The Black Eagle Barony
Quest to the Black Eagle Barony
Having returned to life in Specularum, wanderlust didn't take long to return to the companions' hearts. Drewen proposed a journey to the Black Eagle Barony, the westernmost stronghold of the Duchy where rumours abounded of the Baron Ludwig von Hendrikk's evil doings, his dealings with the Iron Ring slavers, even his alleged harbouring of the evil wizard Bargle. These combined with the possibility of doing something for the greater good left no doubt in the party's mind - they would set out for the Barony and investigate the rumours for themselves.
Planning was undertaken that night in the back of the Inn , with mugs of ale aplenty. Lana suggested playing on her nobility so that the companions might masquerade as an ambassadorial party in order to gain an audience with the Baron. Karnus and Drewen on the other hand (who had drained a trayload of ale tankards between them) preferred the guise of wandering merchants. So without further ado, having purchased an entire wagonload of turnips the next morning, the humble traders set forth.
Following the Westron Road the party were halfway to the town of Luln when they heard cries from nearby forest. Wary against being ambushed by bandits, Lana and Drewen entered the forest while the remaining three guarded the wagon. Amidst the trees they came upon a warrior maiden, her curling ginger hair spilled over leather armour, who brandished a spear against an enormous wild boar. Before their eyes a second beast emerged from the shrubbery and badly gored the woman's horse. Lana and Drewen lost no time in curbing the animals, then spoke with the maiden. As Lana bandaged her ripped ankle, it emerged that this was none other than Lady Adriana Karameikos, daughter of Duke Stefan Karameikos himself! Adriana shared some of the party's refreshments back at their wagon and parleyed a little, urging them to be wary of her uncle, the two-faced and devious Black Eagle Baron. His wrongdoings were all too obvious to her and those around her, with the sole exception of her ever-optimistic father who seemed incapable of believing Von Hendrikks, his favourite cousin, to be guilty of any sort of wrongdoing.
Heading along the road, the companions were sighted by a guard patrol. Upon questioning the party, the guards discerned the group's intentions as more than a fair share of nods and winks were exchanged between the two sides. The humble turnip merchants continued onward with the guards' blessings. As the sun began to wane overhead, the party passed the lofty spires of Koriszegy Keep, the reputedly cursed tower which lurked on the fringes of the Radlebb Woods. Knowing the accursed place to be haunted by some foul undead lord, the five made haste to press on, and reached the town of Luln by nightfall.
That night in the tavern a humble cobbler re-introduced the party to Townsmistress Sascia. With her town's constant plight against Fort Doom weighing heavily on her mind Sascia had forgotten the names of the party members who had assisted in exterminating the black dragon Falaryx two years ago, however she vaguely remembered them as trustworthy sorts. Sascia gave the party her blessing, meanwhile the cobbler repaired a pair of worn-out boots for Lana then disappeared.
Heading out of town next morning, cropland gave way to bleak wilderness which reputedly served as home to many humanoid tribes loyal to the evil wizard Bargle. Amid the desolation the party ran into a tribe of orcs who had clustered around an individual garbed in a drab and ragged cloak. Invoking prayer from a distance, Threy managed to Hold a handful of orcs while Karnus employed a Perpetual Agitator to incapacitate the remainder. The individual whom the orcs had been assaulting rose to his feet and threw back his tattered cloak to reveal fine brown robes and a rich, rolling brown beard, seemingly a magic-user! The man claimed to be a Glantrian wizard who had returned to Karameikos to wreak revenge on none other than Bargle for having sold him into slavery as a child. As a demonstration of his power, and before the heroes could say a word, the wizard's fireball engulfed the tribe of defenceless orcs.
The party members surmised that this foreign wizard's power combined with their own abilities might be enough to make a confrontation with Bargle more of an equal fight. Lana and Karnus exchanged suspicious glances however, since by all accounts this man matched the description of... But what the hell...
"Bargle!" Lana muttered under the pretence of a cough.
"I beg your pardon?" the wizard enquired charmingly, feigning confusion as he slowly raised one eyebrow.
Lana smiled a sweet and knowing smile, then threw one arm around the taller wizard's shoulder, bidding him come back to the caravan for light refreshments. "We too are in pursuit of the spoiled apprentice Bargle," she confessed jovially as they strolled together. "Never fear however, we shall ensure the Baron's pet wizard does no more ill against the Grand Duchy... Now more importantly - would you care for a turnip?"
Travelling on, a party of orcs were spied on the trail ahead. The party debated whether to confront the group or not, until the Glantrian wizard urged Vasily to drive the cart into a nearby copse, where the companions might shelter until the orcs had passed. Thinking this a logical proposal, Vasily did as he was bid then gasped with surprise. The trees of the copse began to shimmer and disappear, melding into the form of armed troops! It was now that the stranger decided to reveal his true colours.
Bargle in the flesh!
A battle of immense proportions ensued, as the party defended themselves against the most powerful magic-user in all of Karameikos. Bargle began casting from his huge repertoire of spells, choosing Lana as his first target. "Pet wizard, eh?" he sneered, before uttering a single word of magic. Lana reeled from an unseen blow, as her mind plunged into blackness and she dropped to her knees. Karnus seeing his companion incapacitated was quick to invoke a Fly spell and take to the air, ready to cast magics of his own against the archmage, however Bargle had selected his second target and Karnus found himself assaulted by a second Power Word Stun. The blue-robed mage was left clutching his head in woe, spinning in mindless circles above the clearing. Threy stepped forward to strike the wizard with his mace and disrupt his concentration, but found himself magically Held.
Vasily too was pretty much out of action as the horses, spooked by the sudden commotion, had reared and were dragging the wagon away at speed. Drewen was the only free member of the party. He charged toward Bargle, his hammer at the ready. Bargle's outstretched hands hurled spell after spell as the dwarf's armoured form closed the distance, yet Drewen's innate resilience to magic served him faultlessly. Drewen leapt high and his hammer connected with Bargle's face! The archmage cried aloud as bone splintered and the deadly incantation he was halfway through completing died on his lips. Shaking in disbelief and anger, the wizard waved one hand and seven glowing missiles appeared, five of which impacted upon Drewen, the other two veered toward Vasily, still atop the runaway cart. But then Bargle ceased combat, calling for the heroes to surrender to his men who were standing all around. A dozen bows and crossbows were trained on each prone companion... odds even Drewen could not hope to match. For the sake of his companions' safety, Drewen dropped his hammer. Bargle let out a maniacal victory cry and vanished from the clearing. His guards closed with manacles at the ready...
Under guard of Bargle's troops the party was marched through the wilderness, to the forbidding bastion of Fort Doom . Passing through the city gates, they were led up the barren Doom Tor across a drawbridge fashioned to resemble a gaping skull, then into the Baron's throneroom. Here the five companions were stripped of all their treasures, save Karnus' magic dagger and Lana's ring of telekinesis (since both small items were able to be concealed from the guards' roving hands). The cleric Jolenta of the Iron Ring was present, and eyed the party's staff of healing, Golthar's ring of protection and the hutaakan jade ring with greedy interest. After considerable amount of manhandling from the guards, Bargle appeared in the court. He was resplendent in robes of lime and saffron, evidently selected to upstage the more sombre black worn by his patron the Baron. Also in attendance were the treacherous cobbler whom the party had met back in Luln and a slight young man whom Bargle introduced as his apprentice Flaccus. Jolenta who was also present, an old "friend" of the party, gave both Threy and Karnus (strangely...) special nods of acknowledgement.
Having robbed the party of their belongings, the Baron offered the intruders a choice. They could either fight one another for his entertainment, or be thrown into the catacombs beneath the Doom Tor to fight whatever monsters and traps waited in the depths. Unanimously the party opted for the catacombs. Having been chucked down a pit, each hero was allowed a weapon of choice. Luckily each was allowed the return of their magical weapon, although Karnus scowled as Bargle refused to hand over the Staff of Hutaaka. Progress was made into the dark depths. In one chamber a young halfling by the name of Philbert Sharpstone was met, who proudly announced his theft of battle plans from the Baron's personal chambers, which he was intending to deliver to his home in the western Shires. While rummaging through the Baron's personal effects Philbert had helped himself to a familiar-looking beetle brooch... Threy's scarab of protection! Continuing onward the way was barred by a figure clad in long robes - could Bargle have re-appeared to challenge the party? It transpired this was instead Flaccus, the wizard's apprentice, who confessed his betrayal of Bargle since he was in fact an operative of Lady Sascia and had been working against the Black Eagle Baron for many years. As a token of goodwill Flaccus handed across a sack - the party's bag of holding, filled with as many of their magical items as Flaccus had been able to liberate from his master's study. Lana and Karnus' spellbooks were returned, but the staff of healing so well-used by the party along with several rings had been gifted to Jolenta, and were for the time being lost to the party... Flaccus had been wishing to leave Fort Doom for months now, and the adventuring party would provide a perfect escort.
Who to trust?
Further into the catacombs the party encountered two hobgoblins, half-starved and in no condition to pose any threat. These were deserters from Bargle's army, and they joined the party to help find an escape route from the catacombs. Ghouls attacked next, from which the party of nine (by now) were forced to flee. Entering a long cavern next, a beautiful young maiden was found fighting for her life against a pack of rabid giant rats. After saving the maiden she revealed a way out of the catacombs, a short way up the rockface behind her. As the party's backs turned however, the woman morphed into a hideous hag endowed with formidable magical powers. As the hag used her craft to summon a trio of gleaming silver daggers, a casting of Magic Missiles from Lana reacted powerfully against the hag's magic, almost blasting asunder a large portion of the Doom Tor.
Scaling the rockface, the party was relieved to emerge into cool night air. However Bargle's eyes were everywhere as Flaccus informed his new companions. They would need to find shelter for the night, therefore the nine headed south to the coast and made camp in a secluded sea-side cave. Throughout the night the howling of wolves filled the air. This they knew to be the sound of the voracious pack kept by the Baron to hunt escaped slaves, rumoured to be led by ruthless werewolf mercenaries. The night passed without incident however. As the tide ebbed the next morning the party discussed where they should head. Philbert the halfling was adamant in his duties to the Shires, vowing that the battleplans he had stolen should reach the hands of the hin Sheriffs. Flaccus pledged his support to Philbert, and the party of karameikans agreed to do likewise. It was decided they would head west, through the desolation of Blight Swamp , rather than face the humanoid tribes to the east who would no doubt be on full alert. Breakfast was giant rat stew from Lana's magical cauldron, since the party had not eaten in days and had no other alternative to starvation. Needless to say, Vasily wolfed down his portion with customary gusto.
Heading along the coastline, some horses were appropriated from a passing guard patrol. Vasily spoke magically with each animal, and they agreed to transport the party as far as the edge of Blight Swamp , but no further. Trekking onward on foot, the place was as dull and lifeless as ever, the air thick with decay and no sun penetrating the murky clouds overhead. Threy shuddered as the nine passed by a familiar grove of blackened trees - the lair of Falaryx! Lana and Drewen took a short moment to investigate the dead dragon's old home, now stripped of its hoard, while Karnus toyed with the notion of summoning a phantasmal image of Falaryx. Knowing Threy would fail to see the humorous side of such a prank, Karnus behaved himself and was instead observed smiling silently to himself.
Attacked by ghouls that night, the two clerics managed to obliterate the threat in seconds. Insect swarms appeared the next day - one of which Karnus dispersed by summoning a raging Wall of Fire, while Lana dissipated a second through use of a Lightning Bolt. The party camped that night atop a grassy hillock which turned out to be a giant centipede nest. Lana levitated to a safe height and rained Amber Shards down upon the site. Then, in the dead of night a trio of nightgleets descended - winged snakes whose skin was like rubber and who if attacked with an edged weapon would spray poison on their foes, attracting more creatures from nearby! Philbert explained that these fearsome foes were relatively rare outside of the Shires, and that many halfling hunting parties were attempting to wipe out the species.
So many perils began to take their toll upon the weary party, as physical exhaustion combined with lack of food and other supplies caused the party's health to suffer. Vasily and Threy could supply fresh water, however healing magic was no substitute for proper nourishment. Crossing a river three giant leeches suckered onto the party's legs, and one of the hobgoblins was drained of his lifeblood in the attack. The other, Fabutha, passed away from starvation later that night.
Finally the seven adventurers made it through a thick patch of undergrowth to enter a meadow filled with flowers and swaying grasses, a welcome contrast to the bleak swamp behind. At last they had reached the Shires.
Read on - the party's adventures in The Five Shires