Mac has no idea what the others are talking about. He simply leans against the wall, shifting impatiently from foot to foot.
"Why not both? Let's clear out the courtyard and then send the spies in to see what's left. I think we should try to draw those trollhounds out so we don't have to fight them in that narrow passage. Cirieo, come on. Shoot the left one first and we'll draw them out to Grevayne and Mac."
She walks up to the treeline to wait for the others.
Cirieo follows Freyja to the treeline and loads a bullet in his sling staff.
Grevayne, still invisible, flanks right, waiting at the corner. He waits until all three trollhounds have passed him to lash out at whichever one straggles past.
Mac, at Grevayne's whispered suggestion, waits at the treeline, hiding. As soon as all three trollhounds are out of the corridor and into the open, he will rush the closest one and transform.
Everyone creeps into position and the lounging trollhounds are none the wiser. The one in the back yawns.
Freyja counts to ten slowly in her head, wanting to give Grevayne time to get into position, but not too long that his invisibility runs out. She looks to Cirieo and Mac, then draws an arrow on the trollhound on the left .
Cirieo whips his sling staff around over his head, then launches the bullet at #2.
Freyja's arrow and Cirieo's bullet arrive at roughly the same time, both slamming into the lounging trollhound. It yelps in pain and surprise and jumps to its feet, scanning the treeline for the source of the attack. The other two open their eyes but aren't quite sure what is happening yet.
Freyja
Trjega
Cirieo
Mac
Grevayne
Bold may act.
No one seems to be moving toward the big ugly dogs that Trjega can smell from here. She is more than happy to wait.
Grevayne takes a moment to settle into Dragon Stance, then quietly mutters a spell.
Mac still holds, waiting for them to reach him before charging in.
The trollhounds are slow to react, giving most of you a chance to act again before they engage.
Cirieo fires two bullets.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo
Mac (81/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (0 damage)
Trollhound #2 (0 damage)
Trollhound #3 (0 damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Freyja fires three arrows .
"Stay, Trjega!"
Trjega starts batting around a dragonfly.
Cirieo and Freyja combine to completely obliterate #2, Freyja's second arrow piercing its eye socket in a signature Freyja shot (All Rights Reserved). If you hadn't already observed one of these trollhounds regenerating, you would never believe that it could come back from this.
#3 takes two arrows from Freyja and already looks to be on its last legs. It stands and begins running to the treeline, not quite reaching it. #1 follows.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo
Mac (81/86 hp, readied action)
Trollhound #1 (0 damage)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (?? damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Mac leaps at #1, morphing into a massive dire wolf as he charges, and tears into it.
Grevayne channels arcane power into his fists, and they glow with latent energy before bursting into invisible heat. He charges and leaps into flanking position with Mac to try and decimate #1 while it's distracted.
Mac's bite barely misses the trollhound, as it lazily dodges out of the way. Grevayne pops into view behind it, though, and lands a punch with such force that flames erupt from his fist. The trollhound reacts with a shriek of pain as the flames blacken its skin.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo
Mac (81/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (?? damage, no regen this round)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (?? damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Cirieo tosses an alchemist's fire at #3. "Sorry, Mac!"
It hits #3 directly, but appears to have been a bit of a dud, doing minimal damage to #1, #3, and Mac. Still, minimal fire damage is still fire damage, so Cirieo calls out, "Put them down now!"
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (?? damage, no regen this round)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (?? damage, no regen this round)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Mac snarls and starts chewing vigorously on #1.
Mac's onslaught is sudden and vicious. He moves with unnatural speed, his neck muscles bulging as his jaws tear into the trollhounds. Blood and gore spray in all directions, but mostly onto Mac. When it is done, #1 and #3 are decapitated and disemboweled, respectively.
Freyja notes with some alarm that she doesn't see the decapitated one's head anywhere.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
After taking a second to process what she just saw, Freyja moves forward, bow at the ready. "Come, Trjega!" She trains her bow on the gatehouse passage, and waits.
Trjega hates to admit it, but the thing that enormous dog just did was pretty impressive.
The arrows sticking out of #2 push out a bit further. It doesn't look like it will be standing up anytime soon, but it is slowly but surely on its way back.
As if on cue, you hear some yelling coming from the courtyard, and then three trolls come around the corner and head your way. Freyja puts her arrow in the first one, but it barely slows down.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (?? damage)
Troll #2 (0 damage)
Troll #3 (0 damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
"Cirieo!" Grevayne calls. "Take out that trollhound before it gets up!"
He steps up and goes to grab the troll with his flaming hands.
The troll swats away Grevayne's attempt to grab it, but only barely. It recoils from the flames that rage around his fists.
Cirieo pulls out another alchemist's fire and hobbles forward on his crutch. "The trolls are too big! I'll never hit it! Try to draw them out!"
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo (49/49 hp)
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (?? damage)
Troll #2 (0 damage)
Troll #3 (0 damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Freyja steps back, reveling in the feeling that Grevayne's spell gives her. She is naturally fast with a bow, but the magic makes her feel as if she could empty an entire quiver into an enemy in ten seconds. Lightning fast, she draws four arrows and shoots them at the lead troll.
"Trjega, attack!"
Finally.
Trjega launches herself from her haunches, reaching chest-high on the troll, and unleashes hell.
In just a few eye blinks, the lead troll is littered with arrows and cat scratches. Trjega continues her shreddificiation of the troll even as it falls to the ground unconscious.
The other two trolls have the good sense to look a little worried.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo (49/49 hp)
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (?? damage, unconscious)
Troll #2 (0 damage)
Troll #3 (0 damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Mac growl-whines in frustration, unable to get through the mess of bodies and allies to reach the other trolls without completely clogging the hall. He opts to stay back and wait for the trolls to come to them.
Troll #2 steps forward, on top of the unconscious body of his best friend in the entire world, the godfather of his six troll children. Five of them are probably going to continue in the family woodworking business, but little Johnny Troll has gotten accepted into troll university and will be the first in the family to attend! His father has taken this guard duty as a second job to save enough that Johnny can go to school without having to get a job himself.
But I guess all that ends today when these smallfolk murder all of them. Johnny will have to cancel his school plans to help raise the other kids and will probably get involved in murder and mayhem to make ends meet like every other troll, thus perpetuating the cycle of violence.
Things could have been different.
#2 bends down to bite Trjega but she dodges easily. #3 (who is kind of a dick, so no worries about murdering him) moves up behind #2.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo (49/49 hp)
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (?? damage, unconscious)
Troll #2 (0 damage)
Troll #3 (0 damage)
Grevayne (75/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Grumbling to himself, Grevayne waits for the second troll to step over his son's godfather's corpse and goes to grab again.
Grevayne reaches up and grabs the much larger troll. The troll tries to shake him free but Grevayne is latched on like a baby monkey.
Cirieo sees his opportunity and tosses the alchemist's fire, aiming for a spot near the second troll, in hopes of hitting all three trolls with the splash. The trollhound will just have to wait.
The vial drops exactly where he aimed. Despite the minor wounds, #2 and #3 scream in fear. #1 catches on fire and burns to ash in seconds.
Cirieo pulls out another alchemist's fire.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (59/59 hp)
Cirieo (49/49 hp)
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (dead)
Troll #2 (?? damage, grappled, no regen, 1d6 fire damage on Cirieo's next turn)
Troll #3 (?? damage, no regen)
Grevayne (75/75 hp, grappled)
Bold may act.
Mac runs up to the wall and snaps once at the troll grappled by Grevayne.
Freyja is cackling with glee and bloodlust. She doesn't hate trolls as much as hobs, but it's close. They're just so evil and big and easy to hit! And this magic is amazing. She aims to put her four arrows in a semicircle around Grevayne's head.
Trjega climbs the corpse her master created and gets in #3's face.
Mac and Freyja make short work of #2, leaving poor Johnny and his five siblings to their fate. Trjega doesn't have the most tactical mind and moves on #3, clogging the corridor.
Trollhound #2 heals some more but is still down. #2 finally does some damage to the party, as it tears into Trjega with both claws and rends her flesh nearly to the bone .
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (30/59 hp)
Cirieo (49/49 hp)
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (?? damage, unconscious)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (dead)
Troll #2 (dead)
Troll #3 (?? damage, no regen)
Grevayne (75/75 hp, grappled)
Bold may act.
Grevayne drops the limp arm of the dead troll and charges into melee with the troll in front of Trjega, bouncing over corpses and slick pools of blood as if they weren't even there, then leaps up and superman-punches the troll.
The troll bites at Grevayne as he approaches, tearing some flesh from his arm just before Grevayne's fist slams into it. The flames blacken its flesh and it screams again.
Cirieo steps up behind Trjega, lines up the shot, and lobs his alchemist's fire over the top of troll #3 .
The vial travels 25 feet into the air in a perfect arc that barely clears the troll's head. It hits the unconscious trollhound and burns it to ash. Cirieo lets out a victory yelp.
Freyja (84/84 hp)
Trjega (20/59 hp)
Cirieo (49/49 hp)
Mac (80/86 hp)
Trollhound #1 (dead)
Trollhound #2 (dead)
Trollhound #3 (dead)
Troll #1 (dead)
Troll #2 (dead)
Troll #3 (?? damage, no regen)
Grevayne (66/75 hp)
Bold may act.
Freyja almost casually fires four more arrows, knowing she could literally kill this thing with her eyes closed.
Freyja puts four arrows into the head of the troll. It was dead after the second one, but it can't hurt to be sure.
Even as the troll is falling, Freyja has the healing wand out and is helping Trjega.
She starts toward Grevayne, but then remembers this wand will hurt him. She might never get used to that. She shrugs in his direction, then looks at Mac. "Are you hurt?"
Mac, still in his dire wolf form, chuffs once and shakes his head.
Grevayne pulls out his wand and taps himself twice.
Then he gives Freyja the thumbs-up as he holsters it. "Let us take a look at the courtyard before we move indoors."
He steps across the charred corpses and into the inner courtyard to look around.
Mac follows, snuffling the ground as he goes. He stops by one of the trollhounds to relieve himself on its corpse before following Mal-Skend into the inner courtyard.
You enter the courtyard, and it seems to be completely empty, other than the stone and timber debris. A mostly ruined roof still clings to the corners, providing a bit of shelter over a wooden staircase in the northwestern corner and a large collapsed building to the east against the escarpment. Vines and weeds have already begun to take root atop the fresh ruins. Bones litter the ground, and piles of stonework have been gathered into simple chairs and tables half again larger than any human might need.
Simple banners, constructed from torn green fabric and bright red paint, flutter from the toppled walls. Each handpainted banner depicts a simple symbol: a large "X" and a pair of menacing eyes above it. The large opening to the west has been strung with chimes made from bones and skulls; it is difficult to tell from this distance, but it seems likely that they are those of humanoids.
There are charcoal drawings on the intact wall to the northeast, but you will need to get closer to examine them.
Were the trolls trying to hold this fort? If so, why were there so few guards? It would be basically impossible to hold a fort as ruined as this one, so why keep anyone here at all?
You find an assortment of coins (218cp, 855sp, 61gp) on one of the tables; it appears the trolls were doing some gambling. Also, one of the table's legs looks odd, and Grevayne detects magic on it.
lesser extend metamagic rod
Grevayne inspects the table leg. "This is powerful magic. I cannot tell what it is, but it is definitely magical. I will need more time to study it."
He tries to dislodge it from the table after clearing it of coins.
Mac pads over to the charcoal drawings, sniffing them curiously and trying to determine what they depict.
Grevayne knows enough to realize that this is probably a metamagic rod.
The charcoal drawings on the wall depict several maps of the area. Cirieo points out that the two forts marked on the map are Nunder and Trevalay. There are some scribbled words on the wall, written in Giant.
These look like attack plans for Fort Trevalay. Were the trolls considering trying to take Trevalay? Is that why there were so few here? In any case, the map shows three bridges leading into the fort, and the attack plans involve storming the northern or southern bridge, ignoring the western one.