Tox is following along waiting for the inevitable terrible thing to happen.
As the invisible, stealthy Skarn manages to make his way into the cages, Trox stumbles in and says "Wherre'd ya go?"
Skarn continues to move through the place, stealthily, and checking it out. If he spies nothing dangerous, he will go ahead and sneak down to where the prisoners are.
Druamin waits at the doorway to see, or hear, something from Skarn. "You see? Invisible scouts? That's the way to do it."
Cordwin gets his tools ready to help open the locks for the prisoners once Skarn signals somehow that it is all good.
As Cordwin opens the locks, a giant spider comes crawling up out of the webs.
It snaps it's mandibles at Skarn.
Party's up!
Skarn wastes no time trying to figure out how the thing knew where he was to attack, but emboldened by Erond's song, he turns and activates his bane ability against the spider and attacks,
vs FF AC?
x4, P
Cordwin will shoot a bolt at the spider.
Reynard draws a dagger and hurls it at the spider.
"Well now. There you go. That explains all these webs." Druamin rumbles a low chuckle. From the door, he looks along the catwalk. The spider is a few paces in front of him but is attacking the air. "That must be where Skarn is. Hey you guys. Can you run around and get at this from the other side?" Druamin waves at Reynard on the northern catwalk then pulls out his sling. After a few swift spins of the leather straps, he fires a bullet at the arachnid.
René gives the spider a glare even as he chuckles under his breath at the creature trying to scrabble at open space.
It is hard to say who struck the killing blow, as almost all of he strikes were good and solid. (2 of you would have killed it outright!)
With the spider dead, the farm is basically now devoid of any danger. You find three men in a cage, in terrible shape, lying in their small clothes, unconscious.
We will release, feed, and heal the men.
Druamin jumps in to help. He offers some food and scrounges around the barn to find some old blankets that he gives to the men.
"Well now, where are you guys from? By that I mean, how did you end up here. I'm sure that those ogres -- who, by the way, won't be bothering anyone else ever again -- captured you. Do you live near here?"
The three men finally recover a bit, and thank you for your assistance.
They introduce themselves as:
JAKARDROS SOVARK
Jakardros lost his eye to a close call with an ogre hook a decade ago. For many years he was second-in-command of Fort Rannick under Commander Bayden. Jakardros fears the worst, for he knows the commander would sooner die than surrender to the Kreegs. After his patrol was delayed, they arrived back home to find the fort under Kreeg control. He lost a third of his unit in an attempt to retake the fort, and when they were forced to flee south into Kreegwood, the remainder were easy targets for the Grauls. Jakardros carries the loss of Fort Rannick heavily and feels it was his fault that the ogres were able to take it. Had he been a bit more prompt returning from his patrol, he would have been back in time to help defend the place. But he wasn't, and now a 45-year tradition is dead.
When Jakardros was younger and before he joined the Black Arrows, he spent a few years as an adventurer. His group eventually ended up in the region around the Mierani Forest, where they helped a small village of elves defeat a group of murderous ettercaps led by a green dragon. Jakardros's adventuring companions all perished in the fight, giving their lives for the elven community of Crying Leaf. Jakardros was nursed back to health by an elven priestess of Desna there, and the two of them fell in love. Jakardros would have lived the rest of his life in Crying Leafhad not his lover, Seanthia, herself perished when the village was attacked by the resurrected dragon 3 years later. With Jakardros's aid, the town defeated the dragon again, but Jakardros was too broken-hearted to remain. He gathered his belongings and, within minutes of the dragon's death, left Crying Leaf behind him, abandoning the sorrowful task of attending to Seanthia's funeral to his stepdaughter. His heart hardened, he eventually heard of the Black Arrows and applied for membership, hoping that service to the order would help him bury his broken heart.
To a certain extent, his plan worked. But now that Fort Rannick is lost, his old melancholy has returned-the loss of the fort wakening similar memories of Seanthia's death. He bitterly regrets abandoning Crying Leaf, and between wishing he'd died in either the second dragon attack or in the more recent ogre attack, his mood has grown increasingly dark-almost suicidal.
VALE TEMROS
Vale is a dark- skinned man with piercing gray eyes . His towering height of 6-1/2 feet and his muscular build consigned him to the warrior's path at an early age. Despite his stature, Vale is a quiet and withdrawn man whose passion for life only awakens during the heat of battle.
Vale was born into the Order of the Black Arrow; both his parents were members, as were his two younger brothers. All of them are now dead, slain either years ago (in the case of his parents) or weeks ago (in the case of his brothers) by various Kreeg ogres. Vale's oath of vengeance against the Kreegs has become the only thing holding him together over the past several days of torture and mind-numbing horror at the Grauls' hands. Vale seizes any opportunity to strike back at the ogres with grim satisfaction.
Apart from his prowess in battle, Vale also had a passing fancy for sieges and architecture, and spent many of his off hours in the fort talking with the resident architect, a now- dead man named Drannis. Apart from battle, discussions about normally dry topics like engineering and fortifications are among the few activities that break Vale out of his taciturn shell, making him excited and animated.
KAVEN WlNDSTRJKE
Kaven Windstrike, a handsome young man with dark hair and emerald eyes, has traditionally been able to get what he wants out of life via his good looks and smooth tongue. He was a wayward youth born to harried parents in Turtleback Ferry, and his antics finally got him in over his head when he assaulted and robbed an old goatherd who turned out to be a longtime family friend. Infuriated, his father was all but ready to press charges and have the boy taken south by the law to serve time in a jail in Ilsurian, but his mother managed to temper that reaction. Kaven was given a choice: be disowned and spend time in prison, or seek membership among the Black Arrows. His father always admired the order, and figured if they couldn't shape Kaven into an upstanding
man, no one could. Kaven, balking at the thought of prison, chose the Black Arrows.
Reynard ponders something for a minute, then looks at Jakardos. Didn't Shalelu tell us to look for Jakardos, that she had some business with him? I wonder... "Jakardos, you said your name was? Tell me, this stepdaughter of yours, what's her name?"
"She is a ranger in these parts sometimes. Do you know Shalelu? Hey, you found my bow too!" He points to the +1 bow you found earlier.
"I'm a dwarf, what makes you think I might know some elf ranger lady? Besides, how do we know you actually are the Jakardros she is looking for?"
Trox listens to the conversation, shifting from foot to foot in the back of the group. He keeps an eye on Vale simply because he is big, not that he expects a fight.
"Well, I suppose there is no need for you to believe me. More lost companions... not sure why I bother." He certainly suffers from melancholy."
The dark skinned man who calls himself Vale speaks up. "In any case, you have our thanks. These Grauls were bad, but only part of the Kreeg ogres I have vowed to destroy. I am very grateful for the damage you have done to them. I hope your losses were small."
"We got by ok. When you say they are only a part of the Kreeg ogres, just how many are we talking about?"
”Can’t say for sure, but they took Fort Rannick about three weeks ago. We must have had a traitor for them to have been so efficient. They seemed to have details of all our defenses. It is quite dangerous for these lands if they hold the fort as a base of operations!”
"Well, shall we see about un-capturing Fort Rannick? Are there other outposts that maybe we can call upon for additional bows?"
Any idea on who the traitor is? We might have already come across him or her in our travels. Cordwin asks.
"We are supposed to rendezvous Shalelu in a few days time. With your assistance and hers, perhaps we can put this right." Reynard puts in for Jakardos' benefit.
"If we are to take back this fort, are there any weaknesses in their defenses you know about? I know they've likely changed up guard schedules and maybe fortified things, but do you know of secret passages or unusual ways in or the sort?"
Trox listens along and grunts at the idea of taking the fort back, nodding. She speaks, whispering, mostly to herself. "We can take it back but someone else can clean up the mess the ogers make. Nasty creatures."
At the mention of taking the fight to the ogres, Vale enthusiastically jumps up, despite his weakened condition. "Hell ya, I'm ready to go kill them all!"
Jakardos seems much less excited. "You want to bring Shalelu into this? She is quite capable, but... no, you are right. It is our duty to return and take the fort. We might know a few tricks they haven't found yet. But, do you mind if I reclaim my bow, there?"
Kaven nods. "Of course, I am in. Perhaps a decent meal and some rest first, though?"
Cordwin is still apprehensive about storming the fort with a traitor on the loose. So, who do you think betrayed the fort?
For all we know, these could be the traitors right here leading us into an ambush!
"Yeah, I'm curious about the traitor too. But you know, I bet it's not one of you guys. If it was, and you got treated this way, I think I'd be second guessing how the other side was treating me. But anyway, if it's not one of you guys, then I'm not sure how the traitor could harm us much. He, or she, I guess, is probably in the fort with the other ogres."
Druamin takes a moment to scratch the back of Kobu's neck. The large porcupine rubs against Druamins leg and coos loudly.
"So, how far away is this fort?"
Fort Rannick is located at the northern end of a wide valley that runs along the southern edge of the mountains. This bleak landscape stretches on for miles along the border between the mountains and Kreegwood. This rugged, forlorn landscape fits well with the morose and grim attitude of its guardians, the Order of the Black Arrow.
Vale draws out a detailed map of Fort Rannick (see Slide 1) so you can plan your invasion of the fort. The fort is built into the side of a mountain, and the rest is surrounded by a wall. Outside the wall is a creek, with two bridges being the usual way in.
The remaining Black Arrows don't know where the ogres are located, or exactly how many ogres are still stationed within the fort. They can all but guarantee that there are a lot. While the ogres have the advantage of numbers, you have the advantage of surprise and superior knowledge of
the area-the rangers are positive that the ogres wouldn't have discovered the secret caverns or tunnels, for example.
You can go and scout for yourselves as well, but a few things they point out. There is a secret passage to an Eagle Aerie not far away, although to get to it would require flight or another method to reach such a place. There is a garbage sluice that empties into the creek. Another secret tunnel leads from the back of the Waterfall into the complex, or even into the basement of the fort itself, although you have to go through tunnels infested with shocker lizards.
"Can you tell us anything about the eagle aerie? Namely, is it still inhabited by eagles and if so, are they the regular variety or some kind of giant version? I lean towards that being our best way in since it's the opposite direction from where the ogres would be expecting someone to come from."
"I believe eagles still nest up there, but I am not sure there are any now."
"I can fly myself up to the aerie too but I don't know of any way to get my friend up there with me." He looks at Kobu and frowns a bit as he tries to think of some way to bring him along. "But this secret passage from the waterfall. Where does it come out in the fort? They wouldn't be expecting that too would they?"
"I doubt they have found that entrance. It has two entrances, one under the fort, and the other into the courtyard, outside the fort." Vale marks both spots on the map with a star.
"I'm sure one of the rest of us could carry up Kobu. My thought is that it's better to go in from the aerie were we might not get into a tussle with eagles than the waterfall where we will most certainly get into a fight with shocker lizards."
"Shocker lizards do not sound like something we want to try. Then again, swooping down like eagles isn't my style either."
"I'm not too worried about lizards. They should be easier to deal with than figuring out flight for all of us. Especially if some of you have magic that can protect from their shocks. Or simply ranged weapons."
"I can be invisible, and thus pretty much immune I'd say, but once the fight starts, well, I won't be invisible then!"
"What's so hard to figure out about flying? Draumin can fly. I can fly can carry Cordwin with Kobu in my Handy Haversack. Erond can fly and carry Skarn. I can make Trox fly and carry Reynard. That's all of us. And I at least don't have anything that will help you with shocks."
+3 to identify creature abilities and weaknesses