3. First meeting with the wyverns

T.M.O.L.: Campaign Notes

The next morning the group wakes early and packs their gear. Fredrik leaves his horse behind at the hamlet, anticipating that it will be unsuited to the rough travel ahead. The weather is fine but not as hot as the previous day, and the morning passes quickly. Krolmar talks to Sole, Brashak, and Tori quietly. He mentions that the medallion that he won in the tornament must be returned to Broatal in New Lebesnraum if by chance he come by ill fate, as he pats his chest where the medallion is safely hidden under his clothes.

Aetlan, the female dwarven guide, leads the way through the easiest path to get to the place indicated by Fredrik. There is not much opportunity for conversation as the group files through rough and broken terrain. Near noon Aetlan stops the group for a break, and says that she will not be continuing on to the next valley, since it is known to be home to a group of fearsome Wyverns. As if on cue, a pair of dragonlike shapes can be seen circling to the south. Spotting the flying Wyverns Sole mulls over his spells in his mind, much prefering to stay at a distance than get close to them.

"We had best be going then," says Fredrik. He thanks Aetlan and gives her some money, saying that they will find their own way back. The dwarven lady hurries off, looking over at the shapes circling in the sky. Fredrik surveys the trail ahead, and says, "There is a good chance of a Wyvern spotting us in the valley, so be on your guard. We need to get across the valley and up the small cliff on the other side, which is where the entrance to the kaer is located. Hog, if you see a nasty scaly thing, thump it." Hog grins, hefts his club, and takes the lead. Fredrik smiles to himself and motions for the others to follow.

"If you could just give me a minute or two, I'd like to get suited up," Brashak interjects, pulling a chain mail armour out of his backpack. The group waits for a few minutes while Brashak dons his metal armour over his leather travelling suit, and other members of the group ready their shields and weapons.

Tori nervously grabs the hilt of her short sword and looks skywards. "I don't know if I'm much use in a fight but I suppose I can keep look out."

The valley is the sort of place which artists stop to paint for years. It has a small stream running through from north to south, and a low cliff along the eastern end, caused by upheavals during the Scourge. Alongside the stream still remain a few stones on top of one another, remants of buildings from long ago. On the cliff a huge pair of open doors are visible, but only blackness inside. Several large lizards, about six feet long, are visible moving about in the ruins along the stream.

"Hey, look out! Something's over there!" Tori shouts when she sees the lizard things.

Fredrik jumps at the shout, and then regains his hauty composure. "Never fear, Madam, those lizards will not be attacking us, if I am correct. They look to be docile creatures, although their large size is somewhat intriguing. Try to keep a watch on the sky, Madam Tori."

The lizards do indeed look docile, with various shades of brown on their skin. There are a few of them moving about in the valley, between the jumble of half-buried stones.

The party files down the grassy hill into the fertile valley, picking their way between berry bushes and small trees. All the members scan around them continually, glancing up occasionally at the two wyverns circling to the south. The large lizards keep their distance, drifting away to the northern side of the ruins.

As the group passes to the south of the jumbled ruins, there is a hiss from the lizards, and scrambling sounds as they duck for cover. Hog waves his club in the air, and shouts, "Yeah, run and hide you chickens! Hmm, d'ya think lizard tastes like chicken?"

Fredrik yells out, "Wyvern!" Hog turns back to face the front, and sees the real reason for the lizards' hasty departure. The wyvern, perched at the lip of the entrance to the kaer, launches itself into the air and begins flying straight towards the Namegivers.

Hog sees the wyvern gliding towards him, screams, and falls to the ground. Meanwhile the rest of the party reacts quickly. The fighters group together and ready their shields, while Sole and Fredrik begin weaving spells with which to attack.

As it swoops down with a screach, Brakin looses an arrow from his warbow while Valgard throws a knife, both of which miss badly. Fredrik finishes his arcane movements and swears as the wyvern continues diving unaffected.

The wyvern swoops low over the prostrate form of Hog, and crashes into the waiting group of fighters. Swords, axes, and talons rip in every which way, and in the confusion it is almost impossible to follow exactly what happens. The wyvern flaps off awkwardly into the sky with a terrible wound along its side, leaving Tamar on the ground with a small scratch across her shoulder. Magar looks around the group and smiles to himself to see that he is the only one with blood on his sword. Before Sole can finish casting his spell, the wyvern flaps out of range.

Instead of swooping back to attack again, the wyvern circles around back towards the dark kaer entrance, screaming in pain. Brakin fires another arrow at it, which punches a neat hole in one of the wings. Sole swears quietly to himself, wishing he could weave threads faster.

"Well done, friends," says Fredrik. "But be on your guard in case it should return, or in case its cries alert others." The wyvern lands on the lip of the cliff and crawls into the dark mouth of the entrance to the kaer. Sole grins to Krolmar who is sheathing his sword, "Oh goody. I wonder what is in there?"

"Looks like we get another go," says Krolmar.

"Yeah, we haven't seen the last of that one," Brashak agrees.

Valgard wanders off to look for his lost dagger, while Magar wipes his sword on the grass. Tamar picks herself up off the ground and ignores the tear on his shoulder, resisting the attentions of any others.

After only a few minutes, a wyvern emerges from the opening and launches itself into the air. Two more appear from over a hill and join the first to circle high in the air above the valley. Valgard hurries back ot he rest of the group, deciding that he can get another throwing knife. Hog confidently strides ahead, and shouts back over his shoulder, "We sure taught them a lesson. They're all running away!"

Shortly two more wyvern emerge from the kaer entrace and join the others. "I would not be so hasty in that ssumption," says Fredrik, looking a little concerned. The two circling to the south begin gliding over towards the others, although they are still quite a way off.

Magar scans the sky and tha area round about, and his forehead creases in a frown. "There seems to be at least one more inside," he says, and looks at Fredrik expectantly.

The elven Wizard takes in the situation, and instructs, "We will hurry towards the cliff, before those other two join the five. The entrace is obviously their lair, and so by approaching it we can provoke them to defend it before they all join together. With all of us against some of them we should be able to defeat them, but if we wait we will have much more trouble. May I point out also that should anyone attempt to leave, they will undoubtedly join forces and hunt us down before we can reach shelter. Does anyone have any objections? No? Good."

The group huries across the shallow creek and towards the small cliff, keeping close together. The wyverns follow their travel, circling directly above the group and making it difficult to see them in the bright sunlight. Fredrik calls the group to a halt before they reach the cliff, saying, "I have some spells to aid the fighters in the group, if you are willing. Brashak?"

The Wizard goes through the motions of casting a spell, and points at Brashak. The Weaponsmith feels a bloodlust come over him, and a new feeling of power. Fredrik does the same to Magar of the Countless Eyes, and the ork bares his tusks in an evil grin. "Sorry, no time for more," says Fredrik.

Tamar looks disappointed, and mutters under her breath, "Typical."

"Before we continue, let me quickly say that I have two Last Chance Salve on my person, and I am quite willing to use them to save one of you, should it be necessary. I purchased them at no small cost, but I would only charge a half of your share of any treasure recovered from this trip. If we find nothing, then no charge. Also, should i succumb at any point, I would be most grateful to anyone who applied one of the said salves to my person, and would quite happily donate to him half my share of treasure. A dead man has no use for treasure, no?"

Most of the group nod in approval of the suggestion, faced as they are with a pack of hostile wyverns circling above, and as yet no treasure in hand. Fredrik says, "Let us hurry forward, and provoke them into a premature attack where we will be fighting on our terms, not theirs."

Tori searches her pockets and finds her light quartz -- since there are humans in the party, they will need a light source inside the kaer so she makes sure its within easy reach. "In case anyone's just badly hurt, I have a couple of booster potions in my backpack too."

The group hurries towards the cliff before the two southern wyverns can join with the other five. All of a sudden, the wyverns above dice with vicious cries towards the Namegivers invading their territory. Brakin fires off a wayward arrow as they dive, while Fredrik hastily begins weaving the threads to his spell in preparation, and Sole begins twitching and jerking spasmodically.

Krolmar sees the wyverns diving in a line one after another towards the other side of the group. The large leader flies past scratching Arlaug, while the next tears into Magar as he tries to avoid it. Brashak flattens himself as a huge talon swishes past where his head had been, but Brakin cannot move fast enough to avoid another raking talon. The Archer and Magar climb to their feet while Hog takes a wild overhead swing with his club at the next incoming wyvern. Krolmar begins to head over to intercept the next incoming wyverns as they swoop past the group. One crashes into several people, as Fredrik completes his spell. The wyvern falters but continues on its way after scratching both Sole and Tamar. Before Krolmar can reach the last wyvern, it rips Brashak and then flies straight onto the waiting blade of Arlaug Daggerbreaker. The wyvern crashes to the ground with a scream of pain. Krolmar finally gets within sword-reach of the wyvern on the ground and hacks at it, but his blade bounces off the tough scaly hide. Sole continues his jerky jig, and the grounded wyvern writhes in pain.

Hog leaps through the mass of bodies and writhing tail to thump the grounded wyvern, but his beating seems ineffective against the tough hide. The wyvern lashes out with claws, wings, and tail at everything and everybody. Sole is sent flying from a wayward claw, and Hog screams in pain as the wicked barbed tail tears across his leg. Meanwhile almost everybody else hacks and slashes at whatever part of the wyvern happens to swing their way. Magar thrusts his sword deep into the base of the tail, while everybody else either cannot get a clear strike at the writhing coils or cannot peirce the tough hide effectively. Sole stands painfully to his feet and takes a moment to look around. Three of the remaining wyverns finish turning around and begin coming in for another pass, while the fourth flaps off towards the kaer entrance, wounded.

Brakin sighs as he prepares to notch another arrow to his bow, after the last one bounced off the wyvern's scaly hide yet again. As he goes through the automatic actions of drawing and notching the arrow, fighting the pain from the gashes across his left shoulder and arm, he watches the rest of the battle. Fredrik appears to cast a spell, producing no visible effect, as the lead wyvern swoops in and veers away, scratching at the Troubadour's armour. The female ork turns her attention from the wyvern writhing on the ground to the new threats, but does little as it flies past her to claw viciously at Hog and Magar. Hog continues thumping the wyvern on the ground, but it ignores the glancing blows and takes to the air. Brakin ducks under the swinging tail at it takes off, and sees Tori, drawn into the fight, stabbing tentatively at the last wyvern as it makes its pass. The wyvern ignores her and mauls Tamar instead before soaring up and away into the sky. Brakin sighs to see that half of the party did not even manage to get a decent opportunity to counterattack before the wyverns flew on through. Sole the Nethermancer seems to be affected by some sort of spell, twitching uselessly without even trying to attack. The Archer finally finishes drawing his strong warbow and looses the arrow at the last of the wyverns. The arrow bounces off harmlessly. Brakin sighs again, and reaches for his next arrow.

Magar stands to his feet as the wyverns fly away for another pass. With vision clouded from pain, he searches through his pouch and withdraws his valuable Healing Potion. A dead man can't drink it, he thinks to himself. Pain shoots through ever muscle of his body from the multiple lacerations, and he wonders how much longer he can keep fighting before he passes out. He notes the strange movements of the human Nethermancer, wishing that some good came out either of the magicians. The rest of the group, who have borne the brunt of the attacks, are looking hurt, but far from beaten. And with only three wyverns left, we should be able to win, Magar thinks to himself as he pulls the stopper on his potion, if only I could see through this haze. . .

Fredrik looks over the group as the wyverns swing around for another pass. Things could be worse, he thinks to himself. At least the commoners are holding their own. Turning back to the wyverns, the Wizard's eyes open wide in alarm to see two of the three heading straight towards him. Too late to take proper defensive maneuvers, he ducks and hopes for the best. The monstrous forms sweep over, with their cries answered by the screams of their unfortunate targets. Fredrik hears a ripping sound as the back of his robe is shredded, but feels no pain. Spinning around the stand up and complete his spell, he sees Valgard the Knife on one side prostrate on the ground with deep lacerations, and Tori rolling clutching her arm on the other side. He smiles to himself, confident that in turn Fate is smiling on him, even if the rest of the group is looking hurt. An arrow from Brakin arches up towards the wyverns, burying itself into a scaly belly. Fredrik grins and focuses his magic to crush the petty mind of the creature. The wyvern misses a beat and drops, but then catches itself and continues flying. Fredrik decides that he is beginning to enjoy this.

The elven Archer fires another arrow at the wyverns as they fly off to turn around for another pass, but it misses badly. The wounded wyvern breaks off and heads for the top of the cliff, and the other two follow it, passing only a dozen yards over the heads of the Namegivers before they disappear from sight over the top of the cliff.

Fredrik looks around at the rest of the party, and at the two more wyverns still approaching from the south. Krolmar, Arlaug, and Fredrik are touched, while Sole, Brashak, Tori, Brakin, Hog, Tamar, and Magar look quite badly hurt. Valgard is lying on the ground, unmoving. "What do you think?" asks Fredrik. "We could pull back now to recover, but that will give the wyverns just as much chance to recover. Also, once those other two reach us, the unhurt wyverns may attack us again. I suggest that anyone who is feeling up to it comes with me and we charge the entrance to the kaer while they are still wounded. You all saw how vulnerable they are once they get stuck on the ground. Hopefully we can drive them out of the entrance to the kaer, and then we can take shelter further inside to rest safely. So who is with me?"

Sole nods, hurredly wrapping his wounded arm with a bandage from his healing kit. "I'm with you."

Arlaug, bending over the unmoving form of Valgard and trying to shake him awake, says nothing. Hog says, "Give me a Healing Potion, and I'll be with you. We'll teach these wyverns a lesson!"

Magar looks dubious, but says that he will help fight if there are enough people not to be suicidal. Tori makes an attempt to bandage herself well as possible around her armour, and indicates that she is willing to help fight against the wyverns again.

Bleeding from several scratches and one nasty wound, Brashak looks at Fredrik with smoldering eyes. "I'm with you. Let's take 'em where they can't fly off before we get a chance to whack 'em." He pulls a Booster potion out of his backpack and quickly swallows its bitter contents. Throwing the the empty bottle to the side, he grips his battle axe and bangs it against his shield twice. "Let's go!"

Fredrik says that he does not have any spare Healing potions to give Hog, but can aid him magically. The Wizards casts a spell, and Hog gains a bloodlust even greater than his normal demeanor.

Valgard remains unresponsive, despite Arlaug's attempts to wake him. Fredrik says, "Here is the plan. I can levitate half of us up to the top of the cliff, to drive the wyverns out of the kaer entrance. Meanwhile, I'll come back down and get the rest of the group, and then we should all be able to either join the battle or enter the kaer, depending on how the situation develops. Any objections? No? Good."

Fredrik looks around the group, and says, "Hog, Krolmar, Magar, Sole, and Brashak, come over here with me. You others, stay with Valgard and make sure those other two wyverns don't interfere, and I'll be back to take you up presently."

The group assembles near Fredrik, and he casts a spell. The Wizard and those around him all begin to levitate up into the air, with nothing seeming to hold them up other than a faint shimmering beneath their feet. Tori watches as they float up towards the top of the cliff, seeing their forms obscured by the shimmering like a heat wave over a paved road on a hot day. On reaching the top, Hog gives a shout and rushes forward, and the others follow out of sight. Fredrik begins floating back towards the ground.

Standing just before the Namegivers is a very large wyvern, almost fourty feet long. Behind it are three more, who still bear the marks of sword strokes and arrows. A dozen yards behind them, in the dark entrance to the kaer, the shape of at least one more wyvern is visible. Strewn about the top of the cliff are the bones and half-eaten carcases of many animals, and a few torn pieces of armour.

Sole curses eloquently, calling upon his large library of Throalic swear words as he realises he has the wrong spells in his matrix. Realising he has no other choice Sole advances to attack the lead wyvern with his Spirit Grip spell.

Hog immediately charges towards the large wyvern in the centre, as the wyverns surge forward to defend their home. Sole runs up behind Hog, using him for cover. Krolmar charges with the others scooting an inch above the ground with ease. Before he can reach it, one of the other wyverns dashes forward and rakes Krolmar viciously with its razor sharp talons. Krolmar stumbles to the ground as the wyvern's tail whips around and strikes Sole right in the centre of the chest. Sole screams with pain as the fast acting poison shoots from his heart through every part of his body.

The next wyvern jumps at the Namegivers, slashing Magar and stabbing Brashak with its barbed tail. Sole collapses on the ground with a gurgle as Krolmar rolls out of the way of the next wyvern. It leaps right onto Hog and crushes him in its claws like a rag doll, while its tail glances off Brashak's armour. Krolmar stands to his feet as Magar jumps over the twisting coils of the wounded wyverns to get at the leader. He makes a heroic attempt, but the huge wyvern grabs him in one claw, crushes him, and throws the lifeless body away. Brashak arrives too late to save the ork, but even his determined attack is ineffective against the twisting coils of the wyvern.

Krolmar screams, "BRASHAK, let's get Sole's carcass out of here!"

"Yep! Let's go, NOW!" Brashak yells back and moves towards Sole to help pick him up. Krolmar ducks and weaves between the wildly swinging claws and tails, while Brashak takes some scratches but is mostly protected by his armour.

Krolmar approaches Soles limp body cautiously, and drags it towards the edge, shielding Sole's body with his own. He makes it safely to the edge, sees Fredrik, and yells, "Fredrik, this is not a sick joke, GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"Screw that! Just jump!" Brashak says, seemingly forgetting, for the moment, that he is afraid of heights. He drops off the edge of the cliff, aiming for Fredrik. The jump is wide, and Brashak plummets past the elf.

Krolmar pauses at the edge to see if Fredrik is going to rise so that he can safely jump on with Sole's body. Fredrik winces at the sound of the troll hitting the ground, and begins floating up as a wyvern attacks Krolmar from behind. Krolmar takes a glancing blow off his armour and a scratch across his leg, and then jumps for Fredrik before the wyverns can push him off the edge.

Krolmar and his burden land heavily but safely on the invisible platform, which immediately begins to lower again.

Tamar cries out and rushes over to the unmoving troll, trying to wake him or help him to his feet.

The large wyvern takes to the air and flies off to the side in preparation for making a pass at the Namegivers invading its territory. Brakin sees it, and fires an arrow from his readied bow at it clears the edge of the cliff. The arrow puts a neat hole through its leathery wing, but has little effect.

Fredrik increases the speed of the descent, and reaches the ground at the same time that the large wyvern is closing in to make a pass. With a heave Tamar manages to turn Brashak onto his back and shakes him.

Brashak's eyes flick open. "Mommy, is that you?" Brashak mumbles, all bleary eyed and unable to focus. Shaking his head to clear it, and instantly regretting it for the waves of pain this sends through his skull, he finally manages grasp his current situation.

Krolmar calls to Tori, "Tori look after Sole."

The Troubadour tries to tend to the Nethermancer best she can. Crammed up against the cliff with a fight going on around her makes it a bit difficult but she insures that Sole won't bleed to death. "That's it," she swears, "I'm buying a bloody big bow next time I'm in town!" Brakin fires another arrow at the wyvern as it swoops to attack, which glances off the thick scales.

Krolmar prepares to attack the wyvern as it swoops in with difficulty at the Namegivers, sheltered as they are near the edge of the cliff. It rakes at Krolmar and Arlaug on the way past, and before they can recover and counterattack, it flies on past and out of range. Brakin fires an arrow, which misses.

Getting up from the ground, Brashak attempts to see where the other two wyverns are. "We need to find some cover before they all join up. How about those ruins we saw?" he says while readying his crossbow. While the wyvern is turning around Brakin fires a half-hearted shot which misses badly, while Brashak takes careful aim with his crossbow and shoots the bolt straight into the cliff.

The wyvern makes another pass, flapping awkwardly close to the cliff. Krolmar goes sprawling away with a nasty wound, while Fredrik ducks under a reaching claw to cast a spell. For no apparent reason, the wyvern screams in pain and plummets towards the ground. The bolt and the arrow sent after it both miss, and it hits the ground with a crash.

Krolmar picks himself up very painfully off the ground, and Fredrik says, "I think you may have a point there, Brashak. Let's make for the ruins before those other two arrive."

The others agree, and start to pick up the unconcious members of the group while the large wyvern takes to the air again. Arlaug helps Krolmar carry Valgard, while Brakin helps Brashak carry Sole. The group walks slowly away from the cliff, with the unburdened characters watching the sky and the activities of the wyverns. The large wyvern circles the valley once, and then flies back to the top of the cliff.

The group reaches the ruins in the middle of the valley unopposed, and begins looking around for somewhere to shelter. The choices of shelter are not good. The ruins appear to be the remains of a long abandoned village, probably from before the Scourge. Almost all that remains are broken stone chimneys, half buried in the dirt over the years, and parts of the walls of one or two stone buildings. Fredrik looks down a large tunnel in the ground, probably the home to one or more of the lizards. There are several tunnels visible among the ruins, each a few feet round, large enough for a person if necessary. Among the ruins are two half eaten goat carcases.

Tamar gives a shout, and the others head over to see what she has found. In the corner made by two broken stone walls is a patch of stone paving, and a dark entrance to what looks like a cellar. Tamar kneels down alongside and peers in, satisfying herself that it is empty. "Better sooner than later," she says, places her hand on the side of the hole, and swings down. Seeing nothing better for shelter, the rest of the group pulls out their light quartzes and climb down into the dark cellar.

<[Previous] [Chapter Index] [Next]>

[ Main ] [ Search ] [ Campaigns ] [ House Rules ] [ Items ] [ Monsters ] [ Anecdotes ] [ Net books ] [ Disciplines ] [ Errata ] [ Mail Me ]