The Adventures of Berred, Ranger of Shadow Deep
Scenario 3: The Last Stand
Having pushed through the swamp, the land becomes firmer and the gnarled trees less dense. The rolling black clouds above still cast everything in a perpetual twilight and ash and smoke still drifts in the air. For the most part, the land is quiet. No birds sing, no insects call out. Occasionally, a small animal twitters from the shadows or scampers through the dead leaves. Twice you have spotted small patrols composed of gnolls and masked men, but both times you have been able to find cover and remain undetected.
With few indications of the passage of time, you are forced to rely on your own reckoning and the growl of your stomach to know when to call halts, rest, and eat. You have passed several streams, which seem to contain fresh water, though you remain wary of drinking from them.
Just as your companions are starting to tire, and you are considering calling a halt for sleep, you spy a broken structure in the gloom ahead. Crawling forwards you can see that it is a partially collapsed stone farmhouse, of a kind that is common in both Alladore and Lorenthia. Creeping closer, you see shifting shadows within, and, closer still, you hear whispered voices. There are several people inside, definitely humans. As you focus on the speech, you begin to pick up the lilting accent of Lorenthia, and although the words are still obscure, you can hear an undercurrent of fear.
Making up your mind, you call out softly to the house ‘Lorenthia’.
The voices go silent, but you hear a shuffling from inside. You call out again, ‘Lorenthia’.
A moment of silence, and then a reply comes from within, ‘Friends’.
Standing up, with your hands open before you, you walk slowly towards the door of the house. A man is standing there, in the tattered remains of a Lorenthian uniform. A battered and notched sword is in his hand.
‘We are friends. From Alladore.’ You say.
The man lowers his sword and grunts, ‘We’ll take friends from anywhere.’
Inside the broken house, you see several more soldiers as well as a group of women and children.
The man in the tattered uniform speaks again. ‘I don’t know how long it has been since the world ended, but for all I knew, we were the only survivors. There are things out there, gnolls and worse, hunting us.’
‘Lorenthia is destroyed,’ you reply, ‘but the world endures. Alladore still stands. We can take you there…’ But even as you say the last word, a horn sounds in the distant gloom, and your companions come running.
Everyone draws their weapons and prepares to face the onslaught.
Halleck nodded and grinned. The boobytrap was set. While he was setting the trap Berred tried to marshal the three Lorenthian soldiers. While the two archers nodded in agreement the man-at-arms, who went by the strange name of Beowulf, had his own ideas. Let’s hope he was a good fighter.
No sooner than the gnolls appeared Merlin (Son of William) was chanting. A ball of flames grew in his hand and was thrown towards the gnolls, burning several of them but all four were still walking, if a little singed. Arrows were loosed from our heroes wounding the gnolls further but not killing any of them. 
Without warning a giant spider which had been lurking in one of the buildings crawled out behind Merlin and sank its fangs into him, injecting its venom before it died on the end of Halleck’s billhook. Beowulf rushed one of the gnolls and with the help of Dart killed it taking a wound himself in the process. Trysten let out a yell as a gnoll arrow pierced his side. He quickly took cover between the buildings. One of the gnolls triggered Halleck’s boobytrap but jumped out of the way just in time to take any damage. Suddenly both Lorenthian archers were out of the house. Arrows flew and two gnolls lay dead. Trotter could see several zombies slowly shambling towards them then two giant flies appeared from behind some large rocks. This was getting tough. Merlin chanted again and a bolt of lightning arched towards one of the gnolls. It gave a yelp, it’s fur stood out on end but it kept coming, if a little shaky. More bows were shot but nothing fell.
Berred was hanging back looking for more targets to shoot at when he saw more gnolls appearing from the side. He took aim and killed one of their archers. Merlin knelt down next to Trysten, muttered a spell and the bleeding from Trysten’s wound stopped. Getting up he nodded his thanks and quickly headed off to were Berred was. Upon seeing the gnolls running forwards Trysten took out a small flask and threw it at the gnolls. It exploded on impact, there was a hiss and a cloud of gas but the gnolls were unaffected. Turns out that Dremlocke weed might have been past its best. 
Beowulf, now attacking a zombie, was making a meal of it, struggling. He was already bleeding from several gashes. Halleck ran towards him to help. Meanwhile, both Lorenthian archers shot at the giant flies, both arrows hit home and both flies died. Beowulf, our Lorenthian man-at-arms however didn’t fare as well. He managed to take down the zombie but the zombie in turn managed to inflict a fatal wound. The other two zombies attacked. Dart jumped and bit down on the throat of a zombie killing it but was mauled himself horribly by the zombie’s death throws and knew no more. Trotter and the archers attacked the final zombie. The savagery of that zombie was such that it took the four of them to eventually bring it down, each taking bites and claw wounds. There was suddenly a scream from the building with the civilians. Berred heard the scream and thinking that the gnolls were getting too close to the farmhouse ran directly away to try and lure the gnolls away. Only one took the bait, a large one armed with a huge double handed axe, a sergeant. The other gnolls turned and made a beeline for Halleck and the others who were catching their breath from their fight with the zombies.
Trysten also heard the scream and went to investigate. When he looked through the doorway there was chaos. A giant spider was in the corner over the body of a thin man with high cheekbones. An old woman was beating the spider with a rolling pin while a hunched over old man shuffled over raising his walking stick. There was hardly any room to move and the spider was clearly trapped. The old man gave the spider a savage wack with his stick, but granny got too close and was bitten. This only made her more angry. Trysten realising he could do nothing and went off to help Berred.
Outside Merlin stood next to Halleck, exhausted, the spider poison taking its effect. The archers and Trotter let arrows fly but only managed to wound one of the three gnolls. With a roar something moved off to the side. Trotter looked over to see a huge troll ambling it’s way toward them. Great! He backed away and was suddenly aware of a small chest under a bush. Without thinking he picked it up and tied it to his back.
Berred shot another arrow at the gnoll sergeant but missed. The Gnoll charged and Berred had to defend himself. He was outmatched and he knew it. He cried out as the axe but down, it was bad. Without warning Trysten was there. He could do nothing, not even with two against one. The axe bit again and Berred went down. One of the Lorenthian dressed in red shot at the troll and wounded it, while the other archer dressed in brown wounded a gnoll as it charged Merlin. Trotter let loose an arrow killing the gnoll, only two left. The other gnoll charged Halleck. The fighting was intense but with spider venom Merlin didn’t stand a chance and went down beneath the blows of a gnoll hand axe. Halleck, already wounded and tired from non-stop fighting, didn't last long and soon succumbed. The gnolls moved on towards Trotter and the two archers. Their mistake however as the archer in red landed an arrow between the eyes of one of the gnolls, while the other archer injured it’s friend with his arrow. The wind blew and without warning hot burning ash was in the air. What more could the shadow deep throw at them. It was as if the very land was attacking them now. Both the archer in red and Trysten fighting the gnoll sergeant coughed as the ash scoured their lungs. Trysten managed to defend well for a time as the sergeant was starting to tire but he couldn’t last long, not without help.
A peddler and a hunched over old man, both wounded, left the farmhouse, the remains of a spider on the peddler’s stout stick. They turned away from the battle and headed away as fast as they could.
It didn’t look good. The red archer was charged by the last gnoll and took a terrible looking wound. The troll was almost upon them. Both Trotter and the other archer shot at the troll but both missed. Trotter looked about him and noticed something in a bush. A single arrow. He smiled and quickly grabbed it, he recognised it as magical. Just then the troll charged the red archer. Trotter winced, he wouldn’t last long fighting those two. No sooner had Trotter made that thought then the gnoll collapsed in a bloody heap, then the troll hopped about in pain as it’s arm flew off before receiving a kick as the red archer backed away from the wounded troll. The brown archer finished the troll off with a well placed arrow. They all looked around but could see nothing but air filled with ash. Then from out behind the farmhouse the gnoll sergeant walled, with blood on its axe. Trotter and the two archers fired, missing several times before killing it.
Then half the large farmhouse erupted, with wood and thatch flying everywhere as the top of a large burrow worm appeared out from where the roof had been, as if the shadow deep wouldn’t be happy until all sign of human presence was erased from its land. The head of the worm swung left and right as if trying to sense anyone close by. It then disappeared back down through it’s hole…. …before erupting in front of the archer in brown. Trotter backed away, looking around for his companions. He felt alone. The archer in red rushed towards the worm to help his friend but was devoured by the gaping mouth. Laughing like hyenas, Trotter almost backed directly into a group of gnolls. He fought on but was soon overcome. The lone archer continued to fight, injuring the worm quite a bit but with the help of the gnolls was taken down. The monsters and the beasts of the shadow deep advanced on the farmhouse and proceeded to destroy each building in turn. Unseen in the dying light our heroes crawled away.
Trysten looked down. Dart looked like he was asleep, his tongue hanging out. He’d been a brave soul and happy but the monsters of the shadow deep had been too much for him. The others patted Trysten on the back in consolation but they had to journey back, they had to protect the old man and the peddler. They had to report their findings of their journey into the shadow deep to their superiors. With that knowledge they stood a better chance of fighting the shadow deep than they had this day. There was hope yet.
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