The Battle of Tretcher Part II
The surviving members of the expedition continue to press on desperately against the Vandrakki berserkers, as their spells and tricks run down to a gruesome exhibition of hacking and killing. Mudgol is accosted by a summoned beast atop the northernmost Tretcher gatehouse while the carnage ensues below. The berserker shamans soon flee the melee, their healing magics spent, and mount the war mammoth to flee the village, but the PCs are so involved with the remaining barbarians, snow goblins and the war chief that they cannot even entertain an idea of pursuit. Captain Langston decides to 'tank up', donning shield and warhammer to draw the attention of the warchief, who has in the meantime slain our good friend Private Teckle. Though his prowess is faultless, Handsome Harlan is also brought low to unconsciousness, as well as the warmage Roost and the pistoleer Cannon Mack Roy. Soon, Langston, Ginkwrench and Mudgol share their fate, leaving only a handful of the expedition around to finish the fight...
Meanwhile, a bugbear exile struggles to break free of his bonds in the basement of a local shop, where the Vandrakki had isolated him due to his dangerous physique. He struggles for many rounds to break the very foundation to which he is manacled, and eventually succeeds, though as a result he has brought down much of the structure! Grulsh fled north from the Blood Eagle tribe once they announced their intention to ally with the mysterious organization called 'The Score', thinking his warmates foolish to go up against the Empire, and he found work for a month or so with a Tretcher farmer named Hagel Ossted. When the berserkers arrived, Grulsh was overwhelmed and decided it best not to fight against such hopeless odds, so he was taken captive and separated from the other survivors. After freeing himself, he rushes off towards the sounds of battle, praying that liberators have arrived to take the village back from the Giant Steppers...
He arrives just after the battle has ended, but it quickly spotted by the wizard Baro, who calls out Captain Langston (recently healed to consciousness). The Last Eidolorn expedition has won their battle, but at huge costs. Immediately distrusting the bugbear, Langston fires a shot at Grulsh as he runs back to the south district of the village where he believes the other survivors have been kenneled. Baro, Luz and Langston all follow him, while Grulsh, manacled, climbs and breaks through a window into the warehouse. The other survivors, happy to see the bugbear, hide him while the rest of the PCs arrive to open the building. Odd Jon and the remainder of the expedition stay behind, tending to the wounded and arranging the bodies of their fallen companions. They find one survivor of the Fifth Eidolorn staged in Tretcher, a Private Tinn who tells them of the village's plight, that there were TWO warbands which attacked. The Wolf Tongue warriors captured numerous of the young women and other 'useful' prisoners, then traveled East across the Frogmarch, presumably to ransack the tombs of their ancestors for the war effort.
Tinn also relates that the PCs that she is related to the missing General Bree Bristow of Wintersbreath, and that more information on what's happening can be found with Cmd. Estelbard at the capital of Vettlar, further up the Pinewater. The other notable survivors at Tretcher include Brother Vax, a local adept of Eleste who offers to heal those in need; Stenn Arvangr, proprietor of the local drinking hole the Piss Poor Abbott, who offers the expedition any food or drink he might have left after the sacking of the village; Chani 'Coldfitter', a beautiful platinum haired dwarf who Odd Jon is immediately taken with; and farmer Hagel Ossted, who is glad to see Grulsh still alive and gets into a verbal altercation with Luz. Once the smoke has cleared, Stenn and Ginkwrench head off to the Piss Poor Abbot, where they find the berserkers' stored spoils, including a few items that Mudgol detects as radiating magic. In taking account of their losses, Baro is surprised to find that Handsome Harlan has died...after all, he recalls bandaging and stabilizing the bruiser during the combat.
After a small conference, Odd Jon approaches Langston about having himself and several others remain behind, thinking it inconceivable to leave the villagers unguarded until further assistance can arrive. It is agreed that Odd Jon, Cannon (who is now dispossessed of his fallen mercenary band and not sure he wants to continue anyway), Flake Falloway, and a begrudging Roost will remain in Tretcher to help build some defenses for the survivors, while the rest of the expedition will head East to find the missing villagers before pressing on to Vettlar. There me be an added 'impetus' for Odd Jon to remain behind (as well as the other dwarves) in the beautiful Chani, but at least she is able to procure cold weather outfits for the rest of the expedition who are continuing the trek.
Evelais (Saint's Day), Malarous 27th 838 ID
A day of rest and remembrance of the expedition's fallen. Stone cairns are built by the survivors for the dead, including Slab and Teckle. Mudgol meanwhile identifies a number of the objects the party has found: a pair of huge-sized horseshoes of speed (meant for a mammoth, no doubt); a dagger +2, +3 vs. fire type creatures called 'Blazebane'; a minor circlet of blasting, and the goblin leader's sugliin +1. Gear is distributed where it can be, and the expedition claims the berserker spoils (Grulsh his own equipment), though they decide to leave all the masterwork gear of their fallen and the enemy to help arm the survivors, who can also sell it later to help restore Tretcher more fully. The rest of the day is spent healing, with the help of Balard Winch, Brother Vax and Luz.
Aric, Malarous 28th 838 ID
Another day is spent healing wounds and distributing gear, while Stenn Arvangr prepares rations for the expedition. The following morning, Langston plans to head East across the Frogmarch. After a discussion, Grulsh decides to join the group, to mete out vengeance for the berserkers' acts and help rescue Hagel's daughters.
PCs: Ginkwrench, Grulsh, Langston, Luz
Combined Casualties: Eiger 'Cold Draft' Dodson, Handsome Harlan, Lt. Teckle, Pvt. Glass, Regg Morland, Slab, Tulk Rothek
Remaining in Tretcher: Cannon, Flake, Odd Jon, Roost
Pressing Forward: Balard, Baro, Barr, Ginkwrench, Grulsh, Langston, Longjohns, Mudgol, Luz, Polk, Vondort
NPCs
Brother Vax (human male): A bulky man of brawny girth, he’s adorned in thick, warm brown robes emblazoned in a pattern of bronze-tinted swords, flowing down over his broad boots. He has a burn mark around his neck where a necklace or amulet seems to have been branded into him, and haggard, exhausted eyes of a pale green-gray below his unkempt, thick mane of dark hair. Vax is not only the tenant of the Hallbotten Chapel (to Eleste), but he also works at the Breads ‘n’ Broth, with the Giant Steppers have thoroughly sacked. He’s an adept of some skill. Vax has been the spiritual leader of the 40-50 captives.
Chani Chiselblade (dwarf female): A beautiful dwarven vision, with a shock of
long, platinum-white hair tied back in ornate braids, she wears a blood stained
pale fur cloak above some fine tailored, detailed garments and white boots.
There is a sharpness to her features, with dagger green eyes and strong
cheekbones, but it only serves to heighten her appeal. Chani runs the ‘Coldfitters’ shop for travelers
in and out of Wintersbreath. Though the Giant Steppers, with their inbred
tolerance for the region’s climate, had little use for her wares, they still
ransacked most of the finer furs and material, about 50% of her stock.
Hagel Ossted (human male): A seasoned man of at least 60 winters,
with numerous cracks and scars around his eyes and smothering his fingers, and
a graying mane of hair clutched back in a braid of wooden beads. His broad
shoulders hint at a long life of labor, and his squared jaw looks to have been
shattered or broken at some point, as it hangs at a slightly disjointed angle. Hagel is a widower, the last survivor of the Osstad
farm, just north of Tretcher proper. His livestock were devoured by the Giant
Stepper raiders, his two sons slain, and his two daughters presumably stolen
away to slavery with the Vandrakki, somewhere outside of Tretcher. Hagel took the outcast Grulsh under his wing when he needed work.
Private Tinn (human female): A crumpled woman in her 20s, her amber
eyes and blonde locks might have marked her as attractive if she weren’t so
damaged. Bruises cover her face and arms, and her left leg has been removed
below the knee, so she leans against an improvised crutch. She wears a tattered
Fifth Eidolorn uniform, but it’s been ripped several times above and below the
waist. Tinn is the last surviving Fifth Eidolorn soldier in
town, the rest having either been routed by the Giant Steppers or fled onto the
plains to the West. She claims to be
related to General Bree Bristow, the missing general of the Wintersbreath
forces.
Stenn Arvangr (human male): A steep but hunched man with balding,
tightly cropped bald hair, he moves about with a stiffness that seems to agree
with the cold air. A pair of eyeglasses rests on the bridge of his hawkish, purpled
nose, partly concealing his blue-green eyes, and a neatly trimmed moustache
rests beneath it. A hand ax and cleaver hang by the belt of his apron,
unblooded. Stenn is the proprietor and cook of the Piss Poor
Abbot, Tretcher’s sole drinking establishment and hostel for travelers.
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