged to Lord Jourdain some 50 years ago. The man rose, wagged his head and knocked sheepishly on the door. After some 30 minutes, he was admitted inside.

Mayro watched throughout the day. Towards evening, he saw a group of gangsters and servant women leave the compound with a basket of garbage, some shovels, and what Mayro guessed to be a body, wrapped in a shroud. The servants dumped the garbage on a pile maybe 50 yards from the compound and continued on their way toward the bluffs overlooking the river. After about 30 minutes trying to dig a grave in the rubble, the gangsters ordered the women to dump the body into the river.

After the group had returned to the compound, Mayro went to investigate at the river. The body, that of a young woman, had slipped out of its shroud, and lay half-in and half-out of the water. From the top of the bluff, Mayro couldn’t guess how she had died; surely the body had been damaged in being flung down some 30 feet over hard rocks.

Without filling them in on all the details, Mayro made contact with Golfo and Nardon and they made plans to enter the House once more as customers. They agreed. They were received well at the door, their weapons were taken for safe-keeping, and they were ushered to the “Drinking Room,” the other, more expensive common room, where customers linger while choosing which woman to pursue. Madam Guto made an appearance almost immediately, promising Mayro, that there was someone very special that she wanted him to meet. “Perfect for you.” While waiting, some other women had some good fun helping the three warriors out of their armor, and trying on the various pieces. First Golfo and then Nardon went upstairs with a new friend-- but Mayro was not left alone for long.
In due time, Madam Guto presented to him Misty Valley, a beautiful woman, dressed as a bride. Mayro, thinking ahead had only carried with him enough to pay the entry fee and the 10 tael going rate for a “room upstairs.” Roughly two months’ salary for a poor mercenary guard, but clearly not enough.

But it wasn’t his money that they were after, but his prowess as a warrior. Misty Valley was promised to another man who she didn’t want to go to. Maybe Mayro would negotiate with this other man. He agreed and Madam Guto took him through the kitchen and down to the cellar. He waited in one room among half-drunk gangsters and sleeping servants while Madam Guto disappeared down a corridor behind a locked door. While he waited, Misty Valley and some of the other expensive courtesans helped him back into his armor and brought him his sword. Madam Guto returned, and brought Mayro into the corridor, then closed the door and locked him inside. “First door on your right!”

Mayro moved down a corridor lit by a lamp hanging on the wall. The first door on the right was ajar and upon pushing it open, he encountered Lord Jourdain in the cramped squalid room that seem to be his living and sleeping quarters. Not wasting any time, Mayro attacked his rival as the man rose from his bed. “Hey, that’s not what I wanted!” He made two cuts with his sword before the other seemed to understand what was happening. “Hey, you’re not a girl!” He reached for his own weapon—a great spiked club—and begin swinging at Mayro, driving him back into corridor. Having pushed Mayro out of the way, “Lord Jourdain” lumbered toward the locked door, demanding a refund. Mayro stabbed him from behind, and at last Jourdain attacked him back in earnest. Despite Mayro’s armor, the force of the man’s blows was incredible, throwing Mayro first against one wall and then the other. But Mayro’s blade was sharp and quick and he continued to slash his enemy. At last, both men, bruised, battered, and bloodied, fell to the ground. Fighting to stay conscious, Mayro called out to help. And his call was answered. Mayro had the sensation of being carried and opened his eyes long enough to see the dead body of hairy, hulking bestial man in the place where Jourdain had fallen, the gangsters engaged in chopping off its head.

When Mayro next regained consciousness, he was in a large comfortable bed with perfumed linens . . .

Golfo and Nardon came to see him in the morning. Madam Guto was grateful for his help, and promised to help him recover. Golfo and Nardon especially were reluctant to leave their friend, but as Madam Guto pointed out, moving him through the ruins in is current condition could be lethal.

Mayro and the Monastery of the Two-Fold Path

Mayro moved to a new, better inn to get a private room with a lock on the door, and bought a small iron box to store his valuables. While waiting for Golfo to recover from his fight with the giant leech, Mayro did another stake-out of the House of Jourdain. Mainly, he saw more of the same: another servant woman being driven out with a beating, occasional deliveries during the day, 3 or 4 groups of customers at night. Curiously, one day he arrived at his stake-out post to find others already there—also watching the House. He slipped away without being noticed. Also, one night, he saw a group of monks leaving the House near dawn, and taking a couple women with them; he trailed them back to the monastery of the Two-Fold Path.

Golfo had told Mayro a few things about this Monastery, and Mayro now decided that he had seen enough that he was ready to go in. The next day, a little before dawn, the party (Mayro, Golfo, and Nardon, all wearing their new armor) made their move. Golfo was able to point out a formerly secret, now half-concealed, back entrance and they began exploring the ruined former living quarters. Their were a few signs of recent maintenance, but most of what they saw lay in complete disarray. Large sections were returning to a natural state with weeds, sapling, and even mature trees growing amongst the rubble of a collapsed hall. They began picking their way through those rooms, which while burned and scarred still had intact ceilings and internal walls.

The village of Chuandixia, China, a photo by sensaos on Flickr.

Mayro & co. lost a hireling when the floor collapsed beneath them in one room. The seasoned warriors knew how take a fall, but the malnourished laborer did not. But there was little time for mourning as the noise attracted attention of a group men who began shooting arrows at them on sight. The party returned fire and killed the men. After climbing out of the pit, they examined the bodies, and found that they did not look like monks, but nomads or wandering brigands. The party retreated to rest and returned a few days later. Nothing much had changed. The party crossed the pit without incident and in the rooms beyond, found a stable, seemingly unused, and a long flight of stairs descending underground.

The space underneath the monastery was dug roughly out of the hard clay. The tunnels were narrow and twisting, and the party soon saw an explanation as to why, when they stumbled into a room occupied by a group of giant insects, some bipedal and wielding weapons, the others more conventional except for their size, roughly that of large dogs or even ponies. The insects allowed the party to retreat while guarding their own weaker members.

Continuing their exploration of the underground space while avoiding the narrower tunnels, the party came to a tunnel sloping up and ending at a ladder and a trapdoor. Mayro climbed the ladder and with a little effort, busted it open—to find himself surrounded by about 20 monks. Their initial response was surprised relief, but they soon showed signs of suspicion or hostility and Mayro dropped back down.

Fleeing with his companions, Mayro & co. heard at least a couple monks in pursuit and decided to take a chance in the insects’ warren. They fought their way through a small group of giant ants and then found themselves at the center of the hive, in a large chamber housing the overfed, glutinous body of the queen and her many attendant guards. These guards were fierce and did not allow an easy retreat. Likewise their hard exoskeletons repelled most of the warriors’ blows. Fighting within an inch of their lives, just to get back out of the queen’s chamber, the party fled the insects’ den and made a beeline (ow!) for the relatively safe, ruined section of the Monastery. After catching their breath and binding their wounds as best they could, they made all the way out and returned to Khanbaliq. Mayro concluded that the Monastery wasn’t something to tackle with such a small party.