A quick glance over the side of the battlements is all that Highness needed to see that the lizard might soon make it to the battlements. And while his companions might slow the creature, it might be able to charge past to get to the goblins on the battlement.
I can't let that happen...
Highness glanced at the pile of rope at his feet and the long tail of rope still hanging over the outside battlement.
He turned towards the small cluster of goblins huddled by the tower door and said in a clear voice, "There are times to act like goblins...to run, hide and survive." Highness took the rope and looped it over one arm, a maniacal fire igniting in his eyes as his teeth bared in a grin that his companions would have already recognized. "And there are times to be a King...to fight and win against bigger foes, and feast on their bones!" he declared, as he got a firm grip on the rope in his other hand, dashed over to the edge and ran down the wall.
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In a gesture calculated to win him at least posthumous recognition by the tribe, Highness leaps over the courtyard side of the battlements, his legs going through the motions of running down the wall as the rope plays out behind him. As the amount of rope counterbalancing him on the other side lessens, however, his upper half begins to move more quickly than his feet. Another moment and he is tumbling, head over heels, at the end of a plummeting rope. He lands with a bone-rattling jar on the cracked cobblestones of the courtyard.
The words of a spell already in his mind, Irenaeus steps forward a little towards the edge of the battlements, just enough to be able to look -and aim- down at the creature. He utters a few syllables and moves his hand, palm open towards the beast, as if throwing dust or something like that. But dust it is not. A cone of colors, a swirling multitude of them, materializes in front of his outstretched arm and collides with the monster's face and eyes.
Moving quickly to continue taking advantage of Shaserai's blessing, Jonagher fires another three arrows in rapid succession.
"C'mon!" he encourages everyone, "Let's take it down!"
Ren steps closer to the crenellation and uses the high ground to cast a spell down onto the beast. A cone of colored light splashes down on it, and it freezes, disoriented.
Capitalizing on the opportunity Ren's spell has given them, and hoping it's effects indicate a weakness to mental assaults, Shaserai uses Torag's power to lash against the draconic creature's psyche. Then, as a precaution, the priest shields himself from harm.
Shaserai attacks the creature mentally before renewing his defenses.
Jonagher follows up with three quick arrows. The first lodges deeply in the lizard's eye, but the other two fall harmlessly to the courtyard below.
Enraged by the pain in its eye, the creature hisses angrily. Cautiously it moves up the stairs a little farther, sniffing the air. Turning its long nose blindly toward Jonagher and Shaserai, it hisses again, and a warm, fetid exhalation that reeks of mud and rotting fish rolls over the pair.
Shaserai, perhaps used to the fumes from the dwarven forges, is only repelled by the creature's foul breath, but Jonagher is physically sickened by the stench.
Ragna swings over the parapets and slides down the wall, landing on the broken stairs behind the grauladon and driving her axe into its back. "Finally, some action!"
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Ragna leaps to the top of the crenellation and buries her axe in the lizard's back. Twitching, it plummets from the stairs to the courtyard below with an earthshaking thud.
Jonagher celebrates Ragna's heroics by immediately retching over the crenellation he's been hiding behind.
"Yay! Go us!" he murmurs as his hands shake and his guts threaten to heave once more. Finally, he steadies himself, swallows whatever bile is left and waves with a smile to the rest of the team.
"Well... that was disappointing." Ragna says, staring down at the not-dragons body on the ground below. "All this fuss and it barely put up a fight." She sits on the edge of the broken stairs, legs dangling over the courtyard and pouts.
"I believe I will take an anticlimactic victory over one that is won by the skin of our teeth any day of the week," Irenaeus quips, taking care to keep himself and his clothes a safe distance from Jonagher and his rather... messy condition.
"I agree." the priest says as he approaches Jonagher "It's also true we used quite a bit of magic to take it down."
Shaserai checks on the half-elf "That thing was really foul, are you feeling ok?" The elf wrinkles his nose at the odor surrounding them both. He takes some wrinkly leaves from his bandolier and gives them to Jonagher. "Here, chew this. It will make you feel better. Also, let me try to do something about this stench."
The priest mutters a magical phrase and gestures to Jonagher's clothes which rids them of the lingering smell. He then repeats the procedure on his own outfit. "I think we'll both want to take a bath later, but this should do the trick for now."
He gazes over the crenellation at the courtyard and sees the would be gobling king. "That was a daring stunt, Highness." he calls out "Can you check the creature is really dead?"
"Whew! Yeah...that's much better..." Jonagher thanks Shaserai. "Useful blessing on those arrows, too. The wind at this height threw me off a bit there, but I'm glad I landed at least one of them. Once Highness leapt down there, I figured I'd better try and blind the thing, if possible. But I'm glad Ragna followed to finally put it down."
"I am fine!! Stupid lizard shouldn't have run away." Highness shouts up, then goes over to kick the lizard once before moving to join Ragnahild.
The goblins break into cheers when they see the 'dragon' fall -- all except the robed female who continues to scowl. "అది ఒక డ్రాగన్!" she announces slightingly. "మా ఇంటిని అధిగమించిన కోతులు మరియు కప్పలు ఇంకా ఉన్నాయి. చాలా కోతులు మరియు కప్పలు!"
"It would seem the goblins are more of a... quantity over quality type of people," Irenaeus remarks as he translates what the robed female says for his companions.
"Or opportunists..." Jonagher adds, wiping his mouth and steadying himself once more as he rejoins everyone. "And who would blame them? A bunch of heroes show up and suddenly we're the answer to all their problems, right? And maybe we are..." He squints down into the courtyard again. "With that thing dead, hopefully the way forward is clear now. Of course, if that takes us into a den of monkeys and frogs, I guess we'll be solving that problem for them regardless. Can you ask their leader about that? What can we expect? It would be good to have as much information as we can get before we press on."
"Ohh come on, Jonagher. Look at how cute they are!" Ragna scolds the half-elf, climbing the stairs to the rampart. She had wanted to take a trophy from the little dragon, but she felt it wasn't deserved after such an anti-climactic battle. "We can't just abandon them!" She says loudly enough for the goblins on the other wall to hear, catching Warbal's eye.
"We aren't going to abandon them. The ring you are looking for is likely under the keep somewhere, so helping the tribe will be a win for everyone." Highness said, bounding up the stairs with Ragnhild.
"కొంతమంది తమ ముందు స్పష్టంగా కనిపించే వాటిపై కొద్ది మొత్తంలో నమ్మకం ఉంచడం నేర్చుకుంటే బాగుంటుంది." Highness continued, looking at the robed figure.
Warbal, who seems to be the only member of the tribe who speaks Common, relates what she knows: The Bumblebrashers were in their home beneath the citadel when "dragons" and "frogs" and "monkeys" came rushing up the stairs from the level below. The tribe's chieftan Helba led some of the warriors in an attempt to fight them off, but she and many other goblins were killed. The rest fled up the stairs into the courtyard and, when the dragons came up after them, to the battlements. When the dragons tried to follow, their combined weight collapsed the stairs and part of the citadel wall.
"We don't know if they are all dead down there," Warbal finishes tearfully, "or if any other Bumblebrashers besides us survived."
"As Highness says our objective will most likely put us in conflict with these newcomers to the citadel, so we can try to help the goblins at the same time."
Shaserai listens to Warbal, and when she's finished he has some questions. "Can you describe the "frogs" and the "monkeys"? We might be able to figure out who or what they are. Also, you said they came from beneath your home. Did any of the tribe ever venture below? We found the floor plans of the citadel, but it only details above ground and the first basement. Finally, are you in need of a healer? I'm a priest of the Forgefather Torag, and I'd like to offer my help."
"Can you describe the "frogs" and the "monkeys"?"
She thinks a moment, idly twisting the tip of one ear. "The frogs are tall like you," she tells him, "but the monkeys are goblin-sized. None of them seemed to talk, either in Goblin-tongue or in Longshanks."
"Did any of the tribe ever venture below? We found the floor plans of the citadel, but it only details above ground and the first basement."
"We Bumblebrashers mostly stayed in our home where it was safe. Pib and Zarf explored more, but they were brave. They told us some of what they found. They said there were dead Longshanks in the corridors across the hall and a wooden soldier through the doors at the end of the vault. Helba said Bumblebrashers should stay out! As long as the neighbors left us alone, we should leave them alone, she said; if we went poking into their homes, they might come poking into ours. Better everyone mind their business! Pib and Zarf didn't say anything about downstairs. If you can find them and they're still alive, maybe you can ask them."
"Finally, are you in need of a healer? I'm a priest of the Forgefather Torag, and I'd like to offer my help."
"Ooh, you have magic fingers?" She looks at his digits with interest. "Rimraz says she has magic fingers," she glances at the robed goblin, "but they never seem to do much good. She says it's because we're bad, ungrateful goblins and the Sharp Sun is angry with us." She thinks a moment. "If you have magic fingers, you should save your magic for if you find any Bumblebrashers downstairs. We're safe from the monkeys and frogs and dragons up here, but if any are still alive downstairs, they'll probably need magic fingers more than we do."
"My advice would be to be a little careful with your... heh... magic fingers," Irenaeus whispers to Shaserai. "They have the potential to undermine this Rimraz's authority and she does not seem to like us very much already. Perhaps we should save making new enemies for a little later."
As Warbal answers his questions Shaserai thinks on the "frogs" and "monkeys", but he's not sure he's ever heard of such creatures before.
"That was not my intention." Shaserai whispers back to Ren. "I don't know any god that goes by "Sharp Sun", but I don't think it's a very nice one, if such a peaceful and unproblematic tribe as the Bumblebrashers are deemed bad by Rimraz. We'd better keep an eye on her."
Back in a normal tone he addresses the goblin. "Once we venture below, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for your tribesmates. Can you tell us how many remain downstairs?"
Jonagher quietly keeps to himself while listening in on the conversations with the goblin translators. His stomach is still a little queasy and he could swear the stench from the dragon-lizard is still on him somehow. To keep himself busy, he takes stock of his remaining arrows...now quite depleted from all the battles they'd fought. Maybe it could be worth returning to Breachill to pick up some new ones. He'd have to talk with the others about that possibility.
Of course, many of his arrows had missed the mark. And, firing from such a height, it's possible some of them might have just stuck in the dirt of the courtyard below. So, he peers once more over the battlements to see if he can discern any that still be worth retrieving.
"Once we venture below, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for your tribesmates. Can you tell us how many remain downstairs?"
Shaserai's question prompts a confused interchange in Goblin among the Bumblebrashers, largely a list of names and an account of whether they are or are not on the battlements. The goblins seem to have a shaky grasp on numeracy. The ultimate conclusion, vague as it is, is that there ought to be perhaps twice as many Bumblebrashers as are now present. (A quick headcount reveals nine on the battlements.)
"And Pib and Zarf," Warbal reminds them. "Oh, and Big Bumble."
Irenaeus nods in agreement with Shaserai before turning to address the whole group.
"The "monkeys" in question could be charau-ka. They are intelligent ape-men and the description fits them more or less. However, I am not sure what they could be doing here as they are native to Garund. They could been brought here of course, but is it not too much of a bother?"
"What about the wooden soldier, Warbal? Can you tell us anything about that?"
"So there are 2 levels beneath the citadel then, and you have the map for only one." Highness muttered to himself, listening to the flow of conversation.
"Were the lizards and monkeys here when you moved in, or are they new?" Highness asks, curious.
"The frog-men are likely boggards..." Jonagher announces as he returns from the battlements, "They're marsh and swamp-folk mostly. Not sure what they'd be doing here either. Not in the citadel, at least. They're aggressive, though. Could be they live nearby and saw this fortress as a potential threat? But the rest of these creatures...the monkeys and that dragon-lizard? Sounds like none of them are from around here. So, the primary question is really 'how'd they get here?' Magic of some kind? A bunch of escapees from the exotic menagerie of a traveling circus? No way to know unless we confront them. Maybe interrogate a few if we can capture them and speak their language..."
The half-elf gestures towards the courtyard. "While you guys keep talking with our new friends here, I'm going to head down and collect a few arrows. My stock's nearly depleted and I saw several down there from prior battles that I can probably scavenge. I'll take a look around, too. See if I can spot that access point to the lower levels we saw on the map. Hopefully, that lizard didn't collapse the walls like these stairs..."
Jonagher then takes the rope Highness had abandoned in his own freefall while assaulting the beast, and rappels down the inner wall to the courtyard. He takes his time gathering arrows, examining each one to make sure the fletching is intact and the shaft is still true. Then, he makes a circuit of the courtyard's lower walls, especially across from the access point where they'd first viewed the monster threatening the goblins.
"What about the wooden soldier, Warbal? Can you tell us anything about that?"
Warbal shakes her head. "I've never seen it. Helba said Bumblebrashers stay out! Pib and Zarf could tell you."
"Were the lizards and monkeys here when you moved in, or are they new?" Highness asks, curious.
Warbal shakes her head even more emphatically. "We never saw them. And Pib and Zarf would have told us if they were here. They went exploring everywhere ... hunting for treasure, they said."
In the courtyard, Jonagher finds that the citadel wall collapsed directly on top of the stairs to the lower level. More than that, beneath the rubble, he can see blue-black scales; it appears as if one of the "dragons" was crushed when the wall fell in. As large and heavy as the creatures are, it will take heavy equipment to shift the body and the rest of the stone to clear the stairway. Posandi Brothers back in Breachill has the equipment to do the job, but it won't be this afternoon. If the party intends to get to the lower level anytime soon, they will have to find another way down.
Besides the door on the south side of the courtyard, where they peeked out and spied the lizard, the collapsed wall on the north provides access to the northern wing of the citadel. The immediate interior on the far side of the pile of rubble and dead grauladon appears to be of a hallway running east and west within the wall of the keep itself.
The muddy pool to the west was once probably the Hellknights' source of fresh water in case of a siege. Now, only a tiny trickle of water traces a green line of algae down from a spout in the wall. If the Hellknights had diverted a natural spring to this point, the piping has clearly been clogged or broken. The seepage below the keep could have led to the swampy ground that caused the exterior walls to collapse in various places.
"Do you know of another way downstairs?" Ragna asks the goblins. "This way is closed. We found a book indicating a hidden rout to the lower levels."
Warbal nods eagerly. "There is another way in. It's hidden behind the hill. I can show you."
"It seems finding Pib and Zarf would be in our best interests." muses the priest "They may be able to describe to us the changes that have occurred to the basement since the floor plan was drawn up, in addition to whatever the charau-ka and boggards are up to."
"We would appreciate the assistance, Warbal." Shaserai looks at the others "After I've seen to Highness's and Ragna's injuries we can press on, agreed?"
"That's perfect, Warbal! Coming in from a long hallway could give us an advantage against the... frogs and wooden men." Ragna walks over to the inside edge of the wall and calls over. "Jonagher! We have another way in if that one's a bust."
"Yeah! This one is fully blocked!" Jonagher calls up, "It'd take days and some heavy equipment to lift some of this rubble. Looks like it crushed another of those dragon-lizards, too! I can see a few scales under the rocks. So, we'd have to dig that thing out, too, before we use this passage. If you've got another way in, I'd say that's probably our best bet. We'll make better time that way, provided it's safe..."
The half-elf moves back towards the rope he used to climb down from the inner battlements. "Are you guys coming down? Or do you want to haul me back up?"
Ragna looks over to Warble. ”What’s the best way for us all to get to the hill? We climbed up from the outside.”. She points back the way they had came.
"There's another entrance down here," Jonagher adds, "But it looks like it's another access point to the ground level of the citadel. Probably for the other wing. I don't think it leads down...but if we want to clear the rest of this level and make sure there's no surprises for us or the goblins, we may want to explore that area, too."
”What’s the best way for us all to get to the hill? We climbed up from the outside.”. She points back the way they had came.
Warbal nods her head. "If the stairs are blocked, we have to go around from the outside to get to the other door."
"The wall collapsed on another one of those lizards when it was coming out? How did they get in? Did someone bring them in when they were small? They look to big to get through a normal hallway..." Highness said as he walked toward Shaserai to get patched up, his eyes distant as he thought.
Too many things still unknown about this place, and that longshanks Alak who hired the rest of them probably knows more than he is letting on...
"Alright. Let's get back down the rope. It might be best for the rest of the goblins to stay here in case there are any other creatures on the surface." Ragna says, leading back to their climbing spot. She kneels down near the crenulations and gestures Warble over to her and whispers "Warbal, don't panic but there's an invisible demon flying around somewhere. It's not terribly deadly, but sleep with one eye open and kill it if you see it."