"That was horrific," Thorek slowly lowers the hammer, turning in a circle to scan for any more risen dead. "Do you...do you think the Ironfangs inflicted such awful tortures to deliberately create restless dead? Is that even possible?"
"That's probably giving them too much credit. But they may have necromancers working with them."
Boudra is shaking, desperately scrubbing and her hands and exposed skin to get the feeling of the undead off of her. When Bree hugs her, she calms down slightly, clinging onto the other woman.
I...I'm ok. I'll be ok. she signs. She shudders, and the shadows still swirl around her, but she seems to be largely unharmed.
When Boudra sees what Cedric is doing, she starts scouting out the area as well, hoping to find something useful that might indicate when the attack happened.
Thorek cautiously removes the flayed hides and unburied parts he can find and starts digging another grave.
"Can you just give me a second? I'm freaking out over here," she says while collapsing onto her knees.
Boudra and Cedric conclude that this massacre occurred two days ago.
Unfortunately, their theological knowledge - particularly warnings about the profane - also informs them that such horrid undead creatures do not need to be the purposeful work of necromancers. The kind of carnage that is the Ironfang Legion's forte, tragically, lends itself to creating restless, angry souls that can rise again in search of unholy justice.
Perhaps more hauntingly, this was likely not even the Legion's intent.
Furthermore, the destruction of Gristledown offers confirmation that the Ironfangs are now entering the Chernasardo in force, meaning that they have almost certainly constructed a new bridge across the Marideth.
Although you have found a refuge in Hidden Hope, the forest around you will be all the more perilous now.
They're on the move again, Boudra signs. She looks more angry than anything else. We've got to figure out some way to start disrupting them...and keep them far away from Hidden Hope. She glances at the others. Should we strike out looking for this Kleoch person? Or back to Hidden Hope first?
"I'm of a plit mind on the subject," says Cedric, deep in worried thought. "On the one hand, I really want to warn those we left behind that the woods are now extra dangerous with the Legion mucking about. On the other hand, with the Legion mucking about we likely have a very short window to find this hermit before the hobgoblins do." He pauses. "Which kind of presumes that they haven't already." He shakes his head and takes a deep breath. "I think we ought to try to reach out to Kleoch on the way back to Hidden Hope. We've done all we can to prepare the place in the time we've had. We'll have to trust that it's good enough, unless any of us have a means of getting word back there before we can make it back on foot. I don't."
Bree nods. "Agreed. We're already out here anyways. We might as well look for this guy. Any idea which way we should head?"
"I think that's right. Find the hermit, bring him to safety if he'll come. We're already out here, and our own tracks are likely the biggest threat to Hidden Hope's secrecy."
Bree and Cedric know a bit more about this Kleoch, owing to their lives spent in Phaendar and neighboring Rusk.
On the surface, Kleoch is almost something of a boogeyman for the folks of Phaendar.
Mothers would often warn their misbehaving children that the grim woodsman would return to town to steal them away and feed them to his wildcat.
In truth, Kleoch is a half-elven ranger simply possessing a very aloof nature. Bitter about being rejected from the Chernasardo Rangers and struggling with poverty, he became quite the misanthrope and built an isolated cabin in the forest to seek peace through seclusion.
He only visited town when absolutely necessary, trading for the essentials he could not scavenge or make himself. He would always be accompanied by his animal companion, a lynx named Pila. Strangely, and perhaps tragically, the she-lynx usually seemed friendlier to other people than her own master.
While the exact location of his homestead is unknown, it seems reasonable that it would sit near regular game trails - giving a clue to trace the hermit hunter's steps.
"Game trails, eh?" Thorek nods in acknowledgement and begins helping with the search, brushing dirt from this palms after murmuring a prayer to Angradd over the grave Gristledown. "You said this Kleoch doesn't like people much--do we think he'll help us?"
"I doubt he cares much for hobgoblins, either." She smirks. "He's gruff, but he should be on our side. He's just not a people person. I think."
"It may not be easy to convince him to help the people of Phaendar, but we might have a better shot if we present it as a chance to show up the Rangers," Cedric muses.
" Yeah sure let's go... Anything to keep me from thinking about my inevitable demise"
The daylight quickly wanes as the party leaves behind the accursed remains of Gristledown, traveling back into the forest in search of Kleoch's cabin.
Just as the autumn night begins to fall, Thorek and Cedric each make a discovery as they search for tracks and trails.
Cedric finds tracks belonging to a humanoid in boots, accompanied by a large wildcat, that follow a game trail. Although a couple weeks old, he is sure they belong to Kleoch and can be traced back to his cabin, seemingly to the southeast.
However, Thorek finds a second set of tracks along the way.
Belonging to a small group, these travel in a different direction, southwesterly, and they are less than a day old.
"Oh my... survivors?" Bree feels a spark of hope kindle in her breast. We made it out... maybe some of them did, too! Please-oh-please "If we can track them, so can the 'fangs. And I don't think it's a good idea to split the party."
"Less than a day...could be Ironfangs instead of survivors..."
Let’s hope survivors. We don’t need a missing patrol to draw even more attention to our presence here. I say we go after survivors - and get them to safety!
"I agree that it's worthwhile to see where these fresher tracks lead. If nothing else we might ambush an Ironfang patrol and start harrying the greater force."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There’s not many of us to “harry the patrol,” Boudra signs, but we’d have the element of surprise...and, in the end, we can’t turn away if there’s even a chance this is survivors. She squats to examine the tracks.
Following the fresher tracks leads you through the darkening forest - until the light from a campfire can be seen in a clearing ahead.
Your hope for finding more survivors vanishes as you hear harsh voices speaking in Goblin from the camp.
An indignant female voice replies, but her words are harder to distinguish.
Bree signals the group to stop (making sure someone taps Boudra). Following her father's death, she became fluent in goblin, to better know the enemy. "It may be useful to question a prisoner," she whispers. With that she prepares to attack.
---------------------
"One survivor, got, it," Thorek whispers back, readying his dorn-dergar and murmuring a spell softly.
Lily takes out a dagger in her hand while readying to attack.
Boudra nods silently, and closes her eyes. I suppose I have to remember how to do this intentionally... As she focuses, the area around her dims, and shadows wrap themselves around her form, both obscuring her and hardening into a defensive shroud. Then she loads and readies her crossbow.
Since Thorek is casting bless, Dilwyn will hold off on doing so himself. Instead he grips his spear with one hand. With the other he holds up a fist until it looks like everyone is ready.
Charge on three he mouths at them, then starts putting up fingers one at a time. He'll start rushing towards the danger once he gets to three, trusting that his comrades are right with him.
Bree nods at Cedric instructions. On three, she charges forward as well.
As you draw closer to the campsite and prepare to attack, you see there are four hobgoblins, including two who look like more seasoned hunters, and a hunting dog at the camp.
Focused on carefully, carefully places his steps to avoid twigs and dried leaves, Thorek isn't as quick to attack as he might have been.
The shadows cloak Boudra as she creeps with her friends toward the hobgoblins.
Of course, being deaf, she doesn’t notice when she noisily trampled on undergrowth.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lily yelps out loud while hearing Boudra step on a stick.
Sounds of slow movement and more hushed voices creep out from the campsite ahead.
Bow drawn, Bree moves to try to position a shot.
Chanting out another blessing in Dwarven, Thorek advances through the gap in the stones, dorn-dergar swinging in a dangerous promise. "The ghosts of of Gristledown would like a word, you murderous bastards." he growls at the hobgoblins.
The dorn-dergar is currently in Reach mode.
Cedric manages to just barely keep up with Thorek. His armor's encumbrance isn't usually a problem for him, but then again he's not usually in a position to try ambushing from a distance. The protection giveth and the protection taketh away. He'd still rather have the metal between him and the enemy, even with the occasional inconvenience.
Boudra’s anger rises within her as she moves slowly toward the camp. She raises her hands, unthinking, and for a moment all the color in the world seems to fade slightly around her, as though a cloud has passed over the sun.
Cyrioul and Lily move to flank along an elevated rise, drawing a wand and longbow respectively.
The Ironfang scouts seem to shrug off Boudra's magic, unfortunately, although the spell causes the bristling hunting dog to cower somewhat.
The most senior of the Ironfangs invokes a spell that wreathes his hunting hound in a fierce aura, then he grabs a net from his set aside gear.
Wielding freshly sharpened axes in each hand, the two scouts charge Thorek, standing at the mouth of the campsite.
The swing of Thorek's dorn-dergar misses its mark, but Cedric manages to opportunistically lance one of the charging hobgoblins with his spear.
Divinely bolstered, Thorek's armor and stalwart stance endure the first barrage of axe swings with nary a flinch.
She had hoped to get a clear shot, but the narrow corridor limited her options. She lined up a shot at one of the charging hobs and let fly.
Shield your eyes, friends! the wizard calls out before pointing at the leader and rolling out the words of power, CYMSG GRONYN!
In a flash, there is a spectacular burst of light that envelops the leader and his hound, covering them with sparkling dust motes. It should blind them, but beware! They may overcome it!
Bree's arrow sinks deeply into the attacking Ironfang's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Cyrioul's spell takes hold, and the burst of golden motes robs the sight of the scout leader and his hound.
The dog, its growls tinged with whimpers, scents its way through the blindness and begins to skirt around the campsite.
Unable to back up, Thorek drops his dorn-dergar with a curse and draws the stone earthbreaker, lashing out at the nearest hobgoblin. "I'll send you to the Hells, Ironfang scum!"
Lily aims both her Hypnotic Stare and an arrow for the lead Ironfang scout, and her shot deeply pierces the blinded hobgoblin's stomach.
Thorek makes good on his incensed vow, for his earthbreaker strike crushes the scout's bones and leaves him dying on the ground. Thorek presses the advantage and steps forward, standing over the broken body.
The other veteran scout slips around to the south, but it becomes hard to track her as an unnatural darkness soon envelops the area around her.
Cedric takes the opening provided by Thorek moving forward to take a clean spear thrust at the other Hobgoblin at the front.