The Flight of Golun-dal
With the Mootscarp behind them, the Fellowship of the Key fled across the Moor. Nancy soon noticed that not a soul had taken advantage of the Mootscarp's bathhouse to clean the many, many, days of grime built up on them. The entire party smelled...funky. It was made worse by a particularly pungent aroma coming from Dala'gse's pack: his drunken fishing expedition had yielded a very large tadpole that Ironica promptly skewered to sober up her friend. Dala'gse decided to keep it. So it was that night at camp that Nancy forbade anyone from bedding down without scrubbing vigorously in a nearby creek. Dala'gse refused so she conjured water above his head.
With that settled, Dala'gse took the first watch, and noticed some particularly friendly voles hanging out around the campsite. The next morning, the group saw some particularly attentive merlins tracking their progress across the Moor. They decided to inspect the stone Ironica had pilfered from Chekka Burr, and learned it was one half of a Sending Stone. And it had a message for them:
“Any sight of Golun-dal? He should be at the Mootscarp by now. Did you send the men east to net him?"
Wary of enchanted objects from their time in the Underdark, they decided to attach the stone to the closest animal--a grouse--they could find and leave it behind. Golun-dal was growing more and more anxious.
They passed by a refuge called Hostel 9-1 that seemed to do most of its business on the day before the Mootscarp's Tenday market and the day after, as travelers come and go and stopped there to rest. The group decided to pass it by.
Toward the end of the third day, as Dala'gse and Golun-dal were up ahead scouting, they saw in the distance the foothills of the Greypeaks that marked the end of the Moor. So close. But as they reached a final bluff that descended toward the edge of the Moor, they saw a gang of 10 orcs armed to the teeth, hanging around. They all had red tusks tattooed on their necks. Golun-dal told Dala'gse he must face them on his own, it is his way. Before Dala'gse could stop him, Golun-dal had started down the embankment to the orcs below. Dala'gse ran back to gather the rest of the group, who hurriedly hid in the rocks of the bluff and overheard the following encounter, which Prex interpreted.
The group had formed a semi-circle around Golun-dal, at its center was an orc dressed in more ceremonial garb who spoke, "Golun-dal, you thought you could outwit us, Golun-dal the brute, the offal cleaner! You think you can escape your clan, your family? What because you were able to use one piece of magic?"
Golun-dal looked dejected but replied, "Sholan-dur, it is not something I asked for but I will learn how to harness this!" Golun-dal attempted his magic and failed.
The assembled orcs laughed and Sholan-dur replied, "Come, let us return, we will give you 50 lashes, send you to work the offal pits for a month and forget all of this."
"I will not go back. I am not a dumb brute. I may be large and strong but my mind is powerful too!"
Prex interjected and begged the group to keep moving, to just sneak around and get out of there, get back to Mother and the Den. Why risk their lives for one stinking orc!
The orcs sneered at Golun-dal. Sholan-dur mocked him, "Oh, so smart that you are out here, fleeing the Moor all on your own, huh? Oh yes, Golun-dal the wise, now is it!?" The gang laughed.
With that settled, Dala'gse took the first watch, and noticed some particularly friendly voles hanging out around the campsite. The next morning, the group saw some particularly attentive merlins tracking their progress across the Moor. They decided to inspect the stone Ironica had pilfered from Chekka Burr, and learned it was one half of a Sending Stone. And it had a message for them:
“Any sight of Golun-dal? He should be at the Mootscarp by now. Did you send the men east to net him?"
Wary of enchanted objects from their time in the Underdark, they decided to attach the stone to the closest animal--a grouse--they could find and leave it behind. Golun-dal was growing more and more anxious.
They passed by a refuge called Hostel 9-1 that seemed to do most of its business on the day before the Mootscarp's Tenday market and the day after, as travelers come and go and stopped there to rest. The group decided to pass it by.
Toward the end of the third day, as Dala'gse and Golun-dal were up ahead scouting, they saw in the distance the foothills of the Greypeaks that marked the end of the Moor. So close. But as they reached a final bluff that descended toward the edge of the Moor, they saw a gang of 10 orcs armed to the teeth, hanging around. They all had red tusks tattooed on their necks. Golun-dal told Dala'gse he must face them on his own, it is his way. Before Dala'gse could stop him, Golun-dal had started down the embankment to the orcs below. Dala'gse ran back to gather the rest of the group, who hurriedly hid in the rocks of the bluff and overheard the following encounter, which Prex interpreted.
The group had formed a semi-circle around Golun-dal, at its center was an orc dressed in more ceremonial garb who spoke, "Golun-dal, you thought you could outwit us, Golun-dal the brute, the offal cleaner! You think you can escape your clan, your family? What because you were able to use one piece of magic?"
Golun-dal looked dejected but replied, "Sholan-dur, it is not something I asked for but I will learn how to harness this!" Golun-dal attempted his magic and failed.
The assembled orcs laughed and Sholan-dur replied, "Come, let us return, we will give you 50 lashes, send you to work the offal pits for a month and forget all of this."
"I will not go back. I am not a dumb brute. I may be large and strong but my mind is powerful too!"
Prex interjected and begged the group to keep moving, to just sneak around and get out of there, get back to Mother and the Den. Why risk their lives for one stinking orc!
The orcs sneered at Golun-dal. Sholan-dur mocked him, "Oh, so smart that you are out here, fleeing the Moor all on your own, huh? Oh yes, Golun-dal the wise, now is it!?" The gang laughed.
Golun-dal looked around hopefully, but saw none of his companies hiding in the rocks. He looked defeated before straightening up and hefting his battleaxe, "I may be alone, but nonetheless, I make my stand!"
Sholan-dur and the Red Tusks smiled wickedly as they drew their own weapons, looking eager for a kill. But their smiles vanished and their faces lost the bloodlust color when they saw rushing towards them down the hill a screaming enraged wild-haired fey island dwarf, a white-haired battle-hardened ranger, an agile dark elf, two savage feral-looking halflings, a Calimshani man with his pointer fingers ready, a lithe human sorcerer, a wild-looking goblin captain, and another goblin riding a wolf.
The battle was over before you could say, "fireball," or "lightning bolt."
The rag-tag band of adventurers that met that night by Wade's Bog had emerged from the Underdark with great power.
The rag-tag band of adventurers that met that night by Wade's Bog had emerged from the Underdark with great power.
As the bodies of orcs lay sizzling from Safad's pointer-finger Fireball and Rya's whole-hands lightning bolt, Golun-dal smiled and ran to embrace Nancy. Sholan-dur was still on the ground, barely conscious. Dala'gse went to interrogate him, asking him why they were so hell-bent on keeping Golun-dal from leaving. Sholan-dur said, "It must be because he is an Orog..."
Dala'gse knelt to stabilize the orc's wounds but Golun-dal dropped his axe in the shaman's head first. "I killed him," he said. Dala'gse couldn't disagree.
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