"Never say die!"

@Edwin Voskamp's AD&D Game: Freehold 1999-10-24

The party:

• Zooo, a Dwarven Fighter.
• Lothar, King of the Hill People, a Human Fighter.
• Angus, a Human Fighter.
• Claire, an Elven Cleric of Labelas Enoreth.
• Rynna, a Halfelven Mage.
• Thalen, a Halfelven Ranger-Cleric of Solonor Thalandira.

Out of Freehold

We sit down in the northern quarter and discuss what to do. We've got our Freehold Guild Badges, White ones (they go up in responsibility and authority from White, to Black, to Blue, to Red to Gold), but we feel somewhat constrained in this regimented city, after years of our training regimen. We also feel not ready to take our part in the politics of the Guild. We decide to travel to the edges of Freehold and beyond, a travelling adventurers band. To survive out in the open, for our number of spell casters and archers we need more fighters. Through the Guild we find Angus, a Human fighter and the only survivor of a graduation group! We hit it off well enough and decide to throw our lot together. I buy two war dogs; wolf halfbreeds. I name them Sinann and Sanenn. They respond to me as one would expect of a ranger.

To the East of us are the plainsmen, fairly well regimented and structured. The Dwarven town on the pass has some large caves where trouble is rumored with many underground races, perhaps even the vile Drow! We should find more survivable ways to ply our trade to the southeast. The Elven Town Claire and I hail from is four days south: about halfway down is an Elven Trading City, on the edge of the glorious and wondrous Forest of Loran. From that town a road leads East to a Dwarven Trading Town on the edge of the Mountains of Mandorim. A patrolled pass leads east to the kingdoms of people that have left Freehold, to push forth its boundaries, and to live in less Lawful ways.

The Elven Trading Town (The Dwarf Smith)

We travel with a caravan, acting like guards, though within Freehold, few, if any, are needed and find ourselves in the Elven Town. In the Greenleaf Tavern. Claire picks up stories about the Tower of Mordenheim, 20 days east, across a river/swamp. Zooo hooks up with the apprentice of a famous Dwarven Smith and hears that an Elven King commissioned his master to produce a Dwarven suite of plate mail! Zooo knows the smith is from way north in the mountains, a famous man. This is very strange and bears investigation. Unfortunately we find out that the Elven kingdom is five days southwest, which I know to be Wood Elven territory. We decide to travel on.

The Dwarven Trading Town (Assassins' Attack)

We find ourselves in the Dwarven Trading Town and stay at The Belching Dragon, a Dwarven Inn that serves other races. In the night we get attacked by six humans. Claire Commands one to Stop; Angus kills him. I kill two with arrows. I look out of the window and see one fleeing. I run after him and Command him to Die!. Though he does not, of course, the shock drops him in his tracks and I drag him back.

We parley with the innkeep, who is in on it, of course. It was an attempt by the local Assassins Guild, who did not know we were Freehold Guild Members. They pay us off for their member, equipment and trade. We use the money to trade up our armor, decking everyone in chain and the fighters in splint. We leave the town swiftly, before the Assassins Guild can change their mind and get organized.

Onwards To Tara

We travel through the pass as we get attacked by orcs, from a ledge up high. I shoot one, Claire hits him twice. Rynna casts a Sleep spell, putting seven of them to sleep. We kill them before they wake up. I check their tracks: they came out of caverns to the side. We decide not to go in there, as the donkey would not fit and we do not feel like going into the enemy's territory like that. We take what of their weapons and armor we can.

After two days we make it out of the pass and make it to the town of Tara, a town that looks rather ramshackle after the magificence of Freehold and the Elven and Dwarven trading towns. The town seems on alert: pickets of 5 men on horses towards the pass. We pick up there have been Orcish incursions for the past two to three months and that there is headhunting on Orcs, rewarded at three gold pieces per head! Claire must have lived by her God's word as she seems more powerful now!

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