The Gardener's Rod

While the army of the Undying besieges the Wardens and Iron Hearts, the defenders continue to make forays into the wilderness to gather supplies.

On one such expedition, the party came across a hidden pathway. Here they find the skeletal remains of a Warden. Searching him, they find the following note:

"I have been wounded during a melee with goblins. I can no longer keep up with the party so I have asked Shroudstar to leave me while she searches for the Rod."

The party leader sucked in his breath. This was a clue to the lost expedition on the quest to find the fabled Gardener's Rod!

Excitedly, the leader read more:

"It has been days and Shroudstar has not returned. Now I hear scuffling from the thickets. There could be trouble."

There was no more to the note.

The leader determined to press on, and hopefully discover the fate of Shroudstar and the Rod.

After traveling a bit further down the path, the woods parted and the group entered a secluded glen. In the middle was a statue, with a staff lying at its feet.

A pair of tall trees flanked the statue.

As the party approached, the trees came to life and attacked. At first, this assault forced the scouts back. They tried to counter, but their blades could barely nick the hardened trunks.

"We must get that rod!" called the leader.

One of the party, a bard from the Iron Heart Accord, began to chant. A powerful ray of energy emitted from him, shoving the trees away from the Rod. Another scout grabbed it, and began backing away, shielded by a third member of the party. Enraged, the trees rushed forward, but again the beam of energy forced them back. The party was able to retreat from the glen with the Rod in their possession. As they returned to the path, the trees ended their pursuit. The Gardener's Rod was theirs!

But what happened to Shroudstar and the Horn of the Hurricane?

OOC Notes

• This was the second scenario from our February HFS day.
• Xhorja, Artemis, and Ferrum played the scouting party while Beast and Blade were the trees (Amtgard oakens). I believe Xhorja played bard; in any event he used Shove to move the trees away. Ferrum was able to grab the Rod and Artemis protected his escape.
• According to our lore, Shroudstar had the Horn when her party was defeated by the oakens. Since then, she has not been spotted in Ember Shoals (IRL she moved from the area). So now I need to explain how we get the Horn back!

Terror in the Dark

It was a peaceful and pleasant evening as two young men stood guard outside the village. The quiet was soon disturbed by a methodical clanking sound that steadily approached. The guards called out a challenge, but there was no reply. As the clanking grew nearer, they could make out a metal-clad figure armed with sword and shield.

From http://orig11.deviantart.net/0669/f/2008/210/d/9/golem_by_gugu_troll.jpg

"Please stop, Sir Knight!" called one of the guards. "I must ask you to identify yourself."

The figure drew close to them, stopped, and looked at the challenger. Then, with a surprisingly quick motion, it flicked out its sword, and parted the guard's head from his shoulders.

The other guard turned and called for help. Then the automaton's blade buried itself into his back.

Drawn by the shouts, sleepy men with indifferent arms ambled out to the advancing construct. It shrugged off any blows and sliced apart those who confronted it.

Men began to call out. "Invaders. To Arms! To Arms!"

One of those who answered the call was Wat, the sometime forester. He grabbed his bow and a quiver of arrows and rushed to the fight. Those armed with melee weapons tried to stop the thing. Wat began to look for openings and loose his arrows. He managed a few good shots into the constructs legs and side. Yet it still kept coming, hacking and slashing at the villagers, who dropped in bloody pools.

One by one the defenders fell, until Wat was the only one left. He kept peppering the construct with arrows, but the thing kept blocking with its shield. Wat could tell that the automaton was damaged. One more good shot could immobilize the thing for good.

Wat would fire and run, fire and run; trying to keep out of reach of his enemy. Wat turned down an alley, then realized his mistake. He found himself hemmed in by Farmer Brown's pig pens. Wat could run no further. He pulled out his last arrow, fitted it to his bow, and aimed low, hoping to get below the shield and strike the thing's creaking right knee.

Wat loosed. Miss!

Backed up against the pen, Wat tried to deflect the blow with his bow. The wood shattered and split. Again, the automaton raised its weapon and swung.

Wats' screams echoed through the surrounding hills and forest.

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A few days later, a band of rangers approached the village. The stench of death permeated the air. On alert, they began to investigate. Hacked and torn corpses littered the street.

"What could have done this?" they muttered in dismay.

The wind shifted and their nostrils were assaulted by a reeking odor. As the rangers covered their noses to avoid gagging, one of the party pointed and called out "Look!"

Ambling through the streets with a bloody hand in its grasp was a ghoul.

From https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/6/62/Ghoul_-_David_Griffith.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090519093324

As soon as the fetid creature saw the rangers it rushed to the attack. With shields raised, the rangers' front rank readied for the assault while their comrades behind them readied their bows. The ghoul clawed and bit at the defenders, but it could not get past the shields. The archers let loose and feathered shafts pierced the monster. It fled and regrouped before the pursuing rangers could finish it off. Then an archer skillfully shot the creature's foot, pinning it to the ground. The rangers attacked, slicing into the ghoul. Finally, a well-placed arrow cut short the ghoul's rampage.

With the creature dispatched, one of the rangers declared "Well that's that. We have avenged these people's deaths."

"Not so fast," another replied. "Look at those wounds - sword cuts. The ghoul did not kill these people. It must have been attracted by the smell of the corpses."

"If the ghoul did not kill them, then what did?" Asked the first ranger.

"That is the question we need to answer."

OOC Notes

• We only had 4 people today, and I was restricted to archery (still recuperating from skin cancer surgery) so we decided to do monster battles.
• In the first game, Ferrum played the automaton while Artemis, Beast, and I tried to stop his murderous rampage. I played the role of Wat.
• In the second game, Ferrum was once again the monster while I was an archer. I was able to use pinning arrow to keep him from escaping after he was wounded and then I got in the final fatal shot.

Under Siege

After the Undying chased the army of the Wardens and Iron Hearts into Castle Kessog, they placed our fortification under siege while they pillaged the scattered settlements of Ember Shoals. Being short of supplies, we sent out two scouting parties to collect food from the surrounding countryside.

From https://novagirl22.deviantart.com/favourites/58038557/Lotr-The-hobbit

These scouts had to fight their way through the Undying hordes to secure their goal.

The first party rushed through the postern gate and dispersed into the woods to the east. The Undying gave chase, but valiant warriors kept them at bay. Then, elusive scouts managed to gather up supplies and rush back to the castle. The enemy tried to cut off the party's return, but the warriors carved a path through the walking corpses, and the scouts returned safely with a full load.

Alerted by the first party's success, the Undying were ready for the second party. This time, resistance was much heavier. The scouts made it to the woods to the west, but the enemy harried their every step. Every time they stopped to gather supplies, the Undying attacked and drove them off. As night approached, the party retreated back to the castle with a meager load.

Thanks to the valiant efforts of the scouts, our refuge was now well supplied. We could withstand a long siege while we waited, hoped for, relief from our allies.

OOC Notes

• This is an account of the first scenario as part of last Sunday's High Fantasy Society day. I scattered filled bags across the battlefield (seven in all). The team playing the Wardens had to retrieve as many bags as possible in 7 minutes. The defending team represented the Undying, and used the Amtgard rules for skeletons.
• Players included Xhorja, Artemis, Ferrum, Beast, Blade, and me (Rufus)
• The first team secured all 7 bags with 1.5 minutes left while the second only managed to gather 2 or 3. I just can't remember who was on which team ( I think Blade and Beast were in the first party).