I think Miagnik is going to nail the bluff he is trying to pull off, and I'll try to keep the dialog between him and the Goblins, short, but before I get to that, I would really like to know what the rest of you are going to do now that you are outside of the Palace again.
M Dwarf Cleric 5, AC 18, T 10, FF 18, HP 10/41, I 0, P 4, F 5, R 2, W 8; +2 vs. fear, +2 vs. poison, spells, and SLA
"Any day full of battle, glory and ye be still standin' wit yer comrades is a good result...Mr. Sunshine." The cleric pokes fun at Hallister. [b]"We dished out more then we took."
The party exits the palace into the bright midday sun. You remember that, to the west, around the face of the mountain, where there is a natural spring and a small stream you had seen a shallow cave.
Princess Stephanie, when asked, will tell you that when she was abducted her head was covered by a sack, and she does not recognize this place at all, but that she came to understand that where she was being held prisoner was an ancient Goblin Tomb high in the mountains. She does not know the terrain, and cannot tell you if the cave will be safe or not. In order to ensure Miagnik is reunited with the party, Moralane agrees to stay close to the entrance, hidden among a few large boulders a few yards from the entrance, and watch for him.
It takes you nearly an hour to reach the cave and Moralane and Miagnik arrive just a few minutes after you. Once you reach the cave you decide to set up a watch, with those who are the least injured taking first watch.
The party now includes the following people
Hallister
Mazrim
Rownig
Atharessa
Moralane
Windel
Princess Stephanie
And a young Dwarven soldier who you learn is named Raul Sonaskopolis
Raul tells you that he was born in a small village in the lands controlled by Sir Guisse, but that his family moved to the capital when he was very young. He joined the army and was handpicked to become a personal guard to the King’s Daughter. He does not know the Dwarven Princess, and has kept a low profile in her retinue. He remembers the ambush, but cannot recall details about the attackers. He was repeatedly beaten by the Goblins who captured him and asked to divulge everything he knew about the royal family, which he admits, is very little, and this did not satisfy his capturers.
After the party has rested for several hours Princess Stephanie will draft a short letter explaining her situation and the capture of the Dwarven Princess, and insist that Raul take the letter and attempt to reach a village or town as quickly as he can, and he will agree to set out immediately. Although he is unfamiliar with the terrain, he is confident that, with the information the party can provide him, he can reach Eight Fountain Springs.
You stay in the cave for the remainder of the day, and keep a watch, in pairs through the night.
You give Raul some rations, and a knife, and he leaves at sunrise of the following day.
It is the Morning of the seventh day since the adventure began. Once Miagnik is satisfied with his encounter with the Goblins we will begin with the party at the entrance to the Palace once again.
Miagnik lies down on the floor and waits nervously, going over and over in his mind the things he thinks he can say that will help him not only escape, but send the goblins away that will not endanger the party’s escape.
After what seems like a long time of waiting, a small group of goblins arrive, and once again, to Miagniks surprise, this group is lead by a larger than normal goblin wearing chain mail armor. There are eleven goblins in all, including the leader.
Miagnik groans, when the goblins arrive, and the big goblinwalks over to where Miagnik is lying on the ground, reaches down and takes hold of Miagnik by the neck and lifts him from the ground saying,
“’Er now, this bugger survived.”
He puts Miagnik on his feet and walks around the room examining the dead. He kicks the large dead goblin’s body and notes, “Them diggers stripped the armor and took the weapons, so they’re looters fer sure. We didn’t see them on the way in, so they’ve either headed in deeper or made a run for it. You, the runt that survived, what did you overhear?”
"They say they wasn't happy about not finding any treasure, some wanted to leave but a bigger Dwarf says that there were so many of us that they must be guarding something valuable. Then they leave saying something about deeper treasure. There was something else, but..." Miagnik lightly touches the top of his head, "Hard to think."
Obligatory Sense Motive Check Goblin Attempt to Sense Motive:1d20 - 3 ⇒ (13) - 3 = 10
The large Goblin looks past Miagnik, toward the doorway where the rest of the Goblins have gathered and sneers,
“Bah, I knew it, looters.”
Then Miagnik watches in confusion as the face of the large goblin suddenly seems to drain of blood and a fearful expression leaps onto his face.
“Priestess Galinea, I didn’t see you there,” the large goblin stammers.
Miagnik turns his head just enough to try and see what it is that has frightened the large goblin
The other Goblins who had arrived with the large goblin have cleared the doorway, slunk back against the walls and are trembling.
In the doorway stands a medium sized creature that is at once horrible and beautiful to behold. It is the upper torso of a buxom and alluring Goblin female with stark reddish-gold hair that starts in the middle of the top of her head and cascades over her ears and down onto her shoulders in gentle waves. Her eyes are large and the deepest black showing no white at all. He mouth is wide and her lips are full and pleasingly shaped and she shows a wide row of gleaming white teeth that end in tiny points. But she is no Goblin from the waist down. Her lower body is the slender, black and smooth shaped of a huge poisonous spider.
“What has happened here?” the half-spider half-goblin woman says, her voice is throaty and exotic sounding.
“As, as, as I said, Priestess, My Lady Galinea, it was , was looters, dwarven looters, a small group numbering no more than ten, and they have delved deeper into the tomb, my lady,” the large goblin drops to one knee as he speaks. He trembles and his words are stuttered. “Their kinds are always looking for a trinket or a jewel to take back to their village to buy a meal or bride a whore.”
The beautiful horrible spider-goblin woman looks past Miagnik at the bodies on the floor, and she quickly glances at the wall where the secret door is, and then begins to turn away while she says, “Send someone to find me Krrthin, and have her meet me in my private room. Clean up this place and leave eight to guard the door. We will send Krrthin the Mad and her followers to deal with these looters.”
She turns in place, lifting each of her eight legs delicately and without a sound, and when she is about to leave, she twist her body back around and looks down at the dead large goblin on the floor.
“I would have Talgork brought to my dining hall, the others are to be fed to the pets in the pit,” and then she swivels back around and moves slowly away, her upper body gently swaying from side to side as she moves.
The large Goblin shouts at two of the Goblins that came with him, “Haglap, Hrrgnik find Krrthin the mad and does as our Mistress demands, the rest of you drag these piles to the ppit, and this time do not leave it open. I will deliver Talgork to the priestess. Now, MOVE!”
Miagnik had always prided himself on being relatively fearless even in the face of danger. He had always seen it as a challenge to himself to be overcome and so he welcomed the challenge. Yet this time, something strange had happened. Rather than fearing the Priestess Galinea, Miagnik found himself more enamored with her than anything else. Her beauty, her grace... her power all came together and radiated outward from her as she spoke.
As Miagnik watched the Priestess slowly walk away, he didn't notice as the words escaped his lips. "I think I'm in love."
He was then dragged out of his momentary reverie by the shrill and frightened voice of the new large Goblin. It irritated him to be ordered around by such a lesser creature than she, but he had to remember himself.
"Y-yes sir. Once we are done with the cleanup I offer to be one of the guards here. If any of the Dwarves come running, I'll give 'em a one up."
Miagnik looked down and grabbed one of the slain goblins. Hiding his irritation behind the weight he was hauling. He then slowly dragged the dead Goblin and waited for the other Goblins to lead the way to the pits. He wondered if it was possible to "forget" shutting the door.
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
Earlier
As the group enters the cave, before getting any rest Stephanie takes a moment to prepare a place for herself. With both arms outstretched and palms turned up she produces a trio of glowing orbs. One appears in each hand, with a third appearing suspended in the open space between, casting a trio of flickering shadows behind her. The three dancing lights levitate a foot or so higher forming a ring of soft light above her and the relative clear area beneath. She then rolls up the somewhat tarnished sleeves of her robes, and brushes a few lingering strands of hair from in front of her eyes as she exhales through pursed lips. Again she begins to whisper incantations , which is accompanied by a light breeze at the hems of her clothing. The area before her begins to clear of dust and stones as if a small whirlwind were gathering them together then laying them aside. Then with an exhausted but deliberate beckoning of her hand, some nearby patches of soft moss lifted themselves from the rocky interior and pile before her to form a sort of bedding within the glowing ring she seems to have claimed.
The watch prepared and her temporary residence finally "adequate", she lies down with another sigh of exhaustion for a couple hours to rest her body and spirit.
M Dwarf Cleric 5, AC 18, T 10, FF 18, HP 10/41, I 0, P 4, F 5, R 2, W 8; +2 vs. fear, +2 vs. poison, spells, and SLA
Once the group settled in for the evening, Windel places his tankard and pot out and instructs the others to do the same, "Let water quench our thirst." He casts create water so everyone has fresh water.
M Dwarf Cleric 5, AC 18, T 10, FF 18, HP 10/41, I 0, P 4, F 5, R 2, W 8; +2 vs. fear, +2 vs. poison, spells, and SLA
After a solid night of rest Windel steps out intot he sunlight and prays for an hour. Afterward he's grinning - if that is waht a dwarf actually call it - "Praggul Strongfist has filled me with strength this morning, who here needs some healing?"
channeling:2d6 ⇒ (6, 5) = 11
Cool his channeling is more powerful at 3rd level.
Miagnik helps to drag one of the dead Goblins out of the room and follows a line of others. He continually tries to work out when he can break away and rejoin the others, but for now he follows and tries to remember everything he sees.
The Goblins return to the main passageway and turn to the left, heading deeper into the Palace. After a short distance they pass a four way intersection, and continue straight. Then they pass one, then a second set of large double stone doors on the left, and soon come to an opening, a side passageway of the main passageway going to the left.
The line of Goblins turns and follows the side passageway for a while until it ends in a set of stone double doors. Without pausing the Goblins in the lead push the carefully balanced doors open and continue through.
Miagnik finds himself in a very large room. The room is empty. There are no signs of beds or a place to cook a meal. It is a hauntingly quiet place. There are no funeral jars here, no crypts, and no sign that this room was ever used to enter any dead Goblin nobility.
The Goblins Miagnik was following stop in the center of the room, and a brief argument breaks out. Finally one of the Goblins walks to the west wall, about fifteen feet from the south wall and with both hands shoves on a stone built into the wall. Miagnik hears a loud thud as two sections of the floor making a ten foot by ten foot square section, fall away and reveal a pit in the floor.
One after another a pair of Goblins slowly approaches the pit dragging a dead Goblin, and then, not getting too close, they throw the dead Goblin into the pit.
When it is your turn you can stop where the other Goblin working with you stops and throw the body you are dragging, but you will not see what is in the pit, or you can approach the edge of the pit and peak at what is down there.
As Miagnik waited for the Goblins in line, he muttered under his breath. "We'll get those Dwarves, next time we'll show them some real Resistance. As he cast his spell he made a show of anger and let the body "slip" from one of his hands.
Bluff:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
He hefted the body up to be dragged in, touching the bracelet on his wrist and activating it. He then curiously drags the body near the edge of the pit and slides it in front of him like he's just a little too tired to think properly and the weight was wearing him out too much.
He's actually using it as improvised shield cover and hopefully bait in case something tries to take him.
You see five “things” in the pit, three of them resemble Goblins, one a dwarf, and the last one some kind of tall pointed eared humanoid (you have never seen an actual Elf before, although you understand there are some small communities of them living on the eastern half of the island). They all appear to be dead, but they do not behave like mindless dead, and you get a glimpse of them tearing into the flesh of the bodies that have been dropped into the pit. You can try a Knowledge Check to see if you can identify what they are
”Dat bugger dat survived is brave,” one of the other Goblins whispers.
”Or soopid,” another remarks, and he moves close enough to you to push you just a bit.
you momentarily feel off balance, and wobble a bit. You need to make a ridiculously easy Reflex save to avoid falling in the pit. The DC is 5, and because of the bracelet, you can roll twice and use the better roll
Miagnik catches himself and spins on the Goblin who just tried to push him in. Anger playing clearly across his face he steps in, reaches out, and grabs at the Goblins arm. Attempting to pull him to the ledge.
He is not armed. You recognize the monsters as Ghouls
The Goblin's eyes grow huge with fear.
He struggles to stay away from the edge of the pit, but Miagnik draws him precariously close. Whether it is Miagnik’s keen sense of balance or the luck bestowed by the Goblin Gods it is hard to tell, but even as the Goblin squirms and shuffles his feet, Miagnik is steady, staring wild eyed at the other Goblin with a smile of unbelievable joy on his face.
“Don’t do it, run- uh, one-dat-survived,” another Goblin calls out afraid to call Miagnik a runt, he searches for a better name. “You’ll pay fer it, I’m tellin ya, pay fer it with fingers and toes, I’d bet. Hey, let’s call him Head-Smashed-Brave-Bit, ‘cause him got his head bashed in and now don’t know how to be afraid.”
"Fear, yes. You feel it, don't you?!"
Miagnik reverses his grip and pushes the Goblin in his arms away from the hole.
Push:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
"If any of you ever try anything like that to me again! That will be your future!" Miagnik shakes his arms and glares at the rest in the room. But even in his anger he decided he liked the name he was just given and rolls with it. "You will always call me Head-Smashed-Brave-Bit from now on! Now close the gate and get back to your posts!"
Intimidate:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Miagnik stood there, breathing heavy and didn't let his expression falter at all.
Miagnik follows them to the pair of stone doors and then ducks out of the way waiting for the rest of the group to go ahead before quietly pulling the door closed. After which he turns back around and makes his way back to the large room and pushes the two bricks in the wall in to re-open the pit.
He then walks to the edge of the pit and without a word to the ghouls below, points a finger at one of the Goblins and utters, "Dreroc Akaal"Disrupt Undead
1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 = 24 damage:1d6 ⇒ 2
"You feel that? That was just a taste of what is to come. You will all have one chance to tell me what I want to know. If you give me the wrong answer, you are going to be destroyed.
Now, what are you doing here? What is the group who is feeding you's purpose? And, who are you working for? Oh, and of course, feel free to tell me any other information you might think is relevant along those lines."
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
"I think he has a better chance than we." Stephanie replies as she steps from the entrance of the cave and into the sunlight. She squints and scrunches her button nose as she looks up into the sky, hands tying her strawberry hair into a messy bun behind her head. Even in this rustic setting she looks noble. Her attractive posture, the tilt of her eyebrows, and even the somewhat ragged clothing (which somehow appears dazzling clean this morning) create an air of authority.
"If he succeeds, any information he provides may be invaluable." The princess looks about her for a moment, lingering for a moment on the bare ground beside her. Her stolid demeanor softens as she appears to give way to the worry inside of her. It appears to go deeper than the current topic of conversation, however.
The Goblin Ghoul, hunched over its meal, is startled by the sudden attack. It stands and turns slowly, lifting its head toward the top of the pit and smiles.
“For it wants. Yes, it wants to know,” the ghoul speaks in unusually clear and articulate words. “What are we doing, here, yes? Should we be in another place, yes? No, we are here and what we are doing is obvious. But it is trying to know things it doesn’t know with questions it cannot understand. The ones who feed us, their purpose, other than feeding us, is unknown to us. We are what we are because she made us to serve her, this, yes, this is all we know. She is a dwarf, she is not like you, and she answers to another, one she calls the Queen. She, the dwarf, is a dark woman, with pale skin and green eyes. She has not been seen by us since we were created, many, many days ago, too many to remember. What do we know that you want to know, yes, what is relevant, ahahahaha.”
The ghoul reaches down and tears the hand off of a Goblin corpse, then lifts it toward Miagnik.
“Relevant, bah! When the world is nothing but feasting on the flesh of the dead, what is relevant? When all we remember is this pit and those that are forced into it, what is relevant? When our end comes, from you, from her, from the angered god of the dead, WHAT IS RELEVANT? Do your worst, end us now or end us later, it is nothing to us. If you spare us what is relevant just may be that, and only that. We know nothing beyond this pit, nothing. The one who made us has power over many and she will make more like us if you end us, but I will tell you this, it is all I have to bargain with. This place is not one place. It is not a tomb of ancient Goblin Kings, nor is it a Palace to a Vampire Queen. It is both, and more. Only the spiders know all, only the spiders know all.”
Miagnik had thought this might be the case. Yet he had hoped at least one of them had been thrown into the pit and turned by the ghouls themselves. It turned out they were nothing more than what he had learned, devourers. He would not lie to himself, he was disappointed. But the Goblin had still been helpful.
He considered letting them live, for they were after all, trapped in the pit and if anyone came in the near future, would find them destroyed and would sound the alarm.
He considered the rope and pitons in his pack. Releasing them to roam freely and attack all on sight. He could be long gone by the time they all escaped.
But he remembered his own hatred of the undead for driving him and his clan from their ancestral cavern home. It drove his anger, but the decision of what to do still weighed in his mind.
Will Save:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
He managed to control himself, barely, the words "Wrong Answer" hanging on his lips, but the teachings of Mafolin and their beliefs that no undead should be left to wander echoed in his thoughts.
Fate:1d100 ⇒ 61
Miagnik took a deep breath and pushed his anger back. He allowed cool judgement to rule his actions; over his usual hot blooded temperament. "In that case, I will free you all from your continued existence. I will send you to blackness and you will no longer know this pit or anything else again. Know that you have helped me a good deal this day and I as your destroyer will be the one to pray for your souls..."
With that, Miagnik pointed his finger at the Goblin again. "Dreroc Akaal."
Day 7, Late Morning (Current Turn/Turn of the Clock: 1/55)
Mount Beratisse
The party gathers together in the morning, gear and supplies are checked and Moralane announces that she has only 18 arrows. Atharessa smiles and rubs Moralane’s shoulder briskly saying, “Let’s hope that’s one more than you need.”
You check everything again and make for the entrance to the Goblin Tombs. It is late morning when you stand at the twenty foot wide opening in the side of the mountain. The dark passageway lies ahead of you. You recall that only 35’ into the passageway there were two sets of double stone doors, one on the left and one on the right. You had explored the one on the left, found a trapped corridor that lead to a group of goblins manufacturing spears. You discovered a secret door, and beyond that a maze like set of passages that took you to a small room where you managed to rescue Princess Stephanie.
You are reminded, by Moralane, that there had been a narrow passageway, only 5’ wide, that you did not explore just beyond the secret door.
You arrange your group into two columns, Rownig, slightly ahead, and Mazrim lead, followed by Hallister and Moralane, then Miagnik and Stephanie, with Atharessa and Windel bringing up the rear.
you can rearrange this order if it does not suit you
I want to remind you all that you all, except Princess Stephanie, have darkvision and can see 60’ in the dark, but the rules are a bit vague about what you can see beyond that. Now I don’t think it is right to hinder the party by forcing you to carry a light, which would give you away to anyone in the dungeon simply because I introduce a Gnome character, so Princess Stephanie, because she is a gnome and a Gnome in this setting is half goblin and half dwarf, does have Darkvision (you can add that to your profile).
"The small passage beyond the secret door seems a good place to start. But we should be wary, there are a new set of guards where we rescued the princess. So we have to be sneaky about it."
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
"I agree." Princess Stephanie marks with authority from the back. "And Miagnik is likely correct about new posts. They may even be more prepared for you."
It's much colder inside the caverns, and it takes Stephanie's eyes much longer to adjust to the dark than the rest. For a few minutes she stumbles behind the rest, barely able to make out the form of Miagnik beside her and Moralane before. She wants very much to simply illuminate the caverns, but knows far better than to do such a foolish thing. Eventually, she is able to make out the rough silhouettes of the others, and finally a bit of detail after that.
I appreciate the help. I'll try to roleplay it as less precise than the darkvision of the others, while still allowing the basic benefits.
Day 7, Late Morning, 1/55 (Current Turn/Turn of the Clock)
Mount Beratisse
You follow Rownig, who keeps a few feet between him and the rest of you, as he leads you past the first set of double doors, then carefully down the passageway with the flame traps, making sure that he remarks, in chalk, the safe places to step.
You pause and listen by the doors to the room where you discovered the Goblins who were making spears, but you hear nothing. Prepared for another battle you push through the doors quickly, but the room is empty and the fire below the cauldron has gone cold.
You find the secret door, and carefully examine it for signs of recently added traps, but again you are surprised that nothing has changed.
Now you stand before a narrow corridor, it is only five feet wide. Rownig begins moving cautiously to the east, and he can see that the passageway turns to the north ahead of him.
The rest of you stay back, for a moment, but if Rownig continues on he will get out of sight.
Will you follow? If you do what will be the marching order?
M Dwarf Cleric 5, AC 18, T 10, FF 18, HP 10/41, I 0, P 4, F 5, R 2, W 8; +2 vs. fear, +2 vs. poison, spells, and SLA
Windel will be either third or fourth from the end. That will position him to be able to catch most everyone in his burst spells. Perhaps stick the two NPCs in the rear.
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
Before Rownig gets too far away from the others he would remind everyone that, "I fight best when teaming up with another to flank, it lets my speed work."
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
Stephanie stays near the back, occasionally glancing over her shoulder into the blackness they're leaving behind, wondering if anything could be approaching from the back. She nods at Rownig's instructions, careful not to hamper his efforts. "I can make you invisible, though for a limited time should you desire. Account for it in your planning, if you would." She whispers.
Day 7, Late Morning, 2/56 (Current Turn/Turn of the Clock)
As rowing approaches the corner, where the passageway turns to the north, he begins to detect the strong odor of lamp oil.
He proceeds north, after pausing at the corner to be sure the others are at least following from a safe distance.
Twenty feet to the north the passageway turns to the west, and here it becomes obvious why there is a smell of oil.
You have come to the opposite side of the wall where the statures that spray flaming oil are located. Just above your heads are several brass, or possibly copper “tubes” that cross the passageway and then disappear into the stonework of the wall.
Fifteen feet to the west there is a five foot wide opening on the south wall and a small space beyond. In this space, raised up on platforms close to the ceiling are nine small barrels of oil. The barrels are piped to each other and to a manifold where the oil is delivered to the pipes in the passageway.
Standing in the opening to the barrel storage room, Rowning and Miagnik begin to feel a little light headed from the concentration of the fumes from the barrels. It is obvious to everyone that an open flame or spark in this area could cause a massive explosion.
When it seems as though there is nothing left to discover here, Rowning and Miagnik are about to wave at the rest of the group that it is a dead end, The Dwarf and Goblin both notice at the same time a poorly camouflaged door on the west wall of the small space where the barrels are stored.
A cautious examination reveals there are no traps set on this door, and Rownig or Miagnik can open it, if one of them wants to. For now, there is no danger, but if the party spends another turn in this area, fortitude saves may be required.
Miagnik looked around the room with the sense of one who would like to see the room explode. But he pushed aside his momentary fantasy and looked at Rownig.
"I'll open door, you cover me." Miagnik then went to the Door and began to open it.
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
Stephanie scrunches up her button nose, hiding it quickly beneath the folds of her sleeves. It seems exceedingly unwise to remain in this fume filled gauntlet, and she can't help but be wary of what might lie beyond it. Reason, however, would dictate that the integrity of this structure would be a greater priority than such an excessive death trap.
With a quick incantation, careful to keep her voice low and motions minimal, the overwhelming aroma of the area immediately surrounding her shifts to the smell of crisp apples. She still keeps her nose and mouth covered, not wanting to ingest the fumes, but is no longer quite so disgusted by the smell.
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
"Careful buddy...when ye do."Rownig slips his chuld in his sleeve and twirls his twin hand axes in his hands. He then motions the others forward a bit pointing to the door. "Do it." Rownig instructs the goblin.
