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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4745886" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>The party discusses resting, but they decide that the odds of more goblins either returning to or already being in the keep precludes staying for long. Instead, they settle for a thorough search. This turns up over 1000 gold pieces’ worth of loot- a considerable haul! Of course, our heroes are sobered by the realization that, if they are slain by goblins, they won’t get to spend it, and so they continue their search without interruption.</p><p></p><p>Up in one of the towers of the keep, the party finds a strange, ominous-looking apparatus of wood that has an old, partial corpse lashed to it, which in turn has been stuck by a dagger that gives off a ghostly white glow. Kifla immediately declares it cursed, and no amount of persuasion can convince her otherwise, so the party leaves it alone for now. </p><p></p><p>Down below, Barouk finds a hidden trap door that leads down to a sort of hidden vault. It is here that the party finds the <em>real</em> treasures of Vraath Keep, including several thousand more gold pieces in cash and several magic items, including a staff of white ash that is carved with hundreds of small mystical sigils and glyphs, a mithral chain shirt and a single, extraordinarily large, gauntlet.</p><p></p><p>“Wow,” comments Corbin the Conjurer, “we’re going all right!”</p><p></p><p>“How can you say that?” wails Kifla. “Several of our friends have died to get here!”</p><p></p><p>“No point crying about it,” grunts Barouk. “There are still goblins to kill. And one day, I’m still going back to slay the damned Early of Thyrozim.”</p><p></p><p>Kifla sniffles, but hushes. </p><p></p><p>Corbin, meanwhile, says, “I’m so sorry- I did not know about your friends. Except Gorsh, anyway. For whom I am also sorry. Um.”</p><p></p><p>“Anyway,” Barouk harrumphs, “let’s finish our search.”</p><p></p><p>“There are a lot of papers around,” Corbin says. “It will take time to read them, but I’ve already seen a bunch of maps and stuff.” He pauses. “They look like war plans.”</p><p></p><p>“What? Where?” Barouk demands.</p><p></p><p>Corbin leads the others to a large area where he has been organizing some of the papers. Atop the stack is a large map of the Elsir Vale, and Corbin is right: it is clearly an invasion plan.</p><p></p><p>”Galador’s Light, look at this,” Barouk exclaims. “They even have a timeline. Look! Day 5, they attack Drellin’s Ferry! And they think that, by day 35, hey can take pretty much the whole Vale.”</p><p></p><p>“This can’t just be the work of a couple dozen goblins,” Corbin says. Kifla nods vigorously. He continues, “I’ll need some time, but I want to read through these papers. I think it’s vital.”</p><p></p><p>“I think you’re right,” Barouk nods. “There could be valuable intelligence here.”</p><p></p><p>“Plus,” Kifla adds, “we need time to bury Gorsh.”</p><p></p><p>Barouk groans, but Jorr nods. “Seems right to me.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>While the others bury the bodies, Kifla and Corbin pour over the notes from the bugbear- whose name, it turns out, was Koth. They learn a few key pieces of information. First, the goblin horde is gathering at Cinder Hill, preparing to march on Drellin’s Ferry. It’s the first place that the goblins will attack en force. Kifla and Corbin look again at the map. <em>Day 5.</em></p><p></p><p>But what day is it now? </p><p></p><p>The papers do not tell them this, perhaps most important, piece of information. They do reveal a lot of other details, but on the crucial issue of timing, they only say: <em>We will strike lightning swift.</em> Nowhere is the date of the initial attack given. </p><p></p><p><em>It could have been yesterday,</em> groans Corbin to himself. </p><p></p><p>The papers do reveal other bits of information: the leaders of the Red Hand of Doom, as the enemy calls itself, are called the four Wyrmlords. Koth was one of them; now, his corpse lies in the woods, outside of the keep. The others are a goblin ranger named Saarvith, a hobgoblin bard named Ulwai Stormcaller and a hobgoblin Talon of Tiamat called Hravek Kharn. Saarvith has been sent to the ruined city of Rhest on a special mission, and Wyrmlord Kharn commands the horde itself, but from the papers, it seems that Koth did not know what Ulwai Stormcaller was up to. Over them all reigns a fearsome cleric of Tiamat named Azarr Kul. </p><p></p><p>The Red Hand horde itself consists of dozens of goblinoid and ogre tribes, advised by several dragons. Koth’s notes indicate that he had only had contact with one of them- a green dragon named Ozyrrandion. The horde is marshalling at Cinder Hill, with the intent to march down and across the bridge that crosses Skull Gorge. There is a heavy emphasis on the bridge in the notes; it seems as though destroying it would delay the march of the horde by at least a few days. </p><p></p><p>“I think that there are more of them than we thought,” Corbin tells Kifla. </p><p></p><p>The gnome only nods. </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Our heroes return to Drellin’s Ferry with all due haste, and once they tell Captain Soranna of the town guard what they have learned, a council of war is quickly convened. Unfortunately, between the antics of our heroes almost setting the table on fire and the politics of the council, nothing much gets resolved.</p><p></p><p>“We need to go take that bridge out,” Barouk mutters to his friends as the council argues. </p><p></p><p>“About that,” Jorr muses, “I might have an idea...”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The giant gauntlet that the party found in the vault of Vraath Keep. The skeletal remains of a few giants in the rubble of the keep. Jorr was a local old-timer. He had figured it out quickly. </p><p></p><p><em>There aren’t many left, but there are giants in them hills. Our folk used to fight them, a long time ago. Long time ago, and that fight was pretty much the finish of it. After that, we didn’t have the stomach to go after them any more, and they didn’t have the numbers to come after us any more. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>That gauntlet- it was a trophy. The Vraath captains, they took it to thumb their noses at the giants, and that is what caused the final attack. I might be wrong, but I don’t think so. I think that’s damn close, even if it’s not quite dead on. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>We have to give it back. Give it back- and get giant help to break Skull Gorge Bridge.</em></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The party heads out again. “That strange wicker thing we saw,” Barouk says, “not the frame with the body and the cursed dagger in the tower, but the wicker thing in the path- that was a giants’ warning, wasn’t it?”</p><p></p><p>Jorr nods. “Yup. Best to take it seriously, too- except, we <em>want</em> to find the giants.”</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Our heroes find the giants!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4745886, member: 1210"] The party discusses resting, but they decide that the odds of more goblins either returning to or already being in the keep precludes staying for long. Instead, they settle for a thorough search. This turns up over 1000 gold pieces’ worth of loot- a considerable haul! Of course, our heroes are sobered by the realization that, if they are slain by goblins, they won’t get to spend it, and so they continue their search without interruption. Up in one of the towers of the keep, the party finds a strange, ominous-looking apparatus of wood that has an old, partial corpse lashed to it, which in turn has been stuck by a dagger that gives off a ghostly white glow. Kifla immediately declares it cursed, and no amount of persuasion can convince her otherwise, so the party leaves it alone for now. Down below, Barouk finds a hidden trap door that leads down to a sort of hidden vault. It is here that the party finds the [i]real[/i] treasures of Vraath Keep, including several thousand more gold pieces in cash and several magic items, including a staff of white ash that is carved with hundreds of small mystical sigils and glyphs, a mithral chain shirt and a single, extraordinarily large, gauntlet. “Wow,” comments Corbin the Conjurer, “we’re going all right!” “How can you say that?” wails Kifla. “Several of our friends have died to get here!” “No point crying about it,” grunts Barouk. “There are still goblins to kill. And one day, I’m still going back to slay the damned Early of Thyrozim.” Kifla sniffles, but hushes. Corbin, meanwhile, says, “I’m so sorry- I did not know about your friends. Except Gorsh, anyway. For whom I am also sorry. Um.” “Anyway,” Barouk harrumphs, “let’s finish our search.” “There are a lot of papers around,” Corbin says. “It will take time to read them, but I’ve already seen a bunch of maps and stuff.” He pauses. “They look like war plans.” “What? Where?” Barouk demands. Corbin leads the others to a large area where he has been organizing some of the papers. Atop the stack is a large map of the Elsir Vale, and Corbin is right: it is clearly an invasion plan. ”Galador’s Light, look at this,” Barouk exclaims. “They even have a timeline. Look! Day 5, they attack Drellin’s Ferry! And they think that, by day 35, hey can take pretty much the whole Vale.” “This can’t just be the work of a couple dozen goblins,” Corbin says. Kifla nods vigorously. He continues, “I’ll need some time, but I want to read through these papers. I think it’s vital.” “I think you’re right,” Barouk nods. “There could be valuable intelligence here.” “Plus,” Kifla adds, “we need time to bury Gorsh.” Barouk groans, but Jorr nods. “Seems right to me.” *** While the others bury the bodies, Kifla and Corbin pour over the notes from the bugbear- whose name, it turns out, was Koth. They learn a few key pieces of information. First, the goblin horde is gathering at Cinder Hill, preparing to march on Drellin’s Ferry. It’s the first place that the goblins will attack en force. Kifla and Corbin look again at the map. [i]Day 5.[/i] But what day is it now? The papers do not tell them this, perhaps most important, piece of information. They do reveal a lot of other details, but on the crucial issue of timing, they only say: [i]We will strike lightning swift.[/i] Nowhere is the date of the initial attack given. [i]It could have been yesterday,[/i] groans Corbin to himself. The papers do reveal other bits of information: the leaders of the Red Hand of Doom, as the enemy calls itself, are called the four Wyrmlords. Koth was one of them; now, his corpse lies in the woods, outside of the keep. The others are a goblin ranger named Saarvith, a hobgoblin bard named Ulwai Stormcaller and a hobgoblin Talon of Tiamat called Hravek Kharn. Saarvith has been sent to the ruined city of Rhest on a special mission, and Wyrmlord Kharn commands the horde itself, but from the papers, it seems that Koth did not know what Ulwai Stormcaller was up to. Over them all reigns a fearsome cleric of Tiamat named Azarr Kul. The Red Hand horde itself consists of dozens of goblinoid and ogre tribes, advised by several dragons. Koth’s notes indicate that he had only had contact with one of them- a green dragon named Ozyrrandion. The horde is marshalling at Cinder Hill, with the intent to march down and across the bridge that crosses Skull Gorge. There is a heavy emphasis on the bridge in the notes; it seems as though destroying it would delay the march of the horde by at least a few days. “I think that there are more of them than we thought,” Corbin tells Kifla. The gnome only nods. *** Our heroes return to Drellin’s Ferry with all due haste, and once they tell Captain Soranna of the town guard what they have learned, a council of war is quickly convened. Unfortunately, between the antics of our heroes almost setting the table on fire and the politics of the council, nothing much gets resolved. “We need to go take that bridge out,” Barouk mutters to his friends as the council argues. “About that,” Jorr muses, “I might have an idea...” *** The giant gauntlet that the party found in the vault of Vraath Keep. The skeletal remains of a few giants in the rubble of the keep. Jorr was a local old-timer. He had figured it out quickly. [i]There aren’t many left, but there are giants in them hills. Our folk used to fight them, a long time ago. Long time ago, and that fight was pretty much the finish of it. After that, we didn’t have the stomach to go after them any more, and they didn’t have the numbers to come after us any more. That gauntlet- it was a trophy. The Vraath captains, they took it to thumb their noses at the giants, and that is what caused the final attack. I might be wrong, but I don’t think so. I think that’s damn close, even if it’s not quite dead on. We have to give it back. Give it back- and get giant help to break Skull Gorge Bridge.[/i] *** The party heads out again. “That strange wicker thing we saw,” Barouk says, “not the frame with the body and the cursed dagger in the tower, but the wicker thing in the path- that was a giants’ warning, wasn’t it?” Jorr nods. “Yup. Best to take it seriously, too- except, we [i]want[/i] to find the giants.” [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Our heroes find the giants! [/QUOTE]
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