Session 4 - Escaping Phaendar!

Extract from the Collected Letters of Mallius Vane

Ban and Xin found us catching our breath in the trees behind The Phaendar Trading Company. The townsfolk we had sent their way had arrived safely. Abraxas and Aubrin had decided to take them to the relative safety of Fangwood, whilst Ban and Xin had come to help us find any other survivors. As I watched the flames engulf what used to be The Phaendar Trading Company, I was glad of their company.

Once again we used the bushes and undergrowth at the edge of the village to make our way to Oreld's place. The stone building looked a little the worse for wear, with various scorch marks on the walls and bloody footprints around the entrance...and a body. Sadly, we could see that it was Oreld, bloodied and with a chain around his neck. He wasn't moving. The chain led into the shop where we could hear the sounds of someone looting.

We gathered either side of the entrance. Folgrun knelt down to check Oreld. He shook his head. Oreld was dead. Taking a quick look inside, I saw it was just one of them. I nocked my bow and let fly, skewering the bastard. Moments later Ban charged in, axe held high, bellowing his war cry. Beside him, Kana glided forward, rapier poised, ready to strike. These hobgoblins are surprisingly quick, though. This one span around as soon as the arrow hit him, lobbing something which hit Kana and exploded, knocking her to the ground. I let loose another arrow. That one did the job.

Folgrun ministered to Kana whilst the rest of us searched the place for anyone else. Opening the door to the back room with Ban right behind me, I inadvertently sprang some sort of trap. Fortunately, it missed me completely but Ban...already burnt by the hobgoblin's bomb...was splashed with some sort of acid. He roared in pain, giving me an angry glower before angrily pushing forward into the back area of the shop.

Inside were many shelves and tables with overflowing with a variety of phials, powders and jars. We gathered everything we thought might be of use. Ban, meanwhile, found a trapdoor and, upon opening it, discovered two terrified townsfolk in a hidden cellar. After reassuring them that the big, tattooed barbarian wasn't about to butcher them, we persuaded them to come up so we could make our way to the bridge and the safety of the woods.

As we emerged from Oreld's place, stepping over his body, we saw some townsfolk being herded into the centre of the town, near the strange tower. There was nothing we could do. The enemy were too numerous and any attempt to rescue them would just result in our deaths and those of the few we had managed to rescue. Didn't make it any easier to turn our backs on them.

As we approached the bridge, we saw hobgoblins on it. Three of them. We took our positions, ready to hit them with arrow and magic while Ban and Kana charged forward. But we'd missed the wolf which came lunging towards me, teeth bared. I managed to back off enough to let loose an arrow before it leapt at me...hitting the slavering beast in the side...as Folgrun stepped forward and crushed its skull with his hammer.

Unfortunately, two of the hobgoblins on the bridge had, by now, pulled out their bows and were loosing arrows at us. Ban and Kana, an unlikely duo, ran forward. One with axe held high, bellowing his war cry, the other graceful and deadly, rapier poised. The third hobgoblin pulled something off a bandolier and lobbed it at Folgrun as he stood over the dead wolf. It exploded, knocking the dwarf to the ground and engulfing him in flames. Fortunately, I had picked up a potion of healing in Oreld's shop so I knelt down, patting out the flames, and gave the dwarf the potion. He thanked me, as he dusted himself off and picked up his hammer. There was no need...he'd already done the same for me on many occasions that night.

Ban had turned to engage the hobgoblin with the bombs, axe forcing it backwards. Xin, from further back, was hurling unerring missiles of magical energy at the other two hobgoblins, once even hurling magical flames. Kana, meanwhile, danced around her opponents, rapier flickering in the light of the flames. Folgrun, too, leapt into the fight brandishing his hammer with a ferocity I had not seen until then, calling on his god for vengeance in the name of the townsfolk lost that evening. And I skirted around the edges, loosing arrows when I could. In moments it was all over and the hobgoblins had paid the blood price.

We quickly herded Kining and the townspeople over the bridge, salvaging what we could from the dead. Kining advised us that the best way to collapse the bridge was to destroy the temporary wooden keystone she had placed there whilst repairing it. So I stood guard with my bow while Ban, aided by Folgrun, lowered himself over the side and doused the keystone in the oil we had found in Oreld's shop. Once done we all stood on the far side of the river as Xin raised his hands and hurled flickering flames at the keystone which exploded in great balloon of fire. Moments later the bridge collapsed into the raging waters below. We were safe. For now.

We turned for a last look at the town we had called home. An eerie silence hung over the place, occasionally broken by the guttural shouts of a hobgoblin or the howl of a wolf. Flames still engulfed many of the buildings and smoke hung heavy over the remains of the town, hiding the worst of the death and destruction. Phaendar had fallen.

We turned and headed into the forest. It was not long until we found Abraxas, Aubrin and the others. Just over two dozen of us in the end. The survivors of Phaendar. Many of the townsfolk were in tears at the loss of their homes and loved ones. All of us were exhausted. Nevertheless we pushed on into the depths of the forest for an hour or so to make sure we were safe from marauding Iron Legion soldiers. With what little energy we had left, we made a makeshift camp for the night. The following day we could decide what to do next. For now, it was time to rest and to mourn the loss of loved ones.

For a slightly easier read, a PDF of the write-up on Google Drive here.