Half a week passed since the Ellysa Moonshadow incident and everyone was enjoying some time to relax. Akira prepared dishes from his native land of Korpan while Melora and Plakos considered their next move. The group had seen a couple fliers up asking for the help of some strong and capable young adventurers with the promise of gold in exchange for work. The postings came from the small town of Demper’s Ferry a couple days’ journey to the east. By the time they finished breakfast, they decided to trek over and see how much money they could make.
The journey was simple enough. After a couple days on foot along the well-traveled road they could see the small town just ahead of them. After asking around, they found that the person who posted the ad lives on the outside of town. As they approached the old house they noticed that it was nicely situated in the middle of a small farm. A big, old golden retriever watched carefully as Plakos walked up the steps to knock on the door. They were greeted by a kind, older man who looked to be in his sixties. He introduced himself as Arty and introduced his dog, Justice, as well. What the group had thought to be more challenging tasks were actually some work around the farm, and promises of gold turned out to be a couple silver, but the group figured they wouldn’t mind helping an old man out.
An hour into the work, Melora and Plakos could hear heavy drums beating in the distance. They called everyone over to see what was going on. Arty, who it turns out used to be an old adventurer himself, cautioned them to lay low while he and Melora went and scouted out what was going on. They spotted war banners of Gruumsh, the preferred god of orcs.
Arty asked the group to plead with the ancestors of Demper’s Ferry for assistance. Orc scouts would soon surround the village, but a tomb less than a day’s journey across the neighboring desert houses the great heroes that once called Demper’s Ferry their home. The spirits that remain entombed there could have enough power to save the village. Arty reasoned that his old body was too frail to cross the desert and stayed and mounted a small resistance while M.A.P. began their quest.
They trekked across the desert through the day and into the night, barely outsmarting the orc scouts who were on their trail. Just as the sun was rising, they made it to the simple-looking structure that housed the tombs they were searching for. Only a small window allowed sunlight into the stone hut, but Plakos found that a large symbol of Pelor that led them to the stairs down into the tomb. A rickety wooden door led into the next area, and they were greeted by a family of Stormclaw Scorpions. As they moved through to the next area, Melora spied a few traps that would’ve launched arrows their way. She disabled them only to be attacked by an oozing Ochre Slime. Barely more than a nuisance, the party moved into the final tomb to find the bodies of failed thieves had been reanimated into skeleton warriors by a Deathlock Wight. Akira took on ost of the skeletons himself while Plakos and Melora quickly dispatched the wight.
The party was immediately greeted by a couple large spirits that clearly represented those entombed here. The spirits thanked the party of clearing away the filth that desecrated their resting ground. After a little discussion, the cunning tongue of Plakos was able to convince the spirits to aid the town that housed their descendents. A thousand ghosts rose out of the tomb and flew in the direction of Demper’s Ferry. After looking around a bit, Melora spied a dusty (yet still sharp) blade resting on the ground near one of the sarcophagi. The symbol of Pelor etched into it, she took it to use later.
M.A.P. rushed back to the town and made it by sundown only to see the bodies of fallen orcs that littered the streets. Arty ran up to greet them happily, orc blood spattering his clothes. He had taken the final shot to kill the hill giant that led the attack on the village, but he said it was the quick actions of M.A.P. that saved the town from the fate of enslavement. A banquet was held in their honor and they earned the lasting title of “Heroes of Demper’s Ferry”.
The Tales of Captain DM 