The Rescue of Little King Grey

Miss Macon sent Jake to summon us to her presence. Tanner and Faolan went to her house, only to be directed to a secret entrance by one of her servants. We entered a merchant's tent, stepped behind a curtain, descended a staircase, and entered a long stoned hallway. At one point, Faolan felt an odd tingle, but nothing else unusual was noted.

After a short walk, we found ourselves entering a beautiful stone terrace overlooking the Brown River, which should have been a mile or more away.

Miss Macon, a beautiful woman who appears to be in her 70's, was reclining on a couch, and a huge man stood in the shadows behind her. She greeted us by name, and a servant brought us goblets of sweetwine.

Miss Macon praised our recent accomplishments, and revealed herself as Jake's employer. She offered us a mission, which was essentially an intelligence-gathering trip to Anglia City, disguised as a diplomatic courier mission. Our host said that she was particularly interested in news of Queen Anne and Little King Grey. Faolan, thinking of the songs that this would make, eagerly accepted, while Tanner, ever mercenary scum at heart, attempted to negotiate a price. Faolan's persistent elbows and Miss Macon's grace supressed Tanner's greed for the moment, and the mission was accepted. (Not mention that Miss Macon told Tanner he would be paid with a book. Once told that, he accepted everything docily). Miss Macon told us that a protege' of her's, Ahnah, would be joining us, and that she was a talented healer with some spellcasting ability.

The next day, we met with Ahnah at King John (the barkeep)'s place, the Green Dragon Inn. Ahnah is tall, blonde, and attractive in a hard-edged sort of way. She told us that she is a member of The Companions, a mercenary healer group, and that she had last served with The Twenty-Five, in their heroic stand at The Shoals.

On July 26, we headed out north along the Tarstone Road.

En route, we were once again attacked by Molly Hatchet, and once again we beat off the attack. What was new, is that this time we were able to subdue and capture him, thanks to Tanner's valiant charge (and Ahnah's triple-effect Haste). We killed his henchmen, encased Molly in mana-dampening chain mail, tied his hands, and deposited him with some of Lord Wallace's troopers for safekeeping.

On August 8th, while we were in Jackson, we were slipped a note that read "The Queen is at Greensburg, The Gods save the Queen". The decision was made to make a detour to Greensburg to gather more information.

On August 13th, we arrived in Bardstown, and while there Ahnah heard a rumor that Queen Anne and the Little King were being held in Greensburg.

On August 14th, we arrived in Greensburg, and found accomodation in Lowtown, where we continued our quest for information. Tanner made a contact with Trooper Walsh, an engineer in Lord Green's service. A drunken Walsh filled our ears with the news of how Lord Evans had arrived with thirty of his personal guard and a large force of Redlegs, and imprisoned the King and the Queen Mother in Lord Green's servants' quarters. Faolan made contact with Trooper Brown, one of Lord Green's guardsman, who confirmed this story, and also told us that Lord Evans has Lord Green 'under siege' in the manor's keep, and that Lord Evans intended to marry his son to Lord Green's lackwit daughter. Trooper Brown also proved to be a source of information regarding the fact that Lord Gahanna had men in town, and that a whore named Trixie would know how to contact them.

Tanner was able to drink Walsh to near unconsciousness, and drag him upstairs to his room. The next morning, we pried more information from him, his keys to the servant quarters and the salley port door locks. Walsh provided us with the information we needed to plan our infiltration of Lord Green's castle.

Faolan sought out Trixie, paid her well, and arranged a meeting with Lord Gahanna's men to hand over the two royals we intended to rescue. Ahnah had reservations about doing this, but once Faolan starting composing the song of the rescue, there was no turning back. We were to meet Gahanna's men at one hour after midnight.

On August 15th, we rested, stashed our pack horse and Faolan's armor, and prepared for night. Well after dark, an unarmored Faolan walked up to the castle's wall. Ahnah had cast walk unseen, so Faolan was able to move up to the targeted salley port undetected. The salley port was locked, but unguarded. Once inside, Faolan used one of Ahnah's invested devices to recast walk unseen, and began to move along the inside of the wall, seeking the servant's quarters. Once he found a Redleg guard lounging near a humble door, he knew he'd found the place. Faolan garotted the guard (grievous, double damage, 34 pts endurance), half-severing the man's neck in the process. At the faint sound of the guard's death throes, Queen Anne pulled a curtain open, covered her mouth, and quickly closed the curtain. Faolan, now visible, unlocked the door and stepped inside. Queen Anne had upset a table, drawn a dagger, and pulled her son behind her. Faolan had never seen anyone half so lovely.

Faolan spoke as softly, calmly, and quietly as possible, eventually persuading a doubtful Queen Anne to make an escape with him. She told her stubborn son that while he was still the King, Faolan was one of the vicious Northmen, and that they must be quiet so as not to anger him. That Faolan was drenched in blood probably helped the King's decision to comply.

Faolan led the Queen, who held her son in one arm, and a blade in the other, to the salley port, where he directed her to the waiting Tanner and Ahnah. He cast walk unseen on her, then himself, and they headed out. At one point, as they crossed the open field behind Lord Green's keep, the Queen's walk unseen spell failed. Faolan, who had used up all but one charge with some untimely failures, cast the last charge on the Queen, exposing himself, but allowing her and the King to escape to the sheltering woods. Faolan made a run for it - possibly escaping undetected (although the party was stopped by Redlegs a short time later as they traveled east to their rendevous).

Tanner, as the lone armored warrior, bravely gave Faolan his horse and trailed the mounted group on foot, as they made their getaway through the heart of Lowtown. It seemed that they were on the verge of making it when a group of Redlegs appeared from where they'd hidden off the road. Their leader, resplendent in polished chain, told the Couriers "Give us the Queen, and ride away with your lives". Faolan drew his blade and replied "Have I told you the one about the Redleg, his mother, and the one-eyed whore?". The Redlegs took this as a 'no'. Ahnah and Faolan dismounted, and the fight was on.

Tanner, knowing that even an unarmored, shieldless Faolan could handle three Redlegs, charged to the left flank to shield bash a Redleg who was behind Ahnah, who cast Haste on Tanner. The captain and another redleg closed on Faolan, who disarmed one and cut down the other with deadly alacrity. Ahnah swept the feet from another, while Queen Anne reared Faolan's horse and had it strike yet another Redleg with it's hooves. Within moments, the Redlegs were down, and, stopping only to be certain that all were dead (and to take the captain's fancy sword) the group rode on to the designated meeting spot just west of town. Faolan made hurried, but charming good-byes to the King and Queen Mother, proclaiming his affection for them, but refusing to acknowledge them, or any Anglian, as his ruler.

The Couriers entrusted their charges to Lord Gahanna's troopers, and rode like mad to make Bardstown, where Tanner won a wrestling tournament, Faolan wowwed the crowd with his Bexar-themed songs, and Ahnah lived a sapphite's dream.

On August 18th, we resumed our trip to Anglia City, and Faolan began composing songs of heroism, rescue, and Pretty, Pretty Annie.

Tags: Adventures