The Pool, the Lady, and the Goblin's Plight - Expedition Summary 6/17

Another large expedition set out under the leadership of Lord Dieterich to make another attempt on the Stirge Pool. Lord Dieterich wisely decided to bring along a canoe for the assault, and performed the portage himself with the aid of only Breknar.

Along the way, at Scorros's request, they made a brief detour to the lumberyard to observe their forestry practices. While the lumber yard was operating at peak efficiency to get our town built it was determined that the current methods might displease the gods of nature which is certainly not in the interest of Longreach. At the urging of Scorros, Kellen, and Breknar, the foreman, Fen, agreed to begin practicing more sustainable forestry practices with Kellen's guidance.

Fen also provided the party with useful information in regards to their mission. A swarm of stirge often attacked at noon, forcing them into hiding. This swarm consisted of the blood-gathering worker stirge earlier presumed to have existed by Scorros.

With this knowledge and Kellen's insight that stirge detest smoke, they advanced to within a short distance of the stirge pool, built large greenwood fires, and planned their assault. Lord Dieterich and Breknar bravely volunteered to make the landing on the queen's natural castle of an island. The rest of the group would provide support from the far shore, shooting down as many stirge as possible and serving as a distraction. They would also build greenwood fires on both flanks, creating a funnel to force the stirge to attack from only their front. The strike was then scheduled for noon to divide the opposition. As a final preparation, they covered ourselves in mud in hopes of deterring the stirge, which helped on the initial approach.

The stirge reached the supporting positions without difficulty. However, they immediately saw that they would not be able to provide direct support for Lord Dieterich and Breknar, as the cliff on this side was so high they could not see the plateau. Nevertheless, the group stuck to the plan as to not be caught repositioning when the attack began and readjusted their tactics to provide optimal support.

At Lord Dieterich's signal, the support team loosed arrows on the stirge. The rest went according to plan. The northern detachment destroyed, at Scorros's count, 17 of the creatures before splitting and circling to support Lord Dieterich and Breknar directly. Tyrdithas also arrived at this time and joined the attack on the island, using himself as bait to successfully lure a portion of the swarm away from our lord.

Lord Dieterich delivered the killing blow to the queen just before the worker swarm could return to defend her. Having already slain the warriors, the party quickly dispatched the workers and filled in the queen's blood pool to prevent another queen from easily taking her place.

Finally, the group returned to the lumberyard and asked Fen to take his workers to fill in or drain the pool as a permanent solution. He agreed and was advised to take guards and exercise extreme caution.

At last, the group returned to Longreach, where they learned that they had slathered themselves in mud and blood just in time for Lady Vern's arrival. After cleaning themselves as well as could be done in a rush, they made it in time to present themselves with the rest of the townsfolk. 

Lady Vern asked to speak to Scorros and Lord Dieterich and told expressed that Lord Dieterich may be granted knighthood and land, possibly Splitriver Keep. This came as no surprise to those who know Lord Dieterich. His valor in battle, effective leadership and noble blood more than qualify him for the job. More surprising was that Scorros is also being considered for lordship or a position equivalent to nobility, a great honor for one not born of noble birth.

After meeting with lady Vern most of the group chose to relax and refit for a few days. However, Lord Dieterich and Vincent Jones-bringing Griknak as a guide, chose to set out the next day to gain some more information on the Cave of the Lost Orc. On route to the cave, past the Statue of Haelus, the two discovered several traps. Griknak seemed to think they were lain by Kobolds. If you are travelling north of town please be cautious of the main trail as this seems to be a target for local hostile forces.

Grinknak was reported to be very scared to be going into the cave. He kept repeating that no one ever comes back out alive from the cave. Lord Dieterich gave a rousing speech and convinced him to enter the cave. They progressed further in the cave, encountering heavy resistance including several new types of fungi, undead and fungi hybrids, including a fungus that exploded poisons when it died. In their last battle Griknak was poisoned very badly by one.

Given their poor condition the small party decided to rest for the night but were ambushed by an orc, two wolves and a goblin. They managed to kill them all, but their resources were completely depleted, and Griknak was completely unconscious. Still 7 hours away from Longreach, lacking sleep and a wilderness guide they bravely strode into the dark night, only becoming briefly lost. With Griknak down and Vincent struggling to maintain the pace, Lord Dieterich managed to carry them both back to Longreach, though once again they fell into traps lain by our foes. Finally, making it back, Father Lyle managed to cure Griknak, saving him from death. 

The disease the goblin fell prey to is new to us and kills within a day. Pustules filled with sportes develop on the skin. It's speculated that the skeletons encountered in the cave were being controlled by spores and may have been previous victims of the disease.

Members of the 6/17 Expedition:

Lord Dieterich, Gunter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illitor, Scorros
Jones, Vincent

Stoneleaf, Kellen

Swampshield, Breknar

Tyrdithas

Other News: Lady Vern has arrived and is staying at Sir Calen's compound. Please extend your warmest greetings to our honored guest and show her the extent of our hospitality here in Longreach. If for any reason you need to go into the woods north of the lumber yard exercise extreme caution. Traps continue to be an issue and have caused several casualties. 

Lord F. Arden, on behalf of Sir Calen

6/18 in the Year 874