My eyes on the gathered throng, I spot a note of recognition in a young guardsman's face.
"C'mon then mate, let's get on with it!" I exclaim, pushing him ahead of us out of the door; "Lead the way - at speed!"
"Oh thank you, thank you," sobs the woman as she clutches her infant tighter, "We didn't believe my son! He tried to tell us... We just didn't listen."
Several women, including Gyorgy's aunt, move to console her.
"This way," says the young guardsmen Gyorgy singles out, looking like he feels just a little more important than he did a moment ago. "I know right where they live, corner of Cog and Prickleback."
The house is a two story structure next to Wheen's Wagons (31). The front door is open and all is silent within.
The front door is open and all is silent within.
"Uh oh," Kenzo whispers as he slowly steps into the house, letting his eyes adjust to the dark interior.. "I have a bad feeling this is going to be Magazin's show."
I step in to accustom my eyes as well. "Right behind you kenzo"
Within the house all seems still and silent. In the front entrance hall there are stairs going up. A sitting room to the right and a dining room to the left are both clearly visible once the home has been entered and further down the entrance hall are several other doors.
I hang near the back - eager to help out, but not too eager to take the lead.
speaking quietly: "I say we post one or two here to watch our backs while we take on the rooms sequentially." I raise my eyebrow to check for affirmation.
"Let's split up, Eugen," Kenzo whispers. "You take Magazin and search the downstairs. Rilo, let's go upstairs. Gyorgy, you and the guardsmen stay here and watch the door."
Once everyone gives the nod, Kenzo heads up the stairs, leading Rilo and with his sword still sheathed on his back.
"Yeah, I'm here!"
Magazin jumps as his eyes unglaze and he follows Kenzo's directions.
"sounds good" i say, and follow Magazin into the dining room, unsheathing my sword and hoping we don't have to fight anything in close quarters.
Those looking downstairs, find nothing out of the ordinary. The two upstairs, however, don't have to look very far. The first door off the landing is open and by the light of the setting sun coming through the window, they can see that the room within is a kids room. More disturbing is that the legs of a man are sticking out of the closet on the floor.
Kenzo taps Rilo, points to the closet, and crosses the room to see better.
The left leg twitches. Or perhaps the man's whole body has moved. Looking a little closer, the man's torso is partially under the floor. There appears to be a loose floorboard or two in the closet that have been pulled up.
FInding nothing on the ground floor and noting the slowness of our compadres, Magazin and I make our way upstairs.
When everyone goes upstairs I usher the guardsman outside for "crowd control", cast Mage Armour on myself and stand at the foot of the stairs with a starknife in hand, ears pricked.
The left leg twitches. Or perhaps the man's whole body has moved. Looking a little closer, the man's torso is partially under the floor. There appears to be a loose floorboard or two in the closet that have been pulled up.
Kenzo, wondering where Rilo has disappeared to, tries to left the man out of the floor without actually sticking his hands in the hole.
Kenzo reaches down and grabbing the man's legs, pulls. What follows makes both he and Rilo jump. A shriek erupts from the floor beneath the closet and someone or something pulls back on the man's limp body. Blood covers the floor of the closet underneath the body and with a sudden awareness, Kenzo knows the man is dead.
Eugen and Magazin are making their way upstairs when the horrible shout rings out, filled with fury and madness. It echoes throughout the whole house and even those outside the door hear it.
"MINE! MINE! MINE!" screeches the high pitched voice. And from besides the body two glowing red eyes can suddenly be seen in the dark hole in the closet floor.
Kenzo jumps back and draws his sword.
I find myself having trouble working the stairs.
I draw my heavy mace and start to run towards the shout.
"Hey, what's going on up there?!"
A shrieking goblin, his face covered in crimson gore, leaps out of the hole in the closet floor.
“Mine! Mine! Food-food!” he shrieks. In his right hand is a crude bloody knife.
Monster in the Closet – Round 1
Kenzo – Initiative 21
Rilo – Initiative 18
Monster – Initiative 18
Magazin – Initiative 13
Gyorgy – Initiative 11
Eugen – Initiative 6
Kenzo lunges and thrusts with his sword for the goblin's midsection.
1d20=15+1=16 to hit, 1d8=6+1=7 damage
I cast longstrider on myself and head upstairs.
Kenzo's sudden lunge catches the goblin offguard and as the sword slices along his arm the little monster shrieks in anger.
"Food-food! I feast! I feast!"
And brandishing his knife he moves to cut a steak from Kenzo's side.
Goblin Attacks Kenzo: (1d20+3=5)
Kenzo turns aside the furious blows.
Meanwhile, Magazin, moving with unnatural speed leaps into the room, mace brandished.
Eugen and Gyorgy, moving a little slower, nevertheless arrive at the door of the room a few seconds behind the half-elf.
The hungry, hungry monster – Round 2
Kenzo – Initiative 21
Rilo – Initiative 18
Monster – Initiative 18
Magazin – Initiative 13
Gyorgy – Initiative 11
Eugen – Initiative 6
The goblin continues to swing his blade at the monk, seeking an opening. Foam froths in his mouth and his tongue licks his lips as he continues to chant, "Food-food, food-food!" He seems heedless of his wound and does not even seem to notice the others who threaten him. He is intent only on what he sees as his next meal - Kenzo.
As the goblin lunges at kenzo, a necklace of teeth, several of them appearing almost new, rattles against his chest, stirring a faint memory in Magazin.
Gyorgy makes a brief incantation as he cups his right hand around an imagined globe before him, his hand tightens into a fist, as if squeezing under pressure, and then springs open; releasing a bolt of shimmering blue arcane energy which spits true toward the greedy goblin.
Genuinely surprised that the goblin is still standing, and taken aback by its exuberance, Kenzo's second strike misses the mark.
Goblin attacks Kenzo again: (1d20+3=11)
The goblin continues to slash wildly and the surprised Kenzo just manages to stay out of the creature's way. "Food-Food! Mine! Mine!"
I move into a flanking position if I can without taking an attack of opportunity, and play whack-a-goblin!
Attack roll and damage if necessary. (1d20 2=15 (+2=17 if I can get flanking), 1d8 2=3)
The goblin barely seems to notice Magazin moving behind him. The priest's mace strikes him and as he staggers, Gyorgy's magic missile hits him squarely in the chest. He flies back and strikes the floor. His necklace of teeth clattes and his tongue hangs out of his mouth as his chest smokes.
"Well done, gentlemen," Kenzo says as he takes in the scene.
"Hey, uh, Magazin," he adds, pointing to the body on the floor. "I don't suppose you can do anything for him, can you?'
As the gang of men stand, silently staring at the goblin and the man's corpse, the goblin twitches once more and then at last, stops breathing.
"is that all that's up here?"
I kick the goblin absentmindedly with my foot, "oh the stories this little bugger could tell. so it was just this one guy in the house? I guess we'd better make the body a little more presentable before his family sees him" i say trying to straighten him out out a little, grimacing at the ghastly wounds and giving up after a few feeble attempts.
""On second thought maybe it'd be better to send someone to town for an undertaker while we look around outside the house for tracks. Maybe we can figure out if this goblin was alone or with a group."
Moving the man's body out of the hole reveals that his face has been partially eaten. There is another body in the hole in the floor, a small furred body. Upon closer inspection it is revealed to be a half eaten dog.
Peering into the hole, Kenzo mutters, "Where's a halfling when you need one?"
"Lets see if Desna can add some light to the situation"
I cast Light on a copper piece and toss it a few feet into the crawlspace.
The smell from the crawl space is intense. The light does not reveal much, though a bit of neck craning suggests that it goes back to the wall. The floor in the crawl space is the ceiling of the first floor. There is no telling for certain how the goblin got in there in the first place, but it has likely been hiding within since the initial goblin raid. Rags and torn clothes have been used to make a crude bed and there are pieces of a broken spear shaft within as well.
I attempt to retrieve the rags and odds and ends so that we can examine them.
The rags are just that rags, perhaps stolen from the very closet in which the the hole is located.
A little more investigation reveals that there is really nothing else to see here.
Father Zantus arrives shortly, and along with Brother Vosk, they quietly handle the body.
It turns out that the young boy that inhabited the room had been complaining about a monster in the closet since the night of the festival. His parents had refused to take him seriously.
Then just earlier, the dog had been killed and the boy was attacked. The mother had fled the house, leaving the father to deal with it. Now she blames herself. Arrangements are made for the family to stay the night in the Cathedral.
Once things quiet down, Kenzo decides to check in at the House of Blue Stones. After talking with Sabyl, he spends some time in quiet contemplation, and later in the day, training.
In an effort to be polite and kill time, I attempt to find and patronize the store that Shayliss Vinder suggested I visit.
In an effort to be polite and kill time, I attempt to find and patronize the store that Shayliss Vinder suggested I visit.
Shayliss comes out as her father is welcoming Eugen and smiles coyly at Eugen whenever she thinks her father isn’t looking.
“You know,” says Shayliss softly to Eugen while her father is dealing with another customer, “I hear we have giant rats in our basement. Just the thing for a strong young man like yourself to deal with. My father won’t be here tomorrow, just …”
Just about then Ven walks back to talk to Eugen and Shayliss immediately becomes quiet and winks at Eugen. Ven seems to sense something that makes him upset for he scowls at his daughter and is a little more brisk in talking to Eugen.