The Fall of Tom Breaver

As the eagle Defiler druid left camp, Tom was slowly making a scout around the area, making sure his group was not going to be ambushed. After telling Thorvald what he knew and what he was going to do. Tom continued to scout around, looking for more clues to what was happening in the grove. As a ranger, Tom knew that what the defilers were doing wasn’t natural, despite the argument of the birdman, as the group had taken to calling him. No, even though there is death and decay in nature, all things in nature worked to provide life, not snuff it out like this.

Tom began following the druid from a distance, far enough away the druid would have had to really spend time checking his back trail to see Tom. After about a half hour, Tom realized the direction the druid was going was close to the tracks left by the wagon, but a more direct route to the road. Tom begins to close on the druid, mostly to let him know that he was following and perhaps to see how the druid might respond. By no means had Tom decided to kill him, even though he knew it probably should have been done. But, it should have been done in the right way, quick, not as Kring had done. Kring was a hothead, and he really thought of himself, not as part of a team. Tom knew that it would take time for Kring to become part of the pack.

“There, the druid noticed him. Good. Now let’s see what happens now.” Tom thought to himself. As the druid trudged along, Tom allowed his mind to wander back to his companions, his pack. Thorvald was a good man to have. He is brave and protective and willing to learn and to teach others. A raging beast in battle, but still a thinking man…to some degree, almost the opposite of Kring, who like a bull saw only red in battle, but the bull has it’s uses. Kring and Thorvald were good additions to the group. Tom was startled to see a rabbit burst from a fallen tree and in a much practiced move, Tom fells the rabbit with an arrow. He hangs the rabbit from his belt and continues following the druid.

The druid kept looking back, looking to see if Tom was closing. Tom realized how much the loss of his eagle companion had affected the druid because of how the druid kept focusing on him. Had Tom brought someone with him, that person could have flanked the druid and he probably would not have known they were there.  Finally, the druid must have tired of watching his back trail so much and settled into a routine pace. Tom’s mind began to think about the new cleric, Khazad, his faith was tested, his faith was weathered. It would be interesting to see how the cleric grew as he experienced the world outside of the temple. Oh yes, he would change or he would not survive out here.

As the druid stopped and prepared a limb to be a staff, Tom leaned on a fallen tree and thought of his oldest companion, Draymun. Draymun had power that even he didn’t know he had. Draymun was a good man, a better dwarf and a close friend. Tom was amazed what the two of them had survived, sometimes by the skin of their teeth. Tom smiles at the thoughts.

The afternoon sun is low in the sky when the druid leaves the wagon tracks and begins to head east, Tom focuses his mind on the terrain again, realizing that wool-gathering can be dangerous in the woods and after a few minutes of looking around, Tom realizes the druid is heading toward the river. As night begins to fall the druid reaches the river and begins to make camp. After the druid gets a small fire going, Tom hails the camp. The druid looks at Tom with a weary expression and nods solemnly, pointing to a spot on the other side of the fire.

Tom sits down across the fire from the druid and begins to clean and spit the rabbit. Sitting the rabbit over the fire, Tom looks over at the druid. "So, are you wondering why I am here?"

The druid pulls some of the jerky from his sack of rations and bites off a big chunk.

"I assume you've been sent to make sure I hold to my word," he holds up his hand to show Tom the wound from Khazad's blood oath.

"I've not been sent anywhere, but the gist of your comment holds. See back there you were scared and outnumbered and oaths made in your situation might be overruled by your faith, your grief or your slighted pride. Out here..." Tom shrugs and leans down and turns the rabbit some. "I am here to make sure your oath means something, even though some of the group's oaths might not mean anything to the rest of us. And I am here to see what kind of predator you are.” Tom glances at the druid as he finishes the sentence.

The druid laughs, but it is a short chortle and there's no happiness in his eyes, "you keep company with strange fellows indeed."

He pauses.

"Stalk me as long as you wish, I am no predator."

"In nature, we are either predator or prey. But I have not come to argue theory. I've come to ask you a simple question, remember I am but a simple man." Tom smirks "The question is this. Will you return to your group? Or will you break your oath? Oh, feel free to have some rabbit."

He grins slyly, "what of vultures then, simple one? They take what is left when the prey, and the predators," he winks "are dead."

"To answer your question: your short, ugly friend charged me with traveling to the road and that is what I will do. From there I will go where the winds take me. You must realize there's no place for me in polite society, looking like I do."

"Perhaps. More importantly, will you return to your ...faith? Is that what you would call it?” Tom glances up the druid as he turns the spit again, “And perhaps we are all predator and prey?"

"Of course I will continue following the Lady Oughing, it is my nature."

"Hrm, that is disappointing. See, I suspect we are going to have to root out the cause of the blight at the druid grove. I am guessing her followers might have something to do with that?"

The druid sighs, "As I have already told you, they do. Just like a colony of ants, you and your druid friend must attack my colony, and they must defend it."

"Well, this is a problem, but you already knew that. So, let me make you a promise, first time today, even. I thought about what I might say to you when we had this conversation. And quite simply, I am not that good of speaker.” Tom’s eyes become hard as he stares at the druid, “But here is my oath. If I see you at the colony, if I see you in battle, I will find your eagle and I will kill it first. Then I will kill you. Please do not return to the colony. If you break the oath you made to the young dwarf, it will damage his already shaky faith. And he is a member of my pack. And I will die to protect my pack." With that Tom stands.

He shrugs, "I'm tired of your threats. Fight me or leave me."

He pokes the fire absently and takes another bite of jerky.

"See, no one takes my oath seriously, perhaps it is my age, perhaps my height or build." Tom sighs. "No, this is no threat it is an oath. For what it is worth, I am sad that my friend killed your friend after he surrendered. He needs to work on that. But asking the wolf to not howl is hard. I'll leave you to your journey. Your oath was made, try not to howl, do not return to your group. Safe travels." Tom nods to the druid and drops a gold coin in the dirt by the fire.

"For your journey." Tom leaves the fire and begins to head back to the wagon.

Tom spends the first 30 minutes moving stealthily through the woods, using the darkening sky to see where he is going and making sure he is not followed. Tom didn’t think the druid would do that, but it pays to be careful.

After about a mile or so, Tom stops and lights a torch, so he can move faster and hopefully get back to the wagon before the first watch ends. He will need to sleep, it’s been a long day, a log couple of days even.  About an hour and a half from the camp, Tom hears several heavy figures moving through the forest. Unfortunately, his senses are dulled by the darkness and how tired he is becoming. Almost immediately, Tom sees 3 orcs appear at the edge of his torch and hurl javelins at him. He dodges two of them, but the third bangs off his left thigh. Dropping his torch and equipping his shield, Tom prepares to do battle, knowing there is no way he can outrun these orcs.

As Tom closes in on the orc on the right side, Tom keeps his shield between him and the others, he feints high, the orc tries to counter with his arms, but Tom swings his sword down and cuts deeply into the orc’s belly. The orcs then draw Falchions and attack, but Tom is too fast and makes them miss. Tom’s defensive maneuvers make it hard for him to get a good shot in and the orc easily parries the blow.

The orcs seem to execute a feint on their next attack, Tom dodges the right hand orc’s attack, blocks the middle orc’s attack but that leaves him open to a massive blow from the left hand orc. The orc’s Falchion drives deep into Tom’s back, the only thing that saves him from a mortal wound is his chain shirt.

The right hand orc is out of position and Tom’s sword finds his mark, the orc growls fiercely and barely stays on his feet. Tom howls in victory. And as he turns to face the two other orcs, his howl is cut short by the sight of the middle orc slashing down with his Falchion, Tom is completely helpless, his shield is blocking the left hand orc’s attack and his sword is still coming through the body of the right hand orc.

Tom’s mind flashes his life before his eyes, his companion’s faces staring at him. Draymun, Kring, Thorvald and Khazad, all look at him. As the Falchion bites into Tom’s neck, Tom realizes that like Kring, he’s been too much of a lone wolf, he should have brought one of them with him. The pack is greater than the sum of its parts.  As the life drains from Tom’s eyes and he slumps to the ground, Tom realizes how much he will miss the pack….

Onward toward the Grove

September 5, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning. Morning


You move a bit further down the trail so as to be away from the battle site. You set up camp and everyone is in a dour mood for quite some time. Things brighten up, however, when Hamish manages to put an arrowhead under Alis as he's sitting down. Draymun cracks first and before long everyone is laughing, even Alis.

It's a quiet evening spent in leisure. It's easy to forget the darkness and desolation right outside the firelight when you fall into the routine of camp.

The night passes uneventfully but you grow more and more concerned about Tom.

In the morning, Tom has still not shown up.

The Druid Grove

September 4, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning

The camp is restless and jumpy the rest of the night but you do finally settle down and get some much needed sleep. The sentries report very little movement at all over night. In the morning, Sina arrives riding on a green stag and she tells you her story over breakfast.

The druids grove centers around an ancient tree, most druids know the grove is a source of power but few know where that power comes from. Beneath the tree, and she has trouble explaining this part, is some sort of gateway or portal that the fey use to travel between their realm and the material plane (your world.) She says when the gnome exodus occurred, many of her clan used this gateway to escape.

In the past few weeks, the area surrounding the grove has begun to mutate and wither. The trees are turning black and animals are dying or being transformed into abberations. She says the taint is spreading outward and somehow strengthening inward, so that the grove itself is now under direct magical attack.

If that tree is turned, there's no telling what will happen to the balance of nature in the area or the portal to the feywild.

She offers to lead you through the forest on a secret route that will get you to the edge of the taint by mid afternoon.

The Hunt

September 3, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning.


Rethas takes the sword and shield, "I won't be able to cast a spell while holding these in my hands, but I will carry them until such a time as Hamish has need of them."

Alis with take the weapons grimly and you see in his eyes a spark of light and a hardening of purpose.

The telling of the story and the preparation takes some time. Alis pulls the wagon into the trees and you help him throw some fallen branches on it. Draymun offers a goodberry to all who will take one and it fills you with warmth and sates your hunger.

The fire has burned itself out to some extent but it is still big enough that you decide to go around the back of the fire, where the goblins were starting it. It is easy enough for Tom to pick up the trail of the rest of the warband from there.

You track, by the light of spell and the moon, for long minutes. Sometimes Tom has to double back and pick the trail up again. At times Draymun sees a branch or stone out of place and can help lead the party. Once you're north of the hill, the trail is easier; there is blood to follow.

A half a mile north of the hill you find something that lifts your spirits a bit. One of the hobgoblins, covered with burns and blisters, lies dead. It has bled out and was left to die. Rethas grins to himself.

The tracks run up to the river and then head east. It's another half of a mile before Tom calls a halt. There is firelight in the distance and the sounds of goblins yelling and cheering.

Days Three and Four on the Trail, Great Progress

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!)

Day Three on the Trail, Combat in the Woods

September 2, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning. 2 AM

Tom's arrow hits it's mark and one of the dark shapes lets out a shriek of pain. The others immediately drop to the ground and begin crawling forward to get into bow range.

Rethas (20):

Rethas, it turns out is already awake and comes out of the tent crouching low and takes up a position behind the wagon. He takes no other action and is waiting for orders.

Foes (17):

Several arrows come out of the darkness. One sticks in a log next to Khaza and others fly over his head but he is uninjured. Several more arrows fly around Tom but only one hits it's mark (3 damage).

You can barely see the shapes lying on the bank of the stream, they'll be hard to hit as long as they're laying down (-2).

(The horse shape is the wagon, I didn't have a wagon shape. The other two are the tents. Black dots are the shapes Tom saw, yellow is Tom and red is Khazad. Each hex is 10 feet. I know we're using hexes instead of squares, hope it doesn't ruin anyone's life til I can figure out a different way to map.)

Day Two on the Trail, North of Bremel

September 1, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning.

The joviality of the camp is good for everyone after a night of weirdness. Everyone seems content enough taking a leisurely pace with breaking the fast and packing but since the morning started before dawn for most, the group is still ready to leave by 7 am. There is much joking and singing but you might still catch Draymun looking with concern deeper into the trees when he thinks no one is watching.

The NPC's

Alis follows Thorvald like a puppy dog, offering to carry your gear and cook your meals if you'll only let him learn to fight like you. (He'll make a fine quartermaster and cook, if you can just get him to sit still.)

Rethas sulks and complains a bit about being stuck under the tarp but eventually falls asleep again. His eyes continue to be bloodshot and his mood continues to be dark. He hears about the severed head and growls, "why didn't anyone wake me? Familiars are one of my specialties."

Hamish tries to be of use but you can tell he's getting tired of the subterfuge and even more tired of Alis' young enthusiasm. He also eats as much as all the dwarves together. He spends his morning sharpening his handaxe and oiling his chainmail.

The Traveling Salesman

The road is again agreeable enough. Mid-morning you meet a man going toward Bremel pulling a hand cart. He offers to sell you some items:

oil of magic weapon

50 gp

Potion / Oil

arcane scroll of level 2 spell, spider climb (caster level 3)

150 gp

Scroll

potion of eagle's splendour

300 gp

Potion / Oil

wand of level 0 spell, resistance (caster level 1), with 50 charges

375 gp

Wand

(If you want to purchase any of his wares, feel free to do so after the fact.)



Shortly after the salesman Tom looks to the sky and decides its time to enter the forest. This is old growth oak and beech woods with trees as high as any building you've seen, towering eight or more stories into the air. The forest floor is covered in years' worth of debris but since there isn't much undergrowth the wagon can still be brought along, but at a reduced pace. It's eerie how fast you are engulfed by the old woods and without so many trained woodsmen, you might be lost.

Rethas, who hasn't spoken more than five words to anyone will beg anyone to purchase the wand. He'll offer to pay you back double and threaten to leave with the traveling salesman if you don't buy it.

Entering the Forest

Around evening time you find a clearing that Tom states was probably burned in a lightning storm many years ago. There is a stream nearby and there is grass enough for the animals. The clearing is about 50 feet across.
(You have two hours of daylight. You are halfway across the next hex on your way toward the grove.)