Banewarrens d20 (Angelsboi's party)

[diaglo]

Roughing it

At the elven camp, Bartol, Erik and Bernedette spoke with the leader. Thane sat to one side stunned. The elves told them they had been trailing the giant for several days. Their main mission was to stop any further orc raids from this area. They were originally from Essembra in Battledale.

The party told the elves of their mission to the Thunder Peaks. And as to why they were in the company of a hobgoblin. The elves were not familiar with Mug's Teeth. Bernedette began to tell the tale of her quest to become a priestess.

"Oh, behave," one of the elves said in elven.

"You must teach me that," Erik laughed. "That is the first time I've seen anyone shut her up."

Bartol pulled his elven sword and the banner from his pack. He started to fill in the rest of the story. The leader didn't like what he saw.

"There are runes on this blade," he said. "And one such as yourself should be careful to whom you show this." He indicated the warning banner. "The sword, too, is not something I would show to many." He changed the subject. "The Thunder Peaks are 3 days West of here."

Thane prepared a meal for the company. Soon conversation died. The elves told the party to relax and not worry about taking watch.

The next day everyone said their goodbyes. Bartol told the elves to expect a gnome to pass thru this way. An hour later, the party discovered the giant's trail. They also found the remains of its meal. Thane built a pyre.

Two days later the party found themselves in the foothills. They followed a trail to the top of one and looked down on a beautiful valley. They struggled the rest of the next day to climb the next rise. The trees changed and the air got thinner. Across the way the party could see snow on yet another series peaks. They could also see Mug's Teeth.

"Lets camp off the trail here," Thane said as they reached the ridgeline. "It seems the most defensible. And I don't want to get caught in the dark."

"No fires," Erik added.

The party took care of their mounts and set up camp under the canopy of a large evergreen. They had a meal of dried meat.

 

[diaglo]

Ambush phase I

Bartol went back to the trail. He scattered his metal caltrops on the path. He tried to cover the party's tracks as best he could on his way back to camp.

Dusk fell. The party was just setting up their watches when the howls of wolves could be heard. After a few anxious moments goblin voices soon followed.

"I left my caltrops," Bartol whispered to Thane, "on the path."

Thane smacked his forehead.

Bartol rolled out from under the tree and began crawling forward for a look at the trail. Thane followed him. Erik and Bernedette both prepared themselves for the worst.

Bartol stopped when he could see the trail. With his elven vision he could see 4 mounted figures, hobgoblins on Worgs. Bartol stood up and took aim. Thane pulled out a vial and hurled it. A very lucky toss, since none of the humans could see, the vial struck a hobgoblin and burst into fire. Alchemist fire. Now they could see. Bartol launched his arrow at the lead rider. It struck the rider's armor but didn't penetrate. The hobgoblins dismounted and hid behind their mounts.

"Why did you do that?" Thane asked.

"You threw first," Bartol laughed as he prepared to fire again.

Thane cast a spell. The brush on the trail grabbed and held the Worgs and their riders. Bartol, Erik and Bernedette fired a volley of missles. One worg broke free and charged Thane and Bartol's position.

Thane tossed a ball of fire off into the night. Bartol slung his bow and drew his sword. His bloodlust took control. He struck the worg. Three stuck hobgoblins pelted Bartol with bolts. Another 2 worgs broke free of the brush. Erik and Bernedette moved forward. One hobgoblin and one worg lay dead from missles and fire.

Thane covered another hobgoblin with oil. Bartol battled 2 worgs now. As he killed one the other pulled him off his feet. Erik and Bernedette fought the other worg. The hobgoblins continued to fire bolts. One bolt struck the worg Erik was fighting.

"Idiot," Thane cried. "Didn't you wonder why I tossed oil on you." Thane cast a ball of magical flame from his hand. The hobgoblin screamed and died. The other two threw down their weapons. Both Bartol and Erik finished their opponents. Bernedette went back to camp to pack.

Erik quickly stripped the bodies. Bartol tied up the prisoners.

Thane took one look at Bartol and said, "Let me do that. You help Erik." Bartol and Erik broke the weapons and took the armor. Bartol recovered his caltrops.

Thane tied all 3 hobgoblins together. The 2 new ones didn't give the other one a very friendly look. One actually bit a chunk of ear off the original prisoner. Thane gagged them.

The party moved camp. Bartol, Thane, and Erik had all received some injuries during the fight. They needed to rest before going further.

 

[diaglo]

Ambush Phase II

"What did you do that for?" Erik asked Bartol at the new campsite.

"Well, I only saw the 4 of them," Bartol replied. "I thought we could take them. Besides I didn't want them reinforcing the Clanhold."

"I suppose they know we are here now," Bernedette added. "We sent up a pretty good signal fire."

"Good idea," Thane said. "We will setup another ambush, in case, they come looking for their clanmates."

The party rested. Along about midnight the following day, they heard activity near their old campsite. Another patrol passed by.

When everyone was healthy again. The party setup their trap. Thane paced out a series of flasks of oil alongside a narrow section of the path. Erik and Bernedette staked out a good spot to fire missles. And Bartol made a large pile for a bonfire.

Bartol was to be the advanced scout. He would hike ahead down the trail and then act as bait to bring the patrol back to the trap. He noticed worg tracks both coming and going. Some showed signs of loadbearing.

After waiting most of the night, Bartol wandered back to camp. The bonfire had gone out.

"I guess they won't be coming tonight." Bartol said to the others as he sat in his designated ambush spot. Hours passed.

Thane and Amy were across the way on a small ridgeline. Amy suddenly perked up. She told Bernedette, who in turn let Erik know. Erik hit Thane with a stone. Bartol saw the stone. But too late. A very large rider mounted on a very large worg had passed the trap and a second rider was almost out of the danger zone.

Erik reacted first. He fired an arrow down the path. But he couldn't see well. It struck a tree. Thane tossed a sunrod over the ridge behind the riders. Another rider was trailing. Bernedette began a calling. The riders turned and charged up the hillside. Bartol drew his sword and let his blood take him. He struck the first worg. The rider sunk his lance into Bartol's side. The second rider and worg charged Erik's position. The last rider dismounted and moved to Bartol and the worg closed with Thane. Two arrows sailed out of the night, striking the cover near Bernedette. Two archers were further down the trail. No one could see them. But they were making enough noise to discern their whereabouts.

Erik engaged his worg and rider. Thane fought his worg. Bernedette's summons was answered by a glowing eagle. The bird swooped down on Erik's rider. Bernedette began another calling. Amy leapt to Thane's defense. The little familiar weaved underneath the worg and latched on. Bartol repaid the rider with a massive strike. The hobgoblin was a strong warrior, probably a leader among his clan. He dismounted and drew his sword. The worg and flunkie couldn't break through Bartol's defense. Erik's rider was also ineffectual. But the worg found a weakness in the armor. Erik bled freely. Thane felt the bite of an arrow from behind. The worg pulled him from his feet. The archers were inside the danger zone now. And they were both visible.

Erik continued to battle the worg and rider. Thane stood and hurled a flask of fire into the danger zone. The hobgoblin archers lit up. Bernedette's second summons was also answered by an eagle. This one attacked the Hobgoblin Hero. Amy attacked Thane's worg again. Bernedette fired her crossbow. She downed Erik's hobgoblin. The other eagle went to help Bartol. The quarters were tight. Bartol, Bernedette, and Erik plus the 2 glowing eagles where very near each other. The Hobgoblin Hero, his flunkie, and 2 worgs were part of the mix. A few yards away and slightly elevated Thane fought a worg with Amy. Bartol adjusted his position and his attention. He chopped the flunkie in half. The worg bit Bartol. And the Hero scored another hit. The far worg tried for Amy. Erik was getting very weak. Another injury and he would be out of the combat. Bartol with his increased anger was still in shape to take some punishment. Thane was hurt. Only Bernedette and Amy were healthy. Maybe the caller was finally learning.

Erik landed a blow and finished the worg. He moved to Bartol's aid. Thane abandoned Amy and healed Erik. Bernedette used her tried and true spell of grease on the Hobgoblin Hero and worg. They didn't fall. The eagles attacked the Hero. One vanished afterwards. Amy stayed with her worg. Bartol manuvered again. He drew the Hero closer to the party. His feint worked. The Hero charged into Bartol's sword ending his life. The 2 worgs fought on. Neither hit their respective targets.

Erik and Bartol downed the larger worg. Thane, Bernedette, Amy and the eagle before it left attacked the last one. The beast tucked its tail and ran.

Erik gave chase. He buried an arrow in its skull.

 

[diaglo]

Contract fulfilled

The men of the party were even worse off than the first ambush. They downed a few potions. And Thane used what was left of his magic. They would need at least two days of rest and more of Thane's magic before they could take on another patrol.

The loot from the second ambush was similar to the first. Except the Hero had a nice dwarven made sword, several potion vials, and a gold medallion. The sword had a mark similar to Duergeddin's on it. Bartol took it and handed Bernedette back the elven one along with the potion vials. Bernedette quickly went to test the potions. One had the magic of conjuration about it. Two others did not radiate magic. But they were heavily stoppered. Bernedette unsealed one to have a look inside. Poof. A vial of Alchemist's fire. Down the caller went. Everyone else was safe. Thane saw to the young girls' wounds. Her hair was gone. And the skin on her face was slightly melted.

[EDIT: doesn't change much to the whole story, but it was funny at the time ]

The party decided to close the pass. They gathered timbers and some boulders. They put the prisoners to work. They spent most of a day clearing the brush for a line of fire for their bows and building their blockade. They rested and waited. Bartol made a covering for the prisoners from 2 of the worg pelts.

On the first day, Erik and Thane noticed a raven circling overhead. It wasn't unusual considering the carnage. But it perched nearby and watched. When Bartol and Erik reached for their bows it flew off. On the second day it came back.

"We can't wait for Timmay much longer," Thane said. "That raven is an omen. My guess is the Wolf Clan has a spellcaster. And that is its familiar."

"I agree," Bernedette commented.

"Well the trail near the swamp beyond is easy to follow," Bartol began. "I saw some tracks down there leading off to the next rise. We can make it in a day if we setoff after breakfast."

The travelled the next day. Thane lashed a rope to his horse and lead the prisoners. Erik, Bernedette, and Bartol kept watch as they crossed the open ground. When they reached the other side, Bartol dismounted. He handed his reins to Bernedette. He armed himself with the Dwarven longsword and a steel shield from the Wolf clan.

"Give me a 15 minute lead and then follow," Bartol instructed. "I'll scout ahead and see what's waiting for us."

Bartol sprinted up the path. There were several swithbacks. He made note of the fact the trail was wide enough and firm enough to support the weight of a rider and a mount. He guessed this was leading to the main entrance.

After the third switchback Bartol saw a guardpost. Two hobgoblins stared off blankly into space. Bartol pulled the shield in front of his face. He continued up the trail. Below he could just make out the rest of the party starting up the first switchback.

"Grenakrll?" one of the guards queried.

"TO ME," Bartol bellowed in Common over the edge and charged the rest of the way to the guards. He skewered one on the longsword. First time using it and it was a kill. The entrance was rather large. Thirty feet across and twenty feet deep before it turned out of sight. The other guard yelped something in goblin and fled at a full run around the corner.

Bartol withdrew his sword and turned back down the trail. The others arrived at a gallop. Erik first, then Thane dragging the prisoners. Bernedette brought up the rear of the party with Bartol's horse. Bartol strolled back to Thane.

"What," Thane puffed, "happened?"

Bartol ignored him. "Contract fulfilled," he said to the original prisoner. "If I see you again, I won't be so kind next time. These two I didn't make a pact with." It didn't matter that they didn't speak the same language.

He took the prisoners' rope and severed the bond of the original prisoner from the other two. His hands were still bound. Bartol then lowered his shoulder and pushed the other prisoners over the edge. The free one turned and ran. The other two made a loud squishy sound when they hit bottom.

"I chased a guard into its burrow," Bartol finally told the group. The sound of a metal door slamming shut and locking was heard. Erik moved slightly into the entrance and was looking down the hall. He saw a series of steps.

TWang, twang...

 

[diaglo]

Due to the holidays and school breaks our next session isn't until jan 12.

look for the continuing adventures of the Heroes of Peldan's Helm in 3 weeks.

 

[diaglo]

The hardest part of the next session will be including Timmay. Whether he was captured by a patrol and is now ahead of the party inside the Clanhold or whether he heard Bartol's bellow and rode to catch up.

Other things for the party to consider:

Erik is the most in trouble. He is inside the entrance and exposed to whatever shot our way. He does have the best armor.

We also have the issue of what to do with our mounts. Unless we find a stable or safe room inside the clanhold, we may have to set them free. I don't feel like lugging around all the extra equipment/weapons I normally carry on my horse. Plus I was growing fond of "Bob". They are also not mules and not warhorses, so they are not good for a dungeon crawl. Which I'm guessing this adventure is.

Water, food, healing potions, ammo for our ranged weapons, and spell components are also important.

After this ambush against the party, we will need to figure out what we have available to get inside.

The sound of the metal door slamming doesn't bode well for us. The clanhold will be alerted and locked. From our prisoner interrogation we have an idea that there are at least a dozen hobgoblin warriors plus a rogue subchief and an unknown chieftain inside the clanhold. We also don't know how many more guardians they have. We are guessing they have a spellcaster, most likely a sorc or wiz, b/c of the raven.

Traps, other entrances, spellcasters, and light sources are the next troubles/problems we face.

It should be a good session. But it may be a hard one.

 

[Angelsboi]

i come back from haitus and all hell breaks loose. I guess Bernedette will have to kick some much needed ass!

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Who knows what malicious evil lurks within the stronghold of the Wolf Clan?

Will the party discover sufficient magical power to return to the hidden Elven temple and reverse its desecration?

Or will they all perish screaming in the darkness?

Only one week until they find out ...



HINT: I've got a special, unique mini painted up for the Chief of the Wolf Clan.

 

[Angelsboi]

anyone else here find what he said a tad bit frightening?

 

[diaglo]

Darkness and returning to the temple, both are scary.

I ain't gonna go back until I find something to hit that allip with. And that would mean fighting something just as powerful to recover the magic.

Edit: i didn't see that HINT line on the bottom of Olgar's post. oh boy, what minis did he buy?