KidCthulhu's Scarred Land story hour

[Morgaine]

While traveling through the sparse trees and tall-grass meadows just south of Amalthea, the warm sun shines brightly on the travelers and the light summer breeze stirs the leaves in a gentle whisper. These weather conditions should help them relax; yet the group settles into an uncomfortable silence. Tension so thick it could be cut with a rapier weighs heavy on our weary heroes. Hairs bristle at the back of their necks that cannot be attributed to the soft wind. Fergus and Borin cannot shake the eerie feeling that they are being watched, though nothing is visibly discernable. Gemma and Kalina listen intently for the natural sounds of wildlife but hear nothing but the rustle of the party tromping.

The party keeps to the woods, following the road without traveling on it. The day passes uneventfully, despite their nagging feelings and strained thoughts. Near dusk the weary travelers make camp in a small clearing, far enough into the trees to be fairly protected from strangers. Deciding to forgo a campfire, the group beds down and turns in fairly soon after eating. They elect to keep vigil in shifts. Borin and Xenia take first watch, Gemma and Deke take second, Fergus and Kalina take third. The spellcasters are eliminated from sentry duty so they will be fresh and able to prepare spells in the morning. At least, that’s what they are told. In truth, neither woman would be very effective on guard. And everyone knows it.

The night air is cool and still; the adventurers are lulled to sleep by the symphony of nighttime woodland noises. On their shift, Gemma tightens her bowstring and sharpens her arrows, while Deke practices his pick-pocketing skill on his sleeping companions. Sometime after midnight, they hear the distant cacophony of lumbering coming from far off to the south.

 

[Gideon]

the hidden bump

Ogres don't like elves in trees? Who knew. Keep it comin, enjoying the misadventures.

 

[Morgaine]

Neither can discern distinguishable sounds but they realize that investigating would take them completely off course. Gemma, does, however make note of the location and type of noises for further investigation. Otherwise the night passes uneventfully.

Another day of traveling passes much as the one preceding it. Once again the wayfarers follow the road without ever coming in sight of it. Gemma scouts ahead of the group for danger while Deke traverses a path behind the party. Picking their way through bramble, trees and bushes proves fatiguing, despite the shade of the trees above and the breezes wafting through the leaves. Several party members once more cannot shake the nagging feeling that they are being watched, though none can determine its source. Though more amiable than yesterday, the troupe still remains quiet and subdued for their journey.

That night, as the party prepares camp again without aid of fire, Deke spots a campfire several hundred yards to the east. Gemma, Borin, and Kalina snake their way through the bushes towards this flickering glow. Deke circles around to the front of that campsite to observe. In the firelight, they can make out the scruffy group of six who’ve obviously made no effort to conceal their whereabouts. There are two hulking half-orcs with nose rings glistening in the firelight; a dirty, straggly dwarf; and three human males sitting about the campfire discussing something in animated whispers. No one is close enough to hear what is being said.

In an attempt to get closer without being detected, Gemma works her way toward the circle. Unfortunately, she trips on a hidden root and is forced to grab onto some branches for support. This alerts the rag-tag bunch to their presence. Realizing they are discovered, Gemma, Borin and Kalina enter the small clearing to find several wanted posters with their pictures on them. A reward of 150 gold pieces is offered for the capture of these “outlaws.” One of the men holds up the parchment paper and commands the troupe to surrender. Borin slices neatly through the thin document with his axe and is rewarded with a crossbow bolt whizzing past his head, shaving off part of his beard in the process. Deke is no where to be seen. From somewhere close by a gnome is heard to say “Do that again and you die.”

 

[Morgaine]

Gemma plays diplomat for the evening and offers the bounty hunters 200 gold pieces to forget they ever saw the group, an offer they mull over for several minutes. From somewhere just beyond the firelight, Deke also tosses in a bag of jewels to seal the deal. Within minutes, the heroes make their way back to camp and listen to the retreating sounds of the bounty hunters. Still leery but feeling confident in their bargaining skills, the group once again take guard shifts and drift off into slumber.

Shortly after dawn, several party members awaken to eerie sounds of lambs bawling in obvious pain and terror. They break a hasty camp as Morgaine sends Taylor in the direction from which the sounds are echoing. Through their powerful connection, she shares his thoughts as he reports seeing 2 Ogres attacking a lamb. Around them are strewn dead bodies of several people and animals, and the remains of a cart in a clearing just ahead. Morgaine calls Taylor back, fearing for his safety. After a lengthy debate about whether or not to help the (probably dead) travelers, the group heads off toward sounds on the off-chance someone may still be alive and in need of help.

The ghastly scene they face upon exiting the trees is an all too real reminder of the power of their would-be foes. There are half eaten carcasses littering the ground, thrown haphazardly as the Ogres devoured them. Deke spots several people lying in a row, but from this distance it is impossible to tell if the party is too late to save any of them. Horrified and frightened, the group once again discusses the merits of leaving quietly without confronting the hulking creatures responsible for this. The debate this time, however, is much shorter. No one can, in good conscience, leave these reprehensible villains to their task.

 

[KidCthulhu]

Re: the hidden bump

Ogres don't like elves in trees? Who knew. Keep it comin, enjoying the misadventures.

The thing that makes this so funny is that the player actually stood up and shook around herself, with her brows furrowed in terrible concentration as she tried to get her ogre brain around the directions. It was a moment of wonderful role playing from a promising newbie player, and we laughed until we hurt ourselves.

 

[Morgaine]

Realizing that they have the advantage of surprise, the party hastily lays an ambush for the two Ogres in the clearing below. Stationed as they are on a large hillock above the scene, the troupe plans their actions together in an extraordinary cooperative effort, the likes of which they have not yet managed to accomplish. They plan to use Deke – the most nimble and agile of the group – as bait to draw the Ogres into the narrow path between the two hills. Once inside, Marja will use her fireball scroll to engulf them in flames. Kalina also plans to use a new spell she has been studying, Salamar’s Quiet Comtemplation. Borin and Gemma both decide to wait until these spells have taken effect before attacking and Morgaine readies Melf’s acid arrow in the event that the Ogres withstand their fire blast.

Deke sneaks forward, slinking through trees and grass until he is just at the edge of the clearing, the hills rising above him on either side. He carefully loads his crossbow bolt and aims it level with the thigh of the Ogre closest to him. Taking care not to miss, he fires the bolt and is relieved to see his accuracy as the point sinks into the flank of his opponent. Unable to resist the taunt, he then yells, “Hey, you big dummy. Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking to you. Betcha can’t catch me!”. He then moons them and takes off at a dead run. He makes his way back around the clearing to see if anyone is still alive. The Ogre pulls the bolt from deep within his thigh, bellows and then charges toward the spot where Deke disappeared into the tree line. His companion is slower to react, but also clambers to his feet and lumbers into the path.

Marja carefully reads the words from the parchment, they are foreign but she speaks them with ease. As she does so, they burn away from the yellowed paper, forming a massive flaming orb that pulsates with magical energy. When she finishes reading, the air around her is thick with heat and smoke. She sends this blazing ball whizzing through the air and watches in triumph as it bursts in between both ogres, engulfing them both in fire. Their screams echo in the still morning woods.

Badly burned but still standing, the now enraged Ogres search fervently for their unseen enemies. Realizing they are still very much a threat, Kalina recites the incantations of her spell, calling on the forces of nature and earth to add power to her words. She can feel the earth beneath her shift subtly when she utters the final phrase, “Do what you will, harm none.” The air ripples slightly and then is still. The 2nd ogre, being behind his companion, took less damage but is no less enraged. Yet, as he attempts to swing his club at the now visible Borin, he stops mid swing and pauses to contemplate the futility of killing. and the usefulness of humans. Kalina smirks knowingly as her philosophy-laden enchantment takes effect.

 

[Morgaine]

Gemma neatly sinks to arrows into the first ogre, who is terribly charred and slightly stunned at his friend’s sudden change of heart. Borin charges him, screaming dwarven battle cries, heaving his axe mightily into his burned flesh. The now philosophical ogre bemoans the fact that he is forced to attack against his will and swings his club at Borin’s head. Fortunately for Borin, because the ogre is now a reluctant predator, he misses when Borin ducks under the club’s sweep. Alas, the first ogre manages to knock Borin back with a violent blow by his own weapon while Borin is dealing with the 2nd. Marja fires two magic missiles at him. She's concerned, no one messes with Borin.

Xenia, anxious to use her new toy, grasps the magical weapon in both hands. Just as before, she grows almost twice her size and feels the strength and power associated with the great club. Barely able to form speech, she grunts at the ogres surrounding Borin and without words challenges them to take on someone their own size. The contemplative ogre begins to spout idealistic views about women in society and their lack of respect, all the while lackadaisically approaching her to attack. Once again he misses his mark and then wonders aloud the significance about his inability to hit things. Xenia slugs him in the abdomen mid sentence. Kalina chuckles bemusedly to herself and moves to check on the bodies below. Perhaps they can still heal some of them.

Two more arrows from Gemma, a Melf’s acid arrow from Morgaine and one last swipe of Borin’s axe finish off the 1st ogre. He crumples in a heap, with the perplexed look at his friend’s bizarre behavior still evident on his hideous face. While Kalina and Gemma attempt to tend to the wounds of the few still living people in the clearing, Morgaine argues vehemently that they should not kill the ogre turned thinker but she is heavily out voted. Wanting no part of it, she heads down to help Kalina and Gemma in whatever capacity she can.

 

[Piratecat]

Best. Fight. Ever. They made a good plan, stuck to it, and carried it off perfectly! The contemplative ogre had a rough go at it; "I can see now!" he cried as the party tried to kill him. "Violence is not the answer!"

 

[Ramien Meltides]

Hey Pcat, what was that spell Kalina cast to make the Ogres turn into philosophy students? (I need to learn it so I can cast it on my friends! Tons of fun at parties!)

 

[Piratecat]

Relics & Rituals: Salamar's Quiet contemplation. We've changed the duration from permanent to ten minutes per level.