Round 7
Rîleth moved carefully around (15 ft) to stand on the other side of the room to attack the goblin before her. She lunged at its arm; hoping the rapier would pierce the creature.
Shel slides 5’ closer and uses red as a flank on the unsuspecting goblin.
Attack
Damage plus
sneak attack
Round 7: Goblins and Tsuto
The goblin continues to provide the flank to the half-elf monk/rogue, but decides to slash at Shel.
The wounded goblin wielding the bow and attacked by Rileth holds the bow in one hand and draws his short sword and slashes at her.
Tsuto continues to enjoy the flank and unleashes another flurry of blows at the severely wounded Red. His punch lands, drawing some blood, staggering the barbarian, who is at 0 hps!
A character with 0 hit points, or one who has negative hit points but has become stable and conscious, is disabled. A disabled character may take a single move action or standard action each round (but not both, nor can he take full-round actions, but he can still take swift, immediate, and free actions). He moves at half speed. Taking move actions doesn’t risk further injury, but performing any standard action (or any other action the GM deems strenuous, including some free actions such as casting a Quicken Spell spell) deals 1 point of damage after the completion of the act. Unless the action increased the disabled character’s hit points, he is now in negative hit points and dying.
Shel again uses Red as a flank on the dastardly goblin.
Attack
Damage plus
sneak attack
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Round 8
Noting the danger Red was in as he confronted Tsuto on his own, and even with the new cut across her hand, thanks to the goblin before her, Rîleth pressed on, hoping to finish the goblin nearest her, so she could move to help Red.
Rîleth stepped 5ft closer to the remaining goblin and was still one step from Red.
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Perilously injured himself, Perri doesn't consider the potential consequences as he begins a prayer to Erastil, converting his second (and final) spell of the day, with a warm glow forming around his drawing hand as he finishes. Then he moves forward trying to avoid the remaining goblin (but his movement will provoke an AoO) and presses the glowing hand onto Red, bestowing a Blessing of Erastil upon him.
"Now MOVE, Red!" As he points at the space between himself and Tsuto.
The goblin sees Perri move past him and thrusts his short sword into the back of the human's thigh, but it doesn't stop him from continuing his trek hobbling!
Red struggled to stay conscious - his very essence hurt. His thigh was still bleeding from the goblin's cut and the half-elf's fists and kicks had broken ribs and bones - he could see the bruises all over his arms and torso. His vision was hazy - he knew he couldn't stay up much longer. His adrenaline was running out, he was about to collapse and he welcomed the unconsciousness - the pain was too much. He knew he had to go out with one blow that hopefully would win the battle. He gripped his sword and was about to swing when in his rage, he heard unintelligible incantations of magic and then a warm glow enveloped him that felt like paradise. His wounds closed and his ribs healed. He saw Perri next to him ordering him to continue the battle. He nodded in thanks to his new friend, his rage returned to him strengthening his grip and revitalized, he screamed - a primal scream. He thrust his sword toward the half-elf.
Tsuto was looking very confident. The barbarian was about to fall. The gypsy archer was about to fall. He could take care of the women on his own. Then Perri happened and his healing reinvigorated Red. Tsuto's cockiness faded. Then the barbarian's greatsword penetrated his abdomen. He looked down at the blade, the blood coming out of his mouth..he pleaded with the gods that he be allowed to live. But the gods were not paying attention. He fell to his knees, whispered "Nualia..." and then fell motionless to the ground.
The flanking goblin screams, "Boss!" He makes a run for it, drawing AoOs from Red, Shel and Rileth.
Shel tries to flay the goblin as it runs away.
Attack
Damage plus
sneak attack
Possible critical Attack
Damage
”Oh, I was using the wrong end of my rapier apparently. The pointy end goes towards the goblins!”.
As both Tsuto and the last goblin fall, Perri collapses.
"Ow. I guess we won, but that did not go well at all. I wonder what he was trying to say there, at the end. We should probably see if Ameiko is in here, somewhere. Gimme a minute. I'll help. When I get back up."
He doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get up, though.
After Shel vanquishes the last goblin, Red falls out of his rage and collapses fatigued next to Perri for 8 rounds. Between bated breaths, he mutters, "Thanks for the healing. You saved my life. You all did. Thank you."
Shel does indeed thrust her rapier through the goblin's eye ending the fight.
Watching as Tsuto and the last of his goblin collaborators fell, Rîleth wiped the bloodied tip of her rapier on the clothes of the nearest dead goblin before moving to her companions - two of which were now collapsed on the ground resting from the fight and their multitude of injuries.
"I agree with Perri. We must search the shop and find Mistress Ameiko as soon as we are able."
Looking down at Perri, who had suffered numerous grave wounds, Rîleth turned her gaze to her Halfling companion, "Shel, are you able to search Tsuto's body for anything useful? I shall tend to Perri's wounds first."
Quieting calling a prayer to her goddess as she began reciting the familiar words of her healing spell, Rîleth bent down by Perri's side and gently laid her hand against his arm outstretched beside him on the ground. After a few moments, most of the larger, gaping wounds began to knit closed cleanly and wholly.
"Most of the wounds have knitted cleanly, Perri. I am sorry I cannot provide you with other magical healing for I am spent this day. If you have regained your strength, can you provide further magical healing to help Red with his wounds? I am hurt, yet the remaining wounds are not deep and I can still fight if necessary."
===
While the others rested and healed up, Shel began a search of the half elf, the goblins and the surroundings in the room. ”I don’t suppose the silent approach is going to do us any good, since everyone in the town probably heard that fight.”
You find the following items on Tsuto:
Potion
Composite shortbow
20 arrows
Ring
Masterwork thieves’ tools
Masterwork flute
Silver earrings
Small, leather-bound booklet that contains two dozen parchment pages
6 pouches of gold dust
8 pouches of silver dust
10 pp
On the goblins, you find a total of 18 gp and 8 sets of leather armors, short swords, and shorbows.
After the 8 rounds of fatigue wear off, Red stands, his body aching. "I am good, ready to fight and continue our search for Lady Ameiko. Find anything interesting on Suto? He knew where to punch and kick. His blows felt different from Shoanti clan mates." Red retrieves his shield and battle axe and straps greatsword on back.
Politely requesting the potion from Shel, Rîleth looked at the liquid in the vial, hoping to identify it by colour and unstoppered it to smell the contents. When that failed to reach a definitive conclusion, Rîleth cast Detect Magic on the potion, studied it and thought back on her knowledge of spellcraft and arcana to see if she could determine the potion's contents.
”Rileth, could you check the rest of the gear with your magical sight? If there is magic to be found, I don’t want us to look over it...”
If there was no objection, Shel took the masterwork thieves’ tools.,
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Politely requesting the potion from Shel, Rîleth looked at the liquid in the vial, hoping to identify it by colour and unstoppered it to smell the contents. When that failed to reach a definitive conclusion, Rîleth cast Detect Magic on the potion, studied it and thought back on her knowledge of spellcraft and arcana to see if she could determine the potion's contents.
[dice=Perception]1d20+6
[dice=Spellcraft]1d20+6
[dice=Know. Arcana]1d20+8
Potion of Cure Light Wounds (CL1)
To save time, the Ring detects as magical.
"This is a healing potion," looking to Perri to see if he wished to hold onto to it or Red to see if he wished to imbibe it now rather than wait on Perri to cast his magic.
”Rileth, could you check the rest of the gear with your magical sight? If there is magic to be found, I don’t want us to look over it...”
Rîleth nodded her head for she had already detected a magical aura surrounding the ring.
===
Later, she retrieved the small, leather-bound booklet containing two dozen parchment pages and looked over and through it.
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Rileth fails to discern the magical properties of the Ring.
With regard to the booklet, you realize it is Tsuto's journal. The parchment pages consist of maps of Sandpoint or erotic drawings of a woman.
The maps each depict different attack plans. The first set shows the attack plans for a group of 30 goblins—one of these battle maps is circled and you recognize it as the attack the goblins made on Sandpoint at the town square and the north gate during the festival. Of more pressing concern are the next several pages, which illustrate an assault on Sandpoint by a force of what appears to be 200 goblins. Many of the plans have been scratched out as if they’ve been rejected.
==
Reading the contents on the open pages, Rileth pondered the names mentioned within them, before calling over her companions to see/read the information contained within.
"Tsuto has devised a cunning and deadly plan for the town. We must be ready and we must warn the town council once we find Ameiko. Come, read these pages quickly...there are specific entities and names mentioned..."
Red concentrates on the maps and lingers a little too long on the erotic drawings, before he analyzes the parchment. He pauses, "There's a smuggling tunnel beneath this place that apparently connects to a river, maybe? We should keep our eyes open for that. And a lot of bad people mentioned here." He point to the drawing on the 3rd page. "So who's the chick with the bat wings?"
"No, Rileth, I'm afraid I have used all the spells Erastil blessed me with already today. The first went to reading the message, and the second to Red. My apologies for not having more."
After resting long enough to feel guilty about it, Perri gets up, ignores the others rifling through the newly acquired loot, and instead goes to the worker's bodies, checking to see who each was, and providing each a quick funerary blessing. "This will take some time to clean up, and much longer for the families to heal."
After he finishes that task, Perri stops and looks to the others. "Smugglers tunnel? We should look for it, I guess. See if we can keep it closed to prevent them from using it."
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[dice=Know. Local to identify woman in drawings]1d20+6
==
Reading the contents on the open pages, Rileth pondered the names mentioned within them, before calling over her companions to see/read the information contained within.
[dice=Know. Planes re Quasit]1d20+6
[dice=Know. Local re Bruthazmus]1d20+6
[dice=Know. Planes re Malfeshnekor]1d20+6
[dice=Know. Planes re Succubi]1d20+6"Tsuto has devised a cunning and deadly plan for the town. We must be ready and we must warn the town council once we find Ameiko. Come, read these pages quickly...there are specific entities and names mentioned..."
You have never heard of Malfeshnekor.
”The man is consorting with demons? I can’t think of anything worse than that. We definitely have to warn the town.”
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"The quasit, whose aid they seek out, is a tiny winged demon. It possesses talons covered in irritating toxin which can affect dexterity and it has the ability to heal fast when injured. The one called Bruthazmus - I have not heard of him, however bugbears are considered the largest of the goblinoid races, and, one of these lumbering brutes can stand at least 7 feet tall and weigh 400 pounds. Regrettably, I have no knowledge of who or what Malfeshnekor is. However, I know a little of the succubi - a demonic alluring woman with tiny horns, bat-like wings and a sinuous tail who manipulates with her sensual charms. She possesses the ability to drain energy from a mortal she lures into an act of passion, such as a kiss. And, she can grant profane gifts to a willing humanoid creature which allows her to telepathically communicate with them across any distance."
"No, Rileth, I'm afraid I have used all the spells Erastil blessed me with already today. The first went to reading the message, and the second to Red. My apologies for not having more."
"There is no need for apology. We can only do so much as vessels of our gods."
Looking across to Red, "Red, drink the potion to heal yourself. We may yet encounter dangerous beings who wish to fight and kill us and we need you hale as can be."
Red takes the potion and thanks Rileth. "We need to find Lady Ameiko and search for the tunnel. I will save the potion for later. Hopefully, no more dangers around."
Since no one else seemed interested,Shel placed the magical ring on her finger. ”Not sure what it does, but hopefully it isn’t cursed,” she says as she walks forward with the rest of the group.
She nodded at the barbarian's decision to save the healing potion for another time.
Rileth then watched as Shel placed the magical ring on her finger. In a steady voice, belying her inner thoughts, she addressed the halfling, "I could not discern the magical quality of the ring. Perhaps Perri has such magic and talent to do what I could not..."
Placing the small leather-bound journal once belonging to Tsuto inside her cloak pocket, as well as the discovered coins (10pp and 18 gp) for sharing once they returned to the Rusty Dragon, Rileth lifted the composite shortbow and quiver with 20 arrows they took from Tsuto and turned to Perri, "Will you make use of these? If not, I will take them..."
She then readied herself to go search for Ameiko and the smuggler's tunnels. Turning her gaze back to Shel, she asked, "Will you lead the search once more?"
Shel took a deep breath. She too was worried about Ameiko. She figured the double doors at the south East of this room would be the best place to start.
Search for traps
Disable device for traps, or picking lock if not.
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Perri can make out the bodies of 10 workers who were murdered by Tsuto and the goblins in the Glassworks room, in addition to Lonjiku Kaijitsu.
You move SE through the doors - no traps/no locks. A wheelbarrow sits against a wall here, and shelves on the walls contain additional reagents to create different colors of glass (manganese for clear glass, cobalt for blue, and tin for white; untreated glass is green, while a high quantity of any reagent makes black glass). A safe on the floor hangs open and has been emptied of its contents. Through a doorway to the east, stairs lead down.
From this room, the double doors S lead outside.
You open the SW door and find the primary agents for glassmaking (sand, soda ash, and lime) are prepared here.
The northern door leads to a hallway.
You head NW through the doors and find the hallway you were in previously.
Back in the room, you head west into a meeting room with tables and chairs.
North from here, you find a dining room, in a messy state, perhaps due to the goblins. From the dining room, you find a washroom, kitchen, pantry, storeroom, and sleeping quarters for the former workers. Nothing of interest as well as some storerooms and closets.
Near the entrance you find a circular display room where customers can browse the various glassware produced here. Bottles, windowpanes, and glasswork art are the primary contents.
All the way back to the SE, you find a reception area and a file room containing files and contracts with dozens of exporters and businesses from Magnimar, Korvosa, and other local towns.
That covers the entire ground floor so you head down the stairs. You reach a room used to store sand and other raw materials. Two wheelbarrows sit against the wall. Just east of the stairs, a brick wall has been dismantled to reveal an older passageway leading south.
You continue west for now. You reach a storeroom used to store glassware, windows, and other finished goods.
The door SW from the storeroom is strangely locked. After checking it for traps, Shel skillfully unlocks it. You open the door to find a woman lying on her side on the floor in here, bound at the wrists and ankles with rope and blindfolded and gagged with strips of leather. She is unconscious and badly hurt. It is Ameiko!
”Ameiko! Are you alright,” Shel calls out to the non responsive woman. ”Red, did you finish that healing potion? If not, I think she needs it more than the rest of us,” the halfling says as she rushes to Ameiko’s side.
Red quickly hands over the healing potion to Shel. "Here for the poor Lady."
"Take the bow. It is smaller than Erastil prefers me to use."
Detect Magic
"Agreed." Perri moves up and uses his dagger to free her from the bonds, then helps Ameiko to sit up so that she has a chance to drink the potion.
"Your brother seems to have been playing a dangerous game. Can we do anything else for you right now?"
You pour the potion down Ameiko's throat and it instantly heals part of her wounds. She awakens in shock to find herself in this dingy room surrounded by the party. "My...my brother? Tsuto? Be careful, he's around here. You should go and hide. He's leading a pack of goblins. I can't believe he betrayed me and father...by the gods father....did you see what he did to him? How could he?!" Ameiko hugs her knees feeling distraught.
"That's over. That's all over, Ameiko. I'm so sorry that all of that happened. There are quite a few families that suffered loss today, though. Too many."
”Your brother didn’t make it. He seemed to be leading the goblins, unfortunately. He almost killed Red before we were lucky enough to defeat all of them. And they’ve got big plans to attack the town with demons and bugbears and hundreds of goblins. It’s bad.”
Red smiles for the first time since they entered the Glassworks."Good to see you awake, Lady. Sorry about your brother, but he paid for his bad acts. Did he tell you about his plans to invade town?"
"Take the bow. It is smaller than Erastil prefers me to use."
Rileth nodded her head in acceptance and stowed the new bow and quiver on her back. She made a mental note to sell her old shortbow once they had some time to themselves.
===
As the others consoled the injured and distraught Ameiko, Rileth stood close by to offer any assistance. However, she did manage to say, as respectively as she could, "Mistress Ameiko, are you able to stand and try to walk? You may lean on one of us if you cannot walk of your own accord. I am sorry for the suffering you have endured, yet we must not tarry here longer than we have to."
"Yes, I can stand. That potion you gave me helped a lot." Ameiko stands, some tears running down her cheeks. "Tsuto revealed to me that he and several other mercenaries were led by Nualia and hinted that she had big plans for Sandpoint’s future. I had no idea she survived the fire. He warned me that I didn’t want to be in town when those plans came through, and offered me a chance to join his group at Thistletop. By the gods, I was so angry with him that I recoiled at the suggestion and slapped him so hard, in shock that he’d sunk so low as to destroy Sandpoint." Ameiko pauses, as if reliving that moment. "I don't know his motivation - either he hated my father that much or he loved this Nualia girl that much...or both. He rubbed his cheek and looked at me with such disdain. He responded by unleashing his goblins on me. They overwhelmed me and left me here bound and gagged." Ameiko looks around the dirty dingy storeroom. "And here I would have stayed if not for you four. Thank you, don't know how I will ever repay you. If you could show me to the front door, I'd really appreciate it. I really don't want to stay here a second longer than I have to, surrounded by the death of my last relatives." She limps a little, waiting for an escort to the exit, looking very stoic.
"Hmmm, looks like Tsuto wanted to burn the town, according to his journal. Tsuto mentioned other mercenaries so he may have been referring to Ripnugget, the bugbear Bruth, the quasit, and Mal." It is clear that Red does not even try to pronounce those complicated names in the journal and gives them nicknames.
As they walk Ameiko to the 1st floor and to an exit, Red ponders to Rileth, who seems to be knowledgeable about the locals. "What do you know about Thistletop? That may be our next destination, after looking for the tunnel."
As the proprietess of the Rusty Dragon stood and began to answer questions, Rileth pondered Ameiko's words regarding her late half-brother's endeavours and actions.
Red ponders to Rileth, who seems to be knowledgeable about the locals. "What do you know about Thistletop? That may be our next destination, after looking for the tunnel."
Rileth heard Red's question and contemplated the matter of Nuala and Thistletop.
”Tell us more about this Nualia, Ameiko. It seems like your brother had a real fascination with her. He’s even got a picture of her in his journal. And she had wings,” Shel adds that last part in, to see if Ameikohad any reaction.
Perri offers to have her lean on him for support as they start moving. "We can talk while we walk. There's been no sign of other goblins but the ones that were with your brother earlier.
Getting you out should be simple enough."
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Ameiko is taken aback by Shel's comment. "Wings? That's new. From what I remember, she was a very pretty girl, quiet and a bit odd. She was picked on and teased by the other children. She always felt a bit different, like she did not belong. Maybe that is driving her hatred of Sandpoint now. Who knows?" You reach the exit and Ameiko thanks you again and steps into the sunlight. "Can you alert the guards to the massacre that occurred here? I am too tired. I'll be at the Rusty Dragon, resting and making funeral arrangements for my family. I'll have time to grieve later. I owe you all big time. Be safe."
"Yeah, we'll tell the guards." Red turns, his greatsword now in one hand with his shield in the other, with a big smile on his face, "Shall we get back to exploring the basement?"
Having heard Ameiko speak of Nualia, Rîleth added steadily, "I heard Master Brodert speak of Nualia. She was found in the wilderness by Father Tobyn. She possessed an unearthly beauty and some believed her touch or proximity could cure warts and rashes; tea brewed from a lock of her hair could improve fertility and her voice could drive out evil spirits. This made for an unhappy childhood. When the fire broke out and killed every person in the cathedral, it was whispered that she was with child - the father a local of Sandpoint. People presumed she had died in the fire for she has not been seen since. From what I read in Tsuto's journal regarding removing her celestial taint and my own planar studies, I suspect Nualia may be an Aasimar."
Looking to Red as he suggested returning to the basement to explore further, Rîleth responded to his earlier question, "Red, you asked me about Thistletop. I now recollect Master Brodert's lesson on it when I first arrived. It is an island that lies in the Varisian Gulf, 60' off the coast of Nettlewood. It is a 2 day walk from Sandpoint; a 6 mile journey. The island now belongs to the Thistletop goblins led by Ripnugget. The island was once the head of a giant sentinel statue of the Thassilonian nation of Shalast."