Chapter 6: Unexplained Goblin Sightings

General Summary

Date: 27th of Mirtul, 1491 DR

  The party had barricaded themselves inside the banquet hall as a wave of enemies rushed them from both sides. The more dangerous goblinoids, hobgoblins demanded the adventurers to lay down their weapons and surrender. When the party did not comply, combat ensued. Goblins began rushing in, vaulting over the table and shooting arrows towards the intruders as the hobgoblins ushered orders, while focusing their fire on single targets. When the pressure from one side was relieved, another side began their assault. A large worm-like creature slithered its way to the party, attacking Dirinor with its horrifying tentacles. The adventurers fought back to back against the horde of enemies and eventually the goblins took too many casualties and were forced to retreat. This created an opening for the party to escape and plan their next attack. Before leaving, Ranvas disarmed one of the sleeping goblins and took it with them as they left Cragmaw Castle.   Camping in the cover of the woods, the adventurers crashed down and started patching their wounds. Thus began the interrogation of the captured goblin. The worn out party tried to persuade, threaten and intimidate the goblin, but it just spat on their faces (sorry Anna). A yelling contest between Thah and the goblin quickly turned into a brawl as Ranvas released the goblin. The enraged barbarian and nimble green skin clashed into one another. Thah grabbed it easily, but this gave an opportunity for the goblin to use its teeth as it bit Thah's neck. Firbo joined the brawl and the two tall humanoids were now desperately trying to wrestle the insult-yelling goblin as it kept avoiding the kicks and the attacks. Eventually Thah released the goblin from his grasp and the goblin saw its opening. Slithering from Ranvas and Bene, the goblin rushed, dashing towards the castle. Thah tried to take it down by throwing a javelin, but the spear eventually sank into the grass. The goblin was close to the castle. A deafening bang echoed in the forest and the now dead goblin fell to the ground. Smoke was emerging from the weapon of the gun slinger, as Ranvas had hit its mark.   The party circled the castle, this time trying their luck in the second entrance made by the broken down tower. As they climbed the rocky cliffside, inside the tower Dirinor was reunited with his trusted mule, Betty who was ill-kept, malnourished and abused. They released the mule and began questioning it about the whereabouts of the dwarf Gundren as well as the goblins. The dumbstruck mule just kept staring at its owner, wondering if it could get another bite of food again. The mule was set to the bottom of the cliffside as Dei started stealthily scouting out the place.   To no avail the eyes of the human could see in the dark corridors of the castle, so Ranvas switched places with Dei, alerting the two hobgoblins to their presence. Surprisingly, the goblinoids were expecting the party, telling them that King Grol wanted an audience with them. With a little back and forth, the party eventually agreed and the hobgoblins led them to the chamber of the king.   In this decorated room, with animal furs on the floor and trophies adoring the walls stood the King of the Cragmaw Tribe. An old and weathered bugbear with a old golden crown on his head, King Grol petted his pet wolf who was snarling to the adventurers. On his right side stood Gundren who even though was captured weeks ago, was looking quite healthy and well-kept. King Grol negotiated that he would release the dwarf to the adventurers if they would pay ransom and promise to never to return. The original 50 gold was haggled down to 35 pieces, which the king surprisingly accepted with no grunts. The dwarf was released and it slithered its way behind the party. While the negotiations seemingly were coming to an end, Ranvas noticed the dwarf shifting into a greyish humanoid while holding a dagger. "Black Spider sends his regards!" it declared as the blade sank inside Firbo's back.   Before having the time to react, the bloodied blade now found its way to Dei's chest, barely missing the lungs. Firbo fell to the ground instantly, Dei was spitting out blood and the party was now facing three hobgoblins, the assassin doppelganger, King Grol and his massive pet wolf. Ranvas tried to shoot but his gun jammed, Bene was almost instantly killed by the morningstar wielded by King Grol. The wolf sank its teeth to Thah, and the worn out barbarian was almost toppled down to the ground. Bene made a run for it, stumbling to the backroom of the chamber and found an unconscious dwarf, Gundren, beaten in the corner. He took the dwarf and leaped, skidding along the cliffside, while yelling the others to escape. But the rest of the adventurers knew at this point that their fates were sealed.   A spark of red and orange appeared into the room that formed into a shape of a fox. It jumped, landing on top of one of the hobgoblins and suddenly bursted into flames. Taken a back, both the enemies and the adventurers noticed that the fox had disappeared, along with the unconscious Firbo. Dirinor gritted his teeth as he commanded the fox, who now emerged again and with a burst of flames the adventurers disappeared.   They didn't get far however, landing just on the other side of the door. The adventurers picked up their fallen friends and began their escape. The surprised King Grol eventually regained his composure and yelled his men to give chase; arrows were whistling towards Bene, and the agile doppelganger slid next to him. Bene disengaged and dashed to the edge of the forest. Then he felt a sharp pain on his back as one of the barbed arrows found their mark and he fell unconscious next to the trees.   The rest of the party were able to stabilize their dying friends, but the hobgoblins were still on their track. With the help of the Wildfire Spirit Fox, the party was able to gain some distance from the enemies. Thah fell to one of the arrows, but Firbo picked him up putting him on top of the confused mule and gave her an order to escape. The mule got an arrow to its hind from the goblins, which motivated it to dash. As his friends were now in a safe distance, Dirinor was faced with the enraged bugbear that trashed its bloodied morningstar towards the head of the dwarf. Wincing from the anticipation of the impact that never came, Dirinor saw a translucent shield covering him, originating from the glass staff. The fox jumped next to him and again with a fiery burst, they teleported further.   The bugbear still didn't give up. He ordered his men to give chase and confronted Ranvas, who was crawling along the ground dodging the arrows. A smack of a morningstar resulted in a yelp, but before King Grol made his second strike he got an arrow to his neck. A stealthy goblin was holding a bow, hiding near the edge of the forest and before the party could spot it more clearly, it hid behind the foliage. Seeing their opportunity, the party dashed away from the bugbear and the King gave an order, and the chase was stopped.   Beaten and bruised, the party regrouped in the forest. Gundren had been awoken as he rambled about the urgency of the situation. And as the sun is slowly setting in the horizon, the adventurers must now survive back to the town of Phandalin.

Missions/Quests Completed

Rescued Gundren Rockseeker