The marshlands of Dregmoor were ominous at night. Creatures that made the swampland their home filled the air with a chorus of off putting noises. As the water of the river below the dirt path shifted with the movement its residents, Jordan moved slowly along the dirt path with Bryn and Vince following behind. The southern road that led out of Dregmoor ran for roughly a mile before reaching the abandoned fortress that the bandits had made their home.
The fortress itself had seen better days, the stone walls crumbling as moss hung over the edges. The drawbridge was open, and Jordan guessed it would stay that way as the chains that operated it were more rust than metal. As the party approached the fort, the raucous sounds of drunken partying became progressively louder. The trio stopped several hundred feet short of the entrance, retreating off the path until they were hidden by a group of gnarled trees.
Bryn set the storage bag on the ground, digging through and pulling out a bag marked with a red X as the others prepared their own gear. Jordan looked over at Vince, whose face was scrunched up into a look of both determination and extreme anxiety.
“Hey you have a bad poker face. If you’re nervous it’s ok, but you also look like you might have diarrhea mid combat. If that’s the case, you should tell me now because that’ll throw this while plan off the rails, as mid combat diarrhea tends to do.” Jordan said as fiddled with his arrow load out. Vince looked surprised at his comment and began stuttering immediately.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s just so so so moist out here, why is everything so moist!” He said waving around him rapidly as if to wave away the moisture. Afterwards, he immediately looked embarrassed and went silent again.
“Dude unclench, my god. Unless the diarrhea things is actually happening then don’t.” Jordan said.
“I’m not having diarrhea, I’m nervous about fighting 50 people in 5 minutes” Vince snapped.
“Good because I’m not cleaning up after you. But if it’s just the fight we’ll be fine. You came with us yesterday, we scouted them like we planned, and we came back home without being seen right?” Jordan said with an attempt at a soothing tone. Vince nodded, remembering the instructions he was given on the scouting mission being relatively easy to understand.
Once arriving outside the fortress 3 days before, they watched the patrol patterns and catalogued the different classes of the adventurers going in and out. Most of the gang were either fighters or barbarians, the most common class to go rogue from Everwatch. Jordan explained to Vince that this meant they could not engage the bandits in direct combat, but not having to deal with magic made a stealth attack easier. Upon gathering the information they needed, the trio retreated into the cover of night and safely returned to town.
Once full of another plate of sausage at the Donkey Diner, Vince and Jordan locked in, spending the next 3 days formulating a plan while Bryn went off with Maive to do shared research. Vince was concerned that they were making the plan without Bryn present, but Jordan reassured him that Bryn would know his role. After many strategizing sessions, test runs, and combat practice, the day arrived.
Vince and Jordan met early in the morning and went together to Dreg Draughts to pick up Bryn, who greeted them at the front counter upon their entrance. The bags under his eyes had bags, and his bloodshot eyes indicated he hadn’t slept well if at all.
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“Hey bud, you doing ok?” Jordan said as if talking to a child. “We gotta go kill a bunch of guys now Bryn… you gonna be ok to do that?” Jordan asked cautiously. The blatant look of concern on Vince’s face made his feelings clear, and Bryn held up a finger while he uncorked a sparkling blue potion next to him.
He spent the next 20 seconds chugging the potion, though he needed to take frequent breaks for air and his stunt eventually became awkward. However, once the potion was gone, his eyes returned to normal and the bags under his eyes were gone. He coughed a couple times before finally responding.
“Don’t worry guys I’ll be good but I’ll be crashing hard in 12 hours. This was a mix of some herbs from back home and a weird demon lentil that Maeve grew in his backyard. It’ll keep me alert until I stop dead in my tracks, at which point one of you will have to carry me. So in the spirit of preventing future back pain for you two, let’s get this done quickly shall we?” Bryn said, his voice energetic and full of life. Vince looked over at Jordan, who shrugged and lifted his hands up.
“Works for me, let’s get on the road. I personally get the same effect from coffee, but to each their own. Where’s Maeve at by the way I wanted to say thanks for babysitting” Jordan said while looking around the shop.
“You’re rude and he’ll be out of town for a while. He said something about a loose moose and didn’t elaborate any further than that” Bryn said as he picked up his bag and latched the Arsenal Watch onto his wrist. After the trio left the shop, the bustling Main Street slowly transformed into the murky swampland that Dregmoor was known for as they made their way to the souther path.
This path leading outside of the main village was in poor condition , as the bandits reckless and random behavior made maintaining it impossible. Jordan led the way as the trio approached the fortress, and stopped in their previously picked meeting spot to make their final preparations.
After going over the plan once again, the trio waited for nightfall and began moving into their positions, splitting up once it was confirmed that no one had diarrhea.
Once leaving the other two, Bryn activated the watch and injected the normal enhance potion he was used to. Feeling the effects immediately, he dexterously moved through the trees around the perimeter of the fortress. After arriving at his vantage point, he waited for a few seconds before seeing 3 flashes from across the marshland. Recognizing the signal he and Jordan had agreed on, he sprinted forward. Once he was within a reasonable distance, he pulled the bag with the red x from his belt and tossed it as high as it could.
Jordan crouched hidden amongst the murky waters of a shallow pond 100 feet from the fortress’ entrance. The feeling of wading in the swampy waters was unpleasant, though it felt better than being seen by 50 criminals. Once he let enough time pass, he focused his den and activated his Animal Spirit skill.
“Hawk” Jordan whispered, his eyesight coming sharply into focus, nearly giving him a headache as it did so. He looked over at the spot Bryn had pointed out to him earlier, and saw a familiar bird man crouched in a ready position. He placed the viewing stone next to him and channeled den into it in 3 bursts, taking aim with his bow as Bryn ran forward. Jordan focused just above the wall of the fortress. He believed in Bryn’s throwing arm, but not that much. As he saw the bag launch into the air, Jordan released the arrow he had readied. As it flew through the air, he began running to the path leading to the fort’s entrance.
Bryn immediately pivoted to his right, aiming for one of the paths leading out of the fortress. The main entrance led towards town, but the other two led deeper into the marshlands. He knew Jordan had the left path covered, and was tempted to take the extra enhance to ensure he could execute his part of the plan before there was too much ruckus.
“Cheetah” Jordan said, his speed accelerating as his vision returned to normal.
Jordan didn’t look back at the shot he fired. This was not because he was extremely confident in his accuracy, more so that if he missed he needed to start moving as quickly as possible to enact plan B. However, as he arrived at the first convergence circle they had planted, he heard a resounding boom echo through the night.
Jordan and Bryn both looked up at their work for the first time simultaneously, and they both smiled to themselves before continuing their work.
The explosion above this Nevermore gang’s fortress was a shockingly vibrant display of bright colors. Deep purples, shimmering greens, and brilliant golds lit up the night sky, like a rainbow meteor shower on a clear night. However, this colorful display was also the most volatile combination of herbs and explosive alchemical ingredients Bryn could find.
The fortress began to catch fire almost immediately, and as the joyous sounds of drunken merriment turned to screams of terror and shock, Vince looked on from the spot he had been assigned on the road to the main entrance.
“I can’t make these guys mad again “He said, looking at the explosion in wonder.