Lizard and Lunk

The continuing GURPS adventures of eight men who really should find better uses for their time.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

This is some rescue!

17 September 2008-

The orcs, having finally finished the prison for the elves, moved them in, and we swung into action. EMichael's Ellyllon cast a tunneling spell, and went in from a nearby hillside outside the town. It took him all day, of course, but it was well worth it not to have to sneak in over the wall. That night, Brian's Bard flew in invisibly to cause a fire as a distraction, while the rest of our small fighters (those that could fit in through the tunnel- e.g., no centaurs) crept down the tunnel into space under the fireplace. The signal was to be the yelling and confusion caused by the fire, but it ended up being something else- while Brian was getting ready to commit arson, he spied a horde of orcs charging the town. Evidently our local orcs have some enemies!

Brian decided to wait until the attack itself had distracted the locals, then he flew down to the door of the prison building. Inside, our fighters had popped up through the fireplace (courtesy of eMichael again) and eMichael Mass Dazed most of the orcs inside. From there, it was a relatively easy matter to slaughter the remaining guards and start freeing the elves. Using a couple of healing potions on the wounded, we sent them into the tunnel toward freedom, and prepared to hold off the incoming army. They burst through the door, only to be met by eBill's arrows and eMichael's spells, and that held them for a few seconds. Eventually, though, they got through, and our guys were fighting a holding action until the last of the elves could evacuate, so we could take our turn. We had to break at that point, but it should be an exciting exit if we can pull it off. Too bad there's never a garbage chute around when you need one...

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Hot On the Trail

10 September 2008-

We packed up our new gear and headed after the orcs, who were several hours ahead of us. After most of a day of fast marching, we came out of the trees into a series of low hills, and discovered that the orcs were camped in a human village (we figure they must have taken it some months or years before) in a small valley. We gave eMichael's Ellyllon an invisibility potion then sent him in for a recon mission, and he hit pay-dirt almost immediately.

The elves (about two dozen of them) were being questioned by the orc chief in what had been the village church, and were clearly in bad shape. The orcs, on the other hand, were numerous and fierce-looking, with some siege equipment visible in the village square. EMichael also discovered that the orcs were converting an old warehouse or guildhall into a holding area, and that the elves appeared likely to be in for the long haul. Their tabards were taken by a mounted orc patrol off in the direction of civilization, and we surmise that they are to be held for ransom.

Finally, the orcs dispersed most of the elves into the village while they finished converting the building, and we settled in for a long, tense recon. Some of the elves, however, were executed- we don't know why. Now we're preparing for a rescue mission, and the hope is that we can get the elves out and moving before the orcs can pursue us. If not, we better hope that the elves can't outrun us.

Ghouls Away!

27 August 2008-

We decided to try the straightforward approach, and Brian told the ghouls to get lost or die trying. Luckily, they resisted. Their chief went down right away with an arrow in the vitals courtesy of eBill, but their shaman caused a bit more trouble until eMichael blasted him (repeatedly) with missile spells. The rest of the ghouls went a few rounds with us and then decided to scamper, although we chased down most of their combatants and finished them for good measure.

With a bit more leisure to look over the site, we discovered the obvious trail of many orcs leaving, and evidence that they had captive elves in tow. We also discovered that the airship had been brought down by a combination of elven spell failure, the storm, and the giant, and that it had been carrying a minor member of the royal house. Finally, we discovered some really cool toys that the orcs had left behind for the ghouls, including some elven mail and a dragon skin large enough to make into several suits of armor. Bust out the measuring tape!