Tales of the Demon Lord 2: Trouble in Ephram's Fork, N1 Part 2

 The Victims of the Demon Lord

 

·         Chikatinga: Human Priest

·         Einar: Dwarf Magician

·         Me7a: Clockwork Monk (Warrior)

·         Ripples: Elf Adept

·         Tordar: Dwarf Spellguard (Warrior)

 

As the Victims start to head out of Ephram's Fork to return the spoiled milk, they are approached by Samantha, one of the town elders.  She asks to speak with them in private and buys them breakfast at Prudence Appleton's Kitchen.  She says that if news of the disease that's plaguing the town gets out, the town will be ruined, as it relies on travelers stopping here between Sixton and Crossings and Thorpe. She begs the group to keep news of the disease to themselves, stating that they tried very hard to determine the source but could not and the disease continues to crop up for the last month.  The group offers to try and determine the source…for a price.  She offers 5 gc up front and another 5 if they can determine and stop the source of the disease.  She says another offered to do so, but he never returned.  When they inquire about this other man, Samantha says that she thought him to be an Inquisitor of the Church of the New God, but he did not bear any symbols.  She described him as being lame in a leg and an arm not working properly, and having a scarred face.  He offered to find the source of the disease, but when he left town he never returned. 

 

Upon completing their meal, the Victims take their spoiled-milk wagon out of town to the Golden Meadows Dairy farm.  They enter the farm and speak to a farm hand who claimed to know nothing about the disease plaguing town.  Zach Meadows emerges from the milking barn and speaks to the group as well.  He offers to replace the spoiled milk and is very apologetic.  He also appears haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and looking rather thin and tired. 

 

As they talk, some of the others notice odd behavior from some of the animals.  A cow, a couple of chickens and a goat seem to stare intently, almost menacingly, at the group.  Einar notices that the farm hands don't seem to belong and don't seem to know what they're doing.  Chikatinga goes into the milking barn to talk to Nonna Meadows who is milking a cow, while another farm hand watches her.  The farm hand tries to get Chikatinga to leave when he approaches the door leading to the hog pen, but as Chikatinga draws his blade and goes into the pen, one of the hogs rises up on hind legs, eyes begin to burn with flames and the hog comes for him!  Chikatinga back into the barn but the hog manages to gore him with its tusks.  Tordar enters the barn to assist.  The farm hands draw daggers to attack and the Victims respond accordingly.  Einar uses technomancy to create an automated crossbow.  The fight is taken into the farm house as Me7a pursues a fleeing farm hand and encounters two others in the house.  Zach Meadows warns Einar that watch out for the wet nurse, Beryl Zarnie. 

 

Inside the house, the fight continues.  Einar enters and drinks a potion which causes him to grow to giant sized proportions.  Back in the barn, Chikatinga, Tordar and Ripples finish off the hell hog and the farm hand.  The fight in the courtyard ends and they head to the farm house.  The unfriendly farm hands on the first floor are killed and Einar hoists his companions up to the 2nd level.  Ripples opens the door and finds Beryl Zarnie within, holding Baby Meadows to her teet.  A wave of despair washes over the group as she stands to fight. Einar, Ripples, Me7a and Tordar face her, but when she is wounded, she releases a burst of energy that pushes Einar through the wall and he falls to the ground below.  Chikatinga enters the house and prepares to face the wet nurse, but she attacks the group with caustic breast milk and then jumps out the window, landing unnaturally well in the courtyard below. 

 

End of session.