Episode 01 - Runequest Forgotten Realms

[EvilGinger]

Part one for those who where there and those who where not

The party started up as part of the trail breaking team for a caravan  travelling from Amn into the newly opened lands beyond the Snow flake mountains to as the head scout was fond of saying to a small prosperous kingdom of Halflings in hidden dells beyond a veritable paradise according to the chief scout an entirely over enthusiastic ranger called Yarrod. Accessible because of the extreme reduction of humanoid activity in the mountains.

The caravan was huge and travelled peaceful even through the troubled lands of southern Amn because of this. So by High sun (midsummer) it was deep in the mountains and apparently within sight of its goal. Then on the morning of the 15th day of high sun the forward party including the players set off as normal and by mid day had found a suitable camp sight and set up camp by mid after noon. The caravan did not arrive and just after night fall the set up team leader Yarrod became concerned enough that he asked for volunteers to backtrack and find out what had happened though at this point noting serious was suspected.

The volunteers where

Moondown
a moon elf priest of Sedamine moon bow

Evandur
a ranger of Meliki

Doran
a young gnome toymaker with a taste for adventure

Aeiadran
a wood elf Druid

Ornuk
a grim dwarf miner who had signed up as a labourer on the caravan

Azerack
a human journeyman wizard

Raven wing
a Half ork hunter raised by nomadic orcs and more orc than man

Pongo
a hulking half ork barbarian mercenary

Richam
a taciturn human mercenary


the small group set off through the moon lit night some what carelessly until they heard the sound of a horse whinnying some where ahead. with the rest of the party hanging back Evandur and Aeiadran  went to investigate as both  where wood wise and sharp eyed. Aeiadran  tripped over a root and his outcry at his kissing the earth would have given the game away if there had been any one present to give the game away to. They found a lathered saddled horse which had taken refuge in  stand of trees it looked like one of the horses the outriders from the caravan road and there was a broken arrow stuck in the saddle even if the horse was unhurt. After making the horse comfortable the party moved on to find its rider more cautious now as the cause of the caravans delay seemed to be more serious than a broken axle.

Ahead they spotted a dark shape ahead which with the rest of the party hanging back Evandur and Aeiadran  went to investigate as they had pointed themselves as scouts for the group. It s a good job that there was no one waiting in ambush as they archived a level of stealth about the same as that of a pair of evokers duelling with spells on a hilltop. Arriving at the shape they found it to be the corpse of one of the outriders from the caravan who on investigation had been slain by a heavy arrow in the back the same sort of arrow as the one in the horses saddle The corpse was relived of its mail shirt by Ravenwing a practical orc if ever there was one and laid out in the manner of the elves by Moondown

Wary of attack the party pressed on until they smelt smoke on the wind and coming over a rise saw fires ahead. Once again our two scouts Evandur and Aeiadran despite efforts to the contery managed an impressive lack of stealth and where charged at by three axe wielding goblin warriors, a short fight followed where our two hero's where hard put to it until the rest of the party caught up   and with some effort and superior numbers won the day capturing two goblins one of which was promptly killed and the other tortured to reveal that the caravan had been over run by “Red  Orcs” whose slaves the goblins where. The goblin pickets defeated and having been assured by the goblin captive that the main force had long since departed the party searched the site of the battle to obtain more evidence and to recover more arms and supply's AA task in which they where unsuccessful for the main as the attackers had thoroughly looted the site to the point where they had even taken away their dead. As they searched the sun cam up and it became possible to discover more of what had happened. The caravan had been the victim of a well laid ambush by an overwhelming force of humanoids mostly orcs but with a number of goblins also present possibly after the battle where they where used to carry off the loot. The party noted whilst there where many tracks coming into position for the ambush site there where three only each of large body's of humanoids leaving the area.

The party decided to return to the forward camp apprehensive as to what they might find but not before collecting the horse and Moondown torturing the goblin some more, and snatching a few hours rest on the way as they had been awake all night and where all exhausted .   

Returning to the forward camp,they found that this two had been over run mostly by goblins as there where some dead goblins scattered on the field amongst the burned and looted camp. This backed up the goblins tale of its masters the red orcs having no care for its slaves. A short discussion ensued as to the advisability of trying to return to Amn or to press on and it was decided that pressing on was the least bad option backed up by the goblin captives assertion that there where dwarves ahead.

The Party pressed on for a few days until they where hailed by a grim dwarf ranger called Fulgrim who offered to lead them out of the mountains to the nearest outpost of the Kingdom of Stone hold where they would be able to resupply

End of part one