September 2, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning.
After the fight with the goblins, the party's attitude is split appreciably. Some members revel in the combat, retelling over and over their part in the conflict. Others, however, are more somber and spend most of the morning quietly.
The group is again packed and ready to leave by shortly after sun up. You bear towards the mountains and fate is with you. The trees begin to thin shortly after noon and you find that skirting the trees on one side and the rocks on the other gives you enough path to make good time.
There is no sign of goblins today, nor is there much wildlife at all other than the occasional fox or bird.
The night also passes without incident and you praise your good fortune for picking this route.
September 3, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning.
Today everyone is in good spirits, you're making great progress and the weather is crisp and clear. Around noon you consult the map and decide to turn north toward the grove.
Progress slows a bit as you re-enter the deep forest. As the afternoon shadows begin to lengthen, Alis yelps and almost loses control of the horses. He yells "it had eyes! That branch had eyes!"
(You are almost exactly a full days' ride from the Druids Grove. Good call on going toward the mountains and lucky rolls!)
((I'm going to take a few creative freedoms here based on past information I was privy to. If this isn't exactly how you had planned it, please correct me and I'll adjust my post.))
ReplyDeleteDraymun, walking ahead of the crew with quarterstaff in hand, grows ever more serious as the crew begins the journey north toward the Grove. The lack of forest life, in addition to the obviously ailing trees puts a knot in his stomach that will not ease.
As Alis startles and hollers to the crew, Draymun closes his eyes to focus his energies inward, then begins to more closely observe everything around him, looking for clues as to what is happening, and what will be waiting for them come tomorrow.
[Not sure the exact roll here, but the "focusing energies" is my casting of Guidance on myself for the +1 to skill check.
Skill Check 1d20+1, Results: 15+1= 16]
((Side-bar: what program do you use to roll your dice? I feel like I'm getting a lot of ~15 rolls, so I'm not sure if the official site is all that reliable, or if I'm just lucky-ish. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm))
(I use http://www.brockjones.com/dieroller/dice.htm or randbetween on excel, whatever I feel like at the time.
ReplyDeleteDraymun and Tom are both the ones sensitive enough to feel something wrong with the forest, the rest of the party is more like "there's some trees, it's fine.")
Draymun tenses up and searches the forest intently. He stands up on the wagon and peers into the trees where Alis is excitedly pointing and then he begins to laugh. It's a giant stickbug.
(It's giant because its a fantasy world, not because of any "evil mutation" brought on by what's happening at the Grove.)
After a good laugh and much good-natured ribbing of Alis, the party resumes it's journey to the Grove.
ReplyDeleteEven though it's early evening, it's getting dark in the forest by the time the wagon stops at the top of a hill. Tom states that this is as good a place to camp as you're likely to find and you unpack and set up for the evening.
The shadows are long and the fire seems small this far into the deep woods. Even sounds are muffled, with so much brush and organic material. The group shares a meal together and perhaps Thorvald sings a Song or Khazad tells a story from the scriptures but you are uneasy. Things have been going so well, superstition dictates that the hammer must fall eventually.
(What are your watches?)
As camp is set up and dinner begins to cook above the fire, Draymun wonders off, away from the noise and distractions of his hearty fellows.
ReplyDeleteMaintaining his elevated position, he begins to climb a nearby tree, in an attempt to spot anything in the direction of the Grove they are so near. If the rumors he heard were true, something very dark or otherwordly due to cross their path very soon, and any warning would be an advantage.
((I'll continue with first watch, as we had established before. I will alternate between climbing the trees to get a good look at the surrounding area and patrolling outside of the fire-light. Anything else I would notice right away? Have we encountered any additional wildlife, or is it unusually quiet the closer we get to the Grove? Asking based on secret information that may/may not be true.))
The wildlife is present, but scarce. Whether that's due to unnatural events or not, it's hard to tell. You are not currently close enough to see the Grove (it's perhaps 25 miles away.) From your vantage point, you mostly see the tops of trees, and what looks like it might be a large river to your north.
DeleteAfter dinner, the camp begins to settle down for the night. A few people are already in bed and some are doing maintenance on weapons or just lounging. Tom is off wandering the woods somewhere.
ReplyDeleteDraymun, from the tree, two things occur. You catch a whiff of smoke and when you look to the West, you see a column of smoke rising from the trees a hundred yards out. At the same time, you hear a panther scream from the South.
((Are we all asleep then besides Tom and Draymun or did we all hear that and see the smoke?))
ReplyDeleteYou're still awake, it's evening. I'm assuming Draymun will alert everyone, but I'd still like to wait for his turn.
Delete((So Kring is lounging? I'm assuming in or around the wagon?))
ReplyDeleteYes, Kring is lounging wherever you might want him to be lounging. In or around the wagon is fine.
Delete((Not sure if we decided who all was awake, so I'll just address the group non-specifically.))
ReplyDeleteDraymun, alerted by the random happenings in the otherwise calm night, quickly descends from the tree and runs south, yelling out to the remaining party members in camp:
"There's a fire to the west, and I think Tom is in trouble south! I'm heading that way, get everyone moving!"
As he runs south, he prepares himself for battle, readying his warhammer and shield while dashing toward the "panther" roar.
I don't want to rule who's awake or asleep, I just wanted to evoke a camp just settling in. There aren't watches yet, so anyone who wants to be awake can be awake with no problem.
DeleteI'm consulting with Pie and then I'll get back to you on what you see. In the meantime, who goes with Draymun?
Thor jumps up from his seat by the fire as Draymun yelled out what he'd seen in the tree. Grabbing his axe, Thor turns and begins to shout orders.
ReplyDelete"Hamish, head up to the top of the tree and keep an eye on the fire. If it gets too close, take the wagon back south the way we came. Stop when you feel you're out of danger and wait for us there. Alis, strike the camp and load the wagon, and get the animals ready to go. Rethas, stand watch in case any other threats emerge from the forest. You will need to alert Hamish if you're in danger."
Feeling a sense of urgency, Thor takes off after Draymun, heading south in search of Tom.
Realizing the dire need of the situation Khazad scoops up his pack tosses it in the wagon and begins to sprint as fast as he can towards the panther call, straining his muscles and dodging roots and limbs alike. The forest fire will likely consume them in mere minutes but Tom may not have seconds. Khazad summons the strength of a god and prepares mentally for two situations... Either Tom is dying and Torag will be needed to stem the ebbing of his life force... Or Tom will be alive but hurt and he may be able to bind his wounds and lend the strength to carry on.
ReplyDelete((Please assume that if Hamish sees the fire begin to head in our direction at all that he sets the wagon and horses going immediately))
Hamish and Alis begin immediately packing the wagon with Rethas standing guard.
ReplyDeleteYou all run south, roughly parallel to the tracks of the wagon from earlier in the evening. It takes a minute or more to get to the point where you heard the panther call and you see nothing. You search around the area desperately and about the time you are beginning to despair you hear another panther roar, this time from the Northwest.
Khazad beginning to despair calls out with the force of his entire lungs, screaming "TOM!" Callin over and over Khazad runs to the northwest at full speed. Khazad is suddenly struck by a thought, "Do you think we should fan out slightly? We must remain in sight of each other but running to the sound could cause us to miss him again... Maybe running slightly south and slightly north of the sound might make our chances better of finding him!"
ReplyDeleteThor joins in with Khazad's chorus, calling out, "TOM!" As they move northwest in search of the second panther call, Thor notices Khazad fan out a little bit from the others, and he follows suit, ensuring they remain within visible distance.
ReplyDeleteThe fire is growing as you continue your search. The flames are rising and it looks as if the fire has spread to at least 50 feet wide and the wind is pushing it ever closer to the hill you were camped on. You can only hope the hirelings can get everything packed safely and before the blaze reaches them.
ReplyDeleteYou work your way north and west as quickly as you can, calling the name of your missing comrade. After another minute of searching you are finally relieved to hear Tom's battle cry but then, as he comes into view, you realize the situation is dire.
Tom is surrounded by 3 goblins who are harrying his flanks. One goblin lays 30 feet off, dead with an arrow in it's chest and another lies dead at Tom's feet. Tom looks haggard and he is covered in soot and blood, you can't tell whose.
As Draymun leads the pack through the trees, he sees Tom surrounded by the horde of Goblins. Instantly he feels a rage build up inside of him at the site of more of his hated foes attacking a friend.
ReplyDelete"You dirty cave-squatters! DIE ALREADY!"
Bracing his shield charging full-on at the nearest of the goblins, Draymun brings his warhammer down with the ferocity of a man possessed.
[Action: Charge + Attack;
Roll to hit: 1d20 -1 (Dex) + 1 (Goblin) +2 (Rush); Result: 15+2 = 17
Damage 1d8 +3 (Str); Result: 7+3 = 10
Penalty: -2 AC until start of next turn]
The goblin is born to the ground by the force of your blow and his shoulder shatters with a sickening crunch. The creature is dead.
DeleteThe other two goblins look at each other, fearful of this visage of dwarven fury.
Khazad casts Cure Light Wounds and heals Tom for 7 hp and then raises his shield and mace against the goblins.
ReplyDelete(You can't exactly get "between" Tom and the goblins, but you can stand on his other side.)
((That's why I have Saving Shield.
DeleteSaving Shield (Combat)
You deflect attacks that could mean your ally’s death.
Prerequisite: Shield Proficiency.
Benefits: Whenever an adjacent ally is the target of an attack, you can, as an immediate action, grant that adjacent ally a +2 shield bonus to AC. You must be wielding a light shield, heavy shield, or tower shield to use this feat.))
Very cool.
DeleteThorvald sees Draymun charge into battle, smiting one of the goblins with a dwarven fury that gave him an entirely new level of respect for the ferocious little druid.
ReplyDeleteDeciding to follow Draymun's lead, Thor allows his battle lust to overcome him and, raising his mighty waraxe above his head, he charges another of the goblins.
((Enrage))
((Hit Roll 1d20 + 3(Hit) + 2(Charge) = 14+3+2 = 19))
((Damage Roll 1d12 + [4*1.5] = 7+6 = 13))
((Penalty: -2 AC until next round))
The axe comes down and the goblin is split in twain.
DeleteThorvald's onslaught absolutely crushes the morale of the last goblin and he turns to run in terror.
(Normally you guys would all get an attack of opportunity but to save time I rolled it and Tom kills him. Satisfying conclusion.)
Scanning the area, Thorvald calms himself as the last of the foes falls dead.
ReplyDelete"We should return to the others," he said. "They could need our help ensuring that the wagon is safely away from the fire."
Tom leans back against the tree, allowing his arms to fall to his sides, his longsword touching the ground, weariness and pain etched his face. He takes a deep breath, then says "First of all, thank you. Second Thorvald is right. I was tracking a dozen or more goblins, several hobgoblins and a few of their dogs. As you can see, there are 5 here. They set this fire to either burn us out, or more likely, make us split up or move. Either of the latter options are not good. Now that I've caught my breath, I think we should move with haste." With that said, Tom sheathes his sword and shield and picks up his bow. "Leave these we can return later, if we survive.", he says grimly.
ReplyDeleteYou head out back towards the path of the wagons tracks. You move quickly but carefully through the forest. The smoke threatens to choke you but you are slowly angling away from the blaze.
ReplyDeleteYou find the wagon tracks and Tom is relieved to report that there are two sets of tracks.
The party turns South and follows the tracks for a minute until you can look up and see the wagon in the distance, stopped.
"The wagon has stopped," Thorvald observed with a solemn tone. "Hurry friends, they could need our assistance."
ReplyDeleteThor sets out at a run to close the distance to the wagon.
Khazad running alongside Thorvald whispers a prayer to Torag that the companions are ok.
ReplyDeleteTom, seeing Thorvald and running towards the wagon, steps into the woods and begins scouting around. Heading clockwise around the wagon.
ReplyDeleteTom, seeing Thorvald and running towards the wagon, steps into the woods and begins scouting around. Heading clockwise around the wagon.
ReplyDeleteAs you draw close, Rethas jumps out from behind a barrel. He has his hands out, palm up, with the thumbs together and he snarls "stop, right there." When he sees it's you he drops his hands and falls to one knee. You see he has a wound on his side from the blood soaking his cloak.
ReplyDeleteThe wagon, you now see, has splinters and grooves cut into it by weapons. As you draw near and take in the whole picture, you see Alis curled up in the back of the wagon, and he is weeping.
"They, aah, they were sneaking around camp as we were loading," Rethas explains. "I didn't see them but Hamish caught sight of one and went into a blood rage. He swore vengeance and ran out to fight. One of the big ones came for us and he got some swings in at the wagon. Alis had the smarts to get the horses moving and I blasted that hob as we lit out."
Alis yells, with tears streaking down his sooty face, "they dragged him kicking and screaming into the dark! I couldn't stop the horses...I let them have him!'
Rethas finishes, "we could hear him, alive and shouting, as we drove away. He gave himself for us, but he might still be alive."
"Tom, we may need your tracking skills more than ever," Thorvald called out upon hearing the news. "Which direction did they go?" Thor asked, grinding his teeth as his knuckles turned white, tightening his grip on his axe. "If they harm Hamish, there is no place in Ashmont they will be able to hide from my wrath."
ReplyDeleteTom steps out of the woods, hearing the tale end of the story. "Thorvald, Draymun, come with me, I can't track in the dark, but maybe we can see by the light of the moon and the fire which way they headed. We need to rest and let the casters study their spells. Tomorrow morning we go get Hamish back or rid this area of goblins. The rest of you stay here and tend to Alis, Rethas and the stock, Kring, if you would, please look over these why we are gone." Tom looks at Draymun, Thorvald and Kring for their agreement.
ReplyDelete"Tom, I know it can be traumatic going through what you have but we have a man out there and I will go through the pits of Carkarogg before I give up on one of our own. Retheas, Alis... Pull the wagon out of sight and hide yourselves under the bushes or in a tree nearby... Dignity be damned elf, If you want to live to return the greatest wizard in the Elven lands you will need to survive the night. Thorvald, can I count on you to stand with me? I want us to track by the light of the moon and the fire but go without torches ourselves. Tom, Kring, Draymun... If you would stay back the choice is yours... They have hunted us and stalked us. They have ambushed us and stolen from us. They have declared war my friends, and they can't have known what that will mean. I set out to save our friend and to bury my mace into the skull of any and all that would dare oppose us. Whose with me!"
ReplyDelete"You can count on my axe as sure as Thunor's thunder rages in a storm, Khazad," Thorvald replied, holding his up as if to demonstrate his lethal intent. "I will not sleep while Hamish is a captive of those things. I cannot imagine the horrors the will inflict upon him, but I will see it end."
ReplyDeleteTurning back to Rethas and Alis, Thor steps closer to inspect their wounds. "It will be safer for both of you to come with us," he said. "Alis, take up one of the swords and shields we took from the dead at Thunor's Fist. No one expects you to join us on the front line, but you should have some measure of protection. Stay in the back, with the magic wielders. From there, you can keep a look out for us, alert us if the enemy attempt to flank us. If the situation becomes dire, you should run as fast and as far as your feet will carry you. Head east until you come upon the road, and make your way back to Bremel." Thor puts his hand on Alis' shoulder to help calm the young man's nerves.
"Rethas," Thor said, turning to the elf. "Your wounds are proof enough of your bravery and skill." Thor stepped closer to Rethas to demonstrate the sincerity of his words. "You fought valiantly against the attackers and are a credit upon your family and your race. We may yet have need of your skills. I would ask that you carry the other sword and shield with you, for Hamish. If we find him in any condition to fight, having weapons with which to arm him will mean one more blade to sink into goblin-flesh." Thor turned back to the remainder of his company, as a crazed look came upon his face.
"We set out together to help the druid grove of this forest, men, dwarves and an elf. We have been set upon by fiends and not for the first time. I cannot say that this will be the final time that evil will find us in these lands, but I can say that one of us has been taken. I am willing to get him back, but I will need Tom's tracking skills to follow them, and the dark vision of my other friends to see them. Together we can accomplish mighty deeds.
"It was by my order that they were left alone to be ambushed," Thor said looking each of his companions in the eyes, one after another. "One of us was taken, and I must atone for that. But these creatures will soon find that the Battle of the Blaze is far from over. If they have taken Hamish's life, I will hunt them to the ends of Ashmont. I will find them in their holes and drive them from the forests, burning my axe into their skulls with each step. There will be no place safe to hide and no mount fast enough to carry them from my wrath. I vow, by Thunor's name and the honor of my people, here in this strange land so far from my home, that I will not rest until this blight is wiped from the land."
Thor turns to his companions, signifying his readiness to depart for the inevitable battle.
"Khazad, I am going to assume you meant no offense when you assumed my idea to wait until morning was borne from my earlier battle. No, my friends, my caution was understanding of this situation. We are facing a more numerous foe. We may not have the numbers but we are much more intelligent, we cannot allow our care for Hamish to cause us to lose that advantage." Tom looks around to his companions, before continuing. "Make no mistake, none of these goblins will escape, this time. This will be a long drawn out battle, so do not spend yourself all on one attack. We'll find their camp, I'll get closer and get the layout. Hopefully we can see Hamish, planning a diversion to rescue him. We may be able to escape but they are going to follow, I believe these goblins have followed us. If i am found while observing, I will sound a panther scream, by now they must know it means I am hunting them. If we can get close, we can plan from there."
ReplyDelete