Date: November 20, 2022
The Montmurr Woods are dark and cold, the sun long having set upon the surrounding landscape. Yet in this darkness, Bronwen and Donovan desperately cling to life, tied to the back of a small wooden cart driven by two hobgoblins. A single brown horse pulls the cart through the woods, leading the group towards some unknown destination. The chirping of crickets grows loud, then fades to silence as Bronwen and Donovan begin to lose consciousness once more. A stray arrow strikes the hobgoblin driver in the throat, sending him tumbling to the ground dead. The passenger quickly rises, before grabbing Donovan by the collar. The fierce hobgoblin yells at Donovan, demanding to know what happened. Spittle flies into Donovan’s face though he does not answer, barely alive as is. The hobgoblin tosses him back down onto the cart’s wooden bed, before turning around and drawing his sword. The hobgoblin curls his upper lip and rears his pointed fangs, yelling for the archer to reveal themself. In the momentary confusion caused by the attack, Bronwen begins to untie Donovan’s ropes. A second arrow flies from between the trees, striking the searching hobgoblin in the neck and killing him near instantly. Now free, Donovan turns to release Bronwen’s ropes, frantically trying to keep his head down. The two slowly begin to rise, their hands lifted in the air to display their lack of weaponry. Bronwen and Donovan shudder as a lone figure emerges from the treeline.
Nynx has returned, much to the relief of Bronwen and Donovan who let their guards down. The two climb off of the cart, as Nynx slowly approaches their position. She explains that she had previously travelled into the woods to scout for goblins and rushed to save the group when she saw the cart go by. The two are grateful, but before they can properly thank Nynx she has vanished into the woods once again. Donovan opens a large container on the cart and finds the weapons belonging to him and Bronwen, quickly distributing them for when they are needed next. Bronwen is fascinated by the horse leading the cart and decides to untie him. The horse is clearly tame in disposition, so Bronwen and Donovan climb onto the animal and begin to travel east, back towards the village of Montmurr.
Meanwhile, Otto is led to the barracks by the baron’s guards, still in shock after what he had witnessed. He enters a room and sees dozens of families huddled around a large fire pit. Otto sees a guard bringing supplies to the families and decides to ask how he can leave the bastion. The guard is shocked, stating that the bastion is the safest place to be during the attack. Despite the warning, Otto persists with his request to leave. After a few more warnings, the guard decides to comply and leads Otto to the docks. The guard grants Otto permission to use a rowboat and urges him to travel swiftly. The guard slams a heavy wooden door, leaving Otto outside the bastion’s walls. Otto quickly makes his way to the wooden boats. He begins to row slowly, travelling across the pond without drawing too much attention to himself. Unfortunately, when he is only halfway to the shore, he notices that a goblin is staring directly at him. The goblin reaches for a small horn and begins to sound an alarm across the village. Otto rows faster as a volley of arrows come speeding down towards his boat. Fortunately none of the arrows find their mark as Otto rows to shore safely. Without missing a beat, he clambers from the rowboat and sprints west into the nearby Montmurr Woods.
Otto runs for hours, trying to lose his orcish pursuers. Though as the adrenaline wears off, his stamina soon begins to catch up to him. He is forced to slow down significantly as he makes his way through the dense trees, stopping on occasion to catch his breath. Bronwen and Donovan ride through the woods, looking for signs of trouble. It isn’t long before they spot a lone figure stumbling towards them. The two instinctively reach for their weapons, though lower them when they recognise the figure as Otto. Bloody and exhausted, the three decide to set up camp beneath the leafy canopy of the woods. Nobody in the group has a bedroll or blanket, so they construct makeshift tents with branches and leaves. Donovan creates a fire pit and lights some loose brush found on the floor while using his lamp oil to feed the flame. The three lie under the glimmering stars above, trying to decide what to do next.
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