"He's alive and unconscious, as you asked." Varielky calls towards Snow, frustration and vexation audible in her voice. The gods clearly did not approve of this action, but now that the Goblin is unconscious, she's not going to kill it. 

Varielky approaches the sacks. Then she stops. As the skinned goats come to mind, Varielky crouches down and, having sheathed her sword, dips the tip of two of her fingers into the slime, then brings it closer to her face, where she could see better, and possibly smell. Is it, by any chance, the rusty smell of blood? 

Nature: 12.

As Varielky steps forward and bends down to touch the slime, Auger comes all the way down into the basement and observes what she is doing. Looking at the strange substance himself Auger tries to relate what he is seeing to anything in his own experience. Nature: 13 +1 = 14.

Snow gives up on the window, even with Auger's lights it was impossible to get a view of the basement, and so he wanders back to the door in time to hear Varielky confirm she has restrained the goblin.

"That's great, anything else down there, or just the one goblin?", he says quietly, making his way down as well seeing the others aren't coming back up.

(OOC: Not sure if you remembered but Auger has Bardic Inspiration still)

Effects Ongoing:
Tongues
Concentration: Enhance Ability(Owl's Wisdom)

What Varielky touches is not blood; it is reminiscent of lamp oil or cooking fat. The others descend into the cellar and Granophyre offers the help action on Varielky’s roll, his voice serious and disgusted, and Varielky crouches close to the sacks to answer his questions, the others standing behind, and now, with the sage’s help, you piece together a narrative and an understanding of what grows before you. 

One week in the past:

The family are dead. The house, surrounded by goblins, stops burning when, deep in the night, a blustery spring shower douses the flames. The goblins wait impatiently, growling and clawing at one another, until the biggest of them screams a command. Goblins stream into the farmhouse, picking through the larder and devouring what food they can find. They open the cellar storm doors and spread down the stairs like a dark shadow. A dozen of them, on the farm grounds, carry the farm’s goats, four of them, already dead, into the basement, stack their bodies atop sacks of grain. 

One of their number, strong and mature, shows the signs the leader was waiting for, and before the assembled eyes, as a fearsome howling is joined by all of the devilish creatures, the one assumes female gender. She enters the cellar, slashes at the others, which retreat, growling, and throw shut the storm doors behind them, leaving the female, Queen for a day, alone within. She lays her eggs, hundreds of them, in the bodies of the dead goats. The eggs latch on and grow quickly, absorbing and chemically transforming their surroundings until the goat corpses meld with the grain in a slurry of shivering organic matter, and an impermeable outer layer forms, shielding the hundreds of creatures forming within from changes in temperature and infection. 

The goblin mother meanwhile transforms back to male gender and, until knocked unconscious by Auger’s spell, guards its eggs.

And now, peering closely at these four horrifying egg sacks — the vestiges of rib cages and skulls still barely visible in the clear gelatin of their exteriors — Varielky sees dozens, hundreds, of tiny, tortured faces in miniature pressed against the interior surfaces of the sacks, sharp teeth unable to penetrate or escape, each one of them portending a future murdered family like the one whose corpses still lie decaying in the farmhouse above.

”We must destroy them all!,” growls Granophyre.

With a growing sense of horror Auger listens to Granophyre narrate the events leading to the formation of this mound of... of filth. The idea of the family killed above in order to create a nest for this event was too much for him. As Granophyre speaks, Auger nods along, saying, "I think I can get them all at once, with a, a single thunderous clap. Granophyre and Varielky, you have seen me do this before. The noise. It will be very loud. We should decide what to do about the Goblins above, as the noise will surely draw them this way. I think we might do this area a service by getting rid of those Goblins as well. What do you all think?"

(OOC: Auger is thinking of using Shatter, which most of the others have observed him use in the past. They will know it is incredibly loud.)

Snow nods in agreement with Auger, he certainly didn’t want any more of these creatures around. Strewn’s description of what happened here set his nerves on edge. Was this a frequent occurrence? Why was nobody out hunting down these vile beasts?

“I agree with destroying the…..larvae?”, he says struggling for the correct word. “If we are going to cause such a noise in doing so I would like to interogate this creature first, find out a bit about what we can expect. How many there are at the very least”.

Varielky backs away in disgust, and the warrior who sees blood on a daily basis, guts, bones, muscles and whatnot, looks even paler than usual, and what food she still had in her stomach tries to leave it, though she forces everything to stay inside. She turns away, saying: "Do with it what you want, I won't be part of that. I don't want to see this thing ever again." She is clearly disgusted, appalled even. Just the thought that she touched this slime sends shivers down her spine, and the realisation she's not going to be able to clean this off soon does not help. At the very least, when she dropped down when the Goblin shot her, she didn't plunge into this substance. If her hair was drenched in it it would be a real crisis. "If Goblins come, looking for a fight, a fight I'll give them. Otherwise, I'll be waiting for you on the surface." And with that, Varielky begins to climb back up, and stands watch by the door.

Snow watches Varielky make her way back up the steps. He didn’t blame her, if he’d touched that thing he would want to escape as quickly as possible as well.

He takes out and loads his hand crossbow holding that in one hand and his violin in the other, ready to pluck a string to fuel his magic.

“Do you have rope to tie this creature up?”, he asks Auger and Strewn. “If we can tie it up and wake it up I can get information from it”.

“I also have oil if we want to burn that thing”, he adds pointing at the abomination.

(OOC: Snow’s intention is to wait for it to be restrained and woken up, either here or in the house, and then cast Suggestion on it and suggest that it remain peaceful and answer all their questions truthfully and to the best of it’s knowledge)

Cast Suggestion DC17 Wis Save

Effects Ongoing:

Tongues

There are flasks of oil hanging from one of the cellar walls, and two full lanterns and a pair of torches. Granophyre takes Snow’s oil, and that on the walls, douses the goblin egg sacks, throws on the kindling, and produces a pinch of dark powder from a pouch on his belt. He utters a word of power and a flame licks up from his palm. He blows upon it, and it extends out to lick at the oil and kindling. In moments, a fire comes to life, and as you all climb out of the cellar, carrying out the unconscious goblin, the flames grow and begin to roar.

The goblin eggs, behind you, writhe and shiver, and the tiny devilish creatures hiss silently within, struggling to escape, helpless to avoid a fiery death before their evil lives have begun. 

“A quake would bring down the house, weakened as it already is, leaving the farmer’s family’s corpses whole and unburied. Better to incinerate them all and let this tragedy end as it began,” growls Granophyre, a sour frown deeply imprinted on his sagely countenance.

Not long after the house has begun to catch fire in its totality, the goblin awakens, it struggles against its bindings, its beady black eyes take you all in. It spits and screeches, and it snaps at you until Snow casts his spell and the goblin falls prey to the bard’s will, and soon responds robotically in its language to your questions, responses which you all understand, thanks to Snow’s further spellcasting. 

As the questioning commences Auger makes sure Py is continuing to keep watch on the Goblins in the castle. They are sure to see the smoke soon.

Auger's questions for the Goblin (OOC: bullet form for efficiency)

• How many Goblins are there at the castle?
• Why did they attack here in Amazigh land?
• Is this band of Goblins working with the Jlassi?

Auger looks to Granophyre - wondering if this Goblin can aid his quest at all.

• Do this Goblin know of passages through these mountains? 
• Can the Goblin name the positions of mountaintops and nearby valleys (anything Granophyre can use to get a fix on and align his map)
• Can the Goblin describe where Goblin communities might reside in the nearby areas?

Snow happily hands over one of his oil flasks to Strewn. "Yes let's cleanse this whole place", he says grimly, still appalled at the whole situation.

When the goblin awakes, he casts his spell to make the goblin talk, then stands over it with his hand crossbow at the ready.

He will add a number of questions of his own to Auger's list.

• Why did they choose this farmhouse for their spawning / birthing?
• What happened to the people who would normally protect these lands?
• Are there any other farmhouses or homes where they are doing this?
• Are there other goblins in the surrounding area other than the castle?
• Do they have scouts or groups of goblins roaming the countryside?
• Are there any traps or ambushes set?
• Do any of the goblins possess any magical abilities and if so what can they do?
• Are there other creatures besides goblins in their band and if so what?

(OOC: Suggestion can last 8 hours but we are really limited by Tongues which lasts an hour, but that should be easily sufficient I hope)

Auger's questions 

How many Goblins are there at the castle? Over 100.

Why did they attack here in Amazigh land? (OOC: this is Abziri land). Doesn’t know why.

Is this band of Goblins working with the Jlassi? Don’t know what Jlasi is.

Do this Goblin know of passages through these mountains? Of course. Human so stupid not know. 

Can the Goblin name the positions of mountaintops and nearby valleys. No.

Can the Goblin describe where Goblin communities might reside in the nearby areas? The goblin points to the Abziri Castle.

Snow’s questions

Why did they choose this farmhouse for their spawning / birthing? It has a cellar. Need underground place protected.

What happened to the people who would normally protect these lands? Don’t know. 

Are there any other farmhouses or homes where they are doing this? The goblin points to the Abziri Castle.

Are there other goblins in the surrounding area other than the castle? Doesn’t know.

Do they have scouts or groups of goblins roaming the countryside? Doesn’t know. 

Are there any traps or ambushes set? Doesn’t know.

Do any of the goblins possess any magical abilities and if so what can they do? No, n/a.

Are there other creatures besides goblins in their band and if so what? Humans in Castle strong, tell goblin warlord what to do. Warlord tell goblins what to do.

Snow is quite shocked at the reply to the last question. He looks across to the others, then back to the goblin.

"There are humans in the castle, and your warlord is working for them?", he asks urgently.

"Describe the humans, their clothes and any images or symbols they wear?"

“Yes,” answers the goblin.  “Humans make deal with goblins. Other man in Castle — before — make treaty: Goblins no attack, help human’s friend kill human’s enemy. Then friend will help goblins kill muthrrflocking enemy goblin tribe, drink blood of mountains.

Then, new man come, from other man’s friend tribe. Much more powerful but sleep all time. Wear white only white like snow, and with eye like sunrise. Goblins do what goblins do, he no care, sleeping. Now goblins maybe take away castle when humans sleep. When more goblins are hatch, kill many humans drink blood of valley first then blood of mountain. 

Now let me go. Think of more questions while I cut out your tongue and eat it raw. Then you no can ask, and I get reward for tell so many things.”

(OOC: as a reminder, an eye with rays emanating from it is the Jlasi Family sigil.) 

Listening to the Goblin go on, Auger cannot help but picture the castle with a few dark underground places where Goblins might choose to breed. Then he sees thousands of them coming out of the castle, overwhelming the valley and all its residents. Blood of the valley. Humans. Blood of the mountains. Another Goblin tribe? Auger shudders at the thought. Were they the only ones who could do something? And should they do something? Against 100 Goblins and then a number of more challenging humans? Perhaps the Imperials could be of service here. If they were not bought off by the Jlasi or the Amazighs.

And the human. Sleeping. Wearing the family sigil of the Jlasi. Wearing white and sleeping. Only sleeping. What could that mean?

Auger pulls Granophyre away from where the Goblin can hear and asks, "Do you have questions for it? This Goblin seems to know something of underground passages and mentions other tribes. It is conceivable that someone among them might present a clue to advance our purpose."

Gathering the others, and still a little away from the Goblin, Auger states how he feels. "We have done much to try and improve things in this Valley. I think we should try to limit or end this Goblin threat if we can. And soon. Before there are more... newborns in the castle. I fear it will take some time to raise a real fighting force to attack them. What do you all think? Is there a way we can do this?"

Granophyre produces a coil of wire from a bracelet on his wrist, his expression dark and cloudy. “The answers to my questions are within the Abziri Castle. We are here to find the goat-herder named Safiyah, or word of her. Any survivors in the castle, or the family’s archives and records, will tell me what I need to know.”

“As for the goblins, the longer they are allowed to go unchecked the greater the threat.” The dwarf utters a word of power, throwing the coil of wire toward the captive goblin with a flick of his wrist. It wraps around its body, a bolt of electricity blasts down its length, and the goblin instantly fries to death. The sage releases the wire and moves with firm steps toward the castle path. “Follow me.”

Snow's fears are confirmed by the goblin. The humans from the castle had made a pact with the goblins. Beyond that he is not entirely certain, he assumes it is the Abziri who made the original deal. The friend tribe mentioned would be the Jlasi, so the Abziri and Jlasi were allies. It made sense then that their enemy was the Imperial army.

His train of thought is broken by Auger and Strewn. He listens to the pair of them and watches as Strewn kills the goblin with some kind of shock device. He couldn't say he wasn't relieved, he wasn't looking forward to dispatching the goblin himself.

"It seems there are politics at play here. Beyond the fact that there are goblins doing foul deeds, it seems the Abziri might have made alliances with both them and the Jlasi. If I am honest, I had hoped to find our own allies here, a safe haven, but quite the opposite if the owners of these lands have sunk so low as to deal with the devil", he says nudging the corpse of the goblin with his foot.

"And what was all that about the human who sleeps all the time?", he asks. "We need more information, surely?", he says as Strewn starts wandering off. He looks at the others but has no real choice but to follow along.

Auger watches Granophyre kill the Goblin and fails to muster much emotion. Horrible things. Looking to the others Auger moves on the castle path to join Granophyre.

We are heading up to the castle and in. Let us know if any Goblins are keeping watch. And at the threshold of the castle, I will leave you outside to begin with and once past the... the magic that impedes you... I will summon you in. While still outside please stay in touch as long as possible and let me know what is coming.

As he moves along the path, Auger realizes he has not communed with his patron in some time but he is confident that he walks the right path, particularly if Granophyre can find clues to his quest in this castle. Goblins. A hundred of them. A Goblin Warlord. Humans. Possibly Jlasi. And Snow thinks possibly Abziri.

As Snow catches up Auger quietly states, "I hope you are wrong about the Abziri connection here. I met the leader of the clan in the context of him caring for his mother. He was a noble and held himself above others as they will, but otherwise... well I hope he did not do this thing. He seemed... decent."

Py flits away and finds you twenty minutes later as you approach the top of the hill path leading to the castle gate, which winds upwards through a small rocky wood of junipers and pines. 

‘I still see no guards. I cannot enter the castle, Master. If you summon me within, the ward will destroy me,’ warns Py.

As you walk, Granophyre says, “The words of the Azhvuv Queen are now on my mind. Do you remember? She said: 

“The Viscount Abziri’s failings are more immediate. He struck a deal with Jlasi Family to provide Warriors and goblins for their war and terror attacks against Family Amazigh. His wealth comes from secret dealings with the Empire in the opium trade.”

This reminds Auger of the last time he saw the viscount Abziri and his unkind valet:

“The [Abziri Viscount] today wears an embroidered royal blue kaftan and several rings on his fingers, and Auger hears parting words to him from a valet before the servant turns up the stairs and departs, an eye of warning upon the warlock as he takes his leave. 

“Are you finding what you need?,” asks [the Viscount]... “Our amboule records are in order, I think you’ll find, thanks to the yemma’s careful work,” he finishes, his hand upon the shoulder of the elder woman, who smiles up at him…

…

The valet returns then, again with a warning stare at Auger and Tamazaert, and the viscount takes his leave.”

And this leads you all to think of your first night together at Jemmu Village:

“Overhearing snatches of conversation from your neighbors, here in Jemmu Village, the talk is of a rumor that the Viceroy Abziri and High Priestess of Idiwala have been arrested…”

The others might notice Auger's mood darken. "Thank you Granophyre. I had not thought of her words very much. That night I was focused on my cousin. And his fall. The idea that his reasoning aligned in some small way with what the Azhvuv Queen wanted to do was... surprising, to say the least."

Hearing the Azhvuv Queen's words from Granophyre, Auger finds himself disappointed, never quite having put it all together. The arrests in Kalahata had seemed to be unfair and unwarranted which had made the Abziri seem a possible point of sympathy. And the rude servant was... just that. Overly protective perhaps. Their purpose in freeing the Queen had been to save the Viscount and others from assassination. Or so he had thought. But the words of the Azhvuv Queen were not something he wanted to think about. They meant that his cousin and the reasons he was acting as he had were --- were not purely evil. Just part of a plot against -- against another plot. As Brenneth had stated it. Honestly then? Brenneth was being honest when he spoke. If Brenneth still lived he would surely be laughing at Auger now.

As they approach the castle Auger relays what he has learned, "Py says it cannot see any guards. It also says that if summoned while inside the castle then it will be destroyed. Some wards. I wonder if this means other magic could be affected."