NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 3828670" data-attributes="member: 11">Session #14  – “Skunk Cabbage Ambush” (part 1 of 3) (1)“Uh-oh…” Falco called the others ahead to take a look at what he saw.  The signers of the Charter of Schiereiland had left the grove behind to follow the goblin trail back to the fork and perhaps set up another ambush, or find their way to the goblin camp, but instead they found the fork blocked off.  Small trees and brush had been cut to create an obstacle to the space beyond.  They were fairly certain that goblins awaited them there.Before coming this way, they had searched the signs of a fight at the watering hole to find lots of muddy patches of blood, and more of the rat-like skulls propped up on crude spears all along the area.  There was nothing there to give them a clue of which way to go, except for a trail Falco had found of some large footed humanoid that broke off from the main group and returned to the gorge, instead of going up the goblin trail with the rest.  They had followed the main trail back to the fork, and now found themselves facing the obstructed path.“It’s a counter-ambush,” Telémahkos said.“We should withdraw,” Timotheus said.“I agree,” Markos nodded.“Probably, but we should make certain that there are goblins actually there and determine their number,” Bleys replied.“What does the number matter if they are entrenched in defensive positions and have the advantage?” Telémahkos asked.The watch-mage did not reply, but began to climb a nearby tree, hoping to get a better perspective on the potential ambush site.  He froze as he reached the second tier of branches as a snorting sound came up out of the bushes.“Was that a snore?” Victoria asked with disbelief.“We should just get out of there.  I don’t like this,” Telémahkos said.  Suddenly, he heard Bleys’ voice in his ear.  “I saw the leaves move.  Something is definitely there…” The watch-mage had also cast his spell on Falco so the two of them could relay messages to him as they scouted the situation.Sighing, Telémahkos handed his crossbow to Tymon and drew <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Magical+Item+-+The+Steel+Whip" target="_blank">the Steel Whip</a>.  After a quick word with Falco, he began to creep through the brush around towards the left side of the fork, while the scout took the right.  Not too long after, they all noticed movement in the brush, and heard another muffled snort.  “Come back,” Bleys told them both as he saw how far back the movement reverberated.  He did not have to tell Telémahkos twice.“We need to get out of here,” Telémahkos said when he returned.  He looked up at Bleys, still in the tree.“I am working on it,” Bleys replied, as he hung off a branch and lowered himself down.“Stay alert, they know we’re here.  They might attack at any moment,” Telémahkos said.“We might not be able to outrun them,” Timotheus said, his voice a mix of eagerness for battle, and worry about being caught in a tactically unsound spot.“We’ll look for a defensible spot as we go,” Telémahkos replied.  And with that, they left, going back up the trail the way they came.  But there was no particularly defensive spot anywhere nearby, and after withdrawing nearly a mile and perceiving no pursuit, they decided to slow their hustle, and march out another mile or so before deciding what to do next.“What if we go visit the rat-kin?” Telémahkos asked.“To what end?” Laarus asked, his pallid face scorched dark red in places by their days traveling in the sun.  The priest of Ra did not hide his disdain at having to flee. “We might get them to help us,” Telémahkos said.  “They are the enemies of the goblins, and if they turn out to be kobolds as we suspect, then Tymon will be able to talk to their in their tongue and explain our offer.”“What would that be?” Bleys asked.“They help us or we raid their caves and kill them all,” Telémahkos replied, matter-of-factly.  “We can give them the goblin prisoner as a show of good faith, but if they help us against the goblins they can control this area. Or at least, we can tell them that, and afterwards if we want to finish them off, we can consider it then.”Laarus frowned, but Victoria was passive as usual.  “We should go straight to the goblin camp and see if we can catch those hobgoblins,” the priest of Ra said, rubbing his scalp through his closely cropped hair.  “This is an issue of time.  They may not stay around long enough, and we will lose any hope of following them back to wherever the source of their schemes may be.”Telémahkos shook his head, and Markos smirked.  “Perhaps the prisoner knows of another route,” Victoria suggested.Sighing, Telémahkos ungagged the goblin and began the arduous process of communicating with it. “It says of another way it can lead us to the camp, but that we have to go after nightfall,” Telémahkos turned to the others.  “He calls it a secret way.”The young nobles now began to discuss how reliable the word of the goblin might be.“Why at night?  The goblins are active at night,” Bleys asked.“He says it is dangerous because of other monsters in the day,” Telie replied.“What kind of monsters?” Timotheus asked.  “How is it secret?”“It is impossible to understand him on those issues,” Telémahkos was obviously tired of talking to the thing.  “It said something about hiding and not being liked by its own people, and I understand why, it is a rotten cowardly little thing.”“If that is the case, then why should we let it lead us?” Bleys asked.“It knows we will kill it if it lies,” Telémahkos replied.“We are going to kill it anyway,” the watch-mage said, coldly.“We will have to trust that it values its life more than it is loyal to its people,” Laarus said with disgust.  “Evil creatures of this kind can usually be counted on to act in such a manner.  As I have already said, I see this as a time sensitive issue.  We need to take the chance for the sake of the north.”“Okay, then if we have to go that way, we have to go that way, but if we have to wait for nightfall, what are we going to do until then?” Timotheus asked.  They had begun to walk down towards the plain through the dry forest, not far from the opening the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/King+Stones" target="_blank">King Stones</a> gorge.  “How shall we spend our time so close to the cave of the rat-kin? Anyone? Anyone at all?”After stopping and pulling out the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Map+-+The+King+Stones+%28Old+Adventurer%27s+Map%29" target="_blank">map of the King Stones</a>, they oriented themselves to it, and Timotheus noted a cave marked as ‘empty’. “If this place is correctly marked, we might want to look into making that bolt hole,” he said.  “I mean, a place to retreat to if the need arises.”As they walked, Telémahkos continued to drag the goblin along on his makeshift leash.  It whined as they came out into the open and walked to the western side of the u-shaped gorge. Telémahkos jerked the leash, and the goblin turned to look at him with fear-filled rheumy eyes.“If you stay quiet and obedient you should survive this encounter,” Telie said to it in the hobgoblin tongue.  It tried to grin at him, but choked on its gag and coughed, and then stumbled.The foliage at the bottom of gorge had grown a great deal since the map in their possession had been made.  There were fragrant dogwoods in tight clusters that obscured the view to the far end of the gorge floor, and covered where the first cave entrance was supposed to be, according to the map. A blanket of petals drying in the sun rippled in the yellowed grass. There was much more moisture down here, as if all the rain in the area drained down into the gorge.  The Signers marched in a long line along the steep gorge wall, looking up nervously at the plateau above where the map told them had something to do with ‘<a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Orcs" target="_blank">black orcs</a>.’Telémahkos handed Timotheus the end of the rope attached to the goblin, and his cousin handed it back to Dunlevey.“Why do I have to hold it?” the hireling complained.“Would you rather be up front fighting?”“Yes,” Dunlevey smiled.“Well, so would I, so you have to hold it,” Timotheus replied, throwing the bushy-haired warrior a playful elbow.After Timotheus turned back to his place at the front of the marching order, Dunlevey handed the rope to Bleys, who took it without a word.Telémahkos led the way, as they all crept beneath the trees in a line; the taller members of the group crouched awkwardly.  Falco and Timotheus were close behind him and could see what he did, but everyone stopped abruptly. They were at what should have been a cave entrance, but the crack into the northern side of the gorge was obstructed with large stones and cemented with hard mud and tree branches.“Ohp! Well, I guess we’ll just go kill goblins then,” Timotheus said.  Telémahkos turned and glared at his cousin and shook his head.“There is another entrance marked on the map sixty or seventy paces further in,” Telémahkos explained, and began to lead the way once again.  Sure enough, not too much further they saw the narrow crack in the wall.   Trees were growing all around it, and a large stone seemed to divide the cave mouth into two entrances, one side much too narrow for a human to slip through without trouble.  Trees were growing above the entrance on the ridge wall as well, as here it was not as steep.  Telémahkos whispered to Falco to look for tracks, and he did not have to look very hard.  There were small humanoid prints, like large upright rats all over the place.“Call out to them,” Telémahkos told Tymon. “Tell them we have come to make them an offer they would be fools to refuse.  Tell them they can help us or they can be destroyed…”“Uh… Okay…” Tymon gulped, and then began to call out in a yapping and hissing language, cupping his hands to either side of his mouth to project his voice.  Those at the front of the line could hear scurrying from within.  Tymon called out again, and a few moments later a voice came yapping back.“That makes no sense,” Tymon finally said when the yapping was done.“What did they say?” Telémahkos asked.“Um… I guess a rough translation would be, ‘Get in line…’” Tymon replied meekly.“Ugh… Okay, ask them who we are in line behind…”Tymon yapped some more, adding a low howl or two to punctuate his questions.  The yapping returned, and once again Tymon looked confused. “They are saying that if we go destroy the Ruk’Tuk and can bring back proof, they will consider giving us aid.”“Ruk’Tuk?” After a few more yaps back and forth, Tymon relayed that this tribe was the Tuk’Tuk, and the Ruk’Tuk were heretics who had abandoned the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/The+Rat+God" target="_blank">Rat God</a> for worship of the Dark Mantis, but more recently had come under the rule of something they called ‘Malypies Smot Azeen’.“What does that mean?” Telémahkos asked his servant, but Tymon shrugged.  “It makes little sense to me. Something like, ‘the great green kobold lord monster.’”“Oh that sounds pleasant,” Timotheus whispered with a wink.“So they will not offer any help or information to aid in the battle against their enemies?” Telémahkos asked Tymon.“All they keep saying when I ask is that they kill any they see,” Tymon replied. “It may just be beyond them to uh…  be able to imagine being allied with adventurers.  And they will not make any promises until the splinter tribe of heretics is killed…”Telémahkos had Tymon relay some threats and promises, but the kobolds were having none of it, saying they did not understand the ‘crazy human words.’  Negotiation of a deal seemed beyond their feeble intellects.“Help us or fight us!” Telémahkos called into the cave angrily.  Tymon repeated a translation, but before he was done they could hear many kobold voices within, and a scurrying of feet.“They are preparing for an attack,” Tymon said to Telémahkos.The signers of the Charter of Schiereiland withdrew, unsure of what to do.  Laarus of Ra knew little of the Dark Mantis, and nothing of Malypies Smot Azeen.“I am not willing to get involved in some kobold religious schism,” Victoria said. “That is not what we came here for, and we have no assurances that going after these Ruk’Tuk will actually aid us in our main goal, which is the killing or capturing of those hobgoblin delegates.” “Worthless kobolds!” Telémahkos swore.“You tried really hard, that is all that matters,” Markos replied with obvious condescension.  Telie snarled.…to be continued…-----------------------------------------------------------Notes:(1) This session was played on Sunday, August 5th, 2007.</blockquote>

Verification