Fire and Fury
Darrowmar
In which the Forraze Clan brings the heat, and everyone develops a healthy hatred of fire mages.
As the party tries to take a look at what is making the smoke rise around the watchtower hill, a fireball envelops several of them and they scatter for cover. It is clearly the Forraze, come to attack the Lakesla for Ramach's showy use of face-melting force on Darromar.
No more direct attacks manifest, but the smoke gets heavier and a look down the hill reveals a wall of flame consuming trees and brush and making its way up the small watchtower hill. The party decides to rush through it rather than wait to be surrounded, and staggers a downhill run so that they are not near enough to each other to tempt another fireball from the Forraze.
The passage through the wall of flame is hurtful but not debilitating, and the party scrambles back up the main hill for the main fort, all the while being peppered with fire bolts from behind. They rush inside and run for separate cover in and around the small cabins. Another fireball catches some of them near the main gate. One of the party witnesses an orange-robed Forraze in the near woods throw a fire bolt, and then vanish.
The prospect of being pinned down by clan of invisible fire mages who can summon fireballs and walls of fire seemingly at will begins to panic some of the party, and they whisper through their tongue-stones plans for making a run for it.
However, as Doran scampers from cabin to cabin, healing burns, the party develops a new plan - draw the Forraze out with deception, and then rush at them individually before they can bring their firepower to bear on the group. Ramach turns invisible and levitates above the walls. Orosh and Koros prepare to climb over the walls on separate sides of the compound. Then SOI Morran "makes a run for it" from the front gate, and streams of fire pursue his spectral from from two copses of trees on either side of the compound. Thus located, the two small parties of fire mages are rushed by Koros and Orosh, and shot by Ramah and Peatro. Akissi comes out of the main gate and provides a second wave in assisting Orosh. The Forazze fight back, and one of them has a glowing fire shield that deals damage each time it is hit, but the party is too much to handle in close combat and the half dozen Forraze are cut down quickly. More climb the hill during the fight, intent on recovering an object held by one of the groups, but they too do not make it out alive, and Koros recovers the wand they risked their lives for.
In the breaths after the fight, the party sees an older man in orange Forraze robes at a distance, hovering above the treetops and surveying the carnage. He hovers away below the trees in clear retreat.
Victorious for the moment, the party recovers and decides to head towards Tinker's compound to try and piece together what happened at the big challenge between Morran and whomever Tinker chose as his champion.
Ramach discovers that the wand confers invisibility spells, and has a few charges left.