D&D 5E (IC) (OneShot) JustinCase's Within The Circle

[KahlessNestor]

Goblin lair
Evening
Round 0

“I say we bring Belig to the village for their punishment,” Magdalena said. “They are the ones he poisoned and wronged.”

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[sblock=Ministats]
Inspirations:
AC: 16 (chainmail)
HP: 8/12 HD: 1/1d10
Divine Sense (3/LR)
Lay on Hands 0/5

Prepared Spells:

Spell Slots Remaining/Total
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[sblock=Notes]
Need to buy torches.
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[TallIan]

Gorir,

Yuan-ti thought Gorir, "Wow, this baron got himself involved in some dangerous stuff, I hope he doesn't expect us to clear up that part of the mess."

With the danger now passed Gorir headed to their fallen comrade. He said a quite prayer to Moradin - even though Gorir was sure that was not Thadius was not a follower. "We should take him back to the village at least, we'll have to do what we can to embalm him."

"We took Belig's surrender, we owe him justice - he might be a savage but we are not. Leaving him here under the lizardmen will only end badly for them. I say we take him back to the village.

 

[JustinCase]

OOC: Alright, I'm going to do this in parts. First, rounding things up in the depot.

Having found evidence of yuan-ti machinations behind the mysterious Circle, the party takes the tome and the sacrificial items with them. Searching the rest of the depot, they find a few more items that confirm this theory. In the former throne room, three portrait paintings are found between the rubble; two can be recognized as portraying long-dead members of the Baron's family, and the third is of nobody famous. However, that last portrait is of a gentleman with an inhuman sleek and sallow cast; a vaguely serpentine look.

In Krig's quarters, a number of spearheads engraved with snake motifs are found. Furthermore, the party finds a brick of gold, seven unopened bottles of wine (and two empty ones) and a fine flute. These items were the chieftain's personal stash, and he dared not return to claim them after being defeated.

Carrying the corpse of Thadius out of the throne room, the party finds Chief Krig true to his word. All the goblins, including the young, have vanished from the depot, except for Belig. The upstart goblin warrior is still locked in the privvy, albeit now with a rickety chair keeping the door closed from the outside. It appears that Belig was found by the other goblins, and then left behind for the trouble he had brought upon them.

Belig is quiet, defeated, as the party ties his hands and brings him along out into the night, where the first rays of sunlight are beginning to light up the sky.

First stop is the muckdweller encampment.

 

[JustinCase]

As the heroes, carrying the tiefling noble's body and keeping the captured goblin close, arrive at the muckdweller encampment, they find it to be a ramshackle compound of three lean-to huts on the riverbank, half a mile from the depot. You recognize the small reptilians you've encountered before - Chatty, Biter, Runner, Spitter, Big-Eyes - and a few others, sitting lazily in a circle around a pile of rubble.

One of the creatures is startled by your arrival, but before it can rally the whole camp, the one you recognize as Chatty has calmed them all down. Waddling up to you, he starts talking to you in their curious way, inviting you to join them, while two others take sharpened sticks and start prodding the tied goblin. As you move closer to the circle, it becomes obvious that the pile of rubble is, in fact, the remaining bones of the muckdweller that Traubon had killed.

"Cold lizard home," Chatty explains proudly. "Back to family. Strength inside."

Rubbing his belly, he seems to have no idea that the ceremony to 'say goodbye to the dead', which turns out to involve cannibalism, is at all strange to the heroes. Then, with an eye towards fallen Thadius, he inquires, "Cold horned one ceremony also?"

Quickly you convince them that any ceremonies will take place elsewhere, before changing the subject to the liberation of their former home.

Outcries of joy erupt around the encampment as the reptiles realize they can go back to their home! The peculiar creatures start moving up to you, thanking you, words flowing from their mouths too fast and without familiar structure to understand it all. In their enthusiasm, they start presenting you with gifts - useless wooden sticks, handfulls of river mud, and even the bones of the recently dead muckdweller. After politely declining their presents, the one you called Biter comes with several fishes, freshly caught, and you accept them graciously, storing the food in your bags.

Saying your goodbyes to the muckdwellers, urging them to ask the villagers for aid in case the goblins ever return, you eventually leave them behind and move back to the town of Thistle.

 

[JustinCase]

The sun is just peeking above the horizon when the party finds their way back to the village of Thistle. As the villagers, getting ready for a day's work, see the hated goblin brought back in chains, they drop what they're doing and cheerfully welcome the heroes and start mocking Belig. Some start prodding the creature, and one raises a pitchfork, but lowers it when Squire Jern arrives.

"You're back," he says, his voice a curious mix between relief and upset. "When you didn't return for dinner, I suspected the worst. I was about to prepare the wagon of goods when I heard the commotion."

Then he smiles. "Glad you caught the bastard. I've got a jail for him," the squire motions for Belig to be brought to his house, and leads the heroes to his mansion's basement, where a sturdy prison, long unused, awaits the goblin.

"He'll learn to behave," he answers the question that hangs in the air, "If he does, he may eventually earn some liberties and perhaps even his freedom. If he doesn't, he'll be here a long time."

Belig's head droops as he realizes his actions have consequences. Meekly he steps into the prison cell, where he sits down and faces away from the heroes.

"I've got some of yesterday's dinner left," Squire Jern says while locking the jail, then leading the heroes upstairs where cold servings sit unstirred on a large table except for the squire's plate.

OOC: Next post'll be the return to the Baron, and the last post in the IC thread.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Village
Dawn
Round 0

“Very good,” Magdalena told Squire Jern, watching Belig get locked up. “It is more than he deserves.” She leaned down to Belig’s height and looked at him through the bars. “You are lucky we did not simply cut you down, and lucky the villagers don’t hang you. If I have to come this way again because of your actions, I will not be so merciful,” she warned him.

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Action:
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[sblock=Ministats]
Inspirations:
AC: 16 (chainmail)
HP: 12/12 HD: 1/1d10
Divine Sense (3/LR)
Lay on Hands 5/5

Prepared Spells:

Spell Slots Remaining/Total
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[sblock=Notes]
Need to buy torches.
[/sblock]

 

[TallIan]

Gorir

"Jails too good for the filth, especially since he seems to have gone against his own chieftain. It appears that the stream was contaminated by accident and he just tried to capitalise on it. Gorir shares what they learned from the Goblin chief

 

[JustinCase]

Now just a miserable bundle in the prison corner, Belig does not respond to Magdalena's warnings, although she does not doubt he has heard her.

While eating, Squire Jern listens intently to the heroes' recounting of what transpired in the depot - except, of course, for the secret mission regarding the House of the Circlet.

"Lucky you found the goblins' hideout," he says with only a hint of suspicion in his voice. He does not elaborate, however; instead, he asks for directions should the muckdwellers ever need the village's aid. Obviously the squire is unsure about small reptilian creatures living nearby, but there is no denying their willingness to help the heroes out. And it seems they had been living here for years without any villagers running afoul of them!

"I wish I could offer more than this cold food and whatever's on the cart," explains Jern, "But the village has little wealth in a monetary sense. I am sure, however, that the baron will compensate you for your heroic deeds."

Looking at the body of fallen Thadius, he continues, "I will prepare the body for the trip back to the Baron, so it doesn't smell too bad. I imagine Baron Wildhurst wants to deliver him to his family personally."

With that, the squire leaves the others to their food, and after a few hours of rest the heroes emerge from the mansion, he is waiting beside the wagon that until recently carried the tribute to the goblins. Now a neatly wrapped body lies in it, with Thadius' personal effects next to it, and some rations for the trip. After handing Gorir a letter in which the squire confirms the heroes have delivered the goblin Belig, Jern sends the party on their way.

*

The return journey to the baron is uneventful, and after less than a day the heroes arrive at Wildhurst Palace. Baron Joaquim Wildhurst rushes up to them as soon as he knows they have arrived, and the first thing he sees is the body of Thadius. Although he attempts to appear untouched by what to onlookers must be simply hired mercenaries, the tremble in his voice tells a different story.

Inviting the party in, the baron quickly arranges for the servants to serve a grand meal so that he can discuss the heroes' findings without delay.

"I have sent a messenger to Thadius' family," the baron says when all servants have left the room except for his bodyguard Jonah. "I am sure they will arrange a fitting ceremony for his heroic end. Now, tell me everything!"

OOC: You can RP this if you want, or I will do so in a later post. In either case, the baron is intrigued, asks a lot of questions, and thanks you extensively for your work. He will award you 400 gp each (in addition to what you may have found, or the monetary equivalent of those items) and will start looking into the yuan-ti and their schemes. Later I will summarize all the XP and loot, and add them to the beginning of the thread.

 

[Azurewraith]

"Not much to tell I'm afraid, but the circle appears to be some sort of snake cult." James who has been musing silent for a while now gets straight to the point.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Wildhurst Manor
Evening
Round 0

“Yes, we found a few artifacts and some murals and carvings, but little else,” Magdalena said, showing the dagger and the bowl. “There was an altar there, also, for some dark ritual or other. The goblins did not even know the cult center was there. Thank you for taking care of Thadius.”

OOC: Make sure to let us know when you put up the gold and XP so we can get it on our sheets and stuff for leveling up.

[sblock=Actions]
Action:
Move:
Bonus Action:
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Object Interaction:
Concentration:
Conditions:
[/sblock]

[sblock=Ministats]
Inspirations:
AC: 16 (chainmail)
HP: 12/12 HD: 1/1d10
Divine Sense (3/LR)
Lay on Hands 5/5

Prepared Spells:

Spell Slots Remaining/Total
[/sblock]

[sblock=Notes]
Need to buy torches.
[/sblock]