Iron Rations Part X

Abel Artone pointed at the diminutive figure before him and laughed. Hard. He didn't stop for quite a while. When he finally did, his face was red from the effort. Finally, Abel composed himself.

     Turning to Devon, he asked, “What the hell is that?”

     “That would be a halfling.”

     “Halfling? Half of what?”

     “That does it!” The halfling stomped his foot and yelled, “I will not be disrespected. I have come to you for aid and this is the response I get? Stupid human!”

     Apris glared at Abel, unhappy with the way he mocked the poor little fellow. Aithne then stepped forward to address the halfling, shaking her head as she did so. Abel was forever irritating her with his ignorance.

      “I apologize for our warrior’s manners. He is of low breeding and has had his mind addled by repeated beatings from superior foes.”

     She continued speaking over Abel’s protests. “I am Aithne of Far Isle and I invite you to share your misfortunes with us.”

     With that, the halfling began his tale of woe...

     Gimble Tuffney is in a terrible way. His village is plagued by massive spiders that lurk in the woods nearby. For years, the spiders stayed deep in the woods, content to prey upon deer and other wildlife. As game became more scarce, the spiders expanded their hunting grounds to include the edge of the forest where Gimble and the other halflings forage for wood, mushrooms and wild herbs.

     Gimble’s fellow villagers want to enter the woods and set fire to the spiders’ nest, but they are afraid to do so. Complicating matters is the presence of a cleric, who serves a nature deity. This cleric, named Olwyn, has warned the halflings against such drastic action. Olwyn argues that the spiders have as much of a right to exist as the halflings. An act of genocide would be unconscionable in her opinion.

     Desperate, Gimble left his village in order to find help from an outside, clandestine force. He hopes to hire adventurers to stealthily enter the woods, slay the spiders, then escape before Olwyn notices. Sadly, he has little to offer, but perhaps the spiders’ nest contains coins and treasure acquired from waylaid travelers?

Gimble Tuffney, Level 1 Halfling; Alignment: Lawful; AC: 6 (leather armor, -1 dex); Hit Dice: 1; Hit Points: 6; Attacks: short bow (+2 to hit, 1d6 damage); Move: 90’; Languages: Common, Halfling; Abilities: Str 7 (-1 to hit and damage), Int 13, Wis 12, Dex 15 (+ 1 to hit, -1 AC bonus), Con 9, Ch 12; Special Abilities: +1 on initiative, -2 to AC when attacked by larger than man-sized creatures, 10% chance of being spotted in woods or underbrush; Possessions: short bow, 20 arrows, leather armor, water skin, iron rations, blanket, 5 gp.