Paying the Piper

Despite the threat from the Faedwyr, some brave (or foolish?) souls have returned to Lander's Edge. However, during the nights they have been plagued by rat creatures. When the Piper arrived and offered to get rid of the rats, the settlers agreed. When they could not pay his fee, however, he led off their children. The Iron Heart Accord heard their lamentations and we offered to assist. Led by Ferrum, a cleric of the Sentinels, and with me (Rufus) in attendance, our party traveled to Lander's Edge.

We were taken to a long abandoned entrance to the city's sewers. Its grate, rusted shut from decades of disuse, appears to have been ripped from the wall & carelessly tossed to the side. Heaps of debris, old crates, & other trash clutter the catwalk. The air reeking of night soil & sea water. It is here we stopped, just outside of the gaping maw to the under city.

"Here, this be where he led them," wheezed our guide, a scrawny, toothless old rat catcher, "good luck in this fool's errand."

With that he limped off into the fog, leaving our party at the entrance.

Cautiously, we entered the catacombs and made our way steadily through the twisting passageways. On occasion. corridors led off to the right or left, but we continued along the main way. Finally, we came to a gate; alas it was locked! Someone suggested that there might be a key hidden in one of the chambers we passed so we decided to backtrack.

When we entered the first room, we immediately noticed a small chest on the far side. Then a foul stench assaulted our nostrils. We began to gag and our eyes watered. I had to drop my shield and place my hand over my nose in order to function. That's when we heard the skittering/ A swarm of reptilian humanoids crawled out from the murk and rushed us.

Their advance was initially inexorable and we were driven back to the doorway. But then we steeled ourselves and began to push back. We made progress through the room. That's when disaster struck me. A powerful blow knocked my sword from my hand. I had to twist and dodge to recover it. However, I think this setback turned toward out favor. The troglodytes, witnessing my discomfiture, shambled in my direction. Ferrum rushed past them on the other side of the room, grabbed the chest, and made his escape. My compatriots came to my rescue, allowing me to retreat from the room. Once we escaped, the troglodytes ceased their pursuit.

Outside the room, we checked the chest. There was a key, but it would turn out that it was not the right one. There was also a trinket that would prove useful; an amulet that allows one to track an enemy.

In the next room, we were swarmed by goblins. Though we hacked and slashed unceasingly, it seemed that they would not stop coming. We were beaten back and on the verge of defeat. Then I saw Slab the Druid (one of the Sentinels) in one corner chanting. His exhortations seemed to feed the strength of Ferrum,who waded into the enemy and would not be defeated. His example inspired me; I called to my companions "Let's help him!" and I too rushed into the foe. We became a whirling scythe of death. The tide turned and the enemy fled! Our exaltation in our victory was matched by excitement when we found a chest. In it was a key! We ran to the locked gate; it opened it!

We passed through the gate into a large chamber. We were greeted with the sight of a score of rat-faced humanoids.

They were herding another of their kind, but this one was humongous! Behind them was a man (or it appeared to be a man but I believe it was a Faedwyr). He was playing the pipes, which sent the rat-men into hysterics. They madly charged us!

Once again we were locked into deadly combat. The rat-men were not difficult to defeat, but they would not stop. One of our party noted "We need to kill the Piper!" We tried to surge forward, but the rat-ogre would rush into the fray and scatter us.

We had been pushed back to the gate when Ferrum called to me. "Rufus, come with me!" Reaching him, he laid a hand on my shoulder and uttered an incantation. Suddenly, we were transported across the room and faced the Piper. Suddenly, I was fired with a holy rage. I rushed into the attack. Scores of rat-men blocked my path to the Piper but I mowed through them like summer grass. I found myself face-to-face with the rat-ogre. Our battle raged but I managed to say him, and now I faced the Piper.

I heard a roar behind me. Turning, I saw the rat-ogre looming over me! Although bleeding from a mortal wound, it was determined to fight on and take me out! I readied my shield.

Suddenly, there was a mad rampage. The rat-men started rushing from the room in a panic! Their rush got in the path of the ogre. It too was swept out of the room. I then realized that something was different; the pipes had stopped. I looked around and saw that the Piper lay dead upon the ground.

We searched the rest of the catacombs, found the children, and escorted them to safety. I did recommend that the settlers abandon Lander's Edge until we can be sure that the Faedwyr could not return. I am not sure if they will follow that advice.

I am certain that this account has slighted some of my compatriots by ignoring their contributions. In my defense, I can only say that I was heavily engaged in combat and failed to witness all the acts of bravery that occurred. I can assure you that our entire party fought gallantly. In the end, we were victorious and the children were saved. That is what truly matters.

OOC Notes

• This is a recounting of the "dungeon crawl" scenario from last Sunday's battlegame.
• There were supposed to be 5 rooms but we ran out of time and had to cut if off at 3.
• I have occasionally altered events for dramatic for dramatic or narrative purposes. For example, we never made it through the locked gate. Due to time constraints, the scenario was changed so that we faced the Piper in one of the rooms. I changed the narrative slightly because it made a better story.
• I have been playing "barbarian" but am changing some of the abilities to match my persona better. In this account, I describe Fight After Death as a holy rage.