Session 17: Pit Fight

The ogre blacksmith known as Graah hewed and hacked at Krius ineffectually, as the paladin deftly avoided and deflected the massive blade. Graah was no fool and cut down on Krius' horse, brutally wounding it. Krius quickly dismounted to square off against his daunting foe. Graah stepped back to better leverage his superior reach.

Mannon shouted to his comrades in the wagon to ready themselves, and with slap on the rump of the mule and donkey pulling the cart, they surged towards the ogre who angrily slashed at the donkey as they approached. Mannon jumped from the wagon seizing the opening in the ogre's offense, and was joined by Rhin who moved into a flanking position and attacked Graah's sword hand in an effort to disarm the giant.

Graah, once again shifted back, then bull rushed into Krius who tumbled into the pit behind him. Rhin followed the ogre in and with a bull rush maneuver of his own, threw the giant bodily down into the pit after Krius. As the giant began to rise, Krius gashed him across the neck with an upward swing.

Alton's cat familiar Sage, flung itself at a wounded gnoll and tore out it's eyes and throat in a berserking mess of fur and blood. Pausing briefly to clean it's fur it sprung off the gurgling gnoll and launched itself into the pit and landing on the ogre, enabled Alton to successfully cast a mystery that dulled the giant's senses.

Prophit healed Rhin, and Rhin, not wanting to leave Krius to face the ogre alone, leapt down into the pit to rejoin the fray.

Two gnolls and a woman who was presumably the witch, entered the scene to take stock of the damages. They observed the intruders gaining an upper hand and quickly retreated to bring more forces to bear.

Mannon cut back across the battlefield, received some healing along the way from Prophit and ascended the ladder to the ramparts above. The gnoll who had slipped away to call for reinforcements, saw the diminutive halfling as an easy target and charged him. Mannon appeared to ready for the move and shifted at the last moment sending the gnoll sprawling over the rampart's ledge and out of the fort to the ground below.

The kobolds on the ramparts glared down the halfing, and cast aside their crossbows and drew their swords. Mannon fired a blast of frost across their ranks killing all but two on the spot, and freezing a path in it's wake. The two remaining kobolds approached, one slipped on the newly formed ice and the other missing its attack. Mannon drew his sword, felled the still standing kobold, and cut the remaining one as it struggled to get up from the slick floor.

A large group of kobolds, a pair of gnolls, and a craven kobold garbed in scale mail and wearing a necklace of eyeballs, surged out from the barracks and descended on Prophit and Alton. They desperately hacked at Alton, their blades whiffing through his shadows, as Prophit focused on maneuvering around the pit to keep the host of creatures at bay.

A stray gnoll with a nasty demeanor decided to attack the mule and donkey that were lashed to the wagon. The animals responded in kind, reared up and dashed in the gnoll's brains with their hooves in a panicked defense.

Alton quaffed a potion of haste and was immediately surrounded by the kobolds. To his newly hasted state, they moved in a fascinating slow motion. The craven kobold lunged forward breaking Alton from his reverie and Alton returned the assault with a swipe of an open hand that coursed with a black magic. With a successful strike the kobold briefly flinched with injury, then immediately refocused, apparently unhurt...coinciding with a bursting eyeball on his necklace. The kobold cut through Alton's defenses and wounded him with a jagged blade. Alton redoubled his efforts and struck again, this time felling the craven kobold (despite another bursting eyeball on his necklace).

Krius and Rhin combined their efforts and hacked down the ogre's defenses until it fell to the ground. Not wanting to take any chances, Krius beheaded the fallen giant. A stray kobold peered into the pit. Rhin spotted it and fired a crossbow bolt through it's eye, killing it instantly. The knoll adjacent to it saw his comrade fall, and the turning tide, and retreated.

Mannon descended from the ramparts and joined Alton in the fight, spraying the crowd of kobolds with fire, and setting the wagon ablaze. Alton snatched the eyeball necklace, and leapt from the now burning wagon.

Rhin and Krius attempted to clamber out of the pit but could not, and called out to Prophit to send them down a ladder or rope. Prophit ran to the burning wagon and the donkey and mule were spooked into running off with the fallen craven kobold in the burning wagon, dragging behind them.

Mannon, Alton, and Prophit dispatched the remaining foes, and paused for a moment to reflect on the hard-fought battle they had just won...and considered what else the witch could throw at them now that the party was wounded and thouroughly resource-depleted...

The characters present:
* Alton (Aaron), halfling shadowcaster
* Mannon (Dave), halfling swordsage/warlock
* Prophit (Jeff, absent ran by Matt), human cleric
* Squire Krius (Matt), human paladin
* Rhin No-Clan (Jim), dwarf warblade

Rumors and clues gathered (this session):
* Krius learned from the slaves in the pit that they were abducted from Isenford by Orc slavers
* He also learned that every day one or more of the slaves is taken away, soon afterwards hideous screams of torment, then silence are heard

Treasure found (this session):
* Eyeball necklace (picked up by Alton)
* Graah's two-handed sword (picked up by Krius)

Foes/traps/tricks overcome (this session):
* 4 gnoll lackeys
* 10 kobold x-bowmen
* Graah, ogre warrior/blacksmith
* Hans, gnoll captain (got away)
* 2 gnoll lieutenants (1 got away)
* 8 kobold spearmen
* Torgo Eye Gouger, kobold/rogue (down but not out)

Experience gained (this session):
1290 each player