Grand Duchy 70

Grand Duchy of Adventure
Session 70
October 22, 2015

Battle at the Bridge, part II

Tserdain 20 Yarthmont

The Battle at the Bridge Rages On!

Undaunted by the presence of a giant war boar, Draven moves forward as the porcine behemoth wheels around for another charge. Draven smashes the beast's hindquarters as it passes, which only enrages it further. The boar slows and turns, then lurches forward, trying to gore Draven and trample him under hoof. The young priest is able to bring his shield to bear just in time to save himself, speaking quiet prayers as the boar's long, sharp tusks rip through his battered wooden shield. Stephan deals with some Gnolls nearby as Remar manuevers his horse to stay in position to best use his magical bolts in support of his companions.

Iris and Ree are in for a big surprise as an Ogre reveals himself on the far side of the river, flinging skull sized rocks in their direction. Iris loses consciousness and Ree begins dragging her body back up the trail, trying to get her out of range from the Ogre rock tosser and Gnoll archer that are trying to pick them off from the far bank. Marcel and Griffin finish off the two Gnolls they were dealing with and quickly move toward their pinned down friends. Marcel charges straight down the rocky embankment, making a beeline for the bridge and the Ogre while Griffin is called over by Ree, who has started casting a spell. As Marcel reaches the bridge, Ree smacks Griffin on the shoulder and yells, "Fly you fool!" 

Suddenly Griffin feels weightless and he leaps into the sky, flying up and over the raging mountain stream. Marcel rushes out onto the stone bridge, taunting the Ogre and managing to make him mad enough to abandon his ranged attacks and draw a huge knobbed club. 

Griffin takes aim and shoots at the Gnoll archer, hoping to take out one of the ranged combatants while Marcel faces down the charging Ogre. As the Ogre approaches the bridge, Marcel yells at him, trying to scare him into leaping into the rushing river. The Ogre just roars and leaps down onto the slippery stone bridge but manages to loose his footing, slip and plunge right into the water!

Just then, several more Gnolls appear from the west, another group that had apparently moves up stealthily on this side of the river. Four Gnolls advance with spears, moving from cover to cover and throwing their projectiles when they had good shots. A fifth Gnoll was with them, a huge Gnoll, nearly the size of the Ogre they had just faced. This Gnoll carries a huge battle axe in one hand and quickly moves to engage Marcel. Griffin harries the other Gnolls and tries to help his companion against this monstrous foe.

Eventually, Draven and Remar manage to finish off the Boar with several well placed mace strikes and magical bolt blasts. Stephan also drives off the remaining Gnoll on the near side of the river. Draven charges to assist the battle across the river by throwing a massive Sunbolt that strikes the Gnoll leader while Stephan and Remar try to gather up the scattering horses in hopes of getting them across the river before the main force of Gnolls arrives within the next few minutes.

Griffin and Marcel battle the Gnoll leader and his spearmen with some ranged support from Draven across the river until finally they are defeated, either killed or run off. During the battle, Marcel sustained some heavy wounds from the Gnoll leaders axe and falls to his knees, barely able to hold on to his own consciousness.

Cast of Characters: 

Garrett "Griffin" Constantine, a Thyatian rogue of a gambler from Penhaligon rolled by +Arne Jamtgaard 

Marcel Maas, a homely but sincere wielder of spears aspiring to cooking greatness commanded by +Christian Blouin 

Draven Rickart, a Thyatian Acolyte of the Church of Karameikos ministered by +Jason Packer 

Iris Varda, a Thyatian explorer and historian searching for answers and adventure guided by +Alex Safatli 

and +Jason Woollard as The DM