Chapter 11 - Back to No-Go (Knob Forest)

[Storm11]

Tempus will hold his robed hands out to stop the others from attacking and will back away, throw My another days worth of rations on the ground for the group.

"They won't hurt us if we leave them be I think!" he says calmly as he leaves. "Poor things are too hungry. It wasn't meant to be so it wasn't."

[Marullus]

Hellebore nods approvingly at Tempus, then helps him shepherd the group around the bears.

[Nuke66]

Galan too, slowly backs away. His discomfort obvious.

[AleBelly]

Chet's conversation with the bears reveal what the druids already know - the mother bear wants the party gone. Now. The forces of nature, opaque in their motives, do not allow the forging of a special bond between halfling and ursine.

Perhaps making a mental note of the bears' location, the party proceeds onward. After another three hours, they realize something is amiss. They should have reached the town by now...they've traveled 8.4 miles. Hellebore sends the raven aloft, and after an hour of searching, it returns. They missed their mark by two miles. It would be hard to blame the ranger. He wasn't leading their direction of movement, and the melting snow has obscured any of their past footprints. Dense forest does all look the same.

As she's done before, Hellebore sends the raven aloft to find the town. As they wait, stamping their feet in the now-slushy snow, one of the party member cries out in surprise. A trio of orcs, only 40' away, watches them from behind a stand of pines. Once they've realized they've been found out, they begin to run away.

Actions?

Date: 4 Culling, Year 42
Time: 13:45
Conditions: 39F, clear, slight breeze from north, 2 inches of ice-crusted snow on ground
Known Spells in Effect: None
Light bearers: Sun, 4 more hours of light
Intended Direction of Travel: Town No-Go (Knob Forest), 345 degree bearing, 1.2 mph through forest, 8.4 mph traveled today
Injury Status: None

[Zhym]

Angus starts to recriminate himself for the party getting lost on his watch again. But he's interrupted by the discovery of the orcs. He quickly reaches for Bloody Useless and fires a pair of arrows at the backs of the fleeing orcs.

Short bow (THAC0 18): TH: [1d20] = 18, Dmg: [1d6] = 6, Crit: [1d100] = 83
Short bow (THAC0 18): TH: [1d20] = 16, Dmg: [1d6] = 6, Crit: [1d100] = 81

[Zorroroaster]

"We can't let them get away."

Arnulf pulls a feather from his satchel and casts Sleep at the trio of fleeing orcs.

[enn.in.me]

Yenny sends a throwing hammer their way.

Initiative [1d6] = 2, flail [1d20] = 9, damage [1d6+1] = 6+1 = 7, crit [1d100] = 57

[Marullus]

Hellebore crouches, touching her hands to the (finally) snowless ground. She whispers words to the pine grove through which the orcs now flee.
(Cast Entangle)

[tkrexx]

Hah? Hyde looks around, Orcs? Where?

[Storm11]

Tempus fires off his sling with a bullet at the back of the farthest right fleeing Orc.

[1d6] = 1 : [1d20+5] = 13+5 = 18 : [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4 : [1d100] = 90 Not adjusted for distance or back attack yet.

dont you get two shots with a bow per round Zhym?

[onlyme]

Dandelion also fires her arrow toward the escaping orcs, hoping she remembered how to keep upright while firing.

sht bow [1d20] = 19; dam [1d6] = 2; crit [1d100] = 2; init [1d6] = 6

[Zhym]

dont you get two shots with a bow per round Zhym?

Oh, right! I'm in too many games to keep my attack rates and rates of fire straight. Roll added, though these orcs are already extremely dead with all the firepower we're hitting them with. Almost makes me feel sorry for them.

[CAI4]

Chet runs as fast as he can to the nearest orc, trying to punch it in the back of the head.

[Zorroroaster]

Classic Chet.

So good to have him back on the team!

[onlyme]

Dandelion's arrow apparently splinters upon entry and doubles the wound size.

Criticality [1d100] = 20

[Storm11]

doesnt dandelion fire two arrows a round?

[onlyme]

Dandelion's 2nd shot, if orcs still in perceived range.

sht bow [1d20] = 2; dam [1d6] = 6; crit [1d100] = 99; init [1d6] = 1

[Nuke66]

Galan revels in the viciousness of the groups onslaught.

[AleBelly]

The orcs never stood a chance.

Arrows fired from the bows of Dandelion and Angus pierce the armor of a very sturdy-looking orc. It falls dead, just as Arnulf proclaims, in a squeaky...yet otherworldly voice "Somnulus!" A white feather from his hand falls to the ground, lost in the background of the snow. The two remaining orcs fall deeply into slumber.

Chet charges, dropping his bag. Perhaps remembering the horrible sight of the slavers, he delivers two swift punches to a slumbering foe. The crack of bone is sickening as another orc life ends.

Hellebore's druidic cant fills the air as she digs her hand deeply into the snow and earth. The pines come to life, grasping Chet and the last remaining pig-man. They sway like marionettes as the thick branches pull them in a chaotic dance. The orc begins to reawaken, but Yenny's hammer and Tempus' sling send it back into slumber...this one eternal.

Whether Hellebore ends the spell prematurely or Chet is left to flounder to the amusement of his companions, the trees eventually return to a quiescent state. A disappointing search of the orc corpses yield 20 of the electrum orc coins. But nothing else of interest.

A search of the area shows that the orcs were lightly provisioned, likely sent on a short mission of some sort. Bedding suggests that the orcs were sleeping, awoken by the party's sounds just before they were discovered. If Angus feels compelled to search for tracks, he will find that they came from a northwesterly direction, perhaps at a 300 degree bearing.

Actions?

Not quite the squirrel you needed for Arnulf, Zorro!

Date: 4 Culling, Year 42
Time: 13:56
Conditions: 39F, clear, slight breeze from north, 2 inches of ice-crusted snow on ground
Known Spells in Effect: None
Light bearers: Sun, 4 more hours of light
Intended Direction of Travel: Town No-Go (Knob Forest), 345 degree bearing, 1.2 mph through forest, 8.4 mph traveled today
Injury Status: None

[Zhym]

Angus stands at the edge of the orc tracks. "Y'all want to find where them orcs came from, or keep on to No Go?" he asks.