Fort Light is a sleepy little town. Years ago, there was an active fort there, but during the Last War, it was sacked by an army from Breland, and now only the ruin remains. The town that grew up around it is hanging on, but is no longer prosperous, and the lightning rail stop seems more like a historical concession.
Once in town, Edge went to a local inn and secured the party rooms. They asked the innkeeper for some information. He wasn't exactly a fount of it, but he did give them enough that they decided to go up to the fort. Finding the fort wasn't difficult - it's presence outside the town was very keenly felt. The locals were very open about it being a haunted place.
Once the party arrived at the fort, however, they realized that getting inside and finding out more wasn't going to be easy. The fort's entrances were all blocked by rubble, and the place was in a very sorry state. They decided to try climbing the walls instead. Edge was able to make it up and over (though not without some difficulty) and then used his rope and strength to get the rest of them over (again, not without some trouble). They explored the top of the walls a little bit, but then all went down inside. The inside was similarly trashed.
As they were looking around, a dirty, surly man approached them. Introducing himself as Paik, he asked what they were doing there. They asked him what he was doing here. He said he lived here, and seemed afronted and suspicious to find them here. In response to inquiries about elves and moons and such, he said the only thing of interest in the fort was down in the basement, and that he would show it to them. Akta and Azeri were suspicious of him, and were not sure they should follow, but they kept their concerns to themselves. Edge made a show of leaving his weapon behind when Paik got skittish, and that seemed to appease him (and Edge retrieved his weapon as soon as Paik's back was turned).
Down in the basement, Paik led them into a largish room - and then activated a trap! Azeri and Akta, thanks to their suspicions, were not surprised by the move, and managed to jump away from the floor as it fell out from underneath them. Taumir and Edge were not so lucky, and fell down into a pit, injuring themselves slightly in the process. A swarm of giant rats and animated skeletons came at them. Taumir and Edge were helped a little by the fact that they fell onto raised mounds, and thus had some advantage over their approaching enemies.
Up on the ledge overlooking the pit, Akta and Paik turned to fight each other. Paik now revealed himself as a wererat, transforming into his rat form. Azeri cut through a giant rat that had climbed its way up, then came to Akta's aid. Paik quickly tired of trying to fight them both, and jumped down into the pit, where Edge and Taumir were making short work of the rats, but having a little trouble with the skeletons and a zombie that had joined the mix. By the time Paik joined their fray though, they had managed to cut down most of their enemies. Seeing his predicament, Paik bit Taumir, infecting him with filth fever. Fortunately, the very next blow brought him down.
Rewards
- 800 XP (you should all be at 1,700 XP, and get to level up!)
- That's another two encounters, so that's a milestone and another action point for everyone!
- You found a Level 2 Vicious Sword (+1) (market value 104 GP)
- Akta found 2 GP while searching the fort
- (Don't forget you still have one lightning rail ticket in someone's possession)
