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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eryiedes" data-source="post: 5163027" data-attributes="member: 88686">As the last of the goblin's shrieking drifted out, like stale echos lost amongst the ruined corridors of the keeps dungeon, the party was suprised that no other sentries or guards responded to the initial attack.Securing the loot, pitiful though it was it has become very quickly apparent that these goblins carry coins most likely taken from the Northfold raid...some of them with dried blood still clinging to them.Travis: "Blood Money."Quinn: "We have indeed found the raiders lair."Mardok sniffing the air then turns to the hallway he had originally intended to explore before being rudely interupted by the sentries.He cautiously approached a passage off the main hall that was blocked by a heavy hanging tapestry the condition of which would suggest it was recently hung.Though damp and musty it moved freely and as the heros took up position behind the barbarian as he mentioned casually yet forcefully; "If there is anyone still left in there....I'm going to kill you now?" and upon finishing moved aside the tapestry with his great axe.Shaster seemingly impatient, and without a clear line of fire, asked in a hushed tone; "What is it....what do you see?"Acting as if he had been pulled in abruptly, he disappears as the words have barely left his lips, much to the parties astonishment as weapons instantly are set to the ready.Pushing aside the mangy curtain with his axe again as he giggles in an orc fashion (that to non-goblinkin ears might seem overtly unsettling) and blurts out; "IT'S A JUST STORE ROOM!"..."(You should SEE your faces right now!)"He turns back into the storage room as his laugh continues to echo through the empty halls of the Shadowfell.Quinn simply shakes his head; "I will never understand orc humor."Travis: "At least he doesn't pantomime with severed body parts anymore."Gorshak: "I ALMOST forgot about that."Shaster, unfamiliar with the barbarian's quirkier behavior, can only nervously shake his head; "NOT funny....not funny at ALL" and he turns to look at a single worn oak door that lay not twenty feet beyond the passage to the store room.Mardok continued through the storage room and discovered it led to a living area for the goblin guards that even now were fattening up the ravenous swarm of rats in the pit trap of the main entrance.Following the passage around he approached the party from the rear as they discussed a mixture of orc etiquette and concern that he no longer appeared to be in the storage room.As Travis turned he saw Mardok creep around the corner and motioning silence stood directly behind the remaining members and yelled; "BOO!!!"Shaster: "Are you TRYING to get us caught!"The towering barbarians giggles then faded to a cold grim stare.Shaster: "I'll just stand over here now...." and he steps back so that Quinn separates hin from the half orc.Quinn: "If were done having fun now?" as he put his hand to the rope that made up a jury rigged handle to the swollen wooden door.On the otherside, stairs decended even deeper into the dungeon.As the neared the bottom they began to notice the floors are covered with loose dirt that was casually swept aside and footsteps that indicate extensive excavations are taking place nearby.As the continued up the stoneworked hall, they noticed a passage that branched off to the right of the corridor unlike the one that led to it.Torches didn't mark the path as they had in the main halls.From the darkness below came only the sound of dripping water and the squeaking of rats.Mardok sniffed at the passage...absolute pitch was impenetrable even to his orc eyes...and as he strained to see what he could, Travis handed him a newly lit torch from his backpack.Quinn still curious about the corridor they had just left looked as far as he could to see what caused the dancing torchlight in a far chambre to flicker as vigorously as it did.Gorshak noticed the cleric's distraction and kept pace not far behind him.Travis nudged both Shaster and Mardok who handed the Warlord back the torch and moved forward to see what had caught the deva's attention.As the group proceeded, out of marching order, to the chambre of the dancing light...Quinn wasn't prepared for what he saw.Although it was the incomprehensible snarling of a goblin arguement, it was the room's resemblance to an complete disaster and not a proper excavation that drew Quinn's attention from the creatures within that even now mobilized against this new "blue" intruder.In the room, remnants of the original floor stand like short towers protruding from a depression. Narrow wooden planks connect the patches of the original floor, and a few goblins toil in this room attacking the floors and walls with shovels and picks as they seem to argue amongst themselves.Dinn the Deceptive was the first to see Quinn with the Longtoothed Guardian Drake that stood beside him.With a roar, the burly reptilian quadruped reared and charged towards the ramp to reach the deva as the Deceptive goblin raised the alarm and turned to climb the ladder behind him to get a better shot at approaching attackers with his short bow.Unfortunately, Quinn's awareness of his surroundings is directly proportional to the amount of energy he spends admiring Mardok and he allows Dinn and the Longtooth to react unopposed.Mardok looks into the room and spots three goblin Sharpshooters taking up positions amongst the dig site.He just as quickly, realizing there is no ready target for him to charge, pulls out of the room leaving Quinn alone again; "Looks like we have some archers, let's get ready to kill them."Shaster: "I wish you wouldn't call them archers....they are just idiots with bows."Mardok: "You mean that ISN'T what archer means?"Though alone, Quinn turns his seraphic gaze upon the gathering goblins and smiles coldly as if promising a dreadful smiting to come.Shaster nimbly moves into the room and attempts to harrow his enemies with the power of his Elemental Elders and muttering to the spirit of cold he infuses his arrow with their majesty.Unfortunately, the loose footing of the excavated room makes for poor aim, and his arrow flies off course.The pair of Guard Drakes run up the ramp to the heros but the Longtoothed drake reaches the cleric first and with its frenzy heightened by the presance of its mate, the lizard chomps onto the deva's leg and takes a chunk of flesh with it.Quinn doesn't delay another second to bring forth a Moment of Glory and a blast of light emmanates from him that pushes the Longtooth with enough force to send it flying off the platform to fall to the dig floor below with a tremendous crash but seems unable to effect its mate.In the aftermath, a glowing protective aura now follows his allies and shields them from harm.Summoning forth the strength to continue action, he then conjures forth a Shield of Pure Faith and a golden nimbus of light surrounds and protects the friends of the deva from injury.Gorshak has no time to frivol with righteous prayers and simply lashes out in old fashioned goliath fury and lands a heavy blow upon the Bloodclawed drake remaining on the platform.He then promises swift vengence in the challenge he utters to his reptilian foe.Morgan moves into the room and readying shield and sword he shouts a quick command to the paladin as the Bloodclaw tries to get passed the goliath's guard but his successful charge left him off balance and the khopesh slices only stale dungeon air.Travis: "It breaking through!"Seeing a path clear through the combat, Mardok charges forth and leaps from the platform clearing 15 feet and the approaching archer, much to his suprise who saw only a wounded deva a moment before.(He recieved a 8.9 from the East German judge!)Without hesitation, the barbarian swings around and lands upon the Sharpshooter a Howling blow with his axe that bloodies his opponent.The half orc was suprised that he didn't suffer the injuries he was expecting from such a leap but was simply satisfied that the cleric was "finally earning his keep".The reply was swift as the archer answered back with a half hearted swing of his blade that caught nothing but air.Almost in the same instant, a volley of arrows streaked in towards the party, but bounced harmlessly from the flagstone walls of the chambre.Shaster made humbled arcane utterances to the Ancestral Insect Spirits and let fly a shaft of buzzing doom at the Deceptive Dinn that transforms from a shaft to a swarm of phantasmal vengence that mercilessly stings the goblin archer.The drakes mate now recovered, charged up onto the entry platform again and joined in attacking the heros but their defensive formation seemed impenetrable to the drake's assaults.The cleric holds forth his holy symbol and a beam of radiant vengence streaked through the stone cieling of the keep from the celestial heavens and seared Lompus the Ludicrous as he attempted to face down Mardok the Kinslayer.Quinn: "There is NO escape from the wrath of my Sacred flame!!!"He also asks that Bahamut continue to watch over and protect his friends.Siezing the initiative, Gorshak attacks the Bloodclawed drake without mercy or reprieve, and his accuracy is rewarded with a divine gift of vigor and strikes so hard that he bloodies his enemy in turn.He reassures the foul beast of his intention to end its days of terror knowing Kord will punish anyone or thing foolish enough to ignore the ancient tenents of combat.Travis, seeing the drake's mate approach and knowing that its frenzy will increase with proximity, braces his shield and charges headlong at the Longtooth before it can flank the goliath paladin and with a powerful blow, staggers the charging drake and forces it backwards towards the platforms edge.Quinn: "THAT'S the spirit!"Travis manages a smile with this praise.Mardok loomed menacingly over the smaller goblin foe; "Hold still so I can murder you!" but his shifty opponent withdrew from the strike and unleashed an arrow at his antagonist as a responce, but due to his wounds he misses the titanic half orc even at point blank range, much to his (very short lived) shame.As could be expected, Dinn the "Buzzed" and Verithax fired back arrows at the heros but whether distracted by ghostly swarms or distance, the savage goblinkin are unable to strike the group.Quinn: "Don't worry men...I have a plan."Barely finished shooing away the spectral swarm that harassed him last time, Dinn finds their number replenished from zero as the razorclaw shifter renews his attack upon the unfortunate Sharpshooter.As the beast before him slowed to its wounds, the paladin assured it thats its suffering will not endure much longer and raising his blade high, he brought it down upon the beasts skull and brought forth a shower of meat and spray that bathed the holy warrior.Gorshak: "Feel the Wrath of Kord!"Quinn seeing he is in ideal postion do unleash the fury of Bahamut begins to emit a Divine glow which seems to be solely directed at the remaining Bloodclaw instead of including its allies as he had intended.Morgan attempts to utilize Wolfpack Tactics with his goliath cohort and from flanking position to flanking position, the manuver suceeds but the strike fails to land.Mardok, now finished ascending a floor tower takes a bead on Dinn (who still swats at mystical insect attackers) on the adjacent platform.Remembering Douven's words, he charges and leaps the span of the platfom in a mighty 15 foot leap that nearly stuns the goblin he lands in front of.(He recieves a 8.5 from the Japanese judge!)Another volley of arrows is released but the protection of Quinn's god still follows the group like a shadow.Taking aim with the Elemental Spirits of cold to do his bidding, Shaster lets an arrow fly towards Verithax the Venerable but the arrow deviates in flight.Summoning the energies of the primal forces he invokes the inevitablity of his bloodline and redirects the shot towards a secondary target....its strikes and slays its recipient instantly.Quinn: "I had warned them there was going to be a "smite-down" coming..."The remaining drake fought on valiantly even though outmanuvered and outnumbered but to no avail, it was incapable of injuring the group.Seeing the Venerable goblin firing in the distance, Quinn focused the sum of his seraphic rage upon him and seared his foe from afar with a Lance of Faith.He then appealed to his god to continue his watchful gaze over the heros and to keep them safe from harm.Gorshak, having just Valiantly slain the remaining drake turned his attention to the archer in the rear and in a moment of "brilliance", the monolithic goliath tries to cross to an adjoining platform by crossing on a plank made by and for goblins.The result?His first step went straight through the wood and sent the goliath hurtling to the ground almost in the exact same spot that Quinn and sent the drake flying into.Gorshak muttered under his breath; "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...."Owing to the nature of their clerics relationship to his god, the goliath suffers no injury from the sudden tumble...unless you include his pride.Travis upon having another arrow whiz past his face pulls out his crossbow and fires a bolt at the distant Verithax but discovers why the goblins have had so much bad luck with archery.Having landed right in front of Dinn the Completely Stung, Mardok presses his attack and not only decapitates the archer but sends his body flying from the platform with ease.Driven by the smell of his enemies blood, the half orc's frenzy begins to build and no longer being able to contain himself he charges at the final archer only to discover what Gorshak had just realized.Big people and goblin carpentry do not mix and a mouthful of dirt is the end result of his Swift Charge.Once more, the protection of Bahamut is guarenteed by the devan cleric and he picks himself up from the terrible fall with nary a scratch.Mardok: "(Hmm, not bad)"The Ludicrous archer takes aim upon Shaster but this results in little more than alerting the Seeker to his quarry.Verithax noticing his allies have all but fallen, pulls back and fires an arrow into the Mardok as he looks to climb the platform he stands on now realizing he has no way out of this room.Kissing his arrow as he notches the shot...a wisp of icy vapor trails the shaft is it flies towards the floorborn Sharpshooter.Before the goblin can finish his scream, the misty trail intercepts his fleeing form and the goblin is instantly frozen solid in an smokey, dry ice like explosion of vapor, ice shards and snow.Quinn: "Say...that's pretty."Shaster: "Goblin-sicle?"Travis: "My favorite flavor....dumb and ugly."While the creatures of the Shadowfell seem to be ill prepared against a force such as Gorshak or Mardok, the idea of climbing a goblin archeological site was not included in Douven's training.Attempt after attempt sees the goliath and half orc try their level best to ascend to the top of the Venerable goblins platform but to no avail, they discover there had BETTER be more than one way to "skin a goblin".Travis and Shaster attempt to harass the remaining humanoid with a volley's but the distance proves to great and their opponent is too fast.Realizing he will die in moments if he doesn't do something, he waits for the two attackers to scale his platform...after having them discover (after a final fall each) that Bahamut has grown tried of this display and he has other followers who require his protection.Mardok: "Okay, why does that hurt now?"..."I fell worse before and it didn't hurt quite so much."..."YOU HEAR ME UP THERE...YOU ARE GONNA DIE!!!"Panic overwhelms the goblin and as the two warriors reach his sniper's roost, all the wounded antagonist can do after being cornered is to throw down his bow and surrender.Were it not for the fact that the goliath beat Mardok to Verithax, it's unlikely he would have survived to be interrogated at all.  TO BE CONTINUED....</blockquote>

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