KINGMAKER:
The Wardens of the Greenbelt
Entry 22.
Trolls, Trolls & Trolls
The Wardens now had a number of tasks that they needed to complete. They decided to head west and deal with the trolls that had been raiding the kingdom. General Wino had been sent out that way along with the hobgoblin, Kyrim Pain, and his mercenaries. They reached the area without any encounters and were spotted by the mercenary pickets in a steep-sided valley. Their camp had been set up in the woods further up the hillside. Wino explained that the trolls seemed to be using an abandoned keep and watch-tower further down the valley. It gave the trolls a dominant view of the valley which had been used as a trade route for many years. One of the mercenaries had tried to climb the cliff-side to gain a better view of the trolls position but had fallen back down to the path. He was injured but the trolls had not appeared to notice him.
Ione made one of her magic campsites further into the trees and then transmuted into her eagle form to take a look at the trolls positions. She reported back that the keep overlooked the road and a watch-tower stood even higher up the cliff. A number of other buildings were set back into the cliff itself. The building was obviously dwarven in construction but of a considerable age. She had seen little of the trolls but one was on lookout duty on the top of the watch-tower.
A plan was formed that Ione would fly above the position whilst T'lef climbed up the cliff and attempted to reach the back of the keep and then climb up the watch-tower. The others would head up the path and hopefully avoid detection before reaching the keep. Meanwhile the mercenaries would form a perimeter and stop any returning trolls spoiling the attack.
This plan worked for the most part but T'lef's climb had not been without difficulty and he arrived at the back door of the keep as Clint, Havrik and Sidhe reached the front. The troll atop the tower was more concerned with eating the remains of his meal (a hobbit arm) than keep watch.
Havrik, Clint and Sidhe burst into the keep as T'lef entered from the rear. The trolls reacted but were soon overcome by the three Wardens. The Wardens next move was to enter the watch-tower and deal with the troll on the top. He was taken by surprise and overcome by Ione's attack from above and the Wardens rush up the stairs. Fighting the trolls was hard work but easier than anticipated.
The Wardens moved back down to the back of the keep where a flight of stairs led up to the door which led into the other buildings.
The door led into a hall where another troll was feasting on the bodies of two hobbits laid on a grand table. Clint and T'lef led the charge as the troll rushed at them. He was no match for all the Wardens and was quickly slain. The Wardens moved into the room and were faced by a furious attack from a trollhound which had been hiding in the room. Although surprised the trollhound was killed easily. Some of the Wardens were by now nursing a few wounds but nothing too serious.
Two ways led out of the hall; left and right. The Wardens went right to start with and found another room where two more trollhounds were chained up. These were easy to kill. By now the Wardens had decided to search the rooms later and that pressing on would keep any more enemies unprepared. They therefore headed into the next room which was empty and seemed to contain the trolls' supplies.
However from this room a passage had been dug into the cliff wall. The Wardens continued into the dark passage. The passage came to a junction and the Wardens went straight on, to be confronted by a large two-headed troll, Nagrundi. They took him by surprise as he seemed to be talking with himself. Battle was joined quickly and he proved a more capable fighter but was eventually slain. The room he was in was a dead end, so the Wardens headed for the next passage. There they almost ran into another troll heading towards them and they were in combat again. Ione released a fire ball that she could direct against the troll and he pulled back into an adjoining room. This was the quarters of Hargulka, the troll leader. Ione had sent the fire globe in behind the retreating troll. To avoid it the two trolls moved around it and charged back into the passage way where the Wardens were. By now Kargadd, a stone troll, had entered from the last room in the cave complex. Ione conjured up a gorilla to engage with the newcomer which stopped it attacking her and Sidhe. Hargulka threw a fireball of his own which caught Ione, Havrik and Sidhe but, fortunately for the Wardens, also killed his troll companion. Ione directed the fire globe into the back of Hargulka. T'lef and Clint managed to finish him off before attacking the stone troll who by now had killed the gorilla. Thankfully the combined might of the Wardens managed to kill this last troll. The fighting had been tough; Havrik and T'lef had taken most of the punishment and Havrik had been diseased by a hound's bite. So the Wardens took some time to heal themselves then ascertained that all the trolls were dead and unable to resurrect, before they explored the rooms of the cave and the dwarf fortress.
In Hargulka's room they found a large map of the Greenbelt with Wardenholme and most of the towns and villages marked. Arrows showed where troll attacks had taken place and the fey areas seemed to be marked to be avoided. It displayed a great deal of organisation. In Nagrundi's room they found a mystical symbol drawn in blood on the floor and a pattern drawn on a hide wall-hanging which might have been a stylised “N”. A great deal of treasures, weapons and precious items were found in the various rooms of the caves and keep.
They piled up their spoils and signalled to the mercenaries that all was now safe. Ione planted one of her tree feathers on a patch of flat land beside the keep's entrance. They sat and recovered whilst waiting for Anza to bring the wagon up the narrow path so they could load up their treasures.
