From Valthrun to Oakley and back to the Abbey

After discussing their options with the crusty Sir Oakley, the group thought it prudent to visit Valthrun with the news of the Codex.  Finding him outside his home in a garden, tinkering with a window, Dora greeted him excitedly (does she do anything any other way? She is a Gnome after all).  Valthrun ushered them in, looking more tired and older by the passing day.  He was thrilled when they dropped the Codex in front of him while he was making them tea.  Enthralled by the book, he ignored virtually everything else and focused on flipping the extremely old, but durable, pages.  When Finally, Valthrun asked them if they might leave the book with him so he could read it fully.  After some discussion, they threw caution to the wind and let him keep it. 

From there, they returned to Sir Oakley you and found him readying his war horse, Glue.  Seeing the striking image cast by the older paladin, they determined to purchase mounts themselves.  Riding out of town together, carrying the Brazier of Silver Flame in its chest on a wagon, they made the long journey back to the Abbey.  However, they turned off the main read road with the Abbey in sight, heading instead to the South.  Sir Oakley insisted that he was taking them around the back of the mountain where a hidden stairwell was dug into the mountainside.  They put up no fight but followed the old man blindly. 

Edhas scouted ahead of the party as the terrain turned from clear plains to high grasses broken by smaller copses of trees and bushes.  She spotted the light wisps of a fire and the creeped ahead to see the remains of a camp fire, flanked by perhaps a half dozen Orcs speaking about something on the ground.  Her view was blocked any further so she crept back to the rest of the group and whole Wyndham and Soveliss scouted ahead as well to try and get a better look.  Meanwhile, Thorm, determined to align himself in a more advantageous position, headed further south to try and loop around.  Wyndham and Soveliss positioned themselves and could see an Ettin sitting by the group of Orcs blog and a Drow soldier talking to the Orcs.  Using his Orc language mastery, Wyndham heard them text talking about questioning someone and how they are perhaps their only lead and link - the Orc kept me asking to torture or eat the victim but the Drow clearly felt he needed him alive.  Then he pulled up a human bound and gagged and determined to venture onward.  From Thorm's angle, he could count perhaps the a dozen orcs, the ettin and even two Ogres.  Unable to communicate this to the rest of the group he waited for the inevitable strike which came shortly afterwards.

Spells flew, lightening crashed and Thorm charged in from the word South and met the Drow blademaster. Exchanging blows, the Drow dropped a globe of darkness on the pair and began to cut up the paladin.  When Thorm ran out of sunglasses and the darkness, he wasn't pursued.  He continued onto the action and he and Sir Loin tried to take out the Ettin but were continually dogged by the Ogres and Orcs.  add While 2 Wyndham exchanged spells potions of with the Orc Shaman, Soveliss vitality and Edhas began taxing the Ogres.  Even Dora was pushed to physical combat because the numbers were overwhelming.  Her fading ability allowed her to escape danger and the combined efforts of the group either killed or ran off the remaining enemies.  The Drow fled the battle after Thorm ran into the larger combat and some of the Orcs fled, but the Band captured one of the Orcs and rescued the human.