Vengeance for Gnolls

The Irregulars who went West now leave Waldron and continue on to Wanderhalt which is the last edge of civilization before the wild and lawless Outlands. At the gates of Wanderhalt, the Irregulars make new contacts and recruit some able warriors.

Wanderhalt is unusually crowded and there is an hours wait and a new tax collected just to enter the city walls. It turns out that every merchant, pilgrim and homesteader in the surrounding environs is looking for asylum within Wanderhalt. Many waiting in line testify that something has disturbed gnolls from the Dark Wood and they have been making merciless raids across the plains.

Once in the city, the Irregulars seek respite from the road in a curious pub known as The Stone Francis. Aside from the usual food, drink and revelry, there is a man standing on a table and begging to be heard over the din. Most inside ignore him and his plea, but when he steps down from his makeshift podium, the Irregulars approach.

His name is Keaton Mallory. He explains that he is offering a bounty for any and all gnolls slain. He wants vengeance for the lives of his wife and daughter who were cruelly killed and half-eaten by the monsters. For a reward he has a sack of platinum pieces to offer. The party agrees to help at once, but the next morning, they find their employer robbed and hungover.

He assures them that though he is but a humble sustenance farmer, he has plenty of cash squirreled away to hire them. He will gladly pay, if they will but agree to accompany him to his homestead. Once on the plains, the party encounters a gnoll war party, puts it to the sword and begins to follow their tracks. As the days pass by, there is some division among the Irregulars. In the absence of real direction or a strong leader, Mallory attempts to take charge and is rather forcefully put down. Now in the wilderness he admits that there is more to the story than the party has been told.

Charmed by Lita, Mallory admits that he hasn’t farmed in a while. He actually served as a guide to a group of adventurers from Wanderhalt. That group raided the distant ruined city and made off with the golden gnoll god and various other treasures. The gnolls, he conjects, may be looking for their purloined deity. They followed him back to his homestead and killed his family.

With this admission, chaos breaks out and the Irregulars pile on to restrain Balok (their newest member) whose family was killed by maurading gnolls. No sooner do they have him held fast, when the bard Mai quietly backstabs Mallory and thus ends all debate.

Undaunted by the lack of an employer, the Irregulars continue toward the ruined city in search of gnolls. After killing a lone sentry they find themselves hatching plans to assault the stronghold. They may not have coins from Mallory to drive them, but many feel the gnolls depredations must be stopped and innocents protected.

Quote of the Day: “Gnomes… Gnolls… what’s the difference? Bring one to me and I’ll kill it.”