SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY – BORN TO DIE - NOVICE LEVEL 1 – PT 2 - 2.21.2017

The Heroes:

Ecna Lubma: Dwarf priest of the Honored Dead
Gruntbelly: Dwarf magician
Kane: Human warrior
Mathias: Jotun jotun

Our heroes have just landed on a fairy island in the Dark Waters lake in search of the kidnapped daughter of city councilman Master Dreen, who was taken by a gang that calls themselves the Rude Boys.  The heroes saw the camp fire of the larger group of Rude Boys further inland and Kane decided to do some recon, being careful since his sword was still vibrating, alerting him of the presence of a demon nearby.  He snuck up the trail that leads from the beach to the camp and saw several tents, a handful of the gang members, and a young woman bound and gagged sitting by the fire, but no sign of a demon.

Kane returned to the beach, informed the rest of the group and they decided to try and lure the gang to the beach a few at a time so that they can take them out more easily.  But when Kane went to play his instrument to draw the Rude Boys to the beach, it was missing.  The group then heard snickering laughter coming from the nearby bushes and Mathias went to investigate.  Peering into a bush, he is sprayed in the face with urine, followed by more laughter.  At the same time, one of the gang members was heard coming down the path, so the group take hidden positions in the foliage around the path to await the person.  Mathias started towards the trail when a branch from the bushes stuck out between his legs and nearly tripped him.  The figure on the trail noticed the large figure of the jotun heading towards him and as Mathias attacked, so did Kane with his bow.  The dwarfs entered the fray but the Rude Boy managed to flee the area back towards the camp and alerted the other Rude Boys.

The heroes pursued the gang member and struck him down, but not before being seen by the other gangers.  The leader ordered an attack and eight gang members made their way into the fray.  During the battle, strange things were happening to members of both sides, like the branch with Mathias.  Kane found his box of cigars and some arrows missing.  Something was messing with them and that something wasn't the Rude Boys!  The Rude Boys pressed the fight, but found themselves outmatched by the heroes (although Ecna was having a bit of a hard time and could almost hear the Honored Dead's disappointment in him).  Eventually, the heroes either killed or drove away the gang, with the exception of one, who gave up.  However, the jotun decided to honor his agreement with Master Dreen and he murdered the ganger who had surrendered, his soul withering a bit with the act.

The group scour the area collecting the Rude Boys' belongings and Kane moves to free the female from her bonds.  In doing so, he briefly sees a tattoo on the back of her neck that looked very similar to the demon head symbol they spotted on the robes recovered from the Moore House.  The woman seemed very grateful for the rescue, though was acting a bit haughty and was going out of her way to try and make eye contact with Mathias, who didn't notice or care.

As they prepared to leave, Ecna smelled cigar smoke and saw it coming from a nearby bush.  Kane moved to where he could see the bush and fired an arrow into it.  Something screamed out in pain, and a moment later a short human-shaped figure emerged from the bush, cigar in mouth, dragging an equally small dead body behind him.  The small creature began to curse and shout obscenities at the heroes and the heroes came down and killed the creature.

The group took the young woman off the island, returned her to her father's manor in the Purse district, and was thanked by the appreciative councilman, who told them to keep the ransom money and that he owed them a debt.  As he took his daughter into the house, bidding the group farewell, the daughter's eyes turned completely black and she bore a wicked, evil smile on her face as the door shut behind them...