Chapter 3 / Episode 80 – St. Cuthbert's Quest

Chapter 3 / Episode 80 – St. Cuthbert's Quest

Planting 5, 576 CY – Temple of Highport & The Western Gate

Nighttime

Weather: Gloom giving way to Highport’s acrid coastal air.

Temperature and wind: Cool ocean breeze.

Sky: Smothered by gray clouds.

Players:

Dog the Ranger of the Gnarley Forest
Irving the Reluctant, Paladin of St. Cuthbert (with Harvey the Hare)
TerryOr, Cleric of St. Cuthbert
Dixon the Dwarf
Silversun, Magic-User of Greyhawk
Slash the Bard

The Gold and the Way Out

The session opened with a practical but dangerous problem:

how to get several thousand coins out of a ruined temple crawling with orcs.

The group opted for a cart, knowing that moving the hoard by hand would slow them to a crawl. The double doors leading out of the temple were checked—Slash gave his trademark:

“I’m about 20% sure this isn’t trapped.”

Despite the bard’s “confidence,” no traps were sprung, and the group prepared to push into the battlements beneath Highport itself.

First Blood – The Orc Halberdiers

The corridor opened into a dim guardroom where six orcs waited, halberds gleaming in the guttering torchlight. Crossbows were leveled before the party could fully enter.

Dixon stormed forward—and was nearly cut down for it.

Three bolts slammed into him, followed by a halberd blow that dropped him to 1 HP.

Irving’s floating disk hovered behind, loaded with gold and banging into the doorframe like a stubborn mule.

Dog put an arrow into the throat of an advancing orc, dropping it instantly.

Terry’s Hold Person locked three crossbowmen stiff as statues, turning the tide.

In the aftermath, a captured bodyguard revealed scraps of information: the Slave Lord they had encountered earlier had already escaped. His remaining guards were bound and gagged—Dixon growling Goblin at them to “lay down or get laid out.”

The group destroyed the evil symbols inside the temple, sparing only those to good-aligned deities.

TerryOr applied healing from scrolls and prayer, bringing Dixon and others back into fighting shape. The cart was loaded, and the march continued.

The Warning Shout – Silenced

A lone man attempted to sprint ahead to warn others on horseback out of the front gate.

Dog’s arrow caught him sprint, a critical shot that snapped him back while Slash halted the horse with an entangle spell.

Their brief celebration was cut short when ten orcs emerged from a barred courtyard, firing a volley of bolts.

Silversun nearly took the worst of it—12 damage—but lived.

The orcs reloaded. The party braced.

Terry called down Flame Strike, scorching the gate and scorching the orcs. The group cheered as the orcs turned into a bonfire.

A battered cart sat forgotten in the courtyard—the group immediately claimed it for their gold-hauling operation.

The Quest

On the road toward Highport, Silversun was healed with herbs and beads.

TerryOr’s started the ritual of calling his god with the prayer beads, St. Cuthbert manifested once more—a stern wind and glowing presence bestowing a new quest:

Recover the Book of Common Sense from the Temple in Highport.

Do not let it remain in the hands of the orcs.

The cursed dagger’s maker—Jhael Tluth Lualyrr—was discussed as well. Dixon relayed a rumor:

The Lady of the Celadon Forest would pay richly for the half-drow’s death.

But the party agreed: the signs will determine that path.

Planting 5

Highport – The Western Gate

At last, they stood at the outskirts of Highport, the infamous city of orcs, goblins, cutthroats, and slavers.

Plan?

Disguise themselves as slavers. Pose Dixon as a captive. Pay the toll. Keep their heads down.

At the western gate, a pack of orcs demanded 500 gold per person.

TerryOr’s smooth tongue—and a very fortunate charisma roll—cut the price in half.

“Two hundred and fifty each, and not a copper less,” grunted the orc sergeant.

Terry smiled. “Done.”

The gates creaked open.

Smoke. Noise. Stench.

Welcome to Highport.

Session ended with 1,000 XP awarded to every player and preparations for next week’s infiltration.