Palace of the Vampire Queen (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

Does the "nas'kolgag" phrase this goblin keeps shouting sound familiar?

It may have been mentioned already by Hal or Miagnik, but, it would not be immediately familiar to most Dwarves or Gnomes. You can try a Knowledge Religion Skill Check, the DC would be 20

Miagnik smiled outwardly, but upon realizing the Goblin had perhaps gone mad he worried inwardly.

Seeing there was little else to gain by speaking to him he motioned for Zeebu and Mixz to follow him.

"Mixz, Zeebu, don't attack him. He'll help us when Omara comes. I'm good at making allies from enemies. Until then we need to calm him and make the rest of the group not kill him. We may be able to speak with him later."

With that he turned to go make his case to the rest of the group.

"You want to not kill the insane necromancer?" Halister said a few moments later, crossing his thick arms across his broad chest.

"Yer gonna have to make one hell of a case for that. My order's only got two edicts, an' killing that guy's one of 'em."

"But as a necromancer, is there a chance that he could be a greater danger to us dead? When one toys with life and death, there are often unforseen consequences," Chuffer muses.

"There's ways of killing someone that they can't come back from." Hal shrugged. "And I aint above killing someone twice if I have to."

"Be better iffen he on our sides!"

Miagnik scratched his chin lightly.

"Oh yes, he's broken. I'll admit that, but his hatred is notable. He doesn't want Omara here any more than we do. He also doesn't like smelly Dwarves stomping around in what he deems to be Goblin territory. I've told him that we are here to stop Omara and any schemes she might have in place and he believes me.

He's a devoted follower of Nas'Kolgag, if his rantings are any indication, that would probably explain his power over the Undead. I'm not an idiot, I don't think we can trust him completely, not like Galinea anyway. Who, by the way, was another enemy we convinced to be an ally." Miagnik said, making sure the others in the group heard.

"But we can at least trust in his hatred of Omara. He'll work with us against Omara and as long as we don't give him a reason to attack us he won't be our enemy again."

"I'm with Hal on this." Grunder says, his brow furrowed. "I'll go with what the group decides, but if we let him live, I will not take my eyes off of him. I don't trust him at all. Not even in an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" sense. But... if you've done something like this before, and it worked... well, as I said, I'll go with the group consensus."

"Miagnik talk good and sound wise... if cromantic goblin be smart, he fight enemies, not us, we not kill him, yes?"

"That's the idea."

"Omara isn't our enemy, Miagnik. I don't much like her and I don't trust her an inch, but right now she's up there holding back undead giants so we can do our job down here."

"She's helping us fight against your new necromancer pal, and his masters."

"I think you were confusing her with Priestess Galinea, I agree though... She is not our enemy. I don't necessarily trust her either, but we can't let Omara do as she pleases. She's the one behind the plot with Sir Guisse. She's the one who's plotting to take control of the Vampire Queen! She's the one who-" Miagnik let out an exasperated sigh.

"We keep losing allies. Stephanie, Mae, and Atharessa left. Wendle, and Rownig. Mazrim went off to confront Sir Guisse directly, and there are probably others I don't know about! We can't go to the capital city and warn the Dwarven royal family. Even if we had Stephanie and Maelodakh with us, we'd lose too much time getting bogged down in questions and politics and then opposition might send knives in the dark against us. The Ice maidens are collecting those wedding gifts and can't be stopped completely. The current Goblin King Ginolik and his Queen Wallinda are missing, while the rest of us are set to go to war over some religious faction differences!

You said it yourself. We are on our own here. That wedding ritual of the Vampire Queen is going to happen sooner rather than later. So forgive me if I don't believe we can do this on our own and I'm trying to make the most of a bad situation by getting us any allies that I can scrape together. It's chaos out there, Hal! It's chaos and it's all set to spiral out from here! " Miagnik was breathing hard by the end of his rant. Anger and frustration clearly showed on his face and he was clenching his fists.

Mixz listens carefully to all Miagnik says as he recapitulates the situation, much of which MIxz wasn't even aware of before this... "Me gotz to learn. Head hurtz from too much. Galinene, Omara, Surgwees.... too many names! Just tell Mixz who to kill, me kill them, or try."

Hal listened realizing his mistake. He was having a real issue with goblin names lately and it was starting to worry him.

"Huh. Got the names confused again."

"I can see your point. Normally I'd agree. Not this time though. I can't work with necromancers. Frankly, I shouldn't be bothering with this conversation. I should already be cutting his head off and burning the body."

"The next non-necromancer who you decide to make friends with after they try to kill us, I'll back your play. That's as good as I can offer."

Miagnik eyed Hallister hard. Miagnik hated the undead but he was able to make accommodations for those who made them. Hallister however, was less open. "Thankyou for showing restraint Hal, but what about this? Instead we tie him up and one of us brings him back to Galinea. She'll deal with him there and he can help hold the entrance against the giants. As they are servants of Galinea, he should be willing to help there."

"The undead are a plague that exists only because of one god's tragic mistake. They only bring suffering. They are tragic themselves, and can only be free in the afterlife once they are destroyed. We can pity them and still destroy them, like a dog that has gone rabid."

"Necromancers are not like that. They exploit tragedy. They create suffering. They spread the plague on purpose. They create the undead, enslaving already tragic souls as weapons against the living. This whole fight, all these problems and death were brough on by one necromancer. She spread her madness and has infected your people and mine. The whole island is on the brink of ruin because she could not leave the dead in their graves."

"Necromancers do not get clemency or restraint. They don't get bargained with. Every time we make allowances because we feel sorry for them, we lose more innocent people. Those wights we fought didn't want that. They were turned into that by other wights, and commanded to kill us by the goblin you are now trying to save."

"I am done compromising. You wanted to make a bargain with the most ancient and dangerous lich I have ever head of. I gave in because we had no hope of killing it. You wanted to work with the spider-priestess. I agreed because we need allies. You wanted to make a deal with a literal demon. I went along with it because we needed answers."

"Now you want to work with a necromancer. Not just any necromancer. A crazy servant of the goblin god of evil undead."

"You're slipping, Miagnik. I told you about how corruption works. It's happening to you, and you can't see it. You'd rather win the fight even if it means losing your soul. My whole life has been dedicated to keeping people like you from becoming people like him." Hal jabbed his finger toward the necromancer.

"He's too far gone to save. I really hope you aren't."

Miagnik looked down at the ground. He was mad at Hallister. It was true Miagnik was not as well trained on the specifics of the goblin gods, as such he did not know everything there was about them. He wanted to argue, he wanted to convince Hal that he'd just wanted the highest chance of succeeding. Couldn't he see that? ... ... but he couldn't quite convince himself that Hal was wrong.

Now that Hal had pointed it out, he had been making various alliances all over the place. He supposed it had to do with his inclination towards acting like various groups ally. The Necromancer was crazy, he was sure, he just thought that maybe he could direct it towards their enemies instead.

But isn't that what Hallister is talking about?

"I..." Miagnik took a calming breath. "No, Hal. I'm not too far gone. I still think it's a waste, but I think I'm beginning to see what you mean though. It's easier to justify my decisions because of how big everything seems to be getting. Even so, I don't think I can kill him now."

What has happened? Who is left among these friends that can recall how it all began? A quest, fostered upon three dwarves and their three companions, each selected from the retainers of one of the households most recently affected by the current resurgence of attacks by hordes of undead that plague this small island country every few years with disparaging regularity. House Guisse, which lies along the southwestern shores of this small island kingdom that is part of the larger Dwarven Empire, was represented originally by Mazrrim Deacon, who left the party to return to his home in a foolish but unstoppable, headstrong determination to confront Sir Guise with accusations that a retainer in his household, one by the name of Omara, was involved in the recent increase in undead attacks. House Inarossa, the lands west and south of the mountain where the party discovered the source of the undead uprising, was represented by Rownig Fleetfoot and Windel Warhaven, now those two have also abandoned the current mission. And at last there is House Vessocho, the lands south and east of the mountain, represented by Hallister Silverspike and his assistant, Moralane Vessocho, the daughter of Sir Henry Vessocho, a you8ng woman determined to prove her worth to her fellow companions and erase the rumors that she is nothing more than a spoiled rich daughter of a wealthy Lord.

Somewhere below the Maid of Honor, the one known as the Vampire Queen must be found, the ritual must be stopped, the goblin temples must be returned to their rightful place in the order of the cosmos, the source of the curse must be located, and if at all possible, put to an end, once and for all.

Mixz of course is unaware of most of this... even with Hal's views on things stated, and the fact that Mixz is aware that Omara IS the enemy here, and the big bad we have to stop, or working for the big bad, she's still pretty much uninformed of the rest. Is there some way to gain all this info in game? she'd definitely be able to get behind restoring the goblin temples to their proper condition and use and stopping undead attacks too.

Well it's literally only been a few hours at most since we've met this side of the party. Miagnik was busy playing himself a lot more subservient at the time, though it's become quite clear that was a ruse. When next we get a chance to rest in-game for an evening, if Mixz is still curios, then Miagnik will tell you the parts he believes are relevant.

"I..." Miagnik took a calming breath. "No, Hal. I'm not too far gone. I still think it's a waste, but I think I'm beginning to see what you mean though. It's easier to justify my decisions because of how big everything seems to be getting. Even so, I don't think I can kill him now."

"You don't have to. That's my job. Wait here. I'll make it quick."

Hal draws his axe and walks grimly around the corner to where the necromancer was trussed up.

From around the corner, Hal's muffled voice came. "For your crimes against the living and the dead, you are sentenced."

Then a single heavy thump.

"Your name will be recorded in the book of death."

Then a series of faster, wetter thumps. A pouring of liquid. The whoosh of fire.

Then Hal came back with something round in a bloody bag.

"Are we ready to move on?"

"Yeah. I think we are... " Miagnik said quietly.

Glancing around the room at the others.

"Something that occurred to me a little bit ago. You say we were sent down here to seal up a doorway. Knowing what you do now about the ones who hired you, do any of you think that maybe there's something we ought to be checking on, rather than blocking it up?"

When the grisly deed is done, Miagnik returns to wondering if there is anything the others might know that might shed some light on the situation. Suddenly, Moralane’s eyes grow wide

I think I see what’s going on here. These tombs, like the one of the good king who helped us above, are here because there are temples to the goblin gods of death here. This woman, this maid of honor is human. If the goblin god’s cursed her, then it makes sense that Omara would want the temples sealed away from any goblin worshippers, to reduce their power. Maybe that’s what she needs to do to be able to overpower the curse in the first place.

"If our employers are so keen on keeping us out, what harm could it do?" Chuffer responds. "We either take their word and assume they have a legitimate reason to keep us out, or we investigate and see what secrets these halls hold."

"Investigating sounds good... finding secrets always good."

"Good thinking, Moralane. Thanks. Never would have made that connection." Hal nodded. "None of this makes much sense to me, honestly. Might as well keep pushing in, see what else we can find out."

There are two passages that run away from the entry area, where the ghouls were destroyed

Moralane, smiles at Hallister’s words of encouragement, and then shrugs
Where do we go now? Seems like this place is definitely some sort of goblin after life related shrine, or shrines, but will we find the Vampire Queen here?

"The necromancer was running somewhere. Perhaps if we explore the area he was running to, we'll find something more." Chuffer suggests.

"That sounds reasonable, Chuffer. Let's head the direction he was going." Miagnik said with his arms crossed as he was thinking. "Actually, that reminds me." He said looking up at her.
"How are you doing? Even after the healing magic I gave to you, I can't imagine you're all better from getting hit with lighting. We have to be more careful, now that Wendle isn't here."

"My thanks for your concern," Chuffer says. "I'm afraid I was trying to make sure there was no one else that was in need of aid."

The silver fox that follows Chuffer around leaps into her arms suddenly, and snuggles up to the gnome as she whispers an incantation to it. A light cascades over her as the last of her wounds close.

CLW: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

The party gathers together once more and heads off, cautiously, down the angled passageway on the left. They reach a sharp corner, where the passage turns almost back on itself, and then follows a narrow passageway headed back to the west.

Here there are two small doors spaced a short distance apart, on the right, and a set of double doors on the left. The passageway continues ahead to the west, where you can see it is intersected by the passageway that angled off to the right at the entrance to this peculiar area, and then it continues off into the darkness beyond.

Hal practiced his scouting teamwork with Mixz. When they got to the corner he held a fist up to halt the companions behind them. After they'd both had a quick peek, he started giving instructions.

"Looks like it wraps around back toward Death's Door back there. In the middle of the hall there's a central chamber with two doors it. Opposite is a double door. Then the hall keeps going."

"So, the hall we're in is the direction we're exposed. Lots of places we might get ambushed from. Lets do this smart."

"Miagnik, I want light at the intersection down the hall, as far out as you can get it past W11. If something's coming from that direction, I want to see it. You an' Chuffer stay in cover here V4 and V5. Moralane, you're with 'em, right around the corner covering down the hall W4. Grunder, you an' your pal cover the big door X-4 and X-1. Mixz, i'm with you. We're going to doorbreak the way into the main chamber. W-1 and W1 Once we're in, everyone else follows. We want to get out of this shooting gallery as soon as we can."

"Any questions?"

"Door breaking? okays, me do."

"Doorbreak is a metaphor... a... a saying. We're not actually going to break the door. We're just going to look for traps and open it." Hal quickly clarified.

Chuffer stifles a grin at the interaction between Mixz and Hallister. "Maan khraal o duun maach der dakhuukhec," she says to Mixz in Goblin. "Daac daan shac okhaac daan druur taklaal'dec."

"okays... best idea yet. Me finds traps, open doors safe safe."

Hal looked pained and relieved as he followed after the goblin.

It's like traveling with bald-faced children that occasionally destroy everything near them...

Miagnik nodded to Hal.

Once everyone is in place as Hall quietly gives out direction, he nods to Mixz and the two shove open the double doors

The sound of a stool shifting is heard from the right, and Hallister and Mixz see half a dozen goblins sitting around a large table against the wall to the right in this room.

They all wear dark robes, and all appear to be from middle age to old (as goblins go).

The rest of the room, from a quick look, appears to be filled with beds, small and built of wood, small wooden trunks, and a few pails. The walls here are painted with images of a skeletal half spider/half goblin demonic entity.

Your immediate perception of the room is that it is wide, but not deep. The far wall, opposite the doors is only twenty feet away, wile to the left and right the room opens up about the same distance making it fifty feet wide

You have surprise, there are seven goblins sitting at a table to your right

Do they have the trappings of priests of goblin death gods?

Hal rushed in getting right up next to as many of the group as possible, his axe high.

"Lay down and you won't get hurt!" he barked.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

"Do what bald dwarf say, stoopid gobbos... Me let you live if do." Mixz adds to the intimidation.

intim aid dc 10: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

After assigning everyone a unique role and shoving open the doors, Hallister and Mixz rush into the room beyond, leaving the others to wonder as to what they should do now.

These goblins wear robes identical to the dead necromancer you left behind you

At Hallister’s command, with Mixz’s added threat, the goblins throw themselves down on the floor, arms stretched out over their heads.

Turning to Miagnik, Chuffer comments "The gruff one appears to be a practitioner of the direct approach."

"Yeah, Hallister is not one for the subtle approach to things. Would you have done things differently?"

"Depending on who he found behind that door, I might have found that actions would speak louder than words."

Hal stood over the priests, axe up.

"Mixz, take their weapons, pouches and holy symbols. Someone give me a sweep for magic auras."

Mixz walks over to them and takes their stuff... perhaps more than just weapons pouches and holy symbols, if there's more to take... (jewelry maybe? anything else?)

Hall barks a command and Mixz sweeps over the cowering goblins roughly searching them for weapons or anything else of value.

Chuffer, hearing Hal's bark, comes into the room to begin looking for magic.

Will cast detect magic in the room.