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Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
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<blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 3247143" data-attributes="member: 198"><p><strong>The ‘Rescue’…</strong></p><p></p><p>Korm and Six speed away from the Daask drug den as fast at they can run, followed by the laughter and jeers of the people (primarily goblinoids) who have gathered at a safe distance to see what was going on. </p><p></p><p>The two hurry down a couple of streets, and then come to a halt, so that Korm can produce a potion and swallow it. This heals his wounds enough that he can come out of his berserker state without keeling over, but it does leave him fatigued from the exertion. Having done so, he suggests that Six stay behind keep an eye on the place, in case Daask move Gareth and Nameless, while he goes to fetch Luna.</p><p></p><p>As Korm is explaining the plan, the two see a few goblinoids peering around the end of the road, pointing at them. They’re fairly sure some of them are laughing. Korm shakes his head in disgust, concentrates and two large hawk wings spring from his back. With a growl at the goblinoids, he springs into the air.</p><p></p><p>The watching goblinoids’ eyes go wide, and most quickly duck back around the corner, while a couple crouch reflexively and stare in fascination as Korm takes to the sky. His ascent is evidently noted by others too, with cries of alarm and fascination ringing out. From a tower window nearby, a small goblin child shouts, “Mamma! Mamma! Come see the ugly bird!”</p><p></p><p>Whether a similar error be the reason or not, as Korm flaps his wings to gain altitude, a couple of crossbow bolts come shooting up at an angle, only to bounce of his layers of magical protection. Looking down in that direction, he sees a group of four armored hobgoblins heading down the adjoining street. They are only a few dozen feet from the corner, around which is the street Six is on. Two, with crossbows, have stopped to shoot at him, while the other two are moving towards the corner.</p><p></p><p>Six, down on the ground, cannot see who or what shot at Korm, but he clearly hears the sound of crossbows and sees the bolts bounce off Korm. He instantly realizes that the shooters were around the corner, which is about fifty feet from where he stands. </p><p></p><p>The warforged hurries in the opposite direction and makes it around the next corner unmolested. Glancing back, he sees two armored hobgoblins come around the corner cautiously. They look around but don’t see Six, and proceed carefully into the street, followed shortly afterwards by two crossbowmen.</p><p></p><p>With his greater speed, as well as the <em>hat of disguise</em>, Six leaves them behind and blends in easily among the goblinoids of the area. Swinging around and heading back to the drug den, he finds a small crowd of people watching the place and talking animatedly, but nobody getting really close. </p><p></p><p>Two of the gnolls stand just outside the doorway, looking around carefully, and talking quietly among themselves. Though he cannot really make out many details inside, Six can see that neither Gareth nor Nameless lies where he fell. The corpse of the one ogre has been dragged to one side, as evidenced by his large feet sticking out. There is a significant amount of movement inside, and a few seconds later, the hooded man comes into sight as he calls the gnolls in. </p><p></p><p>The two gnolls enter the building and the other ogre reappears for a moment, to place a large crate in front of the doorway. Others follow, and soon a makeshift barricade has been created. The pair of gnolls take up position behind it and the movement inside ceases. Six too takes up a position off in the shadows of a building some distance away and settles down to watch.</p><p></p><p>It takes a good two hours for Korm to return with an irritated Luna, who is in the shape of a hawk for added speed/maneuverability, and rejoin Six near the drug den. Along the way, Korm has explained everything to Luna about the fiasco with the attack on the drug den and been considerably berated for not being able to do anything without her along.</p><p></p><p>When they arrive and meet Six in an alley a little distance away, the warforged explains what he has seen. After some discussion, the trio comes up with an ingenious, complicated, and very likely soon to be amusing, plan. </p><p></p><p>Luna summons a xorn and instructs it that it is to earth glide into the drug den, taking the newly purchased <em>portable hole</em> with it, and to flip it open as soon as it was inside.</p><p></p><p>Luna then summons a huge earth elemental close to the doorway to the drug den, while Korm is casting a <em>barkskin</em> on Six. Though she cannot communicate with it, the magic of the spell sends the creature rushing at the doorway and the barricade. As people on the street scream and flee, and howls of terror ring out from the unfortunate gnolls behind the barricade, the three remaining Angels jump into the <em>portable hole</em>. A second later, the hole goes dark, as the xorn grabs it and disappears into the ground.</p><p></p><p>Inside the <em>portable hole</em>, the three adventurers wait, cast protective spells, and hope that the xorn makes it all the way through and opens the <em>portable hole</em> before the <em>summon</em> spell that brought it here ends.</p><p></p><p>After approximately thirty seconds of waiting, light – and the loud sounds of a battle – appears at the top of the <em>portable hole</em>. Scrambling out as quickly as they can, the three Angels see that they are at one end of the large entrance room to the drug den. The xorn waits patiently by the <em>portable hole</em>, which it has placed on the floor and opened as instructed.</p><p></p><p>Barely ten feet away is the remnants of the barricade and four gnolls engaged in battle with the earth elemental. Make that three gnolls, since one is a flattened corpse, and even as the trio emerges from the hole, another is smashed against the wall, leaving one archer and an axe-wielding gnoll. From the looks of things, the only reason the gnolls are still alive is because the elemental is too large for the room, hunched over to fit inside and unable to attack as freely as it might. Even hunched as it is, it only fits because parts of it are melded with the floor, walls and ceiling. </p><p></p><p>A quick glance reveals no signs of Nameless or Gareth in the areas that can be seen. The corpse of the dead ogre and the two gnolls Korm had incinerated are lying in one of the antchamber/corridors linking the entrance chamber to the rooms further inside.</p><p></p><p>The gnoll archer manages to land a shot on Luna (who isn’t in bear form yet, because it would be too tight a fit in the hole), but a round later, both of the remaining gnolls are down, under the combination of Luna’s, Six’s and Korm’s attacks, as well as the elemental’s. Two of the four gnolls seem to still be alive.</p><p></p><p>The elemental promptly stops, since there are no enemies in sight and no commands for it to follow. The three Angels hurry through the two doors and into the back rooms of the drug den. A quick search, involving the next couple of minutes (during which both elemental and xorn disappear, as the spells end), reveals no sign of Gareth and Nameless, or of the other enemies the group had fought. </p><p></p><p>The other rooms in the drug den include a couple clearly used by the ogres and the gnolls, other rooms apparently used by humans and goblins, a large master bedroom with two beds, a storeroom, a moderately well maintained alchemist’s lab, a meeting room, a kitchen/dining room, and a large privy. Most of the place is quite dirty, but functional. Interestingly, much of it looks like it was very hastily evacuated, with open chests and boxes lying around and various things hastily tossed on the floor. There is not a single sign of any drugs on the premises.</p><p></p><p>The only living things in the place are a couple of goblins, dressed in fairly ragged clothes, ho are hiding in the back. They scream in fear as they see the three heavily armed adventurers and begin to gibber, asking not to be killed.</p><p></p><p>Six intimidates the goblins into talking by simply walking into the room, as the screaming and the growing puddles around them indicate. As soon as he asks where the others went, the goblins begin to squeak over each other in their hurry to provide information. What eventually emerges is the following:</p><p></p><p>“Bosses take them. Priest-man have them tied up and gagged first. Then he get the ogre and the other gnolls to take away all the shinies and the magic drinking stuff and your friends. They go down secret tunnel. Priest-man tell four gnolls to stay guard in case Boromar come, and say he be back sometime to check. Gnolls not happy but have to stay. Us also have to stay. Us tell you everything. Us show you everything. Please not kill us. Us very nice. Us clean room and cook for you. Please not kill us. Squeak, squeak, whine, cry, widdle.”</p><p></p><p>As promised, the goblins show the trio that there is a well-concealed trapdoor, large enough to let an ogre pass through, in the antechamber right outside the ogres’ room. Beneath it, a large, sturdy ladder leads down a dozen feet to one end of a very crudely carved tunnel that leads off toward the southeast.</p><p></p><p>A search of the rooms also leads to Six finding a couple of hidden panels, one in the main bedroom and one in the side of the meeting room. Both are empty, but the latter has a smashed vial in the corner, with a small pool of liquid. It seems to be dreamlily, a popular drug in Sharn.</p><p></p><p>Korm and Luna each summon a <em>phantom stag</em> and have the creatures precede them down the tunnel, with the trio following. The tunnel twists and turns, but seems to continue in a southeasterly direction. It also seems to be descending at a shallow rate. </p><p></p><p>After a few minutes of traveling, the <em>phantom stag</em>s enter a larger cavern, even as torchlight appears at the far end, about sixty feet away. The light reveals half a dozen gnolls, along with four goblins, and an ogre. There is also a cloaked human, who resembles the spellcaster from the battle in the drug den, but it is difficult to be sure.</p><p></p><p>It is the last who quickly throws up his hands, stopping his allies, who are raising weapons, and shouts, “Stop! Don’t attack! If you want your friends back, you will speak to me.”</p><p></p><p>Six stops and says, “Luna – no <em>flame strike</em>s! Yet.”</p><p></p><p>The man takes a step forward, when it seems that hostilities are not commencing instantly, and says, “Your companions are safe and alive. We have spoken with them and they have agreed to call a truce with Daask for six months, in return for being allowed to leave alive and unharmed. We want no trouble with you and simply want to stop these attacks on our establishments. If we had killed them, you would want vengeance, and that is something we do not need. In fact, as we speak, they are being returned unharmed, to another location from which they can return to your home.”</p><p></p><p>The man stops, as if realizing something. Slowly, he says, “I presume your presence here means that you killed our remaining people above.” There is an immediate growl from some of the gnolls, but he motions for them to be quiet. “It is unfortunate, but you couldn’t realize that we were reaching an understanding with your friends.”</p><p></p><p>“Please, leave now. Your friends, as I said, are safe and likely waiting for you.”</p><p></p><p>The three adventurers exchange glances. The man sounds sincere. Six sighs and then says, “All right. We will leave, but if this is a trick we will be back. And this time, with serious backup. Now I have a request. I would like to speak with your leaders. How can I send them a message?”</p><p> </p><p>The man looks genuinely surprised. He thinks for a moment and then says, “You know where this place is, so it’s as good an option as any. We’ll make sure that they know you’re not to be harmed. That’s already a given, now that your friends have promised that you will not harm us, of course. Leave a message here and it’ll get through. We’ll send a reply to your house.” </p><p></p><p>He pauses, looks at the trio quizzically, and asks, “Could you tell me what you’d like to speak to them about?”</p><p></p><p>“Nothing right now,” says Six. “In a few days I may want to talk business.”</p><p></p><p>And then the discussion is interrupted by a yell from the rear.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shilsen, post: 3247143, member: 198"] [b]The ‘Rescue’…[/b] Korm and Six speed away from the Daask drug den as fast at they can run, followed by the laughter and jeers of the people (primarily goblinoids) who have gathered at a safe distance to see what was going on. The two hurry down a couple of streets, and then come to a halt, so that Korm can produce a potion and swallow it. This heals his wounds enough that he can come out of his berserker state without keeling over, but it does leave him fatigued from the exertion. Having done so, he suggests that Six stay behind keep an eye on the place, in case Daask move Gareth and Nameless, while he goes to fetch Luna. As Korm is explaining the plan, the two see a few goblinoids peering around the end of the road, pointing at them. They’re fairly sure some of them are laughing. Korm shakes his head in disgust, concentrates and two large hawk wings spring from his back. With a growl at the goblinoids, he springs into the air. The watching goblinoids’ eyes go wide, and most quickly duck back around the corner, while a couple crouch reflexively and stare in fascination as Korm takes to the sky. His ascent is evidently noted by others too, with cries of alarm and fascination ringing out. From a tower window nearby, a small goblin child shouts, “Mamma! Mamma! Come see the ugly bird!” Whether a similar error be the reason or not, as Korm flaps his wings to gain altitude, a couple of crossbow bolts come shooting up at an angle, only to bounce of his layers of magical protection. Looking down in that direction, he sees a group of four armored hobgoblins heading down the adjoining street. They are only a few dozen feet from the corner, around which is the street Six is on. Two, with crossbows, have stopped to shoot at him, while the other two are moving towards the corner. Six, down on the ground, cannot see who or what shot at Korm, but he clearly hears the sound of crossbows and sees the bolts bounce off Korm. He instantly realizes that the shooters were around the corner, which is about fifty feet from where he stands. The warforged hurries in the opposite direction and makes it around the next corner unmolested. Glancing back, he sees two armored hobgoblins come around the corner cautiously. They look around but don’t see Six, and proceed carefully into the street, followed shortly afterwards by two crossbowmen. With his greater speed, as well as the [i]hat of disguise[/i], Six leaves them behind and blends in easily among the goblinoids of the area. Swinging around and heading back to the drug den, he finds a small crowd of people watching the place and talking animatedly, but nobody getting really close. Two of the gnolls stand just outside the doorway, looking around carefully, and talking quietly among themselves. Though he cannot really make out many details inside, Six can see that neither Gareth nor Nameless lies where he fell. The corpse of the one ogre has been dragged to one side, as evidenced by his large feet sticking out. There is a significant amount of movement inside, and a few seconds later, the hooded man comes into sight as he calls the gnolls in. The two gnolls enter the building and the other ogre reappears for a moment, to place a large crate in front of the doorway. Others follow, and soon a makeshift barricade has been created. The pair of gnolls take up position behind it and the movement inside ceases. Six too takes up a position off in the shadows of a building some distance away and settles down to watch. It takes a good two hours for Korm to return with an irritated Luna, who is in the shape of a hawk for added speed/maneuverability, and rejoin Six near the drug den. Along the way, Korm has explained everything to Luna about the fiasco with the attack on the drug den and been considerably berated for not being able to do anything without her along. When they arrive and meet Six in an alley a little distance away, the warforged explains what he has seen. After some discussion, the trio comes up with an ingenious, complicated, and very likely soon to be amusing, plan. Luna summons a xorn and instructs it that it is to earth glide into the drug den, taking the newly purchased [i]portable hole[/i] with it, and to flip it open as soon as it was inside. Luna then summons a huge earth elemental close to the doorway to the drug den, while Korm is casting a [i]barkskin[/i] on Six. Though she cannot communicate with it, the magic of the spell sends the creature rushing at the doorway and the barricade. As people on the street scream and flee, and howls of terror ring out from the unfortunate gnolls behind the barricade, the three remaining Angels jump into the [i]portable hole[/i]. A second later, the hole goes dark, as the xorn grabs it and disappears into the ground. Inside the [i]portable hole[/i], the three adventurers wait, cast protective spells, and hope that the xorn makes it all the way through and opens the [i]portable hole[/i] before the [i]summon[/i] spell that brought it here ends. After approximately thirty seconds of waiting, light – and the loud sounds of a battle – appears at the top of the [i]portable hole[/i]. Scrambling out as quickly as they can, the three Angels see that they are at one end of the large entrance room to the drug den. The xorn waits patiently by the [i]portable hole[/i], which it has placed on the floor and opened as instructed. Barely ten feet away is the remnants of the barricade and four gnolls engaged in battle with the earth elemental. Make that three gnolls, since one is a flattened corpse, and even as the trio emerges from the hole, another is smashed against the wall, leaving one archer and an axe-wielding gnoll. From the looks of things, the only reason the gnolls are still alive is because the elemental is too large for the room, hunched over to fit inside and unable to attack as freely as it might. Even hunched as it is, it only fits because parts of it are melded with the floor, walls and ceiling. A quick glance reveals no signs of Nameless or Gareth in the areas that can be seen. The corpse of the dead ogre and the two gnolls Korm had incinerated are lying in one of the antchamber/corridors linking the entrance chamber to the rooms further inside. The gnoll archer manages to land a shot on Luna (who isn’t in bear form yet, because it would be too tight a fit in the hole), but a round later, both of the remaining gnolls are down, under the combination of Luna’s, Six’s and Korm’s attacks, as well as the elemental’s. Two of the four gnolls seem to still be alive. The elemental promptly stops, since there are no enemies in sight and no commands for it to follow. The three Angels hurry through the two doors and into the back rooms of the drug den. A quick search, involving the next couple of minutes (during which both elemental and xorn disappear, as the spells end), reveals no sign of Gareth and Nameless, or of the other enemies the group had fought. The other rooms in the drug den include a couple clearly used by the ogres and the gnolls, other rooms apparently used by humans and goblins, a large master bedroom with two beds, a storeroom, a moderately well maintained alchemist’s lab, a meeting room, a kitchen/dining room, and a large privy. Most of the place is quite dirty, but functional. Interestingly, much of it looks like it was very hastily evacuated, with open chests and boxes lying around and various things hastily tossed on the floor. There is not a single sign of any drugs on the premises. The only living things in the place are a couple of goblins, dressed in fairly ragged clothes, ho are hiding in the back. They scream in fear as they see the three heavily armed adventurers and begin to gibber, asking not to be killed. Six intimidates the goblins into talking by simply walking into the room, as the screaming and the growing puddles around them indicate. As soon as he asks where the others went, the goblins begin to squeak over each other in their hurry to provide information. What eventually emerges is the following: “Bosses take them. Priest-man have them tied up and gagged first. Then he get the ogre and the other gnolls to take away all the shinies and the magic drinking stuff and your friends. They go down secret tunnel. Priest-man tell four gnolls to stay guard in case Boromar come, and say he be back sometime to check. Gnolls not happy but have to stay. Us also have to stay. Us tell you everything. Us show you everything. Please not kill us. Us very nice. Us clean room and cook for you. Please not kill us. Squeak, squeak, whine, cry, widdle.” As promised, the goblins show the trio that there is a well-concealed trapdoor, large enough to let an ogre pass through, in the antechamber right outside the ogres’ room. Beneath it, a large, sturdy ladder leads down a dozen feet to one end of a very crudely carved tunnel that leads off toward the southeast. A search of the rooms also leads to Six finding a couple of hidden panels, one in the main bedroom and one in the side of the meeting room. Both are empty, but the latter has a smashed vial in the corner, with a small pool of liquid. It seems to be dreamlily, a popular drug in Sharn. Korm and Luna each summon a [i]phantom stag[/i] and have the creatures precede them down the tunnel, with the trio following. The tunnel twists and turns, but seems to continue in a southeasterly direction. It also seems to be descending at a shallow rate. After a few minutes of traveling, the [i]phantom stag[/i]s enter a larger cavern, even as torchlight appears at the far end, about sixty feet away. The light reveals half a dozen gnolls, along with four goblins, and an ogre. There is also a cloaked human, who resembles the spellcaster from the battle in the drug den, but it is difficult to be sure. It is the last who quickly throws up his hands, stopping his allies, who are raising weapons, and shouts, “Stop! Don’t attack! If you want your friends back, you will speak to me.” Six stops and says, “Luna – no [i]flame strike[/i]s! Yet.” The man takes a step forward, when it seems that hostilities are not commencing instantly, and says, “Your companions are safe and alive. We have spoken with them and they have agreed to call a truce with Daask for six months, in return for being allowed to leave alive and unharmed. We want no trouble with you and simply want to stop these attacks on our establishments. If we had killed them, you would want vengeance, and that is something we do not need. In fact, as we speak, they are being returned unharmed, to another location from which they can return to your home.” The man stops, as if realizing something. Slowly, he says, “I presume your presence here means that you killed our remaining people above.” There is an immediate growl from some of the gnolls, but he motions for them to be quiet. “It is unfortunate, but you couldn’t realize that we were reaching an understanding with your friends.” “Please, leave now. Your friends, as I said, are safe and likely waiting for you.” The three adventurers exchange glances. The man sounds sincere. Six sighs and then says, “All right. We will leave, but if this is a trick we will be back. And this time, with serious backup. Now I have a request. I would like to speak with your leaders. How can I send them a message?” The man looks genuinely surprised. He thinks for a moment and then says, “You know where this place is, so it’s as good an option as any. We’ll make sure that they know you’re not to be harmed. That’s already a given, now that your friends have promised that you will not harm us, of course. Leave a message here and it’ll get through. We’ll send a reply to your house.” He pauses, looks at the trio quizzically, and asks, “Could you tell me what you’d like to speak to them about?” “Nothing right now,” says Six. “In a few days I may want to talk business.” And then the discussion is interrupted by a yell from the rear. [/QUOTE]
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