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Pulling his sword out of the downed minotaur, Grum took out his first wand and used it to start patching himself back up. It quickly stopped working. With an annoyed grunt he put it away and took out a second. It went well, closing his wounds and leaving naught but a bruise behind, but it was soon completely drained. Taking it he shoved it into the eye of a dead minotaur and got to his feet.
"This gate is secure. Let's guard it while it gets patched up, and then we can go back to being in reserve. We can use these corpses to fill the holes. It'll send a message to the hobs outside and it'll put them to use."
Benedict will help drag the minotaurs inside and search them for anything usable.
"I have an idea."
He's going to take one of the minotaur's heads and throw it over the walls in a different place, shouting as he does so.
Then he will follow Grum's lead and fall back to a reserve position.
Aerel will replenish arrows and ask around about more weapon oils because that seemed to work well…
But mostly, he will fall back to a position where he can help watch and be available for the next crisis.
Benedict's bluff is apparently effective in sowing doubt amongst the enemy ranks. For the next two hours, the attacks against the wall are sporadic and ineffectual, and the defenders maintain their positions.
Then the attacks again become more organized and vicious. The steady assault becomes a wearying affair of sorties of withering archery fire followed by besieging troops trying to throw grappling hooks and setting ladders against the wall to gain purchase. As defenders are drawn away to fight back the areas where the Legion is gaining purchase, another area is hit.
Two hours of these unrelenting attacks taxes the wall's defenders. The Heroes lend aid where they may, beating back one assault only to learn about another gap in the line about to be breached.
By the time the Heroes are called to yet another place where the beleaguered defenders are just about overwhelmed, a spot midway between the north tower and eastern gates, they are greeted by an unnerving sight: a teeming mass of morlocks climbing effortlessly over the ramparts (and each other)!
Slightly separate from the group, another morlock wearing a green gem around its neck, climbs up on the battlements and casts a spell that causes the light from the torches set behind the walls to fade away, shrouding the entire area in darkness!
William looks at the situation and says "We can't fight them if we can't see them. Does anyone have a way to get rid of the darkness? I can slow them down some though."[/b]
He pulls out the staff of fire and directs a firball into the middle of the darkness.
William guesses the target and explodes a fireball in the middle of the darkness. There's a brief illumination showing a large number of the degenerate creatures getting scorched and incinerated, but the darkness envelops them again.
Those with darkvision can see the morlocks scramble towards William, not caring that the others are in the way!
Meanwhile, there's chanting somewhere in the darkness (past the 60' range) and suddenly a pair of glowing fangs appear, attacking William.
Benedict will be in front to take the swarm damage and the AOO.
Then he attacks the swarming morlocks with his flaming flail, cracking heads to the left and to the right.
He tries to think what he knows about Morlocks - specifically, their senses (the range of their Darkvision).
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Grum was not the kind of person to hide in the back. He knew that as a halforc old age would claim him far, far too soon. All he could hope for was that Gorum would smile upon him and reward him with eternal war in the next life. It was preferable to having time slowly devour him. Laughing he dove into the fray, the magic of his blade illuminating the darkness even as it was plunged into the morlocks.
Aerel is standing back, alongside William, and as the sound of spellcasting occurs, he circles the mob of morlocks to the right, trying to get farther into the darkness to see his target. If he can find cover to fire from, he will take it.
The melee defenders mow down the morlock troop like so much wheat.
Benedict, meanwhile, considers that morlocks, being subterranean creatures, have a far greater range on their darkvision than races that frequent the surface. He's afraid that the spellcaster has twice the range that he does.
William runs toward the darkness hoping to find a target.
The glowing fangs continue their assault on William.
More chanting comes from the darkness and a thick bank of fog suddenly appears around the archers.
Grum spots the morlock priest on the battlement as it cast its spell blocking off the orc's ranged support! it spits something in Undercommon, but Grum recognizes a challenge when he hears one!
Aerel will continue to blindly move toward the chanting.
Since Benedict was in melee next to Grum, and also has Darkvision, I take it that he too can see the Morlock caster?
"It's a big risk, Grum, pitting sword against magic - but if you want it you can have it."
Benedict will try to rally the defenders.
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Grum raised his bloodstained blade, which danced with fire and electricity over his head. He bellowed ”Gorum!” as loud as he could. Given his size, weapon, and battered armor, he looked every inch a figure from the Gorumskagat, one of the few texts that could be considered a holy book of the Fel deity. He then pointed the blade at the challenger. ”Come! Show me hobgoblin discipline! Show me your pride! Blood for the blood god! May one of our skulls sit at the throne of the god of war!”
Benedict: yes, you can see the Morlock caster.
The caster is definitely shaken by Grum's display. Benedict's words carry over the battlefield, but it's hard to know what the ranks of hobgoblins will think of the battle considering they have the same limitations of darkvision as he does, so there won't be that many eyewitnesses.
Despite being shaken, the caster rushes up to Grum to do battle!
With no good way to fight in the darkness, Amkarang runs over towards the archers, hoping to protect them from any threats that might come out of the darkness.
The few defenders along the walls that can see in the dark fill the gaps and try to stop the surge of hobgoblins trying to push through the breach. Meanwhile, Grum misses with his first swing but a follow-up deals a grave wound to the morlock.
The morlock retaliates while his spell keeps attacking William.
He can't get past Grum's stout armor.
The prophet calls out in his strange language for guidance and it seems like he gets his prayers answered, for his morningstar manages to land a solid blow on Grum.
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Grum pulled the sword free, fully expecting the morlock to fall to the ground. He underestimated the foe, and paid the price as a morningstar struck him upside the head. Seeing stars he staggered backwards, lashing out with his blade with all of his might a moment later. Unable to even keep his balance, the attack relied purely on his speed and strength to see it through.
The morlock oracle falls to Grum's devastating swings. The heroes are then tasked to fight back the hordes and do so with general ease. Once the darkness spell lifts, it becomes easier.
The battle returns to the general siege tactics of the hobgoblins -- steady pressure and testing of defenses, whittling down the resolve and morale of the defenders and knowing that each one who falls is someone that can't be replaced.
Benedict will help drag the minotaurs inside and search them for anything usable.
Benedict cheers Grum as the morlock falls. "GORUM IS PLEASED!"
He fights alongside the defenders of Longshadow, hacking down hobgoblins anywhere he can.
While they may have the numbers, our fallen can be pulled back for healing - their wounded will likely lie trampled outside our walls.
Benedict drinks one of the healing potions found earlier.
Hours pass as the siege continues. At times, the stars appear through the smoke of the Ironfang Legion's firepots that lend some sense of time, that the night is truly progressing.
The heroes are called upon several times to repel certain concerted pushes against perceived weak spots in the walls. At one point, a contingent of ogres rush the walls, only to be slaughtered by the skilled archery fire of William and Aerel. Another wave of morlocks and hobgoblin engineers are driven back by Grum, Benedict, and Amkarang.
Later, some hobgoblin falconers try to send their birds to pick off the clerics and spellcasters providing support behind the walls. They, too, fall to the arrows of the defenders.
Even without the special monsters or engines of destruction that the Ironfang Legion may have been able to bring to bear, there's still the issue of attrition. Every time a brief glance of firelight or magical light illuminates the black stone tower of Kosseruk's camp, more troops pouring out can be seen. Unless something is done about that tower, Longshadow is doomed.
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The evening is well advanced into the dark hours of the morning. The assault continues unabated and the town's beleaguered defenders are just barely holding on.
The smell of ash and the screams of the dying -- both human and hobgoblin -- fill the air around you as the battle's intensity continues to mount. The party again has to relocate, rushing from one crisis to the next. Suddenly their footing shifts for a moment, and then the cobblestones of the street begin to give way!
All of a sudden, the party finds themselves dropping into a massive basin dug beneath Longshadow's streets!
The party finds themselves in a massive sinkhole beneath the streets of Longshadow! The darkness barely shows a pair of hobgoblins astride massive, shaggy wolves, and a titanic ankheg that apparently dug this immense tunnel!
"And now to show that cow how a battle is won," one of the hobgoblins says. The two spur their lupine mounts into a charge!!
Aerel falls back a step and opens fire on the hobgoblin that spoke.
Benedict scrambles to his feet and prepares to dodge the hobgoblin cavalry or the giant bug.
Amkarang easily twists to break his fall before springing back to his feet.
William manages to land on his feet and absorb the energy of the fall. He looks at the enemies and fires at the wolf opposite the one Aerel fired at.
Aerel drives several arrows into one of the hobgoblin cavaliers. He manages to endure the pain and continue his charge, though!
William targets the wolf of the other rider, and though the skilled rider tries to move his mount out of the way of the oncoming death, William's shots are too accurate.
As the wolf dies under him, the hobgoblin manages to leap from the saddle and land on his feet. He cries forth a battle charge and starts running toward the heroes.
He reaches Benedict with a shout and a challenge!
The one who spoke reaches Grum, only to be cut down by the fierce orc's swing! The wolf continues to attack, however!
The massive ankheg surges forward and spits a stream of acid that washes over the archers!
Benedict dodges the hobgoblin's blow. He retaliates, hammering his foe about the face with his flaming flail.
Aerel changes his aim since the loudmouth is down. Step back and fire. Acid-spewing insect, you’re next.
Amkarang charges towards the ankheg, seeking to deal with the giant insect before it can do any more damage.