All That Glitters

At this, the kenku clears Jaya's throat loudly.

"I can. Speak. To. Them."

Hallth looks at Pisgah with barely contained rage. "I-I can't promise that. I need to see them destroyed. It's what I am, what I live for." He looks lost in his thoughts, his hand grasping instintively to his chest, as if to reach for an amulet that wasn't there. "We came here together, I doubt they know anything that I don't. They're all greedy bastards, here for the loot."

Pisgah nods his head at Nikk and tells Halleth, "Alrighty then, I guess that we can, uhm, make that work. We may need to be a tad discrete actually within the goblin market, if you think you can hold back. I don't know how they will feel about a fight in their space."

"Before we head up, I would like to know what is down the southern corridor. Jaya and Canti, if you two would guard me from a distance, I will slip down the hallway a bit to see what may lay that way. It was quiet before but I am curious what the layout may be like." With that said, Pisgah will quietly head 40 feet down the south corridor. 

Stealth roll of 16

Perception roll of 19

Halleth says: "I don't mean to be a hindrance to you. If you so wish, I will hunt down Rex and Midna first, giving you time to deal with the goblins."

Pisgah sneaks ahead, down the corridor. It goes on for about 90 feet before ending in a large room. Bisecting that room is an 8-foot-high wall of humanoid skeletons and rusty armor, with a 2-foot gap between the top of the wall and the ceiling.

It's quiet in this room, but Pisgah makes out faint conversation pieces from beyond, somewhere to the west of the wall. He doesn't recognize the language. [nobody else in the party understands this language either.]

Pisgah returns and reports what saw and says he thinks beyond the bone wall is a point of interest then suggests we return upstairs and honor our agreement with Halleth.

Rico offers, "I could stand on Steel's shoulders and try peaking over the wall of bone to see what's on the other side."

"That is a good plan Rico. I did hear voices that way so we may have a surprise on the other side. I'm game to try it though if Halleth would not feel too delayed. Nikk would you be able to tell if any of those bones could animate?"

The kenku nods, replying in the dead man's whisper, "Please. Wait. We'll do. This. Right." 

He begins reciting the magic detection ritual in his book. 

You wait some time for Nikkitch to finish his ritual, but it's hard to be bored when it seems like there are all manner of twisted things down here with you, lurking in the darkness, out of sight.

The wizard is able to make sure that the wall is not the work of magic, necromany or otherwise. Rather, it seems like someone meticulously built it by hand, balancing heaps and heaps of skeletal warriors on top of each other. It seems like it could probably be toppled with a shove by Pisgah or Jaya, so it's not clear what purpose it serves, other than looking spooky.

Rico, atop Steel, can look beyond and sees that the room you're in is even larger, eventually splitting off into two main pathways. West it leads into a corridor that has multiple passages branching off, east it seems to lead into another mining section, judging by the rubble. Rico hears the chattering that Pisgah mentioned coming from down the west hallway.

"If we topple this wall, we are going to make a lot of noise. My vote is we head back up the tunnel, visit the goblin market, and then come back down. Maybe we can find another way around the bone wall."

"Sounds Good!" says Jaya.

"Sounds good! Let's take our normal marching order. Halleth, you hang to the back and give us a sense of direction to close in on the fine fellows."

Pisgah begins to head back upstairs moving toward the market. He will enter toward the stage that was being built.

You find your way back to the stage area in short order. The goblins made some progress since the last time you were here, but otherwise everything is as you saw before. There are goblin guards posted by all the east and south exits (2 each). The market is in full swing, goblins bartering and chatting.

Halleth says: "Copper is probably in the southern room in the east wall of the market, the one that isn't barred with a door and flanked by two guards."
He looks at you. He seems unable to sweat, but his skin is nonetheless covered with a feverish sheen: "I have to warn you, I am quite sure that I'll not be able to restrain myself. Do you really want me to come with you?" It's clear that he is not worried about himself.

“Hmm. Perhaps you should stay here for now Halleth? Let us go talk with the Goblins and figure out the situation. Perhaps we can find out more about Copper and how to get to him. Is that, OK? Nikk, I think you had some reservations about the goblins, perhaps you can stay with him? Or perhaps I’m mistaken.”

Jaya will then send Halleth a telepathic message.

"Halleth, can you hold it together long enough to cross the market, go look for the other two, and then come back to Copper later? If you could then we could possibly retreat down to the third floor thru the tunnel, if we needed to. "

Halleth responds to Jaya. He looks pained. "I suppose waiting here will work. At least I won't have to lay eyes on him then."
Responding to the telepathing message, he says: "I want to kill them, no matter the method. You already helped me. It would be forward of me to accept your assistance in this personal matter. I have nothing to offer as a reward."

To Pisgah he says: "He will be very close if we were to cross the market to the south. I'm not sure." He speaks like a man that is asked to not drink water when he is dying of thirst. "I can try."

"I'm fairly sure Rex is down in that mining shaft we were exploring earlier. That only leaves Midna beyond the market."

"Are these goblins with the guild?" Canti asks. "If we use password, will they work with us instead of fight against us?"

"That is a good thought Canti, I forgot about the password. What if we spread out and create a screen for Nikk and Halleth to get to the door leading to the east on the north end of the market. We can shop for another Healer's Kit to replace used materials and try to keep the merchants busy. Hopefully, the screen will conceal Nikk and Halleth from any watching eyes. If the screen doesn't work, then we can try using the password."

"The bugbears mentioned the goblins opened the market and the guild would deal with them at some point, I don't believe these goblins are in the guild" Jaya will tell everyone before we enter the market.

When you enter the market, you're immediately the center of attention. The goblins stare at you and the guards tense up. However, they don't make moves to stop you.

It seems like you're definitely the odd ones out, but even so, seems like they are all about business. The goblins are eager to trade with you. As you had heard before, you can purchase mundane gear for triple prices here. If you succeed on a DC 12 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check, you can bargain a merchant down to half the asking price.

When you try moving to the northern door along the eastern wall, the two goblin guards stationed there block the way.
"Halt! This is Yek's Treasury. Nobody gets in. If you wanna leave the market, you can go through the south door."