The Beginning of All Things (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

When Robert Speaks, Auria’s head turns in the direction of his voice
What? Robert Macintyre? What are you doing here? She talks over him for a moment, but then lets him speak.

Wedding, don’t be ridiculous. My brother isn’t ready to let his daughter marry the likes of you,She laughs. Tell me what happened in Woodbridge? Is the village destroyed? What about…

She stops when Calamity speaks. The voice seems to come from the foot of the bed, and Auria looks from side to side

Calamity Tabei. I hear your voice, girl but I cannot see you. The blow to my head has taken my sight. The druid was able to stop the bleeding, saved my life perhaps, but only time will tell if my sight will return. I know we’ve not met, young Calamity, but I know you and your family well. I have bad news for you. Robert, Robert, are you still here. Stay, listen to what I am about to tell you. This is very important.

Auria tries to sit up higher in the bed, groans at some pain and then lies back down.

Calamity, Dominic is dead. He was travelling with Cicily, Ha’Uldurah and I. We traveled to Kinamay Brawnoor, to see what the situation with the lyph village was, and when we discovered it had been destroyed, Ha'Uldurah returned to Woodbridge with the news and we, well, we intended to head west to Otter’s Lake, but Cicily, knowing how close we were to the Rowen Hill, she insisted we try to reach there before the Tafganor found it, but we we’re mistaken. The Tafganor already knew about the Rowen Hill’s secret, and our paths crossed. If only we had gone straight on to Otter’s Lake, maybe we could have raised a force in time to stop them at the shrine, but by now I’m sure we are too late. Dominic fell in battle with a water troll, a young female. She has a sister, and I was able to injure that one in ways she will not forget, but before we could escape the Tafganor brought up a young cave giant. Now listen carefully, the trolls are viscous through and through. I crossed their father many years ago, and he was even worse, but the giant, the young giant, I do not know his name, but I don’t believe he is evil. He has been tortured, his body shows it, and he has been starved. Though he is weak, for his kind, he is still very dangerous, but if he could be freed he might be turned against his captors. Robert, Robert, Calamity, listen, listen to me. The hill, the Rowen Hill is a sacred shrine, the secrets of which are known only to the great Circle of Druids of the Maetaur. Even Cicily does not know all it holds, but she told me that it holds the body of a Hill Giant Chief, one who was a servant of a great Tafganor warlord many centuries ago. But, but, not just his body, for there is something else there, some piece, some clue to a mystery she would not, or could not explain in detail. It all ties into some ancient fortress under the mountains. The fortress had some power, some connection to another plane, maybe the plane of shadow, I don’t know, and whoever is in control of that fortress can control all the Tafganor. But it was sealed, sealed by a spell in three parts, one part each was known to a powerful magic user of each of the three races, a Maetaur Druid, a Human Witch, and a Gymnaga Cleric. The spell can be undone, and the instructions for that were hidden away all over Urandoma. But they need more than the instructions. They need a sacrifice, a Maetaur Druid, a Human Witch, and a Gymnaga Cleric. Once they have the instructions and the sacrifices, they will regain the fortress. You must stop them. You must go to Rowen Hill, take as many volunteers as you can find, but you must get there soon before they find the clue that is hidden there, and you must free Cicily. They already have taken Rosilindeae, of the Gymnaga at MacNorra house, if they had not already thought me dead, they would have taken me as well. They need the sacrifices to be alive until the three spells are undone. Robert, Calamity, go to Rowen Hill, stop the Tafganor, free Cicily, it is our only hope of slowing this Tafganor uprising until the armies of Alodoa realize the real danger that has risen in the south. We need to buy them time. You need to stop them at Rowen Hill.

Auria lets out a loud moan, as her left arm shifts a bit on her chest, and then says

Once you have stopped them at Rowen Hill, go to Otter’s Lake. Take Cicily there. She will ask the Druids there to call for a council of the Great Circle. Do what Cicily tells you, with MacNorra’s House gone, and now Woodbridge fallen, there is little time.

"We will go Auria, but there is some good news. Woodbridge is not fallen. We fought off the attack and have been reinforced by Alodan troops. A number of houses were burnt, including yours but your still took out a few of them as well. As for you're brother, he may have changed his mind about me after I helped to save his life after his heart attack nearly killed him. I'll let the others know what has happened and we will go and free Cicily. One thing that might help us, what did you do to wound the troll so badly?"

After Auria and Calamity have had a chance to speak, Robert heads outside and looks for the ranger, "I don't know home much of Auria's story you have heard but I need to inform the others and you should hear it as well for your report to Castletown."

Ravena chugs ale and slurps food like a starving calf at her mother and says in between chomps and slurps Id go with ya but lets finish da story here and see where it lead us

Marwan chuckles.

You have it right, my good man. My name is Marwan Hernan Marquez del Hechizo and I am a brujo from Vurrespania, you have it correct, sir. Alas, I have lived on this island of Ori- er, Urandoma for the better part of three years and am equally uninformed as you, I'm afraid.

He shakes his head.

If it pleases you, I would rather not speak of my home country right now. It was... tense last time I was there.

Woodbridge was spared…Auria seems to brighten as Robert explains, but then when he comes to the part where he tells her about the still, her face drains of color

Damn those Tafganor all to hell for all eternity Auria mutters. Oh, yes, the troll. Well fortunately I had prepared a powerful spell that summoned searing flames from my outstretched hands. I caught the troll when she was not suspecting such an attack and burned her badly. If I had only managed to kill her after that she would be done for, but in her rage she struck me on the head with a large branch and I was knocked unconscious. My breathing must have been so shallow for a while that they mistook me for dead. I woke soon after and could hear Cicily crying out for help in the distance. This was a water troll, or flood troll as some call them. We don’t see them often in the marshes, as the grindylow are territorial and in great numbers are more than a match for an isolated troll or even a pair of them. They are often seen near the southern lakes, or in the northeast in the cold moorlands. They regenerate wounds quickly, but fire or acid will hurt them, even hurt them badly enough that they will die from their wounds if they have been injured by fire or acid.

Previously…

When Marwan mentions his misgivings about discussing Vurespania, Carter gives him a knowing shake of the head, and sighs, saying Yes, I heard a rumor, and was hoping that things were not as bad as they sound. We will not talk about it again.

Calamity would appear ready to leave at a moments notice as she thanks Auria for her time "Then we must go and save Cicily. I could not bear to see another family of my people begin to die off. I appreciate your valor in fighting against the troll... Hopefully its damages from your spell are still lasting when we approach it."

Calamity would leave her and Robert to themselves as she began to speak with the rest of the party regarding their hunting and tracking skills. She would assume STolos would have the strongest set of tracking skills given his companion, and start there.

"Apostolos... Can you and your adorable friend hunt well?"

At Calamity's approach, Stolos runs a hand through his hair. "That's difficult to answer," he says, "But I presume you're referring to Zelo, as Miss Ravena is more beautiful than adorable." Stolos grins, and then realizes that Calamity must have come with something serious in mind.

"No, I don't hunt," Stolos continues, "Zelo does, mostly for fish and table scraps when given the chance, but I've never been one for the hunt. Following the tracks is more or less the same as reading a book, with the wilderness as your pages. Their tracks make for fine reading, but unless the creature is disrupting the natural balance, I've had little reason to do much more than try and see how close I could get to it."

At Stolos' mention of Zelo being adorable, the large otter gives him a playful whack with her tail, then goes back to playing with children and begging for scraps, almost as though she's saying [i]I'm beautiful too.[/i[

Ravena blushes and gives Stolos a pinch and says between me an Stolos an Zelo we will try an find any track yer lookin for, fer sure!

When Robert and Calamity return to the tables near the road, they take a moment to inform everyone else of the situation, of Cicily's capture and the strange "mystery" of Rowen Hill.

Calamity approaches Stolos with a question. The young Gymnaga answers her, mentioning Ravena, who perks up at the mention of her name and offers her skills as a compliment to his.

The shadows grow long. The air is crisp, cool, and heavy with the dampness of spring. The people of Gowan's Crossing offer you a shelter from the weather, inside two long, low, barns behind the little tavern cottage (where barrels of whiskey are aged).

For the rest of the evening you are treated to stories about the people of Gowan's Crossing, old tales of simple farmers, family histories ("why my ma used to say that my great uncle Kirkman once went as far as Woodbridge...", good food, and stout beer.

you can take a moment, before the day ends, to discuss plans. You will be told the general direction and landmarks that should guide you toward Rowen Hill, which is northeast of Gowan's Crossing, perhaps less than half a day's journey. There hamlet has no "shops" but if there is something in the way of gear that you think you need, you can ask someone in the hamlet and see if there is a chance you might find what you are looking for.

As the night wears on, Ket approaches the group and says
There is a small group of these folk who are planning to travel to Otter’s Lake two days from tomorrow and they have agreed to allow us to travel with them. We have sold some of our skins to Aldwin Rowenland, for a good price. I consider our bargain well and fully met, Calex of Woodbridge. Go where the road rises up to meet you in peace and safety. I hope someday we will meet again, in fact, if we can do well in Otter’s Crossing I might hire a guide to bring us to your village in the summer months. Perhaps we can work there for a while, before we travel back to the southern mountains in the fall, by then maybe these Tafganor will have exhausted their anger and desire for war.

"I think maybe we should try and find something to burn the trolls with. Fire or acid. I wonder if we can find anything of the sort in the village.", Robert wonders outloud.

"Perhaps some torches could be procured," Stolos suggests. "Or even some oil."

Calex smiles his appreciation for his gnomish road-friends, and says in farewell "I would welcome your troupe, Master Ket. Perhaps, depending upon the when you arrive and how long you stay, we can show our hospitality at our harvest festival. Until we met again, I wish you clear travels and profitable trade."

Following Robert's return, Cal nods at Stolos' advice. "Oil & torches are a good idea, and easier to get than acid. Although, we are not entirely bereft of acid either." Calex suddenly swings around and in an instant throws a small smoking green glob at a nearby stone jutting from the ground. It strikes with an audible sizzling noise as the caustic substance eats into the rock before going inert. "They are called 'Conjurer's Darts' or simply 'Acid Darts'. The wounds they inflict are minor- a crossbow can do more damage, usually- also, I have only a finite number a day, just over a single hand's count. But as weak as it is, it's damage a troll won't heal from. It's an ability I've tried to keep quiet about, thinking my neighbors might find the concept of a young buck able to toss acid from his hands a little...off-setting. But times have changed."
Cal is describing his Acid Dart ability, a ranged touch attack usable 7x a day, that does 1d6+1 acid damage

Ravena will also try to buy two alchemist fire and five oils

I am also able to conjure fire if needed. I used that spell at Woodbridge, actually. I would hope that we could avoid a fight with the entire army however.

Calamity raises a hand and produces a small symbol in the air "I am capable of producing fire... And..." She snaps her fingers, producing a flint and steel like spark of flame "So long as I keep faithful and dutiful to the Royal on my path, I have more than a few ways to help against this foe... The only thing I cannot do despite being a hunter..."

Calamity blushes in embarrassment as her voice becomes softened and small "Is track it."

Robert looks at Calamity and nods, "Well it looks like we have a few people who can hurt it permanently. I do have a small amount of skill in tracking but hopefully we won't have to with good enough directions to the cave. Shall we leave in the morning?"

After Robert informs the others of Auria’s condition and the task set forth, naturally the conversation turns toward preparedness and thoughts of what to expect when searching for this place called Rowan hill.

I’ll run out to Ryan’s Farm, and see if he can provide you with a few torches, and maybe some lamp oil, Carter says, as the group settles down to drinks and a meal at the tables. The torches he makes are sturdy, dependable, and will burn for a good while, but the lamp oil he makes, all rendered from cow fat, isn’t the best, but it will burn in a lantern if you have one.

I don’t think there is an alchemist within thirty miles of here, Carter says with a shrug,but the druid south of the village can make a tanglefoot bag, I hear. He isn’t likely to give one up unless there is something he is in need of. I’ll run by his place on my way back to the village tonight. As to finding Rowan Hill, that won’t be difficult. Just head back east, to the creek, follow it north. It winds around a bit, through the western most fringes of the Green Wood and eventually leads to a spring on the eastern side of the Rowan Hill. It isn’t a large hill, but you will know it when you find the spring. The hill is topped by three large Rowans. The fruit of those trees is considered sacred and used in many rituals, sat, that gives me an idea. If the druid will go for the offer, I think I can get you one of those tanglefoot bag. No promises, but I’ll let you know in the morning.

The rest of the night passes quietly as the villagers get to know each of you as much as you are willing to share. When it is time to turn in you must separate into pairs, as a few different families are willing to take you all in for the night, but no one has enough room for more than two at one time.

In the morning, if the party is ready, you will be given one Tanglefoot bag, five torches (one hour of light each), and one pint of lamp oil. Carter will ask that if you can, the druid would like a cutting from the smaller of the three Rowan trees on the hill, and carter gives you a small sack half filled with dark, rich, soil

"Before we leave, I do have an errand to run," Stolos adds. Stolos explains his need to inspect the local ruins for the people of Gowan's crossing. "It shouldn't be more than a matter of marking the areas that need to be avoided."

Is this something that we should take care of in the morning, as it's probably getting dark?

Robert nods to Stolos, "Of course we can take care of that. If there is enough light left let's do it now, if not we do it in the morning on our way out of here. We need to continue on here as quickly as possible though."

Oh jeez, I missed the blue part of your text xD

"I should be able to help you with that, Stolos. Education and knowledge is the backbone of my background with the Maetaur. If you are inspecting the ruins then perhaps it would be best for us to use the next morning's light, instead of being caught in the dark."

"I would not recommend too long a delay, however. We are on a rescue mission, and time is not a luxury we have. Doing it now would be best. Then we can get as much rest before we leave as we can." Calex advises.

"Understood," Stolos says. "I hate to leave such fine food and attractive company, but I should be on my way. If Zelo and I hurry, we can make a quick camp for the evening. I'll be up at first light, have my work done swiftly, and be back before you've finished your breakfast."

Pausing for a moment, Stolos adds "While I hate to inconvenience any one of you, it would probably be safer if someone came with me. This is unfamiliar territory, and I'd be grateful if someone could come and assist me."

I'll go with youDarlene says as she lifts her pack.

The sun is low on the western horizon, the journey to the ruins should be less than a mile, and the locals give you good markers to follow.

I don't know how much more light we'll have but if you can learn what you need tonight, we shouldn't have to camp out there alone. If we do, we'll just take turns sitting a watch by a small fire

Stolos and Darlene can reach the ruins in less than half an hour, the sun will be almost fully set by then, but in the twilight he will be able to make a quick inspection, and then with the village lights just a mile to the north to guide them they will return safe and sound. All in all taking about two hours of time. Both will get enough rest tonight to start the day tomorrow without any negative effects.

My next post will set the scene for the morning's departure

I will send a PM to Stolos with some information about the ruins

Stolos and Darlene return to the hamlet of Gowan’s Crossing after the sun has set. The rest of you have already split up into small groups; Calex, Aniktah, and Calamity in one group, Marwan and Robert together, and Ravena, who waits for Darlene and Stolos to return watching the south, joins those two to make the final group. Each group is shown a small corner of a local house or shop to rest for the night.

When the sun rises the sky is clear of clouds, the morning air is cool and dry, and a gentle wind blows from the east.

Marwan – will you bring your cart with you, or ask the hamlet to keep it safe for you while you are away on this rescue mission?

You gather all of your belongings and meet at the road at the east end of the hamlet. The ranger, Carter arrives shortly after sunrise and gives you the oil and a few torches. He tells you again how to find the Rowen Hill, and you set off back toward the Green Wood. You soon reach the sparkling little creek on the western fringe of the Green Wood, and for a moment you take pleasure in the dazzling display of colored lights that leap out of the clear, shallow water as the rising sun reflects of the many multi-colored stones on the creek bed.

You follow the creek northward as it winds left and then right and then left again until it leaves the Green Wood entirely and flows across a grassy meadow between a slight rise to the south, between you and Gowan’s Crossing which cannot be seen from this meadow, and a series of low hills on the north.

To the north the hills are low on the right, toward the Green Wood, but on the left they are larger. There is a valley between the low hills and their larger cousins to the west and this creek seems to turn northward toward that valley. Just where the valley begins the first of the larger hills on the left can be seen. The hillside facing you is covered with thick growing but short weeds and vines and among these you can see the protrusion of a large boulder here and there. This side of the hill, facing south is steep, and would be difficult to climb. To the east it stays sheer as it turns its side toward the valley, while to the west it stretches out its base into a flatter almost easy to hike grade. The top of this hill, rising some four hundred feet above the meadow is covered with Rowan trees of various sizes, while slightly to the right center of the hill you can see three exceptionally tall Rowans growing close to each other.

This little march takes about three hours. When you are within sight of the Rowan Hill you can decide to continue to follow the creek, which will undoubtedly take you directly to the pool below the northeast side of the hill, and the little shrine of the Maetaur who used to guard this sacred site, or you can decide to head to the west, and try to climb the hill, approaching the spring (which you do not know the exact location of or how far up the hill side it begins, while getting a look at the shrine from the top of the hill. You can gather that the approach from the hill top side will give you an advantage on sneaking up on any tafganor who are at the shrine, but at the same time you cannot tell how easy it will be getting down from the top of the hill on the north side until you r4each the top

Marwan definitely leaves his cart.

I'm all for gathering as much intel as we can before a fight, but I'm almost certain that unless there is a staircase I can't see, I will not be able to make that climb.

Maybe I wasn't clear, the western slope of the hill is accessible, a steep walk, but no climbing required

Robert looks at the choices and says "I think maybe we should take the hike up. Not only does it give us a better view of what's below us, I think it will give us more cover and make us less likely to be seen."

Ravenas little legs pump and she breathes hard to keep up with the group and when she sees that hill she says a few curses under her breath but says nuthin doin but ta go up dat hill

The Rowan Hill
Day 15, morning

A quick observation of the hill ahead of the group reveals that it would be much easier, and beneficial for the group, to climb up to the top of the hill by way of the western slope.

The party turns away from the small stream, and sets their sights on the western slope of the hill.

Once they reach the foot of the hill they see that their hopes were well rewarded. This side of the hill is covered with tall grasses, wild flowers, a few small bushes and trees, here and there, and even a game trail or two. The march up the hill is easier than expected. A bit of leg work is involved, to be sure, but no one suffers, or has to fall onto their hands and knees in order to reach the top.

Once at the top of the hill, you find yourselves on a moderately flat surface about a hundred yards across, wider east to west than it is north to south. You are on the western edge of the hill top. The buses here are spread out far apart and often not larger than a Halfling. It is easy to see the three huge rowans on the eastern side of the hill top.

You carefully begin to cross the top of the hill, wary of any possible ambush from hidden tafganor scouts, but all up here is quiet.
When you reach the eastern side of the hill, you can hear the faint sounds of a gurgling spring below you. To the northeast, the hill descends in three ledges, and not in a gentle slope.

The first ledge is about fifty feet below the hilltop, and here there are scattered rocks, and a bit of grass. The second ledge is about one hundred feet below that, and here there is a steady gush of crystal clear water coming from a collection of rocks, off to the left of this natural spring there is a cave, marked by two stacked cairns, one on either side of the cave opening. Four Tafganor warriors, wearing chain armor, and carrying shields and long handled axes stand by the cave entrance.

The water gushing from the spring tumbles from the second ledge to the third, just twenty feet from the valley floor, where it forms a large pool, before it spills out of this pool in a waterfall which forms a second, larger pool below. The large pool at the valley floor is shallow, you can tell, because you can see the muddy bottom through the thick patches of growing reeds and other water plants. But there is something else going on in that larger pond. In several places you can see the pond bubbling, as if water is seeping up, under pressure, right into this pond in addition to the water being fed by the spring above.

There is a slight smell in the air, of rotten eggs.

On the valley floor, just about one hundred feet from the pond there is a shrine, made from stacked, but not mortared stones. It is a three sided building, probably no more than twenty feet on each side. The roof is made from the trunks of small trees, straight and with the bark still in place. Covering this roof is a layer of hard earth, with thick green grass growing out of it.

Between the shrine and the pond sits a hulking huge figure. He resembles a tafganor, but with dark green skin, and his head is bald. His shoulders ripple with enormous muscles, and lying by his feet, near his hand, which rest on the ground as he sits, is a long wooden club. This is either a very small Hill Giant, or one of the rare cave giants that none of you have ever seen, but you have heard stories about.
Safely observing the things below, hidden in the growth of Rowans you try to take in as much as you can, looking for a way down the hill from this side. Finally you spot a trail, which leaves the eastern side of the hill top, going to the north at first, it then switches back on itself into a very narrow path which leads from the north side of the hill top, to the first ledge, fifty feet below, From there, there is another path going back to the north and making two switchbacks before it comes to the left of the cave after rounding a large rock sticking out from the hill side. It is clear that if you can be quiet, you might be able to sneak up on the tafganor guarding the cave. Once they are dealt with, assuming you do not get the giants attention, you can enter the cave where you believe the Tafganor leader and his troll associate have taken Cicily.

Robert points to the trail and the cave entrance, "Shall I take the lead down the hill and see if we can take the tafganor by surprise?"

Kn. Nature on the Cave Troll: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

"I'm unsure of what we should do... if we may end up needing to take them all out anyways... perhaps we should all focus our power on it at once, so that we guarantee killing it before that-" Calamity points a still finger at the Cave Troll being while whispering to Robert "Takes notice of us... I could prepare a few things to give us an advantage..."

I can shoot it and draw it up the cliff perhaps, eh?

Calex is in the midst of unrolling his scroll with his Mage Armor spell in preparation for the coming conflict, when he pauses a moment to answer Ravena. "I don't recommend that. It's far more likely he'll give warning to those inside. That's what a sentry is for, after all. Perhaps if we can get close enough it may be a good time to use one of the tanglefoot bags we acquired to keep him from running into the cave to give warning? If we pin him in place, we can swarm the thing and end it quicker, yes?" After giving his opinion, he finishes casting the spell from the scroll. A protective force surrounds Calex, visible for an instant before it fades away, hidden from view. He rolls up the spent scroll and packs it away.

Robert shakes his head, "We don't need to deal with the giant first or maybe even at all. He's all the way down on the valley floor while that cave is part way up the hill. If we sneak down there he may not see us take out the guards and if he does, it will take him some time to get up there and we should have taken care of the guards by then. Let's sneak down there and engage the guards and see if he comes to their aid."

"If he does come up we'd have to deal with fights on both fronts, however."

"Didn't someone mention it looked as though the giant had been enslaved? Given a chance at freedom, we may be able to convince him to leave us unharmed."

well lets decide an do something fer gods sake... Ravena whispers emphatically.

"Let's sneak up on them. I'll be as quiet as I can." Robert says as he sneaks toward the orcs.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 2 - 4 = 2

EDIT: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Here comes the tin can full of rocks. I'm heading toward the one right next to the cave on the bottom left.

Ravena will sneak down toward the entrance as well.

stealth: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

Calex loads his crossbow and moves to a position atop the cliff to provide cover for those moving down to the entrance.

Marwan follows about ten-twelve feet behind Robert, cursing under his breath as Robert keeps kicking rocks and clunking along.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Calex tells the others to wait until he is in position above the cave before they try to approach the orcs.

Once he and Aniktah are seen high up, about 20 feet above the cave on a rock outcrop, Robert, Ravena, Darlene, and Marwan begin advancing into the thick brush and close trees on the side of the cave entrance

Moving slowly, and trying to be as quiet as possible.

Robert steps on a branch arched over a recess in the ground above a pile of dead leaves. His heavy armor added to his weight snaps the branch loudly

*CRACK*

and then his foot falls into the hole

*CRACKLE* *CRRUNCH* *CRUNCH*

And for a moment everyone freezes waiting to see if the orcs have been alerted

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17

The Orcs all turn toward to woods, raising their weapons, and moving in close to the cave mouth.

Unable to to believe his fortune at having all 4 orcs move into a bunch small enough for him to target, with none of his allies close enough to be accidentally caught in the range, Calex puts aside the crossbow and instead casts his Glitterdust spell to try to blind all of them at once.

Stealth: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Stolos moves between the trees, doing his best to stay silent.

Sorry I'm late!

Stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Zelo keeps pace with Stolos, barely noticeable in the woodland foliage.

After hearing the branch snap and all the noise he made, Robert turns to the group and shrugs and gives up being stealthy. He then moves straight forward and ends in the middle of the road and turns to face the orcs.

Robert turns, shrugs, and with a grin on his face, as the rest of the party comes to a stop in the underbrush, and then with a lung, he drops one shoulder and runs, crashing head long through the trees and bushes until he comes to a standing position in front of the cave. At that moment a shower of infinitesimal golden particles appears in a cloud all around the orcs.

Will Save, Red: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Will Save, Org: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
Will Save, Yel: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12
Will Save, Grn: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3

Orc Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Darlene Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

When Robert appears, combat rounds begin. The rest of the party is in the brush, Calex and Aniktah are above the cave

Ravena will get to the open out of the brush and fire an arrow.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2