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After cleaning himself off as best he can, Cerin tells Fluff in a conspiratorial whisper "I know how you feel." as he feeds her a berry. "The big folk think they can just toss us around whenever they like." He looks around with a grin and a twinkle in his eye.
"Halvor, would you be so kind as to hold onto our findings until such time as we have a chance to appraise them properly?" He asks before they head off along the trail.
Gwyn waits until Cerin is away from Fluff and the others, and the thrush isn't looking, before she sweeps off her hat and takes a sniff before handing it to the gnome.
"Does this smell to you," Gwyn asks sheepishly.
Gwyn: Let's say that your hat smells like what you said, plus fresh bird droppings. You might want to check your hair...
Using the newly-found compass to confirm his uncanny sense of direction, Cerin leads the party through the woods. After about half an hour, you find a fairly well-worn path that bears signs of goblins (such as casually-hacked or burned plants, rude carvings on trees and boulders, trash on the ground, etc). Carefully scouting to the north, Cerin and Kyrian don't see or hear any goblin parties, at least for now.
After about another half an hour of creeping through Nettlewood, you start to notice signs of being close to the shore: the calls of gulls and the distant crash of waves. The trees also start to thin out, replaced by dense scrub. The briars and thistles that grow so rampantly in Nettlewood are even more dense and tangled here, close to the shore. Although not quite dense enough to block the sound of waves crashing on the unseen shores to the west, the undergrowth is certainly thick enough to block sight and access to the coast. Few trees grow this close to the edge of the sea, but the briars themselves often reach heights to rival them; here, the patch is nearly twenty feet high.
Halvor accepts the extra items from Cerin with a shrug. They each had their abilities they brought to the table. For the burly fighter, it was swinging a sword and carrying lots of things.
As they approach what appears to be the coast, Halvor starts looking for their destination, only to find his view hampered by the hedge of briars. Appearing complete, the warrior wondered if they would have to backtrack and hug the coast to make it to Thistletop.
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Cerin takes a cautious whiff of the hat, then quickly jerks back. "I don't think you should put Fluff in your hat anymore. She seems to have clearly let her displeasure known..."
Upon reaching the hedge, Cerin creeps along the edge for a few feet before stepping into the briars and vanishing. After a few seconds, his head pokes out and he whispers "I will scout ahead and find the easiest way through. Stay here!" and disappears back into the hedge.
Helena occasionally reaches up to stroke Fluff's breast feathers, sharing conspiratorial whispers and giggles with the thrush. She doesn't catch Halvor's flustered flushing, too caught up in studying the strange compass.
____________
When her limited range of vision shrinks further in the tangle of vegetation, Helena shrinks closer to those around her, falling in next to Gwyn. When Cerin scouts ahead, she waits anxiously, glancing left and right at the trees. "Does this make anyone else uncomfortable?" she asks quietly.
Gwyn takes a sniff at her hair after catching the whiff of ammonia and has the same reaction as Cerin.
"Shoulda gotten an owl, or a badger, but noooooooo! I wanted a familiar that could talk," she grumbles to herself as she sets the hat alight.
Fluff goes unusually silent when they arrive at the hedge. Gwyn turns to the bird and whispers, "Stay here, if we don't come out before the next night, go to Sandpoint and warn them we failed," the elf looks deadly serious, a state only one or two others had ever seen her in.
After Cerin goes through the hedge, she begins looking for doors and other ways in and out.
"It's okay, Helena. At least we don't hear those goblins incessant singing for once," she says as she looks.
The warrior's eyes widen as he spies his friend just slip through the barrier of brambles. Now it was just a waiting game and they had to trust Cerin would manage to get back to them. Halvor stood a silent vigil a few feet from the wall of thorns, sword out, ready to start hacking at the thick growth if needed.
Wandering monster check (20%)
Everyone else watches Cerin step up to and disappear into the thick hedge with such expertise that the tangle of briars does not seem to hinder his progress at all.
With your attention on the hedge, all of you notice an odd-looking thing to the left of where Cerin enters the briars: There appears to be a flat mat of woven briar branches that's hanging over a slight recession in the hedge. The mat is roughly four feet square.
Halvor steps up to the hanging mat of briars, taking his sword and experimentally giving it a push.
Before Halvor pokes the mat, Gwyn tries to stop him.
"Nononononono! Let me check it first. It might be trapped," she says in a single breath. Once she's sure that Halvor isn't going to set anything off, she takes a look.
As Halvor marches toward the mat covering the opening in the thick bushes, Gwyn notices that the vegetation on the ground before the hedge was actually a similar mat. She calls out to Halvor and lunges toward him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back... just as his foot would have stepped into the mat. Gwyn nudges the mat herself, revealing a concealed 10-foot deep pit.
At that time, the mat before the opening also opens from the inside. You all grab for your weapons, but then realize that it's Cerin opening the "door." With an extended finger across his lips, he motions you all to enter the low passage.
Inside the hedge are cramped, narrow passages tunneling through the briar "walls." The ceiling of the passages are barely four feet high, and the passages are perhaps three feet wide. The floor is hard-packed earth. The light filtering through the branches above you is dim sunlight. There appears to be a slightly larger "room" just to the west of the entrance, with a tunnel leading north out of it. There are also tunnels leading northeast and north of where you stand.
You hear the faint sound of water rushing over rocks to the northeast.
Wandering monster check (20%)
... Yup!
Cerin and Kyrian notice another woven briar mat on the western wall of the passage to the west, and point it out to the rest of you.
As you silently decide what to do next, from the west, you hear a a crash, as if a pile of rocks fell to the ground. This is followed by some goblin chattering. The briar mat that Cerin and Kyrian had just pointed out swings open, and two surprised-looking goblins appear behind it!
Surprise Round
Halvor rushes towards the surprised creatures, having to slip around Kyrian to do so.
Once there, he takes his sickly green-glowing longsword and slashes it across at the near goblin, hoping to end the fight quickly before the goblins can make a lot of racket.
Gwyn takes in a steadying breath before diving in and going after the other one.
Only find herself mocked by Fluff when her stab misses by at least a foot.
"Gwyn? How long has it been since you last used a knife?"
"Not the time, Fluff!"
With a squeak of surprise, Helena moves up behind Gwyn, longspear at the ready. In her armour and the cramped conditions, not to mention the length of her weapon, movement proves problematic.
As Halvor charges the suprised goblins, Kyrian fires a snap shot at the farther one. The arrow hits the little creep in the shoulder, and it grunts in pain.
Halvor then skewers the lead goblin, and it crumples to the ground with a look of confusion on its wretched face.
Cerin casts a spell. Gwyn rushes in to help Halvor, but the goblin is dead before she can reach it. Helena rushes forward, but can't bring her spear up in time.
Round 1
Halvor steps over the dead goblin's corpse and slashes at the remaining goblin. He connects, slashing across the goblin's abdomen. Its entrails spill out, and it tries to push them back in, but quickly loses consciousness and collapses.
Combat over
Thankful that you overcame the two goblins before they managed to raise the alarm, you now must decide what to do with the corpses.
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Cerin rushes over to the hedge where the goblins emerged, giving Halvor a congratulatory pat on the back as he passes. After extinguishing his blade, he works his way through the briars next to the opening and peeks out to make sure there aren't any more enemies coming.
If they are all clear, he motions for everyone to grab the bodies and toss them into the water.
While Cerin checks for enemies through the hedge. Gwyn sneaks down the other passages a little ways to see what lay ahead.
* * *
Earlier...
As Cerin steps into the hedge, Helena examines the strange compass. She casts a spell and her clouded eyes light up with an eerie bluish glow.
* * *
Now...
The passage beyond the briar mat "door" reveals a small ledge at the top of a sea cliff. The ledge extends north and south for about 15 feet in each direction before being cut off by briar thickets growing over the edge. The cliff drops away to surf crashing on a rocky beach eighty feet below. There are small piles of rocks on the ledge, and a few stray rocks littered here and there.
You easily grab the dead goblins and throw them over the edge. One lands with a splash in the water, and the other with a dull *thud* on the beach below.
Gwyn sneaks up the cramped northwestern passage, following it several yards. It opens up into a slightly larger passage which allows her to stand upright. While she finds no actual goblins, the signs of their presence is unmistakable... including their distinctive foul odor. There is another of those briar mat "doors" to the northwest.
Finding a dead end, she goes back and tries the next passage.
"No goblins, but there's a door," she relays to the group as she passes back through.
Halvor cleans his sword, taking little satisfaction from killing the two goblins. He does smiles at Cerin though, as keeping the creeps from crying out had certainly kept their element of surprise.
Hearing Gwyn's words, the warrior nods, waiting for someone with better observation skills to look around before he proceeds through the door, deeper into the thicket and the lair of the goblins.
Not wanting to impede Gwyn's sneaking and scouting, Helena swallows nervously and stays close to Halvor. She says nothing, simply standing in awkward silence.
...nope.
As Gwyn sneaks off to investigate the next passage, Kyrian follows her. He whispers, "Hey! Don't sneak off alone! I don't want to lose another pretty girl from this party!
Squeezing through the cramped passages and careful not to brush against the thorns and goblinberry vines that comprise the walls and ceiling, the pair decide to head north at the known intersection, and they quickly come to annother. Both motion to the other for silence. Gwyn hears goblin voices chattering in the distance to the northwest, and the sound of waves and sloshing water to the east gets stronger. The passage to the east opens up wider, and you see brighter sunlight streaming through the canopy.
Cerin opens the woven briar door to find a small hollow in the hedge, with another door to the northwest. He peers through the weave to see open sky, so he opens that door as well. The passage leads to a narrow ledge overlooking the sea cliff. To the north, Cerin sees a huge round boulder sitting in the water about eighty feet from the cliff face. While some scrubby vegetation clings to the top of the rock, its most prominent feature is a makeshift fortress constructed of driftwood, flotsam, and logs. A rickety-looking rope bridge spans the gap. Cerin also hears goblin chattering through the bushes to the north and east of his position, but as he opens the second door, the voices drop to whispers and then go silent.
As with Helena, Halvor remains behind, his bulky armor plates not much suited for reconnaissance. He does nothing to alleviate the awkwardness with the young woman, alternating between woeful attempts at looking ahead of them and painfully indiscrete glances at the pretty young woman.
The warrior blows out a sigh of relief as Cerin rushes back, grateful for a break in the peaceful, agonizing interlude. He nods, leading the way with his longsword, hoping that Gwyn and Kyrian don't get themselves in too much trouble.
"More of them?" Helena asks Cerin quietly, her knuckles white as they grip her spear. "Did you see how many- Hey, not to far!" She hurries after Halvor, not wanting to lose sight. After all, Cerin was small and easily-overlooked in this terrain, which was probably for the best; losing sight of someone her own size would leave her lost in a maze like this.
Gwyn sneaks off to the left before backtracking and going right.
"Sorry!" He whispers back to the oracle, wondering if the cloudiness of her eyes caused her any vision problems.
"Oh! Ok." The warrior replies sheepishly to Cerin, his eagerness to bring battle to the residents her causing him to act foolishly. He holds off, waiting to see if Cerin can spot the other members of their party so they can go together in a united front.
Gwyn and Kyrian...
Gwyn silently creeps to the left, and Kyrian follows. In the dim light, you both spy another briar mat door to the north and a shadowy passage leading east. It had been from that shadowy passage that you had both heard goblin chattering, but it's now scarily silent.
It's about then that you both spy a pair of goblins crouching behind vegetation. They seem unaware of your presence.
Cerin, Halvor, and Helena...
Cerin silently rushes through the chamber and up the passage where Gyan and Kyrian had gone. He cannot see them through the claustrophoc bushes.
Halvor and Helena follow behind their gnomish friend, with Halvor guarding the rear.
Gwyn grins at Kyrian like a maniac before sneaking up to on of the goblins and going for the kidneys.
Not knowing what else to do, Halvor follows behind Cerin at a distance, not wanting to give away the more quiet gnome. He makes certain to keep Helena between them, not wanting an enemy to come up behind them and attack her.
His longsword is drawn and ready, his stress levels high as he walked a tightrope of excitement. There were potentially dozens of enemies here, all could be mere feet away. The warrior's blood started to rush in his ears, his adrenaline pumping as the fight-or-flight hormones in his body started flooding out.
Surprise Round
Creeping in the shadows, Kyrian silently draws his bow and lets fly an arrow at one of the hiding goblins. The arrow hits the goblin squarely in his left eye and buries itself several inches into his head. With a look of surprise on his ugly face, he slumps over without making a sound.
With a grin, Helena creeps toward the other unaware goblins and stabs her in the kidneys. Fortunately for the goblin, Gwyn's blade is slightly deflected by a preserved dead seagull she's wearing as a bizarre fashion statement. The goblin shrieks in pain and shouts, "Bree-yark! Bree-yark!"
Gwyn and Kyrian also now see into the area beyond. A fire smoulders in the middle of the thirty-foot wide chamber. Several reed-and-leaf nests are arranged haphazardly around the permeter. Eight pairs of red eyes glint in the firelight through the smoke.
Cerin, Halvor, and Helena run up the passage to see Gwyn in melee with a goblin, and Kyrian nocking another arrow.
Round 1
Gwyn stabs at the goblin again, before baking up beside Kyrian.
Gwyn slashes at the goblin she'd just stabbed, but her blade is deflected by the goblin's leather armor.
...miss
...hit
...dead
...miss
...miss
...hit
...miss
...miss
...miss
...miss
...miss
The goblin continues shouting, as she draws her dogslicer and returns Gwyn's attack. But Gwyn is far too nimble for the feeble attack.
Six of the goblins in the chamber start shouting and rush toward Gwyn, drawing their dogslicers, while two more pull out bows. As one of the goblins rushes past Cerin hiding in the bushes, the gnome strikes from the bushes with his flaming scimitar, slashing the goblin across the gut. The goblin gasps and collapses to the floor.
Gwyn strikes as one of the goblins tries to pass her, but she misses. While defending against that goblin, the other manages to score a lucky hit.
The three other goblins surround Cerin, still hiding in the bushes, but their attacks are ineffectual. Likewise, the two goblin archers can't get a decent shot at either of the intruders, and their shots land somewhere in the bushes.
Gwyn hisses as one of the goblin's leaves a stinging wound at her waist. She almost gives into the urge to incinerate the wretch when something of the trickster in her comes to the surface. She takes a step back and grins impishly at the goblins as she brings the arcane words forth.
"Pixie Stix," she titters as a wave of swirling colors burst from her palm.
After Gwyn's magical assault, the warrior quietly tugs on Helena's arm, pulling her toward the ruckus. "This way." He leaves her by Kyrian, continuing forward with his blade brandished, stepping up to make himself a tempting target to as many goblins as possible.
Finding herself pulled along by Halvor, Helena hustles along with the movement, positioning herself to stab with her spear. "Be careful, you fool!" she hisses at Gwyn.
...override. Damage = 6
Cerin's flaming blade cuts down a second goblin. Kyrian lets another arrow fly, and another goblin goes down. Halvor and Helena move into position.
Round 2
Gwyn steps back and casts a spell. Dazzling motes of light envelop a bunch of the goblins. Three of the goblins caught in the spell are overwhelmed by the magic and collapse.
...hit
...miss
The remaining goblin that's still fighting Cerin seems not to have noticed his comrades succumbing to Gywn's spell, and fights on. He manages to land a lucky hit, cutting a nasty gash on Cerin's left arm.
The two archers appear to be very frightened at so many of their companions falling so quickly at the intruders, and they let their arrows fly in desperation. One shot is wild, but the other hits Halvor in the leg.
Gwyn winks at Kyrian before going back into the tunnel and snapping her fingers to send a jet of flame at one of the archers.
"Don't worry. I've already knocked half of them out if you'd like to catch one to ask questions, though I think a knife in the throat would be better," she tells Helena over the merry crackle of flames.
With a look of grim determination, Cerin feints at one of the goblins. It falls for the ruse, and Cerin slashes across its abdomen with his flaming blade. The goblin collapses to the ground.
Kyrian quips, "Hey, Gwyn, we saw Lynnda use a spell just like that! Does every gorgeous sorceress know that one?" fires an arrow at one of the goblin archers, but he misjudges the height of the narrow passage he must shoot through, and the arrow is lost in the dense vegetation.
Squinting into the tangle of briars and vines ahead of her, Helena sees one of the goblin archers. Making her way over the unconscious bodies on the ground, she stabs awkwardly at the archer, attempting to stop a potential retreat.