Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn

When Chrys shoves the door all the way open and charges into the kitchen, the lone goblin turns to see what the commotion is. Upon seeing the hammer swinging, shield bearing, armored dwarf, he lets out a terrified scream. Attempting to flee.... anywhere... although his options are limited, given that he’s in a dead-end room with no other exits, he bangs into the table, trips over his feet and falls down. 

Chrys quickly closes the distance and within a few seconds finds herself standing over the scared, cowering creature. You’re pretty sure that it’s the same one that shot Lumen with an arrow, since you saw him flee this way and there are no other goblins in here.

"Ya speak some common, and ya might get out of this alive.  Make like ya can't, and in the spirit o' cooperation my hammer is gonna to meet your head for shootin' my friend over there in the leg," Chrys says very clearly, narrowing her eyes at the goblin.  "Now.  How many of ya are down here, an' who's leadin' ya?"

The measly little goblin squeals and squirms underfoot in fear at the sight of Chrys’s hammer threatening overhead, but he keeps his eyes on the dwarf and opens his mouth. In an terribly excited voice, he says, “No hurt...! Noz no die on hammer... Noz help... Noz helper.... Many goblins here... some... no counting people numbers...” He brings up his ands and tries to flash open fingers on his fist a couple of times. “Leader big boss... down hallway where you were in other room. Past smelly poo room... down hall and right.”

”No kill Noz now.. helping, so let go and live...?”

Vesper sends a Message over to Chrys. "He already shot Lumen. Make him promise that he won't attack again or cry for help if we let him live and give him Due Process if you can't tell if he means it."

"Noz, is it. Are you telling me you saw us come into the banquet hall, shot me with an arrow, ran in here, and then decided to stay here and maybe eat some goat? You're not the brains of the operation, are you? I'd listen to my friend here with the hammer. She means business." He picks up his scary-looking longsword and starts twirling it. "You're going to tell us a lot more than there's lots of goblins here. How many? More than how many beds are in here? Do you all live here? Who's the big boss goblin with the mask? What kind of magic do they have? We're not completely unreasonable and violent. We may have lethally defended ourselves against most of your friends, but we did befriend Pox, closer to the door. Noz, be like Pox. Tell us what we want to know and live to cower another day."

Intimidation/persuasion: 11

Chrys gives a slight not to Vesper, then studies Noz carefully.  "Be a good fella an' answer the angry half-orc's questions.  An' if we decide to let ya go... yer gonna be a good boy, an' take them two human slaves you were havin' yer fun with out with ya an' let 'em go free.  That ain't a choice, that's an order."  She waits and watches the goblin's response.  Is he lying?  Insight: 4

And because she's actually doing some threatening here to make him follow those orders, intimidation: 7

(edit: LOL, he's telling the truth, good sirs!)

Krackle would stand back.. looking towards the goblin in the kitchen. "I dont like this..." The kobold would say as his tail quivered behing him. "He hurt Lumen already... Maybe we could lock him up or something?" he would say looking up to his companions. 

Vesper readies a Firebolt

As Lumen and Chrys interrogate the little goblin, it's easily apparent that he's not so brilliant, but it's hard to read whether he's being honest. That said, he is clearly cowering for his life right now. "Noz telling truth, no want hammer. No killing Noz. Ran here hiding after battle. No one come, so Noz get hungry."

"Counting goblins...no no. Coming and going... Mostly living here, but going out hunting many times. Maybe dis many," he says, flashing his fingers again to indicate twenty. "Plus big boss. He no magic, just mean... and mask. Blak mask. Make look more mean. Noz no like big boss. You kill big boss. And big boss woofs. Noz tell you where find boss."

"Pox libing? Pox no mean goblin. Oder goblins beat pox. Not Noz... not beat Pox. And Noz no need save men here. Dey fee going."

"Hnn," Chrys says, slinging her hammer over her shoulder and squinting at the goblin.  "Black mask man.  He bigger than you, got a face like a black dog, and barks?"  She turns to the others.  "Sounds like he might be a gnoll to me.  An' if I 'member the stories right, gnolls mean trouble."  Looking back down at the goblin, she nods.  "Tell us where this boss o' yours holes up."

Noz listens to Chrys, looks over at Lumen for a brief moment, then turns back and giggles nervously. “Big boss no dog face. Big boss goblin boss hab pet dog woof. An Noz say a’ready. Past poo room, end hall go. Ok Noz go now? You go kill big boss?”

"I got a better idea.  Why don't ya help us out.  Yer boss already knows we're here an' comin' for 'him."  She turns to the others.  "Why don't we get our good friend Noz here to help thin their numbers?  Have 'im tell 'em we're holin' up somewhere where we ain't and split the crowd waitin' ta stick."  She thinks.  "Ya know... hold yer stomachs, 'cause this is gonna be disgustin'.  But if the boss feller has a pet worg at his command, that worg's gonna be a problem.  A big problem with a big nose.  I'm thinkin' we can prepare a lil' somethin' special for 'im from that room.  Might be able to disable the worg, if we can stand the smell.  An' the idea of haulin' a bag o' poop wit' us ta face 'im.  Or, we can try to lure 'im away with some 'o that food on the table."  She turns back to Noz.  "So how distracted would Big Boss's pet woof be by a tasty slab o' meat?  He a loyal one, or a woof that thinks with his stomach?"

Noz listens to Chrys's ideas, a seemingly a little confused, then shrugs his little shoulders. "No no... woof big boss pet. Like boss, sometimes not liking other goblins. Other woofs ok, letting goblins ride in hunting. Big boss woof not ok. Oder goblins never ride. Only big boss feed pet woof."

Krackle would stand near Vesper and look from one companion to the other.. "I... Think he doesn't know anymore.." The kobold would say quietly. "Maybe we can go now?"

"Fine.  I say we let Noz git outta here."  Chrys towers over the tiny goblin.  "An' don't come back, or we'll come back for ya.  Go find Pox, help her out, tell her yer sorry for lettin' the other goblins beat her up.  Think about yer life, think about yer choices, an' maybe ye won't have to think about my hammer so much in the future, got it?"

The goblin squirms with unease. "Noz go 'way, no more bother folkses. Looking Pox and not beating...Pox ok. Maybe get hungry without big boss and oder goblins not helping. You pomise kill big boss and woof so big boss not finding to punish Noz."

With that, Noz begins walking walking slowly towards the exit back to the banquet room, but pauses

"Noz can have goat meat so not getting hungry outside?"

"Get outta here before I change my mind!" Chrys yells, making as if to run after the goblin with her hammer raised.

Insight check Noz 21 before Noz starts to leave. Also before Noz leaves, Lumen asks, "okay, you said you'd tell us where the big boss was -- down that hall past the torture room. Any traps? And what's the deal with the runes in that room with the circle pool?"

Assuming Noz is at all trustworthy, and he gives some sort of answer, Lumen lets him leave, still rubbing his thigh where the goblin shot him, growling a bit to himself.

He watches the fortunes of Noz fall and then rise and then dip a bit again as Chrys talks to him with a bemused smile. Once the goblin's out of earshot, he says, "Sneaky one, eh? So we've got a fair number of goblins left, this bigger rounder masked fellow, and some kind of big dog? Bigger than the worgs that are hopefully no more? Does our plan change at all?"

"Noz say fore... past poo room to end and den righ. Big boss live alla way end. Sometimes not der, sometime coming going widout oder goblins."

"Circle pool danger. Letters on floor say "Stay Out."

With that, Noz quickly turns and heads out the door and disappears down the hallway. 

Lumen

"Well, it 'pends on how the rest o' you are feelin'.  I'm thinkin' we should push on.  I'd prefer ta take a quick check on the south door from the banquet hall, just ta be sure nothin's gonna sneak up on our backs and stab 'em when we go huntin' this baddy to the north o' here."