Here I recount our gruesome encounter at the Red Barn. It was a joy to spend some time with Jangles, an old friend recently returned from the Southlands, but today also saw a return to something dark and brutal, something I was praying we had left behind us in Boegenhafen. I again find myself asking "Are we the bad guys?" I still don't know where in this Grimdark world our path is taking us, but a voice in my head tells me that we perhaps made some progress along it today.
Whilst in the Happy Man Inn, Lin met an old family acquaintance Jamriss Bojangles, an elven merchant. We invited him to join our party and headed out to the barns on the north side of town, following the lead from the letter found in Elvira's cottage.
We arrived at the barn with the red door and Jangles and Deagol heard snoring inside. Deagol forced the door open, charged in to find a man standing against a cart who had just woken up, and attacked him. We all followed and noticed other people at the end of the barn on a mezzanine level above a hay storage.
Jangles sprinted down towards them and dove into the hay. We noticed Elvira (informally known as Etelka) on the platform. Lin maggic missiled a man with a crossbow visible on the edge of the platform. Vigo delivered a heroic speech and prepared his crossbow bolt. Lin got shot and heavily wounded by the man with the crossbow. Once the man next to the cart was killed, everyone started focusing on the four men holding Elvira.
We tried to bribe them into stopping the fight for 2 gold crown, which they insolently dismissed out of hand. Deagol and Igor scaled the ladder and fought them. Jangles attempted to climb the ladder, but fell. One of the baddies chucked Elvira, who was bound, out of the window and leapt out after her. Meanwhile, Vigo sped out the front door and made towards the back whilst Lin carried on launching magic missiles at the crossbow man.
Jangles succeeded in climbing up the ladder and jumped out the window to pursue the other man. Deagol fought the remaining bandits, whilst shouting Yield! One man jumped out the window and died. Igor killed a man. Lin went up to the platform and cast drain, killing the female. Deagol grappled the last man inside and tried to get him to talk by intimidating him. Lin drained his last drops of life aided and abetted by a delighted Deagol. The rest of the party was left shocked. Fortunately, Elvira was spared this ghastly sight.
Jangles chased after the man outside who was running away. Lin shot him with dart, broke his left arm, stunned him and caused the next birth of a creature nearby to be a mutant. Vigo managed to shoot him in the head with his crossbow at a distance to kill him.
We unbound Elvira, who was very grateful and explained that she was asked to prepare something for someone in Altdorf which she wasn't happy to do, and didn't feel comfortable to tell us what this was. We went back to her house and found her niece and she decided to stay in the Happy Man Inn. She gave us some healing draughts, taught Igor some herablism and healed Lin. She also gave Lin the herbal preparation to take to the Elven ambassador in Altdorf.
We stayed on the boat that night and took off in the morning stopping at a hamlet to buy pottery and a monkey in a cage to sell in Altdorf/train. We tried to charm the monkey, who kept biting us. We were stopped by the river guard entering Altdorf and purchased a writ of salvage. We moored up in the main docks at Altdorf, ready for more adventure in 3 months' time.