The Journal of Calamar Eldanil:
PART 3 - WAR
Chapter
9: Under Siege
20th Goldfields 591
The next morning we once again
set off toward Wardlow. During the four-hour trek to the edge of the
forest, we twice more came across evidence of the giants. By midday,
we reached the forest’s edge and could see the town off in the
distance. There was much activity in the fields surrounding the town,
which we rightly assumed to be the investing army.
We tried to remain stealthy as
we made our way in a wide arc around to the south shore of the bay.
It took most of the day for us to travel parallel the Lumton
road while skirting the farmland. We saw no farmers – nobody
working. We did see a couple of patrols move of to the south in the
direction of Dullstrand and Birzoon. We ducked and hid as patrols
passed by us heading hither and yon on some business or other. Some
small distance to the south, we saw some columns of black smoke, most
likely burnt-out farms we surmised. As we turned north, we hid as
a troop of eighty or ninety foot soldiers
marched off toward Lumton, led by a better-dressed
type and a spellcaster of some type.
The others recognized the area
around the farm we were near as where they rescued the mayor’s
daughter from the amazons who had kidnapped her. A quarter mile from
us was the horse farm where we had purchased our horses some time
ago. Small signs such as this almost gave us the feeling that we were
“home.”
We reached the coast three or
four miles from Wardlow. Kiri identified warships patrolling the mouth
of
We finally reached a small farm
on the coast and Rackhe noticed that there was a wharf. The pier was
large enough for a 25-foot boat, the type with a single sail in common
use amongst the fisher folk of the area, but none was in sight upon
our arrival. Instead, he discovered a small overturned rowboat hidden
under some brushwood of to one side some distance away. Kiri suggested
that we wait until nightfall and row in as being the best plan. My
lady ensured us that we could do this but that we should be wary of
the tides so as not to find ourselves trapped in the middle of the
bay, or worse, thrown against the warships at the mouth of the bay.
Rackhe would row, lending his strong Norse muscles to drive the craft,
and Kiri would pilot the boat.
Come darkness we launched our
small boat into the water and set off to the harbour. We noticed that
the ships were Wardlow ships guarding the bay, no doubt form a fleet
of Isles ships somewhere off in the ocean. We rowed out into the bay
and turned toward Wardlow harbour, also noticing that the enemy was
encamped just beyond the walls of the town right up to the shore of
the bay on this side. Doubtless, the northern side of town was also
encircled in this manner.
As we drew closer to the town,
we noticed activity on the walls of the town. Suddenly a bolt form
a ballista mounted on one of the harbour gate towers sailed over our
heads, warning us that we were under observation and such. This intended
warning shot drew a wry comment from Rackhe: “You’re aim
is off!”
“Identify yourself!” came a quiet call from the wall. After we
called forth our names we were told to row to an empty berth on a
wharf to our left.
“By Kord!”
said Rackhe, looking at Narion. “You give people a bunch of
bows and they shoot them at you!”
Upon arriving at the dock, we
disembarked and, as a small group of soldiers gathered about us Rackhe
suddenly burst out with, “Bring ale … now!” I have
no idea what suddenly got into our friend but he was definitely acting
not himself. Perhaps the stress of the past few
days since our decision to return to the town were taking their
toll on him.
A rope ladder appeared and a person
with a shield and cutlass, who we recognized as Ieric
the watch commander, welcomed us. “The army seems to have collected,”
he stated matter-of-factly.
Again, our Northman friend displayed
a certain lack of tact when he pronounced, with no preamble or caution,
“There’s a spy in town.”
Aghast at this sudden announcement
in such a public place the three of us startled and, in unison, tried
to shush our ranger friend, “SSSHHHH!!!!!!” We climbed over the wall using the ladder and
made our way into the town. In Wardlow, the market area had been given
over to refugees as a tent city. All the stalls were gone. There were
narrow spaces between the tents and very narrow aisles between the
groups of tents. I had never seen so many wretched people gathered
into such a small area before. My heart saddened that these simple
easygoing folk, as I had come to know them, had now become prisoners
in their own town. Surely, the farmers and other workers of the land
who were now huddled within the safety of Wardlow’s walls were
finding the situation frustrating and dispiriting.
But not everyone’s sprits
were cast in despair. A bright voice was heard calling over the crowd.
“Hallo!! Look, it’s that lovely
lady. Hallo!” It was Leodd, the horse
trader. “Good to see you! My family is here too.” He displayed
great enthusiasm and, looking about a little closer, I noticed that
there were actually many who were bearing up not just stoically but
with hope. Indeed, our arrival itself seemed to be some small ray
of hope for the town. Of course, with my three friends, now they had
cause to be hopeful. For, if anyone could help turn the tide of the
conflict, it was my heroic companions.
Many of the men-at-arms were also
camped out here. The town militia was usually about sixty strong,
as Narion informed me. It was much swelled now.
There were other murmurs at our
arrival: “Who?” “Elves!” “The ones from
before?” and other such comments reached my ears. Some of the
refugees were waking and staring out from their hovels, peering at
the new arrivals with wonder and surprise.
Ieric led us toward the main west gate
and the White Swan where we arrived about an hour before midnight.
“My friends!” Ivorian greeted us, assuring us that he
had hoped we would manage to return and that he had kept our stuff
stored safely during the crisis. He could only give us one room for
all of us as the inn was full, but he did offer to have a bath drawn
for Kiri, who was much appreciative. She does enjoy her bathing.
Coreb the stable boy gave Kiri a big
hug. I mussed his hair and asked how he had been doing during the
siege as I draped my arm about him and followed my companions into
the taproom. There was much trade in the common room, it seeming to
have become a gathering point for many of the townspeople. Quillana
was not to be seen and we were told she was helping to brew healing
potions for the populace.
We waited until we were bathed
and settled into our rooms before returning to the common room. Quillana’s
daughter Alishya was performing, She is a very beautiful mix between
her mother and her father, and she, while she performed quite superbly,
was doing her best to raise the spirits of her audience. Many people
were listening to her performance, some of the better of society in
town included. We called for wine all around, and ale for Kiri, as
we settled into a small table crammed into a corner of the room. Our
arrival had drawn some small attention from the crowd gathered, and
some raised hands or mugs in greeting as we settled in.
Ieric passed on the word that
Rackhe asked Ivorean, “I
don’t suppose you have any of that choco
cake left?”
“No. Plain fare only,”
he apologised. “Treats and such are not common these days as
most bakeries have been given over to baking loaves for supplies and
for storage.”
Rackhe nodded his head. “I
completely understand, my friend. I guess it was too much to hope
for.” So we dined on a fish stew and bread for a very late supper; passing the time in quiet and contemplative companionship,
acknowledging those of the townsfolk who hailed us or greeted us by
name. The night took on an air of quiet and hopeful camaraderie. Only
one small niggling thought buzzed about my brain.
What, by the Seldarine, was ‘choco’?
21st Goldfields 591
Toady we were off to visit the
mayor.
“Captain Kiri’s first
command!” chimed in Rackhe. The ranger’s spirit was certainly
changeable now. Perhaps he was letting some of his stiffness go and
embracing his elfblooded side more. If this
was the case then my counsel seems to have been taking root. Joining
the mayor and us in conference were magistrate Culbane and the town
clerk, the latter of which was promptly asked to leave. We filled
him in on what we had been doing and what we knew. Culbane had some
of his books with him that might contain pertinent information. As
he spread them out he stated, “I’m glad you’re on
our side of the wall.”
Before my Ratiker friend could
launch into a report or something about the enemy dispositions or
such, I responded, “So am I. The food is better.” That
made everyone chuckle a little and lightened the tense mood in the
room.
Alexander and the magistrate brought
us up to date on what information they had to enlighten us. Only minor
skirmishes had been the activity so far. No grand attack had been
launched at the walls as yet. Some refugees had headed off south to
Dullstrand. Gearra, adept of Ehlonna, was trying to keep the refugees
in the Foxwood safe. I cast forth a sending to Gearra: “We made
it. How are you faring?” Her reply came back: “Glad you
made it. Many giants in Foxwood hunting refugees. Help would be nice.”
We talked more of our plans. I
was very worried about the giants and their incursion into the Foxwood,
as were my friends. The mayor and magistrate also saw that this may
be a factor in the coming battle; especially
so if the giants could be freed up to aid in assaulting the town.
Narion cleared his throat and,
in his confident and serious tone, said, “A town falls to three
causes: storming, starving, or traitors.” Kiri mentioned the
letter we had recovered from the scout up north, which I gave to the
mayor.
We discovered that travelling
with Lord Tees is a wizard named Lazarus Solnee.
Rackhe then suggested hitting
their stores and supplies more. A theory he called like an army being
‘a 3-legged stool.’ If you knocked off one of the legs,
the stool couldn’t stand. I didn’t follow the plan at
all, but he said that it might force them to reveal the traitor early
and flush them out.
“We can’t be concerned
about everything all at once,” said the mayor. “We must
plan sensibly and securely, and not react willy-nilly to any event
that comes along. An army of giants would end the siege quickly.”
Turning to me he added, “Calamar, you look thoughtful.”
I begged his pardon and cast a
quick sending to Sillana to get news on her situation. Her reply was: “Raids progressing well. Rumours
of giants true. We are intending to help refugees to the north.”
We continued to discuss plans until we all agreed that our party was
best disposed in a small strike at the enemy, but also that the giants
were a threat not to be taken lightly. It was finally decided that
we would tackle the problem of the giants.
I shuddered slightly at the thought
of meeting up against more of the fearsome brutes. But those refugees
in the Foxwood had little defence against their depredations, and
much less than the resources of my three heroic companions. I would
take comfort knowing that while the Coronal of Arvandor guided me
and shone on my spiritual path, I could stand by my friends and their
stout and stalwart talents. I cast a final sending to Sillana to “keep
pressure on their northern supply lines,” which she responded
to with the words, “A sigh of relief!”
We retired to
the White Swan to rest and prepare for our sortie to the Foxwood.
On our return to the inn, we ran
into Selmar, the assistant to Alphdis, as he was collecting some food and healing supplies
from Quillana. He was busy seeing to the community and administering
what aid and comfort he could provide. He
also told me that the
I spent the remainder of the day
quietly carving woodland animal toys for the children of the town.
A young lad, Bearld (his mother being a
craftsperson), was a helper to me in this.
Rackhe went to purchase supplies.
Upon his return, he told me he had stopped in to the Rumbling Kitchen
and asked Jerinni for some cookies to give
to the town’s children. Jerinni and
her staff were busily baking bread for the townsfolk and she said
she didn’t have any time at the moment. That did not deter my
northern friend though and he advised her. “Then when you have
the time send a cookie to each child and bill it to me.”
Kiri went to see Melera at the Amazing Bean for materials so that she could
scribe some scrolls, which she did and spent the remainder of the
day scribing arcane writings onto parchment.
Narion went to the Sorcerer’s
Cart to see if he could find a wand enchanted to enlarge the person
or desired target of the spell. Apparently, he had seen these used
to good effects in “the old days” when he was in the army
of Sunndi.
In the evening, as I sat quietly
by the fire working on a small wooden bear, I received a sending from
the
My reply: “In Wardlow, We’re
fine. Town surrounded. Would help if you could harass
enemy. Blessings,” and turned back to my work.
22nd & 23rd Goldfields 591
The next day was more of the same.
I had produced a fair number of small carvings to distribute to the
children and hoped to do so before we made our sortie. Our plan was
to leave in the small hours of the morning this night on the twenty-third.
That evening we were called to
the wall to observe the enemy’s preparations.
24th Goldfields 591
As we were preparing in the small
hours of the morning, I left my suit of celestial armour for Kiri
and decided to wear my unenchanted chainmail.
I felt that she would best be served by a suit of armour that allowed
her to work her sorcery without as much restriction. Plus, it allowed
me to know that she was ably protected by the divinely enchanted mail.
When Kiri went to gather her things
she found that I had obviously already been
and gone. She found her present and was quite pleased, perhaps relishing
the smooth and liquid golden light that seemed to flow from the armour.
We climbed over the harbour wall
and were rowed to the south shore, a little further away than we had
departed it, by two local fishermen and a couple of armed guards.
We paused at dawn so that I could pray to the Seldarine in a small
copse of trees in the farmland, and then rested until mid-afternoon
some five or six miles from town on near the
It took five hours or so to make
the forest. We noticed a few patrols (a handful or two of troops)
in the distance during our journey. As they seemed to take no notice
of us we continued unhindered on our journey.
We came across the last ambush
site we had found. Rackhe drew out an enchanted lens of detention
to search for sign and determined that five days ago they “went
that way” he said, indicating a path off slightly to the north
of us.
An hour after midnight we stopped
to rest and camp for the remainder of the night.
While I took my turn at keeping
watch that night, about an hour left until the dawn, I heard something
skittering in the trees … Suddenly I saw that a gargantuan spider
had approached the camp. Being used to being watchful, I prodded my
friends awake as soon as I noticed it. I then called forth the power
of Corellon to grant me a portion of his righteous might, filling
me with a divine power and feeling my muscles and bone and sinew swell
with his grace.
The massive spider dropped down
from the trees, biting me sharply with its mandibles about my waist.
I felt the horrible poison flow into my veins and numbness began to
spread through me. Rackhe scrambled out of his bedroll and struck
at the creature. In the ensuing fight, while I cast forth spells to
delay any poison that it spewed at us, my friends struck at it repeatedly,
but it succeeded in biting all of us, although only my lady fell susceptible
to the poison; my two stout warrior friends being too robust for it
to have effect. She finally dropped the spider with a bolt of arcane
energy, it falling lifeless to the ground at our feet.
I did the best I could to see
to our wounds, but I knew I would have to wait for the coming sunrise
to have Corellon grant me the power to tend to the poison the flowed
in the veins of both my lover and me.
It was a long and tense hour until
dawn.
25th Goldfields 591
As the sun broke the horizon and
filtered through the trees, I prayed for the power to neutralize the
poison that affected us and also for the power to restore us to full
health and vigour. Once that I had gently healed
my lady and me, we packed up camp and set off to see if we could discover
the giants.
About an hour later, we picked
up the trail of the spider. Rackhe tracked it to its lair and we found
many hanging bodies of different woodland creatures and some humanoids.
Amongst the scattered corpses and belongings, we found two magic potions.
Collecting the enchanted vials, we set off after the giants.
Sure enough, soon after Rackhe
detected giants ahead.
As I cloaked myself in an enchantment
granting a divine protection upon my vestments, Kiri drew forth her
wand and enchanted herself and the other two with the grace of a cat.
Rackhe then headed off to scout out the foe. After about ten or fifteen
minutes Rackhe returned with bitter news. “We may have bitten
off more than we can chew.”
He had discovered a camp of six
or seven ogres, three or four hill giants, two humans (one possibly
a ranger and the other a spellcaster) and a half-orc in full plate
armour. There was also an ogre mage, a spellcaster of ogrekind
that was a most devious and fearsome foe to face, as Kiri informed
us through her knowledge of things arcane. The good news was that
approximately ten humans were tied up on the ground still alive; the
bad news was that two had been spitted and were
roasting on the fire. This sickened me and also seemed to cast
pallor over my friends.
Once again, Narion help to steel
our resolve. “We haven’t bitten off more than we can chew…
we just need to be smart. We need a plan.”
Narion suggested we prepare a
trap for the creatures, as we would have the advantage of surprise.
Then Rackhe could execute the manoeuvre he was best known for and
draw them back upon our position. This caught me a little askance,
but I decided that if the stout spearman thought it a good plan, who
was I, with my limited knowledge of tactics, to nay say him?
Rackhe would try and slay the
spellcaster and then draw the rest upon us. We prepared an ambush
site using the magical paints pot by magically creating a pit with
a big bear trap at the bottom of it. Kiri then climbed up a tree overlooking
the clearing and Narion and I hid off to one flank, he finally tugging
me behind a tree to better hide myself when he caught me hunched over behind
the inadequate cover of some brush.
Rackhe headed off toward the enemy,
hiding so effectively he was invisible even to us. He
then cast a spell to ensure a good hit but was spotted by their scout,
who shot and hit him with an arrow. He managed to snipe at
the robed spellcaster, scoring a sound hit that dropped him in his
tracks. He then turned and began sprinting back to where we lay in
wait. The chase was on!
Two ogres and a giant set off
after him, the other three giants pelting him with large rocks, and
the enemy scout firing arrow after arrow
after him.
I called forth for the Seldarine
to bless our party, and readied to throw forth the divine vengeance
of my god upon these evil beings that were despoiling the woodland.
As Rackhe moved to swing around
and join Narion and me, the two ogres and the giant, who was limping
slightly, burst into the glade and fell into the pit, springing the
bear trap. The giant let out a tremendous shriek of pain, which was
answered by bellows from the enemy camp.
As Rackhe joined
us to the flank, the three giants and some more ogres strode into
our ambush and were greeted by one of Kiri’s fireballs that
landed directly over the pit containing the two ogres and the limping
giant. At the same time, I let for my
divine spell straight at the larger giant in the centre of the three.
Narion waited as two more ogres advanced on us, then dropped his wand
and cast forth a magic missile at the giant, then stooped to pick
up his wand once more. Rackhe waited patiently by our side, blades
drawn and a look of grim determination on his face.
Kiri drew forth one of her scrolls
and cast another ball of fire on our surprised foes, causing little
concern to the large giant, but more than hurting his two companions.
She even managed to drop two of the ogres. I once again let loose
the divine vengeance of the Seldarine upon the larger brute.
Then they turned, one giant charging
at my spear-wielding friend, another charging directly at me. The
third giant turned and withdrew after throwing an ogre at Kiri’s
tree, bellowing, “Get one in tree!” The ogre ran up to
the tree, grasped it around its trunk and began shaking to for all
it was worth. This didn’t seem to disconcert her much and she
cast forth a missile of arcane force at the retreating giant, causing
him to fall face first into the forest loam.
The trapped giant heaved out the
charred carcass of one of the ogres and tried to gain his feet. The
ogre at Kiri’s tree, deciding that his prey was not being removed
from the tree by his first attempt, began to clumsily climb the trunk
but only made it five her six feet from the ground. His ungainly arms
and legs grasping the tree with grim determination, he was no contest
to the limber elf maiden that sat astride a sturdy branch some feet
from his grasp. She calmly looked down at the giantkin
and cast forth a bolt of ice, smacking squarely into his snarling
gnashing visage and driving him to the ground, dead.
Meanwhile, our battle settled
into a more traditional set to, as Narion’s spear, Rackhe’s
blades, and my sword all did sterling duty against our immediate foes;
dropping all who faced us though taking some wounds in return. To
my great chagrin, the last ogre dying from another blast of arcane
force from Kiri fell directly on top of me, his great bulk crushing
me to the ground so that Narion and Rackhe both had to help me extricate
myself from beneath him. As I got to my feet and dusted myself off,
I thanked them and drew my sword, once again set to do the gods’
work this day.
At this point, the giant in the
pit finally managed to climb out and rise to his feet, beginning to
lumber away back to the camp. Narion called forth one of his lesser
orbs of acid and sent it after him, slaying him with great finality
… not to mention messily.
*~*~*~*~*
We now had to decide on what our
next course of immediate action was to be. Should we withdraw to rest
and refit? Or should we set off to rescue the prisoners being held
in the camp?
Of course, I was completely in
favour of rescuing the hapless souls held by the foe. How could I
turn my back on them now? After some small discussion, I convinced
my friends on this course, and we spent the next few minutes seeing
to our wounds and preparing to face the remaining enemy.
Narion and Rackhe led off, our
intention being to come in at their camp from another angle.
After gaining their flank we burst from the trees, discovering the two remaining
ogres amongst the human prisoners, threatening to end their existence
at the slightest provocation. From behind, a great fallen log the
sorcerer popped up and cast forth a glowing ball of fire at our party.
It burst with a great explosion in front of Narion but he managed
to turn slightly an deflect the blast, only
receiving a small singe to his side. The ranger and the armoured half-orc
popped up and loosed an arrow each at Kiri, both missing her but only
by inches. The ogre mage was nowhere to be seen.
Narion closed with the first ogre,
dealing it a most grievous wound to its belly, as Kiri, unrolling
another scroll, returned the wizard’s fireball with one of her
own, intending to land it in the very centre of them three shielding
themselves behind the log. Unfortunately, her mystic powers were obstructed
this once by her armour and the spell failed to manifest.
As the sorcerer and half-orc prepared
to receive us, the human ranger let fly a pair of arrows at Narion
but missed widely. Rackhe then charged the other ogre amidst the prisoners
and opened a sever gash across its face and shoulder.
Cautiously, I slowly moved forward
to the prisoners, preparing myself to try and dispel any magics that came our way. I knew the ogre mage was still
out there somewhere and I wanted to be ready to protect my friends
and the humans. The two ogres were engaged with
both Narion and Rackhe, but were not succeeding in causing them harm
at all. Narion speared one through the gullet, killing it,
and then, spinning swiftly to face the other a few feet away, quickly
drew a javelin and dropped him as well. Rackhe drew two arrows form
the ranger that both went wide of their target.
Kiri called a warning about the
group behind the fallen tree and, buoyed by the divine powers of the
celestial armour, launched herself up into the air. She drew her bow
and, in a lightning display of archery, shot three times at the spellcaster,
hitting him once. Taking umbrage at this, he in turn cast for a magic
missile at her, which was deflected by her enchanted brooch shielding
her from these bolts of arcane force. The half-orc
had drawn his sword and was set to defend his companions.
Rackhe charged the fellow and,
as he leapt up to the log before him, the warrior let go with a mighty
swing at my northern friend, missing him marginally. Narion cast forth
a ray enfeebling the half-orc and draining him of almost half his
strength, weakening him in the fight against the northern bladesman.
The half-orc bounced another weak blow off Rackhe’s
defending blade and was rewarded with four swift strikes of the scimitars
as they flashed in and out of his guard, wounding him twice.
The ranger, sensing the fight going to close quarters, now stood and
drew his own swords, bearing a longsword in one hand and a shortsword
in the other. He rose just in time to meet the fury of an elven warrior’s
spear as Narion launched himself over the impromptu barricade at the
man, driving his spear deeply into the man’s thigh.
Seeing his two worthy guardians
so embroiled with our friends, the sorcerer cast an enchantment to
become invisible and disappeared form sight. While the ranger failed
to score against Narion’s defence, Rackhe felled the half-orc
with a mighty blow to his skull. Narion stabbed the ranger and watched
with some satisfaction as the lifeless body slid from his spear to
fall in a heap on the ground. Just as he raised his head from the
kill, he heard the faintest whisper of the invisible wizard running
through the glade’s long grasses.
Meanwhile Kiri and I had other
problems to worry us. The ogre mage, his great bluish-skinned horned
bulk reappearing floating in midair just in front of my lover, made
to threaten her so I called forth my divine power and drew the magic
form his power of flight. Sensing the change as he fell, he turned
in a gaseous cloud of mist and began rising again. I once again readied
to cast a holy enchantment upon him as the situation developed. Kiri,
sensing close work ahead, slung her bow and drew her slender rapier.
The mist began to drift in my
direction, yet I waited patiently in my place. Kiri threw a magic
missile of force at the misty figure but it went right through it.
Still, I waited patiently for I knew the ogre mage would reappear
before springing its attack. As he did so, I cast forth a blast of
shimmering colour and chaos that hammered into him, succeeding in
overcoming his arcane defences yet not wounding him as severely as
I had hoped I would. He lashed out at me and missed. I called for
the might of the righteous to fill me with power as Kiri landed and
stabbed at the ogre mage. It was at this point that Narion, having
slain his ranger opponent, turned and hurled a javelin at the creature,
narrowly missing.
As I cast another spell of divine
power on myself, and Narion leapt to our defence, the ogre mage stepped
back and called forth a cone of icy cold snow and ice upon Kiri and
me. She managed to avoid much of the blast but I took the full force
directly as I had been moving to melee with him, sorely wounding me
though I managed to stay on my feet. Narion and Kiri pinned the thing
between them and made short work of him, even though he tried to make
a last ditch attempt to turn invisible and escape.
On the other side of the camp,
Rackhe had stabilized the ranger with a curative potion while he scanned
about for signs of the escaping wizard. He stooped to begin tacking
the vile little man and, yelling that he had found the trail, set
Narion off to join him. Kiri and I would see to freeing the refugees.
“Go see to the prisoner,
I have important things to do here.”
She looked at me warmly and, with
a soft kiss and a hand upon my cheek, said, “Please, heal yourself. You are near dropping in your tracks.”
“I will,” I replied,
“But I have to see to these people.” Giving me a last
worried look she smiled, nodded, and went off to see to the enemy
ranger. I tried to calm them down and, after a minute or so of explaining
who we were and that they were safe now, they picked up their mood
and, upon being released, thank me profusely for my aid and that of
my friends.”
As Kiri brought the restrained
prisoner to the centre of the glade, Narion and Rackhe returned with
the wizard, whom they had chased down and captured. He was bound and
gagged securely to prevent him from using any magics
to escape our grasp.
An older man amongst the refugees
told us, “Don’t know if this is all of them. A hill giant
and a couple of ogres have gone out hunting or something.”
“I think you don’t
have to worry about that group anymore,” said Narion. “We
put paid to a similar group a few days ago. I’m sure we can
handle them if they turn up.”
They warmed to this news, proclaiming
us all sort of heroes and such. I smiled gently and said, “Be
that as it may, my heroic friends and I think that we should rest
here tonight, have some food and water, and in the morning we will
see about getting everybody out of the forest and to safety.”
As a few of the refugees assisted
me in settling people and beginning a cleanup of the camp, a search
of the camp by my friends uncovered some obvious loot from the bandits’
activities. A chest yielded much coin and gems, along with a silver
ewer and two matching chalices. Kiri also found an enchanted set of
arm bracers amongst that recovered from the captive wizard. Many curative
potions and a wand of curative magic was found, which led me to believe
that the armoured half-orc had actually been a cleric of some evil
god, most probably Old One Eye, Gruumsh.
As it turned out I was incorrect, it being
found that the ogre mage bore a holy symbol both around his neck and
tattooed on his forehead. Unfortunately I was not familiar with the
cult indicated and could not discern which of the gods the creature
had worshipped.
Further yield included an enchanted
bow and a pair of odd magic goggles of opaque dark crystal. When Rackhe
tried on the goggles he found that he was empowered with the ability
of darkvision, such as the dwarves use to navigate their deep dark
tunnels. Kiri also managed to discover the wizard’s book of
spells, which gained her intense interest for many minutes after.
We healed ourselves and then set
about camp, burying the two dead souls and my saying words over the
graves. It was a simple ceremony but was much appreciated by these
simple country folk. The refugees consisted of two men, eight women
and six children, to each of whom I gave one of my carved wooden animal
toys. Then, as the refugees and their families settled for a light
dinner of thin stew and bread liberated from the bandits’ stores,
we turned our attention to our two prisoners.
Standing in front of the two,
Narion and Rackhe began discussing what to do. In an attempt to intimidate
them, Narion asked, “Do we question them before we kill them?”
The ranger appeared concerned at this. The wizard started trying to
flail about, apparently hopping mad. Both were tall, slim blonde fellows.
Kiri drew forth her charm person wand and this caused the wizard to
become extremely agitated and begin prodding the ranger as best he
could. She decided to use it on the ranger first, but failed to gain
any success. Apparently, his will was stronger than that of the soldiers
we had previously captured and now sat in Blackhollow Fortress.
Narion sighed. “We tried
this the nice way, now we’ll try it the hard way.” He
hung the man upside down from a tree to begin the interrogation.
To prevent further traumatizing
the refugees, I left and went to keep the children occupied and away
from the messy business. Unsurprisingly, in light of their recent
experience and emboldened by our presence, they wanted to taunt the
prisoner. To keep them calm and out of harm’s way, I told them
some stories of elven heroes and mighty battles.
While Narion’s questioning
was going on, the wizard suddenly leapt to his feet. He had managed
to slip his bonds and charged headlong at a one of the peasants who
sat sharpening a short little dagger. Narion turned and tossed a tanglefoot bag at the man while Rackhe charged off after
him. The spellcaster turned and lobbed a rock at Rackhe, causing him
to swerve to avoid the missile and fail to close with the wizard.
Then the man jumped at the peasant, seizing the dagger and driving
it into his own breast, wounding himself badly. I cast a powerful
curative spell on him and began to wrestle with him to try and wrest
the knife away from him. Kiri tried to plunder his thoughts as well
as charm him but achieved no success. We finally managed to subdue
him again, but Narion and Rackhe both decided that it would be best
to put both our prisoners out of their misery. They justified this
as being necessary as the two appeared to be bound somehow not to
reveal anything further of the enemy forces arrayed against us. While
this was a hard task to reconcile with my faith, the epithets and
curses hurled at us by the wizard, and our failure to draw out the
information from either by magic, showed them to be both wholly evil
and unlikely to repent their sins.
While I was working my way through
this dilemma, Kiri placed a warm gentle hand on my shoulder and said,
“It’s for the greater good. Right now, you need to help
shepherd these people to safety and we can’t have them hindering
us at every step. I’d suggest that you try and call upon the
powers that be after you’ve rested to see if you can speak with
their departed souls.” I saw the sense in her words and resignedly
agreed to do this for the sake of those depending on us for aid and
assistance.
Narion’s questioning only
yielded that their mission had been to enlist the aid of the giants
to create a diversion and help hunt us down. He said that our group
was the target of this plan. It appeared that we were not unknown
to the enemy, the ranger providing very good descriptions of us
and saying that we had been called “elves causing trouble,”
and that they felt this was a good method of dealing with us while
their larger plans got put in motion.
I sat with the human refugees,
and continued to comfort and console them well into the night. Each
child was rewarded with a small wooden animal toy, which they
seemed to enjoy most heartily. I also started to formulate a plan
that would allow us to resolve the issue of the refugees as well as
keep on our task of scouring the Foxwood for enemies.
*~*~*~*~*
As he stood watch that night,
Narion heard the returning giant patrol that the forester had described
to us. He roused us from our slumber and I woke up the two men, Olaf
and Ygor, who stood resolutely on guard with Kiri and me. We
were to guard the camp and the women and children, while my spearman
friend and Rackhe confronted the giant and his band.
As he approached the sound further,
Narion discerned that there were two ogres as well as the giant, and
they were holding six captives that were kept cowed by three large
worgs. Narion signalled our ranger friend to let them pass
slightly, which they did, and then he stepped out and yelled, “Hey,
you stupid giants!”
The great brute turned and, with
a deep throaty chuckle, urged at his two ogre companions, “Oi, look! An Elf! Dinner!!!” He launched a rock at Narion but missed widely.
Cursing in his foul tongue, the giant charged my soldierly friend,
one of the worgs leaping to his side as
he did so. The other two worgs began circling
the prisoners.
As the two ogres and the worg
and giant closed with Narion and Rackhe, who were now engaged in a
swirling melee of blades and stout clubs, the ugly sod once again
began bellowing, this time in an effort to arouse his friends in the
camp, little knowing that they were now food for worms, “Oi
boss! Wake up! There’s elves in the
forest! Yo, in the camp!”
The melee carried on and, from
our position in the camp, with a quick look to me, and a nod of agreement,
we decided that I would remain to defend our charges while my lady
went to aid our friends. She nimbly bounded off into the trees, readying
her bow as she went. To help bolster my two country companions, I
began telling them of a heroic and epic elven defence of a glade against
a horde of giants boiling out of the hills. It was a small tale from
my childhood and I did take some liberties with it, but the two men
seemed to be steadied by my words and so I felt justified in some
poetic license.
Now with all three of my heroic
friends laying into them, the giant, ogres and worg were soon put
down, the last two hellish animals running off deeper into the forest,
and the prisoners rescued. They turned out to be a family of a mother
and father and four children. They were very relieved to have been
rescued, fearing that their lives would soon be brought to an end
in the giant camp. They were escorted into the camp and there we rejoiced
at their good fortune, some of our other refugees waking to welcome
and settle them into the warmth of our communal brethren. At that
point, I knew my plan to aid these people would be a good one.
*~*~*~*~*
26-27th Goldfields 591
The next morning I was full of
nervous energy. I had never tried the prayer I was about to attempt
before, and I doubt that my friends had ever seen this particular
ritual performed before. I roused myself shortly before dawn and set
about quietly making preparations. Some of the camp was waking at
that time and those that did looked curiously at me, wondering what
I was up to.
I drew on my vestments and then
positioned myself on a small flat rock to one side of the glade. I
called for the divine power to grant me the golden splendour of a
majestic eagle and praised Corellon. Then I closed my eyes, extended
my arms and began to chant. My chanting and the prodding of their
fellows brought the rest of the camp to their feet. Children rubbed
sleep dust from their eyes as elders stretched and yawned, wondering
what the little elf priest was up to.
As the sun crested the horizon
and the first rays of golden warmth kissed my upturned face, my chant
swelled and then stopped. Before me, a silvery glow began to form
and grow bigger. It grew to eclipse me from the others and then, in
a brilliant surge of heavenly energy, resolved itself to reveal the
strong figure of an Eladrin. I had summoned forth one of the allies
form the higher planes to assist me in looking after our human charges.
As I opened my eyes to greet the Bralani Eladrin, I smiled and welcomed it in my home tongue.
It greeted me in the same and asked, “For what service have
you called me forth, good Calamar Eldanil?”
Those in the camp, including my
three stalwart friends, stood gaping at the being, its heavenly essence
wafting about it, full of fragrance and warmth of the fields of Arvandor.
I bowed and softly said, “I ask your assistance in helping these,
our charges, to a place of safety outside the forest. They have suffered
much and I and my companions cannot properly see to this and sweep
other enemies from the Foxwood.” I offered it the enchanted
bracers we had recovered from the wizard. “Please accept this,
a humble gift to acknowledge your great service to us in this matter.”
The angel nodded, “This
I can do.” It looked at the two fresh graves over the dead farmers
we had been unable to save. “And this I will do, Calamar Eldanil.”
I bowed my head again as the Eladrin turned and made its way over
to the gathered throng of peasant folk. The heavenly ally knelt down
and a small child approached. The little one gazed at the smiling
face and then, after extending a small hand to brush the robe of the
being, she climbed into its lap and gently laid her head against its
breast. The Eladrin extended a broadly muscled arm and, cradling the
child, stood and beckoned to the humans, “Come, my friends,”
and began to lead them out of the forest.
After Ygor,
the last of our charges, had followed the angel into the wood, giving
us a small wave as he did so, Kiri approached me as I stood in my
beatific state and gave me a small kiss on my cheek.
My young northern friend shook
himself out of his startled stance and exclaimed in a loud voice (as
he is wont to do), “What, by the gods, was that?!?!”
“This is the power of the
Seldarine, my friend,” I replied. “I asked the Coronal
for help, and it was sent to me.”
“You asked for help …
and it came?!” I nodded slightly, giving
this Northman who was so often confused by in his faith a warm smile.
He looked at me a moment more, shook his head, then
turned to see to finish packing up his gear in preparation to move
on.
As we shouldered our packs, Narion
came up beside me and, clapping me on the shoulder, whispered, “You
missed your calling, my priestly friend.”
“How so?” I asked
him quizzically.
He chuckled, “You should
have been in the theatre.”
We all shared a laugh at that;
then turned our minds to the grim task ahead of my calling forth the
spirits of our dead foes to see if we could glean any further information
from the afterlife.
All we managed to glean from the
two came from the wizard. He and his cohorts had been tasked by one
“Solnee”, whom we took to be
Lazarus Solnee, the ‘LS’ whose monogram we had witnessed
on the enemy communication we had liberated so long ago. When we asked
after the reason for him taking his own life, we discovered that it
was “the rules of the pact of the Brothers.” This would
be the Scarlet Brotherhood, the foul body that had been so involved
in the manipulating and posturing that had led to and been rife throughout
the Greyhawk Wars that had ravaged the entire continent. If there
were agents of the Scarlet Brotherhood involved in the actions of
the enemy advancing on Dullstrand, then no plan would be as simple
as it first seemed. The Lordship of the Isles was less of a danger,
compared to the insidious evil of the Scarlet Brotherhood. We also
discovered that there was indeed an agent of the Brotherhood involved,
the self-same Lazarus Solnee.
Once my enchantment had ended
and the spirits had been sent to their final rest, with a brooding
air over the news we had uncovered we packed up our gear and left
camp. We now decided that this news was of such import as to warrant
a quick return to Wardlow.
Without much adventure or difficulty
(we seemed to have broken the back of the giant incursions with our
defeat of the enemy band we had encountered), we made our return entrance
to Wardlow at dusk the following day.
*~*~*~*~*
TO BE CONTINUED...
Home | | Campaigns | GM Corner | Gallery | | Message Board | Reviews | Gaming Resources
©2008 thecompanyofstrangers.com