Pincers & Poison

Zander rides the scorpion by Tomopteris

"**Pincers & Poison**" (1x02) is the 2nd episode of *Dun-Johns & Dragons*.

## **Synopsis**

### **Previously on *Dun-Johns and Dragons***

In the previous episode, Yoolna, Zander, Stone, Dugluss, and Magpie met on the docks in Westerhaven and discussed joining forces to hunt some bears terrorizing local livestock and collect the reward advertised on a notice board. They headed to a pub to discuss details, where they encountered Father Buckitt (unsuccessfully) proselytizing outside. After the barman ordered him to clear off, the others invited him for a drink; he and Dugluss particularly bonded over said drink, and the whole group agreed to go hunting for the bears. They traveled north of the city and found and defeated two bears. In the bears' lair, however, they found the rotting corpses of two even larger bears, and as they wondered what could have taken down these creatures, a giant scorpion emerged from the shadows.

### **Part I**

As the scorpion climbs down the wall toward them, the party rolls initiative. At first, nobody can seem to land any hits, and Magpie’s crossbow even misfires, but Dugluss finally does some damage with his Catapult spell. Zander, using Spider Climb, performs an impressive flip onto the scorpion’s back and lands a blow with Carrot, though the scorpion then grapples Magpie and Dugluss in its claws, lifting them both into the air. Stone makes a successful hammer attack and Magpie deals the fatal blow, stabbing at the claw holding her and severing its arm entirely. Meanwhile, a second scorpion has emerged from a crack in the wall, and Magpie, claw still attached, dashes toward it, getting off a crossbow shot as she goes. The others are a bit in awe.

When she reaches the second scorpion, it also grabs her in its claw, though she still manages to land hits with both her short sword and crossbow with both the claws still clamped around her waist. The others close in quickly; Yoolna stabs it with her rapier and Father Buckitt makes a critical javelin hit, and Stone lands the final blow with their hammer.

Stone pries the scorpion claw open to free Magpie. Father Buckitt, irritated he hasn’t gotten to use the Thunderous Smite he prepared earlier, hits a rock with his hammer, but on a crit fail takes 5 points falling damage. Zander, who still has Spider Climb, scuttles around the ceiling to investigate; he doesn’t find much of interest, but does notice the acrid smell in the cave seems to be coming from a pool of liquid in the far corner.

Magpie goes over to the pool and drops in a ring to see what happens; it bubbles and hisses, and she notices something else glinting in the bottom of the pool. She uses Mage Hand to grab the glinting thing, which turns out to be a clump of gold objects — coins, jewelry, etc — that seem to have been fused together. She pockets it. Zander notices and asks what she’s got, but realizing it isn’t vegetables, loses interest quickly. Dugluss examines the liquid and determines it is some kind of strong, magical acid. He takes a sample in a thick metal container for later study.

### **BREAK**

The break starts at 1:44:37, and ends at 1:58:17.

### **Part II**

As they clear a space in the middle of the cave to make camp, Father Buckitt attempts to harvest various bits from the Scorpions; he manages to get the stinger, though he does get mildly stung in the process. Zander goes off to do some foraging, chatting away to Carrot, not realizing at first that Dugluss and Stone are coming along too. He finds a good selection of vegetables and fills up his bag, much to Carrot’s excitement.

Father Buckitt tries roasting a scorpion pincer over the campfire while Zander roasts a parsnip. Buckitt, Dugluss, and Yoolna all try the scorpion meat; it’s kind of tough and rubbery. Buckitt enjoys it fairly well, but Dugluss and Yoolna quietly go puke in the woods. Zander shares a bit of his parsnip with Yoolna. Stone roasts some of the bear meat and shares it around, then everyone goes to bed.

Zander’s sleep is restless, troubled by images in his mind. He sees his mother’s face; a man he doesn’t recognize, with blond hair and a gold tooth, smiling unsettlingly; broken glass, running feet, a rusty sword, loud voices shouting behind a closed door. He feels himself shut in a cramped, dark space, with a pool of blood slowly seeping under the door towards him. A small white rabbit, hopping around outdoors, nibbling at a bush and looking up at him. His mother’s face, twisted and lifeless, lying on the floor. Hands lifting him, jostling. He tosses and turns, chest tightening, and then hears a voice, soft and calming, but also stern and cold. It says, “Rest child, rest. Your memories are mine to keep until you find the strength to face them.” The visions fade, and the rest of his sleep is dreamless.

After breakfast the next morning, they head back to Westerhaven to collect their reward. On the way, they tell any farmers they see that they’ve killed the bears, though no one seems particularly interested. Zander ducks into a field and steals several vegetables to refill his bag. Magpie compliments him on his sneaking. Two other halflings come running out of another field, bumping into them, their arms full of carrots. They yell, “We’ve been into Farmer Maggot’s crop again!” and run off into the next field. [Andy: “I believe that’s what they call a cameo.”]

They reach the city around lunchtime; as they cross the bridge from the Saltstone Landing into the Mercantile Quarter, Yoolna slows down and has trouble catching her breath; Stone recognizes it as a panic attack, but she manages to get through and cross the bridge without incident. They find the office of the captain of the city guard, and Magpie explains to one of the guards outside that they’re there about a completed task, and asks to speak with the captain. The guard says he’ll pass on the message, but Stone, looking very imposing with their 8-foot stature and very large hammer, insists on speaking with someone.

They speak to the captain’s clerk and Magpie explains again about the reward for the bears. The others mention they had some trouble with giant scorpions and Father Buckitt says that ought to be worth more than the original reward. The clerk mentions the captain isn’t there at the moment, but he can offer them the 120 gold initially offered, plus an extra 15 for the scorpions. Magpie asks where the captain is; the clerk says he’s away on important business. Father Buckitt says they should get 50 extra, or perhaps they will just stay there and wait until the captain comes back. The man tosses the bag of coins at Father Buckitt and says they’re free to do as they wish, bids them a good day, and shuts the door.

Dugluss admires the guards’ armor and asks where he got it; the guard says the Hollow Ward is the best place to find such things. He also recommends they talk to Roderick in the Hollow Ward if they want to get a good price for the bear pelt. They divide up the gold and make their way to the Hollow Ward. Dugluss is also interested in potentially seeing if there are any artisans in the area from whom he could learn some new skills.

The residential area of the Hollow Ward is largely dilapidated, with many houses abandoned, but they find an area of shops and industry and Dugluss gets the names of a jeweler and a metalsmith as potential leads for developing his skills. They make their way to the tannery and sell the bear pelts to Roderick Stonekeep the tanner, who is very jovial, if not quite all there. Buckitt also shows him the scorpion stinger, with which Roderick accidentally pokes himself, taking a bit of poison damage. Buckitt uses Lay on Hands to heal him and takes the opportunity to tell him about the Great Bucket.

While the others are occupied, Zander is off to the side talking with his sword; he looks up to see a figure in a dark cloak climbing out the window of an apparently abandoned house next door. They lock eyes, and the figure takes off running; he appears to be terribly frightened. He darts straight past Zander, saying, “Run, run, run!” Zander bolts after him but, being very small, can’t quite keep up. Stone and Magpie notice Zander take off.

Zander pulls out his sword and casts Thunder Step; he reappears right in front of the fleeing man and grabs his wrist, asking what’s wrong. The man says he was hired to break into the house and look for anything useful, but there was something horrible and shadowy in there, and he’s scared it’s coming after him. Zander lets him go; he walks back to the group and explains what he saw, and points out the building the man climbed out of. Yoolna is hesitant, wondering if this is any of their business, but the group does decide to investigate the place.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Dugluss Deep-Forge
* Father Buckitt
* Magpie
* Stone
* Yoolna
* Zander Brushspark

## **References**

**Art:**

Magpie attacks the scorpion, by thecatwhowalksbyherself