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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MarauderX" data-source="post: 1613909" data-attributes="member: 9990">Session 11: Reckoning with the WolfskullsGuiding their skittish horses to a safe haven, Jerrin then joined the others in staring across the winding stream cutting through the harsh grey of the stone forest.  Half of a hollow log had been in place to cross the pitch black stream to the other side.  Before entering into the quiet gloom, Jerrin cast a spell of light on a rock and Alex tossed it through the doorway.  They saw a small chamber that encompassed the base of the tree and beyond that a larger room that seemed deserted.  Han stepped up onto the log to cross the stream first, intently watching the darkness for any activity.  As he stealthfully climbed across, an alarm began to chime loudly, and it was clear they had lost any chance of surprising the inhabitants.  Han then darted across, followed closely by Alex and the others.  Cyprian stayed to the rear, arrow noched and ready.  After bounding across the small bridge, they found a group of goblins, dressed in the typical wolfskull grey-furred clothes.  The adventurers poured in to face them, and the battle began.  Several worgs surged forward to face them as well, and soon the adventurers brought them down.  In the next room the party saw half a dozen more worgs barking and wildly tugging at their leashes.  In between the barking and battle cries they heard the shouting of some familiar voices coming from behind a tattered curtain.  The goblins at the entrance were quelled just as the other worgs were released from their bonds to attack.  The group retreated to the entrance to force the worgs to come at them one at a time.  It worked well with Jerrin, Thovaas and Cyprian holding the line against one worg at a time until the goblin king emerged and whistled, at which the worgs pulled back from the narrow hole.  Each side then waited for the other to make a move.Cyprian called out in the goblin tongue for the wolfskulls to release any prisoners they had to them and they would go.  The goblin king proudly introduced himself as Kloss and told them that there would only be a deal if the attackers laid down their weapons, to which the other goblins laughed wickedly.  Cyprian then shot one of the goblins in the face, dropping it to the ground and abruptly ending their giggling.  Kloss the goblin king then whisted loudly and the worgs renewed their attack.  Meanwhile Alex had gone outside to climb over the top of the goblin hideout.  Crawling through the stone thickets he felt some of the weaker branches give away beneath him and had to slow his movement so as not to stumble or fall into them.  He made his way onto the top of the hideout towards where he had heard the voices shouting in the common tongue.  Trying to peer downwards through the planked roof yielded only darkness, and Alex began moving some of the many planks to wriggle his way through to below.  As the battle raged, Jerrin stepped back from the front lines to summon a ghostly hippogriff to aid them, and the worgs turned their focus to attack it.  The worgs began to fall one by one as the group manuevered into the larger room to force their enemies back.  The goblin king fled down an open corridor and disappeared behind more curtains.  Alex had managed to open a hole and tied off a rope to lower himself into the room below.  On his descent he saw several grimy figures in make-shift cages.  Making his way towards them he caught something out of the corner of his eye, but was too late.  Four goblins now surrounded him, stabbing furiously at him with their swords.  Tumbling past them to try to escape, Alex then called for help, but was too late as the goblins pursued.  The largest of the four brought his sword down hard upon Alex's chest to drop him to the floor.  The hippogriff was eventually dispursed by the worgs, but enough of them had been weaked by it that they could no longer hold against the rest of the party.  Pushing towards Alex's cry for help, Thovaas saw the four goblins that had surprised Alex, and they looked ready to add a finishing blow until Thovaas charged them.  Instead of standing to fight him, the cowardly goblins raced towards one of the prison cells to take a hostage.  Cyprian and Thovaas stopped them from getting inside to kill the prisoners while Jerrin healed Alex back to conciousness.Sensing a lull, the group took a moment to collect their thoughts and assess what the next actions should be.  They met the ex-prisoners and recognized Rollof, one of the sherrifs of Kargam that had accompanied them on the riverboat upstream.  The other two human prisoners had been under Rollof's care when they had last seen them, and they looked even younger and more meak as they were covered with mud and thin from malnourishment.  Rollof tried to stand, but needed Thovaas's help as it became clear he had lost his foot and half of his calf, and he cursed the goblins as he was led out.  It was obvious they had all taken many beatings from the goblins, and the one apprentice revealed a missing thumb, and the remaining gash was badly infected.  The other apprentice had his tendons cut in one arm and one leg to prevent him from fighting or running away.  The fourth and last captive is a wild-eyed halfling, refusing to be touched or examined for any wounds.  Meanwhile Han and Cyprian had pulled back the curtain where Kloss had fled and mentioned it revealed a large chamber with what looked like a throne at the other end.  Deciding who should go first, the group eased their way into the corridor before pulling back the curtain to reveal the goblin king's main chamber.  Alex decided to stay with the newly freed prisoners and the horses outside.  The entire room was lined with various tapestries that now hung as curtains.  Each was once probably worth a good sum of gold, but now they were tattered, torn, and stained from abuse.  In the middle of the room were two tables that had been kicked over on their sides, behind which the party could barely make out worgs and their riders.  On the far side of the room several feet above the floor rose a dias with a wide chiseled chair and empty space all around it.  Behind it was a large wolf pelt with the wolfhead symbol that had been seen painted on many of the goblins' belongings.  The party walked into the room, looking to take on a worg and rider hiding behind one of the tables.  Cyprian and Han attacked, and Jerrin threw a small ball of fire at the other table.  Kloss called something in goblin over his shield and several goblins emerged from behind the curtains near Cyprian and Han.  Han soon to the flanking goblins and worg, leaving Cyprian to finish off the worg and it's rider.As Thovaas and Jerrin entered the room to help Cyprian, even more goblins poured in from behind the tapestries.  Kloss directed them into the best positions to surround the party, and then launched himself into the fray as well.  Jerrin's mount was tripped to the ground and slipped into unconciousness after many blows from the worgs and goblins, leaving Jerrin with his back against the wall and Thovaas in front of him, flanked by goblins.  The blows were pitched as the goblin numbers were thinned by Thovaas.  Then Kloss strided forward.Alex pulled across the curtain and shot an arrow into Kloss's side, enraging the large goblin as he turned his mount to attack Thovaas.  Jerrin managed to drop another goblin just as Thovaas lost his footing when Kloss's worg clamped onto one of his legs.  Jerrin and Thovaas struck several blows at them both while Alex shot arrows at the goblins.  From his knees, Thovaas swung his enchanted battleaxe in a wide arc up towards the goblin king.  The axe glided just over Kloss's shield and continued to chip off the top of the goblin king's skull.  In a last look of astonishment, Kloss slid from his mount to the floor, his face trapped in contorted confusion.  The few remaining goblins looked to flee, and only one managed to run by Alex on it's way out.  Kloss's mount did not give up, however.  It snapped at Thovaas and Jerrin as  Cyprian dealt another crushing blow to the last of the goblins, its spine crumpling beneath the mighty club.  Thovaas again struggled up to his knees and steadied his axe as he waited for an opening on the uninjured beast.  Finding a precise moment to strike, Thovaas dropped his blow, surging forward with all of his weight and momentum, and the axe cleaved deep into the worg's neck.  It collapsed to the ground and let out a last wimper before it exhaled for the last time.  Searching the room they discovered an empty room with a tower-like tree rising high up.  Also within the room is a hole for a round, hollow tree that leads into darkness.  Surveying the rest, they decided to bring the ex-prisoners in to the throne room to keep everyone safe.  Han then discovered something that made his face light up.  He had pulled back the stone throne from the floor and his paws worked feverishly to yank something from the hole and place it in his pouch.  Smiling, Han began to gush how pleased he was with everyone and urged for them to leave the forest soon.  Rollof lurched over to sit on the throne as the sun set.  He asked the party what they thought they should do.  Rollof said he thought they were kinda deep into the stone forest, to which Cyprian concurred.  Alex needed Jerrin to lead the horses inside, as it looked like they were going to spend the night in the throne room.</blockquote>

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