The first leg of crossing Cygnar was open countryside. This second part was going through the deep forest known as the Gnarls. This thick forest is overgrown with vines and kudzu, and there are Trollkin kriels living amongst the trees. The party just needed to follow the main road straight through to Five Fingers.
There were a number of minor encounters along the way. The party’s Trollkin recognized markers at the sides of the road in a few places. These markers were local Trollkin clans warning travelers to stay on the road, and not to tresspass. The party stayed on the road. A few other incidents were simply cases of Nature filling in. In one case kudzu had grown over the road, greatly slowing the wagon’s progress. Brother Pyros cut loose with some Howling Flames to clear the path. He followed it with Extinguish, so they did not actually start a forest fire. They also found a large tree had fallen across the road. While the ax-man and warjack cleared the trail, one Player noticed that the tree had been intentionally chopped down. The party kept careful watch during the clearing, but the bandits had already decided that the party was too tough to attack. The party continued on their way.
Next, they came across a place where a creek had washed out the road. The river had washed out the road itself, leaving a steep gorge cutting across and was impassable by the wagon. There was the shallow water of the river between two embankments, with a narrow shoreline in either side. The banks were ten feet and very steep, and the river became deep water on either side. The part decided to build a simple bridge across the gap. The party had plenty of appropriate skills and man power, so the work went quickly. They were about halfway completed, when something came out of the river.
A Gatorman Witch Doctor hailed the party from the middle of the river. He explained in a (bad) Jamaican accent that the party should just leave the horses and wagon, and he would let them go. The party declined his offer, so the rest of the Gatormen attacked up out of the water. Seven more Gatormen attacked in a posse. The party was divided in half by the river, and the Gatormen, bering amphibious, were perfectly at home in the river, so tmost of the battle was along both shorelines. The final combatant was a massive gator beast called a Blackhide Wrastler. The best way to describe it is a gigantic crocodile wearing a lucha-libre wrestling mask. His devastating attack knocks people down and did boosted damage on a POW 17 attack! They tore ferociusly into the party with tooth and claw, while the Players fought back with sword and bullet. Brother Pyros did terrible damage with his fire, so the Witch Doctor singled him out for a Sacrificial Strike. This nasty spell allowed the Gator to sacrifice one of his own men to do take down the priest. The Witch Doctor was also able to Zombify any fallen Gatormen back onto their undead feet. The wrastler nearly killed Bosh the Ogrun, but the ogrun and the troll worked together to kill the huge beast. The Spy Stormblade did tremendous damage, with three poisoned strikes per turn. It was a nasty fight, but the party prevailed. Several characters were down, but no serious injuries. The Gators were much tougher than the normal opponents, so it was a brutal fight all around. As a trophy, the Trollkin claimed (an now wears) the lucha-libre mask.
While some of the characters got patched up, the rest finished the bridge and got the wagon moving again. As the sun was setting, the saw the shining city of Five Fingers before them. As they gazed at the islands and bridges, one person said: “The city of Five Fingers. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany. We must be cautious…”
Two XP for everyone! They are now up to ten Experience Points. Players got to add a new ability, spell, or one point in a military skill.