"By then it may be too late. I suggest we act swiftly."
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"Agree, it may be too late." Broon takes the lead downstairs, sensing for auras.
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As the group moves down the stairs, they find that this area is used to store sand and other raw materials. Two wheelbarrows sit against the wall. Just east of the stairs, a brick wall has been dismantled to reveal an older passageway leading south.
"Anyone want to wager that hole in the wall isn't the way? I'm afraid we are going to have to go through and see what's on the other side." Elena waits for the others to lead the way.
"I think it bears investigation." Dashuun pauses. "I don't know if I used the right words, but I think we ought to go in."
Broon cautiously moves ahead with sword ready, feeling for any auras in the area.
Dashuun follows Broon, knowing that there is no better man for finding overwhelming trouble.
Broon heads around to the eastern-most door, looking for overwhelming odds.
Broon opens the door and finds a long tunnel that looks to be carved into the hillside. It doesn't have the same craftsmanship as the rest of the building and looks to be done rather shoddily.
beds or remnants of their meals strewn about the cave is obvious to even the most casual of onlooker.
Halfway down the tunnel, you find two branching paths. The primary path leads to the dead end. The first of the two side tunnels leads east to a tunnel collapse after 400 feet, but the one to the west seems to have once been bricked over at the point where it diverges from the main tunnel.
”It looks like this tunnel leads deeper into the hill side”, Broon informs the others, ”-probably an escape route. Let's check these other rooms first then we should follow the tunnel”. Broon moves on to the next door and slowly opens it.
Opening the next door, Broon finds that it looks like an office, however it appears that someone may have been staying here. There is a bedroll in the corner and several bottles of Elvish absinthe littered about the room.
Investigation of the other two rooms reveals storage rooms for finished glassware. Tsuto's sister, Ameiko, lies on her side on the floor in here, bound at the wrists and ankles with rope and blindfolded and gagged with strips of leather. There are several wounds across her body and she doesn't appear to be conscious.
"What've you found Broon?" Dashuun asks from the other side of the door, seeing that Broon has stopped.
”It's Ameiko! She's here and wounded, come quick!”
Dashuun hurries to Ameiko's side and channels healing energy into his hand.
Ameiko seems to rouse but her lifeforce still seems feint.
Dashuun sighs and scowls at the sky, then tries again.
She seems to be awake as she is still struggling against her gag, wrist and ankle bindings and blindfold.
"Cut her loose. We need to get her back to her place, and make sure she is okay. We can follow the tunnel later. She's our first concern.". While the others were getting her loose, Elena quickly cast Detect Magic to look in the rooms Ameiko and what seemed to be her brother had been staying in.
As Elena searches the room for magical auras, she finds, tucked into the bedroll, a necklace that emanates a magical aura. It appears to be a locket with two pictures. The first is a beautiful woman and the second is the picture of a man with the glass heavily scratched.
Spellcraft
Elena tells the others what she discovered about the magic of the necklace. "One of you up front guys could use the necklace. I don't plan on getting kicked in the face any more if I could help it. Ameiko, do you recognize these photos in the necklace."
She rubs her wrists, clearly happy to see you.
Glancing at the locket, she states softly. That is my mother and father. It was given to Tsuto by our mother. Does this mean you have killed my brother?
"No, but he almost killed us, to be honest. He kept disappearing, then reappearing and we weren't prepared. Has he done something like this before, Ameiko? He was with goblins, for goodness sakes!". Elena didn't mention anything about her father just yet, fearing she might have not known the discovery upstairs.
"After he left, I had heard rumors that he had trained in Tien. Ever since he and my father had their fight, all my brother has wanted is revenge..." states the battered woman.
"About that..." Dashuun begins. "Were you and your father... close?"
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The woman clearly looks a bit unsure of how to answer after you saw the man burst into her inn and scream and chastise her.
"What I mean to say is... would you cry at his funeral?" Dashuun nudges Broon. "Help me out."
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"Did he beat you?! Your father.", Broon cuts in brutishly as he helps her up, "Or your brother for that matter? Looks like you took a ravaging. ".
"My father would never physically injure me, however he was not the kindest of men. This small kindness was never extended to Tsuto before my father banished him." Ameiko says, drying her eyes a bit.
"After I rejected Tsuto's crazed notion to go with him to Thistletop, he had his goblins beat me unconscious. There is some darkness inside of him now that wasn't there when we were kids."
"Well, before we get upstairs, Ameiko, there's something your should know. It's about your father. It seems Tsuto took revenge against him, and we were too late to help. I'm so sorry," Elena tries to prepare her friend for the grisly sight upstairs.
Broon was thankful that Elena explained it better than he could have, Father. Slaughtered.
"Yes... I knew of this. My father was dead before I arrived. I feel no remorse for the man. Perhaps if he had been kinder to Tsuto, then this would never have happened..." Ameiko says as you help her out of the Glassworks.
---
You are met at the edges of the town by Shalelu. "Thank god you found her in one piece." Shalelu pushes one of you out of the way and immediately begins to questions Ameiko while helping her towards her inn.
"What happened?
Ameiko chuckles wryly "I guess it was the final confrontation between Tsuto and our father... Tsuto did always say he would kill him."
Shalelu frowns. "These look like healed over goblin wounds... You didn't have these from the earlier attacks..."
Ameiko grimaces with one of her steps. "Yeah, he seemed to be in control of some of the Thistletop goblins... *cough* Wanted me to go with him to meet some new leader."
You reach Ameiko's inn and are all immediately pushed aside as a dozen or so maids and locals hurriedly fuss over her.
"We clearly need to go investigate this Thistletop. But as poor a shape as we are in, dinner and some rest before heading out in the morning would be my suggestion. Perhaps the townsfolk can tell us more about Thistletop," Elena whispers to her gathered friends, letting Ameiko be doted on by all the others.
"Mmm, dinner." Dashuun smiles.
Halfway down the tunnel, you find two branching paths. The primary path leads to the dead end. The first of the two side tunnels leads east to a tunnel collapse after 400 feet, but the one to the west seems to have once been bricked over at the point where it diverges from the main tunnel.
”No celebration for me, just some food and sleep”, Broon turns in for the night. The next day, he'll gather any lore on Thistletop
If you all choose to sleep, then you awake the next morning. Broon immediately goes to investigate Thistletop.
Not much is known about Thistletop by non-goblins. All that the locals know is that Thistletop is considered the best lair amongst the greenskins and is run by a goblin hero named Ripnugget.
"So there are two unexplored tunnels, one to this Thistop. Question is, where does the other tunnel run? Should we explore that one before we take on this goblin lair? So we pick the devil you know, or the devil you do not?"
”One tunnel is caved in”, Broon clarifies what he saw, ”The other seems bricked over, I assume it leads to where the goblins are dwelling. The locals say that Thistletop is considered the best lair amongst the greenskins and is run by a goblin hero named Ripnugget. This tunnel could lead there, ot Thistletop could be some other place. I say we head back to the glassworks tomorrow and check out that tunnel”.
"Wise words, Broon. Thistletop isn't going anywhere, but I don't trust anything in those tunnels."
Broon sneers at his lack of geographic knowledge, apparently not knowing that Thistletop is only four miles along the coast. Alright then, to the tunnels after we've rested. Right now, I smell turkey, potatoes and pies that has my name on it, better go find them."
"That's the plan then. Dinner, a rest, then back to tunnel exploration tomorrow."
"Broon has a hunter's nose. I'll join him."
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