An Epic tale form another part of Tellene

Death and Taxes 

a company of adventurers start out- it is interesting to not that the rules set used to run this was AD&D5e rather than HackMaster 5e but it just goes to show that good background is universal

Death an Taxes

As the sun begins to set behind the Kakidela Mountains, a weary group of travelers make their way into the small farming community of Drhyff. Some may ask where they come from, but most would say it doesn’t matter. Adventurers come from everywhere and nowhere. They’re drifters, sell-swords and brigands. Filled with a wanderlust that cannot be sated otherwise, this party has joined together in search of that spark of life found on the open road and in the dungeons of antiquity.

Before we continue, let me introduce you to the party. First there’s Kalamor Aeternus, a young paladin who hopes to swear an oath to Koverr, The Pure One, should he find himself worthy. He is flanked by Jeshela Velsin, a half-elf bard just happy to be on the road. Off running ahead in the bush is Frug Timbers, a forest gnome druidic initiate. His love of the wild can be seen (and smelled) clearly. Behind Kalamor is a young brandobian monk named Malvus. His clothing marks him as a guardian of the Earth Mother. Taking up the rear a somber dwarf keeps her hood up. Ngithol is a fighter, clearly, but her eyes betray an intelligence not normally seen in the warrior caste. They are settling into the hamlet of Drhyff for the evening and hoping to find some work.

Drhyff is a small community, numbering less than 700 even accounting for the migrant seasonal workers coming in from Bynarr and the eastern towns of Thybaj. The town itself is situated on the edge of the Fyban forest, where the inhabitants get the lumber required for their log homes and buildings. The heroes, if you’re inclined to call them such, quietly find themselves a bed at the Green Gryffon inn (so named from the moss and ivy that has grown wild over the log cabin) and settle in for some cabbage stew and Tharggy sausage. Jeshela provided music for the small crowd of residents. The owner, Jish, was delighted to have such company in his inn and gave up his room to the bard as thank you. The others accepted cots in the common room; all but Malvus, that is. He was happy to sleep in the barn’s loft.

Before the party retired for the evening, however, Kalamor secured them some incoming funds from the town’s constable, Elmin Hersir. The annual census and Queen’s tax was upon them and the hersir sent by Jorjen Thane has gone missing. Elmin figures the young hersir took off with the taxes or was robbed on the road. Either way, he has no time to finish collecting and is willing to pay the party 1 gold each plus 1 silver per house. There were other rumors and mumblings of trouble that could have been profitable; a horse thief had made off with at least three horses in the last few weeks and Elmin Hersir was no closer to discovering who the culprit was. And an influx of wild dogs has been causing farmers some trouble killing chickens and terrorizing other farm animals. Both sounded like more work for less pay, so taxmen they became.

The following day the party headed south to the furthest homesteads to count heads and collect taxes. The greater portion of the day was made up of winding paths through the forest and the occasional stop at a homestead for a quick count. Most had little issue with the taxing and were easy going. They were threatened by an old Fhokki hermit, but that’s expected of a taxman’s job. No, the real troubles came when they approached the Brovnar homestead.

The Brovnar family, Brendol and Dela were immigrants from the young kingdoms, looking to start a new life in Tharggy. Until recently, they were fairly successful at getting the farm going and making some friends, including regular attendance at the sermons in the Assembly of Light church of Drhyff. No one has seen the couple or their child Granden in months.

The party approached the farm with caution, as it was eerily quiet for such a large farm. When they called out the owners, Brendol appeared looking tired and ragged as a man can. Bruises and cuts marred his arms and neck; the same for his wife, Dela. Fearing they may be hiding some truth, Frug called upon his ancient druidic teachings to charm the young housewife. She happily told Frug and the party about the mass of kobolds that invaded the farm and kidnapped her boy. They dug out tunnels underneath the barn and keep wild dogs there as guards. Ngithol heard enough and walked out to approach the barn and deal with the kobolds. Dela’s concern for her son was pointless as Ngithol was certain the boy was long since dead.

Had the party taken caution, they might have handled the dogs better. Unfortunately, Ngithol wrenched the barn door open to the sight of six wild animals ready to pounce. Clearly Tharggy wolfhounds, the beasts were a threat that had to be put down. When the party cleaned off the dust and shite from their clothing, they noticed a pile of hay stir before hearing the sound of a dinner bell or clanging pot below.

Throwing the hay aside, they found the entrance to the Kobold lair. Kalamor went first only to find the tunnel at the bottom of the ladder to be a good foot and a half shorter than his 6’4” frame could navigate. Malvus fared no better, but the others were all short enough to move about with relative ease. Frug took point and laughed at the pitiful attempt at a pit trap before leaping into a much better disguised pit trap with spikes at the bottom. Ngithol aided Frug in getting out of the pit and helped place some boards down that the kobolds likely used to cross the hole. A kobold guard jumped out to strike Ngithol, but Jeshela’s quick use of her flute put the creature down. They were free to continue, but were very aware of the alarm. They pushed on through the small tunnel until finding a larger room (Still only 5’ tall) full of Kobolds geared up for an advancing attack. Each was armed with a spear and positioned behind broken fences they stole from the Brovnars. A couple stood at the end of the hall firing arrows at the party. There was also a kobold hidden behind a dug out arrow slit in the wall, giving the party no real cover.
Kalamor went down first, attempting to defend and block the arrows with his shield, while Ngithol made for the door opposite the kobolds. Unfortunately, before she could reach the door, Malvus was also injured and the heroes realized they may need to withdraw if they wished to go on living. Frug took up a defensive point while Jeshela healed Kalamor, who in turn laid his hands upon Malvus. During the skirmish, Jeshela was brought low by arrow fire as the party began their retreat. Frug kept the kobolds from advancing with a well-placed entanglement and Malvus miraculously hit the kobold behind the arrow slit with a well-timed throwing spike. A last ditch effort by Frug killed the remaining kobolds when he lit his own entanglement on fire. There was little time to cheer, however, as Kalamor was brought low again, and the party had to drag him out of the tunnel to escape.

In the barn, while the others quickly recovered, Ngithol set to preparing some torches and readied a fire to set the barn ablaze and smoke out the kobolds. None had even fully realized Jeshela bled out during the scuffle.

Reposted with the Authors permission from the site linked in via the subtitle