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Azu strikes at a few vital points on the intelligent wolf, drawing first blood as it coats the white fur. Bina defends herself but the wolves circling her are too quick as they dodge her blows. Learning a thing or two about the wolves Muzzo grabs ahold of Odvar and reats through teh warg's chest, killing the white warg before tossing the body to the ground.
Azu (44/44)
Mandower (2/25)
Bina (17/17)
Kya
Athmar
Muzzo (20/20)
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Wolves
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Mandower screams in a rage as he rushes one of the southern wolves, war flail in hand.
The war flail crashes into the wolf's head, killing it instantly as Mandower surges with more energy.
Athmar's alchemical bomb ignites the wolf on fire. it turns to flee into the woods, but makes it three steps before collapsing.
Other travelers have fallen prey to the warg. A partially eaten corpse lies nearby. Most of its gear is shredded, except for four remaining lesser elixirs of life.
After removing the menance, you are able to continue forging ahead, following Bark's directions to locate the orc camp. And indeed, his directions were good and you make good time in finding a faint but still visible trail that makes for easy travel.
From the distance, you spot a few faint smoke trails in the sky that lets you know that you near. Finding a good vantage point, you find a rather dismal camp. Between the walls of a ruined building stand a few hastily erected tents. Muddy footpaths run between the tents while carefully tended campfires emit only faint greasy smoke. Amongst these are about a dozen or so orcs busy tending to work around the camp. A number though are children and elderly. Some of the adults look injured and you estimate only a handful are in fighting condition. They have yet to spot you yet.
Azu (44/44)
Mandower (14/25)
Bina (17/17)
Kya
Athmar
Muzzo (20/20)
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"Muzzo not like way wolf looked at Kya. Muzzo thinks caravans better off with wolf gone. Sad wolf no listen, though. Muzzo no like biting fuzzies. How friend Mandower feel? Still hurt?"
Once Muzzo was reassured that the others were feeling up to it, he happily trundled off along the trail they found.
"Look! Orc camp. Not look good though. These look more like refugees than war party. Maybe Bark worried for good reason. What drive orcs to this? We talk nice before kill?"
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Maybe, we should have made a deal with those wolves, we just about got our butts kicked killing them. Maybe we could have offered to hunt large game like buffalo for them. It was wrong of them though to try to eat our halfings, they make good companions. I know about this one halfing that had about a dozen dwarves as friends, and he too should know that halfings make good friends.
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Before moving on after the fight with the wolves, Kya again heals Mandower.
"It is sad that we had to kill them. As angry as I am that they wanted to eat us, it must be hard living up here. That is the way of nature, I suppose."
She walks over to each wolf corpse, kneels down, and casts a blessing over them.
*******
Once they arrive at the orc camp...
"We should learn which tribe they are apart of. The Smiling Tusk tribe is actually quite friendly. They keep birds, so if we see any signs of that, it could mean that these are Smiling Tusk orcs. If not, we need to be very careful. I suppose we need to be careful anyway. They certainly look ravaged though, don't they? Poor things!"
She studies the camp from a distance for several moments, looking to see if she notices anything that may be helpful in determining who the orcs are or what has happened to them.
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After the battle, Azu takes ten minutes to Refocus.
After the group approaches the orc camp, Azu talks in hushed tones,
"It would seem the orcs are struggling and possibly desperate. We should have little trouble negotiating some sort of peace so long as we offer food and aid. Diplomacy is not one of my talents, so I will leave the talking up to others. However, perhaps we should gather some food?"
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Kya looks around. "It would be nice to gather some food, but they must have already gathered what's in the area, don't you think? I can tend to their wounds as well. They look like they need help."
The cleric shifts her weight impatiently, trying to hold back her natural instinct to run to them right away to help. She looks around, wondering if they are likely to be able to gather enough food for the orcs.
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Bina shrugs. "There's food around, they can probably fend for themselves on that front. We should go talk to them. We can patch them up as best we can, and find out what did this to them. Or who. Maybe not with weapons drawn though, don't wanna spook 'em. They look like they got messed up pretty good, they're probably on edge."
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"Broken tusks. Athmar says must be Shattered Fang."
...
Athmar shrugs and starts walking towards the camp.
"Zug-zug!"
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You approach the camp openly, making it clear you have no ill intentions with your weapons stowed away.
The orcs, busy tending the camp or the injured, only notice you a few hundred yards away. Those more mobile quickly gather, but noticing that you do not appear hostile, just stare at you uneasily but do not go for their weapons either. They stare at your group as you approach, and you stop a short distance at the entrance of the camp.
A heavily scarred orc woman with a broken tusk steps forward with confidence in her steps. The other orcs gather warily behind her.
"Who you? What you do here?" she asks rather gruffly but not too aggressively in broken Common.
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Kya breathes an inner sigh of relief. Oh good! They do not appear hostile!
"Oh, hello! I am Kya Mossfoot." She gives a little curtsy. "We are traveling through this area, looking for safe passage. We happened to see your group from a distance. It looks like you have been through an ordeal. I hope that we can offer assistance? I do have some skill with healing. Would you allow me to take a look at your injured? We can help you obtain food too, if you need it."
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The female orc looks back and forth between Kya and Muzzo with a stony face. Finally something breaks, and she lets out a deep sigh as she turns to look at the remnants of her tribe with deep concern in her eyes. The rest of the orcs stare at her in turn, waiting for her cue.
Finally, she speaks. Her voice in guttural and strong, despite the clear challenges the tribe has been facing. She switches to orcish for a moment as she calms her clan down and then back to common.
"Indeed, that would be helpful for our tribe. It would be some time before we can recover." Here, her face grimaces. "But only one condition. Our homes has been ... displaced by an angry ogre. The ogre invaded the cave we call home, and we are in no shape to take it back. If you kill the ogre, I swear this by Gorum and our ancestors that we will allow you to pass freely. What say you?"
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"Oh, how awful! Of course we can do this for you! Perhaps we can rest here tonight and go out in the morning? That way I can tend to your injured and we can go out at full strength in the morning. Any information you can give us on this ogre would be very helpful! She looks around at her companions to see if this plan is alright with them as well.
I have never fought an ogre before...I don't even know if Io could rightly identify one if I saw one! This sounds very scary, but I do have a lot of faith in my companions. And in the guidance of Shelyn. She chews on her bottom lip nervously.
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Bina takes a surreptitious step away from Muzzo. "That is not an image I wanted in my head," she grumbles.
At Kya's suggestion, Bina shrugs. "I'm okay with that, depending on how far this cave is. If it's not far, that works. If it's a ways away, we might wanna get some trekking in before turning in."
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The orc woman simply nods at the Pathfinders' confidence.
"Thank you, once again. Come, join us at the fire and we would share more."
Once you have settled down, the orc leader summons for some simple stew and watery ale, before waving the rest of the orcs back to work. She then introduces herself as Grakcha before asking for the Pathfinders to similarly introduce herself.
She sets out to describe how her band had just fought off a warg and his troop of wolves. The ogre invaded their caves in the middle of the night while the orcs were nursing their wounds. Caught by surprise and more concern over keeping the young and elderly alive, the band decided to flee the caves but even more serious injuries were sustained. They had taken shelter in this ruins in the meantime, hoping to eventually recover sufficiently to take back their caves.
She then goes on to describe the caves, sketching a map of the place. (In the maps) However, she is not certain what the ogre might have done to the caves after the band fled.
While the Pathfinders mull over the map, Grakcha calls over an orc and gives him some quick instructions. He returns shortly, bearing a sack, which she then hands over to you.
"While we are in no shape to join you in chasing away the ogre, we can at least help you in your task. Here, you might find this useful. We will also watch over the night as you rest."
Opening the sack, you find it contains two minor healing potions, a lesser tanglefoot bag, and a crying angel pendant talisman.
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"Warg and his pack? Muzzo thinks we ran into them on way here. See this bit here? That from warg!" Muzzo proudly pointed to the bloody spot he had just impressed Bina with.
"We thank you for the gifts of your tribe, and offer our help tomorrow"
Muzzo was happy to bed down for the night in relative safety, and anxious to be off in the morning to kill an ogre. If normal longshanks legs tasted so good, what must an ogre's be like?
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Kya smiles warmly at Muzzo. "You really are a dear, Muzzo. In a somewhat disturbing way."
She looks at Azu. "That sounds quite complicated. Do you think we can do it? What if it notices use while we're digging the hole?
After a plan for tomorrow is finalized - and with Grakcha's permission - Kya will check on the injured orcs and heal them to the best of her abilities.
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Bina shrugs uncertainly. "I can dig, but I think Kya's got a point. Digging a hole will probably be loud. Of course, based on this map, the cave's pretty big. Might not hear us digging. But that works against us too, because we'd need a lot of smoke to fill that place up." She taps her chin thoughtfully with the head of her cane. "Maybe we should take a look inside the cave first? The sneaky among us can skulk in, peep around, report back. Might be there's a better place to lay a trap closer to the actual ogre." She pops open a tin of rations and picks at it absently, mostly sticking to the dried fruits. Can't wait to get some nice boiled lobster back in Absalom, she thinks wistfully.
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Azu shrugs, "If the ogre hears us digging and comes out, before we finish, then we are still better off than having to face such a creature in the confines of a cave. We can string a trip wire with a few tavern mugs to warn us if he comes early. And if the smoke fails to flush him out, then we lure him out. We get his attention and then retreat."
Azu turns to the Grakcha. "If you could lend us a few able-bodied orcs to dig the pit, it would help."
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Grakcha nods at a few of the younger orcs as she orders them to help in orcish. "They quite injured but should be able to help slowly." You look over as one limps badly while the others arm is in a makeshift sling.
With a couple injured orcs in tow you make your way to investigate the entrance to this cave.
You set off the next day at the break off dawn. You find the orcs' directions are clear as the two injured help guide you there. Close to the cave are several well‑traveled paths that you follow as guided, and while it is late in the day by the time you arrive, there is still sufficient light.
Just outside the cave entrance are several animal carcasses, which have attracted large swarms of black flies. The stench is only just bearable and it only gets worse. The smell of the low‑ceilinged chamber you enter is nearly suffocating. The stench of rotten meat wafts in from outside, and the smell of excrement comes in through the tunnel to the east. The ceilings in the cave chambers are 15 feet high, and 10 feet in the corridors. The light is dim throughout. Shelves and racks that once held equipment now lie smashed on the ground. Other tunnels exit to the west and north, which further forks east and west.
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Azu designates the ogre as his prey.
Azu nods in agreement with Muzzo. "It would appear that we will need to find the ogre first. However, in the meantime, let's dig the pit and set the spikes. Someone can keep a look out. I fear the ogre may not be the only thing that has found a new home in these caves."
Azu commands Ako to drag off the carcasses and ask the orcs to dig the pit in front of the entrance. He quickly cuts branches and sharpens one end to make spikes.
Azu marks the area with pegs so that the party can easily avoid it..
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Azu quickly gets the orcs to work as the group begins digging and clearing the entrance of the carcasses. Looking over the tracks closely Azu can tell that the freshest ones lead to the northwest chamber.
Athmar makes a small fire, tossing some of his dried meat onto the flames. This causes the stench within the cave to become far worse as the smoke swirls and carries the smell of meat and fecal decay all throughout the entrance.
It all doesn't matter though as the noise from starting the pit draws the attention of the occupant within. You hear a booming voice. "Who dat?!"
The orcs drop the shovels, barely started as they flee as fast as they can from the cave.