Dear Lady Cierra,
As I left off in my previous letter, the monks of the Order of the Sundered Chain, after we rescued them, implored us to pursue the orcs that had taken their artifacts from their monastery. So, the night being young, we set off through the wine cellar that the orcs had entered from, and followed a maze of tunnels in pursuit of the artifacts. It was a strange; in one room we ran across a statue of a hydra, which seems to indicate that these passageways had previously been occupied, probably by dwarves based on the work. I did not have time to look thoroughly, since we were fighting an ourag (a cross between an orc and an ogre) and several goblins at the time. After several more encounters with orcs we came upon a chamber that appeared to have had been used as a dwarven forge. Lava was pouring in through the far wall, making the room hellishly hot. There were several orcs in it, as well as an ourag and a goblin mage of the most unholy magic possible. The ourag was doing battle with a dwarf paladin, attempting to force him backwards into the advancing lava. We set about engaging the others on our way to reach the paladin; we soon discovered that they were a tougher set than we had encountered previously. It was a long and drawn out battle, and I was hard put to using my cleric powers to keep the others alive. The dwarf paladin (his name, we learned later, is Kalin), was brought near death several times while I struggled to keep him alive. Ataeo was pushed into a furnace, severely injuring him before we were able to put the ourag down. Thallimain and I then dragged Ataeo and Kalin out of that room and back to the monastery so that they could both recover.
After a night of rest Ataeo had seemed to recover fully but Kalin still was in a state of shock. Through questioning we learned that his dwarven city had been wiped out by the orcs and he had set off the lava flow through the tunnels to keep any more from coming to the upper world that way. He then stated there was another way through which they might come up. Ataeo and I followed him while Thallamain returned to Overlook to tell them of our success and caught up with us before we had reached the other place, which was a series of vents in the earth. It took us the better part of two days to reach the vents, and when we had crested the valley that contained them, we saw a party of adventurers battling some orcs. We rushed to their aid, but most of the party had been torn apart before our eyes by the time we reached them. We rapidly dispatched the orcs and discovered one of the party members was alive. Rather, I had healed him to consciousness and he promptly tottered off and started casting spells at the remaining orcs. Once the last orc was dead, we found that his name was Alex Cloudbringer, he was a sorcerer, and that he had been a member of the now-late party the Farstriders, and their mission was to close these vents off from orc access. The dwarf Kalin proceeded to climb down into one of the vents, and we followed. We saw tens of dead orcs, slain by the Farstrider party. We haplessly ran across some luminous oozes consuming the orcs, and then they attempted to attack us and one had covered Ataeo when Cloudbringer fired a bolt of lightning at it, killing it and injuring Ataeo in the process. But we were grateful to recover Ataeo in one piece.
Kalin then led us into a tunnel whose sides were covered with luminous slime. Very disturbing. The tunnel opened into a massive room, revealing the walls and gates of an abandoned dwarven stronghold. What happened next is almost beyond the telling, but I will do the best I can in my next letter.
Blessings of the Raven Queen,
Cerra
Showing posts with label dungeons and dragons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dungeons and dragons. Show all posts
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Adventures of Ravenroar Company I
These are essentially going to be updates from my Saturday night Dungeons and Dragons game. My character, Cerra, is a 'human' cleric of the Raven Queen. Enjoy
Dear cousin Lady Cierra Ravenroar,
As promised, here is an update on our current adventure. As you know, I left the Castle Ravenroar for Overlook some days ago with the volunteers to assist Overlook against the orcs and the threat of the Red Hand. The dragon paladin, Ataeo, the elf ranger Thallamain, and I were given horses at Brindle to facilitate our swifter arrival at Overlook.
When we reached Overlook, we found the place to be more full of bustle than a maddened anthill. A sprawling tent city had sprung outside the gates. We notified the guards at the gate (who were turning people away) that we were from Ravenroar and Brindle and they let us pass, giving us a token so we can leave and return freely. We headed for the Guild Hall, where we were told the headquarters for the volunteer effort for the army would be, and were told by a man sitting at a table by the door to come back later. He asked for the name of our company, and, having not discussed this ahead of time, I told him we were called Ravenroar Company. I believe it is a good name, if somewhat lacking in imagination, but I do what I can without your presence, Cousin.
We camped outside the city and returned to the Guild at the appointed time. We found it packed with adventurers and others of all stripes. One group, the Farstriders, seemed notoriously boastful and proud. I find such pride to 'rub me the wrong way,' as the common vernacular would put it.
The council asked for volunteers to rescue the monks of the Sundered Chain and their artifacts from their monastery, which is located in orc-controlled territory. We volunteered. The Farstriders were assigned to block tunnels that orcs apparently had been coming out of. I only mention this in light of what happened later.
We set out the following morning for the monastery. It had been recommended to us to take the Path of Penitence, a secret pass that would probably have not been found by the orcs. It is more of a vertical cliff than a proper path, but we were able to scale it. We finally came within sight of the monastery while remaining concealed ourselves, and saw orcs patrolling the wall of the monastery. Persuading the others to remain while I checked out the situation, once I was out of sight I put on a orc-sized Red Hand cloak I had obtained when we had been waylaid by the creatures on our way to Overlook, and used the ability that runs in our family to change my appearance to match those of the orcs. I had, this morning before we set out, completed the Comprehend Language ritual so I could understand the grunts of those ugly beasts. In this manner I was able to walk into the front gates of the monastery without arousing suspicion and was able to investigate the status of the monks. I saw a few dead ones, but the remaining living ones had barricaded themselves into their training room and several orcs were guarding the doors. I counted 24 orcs, and after thoroughly apprising the situation I returned to the others, taking care to return to human form and removing the Red Hand cloak before doing so. Upon my return the others informed me that one of the orcs on the wall had fallen to his death and they were able to procure his cloak. We then set a course of action for when twilight fell. Ataeo and I disguised ourselves in cloaks (and I made myself larger) and walked back through the gates of the monastery while Thallimain put himself in a position to cause a distraction when we came out, hopefully with the monks.
I spoke Orcish to the brutes guarding the doorway to the room the monks were in and suggested that we would take their place as guards while they went outside and got drunk. They fell for the ruse and our only difficulty now lay in convincing the monks (who had barricaded their door from the inside) that we had been sent to rescue them. Ataeo passed our task letter under the door and they finally let us in. They had been in that room for several days (since the orcs invaded) and did not know most of the orcs had left. We then accompanied them out of the monastery to where the majority of the orcs were around their campfire outside. It is a sight I will not soon forget: it was like an orange sea flowing and then enswarming the orcs as they fell like trees in a flash flood.
The monks thanked us for our assistance and informed us that the orcs had come in through the wine cellar. They also told us the artifacts had been stolen and taken into the tunnels by these orcs. They implored us to retrieve them, which we set out to do.
There is more to this story, Cousin, but the hour grows late and my hand is tiring. I will try to write more soon.
Blessings of the Raven Queen be with you,
Your cousin, Cerra
Dear cousin Lady Cierra Ravenroar,
As promised, here is an update on our current adventure. As you know, I left the Castle Ravenroar for Overlook some days ago with the volunteers to assist Overlook against the orcs and the threat of the Red Hand. The dragon paladin, Ataeo, the elf ranger Thallamain, and I were given horses at Brindle to facilitate our swifter arrival at Overlook.
When we reached Overlook, we found the place to be more full of bustle than a maddened anthill. A sprawling tent city had sprung outside the gates. We notified the guards at the gate (who were turning people away) that we were from Ravenroar and Brindle and they let us pass, giving us a token so we can leave and return freely. We headed for the Guild Hall, where we were told the headquarters for the volunteer effort for the army would be, and were told by a man sitting at a table by the door to come back later. He asked for the name of our company, and, having not discussed this ahead of time, I told him we were called Ravenroar Company. I believe it is a good name, if somewhat lacking in imagination, but I do what I can without your presence, Cousin.
We camped outside the city and returned to the Guild at the appointed time. We found it packed with adventurers and others of all stripes. One group, the Farstriders, seemed notoriously boastful and proud. I find such pride to 'rub me the wrong way,' as the common vernacular would put it.
The council asked for volunteers to rescue the monks of the Sundered Chain and their artifacts from their monastery, which is located in orc-controlled territory. We volunteered. The Farstriders were assigned to block tunnels that orcs apparently had been coming out of. I only mention this in light of what happened later.
We set out the following morning for the monastery. It had been recommended to us to take the Path of Penitence, a secret pass that would probably have not been found by the orcs. It is more of a vertical cliff than a proper path, but we were able to scale it. We finally came within sight of the monastery while remaining concealed ourselves, and saw orcs patrolling the wall of the monastery. Persuading the others to remain while I checked out the situation, once I was out of sight I put on a orc-sized Red Hand cloak I had obtained when we had been waylaid by the creatures on our way to Overlook, and used the ability that runs in our family to change my appearance to match those of the orcs. I had, this morning before we set out, completed the Comprehend Language ritual so I could understand the grunts of those ugly beasts. In this manner I was able to walk into the front gates of the monastery without arousing suspicion and was able to investigate the status of the monks. I saw a few dead ones, but the remaining living ones had barricaded themselves into their training room and several orcs were guarding the doors. I counted 24 orcs, and after thoroughly apprising the situation I returned to the others, taking care to return to human form and removing the Red Hand cloak before doing so. Upon my return the others informed me that one of the orcs on the wall had fallen to his death and they were able to procure his cloak. We then set a course of action for when twilight fell. Ataeo and I disguised ourselves in cloaks (and I made myself larger) and walked back through the gates of the monastery while Thallimain put himself in a position to cause a distraction when we came out, hopefully with the monks.
I spoke Orcish to the brutes guarding the doorway to the room the monks were in and suggested that we would take their place as guards while they went outside and got drunk. They fell for the ruse and our only difficulty now lay in convincing the monks (who had barricaded their door from the inside) that we had been sent to rescue them. Ataeo passed our task letter under the door and they finally let us in. They had been in that room for several days (since the orcs invaded) and did not know most of the orcs had left. We then accompanied them out of the monastery to where the majority of the orcs were around their campfire outside. It is a sight I will not soon forget: it was like an orange sea flowing and then enswarming the orcs as they fell like trees in a flash flood.
The monks thanked us for our assistance and informed us that the orcs had come in through the wine cellar. They also told us the artifacts had been stolen and taken into the tunnels by these orcs. They implored us to retrieve them, which we set out to do.
There is more to this story, Cousin, but the hour grows late and my hand is tiring. I will try to write more soon.
Blessings of the Raven Queen be with you,
Your cousin, Cerra
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