Previously: Chapter 06: Dragons and Deceptions
Setting Out
The next morning, when the party has been well rested, they decide to not waste any time, as they have already spent a day to get to Rivergrounds, and set out with their horses. To save on time, they decide to not go by road, which would be safer, but go straight through the grasslands they went through on the way north, realizing that it might be more dangerous, but faster. Kal says her goodbyes to Tim, who begs her to reconsider, but she once more has to disappoint him. He tells her that if ever she gets tired of adventuring, she will have the best room available and a job. She thanks him, and gives him a handshake, before returning to the rest of the party.
Setting out of the town and heading south, they push the horses to their maximum gallop, as they have to hurry in order to make their appointment with Venomfang. During the ride down south, they discuss whether they should take care of some of the disturbances they have been told about along the way, specifically the orcish invaders that roam near Wyvern Tor, the undead presence at Old Owl Well, and to maybe help Sister Garaele with Agatha. As they’re not sure that they will make everything, they decide to head to Wyvern Tor first, as it is the furthest away, and take it from there.
Towards the end of the first day of travel, as if fate destined it to happen, they come across a group of orcs that appear to be looking for something or someone. Willowbark wants to move past in peace, as they haven’t spotted them yet, but Kal tells her that orcs are ruthless warriors, who terrorize the local population. She thinks it is peculiar that orcs venture this far south from the Thax'ning Tribes, and hopes it isn’t a vanguard for a full on invasion. The rest of the party is split on what to do, but they eventually agree that it is better to stop the menace before someone innocent comes into their way.
Catching the orcs by surprise, they are easily defeated, and can no longer harm innocents. Willowbark does her usual burial ritual, wandering around gathering sticks and stones to make an offering to her god. One particular rock seems to be… “special”. Willowbark can’t explain it, but decides to keep it for herself. Returning to the orc she can see that Penny, with the help of Granny, harvests some of the blood from the orcs, thinking it might come in handy.
The Lucky Stone
After a couple of days travel, the party decides that it is important that they name the horses they have purchased. Demetrius decides to name his mount Puck, Willowbark’s is called Speed, Theren goes with Wildfire, Thunder belongs to Kal, Penny names her Diamond, with Granny naming hers Henry the Ate. When asked where she came up with that name, Granny simply responds that she thinks it sounds “neat”.
Willowbark sits down to try to figure out what is so special about the rock she found. She can tell that it is magical, but is unsure what it does. Giving up, she approaches Theren, as he has the ability to identify magic items. After spending some minutes doing his ritual, he reveals that she has found a Stone of Healing, a rather rare find in nature. As it has to be thrown at someone in order for them to heal, it seems to mostly be useless, but she keeps it anyway, just in case.
Wyvern Tor
Three days after setting out of Rivergrounds, rushing towards their destination, they eventually reach Wyvern Tor, the general area where the mayor of Phandalin mentioned that the orcs were holed up. Having seen first hand that the orcs are roaming the general area around Phandalin, they want to put a stop to it before it spirals out of control. The party spends a few hours searching for where they might be located, with them eventually finding a lone orc keeping watch near the mouth of a cave, next to a river.
Not wanting to be overwhelmed by the orcish forces, they want to be careful, taking them by surprise once again. After going through some options, they decide that since Penny can disguise herself, and Demetrius being the stealthiest of the group, she will don the form of an Orc, distracting the orc guarding the cave, while Demetrius sneaks up behind him to take him out.
Penny, looking like one of the orcs that the party killed a couple of days back, approaches the sentry in a very obvious manner, hoping to draw his attention. The sentry is very cautious at first, but as Penny managed to nearly perfectly replicate the look of the orc, he lowers his guard, allowing Demetrius to stealthily approach him from behind. With a quick stab in the neck with his dagger, the orc keels over, bleeding out, without making a sound.
The party wants to take a look at what they are facing, and so Demetrius sneaks into the cave to spy on the orcs. Within, he can see that there is a large group of orcs, as well as what looks like an ogre among them. Seeing that they would be outnumbered if they took on the orcs head on, Demetrius retreats to the party so they can make a plan that gives them the edge. They all decide that the narrow cave opening provides them with a perfect bottleneck, allowing them to focus on one enemy at a time.
Penny, still in her orc-form, enters the cave, and tells them that she needs help with something, and then walks out, hoping a couple will follow. They do, and as Penny waits by the river, the rest of the party has huddled around the opening, out of sight, to ambush the approaching orc. As it walks out, they almost manage to take it out in time, but before it dies, it manages to shout out a warning to the others in the cave. No matter, the trap has been sprung, and the party has used the cave against the orcs, as they one by one push themselves through the opening, being taken out one at a time.
As the great ogre falls over, bleeding from a wound in the neck, the remaining orcs retreat further into the cave, terrified. The party waits a bit for them to come out, but when they do not, they decide to venture in. There, by the campfire the orcs had set up, three of the orcs have dropped their weapons and hold up their hands in surrender. Kal, visibly disappointed by this as she hoped to finish them off, circle the orcs with her party. The orcs begs them to leave them alive, but the party wants answers for why they are so far south. The orcs mention that they are looking for a key that the leader of their tribe sent them to retrieve. When asked what kind of key, one of the orcs produces a crude drawing of what appears to be a circle with some parts missing. The orcs say that they have been told that the key may be in Wave Echo Cave, but they haven’t been able to locate it yet.
Satisfied that they have gotten whatever they can out of the orcs, Kal does her best to be intimidating, and demands that the orcs return north, and never to return, to which the orcs agree. Willowbark tries to copy Kal, as she finds her to be very intriguing. Before they leave, the orcs go to pick up their dropped weapons, but the party stops them, demanding that they make their way unarmed. The orcs asks how they will defend themselves, to which Granny replies that they better stay out of sight. The orcs share a look, before running away.
Making Camp
As nightfall has arrived once more, the party decides to just rest in the cave until morning, and continue onwards to Cragmaw Castle the next day. The party harvest whatever they can of the fallen orcs and ogre, with Penny skinning the hands of the ogre, hoping to maybe make a useful magic item from it. The party gives her weird looks.
Willowbark and Kal collect some rocks from the river to do the burial ritual that Kal has seen Willowbark do a few times now. She asks her about it, and why she does it. Willowbark simply responds that she thinks all life is valuable, and so it should be honored. She doesn’t want to kill anything, but if she is forced to do so, she wants to honor them in her own way. Kal has a much more pragmatic view of life and death, and says it is a natural thing, everything dies in the end, but she likes the idea behind WIllowbarks philosophy, so she decides to join Willowbark honoring the orcs that they killed.
Before the party goes to sleep, they retrieve their horses from the nearby woods they hid them in, bringing them closer to the cave. Just in case, they also decide to keep watch by the cave entrance just in case some patrolling orcs return from their nearby raiding, but none return.