Hi everyone! This is Part 2 of my Actual Play of Mork Borg solo!
I hope you enjoyed the first one, which you can find here on my blog or here on
Substack. In this Part, the four women of the Crisis Rangers travel back to the
city with Karva. Is Karva truly a thief? Will she steal the relic they just
earned in the crypts? There’s more action ahead in Part 2!
Part 2
It should take two days to reach Galgenbeck from the crypts.
Luckily there is an ancient road that leads from the crypts to the city.
Outside waiting for the Crisis Rangers is Graft’s ever-loyal donkey, Leslee.
She carries a cart full of their belongings. Leslee is a strong beast, and
sometimes they take turns sitting in the cart during long days of travel. They
have 8 rations. That should be just enough to get them home to Galgenbeck. If
they are quick on their feet, however, they might just make it to Galgenbeck
early.
They make solid progress on the first day. They might even
make it to Galgenbeck by the next morning. The weather is favorable, and so far
there haven’t even been any brigands on the road demanding a toll. That night
each of the women eat a ration and spare an extra ration for Karva. Eldar
bitterly says they now don’t have enough rations for everybody for a full
second day of travel. Merkari says the weather seems fair and they should make
Galgenbeck in the morning or early afternoon.
They go to sleep that night, though Von, not trusting Karva,
stays up to keep watch.
Von doesn’t see Karva move from her spot on the ground she
is sleeping on, but Von does see movement in the trees. She wakes the rest of
the Crisis Rangers and they ready their weapons. Two Scums appear from behind
the trees, each holding a knife. Merkari is struck from behind by a third Scum
with a knife for 3 HP. The three Scum surround the four Crisis Rangers. Karva
is still asleep soundly. Merkari wastes no time in charging at the Scum that
stabbed her. She slashes him for 3 HP with her longsword. He staggers backward,
injured but still standing.
Eldar summons her imp companion, Buster. Buster hates Eldar
but is beholden to her and must do as she commands. Buster attacks the injured
Scum. He slashes him with his claws for 1 HP and giggles fiercely.
Von attacks with her warhammer. The injured Scum somehow
manages to dodge her attack. Graft casts a power called Electroclasm. It deals 4
HP damage to the first Scum, 2 HP damage to the second Scum, and kills the
injured Scum. There are now two Scum left.
The first Scum targets Von, who he can see is still injured
from her fight with the Goblin earlier in the crypt. Von is quick on her feet
though and dodges his knife. The second Scum targets Graft, sensing she may be
more powerful than her companions with her spellcasting ability. He slashes at
her for 2 HP and poisons her with his toxic blade. Merkari, enraged at seeing
her close friend injured, attacks the Scum who hurt her. She stabs her blade
through his heart, killing him immediately. Now there is one Scum left. His
hand holding the blade starts to shake, but he does not flee. Eldar whacks him
with her staff for 4 HP. Buster attacks next, clawing out the Scum’s eyes with
a strange glee, killing him.
The Scum are defeated and Karva suddenly wakes to find the
forest covered in blood and littered with bodies. She tiredly asks what
happened. Perhaps thinking this is all a dream, she falls back asleep before
any of the Crisis Rangers can answer.
They spend the night healing their wounds, though Graft will
need to see a doctor once they return to Galgenbeck for her poisoned injury.
Luckily, they make it to Galgenbeck later the next morning.
Galgenbeck is a huge city that offers a wide variety of
services. Graft spends some silver going to see a doctor that can heal her
poison. Merkari buys a supply of ten rations and sells the bottle of wine she
had found for 100 silver. Graft buys a sword but does not throw away her femur.
She feels it’s lucky and will keep it as a back-up weapon.
They stay at an inn and eat and enjoy the drunken brawls
that go on there. Von even gets involved in one herself, but ends up with a
black eye. Karva does not give them any silver for her transportation to the
city but says her “gravedigger’s guild” has a chapter in each of the larger
cities and if the Crisis Rangers ever need a favor just ask. She leaves the
party.
Later that day they navigate the complicated streets of
Galgenbeck with ease. Merkari has lived here her entire life and knows the city
by heart. She finds Ferin, their friend who happens to be a psychic information
broker. It was according to him that Eldar is the one holding back the
apocalypse.
They give Ferin the brooch they found in the crypt, and he
gives them each 50 silver.
Ferin has known Merkari since she was a child. He is a very
old man; no one knows how old. He is partially blind and going deaf, but his
wits are as sharp as ever. He was once an official prophet of the city of
Galgenbeck, but in recent years has been forgotten due to the new prophets that
have entered the city and taken over with their doom-sayings. He has been
reduced to living in a small hovel in the slums of Galgenbeck.
Ferin also happens to dabble in magic. He thanks them for
the brooch and it immediately goes into one of his many hidden pockets on his
robe.
He informs them that an old watchtower nearby has been taken
over by a serial killer who is studying necromancy. Of course, this immediately
enrages Graft and she says it is their duty as good citizens of the Dying Lands
to handle the situation. Ferin says the killer has stored treasure at the top
of the tower, but the tower is overrun by his summoned undead.
Buster, hiding in Eldar’s large backpack, giggles. He can
sense that they are going to be doing some killing already and is excited.
Ferin draws them a crooked map to the tower. It is about
three days out of town. Merkari will need to buy more rations, or else they
will need to hunt and forage on the way there.
Ferin says the killer is a wanted man and the delivery of
his head to Galgenbeck’s guard tower will net them extra silver and possibly a
favor or two from the city guards.
Merkari thanks Ferin for his information and the Crisis
Rangers prepare themselves for the journey. Merkari buys some extra Rations and
a few medicine boxes.
They rest at the inn until the next morning and leave
Galgenbeck for the watchtower bright and early. There is a light drizzle that
gets harder as the day turns into the afternoon. Though they make good time
with even Leslee the donkey moving faster than normal, as afternoon becomes
evening the road becomes muddy, fog sets in, and visibility diminishes. They
decide to camp early for the night.
They settle under some large trees for shelter as the rain
goes on into the night and they each eat a Ration. As midnight nears the rain
finally lets up and they decide to get some sleep, though Merkari volunteers to
keep watch.
As the night drags on, Merkari swears she hears some extra
rustling in the bushes. It could be an animal, but it could always be something
much more dangerous. She wakes the other women and they ready their weapons as
the rustling gets closer to them. Suddenly three Goblins emerge from the thrush
and darkness, wielding knives with hungry eyes.
Merkari does not even give them time to react. She attacks
one with her sword, striking it for 1 HP as it dodges out of the way almost
just in time. Eldar releases Buster from her satchel and strikes at the first
Goblin with her staff. Her staff does little against the Goblin’s tough skin,
but it distracts the Goblin long enough for Buster to lunge at it. He scratches
the Goblin for 1 HP with his claws. Von attacks next with her warhammer. She
kills the Goblin with a strong bash over the head. Now there are two Goblins
left. Graft attacks with her shortsword. She misses the Goblin she was aiming
for as it is quicker than it looks.
A Goblin targets Merkari with its knife and lunges at her.
Its knife scratches her scale armor but doesn’t injure her. The second Goblin attacks
Eldar. It stabs her in the shoulder for 4 HP.
Merkari, enraged to see her friend bleeding, attacks this
Goblin. The Goblin somehow parries her attack with his small knife and a sharp
sound cuts through the dark of night as their blades clash. Eldar, bleeding but
still on her feet, swings her staff at the Goblin. The attack does little
against the Goblin’s hard skin. Buster, giggling that Eldar has been hurt,
attacks the Goblin that hurt her nonetheless. He scratches at the Goblin but it
moves and he hits nothing but air. Von also misses her attack, as does Graft.
A Goblin takes a swing at Von with its knife. She parries
with her hammer. The other Goblin sneaks up behind Von while she’s parrying and
stabs her for 2 HP.
Merkari attacks again. She misses. The Goblins are just too
quick. Eldar hits a Goblin on the head with her staff for 1 HP. Buster giggles
and attacks the same Goblin with his claws. He misses. Von attacks with her
hammer. She hits the Goblin for 1 HP. Graft casts Electroplasm. She hits the
first Goblin for 3 HP and the second for 2 HP with electricity. The first
Goblin panics and runs away, leaving one Goblin left who stands its ground.
It attacks Von with its knife. Its knife cuts her fur armor
but that’s it. Merkari attacks it. She slices her longsword through the
Goblin’s chest, killing it.
The ground is muddy and bloody and Eldar is injured badly.
She uses an elixir and starts to recover quickly. By now it is almost morning.
There is a light drizzle, but the weather has improved drastically and they
decide to start traveling again rather than try to sleep with dead Goblins
around them.
They manage to get lost and go off on the wrong path. The
map Ferin drew is not well-designed with landmarks. They will require an extra
day of travel to reach the tower.
They eat their Rations that night and all are tired from the
long day. The rain has stopped but it is foggy and hard to see even with their
campfire. As the night wears on, they find themselves drowsy and argue over who
will keep watch.
Suddenly a group of four travelers emerge from the darkness.
They look hungry and tired. They say they are pilgrims on their way to a temple
but got lost in the fog and smelled their campfire. They offer six silver for
four Rations.
Eldar is about to say no, but Merkari agrees on the
condition that they camp together tonight and that they keep watch. The
pilgrims do not have any weapons except quarterstaffs but promise to wake up
the women if danger approaches.
Luckily, there are no encounters that night and the women
catch up on their rest. When they wake, however, the pilgrims are gone and have
taken four more Rations. Eldar curses Merkari’s kindness. Buster laughs
maniacally from inside her satchel.
The light drizzle continues into the day. They stay on
course, despite the environment becoming thicker with thrush and trees.
That night they eat their Rations and camp as the rain
finally lets up. Merkari volunteers to keep watch again. She feels bad about
the pilgrims stealing their Rations the night before. The night is uneventful
and in the morning the weather is fair at last. They travel all morning and
reach the watchtower by the early afternoon.
That’s it for Part 2! Stay tuned for the dangerous delve
into the watchtower!








