Urijeon is momentarily stunned by the burst of strange light that suddenly emanates from Mateja. He shakes his head to gather his wits again and shifts his fire to support Farkas.

Attack on Orc3: 11  Damage: 10

Mateja's foe proves to be elusive; the orc evades both attacks and the grin on its face grows slightly larger in the process. With its focus on Mateja, however, it is unprepared for Avelin's attack. The javelin sticks firmly into the orc's leg, just above the knee. 

Farkas makes his way around the spikes and thorns, preparing to engage another orc. The barbarian readies himself for another swing with his axe, but the orc before him falls with an arrow protruding from its neck. Urijeon's bow fells another foe. 

Teya walks forward, slowly and with full focus on the half-ogre. Her maul is ready should the giant dare to draw near to her. 

-------------

Orc 2 limps forward, desperate and enraged, and swings at Farkas...

• Greataxe attack: 6 | Slashing damage: 9

Orc 4, maintaining its fiendish grin, swings at Mateja...

• Greataxe attack: 18 | Slashing damage: 11

The half-ogre hurls a javelin at Teya...

• Attack: 15 Damage: 7

 Updated map: 

Urijeon moves 30' forward to try and get a better view of the battle as it dissolves into melees. He then decides that the orcs seem like less of a threat now that they are singled out and fires his bow at the ogre.

Attack: 20 Damage: 9 

Mateja batters the blade aside with her hammer, nearly deafening herself as the sound rings out across the plateau. "Eat dirt, greenskin scum!" she growls in Orcish, secretly relishing the aggressive tone the language brings to the inter-combat insults. With renewed energy she angles her sword towards the leg that was still untouched, then brings up her warhammer to strike at the inner thigh as well.

Mechanics:

Seeing Teya caught in the open with the ogre likely to charge for a second attack, Avelin quickly races to Teya's side in solidarity hoping the others will also rally to the position.

He raises both hands to the sky and clouds. Then, with a quick swoosh brings them down, causing a quick downpour of rain directly on top of the Ogre, praying silently to Uthgar and the ancestor spirits that it causes the beast man to slip or at the very least slow its charge through boggy mud.

With his eyes riveted on Teya, the half-ogre has no clue that he has been marked by Urijeon. The barbarian's arrow whistles through the air and lodges itself deep into the giant's chest. After a few labored gasps, the half-ogre drops to his knees and then slumps lifeless to the ground. 

Mateja, with two quick strikes, removes the grin from the orc she's been battling. Realizing this battle was his last, the orc takes a few staggering steps before crashing face first into the hillside. 

Something primal and unintelligible pours from Farkas's throat as he attacks again (Battleaxe attack: 13 | Slashing damage: 14). 

And with that swing, silence falls over the hillside. The battle has ended. 

Uri will once again begin searching the battlefield for arrows that he can recover. 

Investigation: 22

Mateja grins as she feels the satisfying crack of bones breaking under the head of her hammer, watching as the Orc slips and falls in front of her. With a quick sideways swipe to the temple she puts the thing out of its misery, this time the crunch a lot less satisfying now that the battle was decided. Her matted hair swings about her shoulders as a maiden's dress as she looks around to the rest of the battlefield, her battlefury fading as she realizes no other greenskins are left standing. "Hm." she grunts, almost in disappointment, before letting the hammer fall into the dirt and sticking the blade into the sand as well. With sharp tugs she starts going through the clothes of the two Orcs at her feet, checking the corpses for any valuables they might have carried.

As she works, she turns her head to the side to speak to Avelin. "Shaman, you can heal wounds, right? Have a look at Farkas, if you would. He held out bravely against the Orcs on his own for a few moments."

Mechanics:

Taking a moment to catch his breath and settle his tense nerves from such unexpected events of the day, Avelin nods to Mateja and jogs quickly over the brave and foolhardy Farkas. Laying hands upon the warrior to strengthen his body and spirit, a warming glow passes from the shaman's hands into the barbarian's wounds.

Cure wounds 86

"We all could benefit from a Rest for a short while, as well. We should consider a shorr break anyway, to allow me time to properly bury the cats from earlier; let the open air rot these orcs where they lay."

having seen to FFarka's immediate needs, Avelin also spends a few minutes to reclaim the brute's Javelin, finding it had been useful and an omen of good luck from the ancestors.

He then takes a moment to glance over the clothing, jewelry, tattoos, and any other tribal or personal identifiers of the orcs and ogre, trying to recall if there is any specific past animosity between Blue Bears and these foul greenskins or any other useful information.

History 20

 EDITS: ((not sure what I did when trying to add the dice rolls for Cure wounds & History check?? Jack feel free to make the rolls yourself to get a clean slate; the history check originally was a 14 I think, then I went back to do the cure wounds and now evrything looks different?

Urijeon scours the battlefield and the dead, retrieving four of the seven arrows he fired in the skirmish. Mateja looks over the slain orcs at her feet and finds a total of 6 copper pieces and, hidden in the boot of one of the orcs, a small, polished piece of agate.

Meanwhile, Avelin stanches Farkas's bleeding and accelerates the barbarian's ability to heal. His investigation of the orcs and half-ogre reveal nothing of significance. Brutes like these are commonplace in and around the High Forest. Members of the Blue Bear tribe have clashed with them countless times in recent years. 

Avelin asks for the shovel and silently begins walking back down the hill to prepare the two deceased cats of earlier a proper burial. To honor the ancestor spirits of the beasts, and invite Harmony with Nature once more.

"Join me if you like, friends. At the very least take the opportunity to Rest. The greenskin brutes may be left to rot in the open. They have no souls, so are not deserving of a proper ceremony unlike the noble cats of earlier."

Urijeon walks down the hill with Avelin but does not join in the ceremony. He simply stands sentry over the shaman as he does his work, scanning the horizon for further threats. 

Perception: 16

The chill of the evening air has settled over the High Forest as Avelin places the last bit of soil over the crag cats' grave.  Members of the Blue Bear tribe have slain five of their bitterest foes without losing any of their own. This day, therefore, will be remembered as a glorious one. The third day of the journey to Stone Stand has nearly come to a close, and an additional four or five days of travel stand between the party and their destination. 

The next four days pass with far less danger and excitement. The High Forest remains the group's ever-present companion to the south as they continue their westward march. To the north, however, the scenery changes from rolling hills to the Nether Mountains, dark and brooding, with their highest reaches covered in snow. Upon reaching the open valley of the River Rauvin, the group turns south, always keeping the gloomy edge of the forest on their left. Never before have any of you been this far west and so close to villages and cities of the North. 

A few hours after breaking camp on the fifth day, you see in the distance what you imagine to be Stone Stand. You've only heard a description of the place from the few older tribe members who have been to the sacred Blue Bear site, but the cairn-topped mounds and massive oak tree that you now see can only indicate one thing. You've arrived at Stone Stand. 

The mounds and tree sit atop a lonely hill just north of the High Forest. As you approach, you cannot help but feel a sense of wonder at the opportunity you've been given. All your lives, Kriga has labored to keep the Blue Bears hidden, wanting the other tribes to believe that they no longer existed. So, very few tribe members have ever made the journey to this revered place. You approach Stone Stand from the north, wondering if you'll find any clues about the burial of Arnek Mar. 

Uri searches the cairns for signs of fresh digging or anything that looks like a burial.

Investigation: 20

The investigation of the burial mounds takes nearly an hour; the mounds are tall--35' to 50' in height--and their sides are steep. Some of the cairns have been damaged, seemingly long ago by grave robbers. Atop the southern-most mound, however, you discover evidence of recent activity, including the following:

• Three Uthgardt corpses. Two were clearly members of the Tree Ghost tribe. The other you recognize as one of your own. His name is Therrak, and you assume he was a member of Arnek Mar's burial party. All three barbarians show indications that they died in battle. The Tree Ghost barbarians have arrows protruding from their torsos, and Therrak seems to have taken a fatal blow to the skull from a Tree Ghost handaxe that lies next to his corpse. 
• A human-sized bundle sewn up within two bearskins. The Blue Bear tradition is to enclose their dead chieftains with bearskin before placing them within a stone cairn. You assume that Arnek Mar lies on the ground next to the slain tribe members.
• A variety of equipment and weapons. Two shovels lie among three javelins, two handaxes, a greatsword, and leather sack filled with bits of dried meat and fruit. 
• A pile of stones. Undoubtedly, these stones had been gathered with the intent of forming the cairn for Arnek Mar. 

(The damaged cairns are marked in orange. The location of the slain barbarians and unfinished cairn is circled in yellow.)

During the hour of investigation, Avelin had ritually spent 10 minutes to Detect Magic around the bodies, and had also ritually spent 10 minutes to Speak with animals to ask the wildlife about any information they may know about recent events.

"Therrak has been slain, and the burial shroud of Arnek Mar is yet to be placed in honor within the Stone Stand mound. We should consider finishing the job soon despite the circumstances."

Urijeon picks up a shovel and sets to digging. "From what I knew of him, he was a good one. He deserves a proper rest."

Avelin spends several minutes making the utterances and movements necessary for him to detect the presence of anything magical in the vicinity of the dead Uthgardts. A faint aura emanates from the handaxe lying near Therrak's body; the spell reveals nothing else. 

The shaman's effort to speak with animals grants him two brief conversations, the first of which was with a squirrel. From the rapid, disjointed chatter, the only decipherable phrases Avelin could gather from the rodent were finding food, you have food?, hide from cold weather, and where you hide from cold?

A few minutes later, a conversation with a raven produced the following when Avelin inquired about the dead Uthgardts: two legs no feathers sleep and two legs one toe fur feathers live. Pressing the black bird any further was fruitless. 

Avelin takes the curious hand axe with the faint aura, looking it over closely to see how it looks different than the other weapons present before tucking it away into his pack for safekeeping.

Arcana 10

He also takes the orc's javelin off his backside, breaks it over one of the loose cairn stones. Better to have a soulful Uthgardt javelin than this dreadful soulless greenskin's, Avelin tells himself proudly while securing two of the loose javelins among his possesions.

He ponders over the cryptic and vague comments from the raven, and silently cursed the useless chatter of the squirrel. Grabbing the other shovel to assist Urijeon, he starts to dig into a rhythm with his fellow barbarian and turns to say,

"Ay, Arnek Mar the Mighty deserves his rest and from this mound his spirit will be reborn into a blue bear itself, Uthgar willing. Therrak, as well, died in his line of duty. But reaching the Stone Stand has only raised more questions than given answers. Twice we have spotted the Tree Ghosts, and here are two laying dead on our own sacred ground where they never should have been in the first place.

And... where are the other two of our brethren from the burial party?"