The Story So Far Part Nine

Episode XI – A Close run thing

Dramatis Personae
Telec - Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer
Aetlred - Half Elf Ranger
Lalia - Halfling Thief
Thans – Dwarf Fighter thief
Heradin- Dwarf Fighter mage
Dvorn the Axe- Fhokki  Human Fighter
Sondan – Brandobian, Human Fighter
Fawlit – Half Ork Fighter

Violet – Half Demon Paladin of the Free

Location
The caves of the goblin raiders

Events
(the action starts directly at the end of the last session with the greater part of the company being locked in a battle for their lives with an over whelming number of goblins)

With the outcome lay teetering on the balance, the company held its line and the goblin’s first rush was halted and those that followed them where less eager to step into the fight when it involved having to step over the dying bodies of those who had come before. None the less for all the fallen goblins the company could neither advance nor fall back and each of its members where well aware of their wounds and feared they would not stand much longer. Dvorn looked at the mass of goblins before him and was very afraid the axe he boasted off could not slay them fast enough even though one of the foul little creatures fell with each stroke. He wanted to run, but to run was no certain way to escape alive even if he could face the shame of it. Near him Fawlit, swung his axe to the rhythm of the odd song he sang as he fought and another goblin staggered back as the Half Ork’s age struck. Sondan missed his comrades form the company and blocked and stabbed as he had been trained another goblin fell and the gap it left in the goblin line remained.  Breathing heavily under the unfamiliar weight of the Dwarf mail Telec who was of all of them pressed closest plied his staff and tried not to give ground. As he realized that the goblins read his armour as some sort of badge of leadership.  Behind the line and half stunned by the wounds that had felled him earlier Thans hurled his axes into the milling mass of goblins hanging back behind the battle line and Lalia, who could see very little in the dying torch light behind the fighting line, launched stone after stone into the dark some times being rewarded by a goblin squeal as the shot struck a telling blow. Above in the sink hole Aetlred reached the bottom of the rope Heradin was guarding and tried desperately to   get the dwarf to come down and help.

In the rear of the mass of goblins Akakabul and his bully’s urged the lesser goblins between them and their foes to press the attack even as fear started to build in the pits of their craven gusts, these where not villagers to be rounded up from sleep but warriors prepared to fight and from the cries of the fallen goblins doing more apparent harm to his fighters than they where sustaining from them.

Violet heard the sounds of battle as she entered the kitchen cave and brought a quick prayer the Guardian to mind and before quickening her pace and readying a stoppered flask  ahead was the dying embers of the goblin cooking fire, she hurled the fragile flask into the hot embers with as much force as she could muster and closing her eyes advanced blindly as the heat the and the alchemical mixture in the flask worked their mundane magic

There was a massive flash and the dark caves where in an instant as bright as day. The company with their backs to the flash where not blinded but the goblins where at least briefly. Their attack faltered and the Company took advantage more goblins fell.

Violet unleashed a wild war cry fit to strike fear into the hearts of the fabled Grel and charged.

That was enough for Akakabul and his bully’s and with out them most of the goblins in front of them who had not yet joined the fight. A general rout ensued leaving only the front rank of the goblins still fighting, and only doing so because to run was to die for certain, but to fight might not be certain death. The charging paladin cut down one of the goblins mobbing Telec. Fawlit and Sondan stepped forward still fighting as a desperate goblin blade slashed out and took down Dvorn. Lalia sent a shot into the fleeing backs of the goblin mob still quite visible in the after glow of the flash, whilst Thans began the grim task of finishing off the goblin wounded. Then it was over the last few goblins that had remained in the fight had fallen quickly and the company drew breath in the knowledge that they lived to fight another day.

Violet turned as the fight ended towards the end of the battle line where Dvorn the tall lanky blonde warrior lay, his death approaching and kneeling beside him poured some of the healing poser of her god into the dying man to check deaths approach. It never ceased to amaze her even after four years that the god itself had seen fit to grant her such power.

The death vision of the would be fhokki hero faded as the guardian of the free’s life giving power was channelled into him and his erstwhile death wound began to close miraculously.

Aetlred his efforts at persuasion on Heradin being successful arrived at the site of the battle just as it ended and after that every one fell into something of a routine with Thans and Lalia finishing off the remaining wounded goblins before they could recover enough to flee after their fellows and Aetlred and Violet falling to tending to the company’s wounds whilst the least wounded Sondan who had escaped the recent battle with the goblins relatively lightly largely because of his skill with a shield let it be said and Heradin who had not been involved moved to secure the sleeping or as Thans would have it the slaughtering cave. As the process of tending the wounded dragged on Thans and Lalia fell to looting the goblins abandoned goods, bedding and bodies gathering a significant heap of low value coins form the local kingdoms a number of goblin made small shields knives and enlarged knife style short swords. Telec, not all that useful as a healer not having even Violets skill at it fell to finding the unlit torches the goblins had placed in crude sconce's around the cave and lighting them and having done that making a few more out of burned out brands and the rags of goblin bedding.

As the healing went on even longer those who had been attended to joined the pair guarding the relatively narrow northern exit to the sleeping cave and after a while there being sufficient of them they judged pressing on with the exploration especially as nothing could be heard from the goblins even if every one was sure they where planning something and the company was in poor shape to deal with unpleasant surprises.

Side one

Side two

With the last of the wounded tended to as best they could, and the spoil of battle gathered up be the company resolved to press on with the exploration of the caves as they had yet to locate the captives form the Hidden Dell. Violet was in particular eager to do this as she felt there capture as a slight on her honour even if she had not been in any position even to try and stop it at the time. Before they pressed on Violet distributed a bundle of short bow arrows, she had taken from the rangers’ cache, to those who had bows and recovered her own long bow and quiver from where she had left it prior to her charge.

A short distance along the relatively narrow channel, it was still over ten feet wide and as high so Heradin was not discomforted, which lead north from the sleeping cave the company came across a hewn passage on the left. This passage was over man height and wide enough for two to pass abreast and after as short way ended in a rustic wooden door with signs of weathering on it the door was not locked and opened outwards into the passage freely on well oiled leather hinges.

Beyond the door was a sizeable room hewn out of the soft sandstone with unfinished walls furnished with a large farmhouse table and half dozen solid chairs to match in a mismatch of styles. The room was unlit but lamp holders had been cut into the walls and wooden candelabra stood in the middle of the great table. There was a door in the north and the east walls both locked and both of the sorts you might find on any Brandobian farm. On the south wall was the hide of a bull in which a large map of the region had been drawn showing all the features that the company was aware of and three crosses in red. These latter Thans quickly worked out where the caves they where in now, the small abandoned Dwarf test mine he had cleared of goblin bandits last year  and another deeper into the mountains of the spur from the Laggosa range, this he concluded was yet another goblin camp. He considered taking the map with him but settled for quickly adding the new details from it to the regional map he had already.

Lalia was called in and made short work of the locks first to the north which opened into a large hall furnished in the manner of a barracks. Closer investigation revealed an number of interesting features first whilst it was furnished it seemed never to have been occupied, and once again all the furniture had seemingly been looted from farmsteads as whilst it was all of a type it was blatantly of different ages and slightly different styles. Lalia found a concealed compartment in one of the bedsteads into which was hidden an exquisitely carved holly icon of the true, she pocked this as it was at least covered in gold leaf. There was a weapons rack on the north wall newly made but innocent of weapons thought it was apparent theta it could hold pole arms for the twenty or so warriors that the barracks would accommodate. Feeling another mystery arriving to add to the may they had already encountered the company pressed on. This time thought the east door which leads to a short passage with a door at its end to the east and one on the north and south walls, as before the doors where well made and had quite apparently been acquired from local farms. All the doors where locked but with locks which where no match for Lalia.  

Through the south door was a large empty chamber featuring two large chests in one corner. These looked like larder chests of the sort used to store perishables like cream and butter and as they where neither locked nor trapped opening them to reveal a heavy marble slab in each of them confirmed this. The company began to conclude that this complex had been prepared for its intended inhabitants but that these had not yet arrived. Telec commented that this was the reverse of the ancient Dwarf hold whose inhabitants had long ago abandoned it. 

Through the north door was a passage with a number of doors off and a large weapons rack along the opposite wall, but the company decided to ignore this way for the while. Preferring to examine the door to the east. This chamber proved to be much more interesting. On first examination it was apparent that it was fully furnished and had been occupied even if it was not currently. The bed, again one seemingly recovered from a local farm was made up with fresh bedding. There where three locked travelling chests in one corner a dresser a smaller table and a couple of chairs. There where pot lamps in the alcoves in the wall made for them with used wicks and at least a trace of oil

The locks on the chests where more challenging for Lalia, but still not beyond her skill and the chests where found to contain much of interest. One contained several changes of male clothing including a set of priestly regalia for a mid ranking cleric of the tyrant as well as a flaying whip. The middle one contained several bags and packets of pungent herbs and spices of the sort used to make incense and perfume, in bags labelled in an odd script a bit like Brandobian, Lalia who had some knowledge of such things guessed that to the right individual this would be of considerable value. The third chest was to the coin poor company the most interesting it contained three leather bags of silver coin.

The coin was bright and newly minted, unlike every other coin the company had recovered so far or indeed most of the coins any of them had ever seen more over all of them where the same and the widely travelled Telec identified them as being form Pel Brolenon.

The wayfarer priest showed Violet the bright silver coin he had been examining and she cursed. Suddenly the matter of the goblins had transformed from a matter impinging on her honour to a matter impinging on her duty. She needed not only to get her people free and safe but she needed to crush whatever the slaves of the tyrant where up to before she did any thing else. So her plans for Kalmar and the young kingdoms would have to wait. Then Violet grinned three sacks of such coin could make a good weapon to use against those who had minted them.

Pel Brolenon, a name most had heard of if distantly a cruel land in the south, home of the greatest slavers in Telene and rich in silver such as this. This most guessed was perhaps a clue to on of the mysteries they faced but also something of an evil omen for the future.

The dresser contained several sheets of used and fresh parchment which Thans took as well as a selection of pens and black gall ink and a other writing equipment along with space awaiting other gear.

Grimly the company turned north taking with it the sacks of silver and passed through the north door, ignoring for now the empty weapons rack along the west wall of the passage. There where two doors on the west side of the passage again obviously scavenged form some looted farmstead or other and both where locked. The locks where well within Lalia’s skills and the company was able to search both. They found them to be largely identical and apparently neither had been used. Each was furnished with a looted bed and some simple rustic furniture, principally a chest a stool and a work bench. Beyond the final door was a large completely unfurnished chamber whose function apparently had not been assigned as yet. The weapons rack was also empty but seemed to be made form reused farm tool racks likely acquired in the same way as every thing else in the way of furniture had.

The side complex now thoroughly explored the company determined to push on further in to the caves especially as they had still not found let alone recovered the captives they sought. As they also thought they had lost the element of surprise and given the company was in poor shape to deal with unpleasant surprises, Aetlred suggested they advance further using the solid table from the Priests room as cover, This they duly did following the channel passage further in and shortly came upon a large cave brightly lit with torches This cave was more rounded than the ones they had come across before and apparently had a deeper sink hole in the middle of it. This hole was covered by a crude lattice of branches and it was not possible to spot what might be down it form the place where the channel opened out into the large room, toward the back of the cave where two hurdle barricades of woven branches behind which several bow armed goblins could be seen briefly before the in turn saw the company and hid properly.

Having spotted the goblins hiding behind low walls of crude hurdles either side of the grill covered sink hole, the company needed a plan so that they could assault them without being shot to ribbons crossing the open space between where the relatively narrow passage of the channel opened up into the brightly lit cave. Having just used the smaller table from the overlord’s priest’s room to provide cover when scouting it occurred to Aetlred that the larger table from the planning room and some of the abandoned goblin shields could be constructed into some portable cover. Not having the skill to do this he asked if any one else in the company could and Sondan who had been apprenticed to a carpenter before taking up the profession of arms offered to do it and he was helped by Lalia, whose experience in making and repairing animal pens on her family farm proved of great use. Shortly the table fort was constructed and the company divided into two teams a shooting team who would try to shoot down any goblins which showed themselves and an attack team which would carry the table fort to give them cover as they approached the goblins. The attack team lead by Telec still hardly hurt in his dwarf mail picked up the table fort and crawled forward, to be met with a hail of arrows most of which either missed or stuck in the fort itself, except for the one which caught Telec in his unarmoured calf after almost skimming along the cave floor. Violet and the shooting team took pot shots at any goblin which showed itself to shoot. More of the companies arrows struck home than the goblins and they began to waver before the slow advance of the fort had reached them. The last straw was an arrow from Violets bow which struck the goblin as it ducked back in the shoulder with such force that it hurled the goblin a good ten feet back into the wall behind. The goblins ran and had escaped down both of the caves exits by the time the attack group had untangled itself form the table fort. The company did not give chase but moved the goblins barricades to block the ways the surviving goblins had fled down whilst Thans and Lalia dealt with the wounded the goblins had abandoned in their flight.

The company drew breath, and as it did so it became aware that the captives they sought where down under the lattice in the large sink hole in the middle of the cave.