Session 310

# July 27th, 2023 - Ambush

## Ambush

The session began the morning after the party reached the Red Sun army encampment, with many waking late after a rousing night of drinking and dancing to the performance Orsais put on. The camp was bustling full of activity, as soldiers were making final preparations for the enemy arrival, which the scouts were saying was due sometime in the afternoon. The captain of the company the party was embedded into, Captain Almer, wanted their group of soldiers to get into their forward position in the forest before the enemy arrived. And so, after the morning meal around midday Almer’s company gathered and marched northeast to the patch of dense forest where they would overlook the battle and prepare for their rear assault. The company spread along the edge of the forest in multiple small clearings, making camp without any fires and setting up their watches.

As the scouts anticipated, the enemy forces marched into view in the late afternoon, staying north of the expected battle site and gathering to make camp. There were hundreds of torch and campfires and as Watch climbed one of the tallest trees nearby he could also see the Red Sun camp start preparing. The night was getting colder as the expected storm Raven predicted was starting to roll in, with clouds darkening the sunset. It would likely rain overnight and bring a fog filled morning for the battle. The company had a number of lookouts within the forest setup along the eastern and northern edges to watch for enemy movements.

The party's group was roughly in the center area of the woodland, with Watch not just on the lookout from his tree, but he would sleep there. Raven also took a lookout shift on the eastern edge of their clearing from another of the treetops. The rest of the party got into their bedrolls with about a dozen other soldiers in their clearing, and tried their best to get some sleep. A few hours later Raven was still watching, and by chance when he looked over the sleeping camp he saw figures moving among the brush. They were all along the backside of the camp, coming from the west. A large group of the enemy had snuck around down the small river to the west of the forest they were within and were approaching. Raven quickly dropped from his tree and started to wake his companions, then he heard soldiers crying out, “they’re here! Get up!” Followed by screams.

Enemy soldiers and guard drakes rushed into the campsite and were plunging short swords into sleeping friendlies, and firing crossbow bolts as soldiers scrambled to their feet. Among those in the immediate area, the party made out two more heavily armored soldiers, they called veterans, and one robe and cloak wearing spellcaster. The spellcaster made himself known attempting to cast some spell upon Carlton, who luckily resisted it. Raven cast *faerie fire* around the spellcaster's area, lighting up that wizard and three other enemies. Guard drakes were pouncing onto tents and soldiers getting out of their bedrolls, ripping out throats and spilling blood all around. Joakim immediately focused on the enemy wizard and threw his *fireball* in the area, which detonated into a bright flash of fire and smoke, setting the immediate area alight. Carlton called his new celestial steed, Jeff, to his side, who responded with "My name Jeff",

and started engaging with one of the more armored enemies.

The rest of the party engaged, with the two warlocks - Watch and Joakim flinging *eldritch blasts* to great effect. Fax summoned his *shadowblade* and was fighting alongside Carlton for a time. Then, the sorcerer *thunder-stepped* from one melee to another, killing soldiers as he teleported. Daelain fired *scorching rays*, and then resorted to *ray of frost* and stabbing others with his dagger. It was a quick and brutal fight, with the sounds of swords clashing and soldiers yelling north and south of their position all throughout the forest.

As most of the weaker fighters had died, the clearing was left with the party members, two friendly soldiers engaging a guard drake, one enemy veteran, and three other guard drakes. Orsais and Raven stayed well positioned away from melee, with the exception of charging guard drakes, which they got help from their party members to help focus fire down without taking too many wounds. The warlock Joakim suffered the most grievous wounds, but was able to still fight. Without the enemy wizard and their veterans, the remaining guard drakes were felled without too much issue. However, the party had expended a lot of their spellcasting resources and the true battle had not yet been engaged.

Watch climbed to the tops of his current tree and saw that the enemy army had begun mustering and were now marching gathering into ranks towards the Red Sun's defensive positions. The trebuchets were still rolling as well, so the main battle had not yet started, but it was clear the enemy intended to engage well before the sun rose. There were still sounds of other fights going on both to the north and south in the forest, and the party quickly decided to head together south through the trees with their two remaining soldiers to try and help as many of their company as possible, while going in the general direction the main enemy army was marching.

And that is where the session ended, in the middle of the night of the fifteenth day after the party left Black Landing.

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