We left our Adventurers having raced from the Hag's hut in the swamp to try and catch up to Dael. Speeding their way across country, they were forced to make camp for the night before venturing off early to catch up to Dael. A bird was sent ahead by Lylliannes who informed them of him turning off the main road and they followed shortly after, being able to finally see him through the trees. With a well-timed spell, Cal was able to paralyze him where they bound him and put him on Bardryn's horse. Shortly after, they were attacked by a Skeletal Lich which they managed to defeat. We pick up this game with the Party returning to the main road where they headed west for Larton. With high perception rolls from four out of the six of the group, they were able to travel for the morning without issue. As they followed the main road westward, they did see that the areas of land that were suffering from the blight had expanded as the blight spread. The reliquary they had delivered was slowing the effects of the blight but not stopping it. About midday, after six hours of travel from when they woke, they came across two carts that had been abandoned on the road. Off to the side was a third cart that had been partially destroyed. Immediately forming the opinion of a trap, Catsi sped off to the trees that ran the north side of the road, passing by the destroyed cart. In doing so, she came across two Trolls that were hiding behind it and combat ensued. Initiative: Catsi, Gomer, Bardyn, Lyllianes, Troll 1, Cal, Troll 2, Tados, Jett, Troll 3, Naivara, Troll 4, Troll 5
Turn 1: Catsi successfully dodged (24 Athletics) the Trolls that hid behind the broken cart, enabling her to turn and lash out at them with her ball and chain. With her first hit being a Crit (27 total) she damaged the knee of the Troll 2, halving its speed and adding disadvantage to movement checks. Her two follow up attacks also hit taking over half of the Troll's HP in one turn. Gomer followed this up with two successful attacks of his own on the same troll, while Bardryn saw two more Trolls (2 and 4) on the other side of the road and bee-lined for them. Using her Action Surge, she was able to make the distance to the Trolls and make successful attacks, taking chunks out of Troll 2 with her battleaxes. Seeing Catsi and Gomer gang up on one Troll, Lyllianes decided to add injury to insult and throw a ball of fire at the Troll with a successful hit. Troll 1 retaliated against Lyllianes who effortlessly blocked the attacks receiving no damage. She retaliated with her Hellish Rebuke reaction but the Troll withstood it. Cal placed himself at a midway point between his comrades, casting bless on as many of them as he could they were in range. Troll 2 also made an attack on Bardryn, its Bite attack missing but its Claw doing a measly 5 damage, however, Tados quickly healed his Dwarf friend with a Cure Wounds. Jett followed on from Tados, firing an arrow at the already damaged Troll 1, his arrow finding its mark in the Troll's chest before he deftly hid behind a large boulder. Troll 3 missed its attacks on Gomer as Naivara cast Acid Splash, hitting Troll 2 and Troll 4. Troll 4 made one successful attack on Bardryn dealing 1HP, while Troll 5 used its turn to run down the foray and stand behind Tados. Turn 2: Catsi began her turn coming down from the trees to make further attacks on the already damaged Troll 1, successfully hitting it three more times, reducing the Troll to within a hair-breaths of death. Gomer finished Troll 1 off with some deft attacks. Bardryn continued her fight against her two attackers, hitting Troll 2 that she had already damaged with two more successful attacks, while Lyllianes second attempt at Produce Flame found its mark on Troll 1, further burning the Troll. Seeing Troll 1 die, Troll 3 attempted to retaliate against Gomer however missed with both attacks, while Tados turned to attack Troll 5 who had come up behind him, successfully dealing 10 damage with his rapier. Cal attempted to cast a Guiding Bolt toward Troll 4 however a big roll of 1 sent his spell askew. Jumping out from behind the boulder, jett fired off another successful arrow, hitting Troll 3, while Naivara sent a Fire Bolt toward Troll 3, finding her mark also sending the Troll to its death. Troll 4 made successful attacks on Bardryn for 6HP total, while Troll 5 made one successful attack on Tados for 5HP. Turn 3: With an arcing run to come behind Troll 5, Catsi lashed out with her ball and chain to make three more successful attacks on the Troll, while Gomer focussed his attacks on Troll 5 also, reducing the Troll to under half its health. Bardyn missed her first attack on Troll 2 but managed to hit it with her second attack, while Lyllianes used her tried and true method of Produce Flame which also found its mark on Troll 5. Troll 2, successfully slashed Bardryn with its claws once more while, seeing the Troll before him being battered, slashed, and burned, Tados slashed out with his Rapier to add further damage finishing the Troll's life. Seeing Bardryn wounded, Cal moved closer to her, casting Healing Word as bonus action, then casting Sacred Flame on Troll 2 which failed its Dex save with a roll of 1, falling into the Radiance rather than away from it. Climbing on the boulder he hid behind, Jett fired an arrow toward Troll 4 making a successful attack, while Naivara cast Acid Splash once more dealing further burns to Troll 2 and Troll 4. Turn 4: Dashing across the road to help Bardryn out, Catsi continued her damaging roll with three more hits on Troll 2, while Gomer also successfully hit Troll 2, ending its life. Adding insult to the death, Bardyn stood on the now dead Troll to attack Troll 4 with two successful attacks. From midway across the road, Lyllianes cast Call Lightning, which the Troll failed its Dex save, taking the full brunt of the Lightning attack as Tados also successfully hit it with a Fire Bolt attack. Seeing the Troll, cut, electrocuted and burned before him, Cal took pity on the creature and attempted to end its life. Although he Crit rolled, his Rapier failed to deal the full amount of damage required leaving the Troll almost lifeless. From across the road, Jett fired off another arrow, at disadvantage as Troll 5 was behind half cover, however he still found his mark, finally ending the life of the remaining Troll. With all Trolls killed, Catsi pulled them to the destroyed cart and built a makeshift pyre from its wood. The Party quickly searched the carts for loot before taking a short rest. On the search, they found that the carts were full of household items as whoever was driving them must have been moving house. With a crit roll on perception in her Dire Wolf form, Lyllianes was able to ascertain that the owners fled on horseback leaving the carts behind. On a whim of honour, the party decided to take the carts with them back to Larton which they arrived at by nightfall. Returning to Lord Grawin Bluetip, they informed him they had Dael where they received a reward of 10,00GP for doing so. They were then teleported to Eaden with Dael in binds where he was handed over to the Emperor of Gogalla. As the party finally settled for the night, Jett asked if they could be in attendance when Dael was questioned which the Emperor agreed to in light of how they had helped capture him. When the others settled off to bed, Cal bathed and changed, then headed off the Temple of Sune to spend the night in his new-found love of, well.... intimacy.