A diplomatic mission

Business of the day….

At the direction of SD, Angela Whitcomb began research on the new spell Improved Armor II on 947/1/24

On a diplomatic mission to the nearby kingdoms

A group was formed at S3. Rafier’s company had been hired to run a diplomatic mission to bring news and an offer to Al-Alin and the Elven Hills. He put Cord in charge, dispatched one battle wagon and sent them on their way with the messages, Talking Crystals and some boysenberry pies for the dwarven king.. They left Midway and headed south out of the pass. The trip was expected to take about 2 weeks, winding around the rivers and across the Wasteland.

They traveled across the open terrain for a few days without incident until Hachi became aware of a low rumbling sound. She identified it as probably some sort of stampede. Cord and Furion got down on the ground and they all tried to see if they could determine the direction it was coming from. When they had a consensus they decided to speed up and turn the wagon south east hoping to be moving in the same direction and a hopefully angling away from the herd. They were in a low spot of the rolling fields and could not see the herd as it approached until it crested the ridge and was spotted by Hachi.

Cord knew he needed to turn the wagon more south-south east hoping to run with them in order to not get run down by them. The four team members on horse were ordered to clear out as quickly as they could. They raced ahead and angled away from the onrushing herd of buffalo. As he sped the wagon the ride got rougher and a few in the hold were thrown to the floor. But the herd came on quickly and enveloped the wagon. More than a dozen of the buffalo charged headlong in to the rear end of the wagon smashing in to the back door. With the repeated pounding eventually the ramp door shattered and splintered sending shards in to the wagon hold wounding Grogg and Ollie. Some of those charging on bounced off and fell causing some disruption in the herd and some of them fell and were trampled.

The herd continued on past the wagon. Cord slowed the vehicle and the horse riders, led by Hachi circled back. Grogg and Blargg wanted to go back to gather up the lame and trampled buffalo for food. Now the question they had was “What started the stampede?” It did not take long to answer the question as a dinosaur came up over the ridge charging in their direction. But good fortune was on their side. Well, almost all of their side. The creature stopped at the buffalo that had fallen in the stampede and began to gorge on his meal. Grogg and Blargg were not happy the beast was taking their meal. Cord took the opportunity to make their escape from the dinosaur and raced away south hoping to get to Zaxons before too long. When they had a chance they stopped to clean up the splintered ramp door to prevent accidental injury from the damaged portal.

They arrived at outskirts of Zaxons and spotted a stray buffalo. Grogg and Blargg decided they would not be denied their meal. Jumping from the wagon they charged the beast to kill it. They each attacked wounding the beast as the beast charged back goring Grogg with its horn as it tried to race away. Hachi helped try to take it down with a few arrow shots. Rispin tried to chip in but her Magic Missile fizzled. The beast finally fell as Hachi caught it in a critical spot in the hind leg. The dwarves finished it off. With the town nearby they decided to put the beast in the wagon and hope to make a deal with a local butcher to strip the carcass.

In Zaxons they found an inn where they could bed for the night, feed the horses and hopefully fix the wagon ramp. They found a carpenter to work the ramp. He made repairs but told them the wood from the original door was a much harder wood than what he had available. He did his best and the door would hold them for the time being. They left Zaxons and headed south and west heading towards the river crossing at Carthy. They made it there on their eighth day out from Midway.

They handled the immediate issues of lodging and food. Cord also went to find a blacksmith or carpenter to better secure the creaky door. A blacksmith offered to install better strapping to support it. That handled, Cord, Erik and Angel looked for a local Norse church and went for a visit. Angel dropped in a donation for them and they found their way to the section of the common church dedicated to Thor. Here they all set down and said some private prayers. Each of them had some form of a different vision superimposed on the statue they knelt before. Angel a shiny shield, Cord an icy bow with wind whipping through the hair of the figure, and Erik a flaming sword strapped to this figure. They left the church with renewed purpose and wonder.

They all left the next day making for the potion master to cross the Wasteland. They arrived at his outpost later in the evening and made camp waiting for him to open his outpost. He was waiting for them in the morning as they arose. He remembered some of them and made them a deal on the potions cutting his price a little for their bulk purchase. Taking the potions they crossed the barren waste heading south.

Nearing the mountains occupied by the dwarves their good luck avoiding conflict ran out as they spotted some giant Eagles circling above preparing to dive in on them. Cord steered the wagon closer to the mountains hoping to limit their avenue of attack. The group dismounted except for Hachi and the horses were tethered to the wagon as they prepared for the attack. The Eagles dove in moving at an incredible speed. They swept in picking their targets. As they neared Rispin tried a Magic Missile but it fizzled again. Furion cast an Icy Missile that drew first blood.

The first pass of attacks strafed Cord and wounded Hachi deeply. The third eagle tried to go for one of the draft horses only to get its talons tangled with the reins and restraints used to control the horses. Hachi and Ollie fired back hitting their targets and Angel cast Bless to help the group. The eagles still in the air swept past and climbed to gain altitude for their next pass. The party fired arrows at them as they did. Cord fired at the tangled beast as it struggled to free itself, Leonard struck it with his hammer and Furion skewered it with his sword. Hachi fired again at the creature that hurt her and as Ollie also scored another hit. Blargg raced to Hachi and cast Cure Light Wounds to heal some of the damage she had sustained. Grogg raced in to the back of the wagon to grab some of the buffalo meat they had collected from the butcher. Running back out he called to the eagles as he threw the meat in the air trying to distract them.

The birds swept in again. This time the two airborne tried to snatch their targets. The first got one claw on Rispin but could not secure the second. As it passed, Cord caught it with one final bow shot and it dropped. The second bird had better luck as it grabbed hold of Hachi with both claws and tried to spirit her away. Furion was close and acted quickly casting a Sleep spell that caught both the Eagle and Hachi and both fell to the ground. The last bird tangled in the horse reins had stopped fighting knowing it was useless.

Cord used his cloak to cover the birds head. He untangled it and carried it clear of the rigging. He instructed others to do the same with the beast that was now asleep. Blargg woke Hachi as he and Angel and cast a few Cure Light Wounds spells to revive her back to better health. The birds were paced well out of the way of the wagons and they moved on as quickly as they could. They arrived at the entrance to the kingdom on Al-Alin on the 16th day of their trip. Blargg and Grogg directing them to the private entrance where they were stopped by the dwarven guards. More than a little unbelievable dialogue was had between the dwarves as they tried to prove their authenticity but they were eventually able to convince them the party was legitimate and they were allowed to enter the kingdom.

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