Bahanen Islands #10
- Zachariah Kenney
- Apr 27
- 5 min read
Date in Real Life: Friday, March 8th, 2024
In Game Day: Akhat, the 27th of Owol (early summer, two days after Bahanen Islands 9)
Format: Sandbox
Theme: Social Justice
Author: Player 2
Adventure Master: Player 2 (“Edward”), leading his 9th mission.
Player Characters:
Starflower the Lion Warrior with Regulus the Lion, on her 32nd mission.
William the Bear Knight with Bill the Bear, on his 35th mission.
Philip the Overlord’s Guard, on his 33rd mission.
Hector the Renewer, on his 21st mission.
Edward was needed to help cadets with their Navigator quest. Starflower and Philip overheard some cadets debating whether the navigators or the tinkerers were better. They recognized the cadets were using illogical reasoning, and corrected them on it.
Master Simeon dispatched the team to the Bahanen Islands to rescue Randall, the final member of the Reconnaissance team. They asked Salvatore to come with them as a guide. They were issued a boat to bring with them.
When they arrived at the Hollow tree, there was a low wall of green stones built around the hollow tree. They used the boat as a bridge to cross the wall of suspected load stones. They heard a chuckle and deduced there was a disguised Rumour Rock in the wall. Hector used his War Hammer of Crushing and destroyed half of the wall before a rock started to run away. It was chased down and destroyed.
The team set sail for the southern island. They chose to skirt the west coast. There was a valpaza in the water, which Starflower quickly dealt with. They saw some orcs on the shore building a ballista, but they decided to ignore them for now.
They landed their boat under cover of trees and approached the castle. They found the place almost deserted. They quickly found Randall in a jail cell and used the Door Opening WordRune to get him out. Three human guards challenged them. Two of them were the same guards they had tied up near the hollow tree some time ago.
Hector checked Randall for injuries, bandaged him up, and gave him his sword. They stepped out of the cell and attacked a guy from behind who was trying to oppose Philip. With William’s help, they overpowered the guard and tied him up. Meanwhile, Regulus has pounced on another guard.
Once all the guards were subdued, the Lightraiders interrogated them and learned that the dragon had learned of the secret location of the hobbit island in the Mist Barrier, and was preparing an invasion. The dragon was building a dark powered moon bridge that the orcs could use to travel into the Mist Barrier, using the same hole a real moon bridge was going through.
They left the castle and were met by pegasi, who had instructions from the Overlord to bring the team to the Hobbit island. It was about lunch time, and some Lightraiders tried to eat lunch during the flight. Hector dropped his sandwich into the ocean.
When they arrived at the Hobbit Island, they had the task to explain to the peaceful hobbits that an invasion force was coming. They met some random hobbits, who were surprised to see humans. They exchanged Keledan greetings to put them at ease. They were brought to the main village and came before the leaders of the hobbits. Since they were in the Mist Barrier, Hector used the Truth Mist WordRune to let the Overlord show the hobbits what was coming.
The population of the island was alerted, some three hundred hobbits, and they began packing and making their way to the southern moon bridge, which would take them to the Liberated Lands. Randall was put in charge of overseeing the evacuation, and the rest of the team used the Truth Mist WordRune again to find where the dragon’s moon bridge would come. They marked the spot, then stationed themselves along the beach and waited. When night fell, they saw a true moon bridge open right beside where the dragon bridge location was marked. They also received news that the evacuation had begun now that the southern moon bridge was visible. With three hundred hobbits moving with their belongings, the team figured they needed to guard the beach for about two hours to give the hobbits time to escape.
For the first hour, they saw nothing. They deduced the invasion force was walking their way and would arrive soon. Soon, orcs started arriving, walking in single file on the narrow dragon bridge. The LightRaiders couldn’t see the dragon bridge, just as the orcs could not see the Overlord’s moon bridge. Hector led the team in the Arm Up and No Sweat WordRunes.
Philip planted himself at the foot of the bridge, and killed any orc that made it to him. Meanwhile, two hobbit archers fired arrows from the beach, and Hector and William used their slings. Starflower ran along the Overlord’s moon bridge and attacked orcs on their bridge.
After about 30 orcs had been killed, they changed tactics and started jumping into the water as they approached the beach. Starflower fought and killed one. Hector waded into the water as well.
The ballista they saw earlier was rolled along the bridge. They fired, narrowly missing Philip. Philip responded by hurling a malatov cocktail at the war machine. It caught fire and fell into the water, ruined.
As Philip killed another orc, it suddenly stood back up and started fighting again. Hector spotted this and looked around. He saw a strangely dressed orc floating above the bridge some distance away. The clothing reminded him of the robes worn by sorcerers. “Archers! Orc warlock!” he shouted and pointed. The hobbit archers turned their attention to the new threat and brought the warlock down with their arrows. No more dead orcs got back up.
Starflower found herself face to face with Gorgoth, the new chief of the warband. The fought fiercely, and Starflower managed to kill the big orc. Hector fought Borden, another large orc, while they were in the water. Hector managed to smash the orc. Regulus was beside him in the water. Regulus told Hector that Starflower was badly hurt. Hector paused and said his Renewer prayer for Starflower.
Some time and dozens of dead orcs later, they received a message from a chipmunk that the last hobbit was on the Moonbridge, now.
Philip sounded the retreat on his Minotaur horn. Hector, Regulus and Starflower got out of the water. As they were preparing to leave, they saw something in the water. Ronin jumped out, to their surprise.
“Shorty! They got you again?” Starflower exclaimed.
Ronin was larger and shinier than the first time they saw him. His sword hands started spinning so fast, they buzzed. He stepped forward and slashed Salvatore, cutting him in two. Blood sprayed everywhere on the beach, and Salvatore’s scream echoed into the night.
Pegasi flew in, ready to pick up the team and whisk them to the southern bridge.
“What about Shorty?” Hector asked. “We can’t just leave him!”
“He’s a Ronin again! And stronger this time! I don’t want to sit on that!” Bill the Bear complained.
“We have to try!” Hector said. He boldly stepped forwards.
“Shorty! How did they get you again?”
“I chose this!” Ronin responded.
“Why?” Hector asked.
“The power!” Ronin said. He lifted up his hands, exulting in them.
“You call that power?” Hector scoffed. Hector then proceeded to quote Job 39 at length. The words seemed to have some effect on Ronin, who faltered.
To everyone’s shock, Ronin then announced that if what he had wasn’t power, then life wasn’t worth living. He then killed himself with his own blades. Hector was stunned. That was not the response he had been hoping for.
The orcs were still coming. There was nothing left to do, so they loaded up on the pegasi and took off. Philip used the Whirlwind WordRune to cause confusion and give them a chance to get away. They went back to Ras Telesar.
They rested up, and the next morning Edward came rushing into the hall, reporting that three hundred hobbits had shown up in the forest in his Navigator Quest training area.
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