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Story Hour
5e - Into the Mouths of Madness
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<blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 6038598" data-attributes="member: 3192"><p>[This was our first session with the second playtest packet. We went over the rules for a few hours and built 2[sup]nd[/sup] level characters from scratch. More questions came up during play, so I put them in the <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/new-horizons-upcoming-edition-d-d/324377-questions-our-session.html" target="_blank">other thread</a> for those readers who are interested.]</p><p></p><p>[code]New characters to the show. Names and descriptions follow:</p><p>[B][U]Heron[/U][/B] – human sorcerer with a magic-user specialty and the sage background</p><p>[U][B]Branfir Balderheim[/B][/U] – mountain dwarf cleric with acolyte specialty and the sage background</p><p>[B][U]Lia Nailo[/U][/B] – wood elf rogue with a lurker specialty and thief background</p><p>[B][U]Bruce[/U][/B] – a late entry pre-gen Human Fighter with archer specialty and bounty hunter background</p><p>[B][U]Arthur Farrun[/U][/B] – human fighter (slayer) with survivor specialty and soldier background </p><p>(Arthur’s also Sir “Not Appearing in this Session”)[/code]</p><p></p><p>It was an hour after noon when the second half of the adventuring party arrived. They had taken a similar journey as the first, on a riverboat up the Selintan River and back down the false one. Monsters were snuck past in the night, pirates and smugglers were paid off, and all went smoothly with the captain insisting, <strong><em><span style="color: Sienna">“No questions asked.”</span></em></strong> This new group was of the traditional mix. Some magic, some muscle, a woodsy elf sneak, and stolid dwarf cleric. They walked the plank over to Frederique’s riverboat and discovered Tordek the dwarf waiting for them on deck. He had quite the story to tell – all about how he charged a bandit tower, was consequently captured by bandits, was rescued by ransom by his teammates, then attacked on ship that night by a band of gnolls, and then escaped when <em><strong>“…the captain evaded the beasts in the swamplands and streams to the south.”</strong></em> </p><p></p><p><em><strong>“I told ‘em bandit scum they were a bunch o’ no good cowards who didn’t deserve to walk the Oerth and I was there to kill ‘em”</strong></em> said Tordek. </p><p>Apparently they had stolen everything but his armor and had left him tied up lying on the floor of a hallway the whole time he was their prisoner.</p><p><em><strong>“At least they left your beard”</strong></em> said Branfir. </p><p></p><p>By the time Tordek finished gabbing the other ship had completed the offloading of new supplies. It retreated back north already well paid for their contribution. The party called out for lunch to be served and sat down on deck to decide on what to do first. Tordek was invited to travel along on their expedition into Castle Greyhawk[sup]TM[/sup] and Branfir tossed him his spare throwing axe to use. There were a few questions as to what the first team had been up without Tordek, mainly about where they were. Apparently they had secured one of the castle gatehouses and the Lia spotted Jozan high upon the roof of one of the many castle towers. They all gave a wave and the fellow dwarf waved back. Tordek was also asked about what he knew of the gnolls who had attacked. Not much unfortunately. They paddled down from the north, up river, and while he confessed he would love to deal them out some payback he preferred to go after the bandits again. </p><p></p><p>After carefully considering a number of proposed options on what to do, the party eventually agreed on hunting down the gnolls as they considered these creatures to currently be the most active threat. Branfir loaded up his pet donkey and the ship was maneuvered in to dock alongside a submerged pier. They informed the crew to expect them their return before sundown and Branfir was put in charge of remembering the password, something Captain Frederique called a <strong><em><span style="color: Sienna">“Bob Johnson”</span></em></strong>. </p><p></p><p>Branfir, Lia, Heron, Bruce, and Tordek walked northwards along the shoreline and up to the high castle bluff which jutted eastwards and diverted the river’s flow around it. The river plain narrowed here to perhaps only ten yards between stone and water. Several cave entrances could easily be seen along the southern cliff side. As the party thinned out and rounded the southeast corner a few more entrances were spotted. These had to be passed in front of, so the party took some time to peek inside each before moving leaving any behind them.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Olive">“You see an arched cave entrance of 10 feet high and like width that opens into a tunnel of worked stone. The walls within are lined with cressets of iron mounted in staggered positions. These are lit with pale green flame, with no fuel source apparent. A short ways within (about 20 feet) you note a set of stone stairs carved into the bedrock. These climb to a height of 5 feet. Another 40 feet in, you see another set of stairs, beyond which your view is hindered.”</span></strong> Two more caves laid just to the north, the first within fifty feet or so. That one was very short, only about three feet in height, but six feet wide and completely dark within. Further on the second was nothing but a hole leading into darkness. It was five feet in diameter with its bottom lip five feet above the dirt and sand. </p><p></p><p>The party bypassed both, but noted each down one on a map Frederique had given on to them. Taking in the whole view they saw the eastern face of the bluff was pockmarked with indentations. Some of these appeared to be old damage from attacks like those on the castle’s curtain wall and towers above. Was it possible some of them be small holes to the interior instead? It was too difficult to tell from the ground. As they approached the northeast corner more cave entrances appeared along the base and were noted. <span style="color: Olive"><strong>“The narrow mouth of this cave is 13 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide. It glows within, a pulsing blue radiance. Squinting you note movement inside.”</strong></span> Unsure what might be the cause of such a colorful light – other than perhaps some magical spell – the party decided to look for gnolls further on. As they rounded the corner they found a strange door built right into the side of the cliff. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: Olive"><strong>“Before you set in the very face of the rocky bluff on which the Mad Archmage’s castle is built, looms an 8-foot-tall by 6-foot-wide double door of iron, steel-banded, and of many studs. Each door has a low-set pull handle of polished steel. The doors are graven with bold ruins.”</strong></span> Tordek and Branfir recognized the dwarven script immediately and read it out aloud, <strong><em>“The Dwarfish Lords dwell within the deeps of the Mad One’s edifice. Enter if you are a friend of honor, courage, and dwarven bravery! Flee to from whence you came if not – or else, coward!”</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Heron searched the shoreline here and found a number of places where small boats had docked at different times and several tracks leading up to and away from the door. Lia gave a look too, but couldn’t discern if any were gnoll tracks. The party decided to keep moving north. They were determined to find the gnolls who had attacked the boat. Having rounded the corner they were angling back westwards to the castle’s northern river plain. They stuck to the shoreline as it curved back north and kept a sharp eye out for tracks. Heron scanned the horizon. The far shore was almost entirely forested. Then he noticed a small cave entrance very high up the castle bluff and right behind them. <strong><span style="color: Olive">“You see a toothy maw of a cave some 60 feet above the base of the bluff.”</span></strong> It was only a dozen feet or so below the curtain wall above. It would be a difficult climb up that cliff, if they were going to inspect this entrance. </p><p></p><p>It didn’t take long before more tracks were spotted. There were a dozen or so footprints and several places where small watercraft had left marks from being pulled ashore only a hundred or so yards northward. The boats were nowhere to be seen, but the tracks were man-sized, unshod, and easily followed in the wet sandy dirt. Lia picked out the trail as it led them southwest gradually curving back toward the northwest side of the bluff. From this angle they could see the bluff the castle was built had a significant slope, the west half being only half the height of the east. As they walked in front of the north cliff face it was difficult to find any caves on this side at all. The middle and western half were largely covered by hanging ivy or some similar plant life. As they approached the north entrance to the ravine the team finally spotted two cave entrances. The tracks were gradually disappearing now to Lia’s untrained eye, but they appeared to lead to one of these caves, if not into the ravine itself. Pragmatically, they opted to inspect the closest cave first. </p><p></p><p>[sblock]The caves spotted so far have a little caret to mark them.</p><p> </p><p><img src="http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5897/precinctssession4.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />[/sblock]</p><p><span style="color: Olive"><strong>“The mouth of this cave is 10 feet wide and naturally arched, coming to an off-center point of 10-foot height.”</strong></span> With their demi-human vision Branfir and Lia saw two hairy man-sized figures standing in the darkness inside the tunnel. They had dark brown hairy hides, bright red-orange faces, yellowish eyes and teeth, and wore chainmail armor. One held a short bow and the other a battleaxe. Both appeared nervous. <strong><span style="color: Olive">“At about 20 feet within the 10-foot–wide hallway of worked stone there is an intersection at which stands two heavily armed hobgoblin warriors. Beyond the intersection, 10 feet to the south, you see an oaken door. Mounted on the wall beside them is an iron bell with a chain pull.”</span></strong> Ding Ding! Ding Ding! Ding Ding! The hobgoblins rang the bell loudly and moved into a defensive posture behind the corners of the intersection. <em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Parlay”</span></strong></em> one of the creatures shouted in the common tongue. The party started asking questions over the top of one another. The creatures acted as if they didn’t understand what was being said. Finally Lia stepped forward who knew how to speak the hobgoblin tongue. She lit a torch so the others could see the hobgoblins too and stepped inside the cave. Heron cast a spell on his sword so it gave off a glowing silvery light and stepped beside her.</p><p></p><p>[in hobgoblin]</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Who are you? What are you doing here?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>“We’re looking for the gnolls”</em></strong> said Lia.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Are you with the gnolls?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>“Yes! We’re going to be hired by them.”</em></strong></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“So you work for the gnolls?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>“Yes,”</em></strong> said Lia again. <em><strong>“What cave are they in around here?”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Grr… Why should I tell you if you already work for them?”</span></strong></em></p><p><strong><em>“I’ll give you, uh… 7 gold pieces if you tell me where their cave is.”</em></strong></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“…hang on a moment.”</span></em></strong></p><p></p><p>The creatures moved to one side of the intersection and furtively whispered to each other. [I had Lia’s player roll an opposed Charisma check as a kind of social reaction roll.] Lia then relayed to the rest of the team what had been said. They weren’t exactly happy about the lying. Branfir started casting a ritual which enabled him to comprehend any language, if not exactly speak it. Unfortunately it was going to take him ten minutes to complete. </p><p></p><p><strong><em>“Hey you guys!”</em></strong> shouted Lia at the two hobgoblins. <em><strong>“Are you friends with the gnolls or are they your enemies? Do you hold any animosity against them?"</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Why should we tell you? You work for gnolls.”</span></em></strong> </p><p></p><p>The second hobgoblin who hadn’t yelled out backed away to the door at the rear of the intersection. It opened the door, slipped through and shut it behind. </p><p></p><p><em><strong>“Do you have any bodies of gnolls? Any bits and pieces we could use?”</strong></em> Lia tried to look fierce as she asked. </p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“No. We sacrifice all those bits to The Mighty One.”</span></em></strong></p><p><em><strong>“Well, do you have any leftover? Any pieces lying around now?”</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Make the dwarf stop casting!”</span></em></strong></p><p>[/hobgoblin]</p><p></p><p>The creature pointed animatedly at Branfir who looked up from his ritual. Lia asked him to stop. Branfir backed from of the cave entrance, out of sight, and into the light of day. Shortly after, the door behind the guard opened again. The previous hobgoblin returned with another hobgoblin in tow. This one was dressed in chainmail armor, had a halberd strapped to its back, and wielded a battleaxe. He spoke gruffly and in the common human trade tongue: </p><p></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“They say you are looking for the gnolls. They say you are willing to pay as you are working for the gnolls. Are you working for the gnolls?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong><em> “No” </em></strong>replied Heron. The others looked back and forth at each other.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“They say you are with the gnolls!”</span></strong></em> insisted the creature and it gestured to the other two hobgoblins.</p><p></p><p>Heron began to explain how he and his compatriots were no friends of the gnolls at all. In fact, they hated the gnolls. They were looking for their cave in order to wipe every last one out. That’s how much they hated the gnolls. He mentioned how the gnolls had sent a sortie of attackers against their friends and pointed to Tordek. Heron continued saying they were now hunting the gnolls down in retribution and were willing to pay anyone for useful information on where the gnolls were and what they were up to. He said that they, the hobgoblins, must also despise the gnolls. If they could assist them, and Heron gestured to the party, then the hobgoblins could kill two birds with one stone.</p><p></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Two birds? Takes two stones! What are you talking about?”</span></strong></em> The creature looked confused.</p><p><em><strong>“We kill the gnolls and you get the gnolls dead. Do you understand?”</strong></em> asked Heron.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“And you pay us seven pieces of gold?”</span></em></strong></p><p><em><strong>“Well, okay, yes”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“And one of you speaks to Hub Gub the Bloody?”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“Uhh…”</strong></em> Lia wasn’t so sure where this was going.</p><p><em><strong>“What assurances do we have the one we send with you will be returned? I mean, returned alive and unharmed?”</strong></em> asked Heron.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“None. We say so. Now make bargain.”</span></em></strong></p><p><em><strong>“… …Okay. One of us will go see this hubbub the bloody”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“Then you say it. Say it aloud,”</strong></em> demanded Lia. <em><strong>“Say we will come back alive.”</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“You come back alive. I say so …but chief does what he wants.”</span></em></strong></p><p></p><p>They party began deciding amongst themselves who would go. Even Branfir wished to be their representative …once he finished his spell. They asked the newly arrived hobgoblin if the chief spoke Common. </p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“He speak Human.”</span></em></strong></p><p>They were taking awhile to decide.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“You give me coin now.”</span></strong></em></p><p>Lia tossed the hobgoblin seven gold pieces from her pouch and kept on talking with the others.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Come”</span></em></strong> the creature said and it waved its hand beckoning to no one in particular. Its sweeping arm took them all in. No one made a move to enter into the cave.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“If you leave your weapons you can all come.”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“We’re not leaving our weapons behind!”</strong></em> said Lia.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Not no one with weapon goes to see Hub Gub.”</span></em></strong></p><p></p><p>It was finally decided. Heron the sorcerer would go. He made a display of handing his longsword over to Bruce and turned around to show he had no other weapons upon his person. He lit his bulls-eye lantern and walked forward to the intersection where the three hobgoblins stood. The leader led him past the intersection where Heron could saw both corridors leading into darkness farther than his light shined. The hobgoblin opened the door at the back of the intersection, paused, and motioned Heron to go through first. Ten feet inside the passage stopped with another hallway leading east and west. The hobgoblin took the lead walking left. Heron swung his lantern right and saw a closed door thirty feet at the end of a passage. He swung the light back left and there was his escort standing by another door thirty feet away. The creature glowered at him. Heron walked forward and the hobgoblin banged four times on a heavy reinforced wooden door with its mailed fist. The door swung open. </p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: Olive">“This 30 by 30-foot chamber is cluttered with all manner of used and broken furniture, an eclectic array of antique chairs and finely upholstered lounges and sofas (albeit soiled and stained).”</span></strong> Heron and the hobgoblin entered in. <strong><span style="color: Olive">”Upon the largest chair – a veritable throne of oak upholstered in padded red velvet – rests a massive, scar-riddled hobgoblin with features severe even for a hobgoblin. He has a snarling, olive-yellow countenance with beady black eyes and thin purple lips glistened with drool. Lying upon a plush sofa nearby are 3 hobgoblin females, scantily clad in appalling, yellow-green silk costumes.”</span></strong> There was another hobgoblin warrior behind the door, which looked quite a bit like Heron’s escort. These two “kings guard” stood at attention as Heron looked up at Hub Gub the Bloody upon his throne.</p><p></p><p>[sblock]<img src="http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2568/illo8.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />[/sblock]</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“They say you work for the gnolls and they say you wish to kill the gnolls? What are your true intentions?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong>“Gnolls are pests, weaklings, and cowards. We’re going to kill them”</strong> spat out Heron.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Maybe you are a liar?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>“No”</em></strong></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“You are a trickster and friend to the gnolls!”</span></em></strong></p><p><em><strong>“No! Why would I lie?”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Maybe you were a slave of the gnolls sent here to fool us?”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“I am not a slave.”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Ah… But maybe you WERE a slave, yes?”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“No. I am not a slave. I was never a slave. I and my friends are here to kill the gnolls because they attacked us. That’s it!”</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Will you kill ALL the gnolls then?”</span></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>“Yes”</em></strong> said Heron without pausing.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“And will you be leaving the gnoll cave when you are done? For us?”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“Sure, why not.”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“And you will pay us to tell you where the gnolls lair is?”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“Yes already!”</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Fifteen gold! That is the price. You pay me, you kill all the gnolls, and then you must leave. This is our agreement.”</span></em></strong></p><p></p><p>The hoary hobgoblin cackled on his throne. Heron agreed to the terms. He withdrew cautiously saying the others held the gold. The same escort as before led him back to the cave entrance. The rest of the team looked expectantly at Heron when he returned. Heron only shrugged. </p><p></p><p><em>“So… where is the gnoll cave?”</em> asked Branfir. </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Next cave over. Thattaway!” </span></strong></em>said one of the original guards as he pointed left, westwards out of the tunnel. The party collectively groaned. Apparently they wanted the <em>second</em> cave the tracks led to.</p><p></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Wait! Give us the fifteen gold you have promised!”</span></em></strong> demanded Heron’s escort. </p><p><strong><em>“You wait!”</em></strong> said Lia. <em><strong>“Tell us how many gnolls are in that cave.”</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“You pay me fifteen gold!”</span></em></strong> demanded the hobgoblin again.</p><p><strong><em>“No”</em></strong> said Branfir [in Common, though his spell finally had kicked in] <strong><em>“You answer our questions first, then we pay you.”</em></strong> The dwarf pulled out a bag full of coins and showed some to the hobgoblins.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">"We don’t know how many they are. A lot. Male, female, babies.”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“What can they do?”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“They can go crazy and cut you up! Ha ha ha!”</span></strong></em> and all three guards began laughing raucously. Bran pulled out seven gold pieces and threw them over as the others started to leave the cave.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“No. You give three hands”</span></strong></em> said the main guard. He held up his hand with five fingers spread.</p><p><em><strong>“Are you going to enslave…”</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Yes!”</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong>“…or eat their young?”</strong></em></p><p><strong><em><span style="color: Red">“Yes!"</span></em></strong></p><p>Branfir counted out and tossed over seven more gold pieces. The creatures counted each one.</p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“More!”</span></strong></em> growled the hobgoblin. </p><p>Frustrated [and perhaps a bit confused], Branfir grudgingly pulled back out his coin pouch and this time handed over eight gold pieces from his personal stash. </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: Red">“Bring back babies and we parley again!” </span></strong></em></p><p>The creatures began to laugh once more as the party left the cave and entered back into the sunlight.</p><p></p><p>Outside Tordek was watching Branfir’s donkey. Bruce took point and they all moved about fifty yards westwards to the next cave. Hanging ivy obscured the front somewhat. The whole looked like a crack in the bottom of the cliff face. <strong><span style="color: Olive">“You see a narrow cave opening, 3 feet wide by 7 feet high. Within, you see a 50-foot-long passage, the first 20 feet or so appearing natural, the remainder of worked stone, with a ceiling height about double that of the cave mouth. Eyes glow from within. A pair of huddled bipedals rise tall, snorting, yipping, and outright barking at you.”</span></strong> The dwarves Branfir and Tordek moved forward to peer into the entrance. <strong><em>“Them’s the gnolls,”</em></strong> said Tordek. Branfir shouted inside, <strong><em>”Sprechan ze Draconic?”</em></strong> More barking was the only response. The party looked at each other. <strong><em>“Screw this!”</em></strong> said Bruce as he pulled his bow out and knocked an arrow. </p><p></p><p>Lia managed to fire first, but her shot missed. Bruce’s arrow sunk into an arm of one of the beasts. Branfir held his arms forward yelling, <strong><em>“Bob Johnson!”</em></strong> A searing beam of light lanced forward hitting the weakened gnoll. Heron stepped inside lighting up the front of the cave with the silvery light of his sword. The entrance was carved like an arrowhead with its point as the crack to the outside. Further on, the brickwork corridor thinned to ten feet wide like the shaft of an arrow, but this passage was much taller than the natural cave. Its walls ascended straight upwards a dozen feet before they verged to an apex sixteen feet above the paved floor below. </p><p></p><p>The gnolls were standing on either side of this corridor hiding in the corner niches just before it. Heron shot a magical ray of ice to freeze one in place, but his aim was off. The injured gnoll began laughing very loudly in response, sounding very much like a giant hyena. It weakly fired an arrow at the sorcerer, but missed. The other gnoll ran forward and smashed the left leg of Heron with a wicked looking morningstar. Tordek asked the others what he should do. [He was another player’s PC who I was running as DM] They ordered him to attack, so he ran to Heron’s side and hit the nearby gnoll with the hand axe Branfir lent him. Both enemies were hyena-laughing now their cries echoing through the cave, but both were injured too. Lia fired an arrow into the guts of the gnoll in melee, but amazingly it kept its feet. The gnolls attacked – one missed Heron with his morningstar, but the other landed a shot on Tordek – then both took off down the corridor. Bruce attempted to fire two arrows, one at each foe. Luck was with him as his hands moved deftly. Both gnolls fell dead.</p><p></p><p>The whole party moved into the cave now. The bodies were searched and looted. Nineteen arrows for Lia, a morningstar for Tordek to use right away, 9 gold pieces to divvy up later, and a longbow and shield for the donkey to carry back. Branfir moved the donkey outside and tied its lead line to a rock. Inside Bruce lit a torch and led the others down the corridor. At its end was an iron-bounded wooden door which Lia picked open. On the other side was a makeshift T-junction. Ten feet in all three directions, left, right, and straight, a short hallway led to another door. </p><p></p><p>[sblock]<img src="http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9988/gnollcavemap.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />[/sblock]</p><p>The party was wondering which direction to take when suddenly the left and center doors opened. Out poured a yipping, growling, barking madhouse of gnolls. Some were male, some female. Six were armored in patchwork leather and wooden shields. These bore carved wooden clubs. Two larger gnolls clad in chain mail and hauberk armor strode out, one from through either doorway. Each bore a long halberd pole arm in two hands and a hanging morningstar at their side. Branfir, Lia, and Tordek all missed as their arrows bounced off of the two leader’s armor. Bruce called out that he was going to kill these bastards [or perhaps something more colorful] and took a shot aimed directly at one’s unprotected face. Unfortunately Bruce’s shot missed wide. As the gnolls charged into the T-junction hallway, the leaders barked commands in a strange tongue. The first door, the one Lia had just unlocked was slammed shut in the party’s faces. The two opposing forces were now separated.</p><p></p><p>Heron, whose grandmother supposedly was knocked up by a dragon at one point, called upon his draconic ancestry to strengthen himself. Lia moved to hide behind the two dwarves and Branfir readied his warhammer telling Tordek to open the door. Tordek pushed with all his might until something slipped on the other side. The door flung open. Beyond two gnolls were cowering behind it, one holding a door bar the other holding its injured paw-like hand. Branfir swung his warhammer at the closest, but his angle was off. It was too tight a squeeze with Tordek still in the way. Both gnolls who already had a look of surprise on their faces turned and ran through the crowd behind them. The two elite gnoll guards began foaming at their mouths; they had incited raging frenzies in themselves and were attempting to coax the other gnolls near them into barbaric rages as well. Each of the two swung their halberds into Tordek who alone blocked the doorway. Both blades skewered him on the spot. The dwarf was dead before his body hit the ground. [Two critical hits by raging gnoll leaders on an injured 1[sup]st[/sup] level PC means -18 h.p.]</p><p></p><p>With a single cry, Heron and Branfir attacked in retribution for their friend’s death, but both blows were off the mark. The other team members began retreating from the corridor now stringing out space between themselves and the gnolls. Heron and Branfir followed suit leaving Tordek’s body behind. Lia popped out from hiding and shot one of the leaders with a sneak attack to the ribs and then dashed away herself. The two commanders barked again and the gnolls with wooden clubs ran into the corridor in pursuit. Fortunately, not one of their attacks landed. Bruce fired his bow as he stood near the entrance, but even he missed. The fight was becoming a mad scramble of near misses and wild running about. </p><p></p><p>Then Heron stopped, turned, and held his ground. He cast a spell and the crowd of gnolls behind him began to shake. The two elite warriors raged shaking off the magically-induced fear, but four of their allies stopped and turned to run. Branfir halted too, he turned back firing his bow at one of the fleeing gnolls. His arrow found its mark and so did Lia’s which followed swiftly after it. Blood gushed from the wounds as the creature collapsed to the ground. Bruce looked around. This was the first of their foes to die and one of their own already had. The team may not have struck the first kill, but at least they were holding their ground. The three frightened gnolls made their back to the T-junction. The first split off left, while the other two ran forward pounding on the center doorway beyond. The two leaders maneuvered forward positioning themselves to use their halberds from distance on Heron and Branfir. The sorcerer dodged aside, but the dwarven cleric caught by a blow and badly injured. The other four remaining gnolls charged further down the hall into the party’s back row. They swung at Bruce and Lia, but all to no avail. Bruce backed towards the cave entrance, fired his bow and managed to hit the injured one of the two leaders.</p><p></p><p>Heron swung his long sword summoning all his draconic strength and hacked into the neck of the beast Bruce just hit. The monster collapsed to the ground. This only seemed only to enrage its partner even further. Branfir dropped back out of its range. He swung wildly missing one of the other gnolls as he tried to protect Lia. For her part she fired her bow at one as well, but also missed. No one was having much success it appeared. She turned and ran from the cave. Outside sun she sidestepped out of sight. Outnumbering their foes five to three, the gnolls attacked the remaining party members. Every one of them missed. Then a shadow crossed in front of the doorway at the far end of the corridor. Out strode what could only be the chieftain of the gnoll clan. It wore a full suit of dented, yet roughly polished plate mail armor. Its long brown hair stuck out from every crevice. Glowing eyes and more hair peeked out from within the helmet’s open visor. The chieftain bore a long 10-inch knife in one hand and a morningstar in the other. Bruce took one look at this new foe and decided to shoot one of the smaller gnolls instead. Ironically, the arrow punctured the creature’s skull killing it instantly. Bruce backpedalled out of the cave, while calling for a general retreat.</p><p></p><p>Heron waved his arms about casting a spell he called <em>Shield</em> upon himself. As he did so the draconic blood magic he used manifested itself. His skin began to quiver all across his body. The giant gnoll with its halberd standing across from him saw Heron’s hands turned silver and scaly. Branfir decided it was time for the big gun again. <em><strong>“Bob Johnson!”</strong></em> he shouted. The beam of light shot forth. Branfir gritted his teeth and shook his fist at the heavens. It was another miss. Outside the cave Lia crouched down trying to find a place to hide from those inside, while still leaving herself open to take another arrow shot. The three gnolls moved away from the sunlit exit and flanked Branfir and Heron between themselves and the elite guard and chieftain. The situation looked pretty bad …then every one of the gnolls attacks missed again. Perhaps sensing victory was not impossible, Bruce moved forward and blocked the narrow, 3-foot wide cave entrance. He fired his bow missing yet again.</p><p> </p><p>Heron and Branfir both missed on their attacks. Lia had at last successfully found a hidden spot to attack from, but had to wait for a clear shot on the gnoll chieftain. As the gnolls swung once more at Heron and Branfir, one dropped back to attack Bruce at the entrance. This was all Lia needed. She let slip the bowstring the chieftain howled in pain. The arrow had somehow slipped between sections of armor and landed a serious blow. Instead of attacking, the creature ran back down the corridor and into the intersection beyond. The other gnolls gaped in awe, and then they took off running down the hallway slamming the door behind them. One last abandoned gnoll was stuck surrounded at the front of the cave. It charged Bruce standing in the entrance. He moved aside and it took off running out onto the river plain and veered to the water’s edge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="howandwhy99, post: 6038598, member: 3192"] [This was our first session with the second playtest packet. We went over the rules for a few hours and built 2[sup]nd[/sup] level characters from scratch. More questions came up during play, so I put them in the [url=www.enworld.org/forum/new-horizons-upcoming-edition-d-d/324377-questions-our-session.html]other thread[/url] for those readers who are interested.] [code]New characters to the show. Names and descriptions follow: [B][U]Heron[/U][/B] – human sorcerer with a magic-user specialty and the sage background [U][B]Branfir Balderheim[/B][/U] – mountain dwarf cleric with acolyte specialty and the sage background [B][U]Lia Nailo[/U][/B] – wood elf rogue with a lurker specialty and thief background [B][U]Bruce[/U][/B] – a late entry pre-gen Human Fighter with archer specialty and bounty hunter background [B][U]Arthur Farrun[/U][/B] – human fighter (slayer) with survivor specialty and soldier background (Arthur’s also Sir “Not Appearing in this Session”)[/code] It was an hour after noon when the second half of the adventuring party arrived. They had taken a similar journey as the first, on a riverboat up the Selintan River and back down the false one. Monsters were snuck past in the night, pirates and smugglers were paid off, and all went smoothly with the captain insisting, [B][I][COLOR="Sienna"]“No questions asked.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] This new group was of the traditional mix. Some magic, some muscle, a woodsy elf sneak, and stolid dwarf cleric. They walked the plank over to Frederique’s riverboat and discovered Tordek the dwarf waiting for them on deck. He had quite the story to tell – all about how he charged a bandit tower, was consequently captured by bandits, was rescued by ransom by his teammates, then attacked on ship that night by a band of gnolls, and then escaped when [I][B]“…the captain evaded the beasts in the swamplands and streams to the south.”[/B][/I] [I][B]“I told ‘em bandit scum they were a bunch o’ no good cowards who didn’t deserve to walk the Oerth and I was there to kill ‘em”[/B][/I] said Tordek. Apparently they had stolen everything but his armor and had left him tied up lying on the floor of a hallway the whole time he was their prisoner. [I][B]“At least they left your beard”[/B][/I] said Branfir. By the time Tordek finished gabbing the other ship had completed the offloading of new supplies. It retreated back north already well paid for their contribution. The party called out for lunch to be served and sat down on deck to decide on what to do first. Tordek was invited to travel along on their expedition into Castle Greyhawk[sup]TM[/sup] and Branfir tossed him his spare throwing axe to use. There were a few questions as to what the first team had been up without Tordek, mainly about where they were. Apparently they had secured one of the castle gatehouses and the Lia spotted Jozan high upon the roof of one of the many castle towers. They all gave a wave and the fellow dwarf waved back. Tordek was also asked about what he knew of the gnolls who had attacked. Not much unfortunately. They paddled down from the north, up river, and while he confessed he would love to deal them out some payback he preferred to go after the bandits again. After carefully considering a number of proposed options on what to do, the party eventually agreed on hunting down the gnolls as they considered these creatures to currently be the most active threat. Branfir loaded up his pet donkey and the ship was maneuvered in to dock alongside a submerged pier. They informed the crew to expect them their return before sundown and Branfir was put in charge of remembering the password, something Captain Frederique called a [B][I][COLOR="Sienna"]“Bob Johnson”[/COLOR][/I][/B]. Branfir, Lia, Heron, Bruce, and Tordek walked northwards along the shoreline and up to the high castle bluff which jutted eastwards and diverted the river’s flow around it. The river plain narrowed here to perhaps only ten yards between stone and water. Several cave entrances could easily be seen along the southern cliff side. As the party thinned out and rounded the southeast corner a few more entrances were spotted. These had to be passed in front of, so the party took some time to peek inside each before moving leaving any behind them. [B][COLOR="Olive"]“You see an arched cave entrance of 10 feet high and like width that opens into a tunnel of worked stone. The walls within are lined with cressets of iron mounted in staggered positions. These are lit with pale green flame, with no fuel source apparent. A short ways within (about 20 feet) you note a set of stone stairs carved into the bedrock. These climb to a height of 5 feet. Another 40 feet in, you see another set of stairs, beyond which your view is hindered.”[/COLOR][/B] Two more caves laid just to the north, the first within fifty feet or so. That one was very short, only about three feet in height, but six feet wide and completely dark within. Further on the second was nothing but a hole leading into darkness. It was five feet in diameter with its bottom lip five feet above the dirt and sand. The party bypassed both, but noted each down one on a map Frederique had given on to them. Taking in the whole view they saw the eastern face of the bluff was pockmarked with indentations. Some of these appeared to be old damage from attacks like those on the castle’s curtain wall and towers above. Was it possible some of them be small holes to the interior instead? It was too difficult to tell from the ground. As they approached the northeast corner more cave entrances appeared along the base and were noted. [COLOR="Olive"][B]“The narrow mouth of this cave is 13 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide. It glows within, a pulsing blue radiance. Squinting you note movement inside.”[/B][/COLOR] Unsure what might be the cause of such a colorful light – other than perhaps some magical spell – the party decided to look for gnolls further on. As they rounded the corner they found a strange door built right into the side of the cliff. [COLOR="Olive"][B]“Before you set in the very face of the rocky bluff on which the Mad Archmage’s castle is built, looms an 8-foot-tall by 6-foot-wide double door of iron, steel-banded, and of many studs. Each door has a low-set pull handle of polished steel. The doors are graven with bold ruins.”[/B][/COLOR] Tordek and Branfir recognized the dwarven script immediately and read it out aloud, [B][I]“The Dwarfish Lords dwell within the deeps of the Mad One’s edifice. Enter if you are a friend of honor, courage, and dwarven bravery! Flee to from whence you came if not – or else, coward!”[/I][/B] Heron searched the shoreline here and found a number of places where small boats had docked at different times and several tracks leading up to and away from the door. Lia gave a look too, but couldn’t discern if any were gnoll tracks. The party decided to keep moving north. They were determined to find the gnolls who had attacked the boat. Having rounded the corner they were angling back westwards to the castle’s northern river plain. They stuck to the shoreline as it curved back north and kept a sharp eye out for tracks. Heron scanned the horizon. The far shore was almost entirely forested. Then he noticed a small cave entrance very high up the castle bluff and right behind them. [B][COLOR="Olive"]“You see a toothy maw of a cave some 60 feet above the base of the bluff.”[/COLOR][/B] It was only a dozen feet or so below the curtain wall above. It would be a difficult climb up that cliff, if they were going to inspect this entrance. It didn’t take long before more tracks were spotted. There were a dozen or so footprints and several places where small watercraft had left marks from being pulled ashore only a hundred or so yards northward. The boats were nowhere to be seen, but the tracks were man-sized, unshod, and easily followed in the wet sandy dirt. Lia picked out the trail as it led them southwest gradually curving back toward the northwest side of the bluff. From this angle they could see the bluff the castle was built had a significant slope, the west half being only half the height of the east. As they walked in front of the north cliff face it was difficult to find any caves on this side at all. The middle and western half were largely covered by hanging ivy or some similar plant life. As they approached the north entrance to the ravine the team finally spotted two cave entrances. The tracks were gradually disappearing now to Lia’s untrained eye, but they appeared to lead to one of these caves, if not into the ravine itself. Pragmatically, they opted to inspect the closest cave first. [sblock]The caves spotted so far have a little caret to mark them. [img]http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5897/precinctssession4.jpg[/img][/sblock] [COLOR="Olive"][B]“The mouth of this cave is 10 feet wide and naturally arched, coming to an off-center point of 10-foot height.”[/B][/COLOR] With their demi-human vision Branfir and Lia saw two hairy man-sized figures standing in the darkness inside the tunnel. They had dark brown hairy hides, bright red-orange faces, yellowish eyes and teeth, and wore chainmail armor. One held a short bow and the other a battleaxe. Both appeared nervous. [B][COLOR="Olive"]“At about 20 feet within the 10-foot–wide hallway of worked stone there is an intersection at which stands two heavily armed hobgoblin warriors. Beyond the intersection, 10 feet to the south, you see an oaken door. Mounted on the wall beside them is an iron bell with a chain pull.”[/COLOR][/B] Ding Ding! Ding Ding! Ding Ding! The hobgoblins rang the bell loudly and moved into a defensive posture behind the corners of the intersection. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Parlay”[/COLOR][/B][/I] one of the creatures shouted in the common tongue. The party started asking questions over the top of one another. The creatures acted as if they didn’t understand what was being said. Finally Lia stepped forward who knew how to speak the hobgoblin tongue. She lit a torch so the others could see the hobgoblins too and stepped inside the cave. Heron cast a spell on his sword so it gave off a glowing silvery light and stepped beside her. [in hobgoblin] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Who are you? What are you doing here?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B][I]“We’re looking for the gnolls”[/I][/B] said Lia. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Are you with the gnolls?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B][I]“Yes! We’re going to be hired by them.”[/I][/B] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“So you work for the gnolls?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B][I]“Yes,”[/I][/B] said Lia again. [I][B]“What cave are they in around here?”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Grr… Why should I tell you if you already work for them?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [B][I]“I’ll give you, uh… 7 gold pieces if you tell me where their cave is.”[/I][/B] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“…hang on a moment.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] The creatures moved to one side of the intersection and furtively whispered to each other. [I had Lia’s player roll an opposed Charisma check as a kind of social reaction roll.] Lia then relayed to the rest of the team what had been said. They weren’t exactly happy about the lying. Branfir started casting a ritual which enabled him to comprehend any language, if not exactly speak it. Unfortunately it was going to take him ten minutes to complete. [B][I]“Hey you guys!”[/I][/B] shouted Lia at the two hobgoblins. [I][B]“Are you friends with the gnolls or are they your enemies? Do you hold any animosity against them?"[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Why should we tell you? You work for gnolls.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] The second hobgoblin who hadn’t yelled out backed away to the door at the rear of the intersection. It opened the door, slipped through and shut it behind. [I][B]“Do you have any bodies of gnolls? Any bits and pieces we could use?”[/B][/I] Lia tried to look fierce as she asked. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“No. We sacrifice all those bits to The Mighty One.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [I][B]“Well, do you have any leftover? Any pieces lying around now?”[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Make the dwarf stop casting!”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [/hobgoblin] The creature pointed animatedly at Branfir who looked up from his ritual. Lia asked him to stop. Branfir backed from of the cave entrance, out of sight, and into the light of day. Shortly after, the door behind the guard opened again. The previous hobgoblin returned with another hobgoblin in tow. This one was dressed in chainmail armor, had a halberd strapped to its back, and wielded a battleaxe. He spoke gruffly and in the common human trade tongue: [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“They say you are looking for the gnolls. They say you are willing to pay as you are working for the gnolls. Are you working for the gnolls?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B][I] “No” [/I][/B]replied Heron. The others looked back and forth at each other. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“They say you are with the gnolls!”[/COLOR][/B][/I] insisted the creature and it gestured to the other two hobgoblins. Heron began to explain how he and his compatriots were no friends of the gnolls at all. In fact, they hated the gnolls. They were looking for their cave in order to wipe every last one out. That’s how much they hated the gnolls. He mentioned how the gnolls had sent a sortie of attackers against their friends and pointed to Tordek. Heron continued saying they were now hunting the gnolls down in retribution and were willing to pay anyone for useful information on where the gnolls were and what they were up to. He said that they, the hobgoblins, must also despise the gnolls. If they could assist them, and Heron gestured to the party, then the hobgoblins could kill two birds with one stone. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Two birds? Takes two stones! What are you talking about?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] The creature looked confused. [I][B]“We kill the gnolls and you get the gnolls dead. Do you understand?”[/B][/I] asked Heron. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“And you pay us seven pieces of gold?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [I][B]“Well, okay, yes”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“And one of you speaks to Hub Gub the Bloody?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“Uhh…”[/B][/I] Lia wasn’t so sure where this was going. [I][B]“What assurances do we have the one we send with you will be returned? I mean, returned alive and unharmed?”[/B][/I] asked Heron. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“None. We say so. Now make bargain.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [I][B]“… …Okay. One of us will go see this hubbub the bloody”[/B][/I] [I][B]“Then you say it. Say it aloud,”[/B][/I] demanded Lia. [I][B]“Say we will come back alive.”[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“You come back alive. I say so …but chief does what he wants.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] They party began deciding amongst themselves who would go. Even Branfir wished to be their representative …once he finished his spell. They asked the newly arrived hobgoblin if the chief spoke Common. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“He speak Human.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] They were taking awhile to decide. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“You give me coin now.”[/COLOR][/B][/I] Lia tossed the hobgoblin seven gold pieces from her pouch and kept on talking with the others. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Come”[/COLOR][/I][/B] the creature said and it waved its hand beckoning to no one in particular. Its sweeping arm took them all in. No one made a move to enter into the cave. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“If you leave your weapons you can all come.”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“We’re not leaving our weapons behind!”[/B][/I] said Lia. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Not no one with weapon goes to see Hub Gub.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] It was finally decided. Heron the sorcerer would go. He made a display of handing his longsword over to Bruce and turned around to show he had no other weapons upon his person. He lit his bulls-eye lantern and walked forward to the intersection where the three hobgoblins stood. The leader led him past the intersection where Heron could saw both corridors leading into darkness farther than his light shined. The hobgoblin opened the door at the back of the intersection, paused, and motioned Heron to go through first. Ten feet inside the passage stopped with another hallway leading east and west. The hobgoblin took the lead walking left. Heron swung his lantern right and saw a closed door thirty feet at the end of a passage. He swung the light back left and there was his escort standing by another door thirty feet away. The creature glowered at him. Heron walked forward and the hobgoblin banged four times on a heavy reinforced wooden door with its mailed fist. The door swung open. [B][COLOR="Olive"]“This 30 by 30-foot chamber is cluttered with all manner of used and broken furniture, an eclectic array of antique chairs and finely upholstered lounges and sofas (albeit soiled and stained).”[/COLOR][/B] Heron and the hobgoblin entered in. [B][COLOR="Olive"]”Upon the largest chair – a veritable throne of oak upholstered in padded red velvet – rests a massive, scar-riddled hobgoblin with features severe even for a hobgoblin. He has a snarling, olive-yellow countenance with beady black eyes and thin purple lips glistened with drool. Lying upon a plush sofa nearby are 3 hobgoblin females, scantily clad in appalling, yellow-green silk costumes.”[/COLOR][/B] There was another hobgoblin warrior behind the door, which looked quite a bit like Heron’s escort. These two “kings guard” stood at attention as Heron looked up at Hub Gub the Bloody upon his throne. [sblock][img]http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2568/illo8.jpg[/img][/sblock] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“They say you work for the gnolls and they say you wish to kill the gnolls? What are your true intentions?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B]“Gnolls are pests, weaklings, and cowards. We’re going to kill them”[/B] spat out Heron. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Maybe you are a liar?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B][I]“No”[/I][/B] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“You are a trickster and friend to the gnolls!”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [I][B]“No! Why would I lie?”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Maybe you were a slave of the gnolls sent here to fool us?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“I am not a slave.”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Ah… But maybe you WERE a slave, yes?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“No. I am not a slave. I was never a slave. I and my friends are here to kill the gnolls because they attacked us. That’s it!”[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Will you kill ALL the gnolls then?”[/COLOR][/I][/B] [B][I]“Yes”[/I][/B] said Heron without pausing. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“And will you be leaving the gnoll cave when you are done? For us?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“Sure, why not.”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“And you will pay us to tell you where the gnolls lair is?”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“Yes already!”[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Fifteen gold! That is the price. You pay me, you kill all the gnolls, and then you must leave. This is our agreement.”[/COLOR][/I][/B] The hoary hobgoblin cackled on his throne. Heron agreed to the terms. He withdrew cautiously saying the others held the gold. The same escort as before led him back to the cave entrance. The rest of the team looked expectantly at Heron when he returned. Heron only shrugged. [I]“So… where is the gnoll cave?”[/I] asked Branfir. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Next cave over. Thattaway!” [/COLOR][/B][/I]said one of the original guards as he pointed left, westwards out of the tunnel. The party collectively groaned. Apparently they wanted the [I]second[/I] cave the tracks led to. [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Wait! Give us the fifteen gold you have promised!”[/COLOR][/I][/B] demanded Heron’s escort. [B][I]“You wait!”[/I][/B] said Lia. [I][B]“Tell us how many gnolls are in that cave.”[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“You pay me fifteen gold!”[/COLOR][/I][/B] demanded the hobgoblin again. [B][I]“No”[/I][/B] said Branfir [in Common, though his spell finally had kicked in] [B][I]“You answer our questions first, then we pay you.”[/I][/B] The dwarf pulled out a bag full of coins and showed some to the hobgoblins. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]"We don’t know how many they are. A lot. Male, female, babies.”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“What can they do?”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“They can go crazy and cut you up! Ha ha ha!”[/COLOR][/B][/I] and all three guards began laughing raucously. Bran pulled out seven gold pieces and threw them over as the others started to leave the cave. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“No. You give three hands”[/COLOR][/B][/I] said the main guard. He held up his hand with five fingers spread. [I][B]“Are you going to enslave…”[/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Yes!”[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B]“…or eat their young?”[/B][/I] [B][I][COLOR="Red"]“Yes!"[/COLOR][/I][/B] Branfir counted out and tossed over seven more gold pieces. The creatures counted each one. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“More!”[/COLOR][/B][/I] growled the hobgoblin. Frustrated [and perhaps a bit confused], Branfir grudgingly pulled back out his coin pouch and this time handed over eight gold pieces from his personal stash. [I][B][COLOR="Red"]“Bring back babies and we parley again!” [/COLOR][/B][/I] The creatures began to laugh once more as the party left the cave and entered back into the sunlight. Outside Tordek was watching Branfir’s donkey. Bruce took point and they all moved about fifty yards westwards to the next cave. Hanging ivy obscured the front somewhat. The whole looked like a crack in the bottom of the cliff face. [B][COLOR="Olive"]“You see a narrow cave opening, 3 feet wide by 7 feet high. Within, you see a 50-foot-long passage, the first 20 feet or so appearing natural, the remainder of worked stone, with a ceiling height about double that of the cave mouth. Eyes glow from within. A pair of huddled bipedals rise tall, snorting, yipping, and outright barking at you.”[/COLOR][/B] The dwarves Branfir and Tordek moved forward to peer into the entrance. [B][I]“Them’s the gnolls,”[/I][/B] said Tordek. Branfir shouted inside, [B][I]”Sprechan ze Draconic?”[/I][/B] More barking was the only response. The party looked at each other. [B][I]“Screw this!”[/I][/B] said Bruce as he pulled his bow out and knocked an arrow. Lia managed to fire first, but her shot missed. Bruce’s arrow sunk into an arm of one of the beasts. Branfir held his arms forward yelling, [B][I]“Bob Johnson!”[/I][/B] A searing beam of light lanced forward hitting the weakened gnoll. Heron stepped inside lighting up the front of the cave with the silvery light of his sword. The entrance was carved like an arrowhead with its point as the crack to the outside. Further on, the brickwork corridor thinned to ten feet wide like the shaft of an arrow, but this passage was much taller than the natural cave. Its walls ascended straight upwards a dozen feet before they verged to an apex sixteen feet above the paved floor below. The gnolls were standing on either side of this corridor hiding in the corner niches just before it. Heron shot a magical ray of ice to freeze one in place, but his aim was off. The injured gnoll began laughing very loudly in response, sounding very much like a giant hyena. It weakly fired an arrow at the sorcerer, but missed. The other gnoll ran forward and smashed the left leg of Heron with a wicked looking morningstar. Tordek asked the others what he should do. [He was another player’s PC who I was running as DM] They ordered him to attack, so he ran to Heron’s side and hit the nearby gnoll with the hand axe Branfir lent him. Both enemies were hyena-laughing now their cries echoing through the cave, but both were injured too. Lia fired an arrow into the guts of the gnoll in melee, but amazingly it kept its feet. The gnolls attacked – one missed Heron with his morningstar, but the other landed a shot on Tordek – then both took off down the corridor. Bruce attempted to fire two arrows, one at each foe. Luck was with him as his hands moved deftly. Both gnolls fell dead. The whole party moved into the cave now. The bodies were searched and looted. Nineteen arrows for Lia, a morningstar for Tordek to use right away, 9 gold pieces to divvy up later, and a longbow and shield for the donkey to carry back. Branfir moved the donkey outside and tied its lead line to a rock. Inside Bruce lit a torch and led the others down the corridor. At its end was an iron-bounded wooden door which Lia picked open. On the other side was a makeshift T-junction. Ten feet in all three directions, left, right, and straight, a short hallway led to another door. [sblock][img]http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9988/gnollcavemap.jpg[/img][/sblock] The party was wondering which direction to take when suddenly the left and center doors opened. Out poured a yipping, growling, barking madhouse of gnolls. Some were male, some female. Six were armored in patchwork leather and wooden shields. These bore carved wooden clubs. Two larger gnolls clad in chain mail and hauberk armor strode out, one from through either doorway. Each bore a long halberd pole arm in two hands and a hanging morningstar at their side. Branfir, Lia, and Tordek all missed as their arrows bounced off of the two leader’s armor. Bruce called out that he was going to kill these bastards [or perhaps something more colorful] and took a shot aimed directly at one’s unprotected face. Unfortunately Bruce’s shot missed wide. As the gnolls charged into the T-junction hallway, the leaders barked commands in a strange tongue. The first door, the one Lia had just unlocked was slammed shut in the party’s faces. The two opposing forces were now separated. Heron, whose grandmother supposedly was knocked up by a dragon at one point, called upon his draconic ancestry to strengthen himself. Lia moved to hide behind the two dwarves and Branfir readied his warhammer telling Tordek to open the door. Tordek pushed with all his might until something slipped on the other side. The door flung open. Beyond two gnolls were cowering behind it, one holding a door bar the other holding its injured paw-like hand. Branfir swung his warhammer at the closest, but his angle was off. It was too tight a squeeze with Tordek still in the way. Both gnolls who already had a look of surprise on their faces turned and ran through the crowd behind them. The two elite gnoll guards began foaming at their mouths; they had incited raging frenzies in themselves and were attempting to coax the other gnolls near them into barbaric rages as well. Each of the two swung their halberds into Tordek who alone blocked the doorway. Both blades skewered him on the spot. The dwarf was dead before his body hit the ground. [Two critical hits by raging gnoll leaders on an injured 1[sup]st[/sup] level PC means -18 h.p.] With a single cry, Heron and Branfir attacked in retribution for their friend’s death, but both blows were off the mark. The other team members began retreating from the corridor now stringing out space between themselves and the gnolls. Heron and Branfir followed suit leaving Tordek’s body behind. Lia popped out from hiding and shot one of the leaders with a sneak attack to the ribs and then dashed away herself. The two commanders barked again and the gnolls with wooden clubs ran into the corridor in pursuit. Fortunately, not one of their attacks landed. Bruce fired his bow as he stood near the entrance, but even he missed. The fight was becoming a mad scramble of near misses and wild running about. Then Heron stopped, turned, and held his ground. He cast a spell and the crowd of gnolls behind him began to shake. The two elite warriors raged shaking off the magically-induced fear, but four of their allies stopped and turned to run. Branfir halted too, he turned back firing his bow at one of the fleeing gnolls. His arrow found its mark and so did Lia’s which followed swiftly after it. Blood gushed from the wounds as the creature collapsed to the ground. Bruce looked around. This was the first of their foes to die and one of their own already had. The team may not have struck the first kill, but at least they were holding their ground. The three frightened gnolls made their back to the T-junction. The first split off left, while the other two ran forward pounding on the center doorway beyond. The two leaders maneuvered forward positioning themselves to use their halberds from distance on Heron and Branfir. The sorcerer dodged aside, but the dwarven cleric caught by a blow and badly injured. The other four remaining gnolls charged further down the hall into the party’s back row. They swung at Bruce and Lia, but all to no avail. Bruce backed towards the cave entrance, fired his bow and managed to hit the injured one of the two leaders. Heron swung his long sword summoning all his draconic strength and hacked into the neck of the beast Bruce just hit. The monster collapsed to the ground. This only seemed only to enrage its partner even further. Branfir dropped back out of its range. He swung wildly missing one of the other gnolls as he tried to protect Lia. For her part she fired her bow at one as well, but also missed. No one was having much success it appeared. She turned and ran from the cave. Outside sun she sidestepped out of sight. Outnumbering their foes five to three, the gnolls attacked the remaining party members. Every one of them missed. Then a shadow crossed in front of the doorway at the far end of the corridor. Out strode what could only be the chieftain of the gnoll clan. It wore a full suit of dented, yet roughly polished plate mail armor. Its long brown hair stuck out from every crevice. Glowing eyes and more hair peeked out from within the helmet’s open visor. The chieftain bore a long 10-inch knife in one hand and a morningstar in the other. Bruce took one look at this new foe and decided to shoot one of the smaller gnolls instead. Ironically, the arrow punctured the creature’s skull killing it instantly. Bruce backpedalled out of the cave, while calling for a general retreat. Heron waved his arms about casting a spell he called [I]Shield[/I] upon himself. As he did so the draconic blood magic he used manifested itself. His skin began to quiver all across his body. The giant gnoll with its halberd standing across from him saw Heron’s hands turned silver and scaly. Branfir decided it was time for the big gun again. [I][B]“Bob Johnson!”[/B][/I] he shouted. The beam of light shot forth. Branfir gritted his teeth and shook his fist at the heavens. It was another miss. Outside the cave Lia crouched down trying to find a place to hide from those inside, while still leaving herself open to take another arrow shot. The three gnolls moved away from the sunlit exit and flanked Branfir and Heron between themselves and the elite guard and chieftain. The situation looked pretty bad …then every one of the gnolls attacks missed again. Perhaps sensing victory was not impossible, Bruce moved forward and blocked the narrow, 3-foot wide cave entrance. He fired his bow missing yet again. Heron and Branfir both missed on their attacks. Lia had at last successfully found a hidden spot to attack from, but had to wait for a clear shot on the gnoll chieftain. As the gnolls swung once more at Heron and Branfir, one dropped back to attack Bruce at the entrance. This was all Lia needed. She let slip the bowstring the chieftain howled in pain. The arrow had somehow slipped between sections of armor and landed a serious blow. Instead of attacking, the creature ran back down the corridor and into the intersection beyond. The other gnolls gaped in awe, and then they took off running down the hallway slamming the door behind them. One last abandoned gnoll was stuck surrounded at the front of the cave. It charged Bruce standing in the entrance. He moved aside and it took off running out onto the river plain and veered to the water’s edge. [/QUOTE]
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