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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 1483923" data-attributes="member: 16069">The Wednesday KnightsSESSION XXIV.Woodnesday 15th Mork 2000Dragon Hunt episode 2- Slip Slide Away.Characters presentLiandri Male Half-Elf Rogue level 2 Wizard level 1 (Kev. M.)Endrin Male Human Bard level 3 Sorcerer level 1 (Wayne)Bob Male Human Ranger level 2 (Emma) Whirlwind Male Human Fighter level 1 (Erin)Not present but being manipulated by others (only a bit though),Xeolus Male Human Monk level 1 Priest of Hieroneous level 1Liandri reaches around the corner and quietly places Eric on the floor (the Electrifying Lizard if you remember), Eric has a bit of a skitter about and comes back, none the wiser- Eric has a problem with numbers.Eventually it is decided that Xeolus will stay with Meepo and their new-found Goblin friend, while the others will do the full frontal assault.It works like this- Liandri creeps in behind the practice/target dummies and readies his bow; Bob likewise in the corridor does the same. The Goblin prisoners’ gag is removed and he is punched in the stomach- crying out, a number of Goblin heads pop over the wall- one is shot and killed by Liandri, Bob misses. Endrin and Whirlwind rush around the corner after being kicked into action by Bob (they’re still deaf) and leg it for the short wall, and leap over. Beyond is a small room with five more Goblins, there are two doors- one north, one west. The other Knights catch up and Liandri, once again, proves deadly. Two Goblins flee, one out of either door- the others are cut down in quick time and the area is secured.Liandri heads through the north door into a corridor, there is another doorway opposite, while the corridor continues west. The door opposite opens and a bunch of Goblins come out (five in all), Liandri shouts and Bob rushes over- battle is joined. At the same time Endrin opens the other door on the west wall- there is an enormous chamber beyond- like the one in which Yusdrayl holds court, with smoky torches illuminating the area. Also in the chamber moving towards the door is a large number of Goblins- he slams the door shut and shouts a warning. Liandri and Bob make short work of four of the Goblins, the fifth flees down the corridor, westwards- they leave him be and return to the main chamber where things are kicking off again. Another force of a dozen or so Goblins is eventually repulsed, the Knights pick up a few wounds and another half-dozen Goblins lay dead. The door is slammed shut and Liandri does his best to lock the door, a hasty barricade is soon erected.Liandri and Endrin then head back north to see where the other fleeing Goblin has got to, while the others man the barricade, the room opposite is a simple Goblin guardroom- the furniture is dragged back into the main room to pile on the barricade. They follow the corridor west to a door, alas Endrin discovers the pit trap the easy/hard way, he takes a little damage and with the help of Liandri climbs out. Liandri then checks the door beyond the pit- it is locked, while he is checking it he hears screams from the room beyond, he decides to leave the door locked- the Goblin must have had a key. The two then head back to the main room and close the door north and put another barricade against it.The Knights move to the far side of the battlement wall- if the Goblins break in they will have to cross the wall to get to them. They soon discover another door (heavy construction and very dirty) on this side of the battlement wall- Liandri investigates and discovers it is locked- not for long.Within is an extremely dirty chamber stinking of poo and filth, three Kobolds are chained to the wall, while in a small cage in the centre of the room is a naked female Gnome. Liandri rushes to free her and then moves on to the Kobolds.Jerky Timbers, the female Gnome, tries to stretch after being caged for so long, while at the same time trying to save her modesty- rough clothes are soon found- Goblinoid but at least they fit. The Kobold prisoners accompanied by Meepo and Xeolus head back to the Yusdrayl’s chamber where families are re-united in a touching show of emotion. Xeolus against his better judgement can feel himself welling up, the big softy.“You’ve not seen each other for, how long is it now? Well “surprise, surprise”, this production was brought to you courtesy of the Wednesday Knights.”Xeolus and Meepo head back to the main chamber and the Knights settle down for the evening, to rest, sleep, heal and hear Jerky’s story.Jerky’s Tale…Thankfully Liandri, Endrin and Whirlwind are back on “The Planet of Sound.” They all listen to Jerky’s story, while keeping an eye on the barricades.“Three months ago, I was on my way to seek my fortune and took the Old Road shortcut- what a mistake that proved to be. I was attacked by a group of Goblins, there were about eight of them and although I slew two I was knocked unconscious and dragged down here. If it wasn’t for my faith and the kind hand of my saviour, Pelor be blessed, then I would have died. As it was I have used my spells and abilities to remain in fair health- I’d have died from starvation an age ago else.”Xeolus nods sagely.“During my time I’ve heard many things from my Goblin captors, I’m certain they are at war with a tribe of Kobolds- hence the other prisoners, there seems to be some dialogue as other Kobolds have been sent home. The Goblins also speak of one called Belak who lives below in a place they call the Twilight Grove- whatever that may be. There he grows enchanted fruit- the fruit comes from a tree called the Gulthias Tree; they speak of the Tree in hushed tones. From what I gather there are two sorts of enchanted fruit, rosy red apples that restores spirit and vigour, and a pale midsummer fruit which steals the same. Belak sends the Goblins to the surface to sell the fruits- I have no idea why.”Endrin begins to make notes, the others nod.“There are other creatures that Belak controls directly- the Goblins call them the ‘Twig Blight’, the Goblins fear them- they are small Twig like stick creatures.”“We’ve seen them.” Bob adds, Whirlwind murmurs his agreement.Endrin, Xeolus and Liandri look non-plussed but shrug, Jerky continues.“About two weeks ago, it is difficult to be exact about the time, a group of humans were caught by the Goblins- they were brought here and manacled to the walls. They were here for a few days- there names were Talgon, Sharwyn- these two were brother and sister, and a Paladin called Sir Bradford. They had all been wounded badly, although Sir Bradford and I healed them as much as we could. They spoke of Oakhurst and their family, they were sad, it was difficult I had been here for weeks and could see no way out. Talgon was angry, too angry, he upset the Goblins almost daily and was often beaten. Sharwyn was terrified- she cried for hours each day and worried herself half to death. Sir Bradford was more resolute- like he had accepted it, or he had hope- I don’t know…”Jerky’s voice tails off.“We are searching for them, the Hucrele’s- Talgon and Sharwyn, we were sent to find them… Where are they? Why are they not here, prisoners like you?”All eyes turn to Jerky once more.“Belak sent for them- the Goblins came and took them, that was a week ago- I have not heard of them since- the Goblins have said nothing. I’m sorry… so sorry, that’s all I know.”With that the Gnome rocks forward and without sound begins to cry- the tears streaking her face, dripping down onto the dusty ground.A dark silence descends.Things that go BUMP in the night. After Jerky ends her tale the Goblins take to battering on one of the doors (the west one)- it’s a token effort though, the Knights generally draw weapons and watch the door for a while, the furniture moves inch by inch away from the door. That is until the door bursts open and the first Goblins appear, they are cut down in seconds- four killed in the moment, the door is slammed back shut and the sound of a hasty retreat is heard.A little later Liandri pokes his head round the door and sees that the Goblins have erected their own barricade, basically there is a gap of fifteen feet and then a four foot wall of furniture behind which many Goblins (over 20) squat and wait.A little later still a Kobold turns up sent by Yusdrayl to say that the Knights should hurry up with getting the dragon back as the Kobold tribe has been attacked by the Goblins. The Kobold messenger gives no details, and what starts out as an order from Yusdrayl ends up as a polite request.All in all, an eventful night for the Knights.Meepo and the Big Chill.Thawsday 16th Mork 2000The Knights briefly check the Goblin barricade is still in place, and then abandon their position and remove the barricade around the door north. They leave Xeolus with Jerky in the main chamber to warn them if the Goblins attempt to break through. From there they head back into the corridor, where Endrin helpfully located the pit yesterday- Liandri sidles round the pit and gets to work on the locked door. A little later there is a satisfying click and the group carefully move into a much larger chamber-the area is full of stuffed animal heads and trophy cases, nearly all of which litter the floor broken and smashed. However the first thing they notice is the body of a Goblin by the only other exit, a door heading south- on the way over there Endrin once again comes a cropper and slips on an icy patch.“Ice… again.”The others look about hurriedly; Meepo begins to push his way to the front-“Cornflakes… CORNFLAKES CORNFLAKES.”A rough growl… more like a hoarse “Quack” is heard.The Dragon takes flight- it is off-white and around about 18 inches long. The Knights who are as taut as bow strings expecting something the size of a small horse, visibly relax, and quickly become blasé.“Feck me… I’d have it for breakfast.”“…”“Cornflakes… get it… for breakfast.”“…”“Suit yourself.”Meepo runs forward eager to be re-united, alas Cornflakes is not so keen- when the Dragon gets within five feet it lets out a broad swathe of mist which engulfs Meepo- he disappears from view. DM note, like a fire extinguisher with accompanying sound.   The dragon flaps over the Knight’s heads and then upward, roosting about 15-20 feet up on the trophy head of a bear. The mist clears to reveal a perfectly frozen Meepo, bearing a rictus grin, the Knights look a little worried and are certainly less at ease. Bob & Liandri draw bows and head off into the room- even this proves difficult- Bob falls on his arse and while Liandri stays on his feet he simply slides forward (look no inertia). Liandri doesn’t panic and allows himself to be carried across the room thinking he will use Meepo as a breaking device, for that is the direction he is headed. Bob in the meantime is being helped up to his feet by Whirlwind. Endrin spots the Dragon and fires off a Magic Missile it thuds into the creature and the fun begins.It would be difficult in the extreme for me to do justice to quite what happened next, I will skip to the results- the dragon lies dead at the feet of Bob. It was attempting to flee the room when Bob, stood in the doorway, brought it down with his sword- slashing way above his head. Previous to this Endrin had been casting spells from a recumbent position, he fell over so often that it seemed too much bother getting up. Whirlwind has not managed to do anything except fall over and get back up again. Bob had retreated to the doorway, slightly out of the room, for those very reasons. Liandri the most dextrous first of all grabbed hold of Meepo who instead of breaking Liandri’s slide merely joined the queue- like some mad conga. Eventually the two of them come to an arrest courtesy of a wall- alas Meepo takes the impact badly, leaving Liandri holding one of Meepo’s lower arms (not attached to the rest of Meepo). From there he takes pot shots at the Dragon, and unlike the others manages to hit the creature. The Dragon in its turn had blasted a few of the party members and scratched and cut up several others- nothing that could kill however.The group then slip slide there way over to the dead Goblin body and the door there, the Goblin is briefly examined- killed by the Dragons claws and bite.Liandri unlocks the door and peeps within- they are behind the Goblin barricade. Liandri closes the door and relays this information- it seems that the Dragon was supposed to be a security guard. “1… 2… 3… Go.”The Knights burst into the room surprising a contingent of nearly two dozen Goblins- the fight is bloody in the extreme, with the majority of the Goblins fleeing rather than face the Knights- they have them on the run.The Knights quickly patch up their wounded and then secure as best as possible the large chamber, which in many ways mirrors the large chamber Yusdrayl holds court. There are lots of doors at the far end of the this chamber, the direction of the Goblins retreat- two doors north, one west and another south. After a brief exchange of views- the Knights decide to head south, unsure of which direction the Goblins fled.After moving through an abandoned Goblin guard post they traverse a corridor- in which they find the pit trap, without having to fall down it- a first. They open the door ahead of them and walk straight into an ambush…Kill them all… let Hieroneous sort ‘em out.… the ambush soon comes to a complete stop as it’s the Kobolds throwing the spears at the Knights- they’ve wandered back into Yusdrayl’s throne chamber. The Kobolds quickly call for her…“Where Dragon?”Much whistling and a general sheepishness, followed by a bit of looking about a bit, then some “ummmm”, and, “errr”, and a bit of scratching about trying to avoid eye contact.“WHERE DRAGON?”Yusdrayl looks at the group sternly.“Where Meepo?”Endrin is pushed to the front…“Well the Dragon killed Meepo…”“Good” Yusdrayl replies, “save time.”“And then… well… it took sick and died, it was terrible towards the end coughing up…” and whispered aside, “help me here.”“Snowballs.” Liandri volunteers.“Er… Snowballs.”Yusdrayl looks icy now “WHERE CORNFLAKES? WHERE DRAGON?”Endrin just sorta shrugs and looks a bit forlorn, “I dunno, I never did it.” He then sort of nods towards Bob and makes a slicing motion across his throat, he then coughs loudly and looks elsewhere.“DRAGON DEAD?”“’Fraid so… your highness… now about our reward and while I’m at it can I give you our card… if there’s anything else that needs doing… Kobolds rescuing, wars fighting, dragons slaying…. Er actually not the last one- birthdays, Pelormass, Holy Days whatever.”And then conspiratorially, “I’m sure we can sort out a discount.”Yusdrayl steps back into the mass of Kobolds (there are about thirty of them present) and screams something in Draconic (Liandri later translates as “destroy them all”) there follows a Benny Hill moment with the Knights high-tailing it back the way they came pursued by the Kobold Massive. In the rush for the exits Endrin and Bob are both struck by Magic Missiles- it seems Yusdrayl is a powerful Sorceress.The Knights avoid the pit trap and head into the larger chamber with the Goblin barricade, there they split into three groups- Bob and Whirlwind head through one of the northern exits, Endrin through the other. The two passages meet up and after heading north for a while turn West and end in a door- they decide to leave it for a moment and turn to face a group of eight Kobolds that have just caught up, they’re weapons drawn. Soon the group of eight is reduced to four- they turn tail and flee. The Knights hold position to regain their breath, it’s at this point they notice that Liandri is not with them.Liandri takes an alternative route and heads off back to the chamber in which the Dragon was slain- he is the sole observer of what happens next within the area. A number of Kobolds rush through the northern exits in pursuit of the Knights, less than thirty seconds later half of them come rushing back, Liandri smiles to himself.The door bursts open and the rest of the Kobolds pile into the room scanning the area- they seem to be ill at ease here in Goblin territory. Yusdrayl orders folks about and two groups detach themselves- half-a-dozen Kobolds in each. The first heads for the door west, while the second group heads down the chamber towards the room in which Liandri hides and observes the situation.Liandri is about to shoot one of the Kobolds approaching when the west door opens and in an instant there are Goblins streaming into the room- it kicks off right royally. The Kobolds and Goblins begin to sort their differences out using the time honoured method of maiming and killing.  Liandri grins and settles down to watch the show, meanwhile not so far away…“Got your breath back.” Endrin nods and points to the door.“Do we fancy a look inside?”“Why not.”“Ok Whirlwind?” He nods.The door is flung open by Endrin with Bob and Whirlwind standing ready to launch themselves into the room- beyond is the chaos of a Goblin encampment, females and kids run left, right and centre. Of greater concern is the dozen or so Goblins led by two much larger Hobgoblins that are, or rather were, approaching the door they have just opened. They increase their speed, Endrin slams the door shut, and the three of them leap to keep it shut.“What the feck are we going to do now.”“On the count of three we run… back the way we came… ready… 1… 2…”Bob turns round to see Whirlwind and Endrin disappearing around the corner, “Oh bug’r.”And that’s where we leave the intrepid explorers for this week, facing insurmountable odds, and so until next week goodbye children. And with that session 24 ends.Next week… Goblins vs Kobolds.</blockquote>

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