Session 24 - Chapter 4 - Raiders of the Lost Cart

Hello & Welcome!

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Chard thought about what had happened the previous day. Was it a day in fact? He was not sure how time worked in this place. But he hoped his friends were safe and it gave him some feeling of hope that his friends had not given up on him. And that also meant that they had not given up on the main quest either. 

His thoughts drifted as he continued to pound his hammer on the metal fragments he had around him. He would have to be ready when his next opportunity would arise.

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Torsion looked around himself as the sights and sounds of the Way Inn became more and more clear. No one around him seemed to have experienced what he experienced. He searched for Luna, Selune's Avatar, but she was no where to be seen.

Amongst the revelry that Pipp was creating with her Fiddle and her singing he asked about if anyone had seen where the barmaid Luna had gone. No one had any recollection of who he was asking about. These were the mysterious ways of the gods he concluded. They have been very reluctant to be interfering with the events of mortals but seems that the dangerous plots they were facing were so dire that they were reaching out to try to stave off the looming destruction. He would strive to not let her down.

The Caravan troupe enjoyed the evening in the tavern. It was a much needed opportunity for them to forget the troubles of the road and everyone enjoyed Pipp's performances. And later in the evening they went off to the beds that became available now that the selfish Nobles had relented - Pipp even bought them a round of drinks to show no hard feelings, which they sheepishly drank and then retired early - and had a relaxing night's rest. The road would of course be waiting for them in the morning.

Morning came and an early, hearty breakfast later, everyone made the usual preparations and got the wagons back on the road. At least now the road would be more civilised, in that, there would be more settlements to visit so hopefully this would mean that the dangers of the wilderness would start to subside. They'd had plenty of trouble already!

The routine sounds and movements resumed. And one mile came after another.

In the few days of uneventful travel, Pipp decided to have a go at playing pipps with some of the other Halflings, to see if she could learn any news about their missing items - she thought to herself, given the name of the game, she would have to be good at it. So she, Levisius, Enom, and Radecere sat down with a wager of 1 cp per round to have a chat. The Rock Gnome was the most eager to get his coin purse out and start rolling the dice.

The questions didn't yield much information but Pipp was clear that she and Torsion were looking for their items and she urged Losvius to spread the word that they just wanted the items back, no questions asked. He said he would spread the word. 

The dice rolled and the coins circled hands, no one coming out a winner. Pipp then suggested they increase the wager to 3 cp. Again the Rock Gnome was extremely excited to raise the stakes and was equally excited when Pipp suggested that they add an extra opportunity to reroll a few of the dice as a second turn on each attempt. And fortune smile on the Rock Gnome as he came away with the largest win. Pipp said that she would arrange a rematch after Losvius had done some investigating.

The next settlement would be Bowshot. It was halfway to Daggerford and if travel went as planned, it would be the area of their next day of rest. 

As they journeyed on, the wilderness soon gave way to open pastures and again the coastline was visible off in the distance. The mood seemed to lightedln a bit as now even the Landscape seemed less menacing. And the weather remained pleasant for this time of the year.

On they went and eventually they reached Bowshot. A small town known for its logging industry they were happy to have a proper campsite just outside the town to have their day of rest.

Dafnae, Pipp, and Torsion, along with many others from the Caravan took the opportunity to venture into town to see what was what and to get any supplies if possible. There was a travelling merchant in town, a Half-Orc named Sutha Grimblade who specialised in swords for sale. Dafnae perused the items and traded in her Rapier for a Rapier of Warning. It would likely come in handy. They also purchased a few healing portions - these were always helpful. Dafnae would need to learn how to make them.

They asked her of any news in the area. Sutha reported back similar news as they had learned before - there was increased activity among the beasts in the area and of raids on the other side of the pass.

The day of rest continued with everyone enjoying the mild weather and not having to worry about traveling for a bit.

All was serene until the quiet in the early evening was disrupted by screams and clamour coming from the town and Bowshow townsfolk fleeing in terror, headed towards the campsite. The three adventurers looked at each and grabbed their gear and headed in the opposite direction, headed towards the source of the disturbance.

They approached from the North. As they neared the town, the sounds of raiders became evident. And as they got closer, they could easily discern the nature of the raiders by their distinctive yips and cackles. Gnolls. There would likely be a whole pack of them as they rarely raided alone. And they readied their weapons and headed in.

When they reached the edge of the town, they saw the chaos. A few buildings were on fire and there were indeed Gnolls darting in and out of buildings, throwing items onto carts. They were raiding for basically anything edible. These creatures were driven by the most basic of motivations - hunger.

Torsion moved in to engage from the centre. Pipp moved to the road to see what the situation was from the side and Dafnae decided to climb onto the house on the edge to see what advantage she could get from above.

Torsion engaged the ones in the middle, calling out to them to abandon their raid and leave the people alone. The Gnolls just cackled and yipped back and launched their bows at him, the arrows going wide, each with a loud THUNK against the building beside him.

As Pipp rounded the corner of the building, she saw several Gnolls by the treeline similarly armed with their bows. She used her trusty Dissonant Whispers to start to get the advantage. 

Lying low on the roof of the far building, Dafnae surveyed the area. 

There was an entire pack of these demonic beasts and they were taking anything they could grab.

She hid as low as she could and then with each round, she deftly rose slightly to loose an arrow at one of the Gnolls and then used her bonus action to hide. The hapless Gnolls were unawares from where the attacks were coming and so she was able to hide successfully each time. This allowed her to get the added Sneak Attack with each volley. And so she reigned death from above, nearly all of her attacks landing true, felling Gnoll after Gnoll, each giving off an agonising squeal as the arrows hit their mark.

Pipp played a cat and mouse game with the Gnolls by the tree line - hitting them with Magic and ducking behind the wall and them chasing after her with their bows. There were a few exchanges but she managed to dispatch a few of them. Once her main threat was neutralised, she circled back around the other side of the building to join Torsion who was locked in fierce combat. She saw Dafnae repeatedly rising to a crouching position silently and firing arrow after arrow, many of which were met with either a Gnoll's squeal or death cry before she slunk down flat against the thatched roof. Pipp thought that Dafnae was very impressive.

Torsion meanwhile was locked in hand to hand combat with the Gnolls who had soon exchanged their Bows for Spears and when in doubt leaned in to try to bite him with their fangs.

Stowing his War Hammer for a round, he invoked his Spiritual Weapon to give a bit of help to fight off the swarming beasts. But he fought hard, swinging his weapon, landing stone and metal against fur and leather, also causing them to squeal and groan in pain. But their hunger seemed insatiable and they continued to lean in to take their bites out of him but he was able to bat them off with his shield. Gnolls fell around him.

Another building was set alight and Dafnae spied them dragging a sack out of another building that started to smoke but the sack seemed to be wriggling. She thought that it seemed like there was someone inside it. Its one thing if they are stealing dried meats, but this likely was someone alive still and she didn't want them to suffer such a grizzly fate as to be rendered limb from limb by these Gnolls so she concentrated her next arrows on those Gnolls.

Pipp joined Torsion to aid him by attacking those Gnolls around him with Magic while he continued to smash them with his War Hammer.

A Pack Lord emerged from another smouldering building and he was able to whip the Gnolls into a bloodthirsty frenzy. Pipp and Torsion concentrated their attacks on him.

Gnolls continued to fall to Magic, Hammer, and Arrow. Sensing they were being overwhelmed, the remaining Gnolls started to make their retreat towards the treeline to make off with their spoils. The Heroes gave chase. And now behind the cover of the building or the trees, Dafnae, with an acrobatic cartwheel to climb off the building dashed her way to join her friends.

A few more Gnolls fell within the trees. The few leading the cart made their way deeper and deeper. The last one dragging the wriggling bag was brought down before it was able to make its escape. 

The heavily damaged Pack Leader sounded its horn giving the final retreat command.

The last Gnoll escaping into the cover of the woods, the Heroes went to the bag to reveal a small whimpering child. Dafnae quietly praised the Luck of Lady Tymora that they were able to save the child from a grizzly fate.

The cart of goods they made off with would satiate the Gnolls' hunger for a while and hopefully with their numbers dwindled, they would think twice before coming back to Bowshot to raid again.

Dafnae, Pipp, and Torsion led the terrified child back to the campsite to reunite her with her family and they all hoped the rest of the evening would be finally quiet and they joined the townsfolk as they went back slowly to start the clean-up process and control the fires that were still burning.

It was a shame these poor people suffered at the hands of these foul creatures, but the world was unsettled and this type of thing would only occur more and more often if they would not be successful in their quest.