Fellowship of the Shield - Adventure Journal 4

[Aencor's Manor is on the right (northeast) side of the road you were 
all travelling along.  Farther off to the right is the edge of the 
Forest.  At times the road has been close to the forest, at other 
times farther off, but never out of sight.  Along this stretch of 
road the forest is a good distance from the road, blocked from view 
by a old orchard obviouly no longer tended.  The manor house and its 
grounds were out of sight until you came around the edge of the 
orchard.  There a low wall marks the edge of the yard in front of the 
manor.

There is a long drive leads from the road up to the front door of the 
manor.  The manor house itself is stone with 3 stories.  Many dark 
windows look out over the front yard.  The burned cart and its 
unfortunate driver are lying in a ditch by the side of the road near 
this drive.

The manor house is about a kilometer from the road, the path leading 
to it is lined with trees and overgrown shrubs.  About quarter of the 
way to the house 2 figures lie in the road.  On the right hand side 
of the house lies the orchard you passed.  On the left hand side of 
the house a field slopes steeply down to a stream which comes out of 
the forest and parallels the roading leading off to the northwest.  
Lienna and Fare'n were told that the festival is held in the pasture 
behind the house.  From behind the house you see smoke rising, which 
while you at first thought it was from the normal morning campfires, 
you can easily tell there now is too much smoke for that.

It is just dawn now, and the sun has not risen above the line of the 
forest or from behind the manor house.  A mist covers the ground and 
as Fare'n scouts forward along the right-hand side of the drive he 
quickly disappears from view in it.  The Fellowship spreads out and 
waits for the scout to return with a report.]


The minutes passed slowly, fearfully slowly.  The mist muffled sound, 
making the morning seem eerily quiet.  Everyone was on edge, looking 
around, waiting for a sign.  More minutes passed and the Cormyrian 
broken the oppressive silence.

"I'm not waiting around here for that shrimp to get himself killed," 
announced Drane as he drew his sword and walked towards the path 
leading up to the house.  Before anyone could stop him, a figure 
suddenly appeared from out of the trees.  Everyone tensed but only 
Drane took a swing, checking his attack as he realized it was Fare'n.

The halfling quickly gave his report.

"I moved up along the drive," he began, "Keeping in the cover of the 
trees.  I don't know if there is anyone in that old house looking out 
of the dark windows, and I don't want to find out."  He shivered at 
the thought of someone in that haunted mansion.

"The two figures in the lying path ahead appear to both be dead, but 
I didn't get close enough to check.  They were lying face down like 
they were fleeing when they were killed, but I didnt want to leave 
the cover of the bushes and enter the open path without someone 
watching my back."  He looked around at his well armed friends and 
grinned weakly.

"I decided to quickly look around back.  I crept through the orchard 
around the right side of the house.  There are a lot of tents set up 
around back there for the festival, small event arenas made from 
circles of wood or stones, and some wooden shacks set up for 
merchants to sell stuff, and a couple of large pavillions."  Fare'n 
hesitated.  "I didn't see anyone here for the festival though...I 
just saw orcs.

"Most of these tents are on fire or burned to the ground.   I saw a 
small group of orcs moving from tent to tent burning and destroying 
them.

"The larger pavillions at the back of the field appear to be intact.  
I could just make out some more orclike guys back there amongst those 
big tents.  There is mist and smoke everywhere, but I'm pretty sure I 
didn't see anyone alive or dead.  No bodies, nothing.

"There are faint sounds of voices - muffled by the mist -- coming 
from the pavillions, but nothing to make me think they arent from 
more orcs."

Fare'n paused as shock and fear registered on the faces of the smith 
and his family.  Tana, the smith's wife, spoke up.

"You are going back there," she said in a firm voice before anyone 
else could speak.  "We'll head on to Essembra and get help.  But 
those people back there could still be alive, and you've got to help 
them."

Bib the smith thought for a second and then nodded.

"It shouldn't take us long to get to town if we keep following the 
road.  But Tana is right, there is no time to wait for help to 
arrive.  You folks better get back there and find out whats going on".

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Gelth...

Gelth becomes a little agitated at the mention of orcs as the culprit.
 
"I say we go up d' side of d' road,  using d' house as cover to get as close 
as possible, get the lay of the land, assess their strength and then MASH 'em!"
 
Gelth suggests something rather aggressive, trying to distance himself from 
the perpetrators.
 
[Gelth will advance with his crossbow drawn and ready.  
If a surprise occurs he nails 'em with a bolt and then uses his club.  
This time, he will try to be in the front pack instead of rear guard.]

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Metaltwist...

"If there is a chance the downed travellers can be
healed, it is a chance we must take," says Metaltwist.
 "I would appreciate it very much if someone could
keep a shield handy for me while I check on them, but
if the group decides that investigating the festival
grounds has the priority, I understand that, and will
catch up with you.  However, they are on our way, and
a quick stop to ensure their status should not take
much time."

[If the group decides the time to stop is acceptable,
Metaltwist will follow the scouts plans and try to be
as quiet as possible.  If the group goes on without
him, Metaltwist will attempt to quietly approach the
bodies behind cover of the trees and will go as close
as necessary to determine their status.  If they are
not dead, he will cast one Cure Light Wounds spell on
each, converting his prepared* invisibility to undead
and a comprehend languages]

--------------
Fare'n...

"I would also voice that if the two bodies in front of the house are not
what they seem it may be advantageous to deal with a potential threat from
the rear, though I assume that they are two poor fellow travelers who have
met a grizzily end."

--------------
Horstag...

Cradling his crossbow, Horstag joins the discussion and says,"Although I
agree we should check on those two poor souls to see if they are in need of
aid, we shouldn't spend too long doing so."

"We should only do enough to stabalize them and then press on to the
pavillion for I fear that the rest of the festival's patrons are being held
there by the orcs. And who knows what is happening to them even now as we
speak."

"As we approach them, we should be wary of an ambush, not only from any
roving bands of orcs, but also from the two bodies themselves. If the
mansion is truly haunted, then who knows what unholy forces may possess them
now. I remember hearing tales of the walking dead as a child from a
wandering bard. I didn't sleep for a week after."

Horstag mutters a silent prayer to Chauntea, and waits to advance with the
rest of the party.

[Horstag will advance with the party with his crossbow drawn. If any trouble
appears, he will loose a crossbow bolt at the closest target. If their is
only one opponent or less per party member, he will quickly switch to his
Uncle Horstag's Greatsword and dispatch the enemy. However if there are
multiple opponents and close quarter fighting, he will use his morningstar
instead.]

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And here ends the adventure journals of the Fellowship of the Shield
(due to some sort of SNAFU with Rogers...)
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