Monday 21 September 2020

Eschalon: The Runner

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Asking around in Aridell about the necklace gave Rollo a lead. Apparently the druid Lilith who lives in the vast, Tangletree forest, was known to be wise in all matters in regards to mystical amulets so that's where he plots his next course. Before departing, he is also warned about the expanding goblin empire, but that's not enough to stop an adventurer like him. It isn't goblins he runs into though, it is a bunch of brigands demanding a toll fee of 75 gold.

Such a fee is well within his means so Rollo accepts and they let him pass. Or at least, gives him a head start... for soon after a small brigade of bandits is hot on Rollo's tail, hooting and hollering for his blood. He has no choice but to run and happens to reach the bordertown of Darkford whose guards and citizens bravely rush into battle against the oncoming threat. While the brigands are wiped out it is a pyrrhic victory as only two guardsmen (barely) survive the encounter. They pair manage to give directions to Lilith though, and after a few days Rollo finds her hut in the middle of the forest.

Making a bee line for the house.

Alas, she is unwilling to help Rollo without first getting a task out of him: to slay the hive queen wasp who is taking over the woods. The hive queen is very clever though, as before Rollo gets far from Lilith's cottage a swarm of giant wasps attack the pair. The druid kills enough of them before getting stung to death for Rollo to survive. Upon searching her corpse he finds another almost identical triangle amulet which he takes before fleeing the wasp forest into a thicket filled with... raptors!? Cursing his luck, Rollo runs for his life once more.

Insight: Just like in D&D, door ways are good choke points to defend against superior enemy numbers.

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