...4
...miss
...hit
...2
...hit
...2
In an effort to get the horrid little things off him, Halvor swings his sword in a low, wide arc. He cuts nearly a dozen in half, leaving twitching chunks of flesh in a pool of violet blood, and he then retreats from them across the room. Cerin jumps down off the pulpit, landing in a roll, and then gets up to slash at the swarm, but the bits scatter before his blade. Kyrian fires into the mass of writhing flesh, skewering several like demented shish kebab. Krissina smashes at them with her morningstar, but most of them writhe out of the way before the blow strikes. And Lynnda pulls out a earthenware flask and throws it into the midst of the swarm. It explodes in a flash of fire, sending sticky flaming goo across the swarm.
Despite the loss of scores of individuals, the swarm keeps advancing.
Round 2
The swarm advances, overrunning Cerin and Krissina.
...hit
Swarm status: hp 2/19
As the swarm crawls over them, the two adventurers press the attack. Krissina in particular manages to smash at least a dozen of the fleshdregs into pulp. A much-diminished swarm still advances over them, biting and scratching with scores of tiny teeth and claws.
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Exhausted and having used all of his divine energy for the day, Cerin continues to desperately slash wildly at the swarm of horrible fleshlings surrounding him.
"I've got nothing left. Krissina, I don't suppose you could manage another of those waves of fire?" he calls out as he flees the swarm and tries to make his way back up the stairs.
Confirm Crit?
extra damage:
Halvor desperately starts trying to light a torch, fire seeming the only thing that might dwindle the creatures drastically. If successful, he starts to make his way back to the swarming mass.
As she swings her morningstar, Krissina replies to Cerin, "I'm tapped out of magic for now."
...hit
...9
...miss
Lynnda rushes down the stairs to attack the swarm with her spear, but the writhing lumps of toothy flesh squirm out of the way of the point. Halvor spends a moment striking flint and steel, lighting his torch. Kyrian fires at the swarm again, but this time his arrow only grazes one of the lumps. Cerin cuts at several, while Krissina sends at least a dozen flying with a wide swing of her morningstar. The alchemist fire spreads over most of the rest of the swarm, burning another two score of them into a crisp before burning out.
Barely a dozen fleshdregs remain mobile, and you take another moment to easily skewer, torch, or squash them.
You notice that the water in the triangular pool now appears to be still and clear water, with no glow at all.
Halvor breathes heavily after the group puts down the last of the flesh monsters. He looks to the more learned members, "So, anything else, or are we done here? I think we've put in a full day's work, personally..."
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Cerin holds his bruised side and nods. "Yes, we've cleared out this nest of monsters. We just need to find a way to seal up the passage that leads to the beach so the goblins can't attack this way. Tomorrow we can worry about heading to their lair to end their threat for good."
"Oooh,I really hope that I can get a nice hot bath at the Dragon..."
Lynnda casts a spell, and seems to examine the triangular pool again. "Cerin, I think you're right. The aura of this pool seems dormant now. I think we don't have anything to worry about down here again."
The mystical glow in her eyes subsides. "I think we're all pretty tired, but the Sheriff did ask us to secure the far end of the tunnel. I think we should head there next and see what we can do."
You leave the Thassilonian chambers and return to the smuggling tunnels, following them to the exit by the secluded beach north of town. You open the secret door that leads to the shallow cave on the beach, and confirm that there are no enemies present at this time. You now see that the time of day is late afternoon, heading toward evening.
You close the door, and Kyrian sets to work on barring the door from this side. The pivoting stone door itself has no locks, but he manages to dismantle the door opening mechanism and then spikes the door shut so that it will take considerable force to open it.
Kyrian's work takes a good half-hour. When you're convinced that this door won't be opening without a team of miners or a wizard, you decide to call it a day and head back.
You emerge in the smuggling tunnels to the chamber below the Glassworks. Two different town guards stand guard, and their expressions quickly turn to relief once they realize that the party coming down the tunnel is you. You head back upstairs, and find that there doesn't seem to be anybody here, save for town guards at each of the factory's entrances. THe guards let you out into the late afternoon sunshine. You guess that there is perhaps an hour of daylight remaining.
Following Cerin out of the Catacombs, Halvor's brow furrows as he thinks. "Where's Alkenstar?"
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"Tsk, tsk, I am going to have to see to your education, my friend!" Cerin teases. "Alkenstar is in the Mana Wastes between Geb and Nex. I was referring to my small efforts on the Gunworks, of course, not the city as a whole. Ah, they are quite the sight to see, you have to go there someday!"
He continues to ramble on about the city as they make their way back to the inn.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Kyrian responds. "Yea, I'll agree to the Dragon. I could use a good ale after today. A few other things as well maybe, but I'm sure you guys know me well enough by now after a few days." he says with a slight chuckle.
Lynnda joins in conversation as you cross town.
"You are certainly well-traveled, Cerin! I've never left Varisia. For that matter, I've never really left the Lost Coast. What are the Gunworks?"
As you walk across town to the Rusty Dragon, you get a few waves from the people you pass. Crossing the empty marketplace, you hear some friendly shouting from the group of children playing "heroes and goblins" that you'd noticed this morning. From across the plaza, one of the boys holds up a green pumpkin with a toy arrow stuck through it. "We got the goblin! Here's his head!" They then run down Festival Street.
As you walk into the Rusty Dragon, you hear the sound of a woman singing and playing an instrument that doesn't quite sound like a lute. Ameiko is sitting by the fire, playing an instrument that looks like a three-stringed, square banjo with a very long neck. She sings a beautiful, sad song.
You enter the room during an instrumental interlude of the song, and one of the people in the barroom shouts, "Hey! It's the Sandpoint Heroes!" Several people cheer and raise their glasses to you, as you find a table.
Bethana quicky comes to your table and takes your order.
Halvor looks at Ameiko for a moment, glad that she is at least amongst others after news of her father's murder and brother's involvement can't have been good for her. He smiles at Bethana, "Some ale and food, please."
He chuckles, looking at Cerin, "I couldn't name anything in Magnimar, let alone any of those places you mentioned. I guess I never paid attention before." The warrior shrugs.
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In response to Lynnda, Cerin's gaze grows distant and he seems to be far away. "Ah, the Gunworks of the Grand Duchy of Alkenstar! Probably one of the most unique places on the face of Golarion, at least that I have seen. An enormous citadel in the heart of the most twisted, magic-blasted wastelands in the world. Magic won't even function in most areas, and even when it does, you can never tell what will happen!"
He snaps back to the here and now as the children call out, smiling and waving. "Good job!" he calls to them with a thumbs up.
"Where was I? Twenty years in the making, but I was only there for a year before they sealed it off from anyone not a native. Very jealous of their secrets, you see. You've seen firearms, haven't you? No? Well, it's not surprising, they are quite rare as Alkenstar only exports a limited number of them each year. They are the result of incredible engineering by the dwarves who lived in a Sky City in the Wastes. Without magic to fall back on, they created machines that can propel sling bullets so fast they will go right through people!" he shakes his head ruefully as they enter the Dragon and find a table.
"I always wished that I had been able to get one..." his voice trails off as he stops to listen to Ameiko. His chin in his hands, he sits silently in appreciation until she finishes, letting Halvor take care of their order.
"Ale and mutton if you can ma'am. It would be much appreciated." Kyrian says to Bethana as she takes their orders while listening to Cerin. After hearing Ameiko's ballad, he responds towards the firearms comment Cerin had made. "I can tell you one thing. The part of Magnimar I found myself in? Something like that would be a dangerous object to deal with..." as he pauses, looking towards Ameiko. "How well do you think she's going to hold up? First her brother and now her father? Not trying to be a orc, but it seems like her family is droppin like flies..."
Bethana brings your drinks quickly and your food not long thereafter. Ameiko plays one more piece, then takes a bow.
As you're eating, you notice that one of the town guards enters the barroom, sees you, and immediately steps out. About ten minutes later, the sound of the revelry dies down just a bit as Sheriff Hemlock walks in. He approaches your table ans asks if he could join you for a few minutes.
Halvor, though exhausted, smiles at the Sheriff, indicating an empty chair at the table. "I second that statement, Cerin. Dungeon-delving surely works up an appetite."
"I would also venture to say that having to fight the ugly things that we did takes a lot of ya as well. Man that was exhausting. So what's up sheriff?" Kyrian says as he takes a swig of his ale.
"I can imagine. So, you found some ugly things down there? What, exactly, did you find? And is there anything that would constitute an immediate threat to Sandpoint?"
"Lynnda, Cerin, or Kyrian could likely expand upon it, but basically we found a bunch of terrifying monsters that were being spawned in a pool by some little demon. We killed the monsters, killed the demon, then exhausted the pool. We also found a mutant goblin, as well, and put him down, as well. I don't think there's anything that's an immediate threat, sir." Halvor then takes a deep pull of his drink, closing his eyes in satisfaction as the cool liquid slides down.
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Cerin takes a long drink while Halvor gives the sheriff a brief explanation. "Yes, that's true. While not an immediate threat, there is an altar dedicated to Lamashtu down there that I think Father Zantus should see if he can consecrate and cleanse fairly soon. I believe it may be linked to the pool which, while exhausted for now, could be activated again. I would like to see if he agrees with my assessment and if there is anything else we can do to keep that artifact from spawning any more aberrations!"
He takes a large bite of mutton and chews enthusiastically. "Oh, and we blocked off the secret passage to the beach, so the goblins won't be able to attack from that direction without a lot of effort. It should give you ample time to prepare should they make an attempt."
Kyrian nods in agreement. "Pretty much what he said. So at this point, I think we need to go over Tsuto's notes, speak with Shalelu, and figure out our next plan."
Hemlock seems genuinely shocked at the revelation that demons, monsters, a monster-spawning magical artifact, and a shrine to the Demon Queen all exist underneath his town. He leans in close and whispers, "By the gods! Horrors like that lurked under Sandpoint?! Do you have any idea how long that place had been there? And, did you find evidence that there are any more... things... lurking below?" He then glances left and right, seemingly assessing the number of townsfolk in the barroom eager to hear stories of the Heroes of Sandpoint.
The sheriff then leans back and picks up a mug of ale. His face transforms from worry and concern to a jovial smile. He raises his glass to you.
"Well, enough of your tales of derring-do! I'd love to hear more of your adventures back in my office, whenever you have a chance." He leans in and whispers, "As soon as possible. I'll be waiting." He stands, and announces, "Well, I have policing to do. Good evening, friends." He then walks out the door.
Halvor nods to Hemlock, an expression of faint amusement on the warrior's face at the Sheriff's curious behavior. He shrugs, turning back to his meal and drink. "Well I guess there's no rest for the weary. If I'd known we have more work to do, I probably would have held off on seconds."
"You and me both." Kyrian chuckles before looking towards the rest of the group. "Alright then, shall we get going to the sheriff's neat little office?"
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Cerin drains the last of his mug and stuffs a roll into his pocket for later. He sighs as he hops down from his chair, looking longingly towards the upper level where his room and the bath are located.
"Yes, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can come back to our well-deserved rest!" He gives Bethana a smile and quick nod as they leave. "Thank you, the food was scrumptious as usual!"
Halvor rises after Cerin, giving the Halfling server a smile and nod before exiting with the others towards the Garrison.
After a much-needed supper, the five Heroes of Goblin Day walk across town to the garrison. As you walk past the Sandpoint Mercantile League, a voice calls to you from the shadows. "Lynnda! We need to have a word." Stepping out from the shadows is a well-dressed Varisian man with a well-trimmed goatee.
"Uncle Jubryal?! What do you want? We're kind of busy right now." Perched on her shoulder, Lynnda's cat cocks her head to one side and stares at the Varisian man with unblinking green eyes.
With the inscrutable smirk that's perpetually on the man's face, he approaches, and puts an arm over his "neice's" shoulder. "Lynnda, Lynnda, Lynnda. I have some bad news." He looks at the rest of the party. "We should probably discuss this in private. It involves... things that happened in the past and their consequences in the present."
Lynnda glances at the rest of the party, then at Jubryal, and seems to relax. "Oh, okay. That is probably a good idea." She looks at the rest of the party, and says, "Why don't the rest of you go talk with the Sheriff. You can fill me in later. I think my uncle and I need to have this discussion right now."
Lynnda and Vishki turn to cut through an alley to the south, toward the waterfront.
Kyrian looks at the man Lynnda calls uncle, he wonders who he actually is. "Hmm... This guy doesn't look familiar, but I get the feeling something isn't right here..." Giving a slight nod, he makes remarks similar to Cerin's. "Don't worry, we can fill you in. You just let us know though if you need any help. You know damn well that we can take on pretty much anything." he finishes up with a look towards the man she called uncle.
"Are you sure, Lynnda? We don't mind having your back, should you decide you'd prefer not to." The fighter glowers at Jubrayl, eyes moving about to check for the unseen backup that is almost assuredly there somewhere.
Vishki leans in and whispers something into Lynnda's ear, and squeezes her shoulder affectionately. He then takes his arm away. Lynnda does not appear to be troubled by the touch... the action seems very Varisian.
Lynnda sighs deeply, turns to her friends, and smiles... a bit wistfully, you think. "It's okay, really. This is something that I need to take care of... alone. I'll see you all later!"
At that, she raises her hand and waves good-bye, turns, and walks off with Vishki into the alley.
A bit confused, the warrior offers a half-hearted wave as the sorceress wanders off with the morally dubious man, looking to the rest of his companions. "Well, I guess we should see what the sheriff wants while Lynnda handles whatever is going on with her."
Bidding an unexpected 'good night' to Lynnda, the remaining four Sandpoint Heroes make their way to the Garrison. The guards on duty greet you warmly, and show you to the sheriff's office.
"Thanks for coming so soon. I..." He suddenly realizes that there are but four of you. "Lynnda isn't joining us? That's too bad. Anyway, I can see that you all took a bit of a beating.
"Now we're somewhere we can all speak freely without starting a panic. What, exactly, did you find down there? And how long have those chambers been there?"
"Now we're somewhere we can all speak freely without starting a panic. You say you found a shrine to the Mother of Monsters, a mutant goblin, and a demon?! This is extremely troubling. Were there any signs about how long those chambers have been there? And, how likely do you estimate that there are more horrors lurking down there?"
As you are about to answer, there's a knock on the sheriff's door. Hemlock rises and opens the door, saying, "This had better be important."
Zandu, one of the town guards, stands at the door, holding a small scroll, which he hands to Hemlock. "Sorry to interrupt, sir. We just got this message from Magnimar by raven. The Lord-Mayor wants more information before he'll spare any soldiers for assistance with our 'goblin problem.' He's sending Justice Ironbriar from the Justice Court with a small party to assess the situation, and also to bring the traitor Tsuto Kaijitsu back to Magnimar to face a trial. According to the note, the justice is already on his way, and will likely be here by tomorrow afternoon!"
The sheriff thanks the officer, and reads the scroll himself. He sits back down at his desk, tossing the scroll onto the cluttered desktop. "Great. I hate big-city politics! But at least they'll take Tsuto out of my hands. But back to the tunnels. Your thoughts on their age and your current threat assessment?"
"Ummm...I think Cerin would be better, as far as telling you the age of the structure. As for threat, I would say there is little threat, anymore. The demon and it's foul creations were slain, the zombies were given the grace of death, the goblin mutant was put down. The weird pool that seemed to generate the monsters was used up, too, I think. There's probably little to worry about from that angle, beyond the route through the tunnels to the Glassworks that goblins or other never-do-wells could use to sneak into town."
The warrior finishes in a rush, nearly gasping. He isn't used to talking so much, and folds his arms at the conclusion, taking a step back to allow someone else to take the lead.
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"Well, from the runes inscribed on the walls I would say that these are Thassilonian ruins. Many scholars believe that the more predominant use of certain runes were not used until after the end of Xin's reign, which would put it around -6420 AR, although the scholar Berriget believes that Xin himself instituted their use..." as he starts to get into the finer details of his observations he sees the look on the Sheriff's face and coughs politely before continuing.
"Ah Yes, well the short answer is probably over 11,000 years. And while Halvor is quite correct in that we have removed the creatures down there and it is safe, Father Zantus should investigate the altar and pool as soon as possible!"
Upon hearing about the immanent visit of the Judge from Magnimar, he shakes his head. "With our current plans, we will probably be knee-deep in goblins by tomorrow afternoon. I'm not sure which of us is in the worse position!" he says with a twinkle in his eye.
The sheriff looks surprised. "You're someone else who thinks Thassilon's heyday was ten thousand years ago? I'm no expert, but after hearing Quink ramble on about Thassilon and the Old Light and how the prevailing wisdom is wrong, I didn't think too many others agreed with him!"
Krissina rolls her eyes at Quink's name. "Isn't that the truth! He has a tendency to bore the other customers at the Dragon with his stories. Ameiko, Bethana, and I are glad he seems to prefer the food at Risa's and the company at Cracktooth's. Of course, I don't think he realizes that the people at Cracktooth's indulge him because they're making fun of him..."
"As for your plans for tomorrow... I would advise meeting with Justice Ironbriar before you head out goblin-hunting. I'm positive he'll want to hear what you have to say about our prisoner. I know him well enough to say that if he's making the trek to Sandpoint personally, he'll be quite displeased if he can't speak to the witnesses himself. I doubt he'll want to say in town longer than he has to."
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"I think I would like to speak with this Quink and hear more of his theories! I am but a poor layman, my few bits of knowledge come from my short stint as a scribe's apprentice in Absalom a few decades ago. There were quite a few sages with 'unconventional' ideas there, but many of them quite brilliant."
"I suppose we could delay our departure until after lunch. I still have a few bruises so I wouldn't mind a bit of extra rest." Cerin says holding his shoulder and flexing it with a wince as he looks around for agreement from everyone.
Halvor shrugs. Following orders was easy to him, so if the Sheriff said to stay, he would stay and speak with this Justice Ironbriar.
He turns to look at Cerin. "Maybe we should get Krissina to look at those wounds before we do anything else."
The sheriff asks you to describe in detail the monsters you encountered, and the state of the architecture you explored. He seems particularly alarmed by your descriptions of the monsters that climbed out of the summoning pool, but is somewhat relieved when you explain that you have discharged the magical forces that was causing them to appear. He is also visibly concerned by your description of an altar dedicated to the Demon Queen, and that you encountered an actual demon.
"Thanks for cleaning out the tunnels, and for letting me know what you found. The town owes you. I am going to be meeting with the mayor tomorrow morning to see what she thinks would be our best next steps-- I'm inclined to hire some miners and collapse all of those damn tunnels! I'll send word to you when the justice arrives."
Kyrian puts his hand to his chin before he opens his mouth. "While we were down there, were you guys able to piece anything together from Tsuto and his band of merry little bastards?"
"Not really, Kyrian. He's gotten rather close-mouthed this past day. Whenever one of us asks him a question, mostly stares at us blankly... unless the question is about the goblin attack. In that case, he grins disturbingly and replies, 'I guess you'll find out soon enough!'"
* * * *
Meanwhile, south of town...
As the sun sets over the Varisian Gulf, two riders just make it to the village of Garret's Landing, a small village about halfway between Magnimar and Sandpoint. They seem an unlikely pair: two women, one elf, and one human.
The village seems to have one unusual feature: there appear to be two inns for a village with barely threescore inhabitants: "The Drunken Goblin," and "The Flaming Tankard."
A short, black-haired elf rides into the small hamlet bearing the name Garret's Landing on a dapper chestnut horse that seems to sparkle in the setting sun. She massages her lower-back as Imperious Rex, the dapper horse, trots imperiously into town.
"Tone it down, you ham," she says, seemingly unaware of the irony considering her antics, "Or I'll make you a pack mule."
Imperious Rex merely snorts imperiously in a disdainful manner.
"Aw, let him have his fun," comes a high-pitched, melodious voice from the ball of fluffy feathers with a beak and small doe-eyes perched on the elf's shoulder, "We haven't seen anyone for half-a-day!"
"And it took us three days to get here because he kept throwing me off every time he saw a pretty mare, Fluff," she tells the thrush on her shoulder, "I've got bruise on my bruises, and bruises in places I didn't even know could bruises. See?"
She pulls up her sleeve, revealing a large bruise that has a slightly smaller bruise that raises up into a small lump with a mouth that says "owieowieowie," in a small, tinny voice.
"And what were you saying about hams, Gwyn," Fluff asks while giving the elf a sidelong glance.
"Ah, well, um..." Gwyn stammers before turning to her friend riding beside her, "Uh, Helena, do you have some divine, fey, nature wisdom mumbo-jumbo or something to help me out here?"
----
A short while later, Gwyn is standing in the road as the sun is rapidly setting, looking between two inns, The Drunken Goblin and The Flaming Tankard. She holds the reigns to Imperious Rex who is busy posing heroically for any of the hamlet's residents that happen to walk by. Her delicate brow is furrowed in thought as her free hand gently rubs her chin.
"Hey, Helena? Can you see both of them," Gwyn asks quietly, "Do we go with cheap and seedy, or nice and expensive? We could always do that routine that greasy playwright wanted us to do that one time at the theatre on Risque Night at the seedy one and make some gold," she says thoughtfully.
At the Sheriff's answer, Halvor turns his gaze to his companions, nodding minutely. This just reinforced the idea that they needed to go check out the goblin lair at Thistletop, to figure out the endgame of all this madness. "I have nothing else to add, sir. I'll make sure to be available for this Ironbriar fellow, should he call."
The warrior sighs at the delay, but perhaps the man could come up with answers Halvor and his companions could not, at the moment. At least the warrior would be able to see Tsuto carted off to Magnimar with his own eyes.