Previous: Quelorl
Session 23: Conquest
Corwynne awoke with a start as if from a nightmare. She called out for her friends then realized that it wasn’t a dream. They had been defeated. She decided to investigate and see if any of her companions were still alive. Moving with a purpose, she replenished her spells, and set off for the keep.
In the daylight, the keep looked deserted. Corwynne flew around the building, looking for clues as to where the troll and his orc minions were, as well as the location of any of her surviving companions. She flew up to one of the tower roofs and while scanning the courtyard for any clues she heard a sound behind her. She turned, ready to cast her most damaging spell, when Skooby jumped on her, covering her with sloppy dog kisses. Happy to see that at least one of her friends survived the battle, Corwynne healed Skooby’s injuries, and then together the two of them made their way down into the courtyard. Once in the courtyard, they crossed to the site of their battle the previous night. In the gatehouse entryway stood two statues, Ollorin and Raymond had succumbed to the cockatrice’s fell power. There was also dried blood on the ground, where both her friends and foes had fallen.
[Whatever happened to Flynn when he
was separated from the group]
Corwynne got Skooby catch a scent trail in the area where Flerg and Allister had fallen, and using that scent they were able to follow the trail to the south tower. Once inside the tower they quickly found a makeshift prison. In the different cells there were various humanoid slaves, goblins, kobolds, and even the occasional orc. All of the slaves kept their distance from Skooby and Corwynne, and in one of the cells were Flerg and Allister. Corwynne squeezed through the bars and cast cure spells on both of them until they awoke. It took all of her remaining healing, but both of her friends were conscious. When Allister awoke he realized that he had been lying on a light mace. They recognized the mace as one of Flynn’s backup weapons. That meant Flynn had survived. Skooby caught Flynn’s scent and they quickly found his hiding place. The four adventurers and Flynn’s rescued slaves had to hope that the troll and his minions didn’t detect them, since they were in no condition for a fight. Fortunately they were able to slip out of the keep unmolested.
Back in the cave beyond the magic mirror the group licked their wounds waiting until they could mount another assault on Smallstone. Late in the afternoon, Corwynne had grown restless, so she left the cave and went for a short flight. Flying south along the coast with Hooty, she lost track of time.
At sunset she was still an hour away from the cave when she saw a campfire to the south. Her curiosity got the better of her so she turned towards the fire in the distance.
Astaria, Bannor, Chiranjeev, Taylor, Hatch, and Armogast were sitting around the campfire chatting when a small, winged woman announced her presence, and then entered into the firelight. Hatch and Armogast, being native to Quelorl, knew that the small woman was a spryte. Although sprytes aren’t common on the isles, they are known. The southerners were surprised that the spryte approached with little or no fear, seemingly perfectly comfortable with the situation.
After introducing herself as Corwynne, she asked the obvious adventuring group if they could help her and her friends with a little problem that they had. She explained that her and her friends were an adventuring group trying to recover a small keep from a horde of evil humanoids. She offered them a place to stay when in the area, or even partial ownership if they would aid in the recovery of the keep. They agreed that in the morning they would take the keep for the good of all involved. They talked late into the night, becoming fast friends.
The following morning, Corwynne and her new friends stepped through the mirror gate into the cave. Unbeknownst to them, they had been spotted.
After getting to know each other for about an hour, the group gathered to storm the keep, and stepped through the mirror straight into a trap. Bannor stepped through first and before he could assess the situation he had was completely on the defensive. The troll, four orc warriors, and his three cockatrices were in the room beyond the mirror. A cockatrice attacked Bannor, but he was able to resist it petrification. Bannor charged the troll, hitting it with a mighty blow. Chiranjeev, Flynn, Astaria, and Allister stepped through the mirror, filing the room with combatants. The troll returned Bannor’s attack, grabbing him with its claws and ripping. A lesser man would have fallen to the ground in a heap of bloodied flesh, but Bannor’s half-undead nature allowed him to resist the injuries and fight on. Bannor locked a hold on the troll, twisting its neck until he heard a sickening crack. Bannor continued to twist until the troll’s head separated from the body. By the time Bannor finished with the troll, Chiranjeev, Flynn, Astaria, and Allister had slaughtered the orcs and cockatrices.
They continued to the keep so they could finish clearing it of enemies. It was completely empty.
With a good base of operations in Quelorl, the two groups vowed to aid each other in future endeavors. When Bannor, Astaria, and Chiranjeev packed to leave for Riverton, Flerg asked if he could accompany them. He had bad memories of Smallstone and he had been to Riverton previously. Hatch and Armogast seemed relieved to be able to stay at Smallstone since the stalwart companions were overly reckless in their opinion. Taylor also decided to stay behind to aid in the rebuilding of the keep.