"Raven-father," hisses Mitnal urgently. "Best to keep your head down."
Mitnal does not explain why.
"Squa-AWK?" Blackwing responds and then glides back down to be with Jessa.
Kenzo tries not to think about too much, and is satisfied, for now, with the change of scenery and the company of his friends. "Ahh, it is nice to be above ground, isn't it?" he says to no one in particular.
"Well, if there's anything out here that would qualify as humanoid, it's probably the goblins," Jessa notes, "So we should keep on our toes. If you think it's wise, I could send Blackwing to scout ahead and report back to us if he sees any of them. But it's daylight out. So I'd be surprised if they aren't holed up someplace dark and creepy right now."
The word 'goblin' brings Kenzo out of his happy little daze, and his consciousness returns to the task at hand.
As the group continues north, they reach a spot where further passage forward is impossible. Though the sound of the shore can be clearly heard, it cannot be seen. The undergrowth here is incredibly thick and the ubiquitous briars are entwined into the few trees in such a way as to form what is, for all practical purposes, a twenty foot high wall.
That being said, the woods are thinner here, with more openings to the sky above and movement both east and west is certainly possible
As the group continues north, they reach a spot where further passage forward is impossible. Though the sound of the shore can be clearly heard, it cannot be seen. The undergrowth here is incredibly thick and the ubiquitous briars are entwined into the few trees in such a way as to form what is, for all practical purposes, a twenty foot high wall.
That being said, the woods are thinner here, with more openings to the sky above and movement both east and west is certainly possible
"If you can't go through, go round..." Gyorgy tails off as he tries to remember where that quote came from. Or if he just made it up.
The briars are twenty feet tall but there are trees two or three times that in height.
Mitnal scurries over to a tree and begins to climb, somewhat overeagerly.
As soon as he gets to a height above the briars, he scans about:
Mitnal scurries over to a tree and begins to climb, somewhat overeagerly.
As soon as he gets to a height above the briars, he scans about:
Mitnal tries to climb the tree quickly and he makes good progress for about ten feet. From there though the going is more difficult and he is forced to slow down. Finally he is about twenty five to thirty feet above the ground and able to survey the area before him.
The briars form a large solid patch of vegetation all the way, it would seem, to the coast, perhaps, Mitnal guesses about a hundred feet further on. The block of briars in front of the group stretches to the east short distance, perhaps another hundred feet but to the west they briars grow back around to the south.
As Mitnal surveys all this, he realizes he smells smoke. A faint amount of smoke is rising up from somewhere in the thistles, closer to the coast.
Mitnal climbs down and relates what he saw to the group. He suggests they head to the East.
Mitnal climbs down and relates what he saw to the group. He suggests they head to the East.
"Hmmmm..." Jessa ponders for a moment, "We must be close if you can hear or see the ocean and smell smoke on the wind. Did you see a way past these prickly briars? You're the outdoorsman among us. Can't we go around?"
Mitnal attempts to find out where the tracks went or if there is a secret entrance through the hedges. 1d20+6=25
'I shall be Mitnal the Basketweaver no longer,' he thinks. 'From now on, I am The Outdoorsman.'
The tracks go in all directions, but they all seem to eventually lead to and from a five foot section of the tangled briars. The growth here is too thick to see much further than six or seven inches into the undergrowth.
Mitnal attempts to find out where the tracks went or if there is a secret entrance through the hedges. 1d20+6=25
'I shall be Mitnal the Basketweaver no longer,' he thinks. 'From now on, I am The Outdoorsman.'
Innocently, I wonder up to the briar hedge.
"Isn't it amazing how tightly these branches weave together. It's almost wicker." I turn to Mitnal: "Are we going to have to cut our way through?"
"Isn't it amazing how tightly these branches weave together. It's almost wicker." I turn to Mitnal: "Are we going to have to cut our way through?"
"Surely not," Jessa interjects, "Goblins are tiny, but even they can't squeeze through there. If Mitnal says they all came from this direction, then there must be a way in. Normally, I'd think some kind of illusion covers the entrance to their home, but goblins have never shown an aptitude for that kind of magic."
She too examines the hedge. "Is there a door or a section that can be lifted out of the way, perhaps? Or maybe some kind of well-concealed tunnel that goes under it?"
** spoiler omitted **
To the surprise of no one, once the tracks were seen, there is indeed a 'doorway' into the hedge. Living vines and branches have been woven together in such a way as to enable them to be lifted up like a 'flap.'
On the other side of this natural doorway is a tunnel of vegetation, about four feet in height. The floor of this tunnel is earth, well packs by the passage of many feet. A very small amount of sunlight filters into the tunnel through the branches of the briar making it dark within though not exactly pitch black.
On the other side of this natural doorway is a tunnel of vegetation, about four feet in height. The floor of this tunnel is earth, well packs by the passage of many feet. A very small amount of sunlight filters into the tunnel through the branches of the briar making it dark within though not exactly pitch black.
"Leave it to goblins to make their home in a bunch of nettles," Jessa whispers disdainfully as she eyes the prickly walls, "I thought they were supposed to live on an island?"
"wow, a secret tunnel!" "Can we get a little bit more light?" i ask, heading into the tunnel.
Kenzo, oddly looking sleep deprived, contemplates the tunnel of briars and says, "I'm thinking maybe we should just follow the briars around to the coast and make our way from there. Mitnal, did you happen to see our destination when you were looking around?"
As Eugen heads tentatively into the tunnels of briars, he cannot help but notice how damp the vegetation is. About two feet into the briar patch Eugen realizes that there are the thorn 'tunnel' seems to go left and right. But he cannot see more than about five feet in either direction without better light.
"hm, it looks like this is not the beginning nor the end of the tunnel!"
'Mitnal The Outdoorsman will take up the rear,' thinks Mitnal.
"Can we get a little bit more light?"
"Huh? Oh. Right," Jessa replies. She weaves her hands and whispers, "Ludanz..."
Four small glowing balls of light spring into existence, spinning and weaving in a spiral pattern before Jessa sends two to hover next to Mitnal and Eugen...and the other two to accompany Kenzo and herself."
She looks to Gyorgy and shrugs. "I can only manage four," she explains, "And I'll have to renew them every so often. But while we have them, I can move them around wherever I want. It's something new I've been trying out since we got out of those ruins under the Glassworks. I hear they can be made permanent, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet."
The arcane lights make the twisted wooden 'walls' of the tunnel look strangely surreal as literally hundreds of shadows move and writhe just beyond the first layer of cut and twisted branches.
They do allow Eugen within the tunnel to see slightly further. To the left there is a wide, little traveled tunnel that twist back and around north-west towards the coast. Hardy tufts of vegetation struggle for life with little to no sunlight to support them inside this maze of briars. To the right, there is a wide, more traveled path through the briars. The floor of this path is hard packed dirt. This better traveled path then seems to split, with one branch of the tunnel going northwards towards the coast and the other going easterly.
I pick up a stone and cast light on it, then I put it in my pocket, feeling sheepish after Jessa's impressive display.
"Is it time for some magical armour, or should I hold off until later?"
"Is it time for some magical armour, or should I hold off until later?"
"Good point," Jessa nods, "Given that we have clear signs of goblin traffic coming and going from this entrance, I suspect we'll meet some soon enough. So a bit of added protection probably makes sense. Just make sure you save something to zap them with, too..." She grins and taps the iron wand tucked into the belt cinched about her waist. "If we need to share this thing's power, you let me know. Most of magic's meant to fool the senses or cloud the mind. But you should outright blast them for what they did to Sandpoint."
I pick up a stone and cast light on it, then I put it in my pocket, feeling sheepish after Jessa's impressive display.
'How does he do that?' wonders Mitnal. "Seriously, you could sell those."
Mitnal indicates the path travelling North. "This path seems more well-travelled and heading in the right direction. Perhaps we should take it."
"I'm for that, does anybody else have an opinion? "
"Sounds quite logical to me," Jessa nods, "We're searching for goblins. And if more of them went that way, that's probably the way we need to go. Good job, Mitnal."
"Sounds quite logical to me," Jessa nods, "We're searching for goblins. And if more of them went that way, that's probably the way we need to go. Good job, Mitnal."
Mitnal beams, 'The Outdoorsman! ... Maybe I can get a cloak or something.'
Kenzo follows behind Eugen, his sword sheathed and his hands held before him. He is clearly uncomfortable in the tight confines, and occasionally glances back to the rear of the group and Mitnal to make sure nothing is closing in behind them.
"You know, it occurs to me," Jessa speaks up, "That it might prove useful to capture one of these goblins and interrogate it about Thistletop, as well as Nualia and whatever's going on here. One of the little runty ones probably won't know a thing. But if we can catch one that looks like it's in charge of something, maybe we can gain some information out of it. That way, we don't just go charging into an entire army of goblins and hope we live to tell the tale..."
I jump into line quickly behind Kenzo (and in front of Jessa), casting Mage Armour on Kenzo, Jessa and then myself.
I also nod sagely at Jessa's suggestion, wondering if I'll actually be able to keep a cool head and try to knock out a charging goblin.
About ten or fifteen feet to the north, the thorny tunnel through the thick undergrowth widens and twists slightly leftward before continuing north. Unfortunately for the party, though it widens to about ten feet wide, it does not get noticeable higher. Another twenty or so feet further north, the twisted walls of vegetation fall away to the left and the right, or so it appears at first glance. A second glance shows that in fact the smaller northward tunnel merely intersects a wider east-west passage through the briars. The passage further north is blocked, but the sound of ocean waves is much louder.
Eugen hears voices arguing to the left, westward. They appear to be arguing in goblin.
Mitnal listens carefully for a while but then slowly realizes he can't speak goblin. He looks around helplessly at the others.
I try to quietly communicate this knowledge to the others, and then attempt to sneak over to see what's going on.
"Goblin talk?" Jessa whispers back to Eugen when he shares his discovery, "Well...what are they saying?"
She looks around and blinks. "What? No one here speaks goblin?"
She rolls her eyes. "Well, it's a good thing I came along then! I know the goblin-tongue, vile though it may be. When I started out for Sandpoint to search for Thassilonian ruins, I suspected I might encounter some of the more dire humanoids living in the countryside. So, I learned their language in case it might come in handy. Looks like it finally did..."
Jessa follows along with Eugen, hoping to get close enough to overhear the goblin conversation.
Kenzo continues to look around nervously, and as Jessa passes him, he reaches out and grabs her shoulder. Whispering, he says, "Wait a minute. I thought Thistletop was an island. This isn't it, right? So we must be close, and these must be guards. Should we be confronting them and setting off a possible alarm, or should we side step them and just try and make the island? If the goblins on the island know we're around, it's going to be that much more difficult getting at them."
Kenzo continues to look around nervously, and as Jessa passes him, he reaches out and grabs her shoulder. Whispering, he says, "Wait a minute. I thought Thistletop was an island. This isn't it, right? So we must be close, and these must be guards. Should we be confronting them and setting off a possible alarm, or should we side step them and just try and make the island? If the goblins on the island know we're around, it's going to be that much more difficult getting at them."
I add my opwn hurried whisper: "Kenzo's right. We're here to stop the planned attack, not massacre the goblins."
Within my mind I think; "She talks goblin! Why would anyone want to talk to a goblin?"
Stealth is a dexterity related skill so you have a +2. Which gives you a grand total of 3. There are, I am guessing, a lot of dead leaves right where Eugen is trying to walk.
"Wait a minute. I thought Thistletop was an island. This isn't it, right? So we must be close, and these must be guards. Should we be confronting them and setting off a possible alarm, or should we side step them and just try and make the island? If the goblins on the island know we're around, it's going to be that much more difficult getting at them."
"Kenzo's right. We're here to stop the planned attack, not massacre the goblins."
Jessa looks between the two and pauses to reconsider. "Well...I suppose that makes sense," she concedes, "I was hoping maybe I could learn what's got these goblins talking amongst themselves in case it helps us find the island. But you're right...if we tip them off that we're coming, that won't do any good either."
"What do you suggest?" she asks, "Should we go back and try one of the other paths? Or should I ask Blackwing to scout for us and help us find the best way?"
The goblins are to the east, but there is a westward 'hall' as well and it is possible to move away from the goblins without retracing ground.