A battle well thought

The Blue prince: Narcissus continues to flap his wings, even as he steadies his breathing. Should he hold his position, high above his aggressors or should he dive into his secure den?

It’s only been a few moments since the attack began but already his personal guard’s been devastated.

Even one of his devils has been dismissed.

Still, his other troops will already be on their way to help.
...

His troops that are all currently positioned half-a-mile away, spread between all the towers.

It’ll take them too long to get back!

And, if they leave their defensive positions, the advancing orc horde will have an easier time breaching the cities defences.

…

Now Narcissus understands the mercenaries timing.

They had depended upon his arrogance.

He had allowed them into the heart of his kingdom.
Into his very throne room, while the majority of his soldiers were too far away to defend him.

…

Clever little monkeys!

…

With the keen eyes of a flying predator, Narcissus looks down at the mercenaries again.

He sees at least one bow slung over one of their shoulders.

Injured as he is, he can’t risk one or two lucky shots.

Premature attack? You must be a stupid!

Never in all his thirty years, has anyone had the audacity to strike at him. Other than squabbles with his brother and sister, he’s never been so much as pushed!

Flapping his mighty wings, Narcissus holds himself aloft in the upper area of his domed throne room.

It was difficult to tell at first but it appears to be just the five mercenaries that entered with the orc criminal: Morten’s head.

No support from the human vermin in the hall.

Despite his generous reward, the idiot half-orc attacked him!

Not just attacked him but hurt him. Really hurt him.

In front of his mother!

Down below, he can see his Dragon-born soldiers, his Black-cloaks and even his Devils being beaten.

Without support, they won’t last much longer.

His mother’s magic mirror is currently pointing directly upward and therefore mostly useless…

Still, whenever he blasts the treacherous orc, he seems to receive some sort of backlash.

The tiefling also seems somehow immune to his lightning.

Looking down, Narcissus assesses his current predicament…

The orc warrior is impressive but relies on swords.

The tiefling paladin… Another melee fighter.
The wannabe black cloak monk is irritating but mostly unarmed.

The tall, thin shaman seems lost and confused. Probably the first that will fall.

Finally the tiny Halfling…

What is he doing by his throne?

And could they be connected to the advancing orc horde?

…

Of course they are…

Powerful and skilled as they are, they must be the leaders!

But why attack before the horde arrived?

(T)orc of war

Dokan finds himself in a strange situation. Surrounded by friendly orcs and a trusted ally of their new chief.

Orestes: Chief of the Broken lance tribe.

Aurelius and Orestes are starting to discuss their immediate future when the entrance to the tent opens up and the hulking Bodan strides in.

‘I am here to pay homage to my new chief!’

Bodan was named after his father: Konan, a great, savage warrior and Bodush: The evil human sorcerer that infamously killed hundreds of orcs in the battle that destroyed the Broken lance clan. Scores of children were killed that day. Children that would never be avenged.

As the mighty Bodan bows, a diminutive gnome is revealed behind him.

Gauss smiles nervously as they’re both ushered to sit with the others.

Ale flows and soon the conversation turns to war.

War against Thereanthor and war against the Blue prince.

Orestes speaks of the possibility of leading his new army against the Blue prince…

‘Outrageous!’ squeaks the gnome.

‘This was never part of our plan. You would alert Thereanthor of our machinations and bring ruin to us all!’

The gnome looks to the others for support but finds none.

Bodan is already smiling at the prospect of battle. 
‘For so long, I have battled alone. Killing Dragon-borns and Black-cloaks wherever I could. But always small scale for I lacked any support. Now though, perhaps I can cause the accursed Thereanthor more trouble…’

Votton and Elige nod in agreement and Gauss looks horrified.

‘No! I forbid it!’

At this, Aurelius looks annoyed.

‘You ‘forbid’ it do you? Although I appreciate what you’ve done for us, never forget who and what we are. We are the Broken lance clan. We are warriors born. We are reunited at last and we have a strong leader. We are your friends but we are not your servants.’

Gauss cowers under Aurelius’ gaze before the grizzled orc continues.

‘The Blue prince now knows for certain that there is a gathering of the orcs. A large gathering. If we all flee, he or his bitch mother will hunt us down… If a large number of us fight though…’

Aurelius stops as he considers the situation but Gauss interrupts.

‘What you’re offering is a distraction while we evacuate the camp? This actually isn’t a bad proposition. Let me broker it with my superiors.’

And with that, Gauss leaves the tent.

Bodan laughs. ‘I like the little fellow but surely the Gnomes opinion has no baring on what we’re going to do.’

‘No’ agrees Aurelius, ‘But it doesn’t hurt to keep our friends contented’.

Orestes looks at his two generals, his human and tiefling friends and the orcs in his tent.

His orcs.

All told, he’s got over four hundred orcs willing to fight for him.

Willing to die for him!

Should he risk them in a battle against the Blue prince or should he lead them to the safety of Mount Sneafang?

He hasn’t even been officially crowned yet but responsibility already feels heavy on his brow.

That’s the way to do it

Taking in the group of adventurers in front of him, Vogir sighs deeply.
It was a good plan. A plan that he himself would have considered, had the opportunity presented itself.
These five brigands have been waiting here, just outside the scope of the Black cloak tower, in the hopes of wresting the rescued Sibylle from the undoubtedly wounded arms of whichever group was successful.
It wasn’t just a good plan.
It was a VERY good plan.
Thankfully Rudha-an’s insightfulness, coupled with his own cynicism had lifted the veil of deception from his teammates eyes.
Rudha-an’s spirit panther was about to spring.
It wouldn’t be alone.

Dead friends with benefits

Riding back from the pine forest, Vogir feels his heart lighten.
Ghanash has gone on to the afterlife he so craved and has no need for any of his old weapons and equipment.
The deal he’d made with the traveling trader was poor, but it was better than nothing and his spare horse was still under a greater strain than she’d been on the way out.
Magical armour and axes weigh much less than even a fifth their value in gold.
Once back in town, Vogir seeks out Dokan, Rudha-an and Indigo to give them their share.
He could cheat them now, but frankly he’s not really interested in gold so why bother?
Unsurprisingly, he finds them all in the local tavern run by Linnea, a blond-haired, overly friendly, middle-aged widow.
The others find her fussing a little annoying, but Rudha-an seems to be loving it.
“Well boys, set up the drinks while I divvy this all out.”
The others smile and drink to the Dragon-born's memory as Vogir hands out his gold.

Dokan gets 10pp, 3,868gp, 2sp and 5cp.
Indigo gets 10pp, 3,868gp, 2sp and 5cp.
Rudha-an gets 10pp, 3,868gp, 2sp and 5cp.
Vogir gets 10pp, 3,868gp, 2sp and 5cp.

An Uncharacteristically Happy Ending!

Slowing down as he approaches them, Vogir waves to the approaching crowd.
“Welcome back friends! I’m so glad you made it. Petra and Vin explained that you’d come after me. I’m so sorry I didn’t wait a day longer.”
Vogir sweats for a moment as he waits for the coming response.
“Where did you get to Human?”
Grateful that it’s Ghanash that replies, Vogir explains that he’d waited as long as he could and eventually led a small group of Gnomes to sneak into the mountain and spirit away the captive Gnomes of the village.
Vogir repeatedly thanks the group for coming and congratulates them all on successfully rescuing so many of the Gnomish prisoners.
After escorting everyone back, the Party and children are made welcome. Even the thirteen Human children are taken away to be washed and dressed.
A great feast is laid on and dozens of the adult Gnomes play music and organize games.
Everyone is happy.
Even Vogir smiles as he watches the laughing children.
Later on in the evening, he calls everyone over.
“Ghanash, Orestes, Rudha-an, Dokan… And you too Lukas. I have something for you.”
Pulling out a heavy wooden chest from behind him, Vogir hands out a small leather purse to each of them in turn.

They only seem to contain a score of coins, but when the bags are opened, the coins glitter like platinum!

Treasure: Everyone gets 20pp (2,000gp) each as a reward for surviving and successfully rescuing the Gnomish children!

Experience: Everyone is 11th level!

Well done everyone!
No deaths and the successful completion of your mission.
(I’m pretty impressed and have to grumblingly admit that 4th edition does ‘encourage’ teamwork.)
;)

Change at the (Mountain)top

Standing wounded and burnt in the would-be throne room of High Vedic Liebniz, Orestes, Dokan, Ghanash and Rudha-an look around themselves.
The rat-faced leader of the Vedics lies dead in the flames of the still raging furnace. Both the burly guards and one of the flaming orb throwers from the balcony are also beyond saving. The remaining Vedics seem to have had the fight taken out of them at the sight of their supreme leader having to resort to using the now idle automaton.
Dokan prods it cautiously, but after its initial assault, it now stands silent.
A cough from behind, reminds them of the collection of Gnomish children as well as the ginger furred Head librarian: Godel and the turncoat: Gauss.
Gerromy, the seemingly eldest of the Gnome ‘teenagers’ coughs again.
‘Er… Before you slaughter any more of the Vedics, you may want to consider what the best solution for the future is…’
As soon as it’s established that the Vedics have surrendered, Lukas turns up with his not-so-merry band of Human children atop a floating wooden door.
After much debating, it is agreed that whatever Gnome children want to leave with the adventurers can, but whoever wants to stay will equally be allowed to.
The Vedics themselves will work with the older Gnomes to continue their work, but without the use of any additional Human children. The Human children already converted will be rehabilitated as best as possible and treated in a more ‘Gnomane’ way from now onwards.
Head Librarian Godel offers them the military equipment on ex-high Vedic Liebniz’ body plus any thing they want form his private safe.
On looking they take it all, realizing the value and that some of it might be useful.
The Party can hardly believe the change in demeanor that’s come over the Vedics. These clever if not powerful warriors seem to convert into butlers and servants with a shrug of their furry shoulders.
The adventures wash, eat and rest as the Gnomes decide amongst themselves, who will stay and who will go.
It’s early on the third day when the five adventures travel out through the stunningly crafted upper levels to the main, mountaintop entrance.
Each of them is momentarily blinded the brilliant arcs of electricity as the large hatch is opened.
It is guarded by just two Vedics manning the ‘lightning shield’ and ‘lightning cannon’. Dokan does flinch though when he passes a chained, but massive Snowlbear. He looks twice when he notices the mechanical devices surgically connected to its claws, beak and the thick, dark lenses over its eyes.
Squinting against the painful light, he even wishes he had a set of them himself!
It takes five days to walk the downward journey back to Finklestone and although none of the thirty-eight Gnomes are originally from there, they all wanted to leave Mount Snaefang. All the Finklestone Gnomes escaped during the time the adventurers were battling through the Vedic forces.
The journey is relatively easy and they have at least twice the provisions they need.
It’s on the last day that they see a surprised looking Vogir riding up to meet them.

A (Brute) Force for Good?

Puffing from the exertion of the battle, Dokan looks around himself. The defending forces are all dead. Even their leader lies dead in the corridor ahead.
He should feel happy, but instead he feels a sinking dread that he’s been responsible for the deaths of scores of mistreated Kobold slaves and worse, the death of a mind-controlled human boy.
Something else as well…
He feels hot and a little giddy.
Meanwhile, Ghanash has busied himself pulling the hoods from the faces of several of the red robed figures. They’re some sort of giant, bipedal rodent…
They’re familiar somehow…
It’s only when he notices the pale and shaven headed child, that his memory serves him.
He’s seen these collars before. Over a year ago, just after he’d met up with the human Vogir.
Opening his mouth to speak, he realises that none of his fellows were with him back then. Adventurers and mercenaries tend not to last too long in this world.
Orestes looks uncomfortable. Although he relishes a fight, possibly a ‘little’ too much, their current path seems certain to draw the attention of all the Vedic’s forces.
They couldn’t have been less subtle even if they’d taken the main entrance…
Could Niema have been captured and given them away?
Still, a fight’s a fight. The worse the odds, the greater the glory!
Rudha-an glances up from his effort to separate the dead boy from one of his pallid ears.
His teammates don’t look happy.
Don’t they realise that the child had gone for him?
In the corridor, Lucas telekinetically drags the body of Pascal back towards the others. The corridor he was in lead to a flight of stairs going up. No rush now though as the Vedic’s surely know they’re coming.

Treasure:

From the Otyugh’s fetid lair:
(The dead from disease and asphyxiation dwarf)

Dwarven greaves Lvl: 7 (2,600)
Holy gauntlets Lvl: 8 (3,400)
Helm of battle Lvl: 9 (4,200)
Battle-axe +3 (Frightful) Lvl: 12 (13,000)
Battle forged plat email +3 Lvl: 15 (25,000)

From the Kobold slave quarters:

Bizarrely nothing.

From Pascal and the Hamstermen/Vedics

9 x Long swords
9 x Crossbows
8 x Chainmail armour
Iron skin belt Lvl: 15 (25,000)
Stoneskin robes +3 Lvl: 13 (17,000)
Potion of healing Lvl: 2 (50)

Down in the Stenches

In the dark and malodorous cavern beneath Mount Sneafang, the Party find themselves trapped.
What little light there is, is coming from the flickering torchlight of the two ever-burning torches casually tossed on the floor.
The Gnome Lucas floats high above the islands of refuse and rotting corpses of children. The ‘water’ that separates these small islands is ‘pure’ sewage.
The noxious gassy air chokes and blinds, but despite this Lucas examines the downward pipes looking for a way back up.
Aside from the large central one that leads back up to the trap rooms, most of them are too small for any of them to enter, but there are a few that might allow his small frame entry. There might even be one or two that would allow his bigger teammates passage...
If they could just get up here…
Rudha-an stands alone one of the smaller islands while his spirit panther swims around the outer walls looking for a way out.
In the central island, the unseen Niema burrows further down under the decomposing slime of the dead children.
Dokan, struggles for breath as the disgusting tentacle tightens around his throat. He’s being pulled lower into the brown sludge, but with direction and purpose.
Just behind him are his heroic teammates: Orestes and Ghanash. Can they see well enough through the gloop to follow or is Dokan lost?

Treasure: Just in case I forget:
12 large opals: (Value 50gp each)
Splintered and cracked large opal bits: (25gp)

Changing classes is just plain Rudha-an

The average height of the Party just went up...

Owlbearly alive

Waking suddenly, the paradoxical demon/paladin opens his eyes to see Ghanash standing over him. Looking past the massive Dragon-born, he can make out the mortally injured but still wheezing snowlbear lying in a pool of it’s own blood.
Dokan had foolishly let his thirst for battle, cloud his judgment. He would have been safe in the ominous black box. Instead though he almost got himself killed trying to prove himself against a thousand pounds of fur, feathers and psychosis.
Still, four snowlbears…
He’d heard of them of course, but never actually seen one.
Everything he’d heard though, had been proven true. When he looked into their freakishly oversized eyes, all he saw was unrelenting hatred. The only way a battle with a snowlbear will end is with the death of either it or you.
Niema had finished off the last remaining human. No conversation. No interrogation. Just a quick and cold assassination.
The five humans were all big, muscular men, but not particularly skilled. Niema realises though, that they didn’t have to be with the snowlbears to do their fighting for them.
Orestes examines one of the massive black metal boxes. His father had been a carpenter, so he knew the difference between good and bad quality work. The engineering involved in these boxes though was beyond the best that he’d ever seen.
The box is about twelve feet long, by eight feet wide and eight feet tall. Inside it’s divided into two compartments. The larger one for the snowlbear, the smaller one for the handler.
The cog, ratchet system was amazing. Despite the sheer weight and strength of the murderously insane animal, he was able to drag it back quite easily.
Strong as he is, Orestes realises that he’d been very lucky breaking out of their hugs as often as he did.
Inside the handler section, Orestes realises that the human’s must have been living there for a while. Each tiny cabin had it’s own folding bed and store cupboard for food and personal belongings…
Lucas settles down to go through what they’d found…
The humans all had leather armour, long swords and crossbows. Pretty standard stuff, but they also had a fairly substantial amount of gold.
Each of the five had a purse containing 50gp. (250gp total)
(Exactly 50gp.)
The four brass horns they had were worth 5gp each.
The leader also had three more things of interest.
A silver whistle, worth 10gp.
A Shortsword +2 Berserkery 5,000gp
A Crossbow +2 of Thundering. 3,400gp
Off to the side, the disturbingly thin and tall Rhudha-an laughs as he plays with the amputated claws of the four snowlbears. Suddenly quiet, he looks to the bodies of the five human mercenaries…

That’s life guards

Standing in front of their commander, the two gate sentries look determinedly at the floor.
“Yes Sir. Sorry Sir. It’ll not happen again Sir.”
The commander lets the colour drain from his face until it’s closer to its normal beetroot.
“I understand that it’s just six gold pieces, but it’s the principle of the thing. If we just let these things go, the Black cloaks will start taking a more active interest in our affairs… Our finances.”
The older of the two guards coughs and stammers more of an explanation.
“Calm down, I realise you were bewitched in some way. It doesn’t take a genius to work out these adventurers took advantage of you. The only question is why?”
Pacing around his office, the large commander stops and as if talking to himself mutters, “Keep your eyes open for this group of monsters. What were they? Two Tieflings - a male and a female, a Dragon-born, an Orc, a Gnome and a seven foot tall tall Human? Shouldn’t be too hard to spot.”

Spoils of adventuring

Vogir divides up the loot from the last few encounters. Despite his nature, he tries to be fair....

Ghanash:
Battlecrazed Battleaxe +2. (840gp)
1 potion of healing (10gp)
22gp

Dokan:
Boots of Quickness +1 to Reflex Defense. (680gp)
192gp

Orestes:
Periapt of Recovery +2. (680 gp)
1 potion of healing (10gp)
182gp

Rhudha-an:
Irrefutable Hide Armor +2AC. (520gp)
1 potion of healing (10gp)
142gp

Vogir:
1 Potion of Regeneration (32gp)
1 Platinum ring (50gp)
1 Silver Circlet (250gp)
5 pp
39gp

Value wise, everyone is equal. If you really want to check though, I've left the values of items up next to them. Actually, Vogir's 1gp down on everyone else. :)

Fort to the end

OK, let’s see what we’re facing...

Our target is a well built rectangular wooden fort. I’m guessing it’s about one hundred feet along the longest sides and maybe sixty feet at its most narrow?
It’s surrounded by a ten foot patrolled palisade and it seems there is a construction inside the wall since the guards can be seen over the palisade..
The palisade has two gates in the centres of the two shortest walls on opposite sides of the fort. These gates are fortified and have small guard towers on either side.
Do we know how tall these towers are?
The sturdy wooden gates open outward.
There are eight buildings inside.
The one near the north gate seems to be the troop's quarters. They are in two lines along the road in between the gates.
There are at least ten regular guards, but that’s including their commander and an accursed black cloak.
The road passes in the west while there is forest on the other sides.
There's about a fifty foot distance from the palisade to the forest's edge.
Carts normally seem to enter at one gate and leave through the other after being loaded or unloaded by the people that are with the cart and just supervised by a guard.

There also appears to be a kind of quick response group stationed there to protect the roads near the fort. Ten mounted fighters who control the roads and pass the fort on two regular passes throughout the day and stay there over night.
Annoyingly these cavalrymen don’t were helmets and are well known and easily recogniseable by the men in the garrison.

The fort act as an intermediate storage facility. The are carts bringing and taking stuff. They mostly supply troops that are passing through and get re-stocked when necessary.
The fort is simple though. A wooden construction and no moat or slope to worry about.

I still think fire’s our best option. If we could get Indigo in somehow, he could stealthily poor oil on the thatched roofs . In fact he could set the fires AND help open the gate..
Then it would be a simple matter for archers shooting fire-arrows into the fort to light the place up.
Wooden fortifications are always susceptible to fire. A few buckets of water and damp leather are no match for burning oil and bloody mindedness.
As the fire spreads, those living inside would be forced to flee, thereby allowing us to take them prisoner or kill them.

Our main problem though is still the matter of getting in...
Do any of us have any abilities that would help?

As for the problem of not destroying what we’ve come here to get. We don’t have to target every building. The guard house and one or two others would do.
I’ve thought about what Orestes had said about their fire defences. They are very unlikely to be keeping the wood damp as that would lead to it rotting.
And regardless of that, it would distract at least a few of them.
Interestingly, as the garrison is so lightly defended, there should only be six or so defenders initially as at least a third of them will be asleep preparing for or recovering from the night shift.

I also think we all now agree that it’s best for us to strike fast during the day, between the cavalry passes and be gone before they return. Killing them can wait for another day.

Of our assets, we have the five of us and the possible support of about 15 untrained men and women. Frankly I’d rather we left them behind to protect their settlement.

We don’t have any belfries, battering rams or catapults and using ladders would prove disasterous. Mining’s out as we don’t have any Dwarves and we haven’t got time for a siege

So unless anyone can offer a better suggestion?

The Mean Fiddle

After dressing, Vogir brushes his teeth and wanders downstairs for breakfast.
Despite Vornak being a decent sized town, the Inn is quite dirty, the ale is warm and the food barely edible.
Idly watching the cook pick his nose and wipe it into his beard, Vogir resolves to book out of it and seek out Ghanash, Rudha-an, Orestes and Dokan.
The Mean Fiddle, he realizes, is a Vile Inn.

Thinking room

After getting undressed, Vogir slumps down into his bed, pulls up his covers and tries to think things through.
Politics.
He hates politics.
The whiney self-importance of men who speak of change, while usually just feathering their own nests.
Despite this, he does understand the implications of acting against the Sheriff.
Hadn’t his own Father acted in a similar way?
Unlike the Sheriff however, Armando, had eked out his own Father’s fortune for as long as he could.
Though not a strong man, he had cared for his people and protected them to the best of his ability.
The Sheriff obviously doesn’t share that sentiment.
Thinking about his monster-race teammates, Vogir starts to worry.
Dokan, Orestes and Ghanash seem straightforward enough.
Perhaps too straightforward?
They didn’t even consider keeping the gold or, better still, handing it back to the people it was ‘stolen’ from...
Even the Human Rudha-an seemed indifferent to the plight of his own people...
Not a traitor to his race but certainly uncaring.
Although it choked Vogir to admit it, the small army they’d encountered would have pulled the town apart looking for the gold he’d advocated taking.
The whole ‘slaughter-a-whole-town-so-the-others-will-pay-their-tribute’ seems a little shortsighted though.
Slaughtering ‘willing’ taxpayers just because the tax wagons are being robbed is plain stupid.
OK, it’ll scare the neighbouring towns into paying, but if they’re being robbed as well...
Vogir strains his brain some more and thinks about the people recently met and the information he’s garnered from the others.
It is apparent that there are at least four factions involved here.
The Dragon and his Black-cloaks.
The Sheriff and his men.
Rob Inwood and his gang of cutthroats.
And a ‘possible’ underground resistance.
Certainly they all have their own agendas but how do they relate to each other?
The Dragon’s motivation is clear. Keep the people down and gather gold for it’s own selfish ends.
The Sheriff is a typical toady Lord. Keen to retain his position and wealth regardless of the suffering of others.
Rob Inwood appears, not to be a hero of the people, but at least he does attack the Black-cloaks. A villain then, but at least a thorn for the Dragon to deal with.
And finally, the Underground resistance... Certainly no army and definitely incapable of standing openly against either the Sheriff or the Black cloaks...
Still, they’d be worth helping.
If he could find a way in…
The strange and unnecessarily mysterious Indigo seems to have some twisted agenda of his own, but to what end? He’s obviously no friend to Rob Inwood but is he a friend to the people?
The Minstrel, Alan A’ Dale seemed to be against Rob Inwood AND the Sheriff...
Unfortunately he didn’t seem to like the Demon Dokan either.
Little Jen, the blacksmith’s daughter was thrown into jail for standing up to the tax collectors. But apparently she escaped...
Perhaps her Father is a man worth talking to?
Also, there was another one... Fry. He escaped at the same time.... And his frail old mother claimed that he regularly leaves money for her...
Vogir smiles.
These two stood up to the Sheriff, escaped prison AND still care for their parents.
It’ll definitely be worthwhile speaking to both Big John AND widow Artack.
And what of the Maid Demarion?
She owes them her life... She seemed intelligent... She seemed to know something about the tattoos and gold bracelet…
The one that now rests in Vogir’s satchel.
Perhaps she might help... If asked nicely?

Is there anyone you can trust?

As they ate a very welcome dinner in the comfort of William Indigo's place, Dokan mentally looked at the people he had found himself with. Could he trust any one of these creatures?

Alan A'Dale had joined him in revenge against InWood's bandits and seemed to have good reason to do so. Yet he had turned pretty quick and tried to blow him up.

Of those who he had travelled from Gilderock with, Ghanash and Ruddha-an had fought bravely and seemed trustworthy - so far.

Vogir, however, who had appeared capable and upstanding, had turned around and insisted they become thieves. Hardly and glory in that. He had gone down in his estimation hugely.

Orestes had just laid stiff on the floor as the rest of them faced the onslaught of the bandit leader Knife. He would reserve judgement on him until it was clear why he had cowered on the floor.

And then there was William. Despite the fact that he had fought by his side bravely, Dokan's instinct was still telling him there was something very wrong about this guy.

Only time would tell - as usual.

The fair and equalish division of Treasure

Whover takes magic should pay for it in some way.
I understand that in the 4th edition system of weirdness we can only sell it for a fifth it’s value, so to be fair that’s where the price should start.

Vogir doesn’t care for either item so let Dokan take the magic boots and I’m assuming the all-new Rudha-an can use the hide armour.

Therefore...

Dokan:
1) Boots of Quickness. Value: 680gp
Total: 680gp

Rudha-an:
1) Irrefutable Hide Armor +2. Value: 520gp
Total: 520gp

Ghanash:
1) 2 x Potions of healing. Value: 20gp
2) 45gp
3) 3pp. Value: 300gp
Total: 365gp

Vogir:
1) Silver Circlet. Value:250gp
2) Platinum ring. Value: 50gp
3) 1pp. Value: 100gp
1) 1 x Potion of healing. Value: 10gp
2) 5gp
Total: 365gp

Indigo:
Nothing. (Is this right?)

This means that Dokan and Rudha-an do well out of this but Ghanash and Vogir can’t complain...
Too much.

Sounds fair?
Also, doesn’t Dokan owe us some gold?

[Edit: Dokan also gives everyone (including himself and Orestes another 80gp.]
:)

Tremor with fear

Vogir follows the rest of the group back into the binding chamber. The very walls are shaking now and, as he passes into the chamber leading to the pit, he sees why.
The creature. The enormous creature is half out of its prison.
Stopping in his tracks, Vogir watches as his teammates rush into action. The Shadow chain Dwarves set two of the artefacts down.
The Rib and the Hand.
Bayern places the Heart and the fleet footed Niema sprints to place the Eye.
All of them chant the binding prayer and the Stone Titan reels.
Ghanash and Orestes rush towards the mountainous demi-god.
Rudha-an also closes.
Vogir, momentarily paralyzed with fear, stands beside the Dwarven cleric: Bayern.
Notching an arrow and steadying his breath, Vogir fires an arrow into the only vulnerable spot he can see.
Its eye. Its single remaining eye.
The arrow flies true and hits dead centre!
...
But it fails to penetrate. A scratch at best.
The others strike at the stone behemoth like bees around a bear.
It’s only the loss off its eye, hand, rib and heart that prevents it from crushing everyone like bugs.
Despite its disabilities, two of the Dwarves quickly get trampled under its terrible heel.
Rudha-an and Orestes are dominated by the creature’s massive will and in confusion turn against themselves.
Finally though the creature starts to weaken and it’s only then that Vogir feels the courage to advance.
His arrows have done a little damage but he knows that his two magical swords can do more.
Vogir isn’t there long however before the Tiefling demoness appears out of the shadows and topples the Titan with more of her dark magic.
Looking directly at him, Niema licks the dusty blade that brought down the creature.
As their eyes lock, a feeling of icy fear trickles down Vogir’s spine.

Quaking with fear

Despite the sudden increase in the incidence of the earth tremors, Vogir’s teammates still seem lackadaisical in regard to the urgency of their mission.
The demoness, just returned from her scouting mission, tells them that at the top of the spiral staircase there are just three orcs guarding the final piece of the Stone Titan…
She heads back up just as the ground shakes again. Unwilling to wait any longer, Vogir charges past the slow-witted Half-orc and Dragon-born Warriors and up the stairs.
How tough can just three orcs be?
Charging toward the first one he sees, Vogir sticks his sword deep into the belly of the dragon-masked orc.
He doesn’t fall.
However, spurred on by his action, the others follow his lead and rush to attack the remaining orcs.
Vogir sees the cowardly demoness slip out of sight just before the three orcs summon spirit creatures from a large pile of bones.
The spirits streak across the room knocking everyone down except the dwarf Bayern and the invisible Niema.
The shock of injury overcomes Vogir for a moment and he rolls for cover under a nearby table. Taking a deep breath however, he gulps down two potions and springs to his feet.
He charges at the nearest orc and slices him open before spinning around and ramming both his swords into a second one.
Thankfully the conjured creatures are pulled back to the spirit world with their now dead masters.
Still injured, Vogir then rushes to bring down the last but largest of the shaman orcs.
He is protected by magical forces and seems to be hovering rather than standing on the ground.
It does him no good however against the combined weapons of the Dwarves, the Half-orc, the Dragon-born, the demoness and his fellow human.
Unsurprisingly though, it is Vogir again who claims the kill.
All three of the kills.