Waterdeep: Camel Heist (2020)

"I been workin on speaking gobo but mostly jest have the hang o' the grunts and snorts. Words is a bit more difficult without the fecked teeth to make the squeals and squeaks. Course I mostly practice while breakin' they knuckles so maybe they ain't words at'all."

Scupper grins to himself over the idea.

"Hehe. Nah but they often got a bit o' the common tongue in them...tils I pull it out. Haha! Sorry lads. Long day and all."

As Vaz drags the naked body of The Wizard Formerly Known as Glasstaff into the crevasse he catches snippets of the conversation.

Want I should talk to Omy in the cells? See if he knows more about the creature? asks Varinth

Another round of questions with the prisoner couldn’t hurt. And this one too. Shall we wake him? Straightforward interrogation? If we find him amiable, perhaps Strix could introduce him to his goblin friends.

Jimbles. I'll go alone. I think he's afraid of me.

Varinth goes to the cells.

Hello Om. Tell me about the one eyed creature. And tell me everything. He does that trick in his brain that people have told him makes his eyes flare red.

 Omyn looks up at you as you enter.  It's apparent that he's been crying, and he uses his cloak to try to get rid of the tears, not very effectively. 

I already told you everything I know, he says sullenly.  Realising that this sounded slightly rebellious, and afraid of your anger, he changes his tone a bit.  Sorry, sir.  Please, I'm trying to co-operate.  Your friend said you wouldn't hurt me if I co-operate, right?  I don't know what it's called.  We just called it the eye monster.  Boss said he made a deal with it, and to leave it alone.  It messes around in our heads sometimes, so the other lads said to just stay away.  I'm new, like I said, only been here a couple of week.  He thinks for a moment, seemingly trying to find something to tell you that will make you happy.  I think... we throw the bodies into the hole.  The lads said it eats them.  I never killed anyone, he adds quickly.  I'm new.  But the lads, they killed some travellers, and... he trails off, looking at his feet. 

 Okay Om. I know you're scared. We'll be back for you shortly. We are off to fight this Eye Monster. Better hope we win. Otherwise your gunna starve to death in that cell.

Varinth walks back to the others.

Strix begins to gently slap his new charge's chops, gently at first but with increasing vigour until it awakens. When it shows signs of waking he will hold it over the crevasse batman-style so it knows it's in trouble but also that the bugbears are dead. 

No, shouts Omyn.  Please, please, you can't just leave me here.  No-one will find me here.  Please, I can come with you, I'll do what you say.  I can follow orders. I can fight for you.  You hear his voice as you walk away, getting louder and panicky.  Please, let me out.  Please!!

Strix, patting the goblin awake takes a long time, but eventually it comes around.  It looks confused, and takes time to understand where it is.  It looks at your face, and its eyes dart down to see the yawning hole beneath it, and then it looks at your face.  There's a muffled/choked squawking sound (depending on exactly how you are holding it up), and it passes out again.

Strix shrugs and drops him in the pit. 

Strix, the goblin falls the twenty feet to the bottom of the crevasse.  

8

You hear a crack, and screaming and howling from below, which quickly quiets to soft sobbing.  It's clear that the goblin has survived the fall, but is badly injured.

Dekhan will clamber down into the pit and regard the goblin. Alright now, alright. What’s your name?

Dekhan, the goblin takes a moment to gather himself, while nursing an obviously broken arm.  Name is Droop, sir.  He winces, and his voice trembles; he's clearly in a lot of pain.  Please, sir.  Where are the masters?  He looks around, and suddenly notices the three bugbear corpses, two very charred.  Oh.  He looks back at you.  Are you the master now?

Strix slinks shadow to shadow, aiming to scout the southern corridor, moving slowly while watching for the cycloptic absconder. 16 stealth. 19  perception

Strix, you stumble noisily along the southern passage, bumping accidentally into the irregularly shaped walls with repeated loud thumps.  The passageway continues for about a hundred feet, and it doesn't take you long to reach the end.  It opens up into a small wooded area near the town; you can just about see the roofs of the nearby houses in the moonlight.  Dawn is a little closer than you thought, though still about an hour away.  You don't see any sign of the one-eyed creature, but you can make a Survival check if you want to try to find traces of its passage.

Vaz walks back in time to see Strix Bumblesneak into the southern tunnel. 

"Om didn't have anything new. Rockyfella must be down that passage"

Zoria nudges the closest one to her. "Classic Strix, amiright?"

Right. I doubt that gobo feck is the Black Spider...hey ya wee shite! Where's the Black Spider?! Where's the Lost Mine?!

The goblin raises its head weakly and squints as Scupper.  You master too?  Droop not know about mine.  This is mine?  Spider is big boss.  Spider send masters... um, old masters, he looks at the dead and charred bugbears, to here.

"Droop see dwarfy?" Asks Vaz