Orcs are sneaky

General Summary

We are as prepared as we will ever be, You will take up your role and you will be the Baron , Athea and I sleep at the pallisades. Something woke Athea up, and she shook me awake because it is way too quiet. We wake several guards to go with us and exit to see squads of orcs sneaking up to the gate. We snuck out and attacked the squad we saw in front of us, but the silence spell continued, so I snuck around out into the street where a small group walked ahead of me, I accessed the new powers Allen Riddle gave me (somehow I missed writing those notes) and breathed void dragon fire onto the orcs in front of me. As they died the silence spell dropped and I called out for the watch to come. The watch charged out fairly quickly, and between them we took care of the invading force. I attempted to go back to sleep, but that was not as restful as I might have wished.

Waking the Sleeping Lady

That morning as I attempted to get just a bit more sleep since my night had been interrupted, Marcus came down with Cap and announced the Lady was guarded by awakened trees, that were quite angry. We followed him into the cloister, and the trees we had seen before (Follow the bloody footprints ) were changed, they were angrier. Marcus grounded himself and talked with the trees, as his mind touched theirs, they showed the Morrigan taking them down into the Underdark, and twisting them from the fae trees they had been before into some darkened creature with iron in them. "Cap, could you use your shield to purify the trees?" I asked. "I could, but remember the Creator doesn't like altered creatures and there have been times when they are purified back to the person they were before. This might alter the Sleeping Lady or Marcus." "If we are following the Creator's plan, than this is the right call. We have to trust we are following him," I responded. "Very well," Cap walked into the cloister, and I followed behind with the unmade blade drawn ready to defend Cap, or whatever I needed to do. The trees reached out and started attacking us as we walked in. Cap dropped his shield and called out to the Creator. I felt a blast of warmth and the small area he had intended burst forth, encompassing the entire cloister. I felt the blessing and warmth of the Creator flow through me. We had not accounted for the strength of faith that had saturated the greater cathedral from the decades of prayers said there by priests, monks, and parishioners. His sanctification drove out the impurities from the trees, and a bright light burst out from the cathedral. People in the town who saw it believed a power had come to bless the town. The morale was greatly lifted. Marcus did the ritual for the first day, and we headed to the walls.

Shamans are planning something

About noon, as we watched the army in front of us and directed soldiers for how to best act and help. We saw about a half mile away a group of shamans completing a ritual. We conferred and tried to think of how to stop it when their actions reached a crescendo and something happened. They had called a power, Grumash, the power of the orcs. The walls of the old city shook, and two breaches come in the new walls. There are two holes in the walls, revealing the original walls. The newer repairs broke. Athea ran to investigate and she came back and cried out, "Something called the walls together and they held. I don't know what did it." "I can fix it," Marcus called out, "I'll need support, this will take all my energy." Then he used vines and trees to rebuild the wall. Strengthening and fixing where it had fallen.

Invisible Orcs?

The Baron called us for dinner. "Marcus, thank you for the potion you gave me," He said as we started to eat, "It has given me insights in ways I hadn't expected, and we have an odd thing we're not quite sure of what is going on. There are ballistae firing, but they are not shooting anything. We watch as they reset it and reload the weapons, then fire them again." "I have an idea," I pulled out the lantern Papa Legba was in and opened it up. "Papa Legba, I have a mission for you." I pulled out a small cask of rum. "I'll give you this if you go out to those ballistae out there and see what they're doing." "You want me to go out there? Then you'll give me that?" His eyes gleamed, "Done!" He returned a few minutes later and sounded significantly more tired, "You didn't tell me they had protections from people like me, man! Whatcha thinkin' there?" "I'm sorry I didn't know. Here," I poured a shot glass of rum, "Drink this and finish the report, then you can get the rest of your rum." His lips smacked as he drank it down, "That be better mon. They be firing invisible orcs into the town and they're dropping down slowly." I turned to Cap, "Can you find them somehow?"
We followed Cap through the town as he used his magic to sense invisible creatures. We followed through the streets, and he gestured ahead of us at the gates. We split in half with each group going to a different side of the gate. I went into the gatehouse bursting through the door and attacked the first orc. The squad with me attacked, and the orc shed the shape and burst into a hill giant. He swept his arm forward and grabbed the guard next to me running forward and destroying the building. On the other side, I heard the sounds of battle, and as the fight burst out of the building, shouts came from the guard. Slowly, we killed them one by one, until the last hill giant fell.

More troops come

The next day, a ship came in from New Stadt with 800 fresh troops. They ran down the river force rowing past the sieging orcs, and brought the new soldiers and more supplies.

They came from the water

The next day the shamans unleashed a new trouble. Undead creatures came up from the water. We came down upon them and successfully drove them off, but some of the townsfolk were turned before we killed the creatures. We had to kill our own townspeople as they tried to kill us. News came in from the rebels, they have been killing foraging parties and reported the last of the army has come through.

The Lady awakes

On the third day, Marcus completes the ritual, and she opens her eyes and an overwhelming feeling and wish to serve her. At first I was overwhelmed, but then I stood up. Baba Yaga kneeled before her and offered up a crystal rod with a rose at the end and said, "Mistress of All, I offer you this which has all of your mother's memories." The Lady sat up and saw Marcus, the two instantly fell in love. She reaches forth to take the rod from Baba Yaga and behind us we hear clapping. The Morrigan marches forward with the scythe loosely clasped in her arms as she claps. "I am so glad to see you awake," and she sprang forward to attack the Lady, but Marcus slammed into her halting her attack. Something feels different about her, she no longer feels like fae, but feel more like the Dark One  "You killed him," I said. "Yes," she said. "Thank you for waking her. I could not kill him while she slept. Now I come into my own and who I should be." I pulled out the unmade blade and focused on her with the powers I am growing more aware of, "Morrigan, you have left the calling the Creator has called you to. The Dark One is to protect those who have died and shepherd them to the next step. You have refused your calling." She shuddered and

Report Date

05 Feb 2023