Today's session seemed like it went too fast. With just two players the combats went quickly, even though all of the characters got their turns. Our session started where we left off last week, in the sleeping chamber of Brughor Axebiter, Orc Chiefton. The party prepared an ambush for when the two Trolls and the three Orcs came out of the Bead of Force. Once the bubble burst, all the pending actions went off. Unfortunately the AOE spell Bryndon cast only did 1 point of damage and the Orcs all had 2 hp, so they had to be eliminated individually. Although Rook was out of spell slots, Bryndon still had some arcane fire up his sleeve and our brave adventurers were victorious, after having learned last session that Trolls require fire to prevent them from regenerating. After combat our loyal friends went searching through the barracks which had been left virtually untouched up until this time. The found 40 bunks each with a foot locker in front of it. Again, the neatness and symmetry of the barracks reminded them of lawful, organized, and militaristic Hobgoblins more than chaotic Orcs. After searching the barracks our tired companions made their way to the entrance. In the entry cave they saw several horses tied up, both riding and draught horses were there. Six of the riding horses were of exceptional quality. They were Evereskan! Then they heard the sobbing of women coming from the passage to the South. Investigating revealed the lowest of the "Meat Lockers" to be filled with 9 females, one well dressed Half-Elf and 8 other women. The Half-Elven female recovered her dignity when she saw Glanbir at the door and demanded to be released. Hearing an Elven female voice, and not wanting to cause problems for his party, Bryndon hid. The contempt he feels for "Brood Elves" was still fresh in his mind. After questioning the Half-Elf and the rest of the Women, Glanbir ascertained that the orcs had captured them while they were traveling with a large caravan from Triboar that was heading to Neverwinter. The caravan carried marble statues in the likeness of The Lord Protector, Dagult Neverember. The women, while thankful for being saved, were inconsolable. They'd lost everything; husbands, sons, family members, livelihoods, sanity, and more. Two were artists, one a bookkeeper, 2 were servants (Marga y Colette), three were wives of the slain caravan drivers. Two of the drivers, Effrain and Effron were twin brothers and worked for Emmelda's father as teamsters. The Half-Elf named Emmelda Carlisle claimed to be the daughter of an important Merchant from Triboar, Jacob Carlise of the famous Carlisle mercantile family. Marga and Colette were her handmaidens, but were very shaken by the experience of seeing their companions slain by the Orcs. They were both very taken by the "Noble" Dwarf's presence and asked for his aid. They explained that they were indentured servants of Emmelda's father, but that their indenture should have ended three years ago, except that he keeps coming up with new "fees" that extend their service. Glanbir quickly realized that they would both make excellent servants, as well as suitable concubines. It turned out that Colette even knew her letters and sums. She saw an opportunity to serve a better master and was surprised by the kindness of Glanbir's touch. Bryndon's odd remark to Scarlet about having the "Brood-elf" removed from his presence as well as his instruction to ask for Marga and Colette as a reward, emboldened her to tell the haughty female that the servants were spoils of war and had been claimed by the right of the victorious. This caused the Half-Elf to turn her horse to leave, but not before threatening the party with telling her father of your insolence. Six of the other women, many of whom worked for or depended on Emmelda's father, also left, taking 3 of the Draught horses with them. While some of the party members wanted to go back to the campsite and rest, others wanted to finish exploring Wyvern Tor. Eventually the northern passage that Glanbir had once thought to be a back way into the Feast Hall led to a large pit. It seemed as if the floor, as well as part of the ceiling, had collapsed some time ago. The pit was as wide as the passage and 20' long. The party found by casting light on a pebble that the pit was over 60' deep and probably closer to 80. A strong jump by Glanbir would have probably cleared the pit, but it was decided to use the climbing gear they had and drive Pitons into the stone of the passage. This eventually led them to the end of the passage where it opened up into a large natural cavern. After taking only a few steps into the cavern, Glanbir perceived three Trolls cracking giant green eggs and sucking out their contents. As the party made its way down the steps, the metallic sound of their armor game them away and one Troll who had been guarding the entrance descended on them. Knowing that they would be caught between the pit and the Cave Troll if they tried to retreat, the tired and weakened party stood their ground and defeated the creature. Then quickly left before the hungry trolls on the other side of the underground stream noticed them. As they were leaving they heard the sound of a hatchling Wyvern fighting for its life against one of the Cave Trolls. At this point our brave party was out of spells, tired, injured and hungry. They left with the horses and the two women. The Orc heads and loot they had collected were placed in the bag of holding. Upon reuniting with Grunden they told of the exploits of their day and mentioned that they would need to rest here at least one more night and enter the cave tomorrow to clear out the last Trolls and check for any more information about the Black Spiders plans. That last bit was really a white lie Glanbir told his Cousin to calm his fears and buy some time. The two women quickly made themselves useful, even though they had just survived an incredibly terrifying experience. They made supper with what provisions the party had and then Colette helped Glanbir out of his armor and attended to his wounds. This led to a very intimate moment where she applied healing oils to his muscled form. An uncomfortable pause occurred, but was quickly resolved by him pulling her toward him and kissing her. She then quickly slid into his bedding. After Glanbir's exceptional Athletics check with Colette, he gleaned a little from her pillow talk. It seems that Jacob Carlisle is the name of Emmelda's father. The Carlisles are a famous mercantile family and Jacob has his hands in everyone's pies in Triboar. He is something of a facilitator and currently has the ear of the towns Lord Protector, Daratha Shrendel. XP: 5400 xp - 3 Cave Trolls (Sorry, giving XP for the ones already awarded last session would have been too much) 300 xp - 3 Orcs 200 xp - For saving Marga and Colette 100 xp - For bedding Colette 100 xp - For successfully harvesting the Wyvern Poison 6100 Total xp divided by 5 = 1220 xp each Loot: 2 Riding horses, with saddles and gear 5 Elvenbred horses (Evereskan), with saddles and gear 3 Draught horses 9 Wyvern teeth 1 Humerus from a small humanoid 2 Doses of Wyvern poison Foot lockers: 1532 sp, 63 gp, 2 rubys 100 gp each Inspiration: Alex - Please take inspiration for playing Glanbir more as a "good person" and less as a "Lawful good" person. Being LG doesn't mean you never do anything bad, especially if it is written into your flaws. Though I don't consider what he did to be bad, just part of life. Thanks for expanding your vision of Glanbir. I also enjoyed your RP today. We had fun with the girls and the haughty Half-Elf. Stefanos - Please take inspiration to replace the one you finally used today. You role played with the Troll. You used your social spells. You spoke to Scarlet and avoided the Half-Elf because you were role playing the curse you received.
