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MERP: Dawn of the Fourth Age Session 14

 

This is part of an ongoing campaign. You can find the other sessions over on the sidebar.
 
This session was played on August 23, 2020.
 
15 Urui F.A. 15
 
As the fellowship reentered Bree, settling how the guardianship of Edrahil and the administration of the manor would be handled, in light of Hiraval's death, was foremost on their minds. They proceeded directly to Mayor Daisy Erling's office and arrived just as Eowic, the dark-haired fellow that had been sitting with Cormac in the bar, was being escorted out. When they questioned the mayor's secretary about Eowic's presence, he told them that Eowic was an archery champion and hunter who worked the woods to the east and north of Bree.

Once in with Mayor Erling, the fellowship attempted to convince her that Elwin should be given guardianship over Edrahil. The mayor seemed skeptical about giving the duties of raising the young man and controlling his estate to a complete unknown, so she asked Edrahil what his thoughts were. Edrahil was quick to insist that his father would have wanted Elyanis to watch over him. Mayor Erling agreed with his assessment and appointed Elyanis to be his guardian.

They briefly questioned the mayor about Eowic before leaving, and she explained that he was here to discuss the terms of compensation for the work he and his men did hunting in the north woods. Her deep blush when asked about the hunter led them to believe that they two may be romantically involved. They were also not convinced that Eowic and Cormac were not involved with the bandits.

After leaving they mayor's office, the group decided to meet with Meneldir, the captain of the guard, again to discuss finding the bandit camp. Meneldir seemed flustered that the mayor had been meeting with Eowic alone in her office. His reaction reminded them that they had heard rumors that the captain of the guard had been courting the mayor. 

Meneldir sent for a report from the gate guards and they learned that Eowic and Cormac left by the South Gate together. Meneldir agrees to allow Melvin and Kelvin to keep working with them to track the bandits. They gather the adventurers from the manor (Elwin, Fay, Folulf, Arnulf, and Herbert) and headed out to follow the trail of Cormac and Eowic.
 
The Battle of the Barrow Downs: Part 1

They followed the bandits' trail into the Barrow Downs and found a good sized bandit camp hidden among some mounds a short way off the road.

 
They could see at least ten bandits moving about the camp, and some seemed to be moving in and out of the mounds. It seemed that there was probably more bandits hiding below ground, so they decided a cautious approach would be best. Mound A in particular drew their attention. Unlike the others, the guard stationed on top of that mound was watching down the stairs into the mound, instead of the approach to the mound. After some discussion, the fellowship determined that it would be better to wait until night to move against the bandits, despite the warnings by the Bree-folk about the dangers of being in the Barrow Downs at night.

Tulip announced that she had the perfect diversion to use against the bandits. She had a magic bell, intended for sailors, that, if the user was in water, would ring so loud that anyone within three miles would be able to determine the location of the person ringing the bell. The others agreed that this might make a good diversion and Tulip headed back to a stream they had crossed on their way in. The rest of the fellowship crept close to the bandits guarding the gate on the path between mounds A and C. 

Tulip stood in the shallow stream and struck the bell vigorously. Five times thunder pealed from the heavens, each chime so oppressive that it physically weighed down on those who heard it. Once she recovered, Tulip took of running from the stream as she could hear the waking undead stirring in the low hills. 

Back at the camp, the bell spooked most of the bandits. Many of them deserted their posts and ran back into the mounds. The fellowship was able to make quick work of those that remained with concentrated missile fire. Concerned about what the bandits may have been guarding against on Mound A, they made their way to Mound C to descend. 
 

 

Sindawe, Melvin, and Kelvin were the first to go down the steps into Mound C. Once below, they met with immediate resistance from bandits stationed at the bottom of the steps. The fight at the base of the stairs limited how quickly the fellowship could bring more of its forces to bear. After a struggle, Sindawe and the two guards managed to push the guards south into the chamber south of Stairway C, but more bandits were arriving as reinforcements every round. Eventually Dirdan was able to make it down the stairs and use his sleep spell to gain the upper hand in the fight for the landing. 

Meanwhile, on the surface, bandits sallied from Mound B and charged the remaining members of the fellowship, led by Elyanis, on Mound C. They responded with missile fire as the bandits closed. As the session ended, Tulip arrived back at the camp with several wights in tow.

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