Tu'Mar, the 2nd of Nardur'Kiev 14063

Tu'Mar, the 2nd of Nardur'Kiev 14063
The girls wake up rather late in the day, having spent the previous night on a forced march back to town. After informing Elder Foxhorn of their discovery they crashed at their flophouse, the Dark Titan Taproom. When the do manage to rouse themselves, get cleaned up, and down to the main floor, Kaplea has a quick meal ready for them. The Dark Titan Taproom is a bit crowded for this time of day and the clientele contains a few more of the militia members than would normally be present. The party is informed that Elder Foxhorn has mobilized the militia in order to guard the town from a possible Orc attack. Normally the militia trains and stands guard later in the summer when Orc incursions are more the norm.

Kaplea Staffbane additionally informs Myka that her father took a small contingent of guards to directly confront the Orcs. With this new information the group decides they best get back out to the crossroads and see if they can help. Kaplea has anticipated this and already packed dinner for the trail. He doesn't charge them anything stating that everything has already been taken care of.
Rushing back to the crossroads on the second forced march in as many days, the party makes it back to the Halfling encampment not too long before dark, a bit quicker than expected. The group makes its way to the Orc campsite, thinking they might be able to follow Orc tracks back to their lair. Fortunately they really don't have to work very hard at it since the militia squad had the same idea. It is relatively easy, and much faster, to simply follow the path beaten down by their comrades. This is quite fortunate because the party eventually comes across the sound of battle. Near the top of a hill there is a generous level clearing and a small cave. In the clearing is a decent-sized clash between the militia and the Orcs and at this point there is no obvious side gaining the upper hand.

The group wades into battle, with Gala hanging back to tend to the wounded. Myka and Vrykor do a great job in turning the tide in battle and Anise manages to save one of the militia from certain death. Their help frees up Relemir Cinder to go after what appears to be the Lead Orc. Although badly wounded Relemir has no problem slipping past the last few Orcs of the main fray to approach their leader. The two exchange blows with neither gaining any purchase until the Orc reaches out, not with his weapon, but with an open hand. Although a slap is no match for his shield, Relemir instinctively brings it up anyway only to be met with a surge of energy travels through the shield and into his body, knocking him lifeless.

The players think this is divine, not arcane magic, which might be a bit of meta-gaming, but since they do have a Mage and a Cleric in the group, it isn't too much to have them come to that conclusion. They do find some out-of-game humor with the Orc giving the Knight a "bad touch" and decided to call this foe Pedo-Orc. Some days I think it isn't a good idea to drink at the game, but who am I kidding....I couldn't come up with all these gems by myself.

Although the battle is nearly won, this spurs on the party to attack their enemies with abandon and after the last Orc is downed, they rush to Relemir. While he already appears dead, Gala is able to ascertain he is dying and that she might be able to save him with a small measure of divine power. She casts a healing spell quickly, and more importantly, openly and does manage to bring Relemir back from the very brink of death. Once he isn't in danger of dying she begins to tend his wounds, which helps to reduce their severity. Since she has so many wounds to attend to, the rest of the group looks for the lead Orc, who disappeared in the confusion of the final moments of battle. The check out the cave which is little more than a few feet of rocky beach and a pool of water. There is a small alcove that has some Orc provisions, but nothing worth poking through.

Outside the cave is a small tent with a cot, table, and a few books. There looks to have been a horse, but the Orcs must have butchered it recently. While Gala tends to the other wounded, Relemir thanks the group and informs them that this is most likely the remaining possessions of the Knight that Annair Foamclaw was looking for. Even though it is getting dark, everyone decided it would be a good idea to at least get down the hill and back to the Halfling campsite at the crossroads. Once down the hill and relatively safe, the party takes watch and lets the wounded rest. In the morning Gala casts another healing spell, much to the amazement of Relemir. The group slowly makes its way back to town.

Once back in town Relemir has a private meeting with Elder Foxhorn and he brings Gala with him. Her ability to channel divine power means that the Gawds of old have returned and this knowledge drives Relemir to action. He understands, or at least he thinks he understands the implications and implores Gala to use her power to help the people of Badger Falls. With Elder Foxhorn's blessing the now-empty home of Ansen Redblack is given over to Gala to transform into a clinic of sorts.

The Cleric's player was only with us for a short time, pretty much to kill some time on Sundays. She lived within walking distance and was getting set to move to the next town, so this was her last game anyway. Made sense to keep the PC as an active NPC, especially based on what has happened. 

Over the next few days the party rests and recuperates from their minor wounds. Relemir spends every free moment with Gala, helping her with converting the home to suit her needs. Myka goes to speak to her mother about this turn of events and finds that she is not overly concerned because Relemir's drive has been rekindled to that of their younger days as Knights. She also lets on that isn't his only drive that has been rekindled, which is a bit much for Myka. The group, now back down to three, decides that they should reconsider their plan to leave Badger Falls and decides they should go to Twin Forks. Melena informs the group that an old friend of hers lives in Twin Forks and prepares a letter of introduction to one of the Farm's biggest customers, a Dwarven Brewer by the name of Dvalinn.