D&D (I am The GM)

8th Session

The party reunite with the addition of the half elf, Thallen, who is a very big fan of famous musician and sex idol Kevin Boron. Jack hosts an election for official mayor of the settlement. Gorpo! and Murkas stand for election. Murkas offers his huge sum of riches to the settlement as his pledge. Gorpo! offers nothing other than some lies. Gorpo! attempts to ruin Murkas' campaign by revealing secrets about where Murkas' money has come from. Murkas manages to shake off this information. As it's predicted that Murkas will win by landslide, Gorpo! casts spook on Murkas allowing him to win by default as Murkas is absent. Gorpo! hosts a party to celebrate his electoral victory. A bartender serves drinks but they turn out to be poisoned. Most of the party manage to avoid to the poison other than Jack who falls unconscious. A fire then starts in the pallisade walls of the settlement. Gorpo! transforms into a large bird to attempt to put out the fires. He notices people in dark leathers fighting the guards, on their tabards is a blade dripping with blood. Meanwhile John tries to move Jack to safety but is attacked by the bartender. Kevin and Thallen intervene chopping off his hand. Gorpo! returns and transforms back into human form. They interrogate the bartender using hypnotism. He tells them that he is working for The Stained Blade (specifically a leader named "B"), has been hired to kill or capture Jack Smith and that there are a dozen other assassins attacking the settlement. Naetin cures Jack's poison. Murkas then runs outside and asks for a standstill offering up Jack Smith. Bundy jumps out of a bush and slaps him in the face telling him that's a bad idea. The fighting stops and Murkas becomes very confused. Then suddenly, Donalbain and the knights of Herne run through the gate and engage with the assassins. The guards then engage again. Jack walks out and is very confused about what is happening. Bundy explains to him that The Stained Blade are trying to kill or capture him. He says that he is NOT "B" and that The Stained Blade are the ones that burnt the orphanage. He has been trying to destroy them and supposedly they are also working with the Cults of Orcus and Set. Bundy tells him to go into the bush and follow Krackle to escape. Bundy and Murkas then attack the assassins. Kevin runs outside to get on Greg. Krackle and Jack escape through holes in the wall. John and Naetin follow them. Feraan runs outside to the battle. Thallen then kills the bartender and loots the body. Now alone with Gorpo! he drinks a glass of the bartender's drink and falls unconscious. Gorpo! pours him another glass for when he wakes up and leaves to join the battle. John and Naetin catch up to Jack and Krackle so they all stop in the middle of a field. Greg, Feraan and Murkas quickly dispatch a few assassins before all of the assassins flee. The Knights of Herne chase them off. They all regroup and Bundy explains that he is not "B" and that he knows where the secret base of The Stained Blade is, under the abandoned clocktower in Alexstowe. They loot the bodies and then rest the night.

 In the morning they head to Alexstowe. They are told the clocktower has been abandoned for many years by the guards. They try the door but it doesn't open. Krackle fails to pick the lock so Thallen breaks the door down. They search the rubble within the room to find a lever. John pulls it and Thallen falls down the trapdoor. The others follow using a rope, instead of the ladder. Jack lights up his sword. They find themselves in a corridor, Krackle walks up tapping for traps. Towards the ends of the corridor the ground feels unstable. John chucks his hammer at it and the ground crumbles in to reveal a pit of sharp spikes. Murkas uses his webs to create a safe way across. They all make it across and then walk into a large circular room with a fountain at the centre with 6 doors and a corridor opposite. There are also barrels at the edges and tables and chairs around the room. Murkas approaches the fountain and jumps out of the way as a pit caves in revealing snakes. Kevin fails at attempting to tame one. Murkas smells and looks at the water. He decides to taste it as it looks safe. Nothing bad happens. Bundy opens a door to reveal assassin outfits and weapons. Another room reveals a selection of food. The third door doesn't open, so Krackle tries to lockpick it. The rest of the party notice movement behind some barrels. They pair up to investigate. Jack and John approach a barrel. An assassin jumps out and stabs Jack. The party take them out with a hail of ranged attacks, John's hammer and Jack's sword. The party regroup and decide a different tactic. John throws his hammer at a different barrel and Thallen then fires his bow at the now exposed assassin, killing them. Before they can repeat a dagger is thrown a John and misses an inch from his head. They repeat the same strategy with similar success. Suddenly a blade is plunged into Jack. An assassin appear out of thin air holding the blade. She has a runed cloak, a runed short sword and runed leather armour. She slinks back into the shadows. Kevin casts Faerie Fire on her which reveals her. The party then proceed to pepper her with arrows and cut her to the ground with sword and hammer. She puts her hands up in surrender. Jack restrains her and John knocks her out. They then check the other rooms. They find a room of corpses, which they avoid, and a room containing 16 bunk beds. They move on to the two locked doors. Jack begs the party to leave but Krackle breaks the lock none the less. Inside they find a desk containing a candle, some papers and a pouch. They are unable to find any traps so Murkas steps forward and manages to dodge two poison arrows. Krackle then grabs the pouch to find 40 platinum pieces. Thallen breaks down the other locked door. Inside they find two large sacks. They again are unable to find any traps so Murkas steps forward and is hit by an arrow but is unaffected by the poison. He looks inside to find gold. He tries to grab both but they are too heavy. The party redistributes the gold and then is about to leave when Krackle goes back to pick up the documents. They leave back up the rope and search the documents. They discover that a member of the cults called Molag Bal ordered the capture or killing of Jack Smith. They also find that Lord Silverbane has ordered a hit on The Knight of Herne. And to Jack's surprise some paladins, particularly of Mortem, have previously ordered some hits. They add up their large sums of gold then split into two groups. Jacks, John and Kevin head to the Holy City. While Murkas, Gorpo!, Naetin, Feraan, Thallen, Krackle and Bundy head back to the settlement.