����������� Book Five, Chapter Four �Bandit Attack�

����������� 05/05/2001

Currently we�re flying out Shiran after rescuing Balatar the Fish. We�ve also done the dirty deed and reduced Sir Martyn�s Revenge List by one. It was just a coincidence that is exactly what Sula (the love of Sir Martyn�s life) wanted to happen before she would give us the book we need to get Midgaad. Daniel is a week behind on the drug rolls, and is having to start again at day one anyway. Well that was interesting, lasted seven days exactly. The Party Herb List is still lost, but the original herb effect list has been found, along with some ancient D&D stuff from the late 70s, or early 80s.

Incidentally Aruth of the War Wagon has just been promoted from Party Driver to Party Wizard. So Daniel will have to teach him to read and write. Sir Martyn was most insistent, and Zytsi agreed with him, that the Party Wizard must be able to spell. (groan)

Martin drops a bombshell, we was gob smacked.

Balatar the Fish has to have a secret identity. We have our glorious leader Markus Spencer, with WH Smith, and the two men-at-arms Don Quarry and Edward Silverhand. He is going to be Harry Butt. We leave during the night of the 14th Navek.

We have a journey of three days before we get to the provincial capital, where we are going to get on a barge to Golotha. On the night of the 16th Navek on second watch. Zytsi spots the corn in the field moving and tells Aruth just as someone shots an arrow at him. Zytsi took a point of damage and shouts �Alarm�. About a dozen men in leather armour charge up into a Sudden Light, which stuns six of them. They get to about 30 feet away and realise they�ve lost half the group. Turn round run away, just as Sir Martyn and Daniel wake up. If they�d gone another 5 feet Zytsi would have thrown his war hammer.

The next day, the 17th Navek, we find six bodies and a wagon, two merchants and four guards. One of the merchants had been tortured. All the goods have been taken. This was about two days ago. Garron, the merchant, has a letter from his wife warning him to beware of bandit attacks on the road. Zytsi digs the graves as Aruth does some magical tracking. It was done by a bunch of 15 or 20 bandits lead by a really big bandit. Four mules carried off the loot. The tracks go west. We�d come from the east by the way and we don�t think it�s the same ones as last night. Zytsi carved a quick headstone for the graves.

Go off after the bandits, in our secret identifies as its merchant vengeance. So we�re in it for the money. Shortly afterwards we have to park and camouflage the wagon with its three servants, who always seem to avoid trouble. With Harry Butt who is really Balatar the Fish, are you keeping up with this? We travel west for about a day, and camp out for that night. The following day (the 18th Navek) towards evening the land starts getting mountainous, the Hefiosa Mountains. The next day see some stakes with human heads stuck on the top. We go up into canyons and things. Well into the mountains on the third day of travelling.

We are going up one of these narrow gullies when there is a rock slide. Aruth and Daniel go forwards, and Zytsi goes backwards leading Sir Martyn�s horse. Sir Martyn comes out of seeing through his familiar�s (a pigeon, keep up with this) eyes, bum perception roll there. Forwards was the best way actually, but they have the armour to take it. Aruth and Daniel promptly hide but as the horse as getting under control there was another rock slide. The two armoured figures with a horse are the obvious target. They avoid the rocks.

Zytsi scrambles up the rocks and Sir Martyn sends up pigeon. There are piles of rocks ever 20 feet, with a couple of bandit types up there. Sir Martyn thinks about riding his horse up the rock pile. The cliff is 200 feet up and one has gone off to get reinforcements.

We regroup out of here, the running away side. The guy is watching us and he has a bow. We regroup backwards. This would be a good place to catch a large group of men, in column. We go back about half an hour out of the rock trap area. The guy watches us. We get out of the canyon bits into the woody bits. We discuss it. Aruth asks why we are doing this. Sir Martyn decides he can�t be arsed to catch the bandits, motion carried.

Back to wagon, back to road, off to Telen. It takes several days. We get there on the 24th Navek. We stay at the Falling Donkey, where you get a free drink the first time you go there. We go to the merchant place and report the bandit base. There is 10,000d reward on the chief bandits head. There are 60 or 70 bandits. Things are looking up. Garron is the brother of the man who runs the Falling Donkey (inn with attached brewery). Markus tells him the bad news.

Balatar is up for going for the base for equal shares. Well it is 2,000d each. Nice money if you can get it. There is an extra 2,000d if he gets brought in alive and gets executed in the square. One of the masons is providing this. We leave on the 25th Navek.

The plan is we go west flying the wagon at night, and it will take us three days, with us ready for the fourth day - the 29th Navek. This we then do. That night we do our first fly past and land on the flat top of the plateau. Balatar is up for a quick scout, as is Aruth (looking a bit shady) and Zytsi.

They come across a campfire which is still a bit warm, been put out in the last hour or so. They might have seen us. Two sets of tracks, they went north west, but in different directions. It�s about four hours since sunset, and half an hour since we landed. Two blokes hanging about here all day, then two more blokes turn up and hang around until about half an hour ago and then they leave. Assumption: they saw us. May not be true. It was.

At about 1 o�clock the second watch hear the chink of men in armour sneaking up, in large numbers. About 40 arrows fly up at us, they miss. Large pile of men charging forward. Aruth pulls the trigger on his wand and Lightning Bolts three of them. One is damaged and the other two are effectively taken out. Zytsi kills one with a thrown hammer, stone dead crushed skull. One, nil. Sir Martyn throws his spear. Still one nil.

Daniel gets three - two are stunned into the middle of next week by his song and the third one misses. Aruth gets four and has a shield he used against the arrows in one hand and a staff in the other. So he drops the shield and parries. Don�t knock it, it worked. Zytsi kills one. Aruth kills one and gets half around to act and hits another one, but he shouldn�t have had that attack as he cast a spell.

Next round loads of arrows pile in again. There was a matching pair of criticals which took out the shield arms of Sir Martyn and Zytsi, bit of a bugger really. Aruth kills one.

Next round Sir Martyn cast Cut Repair III on Zytsi so his arm will be better in three rounds, and this is one of them. Aruth gets hit by an arrow, which hurt. Daniel rolled 221 to hit one! Didn�t die though so that�s all right then. Aruth kills one. So the score is Aruth 5, Zytsi 2 and Sir Martyn 1.

Sir Martyn does Cut Repair III on himself so he�ll be all right in three rounds. Aruth pulls the trigger on his staff and Lightning Bolts three incoming chaps, which kills two more. But he gets hits fairly badly. At the end of the round a bleeder dies. Unconfirmed kill, probably one of Sir Martyn�s. So the score is now 7, 2, 2.

The Sudden Light also gets the party, but they all save. But he hits lots of them with it. Aruth gets hit again and gets downed for two rounds and ends up with 14 points of bleeding. Daniel hits one but doesn�t kill him. Two of the opposition get into the wagon as Aruth is down. Zytsi hits one and doesn�t kill him. Sir Martyn hits one. Then they hit each others target, Zytsi kills Sir Martyn�s one but it isn�t reciprocated.

New round Zytsi�s arm is on line and he kills one of the two new ones who get into the wagon. Sir Martyn kills the other one. The last one in the wagon bleeds to death. The score is now 7, 5, 3.

The next round five get in the wagon so Sir Martyn eats the emergency exploding Paladin herb. So for the next three hours he is Strengthen. Zytsi kills two. 7, 7, 3.

Next round there are a total of six in the wagon. Daniel shield gets broken, and Sir Martyn kills one and Zytsi kills one. 7, 8, 4.

The arrows are raining down and it hurts. Daniel grabs a random ordinary +25 DB shield for protection. Don�t knock it, it worked. Sir Martyn kills one; he�s up to triple damage. Zytsi kills four, well he was speeded he got half around left to act. 7, 12, 5.

Aruth does another Sudden Light that due to the quirk in the rules we are using it takes four of them out. He then gets a shield arm taken out by arrows. Sir Martyn kills the last one in the wagon and two outside the wagon. Zytsi kills two outside the wagon. 11, 14, 8.

Then Zytsi kills two outside the wagon, Sir Martyn kills three. 11, 16, 11. and the two stunned ones run off. That cleared the 40 around the wagon. Just the 40 archers and the still unseen leader.

Daniel uses Public Speaking and voice amplified to double amplification. �We don�t want to kill you all. We just want your leader. In addition we will give you a hundred pennies to split between you. Otherwise we send forth our glowing nutter.� There are a couple of screams and then the big (9 foot tall) guy in spiky armour stands up and sort of challenges Sir Martyn.

Aruth and Zytsi go for Lightning Bolts and Sir Martyn fires the arbalest. They all miss!!! Crap rolls for the lightning bolts and he missile parried the bolt. Sir Martyn taunts the leader, some. Repeated at volume by Daniel. He will be coming out shortly; meanwhile here is a little light music.

Head on a stick (Daniel) goes up for 4D10 arrows. Sir Martyn and Aruth stand up for a Sudden Light for disorientation and a stack of arrows. Aruth sits down again and Sir Martyn gets out and charges the leader. He gets there for two attacks, as he�s speeded but the opposition goes first. He misses but Sir Martyn doesn�t, several times in fact. He looks battered but is still standing. Zytsi slips out the back of the wagon for a sneak around the back.

Loads of arrows come in but Sir Martyn is OK. The leader is an Ogre, by the way. There was another exchange of blows without the situation being changed much. Zytsi still sneaking. More arrows come in. Sir Martyn parries a lot. More arrows, another exchange of blows and then Zytsi hits him. Zytsi takes 5 points of damage from the spiky armour. But the round ends with the ogre dead. The rest run away.

We find the tracks of 80 men back to their base. But its some hours off so we don�t go there. We�ll wait until we can fly the wagon to the base.

We loot the bodies; remove the bodies and the arrows from the wagon. Aruth acquires some arrows.

Spiky armour AT 10, +20, does 5 points of damage to anyone who hits him (if attacker is strengthen then it does 10 points of damage. No encumbrance penalties. Needs working on to fit a human.

+25 shield. (spikes on)

Club does addition piecing critical.

And of course the head.

30th Navek. Stockaded large house. Seems abandoned. Gates across the canyon. Basically one large building with a few small outhouses. In the manor house there is a large hall. Several large chests, all empty.

We go outside and see Balatar cooking diner. He has the loot (6,000d) and was waiting for us.

It takes us three days to get back to town. Get back on 3rd Morgat

�We don�t want more than one person being addicted to the same stuff, it could cause problems�

Markus Spencer turns the head in and we get the reward. 3,200d each We wait a week and the spiky armour is cut to fit Daniel.

7,500 eps each

A rumour will start that a Paladin and a pile of Wizards took out the Ogre bandit. We deny it.