The Battle of Tretcher Part I
The expedition approaches Tretcher from east of the Pinewater, having moored their vessel a quarter mile north of the village. En route, they pass another of the Teeth of Winter watch towers and a ruined farmhouse, its primary structure intact but some of the crops and equipment burned to ashes. After some juggling of ideas to scope out the place, like leaving Polk or other commoners behind, they decide to return to it later, and press south to the village. They decide not to use one of the main gatehouse entrances, and instead to scale the wall of the livestock pen north of the village proper. Slab climbs up with a grappling hook, and spies a pair of savage, axe-wielding humans guarding the gatehouse that divides the pens to the center of town. They spy him as he's coming down, and bolt into the heart of Tretcher. The rest of the expedition scales the rope with no major problem, and then they decide on a further plan of action.
Once again, Slab is sent to recon by climbing the southern wall of the pens, and he is joined by both Ginkwrench and Mudgol's familiar, the Professor. They scale one wall and leap over to the higher, stone wall of Tretcher proper, and when they pull themselves up, they note that there are several painted bears, a huge mammoth mount, and a pair of hill giants visible in the center of town. The billowing smoke they spied earlier emanates from a burning pile of remains and equipment near the wharfside gatehouse. They don't have long to look about, though, as one of the hill giant sentries spots them and howls. Soon, a burst of fire erupts from the second floor of the nearby inn, engulfing Ginkwrench. Slab drops into Tretcher, and mentally signals (through Mudgol's Rary's pneumonic enhancer spell) the main body of the expedition to attack; while the gnome attempts to intimidate the entire village with some angry, incendiary flexing before he too drops (he does manage to psychologically impact one of the giants).
The expedition moves forward it battke, with Regg Morland's mercenaries the first through the gatehouse, and it is now that the PCs get their first taste of a Vandrakki berserker warband, a part of the same enemy force which Regent-General Gurd launched a small army to deal with. This particular band consists of a vanguard of snow goblin warriors, led by a resilient chieftain who wields a strange, elk-antlered spear weapon; a host of berserker warriors and bonded warbears, a pair of hill giants, several spellcasters including female shamans and some sort of elemental bombardier, and a crazed warchief whose fists turn to ice as he rages. Captain Langston is discouraged, but beyond the grimness comes a will to fight! And the streets of Tretcher run red with blood!
The Vandrakki turn out to be a more tactically sound adversary than other humanoid war parties the PCs have faced, with hill giants launching boulders into the ranged/spell casters and the enemy wizard casting a devastating ice storm into the bulk of the expedition which dramatically alters the battle's course. Still, crafty spellcasting from Mudgol and Baro weakens and slows the enemy ranks from a complete onslaught, and the party are glad that for whatever reason, the massive war mammoth has not entered the conflict. Langston and the other archers fire off volleys at the enemy wizard, who ducks back into the inn to move downstairs. In melee, though, the fighting is hard. The snow goblins are mildly tougher than their counterparts in Floivin Province, and the berserker troops simply don't fall over, tougher yet than the bugbears the PCs have fought.
Losses begin to accrue on both sides...first Regg Morland falls to the berserker chief, and then Tulk Rothek. With the merc leader downed, Handsome Harlan begins to fight with great fury! Eventually, Private Glass is slain, much to the horror of Langston, but the expedition fights back, taking out most of the goblins and their leader, and also most of the warbears. Unfortunately, the surviving hill giant manages to crush Slab with his club before the PCs are able to fell it, and we lose a long time friend...but the tide does inevitable turn to a more even footing. Harlan grapples and slays a bear with his bare hands, while Baro uses his thunder clap spells to great effect on the enemy ranks, dazing himself every other round to do so. After Mudgol's 'sworn' bodyguard, Eiger the drunk is slain by the enemy warchief, he teleports to the top of the gatehouse, but the enemy wizard sends a fiendish scorpion up there with him!
We leave the first half of the fight with both sides fairly 'rocked'...
PCs: Baro, Ginkwrench, Langston, Luz, Mudgol, Slab
Incapacitated: Barr, Flake, Longjohns
Casualties: Eiger 'Cold Draft' Dodson, Pvt. Glass, Regg Morland, Slab, Tulk Rothek
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