Retaking Rannick, Part 2 (Tuesday-Wednesday, Kuthona (XII) 3rd-4th, 4707 AR)
After Bruthien sent his hawk familiar out to scout Fort Rannick, the heroes came up with an attack plan.
The New Barracks: The "New Barracks" were built 20 years ago. Erected when the rangers grew concerned that Fort Rannick was going to outgrow its original barracks space, the wooden barracks (though spacious and less dank than the quarters for the guests and the old barracks) were abandoned after it was pointed out they were deathtraps: if fire was used during a siege, the barracks would go up like tinder and everyone inside would burn to death. The ogres were not so observant or knowledgeable, and a good number of their hulking brood made their quarters there - using fire on this building killed several of them and distracted the others long enough for a frontal infiltration.
Fort Rannick General Features
The slovenly ogres have turned this battle-worn but well-run fort into a charnel house of slaughter and drunken debauchery. The ogres had been spreading out, searching outlying areas for new victims to torment and eventually eat. Dozens of skulls and mangled corpses hung from trees near the forest, with gigantic rusty hooks spitting them like meat awaiting a butcher's block. The stench of sweat, urine, blood, and ogre-musk befouled the air for hundreds of yards around the fort. Hulking deformed brutes of the Kreeg clan roamed the walls of Rannick and lurked within, fatting themselves on human flesh, slaking their thirst on the Black Arrows' stores of whisky and ale, and dancing their macabre skull-jigs.
Approach. Talons of lightning clawed at the sky, casting pale light on the mountainside below. The lightning storm revealed a grim fortress of dark gray stone standing sentinel over the valley, huddled desperately at the base of two cliff sides. Crumbling, fifteen-foot-high walls ringed the citadel, the stone pitted and cratered from hurled boulders and ogre hooks. Like the face of a veteran with decades of winters under his belt, the fort's craters, cracks, and scars were testament to its battle-weary history. A stone keep, a stubborn shadow against the mountainside, rose from behind the stone walls, a single tower jutting up from its ramparts like an ugly broken tooth. Nearby, a rushing curtain of white water cascaded down the mountainside into a large pool of water just outside the fort's walls. The nameless creek that ran along the perimeter of the wall like a moat was relatively placid.
East Gate. A twenty-foot-tall gatehouse surrounded two battered double doors that looked as if they were barely hanging on their hinges.
There was debris mounded up on the other side of the door. Only one ogre was posted here, busily scrubbing at a skull to polish it to a fine sheen. He was not paying much attention as a result and was quickly dispatched by the heroes.
Stable. A large wooden building sat against the cliff side. The structure's southern facade was open, revealing an empty stable. Several of the stalls were smashed.
Old Guard Post. This old guard post was falling apart. Most of the mortar was cracked or sloughed away, leaving stone to grind on stone. The structure itself was nearly thirty feet high.
The ogres didn't realize how close to a catastrophic collapse this building was. When Bruthien damaged it with a single fireball, the entire structure collapsed. The ogres inside took damage when it collapsed.
The ogres, not known for their powers of observation, had stationed three of their number here. Two were unexceptional ogre thugs, while the third was a sick, grunting thing with knees that bent in reverse like a goat and a host of angry red pustules covering his face and hands. This horror spent most of his time tormenting the other two ogres - all three of them were not paying attention as a result. One was killed during the post's collapse, and the heroes killed the remaining two.
The sick ogre wore a necklace of shriveled women's hands about his neck, each adorned with shiny copper rings. Of the rings, 21 were worth 10 gp each, while the 22nd was actually a ring of animal friendship.
Collapsed Tunnel. A huge pile of rubble slumped against the cliff face, almost completely blocking a cave entrance.
The tunnel beyond wound up to a ledge that overlooked the fort, 120 feet up the cliff face above. This ledge rose a further 450 feet to a tor that once served as the nesting ground for a group of giant eagles allied with the Black Arrows. There was enough room for a tiny creature to squeeze through the gap into the tunnel; a small creature could do the same but with more difficulty.
Cook House. This open-aired structure contained several large racks for storing smoked meat. The ogres didn't seem to have taken good care of the place, for everything was in a jumbled, broken ruin. Several dead bodies lay haphazardly on the damaged smokers, slowly (and inefficiently) curing as the fires smoldered. The smell was disturbingly flavorful.
The nine bodies slow-roasting here were all Black Arrows threaded into skewers and left here to cook. In charge of this project was a constantly wheezing and sweating, obese ogre. With tiny little hands and feet and a grotesquely oversized head and rear end, the ogre almost looked like a bulbous gourd. He was making a big batch of dough to bake up the entrails he'd just extracted from the smoking corpses in a huge pie. The heroes killed him.
Drainage Ditch. A vile pool of sewage sat at the base of a nook in the wall. The pool drained through a two-foot-wide sluiceway in the wall to the creek beyond, but a body was lodged headfirst inside it.
The body was one of the rangers of Fort Rannick; his head was claimed, and the rest of him was deposited carelessly here. The ogres never bothered to kick him through the sluice, and the corpse is bloating. The sluiceway is slick with reeking gore, algae, and waste. A small creature could clamber through it easily, but a medium creature should squeeze through to do the same.
South Gate. This twenty-foot-tall gatehouse was protected by an iron gate.
The ogres left this entrance relatively undamaged, since this is the one they used to come and go from the fort. The mechanism to lift the portcullis was located atop the defense platform directly west of the gate - it took half a minute to raise the portcullis.
Since this gate was still functional, more ogres were on guard. Four stood on watch in all - three average ogres led by an unfortunate ogre who lost most of his lower jaw. He'd taken to fixing freshly shucked minks (head, paws, and all) onto each jowl, so the little dead animals dangled and bounced about freakishly as he slobbered out orders. He kept his ogres focused and relatively alert; these ogres were not distracted as a result and gave the heroes a hard time. But the heroes emerged victorious.
Pond. What once might have been a crystal-clear mountain lake had become an abattoir. Partially butchered and mutilated bodies - some human, some horse, some giant eagle - lay sprawled along the shore. A waterfall plummeted form the cliffs to the west into the pool, which kept much of the water clean save for near the shores where the dead lay thick.
This lake was the primary source of drinking water for the fort. A cursory examination of the waterfall from afar allowed the heroes to see a cave behind the cascade 10 feet above the water.
New Barracks. This wooden building seemed to have been abandoned for some time; it was in fairly poor repair and seemed to almost lean against the cliff wall behind it for support. A short flight of wooden steps led up to the single door. The building itself sat on raised timbers over the uneven, sloping ground below - excess lumber was stored haphazardly in the space below. The secret door in the base of the cliff wall behind this building was found by the heroes.
These barracks were still called "new" by the older members of the order, though they were built 20 years ago. Constructed at a time when no sensible architect resided among the Black Arrows, the building was a deathtrap would it ever catch on fire. With the heavy rains, setting fire to the barracks from outside was a difficult task. Bruthien, however, lit a magical fire relatively easily. When the building burned, the ogres within panicked at the single tiny exit, fought over who was supposed to escape first, and eventually cooked inside.
Many of the ogres shacked up in this nice unused barrack. The bulk of the raiding party's ogres were found here, sleeping, eating, or arguing - a dozen in all.
Entrance to Fort Rannick. A single set of double doors allowed entrance to the central keep of Fort Rannick. The doors were made of oak and had been brutally battered and savaged. Crude repairs had been affected, but the doors still hung somewhat askew. Until an actual skilled carpenter works on them, these doors will remain in sad condition.
Secret Armory. The floor, walls, and ceiling of this cool, damp cave were coated from floor to ceiling in soft, dark gray fungus. Several crates were stacked in a nook to the northwest.
This cave was used by the Black Arrows to store weapons in the event of a prolonged siege. Unfortunately, the ogres' assault on the keep apparently came with such sudden force that none of the Black Arrows were able to reach this armory in time to make use of the weapons kept in the crates. A passageway to the east led to a secret door that opened out behind the new barracks. Just before this door, a side passage wound down under the central keep.
Two shocker lizards had come up here. The creatures squealed in surprise when they saw the heroes, and generated a lethal shock before they hid behind the crates. Jakardros calmed them down.
Apart form a fair supply of mundane weapons (including two dozen longswords, shortswords, daggers, and longbows), one of the crates contained an oilcloth wrapped around six +2 shocking burst arrows.
Ravine. A deep ravine stretched across this cavern, splitting the room in half. Geodes and veins of glittering minerals shimmered along the walls of the chasm, which dropped away into the dark. A ten-foot-wide wooden bridge spanned the gulf.
The bridge itself was in poor condition. The heroes crossed it one at a time.
The skeleton of an unlucky halfling lay at the bottom of the ravine. His pack contained a broken flask, some prospecting tools, and a pouch with two large garnets, each worth 100 gp. His trusty +1 mithral short sword was still sheathed at his side.
Crypt. The walls of this fairly dry cavern contained twenty seven-foot-wide, two-foot-high niches, in each of which rested the ancient body of a long-dead humanoid. The skeletons bore ceremonial armor and weapons. One of the bodies had been pulled from its niche and lay in a jumble on the ground.
The Black Arrows send off their fallen kin in elaborate pyres and then scatter the ashes. No Black Arrow had been buried in this crypt during Jakardros' or Vale's memories - which is unfortunate, since the last body the Black Arrows interred here has not rested peacefully. The armor and weapons the bodies were buried with were ceremonial only - ever thrifty, the Black Arrows recycled their members' weapons after death.
The last interred here exists now as a spectre, bound to this crypt. He could not stray further than the confines of this chamber, but when the heroes dared intrude Tsela felt his wrath. The heroes decided to fight this battle another time.
The sick ogre wore a necklace of shriveled women's hands about his neck, each adorned with shiny copper rings. Of the rings, 21 were worth 10 gp each, while the 22nd was actually a ring of animal friendship.
Collapsed Tunnel. A huge pile of rubble slumped against the cliff face, almost completely blocking a cave entrance.
The tunnel beyond wound up to a ledge that overlooked the fort, 120 feet up the cliff face above. This ledge rose a further 450 feet to a tor that once served as the nesting ground for a group of giant eagles allied with the Black Arrows. There was enough room for a tiny creature to squeeze through the gap into the tunnel; a small creature could do the same but with more difficulty.
Cook House. This open-aired structure contained several large racks for storing smoked meat. The ogres didn't seem to have taken good care of the place, for everything was in a jumbled, broken ruin. Several dead bodies lay haphazardly on the damaged smokers, slowly (and inefficiently) curing as the fires smoldered. The smell was disturbingly flavorful.
The nine bodies slow-roasting here were all Black Arrows threaded into skewers and left here to cook. In charge of this project was a constantly wheezing and sweating, obese ogre. With tiny little hands and feet and a grotesquely oversized head and rear end, the ogre almost looked like a bulbous gourd. He was making a big batch of dough to bake up the entrails he'd just extracted from the smoking corpses in a huge pie. The heroes killed him.
Drainage Ditch. A vile pool of sewage sat at the base of a nook in the wall. The pool drained through a two-foot-wide sluiceway in the wall to the creek beyond, but a body was lodged headfirst inside it.
The body was one of the rangers of Fort Rannick; his head was claimed, and the rest of him was deposited carelessly here. The ogres never bothered to kick him through the sluice, and the corpse is bloating. The sluiceway is slick with reeking gore, algae, and waste. A small creature could clamber through it easily, but a medium creature should squeeze through to do the same.
South Gate. This twenty-foot-tall gatehouse was protected by an iron gate.
The ogres left this entrance relatively undamaged, since this is the one they used to come and go from the fort. The mechanism to lift the portcullis was located atop the defense platform directly west of the gate - it took half a minute to raise the portcullis.
Since this gate was still functional, more ogres were on guard. Four stood on watch in all - three average ogres led by an unfortunate ogre who lost most of his lower jaw. He'd taken to fixing freshly shucked minks (head, paws, and all) onto each jowl, so the little dead animals dangled and bounced about freakishly as he slobbered out orders. He kept his ogres focused and relatively alert; these ogres were not distracted as a result and gave the heroes a hard time. But the heroes emerged victorious.
Pond. What once might have been a crystal-clear mountain lake had become an abattoir. Partially butchered and mutilated bodies - some human, some horse, some giant eagle - lay sprawled along the shore. A waterfall plummeted form the cliffs to the west into the pool, which kept much of the water clean save for near the shores where the dead lay thick.
This lake was the primary source of drinking water for the fort. A cursory examination of the waterfall from afar allowed the heroes to see a cave behind the cascade 10 feet above the water.
New Barracks. This wooden building seemed to have been abandoned for some time; it was in fairly poor repair and seemed to almost lean against the cliff wall behind it for support. A short flight of wooden steps led up to the single door. The building itself sat on raised timbers over the uneven, sloping ground below - excess lumber was stored haphazardly in the space below. The secret door in the base of the cliff wall behind this building was found by the heroes.
These barracks were still called "new" by the older members of the order, though they were built 20 years ago. Constructed at a time when no sensible architect resided among the Black Arrows, the building was a deathtrap would it ever catch on fire. With the heavy rains, setting fire to the barracks from outside was a difficult task. Bruthien, however, lit a magical fire relatively easily. When the building burned, the ogres within panicked at the single tiny exit, fought over who was supposed to escape first, and eventually cooked inside.
Many of the ogres shacked up in this nice unused barrack. The bulk of the raiding party's ogres were found here, sleeping, eating, or arguing - a dozen in all.
Entrance to Fort Rannick. A single set of double doors allowed entrance to the central keep of Fort Rannick. The doors were made of oak and had been brutally battered and savaged. Crude repairs had been affected, but the doors still hung somewhat askew. Until an actual skilled carpenter works on them, these doors will remain in sad condition.
Secret Armory. The floor, walls, and ceiling of this cool, damp cave were coated from floor to ceiling in soft, dark gray fungus. Several crates were stacked in a nook to the northwest.
This cave was used by the Black Arrows to store weapons in the event of a prolonged siege. Unfortunately, the ogres' assault on the keep apparently came with such sudden force that none of the Black Arrows were able to reach this armory in time to make use of the weapons kept in the crates. A passageway to the east led to a secret door that opened out behind the new barracks. Just before this door, a side passage wound down under the central keep.
Two shocker lizards had come up here. The creatures squealed in surprise when they saw the heroes, and generated a lethal shock before they hid behind the crates. Jakardros calmed them down.
Apart form a fair supply of mundane weapons (including two dozen longswords, shortswords, daggers, and longbows), one of the crates contained an oilcloth wrapped around six +2 shocking burst arrows.
Ravine. A deep ravine stretched across this cavern, splitting the room in half. Geodes and veins of glittering minerals shimmered along the walls of the chasm, which dropped away into the dark. A ten-foot-wide wooden bridge spanned the gulf.
The bridge itself was in poor condition. The heroes crossed it one at a time.
The skeleton of an unlucky halfling lay at the bottom of the ravine. His pack contained a broken flask, some prospecting tools, and a pouch with two large garnets, each worth 100 gp. His trusty +1 mithral short sword was still sheathed at his side.
Crypt. The walls of this fairly dry cavern contained twenty seven-foot-wide, two-foot-high niches, in each of which rested the ancient body of a long-dead humanoid. The skeletons bore ceremonial armor and weapons. One of the bodies had been pulled from its niche and lay in a jumble on the ground.
The Black Arrows send off their fallen kin in elaborate pyres and then scatter the ashes. No Black Arrow had been buried in this crypt during Jakardros' or Vale's memories - which is unfortunate, since the last body the Black Arrows interred here has not rested peacefully. The armor and weapons the bodies were buried with were ceremonial only - ever thrifty, the Black Arrows recycled their members' weapons after death.
The last interred here exists now as a spectre, bound to this crypt. He could not stray further than the confines of this chamber, but when the heroes dared intrude Tsela felt his wrath. The heroes decided to fight this battle another time.
Comments
Post a Comment