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Korhan was just about to get boring when an interesting thing happened at the Griff. I met a man named Hocho. He didn’t seem bothered in the least by my stature and took my word that I was indeed a full grown halfling and not some snotty nosed human child. That never happens.
Soon after we got acquainted, Hocho noticed a young human wearing church garb and holding a flag with a mug of ale on it. The man next to him seem to have passed on waiving a flag and instead made sure he had a mug in his hand at all times. I had not seen them before so I asked Hocho if he’d like to see what they were all about and he was game.
Cryl, a hearty looking Dwarf and Zorander a human both seemed to be doing their best to make their god proud. Apparently the god they follow is all about Ale, Inns and generally having a good time. I imagine he has lots of followers. They both seemed skilled in their own way and were more than happy to let us join them.
It wasn’t long before Hocho’s friend from before, Beck, strolled over. He seems to a bit of the cautious type. Not willing to trust just anyone at first sight. Probably a good idea in this neck of the woods. I would like to say he was friendly but he kind of has this way of looking at you that gives you the piss shivers.
Krax is someone I’ve met a couple of times and I have seen him at the Griff often. He had been chatting up a Dwarf a few tables over and the more our group chatted the more they seemed to be listening in. Soon Krax strolled over and slapped me on the back. I introduced him to the rest and Krax introduced his Dwarf friend, Grim. Dwarves and their names… Ha.
Some uptight representatives of a couple of the major houses strolled in after a while and started trying to recruit people for mind numbingly boring jobs like wagon watching and escorting merchants. It was a relief really when the woman came running in screaming about being assaulted and how ‘HE’ was after her. Now things started to get exciting.
Not wanting the trouble in the Inn, the woman was quickly tossed out into the street followed quickly by a ‘take your troubles elsewhere’. I believe Cryl was the first to jump to his feet and race towards the door. Although it could have been Krax, they both seemed to know the woman was not crying wolf and something was after her.
It wasn’t long before all seven of us were up and headed out the door. I’ll admit I was more curious than anything, after all this was the most exciting thing to happen in weeks.
What I thought might be a drunken husband situation that could be easily solved by slapping him around a bit became a genuine nightmare. The woman was lying in the street crying in a fetal position. A position seemed quite accustom to I might add. While I was looking at her when I heard Cryl spit something about nasty troll. When I looked up I saw the biggest nasty creature I’d ever seen. Bigger than an Ogre.
A big greenish grey troll with long claws and an oversized jaw was heading our way. He wasn’t alone either, he had two nasty looking attack dogs with him. I started immediately yelling for the city guard as loud as I could. This did not look like the type of angry husband we could handle.
I was amazed when the rest of the gents from my table sprang into action. My head was fuzzy with fear and even though my mind was yelling ‘RUN’, I found myself stuck in place. Cryl yelled something and ran towards the beast with great sword high over his head. Beck was speaking in some arcane language I wasn’t familiar with and I imagined he was casting some sort of spell. That was almost as scary as the troll. That type of thing is frowned upon around here. Grim, Hocho and Krax were ready for action and stepped in front of the dogs. Zorander grabbed his holy symbol and prepared to do whatever priests do in a situation like this. I, well, let just say I stood ready to do whatever was needed and couldn’t move. At first.
The big guys were taking care of the dogs while only taking a few bites here and there. Some other poor sap, another dwarf, had joined into the fray and the troll seemed to take great pleasure in ripping him to shreds. The dwarf fell back and landed at my feet. I figured it was up to me to make sure no one else stole his valuables.
The troll was big, nasty and pissed off. Our guys seemed undeterred or they were just too stupid to care. They surrounded the troll and began to systematically beat him down. One shot in particular sticks in my mind when Cryl seemed to jump in the air and bring his two handed sword in a huge arc over his head before burying it deep into the trolls shoulder. The troll howled in pain but that just seemed to make him bigger, nastier and more pissed off.
I finally got in behind the troll to join the fight the whole time just hoping he didn’t notice me. Zorander was busy trying to keep people from dying and Beck was causing his own brand of trouble by casting spells. Hocho who I thought was a holy man himself, was laying into the troll just as good as the dwarves and Krax. In just a few seconds the troll was dead. Battered and bruised but otherwise alive and feeling pretty good about ourselves, we began to check on the woman just as the city guard finally showed up.
Not far behind them came strolling up a high priest from the church of Pelor. The priest had some not so kind things to say about Beck and called him all kinds of things, none worse than magic user. The lieutenant in charge of the guard didn’t seem bothered at all that Beck was being accused of being a wizard and the reason for that came all to clear very quickly.
We were given a choice; either we turn over our new companion to the church for re-training or we agree to go to some keep a few days ride away and help it from being overrun by god knows what. There really was no choice and the lieutenant knew it. The next morning we were saddled on horses, and when I say we, I mean everyone but me. I chose to ride on Zorander’s donkey. Horses aren’t my thing. Hocho offered to let me ride with him but that poor fella nearly fell out of his saddle a half dozen times before we even moved.
What happens next is anyone’s guess, but I like my new ‘friends’ and I’m looking forward to where the road leads us.
Week 2- Rocks and Garbage
Officer Barrick has been escorting us towards Ja-Har keep. He’s not super popular as none of us really wanted to go to Ja-Har Keep. We weren’t given much of a choice.
We were about a days ride out from the keep when we saw the two Ogre chomping down on a farmers cow in the field just off the road. I was immediately filled with both rage and fear. I think I said something stupid like ‘I’m going to sneak up and stab one’ because Hocho said, now Tippy that might work but then they will kill you and eat you too. Of course they would have, what was I thinking?
The brutes in our group however had no reservations. After all, it had been a could two days since they had hit something with sword or axe. Hocho called for an orderly assault which translated into ‘every man or Dwarf for themselves!’.
Grim attempted to provide cover fire by shooting his crossbow from the back lines. He seems to be much better with his axe. One of the ogre spun around and yelled something and the other in response reached into his bag and retrieved a rock which he then hurled at Hocho with surprising accuracy. Hocho flenched, but kept charging ahead. Cryl was gathering steam and speed as he slipped into his barbarian rage. It’s a very odd and unnerving rage as it causes him to laugh as he charges. Not a funny laugh more crazy and unnerving laugh.
As they charged ahead I could hear Beck behind me yelling ‘Wait!’ followed shortly by a ‘Damn It!’. I think he was wanting to cast a spell or something that would help them with their charge on the Ogres.
Another rock flew from the Ogre and this one caught Krax full in the chest causing him to go down and tumble violently across the ground. He was out and likely dead from my point of view. Zorander was not far behind and started praying out loud. Healing was on the way if indeed Krax was still alive. Beck was handing out protection spells to the front line guys which seemed to be helping with their defense.
Barrick road his horse in behind the closest Ogre allowing the rest of us to flank the brute. Hocho got in a few good shots and I even managed to wet my dagger with Ogre blood. Sweet Revenge!! Grim had given up the crossbow and was racing up, Axe in hand. The first Ogre went down in a heap.
The second, attacked Barrick and Hocho. His giant club seem to swing slowly but it was heavy and bones cracked with each hit. Hocho, already injured from the first Ogre, took a particularly nasty shot and stumbled back before falling in the field. Zorander was doing his best to heal the damage as fast as it came in and was doing a fine job.
Krax was revived with Zorander’s prayers, Hocho was stable and Grim, Cryl and I sliced and chopped our way through the Ogre. Grim got in the last shot and he managed to spray us all with Ogre blood. He and Cryle seemed quite pleased by that and I don’t think they bothered to wipe their faces for a few hours after.
Beck pointed out that the Ogres had a read tint to their eyes. Hocho laid his hand on one of them and murmured something magical. He then announced that these were not ‘normal’ Ogre. Not only were the red eyes evident of something unusual but these Ogre were not even from this part of Meurshaden. Things were getting strange the closer we got to the mists.
The next day we made it to Ja-Har. We were greeted warmly by Ja-Har, his wife and essential crew for the keep. He explained that raids had been happening from these Ogre and their henchmen and that the mists were moving inland and destroying the land as it went. He then took us to the dungeon where he showed us a large Ogre with red tinted eyes chained to the walls. He was badly injured but still alive.
Their plan is a simple one. The Ogre seem to be drawn to each other, especially if one is in distress. The keep would provide us some protection and when the Ogre arrive we will kill them from the ramparts with arrows and oil. Once they are all dead, we might need to find out what is going on inside the mists. A simple plan yes. Hocho and Beck didn’t seem to like our odds however and that makes me worry.
Ah little brother, an old saying in Azencar is that there are old dwarves and there are bold dwarves, but there are no old, bold dwarves. It being a saying doesn’t make it true of course, but it’s a joke about dwarves and that’s funny all on its own.
I am confident that if I continue to counsel prudence, our fighting men may accidentally follow my advice once, and then it will have been worth the effort. I’m all about keeping my family from falling victim to their own worst impulses, like when you decided you were going to go wage war with the ogres all by yourself. Remember, being quick means you can run away before things get deadly, not for rushing headlong into battle.
I can’t say that I’m in favor of the ghastly practice of conscripting able-bodied men to fight, but it is an age-old practice and I came here knowing there was a war going on, so lesson learned. At least I got to kill some ogres with the help of my buddies and it looks like we will get to kill some more of them. It makes all those years at the monastery seem worth it. Do you know how long the waiting list is for the position of royal executioner? Oi.
I didn’t know that killing would be so enjoyable. Everyone describes it as this terrible experience that haunts you. I don’t find it so. I find it thrilling. The feeling of triumph after is exhilarating. I don’t expect it would be so if my adversary was unable to adequately defend themselves though. The thrill is equal to the challenge. I hope that I give the one who finally kills me a great thrill.
Are you going to finish that hamhock? Shame to let good protein go to waste.
Nope! Got to stay light on my feet you know. It’s all yours. I kind like knowing the big fellas are well fed.
Don’t know much about training but what you say makes sense. Krax and Cryl running off screaming or laughing like Cryl, probably doesn’t always work. Hell them Ogres didn’t even flinch.
I guess we’ll see how they do fighting from behind proper walls and such.
Week 3- Hasty Keep
While Lord Ja-Har seemed quite pleased with his home, even the most uneducated in the ways of strategy and geography could see that the keep had too many blind spots and was sorely lacking in many ways. Grim and Cryl’s brows were stuck in a permanent state of distaste from the moment we entered the keep, Dwarves notice stuff like cracked stone and poor foundations. Hocho was less interested in keeping his opinions just to his face and bellowed out-loud that the gate was in disrepair, the grasses had been allowed to grow too tall and the original placement of the keep itself was poorly planned.
I suppose the keeps placement could be forgiven as I imagine most fortifications built in haste near the savage lands lacked in strategic design. Somehow, Lord Ja-Har’s keep had managed to survive and from his telling, it had not changed hands in many years. Seems to me this won’t be the case for very long.
Despite the shortcomings of our little fort, we took our positions and anxiously awaited the arrival the horde of Ogres. The good news was that there was no horde of Ogres. The bad news was that the Orcs that showed up were at the gates before the archers were able to get off more than two volleys of arrows and bolts. The Orcs had a large tree tied off between two dire worgs too and they were making haste towards our flimsy little gate.
Krex and Cryl surveyed the battlefield and decided that the gate wasn’t going to stop the Orcs anyway so they might as well charge through it and meet the assault head on. Hocho yield something about tactics and patience but his words, again, fell on deaf ears. It could be a side effect of the enlarge spells Beck cast upon them. I’ll have to ask him about that.
The rest of us fired missile weapons and covered Cryl and Krex the best we could. I was glad to have Hocho and Grim on the ramparts with us. They were the best suited to handle Orcs that were cresting the wall. I did see something I’d never seen before though. Zorander, a priest, was on the wall protecting some of the farmers from the Orcs. Not with spells but with his hammer. He actually seemed quite skilled. This group of mine seems to be full of surprises.
Something kept nagging at me though. The Ogre downstairs in the hold was drawing all this Orcs. He had red eyes and so did the Orcs. The Orcs seemed stronger than normal, more determined and totally without fear. Perhaps there was a link that could be severed. I raced down the steps yelling to Grim what my plan was. Hocho yelled for me to be careful as is his usual way of looking after me.
As I got to the entrance to the hold, Lord Ja-Har stepped in front of me and as I slid to a stop he grabbed my shoulders, “Something is wrong. The Ogre has broken free. He killed my guard and is headed this way!”. Just then the angry giant stormed into view. I swallowed hard, time to run. But just as I started to turn, Hocho and Grim came charging to my side.
I saw Cryl running by and yelled for him but all he did was laugh and charge up the stairs to the wall. He had his gaze fixated on an a particularly nasty looking Orc who would soon find himself on the losing end of Cryl’s two-handed sword.
The Orcs at this point were beaten. In their berserker rage none of the Orcs had fled, all fighting to the death. Unusual indeed. The big Ogre tried to break our ranks, racing towards some weapon across the courtyard. He was cutdown for his efforts, with Krex giving the final blow.
Ja-Har’s keep was safe for now. Lord Ja-Har himself seemed quite pleased as he patted a stone in the wall of the keep muttering something about his ‘great protector’. The reality however is that this poorly placed and shoddy keep was not going to last long. Not if Ogres are really coming out of the mists and moving out of the savage lands.
Barek, the officer of Stormshield, lays dead, gutted by two savage orcs.
The three archers and the captain of Ja’har’s Keep survive, enough to bestow great credit to those who saved the keep. It’s unclear to residents where this group was spawned, but they feel secure in knowing they fought bravely and took care of their own.
Week 4- A growing bond
*Thanks to a nice write up by the doogin for this week, I can venture off in a new direction*
I’ve started to become accustom to Cryl’s unnerving battle laugh. He even chuckles a bit after getting hit with sword or axe. Hell, sometimes he even congratulates his foe on a shot well placed. I truly think he enjoys the pain, the blood and the killing no matter it be his or the enemy’s. I don’t pray but I thank my mug of ale every night that he is on our side, Xorandar says that’s good enough.
Xorandar is a quite capable priest. He keeps us all upright for the most part and is yet to lose anyone. He keeps mugs filled and his banner often can be seen flapping in the wind showing off a larger than life mug, yet he never really seems to be under the influence of ale. I can’t tell if he is immune to its effects or if he simply doesn’t truly partake of his own beverages. Either way, I’m glad his with us and as far as gods go, his seems to be pretty easy to get along with.
Grim fancies himself a ranger but it’s really hard to see past the Dwarf warrior in him. He’s a pretty good shot with his enormous crossbow but the real damage I’ve seen him do has been up close and personal. Snot, blood and dirt seem to be ever present residents in his beard, which is normal for Dwarves, but he never seems to even notice or care. I’ve seen Cryl at least clean his from time to time when the blood rage wains but not Grim. Still, a likable fellow as far as Dwarves go.
Beck seems destined to be a powerful mage. He’s always studying runes or some old arcane magic and his magic powers grow with each passing day. Sometimes, he has to pretend his magic isn’t magic at all, more like powers granted by some god nobody’s ever heard of. He seems especially talented at turning the big folk into Giants. As if I didn’t feel uncomfortable enough already.
Hocho is obviously trained in the art of war and leadership. Neither of which has done us much good so far. Not that he doesn’t try but at the first sign of battle, Cryle, Grim and Crex runoff yelling (or laughing) and only sometimes use any sort of strategy. All the while Hocho is yelling out battle tactics until he gives up, shakes his head and joins the chaos. Despite our refusal to fight in an orderly fashion, Hocho doesn’t seem to get too discouraged. Perhaps he is familiar with these personality types. I like Hocho, he’s quick to start up a conversation and to offer advice, often while eyeing the last bits of meal left on your plate.
Crex scares me a bit. Not that I think he would do me harm, he’s just intimidating. His Big, a bit ugly and truly seems to enjoy inflicting pain, lots of pain. He’s the kind of human you never would choose to be around unless he is on your side. Thankfully he is. I’ve known Crex the longest and yet I feel I know him the least of all. Best bet with a man like that is to point him the direction of the nearest bad guy and let him go, then get the hell out of the way.
I’ll admit these are early impressions and I’m just getting to know most of these chaps. Once we really learn how to work together, I think we will accomplish a lot. Perhaps somehow drive the mists back across the chasm to wilds. I know this, I have not been bored, not once, since leaving the Griff in Korhan.
In a world of evil and then evil on some sort of sliding spectrum, it’s good to have friends to rush into battle alongside!
Week 5- Politics
So this butthole from the Bartoe family must have 9 lives. We didn’t kill him, that was probably my fault, and we get to Crytal’s family estate and there’s all this bluster about hanging Maclin from the highest tree. JUSTICE!
The houses of Meurshaden are full of over educated, back-stabbing nobles who spend their lives figuring out how to manipulate situations and people to move their family house up the political food chain. We have families like this in the Halfling world too but we are nearly as nasty and untrustworthy. Most family disputes in a Halfling village are solved by who can weave the best story and get the biggist cheers from the crowd. Story telling was a high premium talent where I came from.
So here we are drinking up the Lord’s wine and eating his finest boar thinking old Mackey is going to get what’s coming to him. Nope! Like any good backstabbing group of wankers the executioner had other ideas. As far as we know Maclin will wind up being king or something and I doubt he will show us the same kindness we showed him.
I should have listened to the big three, Grim, Crex and Cryl and stayed out of it and let them chop him to bits. That’s what I get for trying to be clever. Hocho seems to think everything will work out just fine. Zorander kept the beer flowing and didn’t seem to give two shits about any of it. Same for Beck, he is busy working on becoming a powerful wizard.
Crystal is safe, or at least as safe as you can be as an eligible woman in one of the houses. We accomplish our goal and completed the mission. I’ll be glad when we get back to killing and finding treasure.
Week 6- The Vanguard
Commissioned into the ranks of Stormshield we were directed to lead the center vanguard against the oncoming horde of Ocrs, Goblins and Ogres. My particular set of skills, picking pockets, disarming traps and opening locks, are very handy in large scale open field combat. Despite the obvious short comings of my abilities, the others in our group had a chance to shine and boy did they ever.
Before getting up close and personal both sides took a moment to launch missiles at long range. The Goblins were mostly ineffective as their short bows struggled to fire arrows far enough to cover the distance. Grim had no such trouble as his large crossbow took down more than a couple of Goblins. Hocho, Crex and some of the men from House Aaron decided against the long game and moved forward.
Beck enlarged Crex which turned an already deadly wrecking machine into, well, a giant deadly wrecking machine. Zorander raised his banner high, yelled a few words about drinking ale and spilling blood and before we knew it, we all charged up and eager to get to it.
The horde charged in, their eyes an unnatural red and full of savagery they yipped and screeched as the raced forward. I was pretty sure we were all gonna die. Crex looked over and in a rare moment of tenderness, said ‘don’t worry little buddy, you’re gonna be just fine’. I felt a little reassured but as I would find out later, Crex thought we were all going to die as well.
As a Sunshield, a couple of guys from house Aaron and Hocho held the front line, Zorander moved up and slammed a large group of goblins with some sort of sonic blast. Most of them seemed gravely injured and a good half of them seemed stunned for the moment. Hocho barked out tactical orders which, for a change, were actually followed. Hey that brings to mind, where was Cryl? Hmm, probably charged off after the first Orc he saw in the distance and was surely taking out his own horde, laughing the entire time.
We began to form a tight circle. The Horde encircled us and the bodies began to pile up. Theirs, not ours. Orcs are big and stupid, of that there is little doubt, but you have to be a whole other level of dumb to run past a giant, great-sword wielding fighter that wants nothing more than to split you in half. Yet, time and time again that is exactly what happened as Orcs saw my little ass, licked their chops and ran full speed past Crex. With the methodical coldness of a well trained fighter, Crex cut them down. One after another they fell, piling up all around the giant fighter.
Grim was keeping the rear protected and had to drop his crossbow for his great axe. No loss of production there. He is equally deadly with both. I stayed close to Crex for obvious reasons and lucky for me, Beck stayed close to me. Together we were able to take down a few Goblins and Orcs ourselves. The two Ogres were the real problem however.
Beck had weakened one with some kind of strength sapping spell but the two monsters were still taking their pound of flesh, crushing the front line with their clubs. Hocho took the brunt of the damage but with Zorander pulsing healing waves into our group Hocho managed to rally more than once from death’s door. The healing was timely for all of us as it turns out and we managed to fight off the horde without the loss of life among our group.
Out of breath, except for Hocho who was already caring for the wounded, we took a knee or lay in the bloody grass. As our stamina returned we began to gather together and discuss what was going to happen next. Shade showed up on his horse, with that same ‘I’m just in time’ look on his face. He went into the officers tent and disappeared. Odd fellow that Shade.
Somebody yelled soup, and all of the sudden I realized how hungry I was.
It wasn’t long into our feasting that a group of soldiers arrived. The leader of their little group gave us a half-hearted thank you for your service speech before turning his attention to Beck. ‘You sir and your magic ways are no longer welcome here. Your friends will stay but you must go and go quickly’.
I sighed. This isn’t going to end well…
The boys did a great job maintaining battle discipline. It isn’t easy to get into position, the winds of battle blowing where they will, but once we’re in place to watch each others’ backs, we become really hard to kill. Thank you everyone for putting your brothers’ welfare ahead of the heat of the battle.
It looks like we may have to test their resolve. How badly do they want Beck to go with Red Sun fellas? Might be best if they report back that Beck was nowhere to be seen. I bet they aren’t willing to fight for that particular order.
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