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Esperanza crouches low to avoid the watery orb. Lily is knocked into the wall by the orb as she escapes its attempt to absorb and drown her.
Downstairs, the reinforcements bring dishonor to the legion. Undari parries another battleaxe swing with his scimitar, while Gaius evades the latest arrow fired through the holes in the wall.
Upstairs, their troll cohort fares little better. His wildly swinging, gangly arms and broad jaws all fail to harm Thorek.
Undari swings again at the hobgoblin in his face, trying to focus his attack and take down at least one of the enemies.
Unable to penetrate the reinforcement's defenses from in front, Undari calls the flaming sphere to burn it from behind.
DC 16 Reflex
The hobgoblin can feel the growing heat at his back and sidesteps in time to avoid the rolling ball of flame.
The surviving hobgoblin monk seems to recognize Esperanza as a greater threat, having seen the swashbuckler's glaive quickly spilling her allies' blood. The monk turns and delivers an open palm strike that rattles Esperanza's ribs through her armor.
Sent back several steps by the blow's impact, Esperanza quickly recovers and counterattacks.
Lily quickly shoots an arrow that unfortunately goes wide and then ducks down to the lower level.
With her first swing, Esperanza nearly separates the second monk's head from her neck. The swashbuckler deftly turns and delivers two more quick swings at the cougar, leaving the beast with a pair of deep, bleeding wounds upon its neck and flank.
The hobgoblin lieutenant winces as she watches her animal companion so wounded, and she orders the big cat to withdraw and take cover behind her.
I just need to focus, we've got this, we can do it! Gaius aims his wand again at the Hobgoblin harassing Undari. Just as he is about to loose another jet of acid, one of the Hobgoblins reaches an arm through the walls.
"AAAHH!" The spray of acid harmlessly splashes against the stone walls of the tower.
________
Jang wills the watery orb to move again, this time traveling in the opposite direction. Esperanza narrowly avoids being struck by its sudden movement, but Thorek has less trouble and evades with surprising celerity.
A rumbling sounds in the sky above the tower, presaging the bolt of lightning that streaks down and strikes one of the gaps in the wall near Esperanza.
Downstairs, the Ironfang soldier inside the tower evades the latest gout of acid, although he suffers from the lingering acid already upon him. Eygara throws another javelin through the wall, but Gaius evades the awkward throw.
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Darting smoothly out of the way of the spinning orb of water, Thorek lets his momentum carry him closer to the druid and whips the dorn-dergar around his head, making it whistle with menacing intent. Glaring balefully at Jang, he snarls in Goblin, "Hear this, Ironfang: when you get to Hell, tell them it was Thorek Ironspark of Kraggodan who sent you!"
Yet again, Esperanza lightly steps out of the way of the druid's magic, the residual electricity arcing harmlessly off of her armor.
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Thorek's proclamation is perhaps the last thing Jang hears before a barrage of swings from his dorn-dergar leave the Ironfang lieutenant reeling. She remains standing, albeit only barely. Blood trails from her mouth and nose from the brutal blows, and there is a ringing in her ears that deafens her to the klaxon of the battle around her.
The troll, Parthuk, pauses to kneel and place a heavy hand upon one of his felled weasels. He invokes a guttural spell that drains the last of the dying creature's life to empower its master.
Downstairs, Undari's arms grow tired and he is unable to block the next axe swing, but the magical protections upon him ensure that the attack draws no blood. Likewise, another clattering arrow whizzes harmlessly past Gaius.
Your rescued ranger allies unleash another, more productive supporting volley. Cobb lands an arrow upon the enemy archer at the wall, while the recruit earns a spot of beginner's luck and lands an arrow in the same foe's eye.
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Esperanza appears next to Thorek just as the second of his strikes hits home, pooling all of her potential into a single precise strike to the druid's neck.
Lily just frustrated with being set on fire and bludgeoned with water sends a pin point accurate shot into the enemy harassing Udnari.
With the hobgoblin in front of him falling to a well-aimed arrow from Lily, Undari sends his flaming sphere to attack the enemy archer who just took multiple hits. He then moves himself into a defensive position, blocking the enemy lieutenant's field of fire with shield and blade.
DC 16 Reflex to Avoid
Over his shoulder, he speaks to Lily, "You said there was a troll--do they need my fire upstairs?" and he checks to see if either of his friends are significantly injured.
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Lily just violently shakes her head up and down and says," Yes.
After noticing part of her outfit is still smoking she violently pats it out.
The flaming sphere rolls through the gap in the wall, sizzling against the jagged stone, before it strikes the Ironfang soldier on the other side with the force of a burning punch to the sternum.
Lily's arrow pierces the heart of the soldier menacing Undari, killing him instantly.
Upstairs, Esperanza separates Jang's head from her shoulders with one graceful stroke, thus beheading the ranking Ironfang officer occupying the conquered fort.
The cougar rubs its head against its slain master, then crouches over the body protectively. The cornered animal offers a defiant growl.
"Slag it all, Esperanza! She was mine!" Thorek glares at the her and then turns to confront the troll.
"It's over, Parthuk, Trevalay has fallen. I don't expect a different answer, but I'll offer one last time: surrender, or be destroyed." As he speaks, golden flames creep down the chain of the dorn-dergar until the entire weapon is sheathed in flame.
Esperanza spits some steaming blood onto the ground before replying. "You'll live, Thorek."
"But maybe after we've killed the Hobgoblins here?" Gaius meekly suggests after the proposition of Undari's departure. Lining himself up with the gap in the wall, he fires a spray of acid at the burning Hobgoblin soldier. "What if... uh, they run away and spread the word that the fort was taken? That'd be bad! They'd know of our capabilities, that'd be bad too! Maybe I could go to provide some acid instead?"
________
"Good call Gaius...See you upstairs," responds Undari.
' Watch out she's some sort of spellcaster. She set me on fire and there's a giant rolling orb of water."
Gaius's latest bolt of acid spells the end for the second Ironfang soldier, who collapses as it sizzles away at his skin and down to the flesh and bone.
Eygara, the last remaining officer - indeed, perhaps the last Ironfang in the fort - begins to withdraw. Whether to fall back to a more defensible position or simply to cut her losses and flee, she leaves the tower to the party's control.
Upstairs, Parthuk avoids the urge to barrel back into the thick of battle. Instead, the troll holds back and attempts to even his odds with a bit of magic of his own. He aims a thick, clawed finger at Esperanza. Even if she cannot understand his language, her mind can feel its call.
When Parthuk turns his magic against her, Esperanza's step falters for just a moment before her resolve hardens and she pushes through it.
Glaive held high, the tiefling steps deeper into the room and sidesteps around the troll, keeping him to her front at all times. Once Thorek comes around into view again, she nods to him and prepares to strike in unison with her dwarven companion.
1 N
2 NE
5 N
1 NW
1 SW
Undari stays at the wall, sending the Flaming Sphere after the withdrawing hobgoblin and preparing to stab any enemy who shows up at the wall. ”I’ll hold here, Gaius, see if they need your acid upstairs,” he says.
DC 16 Reflex avoids.
As Esperanza strafes around the trolls side, Thorek begins spinning his burning dorn-dergar in wide, lazy arcs, slowly moving faster and faster and leaving blazing lines of after-imaged in the are--until with a sudden roar the warpriest charges in!
Lily is going to make her way back up the stairs.
"Bye!" Without a moment of hesitation, Gaius runs away from the walls that sprout Hobgoblin limbs and up the stairs.
Seeing the carnage, he breaths a sigh of relief. Dead Hobgoblins, giant weasels, the last Troll is about to get diced, WHATTHEF- "EEEP!" he squeaks as he notices a freaking cougar crouching on the other set of stairs, looking at him with murderous intent. "Youmissedone, youmissedone, youmissedone!" he shouts, frantically pointing at it, while fumbling to get his wand pointed in the direction of his "surprise" assailant.
________
As Lily and Gaius hustle upstairs to stack the odds against the troll, Undari's flaming sphere makes one last sizzling hurrah against the stone of the walls to ensure no more foes attempt to crawl inside and join the battle.
Esperanza and Thorek encircle Parthuk and assault the troll with steel and flame. They deliver wounds that leave their hulking foe inflamed with pain and rage.
Aided by newfound, necromantic strength, Parthuk seizes upon Thorek with both claws and nearly rends the dwarf apart. Despite the protections of his mighty armor, Thorek is left bloodied and badly wounded.
At the mighty clash of weapons from above and howl of pain from Thorek, Undari changes his mind about staying below. Looking to the rangers, he says with unintentional irony, "Hold the fort," and races to get upstairs so he can try and keep his friends alive.
With a hiss of righteous anger, Esperanza delivers a series of precise cuts to the back of Parthuk's knees, intending to drop him into the perfect position for a decapitating strike from her glaive.
Spitting blood back at Parthuk, Thorek grits his teeth against the pain and grates out a prayer to Angradd, partially healing his wounds. Dragging the burning chain-flail across the floor, the dwarf spins to build momentum he sends the steel ball slamming into the troll.
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With two quick slices, Esperanza leaves deep, pulsing wounds in the troll's stomach. However, before his mind can countenance her intimidation - or even the pain - she has followed up with an arcing swing akin to an uppercut that lops the brute's arm clean off.
Parthuk howls in anguish, grasping at the stump. The troll's suffering is cut short as Thorek steps up and turns his own pain into fuel for his divine fury. Two fiery downward, sweeping smashes from the dorn-dergar pulverize the troll's broad skull - practically burying the foe's brass circlet in the remnants of his head.
The troll collapses in a quivering heap of broken limbs and foul gore, marking the fall of the last dedicated defender of the tower. All that remains is the cougar, its ears pinned back and fur bristling, and a handful of ornery lizards upstairs.
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Esperanza steps around the troll's corpse to grasp Thorek's forearm, smiling down at him with a sweat-streaked brow and bloodied teeth. "Eight," she says.
Gaius gesticulates wildly and sputters at whatjust unfolded before him. "But bones don't- How did the skull- The humerus doesn't- I, what? You could do that the whole time!?" he finally gets out. Not even he is sure what he's referring to at this point, his keen mind still trying to process the surgical precision with which his allies just dissected a Troll.
With the cougar not actively trying to maim him, he tucks his wand away and begins the shockingly bloody task of plucking magical/curious items from the corpses... so many corpses... Do some of these even count as a corpse?
________
Rolling his eyes, Thorek clasps Esperanza arm back. "Seven," he corrects her, "the druid counts as mine."
Turning back to Gaius, the warpriest gives him a nod. "Trouble downstairs? As long as its handled, let's strip whatever valuables we can carry and fall back, we're in no shape to tackle a dragon on top of everything else."
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The Ironfang soldiers each wear a cloak that radiates magic. A number of potions that glow beneath Gaius' magical sight also sit upon some of their belts or sit aside on a shelf.
On the first floor, the slain warpriest's armor radiates magic, as does a feathered pin that he wore.
Of course, sifting through the filth to recover them will be foul, smelling, potentially sickening work.
On the second floor, the brass headband embedded in the troll's smashed, burned skull radiates magic through the coating of gore. A wand holstered in his thick, ragged belt likewise proves to be magical.
Four whips, designed for animal training, hang upon the walls of the wide second floor chamber. One of them bears signs of enchantment.
In addition to a smattering of potions, the two Ironfang monks each wear a magic ring, forming a matched pair.
Lastly, Jang's amulet and the clothes worn alongside her armor each radiate magic. Getting past her loyal cougar to claim these items is another matter, though. Speaking of the angry hunting cat, now that the chaos of battle has subsided, you observe that the cougar and Jang each have matching tattoos etched upon them that appear to bear magic in their ink.
The dragon's lair lies on the top floor, and the promise of its hoard is undeniably tantalizing. Likewise, there's no telling what the Ironfangs may have kept in their quarters on the third floor. Once again, though, ascending the stairs to these levels would mean getting past the angry cougar - and navigating whatever Encarthan lizards remain prowling the halls above.
3 Magic Cloaks
5 Cure Moderate Wounds potions
1 Magic Scale Mail
1 Magic Token
1 Magic Wand (27 charges)
1 Magic Headband (Brass, shaped like crown of leaves)
2 Magic Rings
1 Magic Amulet
1 Magic Vestment
6 Barkskin potions
3 MWK Breastplates
3 MWK Light Steel Shields
3 Composite Longbows (+2 Str) (Currently carried by Cobb and rangers)
3 Glaives
3 MWK Battleaxes
3 Backpacks
3 Bedrolls
3 Signal Whistles
3 Waterskins
5 Alchemist's Fire flasks
1 MWK Buckler
1 MWK Light Flail
1 Bottle of Whiskey (worth 20gp)
1 Silver Unholy Symbol (worth 25gp)
1 Adamantine Chain Necklace (worth 100gp)
1 key to the prison cell (already taken)
1 Padded Armor
Assorted animal calls
4 Animal Harnesses
1 Canvas Ball (sturdy animal toy)
1 Veterinarian's Kit
3 Whips
2 vials of Antitoxin
10 Daggers
2 Etched copper-and-iron Bracers (worth 125gp each)
2 vials of Antiplague
1 vial of Troll Oil
1 MWK Lamellar Armor
1 MWK Scimitar
1 MWK Sling
1 set of Gardening Shears
1 Holly and Mistletoe
1 Spell Component Pouch
Undari races up the stairs just as the troll is laid low. With a low whistle of amazement, he casts a spell of healing instead of fire, touching the wounded dwarf as he approaches the cougar.
Addressing the cougar in Beastspeech, Undari says, "Your master was our enemy, but is now slain. I can guarantee you and the other animals safe passage into the wilds if you would have your freedom, on the condition that you do not hunt any of the rangers who rightfully claim this place."
Rolling his eyes, Thorek clasps Esperanza arm back. "Seven," he corrects her, "the druid counts as mine."
"Ah, I see we're taking credit for almost finishing the job," she says in a wry tone. "Then the troll counts as mine. Eight."
She releases Thorek's arm, and steps over to Gaius. Keeping an eye on the cougar, she says "Well done, Gaius. We have to be quick, though. Tell me how I can help."
In what only sounds like growls and screeches to the rest of the party, occasionally punctuated with a swipe of its massive paws at the air, the cougar rebuffs Undari's appeal.
It seems that while Jang as a child was by far the weakest and most helpless of Raruun's cubs, Ruanni believes she grew to be the strongest of any of them.
Thus, it seems the cougar's loyalty is not that of a broken beast but rather one mourning their beloved sibling.
Undari translates for the others, saying first in Common and then sadly in Beast Speech, "Then if you will not leave peacefully, you must die. I will not have you attacking the Rangers we came here to save."
Keeping a wary eye on the...conversation...between Undari and the cougar, Thorek helps to strip the fallen and pack up the plunder. He also takes a headcount and ascertains the group's remaining resources.
"The dragon's lair may be on the top floor, but I'm not sure we should push our luck. We've cleared the fort and rescued Cobb's people, I'm inclined to mark this one down as a victory and get the hell out of here." He looks around at the others. "Thoughts?"
"I am exhausted, you were nearly torn in half, and the rangers are worse. If the dragon does not return today, we can lay an ambush later. If we linger and the dragon does come back, then we will almost certainly die."
"I would finish the job in the tower, taking what we can to deny our enemies resources, then retreat...If we can risk another 5 to 10 minutes to make sure we clear this out, I would say it is time well spent...It will take that long for the rangers to get ready to leave if they want to equip themselves with the armor of our fallen foes for the journey to our redoubt," counsels Undari, adding, "If you like, I can keep watch outside and give the alarm if I see the dragon."
" Yeah. Let's grab as much equipment as we can and go. I don't want to push our luck. We're still all in one piece if not a bit burnt."
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Through the howling wind and the rain, coming down more strongly now, Undari keeps watch along the tower's perimeter. The bodies of the Ironfangs slain during the initial infiltration of the fort still lie where they were left. Undari sees no sign of the officer, Eygara, who slipped away when she realized the battle was lost.
Inside and upstairs, the party needs only a scant few seconds to put down the cougar. Thus, Ruanni dies beside her adopted hobgoblin sister.
With the stairs now unguarded, you are able to explore the upper two floors of the tower.
The map on the table clearly belonged to the rangers who previously garrisoned Fort Trevalay, and it bears remarkable detail - perhaps explaining why the Ironfangs opted to preserve it. It clearly marks the locations of the three ranger forts, as well as caches and blinds that the rangers maintained. You recognize one of these as the burned blind where you encountered the wood giant Herge, but it bears a skull notation like several of the others. This suggests that the Ironfangs have been using this map to systematically eradicate the ranger forces in the forest.
You surmise that the small wood and stone figurines placed upon the map represent the Ironfang's forces in the Chernasardo. You suspect these are out of date, though. For example, the figurines indicate that both hobgoblins and trolls occupy Fort Nunder, while you only encountered trolls there, and it marks a large contingent of hobgoblins at Fort Ristin, while the pooka you encountered made it clear that the fort has since been taken over by fey.
The most unusual figurine on the map represents a stylized dragon in flight. It is positioned near the northern edge of the map and is holding down a folded piece of paper. When Gaius turns his eyes upon the dragon figure, he discovers that it radiates magic.
The cloth map on the wall, although less detailed, is nonetheless chilling. It depicts Nirmathas and northern Molthune, with labels tidily written in Goblin. A red "X" marks Phaendar, and thick red lines branch out from it across the Nesmian Plains and north up the Marideth River. A dotted line encircles the Nesmian Plains, down past the dwarven Sky Citadel of Kraggodan, east through Molthune, and into the Fangwood.
The two surviving Encarthan Ridgetail Lizards mill about on the stairs to the top floor.
They hiss at anyone who comes near, yet they do not appear nearly as hostile as Ruanni the cougar.
The Legion's Next Target:
Hidden item from Jang:
Undari gives the Ridgetails the same offer he gave the cougar--in Beastspeech, he offers them their freedom if they leave the rangers alone.