The Troupe return to the Wood of Sharp Teeth with Thorfinn, their new berserker ally and the brave, brave Sir Garrick. This time they are better prepared and do well fighting against the orcs that infest the place. But will they be able to survive everything that hides within the trees?
9 Eleint 1368
We take a short rest while Aura works on crafting a rune. She says this should help in the fight against the orcs that roam within the trees. As far as I can tell, her rune will allow for the summoning of Magic Missiles.
She also uses her skills as an artificer to Infuse our weapons with the ability to hurt even magically protected creatures. Whether this will work against magically protected orc shaman we will have to find out the hard way.
After she is done, we continue searching the forest to find a lone orc archer. Jet’Laya sends her skeletons in to act as a shield, and the orc stands no chance.
Further north we ascend a cliff to find larger group of archers. The skeletons are unable to shield us from them all, and Thorfinn is stuck in his shoulder and leg with several arrows.
Jet’Laya takes a risk in moving closer to Thorfinn so she can heal his wounds. Garrick reaches for his Wand of Fear and speaks the command word.
The skeletons kill one of the archers just as Garrick’s Wand takes effect. All but one of the orcs lower their bows and flee deeper into the wood.
Thorfinn hurls his Axe at this last orc, and it embeds itself in its neck before returning to his hand.
After this we hunt the vile creatures one-by-one. The last archer tries to put up a fight, the effects of the Wand having worn off, but we are greater in number now.
We loot the corpses, Kivan taking their arrows for his quiver. As with the other orcs, they have a few scrolls on them. I am able to copy Spook to my spell book. Fear has proven to work well against the archers, so this should be a useful addition to my repertoire. I also copy a spell I haven’t come across before, Reflected Image. It is a weaker form of Mirror Image, but it could still provide an advantage in a fight.
Garrick tries and fails to copy both Dimension Jump and Shocking Grasp. I should stop giving him scrolls to copy until he can write more than just poetry. We also find a Scroll of Burning Hands. Since we both know this one, I store it in my Scroll Case for later.
We keep moving, keeping an eye out for orcs. The next one is easy to spot. It is an orc, but it is much larger than any orc I’ve ever seen before. It carries a large sword with a single hand. It squints at us. It seems to recognise what we are and growls as it runs toward us.
Jet’Laya sends her skeletons in while we take up our ranged weapons. Being so big, it is easy to hit. As soon as the skeletons reach it, it swings its sword and smashes one of them to pieces.
The giant orc is weakened, but still standing. If it destroys the other skeleton and advances there’s a good chance we could get hurt. I decide to try and finish it quickly with some Magic Missiles.
As it reels from the blow, Thorfinn’s axe embeds itself into its skull. The giant orc collapses, throwing up dust and dirt as it collides with the ground.
If I’m right, this is an orog, a giant orc. But they usually dwell underground in the mountains. They don’t even like the brightness of day, it makes it hard for them to see. So what is it doing here on the surface in the middle of the Sword Coast?
We search the orog’s body, and find only meagre equipment. As with many of the orcs here, it is also carrying a scroll. This one containing a spell that will make its target more susceptible to the effects of the Weave.
No matter the reason for its presence, we have to move quickly. There may be more of these orog around, and in larger numbers. The quicker we can get out of orc territory, the better.
Eventually we come across an abandoned hamlet, it’s small huts covered in moss and rotting away. But as we get closer we spot a band of orcs roaming by a nearby stream.
They spot us too so we make a tactical retreat. There is only one route through the village, so we can to set up an ambush. Jet’Laya sends in the last skeleton and we prepare for the upcoming fight.
Jet’Laya calls upon the Boon of Lathander, and he grants her the protection she will need to survive.
I finish my call to the Weave, and three gibberlings crawl their way out of the ground, blocking the orcs’ path.
The lead orc manages to cleave its way through the summoned creatures, despite being heavily wounded with blood flowing into one of its eyes. Jet’Laya conjures some Magical Stones, a weapon she has put to good use in the past.
With only one gibberling left, I summon another group of three. I spot that there are a mage and a priest in the orc’s band. Let’s see if I can change the tide of battle again.
I direct my Wand of Domination at the mage and utter the command word. Despite all its magical protections, the mage’s mind succumbs to the power of the Wand. It will fight for us now.
While this is going on the gibberlings overcome the orc they were fighting, and it is ripped apart by their claws and teeth.
The mage turns around and talks to the Weave. After a few hand gestures, a cone of ice and hailstone bursts forth from its hands, striking all of the other orcs. They are bruised, cut open and frozen as the magical ice tears through them.
One of the archers is still able to take aim with its bow, and Jet’Laya is hit square in the chest.
Jet’Laya, still somehow alive, retreats so she can recover. She passes by Garrick who activates his Wand of Fear. The priest suddenly stops its chanting and attempts to find a way out of the village.
I try to end the life of one of the archers with a barrage of Magic Missiles. Unfortunately, it survives the assault.
Jet’Laya heals herself back to full strength. It’s as if she was never wounded at all. She’s ready to return to the fight.
The orc warrior is tearing its way through my gibberlings. I attempt to sap its strength with a Ray of Enfeeblement, but by the time it takes effect, Kivan has already hit it between its teeth.
Kivan is yet again quick with his bow, as he rushes forward an kills one of the orc archers as well.
The orc mage has been speaking words I recognise. I’m grateful it isn’t directing those words at us. It finishes its spell and the soul of the last orc leaves its body.
Thorfinn runs down the fleeing priest before it can get too far, and plants his axe in its back. The orc band is now destroyed.
As we survey the bodies that now lay before us, Garrick tells us he is learning a lot by watching us make use of the Weave.
Gameplay Note
He gets 1 addition Level 1 Spell, 1 additional Hit Point, and 4 more points of Lore.
We take a few gold coins off the shaman and return to the hamlet. When we do so we find there is one more orc still alive. On seeing it’s deceased kin it flies into a rage.
Our last gibberling attacks the orc, only to be sliced cleanly in twain. The mage I have Charmed conjures up a large icicle that flies straight at the orc and clean through its chest. Despite this wound, the orc’s adrenaline doesn’t let it stop fighting.
We cannot let it get close even if it is wounded. I attempt to hold it back with a Chromatic Orb.
The orc still refuses to die, slicing Jet’Laya open at the torso. She attempts to retreat once again.
The orc gives chase, but Thorfinn rushes in with his blade at the ready. He strikes the orc with such force that its head explodes, spraying blood and bone all over.
With the violence finally over, Jet’Laya takes the chance to heal herself while the rest of us check the bodies.
Among the possessions we find more scrolls for my Scroll Case. Another Scroll of Greater Malison, one Scroll of Ray of Enfeeblement, and a Scroll of Detect Invisibility.
I point out to Jet’Laya that we have scoured this area of the woods well by now. If her sister was here we would have found some kind of sign by now. Jet’Laya agrees. She suggests that we continue to the east, deeper into the woods.
I hope the teeth aren’t any sharper than they are here.
