(G166 17/05/2013 Fri via Roll20 - JF(GM) , AP)

(G166 17/05/2013 Fri via Roll20 - JF(GM) , AP)

DAY 199 (27 Eleint)(September) cont...

Fenrir killed the first orc to come round the corner with a long distance eldritch blast.
Then more orcs, barbarians and a hill giant arrived. Veddic blocked the street pretty effectively with a briar web though which discouraged all but the giant from moving forward.

The orcs and barbarian warrior's started shooting at the people on the barricade with long bows, keeping up quite a hail of missiles, but most hit the woodwork and only a few struck home.

Fenrir, Veddic, Corum and the two watchmen concentrated their fire on the Hill Giant as it tore its way through the briars. As the arrows flew all around though it was felled just as it reached the barricade with one final deadly blast from Fenrir crouched on the side of a nearby roof.

After that the other attackers could see that this side street was too well defended and made a run for it, looking for easier options. Once the briars cleared they went forward and looted the corpses.

They waited but no more attacks came and at six in the morning they were dismissed.

DAY 200 (28 Elient)(September)

So, with the cries going around the city that 'Waterdeep still stands!' they wearily returned to the OJB. Veddic returned to Warm Beds where a letter awaited him.

It read :

''
If Aderbrent has Ellis and Anya we need to convince him to take the next step.
What that is we don't know at this time. Do you have Vinet alive, or any of the
Blood Drinkers? It would be useful to question then to learn their intentions.
Come to the villa when you have information.
''

Veddic replied:

''
1. ok...
2. V dead, BDs alive, but not inclined to help
3. Information on what?
''

In the afternoon Fenrir and Corum went to sell all the loot they had acquired yesterday from the Blood Drinker's hideout and the orcs.

They then went to find Alduin who was resting in the Singing Sword, he too had been on duty last night. They had last seen him during the dungeon raid under the OJB when they took on the giant statue and hobgoblins.

He was doing well though, but had been badly injured (DAY 190) during a combat patrol outside the city and had been on lighter duties since then. Two nights ago (DAY 198) he had been on wall duty and while it had not been attacked he had helped reinforce other sections twice and last night he had been on the wall and involved in a lot of fighting.

Fenrir asked if he was available for more adventures if required. Alduin shrugged and said, 'Yes, why not?'

In the evening it was the 'Thank You Ball'. Corum was invited and since Fenrir had to follow him wherever he went or break his parole he went along too, but in the guise of 'Bob Smith' a wonky-toothed chinless toff!

This ball was being put on a the 'Smiling Siren Festhall' in Castle Ward and was the nobles from outside the city thanking the nobles inside the city for looking after them so well while they were sheltering from the barbarian horde. It was a large and lavish affair.

Fenrir observed three things of note this evening.

1. Royus Aderbrent was there. 'Bob' talked to him a bit about Corum's guild business and when questioned said that his family was from the Moonsea.

2. A nobleman called Bandar Redraven came over and talked to Corum initially and when Corum told  'Bob' that he'd been asking about Fenrir, 'Bob' went over to talk to him. They talked for a while and he seemed a pleasant man. He said he was interested in the goings-on of demonists and devilists and 'Bob' warned him that that was a dangerous thing to be interested in these days. Redraven agreed but was fascinated to have heard recently that Fenrir was alive and would be willing to pay for information regarding this.
'Bob' replied that he had known Fenrir when they were young, but was certain that he was dead. They talked further for a while and later 'Bob' checked Redraven over from a distance and detected many magical auras.

3. Erktos Thann II was attacked by an assassin, but the attempt failed. After a brief kaffuffle the party continued.
  

DAY 201 (29 Elient)(September)

At two o'clock in the morning they returned to the OJB and went to their rooms.

Fenrir awoke at ten o'clock in the morning.

Meanwhile, back at Warm Beds, Veddic had received a reply from Deverreck:

''
It has been discovered that what they wanted Ellis to do involves his tools in the HS. Either take these tools yourself, or convince Ellis to do so. Then contact me again for further instructions.
''
Veddic then sent an urchin to Ellis with this note:

''
Can I meet you ASAP. Fellow follower of Kossuth.
''

Then to Deverreck he sent:

''
Should I have the tools, or should Ellis?
''

To which he received the reply:

''
Ellis will use tools, but you hold them until we know what we want him to do.
''

Around noon Corum was summoned to the Palace. Fenrir, as always, followed him, but in the disguise of 'Bob Smith from the Moonsea'.

They stood in a court yard for a while before a cart and four horses were brought up. Then more people arrived.

They were :

Lord Dinshadder Phylund - Diplomat. Acting on behalf of Waterdeep.
Lord Moedt Belabranta   - Leader of the Gryphon Cavalry
General Obryn Ironfist  - Leader of the Waterdeep Guards. A dwarf.

Civilar Wishan Trembler   - Watchman in charge of the big wagon of treasure
Special Amar Corum Lavius - Wagon guard (with the addition of 'Bob Smith'!)
Special Amar Celia Varres - Wagon guard, a woman

So, this was the cities solution to the problem of the orc horde outside the walls, a great big wagon full of treasure!

Perhaps Lord Belabranta had remembered Corum as a tough looking sort and had suggested him as a guard or perhaps he didn't want to risk any of his own men. Either way he didn't say and although he recognised 'Bob' for who he really was he gave no sign of it.
General Ironfist grumbled about it but Belabranta replied,
'He might come in handy.' and the dwarf acquiesced.

A larger guard of twenty men on horses accompanied them to the city gate and then with all the others on horses and Corum, Celia and 'Bob' on the cart they left the city and under the white flag of truce made their way to the orc camp.

The word 'camp' hardly did it justice though. I'd flown over it several times in the shape of an eagle and I'd seen that it covered a good square mile of land and was separated into tribal areas. The tents of the giants were huge and the horde had chopped down every tree for miles around to build shelters and fuel their fires. They'd also dug up every rock they could find to hurl over the city wall so the vast camp was a muddy, dirty, blackened hole in the landscape.

The wagon picked its way through the crowds of curious and hungry looking orcish and human barbarians and past the threatening tall shadows of the giants to the centre of the camp where the large round campaign tent of their leader, 'King Obould Many-Arrows', lay.

They were ushered in and the cart was unloaded. The King was an imposing, tall and scarred orc, a veteran of many battles. Dinshadder went forward to talk to him while Obould's captains opened the chests and examined the treasure.

Obould and Dinshadder conversed for a while and it appeared not to go well, because suddenly the orc drew his mighty battleaxe and buried it deeply into the diplomat's body, slaying him instantly!

'Bob' stepped forward without hesitation, bravely trying to calm the situation. General Ironfist raised his axe crying,
'Grarr! Deceivers! Oath-breakers!' but was quickly knocked senseless by the king's guards.

'Bob' frantically tried to talk everyone down from an immediate blood bath and managed to get Obould's attention. None of his strategies really hit home as such, but his demon charm and way with flattering words saved his neck from getting an axe in it, and every one else's.

King Obould dreamed of an Orc Empire that would one day stretch all the way down the Sword Coast from the Spine of the World Mountains. Treasure was needed to pay his troops though and taking this offering seemed like the best option when Waterdeep was proving so difficult to take by force.

Obould was far from an idiot, but in the end he let them all go, reasoning that if he killed them then other cities would be less likely to parlay in the future.

With great relief Corum and Celia heaved the General's unconscious body onto the cart and they headed back to the city as quickly as they could.

As the got to the gates, Belabranta rode up to the wagon and said to 'Bob', 'You saved us all back there. As far as I'm concerned you are now a free man.' Fenrir was delighted.

A crowd was waiting for them and to ask 'How it had gone', but Corum and 'Bob' took the earliest opportunity to leave and headed back to the OJB.

As they ate lunch and talked over their eventful morning, Corum revealed to Fenrir that while he had been thought dead, Raya had come to him and told him about the gold buried in the City of the Dead.

They'd bribed a couple of graveyard officials and dug up the coffin. Corum and Raya had split the 5000 gold, but he thought it fair to give Fenrir some and gave him 500.

In the afternoon Fenrir or 'Bob' and Corum went to Aunt Bitty's house once more and asked for Giselle again.

Corum was let in alone and half an hour later he came out. He told Fenrir,
'She probably still loves you, but you'll need to do a lot of smoothing over. She's mainly upset about loosing all her clothes. Being arrested wasn't a high point either. Bitty is under instructions from Gnesher not to let you anywhere near her. I don't think you can change her mind about that.'

Fenrir and Corum left Bitty's house at three o'clock.

Meanwhile, Veddic had employed Raya to watch the Horizon's Sails magic map shop. She'd already told him she would charge 1000 gold to rob the place so he was having her watch it first. She would report back the following morning.