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The wilds of the Hollow Hills offer up their bounty to Daria. It is fortunate that a sizeable contingent of volunteers, drawn from among the town's noncombatants, accompany her on this expedition, for there is simply so much that she finds. As she leads the procession back into the town's crumbling walls, laden with baskets and litters of food, one could easily mistake their haul for an entire season's harvest.
Satisfied that the townsfolk are as ready as she can make them, Esperanza returns to training the town's actual militia. She runs them through more drills, trying to incorporate lessons learned in their recent battles with Ironfang alchemists.
Esperanza finds the latest round of militia drills largely attended by the volunteers assembled by Mayor Crawbert to serve as auxiliaries to the town's primary militia. Their comparative lack of experience and discipline presents some challenges to Esperanza, but by day's end, they are looking like more serviceable soldiers.
Returning with the bounty of nature, Daria smiles and speaks with the others at their evening meal, ”As far as I know, there is one more forward camp—the Warbeast camp. While I would like to free any natural beasts and allow them to return to nature, I fear many of the monsters may be beyond saving. Shall we set out in the morning and see what we can do?”
"I understand your concern, but if I have to choose between sparing the beasts and making Longshadow safer, that's an easy one. We should hurry--no doubt they've picked up on the pattern by now, and will likely be reinforcing the camp if we tarry."
Scarcely has first light fallen upon Longshadow and the Hollow Hills, but reinforcements arrive for the town. A squad of a dozen Chernasardo Rangers arrive, armed to the teeth with bows, arrows, knives, and ways to make life miserable for the Legion. What they lack in numbers they more than make up for in skill and experience.
"Hopefully we won't have to make that hard decision Thorek. But yes if the safety of the town is in stake we have no choice.," Lily says with a sigh.
Pacing around nervously she adds,"Does anyone else feel that something else is going on in the forest. Like we keep on running into weird fey like that one back into the river."
Thorek frowns as he considers the question. "She was a river spirit, no? Not a friendly one, but still it was her river. And Flopsy is a strange one I'll give you that, but she seems harmless enough. And that gang of korreds back at Fort Nunder--well that was just the one group, and deep in the Chernasado Wood at that. All in all it doesn't seem unreasonable." He turns and peers at Lily with evident concern.
"Why, does it mean something to you?"
Esperanza looks up from where she sits on the ground, polishing her glaive's blade, an expression of interest on her face.
"Im just wondering what they make of all what's going on. As you said Thorek its not like this is our land that all this fighting is going on. Its also the fey and other forest creatures. I just forget that until we meet a weird creepy river fey.," she says stopping abruptly.
"Maybe Im just concerned about them also. I just have no idea who we can talk let alone if there is any group to talk to. At the very least we've saved Flopsy," she says kind of bemused.
”There is that treant we met in the forest a while back,” says Daria, ”Maybe we should visit after we clear the last forward Ironfang camp.”
"I'm not sure we can spare the time, what with the Legion breathing down our necks. They'll start hitting us back very soon--I'm surprised they haven't already." Thorek scowls, remembering Phaendar. "And we simply don't have an answer to that trick they pulled with the magical appearing and disappearing tower. Doesn't seem to be something they can do anywhere and any-when they like or this town'd be ashes already, but I still don't like it."
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Your discussion of the peculiar developments within the Fangwood do not go unnoticed by the Chernasardo Rangers, who have some insight into the matter, even if the topic leaves them more spooked than the pending assault by the Legion. They speak of the Blight, a terrible disease that has taken root in the deepest, most primeval portions of the forest. It has begun to creep southward, corrupting plants and fey creatures that it touches.
The warbeast camp, according to the intel recovered from the infiltrators' base within Longshadow, is the farthest afield of the invasion force's camps. It lies across the Hollow Hills, approximately 28 miles northeast from Longshadow.
"Now what I want to know," Thorek shouts to be heard above the wind as they soar along on Daria's back. "Is why anyone would put a 'forward base' three days' hard march from the site of the battle? It just doesn't make sense! Do they know something we don't?"
Handing out a Cure Serious Wounds poultice and an Ironskin tonic to each party member (mostly whipped up before bed the previous night), Daria casts Ant Haul on herself and steps into the harness while transforming into her Giant Eagle transport form, ready to take to the sky once the other party members are ready.
After your long flight across the Hollow Hills, you find that the Legion's warbeast camp rests against a sandstone rise in a broad canyon at the northern edge of the highlands. The cliffs cradling the camp rise some 50 feet above the canyon floor. A dry streambed runs through the canyon and leads like a road towards the camp; of course, anyone traveling along this route, through the canyon, is sure to be spotted by the camp's sentries.
A wooden tower and a half-dozen hide tents of various sizes suggest a camp, though a cave opens up in the sandstone cliff behind it. The wind carries the sour smell of animal dung and sounds of inhuman bellowing from the darkness.
Daria avoids the obvious approach and circles around, flying low to keep cover between herself and the watch tower, planning to come in unseen from the north, landing at the top of the cliff perhaps a mile north of the camp (thinking we could approach—walking—unseen from the top of the cliff and Airwalk/Stealth down the face of the cliff from a direction they are not expecting…)
"Set us down here please, Daria. Do you think you can get us a rough count of the foe?"
Daria scouts as best she can on the way in, though she is hampered by the need to stay out of direct sight from the watchtower. Landing as directed, she transforms back into snow elf form and relates what she has seen.
A small tower rests on a rocky rise at the southernmost edge of the camp, affording a better view of the surrounding prairie within the canyon. A pair of sharpshooters keep watch in the tower, and a pair of trained wolves idle at the foot of the tower.
The ground has been trampled flat all around the open area between the tower, the tents, and the cliff face. Many sturdy wooden posts - some of which are clearly uprooted trees - dot the area, with chains wrapped securely around them.
An immense wyvern - much larger than the ones you fought previously, and Daria can tell that this specimen is much older - lazes in the sunlight. A collar around the winged monster's neck secures it to one of the largest of the posts driven into the ground. A minotaur, clad in a suit of hide armor, currently tends to the giant wyvern, scrubbing dirt from its scales.
These five rough-hewn cages of green wood and rawhide straps hold a variety of animals in varying states of misery: wolves, hounds, owls, and hawks, mostly.
A collection of tents - five sized for human-sized beings, three larger tents, and a pavilion - stand here to house the camp's workforce. Daria spots three hobgoblin officers and a pair of minotaur warriors relaxing in this barracks area, but it's clear that this camp houses far more than these five.
As Daria returns and reports what she saw, Thorek scratches his chin and considers. "Think you can pen them in with that thorn-wall of yours, and we'll rain fire down on them from up here? That wyvern might be trouble, but not more'n Esperanza and I can handle I'd wager. Meanwhile you and Lily can take shots at the camp and we'll rejoin you when the wyvern's a corpse." Thorek's scarred face takes on a thoughtful expression. "I've never fought a minotaur before."
"I mean I'd assume fighting a minotaur is like fighting anything else. A little bit bigger and scarier but I don't think that will stop you two," she says while peering at the camp.
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Doing some quick mental calculations, Daria says, ”I can enclose the tents and the mouth of the cave, but it will have to be a thin wall.”
”I can lead off with the wall, then try and blind the snipers,” she says. ”Just let me give us all Air Walk first so we can maneuver as needed…and leave me out of the Wyvern fight—I’ve had enough of them for two lifetimes.”
"I've faced my share of bulls in the arena before," Esperanza says with a wan smile. "I can handle a minotaur well enough. Lily, I think you'll be our best tool against the wyvern. Daria's magic might let us chase after it in the air, but it can still outrun and outmaneuver us. You can force it to come to you."
"Well then, no sense in waiting until we're spotted." Thorek draws his bow and steps up to the edge of the cliffside, checks that Daria is ready too, and nocks an arrow and takes aim at the wyvern.
At Thorek's signal, Daria casts her Wall of Thorns spell (32 squares long, 5 feet thick) around the camp and the entrance to the cave. She remains up on the top of the cliff under cover, but hopefully where she can see what is going on. She has chosen to take the ironskin poultice and be in medium air elemental form.
Esperanza gladly applies both of Daria's poultices before they head into battle.
Lily gladly applies both the poultices and pats Thorek on the back. "Don't worry even while Im hanging back I'll be helping you," Lily says with a smirk.
...
The large, old wyvern matron proves to be much tougher - quite literally - than the others you have fought. Thorek's surprise attack from above lands squarely upon the space between the creature's wings, but it shatters against the thick scales and bones.
This disturbance draws the attention of the winged beast and its minotaur trainer, who both turn to look at the source of the attack from atop the clifftop. The sharpshooters in the watchtower also scan the edge of the cliff for trouble.
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With a mighty cry, Esperanza charges directly through the air, hot on the heels of Thorek's arrow. Her glaive comes crashing down onto the wyvern with all the power and lethality of one of Galt's infamous final blades.
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Esperanza's elegant strike is worthy of legend. With a single stroke, she nearly cleaves the wyvern's head from its thick neck.
The furious creature, fueled by pain and bloodlust, retaliates against Esperanza with tooth, claw, and tail. A desperate lunge with its massive tail stinger manages to land upon the Shelynite warrior.
Esperanza regains her battlefield rhythm in time to parry the monster's incoming jaws, then ripostes with a swing that finishes the job and leaves the wyvern's head upon the canyon floor, staining the dirt with its fetid blood.
Esperanza then evades and deflects the volley of arrows raining down upon her from the sharpshooters in the watchtower.
Tossing aside his bow, Thorek leaps into the open air as he draws his dorn-dergar, Daria's spell buoying his steps as he bears down on the archers in the watchtower.
Thorek's swing smashes apart the canopy of the watchtower in an explosive shower of wood, but the sharpshooters duck down in time to save their own heads from being caught in the devastating swing.
The minotaur master bellows out a clear order, commanding her subordinates to arm themselves for battle. She then steps forward and hurls a thick, heavy net at Esperanza, but the Shelynite easily jumps back and avoids being entangled.
Esperanza shrugs off the pain and the venom both, turning next to face the minotaur, glaive held out and in front.
The Ironfang legionaries and auxiliaries amidst the tents secure their weapons and turn to enter the fight, but as they turn they find a thick wall of thorns growing impossibly fast from the gravelly soil at their feet. They are thus hemmed in for now.
Lily carefully fires multiple shots at the hobgoblin attacking Thorek. "Watch your head Thorek. Don't want to hit you," she jokes as her shot clearly hits her target.
Lily's shot lands true, and her arrow just about pierces one of the sharpshooters through the lung.
The wolves at the foot of the watchtower leap up to join the fight.
Esperanza's glaive snaps out twice as the wolves close in on her.
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One wolf bristles and growls, attempting to distract Esperanza as its companions dashes around her. The effort is futile, and as it comes within reach, she lops off its head with a twirling flourish.
The second wolf finally charges forth, receiving a mortal wound in the process. It snaps its jaws, but the bite is turned aside, and Esperanza delivers a second, finishing blow with her riposte.
The wolves dealt with, Esperanza turns back to the minotaur in a whirling blur of color that masks her movements right up to the blow itself.
Esperanza practically disembowels the minotaur commander, who is briefly distracted by both her combat style and the amount of blood gushing from her wound.
The sharpshooters in the tower do their best to fend off Thorek. One unleashes a rapid volley of three arrows, while the other one draws a scimitar and lashes out. They demonstrate practice when fighting dwarves, but their experience only goes so far.
Grunting as an arrow punches through his armor, Thorek grits his teeth and starts the next verse of his battle hymn.
Thorek's first attack smashes powerfully into the wounded sharpshooter, bringing him even closer to death.
The minotaur commander, despite bleeding profusely and being distracted by Esperanza's flashing blade, unleashes her own powerful onslaught using her mighty warhammer and her horns.
The two minotaurs among the tents attempt to force their way through the wall of thorns. One of them manages to push through the magic barrier, but the other one fails to make any headway; both take nasty lacerations for their trouble.
The initial blow drives the air from Esperanza's lungs, but she uses its momentum to carry her out of reach of the minotaur's follow-up.
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Lily rains down two more arrows on the watchtower, aiming at the sharpshooter behind the one engaged with Thorek. Her arrows sink into the smashed wooden support beams around the target.
Behind the wall of thorns, the hobgoblin officers begin piling up boxes, footlockers, and anything else they can heap together in an attempt to climb over the barrier.
"Oh, no, we can't have that," says Daria as she sees the goblinoid army preparing to breech the barrier. Dropping a thorny entanglement behind the wall of thorns, she finds the area of effect extends significantly past the wall, but she is able to at least keep it away from her companions.