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1 to 5 Growfest, 581 CY, Deowin Road and Ralsand
Armed with the information on Tehlei and having had enough of the big city, we made our way back to Ralsand. Francenn was happy to see us, since we had his wand. He let us keep our friends in his cages for the full moon again, and we passed some time in town waiting for them to finish the changes. Francenn also informed Galen that Prince Herrell had sent messengers inquiring as to the whereabouts of his son. Galen hadn't sent any word for the almost two months he'd been away, and his lordship was worried he might be dead. Francenn had sent word back that Galen was in good health a month ago, when he'd seen him last, no word had been heard since.
6 Growfest to 6 Planting, 581 CY, Road from Ralsand to Tarrentch
We split up here at Tarrentchto go our separate ways, Isaac headed of to Castle Serrin, west of Tarrentch. It contains a large shrine to Rao, and Isaac hoped that the priests there could help him find a way to control his affliction. Everyone noticed that his hair was slowly changing color from blonde to black, and his fingernails were slowly blackening. We wished him well and went on to Munevar. Home never seemed so good!
7 to 8 Planting, 581 CY, Wraile and Munevar
Well, we rolled into town shortly before dusk, short Isaac and Cedric (who had gone to Chathold for some religious activity). Some of us went to our residences, and Galen headed out to the Prince's manor house and reported in. Pern, the prince's footman, quickly ushered him into the prince's study, his eyes quite large. Herrell came into the study soon after, apparently happy to see Galen, but the smile on his face rang false. He got to the point rather quickly, mentioning certain promises that may or may not have been made by Galen to deliver a larger quota of timber to Ralsand for the same price as last years amount. Galen tried to make it seem like he promised nothing but was chided by Herrell that Francenn seemed to think the deal was done. And since Galen had struck the deal, it was up to Galen to make it happen. Herrell assigned Galen, with Rienne's help, to increase lumber production out of Kleese. What a boring job. Galen brought up the fact that with the number of woodsmen brought in from the Adri, the quota ought to be easy to meet. We could all tell by the look on the Prince's face that there was another problem. And it was likely related to the woodsmen.
It seems that some of the woodsmen were infected by the raven-men and Herrell credits Orest with making sure that the whole principality wasn't overwhelmed. We all made some noise at this point, asking what he could do. Herrell seemed to think that Orest had some way of detecting the infection in the populace, and his solution to the problem was to burn all the infected he could find. That meant he was burning them, whether they were dead or alive. We had seen the blackened pole in the village, but hadn't marked what it could mean. Galen brought up the possibility that Orest might be deceiving him, telling him that there was a cure for the affliction without killing the infected. Galen begged leave to gather up his friends as witnesses, and went out to town to get Oliver from his father's house. We took a long look at the pole and shook our heads at the madness that had swept the town in our absence.
We found everyone we could and went to see Orest at the inn. When we arrived and asked Burdock about Orest, he happily told us that the Baalzite had bought a new building to preach in. After getting directions, we headed out the door, passing directly beneath a freshly painted symbol of Baalzy over the inn door. Madness wasn't the word, total insanity summed it up better.
Finding the newly renovated building wasn't hard, and inside we discovered a large group of peasants performing various crafting tasks, and some even learning to read. It was kind of heartening to see them with such hopeful faces, and learning valuable skills. There was even a large half-finished symbol of Baalzy in the middle of the room. We politely asked for Orest, but were told he wasn't available. We became more insistent, even having Galen try and pull rank, but something seemed to have put some backbone into these normally subservient peasants. Eventually Orest decided he'd scored enough of a coup and arrived in the room. We greeted him and asked if he would accompany us to the Prince's manor house to discuss the "problem" facing all of us. Orest motioned to two men dressed in black robes carrying crossbows, saying he was busy taking care of 'that' business and he would talk to the Prince some other time. We didn't take to kindly to him trying to blow us off, and insisted he come. It could have gotten messy, as we were in no mood to be trifled with and had had enough with religious figures thinking they were somehow better than us because they had some temporal power. Orest relented though, and we all made our way past the burning pole to the manor house. A few barbed comments were uttered and we told Orest that our news may make it possible that this would no longer be required. This actually got a reaction from him and he pressed us for more information. We told him we would wait until we reached the Prince's house and thereby only tell the story once.
About an hour later, Oliver, Galen, Ryvvik and Galen arrived back at the manor house with Orest and his acolytes in tow.. Prince Herrell was livid, having expected Galen to report back immediately. Galen apologized saying he thought that including the 'valuable' Baalzite would make this easier and allow us to tell the story only once. He began telling the story of our travels but was having some trouble with brevity so Oliver interjected with the salient details. Eventually, the prince started listening to just Oliver who took over the telling of out tale, omitting only the fact that Darcius and Isaac were infected with the curse. At this point Oliver asked around the room if anyone had anything else to add to his summation and turned to Orest. He asked Orest if he would be willing to help us to find a cure for the raven curse, that did not require the burning peasants at the stake. We told him that Francenn figured that the ultimate cure for the curse would be destroying the source and we had reason to believe that the source lay in the Adri wood. Contrary to what we believed, the priest was so in favor of the plan, he insisted that he accompany us on any mission to find a cure and allow him to assist in rooting out the source of the problem. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Herrell also endorsed this idea, which led to a number of narrowed eyes on the part of our intrepid heroes.
We all broke up at this point, heading back to our beds, and catching up on our sleep.
9 to 25 Planting, 581 CY, Munevar (Boy am I glad to be home)
Oliver went out into the woods for a while and met Adamane. News from the woods was grim: raven attacks were increasing in the east and three new slaver camps had been discovered in the area north of Cherrin. Adamane had been stepping up ranger intervention in the woods in response and had been slowly pinching the supply of slaves available to Pervost. The slavers were becoming more and more desperate, taking big risks which allowed the rangers to punish them all the more. Some of his rangers had gone missing as well, and since the slavers had more men, every loss the rangers took was felt deeply.
He also mentioned a strange development from Prisstyne. Some of her scouts on the edge of the Deep Adri reported seeing a giant raven animal spirit flying around near the border of the Deep woods. No one had got near enough to it to communicate with it or even discern it's intentions thus far.
26 Planting, 581 CY, Munevar
Oliver came to Isaac and the others with the news he'd received from Adamane and all agreed that a mysterious raven spirit bore some investigation. Of course, our first concern was to deal with our raging raven friends. We came up with all kinds of ideas to hold them, including burying them alive, with only a breathing tube coming to the surface. They didn't take very well to that one. We tried thinking of a series of harnesses, and even putting them in the jail in Munevar, but felt that it might be terribly obvious to all that our friends were infected if we tried that. Darcius and Isaac took it into their own hands and rode to Delcouth where they barricaded themselves in the basement of the ruined Chapterhouse of the Knights of the Raven.
27 Planting to 6 Flocktime,581 CY, Munevar
We waited until Isaac and Darcius returned from their excursion. Orest had burnt a few more peasants who turned with the full moon, but we bided our time, hoping to effect an ultimate cure.
6 to 11 Flocktime, 581 CY, Adri Wood
We traveled for about five days to reach the area of the woods that the raven spirit was reported. As before, we felt the eyes of the forest on us the deeper we went. By the eleventh, the feeling of watchers was so prevalent it was becoming hard to sleep. Adamane had met us in the woods and his suggestion now that we'd reached the area was to walk the perimeter of the deep woods hoping to run across the raven-thing. Oliver grew tired of walking in circles and suggested climbing a tall tree and watching above the canopy. Every assented, probably tired of walking in circles as well. We watched in shifts and camped around the base of the tree. Nobody was sleeping well, and Oliver was the one who spotted something from the tree near dusk. Pointing it out to his companions, Adamane gasped his realization out...it was Corkoura, the Raven King! A translucent raven, black but somehow not there and speckled with stars passed through the forest boughs, sometimes dodging branches, sometimes passing right through them. It alighted on a tree, somewhere above the group of us and regarded us with a mixture of contempt and resignation. Adamane told us that Corkoura was the 'friendliest' of the animal spirits, and least likely to outright attack us. However, some of our recent experiences with ravens left us all with a bad taste in our mouth and we stayed on our guard.
After regarding us for a time, it spoke to us. Not with it's mouth, but directly into our minds. It said it had come to speak with it's kin, somehow indicating that he meant Isaac and Darcius. It was risking the wrath of many of the other animal spirits by speaking to us, but felt that the lives of it's subjects were sufficiently threatened to warrant this action. After pausing for a moment, it went on, telling us of a corrupting 'spirit' to the east, somewhere near the deep wood. Somehow this presence was calling ravens to it, and then marrying their soul to a man's, corrupting both in the process. He says he even feels the call, though he is powerful enough to resist it, as long as he keeps his distance. In exchange for killing this evil spirit, Corkoura will offer a way to understand and control the raven side of the raven-man's nature. This would be especially beneficial for Darcius and Isaac in the future to keep there rage in check. Corkoura flew away shortly after, leaving us all too close for comfort to the Deep Adri. We headed home.
11 to 16 Flocktime, 581 CY, Adri Wood to Munevar
Arriving back in town, we found Prince Herrell in a tizzy. It seems he received some news from Prince Marrin. The missive contains a warning that Darrien was mobilizing to capture Cherrin. He also indicated that he was in no position to assist us. It seems that Prince Kalord of Roqborough is camping outside of Errantkeep, effectively pinning Marrin in his castle. Darrien has pulled a few strings in his campaign to capture Cherrin, including hiring a band of mercenaries from Dustbridge called The Raiders of the Adri. They will be marching out of Dastryth in five days and arrive outside of Cherrin five days after that.
Adamane came into town, which was weird in and of itself and told us that he had a plan to hurt Pervost. His scout in Dustbridge had confirmed a shipment of slaves being booked by Pervost from Prince Strychan. It seems that our raids and Adamane's rangers had brought the situation to a head. Pervost must need the slaves very badly indeed to be paying top dollar to a Prince for serfs. Adamane said he was going back to the woods to gather up all the rangers he could afford to take off of their assignments and attack the slave caravan. This gave us quite a quandary, since we couldn't be in two places at once. We held a quick council and all agreed that defending our home fief was more important than some slaves. We would try and rendezvous with Adamane if we could, but we promised nothing. Before he left, Adamane said our presence would likely double his numbers. That situation sounds pretty hopeless.
Herrell was considering fortifying Munevar rather than attempt to save Cherrin but dislikes the idea of being pushed around by Naelexian blowhards. We, as a group, came up with a battle plan. We had five days to rally the peasant levies, see what kind of support we could expect from the woodsmen, and possibly secure some mercenary help of our own. Oliver brought up that Lady Ilona of Tarrentch had hired some mercs earlier in the spring and may be hired away for this campaign. Oldridge is too far out of the way for us to hire a mercenary company of our own. Isaac sped off to Tarrentch on Torment, carrying promises and gold. He managed to secure half of Ilona's hirelings, 25 in number, a hardened group of warriors that will bolster our lines in the upcoming battle. Oliver sped north east to scout out the oncoming army. He hit upon an idea to try and bribe the mercenaries away from Darrien. Having only his pocket money to attempt this however, he was summarily laughed out of the leader's tent. Oliver then headed north to meet with Adamane for the slave raid.
20 Flocktime,
581 CY, Cherrin Plain
The Battle for Cherrin (as told by Isaac)
The battle plan was pretty well laid out. The plan was to have most of our force hidden to lull the enemy into a false sense of confidence. We had some forces hidden in fox holes on the battlefield and some more forces in the nearby Adri forest-hidden and ready to charge. We were unready and under-equipped, but we had home field advantage and it was our land to lose.
Our biggest concern in preparation for the battle and during the battle were adhering to the rules of fair conduct. If the rules were strictly followed then the Overking had the authority to march his dread armies in and annex both sides of the conflict. Annex seems like a light word to describe the consequences for breaking the rules.
Our force was composed of the Munevar Infantry, the Munevar Militia, the Adri Woodsmen, and the Peasant Levy. The Munevar Guard were being reinforced by the mercenaries acquired from Tarrentch and commanded by Prince Herrell The Militia were led by Dedrick and the Woodsmen by Darcius. As it appeared on the battlefield, the Guard was our only force. The Militia and Levy were concealed in fox holes and the woodsmen were in the border Adri, just out of sight of the armies, ready for a flank attack. The Units themselves were not very large about sixty members each.
The Dastryth force was formidable. It comprised itself of the Dastryth Regulars, two units of Dastryth Militia and the mercenary company named ‘Raiders of the Adri’. Each of these units were also sixty members each and more prepared for battle than we were. A notable addition to this army was Darrien himself and the giant stone constructs which were his guard. There was a giant armoured stone man and two stone dogs.
The Dastryth army marched in from the east. Once they were within sight of us they halted and the leaders of the two armies met in the center of the battlefield to discuss the terms of the combat. Ryvvik accompanied Herrell to meet Darrien, who had his personal guard with him. I’m not sure of the exact terms but I was relieved to find out that the stone constructs were solely intended for Darrien’s personal protection. After terms were decided upon, an agent from the Overking arrived and announced that he was here to make sure that this battle was fully in accordance with the laws of the Great Kingdom. Cedric called everyone to the fact that a Hextorian priest joined their ranks along side Prince Darrien. The two leaders returned to their respective armies and the battle began.
The Dastryth army marched forward to meet us. The Munevar Infantry, still the only force that was visible, moved ahead to take the brunt. Once in bow range (500 feet) I started raining arrows down into the Raider of the Adri-the opponents archers. Before the Raiders could get a clear shot off, Ryvvik conjured a ball of fire that just sat in front of him and our infantry. After the Raiders started firing, Ryvvik caused the ball to explode in a giant column of smoke-rendering our forces practically invisible to incoming arrows. We fell back, luring our opponents into our ambush. Once again, before they got into charging range, Ryvvik invoked another ball of fire. The army continued forward wanting to get through the smoke wall they knew they had in store for them. Galen rallied the our force with a powerful war epic galvanizing our units into top form. They closed to within 150 feet. All the while I was continuing my flurry of arrows into the Raiders, hoping to dwindle the mercenaries number before any actual combat took place. Darcius readied his troops from the woods.
That’s when our plan came to fruition.
Ryvvik caused the ball of fire to explode, not in a smoke wall like the army was expecting, but in a tremendous flash of light. Ryvvik got too close not to be affected himself but the effects on the opposing army was remarkable. The entire army was blinded, save for Darrien who was at the rear. Using that moment of panic, our three hidden units came out of hiding and charged the force from Dastryth.
Darrien must have been greatly angered by this gambit and sent his dogs at Ryvvik. Seeing Ryvvik’s peril Galen halted his epic and went to Ryvvik’s aid. Cedric backed Galen up while Ryvvik was stumbling for safety. The dogs were too quick, however and reached Ryvvik first. Ryvvik was being tossed around by these immense stone constructs. They were solid brown rock with white fire trails coming from their eyes. Ryvvik brandished his newly acquired wand and unleashed a spell, throwing one of the dogs off him-and right toward Cedric. Galen was left to defend the blind Ryvvik from the other construct while his shield man ran for cover. At this point I handed my bow to a nearby peasant and told him to get to a safe place. I drew my club and went to assist Cedric. Galen produced an illusion to warp the light so that he appeared in many places at once. Cedric and I started beating down the dog with our clubs and Ryvvik sent another spell against the other dog to give himself a bit of breathing space.
The initial charge of our units was faring well. Our peasant levy charged at the Raiders of the Adri, while our other forces started a three pronged attack on the Dastryth Regulars-their most formidable unit. They were still trying to reorganize themselves after the light explosion so we didn’t receive too much opposition in the opening melee.
The stone dogs were incredibly strong and heavy. They were trained to pounce and drag their opponents to the ground-which they did. Galen’s magic was enough to confuse them for the time being. Cedric, however, only had practical armour to defend himself and was quickly knocked silly by the automaton. I landed a few good blows myself before a staggering pounce caused the creature inside me to stir. By the time I came around, both dogs were crushed and I was standing over a dead Munevarian Militiaman. Galen was dragging Cedric away from me. Ryvvik was going to back up the ailing Peasant Levy.
By this time, everyone had recovered from the blindess. and things were not looking exceptionally well. The Peasant Levy was thoroughly outmatched against the Raiders of the Adri-a seasoned mercenary company. Our three-pronged attack was going well, but our Militia was getting triple teamed as well. Ryvvik stood up to the Raiders of the Adri himself, trying to allow the Peasants some time to flee. He had previously put up a spell to ward him from arrows, it served him well. The Raiders opened fire on him, but was unscathed. The Munevar militia was also suffering heavy losses at the hands of the Dastryth Militia.
Since my bow was long gone I was searching for some way to help out our ailing forces. When I asked Galen for his sling and bullets, he handed me his bead of force and told me to wreak havoc with it. I grabbed it and charged toward the Dastryth Militia. I practiced with a sling a few times as a child but I was pretty sure of my ability (as usual). I launched the bead into the Militia and the result was, shall we say, explosive. The thunderous boom erupted from the center of the unit. Nearly half the unit were instantly killed by the concussive force. The Raiders of the Adri took notice of this, they had disengaged the fleeing Peasants and were on their way back to the main force. The Raiders opened fire on me and I was struck by at least four arrows. I hardly took notice of them because they punctures caused the beast to stir once again. Remembering the teachings of the forest spirit, I took control of the raven spirit within me and used my wings to retreat to safety.
The battle continued from bad to worse. Although the bead had crippled one of the units, there were still reserves in the Dastryth force who had not been touched yet. The Raiders were about three quarters beaten, the Dastryth Regulars were routed but the Militia was still going strong. Meanwhile, our Peasants were long gone, our Militia had also broken and ran, and the woodsmen were shaken and in no mood to continue the conflict. Herrell pressed on, however, his force was still very strong and the skirmish could still go in their favour.
After a quick rally by the Regulars, the shaken woodsmen broke and ran, leaving the Infantry alone supporting our cause. Darcius did not retreat however, instead he challenged the leader of the Raiders of the Adri- a bold and risky move. Knowing that the loss of their leader would most likely send them packing, Darcius stood up and called him out. They exchanged a few blows but it seemed that the Raider’s leader was the better. All of a sudden, from behind Darcius a Raider with a halberd cleaved deep into Darcius’ back. This sent Darcius spinning to the ground, unable to fight further.
It wasn’t too much longer before Herrell finally called his surrender. The battle was lost. The only comforting thought we could find was that Darrien’s force was so depleted that he couldn’t continue his march toward Munevar itself. He will be content with Cherrin and the fact that he has Errant Keep flanked.
All of my friends
survived. Galen’s throat was a bit hoarse, Ryvvik was mauled a few times
by the dogs, Cedric and Darcius were beaten within an inch of their lives. My
biggest concern is that I may have to explain the appearance of the demon-bird
man on the battlefield.
