Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
The Axe said:
Been quite busy, but I have been working on an update, and will have one posted no later than Saturday, unless some hideous accident befalls me.
Orcs on the Rampage - Tales from the Broken Lands(Updated 25-May-06)
Been quite busy, but I have been working on an update, and will have one posted no later than Saturday, unless some hideous accident befalls me.
Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
A Cleric Saving Lives
The Orcs wait with bridled bloodlust for a few minutes after the last sound of the bell dies away. Suddenly light pierces the night from a small building just past the human house of worship. Surely that could be the only reason for the walled area out back, with rows of evenly spaced marker stones. A man comes out holding a torch. As he slowly makes his way towards Gorga, the nearest Orc, the torch is made out to be a glowing mace instead. The light was too constant to have been a torch. Gorga licks his lips with barely concealed desire on his face. This is magic, and it could make him more powerful if he can use it
“I don’t know what I’m doing.” The good father thinks. “Who knows how many Orcs are waiting out here to kill me and eat my heart. I’m a cleric to the Holt, god of harvests, not Hextor, or Heironious.” With trepidation pushed quietly and resolutely aside, he discharges one of his duties; protect the people of this town.
“Wait!! Stop the killing!! What are you here for?! Are you here to kill everyone? Or are you looking for something?" Father Gilthen realizes that he may have just pushed the limits of Orc intelligence by asking all these questions together. He holds his mace above his head, in a non-threatening way, with palms out.
Common is understood by some of them at least. “Drop your weapon pink-skin” Gorga growls at him. “Or you die a slow painful sleep.” Father Gilthen knows the Orc means death, but he’s not about to try correcting his grasp of Common right now.
“Stop killing my people, and I will help you find what you want.”
“Drop your weapon, NOW!!! No more will die, and we will leave soon, if you surrender, and tell me where I can find weapons and armor for my Orcs.” Gorga steps forward, the others all look on with interest. The Cleric complies, and his mace falls to the dirt at his feet and nods his agreement. He almost wishes he was clergy to a more combat oriented god, but realizes the end result would be little different, he is biding time for the people of this town, and a swift death in combat would not buy much of it.
Gorga grabs him roughly by the collar, and forces him to his knees, with a kick to the back of his legs. “Now, off with your armor.”
At this point, the door to the smithy opens, and Dubro the town smith makes his entry to the town square. Two Goblins, and a wolf meet him at his door. He has a torch, and a forge-hammer for all the good it will do him. Iirkh ambles up to the smith, and towers over the big man.
When Dubro tenses up for a fight, Father Gilthen shouts out to him, “Don’t fight them Dubro, they’ll kill you and the rest of the town, let me talk to them.” Iirkh pats his rock and starts to grin. “Rock Good” he repeats to himself. Dubro gives his hammer and torch to the waiting Goblins, and they roughly search him, and move into his forge and hut. Quickly searching through the hut, they find some blankets, a cot, a table and chair, a couple of eating knives, and more equipment for the forge.
The wolf stalks back and forth behind Dubro as Sharraxtharkhul commanded. Gorga continues to strip the Cleric of anything useful, and slides the Chain shirt over his frame. It’s a little snug in places, but it’s better than nothing. The cleric is a little worse for wear, with cuffs and bruises through the ordeal.
The Goblins come back out of the hut, “Where is the money pink-skin? We found nothing inside.” Rhgl seems to plead with his beady little eyes as he asks his question.
“I only have what’s in my pouch, these farmer’s are poor, and they pay with food and drink.”
The Goblin can tell he is lying, but does not try to force the issue. Gorga gives direction again “Check under the Anvil Iirkh, maybe it is hidden.” Iirkh pushes the smith out of the way, and squeezes under the overhang. “This?” as he picks up the large hunk of metal mounted on a block of wood, big around as a tree. Sharraxtharkhul rushes over to pull at the dirt under the Anvil, “Yes Iirkh, now no dropping it on me.”
Gorga resumes his questioning of Father Gilthen, and learns that there is a Keep down the road, with the only supply of weapons and armor for miles. He sees the Cleric is speaking the truth, and tells the others to search the nearest buildings. With the search at the forge completed, Sharraxtharkhul and Iirkh come back to the town square. Scrag calls for Iirkh to open the door to one of the larger buildings. The door is quickly smashed open, and the town store is busted open for looting. A short fat human is trying to hide behind a counter; When Scrag takes command of the room. The town general store is quickly looted, and the shopkeeper’s box of money added to the pile of loot. The shopkeeper wets himself with fear, while handing over the box.
They now have backpacks, rations, water skins, rope, sacks, blankets, and many other items to bring back to the tribe. Some means to carry what they found is now at hand.
The last building to be raided ends up being the Tavern, which used to be the area jail. Stonewalls and thick oaken doors, and barred windows are surely strong enough to deter these Orcs. Maybe a normal group, but this group has the best darn door opener known to Orc kind; A Half-Ogre. Two massive kits from the Half-Ogre and his “Good Rock” and the door brace snaps in half. Scrag, Iirkh, and Drusilla all file in, to gather some barrels of pink-skin liquor, and the money box from the tavern-keeper as well. The cudgel taken from his grasp as a final insult.
Gorga calls for Scrag, “Come get the Human Shaman, he comes with us.” Gorga stalks over to Dubro, and gets face to face with him. “Now where is your stash of Gold human?” The menacing presence and threatening glare, not to mention foul smell, convinces the smith to answer. “Buried in the corner, under the bed.” Gorga waves the Goblins back in the hut, “Now find it this time!” After some digging, the Goblins reappear with a metal box.
Everything is gathered together, and the Smith and Cleric tied up. Dubro watches as everything is packed up, and the Orcs head west, out of town. “Thank Moradin and Holt, they didn’t search all the huts.” He thinks. "The women would have been taken as well. May the gods watch over father Gilthen.”
He can still hear Gorga shouting orders, “Rhgl, Sharraxtharkhul you and the wolf scout ahead!”
Next up: Some Darokin Soldiers get tangled up.
The Orcs wait with bridled bloodlust for a few minutes after the last sound of the bell dies away. Suddenly light pierces the night from a small building just past the human house of worship. Surely that could be the only reason for the walled area out back, with rows of evenly spaced marker stones. A man comes out holding a torch. As he slowly makes his way towards Gorga, the nearest Orc, the torch is made out to be a glowing mace instead. The light was too constant to have been a torch. Gorga licks his lips with barely concealed desire on his face. This is magic, and it could make him more powerful if he can use it
“I don’t know what I’m doing.” The good father thinks. “Who knows how many Orcs are waiting out here to kill me and eat my heart. I’m a cleric to the Holt, god of harvests, not Hextor, or Heironious.” With trepidation pushed quietly and resolutely aside, he discharges one of his duties; protect the people of this town.
“Wait!! Stop the killing!! What are you here for?! Are you here to kill everyone? Or are you looking for something?" Father Gilthen realizes that he may have just pushed the limits of Orc intelligence by asking all these questions together. He holds his mace above his head, in a non-threatening way, with palms out.
Common is understood by some of them at least. “Drop your weapon pink-skin” Gorga growls at him. “Or you die a slow painful sleep.” Father Gilthen knows the Orc means death, but he’s not about to try correcting his grasp of Common right now.
“Stop killing my people, and I will help you find what you want.”
“Drop your weapon, NOW!!! No more will die, and we will leave soon, if you surrender, and tell me where I can find weapons and armor for my Orcs.” Gorga steps forward, the others all look on with interest. The Cleric complies, and his mace falls to the dirt at his feet and nods his agreement. He almost wishes he was clergy to a more combat oriented god, but realizes the end result would be little different, he is biding time for the people of this town, and a swift death in combat would not buy much of it.
Gorga grabs him roughly by the collar, and forces him to his knees, with a kick to the back of his legs. “Now, off with your armor.”
At this point, the door to the smithy opens, and Dubro the town smith makes his entry to the town square. Two Goblins, and a wolf meet him at his door. He has a torch, and a forge-hammer for all the good it will do him. Iirkh ambles up to the smith, and towers over the big man.
When Dubro tenses up for a fight, Father Gilthen shouts out to him, “Don’t fight them Dubro, they’ll kill you and the rest of the town, let me talk to them.” Iirkh pats his rock and starts to grin. “Rock Good” he repeats to himself. Dubro gives his hammer and torch to the waiting Goblins, and they roughly search him, and move into his forge and hut. Quickly searching through the hut, they find some blankets, a cot, a table and chair, a couple of eating knives, and more equipment for the forge.
The wolf stalks back and forth behind Dubro as Sharraxtharkhul commanded. Gorga continues to strip the Cleric of anything useful, and slides the Chain shirt over his frame. It’s a little snug in places, but it’s better than nothing. The cleric is a little worse for wear, with cuffs and bruises through the ordeal.
The Goblins come back out of the hut, “Where is the money pink-skin? We found nothing inside.” Rhgl seems to plead with his beady little eyes as he asks his question.
“I only have what’s in my pouch, these farmer’s are poor, and they pay with food and drink.”
The Goblin can tell he is lying, but does not try to force the issue. Gorga gives direction again “Check under the Anvil Iirkh, maybe it is hidden.” Iirkh pushes the smith out of the way, and squeezes under the overhang. “This?” as he picks up the large hunk of metal mounted on a block of wood, big around as a tree. Sharraxtharkhul rushes over to pull at the dirt under the Anvil, “Yes Iirkh, now no dropping it on me.”
Gorga resumes his questioning of Father Gilthen, and learns that there is a Keep down the road, with the only supply of weapons and armor for miles. He sees the Cleric is speaking the truth, and tells the others to search the nearest buildings. With the search at the forge completed, Sharraxtharkhul and Iirkh come back to the town square. Scrag calls for Iirkh to open the door to one of the larger buildings. The door is quickly smashed open, and the town store is busted open for looting. A short fat human is trying to hide behind a counter; When Scrag takes command of the room. The town general store is quickly looted, and the shopkeeper’s box of money added to the pile of loot. The shopkeeper wets himself with fear, while handing over the box.
They now have backpacks, rations, water skins, rope, sacks, blankets, and many other items to bring back to the tribe. Some means to carry what they found is now at hand.
The last building to be raided ends up being the Tavern, which used to be the area jail. Stonewalls and thick oaken doors, and barred windows are surely strong enough to deter these Orcs. Maybe a normal group, but this group has the best darn door opener known to Orc kind; A Half-Ogre. Two massive kits from the Half-Ogre and his “Good Rock” and the door brace snaps in half. Scrag, Iirkh, and Drusilla all file in, to gather some barrels of pink-skin liquor, and the money box from the tavern-keeper as well. The cudgel taken from his grasp as a final insult.
Gorga calls for Scrag, “Come get the Human Shaman, he comes with us.” Gorga stalks over to Dubro, and gets face to face with him. “Now where is your stash of Gold human?” The menacing presence and threatening glare, not to mention foul smell, convinces the smith to answer. “Buried in the corner, under the bed.” Gorga waves the Goblins back in the hut, “Now find it this time!” After some digging, the Goblins reappear with a metal box.
Everything is gathered together, and the Smith and Cleric tied up. Dubro watches as everything is packed up, and the Orcs head west, out of town. “Thank Moradin and Holt, they didn’t search all the huts.” He thinks. "The women would have been taken as well. May the gods watch over father Gilthen.”
He can still hear Gorga shouting orders, “Rhgl, Sharraxtharkhul you and the wolf scout ahead!”
Next up: Some Darokin Soldiers get tangled up.
Last edited:
Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
For anyone interested, I am planning an update for tonight.
Upcoming storyline, following this update, over the next few updates.
Assault on the Roadside Keep, and the best darn door opener shows his stuff.
Return to the Home Tribe, Does the warband gain full tribal membership and names?
A visit to the Wayrest Trading post, run by a Dwarf and a stone giant, (Ambushed along the way)
Return to the Keep on the Borderlands (B1: Redone for 3.5, Now overrun with Kobolds and Kobold surprises)
GW
Upcoming storyline, following this update, over the next few updates.
Assault on the Roadside Keep, and the best darn door opener shows his stuff.
Return to the Home Tribe, Does the warband gain full tribal membership and names?
A visit to the Wayrest Trading post, run by a Dwarf and a stone giant, (Ambushed along the way)
Return to the Keep on the Borderlands (B1: Redone for 3.5, Now overrun with Kobolds and Kobold surprises)
GW
Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
The Axe said:
Thanks I appreciate it, my only commenting reader. I do not get completely caught up, because this is the alternate campaign in our group of gamers and I don't want to run out of material. Playing in some Pbp games now and GMing one is getting me more excited about doing updates right now, along with a new computer at home, is increasing my online and writing time.
The players are really getting into their roles as Orcs, and I will be taping game sessions now starting with the B1 adventure, so I can get more of the things they say into the posts. Now, to get that update completed.
GW
Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
Some Darokin Soldiers get tangled up
Rhgl finds a small building on the eastern edge of town and scurries up the wall, to peer in the window. A lone figure is sleeping in the room, with a glass bottle lying on the floor near his hand. He appears to have drunk himself into a deep sleep. He comes back and reports this to Gorga. “A man, he is sleeping the sleep of the drunk in that hut” as he points back to the rundown one roomed building.
Gorga pokes father Gilthen in the shoulder, “Who is this Cleric? Why does he live so far from the town?”
Rather deflated the Cleric gives his answer “That would be Milton, he is supposed to warn the soldiers up the road when he hears the town bell.”
Gorga and the warband start to laugh at this and mocks him. “Your defenses have served you well Cleric.”
They bypass the hut, and continue to head east for almost 2 hours. Sharraxtharkhul and the wolf return to report a fortification around the bend in the road. Gorga gags the Cleric, and emphasizes the need to remain quiet by pulling a finger across his neck with a certainty the Cleric does not miss. Quietly the group moves off the road, to follow Sharraxtharkhul through the bushes and scrub trees in the area. At the top of a small hill, the fortification can be seen through the bushes.
The “Roadside Keep” has a central tower between 40 and 50 feet high. The first level has an attached 10 foot building, about 30 x 50 foot connected to the back. This section, and the roof of the keep are both crenellated. A narrow path winds from the main road up to the large wooden gate. There is an Earth barrier surrounding the small tower at the center. Spaced periodically around the top of the Barrier, are large torches. The barricade is Twenty feet high along the outside. This is due to a ten foot deep ditch, which looks like it was emptied to the inside of the ring to form the barrier. Trees and brush have been cleared for 100 feet in all directions from the outpost.
Daylight is fast approaching, and two soldiers walking the barrier are extinguishing the Torches. Gorga begins questioning the captive “How many soldiers in the keep Cleric?” with an aside to Rhgl “Keep an eye out for pinkskins.” Father Gilthen is on his knees, with hands bound behind his back, Gorga pulls out the gag.
Father Gilthen takes too long to answer, and gets a solid backhanded smack from the angry Orc. “Understand me pinkskin I will know about these soldiers, one way or another.”
With a defeated sob father Gilthen says what he knows in hopes of discouraging the Orc's murderous intent “There must be 10 to 15 at any time, with patrols out during the day.”
“Where do the patrols run?”
“East and West along the main road here, they check in with the closest towns.” His thanks from Gorga is a kick in the chest sending him sprawling.
Gorga’s mind starts working, and splitting forces to take out patrol’s both directions, is dropped from the list of options quickly, as is, storming the keep outright. “We can take out one patrol and reduce the numbers in the tower, and get some weapons from them. If we have time we can circle around and get the patrol headed East. Rhgl you stay here and watch what happens. The rest of you Orcs we go to set a trap for this patrol. Scrag; bring the Cleric with us. We can gag him again to keep quiet.”
The rest is postponed with the sun coming up, and a good ambush site is picked about a mile back down the road, with a hill on the south side giving cover for the Orcs. There are plenty of grasses, brush and scrub trees on both sides of the road for concealment. They get in some shade, some crawling under bushes, and wait for the patrol to come along.
Throughout the morning hours, Rhgl struggles with the daylight to keep track of the two sentries, he is watching, on the barrier. A couple hours after the sun has begun to rise, a change of guard takes place on the walls, and 2 replacement sentries come out to begin the rounds. More activity from the door of the tower draws Rhgl’s attention there. 8 more soldiers file out, and form up into two sets, with a line of three and the forth off to the side of them. These differ from the Longbow wielding guardsmen on the wall in a couple of ways. The foot soldiers each have a 12’ Long spear. All of the soldiers also carry a sword, and wear padded armor of some kind, with a metal breastplate over the chest. The foot soldiers also carry a light buckler-type shield strapped to one arm. As they march towards the gate, the 2 sentries open the gates for them. Rhgl considers returning to Gorga to notify him of this occurrence, but decides to wait it out here. Besides, there’s no need to go back, and possibly get injured by those long spears. He decides to wait until Gorga returns with further orders. If Gorga is killed, then so much the better, maybe he can assert some kind of will over the Half-Ogre and achieve leader status in his place. These evil thoughts continue, as a set of four soldiers march East and West along the main road. The two sentries close the gates, and return to their rounds.
A few minutes later Sharraxtharkhul’s wolf companion tells him that something is coming up the road. He signal’s to Gorga, and crawls to the top of the hill to see the 4 soldiers coming.
Quickly Gorga sets the stage. To Sharraxtharkhul “You attract their attention, and get them to come at us to this hill.” To everyone “When they leave the road, Iirkh will come around the hill to attack from the side, the rest of us will come over the hill and go right at them. We will overpower them and our weapons will taste their blood.”
Sharraxtharkhul scrambles back to the top of the hill, and stands up. He starts gibbering and waving to get the attention of the soldiers. Unknown to anyone but him, he has prepared a spell today to take advantage of the natural growth in the area.
The inexperience of the soldiers will be their undoing today. The sergeant points at Sharraxtharkhul “Look a goblin, let’s get im!” They run towards the hill, and Sharraxtharkhul stands up to his full height and begins a quick movement of his hands, and chants “Plants of the earth, with nature’s might, rise up at my command, and hold them tight.”
The soldiers are quickly enveloped in a grasping tangle of weeds, brush and grasses, which have sprung to life at their feet. None is able to break free, or avoid the grasp of nature. The Orcs come over and around the hill, to see a forty-foot area of plants, grasping at the soldiers. Yells of surprise turn to shouts of dismay at seeing the rest of the band of Orcs coming at them. Not realizing that the plants would grab at them as well, the grasping plants quickly trap Gorga and Scrag. Sharraxtharkhul watches from the hill, his wolf companion sitting at his side. He didn’t intend for the others to become entangled, but they should have known better. Iirkh arrives and manages to stay out of the reach of the plants. Two of the soldiers attempt to bring their longspears into play, but have difficulty with the plants grasping at everything.
With the soldiers unable to break free, Iirkh manages to crush two of them with his “<i>rock</i>” and a combination of efforts by Gorga, Scrag, and Drusilla the other two are killed with Sharraxtharkhul looking on intently. They all look to Sharraxtharkhul to release them from the trap that is now grasping at them.
Gorga voices what they are all thinking “Goblin, free us from these plants!” Magic is a compelling and often rare power among Orcs and treated with respect or fear if not both.
Sharraxtharkhul considers dismissing the spell, but decides to let them sweat it for a while longer. “You must wait for some time more, until the power is gone. You will be able to get out only then.” He grins with satisfaction and sits along with the wolf.
Iirkh tries reaching into the area to pull out a longspear dropped by one of the soldiers, but keeps getting grabbed by plants at each attempt. A short fit of anger later, the Half Ogre has his spear. Shortly the spell dissipates and the foliage returns to normal. The human bodies are gathered up and stripped of anything valuable, including weapons. The rapiers the soldiers carry; hardly look like weapons a self-respecting Orc would use, but all weapons and armor are gathered. Gorga and Drusilla clean up the scene of the battle, and Gorga decides to wait and see if more soldiers come in search of these. After a few hours of waiting it looks like no more will come soon, and the order is given to “Move out!! back along the path to where Rhgl is waiting.”
A short time later the Orcs meet up with Rhgl, still watching the Roadside Keep. Rhgl speaks up first “Ahh, Gorga the pinkskins, they send a patrol east and west, numbering 4. I remained here as you would wish, did you see them?” as he eyes the new weapons that the Orcs now carry.
“Iirkh smashed them like cave rats.” Iirkh gleefully explains.
“Gorga, more news have I. A short time ago, the four soldiers that went east returned at a run. They went in the tower, and a single pinkskin came back out. Straight south he ran across the land.”
“Aaargh!! We waited too long to return. Can we catch him now?” Gorga grinds his teeth in anger.
“Catching him would prove most difficult Gorga.” Rhgl cringes back some to not be in range of a cuff showing displeasure from Gorga. Gorga rounds on the Cleric stepping forward with evil intent in his eyes “I have a job for you.”
Next up: Assault on the Roadside Keep.
Rhgl finds a small building on the eastern edge of town and scurries up the wall, to peer in the window. A lone figure is sleeping in the room, with a glass bottle lying on the floor near his hand. He appears to have drunk himself into a deep sleep. He comes back and reports this to Gorga. “A man, he is sleeping the sleep of the drunk in that hut” as he points back to the rundown one roomed building.
Gorga pokes father Gilthen in the shoulder, “Who is this Cleric? Why does he live so far from the town?”
Rather deflated the Cleric gives his answer “That would be Milton, he is supposed to warn the soldiers up the road when he hears the town bell.”
Gorga and the warband start to laugh at this and mocks him. “Your defenses have served you well Cleric.”
They bypass the hut, and continue to head east for almost 2 hours. Sharraxtharkhul and the wolf return to report a fortification around the bend in the road. Gorga gags the Cleric, and emphasizes the need to remain quiet by pulling a finger across his neck with a certainty the Cleric does not miss. Quietly the group moves off the road, to follow Sharraxtharkhul through the bushes and scrub trees in the area. At the top of a small hill, the fortification can be seen through the bushes.
The “Roadside Keep” has a central tower between 40 and 50 feet high. The first level has an attached 10 foot building, about 30 x 50 foot connected to the back. This section, and the roof of the keep are both crenellated. A narrow path winds from the main road up to the large wooden gate. There is an Earth barrier surrounding the small tower at the center. Spaced periodically around the top of the Barrier, are large torches. The barricade is Twenty feet high along the outside. This is due to a ten foot deep ditch, which looks like it was emptied to the inside of the ring to form the barrier. Trees and brush have been cleared for 100 feet in all directions from the outpost.
Daylight is fast approaching, and two soldiers walking the barrier are extinguishing the Torches. Gorga begins questioning the captive “How many soldiers in the keep Cleric?” with an aside to Rhgl “Keep an eye out for pinkskins.” Father Gilthen is on his knees, with hands bound behind his back, Gorga pulls out the gag.
Father Gilthen takes too long to answer, and gets a solid backhanded smack from the angry Orc. “Understand me pinkskin I will know about these soldiers, one way or another.”
With a defeated sob father Gilthen says what he knows in hopes of discouraging the Orc's murderous intent “There must be 10 to 15 at any time, with patrols out during the day.”
“Where do the patrols run?”
“East and West along the main road here, they check in with the closest towns.” His thanks from Gorga is a kick in the chest sending him sprawling.
Gorga’s mind starts working, and splitting forces to take out patrol’s both directions, is dropped from the list of options quickly, as is, storming the keep outright. “We can take out one patrol and reduce the numbers in the tower, and get some weapons from them. If we have time we can circle around and get the patrol headed East. Rhgl you stay here and watch what happens. The rest of you Orcs we go to set a trap for this patrol. Scrag; bring the Cleric with us. We can gag him again to keep quiet.”
The rest is postponed with the sun coming up, and a good ambush site is picked about a mile back down the road, with a hill on the south side giving cover for the Orcs. There are plenty of grasses, brush and scrub trees on both sides of the road for concealment. They get in some shade, some crawling under bushes, and wait for the patrol to come along.
Throughout the morning hours, Rhgl struggles with the daylight to keep track of the two sentries, he is watching, on the barrier. A couple hours after the sun has begun to rise, a change of guard takes place on the walls, and 2 replacement sentries come out to begin the rounds. More activity from the door of the tower draws Rhgl’s attention there. 8 more soldiers file out, and form up into two sets, with a line of three and the forth off to the side of them. These differ from the Longbow wielding guardsmen on the wall in a couple of ways. The foot soldiers each have a 12’ Long spear. All of the soldiers also carry a sword, and wear padded armor of some kind, with a metal breastplate over the chest. The foot soldiers also carry a light buckler-type shield strapped to one arm. As they march towards the gate, the 2 sentries open the gates for them. Rhgl considers returning to Gorga to notify him of this occurrence, but decides to wait it out here. Besides, there’s no need to go back, and possibly get injured by those long spears. He decides to wait until Gorga returns with further orders. If Gorga is killed, then so much the better, maybe he can assert some kind of will over the Half-Ogre and achieve leader status in his place. These evil thoughts continue, as a set of four soldiers march East and West along the main road. The two sentries close the gates, and return to their rounds.
A few minutes later Sharraxtharkhul’s wolf companion tells him that something is coming up the road. He signal’s to Gorga, and crawls to the top of the hill to see the 4 soldiers coming.
Quickly Gorga sets the stage. To Sharraxtharkhul “You attract their attention, and get them to come at us to this hill.” To everyone “When they leave the road, Iirkh will come around the hill to attack from the side, the rest of us will come over the hill and go right at them. We will overpower them and our weapons will taste their blood.”
Sharraxtharkhul scrambles back to the top of the hill, and stands up. He starts gibbering and waving to get the attention of the soldiers. Unknown to anyone but him, he has prepared a spell today to take advantage of the natural growth in the area.
The inexperience of the soldiers will be their undoing today. The sergeant points at Sharraxtharkhul “Look a goblin, let’s get im!” They run towards the hill, and Sharraxtharkhul stands up to his full height and begins a quick movement of his hands, and chants “Plants of the earth, with nature’s might, rise up at my command, and hold them tight.”
The soldiers are quickly enveloped in a grasping tangle of weeds, brush and grasses, which have sprung to life at their feet. None is able to break free, or avoid the grasp of nature. The Orcs come over and around the hill, to see a forty-foot area of plants, grasping at the soldiers. Yells of surprise turn to shouts of dismay at seeing the rest of the band of Orcs coming at them. Not realizing that the plants would grab at them as well, the grasping plants quickly trap Gorga and Scrag. Sharraxtharkhul watches from the hill, his wolf companion sitting at his side. He didn’t intend for the others to become entangled, but they should have known better. Iirkh arrives and manages to stay out of the reach of the plants. Two of the soldiers attempt to bring their longspears into play, but have difficulty with the plants grasping at everything.
With the soldiers unable to break free, Iirkh manages to crush two of them with his “<i>rock</i>” and a combination of efforts by Gorga, Scrag, and Drusilla the other two are killed with Sharraxtharkhul looking on intently. They all look to Sharraxtharkhul to release them from the trap that is now grasping at them.
Gorga voices what they are all thinking “Goblin, free us from these plants!” Magic is a compelling and often rare power among Orcs and treated with respect or fear if not both.
Sharraxtharkhul considers dismissing the spell, but decides to let them sweat it for a while longer. “You must wait for some time more, until the power is gone. You will be able to get out only then.” He grins with satisfaction and sits along with the wolf.
Iirkh tries reaching into the area to pull out a longspear dropped by one of the soldiers, but keeps getting grabbed by plants at each attempt. A short fit of anger later, the Half Ogre has his spear. Shortly the spell dissipates and the foliage returns to normal. The human bodies are gathered up and stripped of anything valuable, including weapons. The rapiers the soldiers carry; hardly look like weapons a self-respecting Orc would use, but all weapons and armor are gathered. Gorga and Drusilla clean up the scene of the battle, and Gorga decides to wait and see if more soldiers come in search of these. After a few hours of waiting it looks like no more will come soon, and the order is given to “Move out!! back along the path to where Rhgl is waiting.”
A short time later the Orcs meet up with Rhgl, still watching the Roadside Keep. Rhgl speaks up first “Ahh, Gorga the pinkskins, they send a patrol east and west, numbering 4. I remained here as you would wish, did you see them?” as he eyes the new weapons that the Orcs now carry.
“Iirkh smashed them like cave rats.” Iirkh gleefully explains.
“Gorga, more news have I. A short time ago, the four soldiers that went east returned at a run. They went in the tower, and a single pinkskin came back out. Straight south he ran across the land.”
“Aaargh!! We waited too long to return. Can we catch him now?” Gorga grinds his teeth in anger.
“Catching him would prove most difficult Gorga.” Rhgl cringes back some to not be in range of a cuff showing displeasure from Gorga. Gorga rounds on the Cleric stepping forward with evil intent in his eyes “I have a job for you.”
Next up: Assault on the Roadside Keep.
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Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
We play tonight. Into the Re-vamped, Kobold-ridden B1 module from the early days. They are all second level right now, and soon to be third. So I make them out to be EL 3 all together, I'm having to up the ante a little to give them a challenge. Heck the Half-Ogre hasn't even bothered to rage yet.
We pick up a new character with the next update. Tyco, an Orc Barbarian, rescued from incarceration.
We pick up a new character with the next update. Tyco, an Orc Barbarian, rescued from incarceration.
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Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
The Axe said:
I have an update almost ready, but I have a stomach virus, and I don't trust the writing, until I'm over it. Another day or two and it will be up.
