Darin doesn't want to waste his holy smite, he'll hold his action until everyone else is done.
Elorin hits it with a magic missle.
It falls with a sickening squelch
Phooka comes in and fixes up unalaq
str
dex
"Thank you Phooka. Let's see about the prisoners they were holding here now, shall we?" Still stuck to the webs, Unalaq tries to break his way free to get to the first cage.
It takes a few minutes to get enough of the webbing cleared but there are three prisoners all 3 of them are unconscince.
They seem to be relatively ok. Would you like me to revive them?
"Yes Phooka. I think we should see who they are. Thank you."
Phooka channels
Tarinhil stays away from the soon-to-be-freed prisoners, Can't think seeing a mutated, burning gnome is really the best first impression..
The three men awaken with a start
A limber looking man with an eyepatch, a slender man and a dark-skinned bulky man. The man with an eye-patch speaks
Thank you for healing us, now are you friend or foe? Have you awoken us for torture or rescue?
"That depends...who are you?" he says quietly, his spear clutched tight, but not drawn on them.
I am Jakadaros, highest ranking Black Arrow, father of the ranger Shalelu, this is Vale, and that is Kaven, the newest of our number. I am afraid that we are all that remains of our number
"Black Arrows. Then you are rangers of Fort Rannick? How did the ogres come to capture you." Unalaq begins to help free them from their cages as he asks his questions, first checking the doors for locks and testing their strength.
Tarin is easily able to unlock them
Unalaq helps them out of the cages, "So tell us more about the ogres. What happened?"
My mistake is what happened. I was leading a patrol out of the fort. I returned and found it over run. We attempted to take it back and lost 5 men, and were captured. They have been slowly slaughtering us since. We three are all that are left.
Phooka lands on Unalaq's shoulder and whispers
Want me to heal them completely?
"Go ahead Phooka. I have a bad feeling we're in the midst of a whole lot of ogres, but there are probably even more at the fort. Let's get them healed up and deal with what we've got at the farm. Then we can rest and figure out what to do about the fort."
Phooka channels again, and turns into a being of pure energy for about 12 seconds and instructs the men to touch him as he glows, then he personally heals Jakadaros the rest of the way.
Meanwhile our intrepid heroes find a chest, that amazingly has all of the rangers gear in it. plus some more stuff.
do you return their gear?
Vinny watches and listens quietly, gazing over the mean and listening to the words and tones...
luckily for us ogres are generally quite stupid, though something smarter is likely leading them. Keep walls are no defence against a flying wizard. Interested to find out how they took the fort though.
What about the ogres in the house there? Would you care for our assistance?
"We should probably leave you as a reserve force or it might get really tight in there. I think one of our spellcasters might be able to find a way for us to communicate if we need help."
Phooka channels again, and turns into a being of pure energy for about 12 seconds and instructs the men to touch him as he glows, then he personally heals Jakadaros the rest of the way.
Meanwhile our intrepid heroes find a chest, that amazingly has all of the rangers gear in it. plus some more stuff.
do you return their gear?
He seems to be 100% honest
Darin will tap Unalaq on the shoulder and ask in a low voice (so as not to be heard) if the rangers detect as evil.
Unalaq in forms you that none of them appear evil
Well that's something.
So any ideas how many ogres are in the fort?
I am not completely certain. At a minimum there are 2 dozen, as many as 4 dozen.
"What about here? These smaller fellows?" trusting Jakadaros, he holds open the chest, "Is any of this yours?"
No idea how many are here. We were brought here unconscious. Much of that is our gear, some of our companions who have fallen
Fernus notes the names of the surviving Black Arrows in his notebook. The last surviving few of a legacy of protection. he finishes jotting down.
He looks a bit sad at the Black Arrows.
"Did you overhear any of their gossip, orders or why they've taken the fortress?" He asks as he takes in Jakadaros's face in detail, trying to link it with Shalelu's face in order to see the resemblance.
Nothing. But they have always been a threat to the region these things ebb and wane through the years. It would appear that they have gotten the better of us this time.
He says as he and his companions gear up. Jakadaros has a bow and Kibb is quick to bound on him for a joyous reunion. Vale grabs two hand axes and swings them, limbering up, while Kaven picks up a dagger and rapier.
A mw heavy crossbow
A +1 great axe
+1 kibg spear
Mw composite longbow
4 +1 studded leather
2 rings o fprotection +1
Tarinhil says, "If we're sure they're not under some sort of mental control, then I say we should re-arm them."
He looks up at the rangers and asks, "Do we know if it's only Ogres in the house? Might be worth sealing the think and burning it down -- and then just dealing with any Ogre that makes it out."
There may be some of our number in side, but I think that is wishful thinking. It has been several days since I have seen any of them.
"No. They could have other prisoners and there might be more to learn about what happened at the fort. Let's just be smart about it like we were getting in here."
Long spear. Sorry was on phone
"Looks like two entrances. One on the porch. One on the side."
"I could go and scout?" Vinny asks as he looks about.
There might still be a survivor holed up in the fort so despite someone's suggestions, we should probably go in and not burn it down. Do you think they haven't heard us while we were here and chasing the blubbering ogre?
"I'm sure they're ready for us. Although Vinny is pretty sneaky."
If it comes to scouting I can also make him invisible. Lets clear out this house first though.
Tarinhil shoots a look at Unalaq, "He's not the only one. Might be better go together, cover each other."
Nodding to Tarin, "We can scout around the house, then see what we can find and report back and see about getting the jump on them instead of having those roles switched."
Vinny will allow invisibility to be cast if it is decided it is needed and then he will work with Tarin and scout around the place.