The Stag Lord's Fort

Standing outside the Stag Lord's fort we all called into question the prophecy. As we peered into the sky and saw no clouds we began to wonder if we were in the right place at the right time. And Durvil, our constant conscience, was the most vocal of the lot. Although, I can't say I was necessarily in disagreement.

That fort was one foreboding looking domicile. And knowing that one of the nastiest bandits lords in these parts resided within, it made it that much more so.

And we were going to be breaking into it. I also called into question our sanity. Why?

Why were we breaking into this place? Well, logic told us that we were here, and the trip was not a minor one to undertake. So if we were here already, we might as well use our time wisely and scout the place out. For future efforts I suppose.

So Elsbeth and I crept towards the structure. The log palisade appeared to be laid upon the foundations of an ancient stone building of some type. It came to mind that it was possibly an old church or fort, what with all the dead surrounding it, that only seemed logical. Especially when you consider that the dead are all wearing robes of some sort. Hmmm...something to ponder for later I suppose.

The far northern side seemed to be the weak point, as the stone wall was lowest there, and the guards seemed to avoid that area. A sharp drop off to the lake below protected that flank, so the defenders most likely thought it safe from an attack. But it was not an attack we were interested in.

Making our way around the side of the fort was not much of an issue. We used the landscape and the failing light to our advantage and skirted the steep slopes, headed for the low wall. It was just then that I stumbled across what seemed a "hollow" section of ground.

Stopping immediately I called Elsbeth back and we found what appeared to be a forgotten trap door, grown over with foliage and the soil of ages, it lay hidden to most eyes. It was by Caiden's luck that I had stumbled across it.

We had heard rumors of a secret passage that had led from the ancient building...but we had discounted them as exactly that, rumors. But lo and behold, they proved true. Opening it, we found that it led directly towards the palisade. So far luck was on our side...all we needed now was a storm!

As we turned to make our way back to report our fortune to the rest of the group, Elsbeth's keen eyes picked out a path leading down to the edge of the lake. It was cunningly hidden from sight. One had to be nearly directly on top of it to be able to even see it... Luck again was on our side.

We marked it and made our way down, then reported to the group as planned.

It seemed that our plans had been made for us...As a storm quickly rolled in to seal the deal. It was certain. This was our night.

Navigating our way back in the dark was not a problem, and the heavens smiled upon us as we approached the trapdoor, rain began to cascade down around us. Blocking sight and sound.

The tunnel's exit lay just under the stairs on the outside of the current stone walls. As we clambered out we found that we needed to make our way atop the walls and around to the room wherein we had heard, from the guards atop the tower (one Stitcher and Ayles), that the Stag Lord was currently residing. This was our target. If we could get in quietly and make our way around to the Stag Lord and take him by surprise, we might have a chance.

A couple of well placed sleep spells and we were half way around the fort by the time we hit our first snag. I should have known, this was going much too easily.

Taking shelter under one of the ruined floors, near the Stag Lord's room, a cadre of bandits huddled around a fire. We had run out of sleep spells and our only alternative lay in drawing them out to take them on singly or in pairs if we could. Two of us snuck atop the ruined wall while the others positioned themselves outside.

Our troubles started right about at that time. Elsbeth and I, the climbers, stumbled upon a couple of unseen guards atop the wall. One thin man and his massive friend, Ox. Seeing us, they naturally raised the alarm and all hell broke loose.

Ox came charging after Elsbeth and me. I laid down a bit of a surprise for him on a slippery section of walkway, with some extra oil that I generally carry. He tumbled down and landed at Durvils feet with a thump.

The others charged us while the leader and a crony worked on opening some type of gate in the back of the room. I had heard that this group had some sort of owl bear pet....or some such. I was not particularly eager to meet one again, so we made an attempt to scatter them. To no avail. The gate creaked open a crack, and with a roar, the ugly brute charged out. Bandits scattered every which way and this thing bee-lined directly for us.

Joy of joys...another feathered horror had descended upon us. Beaky, the last owlbear we had fought, had nearly laid us low, and this one appeared to be yet again larger! We knew we'd be in trouble. And guess what? We were...

Claws and beak rended left and right bringing two of us low while Durvil struggled to control the massive man known as Ox. Our saving grace was Seelah. I can NOT say enough about that witch. And I don't mean that in an offensive way...She saved us time and again with her well placed healing and spells.

Oddly enough, as the melee raged, we found an ally. The thin man that had been sitting with Ox up above asked about the bandit Dovan. We told him that he was safe in Restov. And that seemed to mollify him as he dropped Elsbeth a magical drought of healing. He also plied his bow in our favor. Stranger things have happened you know.

Ix and Elsbeth tried to keep the owlbear at bay while the rest of us fought back and forth. Right about then, at the most inopportune moment, the back door slammed open, and guess who emerged? Yes, not a tough guess: The Stag Lord. The shit storm just got worse.

Luck was with us though, he was drunk as a skunk and couldn't hit much with that massive bow of his. Eventually the owlbear succumbed to our blows and hit the deck with a thud. The black-clad man was scared into the pen, where he was locked away by Seelah and the Elsbeth slays the Stag Lord! Just as Ox falls to the frantic attacks of Durvil.

It was foreordained. But I'll tell you this...I'm not sure I'm going to throw all my belief behind such things again. It was a close thing. A VERY close thing.

As I write, I raise a toast to Caiden Caileen...thank you for watching over the joyful chaos of melee, and for guiding my hand.

More later...