1) We're on our way to Ma'Cab and then to Boreala. We were booking it out of Aereolis as we had recently gotten into the fight with the hired assassins. We were told by Craega that we would be needed to protect the town from kimber (kobolds). They were being ransacked by kimber raids and we had an opportunity to gain gold and glory protecting Boreala and putting a stop to the attacks.
We found a few new traveling companions. We figured they'd be a good cover going north. The new additions to our traveling group included Xog the half-ogre ranger and Craega the halfling monk. We seemed to like Craega more than Draega. Eh. Also, we were accompanied by Hooth the human ranger.
2) We set off at 4am in order to get out on the road ASAP. We decided to exit from a side gate and then circle back around to the road that led north out of the city. We were not surprised to see multiple supply carts entering the city as we left.
We decided to not stay at inns for the first few weeks out on the road. We were not sure if riders had been sent out from Aereolis, but we figured we'd rather play it safe than sorry. With the commotion that had been caused and all of the collateral damage inflicted from our fight, we were sure that we would be pursued.
The road quickly became muddy and slowed us down considerably. It was Spring and the thawing snow caused the road to become very, very soft or swamped in areas. After a couple of weeks traveling, we finally reached the town of Oes. Oes represented not only shelter and warm baths, but also a chance to restock our provisions and potentially acquire some mounts.
Oes is a town that was once fairly sizable and probably once held a population of about 3,000. However, many residents have vacated their domiciles and now lie in graves within the cemetery right outside of town. The plague has decimated the town and the current population is probably something between 1,000 and 1,200.
We put up in an inn for the evening and were treated to dinner and baths. The rest was much appreciated and Wrento decided that he'd like to ride a horse while the rest of walked. We also picked up rations for a week for the entire party. On second thought, Daka purchased a draft horse and a cart for us all to ride upon.
3) We moved on towards Ma'Cab and were making descent time. However, we did notice a rider moving towards us quickly on a horse. The rider seemed to be a teenage boy and just rode past us. Covered in mud, the rider seemed to make haste from North Aereolis and left us with some concern about what lied ahead.
Continuing on, we saw smoke coming from something just beyond our current position on the road. We made sure to stay alert to our surroundings and proceeded forward to investigate the source of the smoke.
We approached a group of bodies that appeared to have been fleeing from something. We found six corpses: two adults and four children. The carnage was gruesome and we decided that these poor victims should be avenged. We then began to look for a trail that could lead us to the raiders. However, we first decided to have Beld recite some appropriate prayers for the deceased and then decided to build a pyre and burn the corpses.
From a hill, we saw a burning hamlet. It looked like the destruction was vast and most buildings were laid to waste. There were many dead bodies and Beld quickly started searching for survivors, especially the wounded, who could still be saved. However we did not seem to find any survivors. From the night clothes the corpses were clothed in, we could presume that the attack occurred at night.
We could tell that the force that laid wast to this hamlet was probably both large and capable. This looked more like an army ready for war had destroyed the town rather than a small raiding party.
As Craega and others collected the bodies within the town meeting hall (or what was left of it), Beld climbed one of the few structures still standing. This structure appeared to be a lookout tower of sorts and afforded a view of the surrounding country.
Wrento searched the homes to find anything that might be still intact and could be taken and used. He found some food items and took them so that they could be later consumed. Wrento specifically sought out holy symbols, but could not decide whether to take the holy symbols or to burn them.
The party did find one worg body that apparently was half burned. It looked like one of the buildings collapsed on it. (In other words, it rolled a 1.) We also did find lots of crossbow quarrels that appeared to be from orcs. Hooth decided to skin what remained of the word and managed to get some of the pelt.
After we burned the mass pyre for the dead, we quickly made haste out of the town. As the pyre would create a large amount of smoke, we knew that by burning it we would announce our presence to potential foes and allies alike. The raiding army, while a few days march away, could possibly still see the smoke.
4) When we made it north of the hamlet, we went off the road, attempted to obscure our trail, and then set up camp in the woods so that we couldn't be seen from the road. We could hear the baying of wolves and worgs alike.
We made it through the night without an encounter and then continued on the road the next morning. We decided to send Hooth ahead of us as a scout. We decided that Hooth and his skill at remaining silent within the woods would be better for us than Xog and his skill at flattening everything in sight. Hooth took the point and marked trees as he moved along. This left a clear path for us to follow and for anyone who may be following us.
Hooth came back after a while to report that there were 20 to 30 orcs ahead of us and about 6 worgs. He said that they were about a day ahead of us and they were a small band that had split off from the main force. We weren't sure why a small force had split off from the main army, but we assumed that we would me more useful going after and disrupting the mission of the small force instead of just throwing ourselves against a massive army.
As we followed the small party, we found that it moved towards what appeared to be a fort. Both Hooth and Xog kept their eyes peeled to see if there were lookouts for the fort to watch the party returning and anything that may be following. It was here that we stopped to decide our next course of action.
5) We all decided to cross the river at a ford. First a group went with melee weapons and then a second wave crossed the river that had provided cover for the first group. The first group made it across without any issues. The second group crossed and also made it across the river safely.
Looking at the tracks, it looked as though the small orc party had gone west. We continued to follow the path towards an out-cropping. When we were close, Craega moved towards the out-cropping and suddenly a worg with an orc riding it burst forth from the bushes and bolted to the west. Those who had missile weapons drawn fired and both the rider and the worg were hit. However, despite taking a lots of damage, the orc stayed atop the worg and kept going west towards the fort.
Wrento, since sitting atop a mount, tried to take off towards the fleeing orc. However, the attempt to ride was quite unsuccessful and it took everything in his power to stay atop his horse. Unfortunately, the orc and the worg successfully escaped. We knew that our presence would now be known.
6) As we venture further into the hills and higher into elevation, the trees seem to grow more and more stunted and the hilly terrain becomes more rocky. We move through and around ravines and the going is both slow and treacherous. We do see bits of clothing and other detritus from the orc party and, more importantly, their still-alive captives.
We see a large pass about a half-day's walk ahead of us. As we're thinking of going on, some party members detect that there is at least one orc and one worg ahead of us. We decide that we'll head in the direction that the scent was detected from and ready our weapons.
Hooth moved on ahead and fired a sling stone at one of the orcs that were lying ahead and waiting to ambush us. Unfortunately, his sling stone missed and alerted the orcs as to his presence. He called out so that we could hear, "10 orcs and 3 worgs!" After he called out, the enemies that were waiting to ambush us sprang forth and charged at us.
7) Beld cast bless upon the party and then melee broke out. As they were waiting behind some boulders, we ran into missile fire and Xog was devastated by a viscous strike from a bolt. He staggered for a moment and then quickly found his footing and continued forth with a heroic shout for valor. He struck at the worg, but unfortunately missed.
Wrento tried to, in scalemail armor mind you, to leap over a worg and try to land behind the enemy lines to attack them from behind. As you may have guessed, Wrento was not successful. However, the silver lining came in the form of the fact that Wrento did not completely fuck up and die.
Hooth slams one of the orcs in the midsection with his morning star and the orc collapses. Xog blocks one of the orcs and throws it aside with his shield arm. Throwing his arms into the air Xog growls a challenge for all comers to meet! Fearing for Xogs gaping wounds, Beld cures a small amount of the damage done to Xog. Xog then hits one of the orcs with a spear in the leg. The orc staggers sideways and the spear remained in his right leg.
Daka swings a mighty stroke and cleaves one of the orcs in half. The blade carries through and nicks one of the other orcs nearby. Xog lifts one of the orcs and heaves at another orc. The intent was to completely disable both, but while they collided, the orcs only became tangled and would be able to recover.
Combat continues with the heroes fighting their way, with some measures of success, through the ambush. One remarkable event occurred when one orc who was attacking Beld clipped its own armor, the armor slid down, it tripped over its armor and fell right on its own sword and killed itself. This was all in one motion with the credit, most assuredly, going to Beld for his superior knowledge of combat tactics (and extreme amount of luck).
Combat continued and we pulled through even though we were in some tight spots. Quite battered, we took a few minutes to pull ourselves together and regroup.
