AD&D Solo Adventures - The Village of Hommlet Part 15

Took a bit longer to get this out as most of it was either game accounting or round by round battles.
But the heroes finally seem to be making some progress into the temple, now they are of sufficient level to fight groups of multiple Hit Dice foes.

Still day 185

Dounil and Celest split up so they can enter Nulb separately. With Celest stabling her horse first before ordering hot water and washing with what she claimed was found silver. The new proprietor at the Waterside Hostel accepts it without question. Later Dounil enters, having come up with a clever addition to their original scheme. He wears his hood and orders a room, hot water and washing, saying he’s been clearing the road of monsters. Again, no questions but laundry and bathing costs more because of the effort to get water from the river and boil it, 170cp for Dounil and another 15cp for Celest. They must dip into the funds they left to Mother Screng (Dounil uses his Ring of Invisibility to make his way there). Celest paying 1sp and 5cp and Dounil paying 1gp, 6sp and 10cp. Looking like he’s scrounging treasure from various nefarious deeds.

The XP gained from delving was 19+145+270+0.8+50x2+15x2+20x17+25x10+125x2 = 1404.8/16=87.8 x 1.10 or 1.05 = 96 FXP 92 MUXP

Only 6000 raw XP to go and they will both level up as Fighters.

At Mother’s Screng: 156cp, 845sp, 18gp, 49ep, 27pp

Adding to the haul to be taken to Hommlet: 125gp of silver chain and gem. And 4 jars of oil to be used on any trolls.

Dounil’s cunning plan is to go into the room he paid for, use his ring to sneak into Celest’s room and sleep there so no one who remembers him will be able to ambush him in his sleep. This is ruined by Celest telling him to just barricade his door. So, for the night, he sneaks into the room formerly owned by Pearl. A roll tells me it’s not in use. He alights to the bed and doesn’t need to light the candles in the candle holder, which is totally covered in wax anyway.

Day 186 (15^th of Ready'reat)

Waking the next day, Dounil uses the ring to knock on Celest door when no one else is in the corridor and whispering under the door to let him in. She says to do it after breakfast. Dounil discovers his room is untouched; no one went in and disturbed even the bundle he left under the sheets as a decoy. Downstairs, he and Celest take breakfast, talking low and in vague terms. Dounil will take it easy for a few days and see Mother Screng for some pain-reliving herbs. Celest should go and take a trip south, the road is good for trade and meeting people. (Dounil will rest and recover with magical healing, Celest should exchange the treasure in Hommlet but the road is dangerous).

They go to Mother Screng’s at a leisurely stroll to not aggravate Dounil’s injuries, stopping at Otis so Celest can take her horse.
She asks Otis if he knows anyone trustworthy and discreet who could look after horses in the wilderness. Otis suggests Elmo, a drunk wastrel in Hommlet (Dounil nods which I good enough for Celest). He asks Dounil about stabling and feed and Dounil says he’ll find some more money soon.

With Clest riding off on a dangerous road with bulging sacks of treasure, 10gp and her share of the still-fresh rations, Dounil visits Y’dey as Mother Screng. First to beg for some healing assistance and secondly to request 10sp for Otis and 155cp for his nightly rest. She is happy to grant both as the heroes are making progress, HP 12->13 and Dounil comes away with 4ep 15sp and 5cp, leaving 151cp, 830sp, 8gp, 45ep, 27pp in the hoard. With the electrum, Otis is paid and it looks like he is receiving money more commonly used by merchants. Dounil spends the rest of his day in Pearl’s room and heals 1 HP for it, HP 13->14.

It takes Celest most of the day to ride to Hommlet, passing a merchant caravan on the way. Quite tense for her until they pass completely from view for about 30 minutes. She follows Dounil’s advice and presents herself to Rufus and Burne who are undoubtably worried about yet more promissory notes they can’t yet pay. But as I am now using the OSE Advance update that makes it even more AD&D, they offer her a special note, they will swap the magic shield +1 and any number of promissory notes for equal value in training and spells from Rufus’s spellbook, at 1000gp per spell. This is acceptable as Celest was pretty sure she could not sell the magical item anywhere else around here. They also issue her a new promissory note (as they feel they will get the money back) for the broach, as the cameo coat of arms makes them concerned. 48000gp on the note and 250xp for the shield. Which is 17 FXP and 16 MUXP.

At Nira Melubb the moneychanger, he is torn over exchanging the value and losing any excess coins he must use to do it. 80% of 245gp is 196gp and that’s easy enough for the ivory statuette, silver tube and silver chain with gem (though he will need to wash and clean the stink of them). But the gold chain with the rubies (7,000gp+3,000gp) and the ruby ring (4000gp) is way beyond his ability to exchange. He will evaluate them for free as Celest’s Reaction roll was Friendly. So that must go back to Rufus and Burn who are upset but not appalled at the ghoul stench, being adventurers.

Celest is quite happy as she leaves with a promissory note worth 14,196gp, a FXP of 975 and MUXP of 931 on top of what went before. She’ll need to collect Dounil and then they need to train. She stays overnight at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, at double the price of the Waterside Hostel (5gp 10sp) but in far better conditions. She meets up with Elmo and explains her quest, Elmo is happy to help as a paid retainer, though he asks for 100gp per day if he is not going into the dungeon, to protect the horses outside the temple grounds. Celest says that’s extortion but fair under the circumstances. The contract will start when they return to the temple.

Day 187 (16^th of Ready'reat)

Celest prepares to ride to Nulb to retrieve Dounil. Dounil meanwhile repeats the same lazy day, spending 1gp on his horse and 14sp and 15cp on his stay, leaving 141cp, 831sp, 7gp, 49ep and 27pp in the hoard, HP 14->16. Celest encounters 2 wild boars on the road, they surprise her and fortunately her reaction roll is friendly, they merely grunt and swing their tusks. She carries on with some more speed.

In Nulb she talks to Dounil and impresses on him the note and the task. Recognising this is for the best but still not ready to travel, he wonders if he could get healed in Hommlet. Celest said there was a church there if he saw it there last. She takes the remaining 4sp and gets from Mother Screng, all the gold, electrum, silver and copper pieces. Cannoness Y’dey says to stop it for now, as it’s too obvious. She spends a gold coin on her horse and 15sp and 5cp on her night and breakfast. Dounil buys dinner in the Waterside Hostel for 2sp and 5cp.

Dounil decides that since h’s spent two days with no attempts to murder him in his sleep, he’ll use the room he actually paid for before someone notices he’s in the other room. He debates relighting the candleholder as it might be seen as having been used. Inspecting the wax to see if use was even noticeable, he sees the thing is quite reflective. Chipping away that night as he awaits sleep reveals the holder is silver. He stashes that in his bag, reasoning that it belonged to the temple-spies once and no one has claimed it like the other treasures of the conspirators.

Day 188 (17^th of Ready'reat)

They ride for Hommlet, possibly to spend the winter there, NRE. By the end of the day, they have eaten their last rations, stabled the horses (-2gp) and presented themselves to Rufus and Burne for training in the martial and arcane arts the next day.

It will take Dounil 3 weeks to train to level 4 as a Fighter and 3 for Celest to become a level 2 Fighter, she’ll then train as a level 2 Magic-User first for 2 weeks. At 400gp per week per level, that’s 8 weeks of total training (5 weeks of time) at their current levels, so 400 x 3 x 3 + 400 x 1 x 3 + 400 x 1 x 2 = 5,600gp. That covers the promissory note for the shield +1 and a new note for the other treasure is re-issued at 12,596gp.

On the 11^th of Sunsebb as winter bites (milder than historic Earthly norms for the latitude, probably normal for modern Earth) Dounil finishes his training and can start healing again, Celest finish on the 25^th, day 224. She learns Charm Person, a dangerous spell but still cannot read the spellbook they have been lugging around and add it to their own.  As I bring this into alignment with AD&D via the OSE Advanced update, she should have started with 4 spells, so I need to roll 3 more times. She finally learns Read Magic as she also gain’s Floating Disc (making her just as mobile as Dounil) and Protection from Evil. Dounil gains Magic Missile (a fitting replacement for his lost AD&D Shocking Grasp) and Read Languages (1 off Read Magic of the chart).

It costs the pair 36 x 5.9 x 2 = 424gp and 80sp for their stay. They money comes from Dounil’s discovery of the candleholder. It’s a silver case (75gp) with a sapphire (1,000gp) containing wax, but when the wax was chipped off (eventually heated and dripped) it revealed 19 silvery coins that were ultimately platinum when Dounil took them down to Melubb. That came to 231gp plus the sapphire Melubb refused to transacted. That promissory note (it was worth 900gp according to Melubb who undervalued the gem so he could undervalue it again later for his lords) went to Olster Gundigoot who promptly cashed it in for a tax write-off. I realised later I was 8gp off for Celest’s maximum XP for her level but since I had already done everything, I just took 121gp and 9sp off this treasure.

1131-424.8 = 706.2 (706.2-121.9) = 584.3/16 = 40 FXP and 38 MUXP. With 706gp and 2sp for the hoard. Or it would be had not Dounil been in of healing. His pleas to the stern Canon Terjon require 10 gp per day/cast of Cure Light Wounds for the needy and a 100gp donation for the castle construction. The daily routine of bed rest and healing means it takes 4 days and 140gp to bring Dounil to his full 22 HP. He spends the next five days buying spells from Burne and scribing them in his spellbook, so he can prepare them at times he desires (subject to being a level 3 MU). A fraught process for Dounil’s Intelligence is 13 and still has a 70% chance to never be able to learn the spell once he rolls for it. Dounil learns Burning Hands (AD&D spell), Protection from Evil, Shield, Spider Climb and Ventriloquism. He still can only prepare and cast 2 level 1 spells per day though. The promissory note has been reissued as 7,596gp.

The evening of the 25^th, they pay another 10gp and 2sp for room and breakfast the next morning.

Day 225 (26^th of Sunsebb)

It is cold and the temperature swings from 22 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 to 4 degrees Celsius) over the course of the day. Fortunately, there is neither rain nor snow. They purchase 21 days of fresh rations at inflated prices. The two traders make a keen note for their report that the meddlers are returning to Nulb and the temple.

They have 131cp, 819sp, 1113gp (1013gp) and 49ep across their three saddle bags as Elmo accompanies them, having been paid his first day.

Arriving in Nulb, Elmo reunites with his brother and amid that rejoicing, the heroes learn Otis will not charge his brother for his horse and will let him stay in his home. Elmo said he’ll be rolling in the money once the pair pay him. At the Waterside Hotel, Dounil and Celest take rooms, the proprietor is mor than happy to accommodate returning and paying guests, paid with 2gp, 10sp and 10cp. The treasure hoard was given to Y’dey.

Day 226 (27^th of Sunsebb)

It’s cold and not yet snowing/raining. The party ride forth with a plan. The pair will sweep the tower again now they can advance freely around the temple grounds. This countered by the front door being locked, they should wait to go around the back again. Instead to go below to kill gnolls and ghouls until they become too tired too or a large stretch is pacified.

Leaving at [8:00] and assume they arrive by [9:00], NRE.

Elmo is left with the horses at the foot of the temple and as he leads them out, the pair begin to make haste through the side door. It takes 2 and a half turns to enter and go down the left vestibule. The rest of the third turn to reach the bottom of the stairs [9:30], NRE.

Another advance up the north corridor and shortened movement to the east of the next crossing so they don’t get spotted by the gnolls looking though the view slit. Celest has a plan, she will cast Charm Person and induce the watcher to their side. Dounil prepared Shield, Detect Magic and Levitate. They rest [10:00], NRE x3.

They put their plan into action, advancing up to the eye slit on Room 121, Celest is unseen but she is heard, the gnolls grunts and she quickly casts Charm Person with the gnoll failing the roll. While the other gnolls inside get alert, Celest hurriedly explains they are friends and the gnolls should get a share of all treasure they find to share among friends, please let them in. The gnoll obliges to the surprise and cries of the other ones.

Upon letting them in, Dounil tries to capitalise on the moment and claims he is here to install himself as master of the temple and the gnolls should join them and receive great rewards, a reaction roll of 3 means this goes down poorly an the gnolls attack, prompting the charmed gnoll to defend the heroes.

No surprise but the heroes move first. R1, 6 HD of damage kills the gnolls before they can respond. The charmed gnoll is saddened by this but is mollified by the party offering him or her (hard with gnolls) all the treasure the dead gnolls could have, as the new temple’s Chief Gnoll/Soon to be Flind, now 30ep, taking a round.

They push onto Room 122 and throw open the door; there is again confusion and a pitch for a new gnoll-dominated temple. The gnolls are indifferent and want to know what is on offer compared to a lifetime of loot and violence for the Elder Elemental Eye. They want payment up front and the party cannot provide that right now, so they attack. The heroes go first though (good initiative so far). R1, 9 HD of damage clears the room.

R2, as the party supply the gnoll with the treasure, another gnoll arrives from Room 123, party wins initiative again and kills it. Four rounds till the turn is over 20sp, 10p and 10gp.

Advancing to Room 123, the gnolls and hobgoblin are very aware of the fighting but utterly confused as to why two bandits are being escorted by a gnoll. Dounil makes another speech, it’s cautiously received but with no money forthcoming, violence begins. The inhabitants have been hearing violence and win initiative.

R1, two attack each member of the party, with the hobgoblins going after the traitorous gnoll. All gnolls miss but one hobgoblin hits the charmed gnoll, doing 1 HD of damage HD2->1. The party does 13 HD in return, killing them all. I don’t know if the dice are good or having the chance of 4 HD per hero, an extra +2 to hit and an additional 2 damage dice are turning the tide.

With two turns to go, the heroes turn to leave but the gnoll says there is a passage beyond the wall, the pair having missed it last month. 12sp, 6ep and 6gp with 27pp under the brazier coals.

Throwing the hidden door open, the party move into Room 124, where two ogres have heard all the fighting but have dismissed the fighting as per their description. They are therefore aware and when Dounil declares the gnoll time has come there is no negotiation. The heroes win Initiative only by 1 but win all the same.

R1, Spell Fray from Celest, but Dounil can bring his sword to bear on the 4 HD ogres. Only thanks to Celest’s magical sword can she hit the ogres in their bronze platemail alongside Dounil and the gnoll misses. 9 HD of damage kills both ogres. Marking another section of the temple that will stay cleared until those ogres can be replaced in 2 weeks. The turn finishes up with a through looting of the room [10:10], 1/6 NRE. The chest is useful if they wanted to equip a squad but the gnoll has a weapon, the gnoll almost loses their footing lifting the spear barrel in the eagerness to find the ogres’ stash. For they know there should be one. Lifting the slab is another round for Dounil as the 36sp and 22gp treasure is given to the gnoll. The gnoll receives the 870sp and silver bracelet (170gp + 6 x 10gp azurites).

Passing into Room 125, it takes two rounds of cautious movement 3/10, to advance to the T-junction, where they see many remains of a fight from long ago with many gnawed bones or complete skeletons and maybe some external passages. The gnoll said the middle was forbidden as a central corridor. They hear the rattling of bones and metal, as the assembled undead begin to emerge on either side, grey shapes on a grey background to all their dark vision.

The skeletons do surprise them.

Surprise (4/10) Round, the undead advance and begin to slash with various weapons, kept sharp through being positioned within their ribcages and off the floor. Celest is hit for 2 damage, HP 14 -> 12. The gnoll dies to a single successful bow out of 6 attempts.

Round 1, wining initiative, Dounil says he’ll take the gnoll skeletons, they both hit. 2 gnoll skeletons collapse and 6 human skeletons do. No skeleton gets through their magic armour.

Round 2, again wining initiative, 3 human skeletons crumple and 1 gnoll skeleton does as well, another takes 1 HD damage, HD 2 -> 1. Again, the heroes are untouched.

Round 3, The undead have the initiative, Dounil takes 1 damage, HP 22 -> 21. Finishing off the human skeleton with a casual flick of her sword Fray, Celest turns to assist Dounil, destroying the gnoll skeletons.

They roll their charmed gnoll and retreat back to the door to Room 124 and bandage; eyes and ears perked for reinforcements. HP 21 -> 22 and HP 12 -> 14, 3/6 [10:25], NRE.

They spend the next 3 turns, one rest and 5 rounds in Room 125 exploring each end (making it 3/6 [11:10]). No treasure can be picked out in their dark vision as coin-shaped metal. But they see many weapons left in the hands of the formerly risen skeletons. Dounil thinks the southern passage to the west matches his prior map and marks the NE passage. They move on to Room 126.

Again the description of the ogre being aware but uncaring of the fighting means surprise comes from him alone. And surprises he does the pair but misses with his battle axe. He calls for help.

R1, both Frays and Celest miss but the 4 HD from Dounil’s sword + magic + strength kills the ogre leader.

R2, the 3 gnolls rush to assist. They fail to surprise but get the initiative. A lucky blow does 2 HP damage to Dounil, HP 22 -> 20. 11 HD back kills them. While Dounil bandages again HP 20 -> 22., Celest searches the room and Dounil joins her the next turn, no random encounters interrupt them. They then rest [11:40, NRE]. While they avoid the food as a matter of course, the iron chest is found to be locked. They’ll take it with them later. They loot the gnolls for 9sp 3ep and 9gp, and the Ogre Chief for his copper belt (35gp) and his purse of 11sp 19ep and 38gp.

A brief look at some fan-made hierarchy tables tells us the Earth Temple is down to its directly controlled Reavers, clerics and guards. 41 people, dangerous but perhaps the brigands might start questioning what makes the temple so great if they lose another force.

Entering 127, they spend a round opening the empty wooden box in the text description 4/10. Entering 128, they do not get to surprise because there was a gnoll by the door, but the gnolls do surprise in return.

SR, no gnolls hit but the bugbear does to Dounil, HP 22 -> 21.

R1, a gnoll hits Dounil and Celest each, HP 21 -> 19 and HP 14 -> 12. In return the bugbear takes 1 HD of damage HD 3 -> 2 and 4 gnolls die.

R2, the humanoids win and pass morale, the bugbear hits Dounil again for 2 damage, HP 19 -> 17. Dounil kills the bugbear with a Fray riposte, and their blades kill the rest of the gnolls.

They both bandage, HP 17 -> 19 and HP 12 -> 14, ending the turn and spending the next one looting the room thoroughly and then having to rest [11:40], NRE x 3. While there was no fireplace for the goblinoid to stash the hoard, the flammable woodpile rattled when searched and it was found. 64cp, 61sp, 30ep, 48gp, 4pp and a necklace of 12 large gold coins (130gp). Celest suggests they should see if they can find a Bag of Holding somewhere to deal with all the coinage, which has almost tipped them both over to encumbered.

The heavy crossbow is examined but deemed to be too heavy. The peephole it fires through shows the back end of the corridor from the month prior and good thing they didn’t explore or the gnoll didn’t bother firing as they passed.

It’s the work of a moment to cross the corridor into Room 129, prompting no surprises and automatic reactions from the guards.

R1, Only the magic armour blocks the heavy crossbows. In AD&D they probably would have punched right through. The javelins bounce off. The heroes engage the lone crossbowman and the javelinists thanks to their slow encounter move. As we move back into AD&D-like territory, I decide that rather than give Fighter level number of attacks on the 0-level foes, I just give the characters another Fray die. All that’s left is the crossbowman at “g” calling out further down the passage.

R2, Celest, the crossbowman, the guards in 130 and then Dounil. Celest advances and slays the crossbowman. The guards in 130 call out for the fighters in the room beyond and advance to throw javelins. One hits her for 2 damage, HP 14 -> 12. Dounil moves up and fires off his magic Fray, killing one guard.

R3, Celest, guards, Dounil and the fighters. Celest rushes forward and begins to swing her sword, five die. The guards with their longswords fail to penetrate her shield and armour. Dounil follows and the last two die.

R4, the fighters advance from their trapezoidal barracks and throw javelins, the leader throwing his Javelin of Lighting as these foes have wrecked bloody havoc among the Earth Temple. No normal javelin hits in the first volley, the Javelin of Lightning does though, hitting Dounil and both heroes fail their saves. 20 damage would still be just 4 HP though. I’m willing to bend the rules for such a blast and say it’s 8. Dounil HP 19 -> 10 and Celest HP 14 -> 6. They both Defy Death for the first time, so the recalculated HP after the half damage from what is now a successful save is; Dounil HP 11 and Celest HP 8. The Javelin of Lightning is unfortunately destroyed.

Due to the length of the corridor, the heroes can only advance and cast their magic Fray. Celest’s bounces off the leader, but Dounil’s wounds a fighter, HD 2 -> 1.

R5, All the fighters miss, the heroes make a final charge and Celest cuts down the wounded level 2 fighter and another. Dounil deals 8 HD in damage alone and kills both the level 3 fighter and the level 4 leader. Such is the power of high Strength and a Longsword +1 for both.

Bandaging, they debate stopping here, but Dounil said he wants to put down the ghouls again HP 10 -> 12 and HP 6 -> 8. Celest thinks that’s an awful idea, but they don’t want the trail of bodies attracting carrion-feeders over the next few days. Besides they are stronger now, 1/6 [11:50] and NRE.

They spend two turns searching bodies and belongs up and down the hall, dumping the weapons in a pile by the southern door for later, NRE x 2. Besides some bone dominoes (5gp), there is 21cp, 47sp, 79ep, 78gp, 80pp, 4 bronze rings set with a jet stone (50gp x 4), 4 ornamental dagger (15gp x 4), three jars of fuel oil and various bits of had food the pair snack on as they shift material. With a heavy heart, they must dump their copper and silver on the floor for want of coin weight. Hopefully nothing retrieves it by the time they get back.

It takes another turn to advance down to the T-junction and turn east and another turn but moving at x3 speed for having explored the area to pass through the grating, sliming behind them with a clang as they have weapons drawn and Dounil casts Shield. Nothing happens for a turn and the Sheild isn’t giving anything better than his magic plate would anyway. It looks like the ghasts and ghouls are dead, with decaying harpy corpses on the floor, 4/6 [12:30] NRE x 3.

This presents an issue for the pair. They are wounded but otherwise are on a roll. They have killed over two dozen foes and probably reduced the temple forces a bit. But they will need weeks of healing, causing the forces to grow again. Since they lost most of their health to a one-use magical item ad I keep filing to roll random encounters, they think they can chance it later.

It’s a turn to lift the grate between them and advance to the junction, where they rest invisible, [12:50] NRE x 2. And six more turns and another rest, moving at explored and mapped speed (x 3) to cart all the weapons and treasure from Room 121 to 130 into room 124 with the weapons chest and move the iron chest from Room 126, 1/6 [14:10] NRE x 6.

Looking at the chest, Dounil decides the lock is not connected and uses a battleaxe to break it off (the text said it’s breakable and so I say it’s not integrated into the structure). It takes him 7 rounds to break it, long enough to finish the turn by casting Detect Magic on the whole gathered contents. There is nothing magical here, 2/6 [14:20] NRE.

Disappointed, the decide to return to Nulb before they get too mauled down here. The take the iron chest contents of 311gp and 2 big and perfect agates (100gp and 500gp).

They pass at speed to the western vestibule but are mt on the stairs finally by a random encounter on the second roll, 4 gnolls, here to shore up the numbers caused by repeated deaths. They surprise.

SR, Dounil takes a bastard sword though a gap in the armour, HP 12 -> 10

R1, the heroes win initiative and 8 HD damage kills the gnolls, they have no treasure. They bandage above in the vestibule, HP 10 -> 12, [14:45].

Though the shadows loom in the winter dimness, it’s not yet twilight, so they encounter nothing as they walk out the main gate. Elmo grazes the horses nearby, saying they should arrange a time to meet, otherwise he would have left them there when it grew beyond twilight.

They shove into his hands 200 electrum pieces and tell him to carry his pay home.

1410xp from dead monsters/16 x (1.10 or 1.05) = 96 FXP and 92 MUXP

85cp, 1066sp 204ep, 522gp and 84pp received/16 x (1.10 or 1.05) = 108 FXP and 103 MUXP, plus 45cp which is lost in rounding.

To be taken to Hommlet:

Silver bracelet (170gp + 6 x 10gp azurites), copper belt (35gp), A necklace of 12 large gold coins (130gp), 4 bronze rings set with a jet stone (50gp x 4), 4 ornamental dagger (15gp x 4), and 2 big and perfect agates (100gp and 500gp).

With saddlebags bulging and darkness falling, they encounter nothing on the road (lowest roll it could be for nothing). Otis gets his 2pp for the horses, Y’dey gets everything obvious and heals Celest, HP 8 -> 10, and the proprietor gets his 10cp, 15sp, 1ep and 1gp. An additional 1sp and 1gp buys a large combined dinner with ale, though not that great all told.

Day 227 (28^th of Sunsebb)

It’s an early night but also an early morning as the heroes are awakened by a large owl apiece hooting into their rooms amid the first rays of dawn. It stares at them quite intently and they reach for their weapons, as it could be sinister. The owls were sent by Otis, for now the heroes can hear heavy footsteps and banging outside as the newest brigands of the broken tower have come to Nulb to ambush the heroes in their sleep. Celest can pull her chainmail on, but Dounil doesn’t have time to buckle on his platemail.