Post by David on Jan 14, 2014 20:25:00 GMT -5
The heroes (Rhanée with Emrys, Zauloman, Locke with Grendel and Black Feather, Vanity, Tolinar, Tolus, Redwolf, Corona with Frost, and Jax with Swinger) rest in Dragondale before attempting to return to attack the ogre settlement. Garlok hears of the mission and along with Timrith, Mizzrie, and Aerone, joins the party. Unfortunately, Rhanée tries for seven days before being able to successfully scry the ruins with her magical mirror.
The heroes step through to winter in the North. The magical fountain remains deserted and the group hikes to the overlook. There, the party can see the ogres once again at work broadening their clearing, this time with four peripheral guard towers. The group retires to the shrine of Hanali Celanil where Zauloman sniffs up some treasure (it's a dragon thing...). With Garlok's urging, the group decides to attack in the early morning before dawn, using the darkness as cover and trusting that elven nightvision is far superior to ogre infravision.
Garlok dons his magical ring, takes half of Mizzrie's potion of flight, snatches up a silence stone from Vanity, and joins the dragons to take out one tower. With the dragons far-overhead, the prince sneaks in invisibly and silently into the tower, backstabs an ogres and makes quick work of the two orcs and skeleton within. He then signals to the party to continue before repeating his method on the main tower in the ogre settlement...
The heroes get about a quarter mile PAST the tower, hiking across knee-deep snow when horns sound in the ogre lair. The group pauses but there is no sign of anything. After a minute or so, Timrith and Zauloman fly low in the sky, Timmy appearing to be wounded and barely able to remain aloft (while waving at the party below!). The two dragons appear to fly off toward where the party gathered for their initial assault. The heroes continue across the snowy fields...
They reach the edge of the ogre settlement when howling worgs sound an alarm. The heroes rush the front where two ogres guards stand armed with massive crossbows the size of ship's ballistae. The ogres open fire, but the heroes make short work of them. Rhanée tosses a knock to open the front gates and inside are the frozen corpses of several orcs as well as a couple of worgs that Garlok is finishing off.
The heroes pause a moment and four ogres come through a pair of double-doors to their right. Beyond there is a hall full of the monsters. The party makes fairly short work of the vanguard, but prepares for a withering battle. Zauloman spits acid on several ogres as well as a hill giant. Rhanée unleashes fiery dragon breath, but nothing falls (other than incinerated orcish servers!). That's when Corona casts pyrotechnics on the central cooking hearth, sending sparks and smoke to blind all of the foes...! BEST USE OF THE SPELL EVER!
The heroes surge into the massive chamber. They slaughter nearly all of the ogres, though an ogress witch manages to escape, using the eyes of her giant weasel familiar to see. Nearly two dozen ogres are not so lucky. In addition, the heroes slay the chief, the sub-chief, a hill giant, three ogre clerics/shaman, and three albino ogres with twin horns which breath cold. Thanks to Mizzrie, the party also meets, defeats, and captures the orcish smith as well as slaughters a cave bear.
Aerone, Rhanée, and Mizzrie search a bit and another horde of ogres arrive, but Timmy softens them up with sleep breath and the heroes take them quickly with Aerone and Tolus leading this charge. In the confusion, several females in the kitchen and hall try to make a break for it, but the heroes intercept and slaughter them, mostly via Garlok's ice storm ring and Locke's sleep. One ogress in particular appeared five times in the group, but after the ice storm she is gone...though Zauloman and Timmy notice a dead orc in her place and attack! So much for the ogress witch!
The heroes search one whole side of the fortress, finding and slaying many orcs as well as ruining some wood elf stew the ogres were making. They then begin a methodical search, completely searching one building and the main hall, finding worgs (which Locke convinces to "leave or die") and a flight of stairs down.
The heroes assemble some 20' below ground in a huge chamber far beyond what ogres are capable of crafting. Mizzrie notes that this is elvish work, but VERY old. Rhanée's detect invisibility spell finds a secret door to another large, abandoned room. Zauloman spies a glint of treasure, moves forward, triggers a glyph of hold person, and releases four starved, insane, and filthy yeti, which the party dutifly slaughters. The beasts are fed from a garbage chute from the kitchen, but the treasure turns out to be glass.
Rhanée finds another secret door and the heroes return upstairs to some sort of privy chamber with maps of the region...including the location of both Myrendelle and Fangoria! Returning back to the cellars, Rhanée finds yet another secret door. Beyond is a trapped floor that Garlok fails to disarm. The prince falls 30' into a pit with barbed and poisoned spikes (his feather fall saves him). That's when the roof slams shut, dropping him into darkness, and six skeletons with poisoned blades attack!
The heroes save Garlok and deal with the undead. Beyond is a treasure room...and a magical trap! A bolt of purple energy clips several party members. Timrith, Frost, Redwolf, Jax, Grendle, and Tolinar all disappear. A telepathic conversation between Rhanée and Swinger reveals, however, that the druid is still alive. All except Jax and Frost rendez-vous at the entrance to the ogre settlement where Aerone and Vanity are standing watch over the orcish smith. These heroes then head to rejoin the party below...
Meanwhile, the heroes find more treasure, very cleverly hidden, including behind an illusionary red-herring. Corona stone shapes access to the horde the party finds quite a bit of magical (and probably elven) loot. That's about when a host of ghouls, skeletons, and shadows attack the party from the rear, tearing up Corona and Tolus. The heroes deal with them but several party members are hurt, particularly Swinger. Heading back, the teleported group runs into the undead and more as well as a pair of orcs. Only SCREAMING on the party of Timrith gets the heroes attention quickly enough to save Redwolf and Corona, though both the brass dragon and Tolinar are also wounded pretty badly in the process. The two orcs escape.
Next move?
Status:
Mizzrie: 46 of 63, 5gbs, darkness, cast CLWx5 / FT, hold
Tolinar: 41 of 52, 7gbs, -2 STR
Redwolf: 15 of 55, 8gbs, -7 STR
Aerone: 58 of 67
Tolus: 18 of 33, 8gbs
Garlok: 83+ (full), standing EC
Timrith: 34 of 60, 7gbs, -2 STR, sleepx2
Corona: 13 of 22, -1 STR, cast DSP, FFx2 / pyro!, CLWx2 / stone
Frost: 21 (full), still missing
Jax: 20 (full), still missing
Swinger: 12 (full), 5gbs, -2 STR and cracked ribs (minimal combat)
Locke: 24 (full), cast sleepx5 and MM
Grendle: 12 (full), last heard at the treeline outside
Raven-NoName: 6 (full)
Vanity: 36 (full), blessx2, cast CLWx2, FF / Silence
Rhanée: 27 of 31, 5gbs, 60 of 83 PSPs, cast ECx2, CLWx3 / all 2nd / all 3rd / dragon, NPx2 / FS but with 14 herbs and 19 gbs extra
Emrys: 16 (full)
Zauloman: 50 of 55, 6gbs, acid
The heroes step through to winter in the North. The magical fountain remains deserted and the group hikes to the overlook. There, the party can see the ogres once again at work broadening their clearing, this time with four peripheral guard towers. The group retires to the shrine of Hanali Celanil where Zauloman sniffs up some treasure (it's a dragon thing...). With Garlok's urging, the group decides to attack in the early morning before dawn, using the darkness as cover and trusting that elven nightvision is far superior to ogre infravision.
Garlok dons his magical ring, takes half of Mizzrie's potion of flight, snatches up a silence stone from Vanity, and joins the dragons to take out one tower. With the dragons far-overhead, the prince sneaks in invisibly and silently into the tower, backstabs an ogres and makes quick work of the two orcs and skeleton within. He then signals to the party to continue before repeating his method on the main tower in the ogre settlement...
The heroes get about a quarter mile PAST the tower, hiking across knee-deep snow when horns sound in the ogre lair. The group pauses but there is no sign of anything. After a minute or so, Timrith and Zauloman fly low in the sky, Timmy appearing to be wounded and barely able to remain aloft (while waving at the party below!). The two dragons appear to fly off toward where the party gathered for their initial assault. The heroes continue across the snowy fields...
They reach the edge of the ogre settlement when howling worgs sound an alarm. The heroes rush the front where two ogres guards stand armed with massive crossbows the size of ship's ballistae. The ogres open fire, but the heroes make short work of them. Rhanée tosses a knock to open the front gates and inside are the frozen corpses of several orcs as well as a couple of worgs that Garlok is finishing off.
The heroes pause a moment and four ogres come through a pair of double-doors to their right. Beyond there is a hall full of the monsters. The party makes fairly short work of the vanguard, but prepares for a withering battle. Zauloman spits acid on several ogres as well as a hill giant. Rhanée unleashes fiery dragon breath, but nothing falls (other than incinerated orcish servers!). That's when Corona casts pyrotechnics on the central cooking hearth, sending sparks and smoke to blind all of the foes...! BEST USE OF THE SPELL EVER!
The heroes surge into the massive chamber. They slaughter nearly all of the ogres, though an ogress witch manages to escape, using the eyes of her giant weasel familiar to see. Nearly two dozen ogres are not so lucky. In addition, the heroes slay the chief, the sub-chief, a hill giant, three ogre clerics/shaman, and three albino ogres with twin horns which breath cold. Thanks to Mizzrie, the party also meets, defeats, and captures the orcish smith as well as slaughters a cave bear.
Aerone, Rhanée, and Mizzrie search a bit and another horde of ogres arrive, but Timmy softens them up with sleep breath and the heroes take them quickly with Aerone and Tolus leading this charge. In the confusion, several females in the kitchen and hall try to make a break for it, but the heroes intercept and slaughter them, mostly via Garlok's ice storm ring and Locke's sleep. One ogress in particular appeared five times in the group, but after the ice storm she is gone...though Zauloman and Timmy notice a dead orc in her place and attack! So much for the ogress witch!
The heroes search one whole side of the fortress, finding and slaying many orcs as well as ruining some wood elf stew the ogres were making. They then begin a methodical search, completely searching one building and the main hall, finding worgs (which Locke convinces to "leave or die") and a flight of stairs down.
The heroes assemble some 20' below ground in a huge chamber far beyond what ogres are capable of crafting. Mizzrie notes that this is elvish work, but VERY old. Rhanée's detect invisibility spell finds a secret door to another large, abandoned room. Zauloman spies a glint of treasure, moves forward, triggers a glyph of hold person, and releases four starved, insane, and filthy yeti, which the party dutifly slaughters. The beasts are fed from a garbage chute from the kitchen, but the treasure turns out to be glass.
Rhanée finds another secret door and the heroes return upstairs to some sort of privy chamber with maps of the region...including the location of both Myrendelle and Fangoria! Returning back to the cellars, Rhanée finds yet another secret door. Beyond is a trapped floor that Garlok fails to disarm. The prince falls 30' into a pit with barbed and poisoned spikes (his feather fall saves him). That's when the roof slams shut, dropping him into darkness, and six skeletons with poisoned blades attack!
The heroes save Garlok and deal with the undead. Beyond is a treasure room...and a magical trap! A bolt of purple energy clips several party members. Timrith, Frost, Redwolf, Jax, Grendle, and Tolinar all disappear. A telepathic conversation between Rhanée and Swinger reveals, however, that the druid is still alive. All except Jax and Frost rendez-vous at the entrance to the ogre settlement where Aerone and Vanity are standing watch over the orcish smith. These heroes then head to rejoin the party below...
Meanwhile, the heroes find more treasure, very cleverly hidden, including behind an illusionary red-herring. Corona stone shapes access to the horde the party finds quite a bit of magical (and probably elven) loot. That's about when a host of ghouls, skeletons, and shadows attack the party from the rear, tearing up Corona and Tolus. The heroes deal with them but several party members are hurt, particularly Swinger. Heading back, the teleported group runs into the undead and more as well as a pair of orcs. Only SCREAMING on the party of Timrith gets the heroes attention quickly enough to save Redwolf and Corona, though both the brass dragon and Tolinar are also wounded pretty badly in the process. The two orcs escape.
Next move?
Status:
Mizzrie: 46 of 63, 5gbs, darkness, cast CLWx5 / FT, hold
Tolinar: 41 of 52, 7gbs, -2 STR
Redwolf: 15 of 55, 8gbs, -7 STR
Aerone: 58 of 67
Tolus: 18 of 33, 8gbs
Garlok: 83+ (full), standing EC
Timrith: 34 of 60, 7gbs, -2 STR, sleepx2
Corona: 13 of 22, -1 STR, cast DSP, FFx2 / pyro!, CLWx2 / stone
Frost: 21 (full), still missing
Jax: 20 (full), still missing
Swinger: 12 (full), 5gbs, -2 STR and cracked ribs (minimal combat)
Locke: 24 (full), cast sleepx5 and MM
Grendle: 12 (full), last heard at the treeline outside
Raven-NoName: 6 (full)
Vanity: 36 (full), blessx2, cast CLWx2, FF / Silence
Rhanée: 27 of 31, 5gbs, 60 of 83 PSPs, cast ECx2, CLWx3 / all 2nd / all 3rd / dragon, NPx2 / FS but with 14 herbs and 19 gbs extra
Emrys: 16 (full)
Zauloman: 50 of 55, 6gbs, acid