The Goblin's Prisoners

After stabilizing Ruby, Jade and Prax attended to the bound and gagged prisoners while Thomas posted up at the chamber entrance with his bow at the ready, prepared to welcome any goblin scouts that may come looking for the boss. Knowing that it would take some time for Ruby to awaken from head trauma Prax began questioning the now freed villagers while Jade spent some time looking at the wall behind the spot the goblin leader stood when the party entered. Unrecognizable runes and the gemstones from the king's crown were inscribed and embedded into the wall, all of which were aglow. Jade noted that they appeared to be glowing brighter now than they were when the party first entered the chamber and she proceeded to try and pry one of the gemstones from the wall. That proved to be more difficult dangerous than expected as a blast of arcane energy rendered Jade unconscious once again. Fortunately for everybody in this party, Prax is skilled healer and he quickly stabilized Jade. After a short while, both Ruby and Jade were up and about again. It was learned that there were other villagers elsewhere in the cave complex but these three did not know where. A large stone was being used as a door to seal off a an opening in a corner of the chamber. Jade and Ruby were able to move the stone which revealed what could only be the bed chamber of the goblin leader. An old chest with a rusty lock was the only thing of interest here and as Thomas attempted to check the chest for traps, the lock disintegrated revealing some treasure for their troubles. Unfortunately, after thoroughly searching the chambers and the corpse of the goblins, there was no sign of any information as to who hired the goblins to steal the crown.
 
As Thomas was uninjured during the combat with the goblin leader, it was decided that he would lead the three freed villagers back to the clearing in the woods where the guardsmen and other Nightstone villagers were gathered awaiting the return of the party and villagers they rescue. While Thomas made this journey, the remaining party members tended to their wounds and used some of their healing skills and magics enabling them to recover enough life force to proceed on their search for villagers once Thomas returned. It was agreed that the most likely location of the prisoners was down the tunnel the other goblin fled after the ogre combat. It turns out, they were wrong. After venturing down that tunnel a short ways, Ruby noticed a freshly stripped goblin skeleton just as Thomas placed a torch into one of the many holes that lined the wall of this tunnel. Unbeknownst to all, including the goblin, this entire tunnel was the hunting ground of an amorphous blob of some sort. As Thomas plunged the torch into the hole, his arm was immediately engulfed by this blob, delivering a dizzying amount of acid damage, incapacitating Thomas and damaging his armor to the point it is no longer useful. As the party scrambled to grab Thomas and exit the tunnel, Prax was also attacked by this thing, with similar results, leaving the twin sisters to drag their companions from the hall and back to the relative safety of the cave entrance chamber.
 
Once Thomas regained consciousness, the party chose to search a different tunnel for the prisoners and this time it proved fruitful. A chamber full of many bound and gagged villagers was discovered, including Morak, the Dwarven inn keeper that lead the initial defense against the goblins at Nightstone. The party had to break the bad news to Morak regarding the current status of Nightstone and explain that they would be lead to the forest clearing where the rest of the villagers and the remaining town guard were encamped. It was approaching dusk as everyone was reunited at camp and plans were discussed regarding what the next steps were to be. Will it be seeking refuge at the nearby village of Dawnbark, or, with the entire village reunited and the party fully rested, is it time to retake Nightstone? This is a decision that will need to wait until morning.