April 14, 569:

A guard rotation is set up for the evening as the combined squads camp out at the entrance to the Eagle's Nest outpost. During the transition between the second and third watch, Vernar spots a small group approaching the camp site! Its a unit of about a dozen goblins led by two half-orcs, a male wearing leather armor and a female wearing normal looking adventurer clothing.

Those sleeping are wakened and the squads prepare to greet the new arrivals. A quick plan is hatched. Those with ranged attacks move off into the woods beside the camp site, while those who engage in hand to hand combat await around the bend by the road.

Ren casts a Sleep spell at the goblins leading the enemy party and seven of them fall to the ground. The attack then begins in earnest and the rest of the goblins are quickly mowed down. The female half-orc manages to get a Color Spray spell off and in response Lucyus and Vardra drop to the ground unconscious for a short time.

The female half-orc is quickly killed filled with arrows and bolts while the male retreats down into the gully. Butternut and Vernar follow and all three are quickly lost from sight. Ominously, it can now be seen that an the goblins were just a scouting unit as an even larger force can be seen approaching from down the road!

Realizing that they are severely outnumbered by this large force, it is decided to take the chance to run up the ramp to the Eagle's Nest outpost. If Ren's theory on how the trap works is correct, they will be able to bypass it this time and use it to snare the enemy. It is decided to go up in three groups with these groups having similar speeds.

Down in the gully, Butternut and Vernar chase the half-orc. They reach the stream and soon slip upon the rocks, plunging into the waters. All three are carried along by the stream and over the cliff edge! After falling for a few seconds, all three land in a pond further down the hillside. The half-orc dies from the impact, but Butternut and Vernar make it to safety.

As they pull themselves on shore, they spot three riders on horseback approaching. Two are human, male and female, and the other is a male dwarf. The males have crossbows at the ready. The human male challenges Vernar and Butternut, identifying himself as Sergeant Crandell of Talon Squad.

Sergeant Crandell states that those with him, Laurel and Gerett, were all that remain of Talon Squad. Their mission was to man the Falcon's Watch observation outpost that is a day further along Graystone Pass. While taking Laurel and Gerett up to the watch, basically a high, open vantage point on the hillside, the enemy army came along and killed the rest of Talon Squad. Since then, they had been following the army with the idea of making it to Eagle's Nest to raise the warning flag. Unfortunately, the enemy had the same idea and sent a large force to capture Eagle's Nest. Realizing that they are all on the same side, Butternut and Vernar join up with Talon Squad and slowly ride after the enemy force now in front of them.

Back up at the Squads camp, the groups start to run up the ramp to the base above. Ren leads Wimzy, Sorvani and Sann up the ramp. This time the group stays close together and when Ren feels the trap trip like he did before, but the floor does not rise up and the group continues on. Just around the next bend is the entrance to the Eagle's Nest outpost. Wooden doors are found, but they are unlocked. Beyond is a small area where a second set of wooden doors are located. Timbers are present and can be used to bar both sets of doors. The arrangement is similar to the gates the Stone Dwarf guarded in the dungeon below.

Behind the doors is a large common area. Sleeping chambers, a storage area and an office are off the central area. One door leads to stairs going up to the outside observation area. Up there is where the warning flag can be raised.

Flare, Lucyus and Vardra make the trip up the ramp next, carrying as many supplies from the horses that they can. That leaves just Erisciana, Kaylessa and Kendell down below. Kendell shoos the horses and mules out of base of the ramp and off into the adjacent woods for their safety.

The enemy force arrives and discovers the fate of their scouts. Goblins swarm forward looking to attack. As they near the campsite, Kaylessa tosses a container of Alchemist's Fire into the fire! It explodes, covering the area with flaming oil. Oil poured around the cave opening is ignited, creating even more fire. The last of the squads then rush up the ramp and can hear the enemy coming after them.

The Eagle's Nest area seems to have similar construction as seen down in the dwarven lair. It is suspected that perhaps this area and the lair down below are related. Sann starts to look for concealed areas that map serve as an emergency exit. The entry doors are sealed with the timbers and they await the enemies arrival. A secret door is found, but there does not appear to be anyway to open it.

Outside, Sergeant Crandell leads Butternut, Laurel, Gerett and Vernar up behind the enemy army. As they close in near the top of the road, Butternut and Vernar scout ahead aided by Laurel's cat Malfamata. Cats are known companions to Priests of Felix and it is said that they can communicate with each other.

Daring a look around the corner where the road comes up, the group can see only a few of the enemies remain. They are standing near the campfire by the entrance to the ramp. A man in plate armor gives orders to an ogre and a drow elf before going up the ramp. A duergar dwarf accompanies the man in plate mail. The ogre stands guard at the cave entrance while the drow wanders off into the woods.

Back up in the Eagle's Nest, the rest of the squad search their new surroundings. A metal access hatch is found in the gates that can be used to thrust spears into or fire bolts and arrows through. Spears are found and made ready. Erisciana goes up to the observation area and raises the black flag, signifying danger.

The sound of enemy forces approaching grows louder and louder. A swarm of goblins are on their way! Then suddenly the trap is triggered and all the goblins are dumped down the mountain and into the depths of the earth much like the squads had been. Another swarm of goblins rushes forward and meets the same fate. There is still noise out in the ramp, but the enemy is no longer rushing forward having seen their comrades swallowed up.

Sann and Ren cannot find a way to open the secret door. They theorize that there must be a trigger near by and start to look for it. Others help and Erisciana finds that one of the torch holders can be pulled away from the wall.

Kaylessa, Kendell, Lucyus and Vardra man the front gate. A small group of goblins come around the corner. Arrows are fired and the goblins retreat. It is dark outside the gate making it hard to see. Lucyus casts a Light spell on an arrow and Kaylessa fires it. The arrow illuminates the bend of the ramp leading up to the gate.

Right after that, a man in chain mail dashes into view. He's going for the arrow with Light cast on it! He grabs the lighted arrow while arrows are being fired at him and runs back around the bend. The light from the arrow fades until it is gone.

After that, the man in plate mail comes forth. Just as Kaylessa is getting ready to fire arrows at him, he calls out in common "Open the gate!". In response to that, both Kendell and Vardra start to comply!

Down at the base camp, the group debates how to deal with the ogre and drow. Malfamata tells Laurel that the drow found horses out in the woods and is looking through their packs. With her away, it is decided to take down the ogre while it is alone. Sergeant Crandell will be at the top of the road, while Butternut, Gerett and Vernar go into the woods. The idea is to stagger the fire of ranged weapons to confuse the ogre as to where the attacks are coming from. That way it should go down before it reaches any one.

Butternut fires first followed by Gerett. Sergeant Crandell fires arrows that borrow into the ogre. The staggering fire works and the ogre drops! With no sign of the drow, the group rushes up the ramp to aid the other squad against the enemy.

Upstairs, Kendell and Vardra move lift the beam holding the gate shut. Lucyus knocks Kendell down with a spear while Kaylessa fires arrows into the man in plate mail, forcing him to withdraw. The others hear the commotion and rush in to help. Erisciana uses her innate ability to manipulate emotions to break the hold on the two men, giving them control once more.

With that crisis averted, talk turns to defensive options. But the enemy strikes once more almost immediately. Goblins are rushing the door carrying vials of oil! Several are dropped by arrows, but the remaining goblins manage to throw the oil onto the gate! Then two men in chain mail comes around the corner each carrying a torch. Flare and Vardra team up to down one of the torch bearers, while Kaylessa embeds an arrow in the other man's eye! He screams in agony dropping his torch in the process. Deciding that now is the time to attack the enemy directly, Lucyus and Kendell work to lift the bar from the gate.

Butternut leads Vernar, Sergeant Crandell, Gerett and Laurel up the ramp. They can see light up ahead around the corner. Taking a look they can see the back of the enemy forces. They see the man in plate mail holding a torch with the duergar dwarf close by. Several goblins come around the far bend while a horrible scream fills the air. The man in the plate mail yells at the goblins and they freeze in terror. They are so frightened that they do not speak as Vernar sneaks up behind the man and the duergar dwarf. Vernar drives his dagger through the dwarves back and into his heart! The evil dwarf dies instantly. The man in plate mail attacks Vernar with a longsword, wounding him. The rest of the group fires their ranged weapons with minimal effects.

The rest of the squad emerges from the Eagle's Nest and joins in on the battle. Erisciana casts a Sleep spell and all the goblins fall to the ground. Lucyus realizes that the men in armor are all Priests of Hextor and rushes to battle the one in plate. Kendell and Vardra rush to help Lucyus and together they slay the evil priest. Erisciana finishes off the priest who had been shot in the eye.

Sergeant Crandell comes forth and asks if the danger flag has been raised yet. Lucyus confirms that it was. Introductions are made while Erisciana works to detect any magic items carried by the invaders. These items are rounded up and taken into the Eagle's Nest.

Malfamata trots along complaining about how messy everyone is. The cat continues forward in search of the dwarf they were supposed to meet. Sann is found inside and by the time Laurel catches up to them he is petting the cat.

The two groups swap stories and Sergeant Crandell takes command. Everyone retires back into the Eagle's Nest for the rest of the evening. The spell casters are directed to replenish their spells while the others take turns standing guard. The wounded are healed.

Since there are magic items to be handed out, traditionally the squads commanding officer would preform the task. But since Crandell just met everyone he suggests an alternative. Everyone is to assign the items to the others without picking anything for themselves. Once all the votes are counted, who ever got the most votes for item would get it. Crandell will not take any of the looted gear. The items are handed out and the mages share the spell book they found from the half-orc woman.

While that is going on, talk turns to the secret door that was recently found. Laurel casts a Thought Capture spell and sees how the ancient dwarves opened up the door. The door to the observation area is closed and locked. Then the torch holder that Erisciana found is pulled out, along with another one on the other side of the room. Both torch holders are then turned clockwise and the secret door opens. Behind the door are web filled stairs leading into darkness. It is decided to explore these stairs later on, after everyone has had their rest. Sergeant Crandell assigns Vernar this task and charges Vardra to go back down the ramp in the morning to secure the area down below. Round up the horses and recover supplies.

Most of the squad turns in and given their widely different sleeping times, its near noon before everyone is up once more. It is decided to drag the enemy bodies back down the ramp and dispose of them outside. Sergeant Crandell writes a report and has Flare's hawk M'lady fly off and drop it from high above Fort Graystone.

Morning comes and assignments are being carried out. Vardra has Laurel, Lucyus, Kendell and Wimzy join him to go down below and round up the horses. Gerett tags along after mentioning that they should try to find fruits and vegetables to supplement their rations. This group discovers that the fire damaged the make-shift corral. A rope corral is formed in the woods by the stream so the horses can drink freely. There is no sign of the drow.

Vernar leads the scouts down the stairs behind the secret door. The stairs spiral downwards in dull repetition. After a time, a side passage is found. This area ends in a sealed iron door built into natural stone. The bolts hold it shut are rusted and some work would be needed to try and open this door. It is decided to leave it alone for now.

The stairs continue downwards and eventually end in a hallway. At the far end is another secret door, but it is obvious from this side. There is a small hatch set for someone of dwarven stature to easily watch through. The hatch is opened and the scouts can see part of a chamber. It appears to be the throne room used by the goblin king. As the scouts watch and listen he is being berated by the drow who says that:

"Lord Baracus is not as forgiving as I am," the drow arrogantly states in the language of the goblins. "The supply caravan will be here tomorrow. Be ready for it or you won't have to worry about this stone dwarf any more. In the meantime, I must rest for. See that I am not disturbed."

The scouts withdraw back up the secret stairs and report what they learned. Sergeant Crandell believes that is an opportunity to ambush the caravan while its on its way to the goblin lair. To that end, he has everyone gather up what they need. The squads will ride the horses to find an ambush site and put a plan of attack together.

After a short ride, the squad find a good spot along the road to the goblin lair to set up their ambush. Sergeant Crandell asks for suggestions and tactics given the terrain. Ideas are tossed about and eventually it is decided to attack at first light. Ideally after the caravan has been loaded and on its way back to the army. That way it would be weighted down with supplies and moving slowly. It would also be far enough away from the goblin lair to not get reinforcements.

The squads make their way back to Eagle's Nest to rest up for the night and prepare for what is to come. Flare, Kaylessa and Vernar volunteer to guard the horses outside at the base of the mountain over night.

Combined Roster of the Squads:Sergeant Crandell (PL), Butternut, Erisciana, Flare, Gerett, Kaylessa, Kendell, Laurel, Lucyus, Ren, Sorvani, Vardra, Vernar and Wimzy.