Comparing versions of The Tragedy of Mac Dairncuff
Showing changes between October 31, 2019 at 5:25:54 pm (crossed out) and October 31, 2019 at 6:01:52 pm (underlined)
The peasant is an old fisherman who's croft lies hidden nearby, he invites our heroes to stay the night having only room for the leaders of the company. Hirelings are left outside in the cold, a rude screen of dead men's clothes is erected in order to hide the necessary fires to keep all warm. Inside the fisherman (who's name not asked or given) tells tales are told by the flicking firelight of bandit raids and a terrible unnatural plague the grips the land. A evil foreign sorcerer has made an alliance with Black Angus and those unfortunates taken prisoner are lead up to the ruins of Harpy Rock for what horror our fishermen knows not. Said sorcerer is identified by our heroes as a former hireling of Lentule's, one Calem, a muttering cultist who stole a dagger of evil aspect at the death of Lentule. The fisherman describes a bandit camp at the foot of the hill, making a frontal approach suicide, only by way of the sea caves could surprise be won.
evil looking conifer wood. 3 watches are set, during the 2nd watch 3 hideous plague-ridden wretches howl and scream for mercy as they stumble in the dark. In messy confused fighting they are quickly cut down. But it is a close run thing, scabrous fingers came close to passing on their affliction to the hirelings on watch. Sensible precautions are enacted, burning the bodies, thoroughly cleaning weapons and armour that have touched the diseased. The remaining watches pass unmolested, yet many wake with strange dreams of making bloody murder with a wicked dagger, or else locked in a death struggle with a doppelganger, hands on necks, strangling one another.
An evil conifer wood.
The next day the company makes it's way stealthily towards the glowering bulk of Harpy Rock, the fisherman leads them to the sea caves and they enter one by one. Hogarth and his gang take the lead, the dangerous, slippery path reminiscent of his time in the sewers of his youth. The sea cave narrows into a tunnel which in turn leads to a wide cavern dotted with stalactites in the roof, unbeknownst to the party some of these are in fact carnivorous piercers. These drop from the ceiling causing pandemonium but little damage before being dispatched.
At the end of the cavern stone steps lead up into the darkness. Hogarth calls for daggers and short-swords to be drawn, for close quarters combat in the narrow corridors. Some way on the faint and pleasant sound of women singing drifts over Hogarth and his men, alas some of his company are enchanted by this melodious song. They press forth, haranguing Hogarth who barely keeps them from barging past. The cry goes forth to stop ears with cloth.Silent discussion is entered (by way of thieves cant) betweenChuwah and Hogath, wherein they discuss leaving the harpies and pressing on, however the lure of treasure becomes too much and it is decided to brave their lair.Chuwah forces the fisherman to listen to the harpies so as to use him as human lure. The fisherman replies he is immune to their temptations, having many times braved this path in his youth as a smuggler. A great rusted iron door stands between our party and the harpies song, enchanted men shout and struggle from behind to see these wondrous creatures. The door is slowly opened, and at the very moment a man might wriggle through, one does! Only for blood and viscera to spray back into the packed ranks of waiting warriors. The harpies are engaged and 2 are slain and a third flees to the skies. Vast piles of treasure, decades of tribute to this cruel beasts, are discovered in their clifftop nest. Chuwah turns on the much put-upon fisherman and demands the poor man makes an account of each coin while he continues on ahead. The fisherman replies he can only count to 20 and Chuwah retorts with threads of death.
