Tandri is distracted with the potential of a rampaging moose, maybe even an army of them. A passing fancy before she catches the gleam in her mistresses eyes and nods. The laws of their land might appear simple, but there are books upon books of layers and loopholes built in that even Tandri can get lost in. Happily.
So far she hasn't had to use them, or even show them to anyone, which is great since laws not known to anyone until they can be crushed with them are the best. That and she is reasonable sure the others will make her undo some of them... maybe even all... once they are known.
But a problem for another day. Today she steps forward to volunteer, hoping Floare and Deregar do the same.
"Who, or what, are these Tanglethorns, Nok-Nok?" Deregar regards the goblin curiously.
"A tribe of goblins! They want to re-establish themselves in the area, so they're trying to pick a fight with the biggest boss in the room. That's you guys!"
Floare has been distant for the last few days, tending to her official duties, but avoiding spending any personal time with Sari.
"I'll help," she says simply.
You ride for Danteville, traveling the roads between your capital city and the smaller town. When you arrive, you can see the outlying houses have been evacuated. A small force of goblins is stationed outside the stockade surrounding Oleg's Trading Post. There are ten altogether, along with a pair of goblin dogs. Their leader is a goblin in a suit of makeshift armor cobbled together from blackberry vines, weeds, and twisted roots.
The goblins seem to be in the midst of a robust argument. "What are we waiting for? Why not set it on fire?" one goblin asks. "Humans will come running out all scared and screaming if we burn things!"
"No, no burning!" the leader replies. "We take this town in one piece! There must be some other way to get the longshanks to open up!"
Tandri spent the uncomfortable ride, attempting to talk to both Floare and Sari, separately, staying away from topics that would hurt, but including ones designed to subtly remind them of each other.
At the wall, she waits. She is pretty sure the fact that these goblins are threatening Sari's citizens that they will soon end up dead, but her mistress is still acting strange so everything is uncertain.
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Floare understands what Tandri is attempting to do, but she doesn't call her on it. Instead, she carries on the conversation with the sensitive tiefling as if nothing out of the ordinary is taking place.
When they come upon the squad of goblins, she takes a firm grip of Dante's ruff as he attempts to engage with a growl.
'Mom! There are goblins attacking my town! Let me rip them to shreds!'
"Patience, my Good Boy," she soothes. "Forms must be obeyed." She then steps forward to do her job as emmisary. Her familiar grudgingly remaining at her side.
"You are in the presence of Her Majesty, Sariana, Queen of the Darkness, the Stalking Shadow, and the first and last of her name!" she shouts out. "Bow down and humble yourselves upon the ground and she will let you live long enough to explain why you wage war upon her village!"
'My village. It's my village, Mom. Lady Sari said it was mine.'
The goblins startle as Floare makes her declaration. The leader narrows his eyes. “No! I am Vengeful Lickweed the Violently Verdant! You drop your weapons and be our prisoners! If the longshanks in this fort don’t open the gate, we’ll kill the prisoners in the name of Nargloom of the Three Eyes! You hear that in there, longshanks?”
Nok-Nok gasps in surprise. "You work for Nargloom? I’ll stamp your head and wear your vines when I kill your leader! Nok-Nok’s gonna be the best goblin hero ever! Lamashtu can’t help but notice Nok-Nok then!”
Lickweed snarls. "Attack!" he commands his minions.
"his name is lickweed?" Tandri whispered in surprised awed disdain. Shaking her head, while her tail snaps about.
"Let's see how much these goblins like fire."
Tyr rears above the goblins and unleashes his breath weapon while Deregar calls up an arcane shield.
Lickweed and the other goblins cry out in pain as the fire burns them. Only one goblin escapes injury, and a second is only lightly wounded.
"Get them!" Lickweed commands. He casts a lenghty spell, healing all of his allies.
One goblin begins an inspiring song as the others swarm around Tyr, hacking with their horsechoppers. Tyr's scales are strong, and only one goblin manages to wound the eidolon.
"I hear that they revile it," Floare says with a surprising grin directed at Deregar. She adds her own to the mix, sending out three bolts of flame - one at the leader, one at the singer and the remaining towards one of the goblins attacking Tyr.
Tandri's voice turns into a cold hiss as she orders the goblin that dared hurt Try to "Run, you sack of rotting puss!
She also aids Tyr with divine guidance to devour the one Floare cooked for him.
Deregar unleashes a blast of lightning at the goblins and Tyr attacks the bard.
for
for
Nok-Nok moves up and slashes at Lickweed with his kukris, drawing blood! As the druid falls back, Nok-Nok moves to keep pace with him!
Tandri commands the goblin that wounded Tyr to flee. Floare's scorching ray misses Lickweed, but her other two incinerate both the war chanter and one of the commandos!
Sariana pummels Lickweed, but the druid manages to avoid being stunned.
Deregar's electric arc kills two more goblins, while Tyr rips apart another pair!
"You die now!" Nok-Nok declares as he slashes at Lickweed, flanking the druid with Sariana. Lickweed falls to his blade!
The few remaining goblins panic and try to flee, but they don't get far before you cut them down. The villagers holed up inside Oleg's Trading Post cheer your victory!
In the aftermath of the fight, Nok-Nok bounces back and forth on his heels excitedly. "This is excellent! Nargloom is back! Nargloom! The barghest was supposed to be dead, too. But if I can kill him for real this time, than my path to becoming the next goblin hero god is all but guaranteed! Come on! It will be a grand adventure, and you can witness firsthand my glorious ascendance!"
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Before they leave, Floare spends a few moments with the villagers, checking to make sure that any injuries have been dealt with and leaving instructions that the heads of the slain goblins should be mounted on poles for any wandering scouts to see.
Dante struts through the thankful survivors as well, taking no little joy in the attention he receives as the town's namesake.
Once the obligations of station have been met, she joins the group as they follow after Nok-Nok.
Tandri moves around the town with Dante, requesting treats of meat roasting before the attack, and a tin of water. Tributes for the mayor.
"What would a barghest be doing here, Nok-Nok? And why did you think he was dead?" Deregar pats Tyr on the flank, silently congratulating him on a job well done.
"He terrorized the village of Nivakta's Crossing a year ago," Nok-Nok says. "They said adventurers slew him. But it seems reports of his death were greatly exaggerated!"
The goblins that attacked Danteville left a relatively obvious trail back to their lair. Dante himself is able to follow the tracks and their scent across hills and dells.
Eventually, you find yourselves a few miles south of the Coroked Falls in the Rostland Hinterlands. The trail leads to a ten-foot-high arch carved into the base of a cliff that extends into the darkness. The vegetation around the entrance is a tangle of thorns and weeds, strewn with bones and bits of detritus.
"Well...that screams 'predator's lair.' Any ideas for how to attack?" Deregar defers to his companions for tactics.
Always accommodating, the dragon breaths a mighty stream of flame onto the bushes.
Tandri stays quiet, behind the others, waiting to be needed.
The brush burns, crackling with orange flames. Smoke rises up, some of it blowing into the cave entrance. You wait outside for a while, but nothing emerges to confront you.
"Bah! Bad plan!" Nok-Nok says, blowing a raspberry. "Can we go inside and kill Nargloom now?!?"
Tandri frowns at the goblin, rather insulted for her mistress. "It was NOT a bad plan, it just didn't work, that is all!" she huffs.
Nok-Nok leads the way into the opening. The stone floor of this long hallway is littered with bones, bloodstains, and small piles of rubbish. The hall widens at the eastern end before reaching a large stone double door which once bore a depiction of an armored hero fighting a horde of soldiers but has been vandalized to give said hero the head of a goblin.
Nok-Nok looks around and holds up a hand. "Look! A portcullis!" he says, pointing to a hidden portcullis just past the entrance. "And there! Pressure plate!" he continues, indicating a spot at the center of the length of the hall. "I smell a trap!"
You deftly hop over the pressure plate and continue through the doors at the end of the hall. This large room may have once been some sort of temple, but today it’s largely empty, with only vague remnants of the religious carvings on the defaced walls. To the south, several cages with wooden bars contain heaps of filthy straw and dry brush, while to the east, what once must have been a towering stone statue of an armored man has been carved away to form a rough throne. Nearly a dozen bedrolls are strewn about the place, with a few unlit cooking fires between them.
A large lupine barghest stands before the throne, batlike wings extending from behind him. A third eye squints at you from the center of his forehead. Two bugbears in chain shirts stand at his side. The barghest smiles at you as you approach. "You must be the ones that defeated Lickweed and his cronies. Congratulations! Perhaps you would be interested in working for me? I could always use--"
Nok-Nok suddenly steps forward, cutting the offer short. "I, Nok-Nok, shall claim your head, child of Lamashtu!" the goblin loudly proclaims. "And with your trophy I shall take my place as a god at her side!"
The proclamation elicits a round of uproarious laughter from Nargloom and the bugbears. As they are laughing, though, Nok-Nok shrieks and charges, catching the enemies off-guard!
Hoping to catch both bugbears in a single stroke, Floare moves to the side of the battle and then directs a feeble arc of lightning from her hands to strike the smelly humanoids.
Tandri sends a chaotic lance of tearing lavender at the nearest bugbear.
Nok-Nok is on Nargloom before the barghest can react. He tears into the monster's belly with his blades, cackling as he delivers a critical hit and spills Nargloom's blood onto the floor!
Sariana follows Nok-Nok, moving to flank and delivering two body blows to the barghest!
Meanwhile, Floare zaps both of the bugbears with lightning! Tandri blasts one of them with chaos energy.
Nargloom howls with fury as he uses an innate power that causes him to blink in and out of reality. He disappears, reappearing 10 feet away from Nok-Nok and Sariana.
Meanwhile, the bugbears move to flank Nok-Nok, attacking the goblin with their daggers and sickles. Nok-Nok takes several hits.
Tyr looms out of the darkness, while Deregar enhancing his natural demeanor with threatening magic. The dragon strikes at the nearest bugbear.
for
Another of her lances streaks toward the bugbear, as the cleric of Calistria chooses attacking over healing, since the wounded one happens to be a goblin that called her mistress's plan 'Bad'.
Maybe slipping on his own guts will make his realize how much better that plan was to his own.
Floare considers sending some healing in the goblin's direction, but not too interested in running afoul of Tandri's temper, she chooses to enhance her queen instead.
Deregar's fear spell leaves Nargloom and one bugbear frightened while the other bugbear is terrified, turning to flee! Tyr tears into the frightened bugbear with his teeth, then Tandri's divine beam finishes it off!
"Come back here!" Nok-Nok shrieks as he rushes at Nargloom, heedless of his injuries. The blinking barghest dodges his first attack, but the goblin's follow-up strike is another critical hit!
Sariana fails to feint against Nargloom, but she does land a critical hit of her own, momentarily stunning the barghest!
Nargloom recovers from the stun. He howls with fury, ripping into Nok-Nok with fangs and claws. The goblin rogue goes down, and Nargloom blinks 10 feet away from Sariana again.
The terrified bugbear turns and flees!
Sariana delivers two powerful blows to the critically wounded barghest. Bones crack and organs rupture beneath her fists. Nargloom howls, groans, and crumples to the floor at the vampire's feet!
Tyr roars over the fallen creature, then sniffs around the cave to see if it was hoarding any treasure.
With the enemy dead, and her mistress victorious, Tandri considers the bleeding goblin, arms crossed, tail twitching. One moment, two moments, three... then a wicked smile appears. The dwarf leans down and touches him, letting her healing magic bring him away from the brink of death.
As the goblin's eyes open, Tandri gives the impression of immense relief "Oh, Nok-Nok, we were worried when Nargloom defeated you. Do not fret though, our mistress Nightsong put the beast down." suddenly she gasped, placing her pink hand over her lips, as something came to her "Your quest! To become champion by beating this creature yourself, it is Lost! I am so sorry, Nok-Nok. What will you do now?"
Tyr discovers a hidden door behind the throne. Within the room beyond is a crude wooden bookshelf on which sit dozens of journals, each detailing (in Abyssal) one of Nargloom’s grisly plots for vengeance against the town of Nivakta’s Crossing.
There is also a haphazard heap of "valuables," personal belongings once owned by various goblins. A search through the trinkets reveals 40 gp in assorted pieces of jewelry among the rest of the junk.
An adjoining room holds Nargloom's actual treasury. Four items are each mounted on vaguely humanoid figures made from sticks and twigs, lashed together by twine and lengths of dried gutrope. The trophies consist of a cold iron halberd, a hat of disguise, a minor sturdy shield, and a lifting belt.
***
Once Tandri revives Nok-Nok, he leaps to his feet, staring at the body of Nargloom. He barely seems to hear the cleric's words as he cackles triumphantly. "I did it! He's dead!" The goblin raises his kukris high and cries out, "I'm ready, Lamashtu! Make me a god!"
An awkward silence follows.
Nok-Nok blinks, coughs, and sheepishly puts his kukris away. "Ha ha! Just kidding, of course! I really didn't expect the Mother of Monsters to make me a god! It was a funny joke, yeah?"
Tandri can tell that the goblin is actually devastated that his plan did not work.
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"Becoming a god isn't something that is simply given." Sari says, looking over at the distraught goblin. "You have to take the power, take and take and take until the gods make you one of their own before you do it yourself. Fight on Nok-Nok, fight and kill until the Mother of Monsters herself fears your name. Then you'll get what you want."
Is that encouragement or some sort of sneaky plan to get the goblin killed? It's not entirely clear...
As the group trails out of the cave with their treasure Sari tugs Tandri back into a shadowed corner and proceeds to demonstrate quite thoroughly to the tiefling that she is pleased with her work. This involves a lot of the vampire's teeth in a deliciously pleasure-pain filled session that is all too short for both participants.
Perhaps Sari merely missed the thin dribble of blood at the corner of her mouth, and surely it's chance that she's looking right at Floare when she realises and whisks the blood away with an almost seductive movement of her tongue. Right?
The spiteful little pink dwarf is filled with wicked contentment as they leave. Her goddess, if she cared about one single cleric, would be so proud. Doubly so when her mistress simply Takes her against a rock wall, devouring her with hungry lust.
She is the brightest pink possible, flushed from head to toe, as she walks with the others, slightly unsteady on her feet,
"Yes. Yes, you are right," Nok-Nok says. "I will keep fighting until I get what is rightfully mine. It will not be today, but one day, Nok-Nok will rule at Lamashtu's side!" He grins, his previous despair replaced with unflagging optimism!
Floare doesn't comment on Tandri's disheveled state, and turns away when Sari makes a point of meeting her gaze. Although, the vampire notes a hint of a blush on the girl's cheek.
In point of fact she doesn't speak until later that evening when the group is taking a needed respite from the days travel.
The large wolf vanishes into the darkness and a moment later a howl fills the night.
"I've been trying, okay?" the witch says in a soft voice. "You turned my world upside down when I first met you and finding out ... what happened ... twisted it around again. I can't just pretend that I don't know." Her hands continue to add wildflowers to the bundle in her hands, but her eyes remain on the silver orb above. "Their memory is one of the few moments of true happiness I've had in my life. It carried me through my youth when it seemed that my life was nothing but horror after torment after trauma."
She sighs.
"Then I came here and met you. And Tandri. And Deregar." A soft smile touches her lips. "And I was happy again." The smile fades. "Happy but ignorant. Now I know the truth, but I don't know how to reconcile all these feelings. I still care for you, but mixed into it is anger, sorrow, pain, betrayal. And a renewed sense of loss."
She finally turns her eyes to meet Sari's.
"I still dream about her, you know? The woman that should have been my mother?" Tears trickle down her cheek, glittering in the moonlight.
"I can still smell her skin. She would tell me stories at night, holding me in her lap." Floare's eyes close. "It's like I've lost her all over again and the one person that I want to run to for comfort is the one that took her away."
She turns and gazes again back up at the moon.
"Tell me what to do, Sari."