"This is quite valuable." Shenuska says, picking up the dogslicer gingerly. "It is enchanted and will wreathe itself in fire when wielded." She offers it to Rurik, "Perhaps you might find a use for it?"
"Kinda small," he says dubiously.
"Maybe. Or maybe we can hawk it to a crazy gnome pirate or somethin'."
"Can't say I've heard good things about the durability of goblin weapons, but maybe the magical augmentation helps with that."
"And as for this," he said, walking over to the chest, "probably easiest if we leave it and grab it on the way out rather than haul it around behind us and just have it get in the way when we're ambushed."
A shabby curtain to the southwest opens onto a chamber filled with dozens of moldy and lice-ridden blankets and hides. There doesn't seem to be anything of value here, though.
To the southeast, crumbling walls stand out among the rocky cave walls. Manacles are driven into the wall with a sturdy metal spike. A pair of haggard dwarves, one male and one female, sit slumped against the wall, their arms stretched above their heads and shackled in manacles. A single female goblin stands guard here. Her skin is pallid and covered with sores, and her snaggled teeth are rotting away. A large frog sits on her shoulder.
"These dwarves be our prisoners," she says in Common. "You no take them."
Nime grows indignant when she sees the restrained dwarves.
"They are your prisoners no longer," she says, straightening up to her full height. "In fact, you are all that's left of this clan. So unless you wish to be our prisoner ... or dead, then you'd better flee now."
The undine doesn't know that for a fact, but she's hoping the jailer doesn't.
The goblin swallows nervously. She tries to peek past you as if looking to see if any of her fellow goblins might be coming to help her out. "Dead, eh? Even Chief Cheektooth?" Seeing Nime's stern countenance, the goblin clucks her tongue. "Okay. I find new tribe. Bye!"
And then she collapses into a puddle of mud! It slowly slithers its way past you, the frog hopping alongside of it nonchalantly.
"You've come to rescue us? Oh, thank Torag!" says one of the dwarves. "I'm Kaggie Shalestep, and this is me husband, Toagus. Please, get us to safety!"
"Now that's a neat trick," Nime says in amazement when the goblin transforms into a puddle and continues to watch as the puddle exits the cave.
Calendula pulls at the chains until they burst . "Kaggie, Toagus? Can you get to the town safely? I don't quite think we're finished up here, and I don't much wanna put you at risk, unless you feel like waiting here fer us."
The dwarves nod. "Aye, we can make it back okay. We're a bit malnourished, but otherwise in good health. The goblins didn't hurt us. They kept asking questions about mining and engineering. I guess they thought all dwarves are miners! We're just traders."
Nime turns a questioning gaze at Calendula.
"We're not done?" she asks looking around. "I thought we were here to free these two people?"
She looks down at the dwarves and then back to the scarred woman. Her eyes then open in understanding.
"Oh, you mean about the coupling. You're right, of course."
She looks down again at Kaggie and Toagus with a smile. "Some of us were planning on coupling a little later this evening and we really don't know you well enough yet to invite you. Sorry."
She looks back up at Calendula and smiles, certain she's navigated this social minefield correctly.
Calendula turns to Nime and shakes her head. "I want ta see what lies deeper in these caves. Could be important, 'specially if they kidnapped these two fer it." She reaches into her pack and gives each dwarf some of her rations, and allows them both a pull from her waterskin. "If'n ya get to the town before us- which you will -, tell Audrani we're safe. They take anythin from ya?"
"Er, no thanks. We're married," Toagus tells Nime, blushing profusely.
"We didn't have anything for them to take from us," says Kaggie. "You lot be safe down here. We'll see you back at the Cove."
Shenuska nods to the dwarves as they pass her, trying to keep the smile from her face as Nime does her usual, wonderful job of making social situations extremely awkward.
Calendula's suggestion of heading further into the caves receives a nod. "I've used a lot of my power," She warns "But I still have a trick or two left..."
"You want me to escort you out just in case any of the goblins are lurkin' around hidden?" says Rudrik to the rescued dwarves.
"Aye, thank you," the dwarves say. Rudrik escorts them safely out of the caves without incident.
Nime's brow furrows just slightly as she looks off into the distance.
"I was sure she was talking about coupling. Or at least talking about talking about coupling."
She shakes her head a little and then reaches up to touch some of the purplish blotches on her torso that still seem tender. She shrugs.
"I guess we can still talk about it later."
When you are ready, you head down the tunnel to the east. A cave-in has blocked the passage, preventing further progress. A small room lies to the north. A five-foot-diameter space, ringed by arcane runes, sits on the floor at this room’s center.
Peering into the room, Theo tried to work out what he could about the runes, not wanting to get too close just in-case.
Theo detects a strong aura of conjuration magic coming from the runes. They seem to form a teleportation circle! Stepping into the circle will transport you somewhere else.
"Teleportation circle, step on that and end up somewhere else entirely. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think I'm in much shape to go jumping blind through one of those."
"Uhhh... isn't that a bit much for goblins?" asks Rudrik, scratching his head.
"Goblins didn't build this," Nime says as she walks a circle around the circle, her gaze focused on the runes. "This is much older."
She looks back up at the others. Excitement is evident in the smile on her face.
"Let's find out where it goes," she says as she steps into the middle of the circle.
"One way trip to crazy town," mumbles Rudrik as he leaps to follow Nime. "Poor lady's gonna get herself killed."
Nime vanishes in a flash of light, and Rudrik tries to follows her a moment later. But he just stands in the circle. Nothing happens.
White marble lines the walls of the rectangular room Nime appears in. A circle of runes adorns both the east and west walls.
A lone goblin sits forlornly near the west wall. Her eyes widen, and she falls to her knees.
"It's ok," Nime says to the goblin holding out one hand palm up. "I'm not going to hurt you."
She looks around the room with her eyes wide.
Calendula follows, mumbling, "I don't like the idea of leavin a door to I don't know what open in my own backyard."
"Aahhhhhh, great!" says Rudrik, throwing up his hands angrily. "Now we lost Nime! Dammit, dammit, dammit. Can't leave that woman unattended for one second."
The goblin babbles at Nime in her native language. She appears to be half-starved.
As Nime looks around, she bumps into an invisible wall of force separating the room in two.
Nime traces her hands over the invisible wall.
"This is interesting," she says. "But not really helpful."
She looks back at the runes on her side of the room and then at the runes on the opposite wall.
"Hmmm... "
She holds out her hand again to the hungry goblin and smiles in what she hopes is a non-threatening manner. When the creature makes no move, Nime slowly reaches down and takes the fearful girl's hand.
With her other hand she brushes across the runes on the wall.
The goblin seems terrified of the runes, pulling against Nime's hand. But once the undine touches them, she and the goblin disappear, reappearing back in the room with the rest of the party.
The goblin is stunned, but then she shouts with joy.
"Nime, wait!" Theo called out, too late to stop the strange undone from stepping through. Followed by a curse as Rudrik's attempt to follow failed.
The flash of Nime's return had him going for his spear, pausing only for a moment as he realised it was Nime, but he stayed ready as he saw the goblin return with her.
"Are you alright? What happened?"
Not waiting for much in the way of explanation, Calendula steps into the ring to get a look for herself.
"Oh for the love of-" Theo remarks as Calendula steps through.
Calendula finds herself in the room that Nime was in. Rectangular, marble walls, runes on either wall, and a wall of force blocking access to the east half of the chamber,
Shenuska, not speaking goblin, goes with Calendula.
Once there she examines the new room minutely with Detect Magic and her new spectacles, before wracking her brains for more information.
Beyond the moderate aura of evocation magic coming from the wall of force, being in the room seems to be affecting Calendula and Shenuska with faint auras of abjuration and enchantment magic. Further experimentation lends Shenuska to believe that anybody in this room is affected by protection from chaos and zone of truth spells.
The wall of force flickers and shudders sporadically. It appears that the magic sustaining it has weakened significantly. It may be possible to bash your way through it.
"Nethys' bisected liver, am I the only one aware of how dangerous an unknown teleportation circle can be?!"
Calendula- on instinct -tries to cut her way through the wall, hoping to pierce it but not destroy it.
If successful, she does not continue trying to rend the wall of force, but rather sheaths her weapon and turns to Shenuska. "Another night in the caves and then go through? What do you think? We should tell the others."
The wall of force flares and crackles as Calendula's sword pierces it. Another good hit like that will likely destroy it for good.
Shenuska nods to Calendula and presses the rune to teleport the pair back to the previous room.
Once her and Shenuska are back in the cave, she shares what she found. "There's a force field but it's weak. I was able to penetrate it with my sword and I think I could destroy it if I tried."
She coughs some and crouches down, head pointed firmly at the ground. "What should we do? I'm not comfortable leaving it unexplored; I would wanna go in there and take care of it as quickly as possible. But maybe we should go back to town first? Catch up with the dwarves, help escort them safely, restock supplies? I don't know."
Nime looks around the dreary darkness of the cave before speaking up.
"If we're going to be coming back here, I'd really rather not walk all the way back to town," she says with a frown. "But I'd prefer to stay outside amongst the trees. The wind is so crippled inside here. It would be nice to feel her on my face again."
She closes her eyes as if imagining it.
The frail goblin's stomach rumbles loudly. She groans and clutches it.
"Oh, you poor thing," Nime says kneeling down to put her hand on the goblin's shoulder. "Does anyone have something to eat with them?"
Nime begins search around the goblins' lair looking for something for the hungry survivor.
Calendula sighs and digs through her pack for some food. "Don't much like letting people go hungry."
She offers the goblin the last of her rations, not much more than stale bread and crusted cheese. "If I couldn't go huntin, I wouldn't even give you this much. But I c'n fend for myself, and you need eatin more than I do at the mo. Your tribe is gone. Will you be okay on your own?"
The goblin doesn't seem to understand what Calendula is saying, but she happily devours the food offered to her!
Rudrik steps in to translate.
"Does she need help, er, livin, or is she confident in her abilities to survive in the wild?"
"She says she'll go join another tribe."