The Showdown in the Forest

The new day dawned, and a battle was on the horizon. The plans were drawn, and the mercenary was ready to bring the civilized fight to these beasts. I was mostly just tired and bitter from still being in the forest. It does not seem to agree with me, at all. I long for the sea, open landscapes formed by crests and valleys of water and wind. But that was not to be seen today.
The initial positions were taken. All of us, including the large inventor's son and other metallic beasts, were gathered around the small path that led us to the cave. Well, all except the little man. He was positioned on the other side of the open area, right inside the treeline, no doubt to have full view of the field to let play "his tricks".
 
The plan was to draw the enemies out into the open field, where we would use proper tactics to take them down. The ogre was lured to our position by the inventors minions, and the remaining goblin was left alone to guard the entrance. Felling and killing the ogre was short work for the three of us, but when we turned our head towards the goblin he was gathering friends. An idea struck me, and I started to carve off the head of the ogre with my scimitar. Grabbing this head, i suddenly saw myself making eyecontact with the goblin left standing after a great battle over a female goblin that suddenly appeared outside the cave. This female turned out to be an apparition conjured by some strange force. Probably another of the little man's tricks. It however led to the winning goblin first tumbling head first through the apperition, barely catching his fall and then seeing my gaze and that of his dead friend from the edge of the forest. The little creature scattered faster than a pirate sloop flees at the sight of a mighty warship.
 
The retreat of the small goblin did however bring the attention of the cavedwellers to us and soon a large force had amassed outside the cave, complete with several more ogres, some bugbears and loads of goblins. The table was set for a challenging fight, especially since the magic bugbear made an apperance as well. The mercenary eventually decided the wisest way to get a favorable ending to the situation was to challenge the woman in one-on-one combat. The bugbear elected to name a troll her champion.
The troll itself was not an ordinary troll. It seemed, if possible, even duller than an usual troll, and from the sidelines it undoubtely seemed to just be a hard shell of skin stretched over a liquidized inside. Not a normal troll by any means.
 
The mercenary won the combat, and I was less surprised than I thought I would be. She does know how to wield that halberd incredibly well. She would make a good boarder.
Her prowess won us the day and the elf was released into our hands. She was weak, like a freshwater sailor just beginning to see the real power of the sea lumped over the railing, except the elf was similarily lumped over the inventors shoulder.
Angrily shouting, the bugbear woman in a sudden shift of attitude seemed to be forced by some nature to command her minions to follow us, so a chase begun through the forest. Dodging and wawing we ran to the troll's bridge where it seems the little man once again employed his tricks to fool the troll into fighting the ogres. Not one to argue with a good distraction, i quickly cut the bridge and we headed hastily toward our hidden camp.
 
After tending to the elf and starting to recuperate, mine and the mercenarys work hiding the camp was rewarded during the night. During my watch the band of ogres and bugbears passed by the camp on the road, seemingly very distressed and angry. The elf muttered something about a ship. Most worrying. She does not seem to answer to my attempts to talk to her, not even in her mother tongue, so it seems we will have to wait until I can get some answers. I still feel an immense frustration from being in this forest so far from the sea. It is not natural. This forest is not natural. There is a connection here, a connection to something that should not be in any way coupled with a forest. Something is wrong and we'll have to be careful. Just need the elf to wake up so I can get to the bottom of the question of Thorpe and his plannings. Curse his name.