Our heroes awaken on the pirate boat, docked at a fog-enshrouded isle. Tralamin has disappeared, leaving behind his magic compass Bradbury, and Jarmangle has somehow joined the others, with no memory of where he has been. Robyn, for whatever reason, does not wake from her slumber. The ship is otherwise empty, with the three pirates they had locked in the hold having disappeared. They try to use Bradbury to suss out Tralamin's location, but find that Bradbury is not properly functioning. The group decides to venture onto the island, slinging Robyn over a spectral horse summoned by Irving.
The adventurers encounter a small and rather creepy child, who directs their attention to his house, a large mansion overlooking a gated cemetery. At the house, they're surprised to find Tyne, dressed as a maid and with apparently no memory of her brother and his friends.
Other bits of weirdness abound. Feer's Mirror of Truth reveals that the lady of the house has no eyes. Said matron works a small knife into her own palm, which causes nosebleeds in those observing. The man of the house sits in his study, surrounded by fresh copies of books that are nearly a hundred years old. He alone seems to understand that there's something terribly amiss here, and tries to impart to our heroes a cryptic warning.
As they explore the house and its surrounding environs, the group splits up. Tyne disappears and reappears, seemingly without reason. Jarmangle finds himself alone with the palm-knifing lady and, despite the group's earlier surmise that she was an eyeless ghost of some sort, proceeds to bed her, much to her screeching delight. This tryst is interrupted when the group discovers that a coterie of stone gargoyles have carried off the still-unconscious Robyn to the graveyard.
The group gives chase, and battle is joined. The pantless Jarmangle is frequently knocked over as the mobile gargoyles fly by. Robyn finally awakens, and together the group soon makes short work of the gargoyles.
Exploring the cemetary, they discover the grave of the small boy they met at the dock-- much to the chagrin of the apparently alive small boy, who seems fearful of his mother. They find the bodies of the three pirates, all having met the same grisly demise: their skulls have been cracked open, and the brains sucked out. At last they decipher the father's warning: beware the illithids.
Venturing back into the house, they find a secret passageway into the basement. Strapped to a slab in that basement is Tyne, subject to some feverish torment; watching over her are three illithids: a man, a woman, and a child.
The battle that follows is, in a word, disastrous. The group huddles in a narrow passageway, firing arrows and spells into the room. The illithids move to the corners of the room, avoiding the projectiles, and sneak their way to the passage, using their dangerous psychic magics to stun the group. The lady illithid zeroes in on Irving and, considering the brain of a wizard-skunk to be a delicacy, proceeds to suck it out of his tiny skull, dropping his lifeless body on the cold, dank floor.
His friends panic, yet barely manage to turn the battle in their favor. They discover that Tyne has some sort of parasite burrowing into her brain. This, too, causes them to panic, and Jarmangle laments that Irving is no longer there to advise them on a reasonable course of action. Robyn and Feer manage to remove the parasite, but are unsure of the extent of the damage.
They return to the dock and pile into the lifeboat, as there is still no wind to power the ship. As they paddle onward, seemingly in circles, the fog suddenly lifts and they find themselves approaching the Bell of Harvest.
Tyne, still reeling and feverish, receives a mental message from Tralamin, revealing that he is in Justice, and surrounded on all sides by drow. The group pieces together that this is where Jarmangle has been, and that somehow, the strange magicks of the fog has switched the two. Leaving Tyne in the care of her bride-to-be Leesa, and pausing only to give Irving their traditional throw-the-body-into-the-air-set-it-on-fire-and-let-it-land-in-the-water send-off, the remaining trio speed towards Justice on a despearte rescue mission.
Showing posts with label bradbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bradbury. Show all posts
6.01.2011
3.13.2011
16. Dungeon of the Vampire Lord, Part Two
Having been severely injured in their latest attempt to probe the depths of the dungeon beneath the merman prison, the group had returned to the surface to lick their wounds. The goblin Hanoonk was alone in being unable to shake off his mummy rot, and Jarmangle felt responsible. And so, when the group went off to retrieve Tralamin from the troll "goblin boss" Ugblar, Jarmangle announced he was staying behind to watch over the goblin. Tyne went with the group, but only after deflowering the rescued virgin Leesa.
Ugblar was disappointed that they had not been successful in defeating the vampire and stealing her rings, but let Tralamin ago-- he still felt bad about taking such a, well, trollish and uncivilized approach.
And so, the five adventurers-- Tyne, Feer, Tralamin, Irving, and Robyn-- returned to the dungeon once more, hoping to retrieve both the rings and Leesa's sister, Oola. They often found themselves retracing their steps and second-guessing themselves. "We didn't go down here, did we?" they asked, only to get lost in a maze of caverns and find themselves in previously-tackled territory.
The Cult of Cloth and their mummies were on high-alert after their previous excursion, resulting in several skirmishes. As they ventured further into the dungeon's depths, they confronted new horrors and traps. Tyne nearly found herself impaled in a bed of spikes-- Irving, at the last moment, conjured up a spectral ram and pushed the tiefling to safety.
Our heroes discovered the secrets of the Cult of Cloth-- they were men who worshiped vampires and projected their consciousness into rag-man bodies-- and found the room where their bodies were kept. The room was filled with bodily waste and guarded by mummies. Irving, perhaps unwisely, summoned a fireball in the room, causing the high quantities of methane gas to ignite. The adventurers barely made it to safety, and the Cult of Cloth was extinguished.
However, that still left the vampire itself. The magical compass Bradbury indicated that the kidnapped girl was nearby, but they could not find a passageway that led to her. Hoping to find access to her from another floor, they followed some stairs leading to unexplored areas on the previous floors. There, they found the library of Romlyn-- at last, a name to the vampire. Getting past the sentient door with a little bit of the ol' fey step, they raided the library for necromantic texts.
Leaving the library, they found themselves in a room they had inadvertently returned to many times before-- emblematic, they supposed, of the adventure as a whole, which still lacks a conclusion.
Ugblar was disappointed that they had not been successful in defeating the vampire and stealing her rings, but let Tralamin ago-- he still felt bad about taking such a, well, trollish and uncivilized approach.
And so, the five adventurers-- Tyne, Feer, Tralamin, Irving, and Robyn-- returned to the dungeon once more, hoping to retrieve both the rings and Leesa's sister, Oola. They often found themselves retracing their steps and second-guessing themselves. "We didn't go down here, did we?" they asked, only to get lost in a maze of caverns and find themselves in previously-tackled territory.
The Cult of Cloth and their mummies were on high-alert after their previous excursion, resulting in several skirmishes. As they ventured further into the dungeon's depths, they confronted new horrors and traps. Tyne nearly found herself impaled in a bed of spikes-- Irving, at the last moment, conjured up a spectral ram and pushed the tiefling to safety.
Our heroes discovered the secrets of the Cult of Cloth-- they were men who worshiped vampires and projected their consciousness into rag-man bodies-- and found the room where their bodies were kept. The room was filled with bodily waste and guarded by mummies. Irving, perhaps unwisely, summoned a fireball in the room, causing the high quantities of methane gas to ignite. The adventurers barely made it to safety, and the Cult of Cloth was extinguished.
However, that still left the vampire itself. The magical compass Bradbury indicated that the kidnapped girl was nearby, but they could not find a passageway that led to her. Hoping to find access to her from another floor, they followed some stairs leading to unexplored areas on the previous floors. There, they found the library of Romlyn-- at last, a name to the vampire. Getting past the sentient door with a little bit of the ol' fey step, they raided the library for necromantic texts.
Leaving the library, they found themselves in a room they had inadvertently returned to many times before-- emblematic, they supposed, of the adventure as a whole, which still lacks a conclusion.
12.06.2010
9. X Marks the Spot
Our heroes, accompanied once more by the dwarf Uncle, decided to follow the piece of map they had found on the body of the zombie-hunter aboard the Eve of Destruction. En route, they made peace with both the ettercaps-- finally triumphing over the terror of the desert, the giant fire beetle Klikslyth-- and the kobolds, who had been angered to hear about the killing of the young dragon in the dungeon beneath the Tomb of Gnollish Kings.
In their travels, they discovered a dried-up lake, in the middle of which sat a palace made of coral, surrounded by the skeletal remains of a giant sea serpent. They decided to explore its environs at a latter date, and to press on to the destination marked on the map.
That destination was an ancient fort, manned by skeletons and undead. The group managed to fight their way into the fort, and in their subsequent investigations discovered that the site was cursed. Each night, a horde of zombie gnolls would attack the fort, and the human zombies would fail to protect it. In the morning, the human zombies would rise again and prepare for that night's attack.
Our heroes found an unfinished letter intended for a jilted bride, and having finished the letter themselves, they gave it to the weeping skeleton. She found closure, and her own personal curse was lifted. Tralamin decided to take the skeleton's dress, and Jarmangle had earlier absconded with another skeleton's cursed mustache.
Feeling they could lift the curse for the entire fort, our heroes decided to prepare themselves for the zombie gnolls. The dwarf Uncle was not so certain, and ran away, rolling himself down the hill upon which the fortress was situated.
In their travels, they discovered a dried-up lake, in the middle of which sat a palace made of coral, surrounded by the skeletal remains of a giant sea serpent. They decided to explore its environs at a latter date, and to press on to the destination marked on the map.
That destination was an ancient fort, manned by skeletons and undead. The group managed to fight their way into the fort, and in their subsequent investigations discovered that the site was cursed. Each night, a horde of zombie gnolls would attack the fort, and the human zombies would fail to protect it. In the morning, the human zombies would rise again and prepare for that night's attack.
Our heroes found an unfinished letter intended for a jilted bride, and having finished the letter themselves, they gave it to the weeping skeleton. She found closure, and her own personal curse was lifted. Tralamin decided to take the skeleton's dress, and Jarmangle had earlier absconded with another skeleton's cursed mustache.
Feeling they could lift the curse for the entire fort, our heroes decided to prepare themselves for the zombie gnolls. The dwarf Uncle was not so certain, and ran away, rolling himself down the hill upon which the fortress was situated.
11.21.2010
8. The Master Blacksmith
The naval forces of the eastern empire have been repelled from the shores of Bloodpurse Isle by the combined efforts of its pirate denizens and the underwater inhabitants of the nearby Mermen Bay. This is due in no small part to the intervention of a familiar band of Hodamites, who restored the treaty between the pirates and the mermen after discovering the treachery of the empire's spy, Tallybrooke. Tallybrooke may have escaped-- rumours point to his destination being the Black Spire that lies on the nearby western peninsula-- but the pirate lord Captain Bergris-- Jarmangle's father-- is deeply appreciative and houses our heroes for the next few days, supplying them with ample food and drink.
Too much drink, perhaps-- the dwarven monk Uncle, sworn to bring Jarmangle back east to his adopted human family, finds himself heavily indisposed. Jarmangle and the others decide to take advantage of this, leaving Uncle behind and heading back to the continent. There they'll seek to find the master blacksmith, Orgath Blackhammer, in hopes of having their dragon scales and mementos made into fearsome armours.
Before they leave the island, though, they've two bits of business to attend to. First, they hire a local scallywag to cleanse their vessel of the bloody remnants of their battle with its undead prisoners. Secondly, Irving meets with Captain Bergris about the possibility of opening trade between Hodam and Bloodpurse Isle. Irving suggests that a Hodam pub and bawdyhouse be opened on the island; Bergris is amenable and promises to firm up the details during a future visit to Hodam.
The Gnollish Warning
They arrive on the continent without incident and make their way towards the dense woods where the blacksmith of Bloodpurse Isle said his former teacher resided. At the outskirts of the woods, they are met by a small group of gnolls-- part of a tribe native to these woods.
Our heroes tell them that they seek the blacksmith, and they're given permission to venture into the gnollish woods, provided they adhere to their law.
"Take what you need for sustenance, and do what you must to protect yourselves from harm, but do not destroy wantonly. Follow this law, and you will be a friend to the forest gnolls, and you shall be rewarded with one of our bows; disregard it, and your only reward shall be death."
Tralamin-- an owlbear rug still draped over him as a cloak, and still clad in rotting "pants" made from an elk, accentuated by a severed frogdog tongue used as a sash-- assures the gnolls that this is how they generally operate. Irving quickly promises the gnoll that they'll obey, and the head gnoll warns that they will be watched.
Mushrooms
Jarmangle searches for something edible, and comes across some mushrooms that no one in the group can identify. Jarmangle being Jarmangle and Tralamin being Tralamin, they decide to eat them anyway. It has no effect on Jarmangle.
Rage of the Owlbear
As they make their way into the woods, our quintet spies a large owlbear in the distance. A twig snaps off a nearby tree and lands on its head. This infuriates the beast, who begins to "attack" the tree relentlessly until, minutes later, it knocks it over.
Some discussion follows during this time as to how they might get by the owlbear without engaging it in battle-- a battle they could very likely lose. Usually in cases like these, Feer, Jarmangle, or Robyn rushes in and starts fighting, while Irving (and, in his more lucid moments, Tralamin) tries to find a creative solution. In this case, the roles are reversed; Irving seems strangely resigned to fighting the beast, while Robyn and Jarmangle provide the solution: Jarmangle sends his dire falcon after the beast and Robyn uses a explosive smoke pellet to drive it towards an adjacent bog. The rushing owlbear sinks in the heavy bog, writhing and snarling all the way, until it disappears forever.
The Wagon
In the same bog, they see a half-sunken wagon. Tralamin casts a spell over himself and Feer, enabling them to walk on the bog without sharing the owlbear's fate. To protect his owlbear "cloak", Tralamin leaves the rug beside the bog.
The mushrooms Tralamin ingested begin to kick in; as he and Feer make their away across the bog, he "hears" glimmers of light singing about how "awesome" he is. Once within the wagon, Tralamin begins conversing with a compass he calls Bradbury, who "claims" to have been left there by two halfling bounty hunters. Feer, of course, only hears one side of the conversation, and doubts Tralamin's assertion that Bradbury is a "magic" compass that points towards whomever its bearer is looking for.
That's not the only thing Sherriff Feer starts to doubt with regards to the flightly eladrin; in the wagon, she finds the remnants of a wanted poster bearing Tralamin's name and visage (wearing, as a hat, a dead puppy) but with no crime indicated. She also finds a hefty supply of some strange dust.
When they return to the group, Tralamin hallucinates that his owlbear cloak is a living owlbear. Jarmangle "kills" it, and Tralamin puts it on as a cloak once more. Feer reveals the wanted poster she discovered, and the group questions Tralamin about it; Tralamin is evasive, perferring to focus on his "magic talking compass", who will help them find the master blacksmith in exchange for a sum of gold.
Irving detects that the compass is magical, though Tralamin is the only one that can hear it speak. Feer is slightly perturbed to learn that the "compass" finds her sexually attractive.
Hedging Their Bets
Feer gives the strange dust to the alchemist Robyn, who determines that it is used to reveal faint tracks in the earth. They detect the tracks of halflings emanating from the bog into the woods; the tracks lead in the same direction that Bradbury points. Irving has reservations: what if the compass is really pointing towards the halflings that Tralamin says "he" is angry with? But the group decides to follow them for the time being.
Blackhammer's Cottage
Both tracks and compass point bear them North-West, but just off to the East they spot a stone cottage. On close inspection, it's revealed to be the home of Ograth Blackhammer, the Master Blacksmith. Now the others join Irving in doubting the compass's veracity, and "Bradbury" has fallen silent as Tralamin's mushrooms have worn off.
There's no answer when they knock on the door. Peering in the window, they see that it is unoccupied and in obvious disarray; there's been a struggle here. Robyn's dust reveals dozens more tracks, all around the cottage, and a bottle of Hodam Ale that should, by rights, not be this far south. These new tracks converge with the halfling tracks, and our heroes head once more in that direction.
The River
All the tracks disappear at the banks of a small but fast-moving river that rages through the woods. The five adventurers would be able to swim across it with no great effort, but their horses would have trouble fighting the current. Irving summons a wind and directs it underwater as a sort of counter-current, allowing all of them, humanoids and horses alike, to cross.
The Ants and the Plant
On the other side, they see a grisly scene; an orc lies draped over a rock, his armour ripped open. They soon determine the cause-- sharp-mandibled giant ants that suckle some sort of nectar from a strange plant. Jarmangle sneaks ahead and attempts to move the orc's body closer to the group so that they might inspect it. In trying to move the heavy orc, however, he draws the attention of the ants. The plant itself makes a strange noise, and more ants crawl out of the woods, apparently to defend it.
As our quintet fight for their lives, they soon determine that the plant is the major threat, and try various ways to destroy it. Magic missiles, warlock curses, bardic spells, and weapons both thrown and shot from a bow prove ineffective. More and more fresh ants heed the plant's call for help, while our heroes get progressively weaker and weaker.
Finally, Irving conjures a hand that rips the plant up by its roots. As he does so, the ants screech and fall over, losing their balance. Feer takes pity on the creatures and examines them. She determines that they're not in any pain, and that they'll likely survive without the plant.
Part II
The Orc's Secret
Irving uses a powerful spell that they found on the body of the headless dwarf from whom they borrowed The Eve of Destruction. This spell enables him to see the orc's last moments through its eyes. Sure enough, he was attacked by the ants. But that's not all Irving sees; he sees a number of other orcs, and a particularly feisty looking dwarf.
Studying the destroyed armour of the orc, Tralamin determines that it's a match for same worn by the orcs they fought in the swamps near Kobold Pocket. They only won that victory, and just barely, after tricking the orcs into consuming massive quantities of Hodam Ale. Now they understand how that empty bottle got outside the blacksmith's cottage.
Jarmangle is the only one among them who has not tangled with the orcs; he resolves from looking at the corpse that they don't look so tough. And now that Feer weilds the mighty Mouth of Death, and Robyn rides a skeletal steed-- both former possessions of the orcish war-chief-- surely, they'll be more than a match for whatever remains.
The Halfling Bounty Hunters
As they follow the orcish tracks and the compass point, they hear muffled cries for help just off the path. They decide to investigate, and find two halflings tangled up in the web of a gigantic spider. The halflings are fading in and out of consciousness, apparently drugged by spider-venom.
Tralamin suggests that they just leave the halflings there, so as not to deprive the spider of its meal. Irving pushes the spider harmlessly off its web and they cut the halflings down. Robyn and Feer administer healing to counteract the spider-venom, but the halflings do not regain consciousness.
Searching the halflings, Robyn discovers a scrap of papers bearing a list of names; at the top of that list is Tralamin. Again, the group attempts to get some answers about the warlock's past; again, Tralamin evades and instead suggests that they leave the halflings there to be eaten.
They decide to take the halflings with them instead; Feer ties them to the back of one of the horses.
The Battlefield
Soon the group comes across the scene of a pitched battle; orcs and gnolls alike lie dead and bleeding. The head gnoll, who has been following them, greets them dourly, and proclaims that this time, the orcs have been particularly egregious in their tresspassing. He shall ride to the other gnollish tribes, and make a true war against the swamp orcs.
Before he does so, however, he determines that the quintet have heeded his warning, and rewards them with one of his tribal longbows.
The Swamp
The woods give way to the orcish swamp as night begins to fall. They leave all the horses save Robyn's undead horse at the edge of the swamp, along with the halflings.
Soon, they meet the orcs and their blacksmith captive, and the battle is one of the hardest they have ever fought. Robyn and Feer, bearing the treasures of the fallen orcish war-chief, are particular targets but it is Jarmangle, unprepared for both the brutality and the tactical cunning of the orcs, who falls and finds himself near death. Feer attempts to heal him with the scepter she took from the Gnollish Queen of Peace, but discovers, to her horror, that his demonic blood is immune to the holy scepter's power.
Robyn rears back on her skeletal steed and rides across the battlefield. She jumps down to his side and using her bardic magic, brings him back from the reaper's grasp. Jarmangle, typically, uses this as an opportunity to hit on the comely elfin bard.
Though their wounds are many, the five do manage to defeat the orcs and rescue the blacksmith.
Denouement
It turns out that the orcs abducted Blackhammer to create a new sword to replace the stolen Mouth of Death, for it was Blackhammer who, in his youth, created that dark blade.
En route back to the woods, they run into a couple of unpleasant surprises: first, the halflings and their other horses have disappeared. Secondly, the gnolls have banned Blackhammer from the woods, for it was he that brought the orcs upon them. Our heroes suggest he take up residence in Hodam, which they assure him is slightly less cesspool-y since they came to town. Irving and Robyn circle around the forest, moving all the way south to get The Eve of Destruction while the others make camp on the edge of the forest. Irving and Robyn come up the Great River, pick up the others, and they all sail back towards Hodam.
Too much drink, perhaps-- the dwarven monk Uncle, sworn to bring Jarmangle back east to his adopted human family, finds himself heavily indisposed. Jarmangle and the others decide to take advantage of this, leaving Uncle behind and heading back to the continent. There they'll seek to find the master blacksmith, Orgath Blackhammer, in hopes of having their dragon scales and mementos made into fearsome armours.
Before they leave the island, though, they've two bits of business to attend to. First, they hire a local scallywag to cleanse their vessel of the bloody remnants of their battle with its undead prisoners. Secondly, Irving meets with Captain Bergris about the possibility of opening trade between Hodam and Bloodpurse Isle. Irving suggests that a Hodam pub and bawdyhouse be opened on the island; Bergris is amenable and promises to firm up the details during a future visit to Hodam.
The Gnollish Warning
They arrive on the continent without incident and make their way towards the dense woods where the blacksmith of Bloodpurse Isle said his former teacher resided. At the outskirts of the woods, they are met by a small group of gnolls-- part of a tribe native to these woods.
Our heroes tell them that they seek the blacksmith, and they're given permission to venture into the gnollish woods, provided they adhere to their law.
"Take what you need for sustenance, and do what you must to protect yourselves from harm, but do not destroy wantonly. Follow this law, and you will be a friend to the forest gnolls, and you shall be rewarded with one of our bows; disregard it, and your only reward shall be death."
Tralamin-- an owlbear rug still draped over him as a cloak, and still clad in rotting "pants" made from an elk, accentuated by a severed frogdog tongue used as a sash-- assures the gnolls that this is how they generally operate. Irving quickly promises the gnoll that they'll obey, and the head gnoll warns that they will be watched.
Mushrooms
Jarmangle searches for something edible, and comes across some mushrooms that no one in the group can identify. Jarmangle being Jarmangle and Tralamin being Tralamin, they decide to eat them anyway. It has no effect on Jarmangle.
Rage of the Owlbear
As they make their way into the woods, our quintet spies a large owlbear in the distance. A twig snaps off a nearby tree and lands on its head. This infuriates the beast, who begins to "attack" the tree relentlessly until, minutes later, it knocks it over.
Some discussion follows during this time as to how they might get by the owlbear without engaging it in battle-- a battle they could very likely lose. Usually in cases like these, Feer, Jarmangle, or Robyn rushes in and starts fighting, while Irving (and, in his more lucid moments, Tralamin) tries to find a creative solution. In this case, the roles are reversed; Irving seems strangely resigned to fighting the beast, while Robyn and Jarmangle provide the solution: Jarmangle sends his dire falcon after the beast and Robyn uses a explosive smoke pellet to drive it towards an adjacent bog. The rushing owlbear sinks in the heavy bog, writhing and snarling all the way, until it disappears forever.
The Wagon
In the same bog, they see a half-sunken wagon. Tralamin casts a spell over himself and Feer, enabling them to walk on the bog without sharing the owlbear's fate. To protect his owlbear "cloak", Tralamin leaves the rug beside the bog.
The mushrooms Tralamin ingested begin to kick in; as he and Feer make their away across the bog, he "hears" glimmers of light singing about how "awesome" he is. Once within the wagon, Tralamin begins conversing with a compass he calls Bradbury, who "claims" to have been left there by two halfling bounty hunters. Feer, of course, only hears one side of the conversation, and doubts Tralamin's assertion that Bradbury is a "magic" compass that points towards whomever its bearer is looking for.
That's not the only thing Sherriff Feer starts to doubt with regards to the flightly eladrin; in the wagon, she finds the remnants of a wanted poster bearing Tralamin's name and visage (wearing, as a hat, a dead puppy) but with no crime indicated. She also finds a hefty supply of some strange dust.
When they return to the group, Tralamin hallucinates that his owlbear cloak is a living owlbear. Jarmangle "kills" it, and Tralamin puts it on as a cloak once more. Feer reveals the wanted poster she discovered, and the group questions Tralamin about it; Tralamin is evasive, perferring to focus on his "magic talking compass", who will help them find the master blacksmith in exchange for a sum of gold.
Irving detects that the compass is magical, though Tralamin is the only one that can hear it speak. Feer is slightly perturbed to learn that the "compass" finds her sexually attractive.
Hedging Their Bets
Feer gives the strange dust to the alchemist Robyn, who determines that it is used to reveal faint tracks in the earth. They detect the tracks of halflings emanating from the bog into the woods; the tracks lead in the same direction that Bradbury points. Irving has reservations: what if the compass is really pointing towards the halflings that Tralamin says "he" is angry with? But the group decides to follow them for the time being.
Blackhammer's Cottage
Both tracks and compass point bear them North-West, but just off to the East they spot a stone cottage. On close inspection, it's revealed to be the home of Ograth Blackhammer, the Master Blacksmith. Now the others join Irving in doubting the compass's veracity, and "Bradbury" has fallen silent as Tralamin's mushrooms have worn off.
There's no answer when they knock on the door. Peering in the window, they see that it is unoccupied and in obvious disarray; there's been a struggle here. Robyn's dust reveals dozens more tracks, all around the cottage, and a bottle of Hodam Ale that should, by rights, not be this far south. These new tracks converge with the halfling tracks, and our heroes head once more in that direction.
The River
All the tracks disappear at the banks of a small but fast-moving river that rages through the woods. The five adventurers would be able to swim across it with no great effort, but their horses would have trouble fighting the current. Irving summons a wind and directs it underwater as a sort of counter-current, allowing all of them, humanoids and horses alike, to cross.
The Ants and the Plant
On the other side, they see a grisly scene; an orc lies draped over a rock, his armour ripped open. They soon determine the cause-- sharp-mandibled giant ants that suckle some sort of nectar from a strange plant. Jarmangle sneaks ahead and attempts to move the orc's body closer to the group so that they might inspect it. In trying to move the heavy orc, however, he draws the attention of the ants. The plant itself makes a strange noise, and more ants crawl out of the woods, apparently to defend it.
As our quintet fight for their lives, they soon determine that the plant is the major threat, and try various ways to destroy it. Magic missiles, warlock curses, bardic spells, and weapons both thrown and shot from a bow prove ineffective. More and more fresh ants heed the plant's call for help, while our heroes get progressively weaker and weaker.
Finally, Irving conjures a hand that rips the plant up by its roots. As he does so, the ants screech and fall over, losing their balance. Feer takes pity on the creatures and examines them. She determines that they're not in any pain, and that they'll likely survive without the plant.
Part II
The Orc's Secret
Irving uses a powerful spell that they found on the body of the headless dwarf from whom they borrowed The Eve of Destruction. This spell enables him to see the orc's last moments through its eyes. Sure enough, he was attacked by the ants. But that's not all Irving sees; he sees a number of other orcs, and a particularly feisty looking dwarf.
Studying the destroyed armour of the orc, Tralamin determines that it's a match for same worn by the orcs they fought in the swamps near Kobold Pocket. They only won that victory, and just barely, after tricking the orcs into consuming massive quantities of Hodam Ale. Now they understand how that empty bottle got outside the blacksmith's cottage.
Jarmangle is the only one among them who has not tangled with the orcs; he resolves from looking at the corpse that they don't look so tough. And now that Feer weilds the mighty Mouth of Death, and Robyn rides a skeletal steed-- both former possessions of the orcish war-chief-- surely, they'll be more than a match for whatever remains.
The Halfling Bounty Hunters
As they follow the orcish tracks and the compass point, they hear muffled cries for help just off the path. They decide to investigate, and find two halflings tangled up in the web of a gigantic spider. The halflings are fading in and out of consciousness, apparently drugged by spider-venom.
Tralamin suggests that they just leave the halflings there, so as not to deprive the spider of its meal. Irving pushes the spider harmlessly off its web and they cut the halflings down. Robyn and Feer administer healing to counteract the spider-venom, but the halflings do not regain consciousness.
Searching the halflings, Robyn discovers a scrap of papers bearing a list of names; at the top of that list is Tralamin. Again, the group attempts to get some answers about the warlock's past; again, Tralamin evades and instead suggests that they leave the halflings there to be eaten.
They decide to take the halflings with them instead; Feer ties them to the back of one of the horses.
The Battlefield
Soon the group comes across the scene of a pitched battle; orcs and gnolls alike lie dead and bleeding. The head gnoll, who has been following them, greets them dourly, and proclaims that this time, the orcs have been particularly egregious in their tresspassing. He shall ride to the other gnollish tribes, and make a true war against the swamp orcs.
Before he does so, however, he determines that the quintet have heeded his warning, and rewards them with one of his tribal longbows.
The Swamp
The woods give way to the orcish swamp as night begins to fall. They leave all the horses save Robyn's undead horse at the edge of the swamp, along with the halflings.
Soon, they meet the orcs and their blacksmith captive, and the battle is one of the hardest they have ever fought. Robyn and Feer, bearing the treasures of the fallen orcish war-chief, are particular targets but it is Jarmangle, unprepared for both the brutality and the tactical cunning of the orcs, who falls and finds himself near death. Feer attempts to heal him with the scepter she took from the Gnollish Queen of Peace, but discovers, to her horror, that his demonic blood is immune to the holy scepter's power.
Robyn rears back on her skeletal steed and rides across the battlefield. She jumps down to his side and using her bardic magic, brings him back from the reaper's grasp. Jarmangle, typically, uses this as an opportunity to hit on the comely elfin bard.
Though their wounds are many, the five do manage to defeat the orcs and rescue the blacksmith.
Denouement
It turns out that the orcs abducted Blackhammer to create a new sword to replace the stolen Mouth of Death, for it was Blackhammer who, in his youth, created that dark blade.
En route back to the woods, they run into a couple of unpleasant surprises: first, the halflings and their other horses have disappeared. Secondly, the gnolls have banned Blackhammer from the woods, for it was he that brought the orcs upon them. Our heroes suggest he take up residence in Hodam, which they assure him is slightly less cesspool-y since they came to town. Irving and Robyn circle around the forest, moving all the way south to get The Eve of Destruction while the others make camp on the edge of the forest. Irving and Robyn come up the Great River, pick up the others, and they all sail back towards Hodam.
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