I’ve gotten a bit behind on these as well… so… 

A few weeks back, the Retinue of Lady Ismira Ravensflight buried their companion Yodrick and continued along their way to the Hamlert of Gromlet. Along their way they noted abandoned farmsteads. It was difficult to tell what had become of the inhabitants. 

Had the families died of plague? Had they been murdered by raiding ratlings? Some had been burned down. Other simply abandoned. Some were abandoned long ago, others more recently. 

When they finally came upon an inhabited farmstead, they discovered they were very close to Gromlet. There were quite a few farmsteads now packed in tightly around the hamlet. Indeed, the hamlet itself was a small cluster of a half-dozen or so farmsteads with a small community hall and dilapidated chapel and a blacksmith.  

The community was ambivalent to the arrival of a feudal lord returned to reclaim their ancestral lands, complaining that they’d already been taxed twice this season… and it wasn’t even harvest time! The tax collectors claimed to be the King’s tax collectors, though when leaving the capitol, the King himself said taxes had not been collected from the region for many years and stated that was one of the main reasons he’d urged Lady Ismira to return to her lands

The community was shocked and dismayed that the retinue had encountered ratlings on the road, which they had slain, and now feared reprisals. The Ratlings had been a nuisance for more than a few years now, but the villagers had discovered if they put up no resistance and let the ratling raiders steal the occasional livestock (or small children) they wouldn’t kill too many of villagers – to them it was just ANOTHER tax they had to pay. 

Originally, Lady Ismira had planned to continue her march to Ravendown, but stayed on to pacify and show she was willing and able to protect her peoples against the scourge of the ratlings.

As the villagers seemed to think they ratlings always came from the East, they camped out in the farmstead furthest to the east for the first night, saying they would sound Lady Ismira’s war horn as a signal for all of the villagers to come to the defence of the town… Luckily, nothing happened. 

It occurred to them however, that there was likely little chance that anyone in the region would HEAR the warhorn in their farms, spread out over several miles, and fewer would bother to answer the call. The next day, they arranged for a group to stay each night at the community hall and some would keep watch and if there were signs of a raid, would march out from the central location. Some were not impressed with this idea – as it would mean the outlying farms – in which ever direction the ratlings came from would surly be razed (and possibly occupants killed!) be the response group could possibly get there… but they also could not be sure where the ratlings would come from and which farm would be hit first. 

A very small group of farmers and a woodsman armed with a bow gathered to stay at the community hall. As it turned out the second evening the ratlings did attack. The sentries keeping watch alerted and woke up the group in the hall after they spotted a fire off to the east. Shortly thereafter, farmers and their families from the eastern farmstead came running into the hamlet proper fleeing the ratlings. 

The group marched out to meet their foes… 

The met the Ratling Raiding Party near one of the farmsteads east of Gromlet! 

The defenders quickly took up positions at a hedge surrounding the farmstead.

The Ratlings attacked! 

The Ratlings had a wizard who was throwing fireballs around, lighting up the night! 

The Ratling Wizard (or „Rizard“, as the players kept calling it?!) made the mistake of getting too close to Granny… 

pelting it with stones, the Rizard was taken out of action! 

(I think it might have been a Gruesome kill and half the ratlings failed morale and fled…? this is what happens when I write game reports three weeks after the fact…) 

Ratlings attack the other hedge line and Lady Ismira fights the Ratling Commander! 

At one point, Lady Ismira was knocked down and things looked a little perilous… 

But she got back up and cut that Ratling commander down and the rest of the Ratlings fled into the night! 

Of the Raiders, only about half were slain and it was decided that they should raise a force to track them back to their lair and deal with them for good!