Torg ignores the pain from his wounds and attempts one last mighty desperation swing from his axe at the goblin mounted on the war dog.
A rash breaks out across Torg's body as the goblin's dog dander irritates his skin.
Elena steps back to heal herself with one of the potions found on the goblins, while Torg swings his mighty greataxe at the goblin commando, cleaving the goblin's arm from its socket.
The goblin dog flees the melee now that its rider has fallen.
Torg, having no method of healing, but seeing that the threat is gone, keels over from his wounds.
The nobleman rushes over to Torg's body and tries to start healing him, but he's not very good at it. Quick! Get some bandages or something! This man saved my life!
Current Status:
1st: Dashuun @ -4/9 HP; Maze-Bleeding @ -4/13 HP; Loriana @ 9/9 HP; Elena @ 6/9 HP; Torg-Bleeding @ -3/14 HP; Broon @ 11/12 HP; Nobleman @ 6 damage
Torg's bleeding mostly stops, but he continues to languish unresponsively on the ground.
Loriana rushes forward to Torg's unconscious body and administers her potion of Cure Light Wounds. The potion stop the half-orc from dying on the streets of Sandpoint, but doesn't bring him to consciousness. Broon climbs down from the structure from which he was sniping and rushes to Dashuun's aid. He sees that the wolf is still dying and searches Dashuun's body for the last potion of Cure Light Wounds. He administers it to the dying wolf.
The wolf groggily stands up on its paws and nudges Dashuun's unconscious form with its snout. He whimpers a bit.
Torg's eyes blink open as soon as the healing takes effect, but he is still severely wounded and can only move around slowly.
The nobleman looks overjoyed that Torg is still alive. Oh, strong and noble half-orc, woulds't thou bequeath thy name unto me? You have given me a second chance at life in this world. Aldern Foxglove is forever in thy d...... He seems distracted as his gaze crosses paths with Elena. He immediately stands up and bows. Mademoiselle! Do not soil yourself dealing with warriors such as ourselves. We are trained to deal with such things ourselves. The only thanks we require are that of a radiant smile or a demure batting of the eyes. To ask for anything more would be beyond reproach! Aldern seems to have forgotten entirely about the rest of the party, Torg included.
If the party searches the rest of the goblins, they find two more potions (one divination and one conjuration), two whips, two shortbows, two dogslicers, two fragile scale mails, two bundles of skyrocket fireworks, a splint mail and a horsechopper. The Commando also had 40GP on his person in a pouch that also contained a small red rock and a couple twigs.
Current Status:
1st: Dashuun @ -4/9 HP; Maze @ 2/13 HP; Loriana @ 9/9 HP; Elena @ 6/9 HP; Torg @ 0/14 HP; Broon @ 11/12 HP; Nobleman @ 6 damage
Elena smiles broadly at the nobleman. "I am the one in your debt, kind sir. I'm afraid we bit off a bit more than we could chew with all those goblins. Your quick blade kept us all from being made lunch, of that, I'm quite certain. I'm Elena Lovain, by the way. I don't suppose you know anyone in this town that could give us a drop of healing, do you? We are literally the walking wounded...or unconscious wounded, as it were."
Broon takes in the scene then looks down at the two arrows remaining in his quiver and frowns, ”I think we should seek the garison commander and get some awareness of these attacks. Aldern, how can you help us? We need to tend to the wounded and resupply”.
Ah, yes. Immediately. We will head to the church posthaste. The Father should have set up a area for the wounded by now. Aldern picks up Dashuun's body and carries it on his back. Ladies first! He winks at Elena.
By the time you defeat the goblin commando and save Aldern Foxglove from his fate, Sandpoint's overall battle against the goblins has been decided. Surviving goblins flee north in drove s , in s ome cases preferring to leap to their certain deaths off the cliff at Junker's Edge rather than be captured. Several of the little menaces are caught alive, but they prove useless when interrogated; none of these goblins know much more than that they were given orders to kill everyone in town and burn down the place. None of the captured goblins can even remember their leader's name, apart from the fact that he was one of "you longshanks." Their leader was on a secret mission to the town's graveyard-that much most goblins can say, but none of them know what that mission was. It was secret, after all!
In the shadow ofthe goblin attack, Sandpoint is hardly interested in finishing up the Swallowtail Festival. Citizens retreat to their homes to hide and recover from the day's horrors, yet as they go, they take the time to thank the adventurers for saving them. Finally, at some point
before the end of the day, you all are approached by Ameiko Kaijitsu. The innkeeper has been quite impressed with your actions, and offers them free rooms at the Rusty Dragon for a week as a way to thank them for helping to defeat the goblins.
Unless one of you takes extra care to hide it, your names soon become household knowledge. Everywhere you go in town, locals welcome you. As Loriana was taking a simple walk down Main Street, the local baker Alma Avertin charges out to press a fresh-baked loaf of bread into her arms. You must be starving, honey! Fighting goblins is tough work and we need you to put on some weight!
Torg and Broon's visit to the Hagfish brings an immediate round of cheers, applause, and a round of drinks on the house (and a challenge to drink from Norah's tank). Drink! Drink! Drink!
A trip to the Sandpoint Theater by Elena has Cyrdak Drokkus, the local playmaster, trying to talk her into auditioning for his new play. You would make the perfect Eleanor! Please say that you will audition tomorrow!
A stop at Savah's Armory is greeted with an instantaneous offer of 20% off anything in stock.
---
In the aftermath of the raid, Father Zantus doesn't immediately notice the desecration of Ezakien Tobyn's vault, but the next evening, he realizes that the stone door to the previous priest's burial vault hangs ajar. Fearing the worst, Zantus quickly seeks out Sheriff Hemlock, who in turn contacts you and asks them to accompany him to the Sandpoint Boneyard. Belor Hemlock doesn't expect much-in a worst-case scenario, maybe a goblin got trapped in the vault. During the walk up to the Boneyard, Hemlock thanks you again for your aid during the goblin assault, and asks many additional questions. So what are the lot of you doing in Sandpoint? We could use a group of you around these parts. The goblin attacks getting especially brutal. That was the most coordinated they have ever been.
Hemlock asks Zantus to wait in the Cathedral once they reach the Boneyard, but asks you all to aid him in investigating the scene. The vault in question is a 20-foot square stone structure that stands near the wall. Used to house the remains of previous caretakers, priests, and acolytes who served at the Cathedral, the stone door does indeed hang ajar. The ground around the place is churned up as well.
Perception
Elena was overjoyed by her new found celebrity. Who would have thought that I would find success by fighting goblins, than actually performing? Strange days.... She happily accepted the opportunity to audition at the Playhouse, however, knowing she could sneak in a bit of library time as well.
She followed the others to the musty vault. "What would the goblins have wanted from this place? And what sort of human would ally themselves with the savage tribe of goblins? Look at those footprints...some larger humanoid was obviously here with them."
Loriana was a bit stunned, having felt mostly worthless during the fighting. She looks about the room, after watching the utter chaos and mayhem left by the goblins. She does what she can, but her knowledge of plants and healing remedies was rudimentary at best, and perhaps was much more lacking than what she should have.
She tries to hide out as much as she can, keeping to the outskirts of town, trying to find quiet fields to try and meditate and refocus herself, having been scared out of her mind during the fighting. Though even through her attempts, apparently her firey red hair and the sparks of energy that seem to swirl around herself can't be hidden.
-------------------------------------------------
Loriana comes up to help investigate the scene as they come in.
After surveying the area, she nods to Elena. "I would mostly agree. by my count, there are six goblins, and one more human sized creature. Although I would hesitate to say that it is a human working with them. There are many monstrous creatures that are human sized that would work with goblins much more readily than a human would. Though we cannot rule out the possibility."
"Are there any signs of goblins that might still be here?" Dashuun inquires as he pets Maze.
Maze only smells lingering goblin scent.
"Well looks like we have to go into that old vault after all. Anyone want to volunteer to lead us into the breach, so to speak?"
Torg notices the small goblin tracks and stoops low to take a closer look, scratching idly at a festering lump of flesh on his arm as he does so.
"After the last time? I'm not in too much of a hurry to go chasing after these things," answers Torg as he straightens up and awaits someone else to take the lead.
Elena gets tired of watching the others look at each other. "If we are going to find out more about these goblins, standing around looking at the door isn't going to help.". She moves forward and inspects the doors as best she can.
Perception
The vault door is closed and Elena doesn't see anything odd about the door.
If nothing jumps out to the bard, she warns the others to step back and opens the door.
"I can send in Maze to sniff it out. Probably safer that way. Right boy?" Dashuun offers, patting his pet wolf on the back.
"Lady let me." Broon steps to the fore with a polearm, moves the door aside and enters the vault.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Broon takes the lead and opens the door, ready to strike down any goblins.
The vault is empty! A search of the vault's interior turns up two things of interest. First, a discarded robe of bones lies in a corner (no patches remain on the now only faintly magical robe). Second, and more disturbing, is the fact that the sarcophagus that contained Ezakien's body has been opened and his remains stolen.
Why the hell would anyone take some old bones? The Sheriff looks everywhere trying to see if the goblins just hid them, but sadly there aren't many places too look. He muses Perhaps the goblin raid was a distraction so that this unknown thief could steal the remains of the town's previous priest. Wouldn't know what for though... Either way can we keep this information between us for now? Wouldn't want the townsfolk to be under any more stress.
"What could the bones do for a goblin tribe? Could they have a necromancer in their midst? What do we know about the local goblins? Do they normally threaten the town like this?"
I have no idea. The goblins have always attacked our town, but they have never seemed this coordinated. Shalelu will arrive in a few months--the last week of autumn. If you want to know more about the goblins in the hinterlands, then she would be able to tell you the most of their workings. The Sheriff comments to the inquisition by Elena.
Loriana blinks at the Sheriff's statement. "In a few months? Is there no way we can seek her out? I highly doubt that the goblins are just going to bunker down for a few months after such a coordinated attack no the city."
"That's a good point. If they do this again, we might not be as lucky as we were last time. Could you send her a message to come earlier, or give us some direction on where she might be?"
The goblins rarely attack the city and it seems that they have gotten what they came after. They sporadically lash out at all of the towns and cities around the hinterlands. It is unlikely that they will attack us again anytime soon... As to Shalelu, she is unfindable. The ranger spends months at a time in the wilderness and cannot be tracked. She is the strongest ranger in the region. I can try to send a messenger to the next town to see if she is there... The Sheriff thinks about this, clearly unsure about how to contact her.
Torg, having tried but never succeeded in getting along well with the authorities, watches and listens to the sheriff with suspicion, before asking, "Does this mean you can make me as a deputy of Sandpoint for the duration of our investigation? Would be helpful to have some sort of authority to back-up our claims since we are new here and most of the townsfolk might be suspicious if we go about asking questions and all."
He bends down to examine the discarded robe closely before continuing, "Provisions and a place to stay in town while we work would be needed too. I don't think starving to death during our investigation would help the town too much, and I don't have the coin to stay here working for free until Shalelu shows up in Autumn. Assuming you can help us, I suggest we follow these tracks to see where they took the body? It doesn't look much like they did a good job hiding where they left to."
Broon checks about for anything hidden in the sarcophagus, gathering even the smallest bit of bone or rot left behind and holds it up, ”Dashuun, can Maze track this scent? Should still be fresh enough.”
[Perception Take 20]
"No, I don't think he can." Dashuun admits.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Broon finds a scrap of goblin clothing, but Maze is having trouble finding a scent. Broon thinks that the trail is too old for the wolf to follow.
The Sheriff looks over Torg for a second before responding. We don't have the budget to put you up in town, but I'm sure that the locals would be more than willing to support you with odd jobs and Ameiko has already offered you residence and food for the next week. I cannot deputize you, but I'm sure you won't get any trouble. You are the town's saviors!
"I've got an audition lined up at the local theatre. I should be okay for a few months, worst case scenario."
Loriana thinks, looking about. "I suppose that I would return to my meditations out in the wilderness. And perhaps I can seek out this one..., this ranger that lives in the wilds. I may not be able to track her, but perhaps I could at least happen across her. Also, perhaps it could be possible to uncover more of what the goblins intentions were this day."
Loriana blinks nervously, as she keeps staring off into nothingness. She seems to be preoccupied, her mind clearly not where they are currently.
Torg frowns slightly at the sheriff's response, his large tusks protruding out noticeably from his lower lip. He decides against arguing further and instead turns his attention to picking at a sea green colored mole which has appeared on the back of his right hand.
"Always the same...I save the town and no one wants to pay me for it. Then they want me to leave because I eat all the food and drink all the ale. Always the same..." Torg mumbles idly to himself.
"I could ask Drokkus if he has small parts or jobs at the theatre for you, Torg. Perhaps you could be a curtain jerk, or sell snacks to the patrons...assuming you didn't eat the snacks first," she adds with a smile.
Dashuun starts to protest at Torg's remark, but finds his words gone after Elana speaks. He considers for a moment, then closes his mouth, satisfied.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The Sheriff writes some notes down in his book as he scans the vault and the rest of the church, making sure to note the humanoid tracks. Well, I think that we have learned all that we can. Thank you for coming with me to investigate this disturbance. The man reaches inside a belt pouch and offers each of you ten gold pieces. Thank you for coming with us to investigate. Hopefully this will tide you over for a few weeks.
The Sheriff ushers everyone out of Boneyard and locks up the gates before leading the party back to Father Zantus. It is a sad day, Father. The bones of Ezakien are missing. I'll explain the rest to you after we have escorted our saviors back to town.
---
As the lot of you return to the Rusty Dragon, you are greeted warmly by Ameiko. Welcome back! I'll have stews brought out immediately! Please, please have a seat! Ameiko ushers you to the table nearest the roaring fire.
As you sit, waiting for the stew, the doors open and the group hears a familiar voice. Saviors of Sandpoint! You have returned! Elena, you are as lovely as ever! I have searched high and low for you today! Aldern Foxglove walks up to the party, heartily greeting the party, kissing the hand of Elena.
As a thank you for saving my life, here is a bit of coin to bolster you during your stay here. The man puts a bag into the hands of Elena while smiling at her.
Before I return to my townhouse in Magnimar in a few days time, I am hoping to go on a boar hunt in nearby Tickwood Forest. The boar is well-reknown for its flavor and size! It would be a feast for the ages! You should come along!
"There's no finer hunter than Maze here, but I can't always keep up. Still, we'd be happy to come along and share in the sport and feast." Dashuun responds. "Of course I can't use weapons, but I don't need the things."
"Why Mister Foxglove, it is always a pleasure to see your face. Giving us gold, you shouldn't...we should be scraping together some for your bravery in keeping us safe and sound. Those goblins really had the drop on us until you masterfully cut them down with your rapier!"
When she hears about the hunt, she doesn't give any sort of clue how she felt. "I'm not a hunter, though I have to admit, bacon and sausages are certainly delicious. I don't suppose that boar has been causing any trouble has it...I'd feel better about trying to remove it from the environment, if it was a nuisance."
Torg moves the bag of coins he is handed repeatedly from one hand to the other, appearing to mentally weigh the coins in his mind before stashing it in a hidden pocket of his cloak.
"This should keep me from starving for a few weeks at least. A well-cooked boar, slightly crispy on the outside, but juicy in the middle would be even better than stew though. I would come and see this boar hunted," he replies.
Broon thanks the sheriff then later takes advantage of resupplying a couple quiver of arrows Savah's Armory. Once at the Rusty Dragon with a brew in hand, Broon loses himself in deep thoughts between sips, pondering at the oddity of the day's events, and specifically the briefness of the sheriff.
Loriana comes back with the rest of the group, but is quite somber in her thoughts. She orders food and drink, but slips off to a quiet corner, clearly distracted and not focusing on what is going on around herself.
When Mister Foxglove comes in, she starts for a moment, but then leans back in her seat again, her vision and mind wandering as she eats in silence.
You sensed no dishonesty in the tone or posture of the sheriff. He merely seemed worried about maintaining the peace after the goblin raid.
Well met Dashuun and Torg! It would be an honor to have the brawn and guile of hte mighty goblinslayers. And, of course... He bends to one knee and kisses the hand of Elena. It would be the highest privilege to accompany you on the hunt, milady.
Aldern stands up and bows to the group. If the rest of you change your minds, please feel free to join us tomorrow morning at the stables.
As the group enjoys their stew and choice of drink, a surly visitor slams the tavern's door open and bellows out a sharp-tongued command in a strange language.
The other patrons seem to recognize him and grow very quiet and interested in their meals.
The visitor appears to either be a spry older-man or a worn-down middle-aged man.
Before Ellena could begin to discuss whether or not the group intended on going boar hunting in the morning, the commotion began taking place. "Who so that old timer? He acts like he owns this place."
The man's glare turns to the party and he seems surprised to see you, but his surprise quickly turns to ire. He barks at you in Common. Old timer?! To be treated so disrespectfully by vagrants such as yourselves!
Lonjiku steps forward and points a finger in Elena's face. Your antics likely caused many deaths around this town! You and your lot... The man spits on the ground. Leave guarding the town to the professionals and the guard. We've no need for you here!
"City folk." Dashuun responds simply, returning the gesture and spitting.
"Apologies for being brusk. But, if it weren't for we and Aldern, I think more people would have died. We tried our best to help this town. If you are from here, it'd be nice if you appreciated the effort, just a little. And again, I apologize for my earlier comment."
”Vagrants?”, the comment snaps Broon out of silence. He walks over and roughly jabs a finger into the man's chest, ”Didn't see any of your blood spilled on the ground today. Why don't you go back to bed and out of the way.”.
Torg buries his face in his bowl of stew and seems to be doing his best to ignore the on-going argument.