Damn Elf Press

Beck followed Montague into the snow covered grasslands. For a large hog, Monty was quite agile. He rushed ahead of the young warrior, sniffing the air and giving a satisfied grunt that all is good.

This went on for some time until the boar stopped in his tracks. Beck halted as well. Ahead of them came a lone wolf loping towards them at an angle. His tongue was hanging out and seemed in no hurry to reach them.

Monty’s back bristled and he planted his hooves firmly in challenge to the wolf. In an instant, the wolf began to sprint at them. As it got closer, two more wolves dashed out of tall grass behind them. They chose the tastier target, Monty.

Flanking the hog, the two wolves take turns distracting and biting at Monty’s flank. [Wolves do 2 pts of damage] The lead wolf leaps at Beck, biting his arm. [Attack does 1 pt of damage]

Beck swings his longsword in defense and cuts the wolf’s shoulder [1pt dmg]. Monty squeals with alarma and slams into one of the attackers. The wolf yelps and rolls over, limping away. [Monty did 2 pts damage!]

Both wolves make tentative attacks on the hog, but miss. They are cautious, now that they see he is putting up a fight. The lead wolf lunges again at Beck clamping down on his arm. [1 pt dmg]. Beck thrust his sword into the wolf’s side and it falls away, dead.

Monty whirls at one of the other wolves trying to bite it, but the wolf is too quick. With the leader down and one other wolf injured, the pair of wolves think better of continuing their attack and run off.

Our two heroes pause to catch their breath. Beck has no bandages to help with first aid, but he does look around the area for some St John’s Wort or even a little moss. [Fails roll to find anything]. Not finding anything, he cleans their wounds with a little water. Beck takes the wolf pelt as a trophy of their victory.

They arrive at the Barrow-downs a short while later. The barrows are dug into the ground forming mounds of earth in varying sizes. Most have stones covering an entrance. Beck has heard many tales from the villagers in the Dead Pony Inn. He will not willing disturb any ancient graves here.

They spend a little time looking around the mounds. Beck is having trouble finding the standing stone that Cornwall described. They do however, encounter a small flock of sheep…and a large ram guarding over them. Before Beck can back away, the ram lowers his head and comes tramping at them!

Beck tries to hide behind his shield, but the ram slams hard into it. The shield makes a sickening CRACK! and the young warrior is thrown off his feet! [GM note–the ram attacked with double sixes! Beck takes 3 points of damage and I rule his shield loses a level of quality and he is knocked back!]

Monty scrambles after the ram, slamming into it with a loud squeal! [Does 1 point damage!] The ram is undeterred. It lowers its great horns and charges the hog. Monty dodges aside gracefully!

Beck staggers to his feet and stabs at the ram. The sword finds its mark and the ram grunts in rage. Monty tries to butt heads with the ram but misses. The ram staggers a bit and makes a half-hearted attack at the hog but can’t connect.

Both of our heroes strike at the angry ram but miss. The ram lowers its head and smites Beck again with another mighty CRACK! Becks shield splinters into kindling and once again he is thrown back! [The ram hit with another 12! Beck takes 3 more damage and his shield is destroyed.] Monty slams into the ram, knocking it back. Beck regains his feet and thrusts his sword into the ram killing it! [The battle took its toll. Current hit points for both are…Beck 7/15 and Monty 6/9]

No bandages available to bind wounds, they press on. Beck finds the plinth. It is a standing stone about 7 feet tall. There are strange runes, weathered and barely legible, on all sides of it. Beck takes out a roll of parchment and a piece of charcoal and begins to make a rubbing of the east side of the stone. It is early afternoon by the time they finish their task. Both Beck and Monty shiver at the thought of being in the Barrow-downs when the sun goes down.

The two adventures make their way home to Bree, a little worse for wear, but in good spirits. [Awarded 1 xp for the session]

More to come…