Hey, sorry! Thing haven't seem to slown down since this weekend.
Well I started them off in Shadizar , where they had recently found out that their Free Company had been scattered to the four winds and the that their last few months pay were NOT going to be forth coming.
So, that night, as they were drinking and whoring, they were ambushed by priests of Zath. They fought the priests off valiantly but after the smoke cleared they found out that their friend (an npc) was missing. With some investigative work they found out that it was indeed priests of Zath. But with a rather unlucky turn they were put on a false trail. One of the priests men set them on a trail to Arenjun and the Tower of the Elephant, stating that Yara was the high priest of the cult and that he was always performing sacrifices in his spider haunted tower.
So, after purchasing some mounts, saddles and food, the PCs head south and west to Arenjun. Once there they find out that there friend is most probably still in Shadizar, as Yara hasn't had contact with the cult in some many years. They also are informed that said friend is most likely dead. (This is a hook for me to introduce another PC in a few weeks).
So, desperate and broke, they start looking into this Tower of the Elephant and are eventually contacted by Buyarl as per the adventure. Mind you there are only two PCs of 6th level, but the players rolled their stats very well. Each character has at least two 18s
So, I pretty much treat this as ECL + 1 for what they can handle. It seems to work out.
The thief in the party, a Zingaran, sneaks into the Stygian wagon to find Vanku doing battle with the Son of Set. The two thieves circle the snake in a deadly dance of steel, fangs and blood. Outside, a patrolling Stygian hears something amiss in the wagon and goes to awaken the priest and the rest of the guard. ( I eliminated the Zamoran mercs because there were only two PCS). The other PC, a Barbarian Nordheimer, leaps from the shadows (Leaping Charge) and with a single blow slays the guard.
Eventually the other guard on the wagon climbs atop and opens the hatch, only to see that the snake has been killed. Much to his surpise he gets a knife in the throat, but not before he raises the alarm. A fierce melee ensues, the priest tries to hypnotize the barbarian before he can flee with the thief, but I rolled poorly on this MAB and the barbarian flees toward the Maul. A chace ensues in the labyrinthine byways of the Maul and the characters eventually lose the priest. But, they also lost the thief Vanku, who got away with all the lotus dust.
Wounded and scared of the Stygian priest, the PCs find a nasty inn and attain a room and meals for a few days while they rest up. A couple of days later they discover a plot to poison them. The priest had tracked to them the inn (hard to miss a almost seven foot Nordheimer) and used his magic to make the serving wench poison their wine. The PCs successfully flee the Inn without alerting the Stygians who are watching it, and end up meeting Vanku elsewhere. Vanku offers them a third of the treasure in the Elephant Tower and gives them the lotus dust that they were to steal for Buyarl. He promises to use his share of the dust to help them get past the Tower's many guardians.
Thats where we stopped for the night.
All in all, it was more fun than I've had DMing in years. Hope you enjoyed the tale
We play again in two weeks.
Oh, I've also made Howard fans of at least two more people
They LOVE Hyboria.
RAS
