Session 7 - Battle on the Smara

General Summary

Narcissa had heard whistling, and despite being unsure whether the party was under attack, and by what, she woke her companions. They had been followed by wolves, but she surmised the whistling indicated the presence of humanoids. As her companions awoke and took up defensive positions, Narcissa covered the group with illusory bushes and vines.
At first, several wolves fell upon the travelers. Their total number seemed to outnumber them. Manfred offered smelling salts and cast inspired the unarmored Sigisar to heroic action. Edmon, however, had been sure to sleep in his armor. Sigisar and Edmon bravely took on the wolves in melee, with the inspired Sigisar enduring the sharp fangs of two wolves by himself. Narcissa somehow managed to appear astride a high tree branch, keeping herself out of direct danger. While the wolves skirted around the area covered by her illusion and fell upon the party's guides, Kaleb went stealthily among the wolves, managing to somehow shock them with his touch.
Eventually, large, hairy humanoids (likely orcs), appeared, yelling in an unknown tongue and commanding the wolves to press their advantage. The threatened to abduct members of the group, particularly Winifred back to their cave. The guides provided little help. Some were mauled by wolves, other escaped across the frozen Smara river, while others still shouted, in vain, about a deal they had made with the orcs. Detlev, who had made the initial deal with Kaleb, was among the fallen guides. Though most fled, a man named Randolf survived, and made no attempt to run.
On the field of battle, Sigisar stabbed one humanoid one in the chest and brought the radiant wrath of God down upon him . Narcissa directed a conjured blackbirds to slam into the chest of another. And Edmon took down three wolves. Kaleb zapped the leading savage, causing the surviving orc and the bulk of the wolves to flee, though Narcissa dragged one back with horrible black chains. He ultimately died.
Among the survivors, only a guide named Randolf was left. The party interrogated him, but he said he didn’t know anything about a deal made with the orcs. The party promised to let him live if he would take them Fallsmar. Among the one the dead orcs, Narcissa found a skull turned into a drinking vessel, and on one of the "guides", a bronze medallion embossed with an image of Matilda. This was a potential clue - those that attacked looking for Winifred could be somehow related to Matilda. Sigisar pledged that the item would be returned to the dead man's relatives, though Randolf suggested that he was likely a lone wolf desperado without intimates. Given a lack of time for removing their pelts, the four dead wolves were piled upon the guides' tarp, and dragged by Edmon through the snowy woods. Though Randolf warned that the dwarfs of Fallsmar could not be trusted, the party proceeded along the Smara, slowly but surely, toward the dwarf realm.

Rewards Granted

• Bronze medallion with embossed image of Matilda (taken by Narcissa)
• Skull turned into a drinking vessel (taken by Narcissa)
• Four wolf corpses (carried by Edmon)
• Battle axe (taken from orc leader by Edmon)

Report Date

20 Apr 2023