Kull's 5th Report - Part 1
Saltmarsh
First Moon
To: Bishop-General Kartrak Visehart
Report from Kull Redfist
Sir,
As expected, the goblin settlement was readily dealt with. However - in a manner that is becoming all but predictable - there proved to be more afoot than was apparent on the surface.
I allowed the others to rest for nearly two weeks before organising the expedition to deal with the goblins. Zalich, in particular, was reluctant to set out, claiming an urgent need to attend to his magical studies. It was only when I reminded him that the sahuagin would not wait for his convenience, that he made ready to join the mission.
It was as well that he did, as his pet raven, Poe - a strange and unnatural animal - proved invaluable in finding the goblin base. Keen-eyed, and able to soar far above the marsh, he soon located my target.
Troilan had not yet returned from her diplomatic mission, and as I did not yet trust the ability or courage of the village militia, I had left them to train in Saltmarsh. Thus, my only troops for this expedition were the three 'adventurers' who had accompanied me to the lizardfolk lair, as well as the two skeletons that I had recovered in the assault on the ruined manor. I would not normally have troubled to bring these weak undead servitors, but it had occurred to me that they would serve well as a distraction during the attack.
At first, it seemed we would not even need such distractions: the goblins were well-occupied with the roasting of a captured human, whose screams carried far across the swamp and distracted their guards from their duties. Taking full advantage of this distraction, I led the others to within a few hundred feet of the village, without the goblins noticing our presence.
The settlement was surrounded by a low, wooden wall; rickety and poorly-maintained, as could be expected from goblins, but still sufficient to hold back a small force such as ours. Fortunately, my magical boots would allow me to easily surmount this problem, and throw open the gates for the rest of the group. Even if I was delayed from doing this, Zalich could use his magic to get over the wall, while both Brodnak and Julianne favour a lightly armoured style, and believed they could scale it should they need to.
With this plan agreed, I led the charge out into the open, covering perhaps half the distance to the wall before the alarm was raised. At this time, my decision to bring the skeletons proved wise. I had placed them at the front of my force, and the pair attracted most of the missile fire from the goblins as we advanced. They suffered several hits, but the goblins' arrows inflicted little harm without flesh to pierce.
As the wall drew closer, our provisions to scale the wall proved unnecessary. Demonstrating unusual spirit for the race - but the also a far more typical lack of intelligence - the goblins threw open the gates of their wall, and came forth to meet us.
The battle, such as it was, was predictably brief. The goblins managed to destroy both skeletons, but they fell in droves when they tried to face Brodnak or Julianne. As the two warriors carved their way through the rank and file, I set my efforts against the goblin leaders. Their chief fell easily: I smashed my way through his bodyguard, and then caved in his skull with a single blow of my flail. The fight did not last long after this, especially when the shaman also fell, and the few surviving goblins soon surrendered.
After interrogating the survivors, we learned that they held several more prisoners, in one of the huts toward the rear of the encampment. Most of these proved to be members of a merchant caravan the goblins had raided, though there was also an elf amongst them, dressed in furs and leathers. Another one of those ridiculous druids.
The goblins had made their camp at the foot of an earthen cliff-face, at the head of an old mine. I would have thought the land here was too soft and wet for such excavations, but it seems that someone at least had tried it, in the past. The goblins claimed that they had not ventured into the mine - except for their now deceased shaman - as they believed it was a place of bad spirits.
Such talk sounded like a ploy by the shaman to hide some secret treasure or stronghold of his own, and - having set the humans and elf to guard their one-time captors - I led the others into the mine, intent on discovering what lay within.
The first few tunnels were much alike those of any other mine you might see, though more damp and in worse repair. However, when I came to the deepest reaches of the works, I found that the departed miners had uncovered something strange: a collapsed arch of stone, leading into what appeared to be the entrance chamber of a hidden, underground complex!
