Orcs, Gnomes, and the art of tactical retreat

 Plus actual downtime!

Image by Wayne Reynolds

[11 min read]

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE DRAGON OF ICESPIRE PEAK!

Two Fridays ago, our regular D&D group was supposed to play our Hoard of the Dragon Queen campaign, but alas, two out of five couldn't make it. Rather than test out Pathfinder 2E (you can see why we didn't here), we decided to come back to my campaign, Frontier Forays, for a little two-player interlude instead. 

A rest at last

After finding the Lost Mine of Phandelver, vanquishing the Black Spider, and releasing the undead presence from the Forge of Spells, the party heads back to Phandalin for some much needed rest. And a few days downtime. Since Sildar asked them to head out from Neverwinter, barely a month has passed and the group's schedule has been hectic!

• 3 Flamerule - evening meeting with Sildar and Gundren
• 4 Flamerule - travelling to Phandalin
• 5 Flamerule - ambushed by goblins, clean out Cragmaw hideout, late into Phandalin
• 6 Flamerule - AM, gathering information and visiting stores
• 6 Flamerule - Midday, confronting the Redbrand ruffians, then debrief with Sildar
• 6 Flamerule - PM, Gundren bursts in with Wiggity, Adabra brought back to Phandalin
• 7 Flamerule - AM, party clears the Temple of Abbathor, meets Many Arrows orcs
• 8 Flamerule - meet Alucard, party infiltrates Redbrand lair, clear it before morning
• 9 Flamerule - save Big Al at Butterskull Ranch, arrive at Castle Cragmaw at midnight
• 10 Flamerule - infiltration of Castle Cragmaw, get map, to Wave Echo Cave
• 13 Flamerule - two and half days of downtime, then set off for Neverwinter
• 15 Flamerule - afternoon in Neverwinter, deliver Glasstaff to the Lord's Alliance
• 16 Flamerule - cleansing the corruption of Thundertree ruins, retrieves Reidoth
• 17 Flamerule - leave Thundertree to go to Neverwinter
• 19 Flamerule - Wayside Inn lunch, then Tower of Storm in the evening, kill Moesko
• 20 Flamerule - delving the wrecks and finding treasure before heading off
• 21 Flamerule - afternoon arrival in Phandalin, rest & recuperate
• 23 Flamerule - dawn arrive at Wave Echo Cave after trekking the Sword Mountains
• 23 Flamerule - kill Black Spider, rest until evening, then clear the mine
• 25 Flamerule - a few days downtime in Phandalin as “summertide” passes

Wiggity is in the farms with Reidoth, both using their druidic powers to help the town grow food, which is becoming scarce as orcs attack the nearby trade routes. Alucard heads to the home of the Zhentarim plant, Halia Thornton, to see if he can glean anything. Even with his skill in investigation, aided by the Glasses of Day and Night, he finds nothing useful - Halia covered her tracks in a manner befitting a doppelganger spy. 

That leaves Wick and Terach, men about town, to revel in their hero status with the locals, whose worrying about the impending war is paused momentarily to give the adventurers a "well met" as they pass. After doing the rounds, it is then off to carouse in the Sleeping Giant, sitting at a booth created for them by Grista (using their generous funding). They commission a never been seen before innovation - a pool table - and fund a night on the sauce for all the townsfolk to help forget about their worries.

Preparations for war

For war is coming! The Many Arrows orc bands have not only been taking over strongholds in the nearby mountains, but ventured into the lowlands of the region to harry the locals and plunder supply lines. The initial optimism of the townsfolk of Phandalin at the removal of the Redbrand threat, and the burst of activity to help shore up the town's defenses against the orcs, has given way to food insecurity and anxiety about the future.

Sildar Hallwinter, emissary of the Lord's Alliance, has requested more support from his brethren in Neverwinter. Fifteen men-at-arms now patrol the town and help guard the manor as the restoration work moves forward. And two new faces arrive on horseback to help oversee further defense against the horde that threatens the frontier.

Lindsay de Mowbray, Captain of the Guard

Lindsay de Mowbray is a 38 year old female human, accomplished Battlemaster Fighter. 

She has long, wavy, auburn hair and brown eyes. She has rugged brown skin.

She stands 172cm (5'7") tall and has an athletic build. She has a square, slightly typical face.

She has a complicated tattoo of an eagle on her left arm. She fidgets intermittently (outside of combat, where she is ice cold). She openly worships Tyr, and is Lawful Good.

Lindsay is trained for every eventuality
Image by Alicia

Zanzibar Traziver Erben, magical and mechanical attaché

Zanzibar Traziver Erben is a 144 year old male rock gnome sorcerer with a monotone voice.

As a specialist Clockwork Soul sorcerer, he has been sent to restore the Forge of Spells.

He has short, curled, golden hair and blue eyes. He has rough, sunburned, white skin. 

He stands 99cm (3'2") tall and has a regular build. He has an oval, slightly fanciable face.

He frequently squints. He is always tinkering in his free time. He is a non-drinker.

Zanzibar is Lawful Neutral.

A rare smile from Zanzibar when everything is perfectly in order

(Never) split the party

But as Adabra the old dwarven midwife always says, "there is no rest for the wicked" and soon enough, on the last day of Flamerule, the party is presented with a choice. Harbin Wester, the esteemed Townmaster of Phandalin, implores the party to take some supplies to his brother Tibor in the logger's camp in Neverwinter Wood. Tibor hasn't reported in for some time, and no deliveries of lumber have arrived either.

In a similar vein of lack of contact, Zanzibar asks the party to investigate the rock gnome colony of Gnomengarde, nearby in the Sword Mountains. Our heroes were asked to go there two ten-days ago and request aid in the form of engineering support to build weapons, but the mission to go north to Thundertree was deemed too pressing. Now even the reclusive gnomes have not checked in with their colleague Zanzibar in what could be considered a timely manner, and his concern is palpable (as evidenced by the tiny inflection in his otherwise monotone voice).

What a conundrum! Two worthy, and time-sensitive, causes in need of the might of the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance. What do they decide to do? Split the party! Wiggity and Alucard are sent north to find Tibor Wester, with the aid of two men-at-arms, while Wick and Terach head south to Gnomenguard. It is the latter pair's exploits we will follow from here on out...

Tactical retreat

All is calm and idyllic, until an ogre starts firing off a ballista! 

The duo passes Umbrage Hill, where the party killed a manticore that was trying to bust into the windmill used by Adabra to ply her trade in potions. As they do so, they hear a couple of orc scouts whispering, and decide to approach them and parley. As this inevitably goes south, the orcs back up to the walls surrounding the windmill, calling to their allies to kill the intruders. 

To their horror, Terach and Wick hear the sounds of a giant crank and a booming voice as an ogre appears in one of the windows wielding a ballista! The windmill has been well fortified by the Many Arrows orcs, who, good to their name, pepper the heroes from cover. Judging themselves overmatched, Terach and Wick beat a hasty, and never-before-seen, tactical retreat, noting the strength of the enemy so as to come back later in full force and rout them.

Gnomengarde

In the foothills of the Sword Mountains, Terach and Wick finally manage to avoid the pesky, bloodsucking stirges that inhabit the region, taking a short rest to remove the arrows from their bodies and those of their mounts. Wick notices small magical glyphs in the rocks, beckoning them deeper into the mountains until they reach the caves of Gnomengarde which are carved around a narrow waterfall.

If only Wiggity were here to check out the islands full of mushrooms

The roaring of the waterfall provides a constant backdrop to the exploration of the seven foot high, dark tunnels that connect the rooms of the colony of gnomes. Terach and Wick, making their way cautiously, soon discover Gnomengarde is deserted. 

Imagine, if you will, our two heroes, moving through the dark tunnels by lamplight, trying to discover what happened to the colony of over twenty gnomes that resided there. Finding no bodies, they do notice beds unkept, children's toys scattered, workshops with stacks of gadgets that may have been disturbed and a large spellbook with a page torn out. The floor looks like it might have been swept a couple of tendays ago, with little dust and few tracks. A real mystery.

As they make their way room to room, a voice whispers to them - "Take nothing". On the walls, in bright yellow, they see an arrow pointing east, and letters appear, as if being written in real time "It stalks unseen". In some rooms, the forms of dead orcs lay face down, with dagger-sized holes in their lower backs, the wounds white and pallid and devoid of blood. As they pass through a throne room with two small, squat chairs made of scrap metal, they see no one, but more writing on the wall appears "The shame... my shame". And finally they hear whispers of "Vengeance..."

Sensing sorrow, but no malice, towards them, they call out to the invisible presence and inform them of their mission to contact the colony, using Zanzibar's name in the hopes it might spark some recognition. Indeed, their persuasion works, and a small, dejected figure of a rock gnome with a jagged metal crown and a patchwork clock, appears from thin air. His eyes weap tears of blood as he clutches a dagger glowing with dark red energy "I am Korboz, a king without a partner, and a king without a colony. I have failed them all, and only vengeance will bring me peace."

Korboz explains that his subjects started disappearing about two tendays ago (about the time the party decided to head north to Thundertree, instead of south to Gnomengarde). No traces found, no matter how hard he searched. Even with his powers of illusion he could not track the assailant and was powerless as his people dwindled, no one believing the danger until it was too late. When all was lost, orcs started searching the rooms, and he made a pact with "dark powers" to give him the strength to defeat them. Now he suspects the assailant is hiding on the other side of the colony, creating a stand-off  of sorts, both sides remaining hidden. Can the heroes break the deadlock?

Barrels of fun

The mystery is a shortlived one as Terach and Wick, trailed by the invisible Korboz, investigate the living quarters of the gnomes on the eastern side of the colony. Whilst tasting an open barrel of mushroom wine, Wick is surprised and beset upon by the barrel itself, as the mimic's purple tongue tries to grapple him and pull him into its maw of sharp teeth. Another barrel reveals itself as a half-orc shapechanger, an Anchorite of Talos, who relishes the chance to get back at the party for killing his master, Moesko. The shaman uses thunder magic to push Terach back into the barrels on the far side, and yet another mimic appears to try and wrestle with the barbarian.

This mushroom wine has a real bite to it

Three shapechangers made short work of twenty gnomes over the preceeding days, but do not have the power to overcome our heroes. Korboz's vegeance is also sated as he appears from behind the badly wounded assailants and finishes them off with his dagger, eyes and weapon glowing red in the dim light. The fallen king disappears once more as the heroes hunker down to heal up their many wounds. 

Satisfied at solving the mystery, but still no closer to finding a weapon to aid in the war on Phandalin, Terach and Wick search the remaining rooms. Two locked steel doors thwart attempts to open them through both brawn and guile, being so perfectly engineered that only a key could unlock them. But the dual thrones have buttons which, when pressed simultaneously, open up a secret passage to the Kings' bedroom.

There they see Korboz, lying on his back with the red dagger protruding from his chest, his jagged  metal crown flung across the floor. Next to him is another gnome man with a similar crown, strapped to a chair, with a pentagram drawn around him and five extinguished candles. A luminous arrow points to the wall, where a key beckons. Equally luminous writing dons the walls "My bargain fufilled, my vengeance complete. Take what you will, save the town."

What's next?

After raiding the treasury with the dead king's blessing, Terach and Wick head back to Phandalin, blueprints in hand, and some magical items to boot. 

Perhaps Zanzibar can find engineers to build the contraptions - autofiring crossbows, giant ballistas, and barrel loading crabs - laid out in these instructions? Unfortunately with no rock gnomes coming back to town, this could be slow going.

Taking some time to cleanse themselves of the disturbing findings at Gnomengarde, they settle in and wait for their comrades to make it back from Neverwinter Wood. 

Does splitting the party pay off this one time? Will Wiggity be content with the mushrooms brought back to him by his comrades? Does Alucard dare touch the dark red dagger left by Korboz?

Tune in next time to find out, on Phandalin's Finest, the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance, Friends to Goblins, Fellers of Flowers, Surfers of Sharks, Nemesis of Nezznar, Liberators of Lost Mines, and Bane to Barrels.