28 Calastril (still)

Jakardos, it seems, is Shelelu’s stepfather. He left when she was young, and it seems they have some issues to resolve. However, finding his stepdaughter seems, to me, to have lightened his step a bit.

However, Jakardos wants to retake the fort. I can understand the sentiment, but do we have enough people? (If we don’t, are there any other qualified peoples near enough to help?)

In any case, first things first. This farmhouse and homestead may have once been home to a hopeful, thriving family, but now it’s just … infested. We set it to fire in an attempt to destroy any physical indication of its presence. While the bonfire raged, Jakardos told us of the attack on the fort.

It was known among the rangers that ogres were about. A small clan called the Kreegs was known to live near the fort, and was the source of occasional skirmishes. They were just that — skirmishes — and never developed into full blown assaults. However, one day they noticed plumes of smoke from their area, like they were working on something. A scouting party of three was sent out … and never returned.

Fort Rannick was staffed with about two dozen rangers, so losing three was significant but not crippling. Patrols were increased and –

At this point, Kaven got upset and impatient with Jakardos, complaining that all these details were neither pertinent nor important. The ogres attacked in numbers, he said, and overthrew the defenses. The patrol that he and Jakardos and Vale were on had six rangers for safety, but perhaps in hindsight that just left the fort undermanned. “Well maybe,” replied Jakardos, “but we were delayed. Had we not needed to go back to town -” “Not this again!” exclaimed Kaven. “We had to! The captain of the guard had asked me to pick up the weapons! Curse him for the request now, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him we’d decided that doing so would just take too much time!”

Clearly there was some friction here. It seemed there may even be more information here.

Tekkad and I volunteered to gently interrogate Kaven some more. Tekkad talked to him a bit during the day, learning more of his background like why he joined the rangers (5 year service or jail owing to some repeatedly reckless rowdiness) Then in the evening, we used my age (close to his but a little younger) as a pretense for my hanging out with him at the pub. With Sabin ready to detect thoughts, I began a conversation which eventually turned to events surrounding the situation at the fort. It seems that Kaven was much more of a regular at the Paradise boat than he’d previously revealed, and was particularly taken with the proprietor of the boat, a woman named Lucretia. Even though the ship burned several weeks ago, Kaven had been in touch with her since then, and she’d asked a few “favors” of him. The biggest one was to learn more about the makeup and defenses of the fort, the better (we presume) to plan the attack.

He was actually supposed to be back in time for the attack to meet with her, but he decided it might be better not to be there when arrows and swords and magic were being tossed about. It’s not clear whether his treasonous revelation of fort defenses or his cowardly diversion to avoid getting back in time was more responsible for the deaths of his comrades, but he seemed to think little of it. He very much was concerned with himself and asked me to put in a good word with “our leader” about possibly joining our group himself.

With Tekkad occasionally interrupting with quiet statements about having found someone who knew about the attack and the conspirators, Kaven became very concerned about meeting this person and “learning the truth” himself. Sadly, for him, we had made sure Jakardos was listening nearby, so when our “conspirator” — actually Derrel, using my hat of diguise — got the conversation going, Jakardos was there to hear Kaven’s self incriminating statements.

He was immediately placed in shackles by an angry Jakardos. While Kaven seemed concerned about his immediate future, he did not seem to express the same concern about his fallen comrades. He seemed to feel he was owed a good and comfortable life, but his actions had earned him neither. I got the sense I was about to witness some “frontier justice” but for now, he was just jailed.

The fort is 4-5 hours away riding, but while riding will get us there quicker, it will also be noisier. Tomorrow, we will leave on foot.

1 Pharast

We are bringing Kaven along in shackles; I’m not sure why. It seems to me he would be nothing but a risk.

As we set up camp about dusk, a whistle was heard. Vale responded with a shrill of his own, and a messenger stepped out of the woods. Apparently our message to Magnimar had been expedited, and a response sent similarly. The messenger reported that Magnimar wanted us to scout out the situation. “If you retake the fort,” said the message, “Magnimar will be greatful.”

That sounds like more reward money to me!

2 Pharast

Jakardos was prepared, I think, to execute Kaven in these woods and leave his body, but a couple of the religious people in our group believed he deserved a chance at redemption rather than death. I know I was friendly to him in my talk and all but really – would you want this guy at your back? I don’t see how he can be trusted again after this major major moral breakdown. But Jakardos eventually yielded with an idea that still carried some punishment — he would be chained to a tree here, off the beaten path, and guarded by the bear. If we died, he would too, probably, but much more slowly. If we found a chance for him to redeem himself, we’d come back to get him.

There supposedly was an entrance to one of the secret passages to the inside of the fort behind the waterfall at one end. However, there were ogres patrolling, and a storm was raging and we thought a flash of lightning might well highlight us at an inopportune moment. So we waited an hour or two for the storm to subside, and then made our move.

Behind the waterfalls was a latticework of wet boards, which almost proved our undoing barely as our mission began. Fortunately, nobody fell, but we proceeded cautiously.

We surprised two modest sized lizards that seemed to be blocking our way. Before Jakardos could adequately warn us, we attacked them — and they apparently quite capable of harnessing and projecting static electricity in large bolts. Six of our parties took significant damage from the electrical discharge as Jakardos belatedly told us not to bother the “shocker lizards”. Yeah. Good advice.

We found ourselves in the fort’s secret armory. Since Jakardos seemed as surprised as we were, we asked him if this had been created since the takeover. He shrugged his shoulders and admitted he didn’t really know WHAT was in the tunnels, as he’d never been in them before.

In the armory we did find [267] six arrows, shocking burst, +2

But. Interesting. No guide. Hmm.

We came to a point where there appeared to be a dead end, but sharp-eyed Rigel was able to find a lever that opened a secret door. This seemed to lead into a crypt area, and, why, sure enough, a spectre emerged to attack us. Jakardos took a “hit” from it that seemed to weaken him greatly, but we did manage to kill it nevertheless after a while.

We followed several other passage for a while, and at one point Tekkad cast silence over an opening that appeared to go outside, and indeed it did. It was a way into a courtyard, at least, but we’d heard tales of tunnels that went under the fort, so we redoubled our search efforts.

Finally, we were rewarded — Rigel found a secret door and upon opening it safely and quietly we found we were looking into a room from behind a tapestry. There was exotic incense and a red-hued light. A wall of red silk blocked our way, although it was easily lifted if we wished.

Doing so we saw a beautiful lady in the room. Now all this time I’d been unable to fire off a fireball because it would have been to dangerous to my friends, but now they turned to me and quietly signalled that the time was right for an explosion of fire. Quietly I mumbled the words and made the gestures and … whooosh, the whole room seemed to catch on fire. Kane blessed everyone and the fight was on.

First Nolin, then Sabin, and eventually everyone ran into the room. The lady, which we suspected to be Lucretia from previous descriptions, branded us “brigands” and “evil doers” before reverting herself to her more natural state — half snake, half human. My contribution to the battle was magic missiles, which seemed to be more likely to do damage of some sort than many of the weapons that my companions carried.

Eventually, she was defeated, but it took a surprising amount of effort on our part. She tried to escape out the door, but we followed her and took her down in the hallway at the top of the stairs. Yeah, I know, I’m winded too, running stair drills. But on the plus side, resting and wheezing give me time to write this all up.

== Fireday, Calistril 28, 4708; Turtleback Ferry; Evening ==

While the rest of the party prepared to burn the farm-stead to the ground, I assisted Jakardros and the other rangers create a pyre for their fallen comrades. As the flames consumed their mortal remains I performed the Rights of Passage and asked Pharasma to receive their souls.

Afterward, as the fires eagerly fed upon the house and barn, ridding the world of the taint contained therein, we prepared for our return to town. While we we made ready to depart we questioned Jakardros closely on the ogre attack, and how it was possible that the fort could have been captured while so stoutly manned by the renown Black Arrows.

He informed us that the Kreeg valley had been home to a large family of ogres for many years, and by using Fort Rannick as their base the Black Arrows had kept them in check. Some forty years ago ogres from across the area banded together and assaulted the fort, but were foiled by the fort’s defenses and utterly defeated.

Recently there had been an increase in ogre activity, and a week before the attack a thick plume of black smoke was spotted off in the distance, and a scouting party sent to investigate. The scouting party never returned and the Black Arrows increased their patrols.

A day before the attack Jakardros and his patrol had set out, but were delayed in Turtleback Ferry. Here Jakardros looked sharply at Kaven, who walked off in a huff saying, “Not this again.”

It appears that Kaven had kept the patrol in town a day longer because he had forgotten to pick up an order of weapons for Captain Bedan, the fort commander, from the blacksmith.

As it turned out, Kaven had volunteered for that particular patrol, and was the most recent “recruit,” although “draftee” may have been a more accurate description of his enlistment into the Black Arrows. He had been a troubled youth and had committed a series of misdeeds, escalating in severity, in town, after which he was forced to chose between five years of service with the rangers or prison.

We immediately became suspicious of Kaven, and after a brief interview we learned that he had been a regular customer of the Paradise, and that he thought highly of the boat’s owner, Lucrecia.

On the ride back to town we continued to question Jakardros about the fort, and because we suspected it had fallen by treachery on the inside, we asked about any secret entrances. And of course they existed: ancient tunnels delved beneath the fortress itself, which in the past had been used for burial of the fallen Black Arrows and as storage. Jakardros had never been in these tunnels himself, but knew at least one entrance was hidden behind a waterfall near the fort.

This brought the conversation around to the layout of Fort Rannick itself. It was nestled near the head of a valley, with a wide and fast creek flowing at the fort’s feet. The fort settled back into the cliff wall of the surrounding mountains, and a massive two story wall with watch towers ran from cliff wall to cliff wall. A smaller wall within separated an inner keep from a yard. Well fortified gates led out to bridges that crossed the stream and plunged into the woods on the opposite side of the water.

Further up the valley was a large reservoir, held back by a large stone damn.

We asked the ranger what purpose would capturing the fort serve, but his only thought was that it would allow the ogres free range over the entire area.

I had a much darker thought, and asked him what would be the consequences if the reservoir damn were destroyed. Jakardros blanched at that question, and my worst suspicions confirmed: it would wipe out all settlements and towns in the area, including Turtleback Ferry.

I then rode over next to Kaven and asked him about his life with the Black Arrows. Overall he seemed content, but he found the daily drudgery of life in the fort a bit dull, and longed to lead a more adventurous life. I told him about our suspicion that the enemy had found a way into the fort, and asked for his help in solving this riddle. At first he was a bit suspicious, but I told him he was only one of three survivors of the massacre (true enough), and that we needed his assistance if we were to understand what had happened and retake the fort.

He too mentioned the tunnels, but was less aware of their particulars than Jakardros, but then he gave a queer look and suggested someone could gain entrance via the kitchen’s trash chute.

We arrived back in town without incident, and paid extra to send a fast and secure high priority message to Magnimar about the fall of Fort Rannick at the hands of an organized force of ogres.

Trask, who was perhaps closest in age and temperament to Kaven, took him to the bar at the inn for a night of drinking and conversation. Sabin and I were seated at a nearby table, quietly watching and waiting. Rigel was on hand as barmaid and served up extra potent drinks for Kaven while keeping Task sober with a watered brew.

Trask, who has a gift for the gab, was able to turn the conversation this way and that, and quickly learned that Kaven was self centered and longed for the care free life of adventure, or at least his idealized version of it: pillaging the countryside in a life of drunken debauchery. He was trying to cozy Trask to the idea of his joining our group.

As Trask turned the talk to recent events, he discretely signaled Sabin, who began to listen in on Kaven’s thought’s via a Detect Thoughts spell.

Kaven was more than just taken with Lucrecia: he doted on her and would do much to please her. His primary thought was what would happen since he was not able to meet with her after the attack on the fort. He had apparently disobeyed her when he kept the patrol in Turtleback Ferry an extra night to avoid the attack: Lucrecia had wanted him present for that little affair.

I fueled the conversation by dropping by and whispering to Trask in a not too quiet tone that Avia and Nolin had discovered someone involved in the attack and that he had agreed to give the names of the other conspirators.

Kaven seemed quite upset by this and begged to attend the questioning of this informant. We agreed and set our trap on the edge of the forest just outside of town.

Derrel, the monk who had been captured by the ogrekin, agreed to play the part of the informant, masked with the hat of disguises and a scarf around his face. Avia served as his captor and guard.

Nolin told Jakardros of our suspicions, and he and Vale hid behind the trees as we brought Kaven over to witness the questioning of our fictitious witness.

The entire affair went as predicted. Kaven admitted to providing Lucrecia with information on how to get into the fort unseen, and justified his actions by pointing out he had saved the life of those on patrol. Both ogres and giants were involved in the attack, but the success was only assured with secret access to the inside. His primary desire now was to join us on the road and get as far away from Turtleback Ferry and Fort Rannick as possible.

At no point in time had Lucrecia threatened him or his loved ones, and so he did not betray the Black Arrows out of fear to protect himself or others. He had completely and willingly betrayed everyone he knew to impress Lucrecia.

There was no guilt or remorse over his actions that led to the death of virtually every ranger in Fort Rannick. No shame that he directly led to the death of three additional rangers of his own patrol, and put the entire population of the Kreeg valley at risk. Nothing but an eagerness to join in with what he saw as a life of privilege and partying.

Jakardros had heard enough and had Vale shackle Kaven in irons and place him in the local jail. He wanted Kaven to be completely sober in the morning to face his charges.

We feared Lucrecia or her minions might be lurking about and free him, but he was beneath her care or concern and we spent an event less night on watch.

== Starday, Pharast 1, 4708; Off the Road to Hook Mountain; Evening ==

In the morning we decided to travel up to Fort Rannick and see what could be done in retaking it, especially with the knowledge of the secret tunnels beneath, of which we hoped Lucrecia was still ignorant.

Jakardros and Vale would accompany us and serve as guides up to and around the fort. Derrel and Shelalu would also come along and provide much needed tactical support.

We decided to travel on foot and packed accordingly.

As we were readying to leave Jakardros and Vale joined us with Kaven still chained in irons. Jakardros answered our questioning looks with “We’re going on patrol,” and left it at that.

We would have an easy journey of two days to reach the fort on foot, and so we set out into the damp and gloomy morning. We covered much the same ground as the day before, but this time after crossing the river we remained on the main road.

The day remained thickly overcast and wet, and we made our camp off the road just before sunset. And it was a cheerless and fire-less evening, with an ever present fear of discovery haunting us.

Perhaps an hour later we heard a whistle from the direction of the road, and Vale stood and returned the call. A few tense moments later a runner from Turtleback Ferry came into camp with a reply to our message from Magnimar, “Proceed to scout the Fort. Retake it if the opportunity arises, and you will find Magnimar most grateful.”

It was most convenient that the reply matched exactly our intended actions, and that our efforts would be appreciated.

The messenger was invited to spend the evening in the relatively safety of our camp and return to town on the morrow.

We have set the watch as the dank and dark closes in around us, but sleep does not come easily. It is the first day of Pharast, and I wonder at how fast the year is flying past.

== Sunday, Pharast 2, 4708; Off the Road to Hook Mountain; Morning ==

The day has begun with an unexpected debate about what to do with Kaven.

Jakardros and Vale had planned to take him out on an early last patrol this morning, but in the night several of my companions had pleaded for his life, and so we have wasted precious hours debating Kaven’s future.

The man is a psychopath. The plight of others, or how they are affected by his actions do not even enter into his thoughts. I have seen this before and seen the fruits of any mercy shown to the likes of him. He will not change, and if allowed to live he will continue to heap misery and woe (or worse) onto others.

In the end it was decided to tie him securely to the base of a tree with provisions near at hand for several days. The bear is to guard him to ensure he does not escape and betray us all.

Pity. We could have used the bear.

== Sunday, Pharast 2, 4708; Outside Fort Rannick; Afternoon ==

The weather worsened as we approached Fort Rannick. Thunderstorms dogged us for the past few hours, drenching us with sheets of torrential rain and pelting us with unrelenting hail. Blast after blast of cold air buffeted us as the wind screamed among the tree tops. Lightening struck all around us as thunder boomed and echoed about the surrounding hills.

And once we have arrived we find that all of the storms had gathered here: bunched up before the bulk of Hook Mountain and unable to pass further west. And here they vented their frustration at wood, stone, river and us.

But the racket of the storm is good, because it covers any stray noise we may make as we look out from the forest onto Fort Rannick.

The fortress huddled against the foot of Hook Mountain as if it too were trying to shelter against the storm. Despite the gloom from the storm we saw that the layout is exactly as Jakardros described.

We saw many ogres patrolling along the top of the outer wall, and a few on the inner wall as well.

Jakardros pointed west, from which the river rounds the mountain spur, and said beyond was a pool, into which the river fell many feet in a fall. And behind the fall was the entrance to the secret caves.

The forest in which we are hid peters out in that direction, and the land becomes rocky and barren. We feared that we would be easily spotted from the ogres on the wall with the constant flashes of lightening, and so we decided to wait until dusk to set out.

As we waited we watched foraging parties of ogres head out and down river, and then return hours later.

== Sunday, Pharast 2, 4708; Inside Fort Rannick; Night ==

It was dark when we set out to the waterfall, and we moved slowly among the rocks before we found a narrow path that lead around to the pool and waterfall. We then carefully picked our way around the fall’s basin and slipped behind the cascading sheet of water.

We found ourselves in a large natural cavern with rotting wooden planks leading further in. It was near pitch black, but we dared not show any light, and so with Sabin in front we crept single file down a long straight tunnel deeper into the mountain.

In the next chamber we risked some light and brought out ever burning torches. We were gathered in the middle of large chamber, part natural and part chiseled out of the surrounding rock. The rangers obviously used this as an emergency armory, and we quickly surveyed the contents, finding mostly average weapons.

There were half a dozen magic arrows, which we gave to Rigel, and Sabin took a bow and quiver of arrows, which freed up his crossbow and bolts for me to use.

[267] 6 arrows of +2 shocking burst (all used in the ensuing battle)

As we searched about the crates a pair of large lizards scurried into the room. Jakardros made some disparaging noise about them, and Sabin attacked one. The result surprised us as an electrical arc jumped from the struck lizard to the other followed by a blast of lightening the seriously singed our party.

Heading Jakardros’ advice we left the lizards alone as they fled down an eastern passageway. This left us with an exit to the north, which we followed to a long cavern split by a vast fissure in the ground. A wood plank bridge crossed this deep dark gap and another tunnel awaited us on the far side.

After some distance this tunnel forked, and finding the right fork dead ended in what looked like a large secret door, we followed the left to a large room carved with many niches. In each niche was a fully armored body. One body lay crumpled in the center of the room. Jakardros said that the Black Arrows used to bury their dead here until the crypt was full.

As he said this a specter faded into view, and Jakardros approached it, naively greeting it as a fallen cousin. It quickly abused him of this notion as the rest of us counter attacked and killed the thing.

We returned to the large secret door and I cast a silence spell on the area as Nolin pulled the lever and a large rock door swung out and up. The fort’s inner yard lay before us, with the inner wall just to our right. But this was not where we needed to be, and so we closed the door and returned to the armory to try the other tunnel.

This quickly dropped down into a twisty maze of passages, all different. There were a number of lizards here, but moving slowly we safely explored the area and found a passage to another secret door to the north.

We used a flask of oil to lubricate the hinges and rock on which the door would swing, and after dowsing our torches, Nolin gently pulled the door inward.

A warm light spilled into our passageway accompanied by the smell of burning incense. A silk hanging was before the opening. Rigel lifted the bottom of the silk up a few inches and peeped into the room.

This had been the fort’s jail keeper’s chambers, but it had been redecorated with red silk hangings on the the walls (fortunately for us) and soft cushions lined the floor. An elegant well dressed lady stood in the center of the room with her back towards us (again, fortunately for us).

Avia was gesticulating wildly, leaving no doubt that the lady had a very strong aura of evil.

We were already prepared for combat, and so Trask peeked beneath the silk and launched a fireball into the room. As soon as it detonated we charged into the room and launched our attack.

Oddly enough the lady appeared to have been unscathed by the fireball, and called out to us to join her. We did, but not in the way she intended.

This was indeed Lucrecia, and we were determined that she should meet her end there and then. And yet the battle did not go entirely our way. Like Xunesia before her, Lucrecia was a Lamia Matriarch, and her touch drained will power from her foes, and she attacked viciously with a deadly skill to devastating effect.

And yet we were getting the best of her when she launched a lightening bolt at Avia and fled out the door and up a corridor. Unfortunately for her all of our fighters had been Hasted by Sabin, and Nolin chased after her (having been given Desna’s Blessing from Kane just a moment before), striking her dead at the foot of the stairway at the end of the hallway.

We have hauled her corpse back into her chamber and are searching about for clues or items that might aid us in taking the fort. The seriously injured are being healed, and we are doing what we can to restore the lost willpower for those afflicted by Lucrecia’s touch.

I must say that I am rather disappointed in how little our two rangers aided us in battle. Both Jakardros and Vale hung back safely in the corridor until the battle was practically won before springing forth to help. I certainly hope they fare better with the ogres.

 

Starday, Pharast 1

The surviving members of the Black Arrows created crude funeral pyres and Takkad said his words. Then we lit the flames and watched as the fire consumed it all: the obscene house burned to the ground, and the bodies of those slain were reduced to ashes. The smoke was, I am sure, visible for many miles but miraculously we did not attract any unwanted attention. And that was that.

What came next was less pleasant, and in many ways more distasteful. That Kaven would willingly and so eagerly turn on his own, knowing the fate that lay ahead, left me in a bitter mood. There are those in our party who believe he may have been influenced by magic, in the same way that Trask had been, but what I saw was just a young man with no moral compass and a desire to live a life where riches are given and not earned. There is an obsession that comes with the influence of magic, and it is something that I have seen enough of to recognize, but what is most telling is the change in a man’s character. In Kaven I saw no such thing. Magic was not necessary to get him to betray those who put their trust in him.

That Jakardos did not see the connection between Kaven’s convenient excuses and delays and the attack on the fort is not surprising. Who among us would look at one of our own? Who would suspect a traitor? He is fortunate that we were here, not just to aid in their rescue but to also provide an objective eye.

Soon we travel to Fort Rannick, which we hope to retake form the ogres that invaded many weeks ago. While I am sure it will be dangerous, possibly even deadly, I am actually looking forward to the simplicity of battle. We know what side we are on, and what side they are on, and that is all there is to it. This will be a welcome change.