As we travelled on the road Crump explained that our initial destination was Lankshorn, a village on the edge of Dolemwood where we were to meet up with Father Dobie, a vicar at the Church of St. Pastry. We met a centaur along the way who seemed friendly enough and offered us some advice. Arriving at Lankshorn Crump put us all up at the Horned Stouts rest.
The following day, 14th Lymewold, we located Father Dobie at his home, a short distance along the Ditchway to the east. He told us the story of St. Clewed fighting a Black Unicorn to both their deaths and at that location, on a hill, the ruined abbey stands, on the NE shore of Lake Longmere. Father Dobie said that the missing artefacts, still thought to be located at the ruins of the abbey, were a cross, a pattern & a chalice.
With the map that Crump had been furnished with we were able to see roughly where we thought the abbey might be and it was decided that we'd make our way first to Dreg, a village on the river with the hope of getting more information about the exact location of the ruined abbey and obtaining some waterborne transport to take us as close to our destination as possible.
It was midday by the time we set off and within a short distance we met our first obstacle, two huge hawks landing on the path ahead of us feasting on some sort of animal. Our party backed off and Shank and Young Chaucer attempted to move up onto the north side of the Ditchway to take us out of the hawks line of sight and gain the protection of the dense trees should they decide to attack us. Unfortunately Shank stepped onto some sort of large worm and was attacked by it. Young Chaucer was so startled he set off his crossbow and landed a bolt on Shank. Crump might not be the brighest of leaders but his courage cannot be denied as he immediately went rushing up to aid his comrades and after landing a blow the worm constricted him and secreted an acid that reduced his polished plate armour to something that a lowly retainer would be embarrassed to wear. Fortunately the combined prowess of Crump and Shank was enough to defeat the worm.
Shortly after the battle with the worm the hawks flew off and so we travelled a short distance
A full nights rest meant Shank & Crump's wounds were able to heal a little and on the morning of 15th of Lymewold we continued along the Ditchway towards Dreg. The day was largely uneventful. The only event of note was finding owl carvings on some trees and passing through a major ley line! We made camp by the side of the Ditchway and spent another uneventful night, allowing Shank & Crump's wounds to heal some more.
On the 16th of Lymewold we made it to Dreg around midday. We noted a castle on an island in the river that had not been marked on Crump's map. There was some discussion how to proceed from here. Crump sent Shank out to garner information on what transport was available and he reported that there was a ferry available over the river at 1sp per person, a river boat captain was prepared to take us as far as the entrance to the lake for 4sp or a merchant called Valan would be prepared to pay us the princely sum of 6sp per day for guarding his two wagons all the way to Fort Vulgar
Crump elected for us to stay at the Cock 'n Pig Balls Inn. I think Crump must be running low on funds as we all, including Crump, stayed in the common room overnight. Jaspar our Friar was delighted with the meal of sausages, mashed potatoes & pickled eggs and I concur that it was a memorable meal for all the right reasons. However, Crump now appears fully healed from his wound and Shank shows little signs of his wound. It was here that Crump awarded Young Chaucer the title of Hunter for his bravery in standing his ground against the Worm a few days earlier. I fancy it was put a ploy to bolster the young man's confidence as the wound he inflicted on Shank was taking many days to heal.
On the 17th of Lymewold we set off escorting Valan who had two wagons and two drivers with him. We took the ferry across the river and proceeded up Creek Road, northwards towards Prigwort, where apparently Valan intended to pick up some more goods and stop overnight when we reached it. Our sleep in our overnight camp was interrupted by a display of strange lights in the sky which started off in the distance but moved so they were directly over our camp for a short period. I was on watch when this happened and woke the rest of the camp as I had no idea if they would prove to be friend or foe. However, the lights proved to be neither and after a short while just disappeared. Our future description of this episode drew blanks from local people.
On the 18th of Lymewold we reached the town of Prigwort, by reputation the largest settlement in Dolmenwood. I felt somewhat sorry for Crump who is obviously somewhat impoverished. He has been unable to purchase any replacement armour for his current rather tatty plate mail and when faced with the cost of the first inn we tried elected for us to stay at a cheaper inn, The Rap & Tap. I was able to detect a ley line to the north of Prigwort.
On the 19th of Lymewold we set off from Prigwort around midday as Valan had business to attend to in the morning. Our path took us over a creek and through the forest until mid afternoon we were able to see a rocky hill with what appeared to be a ruin at the top. We believed this to be our goal for retrieving the lost artefacts of St. Clewed. It was very noticable that a large flock of black birds were circling the ruin and at sundown they appeared to descend into the ruins, presumably to rest for the night.Valan agreed to pitch up camp a short distance from the hill and we spent an uneventful night.
Early in the morning of the 20th of Lymewold Valan gave us permission for a short expedition to the top of the hill to explore the ruins. This we did and were fortunate to locate all the missing artefacts. We noticed what appeared to be young children digging in the graveyard that was part of the ruins at the top of the hill. Unable to get close to them before they took refuge in the Mausoleum, we elected not to pursue them as we had located the items we needed to return and were keen to get them back to Father Dobie as soon as could.
And this is where our current tale ends, ready to start off from the ruined abbey to Fort Vulgar!
We have gathered a number of rumours on our travels and I must speak to the rest of the party to gather the rumours together and put quill to paper so we have a written record.
System: Old School Essentials
Setting: Dolmenwood
GM:Che Webster
Players: Andy Sutton (Pithwilder, Crump, Young Chaucer, Urla, Bullan), Ian Roberts (Shank, Jaspar)
This is a play test of Nercrotic Gnome's forthcoming Dolmenwood player's book. The sessions played so far have been Friday 14th & 28th February 2020. Each session was around 3 hours.
The characters have currently gained just over 300 XP, about 15% of what they need for next level!
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