The group had the opportunity to talk to a minion kobold who had a series of very good reaction rolls to Barb, Thalin, and Dizzy - and was just chatty about what he knew. Many things, but nothing concrete. Enough of a framework that the group has a good idea of the size of the Warren they are up against and the problem associated with it.
They liked him so much that the decision was made that if they did find him at the Warren, they were going to let him live. At least for now they say they are going to.
Write up follows.
After getting some information from the K’Morat we decided to crash the rest of the night and then send half the group back to the Base Camp to inform the Bailiff. So with everyone taking a watch and our two prisoners trussed up, we slept on and off till a bit after 7. From here we broke our fast and split up the group into two: Sybil, Hjalgrim, Merica, Shimlagesh, Connal, Einar, and Darius were going to take the 5-6 hour walk back to Base Camp and the rest of the group would stay here with the two kobolds (Barb, Avulstein, Negan, Grygmiir, Thalin, and Dizzy).
The walk back was without much problem as we trekked through the alternating misting and falling rain. Most creatures were resting or staying dry, so we had little to interest us. At one point we did see a trio of wolves looking at us in the distance, but assumed it was the Orcish druid Dunatis or his minions watching us. We arrived at Base Camp just before 2 and surprised everyone at our return.
After the customary back slapping and concern for what was beyond the walls, the Bailiff Youngston and the Reeve Donna escorted us to the Representative House and we had a conversation. We filled them in on all we had found, the Beacon Houses, the K’Morat, the “not” attacking force of 50 or so coming, and the two that we had and were going to send back and hopefully follow.
The Bailiff’s concern was simple – will the K’Morat be attacking in force in some short period of time? The reason was that he was going to send Teamster Trentis and his team back to Sorton to gear up more foodstuffs and weaponry – but more importantly, does the Third Reeve of House Illytch need to exercise the Base Camp Defense Initiative and outfit and send the other 12 armed and armored guards out to help defend the Base Camp here? If so, it is for the remainder of the time the Base Camp is out here and represents a LARGE cost in coin and manpower for the House. It also makes the “break even” amount of harvestable Firvin’s Cap mushrooms jump from between 3 and 4 daily to easily 4 and a half – and as of right now with all the delays in harvesting, we are only up in the positive about 18 mushrooms, or maybe 5 days.
We discussed it at length and gave the Bailiff our feeling that as of this time, we do NOT need to have House Illytch send any more staff out here. A variety of reasons, some economic as discussed – but also for the reason of perceived threat. The captured K’Morat we had talked to was adamant that one of the key points they were using to decide to attack the Base Camp was seeing if the Camp continued to grow with manpower – and a dozen well-armed dwarven guardsmen would be seen as an escalating perceived threat.
We rested after checking with Ruhild for more travel foodstuff and maybe a cask of water to take as well. Getting assurances they’d be in place, we retired to our barracks and then crashed for the night.
Meanwhile, the other group with the 2 K’Morat kept careful watch from the Beacon House, eventually feeding the two kobolds…the other dead kobolds! Avulstein joining them in the eating of the dead body. They were nonplussed about it seeing the dead as meat at best. At the end of it though, after mush of the innards, guts, and flesh had been stripped from the body, Avulstein performed a ritual and animated the meaty skeletal remains of the kobold back to life and had it stay by his side.
Barb had the idea on taking the kobold who did not speak Common away from the Shaman and questioning him separately. So Barb, Dizzy, Gryg, and Thalin brought him upstairs and out of the Shaman’s field of hearing, she got him to speak enough so the Ravenstone fired to life, and Dizzy cast a comprehend languages spell to help him communicate with the K’Morat.
He was convinced he was going to die and was surprised to have us talk to him. Accepting that he was an inferior, he was normally a builder back at the Warren; his job was to make ladders. Apparently the Warren needed them and many of them, and he was good at that. He was assigned to the Shaman at a time when he did not want to go.
Giants (blue skinned ones) have been visiting the Warren and one of them broke his Adler wood ladder which he wanted to repair. There were also gnolls that have come by to trade. The group talked to him slowly and with trust, guiding him gently around questions and coaxing out information from him. There was a Beacon House across the Lake in the Valley and to the east was something called Spire Pass Keep situated between two mountain peaks. 8 K’Morat are stationed there and they have colored dust they use to signal the Warren which we were told was by a Mountain with a White Top.
There were many colors but he knew only 3: red meant enemies coming, grey meant Rock Drake attack, and green meant people coming to trade.
There was an area below that led to the birthing rooms that was guarded by K’Morat spearmen and as for the Warren – it was large and sprawling and nestled in some valley with mountains on all sides. There were also slaves who worked: dwarves and orcs – which surprised the party.
We thanked him, and made a show of “dragging” him back to the Shaman but actually being gentle about it. The decision was made – we would be releasing both of the K’Morat tomorrow after the rest of the party returned, without harm.
Workmonth the 15th, the party was up early at 7 AM at Base Camp where we gathered all our belongings, the extra food, and were out the gates a good hour or so before the Teamster and his men were going to leave on their way back to Sorton. We walked hard, but not pushing our self, anticipating making it past 3-Rock Falls soon. It was here though, near the fording, that we saw a pair of giants come out of the tree line on the opposite side of the Enderlyn River. Both were over 15’ tall, bluish skin, white hair and beards, and Connal and Einar were suddenly ill as they recognized the larger of the two as being the same Frost Giant that the first Warren had made a deal with. F’nyr.
At just about a quarter mile away, near the fording, and 170’ of fast moving river between us, the two giants just looked at the party who froze in place, unsure of what to do. The nearest cover was almost 500 yards south. The giants looked at us up and down for almost 30 seconds, then the taller said something to the smaller, and they turned right around and headed North East, right back into the trees they had emerged from, walking quickly and with a purpose.
Crap, we wanted to get out of here now.
We double timed it towards the Falls and then beyond to the Valley, heading upslope to the Beacon House. We didn’t know what the giants were doing, but we assumed they were heading towards the third Warren and the K’Morat. It was about 3 PM when we all got back together and we shared everything we had learned from both sets of groups.
The decision was to NOT go to the lake now, still raining, and instead head across in the morning with the two kobolds, then release them, then portage down to our two canoes and help get all three of them across the lake and back to the group.
So we rested again, split up the food and water, shared more dead kobold with the kobolds, and had a good night. The next day was the 16th and we were up by 7 again. We broke our fast and then we all left the Beacon House, kobolds in tow. We picked up the canoe that we had moved and by 8:30, were at the shores of Broken Tower Lake.
Einar, Hjalgrim, Sybil, Shim, and the two kobolds all loaded up and paddled their way slowly and with great care to the other side. Once there, the two kobolds were let go and we watched them as they made their way north to the valley and pass and then took the time to hide in the thick grasses, losing us from sight. We made our way east, porting the one canoe, until we arrived at the far end of Broken Tower Lake and found our two outrigger canoes.
We spent the time lashing them together and then we rowed back across the lake towing the two other canoes with care. It was after 2 by the time we arrived back on the south side of the lake, and dragging the three canoes, it was after 5 when we were all together again. The thought was NOT to cross the lake tonight, and instead head back to Damlagast’s Tower and hole up there.
So we gathered up on the three canoes and made our way to the tower. A studied knock spell had us inside and we closed the door behind us. The furnace was still working so the tower was warm and inviting. We gave the place a once over and picked out places for the group to rest. Sybil made her way to the room with the pictures and hung the one with the food on the wall – making a loaf of nutty orcish bread, a bowl of fruit, and a few fingers of rich ale appear. Then her and Shim ate it, and took the picture off and did it again – making more appear.
And then more and again and again. After the 5th time, the picture had grown HOT and had to be knocked off the wall as it was burning the plaster behind it. Sybil was admonished NOT to do that again and we ate the repast for now. As for the rest of the group, about 5 of us made their way upstairs where we opened the crystal chamber and Connal made his way to the roof after getting tied on, watching the area in the dark to see if he could see anything. The rest of the party played with the chair, summoned the Mastiff Onycanim, tried a few things, and then let the evening make its way past.
Around 8:30 or so, Connal was sure we saw a group of 4 humanoids in the gloom cross the Lake on a fallen tree, assuming they were trolls, who then were lost in the gloom on the south shore and gone from sight. By 9ish we had all gotten back together after a round of studying and scribing, broke up into watches, and went to sleep.
Around 1ish we awoke Connal who went back to the roof and watched outside the northern section of the lake shore, hoping to see the Beacon House lit – but to no avail, it remained dark. By 2:30 he closed the roof and we all slept well, awakening at 7 AM on Workmonth the 17th, ready to head off and leave the tower and check out the north side of the lake and the valley beyond.
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