May 22, 2019 Session

Setup

The previous session ended with the party being victorious in their efforts to stave off the attacks of Brother Pelliton and his The Hate Incarnate flunkies. However, a debt had been accrued. The party had agreed to sneak 18 orcs, Bonebreaker Dorokor and his crew of warriors from the Ancient Dominion of the Unending Lands into the city of Highbridge in order for them to kill off the Hate Incarnate clerics for whatever undisclosed reasons they’ve got.

Over the course of the evening before they head out, Kelmen Longbottom, Pinna, and Joc give the advice they have on potentially sneaking the orcs into the city: Fireside Chat - Plans and Help.

Planning

The party eventually comes up with a plan. Rhagal and Ser Shadow will sneak into Highbridge to see if there is anything amiss while Corliss, Hurodash, and Yornan lead the orcs to a small copse of trees downriver of Highbridge that is known to contain some boats and barges that might help them across the river. Tony Hawk will circle overhead and perform reconnaissance.

Eventually they all meet back at the boats and find that it is a small campsite with a handful of smugglers with allegiance to The Knot. Feigned drunkenness hilariousness ensues, only to be ended in a fairly gruesome manner when Ser Shadow forces the mesmerized leader of the smugglers to flee into woods and them intimidates the others. One follows his leader into the darkness while the other two climb into a rowboat to escape. Yornan casts Whirlpool and sinks the boat, drowning both of them.

Half the orcs join Ser Shadow on one barge and the remainder join Rhagal on the other. Hurodash and Yornan take the oars of the rowboat while Corliss plays coxswain. Their plan is to make their way directly across the river, row in under the guarded towers and manned ballistas, and beach the barges directly beneath the castle walls on Baron’s Isle.

This turns out to be not a good plan.

A Control Water spell and a few mending cantrips cast by Yornan propel the craft safety across the river, but as they come within range of the ballistas, they find themselves under fire. Rhagal makes a magical, 900-foot shot in the darkness that knocks a defender from the walls, but otherwise the party is lucky to successfully cross the river, landing on the muddy banks a few hundred yards downriver of Highbridge. They quickly skulk through the darkness towards a hidden smuggling tunnel and prepare to make their way beneath the walls.

Beneath the Walls

After traversing a few hundred yards, Hurodash recognizes his location in the tunnels and instantly gains his bearings. After a few failed attempts, the party settles on trying to work their way up through the desert Temple of Tiamat that they had once breached.

Just outside the underground entrance to the temple, they encounter a handful of Giant Spiders and their hungry babies. A few cool moves later - including a Heat Metal spell that cooked Yornan and the baby spiders under his armor - the threat had been neutralized.

The party led the orcs up through the looted remnants of the temple and out onto the street in the middle of the Baron’s Grounds. The orcs - seeing the castle hosting the Hate Incarnate lit up by torches just a hundred yards away - charged across the footbridge and through the gates. A raucous battle ensued, with flames and smoke as well as crashing sounds and horrible smells bursting from the windows. Finally, after about ten minutes, everything went quiet. A few moments later, Dorokor and two other orcs - each bleeding from multiple wounds - burst from the castle, crossed the bridge, and fled into the darkness of the Docks region.

Aftermath

The party headed to The Farthing Yards to spend the night in The Reluctant Pig and determine their next plan of action.