Session 18: Death comes to Ravensfield Report

General Summary

Rayl leaned back in his saddle as he quietly surveyed the sleepy little town of Ravensfield below. Small wooden cottages and only a few houses with multiple stories made up the town proper. The largest building by far was a newly built barn near the town’s southern edge. The Lorewood loomed over the houses at the eastern side of Ravensfield, while at the other sides the town simply thinned out into open grasslands used for grazing the inhabitants’ herds of sheep and goats.   No walls or towers, no earthworks, not even a wooden fence. This attack was not worth his personal attention. His forces could burn this place to the ground in a few hours. He didn’t see any organized militia patrolling the town, so resistance would be minimal. Except for the handful of knights that were supposedly down there. Craag, Rayl’s wyvern, calmly circled above the town square, using the clouds to stay out of sight. At times this meant that Rayl himself had a hard time observing what was going on below, but better to stay out of sight for now. Fortunately, few people ever looked up.   Rayl was fascinated by the knights of Keralon. He had never had the chance to fight one, yet. He had read stories of their bravery and martial prowess. He was eager to test the truth of these tales. Adjusting his position in the saddle he patted Craag on the neck before urging his mount to veer off to the north.
“Let’s see what these knights are made of.”   --------------------------------------------------------------------------   An hour later Rayl and Craag had returned to the cloudy sky above Ravensfield. They were not alone. Four of his scouts circled alongside him, each astride a dragonnel. Below the townsfolk were going about their daily business. From his vantage point, Rayl could see the first wave of his vanguard approach the western edge of Ravensfield. A few of the professor’s failed experiments, unsuccessful mergers of human and dragon, and some undead kobolds for support. They should not give the knights too much pause but would show Rayl how they reacted to superior numbers.   The abominations attacked the town with brutal abandonment. They killed whoever appeared in their path and smashed or burned whatever building drew their attention. It did not take long for the heroes from Keralon to show themselves. Rayl was surprised at their initial carefree approach to the battle. A few of them charged in without waiting for support. They defeated Rayls forces without difficulty, but they had not known the strength of what they were about to face. Rayl made a note of their confidence, which might have been earned through their competence, but could still be used against them.   As the battle started to die down, Rayl decided it was time for the second part of the test. Time to see how they dealt with airborne adversaries. He signaled his four scouts, and they immediately guided their mounts into a dive.   Most of the knights were caught off guard and it took them a while to adapt to the fly-by attacks used by the dragonnel cavalry. While the defensive posture of some did not phase Rayl, the highly accurate ranged attacks of others were more troubling.   Arrows and bolt proved the downfall of Rayl's scouts and once the riders fell, the predatory nature of the dragonnels made them abandon any form of tactics. By the time the last rider had fallen, Rayl had seen enough. It was time for him to meet these knights himself. With a loud whistle he commanded the two surviving dragonnels to retreat to his position. The well-trained mounts regained some of their senses at the sound of their master and obediently took to the air.   With his sword and shield drawn Rayl used his legs to command Craag to descend to Ravensfield. He was not yet planning on engaging them, but they might just prove too impulsive to see reason.