10/4
Solaera casts lesser restoration on Ralph, healing his poison damage. They travel
back up to the ridge. Through the sparse woods they can hear the rhythmic chiseling echoing in the valley. Another smoke plume billows east of the lake. They travel down the slope
towards the lake.
Just over a ¼ mile from the lake they
spot creatures working in the riverbed. Ralph attempts to sneak through the
trees to spot a few bugbears with the orcs. At least one is standing guard with a
bow. After an amplified mind thrust the
party delivers a volley of bolts into the riverbed. Four bugbears and 8
orcs turn their attention to the trees. The orcs charge after Ralph. Elf summons a monkey. The monkey pelts the orcs with branches
from a treetop, distracting them long enough to whittle down the other forces. Ralph slowly retreats back to the rest of the party before he
is knocked out. It turns out to be a long battle. By 4 p.m. the last orc falls. Squishy soaks in the river for an
hour while Jak drags the bodies into the woods. On the map they rename the location
Carnage Point.
The party travels into the woods to approach
the dam from the north. (Jak is now carrying over
200 lbs. of gear over his own weight of 125 lbs. The disadvantage of being the strongest in the party is that you become the pack mule.) They spot several goblins and hobgoblins working on the dam
again. The construction is slightly higher than it was before. The simplicity of the blockade remains the same. They camp out to the north of the lake where they won’t be seen. The cool wind blows lightly in the dark night. Without a camp fire, the other encampments resonate across the lake.
The party sets up camp. Squishy walks
into the cold waters. He explores the bottom of the lake and spots a
sunken structure on the Southern side. He returns to camp reporting what he discovered.
The party figures they are trying to drain the lake. The temple will likely
have undead inside. They must be after some artifact inside. Elf says that the
St. Cuthbert’s forces destroyed the temple before they knew its exact purpose. The
small green dragon takes the opportunity and flies around a bit.
[Dragon isn’t
feeling too bad. He contemplates as he soars around the high peaks. This tentacle-faced
figure seems trustworthy enough. The others don’t try to harm him. The dragon’s
selfish heart wants more, though. To be tossed the odd coin after having his stash
taken is an insult. He learns much of what these people do while he
remains, though. He finds where to gain more glistening treasure. Perhaps he
will stay a bit. He is safe here among the cloak and swords. Leaving the river
for this long leaves him vulnerable without them. The lakeside is a more
suitable camp for the night.]
10/3
Ralph decides to sneak around camp looking for
loot from the fight last night. He heads back to town ahead of the rest of the party. The others
grow angry that he left and take off after him. They pass an old mine on the
way back and hear skittering noises coming from inside. Rather than
investigate, they continue their pursuit of Ralph.
Once he reaches
town, Ralph reports to the sergeant insisting that he must see the commander. He
claims there is an invading orc army gathering to the west (even though he was sent to the east.) However, he will
only trade his information for a fine quality composite longbow (value: 200 gp). The sergeant asks
for the report first, but Ralph refuses. He says he can’t authorize such a
payment but will talk to the commander.
Ralph is led into
the commander’s office. The commander stoops over a table with a cartographer.
Ralph reports 5 regiments of orcs and 1 regiment of goblins. Two obvious separate
encampments lie in the mountains. They are sending out scout parties. The army size
over 4x the town’s population. There was someone standing on a stump giving a
speech and they [the orcs] were all cheering. (Bluff…fail.) The commander is far
from impressed and asks for Ralph to elaborate more.
Ralph continues
his story saying he could see 2 ½ - 3 regiments from the ridge. The base is
forming near the lake and sending out scouting parties. The forces are still just
amassing there for now. Ralph realizes that he might not be winning their
confidence. He says he was in such a hurry to deliver this vital information, he
needs to go pee. The commander dismisses him to relieve himself. Ralph hastily
leaves. The commander turns to the sergeant and says
not to hire him again.
Ralph goes back to
head off the party near the river. Jak confronts him screaming. Jak shoves him,
slowly edging him towards the river while yelling. Squishy hears the screaming
and uses his detect thoughts ability.
After reading the betrayal and hostility in Ralphs mind, Squishy perceives
Ralph as an enemy. Jak grabs Ralph and tries one last time to throw him into
the river. Jak slips and bumps his head on the bank. Squishy uses mind thrust on Ralph. Solaera tries to
break up the fight. Mary grabs Ralph and tries dragging him into the river.
Everyone eventually calms down. They discuss what
they already know: There are 2 separate parties on the bank of the lake. The
orcs may be having a celebration or ritual. Could this be an invading force,
though? They were sending scouts out. Jak makes it clear that Ralph is an
idiot. They could have easily bought him a fine bow with their funds. Solaera
casts cure light wounds on Ralph.
Jak goes into town
to sell the orc gear they just got. Then the party goes to investigate the mine
they passed coming back down the mountainside. Once there, they can spot something large
moving around inside the mine. Elf casts ghost
sound just outside the entrance trying to lure it out. Mary also fires a
bolt inside to provoke something. Nothing happens. [Two Large spiders await
them to get closer to the entrance (tremorsense) or come inside their cave.]
Jak and Squishy approach the entrance. One spider springs out and starts
attacking. The second waits for the first to clear the way. The first is quickly slain while the second
grows frightened from its injuries and retreats back into the cave. The party
treads into the sticky cavern and kills it.
Mary explores the cave retrieving a MW longbow, a 20 gp
gem, and 16 gp from two decaying orcs inside. Ralph attempts to extract spider
venom and poisons himself on a fang. Jak lights the webs inside the cave on
fire. After it burns down, they set up to camp inside.
10/2
The party manages to lumber into town about 3-4 a. m.
Migi reports
immediately to the Guild and asks for runners to help him. The journey has exhausted him. He decides to rest before continuing on today. Having short legs rarely proves advantageous
when traveling with the big folk. Upon returning he requests a small crossbow,
another dagger, several bags of caltrops, and some way of releasing caltrops
from strings behind him as he runs. He lets the Guild handle most of the
materials and assess the dam situation. An hour of paperwork proceeds and he
heads to bed.
Upon awakening the
party receives several notes delivered by messenger:
Jak- In the area
there are 8 orcs tribes, 3 hobgoblin tribes, and 5 goblin tribes. The best map
of the mountainous area can be found at The Iron Quill in the South end of
town. -Migi
Solaera- {Flowers.} I regret that I will not be joining you
today. I’m running errands around town for Jak. I don’t know how long it might
take. -Migi
Elf- The records of
the old Erythnul attack and destruction should be at the temple of St Cuthbert.
Ask for Father Ben. -Migi
Migi recommends an
elven scout, Ralph. [Background: Trained militia scout. A few good references
are attached. He grew up with a drunken father... reputation of killing things he
doesn’t like... unusual traits include taking a bite out of killed foes and spitting
them out. Migi knows he’s new in town. He sends Ralph to the town watch for
work.]
The town guards offer Ralph a
job scouting off to the east to confirm reports of orcs & goblins massing.
He tries to barter a better deal than 10 gpld/day from the sergeant of the watch. The sergeant stands firm with his offer. Ralph can barter for more with the free
adventuring group he will be traveling with. He agrees and meets up with Jak
and the rest of the party.
The party wakes up
around 11 a.m. Ralph delivers the message to Mary. Mary travels outside to see Squishy. She bothers him for
more money to buy a new heavy crossbow. He gives her the coins. Squishy decides to
stay with the dragon at the river for the day to make sure it doesn’t cause any trouble.
Jak sells equipment
from his fallen foes first thing. He has the stone appraised, then identifies items at
the Temple of Gond for 100 gp. Jak buys a map from the cartographer for 10 gp.
While shopping, Jak hears that Midel is back, reporting a break-in at his house.
The party (Jak, Elf, Solaera, Mary,
Ralph) head out a little after noon. They spot some movement along the ridge
and decide to skirt further to the south. They creep up on 8 orcs
waiting to ambush them along the ridge. The fight ensues: throat are cut, livers eaten,
corpses looted, and camp made. Over the camp fire, they discuss the previous sighting
at the lake. At length, they decide to go back to town in the morning.
A bugbear
scout wanders into their camp during the early hours of Elf's watch. [The bugbear was sent to scout out what had happened to
the party of orcs.] Elf casts dancing
lights, allowing the party to spot and attack the hairy beast. After combat, Ralph takes
over the watch. He hears some percussive sounds in the stillness of the night and takes a
look over the ridge. He sees three fires in the distance and assumes the worst. [The sounds he hears are goblins working away the
riverbed with shovels and picks. They labor away to deepen the riverbed.]
10/1
Jak checks the job board. Rising amounts of
orcs have been reported to the west. The Keep continues to ask for more scouts.
For the most part, the town has grown quiet of quests.
The Ravens analyze their operations since one of their master thieves now lay
behind bars. The party that put him there still lingers in town. Political sway
increases to secure the release of Bachas.
Midel returns reporting
the vandalism that afternoon. Most of the guards have heard official reports of
orcs massing to the west by now.
Squishy notices that the river has grown
shallow over the last few days. He decides the party should go upriver to see
what the issue is (before him and his dragon become more noticeable.) The party
travels east into the mountains. After a few hours along the rocky slopes, they
come across a group of 2 hobgoblins and 8 orcs hunched
behind a rock formation. Migi sneaks up to scout while Squishy uses his mind
blast. The combat is short-lived and one of the orcs is tied up. Squishy charms the orc and Migi proceeds with
the interrogation. The orc tells of a big meeting at the “old temple.” The
hobgoblins were guiding them to it. Migi waves a dagger to signal that we
should probably kill him. Jak nods an approval. Everyone else walks off to
leave Migi alone with the orc. How anti-climactic. Migi feels disappointed that his
audience has left him to be a mere butcher. Tricking an orc to take off his
armor isn’t easy. And apparently, they don’t care. Deceitful plans are so much
more interesting… “So, which village do you come from my fanged friend? Tell me
more about this…big meeting. Like we said, we’re heading there, too.”
The party reaches the first ridge about
seven that evening. Light vegetation flourishes further within a high depression. Two streams of smoke billow from the southeast side of the
lake. After 2 more hours of following the river, they see 10 goblins constructing a dam at the edge of
the lake. Migi moves around to the right flank. As the party attacks, half the
goblins start to run. Only three manage to get away. Migi loses a dagger while
chasing them, but overhears war cries from the nearby camp. Running back, he
convinces the party that they have to leave now.
The dam looks as if built to easily be taken
down. Jak examines it and takes a few swift blows to the ropes. The upper parts
of the dam crumble. The party runs to the ridge and spots a group following
them about a mile behind. [Eight orcs pursue them
with orders to bring back their heads or not to come back at all.] The party
decides to ambush their pursuers where they fought the other orcs. Solaera
casts healing on the wounded while they wait.
[The orcs decide to give up the pursuit because
they don’t want to chase them all the way into town. They will wait on the
ridge and ambush them as they approach again.] After hours on edge, the
party realizes the orcs are not coming and head back to town.
[The Evil forces at work know
their project has been discovered. Orcs and goblins furiously
work on the riverbed. The dam has to be repaired as well. Will the orcs successfully keep the project quiet? All they need is a few more days until the others arrive...]
