"Per'aps Navah woul' be happy ta have a couple more creatures fer her collection?" Rogar suggests, "Ah don' think she has any dragons."
Wulfram replied, "Getting them back to Longshadow might be tricky, but we might as well ask her if she has any ideas, should she be interested."
Navah is impressed by the efficiency in which you took out your foes. She looks upon the chained wyverns with pity. "I don't think we have the time or resources to spare to care for these creatures. Besides, most of the creatures in my menagerie are of animal intelligence. These wyverns are sentient beings, and they don't deserve to be enslaved against their will. I don't think they'll be a threat to us if left to their own devices. We should set them free."
Assuming you agree, the dragons snarl as you approach to release their chains, but do not attack. They show little gratitude, quickly flying off to the north.
"That was faster than I anticipated," Navah says. "I can use another teleport spell to take us to another camp if you are up for more combat."
"Aye. Ah hope ye are fine wi' walking home, Navah. Ah coul' do this all day." Rogar says, dusting off a bit of debris on his arms.
Wulfram considered the strategic options. "I agree that the munitions camp is the best option. It's closest to Longshadow, should we need to walk back with freed prisoners."
"We've taken care of the air attacks that we know about. I agree we should go to the munitions camp. Let's do as much damage as we can before the attack comes."
Navah teleports you a short distance outside of Ecru, and you approach the conquered village. The changeling explains that the small community made most of its wealth pit-mining sulfur in the surrounding hills, which other settlements use as fertilizer and in various alchemical mixtures.
It seems that the Ironfang Legion burned most of Ecru in its invasion, leaving only a few stone buildings standing alongside the open pit mines that give the entire area the stench of rotten eggs. The town is built on several terraced levels on the rocky terrain, with a polluted creek running through the middle providing most of the water.
A simple crane with block and tackle is set up near the pit, with wooden ladders leading down to the bottom thirty feet below. A crude, 10-foot-high wall of stone encircles the village. Two cantanekrous goblins stand guard outside a wooden gate.
Eustoma shivers at landing with a second teleport during the day. She looks around, "Let's see if we can find an easier way in."
The wall looks relatively easy to climb over. Alternately, you could swim up through the creek and try to break open the sluice gates to get in that way. Of course, magic might give you all sorts of alternate means of entry.
"Aye. Ah'll move in." Rogar nods, sneaking up as close as he can once the others are all in position and ready, unsure of how well he can approach unnoticed.
Wulfram replied, "My flight spell lasts for hours, so I'm good. I'll stay back and wait for your signal. I'll stick out like a sore thumb when I start moving!"
Unfortunately, Eustoma and Rogar don't get far before the deceptively perceptive goblins notice their approach. They shout an alarm!
Wulfram cursed under his breath when the group was spotted. He flew forward and said a prayer to bolster his allies.
"We'll that didn't go as planned." She fires three arrows into the goblins.
Sia moves forward into melee.
Rogar moves forward slowly, sending off a steady stream of metallic shards, one after another.
Karla disappears and sends Nik'o forward while Wulfram blesses the party. Rogar hurls a barrage of metal spikes at one goblin, and Eustoma finishes him off with some well-placed arrows! As the goblin falls, his body twists and changes into the form of a hulking canine beast--a barghest, like the one you fought in the forge of Fort Trevalay! Sia rushes at the other one, but can't quite reach it yet.
"Good kitty! Nice kitty!" the other goblin says, trying to charm Nik'o.
Wulfram flew towards the remaining goblin. "Forward!", he called to his fellow party members.
Rogar continues his barrage and slow advancement, turning the stream of metal towards the surviving “goblin”.
Nik'o pounces on the goblin, grabbing him as she sinks her teeth into him and tears at him with her claws. Rogar's blast pummels the foe even as Sia comes down and takes its head off with a critical strike from her jaws! The headless body reverts into the form of a barghest as well.
Flying invisibly over the battlefield, Karla can see down into the pit to the south. There, a pair of hobgoblin engineers oversee a dozen pale-skinned morlocks wearing smoky goggles. They swing picks at the walls of the quarry. They don't seem to be responding to the alarm.
She can also see over the wall around the town. Ecru is little more than a smattering of soot-stained stone walls and three still-standing buildings. Legion forces have draped canvas tarps over some of the ruins to create temporary shelters. A phalanx of hobgoblin soldiers has begun to assemble in the center of town. Some wield longbows while the others surround them with spears and shields at the ready.
Eustoma drinks a potion of Invisibility and hustles up to the gates with the others. This might not go as well as we thought, but the Barghest.
She whispers to the others so they know she is nearby. "Should we try to lock them down with obscuring mist?
Wulfram waited while everyone moved up. When he heard Eustoma's whisper, he replied, I have a Fog Cloud spell I can cast, as well as a Stinking Cloud. Just keep in mind that the fog cloud stays around for almost 10 minutes; I can't dismiss that one!
"I'm probably going to try to encircle a group of the enemy with a wall of fire. Stay within 30 ft of each other while we get ready. When we're good to go, I'm going to give everyone I can see a Blessing of Fervor."[/b]
"Ah coul' jus' wall up tha gates if ye give a minute." Rogar says, "Per'aps we shoul' all take ta tha air and turn invisible fer this attack? We coul' deal a good amount o' damage if they don' know we're attacking." Rogar suggests.
"Just remember that I can't give you the blessing if I can't see you," Wulfram replied.
"Dealing with them confused or blinded sounds like a fine idea. I'll only be invisible until I attack. It should help me get closer."
Wulfram moved closer to the walls. "Let me know when you're all all ready, and I'll cast the blessing," he said.
Rogar downs a flight potion before the fight starts, but also creates a small staircase going under the gates, in the hopes that it won't be seen by the hobgoblins, while still being big enough for the oversized animals they used for fighting.
The hobgoblins cry out as they feel Karla's magic assaulting their minds. Gritting their teeth, they manage to find off the confusion, their intense training regimen granting them exceptional willpower.
Wulfram said to Eustoma, "Grab on to me if you want a lift! I can set you on top of the wall if you like." He flew up 20 ft to the top of the wall.
Wulfrlam feels two small hands grab his waist, and a small voice say, "I'd like that ride."
Rogar rises into the air, trailing earth and stone into a spiraling column extending below him, "Ah, thi' feels weird!" he comments as his feet leave solid rock for the first time in quite a while.
Eustoma grabs hold of Wulfram as the enlarged shaman flies up over the wall. Rogar rises up as well, gathering earthen energy from the ground beneath him. Nik'o and Sia use Rogar's burrow to squeeze under the wall and come up on the other side!
Proving quite agile, the soldiers leap away from the pit as it suddenly appears, avoiding falling in. Nik'o pounces on the troop and tears at them, though their tight shield wall blunts the force of her claws. They suffer light injuries.
The troop jabs at the big cat with their spears, hooking them beneath her feet and tripping her as well! Meanwhile other soldiers fire a volley of arrows at Nik'o' Wulfram, and Rogar. They move to avoid the pit.
Wulfram dodged some of the arrows, and the power of his spell prevented most of the remaining damage. He waited for his allies to shoot, and then invoked a prayer to the flame spirits, who caused an opaque wall of flame to surround the enemy!
Pele chortled with glee, *Feel the might of the Flame Spirits!*
Sia bounds up and attacks the hobs. She bites
Eustoma lets loose with a Burst of Nettles.