Grobradon's jaw sets with annoyance as Betzolte explains why they should go after the Manylegs first, "You're right. I want Halk dead, chopped into pieces, and those pieces burned, except maybe the head which I might show to my mother." A scowl, "Understand, if Halk somehow gets to my mother again... because I went after Manylegs first.... I don't think I'll be reasonable about it. I know myself, and it's just not in me. That said, I've played loner so long I'm well aware I'm not the best to lead a pack like this. I'll defer to the tactics of others. If more than one of you think Manylegs is the target we should go after next, then I will respect that."
"That goblin, Krosk, said this Halk would be there in the next few days, yes? Could we not deal with the Manylegs and then travel to where Halk should be camping? If we hurry, we may be able to lay an ambush for him," Emerald observes.
"Well, sounds like more than one of you want Manylegs first, and for good reasons. If that's what most of you want, I'll go along, but I don't have to be sweet tempered about it."
"As long as the venom and vitriol are aimed at the goblins, I don't think I can complain, much," Emerald says with what looks suspiciously like a grin. "That said, it's just Betzolte and myself that have said it'd be better to attack the Manylegs first. I must admit, I know very little about the goblin tribes around here. Why are they called Manylegs?"
"They're called 'Manylegs' because they have giant spiders as pets, guards, and steeds... I'm for killing Halk first. He and his people took the elves. It seems to me he is the larger danger... certainly more dangerous than the goblin troops we've encountered so far."
From the way Emerald twitches when Moon mentions giant spiders, you get the feeling that the she really, really doesn't like them. Might she even be afraid of them?
"Wait, what elves," Emerald asks, suddenly very confused. "I thought most of them would be across Lake Encarthan, in Kyonin. Do they have an enclave here?"
"Both groups pose a significant threat to Kassen - and both are unlikely to make a move before the Bloodmoon goblin tribe arrives and they have their war council with Ganny Black Tongue. So, we can assume that we should target both groups and that we have time to do so before they gather for their council." Maidie says.
"Right now, Dik is headed back to the Manylegs to report on what happened with us and Krosk. That's bound to cause some commotion, and perhaps we should give that time to work. If so, there's a case to be made for targeting Halk and his group first. On the other hand, I think Grobradon would be equally upset if his mother was eaten by a giant spider while he was off having a family reunion."
"I think mother would prefer the spiders to Halk" He grumbles. Then looks at Erigga, "What do you think on which we should go after first?"
A glance at Emerald as well, "Spiders are scary, they're efficient predators, many of which bind and poison their prey. If you're nervous about large ones goblins use... you're smart. Still, best to let us know about any such fears so we can adapt our strategies."
"I'm in for dealing with Halk first and I agree with Maidie. The whole point of letting Dik go," aside from the conscience of the group, "was to let him to sow confusion."
"S-spiders don't scare me," Emerald lies as she looks away from the others. "I-I'm a dragon. Why would I b-be scared of spiders?"
"Wait, what elves," Emerald asks, suddenly very confused. "I thought most of them would be across Lake Encarthan, in Kyonin. Do they have an enclave here?"
It’s Moon turn to look discomfited. ”Not an ‘enclave’. Well, maybe an enclave of one – me. I’m a minor daughter of a lesser House and my mother came to see what had delayed my visit… promptly getting caught up in this war. She and the surviving members of her retinue are in Kassen now, relatively safe until the next full moon.”
You get the impression that her House isn’t quite as lesser as she is saying.
"If so, there's a case to be made for targeting Halk and his group first. On the other hand, I think Grobradon would be equally upset if his mother was eaten by a giant spider while he was off having a family reunion."
She takes a sudden turn to change the subject. ”That’s not an answer, Maidie. What’s your vote?”
She takes a sudden turn to change the subject. ”That’s not an answer, Maidie. What’s your vote?”
”Halk and his lot. Of the two groups, they are both the most cruel and cunning. Let’s deal with them, then see what kind of chaos the goblins have managed to stir up.”
"Oh," Emerald says as Moon informs her of what had happened previously, before the young dragon turned human had joined the heroes of Kassen. She gives Moon a curious look, but says nothing else on the matter, though her relief at not having to face the spiders, at least no yet, is palpable.
The decision made, Doffery leads you to where he thinks Halk and his gang will be camping based on the marker on the map. It takes a long slog through fresh snow. The sun does little to warm the Fangwood, and more than once the trek is paused as someone slips and needs help getting back on their feet. After along day, you arrive at a campsite by a stream. No one is there when you arrive, and it appears that another snowstorm is rolling in as the stars overhead are blotted out by clouds rolling in from the east.
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Betzolte nods at the conversation.
"Can see the wisdom of that. I won't say no to making that monster pay for what he did to you mom."
She shrugs at Emerald's question about the fear of spiders.
"Healthy dose of caution when it comes to things smaller than you?" she offers. "Sometimes things like that can mess you up even if you're much bigger than they are. Bards tell stories of dragons who assume a puny adventurer can't possibly overcome them, only to be proven wrong in gruesome or embarrassing ways."
Emerald frowns as Betzolte makes her point.
"I get it, you can stop teasing me," she grumbles as she looks away.
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As the vote turned to getting Halk first, Grobradon was at first surprised, then his features softened.
"Thank you all." he manages, his voice a bit rusty.
"Best strategy here?" He inquires.
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Emerald frowns as Betzolte makes her point.
"I get it, you can stop teasing me," she grumbles as she looks away.
"I'm not teasing you, I'm trying to say it's reasonable!" Betzolte replies.
She turns to Grobradon.
"We got plenty of time to set up an ambush. But if we mess with the camp too much it'd probably give us away."
"Healthy dose of caution when it comes to things smaller than you?"
"Up until the point you mentioned bards, I actually thought you were talking about gut parasites." Erigga shares. "Nasty evil things," she adds, moving her finger repeatedly to mimic the thing's movement, "that tickle your butt-hole from the inside. Not bardic material, though."
---
Erigga watches the place for a bit, before pointing up towards the ravine by the campsite. "You guys think we could get up there? Good place to watch them come back and if we are lucky, we could then drop a boulder or log on top of them when they are cozy by their fire."
Emerald shivers as Erigga goes into far too much detail for her taste.
"Can we please stop talking about creepy things," she pleads.
===
Emerald pants as she leans over and puts her hands on her knees. The trek has been especially arduous for her, and her legs wobble as if made of jelly. She looks up at where Erigga is pointing and shrugs.
"I--I think--*huff*--I think that could work," she says.
Betzolte looks up at the cliff and starts thinking up how to set up such a trap.
With a little bit of time, Betzolte figures that the group can rig up to three boulders to fall onto the campsite. Doing the same for trees would be too difficult with the tools available.
"I like the plan. I'll follow the big rocks with my usual obsidian shower, which should help soften up everyone caught in the blast. After that, I'll summon our rocky friend to help us fight."
When Betz mentions bards, Maidie looks at Emerald and ponders something for a moment. After a brief discussion with the transformed dragon about what abilities and magic she retains in her human form, Maidie suggests:
"Emerald, if you feel up to it, you could help lure Halk and his band into the trap area and make it harder for them to spot what we're doing. You can use your song to fascinate them, distracting them from what's going on above. Once we spring the trap, you can turn yourself invisible and hide. Of course, if you don't fell up to it, you can just stay close to Erigga, she'll protect you with her shield."
"Let the rocks do the fighting. I can respect that." Grobradon is not planning on fightihng fair with his enemy
"Do I need to, though? It looks as if the camp will be right below where we have the boulders set up," Emerald observes.
Eager to contribute, Erigga joins Moon in preparing everything.
Grobradon works with Erigga to help Moon
Snow begins to fall just as the last touches are put on the camouflage of the boulders set up for the trap. The hour is late and for those without the blessing of eyes that can see in total darkness, dim lights are needed to even navigate safely around the the top of the cliff. Tired, cold, and yet confident in the work done, the Heroes of Kassen find a safe place to set up the tent that had been gifted to them by Prince Kernan with Doffery's help. Despite it's size and complexity, the tent is up only five minutes later, the sides blending into the surroundings and making it difficult to spot from much further than a few dozen yards away.
The heroes enter the tent to find it is lavishly furnished with soft pillows, warm blankets, a tub already filled with steaming water for a bath walled off by curtains for privacy, and a small kitchen, well stocked with herbs, spices, and other kitchen staples. In the center is a place that is perfect for a campfire, one that is easily set up with the Campfire Stone that was among the gifts lavished upon the heroes.
"We should rest while we can. We don't want to go into this fight tired. But a double watch is probably a good idea."
The night passes quietly as snow continues to fall, covering the heroes tracks and adding to the camouflage already concealing the boulders ready to roll down the hill with a good push. The dawn comes cold and gray, making the comfort of the tent you'd been given all the more welcome. The day crawls by as the tension in the air grows. Halk should be arriving soon, but the sun is setting well to the west before any sign of the orcish brute is seen.
As evening rolls in, a troop of six orc-kin come stomping up the path with all of the stealth and caution of a warband coming into a town seeking drink and companionship to spend their coin on. Four of them bear a familial resemblance to Grobradon, three axe-wielding fighters that appear around his age or perhaps a little older and the largest of the band with a scarred and muscled frame and graying hair. There's little doubt that this one is Halk. The other two are orcish women bearing the accoutrements of shamans or sorcerers.
They set up camp, unaware of your presence and supremely confident in their capabilities. As they do so, you hear them arguing about who's doing what chores and complaining about the lack of slaves to do their bidding or how stupid the goblins were for waiting. Night fully settles in as they light a fire against the chill and cook their supper. As they sit and eat, their guard is down, inviting the ambush they've unwittingly walked into.
Betzolte tries to keep low behind a rock and a tree, as she attempts to cast a protective spell as quietly as she can.
It's not very quiet, resulting in an audible shimmer as two figments of her split off from her form.
"Blast..." she curses as she realizes she's become the fool.
The six orc-kin stop talking and are suddenly on alert as Betzolte's not as quiet as she might have wished.
You hear one of them call for quiet as the others ask if their fellows heard what they did. One of them mutters something about damned fairies before being silenced with a promise of something unpleasant happening to his anatomy if he wasn't.
Silence hangs in the air as the tension rises. All that can be heard in the ears of anyone is the sound of their own blood rushing through their veins with each heartbeat. It is the calm before the storm.
Alert as the orcs are, they are still caught on the backfoot as Grobradon opens by calling on the spirits that reside in the now dormant plants under the snow. They feed hungrily on the druids magic as they grow and attempt to snare Halk and his gang as if anticipating the slaughter to come. Curses ring out as the orcs try to avoid getting their legs caught in the floral trap.
One of the warriors manages to pull his legs free from the grasping vines. The other orcs, however, are not so swift nor light on their feet and are firmly stuck as the next part of the trap closes in on the band. Three boulders come rolling down, ignoring the vines as if they were nothing more than a thin cushion for the tumbling stones. The orcs have little time to do more than scream in anger and terror as their doom closes in. All of the boulders are aimed to catch the most dangerous of the orcs, Halk and the spellcasters, but every one of them finds at least one rolling towards where they stand.
Four of the voices are cut short as their owners bodies are broken and crushed by the boulders that continue on to crash through the ice over the creek where they stop their mad down-hill charge. Only Halk and one of the warriors remain, bloodied and battered, but angry as ever and ready to take the fight to their assailants.
Betzolte decides to add to the impediments after their trap has turned the battle decisively in their favor, muttering her familiar spell and flicking a gob of butter at Halk.
It streaks through the air and splats onto his weapon, covering it in a thick layer of grease!
As the boulders plow their deadly path through the enemies, Maidie barely notices. She’s already fully focused on summoning a shower of smaller rocks to add even more injuries to the cruel and dangerous orc warband.
Maidie's deadly stones tear through the last warrior and leave another half-dozen wounds on Halk as Betzolte's spell takes hold.
The old orc howls in rage as his axe disappears into the writhing foliage holding him fast.
Betzolte casts another spell and grows over the rock and tree, coming in to full view of the surviving orcs.
Halk roars as his muscles bulge and the veins on his arms and neck pop up as he gives into the fury he feels. Flames erupt along the many scars of his arms and from his eyes as he fixes his gaze on the dwarf now growing into a veritable giant just beyond the reach of the writhing mass of plants, vines, and roots. The enraged orc's bonds snap and burn as he powers through the area of Grobradon's spell. Once he begins moving, the vines and roots no longer hold him.
Moon notes the efficacy of their unfair tactics and keeps it up. She unshoulders her bow, nocks an arrow, and sends it at the orc leader.
Arrows (45): x
Blunts (45):
Iron Arrows (3):
Lead Blades (1):
Hero Points (3):
Kassen Battle Boon: 1x
Kassen Death Boon: 1x
Lead Blades – Rnd x of 10 – all my melee weapons act as one size larger
Satisfied with the effect of her rock barrage, Maidie launches into another round of spellcasting, this time longer and more complex.
Erigga looks down at the camp, thoroughly surprised about how well her plan worked. So far, at least, because Halk was still alive and coming for Betzolte. And she was stuck stop the ridge.
"Buggers..." she says, as she has a terrible idea. It was one of those ideas that was so bad that she could not risk explaining it, otherwise she'd also realize how bad it was and not do it. It was perhaps the "pair-o'-ducks" thing she had heard once. Perhaps.
So Erigga rushes forward, over the edge, throws her shield sliding in front of her and then jumps over it!
As Maidie begins her casting, Moon's arrow lands, burying itself deep into Halk's back, but the orc pays it no mind as he continues to tear through the vegetation vainly trying to restrain him. Erigga, struck by either inspiration or idiocy, sends her shield sliding on the snow before her then jumps on it and rides it down the cliff side. She careens down and weaves between a tree and one of the ruined tents to wind up next to Halk.
The vulture lands and changes into a half orc... his eyes are on Halk, ""Zasel jsi semena své vlastní smrti a tady jsem já, dub, na kterém budeš viset. Hoř, řezníku!"
Halk looks up at Grobradon as the druid proclaims the orc warlord's death. The steel links of Halk's mail steam for a moment as they start to heat up, but then the old orc laughs.
"Me? Burn? You are no oak, but a sapling to fuel the flames that I control," he calls out as the spell fizzles. "Say your prayers, boy, you will be the one that burns!"
Betzolte roars as she stomps over, her own face growing redder and redder as she enters a rage of her own and hefts her burning axe, bringing it down on the orc!
Erigga was grinning like a little girl, mostly for the adrenaline and not really for the fight in truth. It was personal for the others, so she let them yell all the curses and battle-cries. She'd slide and slash in silence, like hot knife in a fresh butter.
plus
Erigga's blade bites into Halk, but now she has a new problem as she slides past. Does she hop off, keep going, or try to stop.
Betzolte's blow isn't as effective, glancing off Halk's armor. The orc warlord snarls in rage and glee, bloodlust clear in his eyes as he counterattacks.
Betzolte's backswing as he lunges in opens another wound on the scarred orc, but she's off balance as he ignores the blood spraying from the force of her swing and leaps up to grab the haft of the axe, pain shoots up her arm as his other hand clamps on her wrist and finds the pressure point he needs to weaken her grip. He kicks off the enlarged, enraged dwarf's chest and spins to face Erigga. His eyes blaze with wicked delight and malice as he brings the axe down in a two handed chop with all of his might.
Erigga just barely manages to dodge the worst of the blow, and the force of it as it scrapes across her armor is almost enough to knock her from her improvised shield sled.
Unfortunately for Halk, he takes too long to recover from his strike at Erigga and the vines once again snare his limbs.
This is when Emerald takes her shot.
Her first shot sinks into the meat of his arm, but her second, hurried shot sails over his head as he fixes her with a glare that promises a terrible fate for her should he ever get free and catch her.
Betzolte, seeing Halk wield the axe her father made for her against them, yells as she tries to take it back.