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Voyager34 - 14 May 2004 - Into the Wilderness (reprise)
Previous calendar:
- Third Age, Year 1108
- 30 June - Second trip into Myagmarsuren; Visited by a ghost and flee in the night
I. Travel times
From Myagmarsuren to the NE tip of the mountain range is roughly 125 miles. From there, it's about another 150 miles to the mountain pass that will take the party into the elven forests. Across the mountains and down into the forest is another 150 miles. Travel speed will vary from 16-24 miles per day, depending on terrain. However, while this will average out to ~20 miles per day, the party is (for the first time) completely in the dark about where they should be going. This area is (to them) complete wilderness!
Considering their start in the middle of the nigh on July 1st, the following timeline is likely:
01-07 July : From Myagmarsuren to the tip of the mountain range 08-14 July : to the narrow mountain range running North-South 15-16 July : Search for pass 17 July : Cross pass into west 18-22 July : Delve into forest 23 July : First overt encounter with Elves 24-25 July : Escorted to elven city 26-27 July : Escorted to Sorgol's castle (“Alrik's grave”)
III. Encounters on the road
Using the weather/encounter table, I ignored all encounters that weren't “Wilderness”. Then, I used the tables from HarnMaster3 and adjusted them to fit the conditions.
From Myagmarsuren to the tip of the mountain range
1 July 1108 Sunrise 4:57 Sunset 19:03 High: 73 Low: 63
None
2 July 1108 Sunrise 4:56 Sunset 19:04 High: 69 Low: 59
7:56 : Tracks/Spore/Sounds: Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
14:52 : Plant Hazard (poison ivy/etc.)
The morning encounter will be what looks like a campfire about a mile
away. After a few minutes, though, the party may observe that the smoke
from the fire is being used to send a signal of some sort. This is a
long-range orc scouting party from the Bone tribe who will have spotted
the party as they make their way up the river. There are only nine orcs
in the extended party, but they are spread out in three groups of three
over a large territory and use these smoke signals to communicate. It
should be noted that for orcs, this is an unusually sophisticated
technique. If the party opts to seek the source of the signals, they will
likely encounter only three orcs. Each group also have a pair of wolves.
The Bone tribe is on the fringe of orc territory and gets their name from
their love of bone-based adornments on their clothing. As they have lived
on the edge of Myagmarsuren for centuries, they have adapted such that
stealing bones from the dead city is a kind of rite of passage. Over the
generations, though, this rite has been softened and now, bones that were
stolen by fathers are often given to their sons.
The afternoon encounter is optional and is for color only.
3 July 1108 Sunrise 4:55 Sunset 19:05 High: 64 Low: 58 4 July 1108 Sunrise 4:54 Sunset 19:06 High: 67 Low: 52
None
Unless the party seeks out and destroys all three orc scout groups on July
2nd, the scouts will continue shadowing them and sending smoke signals to
each other. As a result, the party will have several opportunities to
seek out the orcs and destroy them.
5 July 1108 Sunrise 4:53 Sunset 19:07 High: 71 Low: 61
11:23 : Wild Dog/wolf/etc.: Sleeping/Hibernating/Dormant
Unless the orcs have already been taken care of, this encounter will be
with a wolf that has escaped his masters. He will be combative, but is
obviously not a great threat. He will have signs of abuse and will be
wearing a crude collar.
6 July 1108 Sunrise 4:52 Sunset 19:08 High: 62 Low: 52
3:46 : (night) Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
10:37 : Gargun (Wandering Band): Working/Looking for Work/etc: Questing/etc.
The night encounter will be with either one of the three-orc squads from
earlier - or, if they have been taken care of, a new scouting squad sent
by the Ettins (see below). In either case, they will not engage the party
unless forced. Instead, they will attempt to gather information and
report back to the Ettins. Unless the party takes great pains to remain
hidden, the three scouts will approach the campsite from three different
directions. This way, if one is spotted, the others can still attempt to
escape.
Once alerted, the Ettins will move to ambush the party. However, due to
their natural disorder (and stupidity), they will not be able to close the
gap in time and the attack will come after the morning preparations. The
group consists of the following:
5 Ettins, 2 Brown Bears, and 12 Orcs. (These orcs are in addition to the
9 scouts, so there could be as many as 21 Orcs).
A clue will be found on the Ettins that will insinuate some influence from
the underworld. What? ...
7 July 1108 Sunrise 4:51 Sunset 19:09 High: 56 Low: 44
None
08-14 July : to the narrow mountain range running North-South
8 July 1108 Sunrise 4:50 Sunset 19:10 High: 69 Low: 52 9 July 1108 Sunrise 4:49 Sunset 19:11 High: 64 Low: 55 10 July 1108 Sunrise 4:48 Sunset 19:12 High: 73 Low: 51
None
11 July 1108 Sunrise 4:47 Sunset 19:13 High: 66 Low: 55
20:17 : (night) Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
Another orc group. This time, though, the party is deep in orc tribal
territory. Thus, these fellows will be a hunting/war group, not scouts.
While the earlier orcs were light on their feet, these ones will be
heavily armed and armored and will be led by a 6th level captain. There
will also be two 3rd level sergeants and 13 soldiers.
12 July 1108 Sunrise 4:46 Sunset 19:14 High: 69 Low: 57
None
13 July 1108 Sunrise 4:45 Sunset 19:15 High: 74 Low: 62
5:56 : Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
11:11 : Ursine: Bear: Sleeping/Hibernating/Dormant
15:14 : Human Adventurer: Hunting Criminals/runaways/game
The morning encounter will be another orc group similar to the one
encountered on July 11th.
The mid-day encounter will be with Erik's sleeping bear (see below).
The afternoon encounter is Erik, a wildman adventurer (a la Grizzly Adams).
He is quite the recluse and also rather insane. ...
14 July 1108 Sunrise 4:44 Sunset 19:16 High: 74 Low: 58
14:22 : Mutiny/Dissent/Argument/etc.
Only relevant if Erik joins the group. After about 24 hours, he will break
ranks and head off alone - complaining about the overly strict rules being
imposed on him. If it wasn't obvious prior to this point, Erik is quite
insane.
15-16 July : Search for pass 15 July 1108 Sunrise 4:43 Sunset 19:17 High: 69 Low: 57 16 July 1108 Sunrise 4:42 Sunset 19:18 High: 67 Low: 57
None
A quiet (but frustrating) couple of days. There will be much backtracking
as the group tries to find the proper pass over the mountains.
17 July : Cross pass into west 17 July 1108 Sunrise 4:42 Sunset 19:18 High: 64 Low: 52
None
A rough day - all uphill. But late in the day, the path will begin to
head down and the view west will open up. Though it is over 20 miles
away, the elevation (and Kesi's spyglass) will provide them with their
first glimpse of the western ocean!
18-22 July : Delve into forest 18 July 1108 Sunrise 4:41 Sunset 19:19 High: 73 Low: 46
12:56 : Dryad (Forest only)
14:44 : Reptile: Ordinary Snake (poisonous): Sleeping/Hibernating/Dormant
18:07 : Wild/stray Cattle/etc.: Stalking/Hunting or Fleeing Predator
The first encounter in the elven forest will be a Dryad! How fitting!
The afternoon encounter will be (for the most part) harmless, but even
animals in this forest can provide interesting diversions!
Finally, the evening encounter will be just bizarre. It will be an elk
that will wander directly in as the group is setting up camp. It is not
afraid of the party - which hopefully will not be its undoing.
19 July 1108 Sunrise 4:40 Sunset 19:20 High: 66 Low: 61 20 July 1108 Sunrise 4:39 Sunset 19:21 High: 66 Low: 56
None
Many unusual animal encounters on these days, but none worth detailing.
21 July 1108 Sunrise 4:39 Sunset 19:21 High: 66 Low: 52
18:00 : Lame Horse or Equipment Loss/failure
19:40 : (night) Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
The lame horse should provide no real challenge - as Roderick can correct
even serious injuries.
The evening patrol encounter, though, will be more interesting. This will
be the elves first glimpse of the party. However, unless the party takes
extreme precautions, the elves presense will not be noticed. There are
only two of them, but they have magical means to send information back
home, so the entire forest will be aware of the party from this point on!
22 July 1108 Sunrise 4:38 Sunset 19:22 High: 67 Low: 52
None
The two elves will shadow the party invisibly and silently while they
await reinforcements.
23 July : First overt encounter with Elves 23 July 1108 Sunrise 4:37 Sunset 19:23 High: 72 Low: 56
10:33 : Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
A total of 18 elves will appear from the forest around the party shortly
after they break camp in the morning. Unless provoked, the elves will not
be a threat. However, they will *insist* on escorting the party from this
point on.
24-25 July : Escorted to elven city 24 July 1108 Sunrise 4:37 Sunset 19:23 High: 70 Low: 64
None
25 July 1108 Sunrise 4:36 Sunset 19:24 High: 71 Low: 60
16:12 : Gargun (Wandering Band): Seeking/offering Directions: Camping/etc.
Yeah. Right. Orcs. This is actually the elven city. Note: This is NOT
Farflen. Farflen is actually a human city. This one is more like
Galadriel's place in Tolkein. Only select humans get to see this, so the
party should feel honored!
The leader of the elves ... Will direct the party to "Alrik's grave"
(which Dhersion will be able to explain).
26-27 July : Escorted to Sorgol's castle (“Alrik's grave”)
26 July 1108 Sunrise 4:35 Sunset 19:25 High: 67 Low: 57
None
27 July 1108 Sunrise 4:35 Sunset 19:25 High: 58 Low: 51
6:46 : Local Tribe/patrol/etc.
Arrival at Alrik's grave. Meet Sorgol. Campaign essentially over.