Six bold young adventurers set out on their first mission…
Summerfrost was a quiet town on the edge of a vast wilderness, although keeping it safe was becoming more difficult as the wars between the Duchies and facing invaders and raiders beyond the seas drew men away from its walls. Among those too young to go to war, six would-be heroes had volunteered to help the local ranger brotherhood (the Moorswatch) in patrolling the woods and marshlands from whence sometimes monsters came.
At the ‘Boar’s Hearth Tavern’ under the watchful eye of Old Dav, these six youngsters promised to protect the lands hereabout from its enemies and had ventured forth to uncover the mystery behind new kinds of clawed tracks and footprints seen recently by the rangers…
Among these youths were:
Sir Beagleton, a fearsome Were-Beagle warrior who could transform himself into an adorable puppy. His family (who lived in the woods beyond Summerfrost) had been killed by a man with a scar down over one eye, and if the young knight ever saw that villain himself, there would be blood…
Sir Beagleston:
(Sir Beagleston in puppy form)
Ookla, a human barbarian with a greatclub and an even greater thirst for smashing his enemies. He stood huge in size and mostly kept to himself, too intimidating and scary for anyone but his few friends to be around, so no one knew where he’d come from before moving to Summerfrost…
Ookla:
Thudbutt, a dwarven bard with a sharp tongue and a well-swung shortsword to back it up. He wasn’t part of the main Dwarven families who lived underground in the mines next to Summerfrost’s southern gates, but was well-liked by everyone.
Thudbutt:
Tharn, a human fighter wearing heavy chainmail armor while skillfully whirling a humongous greatsword. He’d gone off to war as a squire to a Dragonborn Paladin of the Meadowcourt noble family, but upon his master’s death he’d returned home to grow into a fine warrior. Now he was ready to leave training and have his own adventures.
Tharn:
Skip, a dragonborn bard of the local nobility (House Meadowcourt), who was always itching to use his fiery breath against any enemies, he’d met Tharn away at war with his cousin when Skip was but a boy. After his cousin’s death when the two young friends returned home, they grew up safe in their native village, but yearned for wilder adventures and distant shores…
Skip:
Fiddlestix, a gnome ranger and lover of animals, quick with a shortbow and accompanied by a huge but faithful dog named Gobi. He was good with animals and the woods, but not good with most people. (He doesn’t stay with the group for very long…)
Fiddlestix:
(His mastiff hound, Gobi)
Morning Mayhem on the Forest Roadway
Having found nothing yet about any clawed tracks, the party broke camp in the early morning and began the walk back to home in Summerfrost along a roadway through a forest thick with trees and spring undergrowth. Our group was stopped at a little turn in the road, getting some cool water to drink from a nearby pool when suddenly both Gobi (the dog) and Sir Beagleston could sniff out a weird scent that put the whole party on alert. This was followed by the flapping of heavy wings up somewhere in the trees. Strange voices muttering in the Draconic language were saying things like “hide da shiny stuff!” but Skip could figure out what they were saying. We hid and prepared to fight whomever this was intruding in our lands…
Out above the trees, half-blinded in the brilliant morning sunshine, came four winged kobolds (plus one other one limping along, bleeding like they’d already been in a fight!) They failed to target us (too bright for them, as we all hid behind the trees) and we launched some attacks on the invaders. (Ookla hurled a rock, others shot arrows or hurled spells based on insults and mockery, as the kobolds wildly overshot and missed with their slings.)
“Oi! Ye scaly bats can’t even see straight!” Thudbutt laughed, strumming his lute and casting Vicious Mockery on the nearest kobold. “Ye fly like a sick pigeon!”
Skip added insult to injury with his own Vicious Mockery: “Your wings look like they were stolen from a moth-eaten bat!”
Desperate to change the losing battle, the kobolds descended out of the blinding sunlight into the shady areas below, drawing daggers and hoping to even the score, only to find that Tharn, Sir Beaglestone and Ookla were more than their match. Every kobold was smashed and torn thru with weapons and spells, or torn apart by Gobi’s teeth.
Fiddlestix shot his bow, hitting some, but also almost hitting Ookla a few times.
“Sorry Ookla! Don’t know how I didn’t see you there! I mean, you’re HUGE!”
Sir Beagleston decided a kobold head would be a good trophy to keep in his bag, so he collected one even though it was dripping blood and brains.
With a little tree-climbing, we found the treasure hidden moments before by our enemies. This turned out to be a ripped up and bloody backpack, stuffed with a white Knight’s Cloak inside that itself was very bloodstained. (The crest of the noble house on the cloak was two scarlet Dire Wolves, facing each other, with an upwards pointing silvery lance between them.) Sir Beagleston thought to himself: “This is surely the cloak of a true knight, what I want to be one day! I’ll hold onto it and return it to its proper owner if we can find him, or else we’ll get revenge on his killers!”
Finding that the kobold head would make the bloodstains on the cloak much worse, Sir Beagleston dumped his ‘trophy’ to make room for the important Knight’s Cloak.
Also in the recovered backpack we found a money pouch with lots of money, including some platinum and gold coins, and a belt with six bottles of Potions of Healing (one of which was used and empty.) Splitting them up, everyone but Fiddlestix took a potion for safekeeping.
Tracking flying enemies through thick forests was no easy task, but with a wink Sir Beagleton transformed into his were-form, a fluffy beagle puppy with huge eyes and a wagging tail, and sniffed the cloak. “Arf!” he barked, then started to lead the party deeper into the forest.
A Grave Mistake in the Potter’s Field
Following Sir Beagleton’s nose, the party arrived at Summerfrost’s potter’s field—a grim, overgrown graveyard for the poor. The scent led to a cluster of freshly disturbed graves, and Sir Beagleston gave everyone a detailed report:
“Arf! Arf! Woof! grr… grr.. Woof woof! Arf!“
Naturally, no one could understand him at all.
Ookla scratched his head with his greatclub, which didn’t help. Thudbutt got out his Bard’s lute and Skip suggested they sing a song to see if the puppy would understand them, so they started tuning up. Ookla scratched Fiddlestix’s little gnome head to see if that would help, but it didn’t, although it knocked poor Fiddlestix right over by accident. Since Fiddlestix kept nearly shooting Ookla with his arrows, this seemed somewhat fair. Tharn, the only one to take things seriously, stood guard alertly.
Thudbutt strummed his lute with a jaunty tune, while Skip tapped his claws to the beat, both leaning in to listen to Sir Beagleston’s enthusiastic barks and growls and make them into a new song…
Thudbutt (singing):
Oh, Sir Beagleston, ye fluffy wee scout,
Ye’re barkin’ and growlin’, what’s this all about?
Arf, arf, woof, ye say with such glee,
Are ye tellin’ us there’s gold in that tree?
Skip (singing, with a dramatic flair):
Woof, woof, growl, with a wag of your tail,
Did ye find us a dragon, or maybe a whale?
Yip, yip, bark, ye’re so full of cheer,
Is there a tavern nearby with some dragonborn beer?
Thudbutt (chiming in, scratching his beard):
Arf, woof, grrr, ye’re spinnin’ a yarn,
Did ye find a lost princess, or a magical barn?
Ye’re sniffin’ the air, ye’re bouncin’ around,
Maybe ye found us a circus in town!
Skip (nodding sagely, puffing out a small flame):
Bark, bark, howl, with a puppyish grin,
Did ye sniff out a feast with some roasted pig skin?
Woof, arf, yip, ye’re a riddle, my friend,
We’ll just keep on guessin’ ‘til this song’s at its end!
Sir Beagleston tilts his head, letting out a few confused “Arfs?” as the two bards laugh and clap each other on the back, completely clueless that he was actually trying to tell them about the flying kobolds’ scent leading to the potter’s field or the tracks he’d found in the muddy ground hereabouts.
Since none of that was working, Fiddlestix cast the Speak With Animals spell, and suddenly the puppy’s warning barks were translatable.
Hiding in the empty graves were a pair of kobolds with slings, and we got the drop on them. “They’re hidin’ in graves? That’s low, even for kobolds!” Thudbutt shouted, launching into another Vicious Mockery, while Skip shouted: “You smell worse than Ookla’s burps!”
Racing ahead, Sir Beagleston snatched one of the crouching kobolds by his face and doggy-slammed him back and forth until he was dead, while Gobi just ripped the other one in half, making this a very short battle. At about that point, Thudbutt shouted that we should try to take a prisoner and get some information, and Tharn arrived just too late to slice one of the enemies in half.
Ookla picked up a decapitated kobold head and scratched it with his greatclub, but this didn’t give either the barbarian or the dead dog-man any new ideas on how to understand beagle barking. He did use it to deflect an arrow shot at him from behind by Fiddlestix by accident.
“Sorry! Sorry!”
The Potter’s Field (graveyard) was at the edge of the tanner’s property, and the tanning fields and sheds stunk so bad that scents couldn’t be tracked anymore. Finding his nose wrinkling painfully, Sir Beagleston returned to him human-looking form and grabbed up his longsword. Gobi the dog slunk back, the smell too strong up ahead for him to move forward easily…
Tharn turned to the group: “My friends, I’m worried that the Tanner and his family are in trouble with these kobolds. We should go carefully and check on them.”
Skip nodded and started running right away, calling out: “A rescue might be needed. Let us move swiftly!”
Tanning Shed Tangle: A Fiery Fiasco
Our heroes rushed into the burning stench of the tanning yard, crowded with sheds and strung with long lines of rope holding up leathery hides. Among these were some kobolds stealing all the valuable goods, while another pair struggled to hold onto a double leash that barely kept a large and scaly Draconic Hound (a creature none of them had ever even heard of before!) from devouring everything. We immediately attacked.
With a wicked grin, Skip cried out: “Ye’ve got the fashion sense of a dead rat!” and the kobold he targeted dropped its sack, clutching its head in psychic pain. Before they could react, Thudbutt bellowed: “Stop right there, ye leather-stealin’ lizards!” casting his own Vicious Mockery spell.
Sir Beagleston turned away an angrily attacking kobold, fending him away from his friends with quick swordplay, as Ookla charged into the Draconic Hound only to get savagely bitten. The two leash-holding kobolds, finding themselves free, tried to attack everyone only to find arrows whistling in from the gnome even as his own dog attacked, and Tharn suddenly appearing out of nowhere to begin a bold duel — greatsword making huge sweeps and deadly blows!
Skip threw his best spell, a laughter curse, only for them to shrug it off, even as Thudbutt clambered atop the Draconic Hound’s back, stabbing away with his sword. Suddenly, the kobold’s leader — a larger and smarter flying kobold — sprang forth from one of the tanning sheds with a surprise Vicious Mockery spell attack right back at Thudbutt. Skip translated his words as: “Your beard looks like a bird’s nest after a storm!” and the dwarf clutched at his precious beard (nearly lost today already to kobold dagger-work!)
The Draconic Hound had some kind of awful fiery bite, with poisoned fangs, which scared everyone.
After a few minutes of terror and violence, when things seemed especially dire, the tide turned rapidly when Ookla (despite nearly being shot again by Fiddlestix!) and Sir Beagleston managed to take the Draconic Hound down while the flying kobold leader succumbed to the sneaky spell magic of the Dwarven bard, being unable to stop laughing even when people where slashing and stabbing him. Tharn had been fighting kobolds right and left, up until Skip launched a fiery breath that caught a good bit of the sheds and things on fire!
“Skip, ye daft lizard!” Thudbutt yelled as the fire spread. “We’re tryin’ to save the place, not burn it down!”
Skip, equally embarrassed and inspired, sung out a quick ditty to encourage everyone to flee the field before we too burned up, and against his better judgement — Thudbutt joined right in, as he strums a frantic tune on his lute while the tanning shed crackles and burns behind them, the stench of burning leather and chemicals filling the air. Skip belts out the lyrics with a smoky cough, his scales still smoldering from his fiery mishap, as the party races toward the Tanners’ house.
Thudbutt (singing, with a hurried beat):
Oh, these tanner’s shed’s are a fiery wreck, Skip ye daft dragonborn!
The stink’s so bad it’ll choke a troll, we’re wishin’ we weren’t born!
To the Tanners’ house we’ve got to flee, kobolds hold ‘em tight,
Let’s save the day with our mighty crew, and show ‘em how we fight!
Skip (singing, coughing out a puff of smoke):
I didn’t mean to burn it down, my fire got away!
But now we’ve got to save the Tanners, no time to delay!
Tharn’s got tactics sharp as steel, he’ll cut those kobolds down,
With his greatsword swingin’ like a storm, he’ll save this stinky town!
Thudbutt (grinning as he strums faster):
Ookla’s rage is a sight to see, he’ll smash ‘em with his club,
A barbarian’s roar, a kobold’s doom, he’ll turn ‘em into grub!
And Sir Beagleston, quick as a flash, he’ll fight with puppy might,
Bite and slash, he’s a furry blur, he’ll give those kobolds a fright!
Skip (adding a dramatic flourish, voice booming):
We’ll cast our spells, ye scaly foes, with mockery so cruel,
Thudbutt and I will roast yer pride, ye’ll feel like such a fool!
Vicious Mockery will sting yer hearts, ye’ll cry and run away,
Me and my friends are comin’ fast, to save the Tanners today!
Out in the clearing, the party debated returning to put the fire out in the sheds, but decided time was too important to waste. Checking for wounds, they saw that Tharn had come through with nary a scratch, always keeping his shield up, but the other two warriors were a bit knocked about — so the party quickly recovered with some healing and caught their breath. They decided that if kobold raiders were stealing everything the Tanner owned out here in the fields and sheds, then it was pretty likely he and his family were in trouble over at his house (maybe even kidnapped and needed rescuing!)
The leader Kobold had a few spell scrolls, shared equally by the Bards and handy for the next fight, while Thudbutt added more daggers to his collection.
Sir Beagleston gave it his best shot to try and get the poisonous fangs (or the poison itself) from the dead Draconic Hound, but wasn’t lucky enough to pull it off.
The Final Showdown at the Tanner’s House
With the tanning sheds in flames, the party rushed to the Tanner’s nearby house, fearing the worst. Stepping out from inside, they were facing two much larger and more dangerous Lizardfolk warriors, their scales gleaming with menace, holding weapons and shields and coming at a charge, alongside two cloaked kobolds who lurked back in the shadows of the house’s doorway — some kind of kobold spellcasters wielding alchemical weapons.
Fiddlestix was quick with an Entangle spell, but sadly both Lizardfolk muscled their way through the grasping grasses and roots clinging to their legs and got into a ferocious face-to-face fight with Tharn and Ookla, while Sir Beagleston tried to run forward but found too many of his friends in the way and the Entangle spell blocking him from racing ahead.
(In just a second, this unlucky break for the Were-Beagle would actually save one of his companion’s lives!)
Instead of being attacked by the Were-Beagle, the strong Lizardfolk cut into Ookla with a stabbing spear, while warrior Tharn traded blows against his opponent’s shield and took one on his own shield, neither side taking damage.
“Ye big lizards picked the wrong family to mess with!” Thudbutt taunted, then casting Vicious Mockery on a Lizardfolk. “Ye’re so slow, a snail could outrun ye!” The Lizardfolk roared but Ookla stood in its way, as Skip cast his attempt on the hideous laughter against the other one, but got unlucky as the Lizardfolk resisted the spell entirely. Back near the house, one of the hidden kobolds launched some kind of scorpion right at the Dragonborn, hitting him square and seeing him fall over from damage and poison.
Skip might be dying!
It was at that moment that Sir Beagleston still being in the back line gave him a chance to be a hero again, as he was able to snag the Potion of Healing from Skip’s belt and pour the glowing red liquid of life-restoring power into the unconscious Bard’s mouth. Saved and restored, Skip came back to life from the brink of death, only to find a huge Were-Beagle Knight looming over him and saying: “I’m not supposed to feed you! You’re supposed to feed me! (Treats!)”
In his own head, Skip promised himself to buy puppy treats for Sir Beagleston the next time that the Dragonborn returned to Summerfrost…
The fight never slackened though. In fact, Tharn had to dodge a thrown pot of wriggling Rot Grubs fired at him by the other hidden kobold. In response, Fiddlestix shot Ookla accidentally for a small amount of damage, which didn’t help at all but very briefly confused the Barbarian’s Lizardfolk opponent. Ookla smashed the lizard man in the face with his greatclub and screamed to the sky: “I SMURSH YOU!”
Bashing and banging against his own foe, Tharn said: “What does ‘smursh’ mean? That’s not a word!”
“‘Smursh’ is both ‘smash’ and ‘crush'” said Ookla, “and those are Ookla’s two favorite things!”
Scared by the terrible dangers from the hidden kobold spells, Thudbutt called out a Command spell of “Sleep!” and one of the two hidden kobolds slumped to the ground, which caused the other one to panic and try to wake his friend up.
Leaping to his feet, Skip hissed out a very Dragon-sounding Vicious Mockery at the one that had hit him with the scorpion attack: “Your cloak looks like it was sewn by a blind troll!”
The kobold shrunk back at the damage, a painful look on his face, his feelings very badly hurt. The other one managed to wake up and immediately jumped up to run away into the interior darkness of the Tanner’s house. Sir Beagleston, still unable to get safely past the writhing magical grassy area of the Entangle spell, shot his bow at the other kobold and put him down to the ground — dead!
Ookla and Tharn teamed up against the Lizardfolk, their greatclub and greatsword working in tandem to bring down the brutes, slashing and bashing and slamming, cutting and stabbing and slicing. And smurshing. There was much smurshing.
At one point, Ookla halfway turned around and said: “Fiddlestix, hit me with arrows one more time and I’m using you as a shield!” to which he heard a pitiful cry of “Sorry! Again.”
The two Lizardfolk were slain after a hard fight, the hardest one yet probably.
The party rushed into the house, where they found the Tanners, tied up in the corner, who all cheered and hugged us as the party freed them. “Thank you, brave heroes!” they cried, “Those monsters were stealing our leather for some ‘green mistress’ in the swamp. You’ve saved us!”
A Hero’s Reward and a Hint of More Trouble
The party returned to Summerfrost and reported to Old Dav at the Boar’s Hearth Tavern. “Well done, ye young pups!” Old Dav grinned, handing each of them 10 gold pieces. “Ye’ve earned this—and a good rest. But I’ve got reports of more trouble at the farms further afield. Something’s stirring in the swamp…”
Old Dav:
The party, battered but triumphant, felt stronger after their adventure, advancing to level 2. As they celebrated with a round of ale (and a bowl of water for Sir Beagleton in puppy form), they couldn’t help but wonder what dangers awaited them—and whether Skip would ever learn to aim his fire breath properly. And whether Ookla would wind up using the gnome as a shield. And whether Tharn would ever make enough money to buy a warhorse with barding. And whether Thudbutt would ever run out of jokes. And whether Sir Beagleston’s huge puppy dog eyes would get him treats from all the locals in the tavern.
(Answer: yes. He in fact got tons of treats.)
Sadly, one among them would probably not go forth adventuring again…
“Ookla, I’m sorry I keep shooting you. I should probably just stick to my woods and my animals” said a very sad Fiddlestix.
Despite their pleas, the young ranger just couldn’t bear the thought of accidentally hurting his friends anymore.
So, for their next game at Level 2, only 5 brave friends would venture forth to find new challenges in the woods beyond the borders of Summerfrost…
Thudbutt strums a lively tune on his lute in the Boar’s Hearth Tavern, a tankard of ale in hand, while Skip sways to the beat, his scales glinting in the firelight. The rest of the party—Sir Beagleston, Tharn, and Ookla—cheer and raise their mugs as the bards sing of their next adventure.
Thudbutt (singing with a hearty laugh):
We’re off on our second grand quest, oh my!
With axes and swords, we’ll make monsters cry!
I’m Thudbutt the Bard, with a tongue sharp as steel,
I’ll mock our foes ‘til they whimper and squeal!
Skip (singing, puffing out a small flame for effect):
And I’m Skip the Bard, with a fiery flair,
I’ll roast our foes, leave ‘em worse for wear!
With Vicious Mockery, I’ll make ‘em feel small,
We’ll win great treasures, be the talk of the hall!
Thudbutt (nodding to Sir Beagleston, who wags his tail):
Sir Beagleston’s a knight, a were-beagle so fine,
He’ll sniff out our foes, then fight in a line!
In puppy form, he’ll track with a bark,
Then slash with his sword, leave ‘em scared in the dark!
Skip (grinning at Tharn, who polishes his greatsword):
Tharn’s our fighter, a human so grand,
With chainmail and greatsword, he’ll take a stand!
He’ll cleave through our enemies, one and all,
We’ll be famous heroes, standin’ ten feet tall!
Thudbutt (raising his mug to Ookla, who roars in approval):
Ookla’s a barbarian, a human so wild,
With his greatclub swingin’, he’s a force to be styled!
He’ll smash and he’ll bash, with a mighty loud yell,
Our enemies will flee, or be sent straight to hell!
Thudbutt and Skip (together, voices harmonizing):
We’re five brave friends, on a quest so bold,
We’ll fight for the glory, and pockets of gold!
We’ll slay every foe, with a laugh and a song,
Soon all the lands will know where we belong!
The song ends with a cheer from the tavern patrons, Sir Beagleston letting out a happy “Arf!” in puppy form, Tharn clapping with a rare smile, and Ookla slamming his mug down so hard it cracks the table. The party is ready for their next adventure, dreaming of fame and fortune.
Summerfrost 