Managal Campaign, Part 9

 29th Day of Last Rain (wet season). Food 7.2. Normal Movement (30MP).

Encounter 1 in 6 (Day and Night). 6, 5. No.

Event 1 in 8 (Terrain, Weather and Tide). 5, 6. No.

Feature 3 in 10 (Natural and Construct). n/a.

The group ride their weary horses from west to south west, forest to swamp, finally finding a high dry place to camp and scout out the land ahead - they are cheered to discover the swampland dries out, becoming a light forest to the south-west and grassland to the south-east.

30th Day of Last Rain (wet season). Food 6.2. Normal Movement (30MP).

Encounter 2 in 6 (Day and Night). 4, 5. No.

Event 2 in 8 (Terrain, Weather and Tide). 2, 2. Terrain and Weather.

Feature 3 in 10 (Natural and Construct). 4, 7. No.

Weather Event = Vermin infestation, lose 1d8 days of food! 1d8 = 8! Food = 0.

Terrain Event = Bad Water, Save (vs Poison) or helpless 1d4 days!

The group are disheartened to find that after their explorations, their ration bags are filled with leeches and maggots, and their waterskins are tainted - Naki, Ghost, Holland and Five are all stricken with stomach cramps and bouts of vomiting, while Morgan and Vasily seem unaffected. Bess the pony and all but one of the horses are similarly affected. The 2 healthy men quickly convene to decide their next action.

Morgan hard WIS check to identify how long this sickness will last.

Vasily can assist as he used to help the priests in the temple quarter.

Morgan 1 in 8 (+1 WIS, +1 Vasily) 1d8=7, fail. He’ll know the dice range at best.

“This could easily go on a few days or more, and there is no food or clean water”, Morgan says. “I don’t like it, but we have enough daylight left to head home, and be back here by daylight. One of us must go, and go quickly”. The pair agree and draw straws to decide who should return to Managal - the fates choose Morgan to ride.

Morgan spends the last 2 hours (6 MP) of daylight riding the horse back to town. Encounter check (d12 for safe land) = None. He spends a couple of hours convening various priests, leaders, teamsters and volunteers to assist.

Did anything happen in Managal over the past week? (3d20 each category. Tide Event!)

Smell/Nose (misleading):Sun/Moon. This will inspire some Tide shenanigans in town.

Any problems gathering assistance? Unlikely = No.

2nd Level Cleric? (Purify Food/Water) Very Likely = Yes, But (needs to switch spells)

6th Level Cleric? (Cure Disease) 50-50 = No.

8th Level Cleric? (Neutralise Poison) Unlikely = No and.

Herbalists? Likely = Yes, and have an effective remedy. 1d3+1 = 4.

Veterinarians? (50-50) = Yes 1d2 = 2.

Horses and Wagons? Very Likely = Yes, But not really suitable for swamp.

Guards? Very Likely = Yes. 2d6 = 6.

Oakhills? 50-50 = No, and will try and convince Vasily to quit adventuring!

Morgan leads the town group of almost 20 people SE into the swamp (4 hours/12MP). They are forced-marching at this point, but the first day is free so there are no ill-effects yet. Encounter check (d12 for safe land) = None. We’ll roll a Terrain check to see if they get lost or have some other mishap (8=Tide Event! Taste/Mouth (misleading):Death/Undeath).

The moon is high in the sky when one of the waggoneers shouts and starts spitting and clawing at his mouth. He throws away his package of food and water, cursing “it tastes of death!” While it looks palatable to the onlookers, and his partner on the wagon is chewing bread from the same parcel, nobody says anything. Such things are all too common.

The wagons are not able to make progress in the swamp, so they are left behind with half of the guards. The horses are unhitched and ridden by the rest. They will arrive around midnight, and as we have already rolled no encounter for the main party, Morgan’s group will find them unmolested and as well as can be expected. The herbalists have brought potions and mixtures that will relieve symptoms for a short while until treatment can begin properly back at the town, and so they trudge slowly to the edge of the swamp to meet the wagons (everyone is now forced-marching. One more encounter check in a safe area = None).

All the patients (people and beasts alike) are loaded onto hay-lined wagons and attended by the herbalists - travel is slow and the sun creeps above the treetops as they enter Managal.