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: 4526828" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 46</p><p></p><p></p><p>Splug was alternatively helpful and evasive, in nearly equal measure. </p><p></p><p>The companions were encamped in a small dell buried within the hills surrounding the ruined keep. Huge trees gnarled with age loomed all around them, enfolding them in a protective circle of low-hanging branches. Roots jutted from the ragged loam, forming an accidental rampart around their camp. A tiny fire burned in a pit dug between two of those roots, offering a pittance of warmth without compromising the location of their hideaway. Mara lay nearby, wrapped in her blanket, sunk into a slumber that was more like unconsciousness than simple rest. Elevaren sat near her, exhaustion visible in his features even through the usual impenetrability of the eladrin. He poked at the fire, his dark eyes perceiving things perhaps beyond the ken of the others. </p><p></p><p>Devrem was tired as well, but he continued his interrogation of the goblin prisoner. Splug had accompanied them on their flight from the dungeon under the keep. Mara’s prisoner had somehow escaped during the fight, slipping its bonds and slinking away deeper into the complex. Their new captive had clearly not been in the good graces of the goblin leadership; the hobgoblin torturer that they’d killed near the exit had been chasing him, and he bore bruises both old and new upon his scrawny body. Splug had told them that he’d been unfairly imprisoned by his peers for advocating restraint in dealing with the humans of Winterhaven, a claim which none of them found likely. Still, they needed intelligence as to the enemy’s remaining strength and defenses, and Devrem had ordered Beetle to watch their new companion closely, binding the prisoner’s arms and leaving a tail of rope to ensure that he didn’t decide to depart prematurely. </p><p></p><p>When they’d emerged from the dungeon they realized they’d been underground longer than expected; the sun had already vanished behind the horizon, and a deepening gloom was rapidly shadowing the space between the hills. All of them were in a sorry state, particularly Mara, who was being all but carried between Elevaren and Devrem. But with night approaching fast, the long trek back to Winterhaven seemed impractical, if not impossible. It was Jaron who found the dell, following an old game track that had clearly not seen use in some time. The halfling lingered behind them as they moved to the shelter and set up camp, doing what he could to erase the signs of their passage. The big concern was pursuit from the forces still present in the keep. In addition to the goblins that had escaped, including the fat leader, there was the cleric Kalarel, and whatever allies the evil priest still had to call upon. </p><p></p><p>Kalarel was foremost on Devrem’s mind as he questioned Splug. “Let’s go through it again. How many hobgoblins does Kalarel have working for him?”</p><p></p><p>Splug took on a long-suffering expression, and muttered something in the Goblin tongue. The goblin slipped in and out of his own language and Common interchangeably, and Devrem considered calling down Jaron to help; the halfling scout had learned that language during the long fight against Dal Durga and his goblinoid raiders. But he knew that Jaron’s sharp eyes were best employed watching for foes searching out their hiding place. </p><p></p><p>Instead his eyes shifted to Beetle, who was sitting on a rock nearby, watching the exchange. Splug shivered as he followed the priest’s gaze. The halfling smiled as their eyes met, but there was something cold in his look as well. </p><p></p><p>“I tell you,” Splug blurted out, turning back to Devrem. “They not let me in lower level. Goblins only on top level, hobgoblins on lower level. I tell everything, help you much. Splug good friend of humankinds, little halflings too. Good friend... yelp!”</p><p></p><p>The goblin started as Beetle appeared silently beside him, his head cocked slightly, close enough for his breath to be felt on the goblin’s sensitive ear. Devrem stifled a slight grin; Jaron’s cousin had a certain flair for spookiness. Splug controlled himself, sidling away to a point midway between the cleric and halfling. </p><p></p><p>“All right,” Devrem said. “Let’s talk about Balgron.”</p><p></p><p>The night deepened, and around midnight clouds drifted over the sky, concealing the moon and stars behind a cloak of shadow. Within the dell, it was almost utterly black. Devrem slept in his cloak. Jaron remained on watch, concealed above them along the trail that led into the dell. Splug had been trussed with ropes and covered with a spare blanket, his ankle fastened by a complex knot to an exposed root as thick around as an ogre’s meaty thigh. </p><p></p><p>The goblin shifted slightly. He emerged from the blanket, leaving the ropes behind. He crept as silent as the night to the edge of the camp. The web of roots presented no real barrier. He paused, and looked over at a nearby trunk, where one of Mara’s swords hung from a stub of a branch, next to a pack full of supplies. </p><p></p><p>The goblin looked over the silent, slumbering forms, and reached slowly out toward the treasures. </p><p></p><p>A thud startled him, and he nearly cut his hand on the knife blade that now jutted out between two of his probing fingers. Turning, he saw a shadow watching him, with two glistening points where the faint light reflected off of the halfling’s eyes. Beetle did not move, but it was clear that those bright points missed nothing. </p><p></p><p>Moving slowly, Splug retreated, and crept back under his blanket, shivering from more than just the cold of the night.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4526828, member: 143"] Chapter 46 Splug was alternatively helpful and evasive, in nearly equal measure. The companions were encamped in a small dell buried within the hills surrounding the ruined keep. Huge trees gnarled with age loomed all around them, enfolding them in a protective circle of low-hanging branches. Roots jutted from the ragged loam, forming an accidental rampart around their camp. A tiny fire burned in a pit dug between two of those roots, offering a pittance of warmth without compromising the location of their hideaway. Mara lay nearby, wrapped in her blanket, sunk into a slumber that was more like unconsciousness than simple rest. Elevaren sat near her, exhaustion visible in his features even through the usual impenetrability of the eladrin. He poked at the fire, his dark eyes perceiving things perhaps beyond the ken of the others. Devrem was tired as well, but he continued his interrogation of the goblin prisoner. Splug had accompanied them on their flight from the dungeon under the keep. Mara’s prisoner had somehow escaped during the fight, slipping its bonds and slinking away deeper into the complex. Their new captive had clearly not been in the good graces of the goblin leadership; the hobgoblin torturer that they’d killed near the exit had been chasing him, and he bore bruises both old and new upon his scrawny body. Splug had told them that he’d been unfairly imprisoned by his peers for advocating restraint in dealing with the humans of Winterhaven, a claim which none of them found likely. Still, they needed intelligence as to the enemy’s remaining strength and defenses, and Devrem had ordered Beetle to watch their new companion closely, binding the prisoner’s arms and leaving a tail of rope to ensure that he didn’t decide to depart prematurely. When they’d emerged from the dungeon they realized they’d been underground longer than expected; the sun had already vanished behind the horizon, and a deepening gloom was rapidly shadowing the space between the hills. All of them were in a sorry state, particularly Mara, who was being all but carried between Elevaren and Devrem. But with night approaching fast, the long trek back to Winterhaven seemed impractical, if not impossible. It was Jaron who found the dell, following an old game track that had clearly not seen use in some time. The halfling lingered behind them as they moved to the shelter and set up camp, doing what he could to erase the signs of their passage. The big concern was pursuit from the forces still present in the keep. In addition to the goblins that had escaped, including the fat leader, there was the cleric Kalarel, and whatever allies the evil priest still had to call upon. Kalarel was foremost on Devrem’s mind as he questioned Splug. “Let’s go through it again. How many hobgoblins does Kalarel have working for him?” Splug took on a long-suffering expression, and muttered something in the Goblin tongue. The goblin slipped in and out of his own language and Common interchangeably, and Devrem considered calling down Jaron to help; the halfling scout had learned that language during the long fight against Dal Durga and his goblinoid raiders. But he knew that Jaron’s sharp eyes were best employed watching for foes searching out their hiding place. Instead his eyes shifted to Beetle, who was sitting on a rock nearby, watching the exchange. Splug shivered as he followed the priest’s gaze. The halfling smiled as their eyes met, but there was something cold in his look as well. “I tell you,” Splug blurted out, turning back to Devrem. “They not let me in lower level. Goblins only on top level, hobgoblins on lower level. I tell everything, help you much. Splug good friend of humankinds, little halflings too. Good friend... yelp!” The goblin started as Beetle appeared silently beside him, his head cocked slightly, close enough for his breath to be felt on the goblin’s sensitive ear. Devrem stifled a slight grin; Jaron’s cousin had a certain flair for spookiness. Splug controlled himself, sidling away to a point midway between the cleric and halfling. “All right,” Devrem said. “Let’s talk about Balgron.” The night deepened, and around midnight clouds drifted over the sky, concealing the moon and stars behind a cloak of shadow. Within the dell, it was almost utterly black. Devrem slept in his cloak. Jaron remained on watch, concealed above them along the trail that led into the dell. Splug had been trussed with ropes and covered with a spare blanket, his ankle fastened by a complex knot to an exposed root as thick around as an ogre’s meaty thigh. The goblin shifted slightly. He emerged from the blanket, leaving the ropes behind. He crept as silent as the night to the edge of the camp. The web of roots presented no real barrier. He paused, and looked over at a nearby trunk, where one of Mara’s swords hung from a stub of a branch, next to a pack full of supplies. The goblin looked over the silent, slumbering forms, and reached slowly out toward the treasures. A thud startled him, and he nearly cut his hand on the knife blade that now jutted out between two of his probing fingers. Turning, he saw a shadow watching him, with two glistening points where the faint light reflected off of the halfling’s eyes. Beetle did not move, but it was clear that those bright points missed nothing. Moving slowly, Splug retreated, and crept back under his blanket, shivering from more than just the cold of the night. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
Top