Episode 21: "Bluff, Counter-Bluff"

Quest Information

 * 4 Arah-Ululu
 * Kassithe, Hex 1294 (The Badlands)
 * Level 5

Primary Cast

 * Craganor, battle cleric of Innara
 * Daric, camel merchant
 * Ket-Ramat, soldier-scout
 * Lugal, Mage of Learning
 * Shoklen, swamp ranger

Secondary Cast

 * Tabni, plains ranger

Summary
"What have you done?" shouts Craganore. Shoklen points to Tabni as he nocks another arrow. The plains ranger looks at Craganore, rolls her eyes, and in a deadpan voice, says "evil clerics casting midnight rituals is never a good thing" and directs an annoyed thumb in Shoklen's direction. "Inanna's wrath, we're in it now." The warrior cleric murmurs a prayer to the Mistress of Battle to bolster his defenses, while the archers do their best to pick off the gnolls on the nearby mesa. Tabni's arrow strikes true, killing the gnoll pack leader Daric wounded moments ago. "That kill was mine," murmurs the camel merchant while he selects another target.

The two surviving cackling creatures, that have been tormenting the party since the fall of Ag-Rakade, flitter above and bark orders in the gnoll tongue to the guards below. Now alerted to the presence of the party, the guards duck into their caves momentarily to retrieve longbows. They sic their large dire hyenas, beasts that are 5' high to the shoulder, on the party. The four beasts split up to attack from two directions. Ket tosses Lugal a couple of his sleep bombs, then he and the other party members with longbows try to pick off the large carnivores before they reach the top of the mesa, but the arrows are only moderately effective. "Good," says Craganor, readying his sword & shield. "Time for a real fight. Come and get me you flea bitten bastards!!"

The party prepares to meet the enemy. Lugal winds up and throws, hitting one hyena on the head with a sleep bomb. The ceramic ball breaks open, its purple smoke exploding in a 10' radius, but the beasts within shake off the effects and continue racing forward, unfazed. Daric, Tabni and Shoklen work on the hyenas to the north, Ket and Craganore battle the ones approaching from the east. The mage tries to throw some darts, they, too, have little effect. "Bah, I feel worthless", laments the mage. "I didn't have time to recover before this travesty. I have scant too few spells to help! I've already tried sleep and it didn't have any effect on the beasts." The gnolls on the neighboring butte continue to pepper the party with arrows. Despite the blessing of his goddess, Craganore takes the brunt of that attack. He manages to send a quick prayer to Inannaa, who provides some divine healing, enough to keep the party going.

Despite the continual missile assault, the party defeats the first wave of hyenas, just in time for several gnolls to begin climbing the bluff. Lugal tries another sleep bomb, fortunately this time his aim is true. He hits one gnoll square in the snout. The ceramic ball breaks, a purple cloud of gas engulfs the gnolls, and this time the victims fall to the ground in peaceful slumber. It is good those gnolls are out of the fray, for a second wave of giant hyenas is about to assault the party. Shoklen sees more trouble: a large band of gnolls and their own hyena pets approaches from the south; more gnolls come from the lower caves to the east; and finally, the chieftain and his entourage exit from the high caves and approach from the north.

Daric is first to pipe up. "Ket, we must retreat! Our camels are just down the westward slope, assuming they haven't been slain already." "I agree. Retreat, everyone, retreat!" yells the soldier, as he fights off one of the smelly beasts. At that moment, an arrow hits Craganore in the neck, and he goes down, clasping his own hand on the wound in an attempt to save his own life. Shoklen stabs Ket's opponent deeply in the hindquarters, taking its attention, allowing Ket to quickly tie a healing poultice onto Craganore's wound. "Tabni, we need you down here!" Their guide manages to extricate herself from combat (thanks to Daric and Lugal) and casts her own brand of healing on the hapless cleric. Ket and Tabni help him to his feet, but alas, another arrow strikes him in his spleen and takes him down again. Shoklen, having slain his opponent, marches over and grabs the decommissioned cleric to haul him to safety. Fortunately, Ket's poultice takes effect, closing the nasty wound and letting the cleric get on his feet again.

Ket again calls for a full retreat. "We must get to the camels and get the hell out of here!" Daric is the first one down the hill, where he finds the camels, safe and sound. He gathers them up while the others are trying to make their way through the loose tuff, taking down one more dire hyena on the way. Unfortunately, more gnolls and their mangy pets are rushing up the slopes of the bluff. Four very large gnolls holding nasty-looking glaives are almost in striking range. Shoklen analyzes the situation, and makes a stern declaration. "Get them out of here", Shoklen tells Ket. "I will stall them."

"Wait, there's time for all of us to escape!" Ket orders. Shoklen disagrees. "These can move through quickly through this damnable sand, we can't. They'll catch us and kill us before we all make it down the hill." "We'll make it!" shouts Ket. "Look," says the swamp ranger. "I got us into this, you get them out. Warn the Hurrethe militia, tell them the gnolls are going to attack." Shoklen then charges, with grim determination, at the four tough gnolls, and is swiftly surrounded.

Ket heads down the hill as the party is mounting their camels. The wounded Craganore says, wearily, "where's Shoklen?" Ket looks back. "Shoklen's saving us. We need to get out of here." Craganor's adrenaline begins to flow again. "We can't leave a man behind! We must rescue him" "He made his choice," Ket says, stoically. A cry rings out to his right. Daric has been wounded by two well-placed arrows. The chieftain and his entourage have rounded the northern base of the butte and are firing at the party. "We need to get out of here, and we need to do it now." Daric shouts a command at all the camels, who immediately take off at their fastest pace away from the gnoll camp, arrows flying all about them.

The party races away from the marauding gnolls and their camp, each in shock at the death of their comrade.

Outcome
The party fails to retrieve the ''marble mastodon. ''The party also failed to save any of the prisoners. They have manage to slay one pack lord, one shaman, several other gnolls, and many dire hyenas, and have survived to warn the Hurrethe militia of a pending invasion.

The surviving party members each gain 3,000 xp. Ket has enough for level 7.

Shoklen, swamp ranger, member of the Ag-Rakade militia, friend to the lizardfolk and savior of dryads, is killed at the Battle of the Bluffs by a platoon of gnolls, in a heroic attempt to cover the escape of his friends.

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