So, our intrepid crew began following the trace road out of town that led into the swamp in search of the old Moathouse once used as a staging area for the Elemental Cult. Long unused, it was severely overgrown and the players needed to cut a path through the grass, bushes and sapling trees that had grown over the track. Luckily Amberyn just happened to have her uncle's polearm handy, and they were able to use it to good effect and save the wear and tear on their own weapons.
The moathouse was just that, a very small manse surrounded by a stone wall with battlements, and towers at the four corners. The creek running through the area pooled out here, creating a swampy depression surrounding the whole area and forming a moat around the manse. The moathouse itself was in severe disrepair. The detachment of soldiers that razed the construct ten years back had completely collapsed the upper story of the building, and there was evidence of an attempt to set the place ablaze that had failed. The drawbridge was down, thankfully, but sported obvious signs of rot and had holes here and there. The gates may have been closed at some point, but were now hanging askew off of their hinges. Giant lizards were known to haunt these waters, filling the niche that alligators populated in North American swamps. Giant leeches were also not uncommon, as well as other insects and beasties. It would be best to avoid the water if at all possible, as who could say for sure what might be lurking in their depths?
Amberyn the Ranger and Terrible Sally the Illusionist/Thief decided to scout up front and see if there was any danger. Sally had cast her Phantom Armor spell in case something or someone got the drop on her.
Sure enough, they spotted a number of giant toads lurking in the waters in and around the drawbridge. Amberyn lined up a shot with her light crossbow, and hit one, but that alerted the mess of them and the toads surged forth. The rest of the party surged forth to deal with them, and the fight was on. Terrible Sally was unlucky enough to get snagged by the sticky tongue of the largest toad, and was drawn into its mouth and bitten. Her Phantom Armor protected her somewhat, but the bite dispelled the protection. Our party was victorious, and Sally was spared any further injury. The Phantom Armor spell lasts until dispelled by the caster or by damage taken, but she had cast it yesterday, leaving her with a spell slot free to use for the day. She chose to recast the Phantom Armor to ward off future hazards.
The drawbridge proved solid enough for foot traffic, and they proceeded into the open air courtyard. Arrow slits dotted the walls to the north and east, and the exterior wall surrounded them on the west and south, with a door leading into a tower in the southwest. Wide stairs let up to the northeast to another large pair of double doors that were left askew.
Our party looked around, with Sally exploring the tower entrance. She did notice a scattering of bones on the ground of the tower, but also the glint of coins. Sally has an amazing Perception skill rank, but you can't see something that is completely hidden, like the giant spider lurking in the ruins of the upper level of the tower. Sally stepped in, and got jumped by the spider. She was bitten, but again her armor saved her and was dispelled by the attack. The rest of the party ran to her aid and slayed the beast. Sally, embarrassed and grumpy, gathered the coins and they proceeded to the stairs.
Amberyn, being the Ranger, examined the stairs for clues. Lots of tracks were found, both of creatures and of people, with the human footprints being relatively recent. They entered into the moathouse interior on their guard.
The majority of rooms in the main level of the moathouse were filled with denizens from the surrounding swamp. In one room, they found a giant puff adder, which they managed to kill without anyone getting poisoned. They found a giant lizard in another, and were able to kill it without getting too seriously, even finding a magical shield from an earlier victim in its stomach (which was immediately claimed by the party cleric). In the remains of the old kitchen, they were jumped by a Giant Tick which attacked and latched onto Terrible Sally. Tergus the fighter managed to yank the monstrosity off her, and being skilled in unarmed combat was able to burst the thing barehanded like a pomegranate seed.
In the final room, the old throne room in the far northeast of the moathouse, they heard the sounds of movement. Actual people, not animals, were holed up in here. They burst in, but the bandits residing here were not caught unawares, having taken position behind upturned tables, piles of rubble and rotting furniture. They peppered the party with missile fire as they advanced against the bandits. The Halfling Magic User finally got her moment to shine, firing off a Sleep spell and putting the bandit leader and his lieutenant unconscious, along with a few other bandits. Mop up was easy afterwards.
They kept the leader and his aide alive for questioning, along with one other bandit. The bandits were angry, especially at the lieutenant, who was watching the party as they fought the toads. If it looked like the adventurers were too powerful or that they had a mage amongst their number, he was to have warned the leader and the bandits would have fled the moathouse immediately rather than stand their ground.
The bandits did answer questions put to them, however. They had set up shop here, thinking the place was abandoned, when they were approached one evening by an armored Cleric wearing a cloak emblazoned with an emblem resembling a burning eye of fire. He had that creepy charisma one might associate with cult leaders. Introducing himself as Lareth the Beautiful, he said they were welcome to stay, as long as they never went downstairs, and worked to keep any and all interlopers from entering the Moathouse. They readily agreed, and have been living here in the month's since. They've seen evidence of humans and humanoids moving in and out of the keep, but they don't know how they've been getting downstairs, as the only staircase down is infested with giant rats.
The party stripped them of all gear and treasure, but gave them all suits of scavenged leather armor, shields, and clubs, telling them to leave and never come back. They readily agreed to this plan, and fled out the collapsed east wall across a scattering of rubble which allowed them to cross the moat without wading in the murk.
Having a ready made campsite, and plenty of provisions scavenged from the bandits, they decided to camp here for the night rather than return to Hommlet. They disposed of the bodies of the fallen into the moat, attracting lots of giant lizards, but the lizards were stuffed full enough they wouldn't come inside looking for any more (or anyone) to eat.
They had enough healing herbs from the ranger and healing magic from the cleric that everyone was at full Hit Points before turning in, including poor Terrible Sally.
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