1.7 To Tenque

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3/9/2013
After returning to Regime we off-load some loot, use the sage’s services to reveal the secrets of several magical items we acquired, and pack up several others items for the trip back to Tenque.  Working with max we all acquire some extra items to take to Tenque.  Vincent buys a wagon and we use a couple horses we found in our adventures up north.  Early the next morning our little caravan sets out.
A couple days go by uneventful, but near mid-day on our third day we are surprised by when several medium sized boulders land among the party.  One bounces off Mickel and another knocks one of the wagon horses down.  The party quickly recovers; with several charging towards two stone throwing giants several hundred yards off the path.  Tyrion rides back from the forward scouting area in time to shoot several arrows at the giants.  Mickel and Derek make quick work of the giants.  After a spending a bit of time healing the party is whole again and continuing onward.
Several days later we are getting close to bugbear hide out.  A small group of us move out ahead of the wagons to remove the bugbears before they have a chance to ambush our wagons.  Tyrion scouts out the area around the bugbear palisade.  There appear to be two guards hanging about within the palisade and a closed door against the cliff face.  The plan is for Erith, invisible, to sneak within range of her spell to silence the area and the rest of us to attack with missile weapons.  Just before Erith casts her spell the bugbears notice us, but luckily Erith is able to get her spell off before the alarm is sounded.  We quickly dispatch the two guards and move forward to investigate the door.  Tyrion sneaks over the door to check out the area within.  Using infravision, he is able to make out a potentially couple guards deeper in the cave.  We cast a silence spell on coin and are able to get through the gate without alerting the guards.  Again, we are almost undone when the guards notice us, but we are able to get the silenced coin within range of the gaurds before combat ensues.  They unleash their ballistae upon us, causing minor injuries to several of us.  The ballistae shoots a bundle of spear like weapons instead of one large bolt.  We quickly close with the guards and dispatch them without difficulty.  The cave branches left and right, leaving the silenced coin in the right passageway we investigate the left area.  Again Tyrion scouts ahead and discovers this area is inhabited by female and younger bugbears.  We move in and quickly kill off the bugbears in this area.  In a back corner of the living area is a shelf that seems to have some items on it.  Just as we get within a few feet of the shelf several smoke mefits swoop down to attack us.  We are surprised, but quickly recover and kill the mefits.  Moving over to the other passageway we begin to maneuver the ballistae to provide an initial missile attack.  As we are dragging the equipment around a couple bugbears notice us, they sound the alarm, and we are immediately set upon by several bugbears.  As we dispatch the couple bugbears that come forward to attack us the entire area is plunged into darkness.  Tyrion moves forward hugging the left hand wall of the tunnel, Mickel stays with the right hand side of the tunnel, Derek moves forward blindly down to the passageway, the rest of us stay in the general area when the darkness fell on us.  Derek encounters a bugbear and they blindly flail away at each other.  Tyrion follow the wall into a side room that appears empty.  Mickel emerges from the darkness to be confronted by several bugbears that are atop a sloped area with some stairs carved into it.  Mickel immediately attacks the bugbears as he yells out that he found the cowardly critters.  The rest of us advance through the darkness as best we can.  Tyrion sneaks up the left side of the sloped area to get behind the shaman that is casting spells at us.  Derek begins to charge up the stairs to help the dwarf, but is stop cold by the priest’s hold person spell.  The rest join the fight quickly dispatching most of the bugbears.  Although Tyrion didn’t have any success quickly killing the shaman with a back stab he does succeed in getting to shaman to surrender, especially when he notices that the rest of his allies are dead.  We question the bugbear and agree to release it with a promise that it will depart the area and if we catch it preying on caravans again we will not be so lenient.  We do find a captive, a ranger that had been captured by the bugbears recently.  He agrees to accompany us back to Tenque.  We destroy the bugbear defensive structure and ballistae, wait for our wagons to catch up with us and continue on our way.
Several days later we are attacked by a small pack of stirges.  We are able to turn back their attack and kill them off.
Arriving at Tenque several days later….