The hobgoblin looks defiant. He responds in Common.
"I haven't been touched by those spores, and you know it. Are you claiming to have caused the Blight? Rumors say it comes from deep in the woods." He looks over Benedict. "And I'm sure you don't."
The hobgoblin looks defiant. He responds in Common.
"I haven't been touched by those spores, and you know it. Are you claiming to have caused the Blight? Rumors say it comes from deep in the woods." He looks over Benedict. "And I'm sure you don't."
"Come now, friend. He doesn't look like an elf, does he? He said elven magic. Now, you were going to tell me why I shouldn't put you out of my misery."
Aerel waves Grum over. "I am getting nowhere with him. I suppose you might have a good way to end the conversation."
Without waiting for a reply, the archer walks away to see if he can pick up a trail to their destination.
|
”You see. The problem is that we have no way to verify anything he says. Hobbos are good soldiers. Even if he talks, he’ll likely lie. And we don’t have the ability to keep captives.” Grum put the wand away and picked up his sword. Looking at the prisoner, he said ”You fought well.” He lifted the blade. ”For what it’s worth, you have my respect.” The blade came down. There was no sign of regret on his face.
After the captive is dealt with, Aerel is able to track the hobgoblins from their ambush back to their camp. It consists of their bedrolls and a makeshift shelter, fire pit and latrine. A brief but thorough investigation determines that the hobgoblin patrol ambushers had been living a that camp for several days. Tracks of varying ages go off in all directions, making it apparent that these hobgoblins had been patrolling this area of the Fangwood for the last week.
Resuming the search for Fort Ristin, Aerel again takes the lead. Using the evidence of the hobgoblin patrols as a guide, the elven archer manages to find a hidden trail leading to the north.
The disguised trail would have been much more difficult to follow had it not been apparent that the hobgoblins had made their own marks to ensure they could make their way back to the fort. Fortunately for the Phaendaran heroes, this precautionary measure also allowed them to find Fort Ristin.
Rising out of a particularly dense section of forest, the fort is built from weathered blocks of smooth, gray stone. Four towers stand at each corner of the keep, with a gatehouse between the front two towers (the northwest and the southwest), a curtain wall protecting the sides, and a broad structure between the two rear towers (the northeast and southeast).
An initial inspection estimates the towers to be roughly forty-five feet high, while the wall protecting the inner courtyard are fifteen feet high. There is a walkway running along the top of the walls, and the tops of the towers have crenellated battlements. The walls are covered in ivy, while mushrooms and ferns cover the ground where the forest had been cleared.
Distressingly, the northeastern tower has recently collapsed on the northern wall, scattering chunks of stone across the area and leaving a ten-foot wide gap in the wall. A massive keep looms over the courtyard beyond the gap.
Also, the western gate, which is a heavy wooden double door banded in iron, is ajar. The wall on either side of the door is twenty feet high in this section of the fort.
"Let's find a concealed spot to watch the fort for a bit... get a sense of comings and goings. Maybe over by the northern wall so we can see through the gap, at least into the courtyard. Try to get an idea of how many revelers are inside."
"And what kind of creatures they happen to be..."
Aerel will work to assist anyone interested with their camouflage so we can settle in for a watch.
Benedict is not particularly stealthy either (net +0 with Dex and ACP) but distance is our friend.
What is the scale of the map?
If we are at the north edge of the woods north of the gap in the wall, how far away are we from the nearest intact tower (given that the Northeastern one has collapsed)?
Working his way over to the breach in the wall, Aerel is able to see the interior of the fort. The fortress's courtyard of hard-packed earth and gravel is filled with large stones spilled from the tumbled northeastern tower. A building situated against the northern wall has been almost entirely crushed, while an intact stable stands against the southern wall. A wooden double door stands slightly ajar to the west, leading out of the fort. Another double door leads into the large keep to the east, and a balcony twenty feet above the keep's entrance overlooks the courtyard. A narrow wooden door stands at the base of each of the three remaining towers.
Of the stones scattered across the courtyard, the largest are as tall as a human and all are stained dark red. The source of the stains is no mystery: hobgoblin corpses with slit throats hang upside-down from crude gibbets above each of the gruesome stones.
Aerel can see around a half-dozen short, heavily bearded figures staggering about, carousing and singing awful drinking songs. Their inebriated state is plain as they stumble about the courtyard.
These short figures are fey a kind of fey called Korreds. Their thick, shaggy hair obscures most of their body and face. As fey, they are usually chaotic and capricious. This kind are members of the Unseelie Court, and are generally foul-tempered and cruel.
Aerel retreats stealthily to report what he’s seen to the others.
Aerel returns to the rest of the group and describes in as much detail as he can muster the creatures he saw within the fort.
”I’m going to venture a guess that the hobgoblins took the fort from the rangers or after the rangers abandoned it, and these things overwhelmed the hobgoblins and bled them dry. Almost looks like they are preparing them for butchering, to be honest.”
"I'd like to check it out. We need to be wary, as you say. It may or may not be true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The occupiers appear to be drunk, which generally means less deception and less fighting prowess. Approach them openly and ask their opinion of the people of Nirmathas. Judge them to be friend or foe and react accordingly. What say you?"
Shrug, ”They don’t have to know our exact numbers to answer a question, do they?”
William looks the fort over and points to the towers, "That might be the place for archers if we can get up there unseen. Any ideas on that?"
”Well, the ivy on the walls might hold us. Let’s check it out. Same tower? Or different towers?”
As stated earlier, the towers are 45 feet tall; the the walls are 15 feet high. The walls and the towers are constructed in such a way that there is no way to brace against the corners to make the climb easier. A venture close to one of the towers determines that though the ivy clings well to the rocks, the vines are thin and cannot support the weight of a small or medium-sized creature.
"Okay, get in position - either on the wall or hiding in the woods. I'll approach openly in a few minutes and see how they react."
Aerel suggests that Benedict retreat in the face of any hostile reactions to a position where he and the other two melee fighters can make a stand while Aerel and William fire from cover at another angle, in an attempt to create a cross-fire of sorts.
William rummages in his backpack for a moment and pulls out a silk rope and grappling hook. "What do you guys think about this to get us up?"
"Might make some noise - but maybe with their drinking songs they will not notice. Give it a try."
William nods and then says, "Let's do this, Aerel. He approaches the tower and throws the hook up.
As the heroes approach the fort in order to test the grappling hook, all but Amkarang notice movement in the surrounding ferns and mushrooms at the gate. It's a strange plant-like creature that consists of four spidery stalks, long green tendrils, and an inverted bell-shaped cap filled with spores.
William reacts first, being just a fraction of a second faster han the plant, able to bring his bow to bear.
Seeing the creature William launches two arrows at it.
William's arrows bounce off the tough, fibrous material of the plant.
It lurches forward until it's adjacent to William. Then it spews out a cloud of spores all around it!
1 You're sinking in quicksand! Fall prone and spend 1 round flailing your arms and legs as if trying to swim.
2 Attacked by a swarm of spiders! Spend a full round action to attack the floor near you with your weapon.
3 An item you hold has turned into a viper! Drop it and flee from the item at top speed for 1 round.
5 You've shrunk to 1/10th your normal size! Take no actions for 1 round and monsters won't see you.
This is a basidirond, a dangerous plant creature with hallucinogenic spores.
Aerel gasps, grabbing his throat as he struggles to breathe.
William sneaks up behind a weed and hides behind it.
Benedict draws and downs an antitoxin.
Amkarang's eyes widen and he bellows, "What magic has shrunken me? I shall not move from this spot, do not step on me!"
The plant creature's strange pollen affects most everyone except for Grum, but his swing fails to connect.
The plant then swings a frond back at Grum.
It fails to do any damage, smacking up against his stout armor.
"Guys, you are all fine! Shake it off!"
Benedict moves up, drawing his warhammer, and attacks.
Aerel relaxes as his throat clears only to grab his face, then wrap his arms around himself in an effort to keep himself together.
William stops his hiding and fires two arrows at the creature.
Amkarang just manages to resist the effects of the spore cloud before advancing on the creature. However, the lingering affects of the spores leave him weakened and make his attack ineffective.
Benedict, bolstered by the antitoxin he consumed, braves the cloud and deals the plant a punishing blow. The rest of the heroes either succumb to the spores or their attacks bounce off the fibrous body of the creature.
The mindless plant flails at Benedict this time, it randomly manages to attack the one who hit it!