After their victory over the ghouls at the edge of the Watching Wood, the party continued their journey through said forest. Two days later, on 23 Lhavrion, they emerged, and found themselves on a hill overlooking Blackwater Lake. The Lake was huge, almost like an inland sea, and indeed had a dark and foreboding look to it. It was bordered on the south (the party's left) by a dank-looking marsh, and there was a large field between the bottom of their current hill and the shore. And in this field was a huge army! The party recognized Fomorian, huge, ghastly looking creatures, who appeared to be in command, and cyclopes.
The party was naturally skittish as to how to proceed. But before they could come to any decision, a small detachment of two Fomorians and two cyclopes came up the hill near them. The huge, ugly creatures attacked these intruders, and a fierce battle commenced!
Session #41
It was a pitched battle. The cyclopes, while not easy to defeat, proved manageable. The Fomorians however were hardy and relentless. The party was wearing them down, but it became a battle of attrition, each side wailing on the other trying to wear them down the fastest.
The party was nearing victory when all of sudden a war-cry split the air. Everyone looked up to see a huge army of half-orcs emerge from the marsh to the south and charge the Fomorian-Cyclops army! A ferocious, rather one-sided battle erupted - the half-orcs were tearing through the cyclopes like it was nothing. The Fomorians who were still fighting the party roared in anger and abandoned their fight with the heroes and ran back to help their troops.
The party sat down to rest and tend to their wounds, watching the battle in horrified fascination. It was clear the half-orc army was going to win, but the party wasn't sure what they themselves should do. The enemy of their enemy was their friend, they supposed, so they figured the half-orcs would be allies in this situation, and if they wanted their good graces, they'd have to join the fray. They were understandably reluctant to do so, but girded their loins and prepared to fight again.
As they were preparing though, two half-orc soldiers came up the hill. Upon seeing them, they reacted as if they'd been looking for the heroes, and ordered the party to come with them. The party was confused and a little suspicious, but curious enough that they decided to follow.
The soldiers led them to the half-orc army's camp deeper in the marsh, and then to a tent within the camp. There, a half-orc cleric greeted them. He informed them that the Order of the Lantern, whom they had encountered a month or so ago (and had more or less declined to help them with their quest for a counter-ritual), had been keeping an eye on them, and was now willing to reconsider their original refusal and make a deal. The cleric then left the tent, just assuming they would follow. The party shouted some questions after him, but he was just the messenger come to fetch them, and he had no answers.
The party was a bit nonplussed. There weren't happy being bossed around by these half-orcs, they weren't happy at the fact they seemed to be getting farther and farther away (both geographically and figuratively) from getting paid, they weren't happy that they didn't feel like their excursions into Droaam had really netted any answers to the questions they'd come here with. They debated for a while what to do. In the end, their desire to continue towards the goal of obtaining the counter-ritual outweighed other considerations, and they decided to go with the cleric.
The cleric, a few soldiers, and the party headed out almost immediately. They crossed over into the Shadow Marches, and followed the Blackwater River downstream for a day (camping overnight). The half-orcs did not have much to say, and gave only terse responses to questions, and the party finally gave up asking.
Around noon on 24 Lhavrion, they arrived in the half-orc city of Arashuul.
Rewards
- 13,000 XP each. You're up to level 18 now!
- 60,000 GP total.
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