Although he has plenty of power behind the shot, unfortunately John misses with the sling.
Azalmak kills off the goblin before either the goblin or the goblin dog can react.
It’s rider dead, the goblin dog runs away.
Once the mount has fled, a man opens the door and falls to his knees weeping tears of joy. He gives his name as Garreni Escoro and asks if you have seen his son Carlo. He thanks all of you for your timely intervention and offers whatever aid or reward he can provide. Soon after this, the son returns to the house as well. He has only three sheep with him.
The family has little money, but they can offer you a meal and a place to stay the night. In addition to Garreni and Carlo, there is the mother Ophania and two younger siblings — one five and the other less than a year old. Once things have settled down a little, the father and son discuss if it is safe enough to go out and recover more of the sheep.
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Cara takes note of the number of goblins and their pets dropped.
This is a good start... she says with a grim smile. Her face lights up when she sees the children.
Need a hand with them, ma'am? I have some experience with kids at the abbey. And what's your name, little one? I'm Cara... she says as she bands down to meet the older of the children.
They admit that they lost about six to eight sheep. You suspect that is a large portion of their herd.
The father and mother say this is the first they have seen of any goblins.
Carlos says “Four days ago, I was chasing a lamb that strayed past the fence. Out of nowhere, I saw two ugly, green little things out in the clearing. They were talking some nasty, jabbering language I didn't understand. One of them, the one wrinkled like a raisin, was all scarred up. The other had a big blade for chopping tied to the end of a pole. They were arguing back and forth, and then they walked off in different directions.[/b]”
“Once I was sure they'd gone, I ran home and told my ma and pa.”
Garreni responds that “I went to check where Carlos said he saw the things, but didn’t find anything.”
The mother is glad to allow Cara to help with the youngest children. The five year old says their name is Pat.
No one in the family has seen anyone matching Nixa’s description.
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Well, Pat...how about we help your mother in the kitchen...I'm no experienced cook...maybe you can show me a trick or two? What do you think? she says with a wink to the mother.
You did the right thing, Carlos. You might have got hurt or worse if you went after those...mongrels. she says with a smile towards the young boy.
so...two "leaders"..and they are maybe squabbling? Interesting...
Talking to Carlos a little more, you think that one of those — the one with the big blade — sounds like it might have been one of the goblins you killed. The one that seemed to be the leader of the group attacking you.
Carlos says after they have found the missing sheep he could show you the two locations he saw goblins — the one near where you first met him and the one where he saw the two arguing.
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Talking to Carlos a little more, you think that one of those — the one with the big blade — sounds like it might have been one of the goblins you killed. The one that seemed to be the leader of the group attacking you.
Carlos says after they have found the missing sheep he could show you the two locations he saw goblins — the one near where you first met him and the one where he saw the two arguing.
Some of you stay with the home, helping the mother, while others go with Garreni and Carlos to find the missing sheep. After a few hours you have all but one of the sheep recovered or accounted for.
While out searching for sheep, Carlos shows you where he first spotted the goblins and where he spotted them just before you met him. Several of the sheep are in the area.
You get back to the house and exchange information.
It is getting a little late in the day, but you could still go out.
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Having no real social skills or an aptitude to survive into the wilderness (unless she's at sea), Evelyn stays home, and tries to help.
But she quickly realises that she has never really lived in a house either.
She thanksfully spots a broom in a corner, and start cleaning the floor, singing a shanty
Mommy, what did the woman just said?
all is silent around Evelyn, so she rises her head, and see the housewoman glaring at her
Nothing of your concern, Betty, and hopefully nothing that would EVER concern you. Maybe she should stop singing RIGHT now, if she doesn't know more appropriate songs.
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Having no real social skills or an aptitude to survive into the wilderness (unless she's at sea), Evelyn stays home, and tries to help.
But she quickly realises that she has never really lived in a house either.
She thanksfully spots a broom in a corner, and start cleaning the floor, singing a shanty
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20+2
Mommy, what did the woman just said?
all is silent around Evelyn, so she rises her head, and see the housewoman glaring at her
Nothing of your concern, Betty, and hopefully nothing that would EVER concern you. Maybe she should stop singing RIGHT now, if she doesn't know more appropriate songs.
Cara and Evelyn learn that there must be several tricks to raising children. Judging from Ophania and her interactions, bribes and a lot of patience are two things they would need to learn about. Evidently bribing a child works, but requires a completely different approach than you would use with most adults.
They do not find out anything more about the goblin problem.
Gaius and John have better luck, finding some clear tracks that they can follow to try and determine where the goblins came from. They take note of the direction the tracks lead and local landmarks so that they can find them again, then go back to herding sheep.
The party meets back up at the Escoro farmstead. It is getting pretty late in the day. The family is willing to provide sleeping space if they want to spend the night, otherwise you can head off to try and follow the tracks as far as you can before nightfall. Might get an hour or so of tracking done.
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I think it might be best to wait until morning. Trying to track creatures that are regularly active at night isn't the best idea... Cara says with a shrug.
"Since they are more active at night I am tempted to track them now to get a better sense of what they're up to plus there is a missing girl to consider. But I cannot see in darkness thus my ability to use my bow would be compromised."
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"Since they are more active at night I am tempted to track them now to get a better sense of what they're up to plus there is a missing girl to consider. But I cannot see in darkness thus my ability to use my bow would be compromised."
"I can see in darkness.," smiles John. "And, I have no trouble gettin' close. I agree we should act swiftly, while the girl is more likely to be alive and before the goblins can make any further preparations."
"Who is with me?"
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"Since they are more active at night I am tempted to track them now to get a better sense of what they're up to plus there is a missing girl to consider. But I cannot see in darkness thus my ability to use my bow would be compromised.""I can see in darkness.," smiles John. "And, I have no trouble gettin' close. I agree we should act swiftly, while the girl is more likely to be alive and before the goblins can make any further preparations."
"Who is with me?"
"I can track and have knowledge of many things so I'll go with you as well. You may need to be my eyes at times. I'll have a light spell cast on my Wayfinder but you'll need to tell me when to cover it so the light doesn't reveal our position."
After discussion, you decide to try and make as much progress as you can.
You go back to where John and Gaius found the tracks and follow them. They lead into the forest. Fortunately it is only light undergrowth. You make what time you can during that day then find a place to camp.
That night goes without issue.
The group continues to follow the tracks the next day. Although the tracks are getting old, it seems the goblins made no effort to hide their tracks.
At the end of the day you come to a small stream passing along the base of a thirty-foot-tall black stone scarp. Strange, horse-sized cavities pock the face of the cliff, their edges smooth and warped as though etched or melted into the stone rather than carved. The air is thick with the stench of decay and rot, beneath which there is a faint tinge of an acrid, chemical odor. Despite the smell, things here are eerily peaceful.
The goblin tracks lead to into and back out of the largest of these caves.
Gaius thinks the damage to the rock face is decades old and caused by strong acid being sprayed over the surface.
Gaius casts some blessings on himself and then the group of you enter the cave. The smell becomes much worse in the enclosed area.
The stench seems to be coming from one of the lower areas, where you find a mixture of excrement and purplish goo. The goo is immediately recognized by some of you as Demon Bile. There is a discarded cold iron dagger in the area. None of the goo touches it.
There are also some crude chalk drawings on the walls. There are two figures depicted — a large lop-sided figure and a goblin with scars. There is also some sort of pool with a symbol on it, perhaps an alter?
Evelyn spots a glint of something shiny resting on a ledge above you. You could climb up, or there is a very narrow ledge nearby from which you could try to leap to the cavity above.
You do not see any active threats in the caves, although you know that if you don’t destroy the Demon Bile it will grow and become a threat.
Gaius thinks that the pool is most likely a very badly drawn representation of an alter to Lamashtu, mother of monsters. It certainly wasn’t drawn by a priestess or other religious leader — too many errors — but a worshippers who hadn’t studied the canon could easily make the mistakes seen.
Cara thinks that the drawing is of a malformed bugbear. Bugbears have often taken over goblin tribes and the scale looks close. Bugbears are the largest of the goblinoid races and known for their ability to sneak.
Gaius and Cara destroy the Demon Bile with their cold iron weapons.
Although he doesn’t hurt himself, John fails to find the purchase he needs to climb up.
Even with Gaius’s help, John is just short of being able to make it to the ledge.