Previous: Smallstone
Session 21: Assault
After a tough battle with the troll and its master, the group searched the room adjoining the cavern where the battle took place. Beyond was a small room with a bed, a chest of drawers, and an enormous mirror. Corwynne cast detect magic in the room and the mirror glowed with a nearly overwhelming dweomer.
The mirror stands seven feet tall, just less than four feet wide, and framed by an ornately carved wooden frame. The frame is carved with various letters from different alphabets as well as symbols and runes. Corwynne searched very carefully and found a word written just behind the left side of the frame, jumbled in with the rest of the letters, numbers, and runes. When she said the magical word, the mirror shimmered briefly and the surface no longer reflected anything but blackness. Corwynne surmised that it was some sort of magical gate, so she flew into it.
It was a gate and Corwynne was in a cool, dark area unable to see anything. Fear started to well up when Allister stepped though the gate with the rest of the group following. When the group lit a lantern, they saw that they were located in a cavern with seemingly no doors. The orc priest was apparently using the cavern as a storeroom/laboratory. The group searched the cavern and they found foodstuffs, wine, and chests full of gold and platinum. The wine was Amerathan Red, a valuable vintage made far away in the country of Leonay. The goods found amounted to a small fortune.
Since the group was injured after their battle with the troll, they decided to rest in the storage cave. During their downtime, Corwynne found a small shaft on the ceiling leading up into the darkness. She could feel fresh, cold air exiting the hole, so it probably led outside. She lit a torch and flew into the shaft to see if she could figure out where the cave is located. After fifteen minutes, mostly flying although some crawling through tight spots, Corwynne emerged onto a snow covered peak. She couldn’t recognize the area, but she resolved to come back out at might so she could puzzle out their location from the night sky. She descended back to their rest area.
After resting, the group exited the cavern through the magical gate and began searching the remainder of the mine. They searched the entire top level of the mine, finding nothing of use except for a recently repaired elevator leading deep into the earth.
The group hopped on the elevator platform and worked the pulley system to lower themselves into the darkness. As they descended they heard the sounds of digging. When the reached the bottom of the shaft, there were several orcs watching over a group of digging slaves. Most of the slaves were kobolds and goblins, but at the south end of the cavern was a large half-orc, obviously a slave as well.
As soon as the elevator descended into sight, the orcs rushed forward to attack. Some of the slaves turned to attack their tormenters. The entire cavern exploded into complete chaos.
The half-orc slave turned and hit the guard nearest him with his large pick. Corwynne cast sleep on a group that included two slave masters, and both orcs fell to the ground asleep. Allister and Flynn each charged the orcs nearest them. Ollorin stayed back to intercept a couple of orcs that were charging towards him. A couple more orcs charged toward Corwynne, with Skooby Two jumping in to protect his master.
Allister cut through the orcs near him as Flynn fought with the orc on him. Ollorin would stun one of the orcs on him; attack the other, then stun again. Corwynne cast a color spray on the two charging toward her, blinding and stunning them. The half-orc slave was sorely pressed in his battle with the orc slaver, but Flynn dispatched his orc and helped the half-orc defeat his. After a short battle, the orc lay on the ground dead, most of the goblin and kobold slaves had fled, and the half-orc stared warily at his rescuers.
The half-orc introduced himself as Flerg, a warrior that was part of an adventuring company who was recently ambushed by the orcs. All of his friends are dead and he asked if he could travel with the group. They said yes and he followed them to the magical mirror and they rested in the cavern.
While resting, the group was discussing their assault on Smallstone Keep when Flerg piped up, “I know a way that you can get to the rear of the keep”. Suddenly all went quiet as Flerg explained, “When my friends and I were traveling to this region, we were planning on taking a rowboat out to a small island to the south. We had packed a wagon full of supplies for our trip. We found an area that would be a good place to set off from just to the east, maybe four hours. We setup our camp, but realized that we needed more food so we came to Smallstone to buy rations from the soldiers, unfortunately we didn’t realize that the keep had been abandoned by the soldiers, and in the battle that followed we were defeated and the orcs had taken me hostage”.
“So how does that help us?” Ollorin asked.
Flerg responded, “We had a small rowboat among our supplies, and while I was being held in the keep I noticed that the orcs don’t guard the seaside of the keep with nearly the same fervor as they guard the front. But before we go I have more to tell. There are four trolls that live in the keep and the largest troll keeps an enormous white wolf chained to the well in the center. The wolf can breathe a cone of frost and it often attacks orcs or slaves that wander too close”.
The following afternoon, the group left the mine, traveled to the rowboat, and set off along the coast toward the keep. They reached the keep late at night. As they quietly crept ashore, they watched for movement atop the walls. They reached the portcullis without being challenged and Flerg told them that he knew where the pulley for the portcullis is located, so he started to scale the wall. It was slow going and Corwynne flew to the top of the wall to lookout at the top for him. She heard some orcs to the west talking, but they were outside the range of her nightvision. When Flerg reached the top he said he could see them barely, but they weren’t looking. Flerg lowered himself into the keep and he and Corwynne went through a door into a room where the portcullis controls were located. As soon as they entered the room, they saw an orc sleeping in a chair beside the controls. Flerg steeled himself and crept slowly toward the sleeping orc. Flerg must have made a sound, because the orc stirred, but before it could raise an alarm Corwynne cast sleep on it. Flerg brained the sleeping orc with this greatclub and opened the portcullis.
When the group entered the courtyard, they saw the winter wolf. The size of a small horse, the winter wolf stared at the group with each breath sending a blast of cold air from its lungs. The group crept toward the easternmost tower when the winter wolf howled an alarm.
Allister, Flynn, and Flerg charged toward the tower door, hoping to head off any opposition coming out the door. Ollorin pulled his crossbow to shoot at the wolf and Corwynne used the rod of wonder on the wolf. An opaque cloud of noxious fumes billowed from the ground surrounding the wolf. Irritated, Ollorin turned the crossbow on the orcs filing out of the tower.
One orc broke away from the group and sprinted to the well, releasing the winter wolf.
Ollorin fired his crossbow, and then waded into battle against the throng of orcs.
Flerg attacked a couple of the orcs before getting wounded and withdrawing from battle, staggered.
Corwynne saw Flerg withdraw from battle and ordered Skooby Two to guard the ailing half-orc. The winter wolf darted from behind the noxious cloud, charging toward Skooby and Flerg. Corwynne cast a scorching ray at the great wolf and when the flames hit the winter wolf, it howled from the pain and rolled on the ground to put out the small flames licking at its fur. Skooby intercepted the winter wolf as it rose to continue its assault. The larger winter wolf grabbed Skooby in its teeth throwing the smaller canine out of the way. Just as the winter wolf lunged at Flerg, another scorching ray burned into its side, dropping it to the ground dead.
Allister and Flynn were attacking the orcs when a troll exited the door, attacking Flynn with wild abandon. Allister tried to aid Flynn against the troll, but the group of orcs had closed ranks and he was hard pressed to break away. The troll scored a couple major hits and Flynn was forced to flee. He ran to the center of the courtyard, hoping to put the gas cloud between him and the troll. The troll pursued Flynn. With nowhere to go and the troll bearing down on him, Flynn grabbed the winter wolf’s discarded chain and hurled himself into the well. Deprived of his quarry, the troll turned toward the melee and charged Ollorin.
By the time the troll reached Ollorin, he and Allister had defeated the last of the orcs and were braced for the troll’s attack. The troll tried to overrun the dwarf, but Ollorin was able to lunge out of the way at the last moment. The troll continued, hoping to knock Allister to the ground. Allister dove to the side, jumping back to his feet as the troll came to rest beside him. The troll flailed, causing minor injuries on both Allister and Ollorin before they were able to fell the creature with a well-timed blow.
Working quickly before the creature’s regeneration caused it to regain its feet and continue the battle, Ollorin set a torch to the creature, killing it permanently.
With the battle ended, the group looked around and rushed toward the tower before reinforcements arrived. Just as they entered the tower, someone said, “Where’s Flynn?”