"Figure it means 'the big one', got it." Bründir's crossbow gives a heavy thunk and the goblin is spiked a moment later by a bolt through its chest. "Movin' on then?" Bründir asks matter-of-factly.
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"F-friends with no names... what does that mean? I've never heard of goblins enslaving people and forcing them to work mines... something seems off." Vark says in response to the new information. "Uhm... how should we approach the town? I don't think charging right in would be... best."
"Burn all their tents to the ground I say! " Thurston seems really upset with the news the goblin had given them " May thor send one of his storms and lighting and thunder destroy them!!"
"Thinkin' Thor's a lil busy to come down an' start smitin'em all." Bründir keeps a vigil on the cliffs, as though goblins could swarm out any moment, "Think I got somethin'...'tween yer lightnin' an' a few flasks o'oil, we could make a mess of'em and start a panic."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"Oh uhm y-yes that could work! I could also obscure part of their camp with a clouds... when they realize their tents are burning, they'd run out and not be able to see. I don't know... maybe we could use it to get them into a uhm... bottleneck?"
Jex shrugs at the idea. "Fires are noisy and loud and draw attention. Not my usual style but I could certainly make an exception for this case. It would be easy for me to get on and out undetected."
He sniffs.
"I could cut a few throats while I'm there, find their leaders and take away their coordination."
Late in the day, as the moon slowly begins to mask the sun up above, the party reach the ancient marker of Erik's runestone, where the road forks north and east. It was here, many moons ago, that their journey first began.
The eastern pass runs downhill from here, into Sheercleft valley, and the lights of campfires throughout the village twinkle in the distance. The normal lights in the windows of the buildings and homes are notably absent.
Bründir stared at the depressing sight with a mix of sadness and vengeful anger. This was the third time he'd looked at an enemy encampment since leavibg home, but it was distressing to know almost its exact layout so intimately. Rather than approximations and generic buildings, he found himself looking over patches of houses and naming their residents, professions, or streets.
With the sad truth of invading his own home, Bründir felt a sort of comfort in knowing the terrain. His previous suggestion of indiscriminately torching goblin tents was supplemented by the idea of moving up and down familiar streets and allies, rather than a broad sweep across the town.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Thurston puts a hand in Bründir's shoulder as they look down the conquered village.
"We will teach those goblins a lesson that they will not forget for generations " he says to the rest of the party but still looking down to the village " Since we've met, we've been leaving behind enemies that had regroup and had come back again aganist us to hit us harder. We've managed to make their nose bleed, that's true, but we haven't been able to have a definitve victory. Until now. We do not leave any of them alive, we give no quarter neither ask for it. Each of every one of them are guilty of attacking a paceful settlement killing and slaving their habitants. No more. This will not go unpunished, here is were the line is draw. We will avenge those that had fallen and free those who endure a life of slavery at their hands. Tonight is when the tide turns. I Thurston Barnaston, son of the Stag Clan, Paladin of Thor make this oath. For I will not rest until these goblins are expelled from this land and their victims avenged. "
He look is fixed in the tents, his voice full of pasion. He stands tall in the night and his gaze has a determination look that would make the goblins to cower in fear.
Bründir smiles at his home, "Ma used to say 'alf giv'n is twice received'. Wisdom of th' mountain, she called it. Guess I never knew what it meant till now. Seems lot o' people've given, whether they wanna or no. Time to give'em due."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Hurrig looks down over the town in disbelief. Hearing from the goblin that the town had been taken could have merely been a tactic to dissuade the reinforcements, but to see it for his own eyes. "We should rest. And rise early. Attack before breakfast." He turns away from the town, "Seems like anywhere I go, I bring bad luck with me. Moradin you have a funny sense of humor. Should have just stayed in Khaz a Grungon long ago."
Hurrig turns to the party and paces around. "We will take on these goblins, drive them back into the depths they came from. Then we will figure out who these 'friends with no names are.' We will save our friends down in Sheercleft. Bottle necking them would be great, but send them where? Into the mines where the villagers of Sheercleft are no doubt? What if we tried to infiltrate the war tent some how, and just took out the leader, Krug was it?"Hurrig shakes his head and slumps down and sits for a while and prays, head rested in his hands.
"Friends, how we fight mean goblins? Dorno is smart. Dorno counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...7, seven of we friends. Dorno counts more goblins than he can count. He doesn't want friends to die." The firbolg looks like he is both sad and thinking really hard.
"Not going to be easy, an' just walking to the front door yelling'd be stupid. Good thing I know the whole town like th' back of me 'and," Bründir gives a devious wink, "Said the folks are in th' mine. Be best to get in there and get friends with us. Need to get to th' garrison after."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Jex nods. He was in a sour mood as he spent the time since the goblin interrogation coming to terms with the fact he would likely not be getting paid for clearing out the cult if his client had been killed or captured. Now though he at least had somebody to take it out on.
"There is no chance I take them on in a fair fight. Hobgoblins are organised, their army will not be so easy to break as the scouts. They will have us surrounded and cut off from escape. If we're lucky we'll become prisoners too. I can sneak in and do some damage though. Kill the leader, start some fires, free the miners. Tell me what you want and consider it done."
He looks at his tired companions.
"For tonight though, I do not like being this close when they must surely be looking for us. We should camouflage the wagon and hide in the trees."
Val stares off into the city and the massive amount of fires burning within. It reminded her of the orc horde she strived so hard to outrun... She looks around at her companions and listened to their ideas, still very aware of the painful twinge in her stomach. "I agree with Jex, we should go back a short distance and find some where safe we can bed down for the night. Tomorrow, perhaps Jex could sneak into the camp and get an idea as to what is going on there? I can kill a lot of goblins, but not that many... "
The party take the wagon a short distance up the High Road and obscure it from sight as best they can, before setting up camp. A couple of hours later Valaith and Hurrig hear the sound of many marching boots coming from the direction of the junction to the south as they keep watch.
Val perks up as she hears the sound of marching and she looks at Hurrig. For a moment she thinks to check herself, but the knot in her guts screamed otherwise. She quietly creeps over to Jex and walks him with a whisper. “Jex, there is something marching through the area. Near the intersection where we were earlier. Can you go check it out and report back? I’d do it, but...” she gestures at her large frame.
Jex shakes himself awake. Truth be told he was barely sleeping anyway, thinking about different ways around the camp. He had just managed to slip off though and was having dreams of focused on the night. He nods at Val and slips off towards the junction. Still a bit groggy from his sleep he stumbles a bit as he walks.
Jex creeps atop the rocks overlooking the pass, pulling himself up the boulders that line the road to get a better vantage. Illuminated by the moonlight that floods the mountainside, he sees fifteen hobgoblins and their captain marching in tight formation down the western pass that the party has spent the last day traversing. In front of and behind the unit two goblin outriders prowl on their worgs, their bows ready and their eyes searching the cliffs for threats.
As he watches the scene, keeping flat to the ground to avoid notice, Jex's foot slips on the stones behind him, sending a small rock tumbling down the steep slope with a clatter. The formation immediately halts with a loud stomp as armoured boots hit the ground in unison, and one of the goblin riders turns suddenly to scour the landscape.
A moment later they relax and move on. Covered by his cloak of elvenkind, Jex is almost invisible in the shadows against the rocks. Stones fall in the mountains all the time...
Once they have passed, he carefully slips back down and returns to the camp to report his findings.
"Figure it means 'the big one', got it." Bründir's crossbow gives a heavy thunk and the goblin is spiked a moment later by a bolt through its chest. "Movin' on then?" Bründir asks matter-of-factly.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"F-friends with no names... what does that mean? I've never heard of goblins enslaving people and forcing them to work mines... something seems off." Vark says in response to the new information. "Uhm... how should we approach the town? I don't think charging right in would be... best."
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
"Burn all their tents to the ground I say! " Thurston seems really upset with the news the goblin had given them " May thor send one of his storms and lighting and thunder destroy them!!"
PbP Character: A few ;)
"Thinkin' Thor's a lil busy to come down an' start smitin'em all." Bründir keeps a vigil on the cliffs, as though goblins could swarm out any moment, "Think I got somethin'...'tween yer lightnin' an' a few flasks o'oil, we could make a mess of'em and start a panic."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
“Send Jex in quietly to dose several of the tents with oil, then start lighting them with flaming arrows maybe?”
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
"Oh uhm y-yes that could work! I could also obscure part of their camp with a clouds... when they realize their tents are burning, they'd run out and not be able to see. I don't know... maybe we could use it to get them into a uhm... bottleneck?"
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
Jex shrugs at the idea. "Fires are noisy and loud and draw attention. Not my usual style but I could certainly make an exception for this case. It would be easy for me to get on and out undetected."
He sniffs.
"I could cut a few throats while I'm there, find their leaders and take away their coordination."
Late in the day, as the moon slowly begins to mask the sun up above, the party reach the ancient marker of Erik's runestone, where the road forks north and east. It was here, many moons ago, that their journey first began.
The eastern pass runs downhill from here, into Sheercleft valley, and the lights of campfires throughout the village twinkle in the distance. The normal lights in the windows of the buildings and homes are notably absent.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Bründir stared at the depressing sight with a mix of sadness and vengeful anger. This was the third time he'd looked at an enemy encampment since leavibg home, but it was distressing to know almost its exact layout so intimately. Rather than approximations and generic buildings, he found himself looking over patches of houses and naming their residents, professions, or streets.
With the sad truth of invading his own home, Bründir felt a sort of comfort in knowing the terrain. His previous suggestion of indiscriminately torching goblin tents was supplemented by the idea of moving up and down familiar streets and allies, rather than a broad sweep across the town.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Thurston puts a hand in Bründir's shoulder as they look down the conquered village.
"We will teach those goblins a lesson that they will not forget for generations " he says to the rest of the party but still looking down to the village " Since we've met, we've been leaving behind enemies that had regroup and had come back again aganist us to hit us harder. We've managed to make their nose bleed, that's true, but we haven't been able to have a definitve victory. Until now. We do not leave any of them alive, we give no quarter neither ask for it. Each of every one of them are guilty of attacking a paceful settlement killing and slaving their habitants. No more. This will not go unpunished, here is were the line is draw. We will avenge those that had fallen and free those who endure a life of slavery at their hands. Tonight is when the tide turns. I Thurston Barnaston, son of the Stag Clan, Paladin of Thor make this oath. For I will not rest until these goblins are expelled from this land and their victims avenged. "
He look is fixed in the tents, his voice full of pasion. He stands tall in the night and his gaze has a determination look that would make the goblins to cower in fear.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Bründir smiles at his home, "Ma used to say 'alf giv'n is twice received'. Wisdom of th' mountain, she called it. Guess I never knew what it meant till now. Seems lot o' people've given, whether they wanna or no. Time to give'em due."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Hurrig looks down over the town in disbelief. Hearing from the goblin that the town had been taken could have merely been a tactic to dissuade the reinforcements, but to see it for his own eyes. "We should rest. And rise early. Attack before breakfast." He turns away from the town, "Seems like anywhere I go, I bring bad luck with me. Moradin you have a funny sense of humor. Should have just stayed in Khaz a Grungon long ago."
Hurrig turns to the party and paces around. "We will take on these goblins, drive them back into the depths they came from. Then we will figure out who these 'friends with no names are.' We will save our friends down in Sheercleft. Bottle necking them would be great, but send them where? Into the mines where the villagers of Sheercleft are no doubt? What if we tried to infiltrate the war tent some how, and just took out the leader, Krug was it?" Hurrig shakes his head and slumps down and sits for a while and prays, head rested in his hands.
Mavi Göz Mal - Half Orc Monk Level 1 Not Another Lost Mine of Phandelver
Drita - Aasimar Hexblade Warlock Lvl 3 Tomb of Annhilation
Iznik Sylnithas - Half Drow Blood Hunter Level 2 Precipice of Voids
"Friends, how we fight mean goblins? Dorno is smart. Dorno counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...7, seven of we friends. Dorno counts more goblins than he can count. He doesn't want friends to die." The firbolg looks like he is both sad and thinking really hard.
"Not going to be easy, an' just walking to the front door yelling'd be stupid. Good thing I know the whole town like th' back of me 'and," Bründir gives a devious wink, "Said the folks are in th' mine. Be best to get in there and get friends with us. Need to get to th' garrison after."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Jex nods. He was in a sour mood as he spent the time since the goblin interrogation coming to terms with the fact he would likely not be getting paid for clearing out the cult if his client had been killed or captured. Now though he at least had somebody to take it out on.
"There is no chance I take them on in a fair fight. Hobgoblins are organised, their army will not be so easy to break as the scouts. They will have us surrounded and cut off from escape. If we're lucky we'll become prisoners too. I can sneak in and do some damage though. Kill the leader, start some fires, free the miners. Tell me what you want and consider it done."
He looks at his tired companions.
"For tonight though, I do not like being this close when they must surely be looking for us. We should camouflage the wagon and hide in the trees."
Val stares off into the city and the massive amount of fires burning within. It reminded her of the orc horde she strived so hard to outrun... She looks around at her companions and listened to their ideas, still very aware of the painful twinge in her stomach. "I agree with Jex, we should go back a short distance and find some where safe we can bed down for the night. Tomorrow, perhaps Jex could sneak into the camp and get an idea as to what is going on there? I can kill a lot of goblins, but not that many... "
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
The party take the wagon a short distance up the High Road and obscure it from sight as best they can, before setting up camp. A couple of hours later Valaith and Hurrig hear the sound of many marching boots coming from the direction of the junction to the south as they keep watch.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Val perks up as she hears the sound of marching and she looks at Hurrig. For a moment she thinks to check herself, but the knot in her guts screamed otherwise. She quietly creeps over to Jex and walks him with a whisper. “Jex, there is something marching through the area. Near the intersection where we were earlier. Can you go check it out and report back? I’d do it, but...” she gestures at her large frame.
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
Jex shakes himself awake. Truth be told he was barely sleeping anyway, thinking about different ways around the camp. He had just managed to slip off though and was having dreams of focused on the night. He nods at Val and slips off towards the junction. Still a bit groggy from his sleep he stumbles a bit as he walks.
Jex creeps atop the rocks overlooking the pass, pulling himself up the boulders that line the road to get a better vantage. Illuminated by the moonlight that floods the mountainside, he sees fifteen hobgoblins and their captain marching in tight formation down the western pass that the party has spent the last day traversing. In front of and behind the unit two goblin outriders prowl on their worgs, their bows ready and their eyes searching the cliffs for threats.
As he watches the scene, keeping flat to the ground to avoid notice, Jex's foot slips on the stones behind him, sending a small rock tumbling down the steep slope with a clatter. The formation immediately halts with a loud stomp as armoured boots hit the ground in unison, and one of the goblin riders turns suddenly to scour the landscape.
A moment later they relax and move on. Covered by his cloak of elvenkind, Jex is almost invisible in the shadows against the rocks. Stones fall in the mountains all the time...
Once they have passed, he carefully slips back down and returns to the camp to report his findings.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva