Session 3 Recap

The party agreed to journey around the white mountains and return first to Edoras to retrieve their horses before heading to Isengard.

The party continued north and could see a storm above the white mountains. They decided to continue forward and journey up the slopes but unfortunately Hallamir lost the trail and the party needed to stop for the night and try to find the trail the next day.

During the night Kifak heard a sound near the perimeter of the camp and went to investigate. Kifak discovered a scouting party of Orcs that came through the bush and attacked. These Orcs were unlike any they had seen before. They bore the familiar white triangle insignia, but with the bottom half coloured in. The Orc party was comprised of four Orc Garroters and two Orc Ramparts that formed the front battle line. Behind the battle line were an Orc Terranova and Orc Conduit that planned and appeared unlike any Orc the party had seen before.

Hallamir smartly cast a spell to restrain 4 of the 6 front line fighters and the fight was engaged! Hallamir also summoned his drake and went to attack the Terranova and Conduit while the rest of the party engaged the front battle line. Hallamir with one cleaving blow decapitated the Conduit but soon discovered that the Terranova was skilled in elemental spell casting by casting Quake and Sinkhole magic.

The battle ebbed and flowed but ultimately the party was able to defeat the Orc Scouting party. The adventurers subdued one Orc and restrained him. The adventurers questioned the Orc in the morning after they rested. After asking all the questions and getting some concerning information about hundreds of Orcs in Isengard, Kifak gave the Orc his release.

The adventurers re-located the trail and climbed up the pass. Unfortunately, Hallamir could not find the trail down from the pass and they need to camp for the night until they could look for the trail down in the daylight. Kifak saw that a storm was forming and successfully found shelter from the blizzard. The blizzard passed in an hour and the party rested the rest of the night in the cave.

The adventurers emerged in the morning and found the trail leading down from the pass. As they headed down, they suddenly heard a rumbling above them – Avalanche!!!

The party braced themselves and were able to withstand the avalanche – just taking minor damage. But when the avalanche stopped, only three members could be seen! Arbun Bottombarrell was buried. The party frantically searched and they were able to find a pair of halfling legs and pull Arbun out!

The party gathered themselves and continued down and journeyed throughout the night to reach Edoras in the early morning.  The guards recognized the party, welcomed them back to Edoras, and allowed them to enter. The guards mentioned that they could have an audience with Elfwine the fair but not until the morning. Hallamir went to check on the horses while the rest of the party returned to the Inn.

The party drank Ale and tried to gather information about Isengard. Kifak was able to hear rumours from other patrons about the tower of Orthanc being destroyed and hundreds of Orcs emptying to the North-east.

The adventurers met Elfwine the fair the next morning and asked more questions about Isengard, hearing again that the tower had been destroyed and the exodus of Orcs. A Rohirrim rider shared that he was there on patrol and personally saw that there was a hole in the ground where the tower once was and the Orcs leaving in orderly formation. Most concerning, he shared that the tower seemed to be destroyed from outside.

Kifak asked for a private audience and share his vision with Elfwine the fair. Elfwine agreed and listened intently to his vision and mentioned that the dark tower and spiders in the vision could be the tower of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood.

The adventurers planned to continue to Isengard first and Elfwine the fair offered a garrison of 8 Rohirrim to support their quest. The party agreed to rest for the night and to head out the next morning to Isengard.