Tl;dr: Some adventurers decide to take the dregs of the road crews out to work on a road but are forced to turn back by a massive blizzard after being ambushed by some orc-like shadowy creatures.
Future Adventure Tips:
•Probably best to leave road building four outposts away to more seasoned adventurers and hardier workers.
Session Title: Impromptu
Session DM: Neal
Session Date: 7 Feb 2022 @ (roughly) 04:00 UTC
Session Risk: Unspecified
Characters:
•Atilla (Monk 2) (played by Budda)
•Barley (Druid 4) (played by Tootired78)
•Furrball (Fighter 3)(played by Genthrock)
•Nunde (Rogue 3)(played by Trulhammaren)
•Sapphire (Monk 2)(played by Arden)
•Sina (Paladin 3) (played by RCB)
•Swoosh (Grave Warden 5) with Rahagg the Skeleton (played by krforget93)
We found ourselves with nothing better to do, so a group of us ended up corralling then escorting the dregs of road crews, some seeming like press-ganged criminals, from Ruined Oak to White Moon Cove with intent upon furthering a road four outposts southwest. Some of the workers were knocked out by the portal, probably their first time through.
We travelled along the road, noticing bodies of a recent battle. We left them to rot in the sun. At the crossroads we passed by with relative quiet, the sun gleaming bright on the snow. Heading towards the outpost we found a nearly dead guard, dying from exposure. We tried to help him recover from the shock of nearly dying, but he seem off from more than just that.
We brought this guard to the outpost, pushing through the darkness and snow piling up. Nunde says he has some sort of psychic trauma, and his mind is lost currently. The guards at the outpost did not recognize him. We stayed there for the night, thankful for the warmth.
While still cold, it was a bit warmer in the morning. The sun was still gleaming off the snow, almost painfully. This motley crew of workers seemed more disgruntled after their first night out of the relative comfort of the town. As we followed the road southwest, we began seeing little bits of movement off the sides of the road, which we would lose track of.
The snow proved too deep to pass easily, the wagons of our caravan getting stuck in deep ruts. While we tried to get them out, we heard the howls of great wolf and saw hurried movement coming towards us. A great battle began as we were beset by a group of shadowy-orcish figures lead by a massive warg.
The battle was won by us, but we had some worker casualties. Three were dead, two were just gravely injured, but we were capable of keeping them alive. The winter winds grew even more harsh and a massive and sustained squall was incoming. With the elements against us we decided to return to the outpost.
As we headed back to the outpost were we met by the guard we spoke with the previous night who had been trying to reach us. The guard we had found, a lieutenant, had recovered enough to speak his story. He told of how his company was attacked by orc raiders, desperate for food in the deep of winter. He had survived and was trying to make it back, to give a warning, but succumbed to the elements.
The guard in front of us was send to advise us of this, along with the recommendation to not take civilians out into these field conditions. We made it back to the outpost, and our workers somehow found or had brought enough quantities of alcohol to get drunk. We stayed again at the outpost for the night.
We began the return journey to White Moon Cove in the morning, bringing the skittish lieutenant with us. We met some friendly pilgrims on the road, who group verged on militaristic, containing many armed guards with some acolytes. They regarded us, our workers and the guard a moment before the lead priest greeted us.
We spoke about the road conditions and the orc complications of the road ahead. They offered some supplies for purchase, including a few magical potion and scrolls, but they quite expensive. After the bartering was over we returned to White Moon Cove, where the workers dispersed faster than anything else they had managed to do.