The Little Town of Oakhurst

The four adventurers arrived in Oakhurst, which was a surprisingly small town, especially after just coming out of Verbobonc. They found the General Store with no problem and went in to see where the woman was and to give her the note they got from the man in Verbobonc.

However, there was only a man at the counter and when they gave him the note, he said that Ms. Hucrele was just next door. So they went to the next house and saw that it was a smaller house, but had many more things in it than the general store.

The woman was sitting at the back and when they gave her the note, a look of relief came across her face. She told the adventurers what had happened and what they could do to help.

Basically:

• Her children were sent to Verbobonc to study, but met a young Paladin and he brought them to the Sunless Citadel, just a day's march from Oakhurst. This was about a month ago.
• She is asking for you to go there and find them and bring them back - she will pay $500 gold if they are alive.
• If they are dead, she would like you to get their signet rings and if you can, she will give you $300 per ring.

After talking with her a bit more, they left to go immediately to the Citadel. But they were hungry and decided to go to the Inn for some food and drinks. They learned a few more things as well.

• Garrick, the inn keeper mentioned that that Citadel used to be some sort of Dragon's worshippers place a long time ago, but some magic pulled it into the ground.
• He also said that a strange man with a large pet frog asked about the Citadel a few years back and has not been seen since.
• He also mentioned to be careful, since none of the townsfolk go down there anymore since there are many monsters and weird creatures - in fact - something has been killing their cows recently and leaving lots of twig needles in their bodies.

The adventurers were tired and rested, so they paid for a night at the inn and waited til the morning to head out.

A Strange First Encounter

The four adventurers talked as they walked out of Verbobonc, getting to know one another and their stories. They also talked about what they were good at:

Masiry is good at things requiring dexterity since he has had training as a monk.

Rodin is good at living in the wild and tracking animals since his uncle started to teach him more about the ways of being a ranger.

Relord is good at making sure people are healed up after a fight or for giving courage when needed, since St. Cuthbert allows him to cast Divine Spells.

Kasas is good at magical energy and seems to have a knack for it, since he is a Sorcerer.

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At about 8:30, they stopped and decided to camp in a little place away from the main road. After deciding who was going to be on watch, they took turns sleeping and getting their rest.

However, at about 4:30 am, when Rodin was silently humming to himself, he suddenly heard something strange that seemed to be coming directly at the party. The fire was now only embers and even though his eyes had adjusted to the dark surroundings, he could not see anything.

He decided to keep a watch out, for it may only be a simple animal that wanted to get some leaves. He thus, did not wake everyone up.

Rodin carefully watched the nearby trees, for he thought he heard some branches moving or breaking, but he did not see anything. Then, almost as if they were standing there the whole time, three of the 'trees' started to move towards the sleeping group. In fact, they were coming quickly as well!



Rodin kicked his brother in the head to wake him up and Masiry quickly got to his feet as Rodin fired an arrow into the moving tree. It was a good shot and seemed to slow the tree down. But the other two 'trees' kept coming.

By this time, there was enough noise and commotion to wake up Relord and Kasas and they also started to get ready to fight the strange beings. Relord did not have any time to put on his armor though and fought defensively.

Suddenly, the 'tree' creature that Rodin had shot blew up and many sharp little splinters flew about in all directions. It did not hurt anyone, but Rodin guessed that if he were closer, he would get stung by many sharp needles. He decided to try to keep using his bow to hunt them down.

Masiry was doing well at hand to hand combat, using the monk skills effectively. One more tree creature fell, and Masiry quickly backed away from the flying needles. However, Relord was not as fast and caught a few on his leg.

Kasas primed a few Magic Missles at the creature and after Relord and Rodin's attacks, that one too exploded in a storm of sharp needles. Thankfully, no one got too seriously injured, and they went back to rest.

However, after a weird fight, could you really sleep at all?

A Meeting in Verbobonc

Rodin and Masiry went to the place where the notice mentioned and surprisingly noticed quite a few number of people there. There seemed to be three groups: two groups with 3 people each and another group with 2 people.

One of the groups looked a bit rough and were getting impatient. The other 3 person group seemed to be more cultured and waited for the announcement to start. The other pair of adventurers, who looked like a Cleric and a Sorcerer, were also quiet but they seemed determined as well.

Finally the door opened and an old man stepped out, pleasantly surprised by how many people showed up to do this quest. He explained that an important merchant in the town of Oakhurst had recently complained to the Verbobonc city council that her two children were missing after agreeing to go with a Paladin called Sir Bradford. She even went so far as to say the Paladin tricked them on this adventure. Even though this seems crazy, the merchants of Verbobonc decided to offer a reward of 100 gold for the return of Sir Bradford to end this problem quietly.

Also, there is a further reward of 500 gold per child, or at least 200 gold for each of their signet rings, if anything happened to them. The merchant is willing to pay for this.

After discussing for a bit, the rough group went home, saying that it was not worth the adventure. The other group were thinking about it, but decided to stay in Verbobonc.

That left Rodin, Masiry, Relord and Kasas, who grouped together to make an adventuring party.

After discussing quickly, they decided to leave within the hour for Oakhurst. They quickly got their backpacks together and other supplies and headed out.

They realized that they could only go about 2 hours out of town before they needed to camp.

The Start of a Little Adventure....

Rodin and Masiry, brothers from the southern county of Keoland , have traveled northwards in search of any news of their father, a Paladin that was headed north with a small group of friends and associates to battle the forces of evil. His plan was to meet up with other human, elven and possibly dwarven forces to fight injustice and to earn his place in the halls of his fathers.

However, he has not been heard of in a long time and this has worried Rodin and Masiry, who have not only come of age, but also share with their father a strong pull to travel and adventure. Their mother blessed them both and set them off on their ways, truely hoping to see all three of them again soon.

After many weeks of traveling, they finally arrived in the city of Verbobonc, one of the largest in the region. They decided to rest up and ask around for any news of their father and his group.

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At the same time, two other people were meeting up and planning great things. Relord a young cleric of St. Cuthbert was eager to prove himself to his church and kept looking for opportunities to gain new experiences. In his searching, he met a young sorcerer called Kasas, who seemed to share a similar taste for adventure and an eagerness to use his new found powers.

As they talked about gods, dragons, and magic, they came upon a notice that said:

"QUEST!
Adventurers For Hire!
Help Reunite 2 Lost Children!
Inquire at the Trading Guild
on Moonsday @ 7 pm!
Reward Offered!"

They both thought this might be a good opportunity and decided to go there.

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Rodin and Masiry also saw the sign and decided to look, since they were getting low on money and could use some experience and reward money to keep them going.

The Sorcerer Monk

This is a blog for my various gaming groups.

First, Johnny and Tom and their characters will adventure here. Let's follow them in action!