Round One: initiative 21:
In hand: Composite Short bow
Free action: shift bow to left hand
Move action: move forward to entangled dwarves while drawing short sword.
Standard Action: cut net
Morgan moves forward, drawing her sword. "Hang on, boys!" she says, as she begins sawing at the net with her sword.
In hand: Long Spear
Free action: None
Move action: Move to DF 41 - Prepare for AOO's
Standard Action: Cast Bless
Mit'l runs forward to defend the trapped dwarves, while casting bless on the party.
Morgan
Crom
Mit'l
orcs
Mit'l casts as he advances and Morgan slices at the net. Although cutting a few ropes, there is much more to cut.
Crom tries to escape the net.
A group of angry bestial creatures you recognize as orcs rush to surround the party, and Crom retaliates as one rushed past him.
Four orcs swing at Kelgar with clubs, and one connects hitting him in the head knocking him to the ground.
ORDER OF ACTION
Theorn
Kelgan (unconscious)
Ozzy
Horster
ROUND 2
Morgan
Crom
Mit'l
orcs
"We should get the Hells out of here!"
Ozmund begins to into the familiar sleep spell from one of the prepared scrolls he made during their last rest in town.
Sleep spell: DC-14 will save
Kelgan slumps down into the entangling strands of the net, but his helm seems to have blunted the very worst of the strike, preventing his life from bleeding out of a cracked skull.
Round Two:
In hand: War Axe
Free action: NA
Move action: NA
Standard Action: Attack Orc DG39
Two orcs are left incapacitated with brutal swings of Crom's axe. Unfortunately they will probably retaliate.
ORDER OF ACTION
Theorn
Kelgan (unconscious)
Ozzy
Horster
ROUND 2
Morgan
Crom
Mit'l
orcs
Round 1 Init 4
Horster moves up, and has a go at the first orc he can get a decent shot on. "Maybe M'til or Morgan can move past Kelgan and open up some space here. I can cut the net with my dagger."
Rpund 2 = Initiative 21:
In Hand: Composit bow (left) short sword (right)
Move Action: Sheathe sword
Standard Action: fire arrow at orc in square DE39
Morgan sheathes her sword, and draws an arrow from her quiver. She draws and fires at the orc on the other side of the prone Kelgan.
"This looks very familiar, boys, and not in a good way!"
The battle started out nine to six in favor of the orcs, but it looks like it will soon be five to seven as Kelgan is hit with a lucky shot to the head and downed as Crom retaliates with two quick shots of his axe. Morgan fires a shot wide at an orc.
Tripping a net trap had started the party off at disadvantage, but Crom was able to quickly free himself and down two orcs!!! The blessing of Mit'l hangs in the air.
Horster tries to free Kelgan.
but the tarred ropes and the fact that Kelgan cannot help, leave the unconscious dwarf hopelessly entangled in tarred, sturdy hemp.
The leader yells:
Mit'l
orcs
"Well here goes nothing ..."
Mit'l tries to move past the rightmost orc to make some space.
To avoid aoo
Mit'l draws the attacks of the orcs on the right as he moves by the incapacitated orc before he fall to the ground.
He takes a single blow
Two of the orcs fall unconscious as he moves into spear range but the third hits him with a brutal shot with the club hurting him. Mit'l then stabs the orc incapacitating him.
The two that were injured fall down bleeding from the exertion of attacking the cleric.
The orcs continue to try to hit with their clubs and surround the group with abandon. Crom chooses which orc to attack, but considers the one running over Kelgan to reach Morgan and Ozzy.
One orc steps inside the spear and attacks Mit'l before falling on the ground bleeding, but his deathblow takes Mit'l down. The orcs hit Crom three times with aimed club blows knocking him brutally to the ground. Ozzy takes a shot and completes reading his scroll without breaking the concentration.
Ozzy's scroll is read and three orcs fall to the ground sleeping. With Kelgan, Crom, and Mit'l down. Three orcs are on the ground bleeding while three sleep peacefully. The three standing orcs left face down Horster, Morgan and Ozzy. Theorn continues to be unsure of what to do.
One of the orc speaks in common:
"Why you test the fight of this orc tribe?"
ORDER OF ACTION
Round2
Theorn
Kelgan (unconscious)
Ozzy
Horster
ROUND 3
Morgan
Crom (unconscious)
Mit'l (unconscious)
orcs
As the orcs reposition Mit'l strikes out quickly with his spear.
AOO's
HP=-8/12
And then crumples to the floor.
Ozmund fires a force bolt at the orc across from him.
Forcebolt:
Before an orc falls asleep, Mit'l spears him and leaves him bleeding out. Ozymund's spell ensures he gets no retaliation!
His forcebolt hits an orc and hurts him, but the still stands.
Crom will attack the DH40 Orc before he falls unconscious.
Round 2 Init 4
Horster unleashes an arrow at the orc nearest him. The proximity of his foe makes it an easy shot.
Theorn grabs his holy symbol as he sees the battle turning badly. He says a prayer and advances. He channels as holds his holy symbol aloft with his other hand outstretched to the heavens.
"I channel enough power to heal everyone. No matter the costs." He boldly grabs a massive of divine energy, and the force of the healing causes everyone, including the bleeding orcs to be healed. There is not even a scar on the injured in place of where the devastating carnage of axes and clubs was before.
You note a party of reinforcing orcs arriving from the right passage that just stop in amazement at the transformation in front of them.
The fiery energy was too much for Theorn's body to control and he bursts into motes of divine, sparkling dust as only his metal boots remain smoking.
The orcs looks at their healed bodies in amazement. One asks in common, "What the F(*& happened? Are we fighting again?"
One of the older orcs looks at Crom: "Don't know. Are we?"
With the infusion of positive energy, Crom opens his eyes and staggers to his feet. He gives the orc a wary look and then lowers his axe. "No, I reckon we're not fighting again. I propose a truce. We'll leave your caves without further bloodshed, and you'll let us leave. Sound good?"
Crom helps Kelgan up and starts backing out of the cave without waiting for an answer.
Mit'l eyes the orcs with suspicion, advances to where Theorn was standing, and picks up his smoldering boots. Then backs behind the front line, spear at-ease, but ready.
"Keep your tribe off the road and away from the Keep," Morgan chimes in. "If you leave our people alone, we'll do the same for yours. Deal?"
She pauses a moment, then makes another offer.
"Of course, we could also do a little business...how would you like for your tribe to have complete control of the entire valley?"
She lets the question hang in the air as she slowly backs away.
That last bit makes Horster's ears prick up, as he tries to read just where Morgan's going with this...
The orc speaks up in broken common:
"I have no problem staying away from the big wall and big crossbows. Buy do you mean stay off the road that was built in the only flat land in front of our homes??? And why should we let you leave if you will just come back an attack us again???"
Mit'l thinks better of pushing his way through the orcs to the exit, as they look openly suspicious.
The elder spokesorc turns to Morgan:
"We have no friends in this valley except for the other tribe which is no longer. Arm us with real weapons, which we pay for, and ally with us, and we can both prosper."
"We could rule the borderlands ..."
"What say we work together to wipe out the hobgoblins. Once they are destroyed, your people can have their armor, weapons, food stores, and their territory. We get any treasure and magical items. Deal?"
"You think we not want magic or treasure? You take other stuff, we take magic and treasure."
"You won't get anything, unless you have our help. As you know, we already defeated the other orc tribe. If you could beat the hobgoblins on your own, you would've already done it. We are your best chance to get rid of them forever. You need their amor, their weapons, and their food if you want to control this valley. It will give you the means to get rid of any other tribes in here. Think of it as payment, and we as mercenaries, except you don't have to pay us in advance."
The orcs seem reluctant to trust you, but the older orc replies:
"Well we won't be fightin without a share of treasure and magic. But we will give you a place to rest and recuperate. The greenskins and dogfaces in the valley have sh*& weapons and armor for the most part. A couple more spears and crossbows won't make a different to our tribe without magic and gold. You keep what you find on your raids and we'll keep what we find on our raids. We find some gold and you let us buy some weapons. Axes and swords are what we need!! The bigger the better."
He thinks for a second. "You don't want to fight the goblins across the way, there are too many. You want to go for the bigger goblins in the next cave. They should be easier."
During the discussion, Mit'l sees the orcs relax enough that he moves back to join his friends. He was somewhat uncomfortable after awaking surrounded by orcs and glad to be close to the entrance with the rest. In his careful exit out Mit'l counts a total of around 18 orcs with clubs.
Mit'l stops to grab the boots.
"Well I am not sure that this is what the Keep will want, but if they help us defeat the other creatures here, well maybe it is not so bad. I just hope we are not arming a tribe that might turn on us...that is my only concern!"
"We already destroyed the warren of goblins. There weren't that many. It's the hobgoblins that I am speaking of, and it seems to me that there are a lot of them."
The orcs wait for further discussion. The elder orc points out: "The cave with the big goblins is down the gully a bit. Watch out, they are very crafty and treacherous. You should have them outnumbered. We can follow you and take care of any stragglers."
"Since you're in such a helpful mood, how 'bout you tell us about the rest of the caves. What lives where? Can you draw us a map?' Morgan asks earnestly.
"If we know what we're facing, we've a better chance of defeating them. And once all of these caves are clear, you've got the makings of a fine orcish town to call your own."
Crom scowls at the thought of partnering with orcs, but says nothing.
"Let's see how you do with the big gobbies."
Kelgan catches Crom's eye, shaking his head ever so slightly in disgusted, resigned sympathy, but says nothing. He stays silent as the negotiations go on, pulling off his helmet and looking ruefully at its new dent.
A short walk does show another confirm there is another cave about one hundred feet along the hill at about the same elevation as the orc cave entrances.
Horster is on the lookout for any traps or creatures that may be lurking nearby.
+1 for traps
"I know you didn't like that bit of bargaining back there, but there's an old saying, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." If we can use the orcs to help get rid of all the nasty things living in these caves, it'll make the Keep garrison's job that much easier. Besides, we were all about to die before the priest exploded."
She shakes her head at that last statement, unsure how she feels about it.
"And another ... keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Yes, Theorn ... never you worry, I have his boots!, says Mit'l with the laugh of someone who has been taken a little too far today.
You enter the third cave on the right and there is a sign.
There are signs beside the entrance cave in kobold, orcish, goblin, etc. Each says: “Safety, security and repose for all humanoids who enter - WELCOME! (Come in and report to the first guard on the left for a hot meal and bed assignment.)”
There appears to be a room to the right. As you approach there are three large goblins. They are toasting skewers of mean over a brazier, a large gong is along the wall. Upon your entrance, they turn and hold out freshly cooked skewers of sizzling meat to you.