Part 25

So our next stop is a little town called Daggerford that tends to be a popular spot in campaign settings far outside of proportion to its size and importance. It's got that combination of a memorable name and remoteness that makes it perfect for adventurers, and it's also got more than a few problems.



"I'm not sure if no guards at all in a town is a real improvement over being taken into custody by the guards as soon as we arrive."

"The good news is that if they have an Anchor of Justice the river here looks shallow enough that we'd just be able to stand up and unwrap our chains."



"I'm not nearly as much of an expert on guard forces in this region as you are, Alaric, but I have a feeling those aren't the regular guards."

"Could it be the fact that those are the colors of Zhentil that tipped you off?"



Troops in this area are a mix of the scrubs we've been dealing with for far too long and the more elite fighters we've recently been meeting. This can mean an improvement in our equipment, however, so it's not all bad.



"Trust me, if we're going to free those men we're not going to do it with what you're selling in this little village weapon shop."

"Although if you could part with that loaf of bread I'd be willing to buy it. I'm kind of hungry."



"Is it not strange that the invaders didn't bother to put guards of their own at the front gate, if they've taken control of the castle?"

"I don't even know with the Zhentarim anymore. I think they're just idiots."



"Or they figured it made no difference if they were inside or outside, and it's kind of cold out there."



Familiar faces, with the addition of a new upgrade of the margoyle. These are a bit tougher than their cousins, and just as invulnerable to non-magical weapons.



"That group's big enough that they might have a crystal… we have to be careful not to damage them."

"And not to damage the prisoners, either."

"Er…yes, obviously, them too. Goes without saying."



"That means we have to take out a Zhent first, since everybody else keeps smashing their crystals… that's going to be kind of hard."





"…we'll have to stop and rescue the Duke before we go after them. If the enemy has him, they'll try to hold him for ransom or some such thing."





"I'm disgusted on behalf of the rest of the nobility of Faerun."

"I'm inclined to agree that this wasn't worth wasting the time we could have spent pursuing the rest of the enemy."



"Yep, definitely a waste of time. Maybe we can make something out of those papers and see where they're going next."



"I'm afraid it's not much help… if it were a cipher perhaps, but since they are simply hiding every third letter this still doesn't make very much sense."

"We'll just have to see if anybody from the invasion force is left in town and then beat it out of them."



"Going so soon? Please, do stay a while!"

"Uh… if we want to question them we might just have to be a bit gentler about it."



"You're going to have a very long trip to deliver that message… but don't worry. We'll give you a one way ticket to where your captain is waiting."

In the aftermath...



"Ahem."

"Eep!"

"I was just… there was a thing and I was… oh, sod off, the lot of you!"

"Let's… let's just keep on exploring the city."



"Wait, fire giants? Where were these guys when we were fighting the Zhentarim?"

"Considering that this is Daggerford, it's entirely possible that this is a separate and unrelated catastrophe that was about to befall the town. At least it should be safe for a while after we deal with these"



Manticores on the right with their new sprite, and our first fire giant mage. They're a bit unique in that despite being mages they're actually tougher and have better armor than the fighters. With that, we've exhausted the possibilities of Daggerford and it's time to head to the Way Inn. Although there's one interruption...



"Ohh no. Zanros, if you hear one "Hi ho" you're to fireball the entire lot."



"Remember these words! An ancient and wise dwarf spoke them upon his death bed, and they tell us: to the west is the first, to the east is the last, and all eight lie between."

"We'll.. uh… we'll remember that. Thanks."

"Could have been worse. At least they didn't dance around and deliver it in as a short, rhyming musical verse."



"Another mysteriously deserted town… they're certainly making it clear whenever they've occupied a place."

"You say that now, but you sure didn't say it on the way to that tavern. Besides, if you look down the street you'll see that they're on their way."



The text for this encounter flashed up and down, followed by immediately dropping us into combat. It's a bit of a slog-fest, since those margoyles can take a bit of punishment.



"We can rest here…it doesn't look like it has anything of value inside, and they've probably already looted it once already."



"That's good, because you don't have to say anything right now. Just think on it."

"Uh… okay."



"Doesn't look like that worked out too well for him."



"They must have only just got here… no way some place like this wouldn't have been among the first things looted."

"So speaks our resident looting expert."



This battle actually features another new enemy, although we've seen something similar in Dark Queen of Krynn. These ones didn't get painted pink, though, so they still come out ahead.



"I'm just surprised they didn't kill you. That's definitely what… truly evil people would do in that kind of situation."



"Hey, I think we found the way in to the Way Inn."

"We'll be lucky if the involuntary groan that induced didn't alert every monster in the Inn."



"They seem a bit upset by it too… although I think they would have just been grumpy either way."



"With as many people and monsters as they brought, if they'd just paid for rooms and stable fees the innkeeper would probably have let them do whatever they wanted."

"That's true, but if they did that I'm not sure if they'd qualify as villains and we wouldn't have nearly as solid a leg to stand on."



The enemy mix is pretty good in these fights, and the close quarters of the inn make them far more interesting than they would be otherwise. We can't simply drop a fireball on these sorceresses, for example, without barbecuing our front line. Still, at this point our party has a lot of tools to use when dealing with tricky situations.



"I think I recognize those robes… Krakens, right?"

"Not for long."



"There's something incredibly suspicious about the wall ahead."

"I think all the competent carpenters had left town by the time they got around to constructing this particular hidden door."



"I think this is it… everybody pile on the Zhentarim!"



"Although I think we've got so little left to do here that we might as well just finish mopping up. We might even find a few more papers that way."




"I think that man is a prophet!"

"I know we're going to ruin his plan, but calling us inept fools just seems a bit harsh."



It's quite a pitched battle inside of this room, probably putting more enemies on the screen than we've seen anywhere else. Since this is a big battlefield, this works against the enemy far more than it works for them. We also don't have to play any silly games about trying to kill a particular enemy first, so all the gloves are off at this point.






"Wait, you mean we actually got to kill somebody important among the bad guys without chasing him halfway across the entire frontier and having him run away from us half a dozen times?"

"That's the voice of bitter experience speaking if I ever heard it."

"It's a strange time we live in when such a thing should happen."

Post battle...



"Everybody, we have something to tell you…you see..."

"Siulajia and I have fallen in love with each other. We know this makes some things… awkward."

"What do you mean makes? We've all been studiously avoiding looking in the direction of the campfire for the last week."

"Listen, are you guys going to be okay with this or not? Nothing's really changing, but we just wanted to get it out in the open."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say 'whatever.' You pay for your own separate room at the inn and you don't come to the rest of us crying when your feelings are hurt."

"Yay! Group hug!"



"It might be me, but this adventure has taken a turn for the weird."

"Certainly for the unexpected. Now, let's have a look at those papers…"

Character Snapshot





With all said and done we've picked up some levels for our characters, including Kedzie's first level after capping out Fighter and levels for Siulajia and Alaric who both become level nine fighters. We've got enough +2 helms to outfit all of our party now, and that pretty well sets us up for armor with a few exceptions.