Given that we had nearly a week’s wait until our hired knights would arrive, we decided to give Gruddhaug another reconnoitre to see the effect our dropping a giant from the sky had on its inhabitants. We were planning on further mayhem, but then we discovered that the Mallakarthian reinforcements were extensive, and included a contingent of winged creatures (bats, we suspected) that were in the air, circling the perimeter. Given the extra difficulty we anticipated this incurring, we decided to cease all hostile activities until our own reinforcements had arrived.
Returning to our camp, we discovered that Moog, who had been expressing some sentiments of dissatisfaction, was gone. Deciding that her knowing our location could prove damaging, we moved our camp, successively moving it every day for the next couple of days.
The night before we expected the knights to arrive, our camp was finally discovered. We were woken in the early hours of the morning by Moog approaching, but her finding our camp on her own did not seem plausible (we knew there was no way she was smart enough to find us on her own – at least, the others didn’t buy it; safe in my Tiny Hut, I had rolled over and was slowly drifting back to sleep). Sure enough, a group of bugbears riding wargs suddenly came charging over the nearest hill, throwing javelins. They were also accompanied by a flying goblinoid creature with bat wings.
Between my stopping half of the riders in their tracks with a Hypnotic Pattern and following up with a well-placed Fireball, Harshnag hacking Moog to bits, Leo and Kaly blasting away in their usual fashion, and Hector being Hector, we quickly turned the tide of the fight. The bugbears sounded a retreat, and though I caught them one last time with a second Fireball, I rolled poorly for damage and three still managed to get away. We did end up with one bugbear as a prisoner, whom we interrogated before dispatching. He gave us some useful information, including enemy numbers. He also told us that the goblin-bat creature was a werebat, and that there were another twelve at Gruddhaug.
The next day, the cavalry arrived. Sir Baric, with his seven knights in tow, found us, and after introductions, we explained the situation, and started heading towards Gruddhaug. Our intention was to stop a short distance away, far enough to keep our new allies’ presence secret, then try to bait some of the enemy force out. Along the way, however, we were spotted by one of the werebats, so we knew that plan would no longer work. Falling back to our backup, we headed straight for Gruddhaug instead.
When we arrived, we found the giants’ forces prepared for our assault, and boulders over all the major entrances. Harshnag removed the boulder from the gateway to the outer camp area, and we pushed on in, Sir Baric and his knights leading the charge. Within were a handful of ogres, a couple of giants, and a small group of hobgoblin archers. Hector, Harshnag and the knights hacked their way through our enemies, with Kaly dropping lightning on them and healing where applicable, Leo sniping away, and myself assisting with a Fireball and a couple of Firebolts until what I was waiting for, the dozen werebats arriving, occurred. They flew in above the camp, and me being the only other flying creature on the battlefield, they came straight for me.
Flying in a very tightly-packed formation, they were susceptible to both a lightning bolt from Kaly, which damaged nine of the twelve, and then a Fireball from me, which damaged all of them, outright killing seven. The remaining five still reached me, and though my magic managed to take the brunt of the attacks, I was still hit for more than half my health. Some of those hits were bites, one of which I did not roll well on my constitution save for. Funnily enough, in the nine months I’ve been playing D&D, this is the second time I’ve been bitten by a lycanthrope. The first time, by the time it really came into its own, I died (at Gruddhaug, of all places) and since Zero is due to die next session, I guess it won’t matter much this time either.
Surrounded I was, but not for long. Leo blasted one of the werebats into a puff of mist and knocked another ten feet away from me (for me to finish off with a firebolt), while Kaly took out the other three with another lightning bolt. By this point, only three of the hobgoblins were left standing, out of all our enemies in this area. They fled up the ramp leading to the main hall, and we regrouped and pursued.
Which is where we finished. Right, literally, on the doorstep of what will probably be the biggest fight of the campaign thus far. Sure, we have a pretty strong group of allies with us, but several of the knights, including Sir Baric, have taken some solid hits, and Harshnag has taken a few boulders to the face as well. We’ll just have to see what happens, I guess.