Sturridge

cy4884 Arrandius 15th

It is at an innhouse in the southern quarter of the town of Sturridge that the party come together, a disparate group of friends from all corners of Grayhawk. V’iak Kaarm, a Merkand rider, Kursteye, a black orc thief, Kaegallin, a Lokus elf assassin, Urasai, a Darkland paladin of Jarik, El’ecl, a Khulandir sorcerer, and Aarlsberg, a female Jandraki assassin. Lured here by the promise of gold and wealth they sit and make their plans for the days ahead.

The town of Sturridge is an old Skoorlian settlement overthrown decades before by the more powerful Estallians. Despite their power the Estallians – through their newest queen Vayana – are losing the grip on their kingdom and those in Skoorl that want liberation for their nation are gaining strength.

It is for that reason the party gather in the Halberd. They have met a strong outlaw called Ajimar in the Dead Hills, a man at the forefront of the struggle for independence. He has bid the party to go into Sturridge and show him what they can do – his particular goal is to cause havoc by burning the barracks and killing as many Estallians as possible. The Halberd is situated on a street corner with a perfect view of the barracks, parade ground and stables.

But first the party need to gain money; they decide to wager their money at the local pit fighting arena – a place where professionals and amateurs alike can fight for money or – more lucratively – wager on the outcome of such fights. V’iak is the first to offer himself up and gets good odds because of his relative inexperience. In a brutal hand-to-hand struggle he fights through serious injury with a similarly injured opponent.

Kaegallin – who has bet heavily on the outcome – surreptitiously gets close with his blowpipe when the fight starts to slip away from V’iak. An expert needle into the jugular of the opponent ends the fight with V’iak deftly covering up the deceit.

However the pit fighting arena has thieves who watch out for such things and Kaegallin finds a knife at his throat and rough hands dragging him away for interrogation. But the assassin does not panic; instead he uses the magic from his father’s heirloom, a powerful ring of domination to gain control of the thief. He is called Balix and Kaegallin immediately puts him to good use as lookout. Kaegallin has a stable boy dominated and sends him out to gather friends for what is to follow.

The party receive a handsome payout as Urasai suggests taking V’iak to the Jarik temple for healing. This is accomplished with the help of the dominated thief called Balix and soon they are in the temple talking to a priest. The priest cures all V’iak’s wounds and the rider gives him a huge donation; the priest is very grateful and the gold in his coffers but V’iak still leaves a wealthy man after his deeds in the arena.

Next day V’iak enters the fray once more and because of his growing reputation the odds are shorter. Despite this he faces a slim, pale-faced Jezharrain but easily overcomes him with a crushing punch – once again they make a lot of money but there is an undercurrent of disharmony at the arena.

But Kaegallin is ready for this, it is all part of his plan, he stands up and yells at the crowd; "You will all share in my good fortune – the drinks are on me at the Halberd Inn!"

With the numbers from the fighting pit the Halberd is full of revellers. The innkeeper can barely keep up with the party as the drinks flow and the atmosphere becomes more and more boisterous. But the party remain sober, their attention is to the barracks and the soldiers patrolling it. Kaegallin fuels the party until it spills out onto the streets and gravitates towards the parade ground – this is what they have been waiting for.

A few Estallian militia come out to quieten things down but this merely inflames the situation – which is exactly what the party want. A diversion so that they can sneak into the barracks. Inevitably the fight turns nasty; hundreds of pit fighters and ruffians face the soldiers and when the blood starts to flow the streets are alive with deadly combat.

El’ecl takes Urasai with him round the back of the barracks and casts spider climb whilst the rest head for the first stables. Under the cover of the unrest they are able to set fire to the combustibles lying around and soon the wooden structure is ablaze. Now the Estallian soldiers have two problems to consider but the party are already moving through the rapidly emptying barracks as the soldiers mobilise to counter the threat.

V’iak and Aarlsberg set fire to anything and everything they see whilst Kursteye and Kaegallin move amongst the slumbering or lazy Estallians and slay them where they sleep. A knife in the throat or pressure to a sensitive area and the deed is done. Outside El’ecl and Urasai climb onto the roof of the barracks, which offers them a good view of the action. The fight has spread and now from the rooftops Skoorlian sympathisers pepper the soldiers with arrows or other missiles.

Urasai puts a shaft into a soldier’s stomach and ducks back under cover as the chaos grows. The Estallians have lost control and as the party emerge it is the street urchins that take them through the alleyways of Sturridge, the quiet walkways invisible to all but thieves. As they reach the Halberd they gather their horses and Kaegallin knows that – through his domination – Balix has already set ablaze the northern barracks.

V’iak Kaarm leads them quickly through the battle and spurs his horse towards the south gate, the party are behind him and the rider’s decisive action barges through a couple of bewildered soldiers in their way until, inevitably, they are free. Under the guidance of the full moon they head up into the Dead Hills and freedom.

As they climb up into the hills the satisfying sight of smoke from Sturridge can be seen on the horizon. Before long they realise they are being watched but are surprised when they ride up to a lone Estallian, not a Skoorlian outlaw they were expecting. He introduces himself with as Kabaska, with all the arrogance of the Estallians, and further informs them that he is a bounty hunter.

"We are not criminals," V’iak says pointedly, "we have no bounty on us."

"Yet," Kabaska corrects him, "but after that little escapade in town I think your bounty will soar considerably. Now don’t make this difficult for yourselves," he said as he slowly unsheathes the longsword that seems to glow unnaturally in the moonlight.

The party waste no time and attack. Urasai puts an arrow into his gut before the bounty hunter can engage them, his efficient skill evident in the first couple of strokes. But the party use their numbers well to surround him and – from the shadows – Kaegallin manages to dominate Kabaska and end their struggle. He gets the bounty hunter to lie down and remain calm but does not bank on Aarlsberg’s reaction.

The woman killer calmly slits the bounty hunter’s throat.

"What did you do that for?" Kaegallin says in exasperation but the woman just shrugs. "Now we can’t interrogate him!"

Another shrug as the woman cleans her blade and calmly picks up Kabaska’s sword, straps it to her waist and sits down. El’ecl identifies the magic on the body whilst V’iak Kaarm finds the greatest prize of all – a magnificent riding horse with saddlebags full of provisions, gems and gold – which he quickly shares out amongst the party.

Aarlsberg’s sword is called Moonblade, Kursteye takes a leather wristlet called Night Blade, El’ecl takes the Ring of Andrasar and places it on his finger whilst Kaegallin takes a magnificent Longbow of the Isles before they move off.

At dawn they meet Ajimar with several hundred outlaws. In the background the smoke from the town is testimony to their achievements and he pays them ten gold crowns each for their efforts.

"You have done exceptionally well my friends," the outlaw chief says, "how about you join us and strike out for Skoorlian liberation?"