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!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 658547" data-attributes="member: 143">Book VII, Part 42The companions found that their victory had netted them nearly a hundred bedraggled survivors of Asbravn, a handful of hobgoblin prisoners, and a few equally unhappy options.The hobgoblins’ captives were in bad shape.  Already cold, exhausted, and weakened from hunger and exposure, it was clear that without shelter and supplies they would soon start dying in numbers.  Dana did what she could, but the rations stored in Cal’s magical backpack barely made a dent in their need, and despite free use of her clerical powers and her wand of healing she could do only so much for them.  Still, she was able to bring a few back from the brink of death, and their grateful looks only motivated the adventurers to do whatever they could to help the poor wretches.  A sparse but cold drizzle started, complicating their situation further.  A dark wall of clouds to the west promised much more sooner rather than later.  It was immediately obvious that it would take days of hard hiking to make their way back down to the lowlands, to cover the rough hills that they had flown over in a mere day.  While Dana and Lok tended to the captives, Cal and the others dealt with the prisoners.  Five of the twenty hobgoblin warriors had been taken, but of them only the archer that Cal and Benzan had captured was of real use.  Cal’s charm spell had made him more receptive to conversation, and soon they were learning what they could of the raiders that had destroyed Asbravn.  Their inquiry was cut short, however, when Cal, responding to another prod from the pegasus-Benzan, paused to cast a dispel magic to restore his natural form.  The tiefling grinned as the outlines of the pegasus dissolved and shifted back into his usual self, but they were caught by surprise at the hobgoblin’s response. “YOU!” the warrior hissed.  He lurched forward, his expression twisting into a visage of pure hatred.  Cal tried to restrain him, but it was clear that his spell had been broken.  The tiefling had to call for help as the hobgoblin leapt at him, and only Lok’s swift arrival had enabled them to subdue him and bind his arms and legs.  The other captives they had already tied up a short distance away, setting a few of the stronger valemen to watch over them, so they did not have any trouble from that quarter.  While Cal used another spell to restore Lariel to his elven form, Lok and Benzan regarded their prisoner, Benzan rubbing his chin where the hobgoblin had gotten in a lucky hit.  The hobgoblin stared at him with a surly expression, unable to do more than wriggle within his bonds.  “Well, seems your reputation has once again preceded you,” Lok said.  Benzan shot him a querying look, but the genasi’s expression was as blank as stone.  It was Dana who finally solved the mystery.  Once she and the others had tended to the freed captives as much as they could, Cal brought her over to the hobgoblin leader.  The creature had become sullen, refusing to respond to questions despite Benzan’s repeated prodding, and he took them all in with a hateful look as they gathered around him.  “Maybe you’d better go keep an eye on the trail, Benzan,” Cal suggested.  The tiefling opened his mouth to complain, but finally gave over with a nod and walked away, leaving the rest of them with the captive.  They noticed that the hobgoblin watched Benzan leaving with sharp eyes, but he returned his attention to them as Dana crouched in front of him.  Dana closed her eyes, and they could all feel a prickly sensation as she called upon the power that she drew from her special calling.  Walking the roads of Faerûn as a mystic wanderer had drawn her into the secret wonders of the natural world, and she called upon that ancient legacy now, mixing it with the divine power of her link to the goddess Selûne.  The hobgoblin struggled although they could not see what she was doing to him, but after a moment his struggles faded, and when she opened her eyes the warrior’s hard expression had softened into a look of wonder. “What... what did you do...”“I freed you from your anger, from the pain that your hatred was wreaking upon your soul.  I am Dana Ilgarten, and I am not your enemy.  What is your name, warrior?”“I am Targos.”“Targos.  Well then, perhaps you can first tell us why you reacted so to Benzan’s appearance, and then you can tell us why your people attacked Asbravn...”The companions’ expressions varied between surprise and anger as the hobgoblin told his tale.  They were amazed to learn that Targos was one of the few survivors of the hobgoblin outpost in the Wood of Sharp Teeth, part of a slave-mining operation that they had wrecked what seemed like decades ago.  Apparently the hapless creature had spent much of his time since as a wanderer, finally ending up with this tribe here in the shadow of the Sunset Mountains.  But their interest in the vagaries of Targos’s life was eclipsed as he related the story behind the attack on Asbravn.  Although the hobgoblin was not partial to all of the details of his commanders, he was observant and clever, and with the effect of Dana’s enchantment loosening his tongue he was all too eager to share the conclusions that he had drawn from all that he had witnessed.  “Demon worshippers,” Cal commented finally, once Targos’s report was concluded.  “Can you tell us any more about this human cleric you saw?”The hobgoblin shook his head.  “He avoided the company of all save the shamans, and even they did not get on well with him, I gather.  He is the one who brought the Baneite uniforms, though, the ones that we wore during the attack on the town.  He did not accompany the attack force, however, and as far as I know he remains still in the valley.  I would say it is likely that the order to bring the slaves back there is connected to him somehow.”Lariel said, “We must get this information to Cylyria, and to the leaders of the Council of Iriaebor.  Someone has clearly gone to great lengths to cast a shadow of blame upon the Zhentarim, and while I do not regret any damage done to the Black Network, we must discover who or what is truly behind these plots.”“We know the Cult is involved, and now this cabal of demonists,” Cal said.  “Strange allies, and yet something still doesn’t feel quite right about all this.  We’re missing something...”“We need to get these people out of the elements,” Lok said, interrupting their musings with hard practicality.  “Even with Dana’s talents, half may not survive the hike back down to the Vale, in these conditions.”  He glanced up meaningfully at the looming black clouds of the coming storm.  “This hidden valley, how much farther is it?” Cal asked the hobgoblin. “At least a half-dozen miles, over rough terrain,” Targos replied.  He looked back over the gathered people.  “With this lot, the better part of a day’s march, I’d say.”Cal nodded, briefly meeting the eyes of each of his companions before nodding.  “Well, we’d better get moving then.”</blockquote>

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