Chasman Village, before dawn (day 19)
The Crawlers awoke to the sounds of voices raised in terror, a cacophony of bleats and strange words, and the acrid scent of smoke in the air. Someone was pounding on the front door of their rented home, calling out for Calindis.
The wizard, clad in a simple robe, slipped out of her bed and ran barefoot to the barred door. "Who's there?" she called.
"It's Lagis! Open the door."
Recognizing the local wizard's voice, Calindis threw up the bar and opened the door. Lagis Moonscar trotted inside, his magnificent blue and silver robes soot stained and torn in various places.
"What happened to you?" Calindis heard Folgi ask, but her attention was drawn to the orange glow rising over the village of Chasman.
"The village is under attack."
"By who?" Folgi demanded, sliding out of his own bunk and beginning to don his armor.
"Satyrs and Centaurs. Friends of yours?" Lagis asked.
"We went into that forest for you, wizard," Aria, her voice hoarse from sleep, said as she leapt from the top bunk. "You better not let the village lay the blame on us."
[Lagis reaction roll: 2D6 + 1 (for their service) = 10, positive]
"I wouldn't dream of it," the older man said, his voice sincere. "But the people here are simple folk, and cannot hope to defend themselves against the fae."
"We will aid them," Artaeus, already armored and hefting his shield and hammer, said firmly.
"Meet me at my tower once the threat is dealt with." The wizard said, then, in a flash, vanished from the house.
"Everyone be prepared," Folgi encouraged. "There's no telling how many foes we will face this night."
[Street, 5, vermin]
The Crawlers departed their home, one of the few not burning, and moved down the street. Darting between the two houses lining the cobbled path were nine tiny flying humanoids with long ears and metallic wings. Aria fired an arrow from the war bow she took from the centaur, but the arrow flew well wide of the target. Artaeus unfurled a scroll of lightning bolt and spoke the words, zapping one of the tiny fae out of the sky. Calindis summoned a ball of fire and hurled it, burning the wings from two of the sprites. Three of the remaining fae dive bombed Folgi. Most of their strikes bounced off of his heavy plate armor, but one managed to rake his exposed face with its spear. Calindis and Aria both received cuts from the sprites' razor sharp spears. Aria rolled away from her attacker and fired an arrow, pinning the sprite to a wall. Meanwhile Artaeus read the words of his final lightning bolt scroll, frying another sprite. The remaining sprites buzzed frantically and flew away into the darkness. Folgi's sharp eyes and keen smell located a single large sapphire on the corpse of one of the sprites as the party moved down the street.
[Folgi finds a sapphire worth 80gp]
[Street 2, 4 > D6 = 4, empty]
The party turned down the street that led to the town market. The street appeared empty, and only one of the houses was burning. Several villagers were doing their best to control the spread, while others kept watch for the attacking fae.
[Town Circle, 11, Boss]
The town circle's cobbled courtyard was filled with vines, saplings, and roots bursting from the ground beneath the stones. In the center of the circle, where a fountain burbled happily, stood a massive, walking tree-man. When it saw the party, it roared and rustled its leafless branches in challenge.
Aria fired an arrow, but it whistled between the lichen-encrusted branches of the creature's head. Artaeus and Folgi charged in, swinging their hammers. Artaeus's blow was swatted aside by the treent's massive hand, while Folgi's warhammer cracked against the bark of its side. Calindis drew the wand of fireball she kept sheathed in her belt and sent a large, flickering ball of flame flying at the creature. The lichen burned off of its limbs and the it roared in pain and anger. The raging tree charged, swatting at Folgi who managed to duck the blow and sending out a root to strike Aria. The nimble rogue leapt over the root, dropping her bow and drawing her dagger in one motion.
Aria sank her blade into the creature's root, causing thick sap to ooze from the wound. Folgi, likewise, struck at the creature, crushing its shoulder with a mighty blow. Artaeus attempted to hit the treent but, once again, the raging tree-man knocked his hammer aside. Calindis waved the wand of fireball again, blasting the treent with another flaming sphere. The treent, using both of its massive arms, swung at the wizard and the cleric at the same time. The wizard managed to dive out of the way, but Artaeus was sent flying. The cleric landed with a thud against the wall of a nearby building.
Folgi roared and leapt at the treent, pummeling its body and head with a flurry of powerful blows from his warhammer. The beast's bark and limbs split and broke under the dwarf’s assault. Thick, green-yellow sap oozed out of its wounds, soaking the ground. The treent’s roots began to withdraw. It shuddered violently, one last time and a cold breeze blew through its dead branches as the party came back together, Artaeus holding his ribs.
[Folgi attains 4th level, increasing his maximum life to 9, currently 8]
Aria's dagger gleamed with a golden light where the treent's ichor coated it. It seemed to vibrate with power even when she returned it to its sheath.1 Folgi found six gold pieces scattered on the ground near the fountain.
[Aria's dagger is now a +1 magical dagger infused with treent sap]
[Street 3, 1; D6 = 5]
The Crawlers moved down the street leading to Lagis' wizard tower, only to see a warband of fourteen satyr warriors holding a group of villagers at spear-point. The adventurers wasted no time, and charged into battle [surprise? D6 = 2, yes]
Aria drew and fired her war bow, dropping one satyr instantly. She fired again, but missed her target. Calindis drew the wand of sleep from her bag and summons the purple haze, sending it floating over the gathered faefolk. One of the satyrs crumpled to the ground. She tossed the spent wand aside, and uttered the words of power for the Sleep spell. The purple haze coalesced around the head of another satyr, putting it into a deep sleep. Artaeus charged into the fray, crushing the skull of one warrior but missing another one the backswing. Folgi followed in the cleric's wake, swinging his massive hammer in wide arcs. His sweeping blows broke ribs and crushed skulls, killing four of the satyr warriors. Seeing over half their band killed or incapacitated before they even knew they were under attack, the satyrs fled into the darkness. Folgi lifted a gently curving horn from the body of one of the satyrs. Along the sides of the horn, a phrase was etched in silver runes. The dwarf showed it to Calindis, who was able to translate.
"It says: ‘Arise, folk of the wild, at the sound of my call.’ Its magical in nature, of that I am certain, though what it might do I cannot say with any certainty. Perhaps it will be useful to us."
Folgi settled the horn's strap crosswise on his chest, leaving it in easy reach for blowing if the time came.
[Folgi discovers an enchanted Horn of Valor]2
[Lagis' Tower, no encounter]
In the wizard's tower, the Chasm Crawlers find many villagers huddled in small groups. The wizard was conversing with Kelia, the merchant, and a big man the party knew only as Keeper (he was the owner and proprietor of the Broadvine Inn).
"Kelia and Keeper report that a satyr warmaster guides the assault. They will keep coming unless he is dealt with."
"Where is this warmaster?" Folgi asked.
"He keeps the road north."
"Then we shall go there now," Artaeus proclaimed.
[Backtrack Street 3, 6, vermin; surprise? D6 = 1...]
As they moved through the street, Folgi staggered and fell to one knee, an arrow clattered to the ground in front of him. Artaeus just managed to get his shield up in time to deflect another on-coming arrow.
"Archers!" the cleric shouted.
Artaeus pressed forward, his shield held in front of him. The cleric swung his hammer, crushing the skull of the satyr archer that fired on Folgi. Aria drew her bow back and loosed an arrow. It sank to the fletching in the last satyr's throat. Aria and Calindis helped Folgi, who was only stunned, to his feet.
[Backtrack, Town Circle, 6, vermin]
Another flock of metallic winged sprites swarmed around the town circle. Remembering the efficiency of the small creatures from their first encounter, the party launched their attack without warning. Aria fired her bow, pinning one of the sprites to a dying tree. Calindis waved the wand of fireball in the air, sending out four blazing balls of magic. Four of the sprites turned to flickering embers. The remaining four sprites dove at Artaeus. The cleric managed to fend off the majority of the tiny spears, but one pricks his shoulder.
Aria fired her bow again, but missed her target as it buzzed away from Artaeus. Calindis summoned a bolt of lighting that zapped another sprite out of the air, leaving it convulsing on the ground. Two of the sprites dove again at Artaeus, but his shield protected him from their spears. Aria, however, was not so lucky and took a spear thrust in her arm.
Aria fired her final arrow, somehow catching two of the sprites with the single shot. Calindis drew the second wand of sleep that Aria gave her, and attempted to end the fight. The purple haze enveloped the sprite, and it fell limp to the ground.
[Aria attempts to recover her spent arrows: D6 = 2, fail]
[Street 4, 4; D6 = 5, house event; 2]
One of the buildings in the street leading out of the village to the north had collapsed into the road. The party slowly picked their way across the ruins. Artaeus twisted his ankle on a loose stone, but otherwise they managed to cross the debris with little trouble.
[Final Boss: Satyr Warmaster]
The warmaster was ready for them as they approached the outskirts of the village. It was easily seven feet tall, with thickly muscled arms. Its black fur could not hide the rippling muscles in its goat legs. It wielded a shield and a long spear and bleated angrily as the Crawlers approached.
The party charged the massive goat-man, but only Folgi was able to land a blow. Despite putting considerable effort into the swing, the satyr appeared to have barely felt it. In return, the giant slammed the butt of his spear into Folgi's stomach, in the same spot the arrow from earlier had struck. The dwarf doubled over and received a second blow, this time to the shoulder.
Calindis, seeing Folgi in pain, hastily cast Protect on the dwarf. A shimmering aura of iron light surrounded the dwarf and slowly coalesced with his armor. Folgi, feeling rejuvenated by the spell, managed to land another blow to the satyr. Aria, coming up from the side, slashed her newly enchanted dagger across the satyr's flank. The satyr shrugged off the blows, and brought his spear around in a sweeping arc. Aria and Calindis’ legs were swept out from under them, knocking them to the ground with cries of surprise and pain.
Folgi managed to crack the creature's ribs with a heavy blow, leaving it doubled over. Calindis used the moment of distraction to cast her final Protect spell on Aria, hoping to keep the struggling rogue alive. For her part, Aria managed to stab the beast in the thigh and pull herself upright. It bleated in pain and, then, made a trumpeting noise that rang out among the ruined village [Warmaster's Rally: D6 = 6, nothing]. The party expected to hear the sounds of hooves closing in, but no help came to the satyr warmaster. Seeing that no one was coming to his aid, the satyr lashed out with his shield, clipping Aria in the shoulder and sending her flying backward. The second blow—a jab with the spear aimed at her chest—missed as she rolled away from it.
Calindis and Artaeus struggled to even get close to the warmaster's swinging spear, but Folgi slammed his shoulder into the creature's stomach. It staggered and he crushed its shield arm with his hammer. Aria leaped, driving her dagger deep into the satyr's muscled shoulder. The satyr's spear clipped Artaeus in the shoulder as he tried to dodge its flailing. Folgi, who was in close, was clubbed in the head by the satyr's massive arm.
Folgi, Artaeus and Aria, reeling from their clash with the satyr, could not manage to hit the beast but Calindis brought the gnarled head of her wizard's staff down hard on the satyr's head. The sound of the blow echoed off the ruined buildings and the creature dropped to a knee. Aria managed to avoid the satyr's wild thrusts, but Folgi was not so lucky. The spear-head struck him in the shoulder, piercing through the armor at a join. The dwarf screamed in pain, and pulled back for a moment.
Folgi, despite the pain, roared and charged. The dwarf raised his hammer above his head and brought it down with a ferocity the party had never seen. The satyr's head burst from the blow, covering them all with blood, bone and brain. The dead warmaster crumbled to the ground, while the Crawlers tended to their wounds.
[Folgi uses a bandage on his wounded shoulder. -1 Bandage; +1 Life, now 4]
[Aria levels up, now 4th Level. Life increased to 7, currently 3]
[Aria uses a bandage on her wounds, -1 Bandage; +1 Life, now 4]
From among the warmaster's possessions, Artaeus found a pan flute3 which he immediately recognized as magical, though he was not sure exactly what magic it possessed. Calindis discovered a wineskin filled with fragrant wine. She, too, recognized the magical nature of the wineskin. Her training, however, allowed her to recognize the spell on the skin as a spell of Replenishment.4 She gave the wineskin to Folgi, who drank until it was gone. Within a moment, the skin was full again. The dwarf's look of surprise made Calindis chuckle despite the carnage and offal around them.
A commotion on the street drew the party's attention. A mob of angry villagers, wielding torches, farming implements, knives, and short swords marched toward them, led by a man none of the Crawlers recognized. Lagis, Kelia, and Keeper followed behind but bore no torches, weapons, or angry looks. Instead, the three appeared discouraged.
The leader of the mob called a halt just outside of the bloody patch of road where the final battle with the satyr warmaster had taken place. He raised his voice to be heard over the clamor of the villagers.
"It was you four who brought this disaster upon us. We know that you went into the Satyrs' Grove, and that is why the fae folk sacked our home. For your efforts in defending the people, we will let you leave unharmed. Refuse, and we will drive you out like wolves among the sheep."
"You are a bunch of ungrateful..." Aria began to yell.
"Hold, Aria," Folgi rumbled. "We are not capable of fighting off this entire horde of people. We will go, peacefully. But be warned, we will spread your treatment of us to other adventuring parties. You might find yourself in need one day, and no one will be here to fight for you. Come, my friends, the time has come for us to move on."
The four battered and bruised adventurers turned their back upon the mob and walked down the road, eventually vanishing behind a low hill.
Custom Content Round-Up
This link will take you to an Imgur gallery containing the custom tables I created for this entry of the Crawlers’ adventures.
Friends of the Den
Check out what the friends of the Dragon’s Den are up to! All of these folks put out excellent material, whether its writing, podcasts, reviews, interviews, or games.
From
Identity. A dark solo RPG project of introspective horror set in the ancient times of the mid-90s. Built using the Push SRD developed by Cezar Capacle, Identity will put you into terrifying situations and ask the question ‘are you the real you?’
For more information and to get a free version of Identity when it launches in a couple months, subscribe to the Lone Toad.
SGH is currently running Proper Villains, a Blades in the Dark actual play.
Tavon Gatling’s THUNDERFANG, a Sherlock Holmes inspired Starforged actual play currently in its third and final season!
Errant Adventures is currently releasing new podcast episodes every Monday, playing Traveler in a galaxy of their own making. You can also catch the Ironworn Guyz podcast where Steve and Matt Risby discuss various TTRPG topics.
Castle Grief has a Kickstarter opening on 10 June for the awesome punk rock zine, Studded Leather. Follow the Pre-launch page today!
Write Firster has started a new adventure with Sundered Isles, the newest entry in the Ironsworn RPG line of games.
Aria’s dagger has become enchanted (I rolled a 4 on the 4AD magical treasure table after defeating the Treent Shepherd. It is, for now, a simple +1 magical Dagger.
The Horn of Valor is a custom magical item themed around the fae-folk.
The pan flute in question is an enchanted flute given to high ranking fae leaders, such as this Warmaster.
The Replenishment spell is completely homebrewed but cannot be learned by any PC. It is a fae-folk spell used specifically to enchant certain items, such as this wineskin.
Glad to see you're still around!