User blog:PeteGoz/The Dredges Episode 6

On searching Casey Ryback’s kitchen, it soon became clear that despite his prodigious knife skills, he was indeed just an impoverished ex-marine cook. Our compound crashers found a few coppers and a selection of foodstuffs, but no useful intel. Sleeping soundly in the enormous cake, they discovered Jo ‘Big Bazoo’ Raymond, star performer at Theodora McAbe’s Roundhouse. Aware that they were on borrowed time, our heroes left him be and moved deeper into the facility. Finding a locked door, Clyde deftly picked a superior (for the Dredges) lock on a door slightly down the corridor, revealing an unoccupied office. Listening at the door opposite, reveals the sound of a woman’s voice and a metallic scraping sound.

Thinking Boyd’s boys making merry in the room beyond a more pressing issue, Clyde rashly opens fire on the nearest guard, catching both them and his own allies by surprise, but quickly putting down one of the guards. DeFago makes short work of a second as the alarm is raised. Dorvid takes a volley of crossbow bolts, causing an incensed Pectinus to charge into the fray, only to become the focus of the deadly volley. DeFago quickly ends the threat from one of the crossbowmen, whilst Dorvid surges to Pectinus’ aid.

As the battle with the last guard still rages, a hideous metal hound charges from the room behind, guarding the escape of a woman who retreats towards the compound exit. Meanwhile, Pectinus finally draws his mace to take down Dorvid’s attacker. Clyde deftly dodges the the metal beast to pursue the woman, only to be compelled by her to grovel as the beast closes on the rest of the group, shrugging off damage to toss DeFago to the ground. Warming to her task, the woman blinds Clyde, only for Clyde to put a crossbow bolt through her with a mix of luck and acute hearing. She declines the offer to surrender, but fumbles her next spell and runs, as DeFago finishes off the beast. Overhauling the woman, Clyde puts a second arrow into her and as the rest of the group rush to his aid, the woman Belinda Buck, surrenders…