In+The+Ravine

__**The Fight In The Ravine**__

This was on the way to Politzania. As we headed north to help Gadda, we stopped at a ranch in the wilderness, where we were meat with hospitality and tales of trouble. It seems that a band of cloaked adventurers from Politzania had come through and abducted a ranchhand in search of a spirit creature. We decided to to go after the bad guys.

Heading into the wilderness, we tracked the group for a few days until we came across the tied and beaten dead body of the ranchhand. A Speak With Dead allowed the party to learn more.

Flying as birds, we tracked the bad guys to a deep ravine where they had their hideout. Most of the party dropped into the ravine ahead of the bad guys, while Rastik, Endo and Neville(?) stayed up top in case someone tried to escape that way.

Down in the ravine, Raven stood blocking the way of the evil party. In typical Lawful Stu... er... Good fashion, he declared them under arrest and challenged them to lay down their arms. Their reaction was typical for movie villains, scoffing and attacking.

Zaldiston quickly cast a massive web in the ravine catching most of the bad guy flunkies. Raven went toe to toe with the head baddie while the rest of the party attacked those that escaped the web.

Endo and the rest dropped into the ravine behind the web spell to see who was int he back. Endo got the drop on the bad mage, blasting the crap out of him in one shot with a massive chain lightning while Rastik and Neville made quick work out of the rest. A nice dose of fire took care of most of theose left in the web, and the fight was over.

Seeing how the fight was going, the head bad guy and a flunky surrendered to the stu... righteous paladin. Endo and Raven interrogated the bad guys and after learning what they could, they held an impromptu trial of the leader for the death of the ranchhand. We learned that he was scouting out the land to send reports back to the East. With the verdict in little doubt, the penalty of death was administered. The flunky who surrendered was magically marked and released after promising to be a good boy from now on.

We took the news of the ranchhand back to the ranch and continued north. Interestingly as we neared Politania, we ran into a large caravan who told us a rumour from Polizania that told of a large army lead by a legion of paladins heading north to destroy all opponents of Lady Gadda. It seems tales get taller in the telling!