Chapter 2: The Crucible of Freya

Monaghan risks danger as he darts forward with one of the healing potions he had been given, and pours it down Ryenne's throat as Kren looms over him. Faionn's spell is released into the world and the form of Kren begins to glow in the fading light. This is enough to give clarity of sight to one of the archers who fires upon and sticks a shaft into the orc. Nebbleshuven then thrusts his javelin deep into the chest of Kren, and the lead orc howls in pain before the life leaves his body! Datura's arrows find their marks in one of the tougher looking orcs who keels over looking like a porcupine, and the remaining archers and Galdar mop up the rest of the foul creatures.

End of combat

The orc thieving party lies dead before you, and the crucible waits in a sack upon the ground. Lauriel speaks up, "We should take this and return to town immediately!" Nearby, however, Galdar disagrees by saying, "The orcs were clearly going to the keep and will know if the raiding party goes missing. They will bolster their defenses, and may even retaliate against the town."

After delivering the killing strike to Kren, Nebbleshuven looks around to see that the rest of the orc party has been slain. He snaps back to where Ryenne fell and sees Monaghan administering a healing potion to her. He walks over to them and, upon seeing her revived, is relieved.

He listens as Lauriel and Galdar argue over their next course of action. He says, "Is it not possible to do both? Can we dispatch a courier to race back with the crucible while the rest of us investigate the keep? And if we do press forward to the keep, do we have enough forces to lay siege to it?"

Datura sets about retrieving what arrows she can and searches through the pouches of the dead orcs as she goes. The idea to send a runner back to the town seems sound, she thinks, but best to let tall people handle tall problems.

Silverwick checks with Ryenne to make sure the other woman is okay, then she investigates the fallen forms of the orcs. They might be carrying something else that's important or valuable, or one of them might still be alive that they could question about his camp...

Lauriel offers that she is the most swift, and could return the crucible safely. She seems to believe that she is the most trustworthy, as well.

Searching the bodies, you find that between the orcs there are pouches containing a total of 42 gold coins of various mintings as well as 88 silver coins. They have crude arrows aplenty as well as many flasks of oil. Kren had a beautiful pearl as well as a large iron key. No map exists on their bodies.

Monaghan steps forward and offers to return as well. He feels that the sword was tasked with returning the crucible, and now that it is retrieved the sword should also protect it.

To Monaghan, "Safe travels, my friend."

Nebbleshuven looks to see if the other dwarves are still with the group. He then wanders over to Datura. "Nice shooting, Datura. Your prowess with the bow has definitely been key to our success in battle thus far." He pauses, then continues. "You seem to be on good terms with the dwarves we met back at the inn. Do you think you could convince them to join us since it seems like we're going to press onward to the keep?"

Faionn approaches Monaghan and Lauriel, who both seem ready to make the trip. "Safe travels, indeed, both of you." Privately, Faionn also believes the presence of their dwarf friend could keep the newcomer in check.

When the pair goes, Kariantha turns to the others.

"We're going to look for their camp?" she asks, a little warily. "What if we find it, and discover their warriors number in the hundreds..."

Datura merely shrugs off the compliment paid by Nebbleshuven and quips, "just lucky I guess!"

She agrees the dwarves would be most useful in the attack and prepares to enthusiastically bombard them with platitudes just before Kariantha hits the breaks on the whole operation.

"Oh yeah, what if there are hundreds?! That's probably too many! I can scout way ahead and get a peak at their camp before we go in, then we'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with."

The two nod and head back to town, with Lauriel urging haste in Monaghan. Before the dwarf leaves, though, he offers the shorter sword (from the farmhouse) to whoever might take it. "I trust my own sword over something this small," he admits.

The dwarf band creeps into the open trail where the slain orcs lie. Durgis wields his very mundane axe and says, "Now, a keep is something we can help with! Stone walls, heavy doors, and best of all... no trees!" The three dwarfs Trel, Burl, and Gar all nod as though Durgis spoke wisely!

Corian offers that you can continue onwards and then scout the keep from the cover of the forest. And the presence of the key, larger than one for a padlock, might provide another mode of entry.

Nebbleshuven takes the silver sword from Monaghan to hold onto. "I don't believe that we'll encounter anything at the orc keep that will require using it, but I'll hold onto it just in case."Nebbleshuven is pleased that Datura was able to convince the dwarves to be more involved with attacking the keep. He also agrees with her that scouting the keep before launching an attack is wise. "There's no way we can take on an army by ourselves. Retrieving the chalice was the main objective. Returning with a measure of information about the forces at the keep would suit the town better than us dying."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" the woman grunts, fixing her cloth and armor around the magically healed wound as best she can.

With Ryenne's urging, the party continues onward towards the keep following the secret path. The remaining travel is not too far, though the light is quickly fading. Suddenly, the forest opens before you, revealing the crumbled battlements of a ruined keep. Immediately in front of you is one of the large stone towers of the keep. The tower has a partially collapsed roof and a crack runs down its length. The crack has been filled with stones, and a large iron door has been set into the filled crack. An iron padlock seals the door. Above the crumbling curtain wall, you can see the remains of what must have been the steeple of a chapel. It is difficult to see much more from your vantage point, since the forest has grown up to the very walls of the keep.

Nebbleshuven keeps out of sight, listening for signs of activity inside the keep and keeping an eye on the battlements to spot guards.

Nebbleshuven is able to see that no guards walk the battlements, nor do any wait outside the keep. Looking towards the bell tower, he can see a figure inside but is unable to make out more than just the outline. He cannot see to which direction it watches.

"You searched their packs. One of them must have had a key. Unless they meant to scale the walls with the Crucible tied to their backs…

Did anyone find a key?"