April 18, 2015 Session Report: Where the Players Free Jacob's Slaves and Receive an Offer They Can Refuse

The last two months have gone by in a flash. I can hardly believe it's the end of May. April was crazy. I was out of town two weekends in a row, work has started ramping up, and the kids have had something going on just about every weekend. This "tyranny of the immediate" has left me with little time either to prepare my AD&D sessions or blog about them afterwards. I'm now two sessions behind. Oh well. All I can do is write up the reports one at a time.

The April 18, 2015 session began once again in the ancient desert city of Neustria. In the last session, the PCs had destroyed Amalric's generals, Sabnock and Theron, and had sparked a great earthquake that had knocked down the city wall and leveled the few buildings left standing. Although the players now intended to travel to Cormyr's capitol, Suzail, to find out what had happened to its king, they still had some mopping up to do in the city. The PCs couldn't just leave the slaves to starve to death or die of exposure in the middle of nowhere, and several of Jacob's toadies were still in control of large sections of the city. So, the players decided to lead a slave revolt.  

One by one, the PCs attacked each of the remaining encampments where Jacob's slaves were still being held. In the process, they killed scores of ogre-slavers, defeated Jacob's sand giant captain (a new type of giant described in Black Blade's Monsters of Myth), and freed the remaining slaves. Their last fight involved a huge, set-piece battle between the PCs and 200+ freed slaves on one side and over 40 ogres and a smattering of human mercenaries on the other. This encounter ended in a rousing victory for the players and their allies. 

Success left the players with a dilemma. The slaves were free, but they were still in the middle of the Great Desert, Anauroch. The PCs had to ensure that the slaves returned safely to civilization. Although no one questioned this obligation, Peyton, the (Lawful Good) cleric, also insisted that the PCs accompany the freed slaves back to the Dalelands. The other players disagreed. They suggested that the PCs merely confirm that the slaves had plenty of supplies and equipment and enough competent fighters to protect the group on their way home. These players did not want to waste time escorting the slave caravan when they needed to reach Cormyr as soon as possible. A lengthy discussion ensued. 

Peyton eventually conceded the point once a real leader emerged from among the slaves (a wise old elf named Lorien). Lorien knew the way home and had identified enough competent soldiers from among the slaves themselves (viz. 20-30 1st or 2nd level fighters) to defend the caravan from most dangers they might encounter along the way. Personally, I appreciated the role-playing over this issue. I expected a kind-hearted, Lawful Good priest to want to protect the freed slaves even at great personal inconvenience. By the same token, it also made sense to me that the other party members--especially the fighters--would take a less misty-eyed view of the situation. 

With that issue resolved, the PCs and the freed slaves stripped Neustria of its remaining supplies (which included food, water and horses), said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. Although I'm sure that the players thought the session was almost over by this point, that crafty old DM still had one more trick up his sleeve. That evening, the PCs were startled awake when, at about 9:00 p.m., the PCs taking the first watch saw a tall, pale, dark-haired man striding toward their camp. The PCs recognized the stranger immediately from the Black Orbs and the statues in Olynthus Kios. It was Amalric!! Unfortunately, after their attacks passed through "Amalric" without affecting him, the PCs realized that they were looking at a mere projection--a sort of long-distance call for them only. 

Amalric began his speech by complimenting the PCs on their intrepid efforts so far. He then proceeded, as one player described it, to offer the PCs "minion status" in his New World Order. If only the PCs would follow him, Amalric would give them each their heart's desire. Peyton could lead legions of fanatical believers as the high priest in Amalric's new Apophis Cult. Eirik the fighter could have all the power, money, and women he could ever want, and the chance to win a thousand battles. Amalric would share vast magical knowledge with Theodric, the magic-user. The ranger, Toran, could lead Amalric's human vanguard against the elves and the other inhuman forces that oppose humanity. And so on.

Suffice it to say, the players did not take Amalric up on these offers. After letting him talk for a while, they finally told him to get lost (though not in those exact words). In response, Amalric laughed, told them they were all dead men, and disappeared. The whole encounter lasted about 10 minutes. At that point, the session ended. 

In their discussions afterward, the players all agreed that Amalric's little "visit" proved that he knew both who the PCs were and how to track them. No one doubted that he would use this information to do everything in his power to keep them from ruining his plans. From this point forward, the PCs would be both the hunters and the hunted. The campaign had now shifted into a more dangerous phase.

And the next session would reveal just how dangerous this new phase would become..........