Chapter 6 - A Crowded Camp

Days 11-13

After dumping the bodies of the horsemen in the woods, the adventurers assessed their situation. Trykaar wanted to take the wagon and horses and try to find a route that bypassed the camp to the north. The others were hungry for more Genasi blood. So leaving Trykaar and Sybestern to take the wagon, horses, and captive elf back westward down the road, Blixhaven, Jrak, and Neela made their way back down the road towards the outpost that had been spotted earlier.

Realizing that the half-ogre would not likely be stealthy enough to approach the outpost unseen, they decided to arrange a ruse. Jrak and Neela would approach the outpost, with Jrak pretending to seek a reward for the "captive" half-orc. Blixhaven would cover them from the safety of the woods. Coming upon the outpost, Jrak managed to convince the somewhat confused sargent of his honest intentions, and a guide was summoned from the cottage to escort them into the main camp. As the guide approached, Jrak and Neela sprung their attack. As another Genasi emerged from the cottage, Blixhaven feathered him with an arrow and ran to assist his colleagues. In less than half a minute, all the Genasi lay dead. After ransacking the cottage and finding nothing of use, the adventurers put it to the torch and hurried to catch up with Trykaar.

Knowing that the Genasi were likely to be on their trail, Trykaar's plan suddenly seemed more attractive. A path wide enough for the wagon was found leading northward, and the party began to climb their way out of the river valley. As they climbed, they could see the thick smoke of the burning cottage, and eventually a large number of figures swarming around the site. The watchtower could now be seen south of the river as well, only a few miles distant.

Following the path through some long-abandoned ruins, the party was alerted to screams ahead of them. Dismounting from the wagon, they were surprised to see human figures fleeing towards them. Women and children with terrified looks on their faces pleaded for assistance from skeletal assailants that they feared were close on their heels. Directing the peasants to the safety of the wagon, the heroes charged onwards, passing through the breaks in an ancient stone wall to see a pair of men desperately protecting a young child from skeleton warriors that seemed to explode forth from the ground itself, swinging lengths of tree root at the unarmoured peasants whose spears glanced ineffectively off of their assailants.

Charging in, Neela scooped up the child and carried him off to safety, while Blixhaven helped a wounded man. All were soon under attack as more of the skeletons emerged from the earth. Up close, it could be seen that these were no ordinary skeletons. Their "bones" seemed made of rock and hard earth, and they could move underground as easily as above. But rock yielded as easily as bone to the mighty maul of Jrak Clawpike. With every swing, his mighty hammer cleaved through his enemies, clouds of dirt and rock filling the air and rattling off of the ruined stone walls around him. As his allies scrambled to save the peasants, he destroyed any skeleton that emerged to stand in their way, until there were no more.

As the din of battle faded, the wails of the women and children became more urgent. Following their urgent directions, the adventurers went to see if any of their loved ones had survived the attack. Bodies were strewn over a trampled path leading off to the north, but remarkably many of them lived. Amongst the twenty bodies that were found, nine still clung to live and were carried back to the ruins where refuge was found in the remains of an ancient tower. The eight peasants who had been saved began caring for the wounded, including the guide who had promised them passage across the

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