19(a) Bugger the Tree, What About Me!
The trip starts with an update on Wilf’s tour as a mercenary on board several ships and a great deal of shopping in the Dwarven city of Katelgroth.
The party then turn their attention to another complicated scheme dreamt up by sorceror Nickar the Dangerous. It involves the use of a magic portal to capture a live Mountain Troll. Paradoxides learns the spell Nickar has devised and teleports the party to the spot where they believed there was a door into what had become known as the Hall of the Mountain Kings, deep in the Wood of Itaen where it was thought that no less than three of the deadly creatures lived.
Paradoxides sets his trap near the door. Posing as an “evil” magician, he calls at the door. With him is a young Ranger called Aranath, posing as a captive, being offered as part of a proposed trade. Girindor is hiding nearby as backup; the “heavies” – Grettir, Salrod, Wilf and Jason are nearby but far enough away not to embarrass the plan with their collective lack of hiding and sneaking skills.
It seemed a good plan until confronted by reality in the form of the huge, powerful and agile Mountain Troll with flaming sword in hand that opens the door and immediately smells a rat. Paradoxides tries to take to the air but is caught by a blow from the troll. He tumbles down the mountainside, badly injured. Aranath gamely tries manouevre himself so that the troll has to enter the trap zone in order to catch him. However, the creature either senses danger or the magic and swerves at the last minute. It is in any case more interested in the elf. Girindor uses his druidic powers to take refuge within a tree, believing himself safe within its sturdy form. The troll, however, thrusts its flaming sword deep into its trunk which begins to burn. Does Girindor stop to defend this innocent tree, but moments before co-opted into a struggle of which it knew nought? No, he does not. With a characteristic callous disregard for collateral damage, Girindor shifts into another host, crying “Bugger the tree, what about me!”. None of the onlookers are in the slightest surprised.
The four warriors find themselves too far away to influence events directly. However, Grettir and Salrod have longbows and Jason and Wilf crossbows. They are all good shots. They begin to lay down an effective fire upon the Mountain Troll. Starting to feel the hurt it returns to its lair and shuts the door.
There is no loot, and Nickar’s scheme goes in the bin.
19(b) The Mound of Doom
Thwarted by the Mountain Troll and searching for loot and success against Oglog and the orcs, the party take up on another of Nickar’s schemes. The wizard is still running his magical monitoring system for orcish activity in the Wood of Etain. He identifies a ruined Tower that a party including Jason had previously found to be full of goblins. However, a preliminary reconnaissance by Girindor, Gambelian and Aranath reveals another tempting target, for nearby they find a fortified orcish “mound”. The party mount a surprise assault, breach the palisade defence and slaughter the orcs on guard. They then seek to penetrate the interior of the mound, slaying many orcs who are plainly trying to delay them. Thanks to Paradoxides they thwart an attempt to trap them in a pocket of magically conjured flammable gas in the tunnels below the mound. Arriving at a great central chamber, they find themselves confronting a huge number of orcs in a prepared position. At the entrance a great portcullis suddenly crashes down. It narrowly fails to catch Grettir, in the lead, inside the chamber with his allies outside, but Salrod pulls him back. With the element of surprise lost and faced with the difficult task of cutting through the portcullis in the face of enemy magic and missiles, the party decides to make a tactical withdrawal. They have killed a lot of orcs but there appear many more. They have still taken no loot.
D-19
OE Date: August 688
Characters: Grettir, Salrod, Girindor, Paradoxides, Wilf, Jason, Aranath NPCs: Gambelian
Real World: 5th January 1993; Where – Tetbury
See also Salrod’s Diaries