Welcome to the ongoing saga of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign I ran a little while back. It started off using The Sunken Citadel module from the Tales From The Yawning Portal source book, but was then fitted into my Homebrew setting and moved on from there.
In the last post, the party beat off pursuing orcs and were able to get back to Oakhurst with the kobolds they'd rescued. There, they were told about the orcs coming to reinforce the enemy army....
I hope you enjoy my D&D campaign write-ups, and the commentary I add to them. Questions, comments and feedback are welcome !
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With the kobolds safe, the party were approached by Kerowyn, the mayor of Oakhurst (installed by them after they overthrew the previous mayor), with very bad news.
Felosial, commander of the Oakhurst Watch, had captured a goblin skulking around the town's outskirts. It hadn't taken too much persuasion to get him to spill the beans on what was going on from the orcs' perspective.
Marukh, King of the Ingrim Orcs was becoming increasingly frustrated that the orcs he'd sent to conquer the Vildar Mountains for him were not doing as well as they should. So he was sending one of his most fearsome lieutenants to turn the faltering campaign around.
The orc chief in question was the great Orc war leader Jabzug Dwarfswallower. It was discovered that he is marching along the Varpeak Valley with a strong force.
Tarak would need all it's heroes if it was to stop this new orc army !
Over quite a lot of ale, Kerowyn, the party, Felosial, and a couple of visiting officers from Tarak (the capital) hammered out a plan.
Most of Tarak's troops were already committed along the edge of the mountains and moving them to Oakhurst would leave gaps through which orc raiders would pour, devastating the rich agricultural lowlands of the Duchy.
But one unit could be made available from the sparse reserves left. The veteran and savage dwarven mercenary heavy infantry regiment known as The Axe-Holes. They got their name because they guarded the Duchy's mines and other underground workings, and the double-handed war axe was their favourite weapon. Although their name was certainly also a reflection of their attitude to all around them.
The Axe-Holes together with all the local levies that could be scraped together would block the pass at the head of the Varpeak Valley and attack the vanguard and rear guard of the orcish force.
Most of the valley at this point was too steep to be easily scaled, and certainly not against any kind of resistance. But there was a slope at just one point that can be easily slid down. With the front and rear of the orc column under attack and blocked, some villagers would wait until Jabzug and his bodyguard were at this slope, then roll boulders down to cause avalanches each side of them.
Then the party would come in, sliding heroically down the scree slope to take on Jabzug and his bodyguards. If he could be decisively defeated or even killed, the orc relief army would hopefully lose heart with the survivors running for home. Without them the rest of the orcs in the Vildar Mountains could be hunted down and destroyed and the war would be over (for now…)
It was Fartacus who asked what the rest of the party were thinking. It was possibly the most pertinent question of the evening.
"You said Jabzug and his bodyguards. No-one said anything about bodyguards up until now ! What, exactly, are we talking about here ?"
The response wasn't good to hear. Felosial told them "It is understood that Jabzug habitually travels with a guard of ogres and maybe a troll or two."
"Trolls...." was all Fartacus murmured in response. That was something far tougher than they'd had to face up until now. If it all went wrong, getting back up the scree slope with trolls in pursuit was likely to be a short and very bloody (not to mention terminal) experience.
Next time... Ambush !
Previous posts in this series;
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-introduction
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-lets-meet-our-characters-
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-arrival-at-oakhurst
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-to-the-sunless-citadel
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-into-the-citadel
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-kobolds-are-people-too-
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-a-deal-with-kobolds
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-no-creatures-land
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-a-beast-a-fountain-and-more-rats
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-first-encounter-with-the-cunning-goblins
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-pits-and-dragons
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-the-goblin-chiefs-potted-plant
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-down-the-hole
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-the-fungus-garden-and-a-laboratory
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-the-bugbear-gardener
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-into-the-twilight-grove
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-showdown-at-the-gulthias-tree
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-an-unexpected-offer
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-orcs--orcs-
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-overthrowing-the-mayor
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-cooling-off-cantrips-and-council
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-taking-the-fight-to-the-orcs
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-first-sight-of-the-orc-stronghold
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-storming-the-wall-of-sorrow
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-kicking-in-the-orcs-back-door
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-finishing-off-the-orc-stronghold
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-tough-choices
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-plans-and-realities
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-breakthrough-
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-getting-to-the-trapped-kobolds
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-free-kobolds-
@alonicus/the-second-dandd-tarak-campaign-back-to-oakhurst-again-