Intimidation seemed the way to go in their dealings with the hobgoblin archer. As they interrogated the goblinoid, he revealed the position of their main lair and the number of forces within, as well as the name and nature of their leader; Isti-Zar, a green dragon. With this revelation, the group saw that this may go beyond simple caravan raids. As the questioning continued, Brother Cassius noticed the yellow glow of eyes, watching the group from the nearby woods. Upon closer inspection Cassius saw that it was a massive wolf with jet black fur and yellow eyes. It made no threatening move toward the group, it just sat and watched.
The cleric of Bahamut hailed the wolf and it calmly approached. They nodded at one another and the beast changed forms to that of a longtooth shifter with dark skin, tattoos on his face, and long dreadlocked hair. He told Cassius that the PCs had come across his quarry, the hobgoblins had decimated his tribe and that he'd been tracking their movements and had found their lair. He introduced himself as Anton VonDost, telling them to call him Voodoo for short. The group agreed to follow Voodoo to the lair and aid each other in clearing it out. Akriel dispatched the hobgoblin archer with little ceremony, or warning, and they decided to rest again before heading to the goblins' main lair.
The group arrived at the lone wooded mountain at around sunset. A large rock formation provided cover while Akriel, Voodoo, and Hadarai snuck-up to inspect the situation. Aside from the main entrance there were two other side entrances shrouded by trees. One was guarded by a pair of hobgoblin archers while the other had a lone goblin warrior sentry. Voodoo removed the sentry as a threat as Hadarai and Akriel signaled for the rest of the group to advance. After a bit of cover fire from Olan the group moved-in for battle.
The fight was a long one, made worse by the arrival of reinforcements. The group was hard pressed and almost fell under the crush of a bugbear warrior leader and his goblin bodyguard. Benjaar was knocked silly and Cassius fell to archer fire. But, Olan's timely casting of sleep turned the tables; knocking out many of the goblins and the bugbear warrior. After that, the fight was much easier. The group chased down the remaining hobgoblin archers and dispatched one while taking the other prisoner.
Cassius was revived and the group tried to question the hobgoblin, but upon the mention of the green dragon he became spooked and tried to flee. The PCs didn't let him get very far. After another extended rest and search of the small cave complex; during which they found a natural chimney leading up into the mountain, the group prepared to climb to the upper levels and find Isti-Zar.
The climb up the chimney was well coordinated, but still very difficult, due in no small part to the traps installed by the goblinoids. Spear gauntlets greeted the PCs at many of the natural shelves during their climb, which claimed a few of their healing surges. The crest of the chimney showed signs of masoned floors and walls, though they quickly gave way to natural cavern walls. As the PCs regrouped from their climb (and leveled-up!), Akriel moved a bit further into the natural hallway, accidentally tripping another trap; Rocks tumbled from the ceiling above dealing a bit of damage to the drow, but the rest of the group remained unscathed. Worse, it no doubt alerted their quarry of their presence.
The path eventually opened into a large cave with a trench of rushing water fed by a large spout. The water traveled a short distance before falling into a large hole in the cavern floor. On the far side of the 'river' was the infamous Isti-Zar, along with what appeared to be another hobgoblin warcaster and a few hobgoblin grunts. On the PCs side of the rushing water were many more grunts and a hobgoblin commander. The PCs wasted no time in neutralizing a potentially fatal battle; Olan put his new spell, hypnotic pattern, to very efficient use, luring many of the grunts and even the commander into the waterfall in the cavern floor. Benjaar and Voodoo moved into point positions as Hadarai and Akriel sniped from the rear. Cassius stayed close to the front, waiting to ply his healing where needed and blasting the hobgoblins and dragon with holy power.
The group managed to stymie the dragon's tactics by slowing him and his hobgoblin ally more than a few times and the remaining grunts were dispatched easily. Benjaar and Voodoo closed with the dragon while Hadarai, Akriel and Olan traded attacks with the hobgoblin warcaster. Slowed and unable to cross the rushing water, the warcaster couldn't make optimal use of his abilities, but when Cassius ventured too close to the melee, the hobgoblin managed to use his Force Lure to almost devastating effect; The cleric was pulled into the yawning hole in the cavern floor and fell… ten feet to a narrow shelf. Luck was with the priest of Bahamut that day, bruised and battered by the fall, but still breathing, he picked himself up and climbed out from the chasm.
Isti-Zar put up quite a fight, though his tactics were disrupted by being slowed for many of his turns. In the end the PCs defeated the dragon and his warcaster. They went to work searching the cavern and butchering the dragon's body. Benjaar began skinning the drake but Voodoo intervened, saying that unless they had the proper means to preserve the scales it would just be a waste of time as they would be useless by the time they got them to a buyer. However, the heart would be easily preserved by a Gentle Repose ritual, and was fairly valuable to arcane spellcasters. Benjaar, of course, took the head, as proof of their exploits to Lord Markelhay and to add another footnote on the leader-board.
Cassius, Olan and Hadarai, meanwhile, stumbled across the dragon's hoard. Many useful and valuable items were found including; +2 astral fire armor, +1 medics' mace, sandals of precise stepping, a cloak of the mountebank, and a ruby scabbard along with plenty silver gold and emeralds. The cavern opened in the rear to a wooded ridge overlooking a heavily overgrown and dangerously narrow path descending the mountain. Closer inspection of the wickedly barbed underbrush revealed a generous coating of poison. Apparently Isti-Zar had used his poisonous dragon breath to turn the thorny foliage into a well disguised trap. After gathering the treasure in their bag of holding and securing Isti-Zar's head on a Tenser's Floating Disk the PCs slowly and carefully descended the path. The true nature of the path became apparent when they reached the bottom; the dragon could have easily watched for intruders from his perch and picked them off with fly-by attacks and hovering blasts of his poisonous breath as they tried to climb the trail. The group had taken the easy way, up the chimney. Fallcrest now awaited their return along with a hefty reward.
RSS: New threads | New posts
Once the party reaches the base of the lone wooded mountain, the shifter ranger turns to the group;
<Voodoo to the rest of the group>
"Well, you fellows have my thanks. I'm sure the souls of the rest of my tribe will find their rest, knowing that Isti-Zar and his minions have been dealt with. Still, I sense a higher hand in this; During one of my sweeps of this compound I overheard some of the hobgoblins prattling about 'orders from Fallcrest'. Perhaps someone there knows more about this than they should…"
"That would be a most troubling scenario, should it prove to be true. We would do well to inform Lord Marklehay of these developments. I fear, however, that without more information to go on there will be little he, or we, can do."
Cassius looks at the rest of the party in turn. "Upon our return, I suggest we use the means at our individual disposals to gather what information we can concerning these schemes. If someone is plotting against the innocents of Fallcrest, we must uncover the truth."
Glancing back at his Tenser's Disk with the severed Green Dragon head, and with the memory of the White Dragon fresh in his mind, he mutters, "I wouldn't be surprised to find out there's more behind this than meets the eye. Not surprised at all."
Benjaar looks down to Cassius and says…
"Don't fret my friend, I am sure our collective "arsses" will be able to dig something up in Fallcrest!"
Shifting his attention to Voodoo…
"You fought with bravery and honor! I think its safe to say that you have not only earned my respect, but the entire groups as well. I will keep an open ear to any rumors I may happen to over hear when we get back to town. I'm sure some drunken buffoon that can't hold his ale will be flapping his jaws in the bars! I sure as hell plan to be the one to hear him when he does, always makes the ale taste a bit sweeter when you get some juicy gossip to go with it! Are you planning to join us then in Fallcrest?"
<Voodoo to the group>
You're from Fallcrest? That is good. I have never been within its walls.
Would you mind if I accompanied you? I would see this through.
By this time it is well into the evening. The last rays of sunlight drop below the mountains in the west.
Do you wish to camp for the evening or travel the road at night to get back to Fallcrest as soon as possible?
Keep in mind, it took half a day from the road to reach Isti-Zar's hideout, and another day on the road from the city (1.5 days to reach Fallcrest).
Cassius> "It's been a long day, friends, and I think we all could use a rest. Let us make camp, set the watch, and allow me to tend to our — fortunately — minor injuries. Tomorrow morning we make for Fallcrest."
Turning to Voodoo, Cassius nods and extends an open hand. "If it is your intention to see this through, then I at least welcome your sword. After your performance on the mountain, I think you'll find my companions at least as agreeable."
<Olan to the group>
Should I send another message to Lord Markelhay? I'm sure he'd want to know of our progress. Maybe I should also warn him that someone within the city might have been commanding the goblin raiders. In any case, he should be wary of cult activity. The Dragon Queen's followers are notoriously shrewd and miserly.
Benjaar grunts…
"We may want to hold off on letting anyone in on our secret until we can figure out who is actually conspiring with the Goblins. Not that I'm accusing anyone of anything, I would just like to gather some more info before we start blabbering about a conspiracy."
Cassius looks at Benjaar for a moment, then slowly nods.
"If Marklehay himself is in on it, he either underestimated our abilities or overestimated those of his cohorts. It wouldn't make sense for him to send us out here to eliminate the goblin threat without making sure to have us killed.
"The Dragon Queen's followers likely know about Isti-Zar's death, and whether they make a move or not, if Marklehay is prepared he may minimize his losses. Worst case, Her followers set an ambush for us on the road." Cassius pulls out the set of Astral Fire Armor and shakes it loose. In the dying sunlight the silvery links glisten and, briefly, flicker with Divine Power. "I'd risk that to save the lives of innocents."
Cassius scratches his chin briefly, considers something, then turns to Olan. "My opinion is that we tell Marklehay we've completed our objective, that we shall return to Fallcrest in three days, and warn him of the possible conspiracy."
He turns to Benjaar and lets out a slow smile. "And won't the Dragon Queen's followers be surprised when we sneak into town a day early?"
Piecing together what Cassius is saying, Benjaar returns the smile…
"And that is why I am the muscle and you are the brains. Brilliant plan little buddy, now can I sleep?"
Olan prepares his Animal Messenger ritual, and rolls a 27 for his check.
Olan searches the boughs of the nearby trees until he spots an owl. You hear Olan whisper a short message to the nocturnal bird,
"Lord Markelhay, we have completed your quest. We shall return to Fallcrest in three days. Caution. We suspect the bandits received their orders from Fallcrest."
After he utters the last word the owl takes flight, in a straight line toward the city.
"Twelve hours should be more than enough time for a bird to fly to the city," muses the wizard.
The evening passes without incident. The elves' trances went uninterrupted. As dawn's light crests the Dawnforge Mountains it soon disappears again behind dark clouds. A strong summer storm looks to be approaching.
<Voodoo to group>
"We best move quickly and soon. Those clouds bode ill for our travels."
He quickly breaks camp and helps pack belongings. Once prepared he shifts into wolf-form and leads the way back to the road.
GM:Is anyone going to do anything before leaving?
Cassius changes out of the leather armor and puts on the new set of Astral Fire Armor. (Note, his AC is now 20). Additionally, he wields the Medic's Mace and pulls a Light Shield from the Bag of Holding, though he is not trained in shields.
He also takes a minute to refresh the Tenser's Ritual holding the green dragon head.
Hadarai contemplates the day ahead. "Do we suspect ambush? it may be better if some of us do not take the road and watch for any that might try to take revenge on our way back. Ambush any ambushers, like we did to that last group."
"Hadarai, brilliant idea. Perhaps you and Voodoo can run up each side of the road ahead of the group, concealed of course. You can warn us of any potential ambushes or unscrupulous looking fellas. Akriel can cover us from behind to make sure nobody tracks our steps."
After expressing his thoughts, Benjaar takes a moment to make sure all of his gear is in order. Pulling his dagger from his belt, he notches the handle of his Axe, just below the first mark he made a few days back.
"Humph! Two Dragons dead, two notches. Cassius my friend, you think I could carry our latest head into town like I did last time? Or will we be going for less showmanship this time?"
Cassius smiles at Benjaar. "We have a long ways to walk yet. Until we get to town, perhaps it's a better idea for the head to travel on my Disk. Once we're back at Fallcrest, and if we decide not to pursue stealth, then I certainly have no problem with you carrying your trophy."
Voodoo gladly takes an advance flanking position along with Hadarai. Akriel hangs back a short distance, incase of enemies approaching from the rear, while Cassius Benjaar and Olan travel the main road with little attempt at stealth.
Thankfully, the storm clouds veer north to release their fury. Though you still get a small amount of rain toward the evening. The day otherwise passes without incident.
The evenings watch is likewise calm, and (assuming no one wants to do anything else during the trip) the northern gates of Fallcrest soon greet your eyes around noon the next day.