Session 16

Side-Questing in Rowan: The Fomorian Problem
It seemed as though everyone in Rowen was interested in employing the services of the famous adventurers. Mr. Mugwump informed his tenants that the Rowen's Watch commander was requesting to speak with them. He met with them at the inn, and, in a strange accent that no one could quite place, he introduced himself as Brayden Drover. He explained that he had heard many good things about them, and proceeded to offer them a job. A Fomorian had taken up residence in Rowen, which was unusual in and of itself - but the creature had occupied the bridge over the Azure River to the north of the town, blocking all traffic into and out of town from that direction. Even more unusual, he was was demanding that anyone who wished to pass pay him a toll - in liquor. Citizens were demanding action, and a bounty was placed on the head of the Fomorian. "Normally, Rowen's Watch would take care of this," Drover admitted, "but my men are currently tied up in other matters. I'm willing to pay each of you 150gp to get rid of the creature. I don't care how you do it, I just want it gone."

The group accepted the strange offer, and left at once to see the beast for themselves. Along the way, they came up with ways to dispose of the troll-like creature. While searching through their packs, Cora found a bottle of brandy and Twitch discovered a vial of Stormclaw Scorpion poison. They hatched a plan to poison the alcohol and offer it to the Fomorian, but the more diplomatic members of their group convinced them to talk to the creature before trying to kill it. They arrived at the bridge, and sure enough, the Fomorian demanded his liquid payment.

Feeling a kinship toward the grotesque beast, Taargus introduced himself. The Fomorian spoke the Common tongue well enough, but his name in his own language was nearly unpronounceable - Fausto helpfully translated it to "Dave Robertson." Formalities aside, the group asked "Dave" why he was guarding the bridge. To the surprise of the group, the Fomorian broke down into tears. "Me just want to drink my sorrows away!" he cried. Sniffling, he told the rest of his story: "Fled from Underdark with me mate, but she killed by men from town. Now, me can never be happy again - but drinking make me forget. Me could move on if mate could be avenged." The group formed a huddle to discuss the matter out of the range of Dave's hearing - a formidable task, considering the size of Fomorian ears. Though there were still votes to kill the creature and be done with it, eventually the group decided to offer their assistance. However, their services were not free.

The Fomorian scratched his head, puzzled, as the group asked for payment. "Me could share me drinks," he suggested, gesturing toward the pile of bottles that had grown considerably large over the past few weeks. Never ones to turn down free alcohol, the group agreed, and set out to find the men who had killed the female Fomorian. They headed into Rowen, seeking information from villagers. They were directed to the Green Gnome Taphouse, and upon entering knew they had come to the right place - there, mounted above the bar, was the head of a Fomorian. They immediately questioned the bartender, Amnon, who denied involvement.

"I had nothing to do with it," he stammered defensively. "The head was a gift - it was donated to the Taphouse by Derik, a member of the Red Stripes gang." Amnon gestured down to the end of the bar, where a group of individuals wearing typical Red Stripes garb were seated, drinking boisterously. Seizing upon an opportunity to don a disguise, Fausto offered to infiltrate the gathering by impersonating a Red Stripes gang member. Caraga cautioned that the last time he had that idea, it didn't work out so well, but the plan went ahead anyway. Wearing the Red Stripes uniform he had kept in case of emergencies, Fausto joined the party. These particular Red Stripes members were fairly drunk, and thus had no problems believing that Fausto was a member from another town. He bought the group a round of drinks and began to talk to their leader, Derik, about the Fomorian head.

"The one on the wall? Oh, yeah, that was me! I killed that ugly monster!" he boasted as his friends cheered. "They've got no right to be in a human town. There's another one still on the bridge - we should kill that one too!"

"Let's do that right now," Fausto suggested, eliciting more cheers from the gang members. After they had readied themselves, he lead them outside and toward the bridge. Twitch, Taargus, Cora, and Caraga followed behind stealthily. When they had reached the bridge, Fausto gave them the bad news: that he was not really a member of the Red Stripes, and that they were going to die instead of the Fomorian. "These are the men that killed your mate!" he said to Dave before grabbing Derik, immobilizing him temporarily. The rest of the heroes rushed forward, engaging the other Red Stripes members in combat. The drunk men put up a fight, but in the end were no match for the Fomorian's allies.

When the Red Stripes members were killed and Dave's mate was avenged, they approached the large creature. He was very grateful, and, true to his word, gave each adventurer a bottle of brandy. "Thank you, friends!" he called, leaving the bridge. "Me can finally be happy again!"

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