| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | Orc Portal |
| Campaign: | Spelljammer | | Turn Start Date: | 4/22/606 |
| Adventure: | Quest for the Amber Key | | Turn End Date: | 4/22/606 |
| Adventure Number: | 5 | | Characters: | Barnas, KC , Martin Vane, Morty Crystaltouched, Pellanistra Xarann, Shaarilla, Syllivarrna Obanghall, Tyra Stellastrom |
| Turn Number: | 5.5 | | Send To: | bluemountain@championsoftheempire.com |
| Greyhawk Campaign? | No | | Combat Turn? | No |
| Name | Lethal | NL | Current | END | PROT | LOW | DEF | ROF | Flash | Heal | Luck Pts | Fate Pts | |
| Barnas | 22 | 0 | 27/49 | /0 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 0 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| KC | 18 | 2 | 23/43 | /0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 2 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Martin Vane | 12 | 0 | 38/50 | /0 | 7 | 1 | 37 | 8 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | 22 | 0 | 24/46 | /0 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 0 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Pellanistra Xarann | 15 | 0 | 35/50 | /0 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 6 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Shaarilla | 0 | 0 | 28/28 | /0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | 12 | 2 | 38/52 | /0 | 5 | 1 | 41 | 6 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | 15 | 3 | 53/71 | 0/6 | 7 | 1 | 59 | 10 | /0 | 2/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| KC | / | 0/5 | 7/7 | |
| Martin Vane | / | 7/9 | 7/7 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | / | 0/9 | 8/8 | |
| Shaarilla | / | 11/12 | 17/17 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | / | 8/9 | 10/10 | |
| | | | |
| Barnas | |
| KC | Infravision (3 hours) |
| Martin Vane | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | |
| Pellanistra Xarann | |
| Shaarilla | Armor Spell (5/5 hits) |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | |
|
No one is badly wounded as a result of the last battle and the group again feels that they don't have the time to do first aid. Who knows if more orcs might come running down the passage at any time. It is more important to find out where they are coming from.
So the group pushes on. KC is in the lead with Lani not far behind and the rest of the group bringing up the rear. Suddenly a man appears in the tunnel in front of KC. He is a half-elf of human/drow linage and not a young man. The man is holding a dark rod engraved with strange glyphs. He hands the rod to KC and says, "My visions have indicated that you are the most likely to be able to stop the invasion. When you find the magical source that enables the invasion, strike it with this rod while uttering 'destructionne magica'. The orcs are traveling here through a magical portal."
The rest of the group has caught up by this point. However, the man does not stick around to answer questions. As suddenly as he appeared, he disappears.
Barnas and Morty are both somewhat familiar with magical artifacts. Barnas is not sure what the rod is but Morty immediately recognizes it as a Rod of Cancellation.
With a sense of urgency, the group continues on. After a few minutes walk, the passage exits into a large cavern that is a good hundred feet or so in diameter. The cavern is largely natural but there is a large wooden platform in the center of the cavern. At one end of the platform is a wooden hut. The platform is surrounded by a low railing of wood and chain. Just past the wooden platform is a spiral staircase leading up into the ceiling and disappearing up a shaft.
The cavern is not empty. Even as KC arrives and motions for the rest of the group to stop and douse lights, he sees a group of 10 orcs disappear into a tunnel on the far side of the cavern. Another group of orcs has assembled and starts off towards a different tunnel moving at a run. A final group of orcs is stepping down from the wooden platform and, once they have assembled, they too take off at a run towards yet another tunnel.
That leaves only two orcs on the platform and perhaps another one or two in the wooden hut. Instinctively knowing that the platform is somehow linked to how the orcs are arriving to attack Fangora, the group wastes no time in discussion. KC and Lani look at each other and then Lani charges towards the orcs on the platform while KC signals the rest of the group to charge. Then he follows Lani.
Lani leaps onto the platform and attacks the first orc while KC engages the second. Tyra is not far behind and quickly moves to assist KC.
Then, to everyone's amazement, the platform suddenly begins to descend. The rest of the group scrambles onto the platform to avoid being separated.
As Lani, KC and Tyra overwhelm the two orcs on the platform, Martin and Syl move to the door of the hut.
The platform descends into mist and continues moving downward. The door of the hut is locked.
Suddenly the platform descends below the mist and the group can see that they are hundreds of feet up in the air over a marshy swampland. Below them are the encampments of thousands more orcs waiting to assault Fangora! The platform is clearly a magical air raft that is ferrying attacking orcs to some sort of dimensional portal located in the dark cloud above them. A high wooden tower sits below the dark cloud and streams of magical energy pulse from an orb mounted at the top into the dark cloud. It seems clear that the orb is what is sustaining the portal.
GM: I will stop here to allow people to interject. The door to the hut is locked. Inside is almost certainly the spelljammer-like controls to fly the large raft. It is currently descending towards a large group of orcs that number in the hundreds.
MARTIN: "Something tells me that breaking into the hut is priority number one right now .. This has a lousy chance, but if it works we won't have to pick a lock or break down the door."
MARTIN: Begins casting Passwall on the door of the hut. Cast Chance 34%, cast time 7 [rolled 68 vs cast chance of 34 - Failed Cast Chance!]
TYRA (GM): Is this lock the kind a rogue could open? How sturdy is this hut and its door? Is this something that we may need to smash through?
As Martin begins his attempt to breach the wall of the hut with a Passwall spell, Tyra examines the door. There is no lock on it. Apparently it is barred from the inside. It does not look particularly sturdy and may give with a good kick or hitting it with a weapon.
GM: Tyra can attempt a Bend Bars roll with a +10 bonus. If it fails, someone else can try or you can start hitting it with weapons.
TYRA: Tyra will try to force the door open.
TYRA: Bend Bars +10 [rolled 200 (Absolute Success)]
Tyra smashes through the door and enters the hut. A lone orc sits on the barge's helm. As Tyra rushes in, he sends the barge into a dive in an attempt to crash it.
GM: Everyone can send a DEX roll. If you have Acrobatics then you can send both an Acrobatics roll and a DEX roll and I will use the better of the two.
LANI: Acrobatics [rolled 112 (Success)]. DEX roll [rolled 72 vs. DEX 26, 3x roll] - and, because she has a 26 DEX, she can roll twice and take the better of the two [rolled 82 vs. DEX 26, 4x roll].
MORTY: Acrobatics [rolled 94 - Near Success], DEX 24 [Rolled 89 - 4x]
SHAARILLA: DEX roll [rolled 24 vs. DEX 21, 2x roll]
TYRA: DEX roll [rolled 96 vs. DEX 21, 5x roll]
MARTIN: Dex roll: [rolled 79 vs. DEX 18, 5x roll]
KC: acrobatics roll of [rolled 161 (Success)] and dex roll of [rolled 60 vs. DEX 23, 3x roll] plus he has the Spider Boots of Stealrh.
BARNAS: Dex roll [rolled 68 vs. DEX 18, 4x roll]
SYL: Dex Check (20): [rolled 94 vs. DEX 20, 5x roll]
SYL: Assume this is so we can attack the idiot driver and allow Sharilla to access the helm...
MARTIN: (OOC) Way to go Tyra!
TYRA (OOC): This should be interesting. A nearly effortless breaking through the door followed by a nearly tumble off the boat move. Maybe Tyra needs to learn some acrobatics!
BARNAS: Seeing all the orcs the young man says, "OK we are now on the wrong side of the portal, lets not stay here." Barnas does what he can to help gain control of the hut.
As the air boat suddenly falls into a steep and accelerating dive, most of the group goes tumbling. Weapons and shields are dropped onto the deck and they go skittering across the wooden planks to fetch up at the rails of the vessel. Shaarilla and Morty stumble but do not fall while Lani and KC keep their footing and launch themselves into the hut. The orc driver, satisfied that he has sent the entire group to their doom, scrambles out of the helm on the far side and grabs his weapon. Bracing themselves as best they can, Lani and KC attack the orc while Shaarilla and Morty make their way inside. Shaarilla quickly occupies the vacant spelljammer seat and attempts to bring the vessel under control.
GM: I need a Spelljammer Pilot roll for Shaarilla. Go ahead and send three rolls for the three rounds that will occur before the ship crashes into the marsh.
GM: With his Spider Boots of Stealth, KC is in the best position to be effective against the orc. No need to roll attacks. Between Lani and KC, they will take him out as the orc is not nearly as good as Lani or KC at keeping his balance.
SHAARILLA: Shaarilla desperately attempts to take control of the falling platform. Pilot Maneuver: 48% [rolled 97 (Near Success)] [rolled 106 (Near Success)] [rolled 108 (Near Success)]
Shaarilla pulls herself into the pilot seat, feeds a spell point into the helm and immediately tries to gain control of the plunging craft. Almost immediately the craft starts to level out. Seconds pass as the craft continues to descend but now under some control. Slowly the bow comes up.
The fight between the pilot, KC and Lani finishes quickly and the pilot goes down in a bloody heap.
With control returning to the craft, those who dropped weapons and shields move to recover them.
"KC, get ready to hit that orb that is generating the portal with that rod that you got," Shaarilla tells him. "I plan to fly by it slow enough that you can hit it and then we will head back towards the portal. My hope is that the portal will remain open for a short time after the orb is destroyed - just long enough for us to pass through - I hope."
KC pulls out the rod and moves into a position where he can hit the orb. The air boat, now fully under Shaarilla's control heads towards the tower on which the orb is mounted. There are no guards at the top of the tower though some orcs are starting to climb up.
When the air boat is alongside the tower, KC reaches across with the road and hits the orb while saying the command phrase of "destructionne magica". The effect is everything that the group could hope for. The orb explodes into thousands of tiny shards as the rod turns to dust. None of the shards hit KC though some do hit others in the group, bouncing off armor and stinging flesh. The pulsing energy that previously flowed from the orb to the dark cloud above abruptly ceases as Shaarilla accelerates towards the location of the portal.
The dark cloud evaporates quickly as the group approaches and is gone by the time they arrive. The portal is also gone leaving the group stranded on the wrong side!
Cursing their own lack of fortune while simultaneously knowing that their actions saved Fangora, the group is now in a quandary. Below them is an army of thousands of orcs. Fortunately the army does not seem to have any flying creatures. Shaarilla gains altitude as the group tries to decide what options are available to them.
Both Barnas and Shaarilla spot it at almost the same time. In the foothills bordering the marsh, they see a large fire burning. They fly closer and see that the fire is burning on the top of a stone tower. They can see a path or road that runs from the tower towards the marsh where the orc encampment is located but there is no sign of orcs on the road. Shaarilla flies to within a mile of the tower following the dirt road. The tower stands alone on the top of a small hill. The road curls up to the entrance. No guards can be seen at the tower.
GM: I will stop here to allow everyone interject.
SYL (GM): Can we see what is causing the flame on the tower? Also, I am assuming the raft does NOT have SpellJammer abilities to leave this location?
GM: It's still too far away to see well with the naked eye but if you use the telescope, you can see it better. The flame seems to be simply burning on the top of the tower with no visible source of the flame.
TYRA: The young warrior sighed after learning the portal had closed before they could return. She then makes herself useful by checking for wounds and treating them.
LANI: "I think we have three good choices. One, we take a look at the tower and see if we can find a way back to Fangora through it. Two, we head deeper into the hills and find a place to rest and recuperate for a day and then decide what to do. Three, we pick a direction and keep flying and see if we can find out where we are and if there are other choices.
TYRA: "I guess I'm curious about the tower while the orcs are off in the distance, but resting sounds prudent. Barnas, maybe we should use an Augury to help us decide."
BARNAS: "I can do that. Anyone have any suggestions on the precise wording of the question?"
GM: Barnas will need to keep in mind the 30 minute timeline on the Augury. That being the case, the question might center around whether the group needs to enter the tower now for some purpose.
MORTY: I was thinking something along the lines of "is it important for us to investigate the tower before resting?" I think it might be, and while I will be largely useless for anything magical I can at least work on locks and traps and such. I am concerned that with the portal gone that orc army may disperse into the surrounding hills and eventually find us. They may also have seers or shamans that can track us magically, if they are angry enough...
Barnas casts his Augury spell and the result is "rest and recover then to the citadel you must go." Barnas wonders if "citadel" and "tower" mean the same thing in this context.
In any case, the augury is clear that resting and recuperating is not a bad idea so the group gives the tower a wide berth and heads deeper into the hills until high mountains rise ahead of them. Shaarilla flies around until she finds a small clearing against a high cliff. The temperature is comfortably cool. Shaarilla sets down in the clearing and the group gets to work setting up camp. The environment is strange to them and no one is entirely sure how to create a comfortable camp but the group does the best they can. A section of the cliff near the air boat has an inverse incline that gets much more pronounced closer to the ground creating a shelter of sorts.
No one has a tent but most everyone has either a light blanket or a cloak and three members of the group (Lani, Shaarilla and Tyra) even have bedrolls. No one is skilled in making a campfire so the group simply hunts up stuff that will burn, piles it together and uses cantrips to try to start it. It eventually burns but despite the group's best effort, it sends a very smoky trail into the sky so they douse it quickly have cooking a meal. Barnas has some experience with cooking and uses it to prepare breakfast for everyone.
It was about 2 o'clock in the morning when the group was suddenly awakened in Fangora but here the sun is setting as the group finishes eating. Most are still tired anyway so they set up watches of three per watch and go to sleep. Those on watch share their blankets and bedrolls with those that need them as the night gets very chilly. In the distance in the direction the group thinks of as west, they can see a slight glow beyond the intervening hills that likely indicates the location of the distant tower and its massive flame.
Before retiring for the night, Barnas uses his remaining healing spell to heal Tyra of 13 hit points.
Strange sounds, shrieks and distant roars wake the group up often. Camping here is nothing like life on a spelljammer. Nevertheless, everyone is able to get enough rest that they awaken, if not fully refreshed, at least rested from the previous night's ordeal.
GM: I made CON rolls for everyone. Only those who made a 3x CON roll or better (KC, Lani, Syl and Tyra) recovered hit points overnight.
GM: Let me know what you want to do in the morning. Spell casters may or may not want to change spells. You will probably want to do some more healing as everyone is down double digit hit points except Shaarilla (who is not injured at all). |
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