Back on the river, the ship passed by Hadrian without stopping, and continued heading up-river. They dropped anchor later in the evening, cooked up the deer, then resumed the voyage. Arya took advantage of the time to heal up Kronk’s wounds. She and Kronk then took the first half of the missing crewmen’s watch. Strife and Balefire took the remainder. Fortunately, nothing noteworthy occurred overnight.
Next day, the sailing remained smooth. In the evening, the ship docked at Falsridge. Thurl arranged for pick-up of more cargo (half a ton of gourmet cheeses). As this took some time to see to, the adventurers took advantage of some additional shore leave. Arya asked about magic shops in town, and also inquired about a temple of Pelor.
A magic shop was located about ten minutes from the docks. There was a small chapel of Pelor in town also, as well as chapels of several other faiths. The adventurers proceeded to the magic shop, a small establishment without a name, but well-known to the town residents. From the available potions and scrolls, Arya purchased scrolls of feather fall, read magic, and cure light wounds (a divine scroll the proprietor had obtained in trade). She was also able to negotiate a discount on a potion of shield of faith.
Strife then went on his way, while the rest of the party sought out chapels of their respective faiths. Arya went to the chapel of Pelor; Kronk, to the chapel of Kord; and Balefire, to the chapel of Olidammara.
At the chapel of Pelor, Arya met with a young cleric who looked like he was on his first mission assignment. He was also cute! After greetings in the name of Pelor and a brief mention of her business venture, Arya asked if the cleric had any useful scrolls that he might consider selling to her. “Let me check,” said the cleric. A few minutes later, he returned with two scrolls of cure light wounds, a scroll of protection from evil, and a scroll of divine favor. All free of charge! It seemed that the young man had been swayed by Arya’s beauty!
Kronk found the chapel of Kord. The cleric looked the part, being very physically fit as well as devoted to Kord. “Just came to pay my respects to Kord,” explained Kronk. He also wanted to see if he could find anything to help him on his journey.
“Let us engage in a contest of fitness,” said the cleric. “If you prove worthy, I may have something for you.” The chosen contest was an arm wrestling contest. After a mighty struggle, Kronk won the contest! “An impressive victory, praise be to Kord!” the cleric gracefully conceded. True to his word, he went to the chapel sacristy, and soon came back with a potion of bull’s strength. “This should serve you well, my son,” said the cleric.
Meanwhile, Balefire paid a visit to the chapel of Olidammara, which, as it turned out, wasn’t so much a chapel as a back room of The Jumping Trout inn dedicated to the Laughing Rogue. The local cleric, an older man named Ardmore, was dressed in typical colors of brown and green, and was holding a lyre in one hand and a wine bottle in the other. Several guests were with him.
“Good evening, good sir,” Balefire greeted the cleric. “How are you this joyous night?” The cleric winked at him and replied, “Following our master’s command to eat, drink and be merry! How can I help you?”
“I am looking for some help on my journey,” answered the rogue. He described the venture, and ended by relating how he was charmed by nixies. “I’ll gladly treat you to a glass of the best wine, and some fine smoked venison!”
“Well, in that case, make it red wine!” Ardmore responded eagerly. Balefire quickly headed to the ship, retrieved some of the previous evening’s smoked venison, and ran back to the inn. He bought a bottle of fine red wine, then returned to the back room and shared it, and the venison, with Ardmore.
After the meal and the wine, which Ardmore consumed with great relish (and also shared with his other guests), the cleric thanked Balefire heartily. He reached into a drawer in a nearby cabinet and pulled out a vile, which he gave to the rogue. “Owl’s wisdom potion,” he informed Balefire. “This’ll help you resist enchantments.”
Balefire thanked Ardmore for his kind gift. After some further merrymaking with the cleric and his other guests, the happy rogue made his way back to the ship. As he passed through the main dining room of The Jumping Trout, he spotted the other three adventurers, who had also decided to dine (and the inn was in fact the best inn in town). He waved to them as they enjoyed a fine fresh fish dinner.
The ship departed from Falsridge after about three hours, in the mid-evening. Strife and Balefire volunteered to take the first half of watch duty, to be followed by Kronk and Arya. They sailed past the village of Falsford and on into a large lake west of the village: Misty Lake, named for the night mists that frequently occurred, making navigation difficult. Captain Elwood ordered a halt for the night, and dropped anchor.
About midnight, Strife and Balefire hear a suspicious noise. On the anchor chain, they spotted it: a rat swarm!
One of the crewmen asked, “What’s going on?”
“Rat swarm!” cried Strife, sounding the alarm.
Up the anchor chain ran a huge swarm of ugly black rodents. They spilled onto the deck and immediately bit Strife and Balefire. Both took minor injuries. Balefire yelled “RATS!”, then climbed up the ship’s rigging.
Another crewman roused the captain and the rest of the crew.
The first crewman swung at the swarm of rats with his longsword. The rats evaded his attack. Strife’s sword managed to kill a few of the swarm. But the rats continued their attack, moving toward mast and biting everyone in their path. Strife and the first crewman took more bite damage.
Balefire held on to the rigging, yelled for rest of crew to get on deck, and called for Pelleas, the ship’s sorcerer. The second crewman struck the swarm and killed a few more of the rats.
Kronk, Arya and two more crewmen came on deck and joined the fight. As it turned out, their assistance was not needed, as the first crewman sliced the remaining rodents to bits.
Captain Elwood arrived. “Good job, crew,” he congratulated those involved. “Now clear these rats off my deck.”
The watch was increased for the rest of the night, but no more rats attacked. Nor did any other creatures. Strife wondered what could have driven the swarm to swim out to the boat and board the ship. “Unusual behavior, to say the least,” he observed.
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