Chapter Twenty-Two: Strange Times At Avernus Ridge...

Avernus Ridge

Fleeing the earthquake zone, Cobblethwaite's Companions and Tristriam's family headed towards the village of Bowes.

This took a couple of days and they arrived to find the small community in the grip of a terrifying "chattering disease", which eventually - after several days of uncontrollable teeth chattering and spouting nonsense - caused its victims' heads to explode.

The village priest, Martin, unable to leave his flock, told Kirchin and the others about a wise woman called Halal, who lived a day or so outside the village, just over the Avernus Ridge. Martin believed she was in possession of a magical periapt that could cure all diseases.

Yuzaru

He pleaded with the adventurers to petition the wise woman for the use of her magical talisman to drive away the illness.

However, once the party reached the ridge, they realised something "wasn't quite right".

A row of crucifixes lined the brow of the ridge, decorated with old human remains, and as the party camped that night, at the foot of the ridge, their sleep was troubled by inhuman wailing from beyond.

Time was also acting strangely, moving too fast, up near the ridge, but thanks to Harry singing them to sleep, they all managed to get a decent night's rest anyway.

Unfortunately, by this stage, it was clear that Kirchin was showing the first signs of the chattering disease.

Cresting the ridge the next day, the heroes were met with the hellish sight of small, globular creatures (which Holly identified as "lemures" - souls being processed for their transit to Hell) throwing body parts into a lake, under the supervision of a huge, barbed devil (again, Holly identified him for what he was).

The devil - whose name they later learned was Yuzaru - called them forth, knowing them by name, and staring down Davian who was, at least at first, itching for a fight.

Halal

Halal emerged from a nearby cottage, but wasn't the wise woman they were expecting, instead Holly recognised her a kind of " demonic night hag".

The crone told the adventurers she would loan them her periapt for a day if they would get Martin to resurrect a moneylender - Sebastian Crow - who had died in the village a week before the disease began, and then bring Crow back to her (unharmed).

She gave them a scroll, the necessary spell tattooed on a roll of fresh human skin.

Returning to Bowes, Martin was reluctant at first to agree to raise Crow from the dead, and couldn't believe that this revolting scroll - or the wicked demand - was from the Halal he knew (she certainly didn't match the description he would later share with Holly).

But he realised that time was of the essence and cast the spell over Crow's grave.

The zombie moneylender clawed his way out of the ground and started to head to the village, shaking off the restraints of Marigold's magical web, but was eventually hog-tied by Davian and the aching Kirchin.

Sebastian Crow

Crow was returned to Halal, who kept her end of the bargain and loaned the periapt to The Companions.

They first used it to cure Kirchin, before racing back to the village, curing the sick and hurrying the amulet back to Halal.

Kirchin, riding his noble steed, Gryphon, returned the periapt to Hala, but couldn't resist trading insults with Yuzaru, who - thankfully - seemed unable, or unwilling at this time - to cross the line of crucifixes.

But the devil indicated that he "knew Kirchin's name" and there would be a reckoning.

That evening the villagers of Bowes threw their saviours an almighty celebration. Unfortunately, in the early hours of the morning this was interrupted by another violent earthquake.

Come morning, a new mountain range was visible to the west, and when The Companions went to investigate not only did they spy plumes of yellow gas bursting from fissures in the ground (the scent of which reminded Marigold of the brief time she had spent being dead), but Davian realised that some of these new "peaks" looked more like buildings with strange-shaped windows and portals in them.

As they drew closer, they realised their way was barred by an enormous canyon, stretching as far as the eye could see north and south, that had swallowed up the land where the Welcome Back Inn had once stood.

Croatoa

Holly once again demonstrated her depth of knowledge by realising that the strange mountains resembled old images she had seen in rare religious tomes, depicting the demi-plane of Purgatory known as Croatoa... the home of The Yellow King!

Peculiar shadows and unidentifiable flying creatures were noted in this new mountain range, and the adventurers decided it was probably a good time to head back towards civilization.

Marigold was quite vocal about this and strongly suggested that they needed to call upon Peter Entwhistle's old compadres in the Wizards' Conclave for assistance.

By the time they returned to Bowes, the villagers had decided they wanted to leave, and so our heroes organised them into a rag-tag caravan to head east with them to Bendwyn.

[It's worth pointing out that the party correctly deduced that Halal (or whoever the creature really was) had released the chattering disease on the village herself, to blackmail the villagers into returning Sebastian Crow to her... for her own twisted ends]

CAST:

• Davian (Kevin)
• Harry (Simon)
• Holly (Erica)
• Kirchin (Pete)
• Marigold/Dirkin (Clare)

What The Party Know About The Yellow King...

Having found the word "Croatoan" carved on a tree near to a forgotten vault they were exploring, the adventuring group known as Cobblethwaite's Companions learned from Gunther Treszhnak, dwarven landlord of The Golden Axe in Bendwyn, that:

Croatoa was the name of an ancient land in a long-forgotten children's nursery rhyme about a supernatural entity known as The Yellow King who would steal the dreams of naughty children and replace them with wasps.

The Sign

Later, while investigating the appearance of some stolen coins, the party ran into the ghost of Mardrid The Gentleman Bandit, who cursed Marigold, to help him exact some convoluted revenge scheme from his prison in Purgatory within 101 days or she was doomed to become his 'ghost bride'.

As a sign of the curse, the ghost branded Marigold with the sign of The Yellow King (much to the horror of Betty Entwhistle, wife of Marigold's wandering mentor Peter Entwhistle).

Instead of carrying out the ghost's demands, the party headed across The Bright River to the Huldre Forest to seek out the legendary Witch Of The Forest, who Marigold believed was willing to teach magic to a "virtuous woman".

While the rest of the party wandered the surreal, mind-messing, rooms of the Witch's magical hut, Marigold was given a potion to drink, which removed the brand, and - she was assured - the curse.

Returning to Bendwyn, the party met up with the long-absent Peter Entwhistle, who had been attending a Wizards' Conclave where the gathering had pored over the prophecies of Ja'rodidymus that suggested The Yellow King would be "rising" soon.

Peter explained:

The Yellow King was believed to be a dark avatar of Sateb  (the god of the afterlife who judges a soul's worthiness), that ancient, near-forgotten, legends said was imprisoned in a shadow of Purgatory called Croatoa.

The legends stated that the impossibly strong magical forces restraining The Yellow King prevented him from setting foot on Cidri, and so [I] wasn't particularly bothered by the prophecies of his return... except for one detail.

A single quatrain in Ja'rodidymus's text spoke of a "conjoined maiden, hag and mother creating a vessel" that would carry The Yellow King from the shores of Croatoa to the realm of men.

Sometime after this, Marigold realised she was pregnant and she has just had her worst fears confirmed - from the skinless lips of The Flayed King - that the child she is carrying is The Yellow King.

She is the conjoined maiden (because she was a virgin), hag (because she skilled in the ways of magic), and mother (because she was with child), as foretold.

Prologue To Chapter Eighteen...

Betty Entwhistle Blamed The Death Of Her Husband On His Former Student, Marigold Weaver

Peter Entwhistle's funeral was a beautiful, traditional Mnorean affair, conducted by Father Caleb, ending with the congregation chanting "your name will live on" as Peter's coffin was lowered into the ground, dappled by beams of midsummer sun lancing through the trees that dotted the graveyard of the Temple Of The Lady Of Healing.

It gave Marigold a degree of peace knowing that Peter's reputation as a great wizard had earned him his room in Ündain.

The past week had not been an easy one. Unsurprisingly when Marigold, Kirchin, Holly, and Harry had gone to Betty Entwhistle to break the news of her husband's death, she had not taken it well... and had to be restrained from attacking Marigold who she blamed for, well, pretty much everything.

This further compounded Marigold's growing doubt about her calling.

"It's going to be hard finding another mentor in this backwater," she had confided in Holly, "But if I cannot I may have to quit magic entirely as practicing without hope of progress would break my heart."

Except for a message from Tarik, telling Kirchin that he was heading to Dranning to alert the Duke to the coming of "the world-breaker", and the increased sightings of forest wights in the woods around the village, a strange solemnity had fallen over Bendwyn in the wake of Peter Entwhistle's death.

Davian locked himself away in virtual seclusion, working on some "project" in his forge, only appearing - with his trademark gruffness - when customers needed new horseshoes, tool repairs etc

Marigold working at Kirchin's
House Of Healing

Harry went back to entertaining the patrons of The Golden Axe, although few were in the mood for his usual raucous fare, and Kirchin and Holly took Marigold under their wing as they joined Kahl back at The Temple Of Healing.

They made every effort of keep Marigold out of the main village as whenever Betty Entwhistle - or her two children - saw Marigold they would pull out their Mnorean World Tree symbols and thrust them at her violently, as though driving out The Great God T'Ao himself.

After a few weeks, Holly started to notice something was a bit different about Marigold, who had become increasing introspective since the death of her mentor, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

One afternoon, with Kahl out running errands, just when it looked as though Marigold had plucked up the courage to confide in Kirchin whatever it was that was still bothering her, Harry came racing in to the house of healing.

"Kirchin, come quick, there's a man at The Golden Axe asking for you by name!" the halfling blurted out.

Interest piqued, Kirchin and the two women joined Harry, heading back towards the tavern.

Harry pushed open the doors to the tavern as his comrades strode in. Kirchin saw the back of a blonde-haired archer (his bow and quiver were on the table in front of him), dressed in green leathers, sat chatting with Kahl - who should have been fetching honey from Gwendolyn the wise woman.

Kahl jumped up, beaming from ear-to-ear, as the man turned to face Kirchin and the others.

"Look," blurted out Kahl. "It's Uncle Dirkin! Your brother, father!"

"It's so good to see you again, Kirchin," the man that Kahl had called Dirkin (why did that name seem so familiar to Kirchin?) proclaimed. "I have need of your sword-arm and bravery to help me loot the treasure-house of the gods..."

Kirchin's Brother Dirkin - Can You See The Family Resemblance?

Chapter Seventeen: Manse Raiders Of The Lost Art...

Part of the vandalised artwork, a portrait of Jerol  of Jirrey, retrieved from the 'haunted' manse

After resting in the crypt of Jerol of Jirrey, our heroes opted to pry open his tomb - and those of his four favourite hounds that had been placed around him to guard him in the afterlife. They found little of any interest (just a ring and an amulet on Jerol's rotten corpse).

After that they continued their methodical exploration of the rundown, near derelict manse and its subterranean servants' quarters.

Lots of packing crates, ruined food, and odd bits of equipment were discovered.

In one room they disturbed a nest of giant rats and Kirchin got quite badly bitten, and now suspects he may have the shaking disease known as 'filth fever' (which he has heard about, but lacks the knowledge to treat).

Back on the ground floor, the party discovered the skeletons they had destroyed previously had reformed and were waiting in ambush for them.

Marigold employed her magical tentacled wand which destroyed one most spectacularly, by pulling it apart, and consulting with Holly afterwards, the young scholar recalled hearing an old legend of a wand in the possession of an evil necromancer with similar abilities. It was known as the Wand Of The Marrow Squid.

The fight with the skeletons also saw Davian taking what might possibly be his first (albeit minor) wound in his recent career as an adventurer.

After that the main item of interest they found was a giant communal hall with a portrait of Jerol's adventuring party (The Most Excellent Brethren) and a couple of vandalised portraits of just Jerol.

Marigold was keen to remove the main picture from its frame and take it back to Peter Entwhistle, her mentor, as his father, Oblidah, was one of Jerol's team.

Eventually, the group suspected that they had cleared out the location of anything worth their attention, loaded the giant book of poetry, the painting, and the suit of plate armour from the treasure room onto their cart and headed back towards Dundraville.

As they near the village they hear screams from The Merry Riot. Bothwell meets them outside in a state of dismay and shows them in. There are trails of blood everywhere, leading back to Peter's room.

The wizard appears to have exploded when a half-a-dozen worms erupted from inside him. The worms had rapidly raced up walls, out the window, and out through the tavern, and away into the darkness.

One of the half-dozen worms that burst out of Peter Entwhistle (killing him)

CAST:

• Davian (Kevin)
• Harry (Simon)
• Holly (played by committee)
• Kirchin (Pete)
• Marigold (Clare)

Chapter Sixteen: Return To The Haunted Manse...

Forest Wights: An Omen Of Ill Fortune ('They Feed On Schadenfreude')

The latest chapter in the adventures of Cobblethwaite's Companions began with Kirchin and Holly sparring in the courtyard of The Merry Riot in Dundraville, while Davian was inside running 'tests' (ie hitting with a hammer) on the magical skull ring he had found the day before.

Marigold cleaned herself up from her sudden bout of sickness as Harry took a test shot with his onyx bow... and promptly broke it!

Kirchin became obsessed with the idea that leather wristband Harry had claimed from the treasure chamber was to blame for this disaster.

But that was only the beginning of Harry's bad luck.

With Kirchin pushing the wheelbarrow he'd borrowed from Bothwell, the group headed back into the hills outside the village, past the old ogre cave and deeper into the woods. As the canopy closed above them and it got darker, they began to see dark shadows - with bright, burning eyes - darting back and forth between the trees.

Holly explained that these were "forest wights", generally harmless, insubstantial ghost-creatures whose presence was a portent of bad things to come.

Arriving at the walled manse, buried deep in the woods, and overgrown after decades of neglect, the party opted to head through the main gates and try the front door.

Unfortunately, as they trooped in, the ground gave way beneath Harry and he crashed down into a subterranean room, that turned out to be the derelict remains of an old laboratory.

The party carefully climbed down and Kirchin went to practice his physicker's art on the wounded bard... and ended up making the problem even worse. Harry's scream of pain was probably audible back in Dundraville.

'Ceiling Monkey'

While other healers in the group started working on Harry - and he took a swig of one of his healing potions - Davian was keeping an eye on a strange creature scuttling around on the ceiling that retreated into the neighbouring room when it caught sight of the size of the party.

Looking into the next room, a water-soaked old library, Davian saw there were five of these "ceiling monkeys" as he called them.

The creatures retreated when the adventurers entered the library and didn't appear to be much of a threat.

Heading through the library, the party found themselves in Jerol's underground study and realised they were now in areas they had explored before.

They explored the passageway where Kirchin deduced - with Holly's input - that the 'snark' had lured Peter Entwhistle away and attacked him, but couldn't figure out how Peter has escaped. Marigold - his student - did point out that he was a mighty wizard!

Beyond this area, in an overgrown gallery, they found what they presumed was the snark's egg, but - as far as they could tell - they had killed the only snark down here.

After some discussion, they decided to make for the staircase back up to the ground floor, where there was a door they hadn't tried.

Breezing through the corridor, they wandered into a ghoulish ambush and once battle was engaged at the bottom of the staircase, more ghouls poured out the kitchen behind them and trapped the party in bloody battle.

Ghouls...

Holly heroically charged the ghouls that were attacking from the rear, while the others dealt with the first group of ambushers. Then Holly hid in the wine cellar, while Davian took her place in the hall and Kirchin fired arrows (as he could) past him into the flesh-eating creatures.

It was a protracted fight but, boosted by Harry's singing and occasional bursts of magic from Marigold, Davian managed to overpower the ghouls.

After this fight, the adventurers rested for an hour in the wine cellar, then headed back to Jerol's bedroom, through the secret doors and into the crypt where they had found Kennet the other day.

It turned out the crypt contained Jerol's tomb. Not wishing to desecrate it, they paused to think where they would head next.

To be continued...

CAST:

• Davian (Kevin)
• Harry (Simon)
• Holly (Erica)
• Kirchin (Pete)
• Marigold (Clare)

Prologue To Chapter Sixteen...

Bothwell and J'Homme were delighted to have Kennet back safe and sound

Marigold groaned and rolled over in her bed. She could hear the clatter of sword-on-sword as Kirchin and Holly sparred below the window of her room in the courtyard of The Merry Riot Inn.

It wasn't just the celebratory drinking from the previous night that was making her feel ill. She was still disturbed by what had happened when she snuck away to the tavern's cellar to try out her newly-found 'tentacled wand'.

The ale had been flowing freely - as landlord Bothwell refused to take coin from anyone, so pleased was he at the return of his errant son - but Marigold was twitchy and wanted to know more about her new possession.

Peter Entwhistle still didn't feel like his old self

In the shadows of the cellar she tried waving it at casks, mugs and crates, but then a large rat scuttled across the floor.

She pointed the wand, pressing down on the tentacle as she did and promptly vomited when the rat stopped in its tracks, spasmed and then folded flat into a thin envelope of flesh.

The creature's bones had somehow been pulled outside its body and lay in a rat-shaped pile next to the furry skin sack.

Covering her mouth, she ran back upstairs, past her partying colleagues - who were too in their cups to notice - and up to her room.

Well, at least now she had an idea of what the wand did!

Marigold's mentor, Peter Entwhistle, had spent the evening stuffing his face with food. Probably due to his extensive wounds, he still didn't feel quite right - despite the miraculous effect the 'joy juice' had had on him.

Although his colleagues had decided to return to the abandoned house to retrieve what treasures they could, Peter had declared that he would be returning to bed, and for them to wake him when they got back.

Berk wants the Joy Juice

The chubby bald halfling, Berk (co-owner of Berkclay Brothers Brewery), was fascinated by Peter and Marigold's descriptions of the powerful 'joy juice' and kept rubbing his hands gleefully asking Marigold if she could bring some more back from the house.

His rather slimy persona persuaded her not to reveal the fact that she already had a couple of extra vials of the mead-like liquid in her pack.

Nursing a thick head, Kirchin had risen early - having promised to work with Holly on some basic fencing techniques to hone both their skills.

Chatting with Bothwell, the ebullient publican had agreed to loan him a wheelbarrow, which was what Kirchin had wanted to retrieve the suit of platemail from Jerol's manse.

Holly had spent a great deal of the night before, and this morning, talking to the locals about Jerol of Jirrey. Piecing it all together with her own knowledge of the region's lore, she now had a better understanding of the legendary adventurer and his comrades in The Most Excellent Brethren (Jerol's very successful adventuring and trading company).

After she had sparred with Kirchin for a bit, she was going to visit the druid's circle outside the village and harvest some herbs to make healing balm for the party's return trip to Jerol's haunted mansion.

Davian was regretting agreeing to sample the Berkclay Brothers 'fire ale' during the boisterous celebrations for the return of young Kennet, but despite the heartburn he was now suffering, he was determined to find out more about the eternium 'skull ring'. Despite its very basic design, the ring seemed resistant to all damage.

Dwarvish tradition associated the mysterious metal with 'good fortune' and Davian scratched at his beard as he wondered if this ring would somehow grant him luck.

Having spent most of the last night gargling honey mead, poured for him by the tavern's three serving maids (the sisters Darly, Dayla, and Dayl), Harry was delighted to discover that come the morning his voice had returned.

With a song on his lips, and confidence in his heart, he was just about to try out his onyx bow at a target he had set up on the far side of the courtyard, when Marigold threw open the window of her room, stuck her head out and proceeded to be violently sick... breaking his concentration!

Darly, Dayla, and Dayl

Chapter Fifteen: The Hunting Of The Snark...

Magically animated skeletons guarded the treasure...

Although only moments had passed since the puzzle had been solved and the secret door revealed in the subterranean store room, it felt like months by the time the members of Cobblethwaite's Companions took their next breath.

A treasure room was revealed and the nest of skeletons within were quickly dispatched before the party could inspect the shelf of strange objects.

Kirchin (Pete's character) took the fancy-looking sword hilt; Harry (Simon's character) the wristband with a target painted on, which shrank to fit his arm when he tried it on; Holly (Erica's character) the doorknob (which was later discovered to have the power to unlock any locked door); Davian (Kevin's character) the gaudy skull ring of mysterious metal; and Marigold (Clare's character), the bird beak whistle and the copper rod with a live tentacle wrapped around it.

The Copper Rod

The suit of fine plate mail that stood in the centre of the room they agreed to return for later.

Around this time, they realised that their team mage, Peter Entwhistle, had disappeared and he was found a short ways away, lying face-down in a pool of his own blood and covered in bite marks.

Magical healing didn't do much and he drifted in and out of consciousness. Marigold then gave his a draught of the 'Joy Juice' she had found earlier in the wine cellar. This had the effect of getting the old mage drunk so suddenly he could barely crawl.

Thankfully the next room they explored contained a rough cot and the party let Entwhsitle rest there, while they continued their hunt for the missing boy, Kennet (son of Dundraville's publican Bothwell).

Once again, the dusty environs played merry havoc with Harry's vocal chords and after a while he found he could no longer belt out his morale-boosting tunes.

After a short scuffle with a pair of ghouls found scavenging in the old kitchen - and blocking the 'ghoul hole' in the wall with an overturned table - our heroes came upon a large study room, with a desk, broken chair and shelves.

Some philosophy books (a couple written by the building's former owner Jerol of Jirrey) were found, along with an enormous (four foot cubed) book of poetry and, locked away in the desk drawer, a pornographic novel with magically animated illustrations and sound effects! Marigold pocketed that ("To keep it out of the hands of children!")

Beyond this was a lavish, fur-strewn bedroom, where Harry spotted a secret doorway slightly ajar.

The 'snark'
- artwork by Jerry Boucher

While he and Kirchin investigated this, Marigold went back to check on Peter - only to be ambushed by a giant, ferocious creature that seemed to step out of the shadows.

It easily broke through the magical web Marigold cast at him, but Davian had heard her cries and come running.

The beast - which Holly would later tell them reminded her of a "snark", a bogeyman creature from children's fairy tales - then found itself trapped between the armoured dwarf and the staff-wielding sorcerer's apprentice.

Everyone stood their ground and eventually the 'snark' was felled.

With the monster dead, the party resumed their investigation of the secret tunnel beyond the bedroom.

It turned out that it led down to a crypt, where they found the terrified Kennet hiding. The party were rather suspicious that he might be some kind of shapeshifter or otherwise unknown monster, but the story he told of his coming into the house on a dare, then getting lost, tallied with what they knew.

Mission accomplished, the party decided to take Kennet back to his father, rest up in Dundraville, then return to the 'haunted house' on a more loot-driven exploration.

CAST:

• Davian (Kevin)
• Harry (Simon)
• Holly (Erica)
• Kirchin (Pete)
• Marigold (Clare)

Chapter Fourteen: I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost...

The overgrown trackway to Jerol's Manse - the "haunted house" the party are exploring...

After their mind-boggling adventure in the insanity of the Realm Of The Faerie, Kirchin, Davian and Harry were plagued by strange dreams.

Kirchin was walking the battlefields of his youth, searching for the wounded; Harry realised the man he thought was his father was in fact a cruel slavemaster running an illicit 'cobbling mill', that Harry had torched when making his escape; and Davian remembered a guard dog he had been fond of his youth that had given its life to alert his tribe of an impending orc raid.

Kirchin awoke to himself in the town's chapel, collapsed over the altar with no recollection of how he got there from his bed in the healing house!

Later that day, when the three heroes were dining at The Golden Axe, a young woman burst in and headed straight towards Kirchin.

It was Dayl, a barmaid at The Merry Riot in Dundraville, one of the women the group had rescued from the ogre a month or so earlier.

She explained that one of the sons of Bothwell, the landlord and her emploer, had disappeared and she feared that the ogre had returned.

Bothwell

Kirchin, Davian and Harry agreed to come and help in the search, alerting Holly, Peter Entwhistle and Marigold that they were going.

And soon the six-strong party were on the way to Dundraville.

By the time they got there, Bothwell's other son had admitted that he had 'double dared' his older brother to visit the haunted house in the hills beyond the Skulltop Hillock (where the ogre's lair had been).

The house had once belonged to a famous adventurer, Jerol Of Jirrey, but had fallen into disrepair after he died 40 years ago and no-one had been brave enough to venture there since as - as well as the ogre - they all believed it was haunted.

Guided to the bottom of the trail by the frightened villagers, by the time Cobblethwaite's Companions reached the house it was pitch dark, but they managed to find a trail through the overgrown grass between the manse and its curtain wall.

They followed the trail round to the back of the house, coming to a broken window where a small spot of blood was seen - the boy, Kennet, had cut himself on the glass getting in, making his trail inside easier to follow.

Cautiously they made their through a number of derelict rooms, following Kennet's trail, and calling out to him. Searching one room, a parlor of sorts, Davian found a 6" glass sphere, with a smokey interior, that he immediately wrapped up and put in his backpack.

In the manor house's tower, the group found a collection of old maps, some of which they thought might be worth something, so they pocketed those, but were generally pretty single-minded in their desire to track down the missing child.

A staircase in the tower led into the basement, and there the group found their first clues that Kennet wasn't the only creature in this building - there were a mixture of non-human (possibly monstrous) footprints before the trail disappeared completely.

In a wine cellar, Marigold siphoned off some mead-like substance from one vat labelled "Joy Juice" with the idea that she would study it later and then the party came into a looted armoury, where their attention was drawn to three precious stones embedded in the wall, with a cryptic verse underneath.

Cracking the code, they pressed the stones in the correct order. There was a click and the outline of a concealed door appeared.

To be continued...

CAST:

• Davian (Kevin)
• Harry (Simon)
• Holly (Erica)
• Kirchin (Pete)
• Marigold (Clare)

Prologue To Chapter Fourteen...

Cobblethwaite's Companions (l to r): Charles The Mule, Davian Battlebeard, Kirchin, Harry Cobblethwaite,
Peter Enwhistle (back), Marigold Weaver, Holly (foreground) and Kahl.

Davian wiped the sweat from his brow. He was tired, but satisfied. During the recent cross-river tension with the orcs, the populace of Bendwyn had suddenly decided they needed swords, lots of swords.

Marius

But now the matter was resolved and he wanted a pint of Berkclay Bros. stout in The Golden Axe.

As he made his way there, he noticed a throng of townsfolk around the Great Tree and recognised a voice addressing them he hadn't heard in a while.

It was Marius. The Miser, folks called him, although not to his disfigured face. As he drew neared, Davian could make out the hunched, cloaked figure of Marius, flanked by his two servants (or were they slaves?).

He was telling the assembled crowd that after much thought he had decided to shoulder the burden of paying the orc king the monthly blood money that had been agreed.

Davian scowled, his short-lived good mood was at an end. He spat on the road, muttered something about "kowtowing to those no-good green skins" and sped up his pace towards his first pint of the day.

A naturally suspicious character, Davian was sure the usually reclusive Marius had an ulterior motive to his uncharacteristic generosity, but at the moment all the dwarf wanted was a drink.

Unexpected Plot Twist: The Return Of Peter Entwhistle...

Captain Dexter Hammerhand

It is now early July, about three weeks since the "stand-off at Fort Bright" was resolved and the threat to Bendwyn was lifted.

Kirchin and Harry had been at the fort, having answered the summons of Captain Hammerhand, while Marigold had returned home to prepare her parents for the worst - or possible evacuation (as Kirchin had suggested).

Imogen had run away, leaving her father heart-broken, and Davian had locked himself away in his forge, trying to get his business up-and-running again.

Before heading to the fort, Kirchin and Marigold had discussed their hopes that the orcs would soon fall back on their old ways, turn on each other and their shaky alliance would collapse, but neither was wholly convinced that this would necessarily happen any time soon.

"Humans, eh?" Harry had scoffed, earning himself twin glares from both Captain Dexter Hammerhand and Kirchin, but before anyone could speak again a thunderous sound rent the air as a bright light lit the sky.

The trio made for one of the watch towers and Kirchin soon wished he had possession of Davian's "spyglass" to get a better view of what was occurring on the far side of the Bright.

Revoreesh

It appeared the orcish hordes had pulled back from the river bank and later he would learn that the light and sound show signaled the arrival of the mighty sorcerer Revoreesh along with Bendwyn's own wizard, Peter Entwhistle.

Some time passed, then a flock of black birds arose from the midst of the orc horde and headed north (this, Peter would explain, was a traveling spell of Revoreesh's own devising).

Harry, Hammerhand and Kirchin were all equally puzzled as to what was going on until it became clear that the orcs were breaking camp and heading back into Tanander.

Peter Entwhistle was left on the bank of The Bright River for the ferryman to collect and transport back to civilization.

Entwhistle was grinning from ear-to-ear when he was met on the nearside of the river by Harry, Hammerhand and Kirchin, as if he had negotaited the peace treaty himself.

He hadn't, he quickly revealed. Revoreesh had struck a deal with King Hoknath that Bendwyn would pay 100 silver dollars a month - for a year - to Hoknath as blood money for the orcs slain by "whoever". In return the orcs would continue to respect the boundary agreed at the end of The Thousand Year War.

On the first of each month, the $100 would be handed to Aberswyth The Merchant, who would meet a representative of the town at the ferry crossing, and he would deliver the money to Hoknath.

However, if a payment was missed, the orcs would return and extract the money in blood and flesh from the inhabitants of Fort Bright and Bendwyn.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, in the warmth of The Golden Axe, Peter explained that he had been attending the annual Wizards Conclave at The Tower of Revoreesh, which lies in the foothills of the Gargoyle Mountains.

The Yellow King

As well as studying the Marvelous Golden Automaton of Omohundro - a mechanical man capable of playing chess and musical instruments (Harry wasn't sure if he was impressed or annoyed by this idea) - the small gathering of wizards had pored over the prophecies of Ja'rodidymus that suggested The Yellow King would be "rising" soon.

The Yellow King, Peter explained, was believed to be a dark avatar of Sateb (the god of the afterlife who judges a soul's worthiness), that ancient, near-forgotten, legends said was imprisoned in a shadow of Purgatory called Croatoa.

The legends stated that the impossibly strong magical forces restraining The Yellow King prevented him from setting foot on Cidri, and so Entwhistle wasn't particularly bothered by the prophecies of his return... except for one detail.

A single quatrain in Ja'rodidymus's text spoke of a "conjoined maiden, hag and mother creating a vessel" that would carry The Yellow King from the shores of Croatoa to the realm of men.

Intermezzo: Flashback And Hot Gossip...

Skarg The Rabble-Rouser...

In the absence of Peter Entwhistle, Kirchin, Davian and the other members of the town council, Skarg The Half-Orc (of all people) has been stirring up the community, demanding an emergency meeting be called - because of the gathering orcs on the far side of The Bright River:

"While Entwhistle the hedge-wizard is off Jen-knows where and the rest of his cronies are away raiding, who is protecting our town? We need a new council, a strong council, a council that will stand up to the barbarians at our gates!"

So far, Bendwyn has resisted Skarg's calls for a new council to be formed, but as the size of the orc horde grows ever larger, and the rhythm of the orc war drums grows ever louder, more and more villagers are starting to think it might be time for action...

It was during this period of upheaval, that Sir Browyrd took the prisoner Margesh Blackbood - who had been released on his own recognizance and was staying with Browyrd at The Broken Blade - and left the town with his newly arrived unit of ducal troops.

Rumour had already begun to spread that Browyrd and Margesh were more than "just friends" (as the town council had already ascertained) and ribald jokes were being shared in hushed voices around The Golden Axe and Skarg's establishment.

Although none of the villagers saw what happened, the Sheriff, his prisoner and his men stopped off at The Temple Of The Lady Of Healing before Sir Browyrd and Margesh departed on the Sheriff's tarn, heading towards Dranning.

His soldiers - despite the pleas of the Bendwyn villagers - began their week-long march back towards the regional capitol.

Troops Of The Duke Of Dranning

Present Date: mid-June, 2014 SA ("Since The Abdication")

Marking Twelve Months Of Adventuring...

The Chronicles Of Cidri has now been going for 12 months, which is something of a record for the Tuesday Knights.

It kicked off using the The Fantasy Trip mechanics, the very old system (dating back to the late '70s) from Metagaming, under Pete's guidance (always with the understanding that he and I would share the gamesmastering duties).

During the Tuesday Knights' early adventures, fellow blogger Chirine ba Kal (of the excellent Tekumel blog chirine's workbench) drew my attention to the Dark Fable miniatures of Dr Mike Burns.

Chatting with Mike, who was also a fan of The Fantasy Trip, he turned me on to Heroes & Other Worlds, a modern adaptation of TFT.

I did some investigating, got a couple of copies of the core HOW rules (one for me and one for Pete) and we decided to 'upgrade' our campaign to this more current engine. We haven't looked back.

The adventures I've run for the Tuesday Knights have all been based upon scenarios cooked up by the brilliant Tim Shorts (either from his fanzine The Manor or his Patreon campaign to produce micr-adventures), while talented cartographer Simon Forster (who is also running a Patreon campaign) has provided us with fantastic maps - updated from the sketchy originals in the TFT books - of the heroes' home town, Bendwyn, and the surrounding area.

Links to Campaign Chapters:

PREQUEL: Origin Stories - we all make new characters, using the TFT rules, in the wake of our TPK in Meredith's Warcraft campaign.

CHAPTER ONE: Dem Bones, Dem Bones and CHAPTER TWO: Zombie Sex Slaves - our heroes clear the undead taint from an old healing house near their town, so Pete's character (Kirchin) can restore it to its previous function.

CHAPTER THREE: Let's Hunt Some Ogre, CHAPTER FOUR: Battle Thong Of The Ogre Republic and CHAPTER FIVE: Frogroth Rising - Our heroes go to the aid of a neighbouring town that is being plagued by ogre trouble.

[At this point I took over running the game and we segued into using HOW]

CHAPTER SIX: Who Let The Pigs Out? Our heroes help the local salt pit owner to rid his mine of a troublesome pest.

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Hunt For Margesh Blackblood (part one), CHAPTER EIGHT: The Hunt For Margesh Blackblood (part two), CHAPTER NINE: The Hunt For Margesh Blackblood (part three) and CHAPTER TEN: The Hunt For Margesh Blackblood (part four) - our heroes travel all around the region in pursuit of an elusive bandit (taking in some side adventures on the way).

THE TUESDAY KNIGHTS: 

Meredith's first character, an apprentice wisewoman, was killed during the ogre adventure and replaced by her fiery young rogue, Imogen.

Clare made a welcome return to the Tuesday Knights during The Hunt For Margesh Blackblood arc, bringing with her trainee wizard Marigold Weaver.

My wizard (Marigold's master), Peter Entwhistle, retired to NPC status when I took over running the campaign, as I wasn't comfortable with the idea of having him around as a GMPC.

Pete's GMPC, Kirchin, stepped up to full player-character status when I became the campaign gamesmaster.

Kevin is playing the group's tank, a beefy dwarven weaponsmith called Davian Battlebeard.

Simon is the group's moral support, morale officer and amoral thief, halfling bard Harry Cobblethwaite.

Interlude II - Some Late Night Reading...

Betty Entwhistle

Betty Entwhistle's snoring could be heard from outside the wizard's house.

Marigold knew she'd be curled up in bed upstairs with her two young children - as Peter was still away - and so the young apprentice and her flame-haired friend Imogen tip-toed through the Marigold's own bedroom (which doubled as a storage room beneath the main sleeping area) making for the locked door that led to the wizard's library.

Imogen knelt down by the door, fished her lock pick set out of her belt and studied the lock. For someone of her determination and ability, it was a simple matter to pick the basic mechanism.

The door creaked open - the women froze, but no one in the house stirred - and a waft of dust, coupled with the smell of leather and mild decay, hit Imogen and Marigold.

Imogen gave a thumbs up sign and Marigold smiled. This was turning out to be easier than she'd expected.

The library was a small room, crammed floor to ceiling with books of various kinds and scrolls. In the centre of the room was sturdy desk, also covered in stacks of books. Some of the books were decorated with white splashes of bird excrement from Peter's pet raven, while others were coated in wax where broad candles had been placed on them for illumination.

Marigold lit one of the larger candle stubs and started to run her finger along the spines of the books on the closest shelf. 

She had briefed Imogen before hand about what she was looking for (primarily books about the "Witch Of Huldre Forest"), but as the potter's daughter was illiterate, they both decided it was safer if Imogen didn't go through the books.

Marigold knew the majority of Peter's collection were treatises on magic, but some were also books of magic and these were regarded as particularly dangerous in the hands of the untrained.

After about half-an-hour (it felt much longer), Imogen was starting to get bored and twitchy when suddenly Marigold let out a tiny squeal and pointed frantically at a green tome she had pulled from the shelf. Imogen shrugged.

'Legendes Of The Grayte Foret Of Huldre' was inscribed on the cover. Marigold excitedly began to leaf through this study of the various phenomena and folktales associated with the forest. She scanned over the section on ομίχλες της μνήμης (omíchles ti̱s mní̱mi̱s or 'memory mist'), which was clearly what she and her fellow adventurers had encountered the other week, before her eyes fell on a woodcut illustration:

The Witch Drowns A Peasant Woman

The accompanying text explained that the Witch Of Huldre Forest (Δάσος μάγισσα or Dásos mágissa) had first appeared at the court of King Ulfric (father of the present king) in Kaerater, the capitol city of Elyntia, about 76 years ago as an ambassador from an unknown land.

She was making outrageous demands on the court and Ulfric, who did not suffer fools gladly, had her entourage executed before she was stripped, beaten and driven from the city. With an escort of a dozen heavily armoured knights, she was then paraded through the land, from the capitol to the Bright River in the south, as a symbol of Ulfric's no-nonsense attitude.

When the party reached the Huldre Forest, the woman was cut loose, dressed only in rags and with no food, and left to fend for herself.

As the knights rode away, she was heard cursing them before she disappeared into the trees.

While most people believe she would have been immediately killed (and probably eaten) by the orcs of Tanander, rumours persisted in the decades that followed that the witch still lived and numerous child abductions (storytellers generally believe she wants to drink their blood) and drownings have been blamed on her.

Some said she became a queen of the orcs, while others suggest she magically travelled back to the kingdom from whence she came.

As Marigold finished reading, Imogen leaned in and tugged at her sleeves (the sign they had agreed to indicate that Betty was stirring).

They just made it out of the library (Imogen locking the door behind them) when the air was rent by an enormous farting sound as Betty heaved herself out of bed and, with a loud clatter and some fruity language, grabbed the bucket that was used for ablutions and stumbled, half-asleep, to the corner of the master bedroom.

The two young women couldn't help but giggle as they silently embraced, Marigold whispering her thanks to Imogen, who then slipped away into the night.

Marigold would have to pay a second visit to the library another night to swot up on the other matters she had an interest in.

The Entwhistle House: Peter's Library is out the back, accessed from the lower bedroom area on the left-hand side of the building

Chapter Eight: The Vault Of Viktor Volkov (aka The Hunt For Margesh Blackblood, part two)

In This Week's Thrilling Episode: Our Heroes Face A Pair Of Animated Stone Statues...

[After an extended break, gaming resumed for the Tuesday Knights yesterday with the return of Clare to our table for the first time since the birth of baby Bettany]

Picking up from the end of the last session, Pete's character, Kirchin the healer, had gained the confidence of Jerron, Margesh's number two, who offered him a chance to 'prove himself' by running a little job for the gang.

Jerron told him of a little "honeypot" his men had found in the Huldre Forest but hadn't had time to explore. He gave Kirchin directions to the old mausoleum and suggested he get a group of friends to help him haul out any treasure they found there.

The loot would be split 50/50 with Jerron, then Jerron would introduce him to Margesh who would have the final say over whether he could join the gang.

When Kirchin met up with his travelling companions - Harry Cobblethwaite (Simon), Davian Battlebeard (Kevin) and Imogen (Meredith) - to tell them about the job, he discovered they had found Imogen's friend Marigold Meaver (Clare), assistant to their old pal, Peter Entwhistle, the wizard of Bendwyn.

Following the directions they had been given, the group entered the forest and soon became engulfed in a strange smelling mist which stirred vivid memories in most of them (Kirchin recalled an incident from his time with the army, Davian a flooding incident from his days as a young miner, Harry remembered the time he turned his back on his father to follow his musical dreams and Marigold recovered a repressed memory about Syrius, the sage of Horst).

[By improvising these stories at the drop of a hat, the players earned 'cards' - thank you, Paizo for the Plot Twist: Flashbacks cards - that gave them a one-off bonus for use at a later time of their choosing]

Before reaching the entrance to the "dungeon", the group had a passive encounter with a wandering brown bear and came upon a tree with strange carvings on that only Marigold could read.

She couldn't quite make out all the letters, but Harry had a vague idea that it might be a word from an old song.

Finally arriving at the door of the mausoleum, the adventurers cautiously entered, discovering - and disarming - a number of traps before finding themselves in a tomb being attacked by a pair of animated statues. Incredibly - using teamwork [and a bit of the 'reality-altering' bonus gained from the Flashback cards] - they managed to push both the statues back into a pit and contain them there.

The party then opened the sarcophagus and found a skeleton clutching a shiny sword, which Kirchin went to pick up and was zapped with the memories of its former owner: a virtuous paladin called Viktor Volkov, who had been part of a team responsible for sealing a gateway to Hell.

Exploring further into the tomb the group found a closed door with fanciful engravings depicting horned demons carrying human souls down to Hell (seeing a theme here our heroes decided to shy away from that door for the moment), but while checking another section of the corridor the team of Harry and Imogen (the group's two "thieves") discovered a concealed doorway.

Behind this door was a short passage with a strange chest in it. The heavy chest - which turned out to be made of silver - had three movable handles on top. Harry realised it was trapped and although the trap kept resetting after he "defused" it, he methodically ran through all the combinations before Imogen pointed out there was a concealed keyhole on the back of the chest.

Harry picked the lock and the team were delighted to find it full of silver ingots.

To be continued...

Marigold's Story...

Marigold Weaver

Daughter of Bendwyn's weaver, Dennis, Marigold was apprenticed to town wizard Peter Entwhistle at a young age.

While this basically amounted to a lot of skivvying and looking after Peter and Betty's young children (Logan and Kitty), he did teach her a couple of useful healing spells.

She has also snuck a look in some of Peter's books and taught herself the "webbing" spell.

Recently while cleaning up for Peter, the teenager broke one of his precious glass alembics, and so he sent her to Horst to pick up a replacement from the alchemist Syrius.

It took her three days to reach the town, but unfortunately no sooner had she collected it from Syrius than she dropped that as well.

Now convinced both the wizard and alchemist will be furious with her she doesn't know what to do, but luckily she has spotted her friend from the town, Imogen (the potter's adopted daughter) and Bendwyn's smith, the dwarf Davian Battlebeard, in Horst.

Chapter Five: Frogroth Rising!

Descending the ladder (found at the end of the last session) further underground, we found ourselves in a corridor where Davian Battlebeard (Kevin) set off a swinging club trap - but managed to avoid serious harm because of his armour.

The corridor led into an alchemist's lab, that we turned over as we are wont to do. An animated broom decided to attack Harry the halfling (Simon), but in the end we overpowered it (I managed to set it on fire, but Pete's GMPC, Kirchin landed the 'killing' blow).

Among the books and alchemical equipment, on tables around the room, I found a diary belonging to someone called Suto who was allied with an entity called "The Voice Below", was hunting for the "Codex Illium" and wanted to summon the demon Frogroth.

So, we were kind of right in that the ogre we defeated last time wasn't the "Big Bad", it's just that he was working for this evil Suto guy.

There were three passages out of this room and heading north we found a bedchamber - with more books and a diary, this time belonging to an old man called Erazmus who went on about unspecified "secrets" under Dundraville.

We then took the eastern passage out of the lab and - after carefully avoiding a giant Shrieker mushroom, clearly left as an alarm - we came upon a temple-like room where the elderly Suto himself had a silver pentagram on the floor and was just in the process of summoning Frogroth.

This was my wizard's chance to shine and he burned the last of his stamina casting a magic rainstorm over the room that extinguished all the sorcerer's fires, preventing him from completing the ritual.

Davian waded in, followed by apprentice wisewoman Veriel Whisperwind (Meredith) while Kirchin and Harry shot missiles from the doorway.

Unfortunately, Suto was able to throw up a protective shield that blocked our attacks. Then he summoned a gargoyle - out of the ceiling stonework - to aid him. Both Davian and Veriel managed to land attacks through the shield, but didn't really seem to be doing that much damage.

However, around this time Peter Entwhistle (my wizard) remembered the potion of strength he'd discovered earlier and necked it, but just as I was going all Popeye, the gargoyle grabbed Veriel and tore her in half (splattering the rest of us with her blood!).

Taking my magic staff in both hands, I roared into physical combat with Suto, as Davian and I sought revenge on the summoner - by trying to beat him into a paste on the floor.

The gargoyle had also slapped Davian around a bit, nearly killing him as well, until Harry felled the rock creature with a well-aimed stone from his sling.

In trying to batter our way through the magical shield, I'd managed to break one of Suto's arms and, in quick succession, Davian landed a pair of blows that broke our enemy's legs - but not before he'd managed to summon a poisonous spider, that took a bite out of Kirchin.

Eventually, the epic confrontation came to an end, with us wearing Suto down until Davian could finally deliver the killing blow.

Once rested, we moved Veriel's body to the bedchamber before exploring the final passage out of the lab. Down there we found a room of cages where the two villagers were being held: Dale, a serving wench from The Merry Tavern, and gnome merchant called Jonas who promised us great riches for rescuing him.

After that we left the cave complex, heading back to Dundraville to get villagers and carts to help us retrieve Veriel's body (to give her a proper elven burial back at Bendwyn) and - of course - the treasure (including another library-worth of magical and mysterious books for Entwhistle to add to his growing collection).

Chapter Four: Battle Thong Of The Ogre Republic!

Although five weeks had passed in our world, mere seconds had elapsed in Pete's campaign world when The Tuesday Knights resumed our campaign yesterday, still on the hunt for that elusive ogre that had been pestering the townsfolk of Dundraville.

We also suddenly realised that we did know the name of Simon's halfling bard - it's Harry Cobblethwaite... although I dread to think what song he will compose after this adventure.

The next room our brave heroes came to turned out to contain the ogre we were looking for - dressed in a hero harness and a thong, drunkenly collapsed across a table and snoring loudly.

We debated, in hushed tones, for ages about what to do next - ultimately coming back to the simple stratagem of hitting him until he fell over. It was - as all fights in The Fantasy Trip appear to be - a quite brutal fight, but somehow we miraculously came out of it relatively unscathed, while the ogre ended up unconscious.

Davian Battlebeard (Kevin), our feisty dwarf, was all for killing him straight away and after further debate, we agreed to look away while he caved in the beast's skull with his mighty mace.

I must confess to my wizard's eyes, he seemed rather small for a typical ogre and I'm rather worried that he might have been just a pup and the real ogre is still out there somewhere.

Anyway, I magically opened the ogre's giant treasure chest, which turned out to be full of silver coins, but still no clue as to where the villagers that the ogre had taken hostage (and we were supposed to rescue) were being kept.

And so we headed on, narrowly avoiding the ogre's pet wolf - thanks to our resident elf naturalist Veriel Whisperwind (Meredith) who calmed him down (and aims to return later with the idea of adopting it as her own pet) - and found several other abandoned rooms, and the way back out the cave mouth, but so sign of the kidnapped townsfolk.

Coming out of the cave system, we rested for a couple of hours, had some lunch and then returned to the concealed entrance through which we had first entered the caves, so we could check out a couple of passageways we hadn't explored before.

A tussle with a dire skunk and half-a-dozen poisonous centipedes later and we were still no closer to finding the kidnappees.

At my suggestion we then checked the eye sockets of the giant skull face carved into the hill (the mouth being the main cave entrance), but besides Harry getting into a scrape with a young vulture there were no clues.

Finally, and I can't remember who suggested this, we returned to the ogre's room and re-examined his storage alcove, finding foot prints we hadn't seen in our hurry before - foot prints that disappeared into the back wall.

One magical 'knock' spell later (thank you very much) and a hidden passagway was revealed, leading to a shaft, with a ladder to one side, descending down further into the earth.

To be continued...