Tault, Malarous 1st, 868 ID.
Mudhol and Weatherby fire up the two man balloon and fly back towards the Hud Horrn, when they hear the beating of wardrums and the blaring of horns from the Blooded Lash encampment. Apparently, the excitement at the Haunted Horrn has prompted the force to move ahead their battle plans, and they initiate a march. A pair of hippogriffs with goblin riders assault the balloon, but are slain by Mudgol's spells and Weatherby's pistol. When Mudgol and Weatherby at last arrive, they are greeted by several soldiers including Lt. Hoary, who has arrived with Doorjamb to the fortified town as backup. Mudgol attempts to assess the threat, warning Sgt. Mastiff of the oncoming assault!
Meanwhile, Doorjamb and Fisslakk head down into the Blowback Mine to find Foreman Vigsyd and determine the location of the rest of the PCs. A miner named Baub leads them to the Foreman, who sends Velpaw along with them as a guide in 'Tunnel D'. The PCs, on the other hand, are racing back through the tunnels towards the Hud Horrn, trailed by bugbears and one pissed off dwarf. They can hear a delay behind them, sounds of a struggle (perhaps the pursuers have encountered and are dealing with the Gnarlbottom ghost), and they make it to the chasm and once again cross it. Ogeir leaves obstacles behind, flasks of oil greasing the tunnel and a tanglefoot bag near the chasm to delay the pursuers. Luz drops gold coins. Further along, after the chasm, they pass a wormlike creature in a niche and ignore it.
Mudgol is ordered to recruit anyone from the Hud Horrn who will fight to hold the town while most of the citizens evacuate. The half-orc is to focus on businesses, while Lt. Hoary handles the residences. He is unsuccessful in recruiting the baker Degger and the smith Gortjik. Below, the PCs run into one another in the tunnels. Doorjamb, Velpaw and Fisslak are warned of the pursuing force, and they set up a flaming barricade at the mouth of Tunnel D. Slab runs off to escape and warn the foreman, and Vigsyd moves to help the PCs intervene, prompting Slab. A terrible melee ensues, in which all the miners are killed, most of the PCs are knocked down, but finally the bugbears are slain. The gnoll Velpaw makes a last ditch effort to stop the dwarf Buld, transforming into a bear form and revealing his nature as a druid, but he is also killed. Langston, in a desperate suicide maneuver, fells the violent barbarian. The PCs loot the bodies, especially Buld, and claim his hide armor, double headed axe and armbands. Surviving miners arrive and gather the remains of their foreman and Velpaw, and then work to seal the mine by caving in the bottom of the stairs, and removing the platform from the lift.
The PCs are all reunited, exchanging stories with Mudgol and turning in reports to Mastiff. That night, Langston and Weatherby do some scouting by air to find that the Blooded Lash have set up a temporary camp to ready themselves for the morning. Equipment and supplies are gathered and about 80% of the population evacuates with a pair of soldiers to the south. Another is sent with a dispatch to Reckon to prepare for possible invasion of Hobfast if the Hud Horrn should fall. Some of the PCs join the night watch, and Degger, Hroemer and Gortjik all arrive to volunteer, the blacksmith delivering a punitive blow to Mudgol for not being clearer in his earlier recruitment attempt. Hroemer collects all the healing potions from the Dungeoneer's guild to help the PCs heal up for the inevitable battle...
Varony, Malarous 2nd, 868 ID.
In the morning, the clash at last begins. A cadre of ogres marches forward with an exotic looking human wizard, and despite Mudgol's valiant attempt to blind and trip them, the wizard is able to breach the gate by shifting the stone above the North portcullis. Fisslakk also tries to stop the ogres' march with a fireball, but as he's severely weakened, a strong magic missile from the red wizard kills the creature outright. The ogres march in, and a massive battle begins. Hippogriffs fly far and wide to land at the sides of the town away from the Eidolorn archers. Goblins and guards exchange arrows, the guards upon the front parapets being slain. Most of the PCs stand in the charge, facing and felling the first wave of ogres. An invisible threat arrives by hippogriff and begins to chase and assail Slab and the others. Once it attacks, a half-orc assassin is revealed, wielding poisons. The red wizard has retreated back up the Pass, and the PCs don't know what he's up to. Slab attempts to throw an orange painted grenade he found at Hosspotch Holdings, but it turns out to work only against vermin. Waves of bugbears and goblins await to pass through the gate and assault the frontline. A hippogriff engages Langston. Bulgoth is knocked out by an ogre.
Over 100 more Blooded Lash assailants await their chance at slaughter...
PCs: Doorjamb, Langston, Luz, Mudgol, Ogeir, Slab
NPCs
Baub (human male): A relatively nondescript miner in the Blowback Mine, he leads Doorjamb and Fisslak to Vigsyd's location when they're trying to track down the PCs.
Dondrys Buld (dwarf male): An incredibly muscled, stocky dwarf smothered in bluish tattoos, with long orange hair tied back. Dondrys Buld is a member of the Score, a barbarian and berzerker who fights with a double headed dwarven waraxe and strange armbands which slide around his arms. Buld is slain in the Blowback Mine by Langston in a desperate, suicide attack after felling the foreman Vigsyd (who recognized Buld and identified him as 'traitor'), the gnoll drunk druid Velpaw, and a number of other miners. Not to mention knocking out almost all of the PCs...
Gortjik (hobgoblin male): A pale green hobgoblin with a severe underbite, yellowy eyes and twisted lower fangs. Gortjik is heavily muscled and swathed in russet workman's clothes with a broad leather belt and harness on which he holds chiseling tools and a silver hammer. Gortjik is apparently an expatriate from the Skull Collar clan, and holds no love for the Blooded Lash, who he helps defend against in the Storming of the Hud Horrn.
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