Goblins and Orcs and Dead Rangers, Oh My!

Summary

Continuing on the road, the party came upon a huge pile of boulders and debris blocking their way - the obvious remnants of a landslide. They were able to easily climb over the rocks and continue on their way, and wisely ignored the conspicuous and likely dangerous smaller pile of rocks that lay before the landslide.

The road eventually lead to the fortress entrance protruding from the mountainside at the top of the peak. The entrance was a large set of double doors, flanked by a statue of a dark elf maiden and a statue of a dragon. The doors themselves bore three handles and a riddle of sorts.

Rather quickly, Shashank discovered that the doors were rigged with some sort of lightning trap. He was able to easily disable the trap, at which point the PCs set about the arduous task of figuring out how to open the door.

In the meantime, from a previously-unnoticed arrow slit, someone started shooting at the heroes. Wylan and Kalnac fired back, though with poor results until they worked their way up the rough rock to the guard post. At that point, the unknown archer backed away lest he be subject to the ranger's arrows and the warlock's spells.

Trial and error eventually revealed the solution to how to turn the handles to open the double doors. Immediately upon gaining entrance to a moderately-sized hall, the party was set upon by a large group of goblins - a mage and seven javelin- and sword-wielding warriors. A large, tattooed, obviously powerful and dangerous brutish orc with a bow was also in the hall.

A lengthy battle ensued. As the melee raged on, the orc made his way out of the entrance; it appeared that he actually wanted to abandon the place. Wylan, however, would have none of it. He wanted the orc to pay for the arrows he was shot with!

The orc paused from his escape to teach the ranger a lesson. The battle was swift as the brutish humanoid seemed the equivalent of four or five normal specimens of his kind. After dropping Wylan, the orc continued on his way.

Wylan's dog and Kalnac were not content to let the orc leave even though he clearly was no longer interested in fighting. They began to chase him down.

Unfortunately for Wylan, Drakken was occupied with the goblins and before he could get to his fallen companion, he had slipped free of the mortal coil.

Eventually, everyone who yet lived joined the warlock, who had cornered the hapless orc against the landslide. Together, they extracted vengeance for Wylan and mercilessly slew the semi-innocent humanoid. The orc had enough wealth on him to more than pay for raising the ranger, but that would probably have to wait until they returned to civilization

Now that the heroes have opened the entrance to the old dragon's lair, what further dangers await them? Will they claim victory against the dark forces arrayed in the ruin, or will their corpses fall alongside Wylan's, on the peak of...

...Wyvern Mountain!'

Memorable Events

• Death of Wylan

Creatures Encountered

• Goblin witch doctor
• Goblin warriors
• Orc soldier (solo)

Treasures Discovered

• Silver-plated music box
• +1 magic longsword
• Various gems and coins

Locations Visited

• Wyvern Mountain

NPCs Encountered

• n/a