Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4494035" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 40</p><p> </p><p></p><p>“The smart thing to do would be to fall back, regroup, recover our strength,” Mara said, grimacing slightly as she flexed the fingers of her right hand. Behind her, Beetle dragged another goblin to the edge of the pit; the halfling was having a wonderful time propping the dead creatures up into a semblance of a lifelike pose, then kicking them down to the rats. </p><p></p><p>“The rats are making a lot of noise,” Elevaren pointed out. </p><p></p><p>“No more than the battle did,” Devrem said. “If anything was going to come investigate, they would have by now.”</p><p></p><p>“Still, there could be anything down those tunnels,” Mara persisted. “We don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into.”</p><p></p><p>“We have a pretty good idea of what will happen if we don’t stop Kalarel,” Devrem replied. “We cannot hesitate.”</p><p></p><p>“And your healing, cleric? I will grant that your god did quite a number on the beatdown that those lizards gave me, but how much power do you have left?”</p><p></p><p>Devrem frowned. “My magic relies on the strength of the afflicted, as well as the intervention of the Raven Queen,” he acknowledged. “This short rest will restore us all somewhat, but what remains is limited.” </p><p></p><p>“All of the ways out are quiet,” Jaron reported, as he came forward out of the shadows to join them. “To the west the passage leads to a wide cul-de-sac with several doors. To the south, there’s that storeroom, and a larger set of double doors. East you know, beyond the door the goblins came from there’s stairs leading down to a long passage. I didn’t want to risk going beyond that, but I didn’t see any guards or other signs of the complex being alerted to our presence. Beetle, stop that. Leave the dead to their rest.”</p><p></p><p>“They are nothing but empty shells, now,” Devrem said. “Very well. I feel that there is a time for caution, and a time for risk. But I will defer to the judgment of the group.”</p><p></p><p>He shifted his gaze to each of them in turn, all save Beetle, who was looting a goblin’s pockets nearby. Finally he settled his stare on Mara. </p><p></p><p>“Fine,” the fighter said, testing the release of her swords in their scabbards. “But I hope for all our sakes that you’re not wrong, priest.”</p><p></p><p>The companions regarded each other in quiet, save for the noise of the rats as they devoured the bodies of the goblin sentries. </p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>The east corridor turned out to lead to nothing save for a dead end. </p><p></p><p>They made their way down the stairs beyond the door, and then down the long tunnel beyond. Long-burning torches of pine tar set into niches in the wall provided a fitful but adequate illumination, such that they did not have to augment the light with their own sources. Their first discovery was another staircase that led down to a crumbling, decrepit chamber infested with giant rats. The creatures attacked at once, but were driven back by the magic of Elevaren and Devrem, and by the blades and missiles from the others. The worst that the companions suffered was a painful but minor bite to Devrem’s shin; while the bodies of four rats were left to be devoured by their cousins. Deciding it was highly unlikely that the goblin lair was further in this direction, the five adventurers elected not to press the rats further, and they withdrew back up the stairs to resume their course down the passage. </p><p></p><p>The tunnel ended a short distance further in a large open chamber that was dominated by an excavation that left most of the place an open pit with a floor that was a good ten feet below the entry. Parts of the room had been left intact, leaving a series of platforms connected to the entrance by a series of precarious boards that formed bridges across the pit. Scattered tools suggested that the work here had been recent and ongoing, although there were no workers present at the moment. </p><p></p><p>“I wonder what they were looking for?” Jaron asked. </p><p></p><p>“Probably much the same thing that Agrid and he crew was looking for,” Devrem said. “Artifacts to help Kalarel open the rift to the Shadowfell.” </p><p></p><p>“Well, whether they found it or not, they’re not here now,” Mara said. “I don’t see any other exits, so unless you want to try the rats again, I’d suggest we try another exit from the entry chamber.”</p><p></p><p>None of them felt particularly eager to visit the rat warren, so they made their way back, Jaron scouting in the lead. Devrem seemed distracted, muttering something to himself under his breath. Beetle lingered behind for a few moments, poking through one of the piles of tailings from the dig, then hurried to catch up to the others. </p><p></p><p>The negotiated the passage back and the staircase that led up to the entry room without incident. But when Jaron pushed open the heavy iron-banded door at the top of the stairs, he heard the voices at once. He identified the language spoken as Goblin, but the voices were too quiet to distinguish what was being said. It was pretty clear that the speakers were agitated, however, and Jaron had a fairly good idea what had riled them up. </p><p></p><p>The others, standing a bit back from the door, couldn’t hear, but they stood alert at the halfling held up his hand in warning. “Goblins,” he finally said, his voice barely loud enough for them to hear. </p><p></p><p>“How many?” Mara mouthed, but Jaron shook his head. “I’ll check,” the halfling said. He motioned for the others to wait, and slipped through the door. </p><p></p><p>The single torch that guttered in a sconce along the far wall offered only a fitful light down the length of the passage that connected to the main chamber, but still Jaron felt completely exposed as he slid forward. The voices were louder now, and he could see movement in the chamber ahead. There were a number of squat, cloaked forms—goblins, almost certainly—gathered around the now-open pit in the center of the room. Their chatter was too jumbled together to make out, but he got the gist of it. It wasn’t as if they’d been able to hide all of the signs of their battle in the chamber, even if they’d dumped most of the evidence into the rat pit. </p><p></p><p>He heard one of the goblins shout out something, a call for a certain “Balgron” to come see something he had found. Jaron had only come up to where the passage split off toward the adjacent storeroom, but he didn’t need to come any closer. By the din and movement there had to be over a dozen goblins in there, and it wouldn’t take much to be seen, even with his skills. </p><p></p><p>As if summoned by the thought, a goblin suddenly stepped into view at the mouth of the passage. Jaron bent low and froze, but the goblin looked right at him, and the way its mouth fell open revealed that he’d seen the ranger. </p><p></p><p>Jaron lifted his bow, but before he could shoot something flew past him, glittering in the torchlight briefly before it sank into the goblin’s throat with a meaty thunk. The goblin toppled over backwards, but Jaron barely noticed it, as he was pulled into the side-passage by Beetle. </p><p></p><p>“Too many! Hide hide!” his cousin hissed, even as the two of them heard the shouts of alarm from the entry chamber. </p><p></p><p>The entrance to the storeroom was warded only by a heavy curtain that had been anchored to the low ceiling by a series of rusty iron hooks. Beetle shot around it like a greased eel, and Jaron could hear a muffled cry of surprise, followed by a quiet thump. He rushed forward and pushed back the curtain enough to see Beetle dragging a dead goblin into concealment behind a stack of crates. There were no other goblins in the room that he could see, but there could have been a dozen hiding behind the various heaped stores scattered throughout the compact room. </p><p></p><p>He glanced back just as a small column of goblins charged past him toward the door to the stairs where his friends waited. One went down as bright fey-lights flashed in a violent storm around his head. From out of his view, back in the main corridor, someone shouted commands in a reedy voice, presumably this “Balgron” character referred to earlier. The command was a simple one; in the Goblin tongue, “kill everything,” was one of the more common expressions. </p><p></p><p>For a moment Jaron thought that the goblins would simply run past, but even as he started to shift back behind the curtain the last warrior at the end of the rush turned and looked right at him. The halfling ranger drew back and pulled the curtain back into place, but the damage had been done. The shouts from the corridor changed in tenor, even through the muting of the curtain, and quickly started drawing nearer. </p><p></p><p>“Beetle, we’ve got company!” Jaron said, rushing back to find a defensible position amongst the crates.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4494035, member: 143"] Chapter 40 “The smart thing to do would be to fall back, regroup, recover our strength,” Mara said, grimacing slightly as she flexed the fingers of her right hand. Behind her, Beetle dragged another goblin to the edge of the pit; the halfling was having a wonderful time propping the dead creatures up into a semblance of a lifelike pose, then kicking them down to the rats. “The rats are making a lot of noise,” Elevaren pointed out. “No more than the battle did,” Devrem said. “If anything was going to come investigate, they would have by now.” “Still, there could be anything down those tunnels,” Mara persisted. “We don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into.” “We have a pretty good idea of what will happen if we don’t stop Kalarel,” Devrem replied. “We cannot hesitate.” “And your healing, cleric? I will grant that your god did quite a number on the beatdown that those lizards gave me, but how much power do you have left?” Devrem frowned. “My magic relies on the strength of the afflicted, as well as the intervention of the Raven Queen,” he acknowledged. “This short rest will restore us all somewhat, but what remains is limited.” “All of the ways out are quiet,” Jaron reported, as he came forward out of the shadows to join them. “To the west the passage leads to a wide cul-de-sac with several doors. To the south, there’s that storeroom, and a larger set of double doors. East you know, beyond the door the goblins came from there’s stairs leading down to a long passage. I didn’t want to risk going beyond that, but I didn’t see any guards or other signs of the complex being alerted to our presence. Beetle, stop that. Leave the dead to their rest.” “They are nothing but empty shells, now,” Devrem said. “Very well. I feel that there is a time for caution, and a time for risk. But I will defer to the judgment of the group.” He shifted his gaze to each of them in turn, all save Beetle, who was looting a goblin’s pockets nearby. Finally he settled his stare on Mara. “Fine,” the fighter said, testing the release of her swords in their scabbards. “But I hope for all our sakes that you’re not wrong, priest.” The companions regarded each other in quiet, save for the noise of the rats as they devoured the bodies of the goblin sentries. * * * * * The east corridor turned out to lead to nothing save for a dead end. They made their way down the stairs beyond the door, and then down the long tunnel beyond. Long-burning torches of pine tar set into niches in the wall provided a fitful but adequate illumination, such that they did not have to augment the light with their own sources. Their first discovery was another staircase that led down to a crumbling, decrepit chamber infested with giant rats. The creatures attacked at once, but were driven back by the magic of Elevaren and Devrem, and by the blades and missiles from the others. The worst that the companions suffered was a painful but minor bite to Devrem’s shin; while the bodies of four rats were left to be devoured by their cousins. Deciding it was highly unlikely that the goblin lair was further in this direction, the five adventurers elected not to press the rats further, and they withdrew back up the stairs to resume their course down the passage. The tunnel ended a short distance further in a large open chamber that was dominated by an excavation that left most of the place an open pit with a floor that was a good ten feet below the entry. Parts of the room had been left intact, leaving a series of platforms connected to the entrance by a series of precarious boards that formed bridges across the pit. Scattered tools suggested that the work here had been recent and ongoing, although there were no workers present at the moment. “I wonder what they were looking for?” Jaron asked. “Probably much the same thing that Agrid and he crew was looking for,” Devrem said. “Artifacts to help Kalarel open the rift to the Shadowfell.” “Well, whether they found it or not, they’re not here now,” Mara said. “I don’t see any other exits, so unless you want to try the rats again, I’d suggest we try another exit from the entry chamber.” None of them felt particularly eager to visit the rat warren, so they made their way back, Jaron scouting in the lead. Devrem seemed distracted, muttering something to himself under his breath. Beetle lingered behind for a few moments, poking through one of the piles of tailings from the dig, then hurried to catch up to the others. The negotiated the passage back and the staircase that led up to the entry room without incident. But when Jaron pushed open the heavy iron-banded door at the top of the stairs, he heard the voices at once. He identified the language spoken as Goblin, but the voices were too quiet to distinguish what was being said. It was pretty clear that the speakers were agitated, however, and Jaron had a fairly good idea what had riled them up. The others, standing a bit back from the door, couldn’t hear, but they stood alert at the halfling held up his hand in warning. “Goblins,” he finally said, his voice barely loud enough for them to hear. “How many?” Mara mouthed, but Jaron shook his head. “I’ll check,” the halfling said. He motioned for the others to wait, and slipped through the door. The single torch that guttered in a sconce along the far wall offered only a fitful light down the length of the passage that connected to the main chamber, but still Jaron felt completely exposed as he slid forward. The voices were louder now, and he could see movement in the chamber ahead. There were a number of squat, cloaked forms—goblins, almost certainly—gathered around the now-open pit in the center of the room. Their chatter was too jumbled together to make out, but he got the gist of it. It wasn’t as if they’d been able to hide all of the signs of their battle in the chamber, even if they’d dumped most of the evidence into the rat pit. He heard one of the goblins shout out something, a call for a certain “Balgron” to come see something he had found. Jaron had only come up to where the passage split off toward the adjacent storeroom, but he didn’t need to come any closer. By the din and movement there had to be over a dozen goblins in there, and it wouldn’t take much to be seen, even with his skills. As if summoned by the thought, a goblin suddenly stepped into view at the mouth of the passage. Jaron bent low and froze, but the goblin looked right at him, and the way its mouth fell open revealed that he’d seen the ranger. Jaron lifted his bow, but before he could shoot something flew past him, glittering in the torchlight briefly before it sank into the goblin’s throat with a meaty thunk. The goblin toppled over backwards, but Jaron barely noticed it, as he was pulled into the side-passage by Beetle. “Too many! Hide hide!” his cousin hissed, even as the two of them heard the shouts of alarm from the entry chamber. The entrance to the storeroom was warded only by a heavy curtain that had been anchored to the low ceiling by a series of rusty iron hooks. Beetle shot around it like a greased eel, and Jaron could hear a muffled cry of surprise, followed by a quiet thump. He rushed forward and pushed back the curtain enough to see Beetle dragging a dead goblin into concealment behind a stack of crates. There were no other goblins in the room that he could see, but there could have been a dozen hiding behind the various heaped stores scattered throughout the compact room. He glanced back just as a small column of goblins charged past him toward the door to the stairs where his friends waited. One went down as bright fey-lights flashed in a violent storm around his head. From out of his view, back in the main corridor, someone shouted commands in a reedy voice, presumably this “Balgron” character referred to earlier. The command was a simple one; in the Goblin tongue, “kill everything,” was one of the more common expressions. For a moment Jaron thought that the goblins would simply run past, but even as he started to shift back behind the curtain the last warrior at the end of the rush turned and looked right at him. The halfling ranger drew back and pulled the curtain back into place, but the damage had been done. The shouts from the corridor changed in tenor, even through the muting of the curtain, and quickly started drawing nearer. “Beetle, we’ve got company!” Jaron said, rushing back to find a defensible position amongst the crates. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
Top