Greyhawk: Against the Giants: Huecuva's Blight

HIMO walks over to the group and ask "Well what do we have here a pow wow?"

HIMO looks at TANYA "Needfest oh so fun but your right it is early."

ARLIE wanders from his tent to join the group. "What's up? Time for the meeting already?"

Kirak Oathbound
Monk

Kirak walks forward and looks at both Arlie and Himo with a look of both shock and stupidity.
“You’re serious?” he says with unable to take his eyes off of both of them, shock painted all over his face.
“A crate with valuable supplies in it for us dead drops from the sky, and all the two of you can offer up is that?”
He looks at Clara with a shrug
“Unbelievable” his eyes go back to the crate and then look up at Jacob, Crane, Aaron, and Marcus. He smiles for a moment then interjects into their playful jabbing,
“If I were you guys I’d be thankful you weren’t standing under it when it fell!”
Taking a deep breath he finally walks over to the crate and opens it up to see what the mysterious air drop has to offer. It was indeed a bit early for Needfest, but then who was he to argue with such generosity, he’d just be grateful, thank Cuthbert and be on his way. Remembering to thank such generosity, and return it the next time the opportunity presented itself.

Kirak peered inside with enthusiasm and awe. After taking a moment, looking up at Tanya he says with a smile and a wink in her direction.
"--and Tanya, it'll be a happy Needfest regardless of whether your here or not. Somehow I don't think someone of your reputation and caliber will allow such small obstacles as these to stop her."

Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Time: 18:00:30

DM NOTE: Val gave me some interesting toys last week that I have finally been able to thumb through. One was this nearly comprehensive magical item compendium that has a streamlined treasure making mechanic. I have played with it for a few encounters I worked up for this game and a few monsters in Manifest, but I wanted to try it out with the fort characters and their supply drop. This allows me to give items that are more balanced for the characters' levels. I hope no one minds. I didn't really like the items I had chosen for the fort guys anyway.

Marcus nods toward Jacob.
"It wouldn't have been so bad if the crate fell on Jacob."

Aaron and Crane snicker and chuckle until Mel's cold, narrow stare silences them.

Tanya looks at Kirak, kneeling beside her at the wrecked crate.
"I prefer not to celebrate the turn of the year in a war zone with giants breathing down my neck and cold winds blowing in my face. You are right, though, few obstacles will get in my way, but profit is a great lure and weakness of mine."

Kirak can see three items in the wreckage of the crate. The items are small, but quite striking and each is etched with runes. A simple gold ring with two moonstones has runes etched in HALFLING. A colorful, geometric crystal, which changes colors as it is handled, is etched in ELVEN. Also there is a small parchment is wrapped around a crystal so clear that it nearly vanishes from sight in your hand. The crystal is shaped like an ellipse, or an eye. The parchment has runes written in OERTH COMMON that say KIRAK.

With the item in your hands you hear a mental whisper spread through you mind. In the whispers is the thought that will activate the item as well as the instructions of placing it against your forehead. You also receive the thought that the item was crafted specifically for you.

Kirak Oathbound
Monk

Kirak looks at Tanya with another smile; his eyes betray his jest as does the tone in his voice.
“Somehow Tanya, that doesn’t surprise me.”
He looks back at both Himo and Arlie, and then turns back to Tanya, still amazed at the fact the two of them are just standing there with their mouths hanging open.
“Of course Tanya if these two don’t stop gawking and get over here, your day may turn out to be a lot more profitable than you anticipated.”
Kirak just twists his smile then looks back into the crate once more. Raising an eyebrow as he looks at the crystal now in his hand. He hesitates momentarily and then decides to place it on his forehead. The act is slow and he is unsure of what to expect but as he raises his hand his eyes close in anticipation.

Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Time: 18:00:42

The crystal eye fastens itself to Kirak's forehead. As it fits snugly into Kirak's forehead, the monk a foreign thought enters his head, whispering the powers of the eye:

Eye of Clarity: The crystal can be activated (immediate action) once per day to negate any confused, dazed, fascinated, or stunned effect on Kirak. Kirak can choose to activate the item either before making a saving throw against such an effect or just after failing the saving throw. You do not have to do it on your turn, but at any time during the enemy's attack.
The eye is tuned to Kirak, anyone else using it gains a negative energy level when it is worn. The negative energy level cannot be removed until the item is removed and returned to Kirak.

Kirak stood up straight and attempted to get used to the item that has now attached itself onto his forehead. He was grateful for the gift and thought it was something of a marvel that it just happened to show up at the right time. He was still somewhat dumbfounded at the fact that the others had made no attempt to even look into the crate. Shrugging it off he walked over to Mel and looked at her. He knew she wanted to gather for the meeting and this event only served to distract from the original plan, so he knew she was going to want to get back on track as soon as they were able to. Furthermore if Arlie and Himo weren’t going to make any attempt to even look into the crate then he saw no further reason to delay any longer.

“Your orders?”

Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Time: 18:00:54

Lady Glassblower arrives from her tent. She probably chose to be fashionably late, although she has calmed some since Forlin was able to contact Hochoch earlier in the week. She still cautiously checks the sky on occasion, searching for ambushing fireballs.

Mel nods,
"Of course, orders."

Clara looks around.
"Anyone seen Ta'Heed?"

Forlin nodded.
"He's probably in the forest on the higher level. That's where I saw him last. He was pretty quiet when I tried to find him. He wouldn't even acknowledge me. I think he may still be in a some state of bereavement for the loss Kyna from the red creature who attacked us."

Mel continues,
"Well, I won't order him for all the money in Oerth. Not a chance."
She pauses and the continues.
"So, we have been tossing around the idea around of sending out scout parties for day patrols between the fort and the Midwood Trade Road. I want a real discussion of whether we think this is possible with our current numbers. I like the idea; it's bold, and we need to know what the enemy may be doing. We are effectively blind, and we're behind enemy lines. This puts us in a dire position. Especially if our enemy is looking for us. So, we have 10 troops, Clara's 3 men (when they are in top shape), Clara, Himo, Arlie, Kirak, Nydent, and Tanya. Lady Glassblower must stay at the fort for protection, and I want Forlin to stay at the fort as the fort's healer. He is too much of an asset for a patrol group. And Ta'Heed, well, he can do whatever he pleases. So, I'm looking for specific and detailed suggestions, criticisms, or questions. You gents have the floor."

ARLIE paces by the crate. His attention wanders - among the group, occasionally to the two objects left, but mostly to the gem now stuck to Kirak's head.

Not completely distracted, however, he replies to Mel. "We could spare 2; 3 at the most. It should be a group able to move fast. My worry would be the canoes & travel between here & either shore. I think that's our most exposed moment to be attacked. Do we have any alternate ways to cross or ways to speed up crossing?"

Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Time: 18:02:30

Mel nods in agreement with Arlie, then she shrugs.
"The canoes are the best that I can give. The water's too cold for swimming or wading, well for an extended amount of time. The most I can do is make sure you are covered on your return. There is an island between our fort and the western shore that I can place some troops to cover your departure and your arrival. Troops on the bluff would be able to cover you as well."

Forlin speaks up,
"I can grant the ability of flight to one individual for a limited time. It would be enough to get someone to the western shore and beyond certainly. Beyond that I can door two people and myself 720 FEET. But I can only do that in one direction and only once a day. It would assist if someone needed help quickly and I was there."

Mel shake her head.
"I'm not sure I like that idea, Forlin. It puts you too much in harm's way. You would have to meet a returning scout party at the shore. If they are being chased, that puts you in danger. I'm not certain I will accept that."

Forlin
"As long as we are all here, we are all in constant danger."

Glassblower speaks
"I could have the ability to grant flight to a few people as well, but I have to translate the spell from Red's spellbook. The creature has a strange way to calculate magical theory, but I think I successfully translated most of its spellbook. Fly is in there."

Mel
"What's the catch?"

Glassblower
"The catch is that without extra supplies, my inks and quills for scribing scrolls into my book are limited. I can only do a few spells, and Red has some pretty impressive offensive spells that could also assist us."

Clara's voice is low and forlorn.
"Ta'Heed's assistance would be a great boon for our scout party, depending on how much he can fly."

Ta'Heed's deep, calm baritone pummels the silence after Clara's words.
"If you are all prepared for risk and courage, I am prepared to assist."

No one is certain when he exactly appeared.

HIMO looks at Mel and then at Ta'Heed and says "Thank you Mel, for the gift. And Mel how does he do that ?"

Kirak Oathbound, Monk

Kirak looked in a general direction at everyone in the group. The idea was most likely silly at best, but it was something that just popped into his head and therefore he voiced it out loud.
“Can anyone use one of those fancy Polymorph spells?”
Kirak shrugged,
“I only ask cause we could save ourselves some time IF someone did. Have them Polymorph someone into a bird, then fly around and report back.”
Kirak looked at Lady Glassblower and raised an eyebrow.
“Also is there any type of Wards, or Alarms you may have? We may be able to set up an ‘Early Warning’ system if you did.”
Kirak continues unhindered following his train of thought.
“Perhaps if there was a way to ‘Watch’ certain areas from a distance,--“
Kirak paused searching for the right words
“I believe they used to call it Scrying?” Kirak said the word as if they were completely foreign to him, he was unsure how the spell actually worked, as he wasn’t a spell caster himself.
“I’m not sure how it works, but would it be of any use?”

Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Time: 18:04:42

Glassblower's face recoils from Kirak in disbelief. She sighs deeply, attempting to unleash her frustration in an exhale. When she starts speaking, it's obvious that she failed. Sarcasm flows off her tongue like vomit.
"Yes, because magic can cure all your ills. No, Kirak, I cannot polymorph, and it's not that helpful. Even some of the most powerful archmages would not be able to hold the spell for longer than a half an hour and certainly less than an hour. It's not efficient for long range reconnaissance. Also the one under the spell better know the territory or they still risk getting lost.
"I have an alarm spell I could set up, but it won't last longer than 14 hours, requiring me to reset it every 14 hours. For it to be of any use as an 'early warning system,' we would have to place on the shore and go back every 14 hours to recast the spell. It would tell us who is coming or the numbers. Hell, it could go off if a squirrel enters the area, causing a lot of false alarms.
"Lastly, Scrying does not work on an area, it works on a person. Also, the more familiar you are with the person the less likely the opponent would be able to resist the spell. If the opponent resists the scrying attempt, you will get no information at all. Also, an opponent has ways to counter and fool scrying, so it may not replace a seasoned scout group on the ground doing what they do best. There are other divinations that can watch specific places, but not for extended periods of time. Those spells are best used to give a moving squad extra eyes while allowing them to focus on other objectives."
Glassblower turns back to Mel.
"If you truly want to put out a scout party, it will have to be the old fashion way. It sounds that they would have plenty of cover for their departure and return trip. The rest would be up to the scout team. There should be plenty of individuals here that are capable."

Mel nods to Glassblower.
"Excellent. If magic could fix this, you wouldn't need us."
Mel slaps her hands together for emphasis and to warm them in the cold weather.
"Well, then, my mind is made up. We will go with Arlie's plan for a 3-party scout team. I did just realize that they would not be able to make it to the Midwood Trade Road within a day and still be able to report back, so their patrol area will be smaller than I had hoped. I'll figure out the patrol pattern by tomorrow morning, when the scout group will start their first operation. I'm putting Tanya"--

Tanya exclaims
"Shit!"

Mel
--"Kirak, and Clara in the scout group. The three of you will be free from any other duties. The job is simple: reconnaissance is your objective, combat is not."

Kirak met Glassblower’s gaze for a moment, the anger at her having made an ass out of him in public, clearly painted on his face. He had at least given her the respect to not do that to her in public, but when it came to elves (since this was the first one he had ever met), Kirak could only assume that respect was one way.

Kiraks face sneered in semi-anger as he turned around, his face flinched, he didn’t know the first damn thing about magic and he was simply trying to help. He was a fucking monk for crying out loud, how the hell WOULD he know anything about durations of a spell, or the power of a spell. According to Ghorenfore, Fennigan was able to turn HIM into some sort of temporary Ogre creature- thing-, so why was a bird that much harder?

But then he realized who he had been talking to and that fact alone quickly calmed his nerves. He had come to notice over time how stuck up the woman truly was. For some reason she thought she was better than everyone else, so he granted her the fact that she was and moved on.

Kirak saluted Mel and nodded
“Aye sir…”

Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Time: 18:05:54

Clara looked at Kirak and shook her head disapprovingly.

Mel continues,
"Kirak, since the Lieutenant conscripted you as a Sergeant, you will lead the reconn--"

Clara's neck snapped quickly back to Mel.
"I'll lead the scout team."

Mel was taken aback by the sudden interruption. Her shaky voice exposed her sentiment.
"I'd prefer that a member of the military lead the team."

Clara continued, unabated,
"Kirak has no knowledge of the area, this is--was my home. I know the territory. It would be more practical to put me in command."

Mel looked at Kirak and then back to Clara. She sighed.
"Your point is clear. All right, Clara will take the lead in the scout party."
Mel paused to address the rest of the team.
"Himo, Arlie, you will assist the guards on your evening watch with filling sand in spare satchels from the supply tent. I'm not getting caught off guard by invisible, flying opponents again. We will place five satchels at each of the lookout points and keep a few down here. Should we be attacked in that manner again and are capable of locating the general direction of the opponent a soldier will throw the satchel. The satchel will be targeted by a skilled archer or spellcaster. Once the satchel is busted or ripped the sand released may give us a way to spot the opponent, in case dispelling the magic fails."
Mel looks into the fire, looking at a checklist in her mind. She turns to Glassblower.
"I would prefer some more offensive spells to help with the fort protection. Preferably spells with long distance ranges."

Glassblower nods.
"I'll get on that tomorrow."

Mel continues,
"Well, unless anyone has any more concerns to add, everyone is dismissed."

She kicks the wrecked crate.
"Crane get this out of my face!"

Crane
"Yes, Master Sergeant!"

Kirak wasn’t one to be insulted by Cara’s remark, truth be told she was right. He knew this fact all too well and had resigned himself to the fact that she was better equipped to handle the position more than he was. Kirak was actually glad in some ways that they were going on the scouting mission together, he wanted to get to know her better and perhaps the best way to do that, and to earn her trust was on the field. Kirak smiled to himself as he watched Cara from a distance, he had to admire the woman’s tenacity, she was quite unlike any woman he had met before and this fact alone had him deeply intrigued. He caught himself staring just a little too long before he finally looked away and began to walk away.

HIMO says to MEL "Yes Master Sergeant."

He turns around looking at his gift as he aheads to the suppy tent.

Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Time: 18:08:00

Crane breaks up the box and wraps up Arlie's ring and places it aside. He picks up the wood from the crate and moves into the supply tent, just in case scraps come in handy at some point.

Himo sees many colors dance across the surface of the crystal. Rainbow patterns and other color patterns dance before his eye. Himo doesn't know how, but he is aware that the crystal is a type of augmentation crystal that can attach to a piece of armor to grant other magical benefits beyond the power of the armor itself. Give the crystal's strength it requires at least a +1 or better magical piece of armor to function.

Lesser Crystal of Glancing Blows: Grants a +5 circumstance bonus to grapple checks to prevent a grapple from being initiated (and only this type of grapple check). The crystal can be moved from magical armor to magical armor easily; however, only one crystal can be attached to a piece of armor. Also, the special crystal grants a negative energy level to anyone else attempting to benefit from it other than Himo.

ARLIE follows CRANE & gets the wrapped-up ring where it was set aside. A thought crosses his mind & he speaks up as CRANE is setting the wood in the supply tent. "Hey CRANE, I know we're limited for tools. Any of that scrap wood sturdy enough to help dig?"

*** edit based on DM's adjustment ***

change ARLIE's comment to "Hey CRANE, can you grab a couple shovels for me & HIMO?"

Waterday, Sunsebb 5th, 586CY
Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Time: 18:08:30

Crane returns from the supply tent with two shovels, handing one to Himo and one to Arlie.

Crane
"I'll get some of the men together to collect the satchels."

"Let's do this!!" HIMO says with a smile while holding the shovel

Sunsebb 6th, Earthday, 586CY
Luna: Waxing 1st Quarter Celene: 1st Quarter Moon
Sky: Partly Cloudy Temp: Cool
Sunrise: 6:59 Sunset: 16:53
Wind Direction: S
Average Speed: 9mph
Gusts: 19mph (Light)

Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Time: 0700

The night passes without event. Arlie and Himo, while on watch, were able to assist in creating the sand bags to use against invisible opponents. There are 5 such projectiles at the two sentry posts on the upper level and 5 at the lower base in the supply tent. Val: Please add these to the supply thread.

The morning is brisk, but warming quickly as the sun rises. A change in wind direction last night brought warmer air from the south and the temperature barely dropped over the night. With the rise of the sun and increase in wind speed, today does not promise to be freezing cold. Ice has not even formed on the edges of the river this morning and there is no frost on the grasses. The sky is filled with high altitude thin clouds, but no hints of bad weather. The sky through the clouds is a bright, clear moonstone.

Kirak, Clara, and Tanya have been up for a couple hours, preparing for their first scouting mission into enemy territory. All three assemble around Mel and her hand-drawn map of the Oytwood. The map is old, but accurate by Clara's standards.

Mel traces the river northwest from where she has marked Fort Olvewater.
"I want you three to head northwest along the river for about three miles. The river will bend north and you will head southwest to this point--"
Mel traces her fingers through the forest of Oytwood to a point that is directly west of the fort.
"This leg will be over seven miles from the point you left from the river. This will be the furthest I want you from the base."

Kirak can certainly see that the directions Mel has laid out only takes the team halfway to the Midwood Trade Road.

Mel begins tracing her finger on the map in southeastern direction.
"You'll head southeast and meet the river again at this bend, that will put you about an hour southwest of the fort. Follow the river back to us. If all goes well, you should be back at the fort before 1500, two hours before nightfall."

Clara nods, absorbing the map and the course Mel plotted out.
"What are we looking for?"

Mel shrugs.
"Possible enemy troop movements. I have no doubt that they will move against us, once the giants get reports that an enemy camp is stationed in their territory. With any luck, perhaps you may find some allies with information as well. If you see troop movements that could be an immediate threat to us, break from your patrol and report back."

XP POST:
Kirak: 40
Arlie: 10
Ghorenfore: 662
Hlin: 662
Martin: 662

Note: all characters, at both camps, heal 1hp/level from resting through the night. The team at the base camp may still be sleeping, but they will be up in a few hours.

Sunsebb 6th, Earthday, 586CY
Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Time: 07:01:00

Clara stares over the map. Her face is grim, lacking any other emotion.
"Seems simple enough."
She looks back to Mel.
"We are ready to move out."

Mel smiles.
"I hoped you'd be ready to move fast. The troops are already getting the canoes together. You three will head to the shoreline with Crane and Aaron. Clara's men will take a third canoe to the small western island and set up a small watch post until your return."

The canoes are already lined up ready to depart for the western shoreline.

Tanya looks at the canoes and the treeline of the western shore. She crimps her nose as if she smelled a horrible odor.
"Well, let's get this over with."

Clara yells out to her men.
"Keep an eye on the shoreline. We'll be back before dinner."

Clara's men, Biff, Stauder, and Vic, nod at the command. They appear wary to be parted from their boss.

Crane and Aaron stand next to the canoes.

Clara and Tanya head to the canoes.

Three other troops and stand guard at the western sentry post watching the western shoreline. Ta'heed is also there.

Sunsebb 6th, Earthday, 586CY
Oytwood
Fort Olvewater
Time: 07:05:00

Crane and Aaron ferry the scout team, Kirak, Clara, and Tanya, to the western shore of the Olvewater.

Aaron nods to Kirak.
"Good luck."

Crane and Aaron push their canoes back into the water. They hop into the canoes and paddle back to the fort.

Clara and her team are left alone on the western edge of the Olvewater, deep in enemy territory.

Clara nods to Kirak and Tanya.
"All right, keep you ears and eyes open. Let's not get jumped by anything large enough to step on us. We'll follow the river north and diverge into the forest as Mel mapped out."

Without another word, Clara takes the lead. She is sure-footed and moves quickly along the shore. Regardless of her desire to get out of Oytwood, it seems that the scout mission has added a little more life into her veins.

Kirak Oathbound

Kirak nodded
“aye”
Kirak watched Clara in silence if only for a brief moment, before his attention went back to the task at hand; he hadn’t said anything in quite a while. The simple nod to her that he understood what she wanted, or the simple “yes” was pretty much all he had offered all morning long to pretty much everyone. It wasn’t because he was annoyed with anyone or anything; it was a simple matter of per-occupation. Kirak had been thinking about Clara all morning and was still perplexed on how best to approach her, if he could at all. He wanted to tell her that not everything about this place had to be as draining as he seemed to think she thought it was. He wanted to offer himself as a friend, to hear what she had to say, and perhaps form a meaningful friendship. Kirak was fairly certain such a tactic would almost be completely lost on her, he had no idea what she had gone through, but judging from other incidents recently he could only assume it hadn’t been good.

Finally after wrestling with the pros and cons of the situation for a few minutes he resigned himself to the fact that he had to attempt something at some point today when he had a chance. Life was to short in this war to not take advantage of the possibility of forming new friendships, especially when those friends could be gone tomorrow.

Kirak continued in behind Clara silently keeping watch as she led the way.
SPOT CHECK for anything at all: (+2)