The party leaves Phandalin and sets out for Butterskull Ranch to assess the damage of a recent orc attack and provide their help if possible. After roughly a day and a half, the adventurers reach Conyberry, an abandoned and desolate town. On the outskirts of town, Rakhi alerts Rissa to the presence of several horses grazing in a nearby field. Rissa notices the five horses are each branded with the letters “BAK,” and Sister Poppy assumes this refers to “Big Al” Kalazorn, the owner of Butterskull Ranch. Rissa and Qurion approach two of the horses and mount them with ease, while Ramarcus trips on his robes and startles the horse he approached. Offering one of her favorite “pocket snacks,” Sister Poppy approaches and mounts another horse. Laughing at Ramarcus’ failed attempt, Hrothgar also attempts to mount a horse, but struggles because the horse has no saddle, and his short stature and heavy equipment make the task near impossible. Grumbling something under his breath about “durned horses,” Hrothgar joins Ramarcus on foot, following behind their three mounted companions and the other two horses.
As the adventurers continue towards the ranch, they come upon a startled, distressed-looking cow about a mile outside of Conyberry. Hrothgar, redeeming himself from his previous failed attempt to deal with an animal, swiftly loops a rope through the cow’s collar; the cow puts up a fight, but is no match for Hrothgar’s strength (and damaged pride). Rissa notices that the cow is also branded with the letters “BAK”, and that the collar is stamped with the name “Petunia.” The party marches on to Butterskull Ranch, accompanied now by five horses and a cow named Petunia.
Upon their arrival at the ranch, the adventurers notice two orcs swatting at a scarecrow in a field to the east, and another orc sleeping on the edge of a dock to the west. Ramarcus skillfully puts the two orcs in the field to sleep, allowing Hrothgar to slice one brutally with his greataxe while Rissa drives an arrow into the other, wounding it severely. As the orc awakes and tries to determine what’s going on, it is also met by a devastating blow from Hrothgar’s axe. Meanwhile, Sister Poppy sneaks to the dock, where she bashes the sleeping orc to death before it has a chance to even wake itself.
Stealthily approaching the home on the ranch, Rissa peers through the door to find a single orc, wearing an apron and wielding a cleaver, chopping away at what appears to be a horse leg. Without hesitation, the party flings open the door and rushes the orc, defeating it quickly. From the home’s kitchen, they listen and discern the voices of three orcs in the next room, arguing about who was cheating in a game of Three-Dragon Ante. Growing tired of the stealthy approach, Hrothgar kicks the door open and the party engages the three orcs. The orcs are swiftly overpowered by the party; Ramarcus’ bolts of fire, Qurion’s spiritual weapon, Rissa’s sharp dagger and Rakhi’s vicious bites, a well-aimed dart from Sister Poppy, and Hrothgar’s glaive leave a single orc unconscious and the others dead. The adventurers bind the remaining orc, questioning him about the orcs’ purpose in attacking the ranch. When the orc threatens to alert its companions on the second story, a slash from Hrothgar’s glaive silences it forever.
Taking a moment to collect themselves, the party focuses their senses on the upper floor of the ranch house. Ramarcus can make out two distinct voices from the room above the kitchen, but finds it difficult to determine exactly what is being said. The adventurers make their way to the second floor. Hearing them on the stairs, an orc approaches and asks, “Are you finished with that stupid game yet?” The orc, realizing the party are not the orcs he originally assumed were approaching, looks over his shoulder; “We’ve got trouble, boss,” he says as he readies his greataxe.
The party charges the orc and finds his boss, an orog in plate armor, also in the room. Rakhi bites the orc’s leg, dealing immense damage to its knee. Ramarcus casts sleep, which the orog shrugs off as Hrothgar swings his axe recklessly, missing his orc target. Sister Poppy channels her ki, dashing at exceptional speed down the hall, sliding under both Hrothgar and the orc, and landing a punch on the orog, who turns his attention to her with a menacing smile. As he raises his axe above his head, Qurion casts hold person to restrain the massive orc. Rakhi lunges at the smaller orc, ripping a vital chunk from its body as it slumps to the floor, dead.
The adventurers approach the magically held orog swiftly, Hrothgar restraining it as Ramarcus grabs the axe from its paralyzed hands. Qurion creates a zone of truth around the orog, and the party begins to interrogate it as it regains its ability to move. Through their interrogation, they learn that “Big Al” is being held in the cellar and should be guarded by two more orcs. Sister Poppy encourages the orog to give them more information with a solid punch to the jaw, and the orog tells them that he and his party were send to recover a boar tusk of some significance to a cult of Talos operating in the area.
The party notices a map of the southern area of the Sword Coast on the table nearby with several markings: a large red blotch covers what would be Butterskull Ranch, a circle in Neverwinter Wood with the word “Gorthok,” a circle about five miles south of Conyberry and the word “Gather,” a final circle on the western coast with the word “Tribute,” and a knife with its tip driven straight through Phandalin, accompanied by the words “For Talos.”
With the party determining the orog is of no further use to them, Hrothgar raises his greataxe. The orog looks up at him and smiles a bloody grin, saying “Do it.” Hrothgar swings his axe, lobbing the orog’s head to the floor. The adventurers breathe a heavy sigh and decide to rest for a while, regaining their strength before venturing to the cellar and attempting to rescue “Big Al.”