Low Fantasy Gaming -Temptress of the Haunted Path (Part 9)

 This part of the adventure leads directly on from the end of part 8, in fact it would be better called part 8.2 but I won't.  You will find it useful to read part 8 as it leads the characters from the coastal town of Crookedmouth to a campsite used by traders and fishermen who work the river between Woodbury and Crookedmouth and also shows how I prepared the session using Sly Flourish's 8 steps for game prep.

Click this link to read part 8

 

River Journey to Woodbury, Day Two

 

Wren, the young ranger, stood looking toward the campsite which was slowly receding in the distance.  She readied an arrow in her longbow, pulled the string back as she aimed high into the air.

Nydia Fernwise stood next to her and touched her arm, "there is nothing we can do to help Arnjin now Wren, why waste an arrow".

Wren lowered her longbow and turned to look at the quietly spoken witch, "Nydia, why did Arnjin jump off the boat like that?  Carnifex could not have jumped onto this boat and survived.  I saw Arnjin fall but I did not see Carnifex strike him, only go to strike him.  Something is not right".

 

ROLL D12 ON SHIFTING WEATHER TABLE = Similar but less windy.  The storm has passed, it is still raining though the wind has dropped.

 

QUESTION - Do they encounter anything on the river during this part of the journey?

Roll d8 = 6 Yes (roll on table 2)

Roll d8 = 8 (apparently. +1 intervention point, now at 1 intervention point)

Verbs - Open, Warn, Box

QUESTION - Do they encounter another boat?

Roll d8 = 3 No (Roll on table 2)

Roll d8 = 5 (Unless)

QUESTION - Do they encounter the wreckage of a boat?

Roll d8 = 5 Yes (And)

 

As the party head up river they notice numerous timber floating in the water.  Tibori says that unless she is very much mistaken, this is the wreckage of one of the small fishing craft that work the river.  The fishing craft must have been on the water in the violent storm and dashed against the rocks further up stream.

 

QUESTION - Is there any sign of the fishermen in the wreckage?

Roll d8= 1 No (+1 intervention point, now 2 intervention points).

 

Bobbing up and down in the water amongst the wreckage is a large wooden box.  Tibori and her crew maneuver her boat over to the wooden box and haul it onboard.

 

QUESTION - is the box open?

Roll d8 = Yes (And)

QUESTION - is there something inside the open box?

Roll d8 = No (And)

Get Two Random Verbs.  Unlock, Shade.

 

The box is open, it is empty but a parchment has been nailed to the outside of the open lid, it is a warning not to open the box lest the shade within be released!

 

Nydia Fenwise has Arcane Lore skill and I make an INT check to see if she understands what this must mean.  She needs 15 or less on d20 and rolls 15, a pass but just.  Nydia studies the box and the parchment, "there must have been a shade or spirit trapped within the box. I suspect it must have been malevolent and placed there deliberately.  The lib must have broken open in the storm, if the shade is free lives are in danger, possibly even ours!"

 

Pedlar looks inside the box, "so what was it doing on the fishing boat?  You think they stole it for some reason?"

 

Wren the Ranger is the first to answer "Maybe, or maybe they pulled it out of the water"

 

Canaid the Bard speaks next, "Tibori, is it not true that the spirit of a long dead dwarven lord haunts the Lough of Doom, the Loch north of Woodbury, could this be something to do with that?"

 

Tibori replies in the affirmative, "it is true and you may be right, we must make haste to Woodbury, we are not safe out here if there is a shade about".

It is still daylight and still raining when the small river craft docks at the edge of the Fore land, a narrow sandy, gravelly stretch of land which stretches most of the way across the Bridged Lake.  Tibori tethers her boat up amongst the half dozen or so other small boats there.  She tells the party that Woodbury is but a mile walk away, its a well-worn path and they should be safe enough walking along it.  There are a couple of taverns in the village, one is sure to be able to offer 7 food and lodgings for a night.  

 

With that the party make their way into Woodbury, hoping to rest and find new supplies before they

 

Adventure On!