Defiance in Phlan - Quest 2 Report - Into the Goblin Cave - The Rescue

General Summary

Having dealt with the goblin bowmen the party continued into the caves....   Through the deepening gloom one of the party noticed a partially hidden string across the floor of the cave and the rest of the party carefully stepped over it thinking it to probably be a crude trap put there to alert the cave's inhabitants about intruders.   Through a small opening the party spied more goblins and wolves in cages and the adventurers moved quickly and quietly to eliminate these threats. It was during this attack that a true hero and friend-to-many, fell... George the Goblin. He had been feeding the wolves when hit in the back by a crossbow bolt. He left behind a wife and child, 'Cutesy'. Others who knew him said... "He was the best of goblins, a true friend and champion of the oppressed". The adventurers made quick work of the remaining goblins but not before one escaped into a further room.   Elvis, having a way with animals, attempted to calm one of the wolves through a combination of kind words and scraps of food. Having been treated badly by the goblins (except George of course, who was lovely to everyone) the wolf was not used to kindness and calmed down, giving Elvis' hand a gentle lick and rolling over on its back. Elvis freed the wolf and it trotted along beside its new friend. The second wolf however was inconsolable, having seen its best friend George not only killed but then skewered on the sword of Barry Sanchez, and it was left in its cage growling and barking.   The party gathered themselves, patched up minor wounds and pushed on through the cave.   Through a pair of doors they found themselves in a well-lit area. A very large, hairy goblinoid creature, flanked by two large, hungry-looking wolves, stood at the back shouting orders at cowardly goblins who scurried around him in fear of the shouted threats of violence. Behind him were two locked cages - frightened, dirty and bruised human faces peered out through the bars. The party saw children and older humans in the cages and realised this must be the missing Moss family members and their hired-hands.   The goblins and the larger Bugbear, Gorrunk, set on the adventurers immediately. The party, joined by their new wolf ally, fought back but, drained from previous fights and the shocking events surrounding the death of the beloved George, they were hard-pressed!   Torbella was knocked unconscious by a well-aimed blow and Faelian soon followed. Powerful blows from the mace of Gorrunk knocked out Barry and soon only Isaac was capable of continuing the fight with Elvis badly injured and protected only by her new wolf friend. However, Isaac summoned some hidden reserves for a final push and managed to get Faelian back on his feet with a potion. Together, with help from the friendly wolf and some bolts of necrotic energy from Elvis, they managed to win the day!   The remaining party members stabilised the others and released the prisoners from the cages. Amidst cries of relief and thanks the party established that this was indeed Haldred Moss, his children and their workers.   However, there was another in the cages dressed differently to the others who identified himself as Chaab. He had been watching the goblin hideout and was captured by them. He gave the party some information about the caves and was very interested to hear what the party had overheard at the cave entrance:  

• He had discovered that a black dragon had laired here until recently, and it was parleying with humans for some reason. The dragon hadn’t been seen in a while, but the humans were still skulking in the area, so Chaab came to investigate.

• He found that the dragon had been killed by adventurers, but the adventurers had perished as well. Someone had emptied the dragon’s hoard and started harvesting parts of the dead dragon.

• Chaab was trying to escape the lair and report his findings when he was waylaid by dozens of goblins. He also told the party that there were dozens, if not hundreds, of goblins living elsewhere in the lair. Their numbers are currently low because they were raiding the countryside but he suggested that the party should not hang around too long.

  He gave the party some gold and a potion of climbing to thank them for rescuing him. He said they would meet again and vanished into the woods outside the cave.   The party returned to the previous cave area and freed the second wolf who had now calmed down, however on it's release the second wolf and Elvis' friendly wolf ran from the cave in joy at being free! Gone for good or would Elvis see her wolf friend again?.....   The adventurers returned to the town with the Haldred family and were welcomed as heroes!

Rewards Granted

Potion of Climbing
100 gold
2 x Potions of Healing

Missions/Quests Completed

Mission 2: The Screams at Dawn

Character(s) interacted with

Haldred Moss
Chaab
Gorrunk