
We found ourselves in an underground system with lonnng tunnels. But we could not get out – limitations of the table didn’t allow us to split up. We eventually exited into a swamp.

Deciding to go south rather than east, we wound up in the big citadel we had seen from high up in the mountains – some weeks ago (in reality, some YEARS) “In Talling Country”.
We were met at the closed 70’ tall gates by a guard from high up the wall, calling down at us to wait until tomorrow when the gates would open again. So we walked a little past the city, looking for some place to rest and sell our goods, and possible resupply ourselves. But there was nothing to be found, aside from a military bunker and some farms. We came back to the city gates at about 4 AM, with
Flesh releasing his spirits – Rusty the Ghost and Lord Boner.

(You see here the three potions of
Flesh - red = Heal, in case a LIVING teammate needs it, Purple = restore Chi, and the last container holds potion of invisibility!)
The gates cracked open at 8 AM, and we entered the city, paying some Cu to be given directions. We went to the Inn/Brothel, and got a room with a tub. After cleaning ourselves and our textiles as best as possible, we went to the armor shop to get our stuff cleaned and sold, stopping at the weapons shop to unload some low level swords
Zebs was carrying. But the shop owner feared to even look upon my phylactic slayer. He said in earnest that it needed no sharpening or servicing, and while it was very nice and top quality, he wanted me to put it away and leave.
The other deals in town were tough and hard; we got a lot less for our items than they were actually worth.
I did dump my Wand of Jester, Wand of Hot Balls, and My Hot Wand; each one for less than half of what it was worth. All that was worth buying was a potion of invisibility, which wound up costing the amount of one of the wands.
Somewhere around this point
Zebs made a very strange voice that his father,
Beernut mimicked perfectly. The two of them went on and on, wheeling and dealing, reducing me to tears of laughter. It mightn’t have happened with the other members of the crew there!
I obtained a medium circular shield, but the rolls were not with me, and so it was regular – no magical mods at all. We searched for some head gear too; but the same lousy rolls made it not even worth our while.
There was another store that sold healing crystals, which were 800 Ag/ life point. I sensed that they would burn rather than heal my mortal coil, and
Zebs sure liked the idea of drinking a potion now that we had the little bottles implemented!
Going to the main gate of the internal palace, we asked to see the king. We were told that it was not possible; the king was not interested in the rabble and to pass on. The Ballistae on top of the twin 70’ towers slowly took aim at us. We left.
Back towards the Inn we found a shopkeeper of more ill repute, who sold DARK crystals. He had three massive ones which could heal 8 body points for me! After some intense bargaining, I spent 2/3 of my Au on them.
Some more exploration found us the arena, where we could bet on the life and death battles of slaves in the pit.
Zebs found it interesting, and wanted to come back later. I thought that might help us get into the palace! He could watch the games while I sneakily infiltrated it.
Back at the Inn, we flashed some Au, and looked for a way in to the palace. Everyone left our table. The plan was shaping up for
Zebs and I to make a scarecrow that would look just like me; which he would drag along into the arena that night to watch fights, and make seem that I was with him. But before we could finish making our decoy, there was a knock at our door. The short, rather criminal looking beady eyed man who poked his head in told us that we should meet him in the hedge maze later that night; HE would give us the information we sought.
We went to the meeting place, waiting 20 minutes. Then eight men stepped out from the darkness, telling us to either pay all we had to them, or pay with our lives.

There was not even a moment’s hesitation. Lord Boner was raised and boosted with my new training; “Fortify Undead” skill. The Wizard was also raised with the Wand of Packing fudge. He, in turn raised 2 Bone Knights which went left.
Flesh used his remaining action to attack the thug that was next to the one Wiz was in front of, leaving the two on the right for
Zebs.
A slash from
Flesh cuts off the fingers of a thug, and then and a stab goes right through his eye socket and out the back of his skull. The phylactic slayer has served well.

Lord Boner immediately took the head off his target, being fortified with 3 extra attack dice. His backswing attack cut the abdomen of the thug facing him, who tried to put his prolapsing intestine back in.
The Bone Knights added static and both hit their targets, one of them falling immediately, the other avoiding the shock yet getting badly wounded.
Zebs turn had him leap and smash, killing both targets in short order. The remaining two thugs ran!

They could not escape – red was raised from far off, and harmed his target badly.
Flesh sprinted after the other one, trying to just hamstring him, so that we could get some information. But he missed, and somehow impaled the thug’s neck; discovering that it was the man who had set us up from the Inn.
Zebs killed the last one. The meager reward was 25 Ag pieces, 12 Cu , and some weak weapons and armor.

We decided to drag the dead bandit leader to the main palace gates, which were still closed. My army,
Zebs and I stood there waiting for them to open. The guard walked down, telling us to leave, again. (By now, it had been some days since our last meeting.)
Zebs asks “Do you have a bandit problem?”
The guard says “No! Zere are no bandits ERE!”
Zebs, holding up the dead bandit leader by his head, feet dangling, and I, together say “Well HERE is a bandit from YOUR town!” and both of us tell him how we were set upon in the dark night.
The guard says that we shall go to trial for murder. The ballistae are aimed at us, the gates open and several guards with two tallings come out.
We shout out as loud as we can together that we WILL speak with their king.
They demand our surrender.

It’s clobberin’ time.
Thanx to my new gear I have pretty good initiative. Wiz jumps up on the shoulders of
Zebs and casts a hi heatball on to the right ballista, which blows apart in a shower of burning splinters and melting metal. He drops down and the second Bone Knight jumps on
Zebs and does the same (all for range). A double 6 roll makes that ballista detonate with a huge boom that distracts the guards on the ground. It is enough for
Flesh to use his new potion of invisibility, dousing it all over himself like cheap cologne (something some nerds in here might do in lieu of a shower – trust us…shower first). He then runs forward entirely unnoticed and then shadow jaunts inside the closing gates, where
He sees that the doors to the ballista towers are shut and locked. There are men on the walls that are taking aim at the group.
Flesh will need to summon some ranged help on his next turn, or else Rusty the ghost.

The first Bone Knight, not needing to try another heat ball on a ballista, simply casts it into the middle of the advancing throng. They are so tightly packed that SIX men are hit, burning them and tossing them down onto the ground. A talling is also hit, he slows his advance as his skin blisters and burns. Red Skel runs forward to him, standing between the talling and one of the felled men. His burn aura finishes the human off…“toastyyy!!” and harms the talling further. A slash from Red’s burning scythe severly harms the talling, too! Lord Boner comes forward and finishes the talling off with one mighty slash, the backswing hitting a nearby man that cuts off one arm.
Zebs leaps over the Wiz and smashes into the other talling, cutting him down in his tracks.
The men throng forward, thinking they can take on demigods. Arrows from the walls do some damage to the skels. The attacking men do almost none, some of them getting killed with counters.

The game ends here for tonight. We take pix and write downs tats so that we are ready for the next game. Soon
Beernut will make his new system.
Zebs says that once we take over this town, we will be the rulers, and our new chars can come out of it.
