Chapter 6 - The Orcs of Bytea

General Summary

The party continued their quest by travelling directly to Bytea. It began to snow. The party rode into the wilderness of the Icenglav woods. Evidently, they noticed they were going in circles while they rode through the woods. Aldric used the spell detect magic to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, the world was engulfed in signals of illusion magic. The party put the pieces together, discovering they were lost within a fey forest. As they tried to find their way out, they encountered a group of two Redcaps. The Redcaps tried to silence the party, for they found them "too noisy" and used their wicked sickles to slice them up. Though Saphira would be knocked out, Aldric and Charles defeated the Redcaps. They tried to stop Saphira's wounds, but they would not close. Then, in the distance, they heard the jingling of bells, with an old man on top riding with a jolly laugh.
The old man, introducing himself as the Shaman of Winter, healed Saphira and the party. He declared the Redcaps as "very naughty". The party requested the Shaman to explain to them what the forest was. The Shaman simply said it was one of the last forests of fey, since humans have cut many down, and he protected it. The party then told him that they were looking for the Winterstone. The Shaman warned the party of their nature, saying they could be used to control the weather within Icenglav. Then, he explained the significance of the stones:

"Long ago, the Icepodins of Icenglav wished to stop the chaotic weather over the land under King Putyiv. He used weather to conquer his enemies. Thus, the weather in Icenglav tends to be unnatural. To protect the entrapment of the weather, Putyiv and the Icepodin trapped it into three stones and buried them away. If the stones are destroyed, Icenglav would be less habitable, but nature would be restored."

The party then asked the Shaman if he could help them out of the fey forest. The Shaman agreed, and offered another reward: if they could remove the orcs (who were disturbing the forest), he would give them early Winterball presents. The party agreed, and soon enough, the Shaman helped them escape the forest. After dropping them off, he told them he had to deliver presents, and disappeared.
The party then saw the orc warcamp, realizing the mine was within, and plotted how to get inside. They attacked a patrol of orcs and first left one alive to question them, named Gor, who told them of two entrances: by boxes, or a crevice within the tent walls. The party then cross-dressed Gor and tried to get him to pretend to be a female Orc, but he did not budge. Thus, Saphira concocted a love potion. She poured it on Gor, who suddenly fell in love with her. He obeyed Saphira's demands. He distracted many of the orcs moving boxes, while the party snuck into the boxes to infiltrate. The orcs then transported the party into the mines.
Inside the mines, the orcs tried to open the crates, but Saphira scared them away by causing a harmless tremble with her thaumaturgy. The orcs feared a cave collapse and escaped. The party then left the boxes and began to sneak out of the mines. They discovered the orcs dug into a draconic ruin and scraped everything out. Eventually, the party was spotted by some orcs. The party disposed of the orcs, but not before they could call alarm. The party braced themselves, as more orcs began to head down the mine. Aldric set up a ball bearings trap and took a step back.
What approached was the leader of the orcs, a one-eyed orc named Gnome-Squasher, who was thrilled to see Aldric. Gnome-Squasher claimed to have squished 100 gnomes before, and intended to make Aldric his 101st. He then threatened the party that he would lay out their entrails and brightened his eyes with thaumaturgy. Charles was frightened and tried to run. Then, Gnome-Squasher charged toward Aldric, while Saphira had to hold off two other orcs. Aldric began to get pummeled by Gnome-Squasher, until Charles, overcoming his fear, jumped back into the fight. The fight got bloody. Aldric was near the skin of his teeth and bloodied when Gnome-Squasher missed him. Then Aldric, using his quarterstaff, triumphantly knocked Gnome-Squasher down on his knees and beat the orc leader to death. Charles and Saphira finished the others off. Then, they uncovered the second Winterstone from Gnome-Squasher's corpse.
The party carried the head of Gnome-Squasher's head out of the mine, showing it to the orcs. The orcs then began to fight each other over the role of the "new captain", giving the party enough time to find the captain's tent. Heading inside, Charles found someone very familiar: his treacherous elderly uncle, Mathias, scheming along with other orcs. Charles threatened him, but Mathias mocked him, reminding Charles how it took 50 years for him to ever get to this point. Charles accused Mathias of killing his father and usurping the house, but Mathias dispelled this rumor. Mathias revealed much about Charles' father, Georges.

"Georges fought alongside the Danen and the Knights of Black Dragon in the war against Lysandus, thinking it would bring him glory. There he was slain, in a death most dishonorable. So no, Charles, I did not kill your father. He died with the Danen as a fool."

Charles did not buy this explanation, and wished to attack Mathias. However, the party realized they were surrounded by orc guards. Mathias gave them an offer: they could leave with their lives and fail to stop Ungruld, or they could die in the tent. The party took the latter, but forced Mathias to give payment as measurement of his word, and he promised to move the orc regiments. Mathias gave them 50 gold as insurance, and then the party escaped.
The party hurried out of the fey forest again, where they met the Shaman of Winter. The Shaman gave them their early presents: sets of plate mail for Charles and Saphira, and an enchanted set of studded leather for Aldric. Then, he led the party through the fey forest again, this time heading to the Mountain of Strynovo, where the lair of Gorgek was. He told the party Gorgek's beef: a group of Dragonlords in Lysandus slew his brother ten years prior, and now he has been particularly vicious against the kingdoms of men out of spite. He warned the party to be careful. The party then exited the fey forest, seeing Mt. Strynovo in the distance. The Shaman of Winter wished them good luck, and returned to delivering presents.

Date (in world)

December 15th, 5699.

Report Date

21 Jun 2020

Finconauts Christmas Calendar 2015 by Vablo

The Shaman of Winter assisted the party in travelling the fey forest, and would evidently gift them magic items for driving away the orcs.

Player Characters

Charles Mane is a human fighter of noble birth, hailing from the Kingdom of Goth. However, because of his lazy lifestyle, his family hates him, including his scheming uncle. Now in his 50's, he is now on a quest for glory.

Saphira is a half-elf life cleric, devoted to the mercy of Cardia. She finds herself on a quest to help the people of Icenglav to extend care to those who seek it.

Aldric Gemcutter, a gnome artificer from Avenve, finds himself looking for new inventions and ideas. He now travels in Icenglav to discover new possibilities, and uncover the secrets hidden beneath the snow.