Jadyen
Jayden left first. As he made his way through the woods, he ran afoul of some of the lich king's thralls. He managed to get past them and made a bee line for the castle.
As he neared the castle gate, a hulking figure blocked his path. A troll!
Jayden engaged the monster. They traded blows, but Jayden took the worst of it. Then more thralls appeared and attacked him. Battered and cut, Jayden felt his life oozing away. He downed a healing potion and then returned to the fight.
Jayden ran past his enemies and reached the gate. He called for help and the gate SLOWLY began to open. The troll attacked. Jayden cut it down but it regenerated. The thralls attack as well. Jayden holds them off long enough for the gate to open and duck inside.
Success!
Lionhart
Shortly after Jayden's departure, we sent Lionhart with a second copy of the book. He used his stealth skill to sneak past the thralls in the forest.
Nearing the gate, Lionhart ran across the troll. He managed to call for the gate to open and then engaged the troll. Its massive arms struck powerful blows that bruised Lionhart and forced him to retreat.
At this moment, more thralls assaulted him. Lionhart struggled vainly but could not withstand their attacks. He fell, bloodied and battered.
The thralls stole the book from him and then left him for dead. The garrison of the castle then sallied forth and recovered him. Fortunately, the healers were able to revive him. Alas, it seems that he will miss our next adventure.
Sprouts
Our last messenger was Sprouts. She got past the thralls in the woods. She engaged the troll, slipped by, and called for the gate to open. Then the troll attacked. She deftly dodged his blows then struck again and again. The troll collapsed.
Thralls appeared, but the garrison kept them at bay with archery. As the gate slowly opened, the troll regenerated and attacked her again. She managed to slip away and duck through the gate.
Another success!
Aftermath
Princess Selina has the book. Her council is examining it. In the interim, we are recuperating at Castle Valcouer as guests of the princess.
The lich king's minions have disappeared. We do not know why, but suspect that they fear that Selina's priests will be able to use the book against them. They may be gone now, but I suspect we will see them again.
OOC NOTES
- Small group today, so I ran the same scenario three times, with each player (besides me) taking a turn trying to deliver a copy of the book.
- It was kind of like a capture the flag scenario, with the PC having the flag to start.
- I introduced the gate slowly opening so it wasn't just a mad dash. The PC had to do some fighting.
- I got to play the troll, which was fun. But I forgot that it was supposed to get the Crit ability and do double damage. I did remember that it did shield damage (sorry Sprouts)
- I am marking Jayden and Sprouts down for awards, once I find a new supplier.
