4-9 Eirmont - Mosquitoes and Baboons and Tyrannosaurs, oh my!

 Rested and bathed, Broneslav felt good being on board his ship, The Stout Meg, and letting others take the burden for a while. That first night, they stopped at the village of Burowao. The locals were friendly and knew what to expect because of the contact with Tanaroa. It took four more days of sailing to reach the point where Broneslav wanted to make land briefly. He knew it would take two days to reach the dragon's cave from here and two more to return so he packed accordingly.

The explored part of the Isle of Dread

"Captain, I need half a dozen stout men, who can help me carry away the treasure I know is here. Will you detail them or find volunteers?"

The captain found six volunteers and Broneslav made sure they were outfitted appropriately. The ship's boat landed them and they made their way into the interior. The sailors grumbled about having to walk instead of sail, but still marvelled at the colourful wildlife around them. That night they camped in a clearing in the jungle.

Their preparations for camp were disrupted by a loud crashing in the undergrowth as something huge approached. The sailors drew their cutlasses and Broneslav drew his broadsword as they backed to the far side of the clearing. Moments later a monstrous lizard crashed into the clearing and gave an earsplitting, fearsome roar. This was too much for one of the sailors, who dropped his cutlass and ran off into the jungle.

The monstrous lizard charged. Broneslav charged too. He guessed that this way the beast would focus on him and not on the unarmoured sailors. His sword glittered in the air and blood flew as he sliced a nasty gash in its side. It bit at him, its teeth leaving bloody gashes. He then ducked under the beast's gaping mouth as its teeth tore more holes in his flesh and cut another massive gash in the lizard's throat. The next exchange saw both parties cutting smaller tears in each other's flesh, but the Tyrannosaurus Rex was weakening faster than Broneslav. The young hero leapt into the air, planting a foot on its nose to steady himself, as the dinosaur reached down to bite at him once more. His sword pierced its eye and penetrated its tiny brain. Moments later the lizard crashed to the earth with a noise like thunder. It thrashed a while and then lay still.

Broneslav washed his wounds and bandaged them. He was used to this, but the sailors' jaws had dropped at the speed of the violence. Then he turned to the sailors, whose number had been strengthened by a sheepish looking man. The returning sailor picked up his cutlass again as Broneslav spoke.

"We'd better move our camp, lads. This beast will attract scavengers and we won't get a good night's sleep otherwise. Grab yourself a souvenir if you want. No one will believe you when you tell them about this beastie if you don't."

The sailors looked big-eyed at Broneslav. It was one thing to be told by him that he had slain a dragon and not really believe it, but a whole other thing to see him actually kill a huge monster like this. They grabbed some of the Tyrannosaur's teeth to keep as souvenirs and carve scrimshaw from. Then they moved camp.

26 Sviftmont to 3 Eirmont - Return to Tanaroa

 The final part of the journey back to Tanaroa went without incident and it was with relief that Broneslav got there. The only difficulty was persuading the gate guards that he really was still alive! Better yet, the Stout Meg was already docked and loading with trade goods and provisions. She had returned just a couple of days ago, so he would not have to wait long to return to Karameikos.

The boy's first job was to bathe and get his clothes washed. He knew he needed it from the winces and careful expressions of the villagers as they tried not to give offence.

With that done, he spoke to Captain Decentius about how the trading had gone. The captain reported that all had gone well and that there had been a premium on the first goods they had returned with that meant that Broneslav was really quite wealthy now. Broneslav thanked the captain and the crew for their hard work.

Then he told the tale of his own explorations. Several of the sailors scoffed at his tales of dragons and giant lizards until the young hero rolled out the hides of the dragons that he had carried back. Then their eyes got big and their mouths stayed shut. It occurred to them that this 16-year old youth, who could barely grow a beard, was actually quite dangerous.

"Captain, shall we be able to depart tomorrow?"

"Aye, milord, we're finished loading goods and supplies and can cast off on the tide tomorrow."

"Good. I would like us to sail around the west side of the island and put in towards the northern end. There is unfinished business there and a bonus for those that help me with it."

The captain looked dubious but assented.

23-25 Sviftmont - A Blackish Day

 The days of trudging through the hills wore on and proximity to the swamps meant biting insects still found the young hero, which left him fed up. He realised that he was nearing where he had met the Rakshasa and had a relatively relaxing night in the hills, but to see if they were there would be a detour now, so he carried on. As he did so, he ruminated on how the heroic tales he had grown up with never mentioned biting insects, dirt or the smells. Speaking of smells, it had been a long time since Broneslav had bathed properly. He must be particularly ripe now, he mused. Then he thought of the hot baths back in Specularum and became a little homesick.

It was in this frame of mind on the third day since encountering the last lot of rock baboons that he stumbled over the crest of a hill and slap bang into a large black dragon. Well, not quite slap bang into it, but it was only thirty yards away, a distance that could be covered in seconds. His jaw dropped. Fortunately for Broneslav, the dragon's jaw dropped. Not in the bitey, swallowing young Broneslavs kind of way, but more in the total surprise kind of way.

"Um, hello," Broneslav said wittily. He knew that black dragons were creatures of Chaos, but it seemed that it might be wise to try to avoid a fight here. "So, you look like a very fine dragon and I don't really want to disturb you, so would it be alright if I just carry on along my way."

The dragon replied in Common, "Hello to you, puny human. I think I would like to keep you. I have not seen such as you all clad in shining metal before."

A slight desire to obey the dragon washed over the young hero, but the Charm spell had no effect. He shook it off, realising that the dragon was going to play with him and/or eat him rather than let him go without a fight.

Leaping forward, he drew his sword and swung hard. Acidic blood spouted as his sword carved a gash in the monster's side. It burned his face where it landed, and then he was dodging for all he was worth as the dragon spat a torrent of acid over him. He was lucky and avoided the worst of it, coming out of the dodge roll right under the dragon's neck. His next blow took its head off! And then he was dodging again to avoid the spouting acidic blood spraying from its neck.

Broneslav was lucky. The dragon had barely touched him, and his blows had landed hard and fast on it. He was also lucky that it was a relatively young and inexperienced dragon. He skinned it as he had the other dragon and went off to find a safe place to sleep. He was struggling under his burden now despite his great strength, and he knew that it would make travelling slower. On the other hand, he was close to his destination, so he should be ok.

Incautious howling woke the young man that night. He quickly prepared himself and was ready only just in time as a small pack of wolves the size of small horses charged into his camp. He cut the first down with a single stroke of his sword and wounded the second into his camp. Dodging or blocking the blows of the rest, he suddenly felt a pain in his shoulder as a dire wolf he had not seen attacked him from behind. The wolves were wary now. They darted in to strike as Broneslav sought to circle around and prevent them getting him from behind again. He leapt forward and struck one of them a glancing blow. They took turns in darting in and nipping at him, but none of their bites landed.

Snake-fast Broneslav lashed out. Once... twice... and a third time. Two wolves died and a third was wounded. Three remained and undaunted at that. Snapping and snarling at him, he dodged and blocked and struck out once more. Both sides were careful now and their blows failed to land because of that. Suddenly, the heroic adventurer saw an opportunity. He was like lightning as his sword wove a pattern of death that cut two more wolves down. This was too much for the last wolf which fled yapping in fear.

Broneslav only had minor cuts after this encounter, but he decided to shoulder his burden and move his camp for the rest of the night. It was the wisest course in case more wolves came sniffing around.

21-22 Sviftmont - A Rude Awakening

 Broneslav woke up surrounded by humanoids with thick brow ridges and broad faces. How they had sneaked up on him was hard to fathom, but perhaps he was just too exhausted from fighting the cyclops. Despite being armed, they did not appear hostile, just careful. Their obsidian-tipped spears did look sharp though. One of their number spoke to him in heavily accented Common.

"Who are you and why are you sleeping outside our home?"

Broneslav looked around. He had not noticed any houses last night. Then he twigged that they meant the cave on the hill above him. He had not noticed that either, but then there were so many caves here that any single one was largely unremarkable.

"I did not see your home when I camped. Sorry. I shall pack my things and go on my way. I have been exploring the island and must go home now."

The concept of exploring seemed to escape the Neanderthal people. They just looked puzzled. Broneslav did not try to explain further. He was worried that they might turn hostile.

The Neanderthals watched him depart warily, but made no move to stop the young man, who marched on through the hills for the rest of the day and then continued marching on the following day, when he suddenly found himself being pelted with sticks and stones.

"A person could get fed up of you rock baboons," he announced to the screeching horde as he moved away from and around their territory. Fortunately, he was able to find a place to camp for the night that was not denied him by the aggressive apes.

19-20 Sviftmont - Eye, eye!

 Fortified by a good night's rest and with his minor wounds from the fight with the troll healing fast, Broneslav set out once more and soon found himself in hilly ground. The going was easier here, and he decided to skirt the jungle that he had originally traversed. The hills offered fewer biting insects for starters!

On the second day of travelling through the hills, he marvelled at the sight of a herd of giant sheep. Each was the size of a pony. Suddenly, a large rock slammed into him. The impact was accompanied by a roaring yell. Broneslav had been so completely absorbed in the sight of the sheep that he had not realised that a giant, aggressive shepherd was guarding them. The shepherd was nearly 20 feet tall and not much further than that away. How Broneslav had missed seeing the one-eyed giant was a question for another day. As Broneslav took in the appearance of the cyclops, the shepherd picked up a huge club and advanced on the young warrior.

Broneslav did not hesitate. He drew his sword and charged. Unfortunately for him, the shock of the sudden attack had put him off his stride and he only managed a minor wound to the giant, whose club slammed into his side breaking several ribs. Broneslav gritted his teeth and sliced a huge cut into its leg only to be knocked flat by another heavy blow that sent him flying.

The young hero was not a quitter, so he picked himself up and charged again. His blow landed true and the cyclops howled in pain as blood gouted from another huge cut. Broneslav ducked under the cyclops' next blow and struck again, causing another wound but was too slow to dodge again and found himself flat on his back once more due to yet another painful blow from the creature's club.

Picking himself up yet again, he ducked around the cyclops and slashed its achilles tendon, causing it to fall with an earthshaking thud, and then he plunged his sword into its now reachable heart.

"Shit! That hurt! And I wasn't even doing anything I shouldn't have. Damn chaos creatures!"

Broneslav cursed as he bandaged his wounds and searched the nearby cave where the cyclops had its home. For an uncivilised chaos creature, the cyclops had gathered a respectable amount of treasure, although the young warrior did wonder how it had done so and where it would use that treasure. Or maybe it was just that the gold and gems were shiny, so the creature gathered them for that reason.

That done, he carried on. There was still daylight and he did not want to rest where another cyclops might come by. That single one had been a painful enough encounter on its own so he camped as far from its cave as he could that night.

13-18 Sviftmont - Troll Trouble

 After a good meal and a good night's sleep, Broneslav spent the day with the villagers. They begged him to tell the story of the fight with the dragon, which he did with a will, and they feted him in return. It was a relaxing day, and he felt almost said that he had to depart on the morrow. However, he needed to return to his enterprises. So, when the next day dawned, he wished the villagers of Mantru farewell and set out back towards Tanaroa.

For several days, he followed the same path he had taken to get there, dodging the pteranodons round the bridge from the plateau to the mountains and circling around the areas where the rock baboons had raised an outcry at his intrusion on their territory. The journey went well until he reached the mountains south of the plateau. At that point, he stumbled upon a troll looking for a quick snack. The fight was over almost before it began and he escaped with only minor wounds.

Knowing that the troll would regenerate if left long enough, Broneslav built a fire and put the corpse on it. He hoped that would be enough to destroy the evil creature. Then he carried on south, making camp that night in the best shelter he could find. He was well into the mountains now but knew that he would reach hills soon and then the jungles beyond.

6-12 Sviftmont - Return to Mantru

 Broneslav awoke stiff and sore but still alive. The dragon's corpse near him was testament to the horrendous fight he had the day before. He immediately decided that it would be unwise to travel as battered as he was, so he set about checking the dragon's lair and making a proper camp. He would wait here a couple of days before heading back to Mantru and then back to where he hoped his ship would be waiting for him.

Breakfast of iron rations did not appeal to him, so he cut out the dragon's heart and roasted it. He had heard in the old tales that eating the heart of a beast like a dragon could grant you special powers. Nothing happened, except that his belly got full. Well, at least he had tried.

On the second day he went out looking for water and to scout the area. He found a large lake surrounded by jungle vegetation. Massive long-necked lizards were immersed in the water. Even the dragon would have felt dwarfed by them, standing ten times and more the height of a man. They ignored him as he filled his water flask and he returned to the cave.

Early on the third day, he set out towards Mantru once more. The journey went well and he managed to avoid any hostile encounters along the way. The villagers were surprised to see him and astounded that he had killed the dragon alone, but they had to believe him because he had its skin with him.

5 Sviftmont - The Dragon's Lair

 The night passed peacefully and Broneslav was woken by the biting insects once more. He readied his pack and set out. He knew he was in the right area to find the dragon he had been told about, but was not sure quite where it was. Fortunately, as an experienced outdoorsman he was able to spot the signs of the beast's passing. His tracking led him to a low stony hill in a clearing in the jungle. A broad opening in the side of the hill gave access to the interior, and the hard-packed dirt and tracks in front of it showed that a massive beast used this area a lot.

Pausing at the mouth of the cave, Broneslav heard the heavy breathing of a massive creature coming from within. The regular, slow nature of the breathing suggested that the beast was asleep. His heart was in his mouth and the adrenaline thundered through his system as he drew his sword and advanced carefully into the cave. Just visible ahead of him was a mound of treasure and in the small amount of light that reached the mound, he could make out the form of a dragon. He knew that this would be a tough fight, so he contemplated turning around. He dithered, and in that moment it was too late.

The dragon's eyes opened and it huffed out a puff of noxious green gas.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" it roared, "Wait, no, I don't care. You woke me and you shall pay!"

The dragon launched itself at him faster than a beast that size should be able to. He cut at it but his blows seemed to bounce off its armour, barely drawing blood. It belched out a huge cloud of poisonous gas that left him choking and weak despite managing to hold his breath just in time. He rolled out of the cloud of gas and leapt to the attack again. His cut was deeper this time, but not by much. The dragon raked and battered him with its claws and bit it him with razor sharp teeth that left gaping wounds. Seeing no chance to escape, Broneslav surged forward once more. This time his sword bit true and glistening ichor sprayed from a huge wound in the beast's side. The beast fought frenziedly, its claws and teeth tearing chunks out of the young hero. Desperately, he swung his sword at it once more as it drew in a breath to launch more noxious gas at him. His first cut bounced off its scaly hide. The second cut a small gash.

Suddenly he found himself surrounded by poisonous green gas again. He choked once more and rolled away, his lungs painfully labouring under the assault of the chlorine. He could barely stand but had no choice. He leapt in under the dragon's head once more and thrust with his sword. It skittered off the heavy scales, but then suddenly caught and pierced the body to the hilt. Blood sprayed once more and the dragon looked stupidly down at him as its eyes filmed over. He rolled to the side and narrowly avoided getting crushed under its corpse.

Exhausted he lay there a while before bandaging his wounds, of which there were many.

"Why did I think this was a good idea?" he muttered to himself as the adrenaline left and the pain took hold. "Well, it is one less creature of Chaos, so there is that."

With his wounds bandaged, he searched the cavern, not that it took much searching. Thousands of coins lay in a pile in its middle, and the dragon had been sleeping on them. There was far more here than he could take with him, so he picked out the most valuable pieces that he could carry without slowing him down too much. Then he began the slow process of skinning the dragon and taking as much of the skin as he could carry and which had not been damaged in the fight.

By the time he was finished, night had fallen, so he lay down to rest in the lair. Nothing else was likely to challenge the dragon, and nothing should know it was dead yet, so he felt safe enough sleeping an exhausted sleep.

That was tough. Broneslav's dice rolls were really poor and I had to use the Defy Death mechanic for him to take half damage from the dragon breath each time. His combat rolls were not much better. He got one good strike in and the rest of the damage was in increments of 1 or 2 from the Fray Die. Meanwhile, the dragon hit him every time with every attack, and he finished the fight at 2 hit points. I really did wonder if this was going to be his end.

4 Sviftmont - In the Land of the Big Lizards

 The following morning, the triceratops lumbered off. Broneslav tidied up and sorted out his possessions which the massive beast had nosed through. Fortunately, nothing important was broken, and he was soon on his way into the hills and towards his goal. The journey through the hills was easier than through the mountains, and he made good time, while avoiding unfortunate encounters with local wildlife.

As he camped for the first night in the jungle beyond the hills, the sound of crushed undergrowth woke Broneslav. He readied himself in the cover of a tree and watched as a lumbering beast three times the height of a tall man pushed past near his camp. It was a remarkable creature, walking on two legs but having a bill like a duck. He marvelled at it as it disappeared once more into the night, obviously unaware that he was there.

"A True and Accurate Representation of a Duck-Billed Giant Lizard" from the journals of Broneslav Torenescu, Merchant Adventurer*

The next day, Broneslav marched on through the jungle, cursing the large, bloodsucking flies that seemed to be everywhere. Distracted by them, he did not see the massive, sail-backed lizard that bore down on him and only barely managed to avoid getting swallowed whole. As it was, he scored a tiny cut in the beast's flesh as it bit at him and he only just got his arm out of its mouth before it took it off. It was lucky that he had such good armour! With his scattered wits gathered, he focused better on the fight and was able to block the creature's bites with his shield, while simultaneously cutting hard at its neck. Several hard blows saw its head fly from its body.

He leapt back to avoid the spray of blood and looked around for more of the creature. Luckily, this was a lone beast that had fancied a snack, and not a hunting pack of them. Broneslav bandaged his wounds and carried on.

* Historical life restoration of Edmontosaurus annectens (referred to as “Trachodon mirabilis” in the original figure caption): William H. Ballou: Strange Creatures of the Past – Gigantic Saurians of the Reptilian Age. Century Magazine 55(1):15–24 (1897)

2-3 Sviftmont - Travelling through the mountains

 The following day, Broneslav climbed the cliffs down and began the arduous trek into the mountains. It was heavy going. He was exhausted by the end of the day and slumped into a deep sleep in the sheltered spot he had chosen for his camp. His sleep was disturbed several times by the hunting cries of a raptor in the distance, but when morning dawned, he had not been eaten, so he set out again.

As he travelled, he filled his water flask from mountain tarns and marvelled at the giant lizard that was wading in one of them. It was even bigger than the triceratops he had seen, with a long snake-like neck and head, but it was also intent on eating the vegetation around it, so he presumed it would not want to eat him. It's booming call when it saw him indicated its displeasure, so he made haste to finish filling the flask and move away.

By the end of the second day, he had reached the foothills beyond the mountains and breathed a sigh of relief. He would be able to travel faster tomorrow.

That night he slept well until suddenly a triceratops invaded his camp. He rolled out of his bedroll to his feet, stunned by this close encounter with the enormous beast. Fortunately, it did not seem aggressive! Instead it seemed more curious. The greatest danger was clearly going to be getting trampled because it was snuffling at him and his gear. Was it looking to see if he or his gear were an edible plant?

Without warning, the creature lay down in Broneslav's camp and promptly began to snort and snore. It was hard fast asleep! Seeing nothing else he could do, Broneslav found a spot where he figured he would probably not get crushed if it rolled over in its sleep and did the same.

The description for triceratops in the D&D Cyclopedia says they are aggressive and will attack on sight. I chose to roll its reaction instead and got a natural 12, so it was friendly! It clearly did not recognise the puny human as a threat. Maybe it is a young and inexperienced dinosaur. Maybe it could adopt the young human as a pet. I wonder if you could train a triceratops to be a riding beast.

1 Sviftmont 1000 AC - In Search of a Dragon

 Broneslav awoke early and packed his gear. He thought about what was happening back in Karameikos. It would be autumn there, but here it still felt warmer than high summer. He also worried about his ship. Would the captain return for him? He knew that he had stayed out in the jungle longer than planned, but he had also given the captain instructions on what to do. If he was lucky, the captain had been canny enough to trade on his behalf and earn him a good bit of silver into the bargain. It was really too late to worry about that now though.

Bidding goodbye to the villagers, he set out on his next adventure. It would involve a circuitous route round the plateau, unless he got lucky and found a way down the huge cliffs on the north-east side. He had rope and climbing gear with him, so it would be possible to do so. He mused on the problem as he followed the guide from the village using a much easier route out than the one he had climbed to get in.

Saying farewell to his guide, Broneslav set out across the plateau, glad of the relatively easy going for now. Ahead he could see mountains and he knew that the going would be slower and tougher in a day or so.

Cresting a low rise, he stopped suddenly and ducked back. A huge lizard was grazing on scrubby bushes about 100 metres ahead of him. The beast was about half the size of the ship he had sailed here in and stood twice as high as Broneslav himself. It had three massive horns on its head and a huge bony frill protecting the back of its head. It was intent on its meal and did not appear to have noticed him. He skirted the area warily in case it spotted him, but the triceratops was too intent on its food.

By the end of the day, the young warrior had reached the edge of the plateau. He found shelter and made camp in a concealed spot. Tomorrow would involve climbing and he intended to be well-rested for that.

21-28 Ambyrmont - Recovery

 Broneslav awoke the next morning feeling tired. He had slept badly because of his wounds. It would take a little while, even with the shaman's help, to fully recover, so he decided to stay at Mantru until then. It felt good to be able to leave off his armour and just potter around. Without headhunters to attack it, the village was peaceful, and the villagers were grateful to him for his help. He spent a week swimming, fishing and generally doing light work around Mantru until his wounds had fully healed. Rest and the shaman's spells had done their job.

In addition to healing, Broneslav had been listening to the tales told by the people of Mantru. The did not travel far from their crater home, but they were aware of events across the island through infrequent contact with the other dwellers there. Most of these tales were of dangers from giant lizards to the north-west and a dragon to the north-east.

Here's a green dragon I prepared earlier!

"The dragon flies over occasionally, but it has not attacked our village," Fano, the talking chief, informed Broneslav one day, "We are surely tiny morsels, not even snacks for this beast, compared to the huge lizards that live to the north-west of here."

This talk of a dragon piqued Broneslav's interest. He was keen to slay a red dragon and this might be his chance, if he were lucky. He also wondered about the lizards to the north-east. Were they also dragons? Or were they something else entirely? He had never heard of giant lizards that were not dragons. Well, if he survived the dragon, he would find out.

20 Ambyrmont - Return to the Temple

 Fully healed, Broneslav set out early for the temple, and quickly made his way through to the lower level. The headhunters had not returned. Aware of the difficulties, he was able to avoid getting swept away, and his opening the door had led to most of the water draining out of the sub-level, leaving a slimy and slippery, but much drier path. As he stood at the top of the stairs down, he girded his loins, drew his sword and stepped carefully down the steps. As he did so, the air grew noticeably warmer. At the bottom of the stairs, the heat was stifling. he stood on a terrace overlooking a massive dark cavern that smelt of sulphur and mud. The terrace itself was covered in white calcium deposits. He could feel the heat of the cavern through the soles of his boots. Apart from the light from the spell on his shield, the only illumination in this cavern was the occasional flash of ruddy light that accompanied the muddy slurping of a geyser blowing.

Temple level 3 (from X1 The Isle of Dread. (c) TSR, Inc.)

Broneslav advanced carefully down into the cavern proper, feeling like he might slip at any moment. Mud bubbled near him as he edged around the cavern and began to look for points of interest. It seemed weird to him that the temple was built on this cavern. There must have been a reason for it, but he had no clue what that reason was. Well, time to explore and see if he could find out. The young hero stalked carefully over the slippery, uneven cavern floor and around the muddy pools, seeking to see its extents. Progress was slow and involved climbing up and down rises in the natural floor level. By the time he had reached the middle of the cavern, he was hot, sweaty and covered in mud from the cavern floor and from bubbling mud that burst and splattered near him.

Suddenly, a weird creature emerged from the mud near him, Choking on noxious gases that had bubbled up from the hot mud, he was caught flat-footed. Its smooth head, large eyes and tentacled, sphinctered mouth gave him the creeps, as did the fact it seemed to walk on three fluke-like tails. The creature spoke into his mind.

"We are the Kopru, rulers of this island and the last of a great civilisation that must be restored. You are now our servant and will help us. We see from your mind what the world is like out there. It will be ours and you will use your power and influence to achieve our goal."

A strange lethargy and drowsiness clouded Broneslav's mind as he felt himself slipping under the creature's influence until a mud pot near him burst, scalding him. The pain focused his mind once more and he leapt into action.

"No, foul fiend! I shall have none of your tricks! Your civilisation is gone and shall not arise again if it must rely on controlling others!"

His sword cut a terrible gash through its rubbery flesh and the kopru howled in pain, striking out with one of its tails as it did so. Broneslav grunted in turn as he felt a rib break where the tail had smashed his side. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he smashed his sword down on the creature's head, cleaving through so that the tentacles of its mouth fell to the floor.

Another of the creatures had approached from behind in the meantime. It grabbed at him, crushing his already broken rib and threatening to break more as it sought to envelop his head with its tentacular orifice. The hard teeth on its tentacles gouged his neck, just below the helmet as he flailed and tried to skewer it but failed.

Broneslav struggled in the creature's grip, feeling another rib break under its crushing grip. He could barely breath as he cut at it and scored a minor wound. As he did that, it bit and crushed him further until he was seeing stars and the edge of his vision was growing dark.  In return, he steeled himself and struck harder, this time scoring a solid hit that spattered him with the monster's ichorous blood. It became a battle of which of them could hold out longest, each dealing damage to the other, but in the end it was Broneslav who stood over the kopru's corpse. He was battered and bruised, but still alive and not under the creature's control.

The young hero prowled the caverns to see if there were more of these creatures, but found no more. At the far north end of the cavern, he did find a limestome-encrusted skeleton on a calcified throne. The stalactites above it had dripped for an age upon the throne until it and its occupant were covered in stone. Broneslav presumed this to have been a servant of the kopru. As he examined it, he spotted a ring and a sword that seemed to have withstood the ravages of time. He helped himself to them before returning to the surface and back to the village of Mantru, where he told his tale to the amazed villagers.

"I cannot guarantee that there are no more of these creatures, but it seems they cannot leave the temple, so it is best that no one visits there. You should remember why, if you have visitors, so that you can warn them of the dangers and consequences of visiting Taboo Island," he advised them.

The villagers welcomed and feted him for what he had done. Tired and bruised but content with his work, Broneslav was able to rest peacefully that night.

That could have been interesting. Broneslav failed the saving throw versus the kopru's charm ability, so I used the Defy Death mechanic to have him pass it. He took a little damage from that but was able to then defeat the kopru, although they did significant damage to him in the process.

I was tempted to let him stay under their control instead, because it could have been interesting to try to work out how he could use his nascent merchant empire to advance their cause. However, I am not sure that is the direction I wanted this campaign to go at this point.

Now I need to decide what to do next. X1 Isle of Dread is designed as a hex crawl for a party to explore and map the island. Is that something that Broneslav would do, or is he more focused on his own plans and endeavours? Should he return to meet his ship and head off somewhere else next, or can I find a suitable hook to lead him elsewhere on the island?

14-19 Ambyrmont - Interlude

 The young hero lay unconscious for several days. He groaned in his sleep and twitched a bit, but those were the only signs of life. When he did come round, he was weak and drained.

Where are the dinosaurs?

Broneslav sat up on the sleeping mat and immediately wished he had not. He felt dizzy and like a grey fog lay between him and reality. The chattering of excited children reached him, but as if from a distance.

"See! He is alive. I told you he was not dead."

"Well, he sure smells dead."

"Let us fetch Umlat."

The patter of small feet racing off. Peace for a while, and then a heavier tread alongside the two lighter sets of feet.

"So, you are awake once more, Broneslav. It was clear that you had been fighting from the wounds on your body."

Broneslav struggled to focus on the words.

"I have healed your wounds, and cured the infection that ravaged your system. You were lucky that our fishermen spotted your canoe and ferried you here or you would almost certainly be dead now."

"Uh, thank you."

"Now rest and we can talk later."

Broneslav lay back down and slept for an age watched over by the children of the tribe, who were not used to this much excitement, and by the ancient priest Umlat, whose skill had ensured Broneslav's survival. Food and rest helped his strength return over the next few days and soon he was up and moving around again. He told the tale of his adventures in the temple to Fano and Umlat once he felt strong enough. Their eyes grew round at the various trials and tribulations he had encountered, but they were grateful for his help.

"Although I drove off those headhunters, I must return to the temple to see if any have themselves returned," he announced, "I shall do so tomorrow."

Fano declared, "We are grateful for your help and sorry that you were so hurt in helping us. If there is anything you need, just ask. It is yours."

Broneslav thanked them and prepared himself for his journey back to the temple before ensuring he got a good night's sleep. He wondered what lay down those stairs he had last seen.

Some thoughts

Broneslav encountered a diseased rat and failed his save versus poison when bitten by it. Fortunately, he did not suffer instadeath, managing to roll high enough not to do so, but the disease did massively debilitate him. Being also wounded and down to just 8 hit points, it was only reasonable that he would return to the village to recover. One thing not in the rules was how quickly the rat's disease would affect him. I made it quite quick for narrative purposes. Scarlet Heroes has better guidelines than the D&D Cyclopedia on how disease progresses: I like the repeated saving throws that see the character either improve or deteriorate gradually. The D&D thing of "you just die" if you roll too low seems a bit harsh. Having diseases be progressive feels like it gives the character more agency in their own death.

Another thing that occurred in the temple was that I actually remembered the magic items and rings that he carries, and used them. I keep forgetting that he has these things. I shall try to do better!

One more level to go and that is the temple fully explored. What will Broneslav find there? And what should he do after that? It is in the nature of D&D parties to explore every hex of the adventure area and every room of the dungeon, and there is much that he could find, but is that what he would actually do as a real person? How should he arrive at the other encounter areas, or do I write those off and send him off on other adventures after this (assuming he survives)?

13 Ambyrmont - Swept off his feet

 Broneslav pulled the door open. It resisted strongly, but he was stronger. Suddenly the door gave. Broneslav was swept off his feet by the weight of the water flooding into the room beyond. He crashed into the opposite wall and groaned as he felt a dozen new bruises emerge. Picking himself up, he looked around. This was not a huge room by the standards of the temple, but it was very much a dead end. There were no exits other than the one he had been swept in by. A small stone altar and several stone benches occupied the room. Broneslav knew they were stone because he had made their acquaintance in passing as he entered the room. Hanging from a stone hook near the altar was a mace that Broneslav recognised to be of good quality. He grabbed it and put it in his backpack.

"No option then," he said to himself resignedly, "Crab it is."

After surveying this room once more, he turned around and trudged through the water back towards the door where he had encountered the crab. As he did so, he saw the giant crab coming towards him. The door beyond it was in splinters and the crab was scuttling sideways as fast as it could in his direction. It had a friend with it.

Broneslav's first blow skittered off the crab's shell and left him open to the crab's attacks. Fortunately, he was able to block its wildly flailing pincers with his shield. Recovering his balance, he plunged his sword into the crab's face and it collapsed to the floor. It's friend clambered over it to get at Broneslav. Angered and bleeding, Broneslav split the crab's shell with his sword and it joined its deceased partner.

"Shit, that hurts," he grumbled as he bandaged his wounds. Then he headed into the next room. There were stairs leading down into the water and he could just make out stairs leading up on the other side to a blocked passageway. There was also a set of stairs leading up to another passageway out of the room.

The water looked deep. Good job he had a potion of levitation. Chugging the vile concoction down, the brave lad floated up to the ceiling and used his purchase on that to move to the only other way out. As he did so, he noticed a massive oyster some six feet in diameter just below the surface of the water.

"Good luck to you, fella."

The oyster was no danger as far as he could tell, so he floated over it and into the passage beyond.

As the potion wore off and Broneslav splashed to the ground, he heard chittering noises. Giant rats burst from small tunnels in the side of the passage and assailed him with all their furry fury. Taken aback by their ferociousness, Broneslav fumbled his attacks and took a series of nasty nips through the gap sbetween his armour plates as he slowly got his rhythm going again. Once he had got their measure, the rats soon died.

The passageway he was in ended in yet another door. Bracing himself, Broneslav opened it. There was no sudden rush of water this time and he was able to wade into yet another room with a goodly quantity of water on the floor. A door on the opposite side of the room beckoned. As he crossed the room, he felt a tug at his ankle. Suddenly the room filled with burning oil and he was covered. Broneslav leapt backwards, but the fire did not burn. He had forgotten the magical ring he was wearing would protect him from flames.

Backing away from the smoke, so that he could breathe, he waited for the oil to burn out, before going to the other door and opening it, again bracing himself. This time, water rushed out of the room and into the passage beyond. Despite being braced, Broneslav was swept along and fetched up against a portcullis that stopped him from being carried even further away. Just as well, because even as he spluttered and coughed and fought to keep his head above the rushing water, he noticed stairs at the end of the passage going downwards. Who knew how far they would take him?

Broneslav took a fierce pounding as he tried to climb the portcullis, be he survived and once the water had leveled out, he was able to stand easily. He felt terrible but was back on his feet. Looking around, he found a lever that opened the portcullis and a door to his left that led into a passage back to the original room he had landed in. The lever also opened the original portcullis that had forced him to go the other way initially.

By now, the young warrior was feeling distinctly woozy. He decided that he should head back to the village and explore further later, after he had properly cleaned his wounds and had a bit of rest to recover. He made his way back up through the hole in the floor and out onto the temple landing place, where he got into his canoe and started to make his way back across the lake.

About halfway, suddenly everything went black.

13 Ambyrmont - After the flood

 After a five minutes of searching, Broneslav worked out how to open the secret door. Triggering the mechanism, he pulled the door open and was suddenly hit by a flood of water that blasted him across the room and would have taken him on down the corridor, if the portcullis were not there. He spluttered and spat filthy water as he cursed the new bruises he had acquired [3 DAM] and pulled himself to his feet again.

With the door open, he was able to wade through the flood and enter a corridor beyond the secret door. He was at a crossroads. A short corridor ahead of him led to a door. He could see the iron bars of cells lining either side of that corridor. To his left was another short corridor leading to a door. To his right, the corridor extended beyond the light given off by his shield.

He decided to check the cells out first and was quickly disappointed. There was nothing in them. He opened the door ahead of him with difficulty because of the water, but found nothing in the room beyond either, although the floor of the corridor and the room was littered with small objects that caused him to have to walk slowly or stumble. He was glad that he had thick armoured boots to protect his feet here.

One thing that struck him in this new room was the ceiling. Remembering how fragile the trapdoor had been, he realised that this rooms roof was similarly fragile. The wooden beams looked rotten and ready to give way. If he wished, he might be able to bring the ceiling down and get back up to the upper level from here too. He noted that and moved back to the crossroads, where he waded through the water to the other door.

He pulled the door open and was immediately confronted by a crab that was eight feet wide and stood as tall as him. The crab seemed as surprised to see him as he was to see it.

"SHIT!"

He slammed the door again, figuring the crab might smash the door but was too large to fit through it.

"Right, the other way it is," he muttered and sloshed away as the door shook under the crab's assault. He could always come back this way if need be, and would be better prepared now.

As he waded through the water, he came to a corner turning to his right. Ahead was a raised platform with steps up. The dry platform would be a blessing. Hopefully, everything beyond would be dry too. He could feel his feet wrinkling in real time now! The steps up to the platform were slippery and slimy. A fungus grew on top of it that made the top part slimy and a bit slippery too. However, what grabbed his attention were the three trails in the water and the large jaws that opened as they approached him.

He braced himself as three crocodiles tried to make a meal out of him. His sword sliced through the upper jaw of the first one and it rolled over, spraying blood into the water, as he sliced the second open, but only wounding it. The wounded crocodile took a chunk out of his hand [1 DAM], but he blocked the third and then dealt a mortal wound to the already wounded crocodile. That left a single crocodile and a lot of blood in the water.

The young fighter's mighty thews bulged and he drove his sword straight through the head of the last crocodile. It died instantly, thrashing in the water in its death throes.

As he cleaned his sword, he examined the crocodiles with a practised eye. They were small for their species and looked emaciated. There was obviously not a lot for them to eat here. Broneslav was glad of this. Sure, it made them eye him up as a meal, but it also made them weaker. With a merchant's eye, he also noted that their hides would not be worth much. They were in poor condition from the beasts' poor diet.

"Well, it's either deal with the crab or check up ahead."

He waded down into the bloody water and headed towards the end of the corridor, where a door led into the unknown. He prepared to open it, hoping he was ready for anything.

13 Ambyrmont - A Hiss and Tell Story

 Looking around the room he had just fallen into, Broneslav saw statues lining every wall but the exit. A quick glance up showed the remains of a trapdoor that he had fallen through, but what grabbed his attention most were the large snakes curled around four of the statues. Worse yet, they had all reared up and were looking at him hungrily.

"Shit!"

He grabbed his sword from where it had landed after his fall and prepared for the worst. Meanwhile, the worst prepared to make a meal of him.

Fortunately, it was cold down here, so the snakes were a little sluggish to start with. Unfortunately, Broneslav was slow to shake off the effects of his fall. His first swings were clumsy, although not so clumsy that he did not manage to crush the head of one snake with his boot, and to crush another between his shield and the statue it was curled around. The remaining two snakes reared up and spat poison at him. Broneslav ducked his head behind his shield and blocked them. Then he took a quick breath, stepped in close and decapitated both snakes before they could do any more.

The room was quiet once more and he had time to look around. The statues lining the room depicted a variety of subjects: a young woman holding a child; a fearsome monster of a type that he was unfamiliar with; a serpent but with feathers covering its body; a graceful fluid creature that almost appeared to move in the light from his shield; and several others, all well-made but showing the ravages of time. And all glistened an unwholesome green and red in the light. There were small puddles of water around the floor, and a larger one in one corner of the room. This area must not have been used in a long time.

The young warrior was curious about where he was. The open doorway and the corridor beyond could lead to the treasure he sought. Thinking of treasure, he suddenly realised that one of the statues still had a gem in its eye socket. He pried it loose and put it in his pouch.

On lithe feet he strode towards the opening to see what lay beyond. A flagstone gave under his foot and he dived backwards as a portcullis slammed down to block the exit, deafening him in the process. Broneslav cursed. He had a choice now. He could try to lift the portcullis or use his grapnel to get out of the room the way he came in. There might be another way down that he had not yet found, so it would not be totally giving up to climb back up and seek a different route down again. He tried the portcullis, but even with his mighty thews, he could not lift it.

A thought occurred to him. The large puddle in the corner was an anomaly. Nothing else in the room suggested that water had an easy way in, at least not to that extent. Searching the area around the puddle, he spotted small gaps and had soon worked out that there was a secret door here. He sought a way to open it...

13 Ambyrmont - Heading for a Fall

 A little investigation revealed the key to opening the secret door. It groaned open protestingly. The headhunters had presumably not used and maintained it during their stay here. Perhaps they were completely unaware of it. The undisturbed layer of thick dust in this otherwise bare room attested to this fact. Broneslav sneezed as he stepped into the room and looked around.

The only way out seemed to be stairs leading up to a balcony. He walked carefully over to them and climbed up.

From the balcony, Broneslav could see through two slits into the main chamber beyond. This was presumably the other side of the massively damaged sculpture on the wall of the main chamber, perhaps a god's image before the headhunters had literally defaced it. A large wooden piston and handle were situated between the two eyeholes through which he gazed at the carnage he had moments earlier wrought.

Seeing no other way out and thinking that the piston might open another hidden door, Broneslav cranked it. A massive cloud of dust blew out into the main chamber. It ignited on the headhunters' fire and the room was filled with fire. The blast blew back in through the eyeholes and Broneslav stumbled backwards as he was enveloped in flame. Fortunately, his magical ring protected him from damage, but his clothes were singed and he slipped on the stairs as he stumbled, falling to the floor below.

Dust billowed around him causing him to cough as he landed. It was accompanied by a creaking of the floor, which quickly splintered and gave way. He fell through it to land on a hard, damp floor partially stunned and even more bruised and battered than he was before. As he scrambled to his feet and uncovered his shield so the light spell could illuminate the murky room, Broneslav heard hissing from right beside him...

13 Ambyrmont - The Skulls of their Enemies

After bandaging his wounds, Broneslav looked around. He had seen the direction that the surviving fighters had fled, so he marched off to the south side of the large chamber to the door they had gone through. This was, coincidentally, the same door that the chief had emerged from.

Headhunters flee to Room 3

He kicked the door in and dodged to the side just in time to avoid an arrow from within the room that lay beyond. With a roar, he charged in. He caught the remaining headhunters flatfooted and quickly wounded the shaman before blocking and dodging their return blows. There was a pause as both sides took the measure of each other before Broneslav darted in and thrust his sword through the shaman's body. As he withdrew the sword, the shaman slumped to the ground and he killed the second headhunter on the reverse swing.

The cowardly bodyguard who remained threw his spear to the floor and raced past Broneslav to the rope that the women and children had used to escape. Broneslav raced after the bodyguard and cut him down. He could not risk the man returning to ambush him.

As quiet fell, Broneslav realised that he was now alone in this area. He searched it while keeping a wary eye out for more headhunters.

The room he stood in was cluttered with sleeping mats, pots, gourds, animal skins and furs. Shelves on the wall were filled with skulls, a testament to the tribe's leisure activities. Among the clutter, Broneslav found a number of gems and some exotic furs that might sell well. The other rooms off the main chamber offered no further treasure unless he could find a market for bowls containing mud and ash or files for teeth.

There was no obvious way out of this area, until he spotted a discoloured patch on the wall and floor in the south-east corner of the large chamber. Further examination revealed a secret door, which he quickly opened, ready for anything...

13 Ambyrmont - Bitter Conflict

 The warriors emerging from the doors on the balcony looked better fed, stronger and better equipped than those that Broneslav had fought so far. Worse yet, some of them had bows. He would have to see if defending the passage was still viable, so he backed up. Unfortunately, these warriors were clearly more experienced. Instead of charging straight in, they formed up in a line around the largest of their number. The archers prepared to fire. Broneslav ducked behind the rubble and the first volley flew past him. He drew his bow and placed his sword and shield within easy reach.

Ducking back out, he saw that the archers were preparing to fire again. Broneslav shot first! Letting arrows fly as fast as he could, Broneslav quickly slew two of the archers. The return fire saw arrows leaving gummy trails on his armour, but none found a gap.

The shaman beside the largest headhunter chanted as the arrows flew. As the shaman completed his spell, Broneslav suddenly felt paralysed for a brief moment, but his willpower pushed him through and he shook it off. The shaman looked startled.

Another arrow flew and another enemy archer died. One of the archers scored a hit on Broneslav. The poison on the arrow tip made him feel slightly queasy but his armour and strong constitution ensured that he felt no worse than that. He shot the enemy archer and two more in quick succession as arrows bounced off his armour. Despite the deaths, the headhunters screamed defiance at him and stood firm.

With the archers being whittled down, the chief of the headhunters decided that enough was enough. He and his bodyguard charged as Broneslav's arrows missed their mark for once. Seeing them charge, Broneslav grabbed his shield and sword and braced himself. The chief stumbled as he charged and his bodyguard reached Broneslav first. The plucky hero fended off their blows easily, the narrow gap he stood in making it easier for him to defend.

Deftly wielding his sword, Broneslav cut the first bodyguard down with two swift blows. Another lightning-fast lunge skewered a second bodyguard as he fended off their slashes with his shield. This was too much for the remaining bodyguard, who fled and left the chief to face Broneslav alone. The pair were evenly matched, it seemed as each scored hits on the other. Grunting grimly, Broneslav settled in to the fight.

Seeing his chance, the shaman rushed forward chanting a hasty spell and tried to grab Broneslav, but the youth twisted his way out of the shaman's fiendish assault. He retaliated against the chief, scoring a heavy blow on the large headhunter, but it was not enough to cut the man down. As he fought desperately against both the shaman and the chief, Broneslav sought an opening while fending off their further attacks. Suddenly he saw one and slid his sword into the chief's gut. The big man fell. The shaman fled. A single archer joined him.

The remaining archers howled their ire and fired. A single arrow found its mark. It was just a scratch, but it was enough. Pain flashed through the young hero and his guts curled up into knots as he wretched violently. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand straight again despite the pain, the fever and the need to vomit that the poison on the arrow had caused. It felt like his guts were being ripped apart, but he stumbled forward towards the archers at full speed.

The archers stood horrified as the young warrior flailed wildly with his sword, cutting all of them down in short order. They had not even had time to react to his sudden assault before the room was quiet once more. He stumbled back to the corridor as the fever took hold and rested a few minutes to recover his strength. He felt awful and was quite badly wounded now, but the worst of the poison seemed to have gone through his system already, or maybe not much of it had entered his system in the first place.

Standing up once more, he scooped up the chief's sword, which seemed to be better quality than expected and prepared to advance further into this temple.

I used the Defy Death mechanic for Broneslav to survive the poison without further problems. It cost him hit points and it might have been more interesting to let him fail and have him be captured. I am sure there will be time for those sort of shenanigans later though. He is bound to fail another saving roll at a critical juncture in this or another adventure.