WINE CELLARS: Of Debts paid

 This short adventure took place on Halloween 2021

The Players:

Joe P. - Hagar (Barbarian) & Leonard (Magic-User) and hirelings viking archer and viking torchbearer.

Steve F. - Rook the Thief & hireling torchbearer.

Will C. - Master Blaster & Mister Blister: Dwarf & Fighter

After finding himself in quite a lot of debt to the locals of the Marqest village Master Blaster organizes his friends and some hirelings are obtained. The group then sets out for the ruins to score big!

Recent rumors about town have spoken of the rumblings of the Secret Underground and the seemingly growing sense of dread overtaking the countryside... is the power of the Duke on the rise?

The party hires a wagon to drop them off just outside the old gatehouse at dawn. The wagon master will return an hour before dark today and again at dawn & dusk the following day. If the party has not returned by then they are on their own to get back to town.

Leonard is quick to note that the outer wall and gatehouse seem to show signs of repair and look to be in better shape than they have for years. Once the group set foot in the inner courtyard they are greeted by the looming presence of Marqest Manor itself!

Both Leonard & Hagar confirm to the others that the rumors must indeed be true as this part of the castle looks vastly different from the last time they were here. Someone or something has indeed been reinstating the ruins to their former glory...

The Griffin

Moving directly to the great double-door entry the group see that a pair of statues now flank the doorway. One is a Griffon the other a Chimera and lying on the ground between them is body of a man.

Rook proceeds to check over the Griffin statue and Leonard looks over the Chimera, Hagar and Mr. Blister hang back for support and stay alert while Master Blaster checks the body on the doorstep.

The statues are both deemed safe and Master finds a small coin pouch on the body, when suddenly the Griffin animates turning its gaze upon the party and screeches "Hahahahaheeeee!" then the Chimera statue animates and casts a spell upon the body which rises as a zombie and attacks Master Blaster! There is a quick melee and eventually Mister Blister splits the zombies head open stopping it in its tracks.

The Chimera

Master then attempts to use the now double dead corpse as a battering ram and ends up covering himself in zombie gore as the body splatters harmlessly upon the heavy doors.

Rook discovers the doors are unlocked and entry is easily gained by simply using the handle and the party peers inside to the large entryhall.

A few beams of morning sunlight slightly illuminate the hall and ornate columns line either side of the once opulent vestibule. Master sees a coat rack just off to the right next to a low bench. There appears to be a cloak on the rack and some items under the bench. Wanting to remove the zombie goo from himself he heads directly over with the intent of using the cloak to wipe himself off. The rest of the party enter warily and continue to look about. 

Cloak-beast

The sound of struggle draws the attention of the group and they all see Master wrestling with the cloak from the rack. It takes a moment for them to realize that their friend is being attacked! The group move in to aid the dwarf and an intense struggle ensues. They realize using weapons and fire on the cloak creature is harming their friend so Mister Blister and Hagar combine their strength to tear the thing off of Master and they succeed!

The cloak-beast is then thrown out the front door and it flies away to lick its wounds. Back inside the party turn their attention to the items that were under the bench. A pair of boots and a walking stick are dusted off. Leonard takes the stick and Master chooses the boots, while Rook has discovered an old hat that was stuck to the top of the coat rack. 

The three items suddenly come to life attacking the party! Leonard is knocked out by the walking stick striking him in the head, the boots begin kicking Master in a frenzy of rib-bruising percussion, and Rook is trying to keep the hat from eating his hand!

After a quick battle with the animated items, Hagar is able to stuff the boots and hat into a large sack that the barbarian then throws down the well in the courtyard! The walking stick is broken in half and tossed aside. The bruised party then follow the trail of prior adventurers into a chamber just off the vestibule. Within this chamber the group discovers a stairwell leading down and an old table that has many inscriptions carved into it. 

Soon after taking time to scour this chamber a secret room is discovered behind the fireplace. To the great surprise of all they find a magically preserved pantry filled with all manner of fine food and drink!

Master Blaster in the Pantry

Master Blaster calls the find a win for all concerned and the party decide to loot the pantry and await for the wagon to return before dark so they can return to the village with their loot and lives!

Once back in the village the party supply the Dog-n-Bone tavern with enough supplies to have a feast for all and regale everyone with the tale of their adventure within the halls of Marqest castle!

THE END... 

Wine Cellars: The restless Un-dead...

 This short adventure finds a pair of players teamed up to put to rest the rumors of the undead roaming about in Hemlock Hamlet.

Players:

Mark E. - Gunther the Warrior: 2nd lvl fighter

John L. - Fredrick IV, Vicar of Tardome: 4th lvl Cleric

 Having successfully retrieved the sword Requiem Aeternam from the Chapel of Saint Brigid, Gunther finds himself paired up with an adventuring Cleric of Tardome who has been previously employed by Sir Atherol of Hemlock.

  The pair are sent to the graveyard just outside of the small village and are tasked with securing the property against any who would commit foul acts there or upon the souls of those laid to rest within. 

Hemlock Hamlet

As the sun rises the duo make a quick stop in the small village to let the inhabitants know that Sir Atherol is taking action to protect his people. While there they pick up a couple of items from the Chapel. 

The pair decide to walk the short distance from the village to the cemetery, and are asked by a local herdsman to look for his brother who failed to come home the prior evening. 

The morning is overcast and a slight chill drizzle of rain falls from the sky. At about the midway point in the journey the pair catch sight of movement in some brush just off the road. Taking a closer look reveals some crows scrounging something in the tall grass. The men move closer and are greeted by a terrible sight!

Missing man

The ravaged body of the missing herder no doubt! Whatever has done this must still be near as the blood is still wet. Then without warning something large swoops down upon the pair and let's out a high pitched screech!

Gunther quickly loads his crossbow while Fredrick cover the warrior using his polearm. A trio of large hideous bats come swooping down at the men grasping at them with blood soaked talons! The Cleric is able to bring down one of the beasts as he sings praises to Tardome! Gunther is harried badly by the other two and his quarrel shot goes amiss as the older man is knocked to the ground. 

Giant Bat!

"Mess with Fred, you be Dead!" cries the armored Cleric as he smacks another foul bat with his weapon. The creatures wing is torn and it crashes to the ground and is dispatched with a dagger thrust from Gunther. 

The third creature dives in to attack and is neatly speared in the tip of the Cleric's polearm and brought down so the men can kill the evil thing. 

Knowing that evil is afoot, Fredrick calls upon Tardome to watch over the dead man's corpse until they can return and give him a proper burial.

Fredrick asks Gunther to join him prayer and after a few minutes a small falcon lands upon a branch just above the corpse. "Tardome is with us today Gunther, his blessing is upon us." 

"Yes, it seems he is. We should get ourselves to the graveyard I have not seen creatures like this in the hamlet for over twenty years easy." the old fighter mutters as he reloads his crossbow.

The pair set off along the road again with a bit more haste and head to the cemetery all the while on the lookout for more giant bats or any other foul beasts that might appear.

Upon arrival the pair are greeted with a gateway that has been forced open and a sense of overwhelming dread. Fredrick spies many large centipedes crawling about in dark earth. 

"Hmm, Vicar Osrin provided me these keys for the gates. would seem someone couldn't wait to get in." Gunther produced an iron ring with three thick keys on it from his vest.

Fredrick still looking intently about the grounds raises his hand and points deeper into the graveyard, "There Gunther just now in the fog I swear someone or some-thing moved!"

Hemlock Graveyard

Rather than enter the cemetery the men decide to stay outside and skirt the wall until the can find a secondary entry and hopefully sneak up on whatever the Cleric saw.

Quickly the pair find a section of the stone wall that has collapsed and the men can easily cross to gain entry to the grounds. The morning mist clings heavily to the ground and provides good cover for their actions. The pair are soon creeping up upon a pair of figures that seem to be milling about just outside a small stone shed at the back of the graveyard.

It is at this moment that Fredrick notices the sword Gunther carries has a pearl set in the pommel and it is glowing and pulsating softly. He motions to the Fighter who looks down and then grips the sword.

"This sword is blessed and made to slay undead." Gunther whispers to the Cleric. The men then both look over at the figures near the shed. They step closer and through the fog are able to discern that they are indeed shambling corpses! Fredrick swings his polearm down and smashes the skull of one of them, as Gunther draws forth the sword and the second one turns towards him mouth agape and uttering a moan! 

art by Mike B.

 The pair of zombies are dispatched, and a power of the sword revealed the men look about to see what the creatures were up to. It is soon determined that they seem to have been roving about the grounds perhaps set on guard.

"We need to check the tomb of Father Sigmund." says Gunther.

"Who was he?" asks Fredrick.

"Sigmund was the Elder of Hemlck when my father was a boy. Osrin took over for him when he passed and he is buried here. His Tomb lies at the heart of the cemetery." Gunther then motions in a direction  off to his right.

"Let us go then." nods the Cleric.

Much to their dismay the pair discover that indeed the tomb of Sigmund has been broken into and the men bolster themselves for a confrontation as they head below ground.

Gunther leads the way torch in hand and sword in the other, followed by Fredrick his polearm ever ready to strike the unclean! They use the key to gain entry to the tomb but can see that the way has already been trod by others.

The pair are penetrate the darkness and soon confront more shambling undead and Fredrick turns them from them with holy power! The men discover that Sigmund alone was not interred here but also other warriors of goodly virtue as well. it is a group of these that the men encounter who supply the pair with a set of magical elixers that they say will help them cleanse the evil that roams these halls. 

Fredrick communes with Tardome and drinks one of the potions and turns invisible! Then the men head deeper into the tomb and find that the resting place of Sigmund has been defiled and the skull has been removed from the Elder's grave! This spurs the men onward and they enter the last chamber of the tomb and confront a hooded figure and a pair of hideous Orcs!

the Orcs!

The orcs see only a lone grizzled man with a sword and attack! Gunther however is quite seasoned and engages the pair of creatures holding them at bay! The hooded figure however is holding a skull which our heroes surmise belongs to Sigmund and he begins an evil enchantment as the skull becomes wreathed in a spectral fire!! 

Now the still invisible Fredrick moves in and attacks the hooded man with surprise and stops his spell as well as causing him to drop the skull.

As Gunther battles the pair of orcs, and Fredrick squares off with the hooded man the men know this is who must be responsible for all the rumors of shambling dead lately! In a comedy of errors the Orcs end up practically killing each other through inept martial skill and Gunther is able to fell them and then come to aid Fredrick in his battle! 

The Hooded One!

The Hooded one attempts to be-spell the heroes and though Gunther is overcome for a moment it is by the grace of Tardome that the men are able to finally overcome the vile creature and defeat it by force of arms and Holy might! 

The men are able to put right what the Hooded one had defiled and restore the sanctity of the Hemlock cemetery. Items of note recovered from the evil doers and thier corpses are properly disposed of and everything that happened is reported back to Sir Atherol.

However something darker is afoot in the Duchy of Marqest and more investigations must be made...

THE END

for now....