Rangers of Shadow Deep – The Beacon Tower – The Bridge Guards
Only hours after you arrived back from destroying the nest of spiders, you received a message from your commanding officer. Contact has been lost with the beacon tower of Tor Varden, and it is presumed to have been overrun.
You are commanded to round up what men you can and proceed with all swiftness to Tor Varden to ascertain the truth. If the tower has fallen, learn what enemy forces now occupy it and harass or eliminate them as opportunity presents.
"No Rest for the wicked, eh, Serrol?", Carov quipped as the group marched towards Tor Varden. Serrol glanced back at Hildr, still wounded from their encounter with the spiders. "More like no rest from the wicked. I hear there's a ship to Feldstad, if you want to leave." "Ha! Cold and ice and a city full of treasure, or trudging through the Scree, to face the Shadow.... It's a tough call, friend. But for now, I'm here."
The group quietly moved around the boulder-strewn plains of the Scree. They could hear the Enthel river now, and something else..... Serrol quietly moved ahead of the group, cllimbing to the top of one of the boulders. Sliding down, he reported "There's a camp of gnolls at the bridge. Damn. We don't have time to head to the next crossing. Hildr, you take Skitter and flank to the left. Sakalas, you and Carov come with me. We'll get as close as we can. There's a rough ford just past the bridge. If we can get close enough, perhaps we can dash over.
Serrol could not see Hildr and Skitter, but he hoped they were safe. The Shieldmaiden was more injured than she said, but Serrol knew she would not stay behind. Serrol led his team around through the boulders and brush, making it to a tall stone pillar before being spotted. Serrol launched an arrow, killing the Gnoll that spotted them, but his death cry alerted the rest of the creatures. "Hildr! Go for the river! Get across!" Serrol shouted as the gnolls advanced.
As the gnolls moved towards Serrol, Carov and Sak, Serrol noticed something across the river - a Alladorean soldier stood up, weapon in hand. He must have been fleeing a battle and saw his opportunity to cross the river.
The gnoll assault was brutal and swift. Serrol was able to injure the gnoll leader with his bow, but Sakalas' arrow missed, and the gnoll shrugged off Carov's magic attack.
Three gnolls, including the leader, attacked Serrol, dropping him quickly. "By the dark sun!" Carov shouted as one of the gnoll archers' arrows found its target, wounding him severely.
Seeing Serrol go down, Hildr gave her war cry and she and skitter dashed towards the fight.
In the distance, the Alladorean soldier moved towards the gnoll camp. On the way to engage the archers there, he stumbled upon a scroll. He quickly grabbed the scroll and shoved it in his belt"
The Master will eat your souls as we feast on your carcasses!" the gnoll leader barked, as Carov moved into cover to heal himself. Sakalas fired his last arrow at the gnoll leader, but missed. Hildr and Skitter reached the fray, and Hildr attacked, singing her warsongs. But her injuries slowed her down, and she and skitter were defeated quickly.
One of the gnoll archers fired an arrow at Carov. His healing magic was not enough, as he went down.
The Alladorean soldier reached the camp, and attacked the gnoll archer there, injuring it. "For Alladore!" he cried as his blade sunk deep into the gnoll's side.
Sakalas stood alone against a horde of gnolls. His sword found several gaps in the gnoll leader's armor, hurting him, and his elven quickness let him avoid the clumsy (but powerful) gnoll attacks. 
His luck could not hold for long, and as the gnolls' attacks took Sakalas out, his last thoughts were of the deep Forest of Nar. Would the Shadowdeep take it as it took Lorenthia?
The Alladorean soldier took out the gnoll he was fighting, and noticed that the remaining gnolls had turned their attention to him. 
He turned to flee, but gnoll arrows ended his flight. And his life.
Epilogue:
Back at the Ranger stronghold, Seer Aethelred looked up from his scrying. "They have fallen. The One From Elsewhere has failed to save Tor Varden. Alladore will fall.
The Ranger Captain looked distraught. "How could this happen? You said the Lorenthian would succeed, and now he's dead.
"What now, Captain?" Luthere the senchenal asked. "Should we start to retreat? Get the King to safety elsewhere?"
"With all respect to Aethelred, prophecy can be misinterpreted. Send for the Master of Ravens."
The Master of Ravens arrived quickly. "Send a message to forward camp Lendava. Have them send the new recruits to Tor Varden. They're close, and they know the area."
"But sir! They're...... they're......"
"Yes, they are orcs and they used to work for the Enemy." The Captain looked at the Seer, "And they are definitely from elsewhere. In the message, tell Ruglud that he has been promoted to Ranger and should set out to Tor Varden immediately. And may the gods forgive me."
Post Credit Scene:
The last few minutes of the fight were a horrible blur. The gnolls seemed otherworldly powerful. But somehow, Serrol survived. Aching, battered and bruised, Serrol looked around. His team was there, and checking on them were all alive. As they shook off the cobwebs, Serrol looked around. They were in a large stone chamber, and in the dim light, he saw rubble scattered about. "I know I didn't live a good life, but I never expected the abyssal plane to be this hot." "Quiet Carov," Serrol whispered, "I feel something coming."
Suddenly, in the distance, a pair of torches flamed to life, bracketing a doorway on a ledge at the far end of the chamber. Under the ledge, a mob of skeletons rose from their bone piles. As the team got to their feet, the chamber seemed to heat up even more. Behind them, the flagstones on the floor started to fall away into a lake of glowing lava. "Ok, this is more what I expected of the abyssal plane." "Run!" Serrol shouted as the floor continued to fall away. "Run where?" "To the door. Carov, do you have magic that can help?" Carov simply winked at Serrol as the team took off running.
It's time to get painting and crafting again, as Serrol and his team face off against the mission "Incinerator", while a new Ranger team faces off against "The Beacon Tower".
Portions of text in italics Copyright Joseph A. McCullough
