Rangers of Shadowdeep – The Beacon Tower – Tor Varden Lower Levels
I decided to completely reboot my Rangers of Shadow Deep game, with a new team - all built from my small collection of vintage Citadel/Warhammer minis from the 80's and early 90's. I won't be able to use vintage minis for everything, as finding them can be a challenge these days, but I wanted to at least have them for my Ranger team. I love the Wizard with the scrolls, so I decided to use him as my main Ranger - even though I have several ranger-styled miniatures in my collection - one of the big reasons is that I did play a game or two of solo Frostgrave using that figure as my Wizard.
Etienne de Noirvelin, Scrollmaster of Melnoth, sat in the dingy tavern in Alladore, accompanied by his faithful apprentice, the Dwarf Manoog, as well as the group of volunteers that the Ranger Captain had assigned to him.
"I told you, Manoog, you stay behind this time. Study up on this curse that befell Lorenthia. I will lead these noble volunteers to the beacon tower of Tor Varden. Some other group of miscreants have already stirred up the place, so whatever's there will be expecting something."
Etienne took a look at the motley group of warriors that were assigned to him. Aside from him, there was only one other human in the group - a sure sign that the danger of this "Shadow Deep" was being noted far and wide.
"Sir Lucien, knight of Allador, I welcome your sword. Elarion Thornpath, archer of Varakia, your presence here is a blessing. Aenur of the Great Forest of Nar, your skills at suberfuge will be most useful."
He paused as they turned their gaze at the final member of the group - an Orc and former minion of the Shadow Deep who claims he had deserted. "Uh, Dogbreath?" The Orc smiled a frightening smile, his tusks gleaming. Etienne tried to suppress his nerves. "Welcome! We value your, uh, knowledge of what we are facing."
"Once we finish eating, we set off."
Dogbreath finished his beer, then said “I don’t know wot them gitz is schemin’ up in dat beacon tower, but dere’ll be orcs—proper ones—and nastier fings besides. An’ if dey knows we’s comin’, den we ain’t sneakin’—we go in fast, hit ‘em ‘ard, and smash da lot!”
Sir Lucien looked at the Orc. "I agree with um, Dogbreath. A direct assault is the proper approach. Sadly, we have two archers, a spy, and a wizard. But, I suppose we will have to make do."
Etienne saw the anger rising in the eyes of the two Elves, so he stood up. "Enough, Sir Lucien. Alladore will be the next nation to fall if the Shadow Deep isn't held back, so you should show some respect to those who have left their homes to fight the darkness here. Finish up - we are leaving."
The group departed, and marched through the Scree - the boulder-strewn highlands that bordered the kingdom that was once Lorenthia, but is now the Shadow Deep. The beacon towers, relics of a time when Alladore and Lorenthia were at war, lined the Scree. Since the alliance between Alladore and Lorenthia was forged, the beacon towers were more commonly used by hunters and those traveling between the two kingdoms.
The group, led by Aenur and Dogbreath, slipped past several Orc patrols, and reached the beacon tower of Tor Varden. There were no guards posted outside, and very little indication of anyone inside.
A muffled scream - a human scream - came from somewhere in the tower. "Move", Aenur barked, in a voice both loud and at the same time, pitched so that the enemy would not be able to hear it.
Sir Lucien and Elarion took point, moving through the door into the lower level of the beacon tower. Etienne and Dogbreath moved in immediately after, while Aenur took up a position at the rear. The thought crossed Etienne's mind that Aenur did that in case Dogbreath wasn't as much of a deserter as he claimed.
"I told you, Manoog, you stay behind this time. Study up on this curse that befell Lorenthia. I will lead these noble volunteers to the beacon tower of Tor Varden. Some other group of miscreants have already stirred up the place, so whatever's there will be expecting something."
Etienne took a look at the motley group of warriors that were assigned to him. Aside from him, there was only one other human in the group - a sure sign that the danger of this "Shadow Deep" was being noted far and wide.
"Sir Lucien, knight of Allador, I welcome your sword. Elarion Thornpath, archer of Varakia, your presence here is a blessing. Aenur of the Great Forest of Nar, your skills at suberfuge will be most useful."
He paused as they turned their gaze at the final member of the group - an Orc and former minion of the Shadow Deep who claims he had deserted. "Uh, Dogbreath?" The Orc smiled a frightening smile, his tusks gleaming. Etienne tried to suppress his nerves. "Welcome! We value your, uh, knowledge of what we are facing."
"Once we finish eating, we set off."
Dogbreath finished his beer, then said “I don’t know wot them gitz is schemin’ up in dat beacon tower, but dere’ll be orcs—proper ones—and nastier fings besides. An’ if dey knows we’s comin’, den we ain’t sneakin’—we go in fast, hit ‘em ‘ard, and smash da lot!”
Sir Lucien looked at the Orc. "I agree with um, Dogbreath. A direct assault is the proper approach. Sadly, we have two archers, a spy, and a wizard. But, I suppose we will have to make do."
Etienne saw the anger rising in the eyes of the two Elves, so he stood up. "Enough, Sir Lucien. Alladore will be the next nation to fall if the Shadow Deep isn't held back, so you should show some respect to those who have left their homes to fight the darkness here. Finish up - we are leaving."
The group departed, and marched through the Scree - the boulder-strewn highlands that bordered the kingdom that was once Lorenthia, but is now the Shadow Deep. The beacon towers, relics of a time when Alladore and Lorenthia were at war, lined the Scree. Since the alliance between Alladore and Lorenthia was forged, the beacon towers were more commonly used by hunters and those traveling between the two kingdoms.
The group, led by Aenur and Dogbreath, slipped past several Orc patrols, and reached the beacon tower of Tor Varden. There were no guards posted outside, and very little indication of anyone inside.
A muffled scream - a human scream - came from somewhere in the tower. "Move", Aenur barked, in a voice both loud and at the same time, pitched so that the enemy would not be able to hear it.
Sir Lucien and Elarion took point, moving through the door into the lower level of the beacon tower. Etienne and Dogbreath moved in immediately after, while Aenur took up a position at the rear. The thought crossed Etienne's mind that Aenur did that in case Dogbreath wasn't as much of a deserter as he claimed.
Whatever the lowest floor of Tor Varden was, it was now clearly being used as a torture chamber. Two prisoners stood bound against a wall, while a large orc in the center of the room stood over the corpse of what the group could only surmise was the soldier who had screamed earlier.
Aside from that orc, two additional orcs stood in the room.
"For Alladore!" cried Sir Lucien as he charged the nearest orc. As he moved, Etienne cast an Armour spell on him. He reached the orc, cutting the orc down with one slash of his sword. Elarion fired his bow at the orc Sergeant in the middle of the room, but missed.
The orc Sergeant moved up and attacked Sir Lucien, whos skill with the blade clearly dominated as he parried the orc's attack, and countered with a vicious stab, nearly killing the Sergeant.
"For Alladore!" cried Sir Lucien as he charged the nearest orc. As he moved, Etienne cast an Armour spell on him. He reached the orc, cutting the orc down with one slash of his sword. Elarion fired his bow at the orc Sergeant in the middle of the room, but missed.
The orc Sergeant moved up and attacked Sir Lucien, whos skill with the blade clearly dominated as he parried the orc's attack, and countered with a vicious stab, nearly killing the Sergeant.
The other orc attacked Elarion, but neither were injured in the exchange. Dogbreath tried to take out the orc Sergeant, shouting "Poke 'em in da eye!", but missed.
Sir Lucien continued to fight the orc leader, taking a minor wound, while Aenur silently advanced, dropping the orc leader. Etienne cast a Magic Bolt spell at the remaining orc, dropping him.
Sir Lucien continued to fight the orc leader, taking a minor wound, while Aenur silently advanced, dropping the orc leader. Etienne cast a Magic Bolt spell at the remaining orc, dropping him.
The group advanced through the room and up to the second level of the tower, which was used for storage. Four more orcs were in the room, two on the far wall were guarding small piles of treasure.
Etienne, Sir Lucien and Elarion move in together. Sir Lucien engaged the closest orc, killing him. Elarion fired his bow, again missing, while Etienne threw his well-balanced knife at the orc, injuring him. The orc closest to the party attacked Sir Lucien,who performed a perfect stop-thrust block, the tip of his blade penetrating the orc's defenses, dropping him like a stone, while the remaining two orcs advance. Dogbreath fired his bow at one of those orcs, dropping him hard. "Dat's howzit done, pointy-ears!" Dogbreath shouted at Elarion, who glared at him in disgust.
With the final orc too close to ignore, Aenur, Sir Lucien and Etienne all move to fight him, three on one. However, the orc fought like he was a berzerker, severely injuring both Aenur and Etienne. Sir Lucien scored a solid hit on the orc, while Aenur landed the killing blow.
The group gathered together and went through to the next level. A horrible sight revealed itself - the room, whatever it was, was now an abbatoir. Worse, on the large central table was what looked like a corpse - a corpse assembled from parts of numerous Alladorian soldiers. Standing by the table was an Orc, dressed in odd garb and carrying a staff as well as his weapon.
"Dat ain’t good, lads. ‘E’s a shaman, ‘e is—an’ ‘e’s cobbled together a golem outta dead ‘uns. Dat’s bad, dat is.”
Elarion and Dogbreath both fired their bows at two of the warrior orcs. Elarion once again missed, while Dogbreath's arrow grazed the other orc warrior.
Dogbreath glanced at Elarion. “Oi, you feelin’ alright? You’s lookin’ a bit off—like somethin’ ain’t right in yer ‘ead.” Elarion responded, "Even though we are not in the Shadow Deep, its presence weighs on me."
“Once we stomp da lot of ‘em, I’ll fix ya a nice mug o’ Lichewood tea. Dat’ll sort ya right out, it will.”
With a practiced ease, Etienne flung open his spellbook, the incantation flowing from his lips, his free hand gesturing. A ball of fire leapt from his finger, flying towards the table, where it exploded. The shaman was seriously injured, as was the orc warrior closest to the table. The golem was burned badly, and could probably not be animated now.
The Shaman moved towards the group, calling out
“Ya brainless fools, marchin’ in ‘ere like lambs to da chop. I’ll grind ya down, rip da will from yer bones, an’ stitch ya into my work—puppets o’ meat an’ spite. Den you’ll turn on yer own, screamin’ inside while yer corpses do my killin’. Ain’t no dyin’ for ya… just servin’ me forever.”
As one of the warriors moved to attack Elarion, he released another arrow, which hit its mark, dropping the orc. The other orc warrior attacked Dogbreath, calling out "Traitor!", but neither scored a significant injury on each other. The Shaman also attacked Elarion, but could not hit him.
Sir Lucien struck the Shaman down, while Aenur, who was still moving slowly due to his injury, dropped the final orc warrior.
Elarion and Dogbreath both fired their bows at two of the warrior orcs. Elarion once again missed, while Dogbreath's arrow grazed the other orc warrior.
Dogbreath glanced at Elarion. “Oi, you feelin’ alright? You’s lookin’ a bit off—like somethin’ ain’t right in yer ‘ead.” Elarion responded, "Even though we are not in the Shadow Deep, its presence weighs on me."
“Once we stomp da lot of ‘em, I’ll fix ya a nice mug o’ Lichewood tea. Dat’ll sort ya right out, it will.”
With a practiced ease, Etienne flung open his spellbook, the incantation flowing from his lips, his free hand gesturing. A ball of fire leapt from his finger, flying towards the table, where it exploded. The shaman was seriously injured, as was the orc warrior closest to the table. The golem was burned badly, and could probably not be animated now.
The Shaman moved towards the group, calling out
“Ya brainless fools, marchin’ in ‘ere like lambs to da chop. I’ll grind ya down, rip da will from yer bones, an’ stitch ya into my work—puppets o’ meat an’ spite. Den you’ll turn on yer own, screamin’ inside while yer corpses do my killin’. Ain’t no dyin’ for ya… just servin’ me forever.”
As one of the warriors moved to attack Elarion, he released another arrow, which hit its mark, dropping the orc. The other orc warrior attacked Dogbreath, calling out "Traitor!", but neither scored a significant injury on each other. The Shaman also attacked Elarion, but could not hit him.
Sir Lucien struck the Shaman down, while Aenur, who was still moving slowly due to his injury, dropped the final orc warrior.
They took a moment to catch their breaths and bandage each other up.
A chill caught each of them, like an icy breeze, although there was no wind. "I think the tea will have to wait, Dogbreath", Elarion said. "Something evil is above us."
Dogbreath sniffed the air. “Yeah… one o’ da bosses, see? A shadow knight—big, mean, all wrapped in dark an’ nastiness. More Orcs, too."
Etienne's face went pale. He had read of Shadow Knights. Powerful servants of the Shadow Dark. He glanced around. While he could not see Sir Lucien's face, he could almost feel his resolve as he marched towards the stairs. The two Elves were solemn. Dogbreath trotted ahead. “Right then—let’s go get ‘im! Smash ‘im good an’ proper! I goes first—don’t get in me way. You lot stay back a bit, or you’ll get yerselves krumped!”
The rest of the group looked at Etienne. It was time for him to decide whether Dogbreath could be trusted. He nodded, and Sir Lucien paused, letting Dogbreath take the lead up the stairs to the trap door.
Etienne had made many bad decisions in his life. He hoped this wasn't his final one.....
