Immersive Ink

Outnumbered by giants! Highbough has seen enough. He returns to warn his friends (travelling by Smaze if the spell's duration is still in effect).

Sure, let's assume Invisible Highbough can Smaze his way out of the compound safely. Bit surprised he didn't want to deal with the gate before leaving... but hey.

"Ogg... err... Ogre? Hmmm," puzzles Invisible Highbough. "We have a more elegant name for them in the Elvish tongue. Ironic to use a pretty word for such a brutish species! Perhaps your crude word is a better fit, Dwarf. 'Ogres' I shall call them from now on! As I was saying, I didn't move, touch or disturb anything in their lair, because right now surprise is our only weapon. We are outnumbered. Walking in through their front door would be suicide. If we're to have any hope of success, we need to draw them away from their lair and pick them off individually, or else lure them into a carefully-prepared ambush. Maybe draw them onto the bridge and cut the ropes?" the old Elf muses.

Highbough is being extra cautious as he has only 9hp.

Dorgan thinks about the approach to the stockade, and if there are any obvious ambush points or places where they might roll a large rock down on someone walking by.

He also thinks back to the bridge and wonders if they could even cut the ropes that hold it up and, if they do, where does that prevent them from going?

"We need to divide them, we need to give a few a reason to come out." Wen suggests.

Invisible Highbough mentions how one of the Ogres emerges from the cave periodically to empty the chamber pot.

Dorgan considers the disembodied voice of Invisible Highbough...

The rope and plank bridge spans a narrow point of a long gully just over the hill near the ogres' blocked back door; it's only about 30-40ft wide, but there is a steep drop in the center, maybe 20-30ft down to a stream bed that cuts a course through a thick copse of brambles at the gully floor. Maybe not a fatal drop, but certainly an inconvenient one.

Meanwhile, the approach to the stockade is a windy, narrow path but there's no perilous drop to either side; it's more like a rocky slope that is rough going, but navigable. The itself stockade is at the top of the path near the top of the hill; it's unlikely rocks could be cast down at the path immediately outside the gate, but perhaps--if a dwarf were positioned atop the hill above the cave--he could cast stones down upon the ogres when they circled around back toward the bridge. A few rocks might annoy an ogre or two, but to be decisive against a group of em he'd need to create an avalanche or landslip.

If just one or two ogres could be lured out, Dorgan could probably deal with them himself--with surprise. But they'd probably kick up a bit of noise meanwhile and that wouldn't be good. Perhaps if a posse came out a lookin' it would be the ideal time to sneak in through the back door to deal with the fewer left behind?

Dorgan says, Why don't we gather some materials to block the entrance from the outside? Then we can lure one out to chase me while you elves blockade the door and prevent the others from following. We ought to be able to kill one of 'em that way.

Then we can try to lure another one out, they're dumb so this plan ought to work a couple times at least.

Then once they finally wise up, we go in and kill the others.

The elves consider Dorgan's plan archly. For them time is of little consequence; better to consider wisely than to rush into anything.

Whatever materials could be gathered here abouts would largely be rubble and perhaps a few gnarled limbs of the squat plants that grow in these parts... unless perhaps the bridge was cannibalized for its parts. It would be a serious labor and then--without the appropriate tools--little could be done beyond piling the stuff against the gate. It might make it difficult to force the gate open... but then ogres are said to have strong backs.

And how exactly to stop the gate while only one beast sorties, if a dozen of them all came rushing out at one?