"I now claim the name the Chief Stonemaw. In my old clan, I was known as Perlak."
At this the chief looks dubious. "We left our lands to find safety away from the tribe; it is not likely that we would find welcome there as things stands. Perhaps, bring a Big Head? On a leash or a head-in-bag? This might be best introduction."
"I have not seen it myself, but I heard they lair in the Giant's Legs. Two stone pillars, as high as the Kobold Maw." He gestures to the stone outcropping. [b]"Two Moons south."
Parting with the Kobolds with a handfull of Moonradishes, information on your surroundings, and (perhaps most importantly) a fledgling ally in the Stolen Lands, the party continues deeper into the trackless wilderness.
After weighing the merits of dealing with the Kobolds and taking a potentially shorter path towards the Bandit Keep, after studying the map and directions, Quintus is able to come up with a path that should hopefully add only a single day detour to visit the Kobolds and still make the goal of reaching the Bandit Keep in under a week.
The woods thin, then break into the Kameland Hills. While exploring a dried out ravine, several sharp eyed party members spy what appears to be a crack in the ravine wall that leads to a small cave. A brief look proves the cave to be empty, perhaps being a burrow for some beast or bear long before. Turning to leave, however, the group notices a glinting come from the dirt covered walls.
Closer inspection of the wall reveals the presence of a mineral vein, that Quint is able to determine is actually gold! Although the party does not currently have the tools or time to obtain a meaningful amount of ore, this vein could potentially be an asset in further settlement of the Stolen Lands!
Riding through the Kameland Hills Quint takes a deep breath and exhales. "This truly is fine country! I feel better already. Do we have any ideas for what we are going to do about the 'big heads'? We only have those kobolds' word about them. I'm inclined to believe him, but I'd hate to make an enemy if we don't need to."
"I have my suspicions about what those creatures are, but the kobolds' description leaves many details out. If they're willing to talk, I say we make friends with them. If they are not, then our more martial allies get the chance to display their skills."
Smiling at the glint of gold in the caveside, Alamina fantasizes about controlling an actual, literal, gold mine.
"Perhaps this area could be put to use with those kobolds, in time. They are supposed to be natural miners, yes? Combine that with the resources here, and it seems a perfect fit, no?"
Quint nods. "That's a great idea, Alamina! If we got craftsmen to work the gold, we could work out some deal with them where they get refined goods in trade for their raw materials, and instead of exporting raw materials we could sell refined goods at a higher price."
He pauses. "You've just got to be careful about it. There are plenty of stories about people who get a lot of wealth and end up changing for the worse. We'll also need to see about protecting the kobolds and the gold because when people find out about it they'll probably try to take it from us. 'You have what you hold' as they say in the River Kingdoms."
"Great work on finding the gold. Gold is precious." Elvara smiles. "Though I kinda wonder how we'll benefit from it if we just give it to the Kobolds. Won't they be the only ones benefiting?" Elvara is a bit confused about the matter. "And if we spend our time here mining, then we won't be able to explore around and deal with various things that pop up, right?"
"Well, my idea would be to help set the kobolds here to mine the gold, while they would have a nice safe place to live and dig; they give us the resources they get out of the ground. Kind of like a vassal / land-owner relationship. That lies in the future, though. Maybe once we manage to pacify this land."
Although there may be some reservations of leaving a literal gold mine behind them, the party forges on, completing their exploration of several miles, then traveling another day due south. The terrain continues to be the same rolling hills of the Kamelands, though after a pleasant spring day the clouds begin to darken, and by mid-day a Desnus shower overtakes the group, thoroughly drenching you.
There's an old Pathfinder society axiom about how rain, sleet, and snow will stop an expedition. Luckily, you are not members of the Pathfinder Society so the later two could be good grounds to take a break. Sadly, given the perils that face the region, a bit of rain is a mild inconvenience and doesn't noticeably slow your progress.
As you travel on, through the rain you see a pair of giant pillars ahead, amidsts a generous heap of rubble that matches the description given of the "Big Head" lair. Venturing closer, you make out more details: The pillars appear to be all that remains standing of a collosal statue that must have been stories tall and centuries old. Bits of the rubble seem like they were once shaped to be vaguely humanoid, though time and weather have worn them considerably. As you approach, admidst the rubble you see part of a stone face on its side, larger than a horse, one unblinking eye framed by bracken observing your approach disconcertingly.
Although the steady rain has washes away most of the clues of who the inhabitants of the lair might be, you do find increasing signs of humanoid activity: scattered bones, filthy rags, and midden heaps dot the rubble with little apparent concern for sanitation.
Most of you have already decided what the occupants must be even before you see the flash of an oversized green head duck back into a crevasse formed under the nostril of the statue: Goblins!
It seems that the goblin has abandoned its nostril... er... post, and you are able to move to the statue head unmolested. The crevasse down looks like it could easily accommodate a small creature, Medium ones will have to squeeze. There also isn't any apparent light source.
Knowing full well that this likely is a trap (though finding no evidence of physical traps), the party ducks and squeezes down into the nostril of the statue. There is a rough crevasse that has been expanded by tool marks that empties into a larger cavern that your heads barely clear.
Along the walls you see several black-scaled kobold bodies bound and hanging limply against the rocky wall, covered in wounds and the signs of abuse. One of the kobolds appears to still have life left: his wounds are still flowing though he appears unconscious.
More importantly, however, a half dozen small green creatures (goblins) are arrayed out in front of a bend that goes deeper into the cavern. One of the small creatures shouts out something in his language, and all of them appear hostile!
"Luck of the Lady be with us, guide our hands and protect us with your song."
Alamina whispers in Varisian and strokes her holy symbol, casting bless for the party.
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level cleric 1, paladin 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range 50 ft.
Area The caster and all allies within a 50-ft. burst, centered on the caster
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
Bless fills your allies with courage. Each ally gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saving throws against fear effects.
Bless counters and dispels bane.
Once she casts he spell, she readies her shield and remains on guard.
Vorsirion lifts the skull attached to a cord at his waist. For a moment, his visage changes to that of a withered corpse, with a pale blue light shining from where its eyes should be.
An aura of fear emanates from him, one even his companions can feel, but it targets the goblin dressed in red.
"Death!" he hisses.
The target must be within 30 feet of you, and it can attempt a Will saving throw to negate the effect. If the target fails the save and has a number of Hit Dice less than or equal to yours, it is frightened for 1d4 rounds. If the target fails the saving throw and has a number of Hit Dice greater than yours, it is instead shaken for 1d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Raven takes a moment to mark the location of the ancient ruins on the map. "The weather's been reminding me of the Pathfinders. We can probably grab a juicy bounty if we send the lodge in Restov the ruins' location and give them permission to study it."
The young, but grizzled, mercenary dismounts her horse and inspects the tracks and detritus that the Big-Heads left behind. As soon as the goblin head pokes out of the nostril, Raven unsheathes her massive sword and cautiously follows. "Elvara, I would suggest holding off on the spell that makes me bigger. It'll be a squeeze as it is without being nine feet tall."
Elvara gets a sad look on her face when it starts raining. "Damn, rain is making me wet. I was always staying inside when it rained heavily when I was younger. Here there is no such option. I knew it would happen when I decided to travel here, but it would still be nice if we wouldn't have to be wet, you know?" She shakes her head in dismay.
"Yeah, it can't always be useful I'm afraid. I do have a new trick though. It'll let me give something like armor to those who don't have it. Like Smexy-"
Elvara smiles and walks over to Smexy and traces her finger along her scales all while chanting. For a moment it seems like a second layer of translucent scales appears on top of the normal layer before they fade almost completely from view, leaving those who looked on with the feeling that they can still see traces of the ghostly scales if look closely.
-
"P͈͉͓͚̙̼̄ͬͭͦ̔͒̐͋ŗ̧̣̲͕͕͔̒͢ǫ̛̺͙̭͙͒t͇͒̈́̒ͬͦe͙̠ͬ̍̌͐͋̇̀͊ͧ͠c̹̤͚͇͎̝̓̑̉͆ͪ̇ͅt́̑ͭ̈̄̚ ̫̦̥̥̫̻͒́͡ ͕̟͚͋ͣͧ͐͌ͩ͘hͩ̊͆͑ͦ́͏̴̱̺͜a̞͇͖͚̖̐ͥ̓̌̈͂́̀r̦̭͓ͥ͛̃ͭ̑̇ͪ̂ͬ͝d̨͎̜̘̹͓ͦͫ͑ͭ̋̐e̸̩̎̋͊ͤͨ̐̄̕͜ ͚̬n̷͚̪̈̉ͬ̓̇͟ ͎͎̝̮̠ͤ͆̽ḍ̨̛̮͕̭̯̮̍ͥ̀̔́ė̸̢̛̤̼̯ͩ͛̓̾̋̍f͌̀͆̅ͤ͏̥̰̤l͋̌ͮͦ̈́҉̣̺̪̠e͍̪̠̖͎̹̜ͨ͗ͬ͊͆ͥͩͩc̃ ̯̘̮͍̺̞̙̃̐̍̉ͬ̚t̟͙̤ͯ̒ͮ̍̉͐"
-
"I got a spell to make everything easier, to make your moves and thoughts as fast and flexible as Smexy's body. It'll only help a little bit, but it's still certainly worth casting before crawling in there." Elvara points towards the hole. She walks around and starts touching the various members of a group while uttering a short incantation.
-
"S̢̖͎ͮ̂͐ͩ͞ĥ̨͕̦͍̰̤̅̋̀̈́͡o̶̲͇͖ͫͯ̊̀ͨ͗̌̿̋w̗̭͒̀͞ ̸̧̝̣̀̾̋̋̍͑͛̚͝t̷͖̯̦͔͚̘̰̮̗ͭͫ̋h̡̜͓̯̹̬̒̿̈́̃̒̍̓ȩ̞̤̜̝̭̩̂͆͘m̥̬͎̗͉͓̹̠̀͊̓̋̀ͨ̉͞ ̴̞͓̗̳̼͓͕̎̇̔̆͋̈̃̀͝ẗ̛͉̳͇ͧͤ̈ͪ͗ͫ͐͗͠ḧ̝͚̤̖͍͚́ͯͤ̽͆̀̓̇̀e̠̟ͯͭ ̷̮̮͙̗ͧͥ͂ŵ̢̥̼͒̑͛͋a̲̭̠̻͎̳̖̿̃̎̑ͭy̧̖̹͈̭̣ͯ͐̌ͭͫ̔ͩ"
-
Smexy slithers forward with greater speed than before. Her new legs propelling her forward. Her scales glitter almost hypnotically in the light from Quint's spell. "Come here little goblinesss. You are perfects ssssize for my mouth, even now." She bites the first goblin in her path, hoping to trap it in her powerful jaws.
Quint looks at Elvara, "I do have a trick that can dry out things, but," here he holds out his hand as if to catch the rain, "until it stops raining you'll just get wet again really fast."
Quint gazes in wonder at the ruins. "I wonder who used to live here?"
Faced with the tunnel entrance, Quint conjures four dancing balls of light. He winks at Elvara, "Good trick, right?" Then he smiles and with a gesture sends them spinning around her head like a halo before speeding off down the tunnel in advance of the group. He unlimbers his shortbow before climbing into the tunnel.
The Blessing of Desna falls upon the group, lending a comforting strength.
Sadly, the red-goblin remains unfazed at the ghastly appearance of Vorsirion, though the Blessed Eidolon is able to snake around and grab it. It gibbers and tries to pry its way out of the snake-thing's grip, though its feeble arms remain stuck as it screams its head off.
If the goblins had any real tactical sense, the ones closest would allow their friends to fire upon the intruders before closing to melee. Sadly, these goblins exhibit the lack of tactical acumen common among their kind. A trio of the goblins gibbers forward with dogslicers drawn, one turning his knife on the Snake-thing, the other two attacking the (visually) less defended occultist.
Two take potshots at the snake
The fact that they clearly are over-matched clearly doesn't seem to have dawned on the goblins as they sing out in their own tonuge:
"Goblins Chew and Goblins Bite"
"Goblins Cut and Goblins Fight!"
Quint gazes in wonder at the ruins. "I wonder who used to live here?"[dice=Bardic Knowledge]1d20 + 2
1. Either there was some magic involved in the construction or the statue was the product of incredible craftmanship.
2. Something in the way the statue looks gives you the impression that it is a large statue of a Giant rather than a colossal statue of a human
"In the shadow of the colossus the heroes bravely battled..." He flings his free hand out and the dancing lights spin and dance through the cave.
As the grabbed goblin break free it leaves Smexy free to snap her long neck out at one of the other goblins approaching her.
"Slip and slide in the slime of Smexy's homeworld." Elvara remarks before chanting and moving her hands in a sweeping motion, bending low as if to pull someone off their feet. Suddenly a mass of green goo appears under three of the goblins.
-
"S̴͓͇̦̜̰̯ͤ͑z̨͎͉ͥ͒͗s̷̹̰̬̼̰̤̮ͤ̌ͩ̈̾̌̿̆̚z̘̯̼̥̼̬͖͑̓̅̃̀s̵̵̗̩̝̪̱̓̽̋́l͔͖̖͇̟̦̖͎̜̔ͧͣi ̫̭̲̰̥͚͇ͯͯ̃ͨͥ͂ͭ̾͟͞p̡̹͖̗̹̦̝̼̩̲̓̿͐̑̊̏̀̓͜ ̟̰̟ͫͨ̾̿̆̎͑ș̡ͬ̓̉ͪ͠z̡̭̦͙̍̔͐̉ͩ͑̇͢s̓̓͋ͣ͏̭̩̠̲̪z̵͚̣̯̥̰̤͎̈́͛̊͌͢l̵͙̗̞̮̺͑͠ͅį̸͎̮̦̼̯̣̙ ̮̽́ͪͦͥ͊̚d̶̛̟͔̯̰̏͐ͥ̕e̷̟̮̠̺͖̬̹̝͗ͨ̅̓͌̔ͅ ̵̰̤͛ͦͧ̇ͩ͐̌̀ș̷̡̝̭̙̗̪͈̟́̓͌̔ͩ͑͋̚͡z̸̸͓͔̺̒́̈͑̅s̔ͪ͡͏̘̥͈͇̹̯̥p̜̏͆̕͢l͊ͥ҉̡͙͎̝̼̤̘͟a̷̶̧ ͇̤̣̰͈͉̽̈́̏ͯͫ̌s̡͈̫̰͈͔̤̍̌̎̕͢h̸̰͔̙͎ͬ̒͆ͥͅ
-
Raven focuses on the goblin with the yellow warpaint, taking in all aspects of him, before lunging forward with Harbinger, empowered by both divine might and the magical music of Quintus.
Stepping up next to the eidolon, Alamina lays a slim hand on his scales and smiles.
"Bite true, Smexy. Destroy these creatures of evil and chaos."
Smexy tries to rip into the goblin in it's mouth with it's claws, before dropping it and lashing out with it's long neck. She's unfamiliar with her new appendages, but between the familiar grease and it being trapped in her mouth she manages to land at least one hit.
The battle is a confused melee mixed with a Cuisinart of blades and bites. Rather than bicker and argue over who killed who, the party should be content in the fact that the goblins that initially outnumbered them are being removed from the fight in a lethally quick pace.
Two of the hapless goblins that managed to survive the initial grand melee are caught in the sudden appearance of grease that spreads over the cavern floor, knocking them prone to the ground! One of the hapless goblins can barely scream as his Big Head is completely engulfed in Smexy's maw, before it is silenced in a muffled scream and claw.
The survivor that was knocked down attempts to get back up again, triggering attacks by the elf and eidolon. Meanwhile, the two goblins that were wise(?) enough to avoid melee futilely attempt to make shots with their shortbows before moving back deeper into the cavern.
Clearly some higher power is guiding the blue-banded goblin, as he tags Vorsirion with an ultimatey lucky shot with his shortbow. Their battle-song is much less enthusiastic:
"Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force?"
Raven zeroes in on the goblin in the white warpaint and begins lumbering forward, her blade now stained in goblin blood.
Seeing the elf Vosirion take a nasty cut as well as a lucky arrow shot, Alamina steps up and moves near to him.
"I will not let you fall, do not fear these creatures."
She offers encouragement and tries to cover his flank as best she can with her shield.
Quint takes a moment to recall what he can about goblins.
Then dodges forward past one of the goblins, still reciting the inspiring epic, and takes aim at the farthest goblin with his shortbow.
[dice=Shortbow w/Point Blank Shot, guidance, bless, inspire courage, and cover]1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 - 4[/dice]
Smexy lunges at the goblin as it tries to rise, taking advantage of the opening.
Elvara moves forward and suddenly her eyes seem to spin as she hisses hypnotically. "These creatures are wicked, but should we keep one alive for questioning?" She asks afterwards.
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The lone survivor of the grease pit begins chanting:
Elvara moves around the Grease and attempts to Daze the lone goblin. Clearly the utter annihilation of his clan-mates has sapped his will, as he lets out a broken sob. He still does try to flee deeper into the cavern.
In the next room, there is a small, grimey table that is covered with dirty bowls and moldy bones. Knowing goblins, that might have been from a meal a few hours ago, though.
Raven rushes after the goblin, and as soon as she has line of sigh, she tosses a javelin at it.
Unfortunately, Raven trips on the stairs, and her shot misses by a mile.
Quint continues to chant as he gestures and his dancing lights rush around the corner to illuminate the next room.
Then he says a quick prayer to Erastil as he steps up to the unconscious kobold and touches him.
[dice=cure light wounds]1d8 + 2[/dice]
Smexy rushes forward after the fleeing goblin. "Goblinsss notss getting awaysss..." Her long neck snaps out as it attempts to flee further into the cave.
Elvara follows after, her unfired and loaded crossbow still at the ready. "Great work with the goblins everyone." She says encouragingly with a soft voice and a smile. For a moment the heady rush of adrenaline and success wash away the horror of the atrocities they have committed against the greenskins. Of course goblins being evil makes it a lot easier to live with as well.
"I agree. That fight went very smoothly, mostly thanks to the martial.prowess of Smexy and Raven. You both hit quite hard, indeed."
Seeing the bard cure the kobold prisoner, Alamina turns to Vosirion.
"That looks painful, please let me," as she removes the goblin arrowshaft, Alamina casts cure light wounds on the elf.
CLW (dropping cause fear)
"There we go, all better, yes?"
Sheathing her shield, she draws her crossbow and indicates her readiness.
"There must be more still. My blessing will last for a short time yet, shall we press on?"
The last of the visible goblins falls to the eidolon, though a confused mishmash of excited shouts echo up from further down the chamber. At the edge of the magical lights, a massive chasm with a rickety looking bridge can be seen 40 feet away.
As Quint approaches the kobold to cast his curative magic, his very touch produces a groan of pain. As the spell completes, the multitude of wounds that cover its black scaled body begin to close up leaving a patchwork covering of bloody reminders. His eyes snap open, glancing around frantically at first, then narrowing in thought as he regards the group. In broken common he haltingly asks, "Who...? Why...?"
Although the Cure spell has healed his wounds, he still seems to suffering some lingering effects from his captivity.
Quint's inspiring oratory trails off as he smiles down at the kobold.
Draconic: "Don't worry friend, we're here to save you! Just stay still while we take care of the rest of the goblins. I'm Quint, by the way."
"You words were inspiring, Quint." Elvara smiles at Quint as she walks up to him and the kobold. "Let's proceed with caution now that we've dealt with the initial onslaught. Maybe the kobold can tell us something about what's up ahead?"
"I can sssneakss and see while you talk." Smexy suggests. "Ok, but let me boost you with my magic first." Elvara says and utters an arcane phrase to boost her eidolon.
The kobold stirs in his bonds a bit before looking back at the strange bard, his face still wary, but breaking into a kobold equivalent of a smile when Quint begins to speak in Draconic. He responds back in kind: "Meepo sincerely thanks you, Quint Bytheway." His eyes go half closed for a moment, before taking in the gory scene of goblin remains. He then looks to the party, "Meepo hope the care you bring for the rest of the Big Head is equally as final. They deserve it, them and their Cruel King."
The kobold shakes his head. "Meepo not see far in cave. Was hung here, like meat on hook. Meepo was tortured with clutchmates, for fun, while Big Heads sing and kobolds scream. They have a Cruel Chief, the leader of the Big Heads. He came to view the suffering of poor Meepo, laughing at the back of poor Meepo."
As Smexy slithers ahead stealthfully, He/she/it(?) can see the floor of the cavern opens into a wide crevasse that goes down at least 20 feet, and expands wide out of sight. Spanning both sides is a rickety bridge of rope and wood. The sounds of Goblins come from the other side, though none are immediately visible. There is a bend in the cavern on the other side that blocks how far is visible.
Raven feels a twinge in her heart at the poor reptilian's story. She kneels down next to him. "Alright. Meepo, was it? You stay back here while we go after the rest of the Big-Heads. We'll bring you to the rest of the Sootscales after we take care of them, alright?"
Quint looks a bit askance at Raven, but then smiles and nods at Meepo.