Three Worlds #12

Our heroes returned to Obanhold to find that the fort had been reinforced by a company of 500 cavalrymen sent by the Castellan of Belton. After they had reported their mission to the Castellan, Averic, the captain of the cavalrymen, proposed that they allowed the orcs to advance to Obanhold, while he and his cavalry laid an ambush for them - surely they would be able to scatter the orc army on the open plains?

Elze, on the other hand, proposed that Agh'hkan be lured to the river, where the Great Horned Serpent's power was the strongest, and there he would be slain and the orc threat eliminated.

The eventually decided on adopting both plans, ordering our heroes to return to the north with an emissary under the pretext of negotiation at the river crossing, while also preparing an ambush against the orcs should the mission fail.

And so Enree, Mala, Melig, and Rokas (see PC profiles here), accompanied by Elze and Father Fiatus and two of the cavalrymen traveled north, where after three days they were intercepted by an orc patrol, disarmed, and once more brought to their camp. There, they were met by a furious Chogan, who threatened to execute them, but our heroes were able to convince him to arrange for one more meeting with Agh'hkan. Unwilling to bring the humans to Maut'ghar again, Chogan decided to take them as far as the river crossing, and then to fetch Agh'hkan himself, thus falling right into the heroes' trap!

The party camped by the river crossing for two nights, under a guard of six orc warriors. On the third day they spotted Agh'hkan and Chogan and a few orc warriors come towards the crossing from the north. The party made ready to meet them, and when Agh'hkan's party was in the middle of the river Elze called to the Serpent. A fait rumbling was heard upstream, which grew louder - seconds later a swelling came down the river. Agh'hkan's bodyguards held on to him and braced themselves. When the wave struck Chogan and one of the guards were swept away, but Agh'hkan maintained his footing.

The orc warriors guarding the party drew their weapons and moved towards Elze, and the unarmed cavalrymen and our heroes moved to defend her. Agh'kahn and the remaining bodyguards started to move towards the river bank, but out of the river rose the head of the Great Horned Serpent.

Seeing the Serpent, Rokas had a change of heart, and moved to strike Elze, while the girl summoned up a wall of water to defend herself.

The Serpent breathed a cloud of noxious gas on Agh'hkan and his bodyguards, who succumbed to it, but before the Serpent could do more a shrieking peal was heard from the north - a giant bird swooped down through the canopy of the forest towards the Serpent. Lightning issued forth from its wingtips, striking the Serpent.

On the river bank the melee continued, with both cavalrymen struck down by the orc warriors, but eventually our heroes were able to overcome the orcs. At the same time, the Thunderbird had seized the Serpent in its talons, and plucked it from the river. The two creatures engaged in a whirling struggle in the air, and the Thunderbird was triumphant, tearing the Serpent apart and scattering its remains onto the ground, Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it flew away.

The wall of water protecting Elze collapsed, and the girl sat on the ground, stunned by what she just witnessed. Our heroes dragged Agh'hkan from the river, and bound him. Then they followed the course of the river westwards, until at last they reached Lake Rodophine, where they were picked up by a fishing boat from Yngley.

When they finally returned to Obanhold with Agh'hkan in tow they were meet with a great cheer. Days later, the cavalrymen would report that the orcs have retreated beyond the river and scattered.

For their parts in the great victory our heroes were rewarded: Mala asked for the island in the middle of Lake Rodophine to be granted to him; Enree asked for the lake itself to be renamed after him, while Melig and Rokas received silver.

Agh'hkan was imprisoned together with Bruthalan, and for now the orc threat on the plains was over...

Prepping and Running the Game

This session ended the second arc of the campaign. I left the session pretty open, giving the players several choices on how to bring about the final confrontation between the orcs and Obanhold. Much of the session was spent debating the best course of action, and while they did eventually agree on a plan, the players and PCs were still not 100% on their allegiance even when the final confrontation happened.

I feel I failed to make the fight between the Thunderbird and the Serpent sound epic enough, and that left the players a little disappointed about the power of both creatures.

Compared to the first arc of the campaign, the plot of this arc was more "sandbox" as one NPC faction (Elze and the Great Horned Serpent) were almost entirely invented in response to what the PCs did during the first session of the game. While there were relatively fewer fights, I believe the players enjoyed the interaction with the various NPC factions. I have yet to get a firm grasp on the next arc of the campaign, but hopefully I can come up with factions for the players to interact with again.