Beyond the Throne Room
Thanks KF72! I've been busy myself! I've been keeping up with your stories, and I can see how busy you've been, great job!
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They headed back to find Meepo where they’d left him in the room that Calcryx had been kept in. It was time to find their way deeper into the Citadel.
They got back into the room and Minx called to Meepo. He came running to her. He was excited that she had come back alive. He noticed that she smelled funny, and that she had fought something. She tried to explain that they had killed the mummy.
“How you kill something that’s already dead?” After trying to explain how they killed something that was undead (and what undead meant) for a several minutes, she finally gave up, it was hopeless.
While Minx was trying to explain killing the mummy to Meepo, the others were searching the room, since they hadn’t done that very thoroughly on their first visit here.
They found a wooden bench that appeared to have been used as a sort of an altar. Thorin searched it and found containers of green dye, paint brushes with coarse bristles (which upon close examination turned out to be goblin hair), and 4 jade figurines of dragons, one each in green, red, orange and white jade. He said the craftsmanship of the figurines was actually pretty good, so he pocketed the dragons.
Minx asked Meepo where the figurines had come from, and he just said down there somewhere, indicating a direction. She then asked him about the various doors in the room, one which led to a room containing food for Calcryx (rats), two empty rooms, the hole in the wall that the goblins had made when they stole the dragon (which the other adventurers had gone through), and the door leading to where it turned out the kobolds were holding some goblins hostage.
Upon hearing that news, they certainly wanted to talk to the goblins! Meepo wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but went along with it. Geirmund tried to pick the lock, but his lockpick broke. So, Turk decided to try to bash the door down. Meepo panicked and went to see if he could get a friend of his to get them into the room with the goblins, before Turk got him into trouble.
Fortunately, Meepo’s friend, Crix, was willing to help. The guard pulled out the broken lockpick, glared at them for trying to pick the lock, and unlocked the door. When the adventurers entered the room, they found four filthy goblins chained in the room.
Minx tried to talk them into giving them a map of the underground. The goblins would only do it if they would get their freedom. Meepo wasn’t a happy kobold because he knew what the humans were going to want him to do.
They were limited on chalk, so Turk broke two pieces of chalk in half and gave each goblin a piece. Then, told each one to draw it’s own map on the floor. If the maps were right, they would be escorted out of the Citadel. If they were all different, then when one proved to be right, that goblin would be given its freedom. The goblins got to work.
Meanwhile, the party had to figure out what to do about writing the map on something they could take with them. They finally decided to have Meepo take Thorin to get some charcoal. Kierwin volunteered the use of one of her clerical scrolls since they had no paper to use for the map.
Meepo decided that Thorin was his new best friend (next to Minx of course, who was his real best friend), because he could see in the dark.
When Meepo and Thorin returned, the goblins had finished their maps. There were two different maps. It appeared that the goblins had drawn two different sections of the citadel, so they had indeed all four earned their freedom.
When Minx asked the goblins about traps and ambushes, they made her make the kobolds leave. They said there were no traps or ambushes set up. They didn’t know where the dragon was kept, they hadn’t ever been there. They did show them where the leader was, he was in the big room. Belak is in the underparts with the tree, and the goblins didn’t think the party should mess with him.
It seemed that the goblins had tried to be truthful and kept their word. The party walked them out to the front of the citadel and let them go. Meepo and Crix weren’t happy because that was their meal for the next few days that was walking away. The group told them not to worry, there would be plenty of dead goblins soon.
Looking at the map, the best way to go would be through the throne room, rather than the more direct route which was the way the goblins had broken through and taken the dragon. So, they stashed Meepo again, warning him to stay out of sight, and started off through the throne room.
Once they got there however, the guards warned them that the way was blocked with a pit trap. There was no way past it, and no way to disarm it.
Turk felt his way around until he triggered the trap, to know exactly where the pit was. Then they explored all their options. There was no way to throw a spear across with a rope attached, there wasn’t anything to anchor it in. The pit had massive sharp spikes in the bottom and there was nothing they could cover them with. The kobolds had never made a way to reset the trap, so that was out. Finally, Turk made his decision. The rest of the party wasn’t happy with it, though.
Turk took off his armor, preparing to jump across the pit full of spikes. Everyone else was still trying to think of another way across it, but there wasn’t one. Turk jumped. He made it. Kierwin and Thorin were in the room with him, but still on the other side of the pit. They were both relieved when he made the jump across the pit. They threw his armor and supplies over so that he could use his piton and fasten the rope off to get them over.
He muffled the sound to help keep the noise down while he hammered the piton in to fasten the rope. Just before he could get his armor back on, goblins burst into the room. Even though he had taken care to muffle the hammering, they had been on the opposite side of the wall and had still heard it.
While Turk started fighting, Thorin crossed the rope, followed by Kierwin. Thorin got across and engaged a goblin, but there wasn’t room for Kierwin to step off of the rope. Fortunately, Turk killed a goblin with his first blow, and stepped forward as it fell to the ground, allowing her to step up onto solid ground. Thorin and Kierwin both had to fight goblins through the doorway, and didn’t manage to hit any.
Now that Turk, Thorin and Kierwin were all across the pit, the others could finally enter the room. They waited to come across since there wasn’t room for them on the other side until the fight was over or moved on.
Turk managed to move forward and took out a second goblin, but then got hit by a crossbow bolt, and slashed with a sword, now he had blood running from two wounds, fighting with no armor on.
In the end, Turk had killed three of the goblins and Thorin had taken out the fourth.
Kierwin helped Turk don his armor, then, being low on healing, she decided to try out the healing scroll she’d found on the island. She was a bit wary of it after the way the Spiritual Weapon had surprised her, but tried it.
The results were definitely not what she expected. As she used the scroll to heal Turk’s wounds, a purple glow appeared and they had feelings of arousal and pleasure, but for Turk, he still felt pain, but the pain felt good too. Well, that had certainly never happened before! What kind of god did they worship on that island or dimension, whatever that place was?
It was very strange, and she was really glad she hadn’t used on certain other members of the group! It took quite awhile for Kierwin to get over the feeling, and she wasn’t too sure she wanted to use the last spell on the scroll later, it was a group spell. She didn’t ask Turk how long the feeling lasted, in fact, she didn’t ask him about it at all. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know right now, it was probably a good thing he’d already gotten his armor back on before she healed him.
By now everyone had made it over there, and they were ready to move on, they went through the doorway to the next room. They didn’t find anything. Thorin searched thoroughly.
They got to the next door, and Geirmund searched it closely for traps, but didn’t detect any. Thorin opened it. The room was so hazy from smoke they could barely see. The room was full of columns. So far the map the goblins had drawn were pretty accurate.
When they got to the next door, they could hear movement, so they prepared for battle. They worked out a strategy, including having Geirmund spike the door shut if he needed to in order to keep any of the goblins from escaping.
Kierwin had one last spell left, and that was the
Bless spell on the scroll from the island. She was hesitant to use it, but they needed every edge they could get. So, she cast it on the group. As she did, the purple haze appeared. This time, the whole group felt strangely aroused, and they were oddly excited about the idea of getting hurt and feeling the sensation of pain. Except Turk, who felt slightly repulsed by it as though it was wrong.
So, with this strange blessing, they went through the door and found goblins and hobgoblins, a lot of them, and the two fighters and the cleric went right into combat without a second thought.
Geirmund stayed at the door as planned at the beginning of the battle, ready to spike it shut, or to head into battle where needed.
Minx and Snap stayed back where they could fight from a distance at first. Minx was ready with a
sleep spell and put 3 goblins to sleep. Snap followed her example and cast
sleep on 2 goblins and a hobgoblin.
Turk went to the right cut a goblin in half with one blow of his greatsword. Kierwin followed Turk, but didn’t manage to engage any of the goblins in combat.
One of the goblins kicked the hobgoblin that Snap had put to sleep and woke it up.
Thorin went to the left and cut a goblin down the middle with his war axe, a puddle of blood starting to form at his feet.
Minx had her composite longbow out and pierced a goblin right through the heart, a perfect shot, it dropped straight to the floor.
Kierwin saw her opening and engaged a hobgoblin. She sliced it open with her sword, not killing it, but wounding it bad enough that when it tried to fight back, it missed her completely.
Snap cast
sleep on two more hobgoblins, but then two of the goblins that had been asleep previously woke up. Geirmund had been keeping a close eye on the fight and noticed that the sleep spells were having a limited effect. He decided it was time to take action.
Goblins flanked Thorin, but both missed him when they attacked. Then two other goblins woke the hobgoblins up that Snap had just cast sleep on. This was getting frustrating, there were just too many of them.
Turk saw that Thorin was flanked and went to help him, killing one, the pool of blood was getting bigger. Thorin slashed at the remaining goblin, but missed it. Then the goblin fought back at Thorin and hit him, his blood added to the ever growing pool at his feet.
Minx fired at a goblin with her bow, but it dodged the arrow in the confusion.
Kierwin went for a finishing blow on the hobgoblin, but just as she struck at it, it managed to swing at her and just nicked her arm, throwing her aim off just enough to make her miss. It drew blood, but she didn't seem to mind that much, in fact that was just fine.
A hobgoblin had managed to come up behind Turk while he was killing the goblin. It just barely scratched him as he was turning to fight it.
Snap got his crossbow out and loaded it. Geirmund came in and started killing the goblins before they could wake up from the sleep spells. Meanwhile, Minx took another shot with her bow, but the wiry goblin got away again.
The hobgoblin tried to attack Turk again, but its weapon futilely bounced off his armor. Then Turk swung his greatsword and the hobgoblin’s head went flying across the room, spraying blood in a crescent behind it.
Thorin brought his war axe down and slashed the goblin down across the chest, killing it, dropping it straight down where it stood, the puddle of blood was getting bigger.
Kierwin thrust her sword through the hobgoblin, killing it, but as it went down screaming, it managed to slice her leg one last time.
Snap fired his heavy crossbow at a goblin, scoring a perfect shot and dropping it in its tracks, it fell mid-step.
Meanwhile Geirmund continued killing sleeping goblins.
Turk took a slight wound from a goblin, throwing his aim off as he tried to return the blow. Thorin stepped up and killed the one that had just wounded Turk. That was the last one. One last goblin had fled the battle through a door on the far side of the room.
Kierwin realized that she hadn't cared one bit about the wounds from the hobgoblin until the spell wore off, she wondered about the others. She also realized she'd gone right past four small goblins to attack the larger hobgoblin instead, not the smartest move she'd ever made. She decided not to ask the others about it.
They searched the room, it was full of junk. They searched the bodies and found a little gold and silver. Snap cast detect magic, but other than what they already had with them, there wasn’t any, but considering what the junk in the room looked like that was what they expected.
Kierwin was out of healing, and they were all hurt and in desperate need of rest. They talked it over and decided to return to Oakhurst.
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Coming up: A Night in Oakhurst
Which heroes' lives will change forever?
P.S. A little note here: the next few stories are a little more adult oriented, but very important to the story. Parental Guidance is suggested! Just thought I'd warn you. Tab.
