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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6563652" data-attributes="member: 9546">4715-Heroes Are BornAt the Rusty Dragon tavern in the Varisian town of Sandpoint, several old friends and acquaintances gathered. There were the adopted brothers, Yannus Vhiski and Koman Locke, each recently returned home after several years away fighting wars or pursuing fortune and glory. Their  mother's house servant, the goblin Boris, accompanied them, delighted to finally have a day off. The wandering priest and sometime caravan guard Mazael Cravenlock, lounged in one corner, just in from another run with Sandru Vhiski. The young merchant, and, some whispered, sorcerer, Piotr Satarma leaned on the bar, gossiping with Ameiko Kaijitsu, the young Tian woman who owned the tavern. Piotr himself was also just returned to Sandpoint to settle his father's affairs after the old man had finally drank himself to death. Across the room, young Haroldo Seigfreid glared at Piotr. The morose and brooding fellow had long harbored a secret affection for Ameiko, but had never been able to act on it, ashamed of his black-sheep standing among his brothers, all capable sorcerers in their own right. Haroldo hated sorcerers. Lastly, the half-breed elf, Lucian Jones, had wandered into the tavern, wide-eyed and always amazed at what he considered "the big city." He had accompanied the famed huntress Shalelu Adosana from his village of Crying Leaf, tagging along behind his idol when she came to Sandpoint to investigate rumors of increased goblin activity in the Brinestump Marsh.In fact, goblins were all anyone in Sandpoint could talk about. For the past several weeks, the Licktoad goblins had been attacking caravans on the Lost Coast Road with increasing frequency and boldness. The source of their newfound bravery seemed to be a supply of pyrotechnics they had somehow come into possession of. No one had been killed yet, but several merchants and caravan guards had been injured. The situation had escalated to the point where the mayor had reinstated the bounty on goblin ears, which had been banned several years back after the Duke boys had gone missing in the swamp while trying to earn some extra coin. Mazael loudly, and perhaps a bit drunkenly, declared that he would be glad to take care of the goblin problem, and would be willing to split the bounty with anyone willing to accompany him. Piotr readily agreed to join him, as his family's business, already almost driven to ruin by his father, could ill-afford any more losses. Haroldo would be damned if he was going to let some jumped-up magician claim all the glory, and curry favor with Ameiko, while he stood by and did nothing. He signed up as well. Lucian raised his hand to volunteer, albeit a little hesitantly. This might be his chance to finally impress Shalelu, but he feared making a fool out of himself in his mentor's eyes, or worse yet, needing her to come and rescue him. Koman nudged Yannus. It had been a long time since the brothers had adventured and explored together, and after all they had seen, a few unruly goblins seemed like just the thing to clear their heads. Yannus agreed, but only on the condition that they try to deal with the situation with as little carnage as possible. Lastly, Boris didn't so much volunteer as assume that it was beyond question that he was coming along. He was a goblin, after all, so who would know more about how to reason with his own kind? Who indeed??It was at that moment that Ameiko pointed out that no one knew exactly where in the Brinestump the Licktoads actually lived. She suggested that the group consult with Walthus Proudstump, the old halfling hermit who had declared himself the so-called "warden" of the swamp. The new companions thanked her, and set out for the Brinestump, taking the New Fishing Trail down into the valley where the dense growth of the marsh nearly blocked out the sunlight above. Following the trail led them directly to Walthus' home, a sagging, two-story structure that had definitely seen it's better days. A knock on the door brought the halfling to the threshold, but only to peer out through the cracked opening. When Yannus explained why they had come, Walthus hurriedly told them to look for the Licktoads along the Old Fishing Trail, and then slammed the door in their faces. Suspicious, the group knocked again, and this time, when the halfling impatiently opened the door, Boris pushed his way in, and headed towards the kitchen, offering to whip up a quick meal for the haggard-looking warden. Walthus explained that he wasn't fit to receive company, as earlier in the day, he had to run a giant snake off his property, and unfortunately, the viper had bitten him. Yannus, a priest by training, offered his healing services to the halfling. Walthus accepted, but he still seemed nervous, especially when he noticed Mazael heading upstairs. A look of rage came over his face, which began to ripple unnaturally. Within moments, the halfling had transformed into a horrid creature known as a faceless stalker. A pitched battle ensued, but the adventurers had numbers on their side in the cramped quarters of the house, and they managed to bring the monster down in short order. Moments later, Mazael heard a cry of help from upstairs, and when he went to investigate, he found the real Walthus cowering, injured, in a safe room. The halfling explained that the stalker had ambushed him the day before. He had managed to wound the creature, but had barely managed to escape with his life thanks to his trained pet vipers. Walthus was grateful to his saviors, and confirmed that the Licktoads could indeed be found along the Old Fishing Trail. In addition, he offered them his magic cloak as a reward, and even managed to overlook the fact that Boris tried to abscond with his coin purse before the group took their leave.Following Walthus' directions through the treacherous swamp, the young adventurers had little trouble finding the Licktoad's village, but when they arrived, it looked as if someone had already beaten them there. The small village was enclosed by a rough log palisade, but the gates had been ripped from their hinges and lay on the ground. The buildings were on raised stilts with elevated walkways, but the whole area had an air of abandonment. A pig stye in the center of the village contained a pile of charred bones...goblin by the looks of them. The group set about exploring the buildings, only to find most of them empty. However, as they opened the door to yet another apparently abandoned hovel, they were met by shrill shrieks as a quartet of dogslicer-wielding goblins towards them. One of them carried a narrow tube in his hand. He pulled a cord on the bottom of it, and sent a volley of small, fiery projectiles towards the heroes. The young, inexperienced and mostly untried adventurers had never fought together. Most of them barely knew one another. But as one group of goblins went down, only to be replaced by a another one, and then another and another, pouring out of the surrounding shacks, they slowly but surely came together. Yannus, used to leading and inspiring young, scared soldiers, lifted his voice above the din of the melee, encouraging the others with his inspired words and songs of battle. Koman, trained to seek weaknesses in an enemy's defenses that others would never notice, struck with uncanny precision and accuracy. Mazael laid about him with his falchion, all the while spitting Desnan curses at his foes, while Haroldo cut a swath of carnage through the goblins, his greatsword dripping red, as his eyes burned with blood rage. Piotr hung back and called upon the magic that he had only recently realized was his to command, sending blinding flashes of light at some goblins, while enveloping others in bone-chilling columns of blackness. Lucian moved among his allies with a confidence he wasn't aware he possessed. As the goblins scored telling blows against them, the young oracle summoned the strength of the very trees around him and used that energy to heal the wounds of his new friends. As for Boris...well, the wily goblin did what he was best at: sowed chaos and dissent wherever he went. The Licktoad goblins were confused by his presence among the tall folk, and Boris used that to his advantage, catching them by surprise, and leaving them wide open to the attacks of his comrades.The last of the goblins fled towards a large lodge in the center of town before being cut down by Koman. Fearing more goblins might await inside. the heroes split up, with Mazael and Boris looping around the back of the building, while the others headed for the double front doors. In the back, Boris noticed a ladder leading up to a blank back wall. Knowing goblins like he did (since he was one), he surmised that a hidden entrance must be there, and the ladder was left there to help the Licktoads remember where it was. He and Mazael quickly climbed up and found the poorly concealed door. Beyond it, they found themselves in a small chamber with no exits. Boris found two more secret doors, and he and the warpriest decided to open them simultaneously. Mazael hissed when his door opened on a shabby throne room, while Boris giggled with glee when his door opened what passed for the goblins' treasure vault. Mazael leaped forward, only to be met by the goblin chief Rendwattle Gutwad and four of his bodyguards. On the other side of the chamber he saw a pair of double doors shudder as his companions smashed their way in. Chaos erupted as Gutwad fired up a skyrocket firework and launched it in the close interior quarters, temporarily blinding, deafening and scorching everyone around him. The chief fought like a caged beast, even managing to knock Mazael unconscious, but the outcome was inevitable, and the young heroes put every last goblin to the sword. In the aftermath, Boris was first into the treasure room, but Yannus was on his heels, not quite trusting the goblin to be left alone with anything of value. Plus, the priest wanted no part of lopping the ears off of the goblin corpses for the bounty, and he wanted to keep Boris occupied until the butchery was done. The only thing in the treasure room was a beautifully carved wooden chest. It bore scenes of cranes and frogs playing along a beach, and Koman was able to identify it as being of Minkai origin, a provence in the far-east land of Tian Xia. Inside were many foreign coins, and more fireworks, as well as a collection of finely made shuriken, a masterfully wrought pearl hair pin, and a gold-and-ivory fan that depicted a gecko walking amid cherry blossoms. On the back of this fan, however, someone had drawn a crude map which appeared to depict Brinestump Marsh, with the locations of two shipwrecks and a cave highlighted. The companions finished investigating the village, and were able to determine that a violent battle had taken place several days before. In addition to many goblin bodies, they came upon a handful of skeletal remains that appeared to be human. A large, beaten path left the village to the southeast, obviously the path that the invaders had taken. It led inn the same direction that one of the shipwrecks and the cave had been drawn on the map.</blockquote>

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