Chapter 4 - The City of Orcs

[AleBelly]

17 Glowinghearth

The party reaches consensus to strike out for the orc city. Arnulf is hung over, but sports a fancy silk robe. Chet likes the idea of the half-orcs going in disguise. He wears a new blue robe, orange trim replacing red. Ilfrien looks resplendent (if you neglect her personality) in shiny new plate mail. Angus also made an upgrade, beaming from the gift of providing charity to others.

On this cloudy and frigid morning (24 degrees F), the group must decide how to proceed. They surmise that the town of Strod marked on the map is now an orc city, and a road leads there. They remember warnings that traveling along the road is dangerous. Which path will they take?

[Zhym]

Angus takes a deep breath and exhales, watching his breath crystallize in the cold morning air. "Ahh, it's a fine day," he says. "Sure is great to be back outdoors."

He holds one end of a rope that's tied to a dark gray mule. The mule is fitted with a saddle and carries two saddle bags. "This here's Beelzebub," says Angus. Beelzebub brays in confirmation.

"Now, I reckon we'd best hit some orc parties out in the wild 'stead of going direct into town. We might learn some stuff and maybe better the odds. And I prefer keeping off the road a mite. What do y'all think?"

[Keehnelf]

Ilfrien nods. "Staying off the road makes sense to me as well. We need to take care not to be ambushed, that much is certain. I feel like the outrider system we used on previous expeditions worked well for us--those with missile weapons and lighter armor would probably be best suited to the task, but if I'm faster than others while riding my horse, I would be glad to step into one of these roles."

[CAI4]

"I agree that this Strod town is the Orc City. I'd like to go there, staying off the roads" chimes Chet.

[AleBelly]

OK, just need some indication of how you'll get there then (bearing, direction, etc).

[Keehnelf]

Ilfrien's recommendation is to follow the general course of the road but about a mile to the south. That should give plenty of indication if/when we approach the city if we keep our eyes open.

[Zorroroaster]

"How long do you think we'll be gone? I should get a few provisions before we leave. I think staying off the road is a great idea."

Arnulf will make a detour to the market place to stock up in the early hours before departure.

[Marullus]

Hellebore is bundled in her leathers and wolf furs, looking almost an upright version of her companion Liulfr, her spear and vine-decorated shield at the ready. She says she has ten days standard rations, which she recommends the others get as well due to the preserving-factor of the cold weather, then another ten days of preserved rations.

She offers to scout ahead, as before.

---

Thanks. I do have East/West problems.

Hellebore agrees with the interpretation of Strod as now being orcish, and points out that makes sense with Yana's experiences along the west road and the raids on the halfling shire.

She volunteers Arnulf to keep the records and maps for their journey, emphasizing to him that he should record the important stuff, like rivers, streams, rock bluffs, and very large trees.

[AleBelly]

A cold snap descends upon the land. The adventurers gather at the gate, Arnulf with a new rouncey. The horse acquaints itself with Angus's mule, Yenny's pony and Ilfrien's bequeathed horse. It seems wary of Hellebore's wolf.

Yenny and Ilfrien, please deduct 9 gp for stabling of your steeds between adventures...

It's below 20F when the party leaves the gates. Their breath clouds the air as they make their way quickly to the perimeter. Smoke from chimneys dot the sky. These days, with the wood inside the perimeter mainly spent the smoke carries the sweetly foul smell of burning animal dung and peat.

The group makes it quickly to the perimeter where they head south of the road a mile before breaking into the forest. The thick trees and overgrown farmland outside the perimeter slows their pace by half. They cross an old irrigation canal by a rickety old footbridge and are approaching another when they see the land slope downwards into a wider canal. It's about 20' wide, but that's not what catches their attention. At a bend in the canal they see a large decrepit brick tower. Smoke rises from what looks like within the structure. No other movement is detected. The group is acutely aware that their trudging has left a mass of footprints in the snow.

If there are tracks leading to the tower, they come from behind where the party cannot see.

Actions?

tower exterior.jpg (112.07 KiB) Viewed 887 times

Date: 17 Glowinghearth, Year 42
Time: 13:45
Conditions: 27F, scattered clouds, slight shifting breeze, inch of snow on the ground
Known Spells in Effect: None
Light bearers: Sun
Direction of Travel: 250 degree bearing, staying a mile south of the road; 1.2 mph movement rate; 10.5 miles traveled

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf sniffs wetly a few times from his position near the rear of the column. He's developed a sniffle of some kind, and the congestion in his lungs is apparent as he speaks. He hawks an impressive globule of greenish yellow phlegm into the snow.

"That looks foreboding. Does anyone else think that looks foreboding? Spooky, too."

He looks around him at the others. Despite his cold, he doesn't seem to feel the chill in the air. Perhaps it's the extra insulation he's carrying around.

"Should we...knock? Wait and see who comes out? Send someone ahead to sneak a look?"

[Keehnelf]

I assume the tower is on the far side of the canal? Is there a place to cross close to the tower, and is there a more distant crossing point visible. If we can cross out of bowshot, Ilfrien will volunteer to scout with, say, Angus who seems to have some relevant wilderness skill to see what the tower holds (tracks, etc.).

[AleBelly]

The tower is about 150' away, and is indeed on the other side of the canal. About 50' to the left, an old rotting footbridge can be seen spanning the canal. The party assumes these were common years ago to enable expedient travel across the canal. Today, the bridges look stable, but decaying and...well...lonely.

[enn.in.me]

Yenny slides off her pony and walks around to it's front, holding the reins. "if you're willing, it does seem like scouting would be good. I wonder if there is a place further along we could all cross first so as not to have a rickety bridge separating us. All these horses...."

[CAI4]

"Yes, scouting sounds good" replies Chet, perhaps oblivious to the fact that he wasn't invited. He heads down to the footbridge.

[MonkeyWrench]

Korok walks down to the footbridge with the others, being as quiet as usual this entire trip out. He looks over the bridge and then the canal, then sweeping his gaze to the surroundings, looking for any signs of people or movement near them or by the tower.

At the mention of scouting Korok simply grunts in acceptance, not being an overly sneaky person himself he does not volunteer.

[AleBelly]

OK, I have:

scouting ahead near the bridge
Ilfrien
Chet
Korok

waiting behind
Yenny
Arnulf

Need actions from Hyde, Angus and Hellebore. I assume mounts are being taken along with the scouts. I'll update tomorrow morning if not all actions are in, and will assume those that haven't responded are staying back with Yenny and Arnulf.

[Zhym]

Angus will scout. He'll suggest leaving the mounts behind with those who aren't scouting.

Sorry for ultra-brief post. On the road, I can post actions but not much in the way of characterization.

[Keehnelf]

I think Korok said he's staying behind (not volunteering).

As for the mounts, Ilfrien doesn't carry a ranged weapon and is in plate mail--if she's going to range forward, she needs a better way to close the gap fast if engaging, or to escape if need be, than she has at present without her horse.

[Zhym]

Angus's suggestion would be to try to approach quietly instead of with force. If we're going to ride up on our mounts (which might be interesting given the description of the bridge), we might as well all go. Is there any advantage to splitting the party if the advance group isn't stealthy?

[AleBelly]

Just a couple points of clarity. The bridge is Ronnie, but it is safe to cross in single file. However, the area near this bridge is more exposed to whatever is in the tower. An excursion there should be considered scouting.