Adventures in the Oble Ranges

Mrs O Smith
Golden Farm
RD 212
Toluene

 Airday, Week 3, Autumn, Year of Bearded Axe

 Somewhere in the Oble Range

 Dear mother,

I’m so sorry that this letter may not arrive for some time since I am forced to write from somewhere in the foothills of the Oble Range, somewhat Battle of the small town of Penstoke. I shall drop it off to the Gnomepost as soon as we return to Penstoke, hopefully in a few days, a week at most.

Well, my training at the guild in Toluene was completed last season and they sent me off with a large spell book to gain some “actual experience in the real world”. I have been engaged by the Real Church as part of a team of eight adventures hired to escort the Coultard family from Penstoke up into the disputed lands of the Oble Ranges. 

They are to bury the ashes of their recently departed father in their family plot on their long-abandoned farm somewhere out in the wilds.

And what a crew of adventures the Church has assembled to guard this family on the trip.

There is a giant! Well, a very, very, large fighter; at least 7’ tall, named Nicolas "Bear" Stravros [Ian]. When he sits astride his horse he literally towers into the sky like a tree. And across his back a pair of swords that seem even bigger than me on their own.

And a goddess! Miss Debbie O'Nair, the most beautiful [Stephen] female I’ve ever seen. A half-elven Bard who is absolutely divine with the guitar. I say goddess as she appears often to be on a higher plane than the rest of us and does not seem much in tune with the world around her.

We also have some tiny folk with us. Two actual halflings. Sam "Scuttle" Stoutfeet [Chris], apparently a thief, and Gillard [Kevin] a sturdy and stout fighter, although someone mentioned that he is actually a female!

There are some others, Dexter the Unknown [Jamie], a human Temple Fighter of Carabou Gorn (aka Ranger). Myrtle Rust [Andrew] a female half elf priestess of 21, Ouzo Slumpy [Darryl] a male human thief, and Tu Pointyears [Shane] an elven fighter.

It seems strange to think that it was just a few days ago on Realday evening that we all met at the Real Temple Hall in Penstoke and were invited to meet the Coultard family; Mrs Malinda Coultard and her two boys, Fletch (12) and Morris (10).

One hundred gold per person when we return after burying the urn of ashes, too easy mother!

It was expected to be about a two-day trip out to the old farm, and then two days back. But more about that shortly.

In cautious anticipation of some excitement, I cast my Armour spell (mother, you would love the Armour spell. It provides damage protection equivalent to wearing that chain mail stuff, without the actual weight or encumbrance) that night before bed, charged up my magical power reserves, (mother, have I told you we have to eat these large slimy balls of goop that they call “grapes” to charge up our power? They taste ghastly, give you a headache, and cause you to “forget” all the magic spells you have previously stored up for use) and re-memorised my magical spells.

We set off the next morning, Starday, up the old Battle track. Bear [Ian] on his horse, Gillard [Kevin, unconscious and marmalading] and the Coultards on their small wagon, Myrtle [Andrew] on her white palfrey, Dexter [Jamie] on his pony, and the rest of us on foot.

The track we are following quickly became rutted and overgrown, and it was pretty slow going. It seems that ever since the goblin incursions in the area led to the farmers abandoning their farms in and around the Oble foothills, that the whole area has gone to ruin.

The weather was pretty rubbish, overcast and gloomy, and Bear [Ian] said that goblins and some other night creatures could easily be out and about and that we all needed to keep our eyes open. 

Debbie chuckled and said that night rhymed with fright, and she could put together a nice verse or two about that, and then spent most of the morning strumming her guitar and mumbling to herself.

The countryside rises gently up into the Oble foothills, mostly level and clear, although there is a lot of rough ground and low scrub, with the odd corpse of small stunted and windswept tress. The journey was pretty boring and uneventful for the morning, until around mid-afternoon when we saw an old, damaged wagon on the side of the track away out in front of us. Our new group sprung immediately into surprisingly competent action. We stopped well back.

Ouzo [Darryl] slipped off to the right of the track and disappeared into the scrub. Well, I say disappeared, but there was the occasional swaying of bush and snapping of twigs heading off towards the damaged wagon. Dexter [Jamie] lashed his pony to the rear of the Coultard wagon and cautiously moved forward up the track with Tu [Shane] at his side, while Scuttle [Chris] did actually disappear into the scrub to the left of the track. Bear [Ian], moved his horse in front of the Coultard’s wagon and focussed his attention to the damaged wagon ahead and its surroundings. He was so high up that I’m sure he could see for hundreds of yards in all directions. His gaze occasionally swung to the right and he frowned as he tracked Ouzo along his “hidden” advance. Myrtl [Andrew] and I took the rear and made sure nothing surprised us from behind or from the flanks. Debbie [Stephen] was also there at the back of the team, gazing distractedly up at the hills and quietly strumming her guitar. “Shut up already” hissed Myrtle [Andrew].

We waited, but alas, nothing happened. Everyone eventually came back and said it was safe to proceed, although Ouzo [Darryl] thought he had seen some movement in the scrub just beyond the broken wagon. Bear rolled his eyes at that.

Pretty soon thereafter Dexter [Jamie] pointed out a small, wooded rise to the side of the track and suggested we make camp there for the night. Which we did. And guess what mother? They wanted me to take one of the watches during the night, even though I couldn’t see squat in the darkness! Bear [Ian] said my hearing was pretty good for a puny wizard, so I had to join one of the others during his watch. They paired me up with Tu [Shane], who could see pretty well in the darkness due to his being an elf.

Our group is a pretty good mix of human and non-human so we are able to split into multiple watches of two people, with at least one of whom can see well in the darkness.

Ouzo [Darryl] woke us all up in the middle of his watch and said he had heard some noises and seen some shadows in the trees and thought there were a group of creatures sneaking around the camp site. The sneaky team with night vision (Myrtle [Andrew], Scuttle [Chris], and Tu [Shane]) skulked off into the trees but soon retuned with nothing to report. Bear [Ian] rolled his eyes again and we all went back to sleep.

The morning (Airday) dawned, grey and overcast again, and we broke camp and continued on.

Mrs Coultard said that given the state of the track and the slow speed we were making, it was more than likely that we wouldn’t arrive at the farm until sometime tomorrow at the earliest. Bear [Ian] said that we would need to keep an eye out for goblins and other night creatures since it was dark enough for them to be out during the day.

The track was getting rougher and rougher, and we were going slower and slower as we manoeuvred the wagon over and around obstacles. But nothing much happened that day, until later in the afternoon when we were thinking that it might be time to find another defensible spot to camp for the night. Dexter [Jamie] who was scouting slightly ahead of the group popped up out of the scrub and told us that there was what looked like two fresh bodies on the track ahead.

“Fresh, no flies yet” he said.

We crept forward to indeed find two bodies, one a large human male with small arrow wounds, half stripped, and the other a small humanoid figure with a strange reptilian shaped head.

“Bloody Kobolds” noted Bear [Ian]. Tu [Shane] and Dexter [Jamie] cast about looking for tracks and any sign of the creatures who must have just recently attacked and killed the man. “A small group of the Kobolds, maybe six or so” said Dexter [Jamie]. “No” said Tu, “definitely a pack of wolves, sometime yesterday probably”.

Bear [Ian] rolled his eyes! Debbie [Stephen] gazed distractedly up at the clouds and strummed her guitar. “Um, what?” she said.

Dexter [Jamie] and Tu [Shane] found us a defensible camp for the night while the rest of us buried the bodies. Myrtle [Andrew] said a few words over the grave “Given your great Luck that we found you and were able to bury you so soon, you must be protected by VINGT-ET-UN. May your remains be protected from all harm and may your souls be at peace. Oh, but not you, you Kobold filth!”

That night Ouzo [Darryl] once again heard noises during his watch and alerted us to possible danger. We were all up and peering out into the darkness when Bear [Ian] noticed that only one of the two Coultard boys was sleeping under the wagon, the older one, Fletch, was missing.

Dexter [Jamie] and Tu [Shane] followed his bare footprints out into the woods where they found signs of a scuffle next to a shallow pit dug into the earth and a nearby pile of pooh wiping leaves.

“Kobold tracks, leading Battlewards” noted Dexter [Jamie]. “No’, said Tu [Shane], “Wolves, leading off Kilbward it looks like”. Bear [Ian] rolled his eyes again. “Who’s Fletch?” said Debbie [Stephen] as she brushed her hair and stared at her reflection in a small hand mirror.

Just then a hail of arrows showered down from the darkness, most apparently targeting Dexter [Jamie] who was peering about blindly, while Ouzo [Darryl} shouted “Over there, over there”. Myrtle [Andrew] waved her hands about and a whole section of the hillside was illuminated like it was daylight. Five or six little Kobold archers could be briefly seen ducking into cover, but we managed to get a few of our own arrows off at them, including my own Magic Missile. (Mother, did I tell you about my Magic Missile? Its like I shoot a small arrow out of my finger that never misses!)

“They’re scuttling off, over there” shouted Ouzo [Darryl] from somewhere in the darkness.
“Me?” whispered Scuttle [Chris] from somewhere else nearby in the darkness.

We humans stayed clustered around Mrs Coultard and young Morris while those who could see in the darkness organised some form of defensive perimeter around the camp.

Pretty soon we head another flurry of arrow fire and Tu [Shane] started yelling “Take that you midget bastards, run like the cowards you really are”. “They have fled” reported Ouzo [Darryl].

We quickly organised a scouting party consisting of all those who could see in the dark, and move relatively quietly, who set off Battlewards in quiet pursuit. The rest of us, including Myrtle [Andrew] who needed to rest and recover her priestly spells, unloaded the wagon and waited in the darkness until the scouts returned, or light. I [Jeff] recharged mu spells and started this letter, Debbie [Stephen] brushed her hair some more. “Where is everyone?” she asked, then went back to sleep.

The scouts returned and told us that they had tracked the Kobolds up to a cliff face some distance up into the hills, and that they could see smoke rising from over the top of the cliffs. As soon as it was light, we all moved out and followed the trail towards the cliffs.

P.S. I’ve hastily scribbled this later section while the group are organising themselves for a massive frontal assault into the Kobold caves we discovered at the foot of the cliffs.

With Bear [Ian] and Tu [Shane] at the front, holding their large shields in front of them, we all cautiously entered the caves. The small entrance way quickly opened into a natural chamber with two exits deeper into the hillside. A small flurry of arrows thunked into the shields, with Tu [Shane] taking some minor wounds from splinters. The two continuing passages were very narrow, Bear [Ian] took the lead down the left passage, having to bend his knees and duck his head, and twist his shield so it would fit into the passage in front of him. 

Tu [Shane} took the rear and kept an eye out for sneaky attacks from behind. The left passage opened into a very large chamber with a small river running left to right across in front of us. Two narrow logs crossed the river as a bridge, and a small stone wall ran along the far bank of the river. Some form of flickering fire glowed from beyond in the darkness.
As Bear [Ian] stepped out into the large chamber, a rain of arrows arched up from beyond the wall and fall all around him. Many missed or shattered on his shield, but a few struck him in the legs. “Ha” he laughed as we all pulled back into the narrow tunnel, “Pathetic small arrows”
Tu [Shane] reported that there had been the odd arrow fired from behind us also.
The two passages both led into the large river chamber.
“Lets just charge the buggers” yelled Bear.