OLD SKOOL CAMPAIGN DIARY: THE VILLAGE OF HOMMLET PT. 3

The Heroes:

• Anton Loyalar: Oeridian Paladin of Heironeous
• Coppyr: Halfing Monk
• Eli Pendar: Flannish Cleric of Pholtus
• Tharn: Dwarf barbarian of the Fireforge clan

Upon finding Eli Pendar seemingly dead under the giant spider that sprung upon in him the ruins of the tower, the rest of the group move in to save their companion.  Between their attacks of steel, fist and magic, they drive the spider back up into the shambles of the collapsed 2nd floor and set the webbing on fire.  This allows them to pull Eli's inert body out of the tower, but it also drives the spider out and it tries to escape along the top of the adjoining wall.  Anton skewers the spider with a javelin and it falls upon a pile of rubble, dead.
​
​The heroes decide to take Eli out of the moat house to see if he can be revived, and they move to safer ground some distance away.  After an hour or so, Eli recovers and the group use this time to tend to their wounds.  Then they returned to the moat house, only to come under fire by unseen assailants firing crossbows from the arrow slits of the interior buildings.  The group rush inside the opening and confront the bandits holed up within.  The fight ends with the heroes taking two prisoners.  They search the ruins and find a few items of interest, a large snake and a large lizard that they must deal with.  But they do manage to locate the bandit's loot chest, hidden under a pile of rubble, and an older chest in one of the rooms.  
​
​While deciding what to do next, they question the one conscious bandit and learn that there is a master of the moat house, named "Lareth the Beautiful", and the bandit claims that he is a priest of Lolth and her "chosen one."  The bandit seems certain that Lareth will exact his vengeance upon the heroes for killing his pet spider and daring to invade his moat house.  
​
​The heroes decide to leave the moat house, taking the two bandits with them, and go back to Hommlet to decide what to do next.  En route, they encounter a town guard, whom they give the bandits to for proper handling, and then they go back to the Welcome Wench Inn.  There they divide up their findings and decide to go back to Verbobonc to sell some of their acquisitions before returning to Hommlet.  The wizard Spugnois decides to stay behind to see if anything happens in the moat house or with the bandit activity while the heroes are gone.
​
​Back in Verbobonc, the heroes sell their items, do some additional shopping for themselves, and learn that one of the items found - the very fine broadsword - belonged to a knight of a minor noble family, the Taberts.  This information came from a representative of the Knights of the Hart, who informs Anton and also asks him to see if he can learn the fate of the Tabert son, who went missing at the same time that the beloved Prince Thrommel did, nearly a decade ago.  The prince was to marry the Noble Ladyship of Velune, Jolene, which would benefit the knighthood and strengthen the defenses of both nations, but that marriage has been postponed due to the princes' disappearance, supposedly at the hands of the agents of Elemental Evil that escaped their defeat at both the Battle of Emridy Meadows and the subsequent Battle of the Temple of Elemental Evil.  
​
​End of session.