(S12) Abbey of Orcs

Rushing down they found Don-Jon Raskin standing guard in front of a stunned dwarven miner, a bloodied dagger lying between him and a smirking clan member. Asking for what happened, it appeared the miner had attempted to shove the clan member and she had shoved back, somehow strong enough to throw him ten feet back and slam on the cavern wall strong enough to shatter bone. Idris rushed to heal the miner and it was during this that Don-Jon Raskin told him that he had stabbed the clan member in defence but the wound had disappeared. Fear flashed clear in his eyes. Confronting the woman, Idris still attempted to calm spirits. She did not seem cowed at all and was quite dismissive until she caught sight of Idris's sword, recently claimed from the Dragon Barrow. At it's sight she paled and retreated quickly with a stammered excuse. The party confided between them about what to do, even trying to make Zeleen Varmaster and Don-Jon Raskin swear to not harm each other under oath. Zeleen Varmaster refused to take part in magic conducted by "strangers" and with little other choice the party decided to travel to the Shrine of Savras, the ruin that had been the clans old home before the Orcs had driven them out and attempt to free it. After some discussion they persuaded Zeleen Varmaster to join them. Another clan member called Scabbers joined them, having four of the oddly giant rats under his control.

The trip there was uneventful, Pine now being quite familiar with the rolling hills in the area. Avoiding the ruined town of Conyberry they crested a hill and saw the Abbey. Pine was able to identify it as a shrine of Savras, Idris's god of worship. It was indeed quite occupied, more than a dozen orcs visible from their vantage point. A plan was hatched. This plan was quite ambitious and had numerous parts.

1. Idris would approach from the front and challenge the Orcs chief in a duel. The hope was that due to Orcish society giving power to the strongest a win here would be enough to just tell the orcs to leave. Pine would accompany him serving as a hype man and also as a way out if things really went wrong.
2. Siax and Factoré would sneak up from the East and attempt to scale the walls in a point where they were broken enough to climb without much danger.
3. Koraliki Verque would attempt to sneak to the small thicket on the left and hide in the trees. Her aim was to provide supportive fire if things went badly.
4. Zenari would walk towards the Abbey from the south, the closest part to them. The hope was to use her magic to provide a distraction.

Idris and Pine approached, Idris flexing and posing. This approach somehow worked, the confused guards running to fetch others instead of yelling for the attack. Eventually a massive orc walked out of the ruined abbey, larger than any they had seen before confront them. In broken common he demanded what they wanted and after some communication he understood that Idris wished to challenge him. Finding the idea amusing the chieftain agreed, a ring of orcs forming quickly as an impromptu arena for the upcoming fight. There was no talk of rules or preferred weapons. The chieftain simply grabbed a greataxe larger than most men, yelled out a warcry and charged.

Meanwhile a passing orc heard a noise made by Koraliki Verque. Investigating he actually saw her outling deep up a tree but the announcement of the bout distracted him enough that she was able to leap to another tree unnoticed. A tense moment passed until the orc jogged away, the prospect of someone challenging their chief being too precious to miss. At the same time Siax set a hunting trap in one of the more obvious openings in the cracked wall and scaled the wall. He approached the tower and lay in wait, the orc guard but a few feet from where he hid not aware how close the ranger lay. Factoré's shorter feet meant she had just made it on the wall but was almost as quiet as Siax. It seemed she had picked up some of the rangers skills by observation.

Finally Zenari had used magic to make herself look like an orc. This was fortunate as it was not long before a passing Orc spotted her and tried to speak to her. In a bit of a panic she made an attempt to appear as if she was struck down while also making it sound like an orc was shouting for help farther in the forest.  The orc now thoroughly confused called for backup and went to investigate the illusion. Before the other Orc arrived Zenari displayed some quick thinking as she teleported into the nearby bushes while replacing her form with an illusion. When the orcs saw their hands phasing through what they thought was a dead orc they decided that there was safety in numbers and jogged to fetch more help. As the bout was starting however they were not allowed to report anything.

The fight begins!

It started off great with Idris's thick armour and shield making blows that would otherwise be lethal into mere glancing hits while his sword flashed in and left long streaks of blood behind. However instead of tiring the massive orc chief seemed enraged by his wounds and in a moment of immense strength he toppled Idris over. Grabbing the Paladin he kept him in place and struck him with his greataxe several times, piercing the armour and biting deep inside. Idris tried again and again to rise until eventually he was able to stand and strike at the chieftain, burying his sword in his left arm. Roaring in frustration the orc dropped his axe and grabbed Idris once again. Running towards the Abbey he slammed him into the wall and continued to push his head inwards until the metal buckled and started crushing his skull. This was most definitely Pine's queue as he almost unnoticed ran forward, grabbed Idris's unconscious form and activated the cloak of the artificer. In an explosion strong enough to kill a random orc the chieftain let go. When the smoke cleared Pine and Idris were on the top of the abbey.

All out combat broke out. Siax pushed the orc in the guard tower off and started firing arrow after arrow, Factoré joining him with her crossbow. Orcs started climbing the walls and the Abbey but after Siax slayed the chieftain with an arrow through the eye and Koraliki Verque killing one of lieutenants one decisive blow it seemed the orcs were acting with no organisation and instead rushed towards the closest enemy. Dropping her disguise Zenari touched the ground in front of her turning it pliable. Rocks and dirt trapped some orcs, killing some others outright. The fight seemed to be going the way of our heroes even though Zeleen Varmaster and Scabbers had not joined into the fray yet.

It was then than an armoured orc finally assumed command. With some quick orders he refocused the orc's efforts and directed one of them to pull a lever instead of climbing. The lever depressed and a rudimentary gate opened showing what lay within one of the ruined towers. Three massive Ogre's roared in anger and rushed out, grabbing logs and even dead orcs to use as weapons.