3rd Day of Planting, CY 579

The moathouse

After resting for a couple of nights in Hommlet, the party returned to the moathouse, better prepared. Pontus would take on the rats while Athan kept his distance with a bow. Sarril and Delvin backed up Pontus while being prepared to heal if necessary. The plan worked, and the group was able to move room by room and clear out the inhabitants, which included a giant lizard (who was befriended by Delvin), a snake and a giant tick (really, a giant tick?). They saved the barred door for last. It took a little time for Pontus to beat down the door, which gave the bandits inside plenty of time to prepare an ambush. As the party rushed in, they found the bandits carefully positioned behind cover, shooting with their crossbows. At the far end of the room was a large sword-bearing man who was obviously the leader. Delvin immediately cast a spell to entangle the leader in roots, keeping him from rushing forward while Pontus closed into him for the attack. With Pontus distracted, Athan cast a sleep spell, which took out most of the remaining bandits despite their cover. After that, the fight was a piece of cake.

After looting the bandits, and discovering a nice chest full of silver, the party decided this was a good place to rest for the evening and recover. They had a door that could be barred, and bedrolls already laid out from the bandits, they just had to dump the bodies in the moat first. The party also realized why the door was barred and there were no footprints or other signs going in or out. Part of the wall of this room was collapsed, opening it to the outside, which must have been how the bandits were coming and going. So of course they didn't have to deal with the rats and other things.

Lubash, the Ogre

While on watch, Athan discovered a secret door that led down a flight of steps to narrow hallway. At either end of the small hallway was a door. Athan opened one of the doors to discover an ogre who rushed toward him. Athan quickly slammed the door closed, realizing the ogre was too large to fit through, then he ran back up the stairs. When the rest of the party was awake, Athan described the ogre he saw, and the party came up with a plan of attack. Given that the ogre could not fit through the door, the party would toss as much flaming oil into the room as possible, light it on fire and shut the door. You know what they say about the best laid plans. . . it is possible it would have worked better if any of party members could actually aim well. So while the room was now full of oil and broken glass, the ogre didn't have any on him, and was now charging the hapless party. But then a miracle happened. The ogre inexplicably turned his back on the party and ran to the corner of the room, swinging wildly at the air. The confused party quickly took advantage of the situation to take another shot at tossing the oil, this time landing several hits. The party then lit the oil, engulfing the entire room, including the ogre, in flames, and shut the door, ran upstairs and waited.

Some time later, the group went back downstairs to check on the aftermath. There was a dead, burnt ogre, along with the ashes of debris from the room. Furs and other valuable items were completely destroyed, though Athan was able to find an Elven Cloak that managed to survive, buried and protected under a mountain of debris. There was also a chest in the opposite corner that managed to avoid most of the damage. While the chest was mostly junk (ogres have a strange sense of what is valuable), there were some coins and a few other items of interest. While searching the room, the party heard muffled voices coming from behind a heavy, barred door. The bar was enormous, and required two party members to lift it off. Behind the door were a gnome and two human prisoners. The humans were severely injured and unable to effectively communicate. The gnome introduced himself and explained that he is a merchant from the Kron Hills who is the last remaining of his party. The ogre, Lubash, was torturing him daily for information about a gnome named Lysander - as if all gnomes automatically know each other. The party escorted the prisoners back to Hommlet and turned them over to Canon Terjon at the Church of St. Cuthbert for healing and care. The gnome gave the party a ring to signify friendship, telling them that anyone from his clan should recognize the ring and treat them favorably.

Recognizing they might be in over their heads, the party spoke to Turuko and Kobort, who accepted an offer of 1/6th of any treasure found for joining them in returning to the moathouse the next day. That night, Athan snuck out of the room and poked around the Inn. He discovered a secret stash of weapons in the basement - enough to arm the entire town, and tunnel from the weapon room that led to a secret door inside the Village Hall. Clearly this quiet village is prepared for the worst.