Brazen Wolfe Tabletop

2023 Campaign Adventure 2

Plot:

Mordekai (Kai) and Tater have survived another night as wagon guards. After witnessing the horrible worm like creatures the night before they are cautious today. Checking over Groku, a fellow female caravan guard, and her wounds they are satisfied that she isn’t infected. The presence of the worm like creatures and the unmatched aggression from those infected they are concerned of further madness spreading.

The day is long and positioned at the back of the caravan, where the highest chance of ambush lies, they make good progress towards Warrendeep. Guarding a Farmer called Tilly who is transporting the last of her animals to their new home and the repaired wagon that they had found last week they were busy to say the least.

However there is trouble brewing. As they get within a few hours ride to their destination a storm grows and the decision is made to seek shelter in a closer village that didn’t involve travelling through a ravine during a storm. Moving off road the wagons begun to get stuck and bogged in the muddy ground. They were nearing the village of Suncrest when the empty wagon they were escorting (tied along side Tilly’s wagon filled with farm small animals) slipped into a divot.

Timely Discovery

As Kai and Tater heaved the wagon out they uncovered a relatively well kept looking blade, made by a kobold. Kai went to report the findings and his suspicions to Sam while Tater stayed with the wagons. While Kai convinced the wagon master to avoid the town Tater noticed a rock moving along the top of a ledge. However when he called out in alarm the rock moved away, dislodging some smaller stones to land near his feet.

Explaining this to the other guards and Kai was an amusing affair and Tater’s sobriety was questioned but the wagon guards became on high alarm. A young guard, Jason, rode backwards and forth scouting the area and delivering news while they waiting for the scouts to return from Suncrest. When they returned they had found the village they were approaching was long deserted, but a smaller sheltered area was nearby that could be a viable alternative. With some deliberation the party agreed to camp in the wild, sheltered by small rocky outcrops. This was to be a mistake they would regret.

Ambush!

Trouble Brewing –

Organising a clever system where guards are holding torches and standing watch on the elevated rocks (Some as high as 14 feet from the place where the wagons rest) the party set up to rest. The wagons in a defensive position gave the party, the travellers and the wagon animals the most protection. However Kai and Tater rested they were jolted awake to the sounds of screaming as one of the guards was dragged off into the night. All three sentry torchers were missing (dropped when ambushed of fleeing back to the wagons).

Tater dashed to investigate to reveal a reptile with a stonelike thick scaly hide. It had a hold of Jason, the young messenger guard and was trying to drag him off to be eaten as leisure. With a mighty blow Tater deal some damage to it, however it wasn’t enough. Moments later a giant lizard appeared from the gloom and rushed at tater which he side stepped. Several guards rushed to help Tater but some stayed in a circle, including Groku to follow the parties plan. However they were soon ambushed by more of these giant stealthy lizards, revealed to be the same one that Tater had seen earlier in the day.

After a vicious combat four guards had died, devoured by the large lizards. However, the party manged to kill all but one and save three of the seven guards they defended the caravan with. They noted that many of the lizards had broken shackles or harnesses still attached to them indicating they may have once been domesticated. Or enslaved.

Closure

Having dealt with the lizards they retrieved Jason’s wedding band to give to his wife and discovered driftglobe inside the stomach of the Stonehide Gobbler. After an unrestful night, eating some roasted lizard meat and drinking ale they packed up camp. Taking some more of the lizard meat with them for fresh food on the journey they continued on – the towers of Warrendeep appearing in the distance by the end of the day.

Main NPC:

Sam having seen Kai and Tater fight and defend the caravan trusts them a bit more now. After Kai approaches him to discuss the suspicions of the local populace he entrusted the nights defence to Kai and Tater. This will cost a few lives but save many more in the endeavours of these two.

Creatures for combat:

For this 2023 campaign adventure 2 combat having creatures that aren’t dumb, but not super cunning made sense. Knowing when to flee to save their life but driven to attack by hunger these ambush predators and their larger comrades attack in packs. Although not brutal in combat these were enough for the party and with a many bad rolls it was an entertaining combat non-the-less.

Four Stonehide Gobblers and 2 Giant Lizards were enough for the party of two level two characters.