"Better than killing everyone, I suppose."
Flik starts to trudge closer to the hobgoblin's area.
Borgol nods, "Fair enough. "
"Hey, where yas goin'? Yas gonna be sorry!" the wereboar snorts, shaking his fist as you turn towards the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin grins and waves you in.
A second hobgoblin stands watch in the entry room, and they escort you through a door into an adjoining chamber. The tables in this room are loaded with well-organized supplies and alchemical equipment.
A hulking, wolflike fiend works at the equipment here, wearing a leather smock festooned with vials and ingredients. He turns towards you and grins, steepling his fingers. "You chose wisely in coming to speak to me. You clearly are men and women of intellect. You may call me Old Haanshu.
"Let me cut right to the chase. The wereboars in the west wing of this guardpost stole a valuable item from me, a magical crown of blasting. My men took a pair of magical bracers from them as recompense, but I would still like to recover the crown. If you can secure it and return it to me, I will give you those bracers, as well as allow you free passage past this guard station an deeper into the valley. So, what say you?"
Borgol asks, "And all we need to do is eliminate a warren of wereboars? Or is just getting the crown sufficient?"
"All I care about is the crown," Old Haanshu says. "Do what you will with the wereboars."
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
Flik gestures to his companions. "I'm not very interested in the conflicts these people have...I just want to get deeper into the valley! Do you think we could sneak into the wereboar's area and steal the crown back?"
Borgol chuckles, "Can't help but wonder if we can't just arrange a trade, honestly. Each wants what the other has."
I can see if I can broker a trade? Fergus asks the others.
Borgol nods, "Well, as much as they might hate you, I'd imagine everyone should be able to trust a paladin."
You exit the hobgoblins' wing of the guard post and cross to where the wereboars are. The door is locked up tight, though! Calling out to them elicits a muffled response. "Yas had yer chance to talk, but yas sided with the bloody gobbos!"
"Now, now. Don't be like that! We just want everyone to be happy. Could you simply trade back the items that were exchanged? We would act as intermediaries and make sure that no one is double crossed."
"Hrmph! Yas gotta talk to da boss!" the wereboar snorts. After a few moments, the door opens and the pig-faced man eyes you through narrow eyes, brandishing his sword. "Come wit' me, and no funny business!"
The wereboar leads you through another room that contains a few chairs, a makeshift weapons rack, and a humanoid-shaped dummy wearing a golden crown--perhaps the same crown the hobgoblins are trying to get back. The room past this one contains four sets of bunk beds pushed against the walls, their mattresses and linens torn and filthy.
Six other wereboars are here. Five look on as their leader, a tall and lanky female, steps forward to greet you. "Name's Karrigan. Heard yas workin' for the potion-suckers cross the way. Give us a good reason why we's shouldn't just rip yas up and prepare yas for a feast tonight!"
The other wereboars squeal and grunt in agreement, eyeing you hungrily.
Borgol shakes his head, "We're not working for anybody. We're just trying to clear all this up in a way that works for everyone."
You have my word as a paladin of Angradd, we are honest in our dealings with you.
"Oh, I'd hardly make a meal for your crew, and I can tell you that I'm quite tough, and well seasoned with road dust." Flik gives his most winning smile to the wereboar leader.
"What we want is to have things wrapped up to the satisfaction of both groups, then we can go on our way! Please, let us just exchange the disputed items and we can leave you to your feast."
"Hmph. Let me get dis straight," Karrigan says. "We give yas the crown what we took from the hobbos. Then they's just gonna give yas the bracers they took from us? How does we know this ain't just some trick?!?"
"Angradd would be very upset if my dwarf friend here lied to you. He's very big on contracts. Also, what would it benefit us to lie? We just want to resolve things and get through this area."
Yes he would. It would be very bad for me to lie to you in his name. Fergus nods in response to Flik.
Karrigan snorts. "Fine. Take the crown to the hobbos, and bring back the bracers! But if yas don't, we'll make yas sorry!"
She gestures, and one of the other wereboars retrieves the magical crown and hands it to you.
Flik graciously accepts the crown and heads for the hobgoblins immediately.
"Thank you, Borgol and Fergus. I think I have a very trustworthy face, but some people will only take a divine guarantee of good behavior. I hope the hobgoblins prove as reasonable."
Borgol says, "I think we should be ready to be attacked when we return their item, sadly. But, let's not make the first move."
You return to the hobgoblins and present the crown to their barghest leader. Old Haanshu smiles politely. "Ah, thank you very much. As promised, you may have the wereboars' bracers, as well as free passage deeper in to the valley. I bid you good fortune."
He presents the magical bracers to you, and his hobgoblins honor his word, allowing you to leave without incident!
Flik reflects as they walk deeper into the valley.
"Well, good to know we don't have to kill everyone in here. Some of them can be reasonable. Of course, they all serve the runelord, but perhaps their loyalty is not very strong."
Borgol nods, "That's an interesting thought. Wonder if we can defuse other threats."
Ah! A good outcome for all! Fergus says while nodding.
You return to the west side of the complex, where the wereboars escort you back to their leader's room. Karrigan snorts with glee when she sees the bracers. "Thanks! Hand 'em over, and yas can have a bowl of our stew!" she says with a tusky grin. She gestures to a pot full of a repulsive slurry of beans, beef, caramel candies, pears, and trout.
You give her the bracers, and she snaps them into place on her arms as she stares intently at Borgol. After a few seconds, she squeals with laughter. "Yas done us a solid favor, taking care of those fools and fetching our treasure. But we really can’t let yas pass. We ain’t really followers of the Peacock Spirit, but we were given a job to do... A job we enjoy!" Her hands dart for the hilts of her twin short swords!
Karrigan lunges at Borgol, but his armor keeps him safe from her blade's point! The other wereboars squeal and draw their weapons as well!
"Whelp, I suppose it would have been to much to ask to waltz out of here."
Speaking of waltzing, Flik starts performing, then sprays a cloud of gleaming dust over the wereboars.
Borgol shakes his head, "Figures," he mutters, as he draws his blade and causes it to burst into flames. "Was just hoping you weren't actually as dumb as you looked," he says as he doubles in size and attacks.
Maddie laughs gleefully as she calls upon her magic, a ray of green magic springing from her fingertip and attempting to age Karrigan to dust.
The world flickers blue
Maddie laughs for a moment, then she cuts herself off, frowns, and does nothing.
Fergus will attack a wereboar!
"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" Remy shouts as she leaps into battle!
Borgol only manages to land one hit on Karrigan, but Remy is quickly by his side, unleashing a flurry of blows! Each successive hit rocks Karrigan until the final blow knocks her out!
Two of the remaining five wereboars are blinded by glitterdust! Fergus moves to attack them, landing two hits!
The wereboars squeal as they strike back at the dwarf with their own greataxes! The dwarf gets hit three times, his fortified armor turning aside a critical hit!
With a roar, Fergus launches another attack!
Borgol looks over and sees Fergus under siege... and uses a bit of thought to maintain the size and reach that would let him help, before letting out a sound halfway between a growl and a sigh, "Your leader's dead, and soon, the rest of you will be too--- and you're too stupid to stop, I guess you wanted the Hobgoblins to win."
for
for
Flik will keep performing, but hold off on unleashing any other magic.
Borgol's attacks knock back the wereboar that Fergus wounded. Remy performs a flying kick over the dwarf, landing in a flurry to finish off that foe and wound another. Fergus lays into that wereboar, delivering a critical hit that lays it low!
The remaining three lycanthropes continue to squeal in fury, determined to fight to the death! They chop at Remy and Fergus, landing a couple hits on the monk.
Fergus will continue his assault!
Not impressed with the feral stupidity, Borgol returns to his normal size, not wanting to waste any further magic on the wereboars.
for
for
for
With another round of fierce attacks, the remaining wereboars fall! You patch yourselves up and grab the loot to be had here before exiting the guardhouse and continuing north. As promised, the hobgoblins let you pass unmolested.
Beyond the garrison, the inner valley of the temple compound sprawls. Most of the valley is taken up by the deep, still waters of a large lake, with the land to the east and south gently sloping up from the shoreline to the cliffs at the valley’s borders. The trees here are predominantly fir and pine, and ancient magical wards keep the temperature relatively stable at about 55º F.
A slightly overgrown path leads north towards a wooden walkway along the side of a deep-blue stone building that straddles the river that flows out of the lake. A single thin, delicate spire reaches fifty feet toward the sky from the structure’s vaulted roof, while stained-glass windows depicting ornate peacock feathers with open eyes in their centers peer out from the sides in every direction. On the opposite side of the building, a ten-foot-wide bridge extends to the west toward a towering cathedral in the middle of the lake.
The path also splits to the southwest, heading deeper into the forested valley.
Borgol pauses a moment with the cloak, "This is better than mine - likely better than many of ours. We should make use of it, rather than stuffing it into a pack."
"Take it, Borgol. You may want to wash it first, though," Remy says with a smirk. "It smells like pig."
The monk pulls her own cloak around her body to try to ward off the chill in the air. "That looks like the temple across the lake. Should we check out the forest first, though? There may be more of those Peacock Shrines to dismantle to remove some of the defensive wards on the valley."
"Yes, bet to face a Runelord with as few of his defenses in place as we can manage."
Borgol chuckles, "Maybe Maddie or Flik could use a cantrip for that. Sadly, Erisar doesn't care so much about how his champions smell."
He then nods, "Agreed. The more protection we can remove, the better."