It is with great sadness that I must write of the death of one of our party today, a skilled archer that we hired who deserved a better fate, but died in a bloodthirsty ambush on us by a band of orcs and goblyns.
We were trying to make our way into an underground complex where we believe the mage we were seeking was taken and imprisoned, but that portal was proving difficult to open and we were too late… a flight of arrows was falling upon us before we’d even spotted our enemies. We had suspected that bestials were about, of course… the evidence of the ferociousness of their attack on the camp our guide Bove had led us to was plain to see. But the goblyns wore a rough camouflage and were obviously trained in stealth… while the orcs that were the muscle behind the attackers were hiding in the woods, waiting for their moment to appear and strike, and we were taken by surprise.
I was injured myself early in the battle, struck with an arrow while trying to chase down the nimble goblyn archers. Two other goblyn arrows flew towards me and would have struck me down, but with the help of the Brotherhood’s “Swat the Mosquito” stance, I was able to deflect them away with my bardiche. When the orcs appeared, I ran for the cover of the woods, where I could reposition and fire crossbow bolts at the enemy, rather than face down what appeared to be very capable line of 10 or more orc warriors. From what I could see from the tree line, the only members of our party that had gathered to face those warriors were Grel, Obroam on his mount… and a bear named Lady Cuddlesworth. Things looked grim indeed.
Thankfully, this is also when the tide began to turn due to two of the youngest in our party, Lindin and Phaedra. I’m told that their spells were key to this reversal of fortune, and in fact the leader of the orcs was put to sleep by magic. I was too busy to see any of this at the time, using guerrilla tactics to pick off goblyns with my crossbow as they entered into the forest hunting for me. The hunters became the hunted, and when I saw the last goblyn fleeing into the woods, I knew it was time to return to the main battle.
Taking up my bardiche, I charged into the rear of the orc line and drove the blade through an orc’s back. As the Brotherhood teaches us, sometimes survival depends on attacking from the Night, unseen. The rest of the party was fighting fiercely with the orcs as well, who showed no signs of surrender or retreat. They fought to their deaths, but we prevailed.
So now we must rest and recover from the battle. Rem, Lindin and I have scouted the entry passage, but our venture deeper into the complex and our rescue attempt must wait. I tell you Brothers, I am very much looking forward to being able to explore this area, as we’ve heard that it was once populated by dwarves, who have not been seen in the world in many years. The knowledge I might find down there may be invaluable! I will of course try and relate as much of that knowledge as I can to this journal, and if the Sisters shine on me will be able to return it to the monastery for safekeeping. But for now, I must be patient and hope that we can enter the portal first thing upon the morrow.