Journal Entry 15

Journal Session 15

Having defeated the orc chieftain Gorshak and broken the Siege of Draig Durrok – Barrack, a plain-spoken dwarven Fighter, powerful wielder of the hammers favored by that strong and dour race; Marik, a reptilian dragonborn Warlock, heir to an ancient and proud lineage, but inescapably bound to a pact granting him supernatural powers; Jaeran, an elven Cleric upon whom the gods have granted a measure of divine power as a reward for his faith; Luke, a cloaked half-elf Wizard of mysterious origins and arcane might; Syxia, a tiefling Rogue, dark daughter of a cursed bloodline, her ancestors given to the infernal worship of fiends; and Ur-Kadar, dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, a holy warrior dedicated to upholding the tenets of his faith and protecting the weak with his battle axe – set out on a quest, and headed toward the Fen of Forgotten Souls in search of the first piece of the legendary staff of Angronomir the Wizard, an ancient hero from the days of old.

The party heeded the wise advice they had been given by the dwarf Torin as they made their way to the Fens. Traveling through a landscape best described as a desolate wilderness far from civilization or the nearest settlement, they had several encounters with small groups of orcs, a couple of ogres and a pitiful band of goblins – all defeated foes, fleeing the battle of Draig Durrok – and they arrived in the environs of the Fens in a little less than a week. Luke’s proven skill with natural surroundings, aided by his keen perception, revealed a little-used path leading into the dead, bayou-like bog. The sun was setting and the Fens were getting dark when the party spotted a light from a small campfire approximately 200 yards off the path. Her adventurous curiosity piqued, Syxia volunteered to investigate the fire (and who or what made it). Keenly interested in preserving both her expensive stockings and her scandalously short embroidered skirt from any danger or damage, she was much too careful about her clothes, and ended up making a great deal of noise “trying to be careful.” Her companions could only shake their heads in resignation at her girlish foolishness. She ended up stumbling into the area and was startled to see an old hag stirring a cauldron. The hag looked up, but seemed to take no notice of the devil-girl, and went back to her business of stirring the cauldron. Holding her breath, Syxia retraced her steps back to the group and embarrassed, told her friends what had happened and what she saw. She was proud to announce that no harm whatsoever came to her clothes. Exasperated, the party decided to make a formal introduction, as the old swamp-woman knew they were there.

The party carefully advanced to a small clearing in which was situated a humble shack; the old woman and her cauldron were as Syxia had reported. The hag eventually looked up at them, but said nothing. After the party made proper introductions, she croaked that she was Gwrach, Hag of the Mist. She asked why they had entered the Fens, and Barrack stated that they had come in search of a valuable item. The hag pressed the dwarven warrior, and asked him “to be specific, as there are many valuable items in this swamp.” Tiring of the hag’s evasive response, he explained that they had traveled to the Fens in order to retrieve a fragment of a valuable magical staff, a mystical relic of the ancient world. The hag spat that “He must have sent you, as he sent the others.” When asked who “He” was, she maintained that she could not (or would not) speak his name and the withered old crone gave very elusive answers each time the part tried to elicit an answer from her. She did state that she indeed knew where the item was hidden in the trackless mire of the great swamp; she even stated that she would help the party if they proved their mettle. It was at this time that the party noticed that the huge tree near the hag’s hovel began to move and sway, and that a series of vines and brambles behind them began to move as well. She told them that she had a riddle for them, and that there was no need to shed blood. Her riddle was this:

Four siblings are they
Two sets of eternal twins
The directions their lives travel are opposite
Yet they will intersect twice in the cycle
For set one, they older they get
The more they turn into the other
For the other set, as they follow their path
They more they stay the same.
Who are they?

She told them that she needed the answer in short order and that they only had so much time. The party members – other than Syxia, who sank down in front of the fire, knowing that she might be more of a hindrance than a help to the others – began thinking and several ideas came to the fore. There was the possibility of day/night, light/dark, good/evil – however, nothing seemed to fit exactly. Time was running out when Jaeran mentioned that it could be the directions North/South, East/West. While this possible solution was initially passed over, the party returned to it after they ruled out all other possibilities. With time nearly expired, the elven cleric shouted out these as the answer. The hag looked up and says “You have done well.” She then told them that they would also have to agree to return an item to her should they find it in the same place as the piece of the broken staff. The party found these terms agreeable, so the old hag told them that they should find a small ring in the same area as the staff. She then gave the heroes detailed instructions on how to safely navigate the swamp and find the resting place of the items. She also gave them unsolicited advice to “flee the frogmen.” When questioned about the bullywugs, she merely repeated her cryptic warning. The party spent the night in the hag’s clearing, and then set out in the morning.

The heroes’ first day of slogging through the seemingly endless bog proved uneventful (aside from the bursting gas bubbles which spewed noxious vapors into the humid air and the buzzing clouds of stinging insects), but the next morning brought new challenges. Luke, Marik and Jaeran all awoke from fitful slumber to find their bodies uncontrollably twitching and shaking. Calling upon his studies of sickness and healing, Jaeran determined that the three of them had come down with a wasting disease known as the swamp shakes. Should the disease worsen, each of them would find his movement slowed and his effectiveness in combat greatly diminished. The group could only plunge deeper into the trackless wetlands, the bodies of their sicken companions at less than full health, ravaged as they were by great thirst and rising fevers. They continued ever deeper into the swamp, following Gwrach’s directions. Syxia was complaining about anything and everything, including how gross and disgusting the Fens were (and how she must have been tricked into coming, as she never would have agreed to undertake the quest had she known how “dirty and gross” the terrain would be) and made clear her desire to search every square foot of the vast expanse of muck and mire – that seemed to continue to the horizon in every direction – for hidden treasure, since she was stuck in the godforsaken place. Much to the relief of her traveling companions, a menacing stare from Barrack finally silenced her for good (for the time being, anyway).

As the sun rose high above the cypress groves, the party came to an open area that had two pools of water with a small land bridge between them. The right pool was black in color and occasionally bubbles, not unlike most of the reeking, brackish fens through which the companions had already journeyed. The pool to the left side was a sickly green in color and smelled exceptionally foul. Jaeran surveyed the area, but could find nothing out of the ordinary except a patch of dangerous daggerthrorn briars on the opposite side of the pools. As Barrack, Jaeran and Ur-Kadar began to make their way over the land bridge, a large black pudding erupted from the pool on the right and engulfed the three of them. Meanwhile, in the forested area behind them, a new threat emerged. A plant-like creature seemingly made of a tangled mass of vines lashed out at Marik. Syxia and Luke took up positions, and combat was enjoined. Ur-Kadar shook off the black pudding and rushed to engage the greenwise vine. Barrack’s hammer smashed away at the black pudding, but he recoiled as his powerful attacks merely created a black pudding spawn. The party quickly realized that more melee attacks would only serve to create more spawn and so they turned their attention toward magical attacks. Jaeran was unable to free himself from the acidic ooze for some time, during which the acidic secretions of the black pudding inflicted significant damage. Ur-Kadar swung mighty blows with his axe, but ended up getting wrapped up in the vines. Just as the party was gaining the upper hand, a blast of electrical energy exploded, and a new enemy appeared from the north. Ur-Kadar managed to finish off the greenwise vine and freed himself, allowing Marik to teleport nearer to the vine horror spellfiend. Unfortunately, the warlock found himself snared in the briar from which the vine horror spellfiend had emerged. Jaeran finally managed to free himself from the black pudding, and the party finally dealt with the pudding and its spawn, allowing Ur-Kadar to charge forward and attack the vine horror. While the horror’s blasts were potent, it stood no chance in melee combat and quickly succumbed. The fight with the black pudding clearly left Jaeran significantly weaker, so the party took a brief rest before carrying on into the gathering mists.

The group’s travels took them to an area that had much firmer ground than what they had left behind in the misty marshes; the area in which they found themselves also had much more vegetation. While this made for easier going, a new challenge soon emerged. As the party was moving through an area of lush vegetation, Luke suddenly spotted a bullywug hop high over him. Known for their territorial behavior, it was a surprise to the party that the frog-like creature did not attack. Within a few seconds, the party noticed at least a dozen or more of the frogmen jumping and running towards them, only to stream around the heroes and continue on with their terror-stricken flight. With a deafening roar and the felling of several small trees, the reason for their retreat instantly became clear as a huge fang drake thundered from the dense vegetation, bellowing a territorial, earth-shaking challenge.

The massive reptile lunged forward, and used its massive jaws to snatch a bullywug – with the briefest of shakes from the mighty jaws of the drake, the miserable creature was torn in half. The meaning of the hag-witch’s warning suddenly dawned on the party. It was also painfully clear that the party had no hope whatsoever of outrunning either the bullywugs or the fang drake. From a rustling nearby, they also noticed that a swarm of small needlefang drakes seized the opportunity and dragged down a bullywug, which was quickly devoured by the swarming beasts. Having experienced combat against swarms, the heroes recognized that the best plan of attack would be to focus blast attacks on the swarm while allowing the defenders to focus on the fang drake. The fang drake bit and held Ur-Kadar in its massive jaws while Barrack pounded away with his hammer, hitting home with blow after furious blow. Luke and Marik fired away at the needlefang swarm and inflicted significant damage. Syxia rushed forward between the legs of the great beast, and knifed it with a deep slash - but the beast barely noticed. With a quickness belying its massive bulk, the fang drake twisted in a circle and used is tail to send Syxia, Barrack and Ur-Kadar flying several feet; all three ended up lying flat on the ground. At the same time, the needlefang swarm was destroyed without it inflicting too much damage. But the huge fang drake proved to be a much more dangerous adversary. The beast unleashed a frightening roar that stunned all but the elf cleric.

Realizing that they were in a tough spot indeed, the cleric attempted to buy the party some time by commanding the fang drake to run away. His divine-powered attack on the unintelligent beast was successful, and the drake turned and lumbered off into the gloom of the gathering dusk. The party reacted quickly and sought to take cover, should the beast return. Sehanine shined on them as the stupid beast was distracted and elected to pursue other prey that would not fight back so fiercely. They were thankful for their luck and pressed on. As darkness crept across the land and finally set in, they found a nice area, both raised and dry, to camp and settled in for the night.

The first two watches passed uneventfully, and Jaeran and Ur-Kadar took the final watch. Less than an hour before dawn, Ur-Kadar noticed Jaeran suddenly stand up and begin walking away from the camp. He tried to talk with him, but Jaeran just stared blankly ahead as he walked. Ur-Kadar quickly roused Barrack and then headed off after his compatriot. It looked to the paladin as though Jaeran was being pulled directly into a nearby pond. Sensing he must act quickly, Ur-Kadar tackled the cleric as he approached the edge of the water. Ur-Kadar’s shouts for help roused the rest of the group and they readied themselves for action. Without warning, the party came under swift assault from all sides by four dread zombies, a zombie hulk and an undead spirit with telekinetic powers, which they recognized as a poltergeist. The party could not have known that the site they had so carefully chosen for their campsite was a burial mound dating from an older, pre-human settlement. The poltergeist stayed away from the party and attacked from a distance. They also recognized that they were dealing with at least one will-o-wisp. Jaeran, by then recovered, raced back to the camp and called upon the divine light of Pelor to destroy the undead. He was able to inflict significant damage on three zombies and the zombie hulk.

The massive, rotting hulk was able to dish out terrible damage with its fist, so the party elected to concentrate on destroying it. Luke also used color spray to inflict even more radiant damage. A second will-o-wisp appeared, and pulled Luke close to the zombie hulk and it unleashed a flurry of blows, knocking the wind out of the wizard and blasting him to his knees. To add insult to injury, the bloodied wizard then had his life force drained by the will-o-wisp. The divine powers of Jaeran and Ur-Kadar combined with the efforts of the rest of the party to turn the tide, and the zombies and poltergeist were eventually destroyed while the crafty will-o-wisps flittered off in search of other victims as dawn broke over the campsite. The party rested a bit, broke camp and then continued on with their quest. They recognized that they were very close to the end of their journey, as the range of mountains that ringed the great swamp was drawing ever nearer.

The trail the group was following ended in a large fog bank that had settled in along the edge of the swamp and a series of steep cliffs. The party hesitated before proceeding. As they begin to form a plan, a high pitched roar echoed through the mists, and the fog begins to break, granting the party extended vision. They saw a large four-headed swamp hydra emerge from a large cave and advance towards them. They thought that this surely must be the guardian they expected to meet. With incredible quickness, the hydra’s heads let fly several acid streams that hit the party. They had to decide whether to flee or engage the beast, but this party has yet to retreat. The two defenders charged forth across the difficult, swampy terrain and made their way toward the beast. Syxia decided to veer left through the mist in an effort to gain surprise. Unfortunately, her terrified screams told her companions that she had landed in a morass of quicksand – the damsel was in distress and needed rescuing. Jaeran attempted to aid in pulling out the sinking girl only to land himself in the deadly quicksand. Marik was forced to detour and help his fellow party members, and with his assistance, they managed to safely extract themselves from the clinging and deadly obstacle.

As Ur-Kadar and Barrack bravely slashed and hammered at the hydra, the multi-headed beast spat acid in all directions and occasionally landed a bite attack on its adversaries. True to his nature (and his history against reptilian creatures), Ur-Kadar attacked with a superhuman fury, landing two critical hits that managed to sever one of the hydra’s heads. Much to their surprise, two new heads sprang from the bloodied stump and swiftly attacked. To make matters worse, the severed head, now many feet away from the hydra’s main body, continued to spit steaming gouts of acid. With several shouts, Barrack directed Syxia, Marik and Luke to put down the severed heads while he, Ur-Kadar and Jaeran focused on the hydra itself. Ur-Kadar continued to unleash massive strikes in an almost trance-like state while Barrack’s hammer thudded home, resulting in yet another severed head. Now facing a six-headed monster, Jaeran consecrated the ground around them and focused his efforts on keeping the melee combatants alive. The party left little to chance, and threw all of their energy into defeating the aberration. It requires a great expenditure of resources, but the party eventually killed the monster.

A quick inspection of the large cave reveals a locked, steel door in the rear of the place. Syxia examined it, determined that there were no traps and then successfully picked the lock. To their surprise, instead of leading to a treasure vault or temple room, the door simply opened to a metal ladder that led down in stygian darkness. After descending nearly 100 feet, the ladder ended and the party found themselves in a large underground cavern (see map above). They recognized that they were on a ledge, 20’ high above a cavern below, which looked to be divided into three passages. The middle passage was clearly visible and contained a large 20’ pit filled with a mass of hissing, deadly snakes. Guarding the rear of the passage was a medium-sized stone statue. The party also noticed a faint light coming from the back corner of the cavern. As the party made plans to descend from the small ledge, a large snake-like beast with a humanoid face, known to Luke as a naga, appeared in the center passage and hurled a blast that exploded in a clap of thunder. Several party members were dazed and damaged by the electrical impulse.

They quickly rebounded and decided to descend the ledge quickly rather than sit back and be target practice for the naga. Syxia deftly tumbled down to the cavern floor, and the others quickly climbed down – with the exception of Ur-Kadar, who stumbled and fell, landing with a terrific thud. Luke was about to descend when the naga hit him with a ray that immobilized him. Luke, who had previously created a poisonous cloud of cloying, noxious fumes, was content to merely sustain it. Barrack moved forward to engage the statue in a combat, and the foes engaged for an extended period, neither yielding to the other, both as tough as stone. Jaeran rushed toward the left passage, only to find it guarded by a large swarm of tangler snakes. He was quickly engulfed, and his panicked shrieks announced to his companions that he was entangled and unable to get away. Ur-Kadar and Marik came to his rescue while Syxia’s curious nature got the better of her (again), and led her to explore the right passageway. Syxia found that her passage was guarded by a similar swarm of snakes. Not wanting to meet Jaeran’s fate, she slowly back-peddled out of the passageway. Meanwhile, back on the ledge, Luke continued to bear the wrath of the naga, who continued to target him mercilessly with its word of pain. The wizard’s agonized sobs echoed across the cavern as he twisted under the wicked magic of the snake creature.

Ur-Kadar and Marik freed Jaeran from the snakes entangling him and dealt with the first swarm of snakes. Barrack was still engaged with the statue, but was slowly trying to fight his way toward the naga, who continued to torture the agonized Luke. Syxia engaged the second swarm and was making good progress in destroying it as Jaeran slipped by in an attempt to make a run at the naga. However, the naga again targeted and hit Luke with its baleful magical attacks, rendering the wizard unconscious. Ur-Kadar, sensing Luke’s plight, was able to utter healing words as he attacked and so helped the wizard. Luke, prone and recovering consciousness, was able to maintain his spells and heroically struggled on despite his grievous wounds. Jaeran finally turned the corner of the right passage and engaged the naga only to have vile acid sprayed in his face at point-blank range. Meanwhile, Barrack’s hammer finally destroyed the statue and he raced forward to engage the naga, which was then forced to focus on melee combat which was revealed to be its weakness. Ur-Kadar and Marik finished off the snake swarm and also rushed to engage the naga. The reptilian beast slaps Ur-Kadar, toppling him into the snake pit, where he took damage from both the fall and the deadly vipers in the pit. However, by then surrounded and forced to engage in melee combat, the naga had no chance and was finally laid low by the heroes. The party quickly pulled Ur-Kadar out of the pit and inspected the cavern.

They found a very small altar of sorts near a gleaming portal toward the back of the cavern. Piled upon the altar were 300 gleaming golden coins, a ring (presumably belonging to Gwrach), a periapt of recovery +2 and a suit of chainmail +2. Luke also noticed that on top of the gleaming portal, fixed in a metal holder, was an aged piece of wood. As he approached the portal to pull the broken staff fragment from its holder, he peered into the magical passage to another place. Beyond the portal, he saw a small room, perhaps 10’x 20’, that looked very simple. As he loosened the fragment of the staff, he saw a ghastly looking man, with long black hair now partly silvered by time, turn the corner into the room. His eyes went wild with rage as he recognized that Luke was reaching for the staff. The unknown man yelled "No!" as he outstretched his hand just as Luke pulled the staff to his chest and closed the portal.

Journal Entry 14

Journal – Session 14

Having joined the last remaining defenders of Draig Durrok, a besieged dwarven fortress – Barrack, a plain-spoken dwarven Fighter, powerful wielder of the hammers favored by that strong and dour race; Marik, a reptilian dragonborn Warlock, heir to an ancient and proud lineage, but inescapably bound to a pact granting him supernatural powers; Jaeran, an elven Cleric upon whom the gods have granted a measure of divine power as a reward for his faith; Luke, a cloaked half-elf Wizard of mysterious origins and arcane might; Syxia, a tiefling Rogue, dark daughter of a cursed bloodline, her ancestors given to the infernal worship of fiends; and Ur-Kadar, dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, a holy warrior dedicated to upholding the tenets of his faith and protecting the weak with his axe – the heroes were determined to break the siege and rout the attacking forces led by the orc chieftain Gorshak.

The morning began with the party keeping a keen eye on Gorshak’s army. Much to their surprise, the orcs did not seem to be preparing for another assault; instead, it seemed as though the orcs were content to remain in their camp and wait for their fearless leader’s orders. Meanwhile, given this respite, the dwarven defenders worked tirelessly to reinforce the main gates and walls of the Watch. Several dwarves had constructed a row of crossbows mounted to a moveable stand. This ingenious device could unleash a flurry of bolts at one time, so it was placed slightly behind the main gates on the chance that those iron-banded portals were compromised. The second day of the siege ended without the feared orcish onslaught.

During the second watch of the night, the party was awakened by a massive fireball that erupted from the midst of the orc encampment to their right. While the party scrambled to the top of the walls to view the carnage, they heard rakish laughter coming from beside them. They turned to see the familiar face of The Fish, laughing so hard he was nearly doubled over. It took the Rogue a few minutes to calm down to the point that he could explain himself. “Stupid goblins,” he sneered. He claimed to have snuck into the orc camp disguised as an orc, and was able to convince a few of the goblins to make a hearty stew using rabbits he provided, as well as “special” ingredients he gave them. He said that the vial he gave to the unwitting goblins had contained two substances provided to him by Neltharian. The Fish stated that the Wizard had told him that if the substances were combined and heated, they would produce a dramatic explosion. As it turned out, Neltharian was absolutely right. The Fish also indicated that Neltharian had heard of the dwarves’ plight; the council had therefore sent him to assist with ending the siege.

He also bore a message from Neltharian for the party: the Wizard believed that he had finally discovered that the third piece of the staff; it was reputed to lie somewhere in the vicinity of the Glimmering Peaks. Neltharian advised them that after the siege of Draig Durrok was broken, the party should go to the Fen of Forgotten Souls, retrieve the first part of the staff and return to Folkestone. The party indicated that such a plan was agreeable, and that they would return to Folkestone following the completion of the quest for the first piece of the staff: the heroes weren’t sure how to find the first piece of the staff, but they vowed to find it if it was there. The Fish told the party that he would stay and assist the dwarves in defending their fortress, but that he could not accompany them to the Fen, as he had “additional business” to attend to. He estimated that his little bit of sabotage probably killed 100 orc drudges – “Not a bad start,” he said. The rest of the night passed uneventfully.

The third day started similar to the last, as the orcs remained in their camps. From the walls, it appeared as though Gorshak had called his most trusted warriors and/or clan chieftains to a meeting that lasted several hours. Waiting and scheming does not usually run in orcish blood, and the seemingly endless pause in the siege made the dwarves a bit nervous. However, hope began to build that the reinforcements from Draig Drammen might actually arrive in time to join the defense. The heroes and their dwarven allies reasoned that if they were to attack the rear of the right camp, there was a chance that launching such an assault could rout the orcs quickly. The sun went down, blood red against the mountains, and the party decided to send Syxia out in an attempt to poison the boars that served as the mounts for a band of orc warriors. Drawing a lethal vial of deadly poison from its hiding place between her breasts and flashing her gleaming white fangs in a smile, the stealthy Rogue disappeared into the gathering dusk. The Fish also went out – by himself – for reconnaissance and various mischief-making feints. The left flank of the orc battle encampment was extremely well-guarded, and Syxia was unable to penetrate their defenses and get to the boars. At least The Fish’s venture appeared more successful, as he claimed to have killed 10 more orcs, and also learned that Gorshak’s reinforcements and the “powerful weapons that would destroy the gates” were to arrive the following afternoon. The Fish has overheard Gorshak declare that after his troops destroyed the walls, they would be bent on pushing the dwarves out of the Watch, before proceeding directly to Draig Durrok, laying waste to everyone and everything in their path. This was most unwelcome news to the heroes and dwarves alike. Fearing he would be discovered, the Fish had fled before he could learn the nature of the weapons Gorshak so eagerly awaited. The rest of the night passed uneventfully, but few of the defenders were able to sleep.

The fourth morning also started uneventfully, but there was much excitement in and around the orc encampments. Shortly after noon, a great guttural cry arose from the black throats of the gathered orc-host, and their war drums began to beat an ominous rhythm. It quickly became clear to the defenders that this day would see blood; their hopes of reinforcement were dashed. While they were trying to get a glimpse of what new horror Gorshak was going to unleash upon them, they saw the encampment to the right begin to withdraw, as the left side of the encampment begin to line up and march to the right. The orcs sent a wave of the lowest level of their drudge minions and some unlucky goblins to make an assault on the walls, but it was evident that this was merely meant to keep the dwarves busy. After the majority of the orcs had shifted to the right, the party was finally able to see what was headed their way. They could make out the shapes of two massive cave trolls being led by 10 orcs using chains to control the great brutes; this grisly entourage was led by an orcish Blood Shaman.

The party quickly realized that the cave trolls, with their massive, powerful fists and near-magical ability to ignore most damage, would be able to easily wrest the gates from the Watch - or merely hammer the walls to rubble. They therefore acted decisively: the Fish was left to guard the Watch while the party snuck out the back exit and put themselves between the trolls and the Watch. They alone had the power to confront this menace, and they were not about to shy away from the confrontation. The situation also presented them with another possibility – if they were to defeat the trolls, they would have a clear path to Gorshak. This was the first time this opportunity had presented itself and they quickly recognized that killing the orc leader would probably mean a quick end to the siege. First, of course, they would have to deal with the trolls.

Barrack knew that the secret to dispatching the trolls would be to continually hit them with fire and acid damage, which would keep them from regenerating. Luke knew that his flaming sphere would come in handy here, much like Syxia’s flaming dagger and the Dragonborn’s breath weapons, whether Marik’s acid or Ur-Kadar’s flame. As combat ensued, the drudges proved no match for the heroes, and they quickly perished beneath the attacks of various party members. The Blood Shaman stayed back, and wisely used the trolls to keep the party away from him. The trolls presented a new challenge, as the party had not faced them before and their tactics were unknown to the adventurers. Of course, it did not take the intelligence of a Wizard to realize that they should stay out of the way of the pounding fists that were the size of boulders. Barrack and Ur-Kadar put themselves in harm’s way, as usual. One of the trolls responded by grabbing Barrack and launched him into the rock wall many feet away. The other monstrosity grabbed Ur-Kadar, who was unable to escape its grasp. The beast then used the dragonborn as an improvised weapon and swung him wildly like a club. The troll managed to connect with Syxia, slamming the hulking Paladin into the slight Rogue, damaging both and dazing Ur-Kadar. However, the party would not yield and began to work as a team. Luke seared the putrid flesh of the trolls with his conjured flaming sphere and scorching bursts; Syxia’s wicked flaming knife flashed, biting deep and sending arcs of black troll-blood high into the air; Marik blasted away with his witchfire and followed up with a rain of eldritch blasts; and Jaeran used divine power to command his enemies around the battlefield. While the defenders soaked up blows that were healed by Pelor’s disciple, the tide turned and the heroes won out with a coordinated effort. They were then presented with two options.

They could retreat to the Watch and draw the siege out, or attempt to rush Gorshak and end the affair then and there. As they looked back to the orc army, they could see that they were enraged and would likely charge the party. To have any chance, they would need the dwarves to sally forth from the Watch and intercept the orcs, in order to give them enough time to deal with the orc leader. Just then, they saw the gates of Draig Durrok lower and Thurr, adorned in his battle armor, charged forth with the remainder of his forces. The Fish then led the dwarves out of The Watch and into a line in an effort to hold back the orcs. The party then realized that they had but one choice: to face Gorshak.

His forces were overwhelming. On the near side, the mighty orc leader had his shaman, an acolyte, two dire boar riders, two savage ogres, two hippogriffs, an orc bloodrager, three of his best and most fierce warriors and a handful of lesser troops. Overconfident, he held an ogre, a boar rider and the bloodrager in reserve while signaling the others to advance and destroy the party. While the first wave hit hard, the party was ready for them. Barrack held the point with his rain of steel even as his attacks missed more than usual. Ur-Kadar advanced, as if to challenge the entire group. Jaeran did what he could to both damage the enemy and heal the party. Luke’s stinking cloud of noxious and poisonous vapors was effectively placed at the front lines, but his attention was suddenly turned when two hippogriffs swooped down upon him. He and Marik were forced to deal with the new threat from the skies as Syxia dashed back and forth from the front to the rear lines. Jaeran’s consecrated ground created a zone of healing for them and punishment for their foes. As with most big battles, Syxia was able to land several critical blows that inflicted significant damage on her opponents. After the party withstood the first wave and gained the upper hand, Gorshak realized his critical mistake and chose to attack.
By that time, he no longer had overwhelming odds. Ur-Kadar finished off the ogre he was fighting and then turned his attention to the acolyte, who died quickly. He was then free to concentrate on the bloodrager. Gorshak moved swiftly and positioned himself between Barrack and Syxia. Luke, despite being grievously wounded, finally finished off the hippogriff and then turned his attention to slaying the shaman. The boar rider attacked Jaeran, but was unable to force him outside his sanctified zone. Slowly, but surely, Gorshak’s forces were laid low, such that only Gorshak and the bloodrager remained. With the party’s last resources, they concentrated on ending the fight and the mighty Gorshak was no more. Ur-Kadar then quickly finished the stunned orc bloodrager. Sensing the urgency, the party quickly separated Gorshak’s head from his bloodied body and held it high for the orc army to see. The party let out a mighty roar and then rushed to the dwarven lines while brandishing the head of their fallen foe. Quickly panic spread through the orc army and it began to quickly fragment. The dwarves pressed the assault and drove the orc hordes back (and sometimes off the cliff). The battle was won as the last of the remaining orcs fled, with in-fighting among what was left of their ranks ensuing. Gorshak’s mighty axe, bloodcut hide armor and elven cloak, were claimed by Ur-Kadar, Marik and Syxia, respectively. Although none could be certain, the elven cloak had most likely belonged to Luthien. The orc shaman’s spiderkissed dagger was taken by Syxia while his stoneskin cloth armor and potion of vitality were awarded to Luke.

The party found the crumpled body of Thurr Gargengrim lying beside many dead orcs; the dwarven lord was bloodied, but still alive. An additionally 42 dwarven soldiers lost their lives on that most grim of days, but the siege was lifted and their enemies fled before them. Thurr needed help to return to Draig Durrok, but he would survive his wounds. He thanked the party for their help and asked that they meet with him on the following day in his throne room for proper acknowledgement. The remainder of the dwarven soldiers sought healing, provided by the clerics of Moradin and/or a large stein of ale, and began the process of burning the orc bodies and burying their fallen. The heroes scoured the battlefield and found a suit of magical leather armor, cleaned and donned by the she-devil, and a magical throwing hammer that was given to Barrack. The party then retreated to the halls of Draig Durrok, where they were able to rest peacefully for an entire night for the first time in many moons.

In the halls of the dwarf thane, the party was introduced as heroes to a host of thankful dwarves. Thurr wanted to personally extend his thanks, and told the heroes that their names would be written into the tomes of dwarven history and would not be forgotten. In addition, they would each be welcome here any time and could seek refuge within these walls whenever, and for as long as, they needed a place to stay. It was with great pride that Thurr hobbled forward. He explained that he and his people were all greatly indebted to the party, and that he considered it as an honor and a privilege to bestow some of his possessions on the party as a show of his deep appreciation. He began by awarding Barrack his Gauntlets of the Ram and his own stout warhammer. He presented his magical plate mail of fire resistance to Ur-Kadar. Finally, he presented the party with one of the prized possessions of the dwarven fortress, a large mithral shield. Thurr explained that this was brought from Draig Kharzak when that fortress fell to darkness. He explained that the dwarves were able to save the shield, but failed to secure a fragment of a magical staff that had abided in their possession for many lifetimes of men. The dwarves believed that this fragment was the reason the grey dwarves known as duergar agreed to help the orcs; the dwarves also believed that the duergar had retreated with the item into the lightless depths of the Underdark. After several questions from the party, Thurr explained that these two items were not necessarily connected: they were merely found by the dwarves in different locations many years apart and the dwarves have held them for over 500 years. With that, Thurr bid the heroes farewell, and they were led out of the great stone hall by Torin. Torin asked where they were headed next. Barrack stated that they would be headed to the Fens, but hinted that they may be interested in exploring Draig Kharzak in the near future. Torin says he would be happy to lead them there whenever they wanted to go. He also offered his advice on the best route into the Fens. With that, the party prepared for their next quest and made their way out of Draig Durrok.