A3.1 Prey for Good Hunting

Surf’s Up: Theo was the first to awake on the beach, swatting at the crab pinching his finger. Sunlight barely penetrated the fog as the Beorning listened to the repeated crash of waves. Sunrise?! How long had he been unconscious on the beach? Wasn’t it evening when their dingy was tossed in the waves as they escaped the sinking ship? Theo sprang to his feet to look for and to aid his companions, assuming they might be drowning in the surf. He woke them one at a time before he began to pull flotsam from the surf (to keep useful gear from being washed back into the ocean).

Kyan wiped the sand from his beard as he verified that he still clung to his duffle-bag stuffed with his armor. He winced in pain at the coral scratches on his legs suffered when he tumbled thru the surf after the dingy capsized last night. He studied the cliffs and shoreline trying to get his bearing. He had been watching the coastline during the storm. He knew they were west of the Andrast peninsula where the piracy occurred. But how far had the storm taken them west?

Thran woke unable to hear anything! Panicking, he fingered his ears to realize they were stuffed with sand. As he washed them clear, it dawned on him that his hands were empty. What happened to his backpack he had rescued from the sinking ship?! Where were his books and notes?!

Margo reached into her backpack and pulled out a banana, “I’m starving! We must have missed 3^rd supper and even 2^nd breakfasties. Did you happen to find any rations in the surf?”

Combing the Beach: Kyan had them divide up, “Margo and I will search to the east while you search to the west. Gather useful gear and look for other survivors.” Plenty of rope, torn sections of sails, barrels, and belaying pins littered the surf. At least one barrel contained fresh water. Kyan actually found captain Tansden’s sextant case and spyglass bundled in a waterproof pouch. [Natural 20] Margo found another waterproof pouch with the captain’s map, complete with markings of the ship’s progress. 

Such that Kyan was able to confirm they were somewhere near Eryn Vorn that lay southeast of the southern end of his Blue Mountain range.

Thran was relieved when he found his backpack washed up on the beach. As he paused to inventory his gear, Theo kept walking the beach. His head poked thru the layer of fog along with the top of a larger boulder just ahead. And that’s when he heard the repeated sound of “Crunch”ing coming from just beyond the boulder. He yelled for help, “Thran, come take a look. Something is over here.” And that’s when the boulder moved, rising to display 4 huge muscular legs. And the eagle-headed face turned to stare at him, with a body slumped dead in its maw! Theo ran! Thran joined in the retreat until they all gathered together. “What do you mean the rock moved? Four legs and an eagle head?”

Feast your Eyes: Now that he heard the description, Thran realized, “I’ve read about those rare beasts. It sounds like you saw…” And that’s when they felt the rush of wind and saw the shadow fall over them as the flying Griffon landed near them and dropped the mangled body it was chewing on. They all recognized Quinten’s clothing. Kyan and Thran stumbled backwards in surprise and fright, especially when it spoke, “Do you really think you can hide from me, you smelly hu-mans?! Maybe you hide from those other hu-mans soon coming to collect treasure and slaves.”

Theo did the only sensible thing: he notched an arrow and shot. The arrow bounced off its thick hide. In reply, the Griffon raked its front claw at the Beorning, [natural 20] sending him flying thru the air and into the surf. Margo stepped forward and offered a banana, “A talking beast. We don’t get many of those in my Shire. Bilbo Baggins once told a story of huge eagles that rescued him from a band of Orc. Are you one of those Eagles of Manwe?” Kyan found his voice, “Excuse my friend for his rudeness with the arrow. We mean you no harm. We are mere survivors of a shipwreck. Is it too much to ask your name?”

The Griffon folded its wings and licked Theo’s blood from its claw, “Be thankful I’ve a full belly from feasting on other survivors. Know that I, Granthar, will return to clean the beach after those other hu-mans come looking for you. Whether it be your bodies or theirs, I care not.” And with that announcement, Granthar took flight, buffeting them into the surf. At least they were closer to Theo to pull him ashore and bind his wounds. Kyan only shook his head, “What were you thinking shooting at it? I wonder how often Griffons eat?”

Salvage Party: “What was that he said about other humans coming to collect treasure and slaves? We best gather our gear and get out of here and erase our tracks.” When they climbed the sand dunes, they saw a path worn into the cliff face. And that’s when Theo hear a voice speaking common but with a strange accent, “Don’t let Captain Elaine see you with that axe. If she finds out you took it from the treasure hoard, she’ll string you up.”

They crouched in hiding amongst the dunes as they watched 3, no five armed men descend the path from the plateau above. Kyan whispered ambush plans. Maybe it was his head sticking above the fog or him stepping on a bush that snapped: they spotted Theo! He moved further away as if in fright to draw them further down the path. It worked… until Kyan tried to stealth around the dune to sneak up behind them.

Thran fired an arrow at the lead soldier but missed. While the first 3 had descended off the path in pursuit of Theo, the 2 remaining archers stood out of reach of the dwarf. Kyan first called out, “Identify yourself” before he threw a dagger. [Sneak Attack] Margo fired an arrow but missed while Thran fired at one of the first axe wielders. Theo stepped forward to engage and killed his foe.

Kyan moved to engage with his mattoch which blocked Thran’s line of fire. But their combined effort was enough to overwhelm their foe. Even the last archer who dashed in retreat was taken down by Margo’s well-aimed arrow. The last soldier surrendered. Thran recognized his accent and uniform as that of the Haradrium. Thru interrogation, they learned these men manned a false beacon (lighthouse) to lead many a ship onto the rocks. “The dark queen gathers her forces of Sauron’s past. There be war on the horizon. We were tasked to disrupt merchant trade.”

As Thran tended Kyan’s wounds, the dwarf noticed the great axe dropped by the one who surrendered. Obviously dwarf-forged, he reached for it. [WISsave fumble] The great axe flared with a bright flash that temporarily blinded Theo and Margo. It also drained Kyan of energy such that he suffered 4 levels of exhaustion! But at least the dwarf realized, “This is a fabled Great Axe crafted in the fires of Nogrod: a dwarven city under the Blue Mountains that was abandoned at the end of the First Age during the War of Wrath. It is named Ring Rist. What is this man doing with such a weapon?!”

Kyan was in no shape to travel, exhausted near death. He needed a long rest, “We best not make a campfire if others are coming.” But as they gathered gear and began to make camp, Thran searched the dunes for useful plants. [Investigate] What Theo recognized as cattails, Thran saw as “Reedmace! I can harvest its root to make a salve that will remove exhaustion.” It wasn’t long before Kyan was ready to leave the beach.

With their prisoner bound and gagged, they climbed the path and soon stood upon the plateau. To their left was the original lighthouse built to warn ships of the rocky coast. To the right was a tall makeshift pile of rocks with a stack of wood that was the false beacon that led the Arc Royal astray onto the rocks. As they made their way toward the lighthouse, they saw the top of a sail in the cove to the west.

The Enemy Cove: As they inched closer, they saw the large Haradrium ship in the cove flying a banner of a black snake.  Along the shoreline were 3 longboats and 3 horse-drawn wagons along with about 18 men working between the longboats and wagons. Mindful of the sun-angle and threat of a glare, Kyan used the spyglass to get a closer look. At least a dozen sailors manned the large ship. More could be below deck. The men on the shore were a mix of Haradrium soldiers and what looked like regular merchant teamsters tending the wagons. And that’s when Kyan spotted 5 bound men being led into a tent. He easily recognized the other survivors of the wreck: Earl, Ivory, Tuna, Salt, Touman. With threat of a knife to his throat, they questioned their prisoner to learn, “The ship is transferring weapons and armor to the merchants who have delivered treasure recovered from the north. We gather wreck survivors for slaving.”

The Best Laid Plans: Kyan conceived another plan, “Wait till one of the longboats returns to the ship. That means 3 less foe to deal with. But we’ll need to rescue our shipmates and arm them to have any chance to stop this operation. I’ll sneak up and…” Thran interrupted the dwarf, “You? Sneak? I remember the last time you tried to sneak up on those corsair pirates. Anyone of us is better at sneaking. I’ll go, especially since I have a bow to defend myself at range. I’ll make a distraction so Theo and Margo can sneak up to free the captives.”

First Contact: Thran worked his way down the path and into the tree line. His heart raced in wonder if he’d been seen. Why were those 2 men coming his way?! Thran notched an arrow and stepped out from behind the tree just as the men lowered their pants to relieve themselves. [Stealth 3] “Snap”. The men quickly stood and pulled up their pants, “Did you hear something?” With axe and bow readied, they moved towards the sound.

Meanwhile, Theo and Margo crawled closer to the tent, keeping it between them and the mass of men near the wagons and longboats. [Stealth: Aaron’s rolled a 1 but the die slowly tipped over to 13. PHEW!] As Theo cut the side of the tent, mindful enemy guards might be inside, Margo aimed an arrow at the 2 men approaching Thran, ready to attack if/when needed. Such as now when Thran fired his first arrow!

Combat Order (Margo, Thran, Kyan, Theo, Captives, Soldiers): Margo sank an arrow into one of Thran’s attackers while Thran fired again at the closest. Kyan moved slowly, inches at a time, mindful the soldiers had taken note of the action near Thran. Theo stepped thru the cut in the tent and found the captives alone. He cut their bindings and armed them with his extra weapons. When Earl led the sailors out of the tent in a war-cry, Kyan charged forward too. Theo wielded his handaxes in a rage of 2-weapon-fighting. The Haradrium soldiers sprang into attack. 4 of the teamsters climbed onto 2 of the wagons and whipped their horses into a dash retreat. Each side rained arrows into the other group. But when Kyan engaged one foe, his Great Axe flared with a blinding light: a third of the enemy was temporarily blinded.

Maybe that’s why 4 of the soldiers turned to push a longboat into the surf to escape. They rowed hard, leaving the others behind. The enemy force had quickly thinned: from 18 down to 10, facing the 5 surviving crew members of the Arc Royal and the 4 heroes. It was a quick battle that ended with the lone surviving Haradrium surrendering.

Thran worried, “What about the Haradrium ship? What if it turns to broadside us with cannons?! What if it sends it full force against us?” Tense moments when they saw sails raised and watched the ship turn in the cove after raising its anchor. But the ship soon sailed out of sight. “What made them leave?”

Inventory and Decisions: Earl explained the same Haradrium operation story told by their first captive. As they checked the lone wagon left on the beach, they found weapons and armor. In one of the longboats, they found a chest of 50 gold pieces and a few relics of ancient origin. Theo’s eyes grew wide as he recognized a quiver of ancient Numenorean longbow arrows! Replacements for those arrows he’d fired and lost at sea. Kyan checked the pockets of the dead and soon found a note addressed to ? (unreadable) announcing the next shipment to Bree.

Earl gathered his men as he announced, “We will restore the original lighthouse to protect the shipping lanes. Maybe signal a ship to come in so we can send words of what happened and to announce the Haradrium’s war plans. You best make haste to warn the king.” Kyan accepted their plan and suggested, “Gather these weapons and supplies as you might have to defense against another inboard force.” Showing his gold medallion, Thran offered each 2 gold from the chest, “We work for the king and I’m sure he’ll reward your actions. Take this as a token of his thanks. We’ll put in a good word for you when we see him.”

Kyan gathered the black snake banner as proof as he pondered, “The letter said shipment to Bree. Maybe we should head that way.” Margo interrupted, “That’s just outside the Shire and I’m not ready to return there just yet. Let’s just say I’ve had a misunderstanding. Besides, the king was heading to Grey Haven.” Margo sat on the wagon ready to depart, “At least we have new transportation and don’t have to walk. But on second thought, maybe we should build a fire first and have lunch before we leave.”

NEXT SESSION: https://lotrwjr.blogspot.com/2024/12/a32-meet-wose.html