The rain had finally cleared up, and not before time. The Lemmings desperately needed to get more gold in their pockets and the gods forbid that they should have to actually work for it!
As they sat in the Dragon and Flagon, there was a disturbance outside. The town crier was out, announcing a contract. The town council needed people to map the woods to the north of Haitabu. They had plans on beginning logging there and transporting the logs to Fikaby to expand that settlement, but they needed to know more about the area first. In return for exploring this unexplored area and mapping the route from there to Fikaby, the town council announced that it would pay 7 Gold Marks upon their return to Haitabu to those that did the job for them.
Lysanthir was first in the queue to accept the contract and came away with a bag of maps that needed filling in.
"Easy money, lads," he announced back at the Dragon and Flagon. The others agreed and drank a toast to this easy money.
Then they headed off to help the town guard by breaking a few heads at closing time. This paid off their bar tab. While they were doing that, Wido got his spear fixed, costing the party 1 Gold Mark.
The Lemmings then packed their bags and headed out for the woods north of Haitabu. They were not far out of town when suddenly they were waylaid by a pack of Dust Hounds. Out of the surrounding woods and low hills, the baying of dogs on the hunt was heard. Forming a defensive line, the Lemmings awaited their enemy. Onesipe shot and wounded one as it approached and then the hounds were on the party. Wido, in the front rank, took the brunt of the first charge and skewered four of the hounds in quick succession. Onesipe killed another before they second group closed on Drogo. He immediately fell under the beast's attack. Sir Thiebault charged in and slew the biggest of the beasts. The remaining two ran with their tails between their legs. The group quickly ran to Drogo, who groaned. The beast had just knocked his head hard on the ground and stunned him.
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| The group of hounds on the left reached Wido first and were almost singlehandedly slaughtered by him. The group on the right reached the party on the second turn. They knocked Drogo out before several were killed and the surviving two ran away. |
"Maybe that will knock some sense into you!" declared Sir Thiebault with that famous wit of his. While he was making such hilarious witticisms, the rest of the party were searching the hounds. It turned out that two of the hounds had once been pampered pooches and their bejewelled collars would sell well back at the market.
"Right, Lemmings, we've a wilderness to map. Let's take this loot and get on with the job," declared Sir Thiebault. The rest of the party followed willingly. Those dogs stunk and they did not want to hang around them too long.
After the days of rain previously, this march felt like a stroll in the park. Soon the group had reached the location they needed to map in detail.
"Hush," hissed Fulrad as he ducked back behind a tree, "There's a whole camp full of cultists there!"
"How many?" Sir Thiebault demanded.
"I count eight of them. They look right weedy too. I reckon we can take them."
"Ok. I bet the town council knew they were here too. Sods! Right, listen up! This is the plan."
The Lemmings had heard this plan before. It largely involved sneaking as close as they could and then charging like loons at the enemy, while Onesipe and Fulrad sniped from the sidelines. It was a well-practised strategy for them.
"Cultists," muttered Wido, "Why did it have to be cultists?"
The others just glared at him.
How cool that the dice have offered me cultists as the enemy for this turn, so I get to use my new stone circle for their camp!
Paying careful attention to their plan, the Lemmings crept forward through the woods and the mushrooms mutated by the power of the stone circle ahead of them. As they approached the enemy, fog rolled to chill their bones and reduce visibility massively. The noise of the cultists' chanting echoed hollowly across the landscape.
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| A cultist camp near a Centre of Power |
As usual, Sir Thiebault failed to sneak as quietly as the others, and the group of chanting cultists in the stone circle spotted him.
"Part 2 of the plan, lads!" he yelled as the cultists shambled towards him.
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| Performing an arcane ritual |
The Lemmings formed up and charged. Drogo was very quickly bleeding from a wound as his overenthusiastic slayage of two cultists left him vulnerable to the third. Sir Thiebault dealt with that cultist while the cultist lieutenant sprouted crossbow bolts that did not seem to slow him at all.
As fast as the cultists shambled towards the Lemmings, the Lemmings cut them down. With a cry of triumph Sir Thiebault removed a vital part of the cultist leader's anatomy and raced into the centre of the stone circle, where he had seen something shiny. He found a suit of fine mail armour, just as the other cultists approached.
Fulrad took out the eye and brain of one of the cultists with an arrow as Wido and Sir Thiebault slaughtered another two. Then Lysanthir raced in and slew the last of the cultists to claim credit for having defeated them all!
With the cultists dead, it was time to search their camp. Alas, these cultists were poor and the treasure amassed was just 4 Gold Marks, a Set of Alarm Traps and some scrolls that might give a clue as to the cultist's movements.
The Lemmings quickly mapped the area and settled in to camp before the next leg of their journey to Fikaby.
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