Chapter 2.1a: Golden Grain Inn (Orlane at night)

Round four
(this was preceded by round three, followed by round five)

Myrtha rushes around the upthrust boulders and slashes at troglodyte Trevor with her bloody longsword. Trevor is clearly startled that she was able to see him!
Trevor takes 5 slashing damage.
"Don't let him escape!" Theran urges the others. Then the druid bends down to examine the gagged and bound person. It's a male human, and he appears injured but alive... "I'm Theran. Looks like we're rescuing you." Theran smiles reassuringly as he puts a gentle hand on the prisoner. But the man has passed out.

His companions dead and (apparently) unable to hide, faced by an implacable mountain of a woman with a deadly blade, troglodyte Trevor snarls and throws himself at Myrtha, attacking with a whirlwind of claws and jaws...
Myrtha is able to dodge the first two attacks, and the third scrapes uselessly on her armor.



Chase runs to the side to get a clear shot at the troglodyte around the boulders, pulling and nocking an arrow as he goes. As soon as he can see the enemy, Chase draws the bow to his chin and looses the arrow, which narrowly misses Trevor's shoulder and disappears into the forest behind him.
Aanbo bounds up onto the boulder and scrabbles across the top of it to leap down on the other side with a staff attack. Trevor steps aside and the dwarf ends up behind him. Aanbo kicks behind himself as he comes to a stop, and his foot catches Trevor in the back of the leg.
Trevor takes 3 bludgeoning damage.

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21 - Myrtha (15/18) unaffected by stench
13 - Theran (4/13) unaffected by stench
13 - Trogs Trevor (-8) and Ted
12 - Trogs Terry and Tommy
5 - Chase (14/14)
3 - Aanbo (9/27) unaffected by stench

Round four, continued...

His companions dead and (apparently) unable to hide, faced by an implacable mountain of a woman with a deadly blade, troglodyte Trevor snarls and throws himself at Myrtha, attacking with a whirlwind of claws and jaws...
Myrtha is able to dodge the first two attacks, and the third scrapes uselessly on her armor.

---

21 - Myrtha (15/18) unaffected by stench
13 - Theran (4/13) unaffected by stench
13 - Trogs Trevor (-5) and Ted
12 - Trogs Terry and Tommy
5 - Chase (14/14)
3 - Aanbo (9/27) unaffected by stench

Round four, completed

Chase runs to the side to get a clear shot at the troglodyte around the boulders, pulling and nocking an arrow as he goes. As soon as he can see the enemy, Chase draws the bow to his chin and looses the arrow, which narrowly misses Trevor's shoulder and disappears into the forest behind him.
Aanbo bounds up onto the boulder and scrabbles across the top of it to leap down on the other side with a staff attack. Trevor steps aside and the dwarf ends up behind him. Aanbo kicks behind himself as he comes to a stop, and his foot catches Trevor in the back of the leg.
Trevor takes 3 bludgeoning damage.

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21 - Myrtha (15/18) unaffected by stench
13 - Theran (4/13) unaffected by stench
13 - Trogs Trevor (-8) and Ted
12 - Trogs Terry and Tommy
5 - Chase (14/14)
3 - Aanbo (9/27) unaffected by stench

Round five
(this was preceded by round four)

Trevor the troglodyte staggers from Aanbo's kick, giving Myrtha all the opening she needs. Lunging forward, Myrtha whips her sword around in a tight circle, lopping off both of Trevor's clawed hands. She then brings the point up and pierces the troglodyte's chin, the blade sliding up and out the top of Trevor's head.
Trevor takes 9 slashing damage and dies.

This ends the combat. Each of the four PCs - Theran, Myrtha, Chase, and Aanbo - gain 50 more XP.

Knowing that the danger has passed, Theran is already tending to the captive. Drawing upon the power of the verdant growth of the Dim forest and the life force of the earth teeming with animal, fungal, and bacterial life below it, Theran directs a flow of healing energy into the man, who is fully healed as a result. "Wha...how...?" he mutters, then comes fully awake, sitting bolt upright in a moment of panic. Seeing Theran's kindly face, he relaxes a bit, and then his gaze falls upon the dead body of Terry the troglodyte right next to him. "Agh!" It takes him a few moments more for his body to catch up to what his mind has perceived: he has been rescued and is in no further danger. "Thank you," he says, standing and brushing off his torn and soil-streaked clothing as he moves a safe distance away from the corpses. "My name is Bradley. Thank you so much!"

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21 - Myrtha (15/18)
13 - Theran (4/13)
13 - Trogs Trevor and Ted
12 - Trogs Terry and Tommy
5 - Chase (14/14)
3 - Aanbo (9/27)

"Yes! I would be very grateful if you could take me back to Hochoch...of, if you're not headed that way, I could accompany you to Orlane...?" Bradley stammers. "You've already done so much for me! If you would just point the way, I could find the road myself."

Aanbo and Theran, examining the bodies, easily find the spiral scars on the bodies of the four troglodytes.

Bradley agrees and eagerly scarfs down whatever food you are willing to supply. You find out that he is an artisan of Hochoch: a local barrel-maker. He was going to the woodman to pick up some lumber when the troglodytes jumped him a day and a half ago. The troglodytes bound him and took him into the forest and then into a hollow under some rocks, where they hid during the daylight hours. They'd beaten him when he tried to escape in the sunlight, and he'd been mostly unconscious until now.