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- *****
- *
- * The characters and events contained in this writing are copyright
- * 1991 by Thomas Miller...copying and distribution of these stories
- * is permissible only under the condition that no part of them will
- * be used or sold for profit. In that case, I hope you enjoy them.
- *
- *****
-
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- THE PARTY:
-
- Alindyar, 4th level drow elf mage (N)
- Belphanior, 3rd/3rd/4th level high elf fighter/mage/thief (CN)
- Ged, 4th/3rd level grey elf priest/mage (NG)
- Halbarad, 4th level human ranger (NG)
- Mongo Thunderhead, 4th level dwarf fighter (CG)
- Peldor, 5th level human thief (N)
- Peyote, 3rd/3rd level half-elf fighter/druid (N)
- Rob, 5th level human priest (LG)
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
- XIII. Utter and Complete Chaos
-
-
-
- There is a barfight in progress...
-
- Alindyar: (nowhere near the main battle) I cast a wall of fog in
- the vicinity of the table that Mongo is at.
- DM: The table and those nearby are suddenly enveloped in thick,
- rolling fog. Cries of suprise and confusion follow.
- Slick: What the hell?!
- Belphanior: (to DM) Am I still in a position to backstab Slick?
- DM: No, he's to your side.
- Peldor: I was somewhere behind him, remember? I'll get him.
- (to DM) I stab him in the back.
- Slick: Agh! (dies)
- Peldor: I grab his moneypouches, and then ready my sword, looking
- for opponents.
- Belphanior: I backstab somebody. (slays a nearby thug)
- Snod: (the large human swings a fist at Mongo, but it rebounds
- off of his plate mail) Ouch!
- Mongo: Hey! (punches Snod, bloodying his nose and sending him
- reeling back over a chair, breaking it) I look around. Who
- dares to face me?
- thug: (his club bounces off of the dwarf's plate mail) Damn!
- Mongo: No fair! (pulls out his hammer) I bet mine is bigger
- than yours!
- Ged: (looking around, swings his morningstar at a thug who is
- approaching him with a broken bottle) A 20! Boccob!!
- thug: (brained; grey matter sprays everywhere)
- Ged: Hah! Glory to Boccob!
- Rob: (pretty much out of the center of the fray thus far) Are
- there any innocents that I can usher to safety?
- DM: Nope. But there is a woman with a table leg coming your way.
- Rob: Oh. (to woman) Miss, please come with me and I shall see
- you out of this madhouse safely.
- dame: (bashes the priest with her table leg) Shut up, pig!
- Rob: (staggers back)
- Peyote: (to DM) I slip on my ring and strike some random hostile
- thug. A subdual blow, not a killing blow. I'm a peaceful dude
- at heart. (rolls, hits, knocks a nearby thug out, then becomes
- visible again)
- Halbarad: Good idea. (exchanges swordplay with a ruffian for a
- moment, succeeding in disarming the man) Begone from this place
- or you shall no doubt meet a violent end!
- ruffian: (flees the bar)
-
- Peldor: (to DM) I try to head towards the bar/bartender to get
- cash from his sales. I will attack him if necessary.
- DM: Okay. He has a club and means to use it.
- Peldor: (knocks the club aside and smacks the barkeep on the head
- with the flat of his blade) Peldor is merciful today! Now where
- does he keep that money?
- thug: (misses Belphanior)
- Belphanior: (slays another thug, chuckles) Heh heh. This is fun.
- thug: (nicks Belphanior with a shortsword)
- Mongo: (slams a thug in the ribs with his hammer, decking him)
- Snod: (stands up, bleeding profusely from the nose and mouth) Hey
- dwarf! You and me not finished yet!
- Mongo: Oh yeah! (smashes the big human in the groin with the war
- hammer) Sorry about that!
- Snod: Ugh. (falls to the ground in extreme pain)
- Mongo: Hah! Gods, I LOVE this hammer!
- thug: (injures Ged with a sword blow) Die elf!
- Ged: (nicks the thug with his morningstar) Never, Boccob willing!
- thug: (his sword is deflected by Mongo's plate mail) Damn!
- Halbarad: (still near the party's original table, he is defending
- Alindyar so the drow can cast spells freely) Why will these fools
- not cease their attack?
- Alindyar: This is getting out of control. (casts a web at an entire
- side of the bar, trapping at least a dozen more thugs)
- Peyote: Good move dude. Uh-oh. (looking out one window) The city
- guards are coming! (knocks out another thug with a sword blow)
- Belphanior: (to DM) I head for the front door area.
- Rob: (recovers from his earlier blow, attacks the wild woman who he
- has been fighting with) In the name of Trithereon, woman, let some
- measure of justice be done! (hits the woman with his flail, like
- the ranger and druid going for subdual damage only)
- dame: (knocked out as she slams against one wall)
-
- Peldor: (behind the bar, scooping the bartender's money into his
- magical pouch) Heh. (to DM) I grab a bottle of Jagermeister
- while I'm back here. And check the barkeep's pockets for tips.
- Ged: (heading toward Peldor, purely by chance)
- thug: (misses Ged, who is parrying)
- thug: (hits Mongo weakly)
- thug: (hits Mongo, denting his armor a bit)
- Mongo: Fuck! Fuck! Come back here and help me, guys!
- Peyote: (to DM) Is anybody outside yet?
- DM: The militia is here, about 20 people, heavily armed.
- Peyote: I go outside and "explain" how we were attacked.
- DM: Okay. They push you aside roughly and head for the doorway
- into the bar.
- Peyote: Fine. (casts a dust devil, placing the magical creation
- square in the doorway) Chew on that for awhile.
- militiamen: (halt at the sight of a 5' tall tornado of dust in
- front of them. Some of them try to run through it, but are
- repelled, choking and wheezing)
- Peyote: After casting the spell, I succinctly go around to the
- stables and gather the horses for the party.
- DM: Okay, no problem. But it will take a few minutes.
- Belphanior: (heading for door, now blocked) Yikes! How about a
- window then? Yeah! (to DM) I tackle the nearest thug and
- leap with him through the window!
- DM: Okay. The thug is stunned as you both crash through the
- window and into the street. You take 4 hp from broken glass.
- Belphanior: So? I climb to the roof and survey the situation.
- (makes the roll easily)
- DM: Okay. It'll take you a minute to reach the roof.
- Alindyar: What now?
- Halbarad: (locking his axe with someone's sword) I have no idea
- where they went.
- Rob: The militia may be dumb, but they're not THAT dumb. They'll
- get in here any minute.
- Peldor: (finds a door marked "Barkeep Only") Hey guys! Here's
- the way out!
-
- The adventurers remaining in the bar ran for the back door that
- the thief had found. Through it, there was a storage room, and a
- thick iron door with a bar in place. Peldor tossed the bar aside
- and opened it, revealing a dark alley lit only by the glow of the
- moonlight above. They all broke for the alley; Peldor started a
- bonfire in the storeroom, shattering a number of liquor bottles
- and then lighting a torch. As the party entered the alley, the
- thief hurled his torch into the chamber, and flames filled the
- room instantly.
-
- Ged: Great! Wonderful! Now we can just add arson to our long
- list of crimes here...fraud, murder, interfering with the city
- guard, breaking and entering...
- Alindyar: This all started because of you, remember?
- Peldor: Don't forget grand theft.
- Mongo: Shut up, all of you! Geez! Which way now?
- DM: One end of the alleyway dead-ends, the other leads into the
- main street.
- Rob: Great! We run for it then.
- DM: Unfortunately, the guards have just arrived at the open end
- of the alley. They see you and start shouting loudly.
- Ged: Shit!
- Peldor: Such language, for a priest! Are there any other doors
- in the alleyway?
- DM: Several.
- Ged: We make for the nearest one then.
- DM: The first one is locked, as is the second.
- Peldor: I could pick them...
- DM: No time, the guards are running toward you. But the third door
- is unlocked.
- Mongo: We hurl the door open and run inside.
- Peldor: Throw the bolt! There is a bolt, isn't there?
- DM: Yep. The door is secure, for now. You hear shouts of anger
- and frustration from the alley.
- Mongo: Where are we, anyway?
- DM: As you crowd into the building, you see naked women wandering
- the hallway. Some of them lead half-dressed men by the hands,
- some by leashes around their necks...
- Ged: Gasp!
- DM: One of the women sees you and screams.
- whore: Eeeeeeek!
- DM: Suddenly, naked women are running around everywhere, shrieking
- and shouting at you.
- Ged: Let's get out of this house of sin! Back to the streets, you
- painted Jezebels! Repent your vile ways! There is hope yet!
- whores: Aaaaa!
- Ged: I get out some holy water and sprinkle it at any of the
- prostitutes who happen by.
- DM: The women mostly stay out of your way. Who wouldn't?
- Peldor: (grabbing at various whores as they mill about) Hey babe!
- Whoops! Sorry about that! Maybe some other time! Ha ha!
-
- The party headed down the main hallway, toward where they guessed
- the brothel to exit onto a street. They knew there was no time to
- waste, for the guardsmen would not take long to figure out where
- they had gone. Suddenly, a front door and desk (with a barred
- window to the outside door) were within sight. A huge blob of a
- man stepped into the hallway, blocking the way to the street.
-
- Big Man: What the hell is going on here? No one gets away with
- free booty in MY place! (lumbers toward the adventurers)
- Mongo: Fuck! We don't have time for this. I knock him out of the
- way. (rolls, getting one of the most significant 20s of his
- career. Mongo collides with the bouncer/owner, pushing him
- through one of the thin walls) Yeah!
- Ged: There's the front door...
-
- The group burst through the front door of the whorehouse and
- into the street. Peyote was close by, having rounded up all of the
- party's mounts.
-
- Peyote: There you are! It's about time. I was beginning to wonder
- if you guys were coming out at all. Here's the horses!
- Ged: Thanks. (leaps onto his horse) Let's get the hell out of here
- before things get worse.
- Halbarad: Indeed. This town will never welcome us again.
- Alindyar: Fine by me.
- Mongo: Naw, this is FUN! (at a poke from Halbarad, he mounts up too)
- Belphanior: (still on the roof, surveying the destruction with a look
- of pleasure. The bar is engulfed in flames by this time, and all the
- guardsmen mill about around the front entrance. Various thugs and
- city guards are fighting in the alley the party ran through, and a
- number of naked women are running from the brothel, screaming. Some
- of the guards, having nothing better to do, begin to arrest them.)
- DM: Uh...Belphanior, the roof is getting hot.
- Belphanior: Okay. I cast a flame sphere on the ground and manipulate
- it to move around. The idea is to ignite any of the guards who are
- headed for the party.
- DM: Okay...
-
- Mongo: Hey look! A fireball! It's rolling!
- Alindyar: There's the elf, on the roof. That sphere is his doing,
- undoubtedly.
- nearby guard: (set ablaze by the rolling, flaming sphere) Aaaugh!
- Peldor: Serves him right.
- Rob: Fireball? Did someone say fireball?
- other guard: Die, outsiders!
- Mongo: (smacks the guard with his hammer, sending him reeling to one
- side) Out of the way!
- Ged: (magic missiles two onrushing guards) Dolts!
- other guard: (overrun by Belphanior's ball of flame) Aaaaaugh!
- Halbarad: Let's ride!
- Belphanior: I leap from the roof to the ground. How far is it anyway?
- DM: About ten feet...you take 2 hp of damage from the fall.
- Belphanior: Bah! I leap astride my horse as the party starts to go.
- Alindyar: (uses his wand to magic missile another guard. Most of them
- are dead or occupied now)
- Halbarad: Spur your mounts! Let's get the hell out of Dodge!
-
- The group rode on out of Drek. Pursuit by the city guards was to no
- avail, as the party was too powerful for the few who were left. The
- adventurers decided to head west, back into Ulek. They had had quite
- enough of the Pomarj for one lifetime.
-
-
-
-
-
- next time: the orc keep
-
- **********************************************************************
- NOTES: The entire barfight scene was theoretically caused by Ged's
- spell...though all the thugs were going to attack the party anyway
- (I knew that; they didn't). This was one of our more entertaining
- gaming sessions, needless to say.
- This will be the last posting until after Christmas. Ironically
- enough, in the game world, it was near the middle of the 12th month
- and winter was heavily set in. The party got road dust for their
- presents, though :) Merry Christmas, and part XIV will appear
- sometime after the new year!
- **********************************************************************
-
-