Chapter Two: A Death in the Family

this post was created very late . . . sorry for the delay

After spending two nights and one full day at Churney-on-the-Green the party sets out for Saragost by way of Hockton Barrow. The Knife, Rumus, Neil, Tilk and Rygorh made the trek. The other party members tarried a bit longer in Churney and back-tracked to check the war rumors from the North.

On the road south of Churney-on-the-Green the group finds a handful of humans under assault by a large band of goblins and an ogre. Without thought for their own lives the heroes rush the bandits in an attempt to save the peasants. It was an unfortunate decision.

Rumus quickly dispatched four of the goblins with a sleep spell. Tilk casts enlarge person on himself and moves to face the ogre. Rygorh, the Knife and Neil approached the battle in a more circumspect manner. Tilk fell to crushing blow from the ogre's great club. Neil and Rygorh faced the ogre while the Knife and Rumus picked off goblins at range.

The ogre's great club was too much for Rygorh. He landed two strikes on the cleric, the second of which crushed his skull . . . brains leaking on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Neil managed to revive Tilk with a cure light wounds spell. Tilk raged and charged the ogre only to fall again. More sleep spells, crossbow bolts and daggers brought low some of the goblins, but nothing could stop the great ogre. The knife's attempt to kill the ogre after he fell to a sleep spell failed.

The heroes decided that discretion was the better part of valor and fled the field with the unconscious Tilk in tow, leaving Rygorh's dead body behind.

After a bit of bickering the group decided that they must recover Rygorh's body and the Sword of Starkweather John. The Knife managed to track the bandits to their lair and sneaked into the place to bring out Rygorh's body and his gear. The group made its way back to Churney-on-the-Green to recover.

The next morning the Knife sets out alone to Saragost while the rest of the group take's Rygorh's body back to the Tump in an effort to revive him. They believe that the mystical stones will return him to life.

The Knife reaches Saragost to find hundreds (thousands?) of refugees waiting to enter the city. He learns that all prospective entrants must have a useful skill, join the military or have fifty gold coins to spend in the city. The Knife manages to sneak into the city via a side gate and eventually makes his way to the City Council. The Council welcomes the Knife to the meeting and readily accepts his news of a Duergar invasion. They further ask that he remain available for further interviews and/or assignments in the near future.

Meanwhile, Tilk, Neil and Rumus head north to the Tump. They pass a great number of refugees fleeing the Duergar army and realize that their efforts to warn the land have been successful. They make it to the Tump where Rygorh is raised from the dead!

Tilk, Neil, Rumus and Rygorh then head south to Saragost. They stop briefly in Hockton Barrow to warn the townspeople there. In Hockton Barrow they witness the quarterly games held in town. After the games they manage to pass their news to Captain Lucie Jabril who assures them that Hockton Barrow will be ready. They then set out for Saragost . . .

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