Luck

"Bard! Bard! Where are you!" Nipper called. Yarrik sighed and looked back at the small tabaxi strolling along in the woods behind him.
"Bard?" he asked. Nipper shrugged.
"What, that's what he is."
"He's got a name. May be a bit easier for him to know that we're looking for him if we actually say his name," Yarrik said.
"Oh excuse me. If you know our dear friend so well, tell me this...what is his last name?" Nipper said with a wry grin. Yarrik laughed and suddenly a confused look passed over his face.
"Ummmm...he....it's....Mader...no...ummm. Malderby....Muldurnun.....no wait....Malderguy..." Yarrik stammered. Nipper clapped slowly.
"Yes, we are in search of our beloved bard and friend: Tennen Malderguy. What a wonderful family he comes from,"
"You're just mad you couldn't go to the tower with the rest of them," Yarrik spat back as they continued to walk through the woods.
"Yes, I am quite disheartened I couldn't go to the dark abandoned ruins of a tower which mysteriously fell silent six months back. The same tower which has, somehow, consumed the past three sorties to investigate it. I would much rather go there than searching through verdants woods with an apprentice wizard," Nipper said. Yarrik rolled his eyes.
"Warlock."
"What?"
"Warlock. I'm not a wizard I'm a warlock," Yarrik corrected.
"I've never understood the difference,"
"Well one is...magical and...I guess...the...they're just different okay," Yarrik sighed. Nipper let out a small laugh and patted Yarrik on the boot.
"I only jest, I know you both just do parlour tricks for fat lords and ladies. Now come let's go find out bard." he said and began to hurry off in a trot deeper into the forest.

From what they could gather, Tennen had scurried off into the woods during the orc raid. They had found his smashed lute and a piece of his petticoat stamped into the ground. It was difficult to make out the trail through the havoc wreaked upon Phandalin but through the keen eyes of the pseudodragon Frigga and some begrudging help from Aethulian, they were able to find the path off into the woods. The ground had been stamped down which made the path quite easy to follow. There were no footprints to follow but more a general swath of flattened earth which formed the basis of the trail. They had followed the path all through the night, Nipper's vision aiding them in navigating the path through the darkness. As the sun dawned and the forest slowly awoke from the cool night, the dew glistened on the grass like a thousand tiny diamonds lining the forest floor. The sunbeams broke through the thick canopy in a kaleidoscopic mosaic of summer light. The air was pleasantly refreshing and Yarrik felt incredibly comfortable out in the wild - like he was home. It all felt familiar. It was likely symptom from his Summer benefactor but a small effect which he didn't seem to mind. Nipper enjoyed the summer air as well, a refreshing change from the darkness of his previous life in the Underdark. It had taken him a while to get used to the open air, the entirety of it seeming so vast that he was scared he would fall right out into the sky but after a few months of venturing abroad he was finally comfortable with it all. The past few weeks had been arduous to say the least and he hadn't quite shaken the touch of the Nothic within Tresandor Manor. He had seen more death and destruction in such a short time that the idea of galavanting around the woods for a bard who was either dead or eaten seemed almost mundane.

Suddenly, gruff voices in the distance shook them from their stupor and they both crouched down, taking shelter behind nearby trees. They stopped and listened for a moment, taking in the sounds of the forest around them. There was a lot of grunting and growling. All guttural tones which sounded somewhat like language. Nipper made a series of hand motions to Yarrik who stared at him with a perplexed look. Sighing, he repeated the motions.
"I don't know what that means!" Yarrik hissed.
"FOLLOW ME!" he mouthed soundlessly, rolling his eyes and then moving soundlessly towards the source of the noise. They closed in to a small dell nestled in between a circle of trees. The sound of a crackling fire could be heard and the grunting and groaning slowly evolved into a language.
"It's not hot enuf," a deep voice growled.
"It don't need to be roarin' to cook a hummie," the second protested. Nipper and Yarrik dropped to the ground and crawled forwards, heads just cresting the top of the dell.

Within the small nook, two hulking humanoid monsters in small loin cloths sat around a fire pit. They were easily 9 feet tall and had large swollen guts. Their mouths were gaping maws of sharp teeth with small beady eyes staring hungrily at the wriggling sack on the ground. They had erected a small wooden spit over the fire and one was stoking the fire with a massive club, trying to get the coals to burn hotter.
"Ogres," whispered Yarrik. Nipper nodded and then pointed to the sack. There was muffled screaming and shouting coming from the sack as it squirmed. One of the ogres roared in frustration and reached into the sack. With a swift jerk, he pulled out the wriggling and bedgralled Tennen Maldernen by the boot and held him upside down over the fire. Tennen looked terrible; caked in dirt, clothes torn, hair disheveled, and eyes wide with fear.
"Stop yer screamin' or I'll bash ya skull against a rock right now!" he yelled. Tennen immediately stopped squirming and nodded vigorously. The ogre smiled and then held up the iron stake for the spit.
"What we gunna do then? Shove it down the mouf and out da bum?" he said. Tennen squirmed a bit more and the ogre grunted and slammed the iron spit into the ground from the one end, he then shook Tennen vigorously until he stopped squirming and shouting.
"Don't spoil the meat," the other said as he inspected the coals of the fire. Nipper cursed and shifted back down the hill.
"I have an idea," he hissed. "Ogres are susceptible to sunlight. Cover me," he said with a smile. Yarrik was still staring at Tennen and then his eyes widened as he slowly caught on to what Nipper was saying.
"No wait! That's not ogres that's trolls!" he said but it was too late. Nipper had already scurried away and was quickly scampering up one of the trees.
"We're going to die," Yarrik said to himself and squirmed back up the hill to study his options. He could try to create a diversion and give Tennen enough time to escape. It would leave him right out of options and he doubted he could outrun the lumbering ogres. He'd save Tennen but end up a meal himself. Nipper was undoubtedly going to get himself killed. Yarrik cursed and looked furtively over the small hill into the dell. He would have to act fast if any of them were going to come out alive.
"Behold!" a voice suddenly called up from the trees. The ogre dropped Tennen and stood up, the other turning to look over his shoulder. Yarrik looked up into the canopy.
"By all the Gods," he gasped. Nipper stood on a large bough of a tree, his daggers drawn. He smiled down at the ogres who stared at him, perplexed.
"You trifled with the wrong bard my friends. And now you will suffer the sun's wrath," he said and which a quick slash, cut a large branch above his head. The branch fell away and a ray of light pierced through the opening and bathed the ogres in the warm summer light. Nipper smiled triumphantly, awaiting the shrieks and cries from his victims. Nothing happened.
"That's actually kind of nice," the one said, closing his eyes to bask in the sunlight.
"I wuz gettin' a bit cold," the other said. "Alright, let's eat 'im too," the other replied and lurched to his feet. Nipper yelped as one of them reached up and easily grasped the bough and pulled it from the tree with a loud crack. Nipper tumbled to the ground and hit with a thump, recovering quickly as the other ogre lumbered forward and tried to scoop him up with a colossal hand. Nipper panicked and drove a dagger into the ogres hand, causing the creature to howl in pain and recoil in shock. Yarrik stumbled to his feet and charged forward, brandishing his staff for whatever good it would do. The second ogre turned to face him and tried to step back. His foot dragged through the hot coals of the fire and he roared in pain. He stumbled back quickly and his leg caught on the club of the other. With a slow and lurching grace, he flailed and fell backwards and right onto the protruding iron spit. The rod drove through his skull with a sickening squelch and the ogre fell limp after groaning gurgle.

Yarrik stared in amazement at what had just happened. The surviving ogre studied his companion for a moment before roaring and lunging forward with unfathomable speed. With one massive hand he scooped up Nipper and then turned to face Yarrik. He waded forward, Nipper squirming in his tightening grip, and grunted as Yarrik tossed an eldritch blast at the creature, trying to avoid Nipper. The force slammed into the ogre and did nothing, the creature's massive weight ignoring the wave of force from the warlock's hand. Yarrik cursed and turned to run, crying out in shock as the ogre's other hand swung around and connected with him, sending him careening into a tree. He felt something snap in his chest as he impacted and a sharp jolt of pain shot up his side. Groaning, Yarrik tried to recover but another sharp pang of pain dropped him to his knees. He looked up at the ogre, desperately considering his options, the large creature loomed over him.
"I'm gunna smash you to bits and then eat yer friend!" the ogre yelled at Nipper. He raised the small Tabaxi to eye level and his grip began to slowly tighten. Nipper felt the bone-crushing force begin to build and he squirmed as he tried to escape.

Suddenly, the orcs head exploded in a shower of blood and gore. Nipper choked and gagged as he was coated in a vile concoction of ogre bile, brain, and bit of the creature's skull. The ogre's grip immediately slackened and he wiggled free, falling on the ground beside the injured Yarrik. The ogre's headless body staggered forward and backwards and then collapsed into a heap of skin and bone like a marionette puppet discarded by a puppeteer. Both Yarrik and Nipper sat against the tree, panting. Their faces glistened with sweat and a trickle of blood ran down Yarrik's nose. Nipper reached over and pat Yarrik on the hand.
"Why...didn't...do just do that before?" he said between pants. Yarrik shook his head and stared in confusion at his staff.
"That...that...wasn't me," he finally said. Nipper frowned and looked at him and then both looked out into the forest. There was no one else in sight. Tennen lay limp on the ground near the impaled ogre.
"Tennen!" Yarrik said and slowly stood up. He winced in pain and limped forward towards the form of the bard, Nipper close behind. They reached the bard and rolled him over. His eyes were closed and he didn't move.
"Did he die?" Nipper said. "That would be terribly inconvenient." Yarrik slowly lowered himself to the ground and inspected the man, silently praising the Gods as he saw the man's chest rising in shallow breaths.
"He's alive," he said. "The fall knocked him out." Nipper let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground beside them.
"Next time he goes missing," Nipper began. "We're leaving him." Yarrik nodded in agreement and rolled onto his back. They sat in silence, the fire crackling beside them. After a time, Nipper looked at Yarrik.
"So if you didn't kill him...what did?" he asked. Yarrik shook his head and stared out into the forest in search of any sign of their savior.
"Luck I guess," he finally said. Nipper shrugged and turned back to Tennen, trying to rouse the bard with some healing magic. Yarrik frowned and reached into his pocket to where a warm sensation was building. A chill ran down his spine as his hand clutched around a small and smooth pebble, which was vibrating and warm to the touch.
"Alderoc," he cursed, eyes darting through the trees in search for his target. There was nothing. No flash of white, no movement, no magics hurling out of between the trees. He sat up and turned to help Nipper with Tennen, very aware of the feeling in the back of his mind that he and Nipper were being watched.