Rel's Faded Glory Campaign (Thank You Old One!)

[Rel]

Battle for the Shrine of Moradin

After a couple of minutes, the large iron door swung open and the party was greeted by a foursome of dwarves. They noticed that these were of normal size and not as invisible as before. One of the dwarves instructed the party to follow them up the stairs.

At the top of a long flight of stairs the party came into a sizable octagonal room with three large statues of dwarves holding axes that flanked a pair of doors. Instead of going through one of the doors, one of the dwarves did something to the ankle of one of the statues and a secret door behind the statue popped open.

Beyond the secret door was a huge room the depths of which could not be seen with the available light. The party was escorted a very short distance to the northern wall where there was an alcove in which rested an odd contraption.

Closer inspection showed a door in the alcove but it was blocked by a barricade that could only have been conceived by the most paranoid of minds. Blocking the door was a stack of stone blocks one foot by one foot by seven feet. Holding the blocks against the door was another similar block stood upright. Two sets of great iron hinges were fastened to this block by a long iron pin. Clearly whatever was behind the door was greatly feared by the dwarves and this caused many a nervous glance between the party members.

The dwarf who had led the party up the stairs asked if they were ready to enter. They replied that they were. The dwarf snapped his fingers and out of the darkness of the hall strode two giant sized dwarves (just over 6 feet tall). These large dwarves began to disassemble the barricade.

As they did so, the dwarf they followed in told the party that after the barricade was removed, the party should hurry through the door and it would be closed behind them. If they did not come out in ten minutes, they would be assumed dead and the barricade would be replaced. The party told him that they would give a password to him and would repeat it if they needed to come out. For some reason the password the party chose was "camembert" (Ah, yes, of course. French cheese is your password. Why am I friends with these people again?).

At last all of the stone blocks had been removed and the party moved into the alcove to prepare their assault. Having quickly been flanked in the battle with the dwarves earlier, they had decided on a buddy system. Ilrath and Rhys would stick together as would Speaks and Krase. That way they could defend each other and possibly even manage a flank of their own. Also they had a pair of torches going but to assure that they didn't lose their light sources, Rhys and Speaks each cast a spell on one of the torches to make sure they continued to give off light even if the torch was extinguished.

They opened the door and had a quick look around the large room. It was big enough that they could only see the central portion clearly with the corners remaining shadowy. Ilrath was the first in and as he moved inside he noticed several piles of bones stir and begin to form into skeletons. Rhys was quick behind Ilrath, moving to back up the barbarian. Krase was next into the room and paused long enough to throw his torch into the part of the room opposite the skeletons to assure that no enemies were approaching from that side. Speaks and Arc came in last with Speaks' long spear protruding over the head of his canine companion. As the skeletons continued to pop up from the ground and advance on the party it was time for Arc to go to work against his natural enemy: Bones!

As the first skeletons began to advance, a squat figure in a breastplate rose from the dimly lit altar at the end of the room and moved toward the closest figure - Ilrath. The other skeletons wore chainmail and wielded war hammers. They closed on Krase, Speaks and Arc and began to attack. As usual, Arc took the first blow but he didn't cower. Instead he bit back at the walking chew-toy of a skeleton that faced him and managed to bite through a couple ribs. He secretly plotted to bury them outside later.

Speaks attacked over Arc's head but having to assure that he didn't hit his friend threw his aim off. Krase slashed away with his short swords and shattered one of the first skeletons. Ilrath prepared for the attack of the undead cleric and as it stepped into range he slashed it with his greataxe.

The skeletons hammered away at Arc, Speaks and Krase but inflicted only an occasional small hit. Arc bit once again and this time the skeleton was shattered. Speaks thrust at another one and although he connected this time, the point of his spear inflicted only minor damage to the skeleton. Krase made another series of chops with his short swords and another skeleton fell. Rhys fired a frosty ray at the cleric, adding insult and minor injury.

The cleric slashed at Ilrath with his claw-like hands but found no purchase on his chainmail. In return, Ilrath made a wide sweep with his greataxe, catching a nearby skeleton who was smashed to flinders before bringing the blade around to bury itself again in the rotting hide of the undead cleric. Rhys stepped up within reach of the cleric and let loose a gout of flame from his trusty wand.

Speaks with Stone thrust his spear again and this time managed to score a more telling blow to the skeleton he fought although it still stood. Arc missed with his bite and Krase landed but one short sword on his next opponent. A couple of war hammer blows found their marks on Krase but he took little damage from them.

The undead cleric again slashed at Ilrath and again couldn't penetrate his armor. But Ilrath answered with another mighty blow from his axe that brought low the dwarven ex-holy-man. Ilrath and Rhys watched as the hideous form of the undead creature took on a silvery nimbus and for a moment they saw the face of the dwarf he once was. The glowing face of the dead dwarf muttered a short phrase that neither the barbarian nor the sorcerer understood and then turned to dust.

Moments later, Speaks with Stones' spear and Krase's short swords finished off the remaining skeletons and the party found themselves alone in the room. Surprisingly, they had fared quite well with only minor injuries.

They quickly set about searching for treasure and made several discoveries. The room they were in was clearly some kind of shrine and Krase identified the symbol on the wall as that of Moradin. That same symbol appeared on the breastplate of the undead cleric. A bit more searching revealed another skeleton of the non animated variety laying behind the altar. This one also wore a breastplate and near to hand lay a battle axe. Both axe and breastplate proved to be made of a particularly light silvery metal that was harder than steel.

The boys from the silver mining town of Glynden looked wide-eyed at each other because that metal could only be the fabled "mithril". Rhys cast a spell to look for magic and the battle axe proved magical to boot. Krase read some dwarven runes carved onto the side of the blade and determined that the weapon was called "Slashbane" and it was the scourge of orcs. Rhys noted that there was a forgemark on the blade and that it was the same as the forgemark on both breastplates.

Rhys also noticed a faint magical aura coming from where the undead cleric had fallen and found a pendant on a chain that was magical. The pendant was in the shape of a hammer and the pommel of the hammer was a pearl that was emanating the magic.

The party took a couple more minutes to completely search the room and then collected both breastplates, the pendant and the battle axe. Then they knocked on the door and said, "camembert". The door was opened and they exited back into the large hall they had entered from. Off in the darkness, the voice of Nimira could be heard and she thanked them for dealing with the undead. She asked if they wished to make a try for the dragon and they told her that they would need a couple days to prepare first. Nimira bade them farewell and looked forward to their return to deal with Nightscale.

As they were escorted back to the Glitterhame, Rhys happened to note the forgemark on the axe of one of the dwarves. It was quite different from that on the items found in the shrine. Interesting…

NEXT: The Dragon

 

[Rel]

The Dragon

(Note: Before we began this session, I knew that this would likely be the toughest battle the party had yet faced. They were prepared but, face it, dragons are just nasty. Also, not a single player had yet made it above 3rd level. Nonetheless, I decided to run with things and let the chips fall where they may. I made all the attack rolls for Nightscale right out on the table with my jumbo sized d20 so the players could tell I wasn't fudging things for or against them. I thought there was a pretty good possibility that folks were going to be rolling some new characters by the end of the night. Here's what happened…)

The party again made camp in the Glitterhame and prepared to do battle with the dragon. Ilrath ventured up to the top level and retrieved the large steel shield that one of the orcs had been using. He was not normally given to excessive armor but this was a dragon after all. He also decided to don the bulky and uncomfortable breastplate they had recovered from the dwarven priest. Krase opted to wear the mithril breastplate.

Speaks brewed a couple more healing potions and readied some spells to help the party resist the acidic breath of the dragon. He cast these spells on Krase and Ilrath before bedding down. After he awoke and again communed for his daily spells, he cast another pair of these on himself and Rhys. Thus protected and with their weapons at the ready, the party again knocked on the door and it was soon answered by the same dwarf who had escorted them previously.

He took them up into the throne room again but this time they were taken through a different door on the northern wall. Beyond it was a chamber with a cistern in the middle and a hallway extending east and west. They were taken down the hall to the east past many other doors and eventually entered another chamber with a cistern. A second dwarf stood by an opened secret door on the south side of the room that led to a narrow hallway. In the distance the party could hear the sound of rushing water.

Their escort informed them that at the end of the hall they would find a ledge. Below that ledge was a ladder leading to the Black Lake. There they would find Nightscale and her hoard. He also told them firmly that a hallway branched off the main hall to the right. The party was to go straight, not to the right.

The group proceeded down the hall and stuck to the straight passage (In spite of the fact that Krase and Rhys desperately wanted to check out the right hand passage. They didn't because the dwarven escort stood only 20 feet behind them holding the door open. At the end of the hall they found a door constructed in the same way as most of the secret doors they had encountered. They readied themselves with Rhys casting his mystical armor spell and opened the door. On the other side was a wide ledge some 15 feet deep and then a large cavern that extended down into darkness. From off to the right they could see the dim orange light from the dwarven forges, which also apparently overlooked this chasm. A stream obviously flowed through the forgeworks and ended in a waterfall down into the pit.

The ladder was quickly located and appeared to be a chain ladder with iron rungs across it and was anchored to the side of the pit every 20 feet or so. Speaks took one of the glowing fungus stalks he had brought from the Glitterhame and dropped it down the pit. It drifted downward for a few moments and then stopped. The pit was estimated at somewhere between 50 and 100 feet deep.

Seeing no way to get the wolf down the ladder, Speaks orders Arc to guard the door at the ledge. He figures that way at least the dwarves won't be able to lock it behind them. One by one, they descended the ladder.

At the bottom of the ladder (which turned out to descend 80 feet) they found themselves on another ledge by the edge of an underground river. Two separate bridges crossed from the ledge they occupied to different ledges across the river. The party had been afraid to use any illumination brighter than the fungus for fear that the dragon would easily spot it. But it was becoming clear that they were going to need more light.

About that time, Krase and Rhys heard a distinct splashing noise to the east where the underground stream seemed to flow out of a larger body of water. Everyone tensed for a few moments. Then a voice, somehow feminine and at the same time otherworldly, came out of the darkness.

"Greetings, nephew. I thought I smelled another of my mother's brood."

All eyes turned to Rhys who tried his best to look innocent.

"Come to rob me of my treasure, eh? No doubt invited in by those greedy and ungrateful Duergar." (Yep, she used the D word. I had Krase make an intelligence check to recall anything his dwarven grandfather mentioned about Duergar and he rolls a 20. So I gave him a brief but insightful sketch of how other dwarves felt about the Duergar and what kind of natural abilities they had.)

Speaks replied, "Um, no. We're not here to rob you." (Bluff roll: 3)

"Your lies are wasted on me. Tell me of the deal you struck with the stinking Grey Dwarves and I will let one of you live."

Speaks stage whispered to Rhys, "Make a counter offer!"

Rhys spoke for the first time, "We do wish some of your treasure but we would be willing to bargain. We desire some of the weapons the dwarves gave you that are adept at killing orcs."

"So you are allied with the barbarians to the south, are you?"

"Yes," replied Rhys tenatively.

"That's all I need to know." Then silence.

Anxious moments passed as the party continued to listen. Krase, Ilrath and Rhys began to spread out across the ledge toward the direction where her voice had been coming from. Krase nocked an arrow and prepared to fire at anything that looked like a dragon. Rhys loaded his crossbow. Ilrath stood there looking menacing.

And then Nightscale sprang from the inky waters, not confronting the warriors arrayed at the other end of the ledge but attacking the rear of the party where Speaks stood. She let out a roar and then spat a forceful stream of acid on the druid. His spell protected him for the most part but he still withstood minor burns from the dark, stinging fluid.

Rhys was the first to recover from this shock and whirled around, firing his crossbow. His bolt struck home and sank into the obsidian scales of the dragon which he could now see was the size of a pony - a razor clawed, acid-spitting pony of death that is. If the dragon was wounded by the bolt, she certainly didn't show it.

Ilrath reacted next and ran to put himself between the steely jaws of the beast and his friend the druid. He held his new battle axe at the ready, waiting to strike if the dragon came within reach. Behind him, Speaks called upon the powers of nature and suddenly the dragon was limned in green fire (In many ways, this was the "Play of the Game"). Although the fire did not burn the dark scales of the beast, it made her easily visible to the entire party.

As the dragon burst into emerald flames, Krase turned and released his arrow in one fluid motion. But his aim was slightly off and his arrow skipped off her scales and sailed harmlessly into the darkness. Krase then dropped his bow and drew his twin swords as he closed the distance to the dragon.

Rhys fired again at the dragon but this time his aim was off and, like Krase's shot, the bolt failed to dig into the dragon's hide.

Nightscale was angered by the sting of the bolt the sorcerer had fired but was even more angered by the druid's spell. It made it impossible for her to employ her favorite stalking tactic of moving unseen underwater to spring out and use her acid breath. Also, the druid seemed somehow resistant to her acid. She would show him that it was not her only weapon. That puny leather jerkin he wore would shred ever so easily beneath her razor talons and rending teeth. But to get to him she needed first to dispose of that stinking barbarian. How she would enjoy killing him for the way his kind had driven her from the surface a decade ago.

She lunged forward out of the water and onto the ledge. As she did, Ilrath brought down his new axe and it sliced through scales into the flesh beneath, but inflicted only the smallest of wounds. He grimaced as the dragon bore down on him…and then somehow managed to dodge or deflect each of her attacks (bite, 2 claws and wings - didn't roll above a 7).

Ilrath saw Krase coming out of the corner of his eye and stepped to the side to make room as he swung again with his axe, striking her again with slightly better results. A moment later he realized that this put him between the dragon and the river and one false step would send him plunging into the icy waters.

Speaks cast a spell at the dragon that might momentarily blind or distract her but she saw it coming and easily resisted his efforts. Krase stepped forward and sliced at her scaly hide with his swords. One found its mark and further wounded the dragon.

Rhys maneuvered to get a clear shot at the dragon since she was now blocked by Ilrath, Krase and Speaks. He leapt a short ways onto one of the bridges near the bottom of the ladder but stumbled slightly as he landed. He loaded his crossbow and readied to fire again.

Nightscale was even more angry now but she realized that some caution was required. Clearly the magic this group of fools possessed was no match for her, merely an annoyance. Their warriors were where she would need to concentrate her efforts. The barbarians had managed a lucky swing with his axe but the warrior with the pair of swords moved gracefully. He was likely her biggest threat.

She lunged for him with far better results than with the barbarian her teeth made a satisfying crunch as they drove into his shoulder (critical but for relatively low damage) and both of her claws slashed into his upper legs. This one would soon be dead.

Ilrath saw Krase get mauled and desperately hacked at the dragon but his axe glanced off her scales and clanged harmlessly off the stone ledge. Speaks also saw what happened and reached over to Krase using one of his healing spells to halt the worst of his bleeding. Krase knew that another such attack would be the death of him and took a step back before drinking one of his healing potions.

Rhys fired his crossbow again, scoring another strike against his kin. He knew that his bolts alone would never slay the beast, however. He desperately hoped that the warriors would start to deal some more powerful wounds soon.

Nightscale was heartened to see that the lithe warrior hovered on deaths door. She had sustained a couple more wounds but she saw a way to hasten the demise of this gang of fools. The warrior with the pair of swords had stepped back, putting him in a perfect line with the barbarian. She smiled inwardly as she felt the acid rise in her throat and spat forth an absolute flood of corrosive death on the pair of warriors. (Her breath weapon did 6d4 damage. I rolled and got MAX damage! That's right, 6 4's - 24 points of damage to both of them! Then they rolled their saves and BOTH made it, cutting damage to half! With the 12 points of acid resistance they had, they took NO damage from a MAX damage breath weapon!)

Sensing the calamity that had just been narrowly avoided, Ilrath swung with renewed vigor at the dragon, hoping to distract her from attacking Krase again. But his axe again found no purchase on the slick, black scales of his adversary. Ilrath howled in frustration and he could feel the rage rising in him. He fought it down, knowing that when he raged he would make a far easier target. But he couldn't hold back the tide of anger forever.

Speaks decided that his magic was little match for this powerful a foe and tried to stab the dragon with his spear. Unsurprisingly the tough scales turned aside his spearpoint.

Krase bravely stepped to the fore and sliced at the hideous beast with his trusty blades, still dripping with acid from her last attack. Being skilled in defensive fighting, he focussed most of his concentration on fending off the dragon but he was fortunate. Again, one of his blades sank its point between her scales and wounded her. The hatred he saw in her eyes bode ill for his future.

Rhys fired again from his vantage on the bridge but this time his bolt sailed wide. He was having to maneuver to shoot around the melee combatants and he was becoming frustrated. He looked around for a better position but finding none, he reloaded his crossbow with resignation.

Nightscale was astonished that the warriors were able to withstand the most inspired stream of acid she had ever spouted and was beginning to get worried. The group had now pinned her into a corner and she needed to kill at least one of them to win her way free. She could then hide in one of the deeper caverns until the druid's blasted fire spell wore off. She focused her gaze on the wounded warrior with the twin swords. He would be her easiest prey.

But as she attacked, he wove a defensive shield around himself with his blinding swords. Only one of her claws found its mark but it dug deep. The warrior had little fight left in him. She needed only dodge the blade of the barbarian once more and this intruder would be dead.

Ilrath gritted his teeth and drew his axe back again. Krase was holding on as well as he could but he would be dead if the dragon struck again. With a mighty howl, he swung the dwarven forged blade of mithril and it sank deep, deep into the flank of the dragon (Crit for 28 damage). The beast howled in pain as he ripped the blade free of her ribcage.

Speaks again struck with his spear but to no avail. He was heartened to see, however, what he suspected might be the first glint of fear in the eyes of the dragon.

Krase was reeling and on the verge of unconsciousness. He could see that Ilrath's blow had sorely wounded the dragon but he felt he must draw back and drink another potion. Rhys was able to fire a more direct shot now that Krase had stepped back and was rewarded with his bolt striking home.

Nightscale was nearly blinded with pain and fury. She hated admitting that these foul allies of the barbarians had bested her. But it was reality. As she had once before when caught and nearly killed by the barbarians, she needed to flee and wreak vengeance on these scum another day. The wounded warrior had moved out of her way and she only needed to slip into the murky waters of the Black Lake to find solace and refuge.

As she lunged between Speaks and Ilrath, Speaks jabbed at her with his spear, wounding her slightly for the first time and adding insult to her long list of injuries. But it was Ilrath who would have the final insult.

As the dragon leaned over to dive into the inky waters, he brought his axe across her neck with such force that her head was severed and tumbled through the air to land on the ledge (Second Crit in the same round, thanks to AoO. Oddly enough, the exact same rolls - 20 followed by 15 and the exact same damage - 28 points.).

The ponderous body of the dragon began to tumble into the river by it's own momentum but Krase, Speaks and Ilrath wrestled it back onto the ledge. They sat on the bank of the dark waters of the river and looked at the dragon corpse with stunned admiration.

Final Tally:
Krase had 7hp left after drinking 2 potions of CLW.
Speaks had taken 4hp damage from the first acid spray.
Ilrath - Untouched
Rhys - Untouched
Rel - Stunned

NEXT: Looting and Leaving

 

[Rel]

Looting and Leaving

Speaks cast a few minor healing spells to bring Krase back from the brink and the group began to organize a search for Nightscale's hoard. Feeling quite a bit of pride at slaying the dragon, they cast an illumination spell on the severed head of the dragon and bore it as a standard to light their way.

Krase led the group, closely followed by Ilrath with Rhys and Speaks trailing. Noting that the dragon had approached from the east, the group made for the easternmost bridge that crossed the swift underground river. As Krase and Ilrath mounted the bridge, it suddenly crumbled beneath their feet and both of them plunged into the icy waters of the subterranean river. As they fell, they were struck by stones falling from the remains of the bridge and as if that weren't enough, both of them were wearing heavier armor than normal.

As the current swiftly rushed them downstream, Speaks reacted in a flash. He ran to the western (downstream) bridge and thrust the haft of his longspear into the black waters. As the warriors struggled to stay afloat under the weight they carried, both managed to grab hold of the spear. It was all Speaks could do to keep his hold on the spear as both large men hung from it, pulled by the weight of their equipment and the rushing stream.

Krase still held the glowing dragon head in one hand, having dropped one of his heirloom short swords into the swift waters already. He attempted to toss the head onto the nearby ledge but the stream dragged his arm and Nightscale's head bounced off the wall and sank into the stream. The cavern grew dimmer as the light from their trophy dimmed and floated away to the west.

Ilrath was able to lunge out and grip hold of the bridge and pull himself to the opposite ledge. Krase got close enough to the other ledge that he could grab the outstretched hand of Rhys. Soon, he was out of the water as well. They sat for a few minutes by the stream marveling at the irony of how easily they had defeated the dragon only to lose their trophy and a cherished weapon not to mention be nearly killed by a simple stream. They picked themselves up and resumed their search.

This time, they made use of Rhys' Spider Climb spell to negotiate the cavern. In that way, they were able to circumvent the areas where the ledge that hugged the southern wall of the cavern abruptly ended and resumed beyond a vertical section of wall that lacked any ledge. After a few minutes, they arrived at another ledge and at the edge of the illumination provided by an ensorceled crossbow bolt, they could see a small island in the Black Lake that glittered with steel and gold.

Acting quickly, they set up a relay of ropes and sacks to ferry the treasure off the island and onto the ledge. They managed to get all of it before Rhys' spells expired. The now found themselves stranded on the ledge with no way to get back to the chain ladder to the dwarven forge without climbing along the slippery cavern walls.

They decided to rest and wait and return when Rhys could provide his magic again. They had already had a harrowing experience with falling into the cold waters of this underground world once that day. None wished to repeat that experience.

In fact, Krase and Ilrath being wet and cold was becoming a real problem. They had no dry clothing to change into and were shivering quite a bit. The prospect of spend a night in the cold cavern in wet clothes wasn't merely unpleasant, it was dangerous. A decision was made to start a small fire using the last pair of torches they had as well as the bow and arrows that the group had badgered Ilrath into bringing along (which he hadn't used at all). With nothing else to do but rest, and still lacking a deck of cards, the group decided to catalogue the treasure they had gotten from Nightscale's hoard.

In total, the treasure included 565gp, 1,430sp, a Wand, a mithral chain shirt, a mithral breastplate a rather matted and smelly suit of hide armor and seven mithral, weapons. The wand, the hide armor and all the mithral weapons were identified as magical. Rhys decided to use their magical candle to identify the wand, the hide armor and the gladius.

The wand turned out to contain the Color Spray spell and had been expended of just over half its charges. The hide armor was enchanted to provide the wearer with additional "natural" protection. The gladius was enchanted to slay orcs. It bore the name (inscribed along its blade in dwarven runes) "Heartneedle". Krase happily claimed it in place of the sword he lost in the river. Speaks claimed the hide armor and made a note to use his minor magics of Repair and Purify Water to rid it of its foul smell.

Krase made a point to examine the other weapons and was able to identify their names by the runes on them: Longsword - "Foespike", Greataxe - "Fangcleaver", Light Mace - "Skullhammer", Heavy Mace - "Banemaul", Heavy Flail - "Deathrattle", and Battle Axe - "Doomhack". They strongly suspected that these were also of an orc-slaying nature.

Krase then revealed to the group that he had recognized the name "Duergar" the dragon had used in reference to the dwarves who dwelled above. He told them the tales his grandfather had told about this particularly callous and cold offshoot of the dwarven race. He chastised himself for not earlier recalling the natural abilities of enlargement and invisibility that race possessed. From the stories of his grandfather, he noted that while the Duergar were self serving and hard hearted, they were not particularly known as oathbreakers. Krase felt that they would hold to their end of the bargain, at least as long as they thought it was in their interest.

Ilrath had a gut inclination to slaughter the lot of them for aiding the orcs before and he also knew that once the orcs returned to the Stone Tooth, the Duergar would aid them again. But he conceded that there would be other days to deal with the Duergar and right now the most important thing was to get these weapons back to his people where they could be put to good use.

Speaks and Rhys both felt that restraint was in order. But, once he recovered his spells, Rhys did send Tavis to scout the forge above to see if the Duergar lay in ambush. In fact, they did seem braced for an attack (and appeared tired from having been on alert for a long time). But the party reasoned that they were simply on guard in the event that Nightscale defeated the party and sought revenge on the dwarves. Still, after the party had regrouped on the ledge at the bottom of the chain ladder, they used the remainder of the Spider Climb spell to quietly scale the wall instead of using the noisy ladder.

At the top, they found Arc, faithfully waiting. Speaks rewarded him with a large hunk of venison jerky from his provisions and the group moved back up the narrow hallway. As they came to the "forbidden" fork that the dwarves had cautioned them to avoid, Rhys couldn't help himself and quietly snuck down that hall. After on 20 feet or so, it came to the back of another secret door. He listened at the door but heard nothing beyond. Knowing that he was holding a very obvious light source and afraid of angering the dwarves this close to completing their mission, he relented and returned to the party. (If only he knew what treasures lay beyond that door…)

The group exited through the door at the end of the corridor and retraced their steps back through the dwarven lair. They were nearing the throne room when a duergar opened a door along the hallway and gazed with disbelief at the party. "They live!" he was heard to exclaim.

Ignoring this dwarf, the party continued through the throne room and back into the room of statues. Behind them they heard the sound of cheering dwarven voices. They took that as a good sign. The descended the stairs with hopes of quickly making their way through the Glitterhame and out the Mountain Door. But before them stood the stout iron door that blocked their way to freedom. Rhys tried to pick the lock but it was clearly beyond his abilities.

Then, behind them a voice called down the stairs saying, "Come back up. Nimira wishes a word with you before you leave…"

NEXT: Final Encounter with the Duergar - Words or Swords

 

[Rel]

Final Encounter with the Duergar - Words or Swords

The group cautiously ascended the stairs back into the throne room. As they went, a quick conversation was conducted in Gnollish (a language shared by Speaks, Krase and Rhys but not by Ilrath or the Duergar). Speaks urged Rhys to be generous with the dwarves when it came to the money. He also mentioned that Rhys should warn the Duergar that the "combined forces of Glynden and the Fodor barbarians" (i.e. the party) would need to "withdraw from the region" in order to "secure the rest of the barbarian lands against the remaining orcs." As a result, the mountain could fall back into the hands of the orcs before reinforcements could be spared to help guard the upper levels.

All of that was technically true. But whether Rhys could bring himself to say it with a straight face was yet to be seen.

In a few moments, they found themselves before Nimira. She questioned them about their success with Nightscale, whether they recovered the weapons they were after, what else her hoard consisted of and why they were leaving so abruptly.

Rhys answered that the dragon was defeated with relative ease, that they had recovered the weapons they sought and that they had realized how long they had spent in the mountain and needed to get the weapons back to their leadership so that they could be employed against the orcs. With regards to the treasure, Rhys turned over all of the silver and most of the gold to Nimira. He additionally mentioned that they had left behind the corpse of Nightscale (minus the head) for the dwarves to deal with as they saw fit. Ilrath handed over the (non-mithril) breastplate he recovered from the shrine.

Rhys made it a point to mention that this was in excess of the third of the treasure that they strictly owed the dwarves per their agreement (it also completely discounted the value of the armor and the wand they recovered - Sense Motive check for Nimira). But in light of the fact that it would be some time before the people of the Glynden-Fodor alliance could return to resume trade, they wished to do whatever they could to foster the goodwill of the dwarves.

Nimira was happy at the treasure distribution (She has no skill at Sense Motive and Rhys is quite good at Bluff) but still wanted promises of when she could expect help from the Glynden-Fodor men to aid in guarding her caverns. Rhys offered no concrete terms and could only say that they would discuss the matter with the leaders of the alliance as soon as possible. He also urged her to be on guard against any "wandering orcs" who had escaped the notice of the alliance army.

With these vague promises, considerable distortions of the truth and a sprinkling of outright lies, the party bade Nimira good luck and goodbye. They were escorted beyond the iron door and through the Glitterhame by a pair of Duergar who were on their way to take up watch at the archer gallery in the Mountain Door.

When the party arrived back at the entrance, they discovered it was early afternoon and that if they hurried, they could make it to the base of the mountain by dark. But, Krase wanted to make one more inspection of the items they had cached from the orcs to see if any of them were of exceptional quality. He spent somewhat over a quarter hour doing this before the group departed the Mountain Door and began their descent.

There were several inches of snow on the path down the mountain and footing was treacherous. Krase slipped once but managed to catch himself before he plummeted over the cliff edge and fell 80 feet to the next ledge down.

As they made their way down the various loops and switchbacks of the trail, they came around the northern side of the mountain to an unwelcome sight below. In the dimness of twilight, Rhys spotted an encampment of some two to three score orcs in the valley below. They were camped fairly close to the bottom of the trail and were breaking camp as the group watched.

They knew that it was impossible to reach the bottom of the trail before the orcs got there. They were trapped between the orcs and the Mountain Door. None of them wanted to place their fate in the hands of Nimira again. They hurried down the trail further until they were on the opposite face of the mountain. If they descended any further, they would find themselves on a series of switchbacks where any descent would put them in the path of the orcs.

On the eastern face of the mountain they were as close to the valley floor as they could get but there was no path down. They would be forced to do a hasty, dangerous rappel down as steep (approximately 60 degree), sporadically snow covered, cliff face, in the dark while tired with little climbing expertise among the party. Rhys' spells were not an option since they party had not rested since awakening in the Black Lake.

A brief search discovered a ledge, large enough for the party to use as a halfway point, 85 feet down the face. 70 feet below that was the ground. Ilrath volunteered to belay the others and then free climb down by himself since he was the only one with any real skill at climbing. Krase went first and was successful at making the ledge. Rhys followed and also made it safely. About this time, it dawned on Speaks that Arc would have a tough time managing climbing down the rope (what with no thumbs and all). He tied the end of the rope to the wolf and then he and Ilrath let it out slowly to allow Arc to "walk" down the cliff.

After Arc was a short distance down, Speaks followed, knowing that the orcs couldn't be far away now. As he and Arc neared the ledge, Speaks slipped. He made a desperate grab for the rope but his cold numbed hands failed him. He began to slide and then tumble down the steep face. He fell all the way to the bottom. Worse still, Arc panicked as Speaks fell by and managed to pull free from the poorly tied harness. He too went cartwheeling down the mountain.

Miraculously, both survived, but there was little time for celebration. As Ilrath made it down to the ledge, he, Rhys and Krase heard voices from above. The orcs had rounded the mountain. The three young men hugged the cliff face, hoping to escape the notice of the orcs. But their trail too obviously ended at the edge of the cliff and moments later, some of the orcs spotted the trio huddled next to the steep wall.

With their cover blown, all three began a rapid descent as the orcs hurriedly readied missile weapons and began to fire at them. This was especially bad because the two warriors had removed their new mithril breastplates to facilitate their descent. Fortunately (as far as that word applies to this situation) the best line of fire was at Rhys who still wore the practically non-encumbering mithril chain shirt. He still took a couple of arrows but managed to survive until he worked his way into a narrow crevasse that hid him from the orcs.

The three of them made it to the bottom without taking the "express ride" as had Speaks and Arc. But as they observed from below, they could make out dimly that nearly half of the orcs had turned around and begun descending the trail on the mountainside.

The group was now tired, battered, without spells, without shelter, in knee deep snow and had, at most, a handful of hours before a score of orcs would be on top of them. In other words, things were about like normal.

NEXT: A Risky Gamble

 

[Rel]

A Risky Gamble

Several ideas were tossed around as to how the group could avoid or prevail against the score of orcs headed their way. None seemed particularly promising. But it was then suggested that the group split up. After all, the orcs could only follow one set of tracks unless they too decided to split up. At least that way, some of the party would likely survive to bring some of the orc slaying weapons back to Rilaga.

Rhys and Krase would stick together and strike a course to the east and then turn south. Ilrath would head northeast and ultimately turn south, counting on his greater speed to allow him to make a larger circuit than the boys from Glynden. Speaks would head south, back to their former campsite at the base of the mountain. From there, he would try to stomp a large path in the snow that might fool the orcs into thinking the entire party went that way. Then he could use his ability to leave no tracks at all to disappear entirely. They would all try to meet up at the remorhaz cave at dawn.

They shook hands briefly before parting, knowing that if fortune didn't favor them, this could be the last time they saw each other. And then they set off, making as good a speed as possible in the deep snow.

Now that they were without the benefit of Speaks' spells to help them resist the elements, they found themselves struggling against a bitter cold. One by one, they began to feel the cold creep into their feet, hands and faces. As tired as they were from their hasty descent of the mountain, it was nothing compared to the bone numbing weariness that overtook them now. As midnight came and went, it was all they could do to keep picking up and putting down their feet.

(All of them failed Fortitude saves and began to succumb to hypothermia. They began losing temporary strength, dexterity and constitution for every 4 hour period during which they couldn't get warmed up.)

Krase's sense of nature and the surrounding terrain helped guide him back to the pair of rocky ridges between which lay the cave. An hour or so before dawn, he and Rhys dragged their weary and numb bodies into the cave. They immediately set about trying to make a fire with whatever bits of wood lay near the cave entrance.

A short while later, Ilrath made it to the cave. He seemed in better shape than the others but the crust of ice in his beard showed that his night had not been easy. He had been carrying the majority of the weight from the orc bane weapons. He helped gather a bit more wood from the area to bolster the tiny fire. The group lamented that the orcs might see the smoke and use it to locate them but that couldn't be helped. They had to get warm.

Another couple of hour had passed before Speaks showed up. He explained that he had left a long false trail before angling for the cave. He and Rhys wasted little time with pleasantries and both went to sleep by the fire. Ilrath and Krase traded guard duty until late afternoon when the Rhys and speaks awoke and were ready with their spells again.

Speaks fortified everyone with his spells so that, once again, they could shrug off the worst effects of the bitter cold. He then employed a spell to allow the group to move over the snow without leaving tracks. While that spell was in effect, the group made an effort to move at top speed to put as much distance between themselves and their previous camp as possible.

Speaks cast that spell a couple more times after that and the party decided that if the orcs could still find them after putting more than two hours of distance between themselves and their last tracks, there was little more they could do about it. They needed more rest. They made camp in the woods beyond the edge of the glacial valley.

NEXT: The Heroes Return. But to What?

 

[Rel]

The Heroes Return. But to What?

In the morning, they felt better rested and ready to move on. As they traveled, they made it a point to use another of the spells to conceal their tracks whenever they crossed a stream. This, they felt, would further confound any attempts to pursue them.

They soon came across one of the northern Nervii villages. Unsurprisingly it was abandoned as it had been on their way north. The group continued south. As they traveled, they began to cross tracks in the snow indicating orcs had been in the area. It appeared that they were moving in groups of 12-20. The implications of this were dire.

As they stopped by a rock outcropping for yet another cold lunch of venison jerky and barley cakes, the group noticed a dark shape circling overhead. It seemed that another raven had found them.

"That can't be a good sign!" said Krase.

The raven was well out of bowshot. But it was acknowledged that the last raven had been the harbinger of an orcish patrol. It was decided that Ilrath should climb a tree to look around.

"But we're in the middle of a forest." Replied Ilrath.

"Just climb the tree." Krase said.

Ilrath dutifully climbed the nearest tree. Then, he began hastily began descending again. "That was a good idea. There are a score of orcs heading this way."

Glancing once more at the raven above, Krase indicated that he didn't think the party could run this time. Plans were hastily made as the sound of the approaching orcs began to echo out of the snowy forest.

Ilrath positioned himself in front of the rock formation to insure that no orcs could get behind him. Krase and Speaks (along with Arc) stood by the edge of the rocks. Krase readied his bow. Rhys took time to cast his mystical armor spell on Arc before he climbed atop the rock formation. This put him about ten feet above the battlefield where he could employ his various wands and his crossbow.

Krase and Rhys took aim toward the woods and waited for the orcs to approach. The trees were dense enough that they would have to wait until the orcs were uncomfortable close to start sending arrows and bolts into their midst. Finally, through the snowy haze, the shapes of the orcs began to resolve themselves.

One thing that was apparent was that the lead orcs were different than those the party had previously encountered. They were very squat and broad in the shoulders. They also wore no armor and were armed with what were effectively giant cleavers. Behind them came other orcs that looked similar to those the party had already encountered including the outlandish feathers they now knew came from the City of Endless Summer.

As Ilrath braced himself for the coming charge, Rhys reached down off the rock to cast the Shield scroll that he had been saving. With close to twenty orcs bearing down on them, now seemed as good a time as any.

The "bulldog" orcs led the charge and Krase and Rhys fired at one of them. Krase's arrow found its mark but the orc didn't even stumble. Speaks with Stone cast a Flaming Sphere into the midst of the charging orcs but it was sidestepped. In moments, the frontrunners came into contact with Ilrath and Krase and the battle was joined.

Ilrath swung Slashbane at its intended foe for the first time ever and with devastating effect. He cleaved right through one of the orcish warriors into one of the "bulldogs". Krase wielded Heartneedle to similar effect, driving it deep into one of the "bulldog" orcs.

The orcs attacked in turn and with great ferocity. Krase and Ilrath both felt the bite of one of the oversized cleavers their squat opponents used. Other orcish warriors maneuvered to fill the gaps left by fallen companions near Ilrath. A third group of orcs formed into a line and fired arrows at Rhys who was perched atop the rock formation and made a juicy target. Rhys took a pair of arrows that wore him down.

Near the line of archers, Speaks identified an orc in a large yellow feathered headdress. He steered his ball of fire at that orc but it was dodged again. Ilrath sliced through another orc and into the same bulldog as before, this time killing the barrel chested monster. Krase drove his sword in again and felled a bulldog of his own.

Rhys picked up his wand of Color Spray and lined up a shot that included the last bulldog attacking Krase and two other orcish warriors closing on him. All of them succumbed to the dazzling lights of the spell. The two warriors collapsed to the snowy ground, unconscious. The bulldog appeared stunned by the spell.

Ilrath suffered a series of blows that somehow found their way past his considerable defenses. He was wounded but still fought his orcish foes as intelligently as possible. But it was becoming harder to contain the fires of rage that built within his breast.

Even as he gloated over the effectiveness of his recently found wand, Rhys was snapped from his glee by another arrow that headed straight for his heart. The sturdy mithril chainmail turned what would surely have been a fatal wound into a bad bruise and small cut (Rhys spent a Fate Chip to reroll a critical). Still, although he had avoided death, he had little fight left in him.

As Rhys considered how narrowly he had avoided death from the arrow, he looked up to find the orcish shaman pointing at him and Commanding him to drop his wand. He felt his fingers begin to loosen his hold on the wand before getting control of himself and tightening his grip.

Krase struck at his disoriented orcish foe, wounding him badly with a vicious thrust from Heartneedle. Meanwhile, Speaks once again rolled his fiery sphere at the orcish shaman. But once again, the shaman stepped deftly out of the way. Ilrath continued to visit nightmarish damage upon his hapless foes (Incidentally his attack bonus was +12 and he inflicted 1d8+2d6+8 damage on each successful hit, which was usually 2 per round thanks to his Cleave feat).

Rhys found himself on the horns of a dilemma. Before him, most of the orcs had been slain, except for the archers, all of whom were in a nice tight cluster. To get within range to use his wand, he would have to leap off the rocks and get past a pair of orcs pressing in on Ilrath. He figured his ability at tumbling would do the trick if he could get a bit lucky. Ah well, he figured, victory to the bold and all of that. He leapt from atop the rock formation…

(Rolls a 2 on his first Tumble check)…and hit the ground with a resounding thud, knocking himself unconscious.

Moments later, the archer line broke anyway, three of them drawing their axes and charging into melee. It mattered little, however. Within moments, Ilrath had killed another two and Speaks had released Arc to attack the shaman. The remaining orcs broke and ran only to be cut down by Ilrath as they turned to run or chased down by Arc.

When all was said and done, fifteen orcs lay dead and the ground was wet with blood melted snow. Overhead, the raven flew back to the west.

NEXT: Homecoming

 

[Rel]

Homecoming

The party gave the orcs a hasty search. Unsurprisingly, they found another of the mysterious amulets around the neck of the shaman. Rhys took it to examine later suspecting that it would have the same properties as the others they had found. Nothing else among the orcs equipment seemed of any great value. Rhys did take a short bow and a couple of quivers of arrows. He had been considering that a short bow would give him a greater degree of mobility in combat than did his crossbow, which took precious seconds to load.

The group wanted to put as much distance as they could between them and the slain orcs. Rhys was still severely wounded from the battle and could barely walk without opening the wounds he had suffered from the arrows. Ultimately he drank one of the healing potions he had been saving. That put him in well enough shape to march for the rest of the day.

They walked southward for the remainder of the afternoon. As the rest of the group made camp, Krase decided to reconnoiter the area to look for any other signs of orcish activity. He found another abandoned Nervii village. Again, there were no bodies about. He checked the village storehouse and found it emptied. He also located the tracks of a fairly large number of people leaving the village headed southwest.

In the morning, as the party broke camp and began again marching south, Krase mentioned the tracks he had found. It appeared that the Nervii folk had relocated. It was as yet unclear whether they were grouping up at whatever fortifications were supposedly being built or if they were simply seeking refuge from the orcish attacks.

The party decided to head to the largest village in the southern Nervii lands to see if it was still occupied. If not, they would follow any tracks from there.

Another day and a half of travel brought them to the village and it turned out to be empty. A quick search showed that the storehouse was empty and more tracks led west-southwest. The party followed these.

They marched through most of the following day before coming to a Brigantes village. This time there were people about.

Ilrath approached the barbarian folk who were in the village to get word of what was going on. The news was as follows:

The barbarian council had selected a village in the lands of the Brigantes to be the site for the fortifications. The order went out for as much food as could be spared to be brought there in the event that there was a siege.

All the able bodied warriors of the tribes were sent to keep the area safe while the fort was being constructed. The troops from Glynden as well as some of the old and young men of the tribes helped construct the fortifications. Meanwhile the women and children had been sent back east under light guards to make their way to the Fodor River. Once there, they were to be ferried back across the river where they would be safe from the orcish horde.

The village where the party currently was lay along the route between the fortress and the river. The people there presently were just stopping off for the night. The party decided to stay there for the night as well and head west in the morning. For the first time in weeks, the group enjoyed a hot meal that contained something besides venison jerky and barley cakes. A hot fire and the admiration of the barbarian villagers made the stay all the more enjoyable.

In the morning, the party set off west and another day and a half journey brought them into a huge clearing. The party gaped in awe (and Speaks frowned in chagrin) as they beheld the combined work of half a thousand barbarian axes.

A low, steep hill with a flat top stood before them. Every tree within two hundred paces of the base of the hill had been cut down. Except for a few footpaths to the hill, every inch of the clearing was two feet deep in tree branches.

The hill was ringed in two palisades, one at the base and one about half way up the steep slope. Just southeast of the hill stood the small cluster of huts that used to be a Brigantes village enshrouded in the trees. Around the huts were a number of large tents that seemed to house a significant forge works.

The flat top of the hill, a scant two hundred feet across was completely covered in tents. In the center, several pavilions stood slightly taller than the other tents. Several of the standards of the barbarian tribes could be seen on tall poles among the tents. And along the southeastern side of the hilltop, tan canvas stood out against the brown hides of the barbarian tents. There, atop one of the pavilions, flew the red Imperial Pennant and the green flag of Glynden, popping in the wind.

NEXT: Choices

 

[Rel]

Choices

As the party made their way to the base of the hill, they were recognized by a number of those working in the vicinity. They were hailed by barbarian and Glynden townsfolk alike. In particular, they recognized Aelius, the young man who was apprenticed to Rhys' father (the town boyer in Glynden).

Aelius sat in a group of barbarian lads, all of whom were fashioning arrows as quickly as possible. Aelius took a brief moment away from his task of fletching to let Rhys know that his father sent word of how proud he is that Rhys is aiding the war effort. He also mentioned that Rhys is instructed to be careful by his mother.

The group bade Aelius farewell and marched up the hill. Ilrath broke off from the party to go inform Hrongar of the results of their journey. He promised to return and find them later. The remainder of the group headed toward the tent where the Imperial Pennant flew.

Guarding the door (a seemingly useless gesture under the circumstance but an artifact of the highly organized legions) was none other than Tiberious, the young guardsman whose terrible aim in the archery tournament had earned Kyndalyn's admonishments. He stepped forward to embrace the Krase and Rhys and congratulate them on returning alive through hostile territory. He seemed inclined to want hear the entirety of their story but Kyndalyn emerged from the tent and interrupted. He invited the party inside to tell their story.

Rhys gave a fairly brief account of their journey to the Stone Tooth. He apologized that they didn't have an army of dwarves at their backs but explained that unfortunately, there was never an army of dwarves to be had in the first place. The group of dwarves that presently lived in the Stone Tooth was too small to help directly against the orcs. Rhys did mention their willingness to forge weapons for the alliance army if men could be spared to guard their front entrance.

Rhys explained that they did manage to recover a number of Orc-slaying weapons and that they lived up to their names as demonstrated on the Orc patrol they had encountered on their return trip. Speaking of which, Rhys mentioned that the Orcs were using ravens as spies.

Kyndalyn in turn relayed quite a bit of information about the present situation in the lands of the Fodor:
· Kyndalyn was aware that the ravens were being used as spies and told the party that the Allmani hawk masters were making it their personal mission to depopulate the area of all such birds.
· The Allmani were also a source of invaluable reconnaissance information about the location of the Orcish army. In fact, he had just received word that they appeared to be striking camp and starting to move south towards the fortifications. They were estimated to arrive in the vicinity in approximately ten days.
· The fortifications were moving towards completion and should be ready in time.
· Kyndalyn was worried that the army they had assembled would not hold up well under a long siege. They didn't have large enough stores of food to last more than a month without hunting. Also, the barbarians were not a patient people by nature and would not fare well under long, cramped conditions.
· Kyndalyn wanted to try to goad the orcs into attacking not long after they arrive in the vicinity of the fortifications. He figured that if they could inflict heavy casualties early on, the orcs might decide to give up and leave. One method he wanted to try was to have a few small raiding parties to harass the orcs once they got into the area. By making the surrounding lands a hostile environment, he hoped the orcs would try to go ahead and crush the one target they knew where to find: The Fortress.
· Another problem plaguing the alliance was that the band of gnolls that dwelled across the Fodor were preying on the women, children and elderly of the barbarian tribes. He needed a way to stop that from happening but didn't want to spare a lot of men doing it.

As a result of this information, Kyndalyn asked if the party would be willing to take on one of two roles. He wanted them to either go and defend the women, children and elderly encamped across the Fodor or to be one of the "hit and run parties" operating in the area north of the fortress.

After considering the question briefly, the party opted to become one of the raiding parties. They all wanted revenge on the gnolls and certainly wanted to protect the helpless civilians across the river but they also realized that Speaks' spells were ideally suited for them operating as a guerilla band in the northlands. They vowed that if the gnolls were not dealt with by the time the orcs were defeated, they would personally see to it.

With that matter settled, Kyndalyn thanked them and encouraged them to rest and resupply. He did mention that a few merchants had followed the group from Glynden and that they could get provisions from them. One of the merchants was reported to deal in magical items.

NEXT: To War

 

[Rel]

To War

Speaks, Krase and Rhys descended the hill to locate the merchants Kyndalyn had spoken of. It didn't take them long to find the one who reportedly dealt in magical items. He turned out to be an elf who was as subtle as a carnival barker.

He carried a fair selection of low level magical scrolls, a few wands and a small selection of other items. He was also willing to purchase items that he deemed to be of potential value to himself or his other customers. After lengthy consideration, Speaks and Rhys traded him their "Amulets of Communication" for a large credit. They then spent all of this credit and the vast majority of their other available cash for a magical pearl similar, but slightly more powerful, to the one that Speaks had found in the dwarven shrine.

Speaks spent a day catching up with the various tribal shamans and brewing potions. He had hoped to speak to Orthula but was informed that she had gone with Relmar and a small group of Suevi to establish a secondary set of fortifications as a fall back position.

Rhys and Krase took the opportunity to eat as much hot food as possible. They were thankful that Speaks with Stone's magic kept them insulated from the brutal cold of the northlands but cold camp definitely had its drawbacks.

The second day after their arrival, they gathered in Kyndalyn's tent once again. They were happily informed that Ilrath would rejoin their group for their next foray into the wilderness. All of them breathed a bit easier at the notion that their stalwart friend would be travelling at their side.

Kyndalyn informed the group that his best estimates placed the orcs 6-8 days north-northwest of the fortifications. The party was to prey opportunistically on any patrols or pickets the orcs sent out and generally tasked to making the lands of the Fodor a hostile environment for the orcs to operate in.

The party bade Kyndalyn farewell and went off to find Ilrath and stock their packs with provisions for their journey. Ilrath was quickly located and seemed pleased to be venturing forth with the group from Glynden once again. He also relayed that he had been gifted with a pair of boots handed down from one of the heroes of barbarian legend (Boots of the Winterlands).

They gathered a supply of barley cakes and smoked venison (rapidly becoming the most hated foodstuffs in roleplaying history) and set out to the north. After two days of travel, the party decided they needed a "plan" for how to locate and deal with the orcish patrols they were supposed to harass (ya think?!).

They decided that they would try to find a base camp that they could range out from to strike any orcs who wandered nearby. Krase used his woodland skills to try to locate some kind of shelter. A few hours later, he found a small cave entrance in a hillside that seemed perfect for the task. He ventured inside to insure that it was unoccupied.

At first it appeared to be vacant of any inhabitants. But just as Krase was about to give the "all clear" a slight breeze turned into a whirling vortex of snow in the shape of a large snake. This "snow snake" began to slither in Krase's direction and he called for help. He drew his swords and stood ready.

Rhys arrived inside the cave just as the snake lunged at Krase. It wrapped around the young warrior and began crushing him. Krase managed to swipe at it with both of his swords. The enchanted one found purchase and sent a puff of snow into the dimly lit cave but his heirloom sword passed harmlessly through the beast. Krase cried out that only magic could hurt the creature.

Ilrath plunged into the room seeking an angle where he could attack the serpent without hurting Krase. Rhys was not so careful. Reasoning that the icy snake appeared to be a creature that thrived on cold, he drew forth his wand of Burning Hands and let fly at Krase and the serpent. Both were burned.

Krase hacked again with Heartneedle and more snow flew. Ilrath stepped forward and dealt the creature a blow from his axe and Rhys finished it off with a thrust from his magical rapier. As the snow settled to the cave floor, Krase appeared largely unharmed thanks to the magical protection from cold that he had been afforded by Speaks' spell.

Looking around at the small interior of the cave, the party decided that it would be well suited as their base camp. They took a few hours to clean it out while Krase recovered from the chilling effects of the ice serpent's grasp. At dark, Speaks cast a Speak with Animals spell to talk to Arc. He asked him to scout to the west of the cave to try and find any signs of the orcs. Arc was a bit bewildered by this new ability the Druid demonstrated but did as asked. The rest of the party settled in to get some rest.

Arc returned in the wee hours of the morning and Speaks cast the spell again. Arc told him that he had spotted a small group of Orcs mounted on what appeared to be Undead Dire Wolves. Needless to say, Arc promptly turned around and returned to the cave. This was disturbing news for all kinds of reasons but the group did their best to get back to sleep until morning.

Just before dawn, the party awakened and discussed their next course of action. Arcs scouting mission had taken around 8 hours. Considering that he moved a good deal faster than the rest of the party, it was unlikely that they would be able to reach the area where the Undead Wolf Riders ™ were seen. But that was clearly the direction that the Orc army lay in. So they headed off to the west.

They trudged through the snow all morning and into the early afternoon with no sign of any orcs. They were considering turning around when Ilrath mentioned that they were awfully close to one of the Nervii villages. Krase wanted to check out that village for any signs that the orcs might be using it for shelter. Ilrath guided them to the outskirts of the village.

Once there, Ilrath, Speaks and Rhys waited while Krase scouted around the village for tracks. Lo' and behold, he found the tracks of one to two dozen orcs leading into the village. He circled the rest of the way around and found no tracks leading out. He returned to the rest of the party and it was decided that he and Rhys would sneak up on the village to determine how many orcs were there and what they were doing.

They approached stealthily enough and from around a hundred feet away, they could see one of the orcs, complete with garishly colored feathers, standing guard between a pair of huts on the edge of the village. They could tell there was a fire in the center of the village, but couldn't see how many orcs were gathered there. They decided to shift position to get a better line of sight on the fire.

As they moved, Krase stepped on a branch and Rhys stumbled from cover into direct view of the sentry (Move Silently roll of 2 and Hide roll of 2 respectively). The orcish sentry called out and Krase and Rhys beat a hasty retreat back to the vicinity of Ilrath and Speaks. The orcs did not immediately pursue.

The party readied themselves some 250 feet to the east of the village. A few minutes later, they could see the orcs advancing toward them using the trees as cover. They couldn't tell at first how many there were, but it was well over a dozen.

As the lead group approached within 50 feet or so, Speaks cast an Entangle spell among them. Nearly a third of the orcs were entrapped by the grasping vines and roots of the forest. Those who escaped the clutches of nature scattered to either side of the large entangled area. Any semblance of an orderly advance was gone.

Ilrath took advantage of the confusion and charged into the midst of the orcs, killing two in one swipe of Slashbane. Meanwhile, Krase and Rhys began sniping at the orcs on the opposite side of the entanglement with their bows. This persisted for a few moments until the orcs who had escaped the vines and roots regrouped and began advancing on them, again, using the trees as cover.

Meanwhile on the other side of the entangled area, Ilrath was cutting a wide swath through the ranks of the barbarians. Any stragglers were either slain at the tip of Speaks' long spear or put down by the occasional Sleep spell from Rhys. Once in a while, an orc would break free from his entanglement and attempt to escape but Ilrath was quick to overtake and slay any who did so.

As the group of orcs began to charge the group of trees that Krase and Rhys had taken cover in, Rhys dropped a sleep spell into their midst. This dropped a pair of them and somewhat broke up their charge. Krase was quick to ply Heartneedle against the rest of them. In moments, the battle was over and it was a slaughter.

The only orcs that had survived were a pair that Rhys had put to sleep with his magic. They were quickly bound up and left there (Rhys, Speaks and Ilrath had no compunctions about killing them in their sleep but Krase objected strongly). The party took a few moments to police up the missile weapons the orcs carried and throw them on the fire in the village. Then, they made the return trip to their cave.

NEXT: Guerillas in the Mist

 

[Rel]

Guerillas in the Mist

It was dark when they made it back and the party was tired from their long trek through the snow. But they were in good spirits considering how well their attack on the orcish patrol had gone. Arc was happy to see the group as well. Speaks used his magic to talk to Arc again and asked him to check their back trail to see if they had been followed. Arc obliged this request and left the cave as the rest of the party settled down to eat and rest through the long winter night.

Arc returned a scant five hours later and seemed agitated. Krase (who was on watch) woke Speaks but unfortunately he didn't have another Speak with Animals spell ready. He interpreted Arc's agitation to mean that there was someone following their trail. They decided to keep watch outside the cave in order to see if anyone was approaching their camp.

Krase took the first watch but as he had been on watch for quite a while already, he quickly grew tired. He woke Ilrath and turned the watching duty over to him.

An hour later, Krase was awakened by Ilrath saying, "Someone is coming." Looking around, he realized that Ilrath had spoken to him using his amulet. Krase quickly awoke Speaks but they decided to allow Rhys to sleep since any interruption interfered with his spellcasting abilities. As Krase emerged from the cave, he saw Ilrath charge a large form in the darkness outside the cave.

Moments later, three more of the large forms moved into the area outside the cave and it became obvious that they were under attack from the dreaded Undead Wolf Riders.

The riders charged by Ilrath one by one, stabbing with their spears. The barbarian suffered little damage from these attacks as his mithral beastplate and steel shield deflected most of the blows. Ilrath would normally have hacked a few out of the saddle but these riders deftly moved their mounts out of his reach as they made their attacks.

Krase emerged from the cave next and moved alongside Ilrath to meet the next charge. He was followed by Speaks who took a moment to observe what was going on. Seeing that undead wolves the size of horses were involved, he screamed for Rhys to wake up and join the fray.

The wolf riders charged in again and scored minor hits on Krase and Ilrath. But this time they stayed in melee range so that their mounts could attack as well. As it turned out, death hadn't done the giant wolves any favors with regards to speed in combat. The lunged clumsily at the dexterous barbarian and warrior and their attacks were easily dodged.

Ilrath swung Slashbane against the wolf rider that attacked him (coincidentally the same one he had struck on the initial charge) and slew him outright. His swing carried down into the riders putrescent mount but it proved quite durable.

Krase's swords darted in to strike the warrior opposite him. He struck with his grandfather's blade but not with the deadly Heartneedle. The orc seemed contemptuous of his prowess and drew back to strike with his spear.

Meanwhile, near the cave entrance, Speaks stepped forward and thrust his spear at another of the riders. He struck the orc, causing him a minor wound. Arc lunged in, bravely evading a thrust by the orc's spear and bit at the legs of his giant, undead cousin. He found the taste not to his liking and longed for the days when they had fought the bone warriors.

The riderless wolf that faced Ilrath again lunged at the barbarian. But enduring the stench of its rotting breath was the only damage that Ilrath suffered. The other nearby orc and wolf attacked Krase who was able to dodge both attacks. A fourth rider came forward to engage Ilrath and was able to find a way through the barbarians defenses with his spear.

Off in the darkness, Speaks waged his own private war against the other mounted orc. His spear didn't connect on the next thrust and neither did Arc land a tooth on the wolf. But the orc and his mount weren't so lucky as they appeared. A moment later, the darkness was illuminated by a torrent of flame produced by the wand of Burning Hands wielded by Rhys who crouched in the mouth of the cave. Unfortunately, the flames also engulfed Arc who yelped in pain.

Ilrath reversed his swing, hoping to cleave through the undead wolf he had struck previously and hack into the latest orc to arrive on the scene. He did strike the wolf but failed to bring it down. Krase swung again at his foe and this time both blades found their mark. Orcish viscera fell on the rotting flesh of his mount.

At that same moment, Speaks thrust again with his spear and the orc he faced fell to the blow he delivered. Arc again showed his bravery by continuing to battle the wolf, even with the threat of Rhys flaming the whole area again.

The last wolf rider left saw that the situation looked grim for his team. He gave his wolf the spurs and retreated from the battle off into the darkness.

In the moments that followed, the party quickly dispatched the undead wolves. Ilrath and Krase both gave chase after the escaped wolf rider but it soon became obvious that the wolf moved faster than either of them could and attempting to catch up was an exercise in futility.

They returned to the cave where Speaks and Rhys had already gathered the party's belongings and made ready to travel. While the warriors were off, tracking the wolf, Speaks and Rhys had also searched the bodies of the fallen orcs and discovered yet another of the amulets of communication. It was becoming obvious that the orcs were using the amulets to coordinate information between their patrols and that made them doubly dangerous. The group wistfully understood that their location was now known to the enemy and that others were likely to track them down if they didn't move. They shouldered their packs and began to make their way northwards in the darkness.

They only traveled a couple of hours before they stopped. A heavy snow was beginning to fall and few of them had gotten much sleep. Krase was about to locate a small stand of Novantae Pines, trees whose thick branches droop all the way to the ground. Crawling beneath the branches he showed the group that the tree provided excellent shelter. The party crept up next to the trunk of one of the largest of the stand to find a sizable amount of space sheltered from the weather. They spent the remainder of the dawn hours nervously watching for any signs of pursuit.

The following day, the group decided to rest and heal from the battle with the wolf riders. Krase, Rhys and Ilrath spent most of the day swapping stories beneath the branches of their tree. Speaks wandered through the nearby forest until he located some juniper berries upon which he used his Goodberries spell.

Ilrath dug his way out of the snow that covered the branches of their tree to go relieve himself. As he did so, he, Rhys and Krase spotted the unwelcome sight of a raven circling to the south. Krase used his amulet of communication to send a message to Speaks that a raven had been spotted and to stay under cover. Speaks replied that he had gotten their message and took cover under some thick trees to wait.

What became of the raven was unknown because Ilrath, Rhys and Krase huddled under the cover of their tree, staying out of sight until Speaks returned a few hours later. As nightfall came on, Speaks decided that it was too crowded under the tree for the five of them and went to another Novantae Pine close by accompanied by Arc.

During the night, the party rotated "watch" (more appropriately called "listen" since they were entirely enclosed by the drooping tree branches and a 5 inch thick layer of snow). Rhys was on "listen" when he heard a noise, specifically a "clank" to the south. It was shortly followed by another and he sent Tavis burrowing through the snow to see what was causing the noise.

Tavis climbed a nearby tree to get a better vantage, her winter coat of white fur blending seamlessly with the snow covered pine. After a few moments, she indicated that a sizable party was approaching from the south. In a few more moments, she confirmed that they were orcs, many of whom were dressed in scale mail which accounted for the clanking noises.

Using Ilrath's amulet, they informed Speaks of the situation. Speaks couldn't reply because he had already used his amulet for the day. He decided that he would get ready and spring into action as soon as he heard the rest of the party take action.

The remainder of the party stayed hidden under their tree and hoped that the orcs wouldn't be able to find them. It had snowed all day and they hoped that it had obscured their tracks enough to baffle the orcs. Tavis kept reporting the orcs locations as they drew nearer and nearer to the tree. Four orcs had the tree nearly surrounded when Rhys heard wings flapping above as though a bird had just flown out of the tree branches. He gave Krase and Ilrath a panicked look but before he could say more, the world exploded in flames.

Speaks' eyes went wide as some kind of illumination lit the night bright enough to be visible through the several inches of snow piled on his own tree. He gripped his spear and made ready to burst from the cover of his tree.

A few feet away, not one, not two, not three, but FOUR orcish shamans smiled as they finished unleashing their own Burning Hands spells centered on the tree. The party was fortunate (if any part of this can be deemed fortunate) in two ways. First, the tree was large enough that all four shamans couldn't overlap the areas of their spells. Second the thick layer of snow covering the tree took a bit of the edge off the spells. Still, they were all burned, some of them badly.

Ilrath was the first to recover from the shock of the situation and he stood and swung his axe at one of the shamans. Slashbane sliced through the light armor and the orcish flesh with equal ease, sending the shaman reeling to the snowy ground. The swing carried through into another adjacent shaman who clung to life with the most tenuous grasp. Krase also stepped out of the burning remains of his much sought after Novantae Pine and thrust Heartneedle into the breast of another shaman, felling him instantly.

Rhys cast Mage Armor and winced as he saw the onrushing forms of more of the "bulldog orcs" they had fought on their return trip from the Stone Tooth.

Within seconds, the second wave of orcs, including several of the "bulldog" variety, charged into the midst of the party. Ilrath, Krase and Rhys were all struck and Rhys was struck hard enough to send him to the verge of unconsciousness (0 hp exactly). The remaining shamans withdrew to regroup while a foursome of orcish archers formed up into a line. Fortunately (?) for the party, so many orcs were engaged in melee with them that the archers couldn't get a clear shot anywhere.

Speaks burst out of his snow covered shelter and charged one of the orcs that had Rhys pinned in. His spear struck home but was not enough to fell the seasoned orcish veteran he fought. Arc streaked across the snow to engage another orc who fought Ilrath.

Ilrath swung at one of the orcish warriors that engaged him and cut deep, but not deep enough to drop him. Krase thrust his swords at one of the bulldogs and he too scored a hit. But the strike failed to slay the burly, cleaver wielding orc. For his part, Rhys thought his chances of surviving the next few seconds were bleak. Three orcs were presently within striking range and his vision was getting black around the edges. He staggered back a few feet and quaffed one of the potions of healing that he'd been given by Speaks. Only one of the orcs was within range to swing at him now and thankfully, that one missed the mark.

It struck again at Rhys and again, the nicked blade of its battle axe skipped off the magical armor Rhys wore. Although Rhys had escaped the immediate danger of the orcs in melee, he had inadvertently stepped into view of some of the archers. A pair of them let fly at the young sorcerer but the cover he received from the melee combatants as well as the orcs less than stellar facility with missile weapons combined to leave him unharmed.

The other orcs in melee hacked at the pair of human warriors. Although Ilrath and Krase were both well armored, the sheer number of attacks were beginning to take their toll. As if matters were not bad enough, Krase watched with horror as one of the orcish shamans turned invisible before his very eyes. It was clear that they could not last much longer in these circumstances.

Ilrath hacked again with Slashbane and finally one of the barrel chested bulldog orcs fell to the snow. Krase did the same and felled one of his attackers. Now he was flanked on only one side instead of two.

Speaks stabbed the same orc again and this time was rewarded with having the unconscious orc slide to the cold ground beneath the still burning pine tree. That left Rhys free of attackers for a moment. He cast one of his Sleep spells at the line of archers. Two slumped to the ground.

The other pair of archers fired their arrows at Speaks and he was struck once. The remaining visible shaman, who had made his way to the rear ranks of the orcs, moved to waken his sleeping comrades. Those orcs in melee launched into another series of attacks that left Ilrath slightly worse for wear. Krase had channeled all his fighting prowess into parrying the blows of his enemies and was able to fend off the attacks directed at him.

Ilrath turned his axe on another of the bulldog orcs but his axe failed to connect (This is a rare event considering that with his combined bonuses and the orc-slaying axe, Ilrath needs to roll around a 3 to connect with the average orc). Krase managed to land a blow with his grandfather's gladius doing minor damage to another of the bulldogs.

Speaks moved around the burning tree to assist Ilrath against the orcs he fought. Rhys moved up near Krase, drawing a wand in the process. The night filled with brilliant colors as he cast Color Spray. One of the orcish warriors fell to the ground and the bulldog that Krase faced stood dazed.

The archers fired at Rhys again but their luck was consistently bad (not bad for Rhys who had 4hp). The shaman moved to awaken the other sleeping archer but he was starting to see the tide of battle turn against his team. The thinning ranks of orcs in melee continued to hack at Ilrath and Krase but now also had Speaks to worry about. They inflicted a couple more minor wounds but their attack was starting to lose steam.

Ilrath brought his axe around, this time slaying the remaining bulldog he fought and cleaving into another hapless warrior. Speaks quickly finished that one off with his spear. Krase thrust his swords into the thick chest of the bulldog he faced and drove him to the ground. Rhys, seeing that the archers were all conscious again, dropped another sleep spell into their midst. Again, two slumped to the ground.

One of the remaining shamans cast a spell and the battlefield was suddenly engulfed in a thick bank of fog. After that, what exactly happened was anybody's guess. Krase ran forward into the cloud, cutting down a disoriented orcish archer as he went. Ilrath also advanced slowly, hacking at any orc that still breathed. Speaks circled around outside the cloud and looked for any orcs attempting to escape. Rhys climbed a nearby tree with his Spider Climb spell until he was above the fog.

A few moments later, Speaks heard some noises and noticed two sets of footprints appearing on either side of him. He called for the other party members and they regrouped on the southern side of the fog cloud. They quickly determined that the shamans must have gone invisible and escaped back the way they came.

The party tried to give chase into the darkness (Rhys did cast Light on a crossbow bolt and fire it into the forest to aid their search) but found it difficult to discern the new footprints of the shamans from the ones left by the orcs as they had approached. After a while, they gave up and returned to the scene of the battle. There, they discovered two more sets of tracks leading away that probably had belonged to the sleeping archers.

Battered and cut, the party searched the dead shamans and found another amulet of communication, a pair of Cure Moderate Wounds scrolls and one Invisibility scroll. Surveying the battlefield, they realized that tomorrow they must move to yet another location.

NEXT: The Battle is Joined