Orga Stronghold

After a long hiatus, EAT and PAG teamed up again for a return to the Orga Stronghold. (PAG no longer holds regular hunts, but it will make an occasional planned trip to destinations that require a large force.) With four full Mystics attending (Asenath, K'vynn, Lundar, and Xel), we went to the back door entry through the Slate Caves.


We did encounter a problem teleporting. Asenath tried to port the first group -- which she had done many times before. Something went wrong, and she alone ported. Xel made another attempt, with extra attention to procedure. He too ported alone. We prayed to the gods for help and took a short break. Then K'vynn used his stone. This time everyone was teleported, though in an unusual way that showed the hand (literally!) of the gods at work.



With CJ Parker's excellent leadership, the Orga territory was no problem. When we reached Katpus, she seemed to have made a little progress in building a catapult, but we did not have the part she needed for the next step.

Our final stop was Trillbane, the master pathfinder. Unfortunately, one of the first to enter the clearing was Kani, who immediately went into the path to the waterfall snell in Dredwood. Several people followed him. The path is one-way, so some of them who wanted to train with Trillbane missed their opportunity until the next trip, probably not for a few months. Some pathfinders still with the main group did start training with Trillbane.


Originally this OS trip had been billed as the last one for PAG. However, the good turnout seems to have convinced people that an occasional expedition -- perhaps once every few months -- would be a good idea. I will certainly miss the weekly hunts, but I am glad that we can still muster some enthusiasm for the journeys that require a big army.

OWE present: Hunter, J'jh, J'nder, Torin, and Yor.

PAG at Orga Wall and DTN

PAG went to the East Forest to check on the new tribe of Orgas. A gruesome warning left by them in lower East Field, just across the bridge, threatened a new attack soon. We discovered that, for the moment at least, their walls are unbreakable. However, we did find that there were small holes in the wall that allowed us to hit through it.


It appeared that we couldn't do much about the Orgas for now, so we went to DTN for the rest of the hunt. We had the good fortune to find a selenite crystal for Axell!


OWE present: J'jh, J'nder, Natas, Torin, and Yor.

TI and DTN

Stinkfist wanted an escort to Tenebrion's Island in order to donate to Barny. PAG took him there, and we saw some recent changes to the island, including newly charted waters by the coast and a Darshak wall that was extended.

Then we went to Death Trap Noids. We got to DTN 3 easily and were luring the fourth cave, when a combination of a big lure and a backspawn downed most of the group. A few escaped, a couple departed, and the rest were rescued pretty quickly. Unfortunately DTN 4 didn't have a selenite crystal.


OWE present: J'jh, J'nder, Kalian, Natas, Noivad, Torin, and Yor.

OS: More Plans

The monthly EAT/PAG trip to the Orga Stronghold was a success. We went through the back door, with Xel and Ansset as our porting mystics. For the first time, we captured OS 13 and thus picked up a second fragment of the Orga catapult plans. Neverthless, Katpus had nothing new to say to us.


OWE present: J'jh, Kalian, Torin, and Yor.

Orgatastic!

In a departure from routine, PAG didn't go to Slate Caves or Metz. Instead we spent the day in Orga territory: Hippy Hollow, Dred Passage, and New Orga Outback. Azriel was happy to have a chance to check for paths.




OWE present: J'jh, Kalian, Noivad, Torin, and Yor.

Pathfinders' Day

Phineas arranged with PAG for another open-to-all trip to Pathfinding Book 1. We accomplished that in a matter of a few minutes, so we decided to keep going to Book 2. Phineas sent a breathless, blow-by-blow account to TMN, so I won't duplicate all the details.


I am glad that these open expeditions happen once in a while. However, the non-regulars seemed to get in the way in dangerous situations more often today. The Pitch Caves are dangerous enough to get us all killed if we aren't careful. Last time, Phineas gave everyone a speech about Dos and Don'ts. Maybe we could have used it this time too.

I'm sad to report that Shadowsky and Fafnir didn't have a safe trip home. Shadowsky didn't come through the ethereal portal, and Fafnir fell in EP. There is definitely room for improvement in keeping track of people so that no one gets left behind.

OWE present: J'jh, Kalian, Natas, Noivad, Torin, and Yor.

OS and Trillbane

The monthly EAT/PAG trip to the Orga Stronghold used the back door entrance from the Slate Caves. For that, we needed at least a couple of full Mystics to teleport us; we were lucky to have four FMs (Hepta, Org du Lac, Sylune, and Xel).


In OS, we ran into Bartok, who had master pathfinder Trillbane on a chain. We rescued and raised Trillbane, and after some delays in regrouping, he took us through a path to Orga Village. From there, it was a short jog back to Puddleby.

In town, Trillbane accepted several students for his advanced course in pathfinding. He has a great interest in books so we showed him our library. He turned out to be a snob and wrinkled his nose in disgust at even our most precious volumes. We then escorted Trillbane to Pathfinding Book 3 before he returned home through a path in Camp Dred.

OWE present: J'jh, Natas, Noivad, Shakyamuni, Torin, and Yor.

Also be sure to check out other reports of this OS trip and our interaction with Trillbane:

• Phroon's report on TMN. Phroon has made his visionstones of the whole adventure available.


• Xel's report on TMN . Xel made a transcript of our conversations with Trillbane.

Fellock at NOOB

PAG visited the Annulus in the Ethereal Plane to check on Tenebrion, and then we took Fundin to Pathfinding Book 3. We still had plenty of time, so we decided to go to the New Orga Outback (NOOB). We had captured the first NOOB snell and were working on taking the second one. However, we kept getting backspawns of bolters. Then an Orga Fellock spawned and gave us a taste of its ultrapowerful lightning grenades.


Some of us ran to kill it, but we didn't have enough time. We were lucky to escape back to the Orga Village South and began planning a rescue — made difficult by the fact that we had lost both Elenis Reyav and Mephisto in NOOB 1. We stayed close to the NOOB entry. Surely we all knew the truth of what Manquilor said — that the Fellock might follow us into OV — but still we lingered there.

The Fellock did indeed come through the path. We were fallen in about two seconds, and then more bolters and other Orgas spawned. A brave rescue effort was made and looked promising for a while, but the Fellock was too much.

Also see Yor's account of the Fellock disaster on TMN.

OWE present: J'jh, Natas, Torin, and Yor.

Rejected

There isn't much else to say about the latest Orga Stronghold raid, which Torin wrote about. It was frustrating on many levels. We tried to secure a foothold in the first snell, yet repeatedly failed. A few attepts were somewhat successful, but our progress was undone by Orga reinforcements. Our final charge after 2.5 hours was driven back, so we headed home - myself 2.5k poorer and 8 departs in the hole. Many others had similar or even worse costs. The local blacksmiths certainly got a lot of business.



Here's a view from the front. This raid was so deadly due to the unusual amount of grenade lightning. Thrown behind Mephisto and I, the grenades decimated our forces. That day the Stronghold's front door ultimately proved to be too much.

OS Trip Stalled

The monthly EAT/PAG expedition to the Orga Stronghold failed to get past the OS front door snell. The group was strong, and the odds didn't seem outrageously stacked against us. A few people were reluctant to depart early in the effort. I think, however, that luck plays a huge role in whether we can advance to the rest of OS. This time the respawns were more than we could handle.


OWE present: Giga, Hunter, J'jh, J'nder, Kalian, Shakyamuni, Torin, and Yor.

PAG Opens Temple Door

Today PAG and friends moved across much of Metz Island to unlock the mystery of the Tepui Temple. From previous trips and the work of many other individuals and groups, we knew that the temple had a door that was impassable. We believed that the key to opening the door was activating the three pairs of torches, which are linked to sparkles in other temples on the island. A few days ago, Puddleby Task Force had succeeded in lighting a second pair of torches. Activating some of the sparkles in distant temples turned out to be the key that lit all three pairs of torches. We were able to pass through the door and into a large room beyond. The room had an altar, several large pillars, three large statues, and three more locked doors.

OWE present: J'jh, Kalian, Torin, and Yor.

New OV Path

After Jeepers discovered that he could open a path from the south snell of Orga Village, Yor suggested that today's PAG outing be there. A large group, including the three Trillbane students (Elenis Reyav, Jeepers, and Mephisto), went in and took the snell beyond the path. Another snell lay beyond it.


The first snell had little of obvious importance: a large purple tree and a patch of dirt. The second snell showed signs of Orga construction in progress: a floor of crudely patterned stone tiles and four stakes that seem to be the start of a wall. The northwest part of the snell had what appears to be a small lava pool, but its lava doesn't burn people.


The pathfinders and Xel the Mystic spent several minutes examining both snells thoroughly. No additional paths were found. The new snells raised more questions than answers.

OWE present: Hunter, J'jh, J'nder, Torin, and Yor.

Tepui Temple

PAG went to the Tepui Temple. We got to the Tepui area much more quickly this time, thanks to Org du Lac's teleporting (with a little help from Asenath). It was a relief to spend less time in Hellebore country. With Kalian leading and Natas bricking and Lady Luck smiling, all went smoothly.



This was only my second time to Tepui, and my first time past the entry snell. At the end of the hunt, we even stopped for a while at the mysterious Tepui Temple. Some speculate that the place where J'jh was standing in the sketch might lead to another room if all the torches are lit. The torches in other parts of the temple light up when someone walks on a nearby spot.

OWE present: J'jh, Kalian, Natas, and Torin.

Trillbane Found!

Today's EAT/PAG trip to the Orga Stronghold attracted a relatively small crowd — a little over 30 — compared to past trips. We proceeded anyway. We had a hard time with the front door snell, but we kept going because we could see progress. Finally we captured it.

In OS 5, we lost Hunter, who was one of the two rod points. He fell and was teleported by a Zealot. J'nder was appointed as the new Red Team rod point.

We reached Katpus, and Yor (in lieu of the absent Azriel) showed her the part of the catapult plan that we had acquired last time. Katpus, however, did not have anything new to tell us, much to our disappointment.

We faced the nasty OS 13 snell. This time, instead of trying to capture it, we decided to go through the path just to the north of the entrance. It led to a very small snell that appeared to be a junction of a handful of paths. In addition to the path from OS 13 were four dirt patches (often indicative of paths) — two in the north and two in the eastern part of the snell.

Sai opened the easternmost path, and several of us followed her. We fell quickly. It turned out to be the waterfall snell in Dredwood! After a while, we were ported to Orga Village, where a rescue team eventually came for us.

Another subgroup was able to try a different path. There they found the long-sought Trillbane — a Fen'neko whose hair, skin, and clothes were camouflage shades of green and brown! Elenis Reyav, Jeepers, and Mephisto began advanced pathfinding training with him. I myself didn't get to see Trillbane, but I will try to provide more details when others tell their stories of the event.

All in all, an amazing day!

OWE present: Clubby, Giga, Hunter, J'jh, J'nder, Kalian, Noivad, Shakyamuni, Torin, and Yor.

P.S. Check out CJ Parker's article on TMN. She includes a sketch of Trillbane.

PAG at Tepui

It took a while for PAG to decide where to go today. Every option had its drawbacks. In the end, we chose a trip to Tepui, via the Deathroot area (much to Shakyamuni's delight and over my objection).

The trip took quite a while, almost four hours. The first Deathroot snell was very difficult, as always, but the kudzu planters did a great job that made the difference between success and failure. From there, we went through the Rain Forest and climbed our way up to the treetop passages. Our only casualty for the day was Giga, who fell into one of the treetop holes and had to depart.

Finally we reached Tepui, which you can see in the sketch below. It was another case of a great setup by the runners and zuers. However, this last lure was a little much, and Hunter had to run the beasts until we could recover from the damage they did to us.



After finishing off those critters, we were tired from the long journey. We returned home via EPS without incident. Special thanks go to Org du Lac for being an excellent guide.

OWE present: Giga, Hunter, J'jh, J'nder, Natas, Shakyamuni, Torin, and Yor.

P.S. Read Shakyamuni's account of the hunt on Kith and Kin.

PAG at Sarra

PAG hunted at Sarra today. Everything went remarkably smoothly — until the end. The entry was easy, and throughout the hunt, we usually had enough time to let fighters tag. Then, just as we were ready to go home, we were overpowered. The Wyrms didn't come all at once, so it took us a little longer than usual to recognize how perilous our situation was. The sketch below doesn't do justice to our plight because other Wyrms were out of my view. We retreated, but it was too late, and everyone fell.


OWE present: Giga, Hunter, J'jh, Torin, Yor, and (inducted right after the hunt) Kalian.

Run Away? Run Away!

The Thursday PAG hunt was a Metz Rain Forest trip, expedited by Org du Lac.

If you hunt in challenging places, the question of when to run away comes up again and again. In retrospect, it's interesting to see what people choose. Take a look at the sketches below and think about what you would do — retreat or hold steady.



As it turned out, we "stayed the course" in the first situation with the three Haremaus. I had just been raised and was vulnerable, so I was ready to bolt if the word had been given. However, two of the Haremaus were already wounded, so there was no need to fall back.

The second sketch shows a tight spot that always seems to give a good fight. With half of our fighters down, I figured we couldn't survive for long. That time, we did retreat, though making it to the exit (where Org du Lac was standing) was tricky for some.


In this final sketch, we did indeed retreat. Unfortunately for me, the safe spot was a treetop by the river. I fell in and was carried away by the current, so that was the end of the hunt for me. Shakyamuni later told me that the others didn't stay that much longer. Anyway, I had a great time.

OWE present: Hunter, J'jh, Shakyamuni, Torin, and Yor.

P.S. 10 extra credit points go to the first reader who can spot Manx in the last sketch.