Hawke reaches down, with his left hand, to draw the light warhammer from its quick-draw holster on his left hip. He reaches behind his back with his right hand, to draw the heavy warhammer from its quick-draw holster; his movements are fast and smooth, obviously the result of long years of practice.
Quixt:
Waking quietly, Quixt goes about studying his spellbook, snacking on trail rations and hydrating himself from his waterskin. He has several breakthroughs, actually more "a-ha" moments. He chuckled at himself, his spellbooks a messy pile of this or that, his spell component pouches even more so. He enjoyed the simplicity of this hour or so. He had spent far too much time on the run. The frenetic pace had died down, no doubt because the Eryptians assumed Quixt was out of their region, or that he was dead. He had closed up his materials and put them away in his haversack when he heard the commotion. He prepared himself, readying his scrolls in his bandoleer. He checked his bow and quiver of arrows. And he mentally counted the distance and time of the commotion outside to their location in the old ogre cave. This was going to be...fun!
Sphynx gives a quick expulsion of a fake laugh and says in Eryptian, "No zombies for you. I hate necromancers."
He takes a calming breath and draws upon some of his own magic to increase his physical protection against combat.
OOC:
Cast Mage Armor.
Speaking in the common trade tongue. "I am not quite sure what help I may summon. It may just be a little more chaos into the situation."
He moves toward the entrance of the cave and sways as if listening to some music in his own head. ~Dearest Mielikki, tranquil and pure. I serve another, as you know, not in opposition but in addition. Your causes are aligned for you both abhor necromancy. Send me some animals to aid against the danger to come.~
Sphynx lets the Obscuring Mist spell fade from his mind, but holds the actual execution of his summoning spell until combat actually begins, so as not to waste it.
GM:
Summon Nature's Ally lasts 1 round per level. You need to wait until combat actually starts to cast it.
Nimbar moves to the mouth of the Ogre cave and peers out, although the tree cover in front of the cave opening makes it hard to see everything. Nevertheless, he is able to get a sense of what's happening. After a minute or two, warriors begin pouring out of the Wendol cave opening, and forming groups. Nimbar watches the groups as they begin to move.
Nimbar says, "They sent 10 warriors into the Kobold caves, 10 toward the Goblin caves, and another 10 warriors out into the forest. We'd best be on guard. If the Goblins DID vacate their cave, as they promised they would, then the Wendol might not find the secret door at the rear. If they didn't leave, then they will likely tell them about the Ogre's death; if that happens, they'll be coming for us. For now, it's a waiting game..."
The party sets their sights on the rear of the cave, watching the secret door intently. After about 10 minutes, it becomes obvious that nothing is going to happen. The warriors whom had gone into the Kobold and Goblin caves return to the ravine, and begin talking to another tribesman. Nimbar can't hear what is being said.
Hawke scoffs, "Looks like the Goblins kept their word. Who would have thought?"
Nimbar shrugs, "Hmmm. I don't like it; Even if the Goblins left, I doubt they took the time to bury their dead, or if they did, I doubt they tended to the Ogre's corpse as well. Why didn't the Wendol warriors raise the alarm when they discovered the dead body or bodies? Something doesn't add up. The warriors came out of the cave, and reported back, but they didn't seem to be in a big hurry or in a state of panic. In fact, they seemed sort of calm about the matter. We're missing some vital piece of information. Perhaps we should open the secret door, move into the Goblin area, and investigate?"
The rest of the party agrees as well, so the party opens the secret door and moves into the Goblin area. Even before the door is all the way open, the "missing link" is obvious. In the southeast section of the adjacent room, is a large, make-shift wall of stones and rocks, which appears to have the purpose of holding back a GARGANTUAN patch of Green Slime!
The walls and floor of the rest of the room are dug rough and pock-marked, as if a small army of miners had gone wild with their pickaxes. It is obvious where the stones and rocks came from; the Goblins must have known about the approaching slime, and literally dug out part of their lair to build the barricade.
Hawke shakes his head, "This doesn't make sense. The entrance to their lair is east, past the slime. If they barricaded it here, then they'd be walling themselves in, unless there's another cave entrance to the west..."
Nimbar has an epiphany, "No, they went east! I think I know what happened! It's obvious, is it not, that each of these caves house a different group of humanoids that the Wendol have recruited?
I believe that the Goblins kept their word, and left their lair. I've heard tale that Goblins actually cultivate and grow slime for their own uses, especially for lair defense. They grow the slime in stone containers, and seal those containers with soft clay. These containers basically become "slime bombs" that can be thrown in order to break the container and release the slime.
I'll bet this was their attempt to get back at us. Let me break it down:
1. The Goblins agree to leave, albeit reluctantly. 2. On their way out, knowing that they don't have time to tend to the dead, they drop the slime bombs behind them. 3. The slime eats the corpses, which causes it to increase greatly in size; I remember killing at least 20 of the little cretins, along with the huge Ogre. That's a lot of food for a lot of slime growth. 4. In addition to tidying up the dead, the slime serves as a trap for US, should we attempt to return. 5. But before we returned, whichever humanoid tribe lives to the west discovered the slime, and realized it was heading for THEIR territory. So THEY are the ones who built the barricade. Slimes can't eat through stone. 6. The Goblins were probably enemies, or at least rivals, of whichever tribe lives to the west; so if the slime didn't get us, their hope was that it would get the adjacent tribe.
We obviously can't go east. And if we go west, we're going to run into more humanoids. My guess is maybe Orcs? But it doesn't matter.
The Wendol will probably avoid this area now, although we might run into them further west, if they are helping or otherwise interacting the adjacent tribe.
However, if we want to thin the herd of the Wendol's little "army," west might be a good place to start...
What say the rest of you? Shall we go west?"
--X-- = Party's location
Red line = stone barricade
E = Ogre cave entrance
S = Secret door
SCALE = 1 Square Equals 10 ft. (NOT 5 ft. like a battle map!)
EVERYONE: Vote in LINE chat on whether or not to proceed west!
The party's decision is unanimous; proceeding west seems the only logical course. Ordred leads the way, followed by the other party members. Surprisingly, there are torches placed along the hallways in sconces. In the earlier parts of this cave system, there were none. Knowing that Goblins have the ability to see in the dark, and most likely the humanoids to the west as well, the only plausible explanation can only be that the torches were placed there recently, as a last resort against the slime. Ordred surmises that although the slime cannot eat through stone, it CAN crawl over it, and it most likely will, eventually. These torches are handy enough to light the slime on fire with, which is the only known method of destroying it.
The party follows closely behind Ordred, as he slowly makes his way forward, checking for traps as he goes. However, it quickly becomes obvious, from the many footprints in the dusty tunnels, that this area is likely not trapped at all, due to it being a high traffic area.
Ordred is only 45 feet down the hallway, when he suddenly motions for the party to stop. He holds up 1 finger, and points to the north. Then he holds two fingers in front of his own eyes, to indicate that he sees 1 threat in the room ahead. Then, using his index finger, he draws the following word in the dust behind him, in the common tongue:
HOBGOBLIN
After everyone has had a chance to see it, he erases it and draws a new word, again in the common tongue:
ATTACK?
SCALE: 1 square = 5 ft. (Battle Map size)
O = Ordred
H = Hawke
N = Nimbar
Q = Quixt
S = Sphynx
1 = Hobgoblin
Not only are the hallways lit by torches, but the adjoining room (where the Hobgoblin is) as well.
EVERYONE: You can answer by simply nodding your head "yes"; indicate agreement by voting YES or NO in LINE chat.
Quixt removes a wand from the left pocket of his haversack. His exploration of useful combat spells having given way to practical reality, he readies himself to fight this hobgoblin, and anything else creeping out from the corners of this cave.
