Malvus made a quick journey toward Dryff, even dropping off the kobold on his way. He notified Elmin Hessir of the impending orcish attack. He then set out as fast as possible (for a monk, that is very fast) to rendezvous in Rurr with the party.
Meanwhile, the townsfolk of Rurr were preparing evacuation and gearing up for a retreating battle. The two elves accompanying
Laer-Thuil were desperately trying to cope with the last few hours.
Battidel wanted to show his bravery and courage by attempting to compare himself favorably to Darius. The young paladin, seeing the fear, shared stories of the
Swift Sword to calm his nerves. Shifyrn, however, sought solace in
Frug. The little druid knew burial rites, and Shifyrn's friend Tessia was not granted a burial after the assault by the orcs. They simply didn't have the time.
Frug, ever the gnome of few words, did his best to ease the elf's pain.
The others prepared in their own ways:
Kalamor by performing his own last rites, and
Ngithol by being insensitive and surly toward all. Once affairs were in order and
Malvus had arrived it was time to go. The plan was to meet the orcs and try to harass them while buying time for the townsfolk. Unfortunately for them, the orcs were much closer than expected.
In a clearing along the path, a wagon was found overturned with its mule dead. The owners lay about, one dead, another dying. The third knelt next to her brother. She was in shock and barely able to speak. With some healing and help, they saved her brother, Tannen. Yuji, the girl pleaded with the heroes to save her mother, the fourth family member, and one taken by the raiders.
Ngithol confirmed the assailants were orcs, and
Malvus found blood they could track. Lawr-Thuil ordered
Battidel to get the young ones to safety and the party changed direction, after this advance party of orcs.
They found the orcs easily enough, and they were too proud of their murder and looting to notice the heroes creep in. Within moments, the orcs were slain, and the mother, Jjela, was rescued. She took up a sword and offered to help fight, but in truth she was in no condition to do so. As such, she offered up an old tin pendant of the old man, in hopes he would guide them in battle.
Frug, meanwhile, began to wonder if the orcs intended target was Rurr at all. Nearby was a little-known druid circle; a place of power. He led the party to the circle and communed with its caretaker, a dryad named
Birch. She agreed with
Frug's theory, and offered to lend aid. One of her disciples, a sprite named Sprig, guided the heroes to the warband containing the
Tanarukk. He was in the company of a quasit and numerous skeletons and orcs.
The battle was fierce. Both sides knew only one would win this day. No quarter would be granted. The magical axe of the
Tanarukk split armor and rent flesh. It was all moot, however. The heroes fought like warriors who've accepted death. Orcs have never been so brave. When the
Tanarukk was brought low by the flailing of a berserking, wild shaped
Frug, the other orcs tried to break rank and run. There was no escaping the arrows and blasts from
Laer-Thuil and
Ngithol.
The ranger stood victorious over the dead
Tanarukk, loosing arrow after arrow into its corpse; each one freezing the flesh instantly. With her quiver empty, she sighed, "It's over".
The heroes returned to the Druidic circle hoping the orcs had not yet arrived. Instead, they were met by a centaur,
Karrak. He thanked the heroes and told them
Birch had requested the aid of his clan, the star hooves. The orcs were dead or running at this point.
All breathed a sigh of relief and Darius returned the pendant to Jjela. They were alive and victorious. As the sun rose across the wildlands.
