����������� Book Three, Chapter Eight, �Are We Equipped For Goat Hunting!�

����������� 01/08/98

It is actually still 27th of Nolus. Sir Martyn �Famous people build bridges by paying some bricky to do it.�

So we are at the campsite. The mage, Werin, reads the scroll of Protection from Demons and Devils, which lasts as long as he concentrates on it. Wait until wagon enabled after 8 hours and leave. Well that�s the plan. That is where we left it. 53 demons outside. They give up after a while and go away, or were they recalled?

Right is the gold shrinking? Zytsi method is water displacement, Sir Martyn is 10 circumferences marked on paper, and Daniel�s is a rubbing and a spell.

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Werin likes the sound of the Western lands. 6 days travel to go. First 2 days uneventful. Sir Martyn is still addicted to Rook. Then on the 3rd day we hear, about a mile away, is a singing and shouting voice, not in any language we understand (including Elvish). It must be pretty loud. Doesn�t sound like it someone in trouble. So we decide to investigate. But it moves away and we can�t catch it.

The rest of the travel time is remarkably uneventful; see very few animals and fewer people. Arrive in Trobridge. Recheck coins: spell about the same, Daniel slightly smaller, Zytsi slightly bigger, and Sir Martyn about the same.

Rumours of small fairy creatures, with some singing voices. Lots of yokels around here. Heard all around the village, predominated from the South. That�ll be near the Elven woods then.

Go and see Leisa the merchant. So you got my message, no. The Elvish Prince would like to see us on a matter of some importance. Tea and cakes, sugar with the tea. Leave 10 pieces of gold for measuring and weighing to prove shrinkage, or not as the case may be. Wave expensive magic items in our generally directions.

Re-provision and off to Evael. Sular (a fabulously beautiful red head) and 6 guards passed through Trobridge 2 1/2 weeks ago. Could it be the love of Sir Martyn�s life? The Agrik bint? Leave Werin behind, waiting for the first caravan west. We stop shopping and go. Spend a couple of days in Trobridge so the date is 6th Larane when we leave.

Couple of days and then into the forest and we are guided through the Woods - we were expected. We are taken immediately to the Castle, the Royal Seat of the King of Evael. Been here before, it was built by Khuzdul. Shown to a room where we clean up and get changed to meet the Prince. Shown into an informal meeting room. And the Prince arrives.

At the Holy Mounds of the Elven Race, just to the north of the Castle, there are the Fairy Rings where they harmoniously worship Siem. About 10 days ago something things came through. Small fairy things, that sing. They are not dangerous, but something else came through which may well be. The other ones are humanoid with cloven hooves. As a favour to the Prince, could we investigate?

In return, Sir Martyn relays the story of Daelda and the Eye of Kor. The Prince will be summoning the advisers to discuss the matter, though the religious ones are re-dedicating the Fairy Rings. They seem to be broken in some way. The tracks go off to the West, and no longer in their Forests - crossing the river near Trobridge. The nearby tracks are too old to be off much use.

Sell 50 gp here. The gold is enchanted; don�t know what or why or how. So they won�t buy more. 17 for Daniel and Zytsi and 16 for Sir Martyn.

Leave back to Trobridge and two weeks have passed. So it�s the 20th Larane. Livestock gone missing from the environs of the village. Large quantity (20) in a bunch of sheep, and a lot of goats (nearly all the goatherd). Been rustled, stolen. All the sheep went about 11 days ago at night. Since then there has been a constant rustling of goat since them.

Go to site of first sheep rustling, 11 days ago. They where in a sheep pen. That plan failed then. Go to the ford and look for tracks of coven footed humanoid. Aruth finds them! Ah, they must be a goat headed and legged headed humans, passed through about 3 or 4 days ago. They are going west into the woods.

Back to Trobridge. A goat herder has been found dead. Neck broken after fallen down a steep incline. To the site of the death, its late afternoon. The body has already been buried, Our Lady we beseech you - young man chasing 4 goat headed and legged goat rustlers killed not by accident. They were running in a different direction than the last bunch.

Camp for the night. First watch is for 4 hours and is Aruth and Sir Martyn. Zytsi and Daniel are second watch. Second watch we see a goat man. Wake Aruth and Sir Martyn. It goes light in 20-foot radius and Sir Martyn spouts at them officiously and they run off. Two in fact. Sir Martyn puts his armour on. 25 minutes later torches from the south approach. Villages turn up from local farm. Are we all right? There was strange lights me lord. Its all right, go home and don�t worry about the goat beasts... er goat rustlers. They go off muttering about goat beasts. Aruth follows tracks, their were four of them. They were on all four legs. They were goats, back to bed.

Next day to the site of the death and Aruth finds some tracks of the Goat Beasts. We follow them at half speed in a north-western direction for several hours. After 5 hours some more join and there are now at least 6 of them now. After 7 hours Daniel spots a figure hiding in the woods 50 feet away. Its an ambush says Aruth; I�ve never used that one before.

Plan A. Daniel sings a Stun Song at the figure. Sir Martyn charges and 3 humans with bows and arrows. Aruth shoots and kills one (well all right gave him a 12 round count down). The other 2 surrender. They are hunters out to ambush the goat rustlers. Oh dear, and Sir Martyn can�t save the one Aruth shot. Oh yes he can, Yulpris fixes it. He�ll be all right in 3 days. They think their are 3 or 4, could be 6, of the goat beasts. They go back to Trobridge.

We track onwards. Or rather we camp having lost the tracks. Night falls. Animal noises grunting noises in the night, nothing goaty.

Next day we go on down the path and find some other tracks. At end of normal days travel from Trobridge, is where we are at the end f the second day. Aruth sees some one/thing moving through the woods. Sir Martyn moves up followed by Daniel. Zytsi and Aruth sneak along either side.

--((Dinner break, and a splitting headache which causes me to lie down for a couple of hours))--

Only Daniel tripped up and knocked out. When I came round there were two men pointing spears at me. They took me to the cave with 7 goat people and 4 men where they threw me into a cave with the rest of the party. Two of the hunters are the one we met earlier, whose mate Sir Martyn saved from a 12 round countdown. Apparently it was messy and I got lucky. It involved a pit with spikes at the bottom, and Zytsi right arm is broken.

Next day we get taken out to half a mile away where on a solid wooden throne. Old man in white, wild hair, wild staring eyes, staff of unknown wood. Goat man with large horns, the six other goat men, and 20 men - some seem familiar from Trobridge. (It�s been Moonyed)

�Step forward Fiend� pointing to Sir Martyn. �Why are you invading our land.� Sir Martyn explained, and Robin lost the thread. They follow Baal, it�s an animal cult, and �They shall rise up and inherit the Earth.� The men are seen to hide lamb chops. He has we must die for invading the land and the leader Goat Man starts to argue with him in goat man tongue. The way the staff is waved around it must be the Staff of somebody or other. He was working him up into a frenzy.

Sir Martyn went �my lord, my lord� grovels at his feet and tries to touch him. Sir Martyn casts �Cure Mind Disease� as he is �Lightning Bolted� in return. Sir Martyn got a way with that rather lightly and the loony will get better in 3 1/2 days time. Most of the men run away. Daniel sang a Calming Song (saved) and Sir Martyn stun manoeuvred and suggested he sat down and listened to reason (this Suggestion did not work). All four of the party get Lightning Bolted, but Daniel, Sir Martyn and Zytsi were missed, but Aruth was hit for a trivial amount. Aruth threw his staff at him, Zytsi talked to the goat man tried to keep them indecisive, Sir Martyn is still talking and trying to calm him down, Aruth draws his bow.

Next round Daniel is still trying to calm him and he still saves, more Lightning Bolts for each of us - Aruth and Zytsi are hit. The guy looks physically weaker. Aruth shoots him and Sir Martyn �Deflected� it. Sir Martyn had three arrows shot at him, which missed him, fired at him by peasants. Sir Martyn tries to knock the Staff out of his hand, and it succeeds!

Next round Daniel�s Holding Song gets through! Aruth puts a Water Wall between us and the peasants - who run away. No Lightning Bolts and no missiles. Zytsi moves to stand over, but not touch the staff.

Then the Staff flew back to the guy�s outstretched hand very, very fast. So it�s a Druid Staff with knobs on. So Aruth shot him again and it�s a 6 round count down. He does nothing for a round as we look for herbs - used it on the peasant.

Sir Martyn turns and said to the goat man �Have you got anything that will save him?� and the Druid smacked him in the back of the head with the staff. Nasty - fights normally for 6 rounds and then dies.

Sir Martyn repeats his question adding �He�s going to die� �Good� says the goat man. Sir Martyn parries the staff, doesn�t help much against roll ups. This dead dude would have killed anyone else by now. Sir Martyn punched him for three points. Last hack and Sir Martyn was nearly hit and then he died.

The loony Druid brought the Goat Men in, and they are not terribly upset about his death. He was a couple of shrubs short of a grove.

About 3 weeks (21 days) ago they were summoned from their world, where Man is merely a legend. He and his men were out hunting. The Tormented Soul said that the Forces of Darkness were enslaving our kind. They don�t view goats as their kind. It was a goat rustling scam by the looks of things. He had 86d, a white robe, a braided belt, a pair of open toed sandals, torc, ring, some herbs and a bag of rocks.

There are four peasants have to be found and killed (or something). That�ll be the ones who saw Aruth cast the Water Wall. Brought to justice. They have a 5-minute start on us. We go. They split up into 2 pairs, we follow one group going south - as opposed to east. Late evening we come to a huntsman�s lodge, a wooden shack. Aruth and Daniel sneak up and cover the windows (in back and sidewalls) and Sir Martyn and Zytsi go up to the door and kick it in. Door bursts open and there are two men sitting on stools eating rabbit. Justice was administered. They tried to surrender, but died anyway. Take the money (5d) and the rabbits and leave the bodies outside.

We take drugs to stay awake. Aruth gets us back to the split up point and follow the other group. At about mid-day we find we come across a campfire (it�s the 24th of Larane by the way) and at about midnight we find them camped by an oak tree. Aruth one side, Zytsi the other, and Sir Martyn and Daniel charge up 2 minutes later. One guard and three asleep, we only wanted two - oh well. Sir Martyn attacks the guard, Zytsi goes for the one who got up ready, Aruth shoots and kills the other who started to wake up, and Daniel stand over the other - tries to make him forget what happened. They surrendered, but Zytsi killed his and then hit Sir Martyn and took him down. So they all died, one way or another.

The one who didn�t die was a nine-year-old boy. The one Aruth shot was his mother, his uncle and his farther were the other two who we wanted to administer justice. So the bard makes him forget the last evening, about the last 8 hours worth, he sleeps for 20 hours curtsey of Sir Martyn, who takes charge of the boy�s inheritance. Back to the goat men

The goats had been freed in the woods, but we have 18 sheep. So Sir Martyn wants to get 50 goats. The poor young boy went to sleep and woke up to find his parents had been killed by bandits and he had been rescued by his lord. The goat people stay out of sight. Back to Trobridge with the sheep, goats and boy - the boy doing the herding. One night out and then we are back at Trobridge on the 28th Larane. The goat people track the party, 18 sheep and 50 goats so it�s easy.

We take the Goat People to Evael, arriving on the 30th Larane. The Elves have no idea how to get them back. But they may stay in Evael when the story is all told. When we�ve done our quest to get the Eye of Kor we�ll be going somewhere where they might be able to get back to their own world. And we�ll be coming back through Evael. While we are here Zytsi gets his shield fixed and Sir Martyn gets his lance fixed - again. Time is a bit vague here. At least a week here. We diced for the gear the druid�s +15 DB torc went to Zytsi, the ring worth 1440d went into Party Fund A, the Party Fund A paid for the repair of the lance and the shield, and the braided belt which turned into a snake wasn�t a popular choice without the instruction manual so Daniel go it. Got some herbs, which didn�t include rook by the time it reached Party Drug Fund. There was a highly addictive herb which sends the user loony. That explains a lot. The staff is made of mallorn wood with a basic +5 and + 2 per level to hit but the Elves can�t tell us anything else about it, except that it�s highly enchanted and highly intelligent. Aruth disenchants his current druid staff and takes the druid�s staff as his own staff. A special non-specific ceremony to attune him to it - takes about 2 weeks.

Back to Trobridge on the 21st of Agrazhar. Reports that 2 hunters were killed by bandit in a lodge. That was to do with the goat-rustling problem. The matter is now closed.