AGGR Storm King's Thunder chapter 01 Nightstone

15th Ches, 1499 DR

Late afternoon - The party arrives at Nightstone only to find the town has been the victim of some nefarious incident. Portions of the keep and the wooden bridge leading from the town to the keep are collapsed. As they approach, the sound of a ringing bell is constant and they find the drawbridge into the town is down. They enter cautiously and are attacked by two large, dog or wolf-like creatures; worgs. The party fights off the beasts and all the while, the bell continues to ring.

Taking a breath, the heroes take a look around and are confused by what they see. Numerous large stones appear imbedded deep in the earth all around the square. They're pretty sure that these stones were hurled into the town in some manner but are not entirely sure how this could have been done. The party also finds a large hole in the center of the square, perhaps five feet deep, but with no boulder in it. They try to discern the nature of this landmark but are unable to do so.
The group next investigates the ringing bell which they quickly determine is coming from the temple at the northwest corner of the town square. They approach cautiously and, at first, it appears the building is empty. They enter quietly as they can and search the earthen floor for any clues that would explain the status of the seemingly abandoned town. Besides the entrance, the only door in the chamber is along the back wall, in the direction of the steeple and the constantly ringing bell.
Tallas and Sidheag approach the back of the temple cautiously and peer through the door in the back. Inside, they view the steeple and two goblins taking turns pulling on the chord that rings the bell. The goblins see them and attack but the party is able to move in and thwart their foes. Victorious, they look around and find that the back room, in addition to housing the steeple, is also a living quarter. They deduce it is probably for the temple's priest. After searching the fallen humanoids and the room, the party moves on.
They head back out into the town and move to another large building bordering the square. They investigate and determine that it is the Nightstone Inn. They view through the windows that portions of the inn have been struck by the assault of boulders. The enter the building carefully through the front door and they quickly find the still-warm corpse of another goblin. Two bolts stick out from its chest.
The heroes continue to look around. The common dining area of the inn is partially ruined. A boulder crashed through the roof of the building, through the upper floor, and into the dining room. The shattered dining table and chairs is intermixed with pieces of ruined bedroom furnishings, ostensibly from the room above. The common room is otherwise empty but careful observation reveals that the area on the other side of a swinging door has someone in it.
Sidheag and Tallas again take the lead in checking things out and they find yet another goblin ransacking what's left of the kitchen and pantry. Another boulder has destroyed the far corner of this side of the structure. A quick fight breaks out and the party quickly subdues the looter. Then they move on to explore the rest of what's left of the inn and head upstairs.
On the second floor, the group spreads out to investigate. They find four bedrooms and look around. Two of the rooms were obviously vacant prior to whatever calamity befell the town. The other two were not but suffered significant damage from the attack. Club Foot finds nothing intriguing in what's left of the one above the dining room. However, Sidheag finds some items of interest in the remains of the other occupied room.
This bedroom is above the kitchen and the corner of the building there is completely obliterated. Consequently, the chamber is open to the outside world. In the unruined area of the room, there is a fine chest that is locked. Sidheag calls upon Sarydark to aid in opening it and they eventually succeed. Within they find several fine items that appear to be the possessions of a dwarf. They secure these and return to their mates.
The group discusses their options for the evening. Some suggestions to rest are heard but the group is wary. Though they're sure they are alone in this building, the town is apparently overrun with goblins. And then, Tallas, who's more skeptical than most, rechecks the rooms thought to be empty. From behind a dresser in the room over the dining area emerges a human woman.
The woman introduces herself to Tallas; she is Kella Darkhope. She says that she's a monk that was traveling through the area before the deep of winter set in and she's been staying in Nightstone for the last couple of months. When Tallas asks her what happened to the town, she tells him what she knows.


Kella explains that the town came under attack early in the morning of the current day. The first sign of trouble was a very strange one; a fortress floating atop some clouds appeared over the horizon to the north. The flying castle moved towards Nightstone and, when it was overhead, boulders began to fall from it, striking the small settlement all over. One of the earliest strikes crashed through the roof of the inn and her bedroom and she remembers nothing after that.
She presumed that she was knocked unconscious by the strike. When she came to, the attack was over and, looking out her window, she saw the townspeople were gone. Kella said she was ready to head down and out into the town to try and discern more but that's when she spotted the goblin raiders. She further explained that a goblin had come into the inn and was poking around but that she felled it with two shots from her crossbow.
Kella continued and explained that not long after she killed the goblin on the first floor, she heard a ruckus out in the square. And not long after, the temple bell, which had been ringing for some time, grew silent. A couple of minutes after, she heard and saw the party of adventurers enter the inn to look around. She admitted that she chose to remain hidden if she could until she could ascertain if the party were a threat or not.
Evening - The party's inquiry with Kella reveals very little else so they decide to continue working their way through the village to rid it of the goblin raiders. Club Foot however, wasn't kidding about getting a rest and he was already fast asleep in one of the vacant beds. The rest of the heroes proceed without him anyway.
The adventurers make their way from building to building, encountering raiders at a number of them. Some of the goblins are lying in wait. Others are admiring their newfound loot. Still others are engaged in completely unexpected activities such as chasing after chickens or playing blind tag whilst wearing carved out but eyeless pumpkins on their heads. Each of the goblins save one meets their demise quickly. The party are, at first, quite effective in neutralizing their foes. Then, they capture one for questioning after having previously agreed to do so, and things change.
The questioned goblin gives up nothing of interest except that their raiding was not connected to the bombardment of boulders from above. In fact, he's more than a little incredulous at the description of a flying castle dropping great big rocks on Nightstone. Regardless, the goblin has no more real information to offer the party, but they opt to bind him and drag him along as they continue to explore the village.
Our heroes have a much more difficult time of it after this. They continue to work their way through Nightstone but the adversaries they pursue become more and more of a challenge to deal with. Numerous times, the party members fall to the blows of their foes and must be resuscitated. And more and more their efforts are nearly thwarted. To the point that they even must turn to the slumbering Club Foot to help their cause via his healing magics.
In investigating one homestead, the party is further stressed by something they couldn't have expected to encounter. They are put off somewhat by one particular home. The runes wrought in the infernal script upon the door of the home and the holy symbol venerating Asmodeus discovered within are both evidence of something quite out of the ordinary for this village. The heroes make note of this before moving on.
A final standoff at the town's windmill ultimately calls an end to the very eventful evening for the adventurers. Another tactical disadvantage puts their group in peril again. They work to overcome this and are ultimately successful. But they had reached the limits of their abilities for the current day. Fortunately, investigation of the remaining homesteads in the village finds no further resistance so the party finally felt they could let their guard down. The adventurers return to the ruined Inn for a well-deserved night's rest. The group sets a watch order and turns in for the night.

16th Ches, 1499 DR

Pre-dawn - Ulanna stands watch at the entrance to the ruined Nightstone Keep. She looks out over the town as dawn is breaking. It's then she first spots signs of potential trouble. Hints of movement from the hills north and west of the village are accentuated by dust trails being kicked up.
The cleric of Ilmater watches for long moments as many figures come down out of the hills and head towards Nightstone. She calls to Kaelen Zam, the town guardsman who's turn at watch is winding down. The guardsman emerges from within the keep wiping sleep from his eyes. He asks what's going on and Ulanna points to the hills outside the village.
The guardsman struggles at first to understand what's happening. He scans the area closely and then a grim realization comes to him. "Goblins; many of them coming out of the hills." Ulanna was reaching the same conclusion. The dim light of the still awakening day made the determination take longer than they'd want and it was clear the goblins would be in the village before they could muster the rest of the guards.
Ulanna directs Kaelen to do just this, saying she'll head into the village to see if there was anything she could do. As she begins to make her way to the ruined bridge, she wonders silently how she'll make her way across. Her mood is uplifted somewhat when she spots signs of movement from the inn. She concludes that the adventurers Kaelen had described earlier must have set a watch and were also aware of the approaching danger. The realization buoyed her spirits enough to consider an attempt to jump the gap in the broken bridge. She makes a run for it just as the first of the goblins cross over the drawbridge into the seemingly abandoned village.
Timor is the first to come running out of the Nightstone Inn. He's quickly followed by Sidheag, then Tallas, and Sarydark. Finally, the monk Kella enters the fray by taking position in one of the inn's windows and shooting invaders from this safe position. The melee combatants engage with the invading goblin hoard first. From behind them Tallas, Sarydark, and Kella pick off the invaders one at a time.
Ulanna realizes that these brave souls will need help. She forms a silent prayer to her god and then takes a running leap to try and cross the gap in the bridge from the motte to the bailey. She's able to cross the distance of the gap but lands awkwardly and falls. Fortunately, she's able to grasp the edge of the lower bridge and keeps from falling off of it. She dangles precariously for a few moments but then sees Kaelen jump across. The much more athletic guard manages the feat easily and, after steadying himself, he pulls Ulanna up unto the bridge. The two run towards the town just as another one of the guards, Torem Breck jumps across the gap in the bridge.
The invaders, more than a dozen strong fan out across the village. Some of them spot Ulanna and the two guardsmen at the south end of the main village and attack them. Others engage the adventurers in and around the town square. Eventually, the other two guards, Sydiri Haunlar and Alara Winterspell join the fray.
The battle is pitched and a couple of times, it seems as if the invaders will prevail. The fighting grows fiercest near the bridge where the guards and Ulanna are having a tough go of it. But the group remains steadfast and the cleric's healing skills turn the tide. They move forward towards the square where the fighting is fiercest. Once the two forces combine, the tide is turned and the rest of the invaders are dispatched. The battle is won.
Morning - With everyone catching their breath, the adventurers introduce themselves and Ulanna and the guardsmen do likewise. All give recounts of what's happened and the cleric wonders aloud about the missing townsfolk. Kaelen reiterates that those that could do so escaped Nightstone and headed into the hills beyond the drawbridge. Ulanna suggests that they should have returned by now and the goblin invasion is a grim sign. She implores that a rescue party be formed to go search for them.
Meanwhile, there are some new arrivals into Nightstone. A group of mercenaries, riding on horses enters the town in the aftermath of the invasion. Their leader, a half-elf man introduces himself as Xolkin Alassandar and he calls out for Kella Darkhope. She reacts by rushing to greet the new arrivals and it first dawns on the heroes she's not all that she says she is. The flying pet companion with her flies to Xolkin and lands on his shoulder.


Xolkin quickly requests information about what's going on with the town. Kella fills him in on the recent events and he proclaims that he and his comrades are called The Seven Snakes and they have come to protect the town. He quickly begins to bark out orders to his associates to secure the village. The four guardsmen look on confusedly. The adventurers, to their credit suspect that something is not quite right. They do not recognize the symbol emblazoned on a ring Xolkin is wearing, a black, winged serpent. However, Ulanna shares with the others that she's never trusted Kella nor believed she was all she says she is.
Amidst the aftermath of the invasion and the discussions that ensue, the heroes discover another foreboding fact. Club Foot, the flighty druid is missing. Timor reveals that the tortle arose during the night, not long after the start of his watch. He indicates further that Club Foot left Nightstone saying that he had come to the area because of his interest in the flora of the nearby forest and that's where he would head.
The party of heroes are sorrowful over the revelation but they realize there's not much they can do at this time. The important thing to be done first is to go in search of the survivors from Nightstone, if any. Ulanna agrees to join them and the five head out of the village to this end. They head north and west, into the hills whence the goblins came.
After a few hours of wandering into the hills, the party comes to a large hill with a cave entrance near the base at the southeast. It is just after midday. They spot many tracks of all sorts all leading to the place and determine it should be investigated. Sarydark volunteers to sneak up to the cave entrance and see if he can learn anything. The others wait hidden below.
Before long, the wood elf bard returns to his compatriots and reports. He indicates that the cave entrance leads to a large cavern within the hill before them. Inside he says he saw a couple of very large humanoids and numerous goblins. From his description, the group determines that the large beings are ogres. They formulate a plan to try and draw these out carefully and take each down in turn.
Sarydark is again dispatched to sneak up to the cave entrance to begin the attack. The elf accomplishes this admirably and one of the ogres comes roaring out into the ambush. The battle is fierce and becomes even more so when the second ogre, a female follows. Though the adventurers are new to the craft, they've learned much in the preceding day and a half and they are ultimately victorious.
Carefully, the heroes head into the cavern. Several of the goblins that Sarydark had spotted had joined the fight outside the cave but at least one had run off deeper into the underground structure. So they proceed with care. Once inside the main cavern, they quickly realize that the structure is large and complex. And certainly big enough to house numerous dangers.
The party investigates different areas of the dripping caves carefully. They encounter a warren of invalid, elderly, and young goblins too weak to pose any threat. They pass this by and delve deeper. They soon find a cave riddled with bones strewn all about. Their investigations leads them to conclude that the bones belonged to numerous creatures, some of them humanoid. This realization chills them but they continue and before long, they come to a much more capable group of foes. Their careful approach allows them to set the terms of engagement and they only engage in battle deep inside the cavern.
The group comes to a number of chambers in a close cluster. In one of these is a fearsome goblin, the likely boss of the warren. He has with him a number of guards as well as numerous giant rats. He also has a human prisoner; a woman. Ulanna recognizes her as Lady Velrosa's lady-in-waiting, Daphne Featherstone.
The heroes realize they must take action immediately to try and liberate the terrified captive. They attack and a fearsome battle ensues. The goblins fight viciously with their boss, named Hark , deploying his pets, the rats to aid the fray. However, the heroes' careful approach proves to their benefit and they are able to slay most of the enemies, including Hark. A couple of the goblins surrender when their boss falls dead.
Through one of their prisoners, the adventurers learn the fallen boss's name. The goblin woman named Snigbat answers all the questions the group asks of hers, hoping that her cooperation will help keep her alive. The adventurers further learn that the remaining villagers from Nightstone are being kept prisoner within the cavern. Finally, they learn that a handful of these have already met a grizzly end as meals for the ogres and the populace of the goblin warrens.
After raiding Hark's larder and taking the contents into their possession, the heroes steel their resolve and explore the caverns further. Their aim is to find and liberate the remaining villagers. Before long, they spot these. The goblin resistance is gone but they must contend with a giant swarm of bats that are disturbed by their approach. The creatures make their work more perilous but they are ultimately able to free the villagers and lead them out of the caves.
Outside the caverns, a dwarven man approaches the heroes and introduces himself. He is Morak Ur'gray, proprietor of the Nightstone Inn. He recognizes Ulanna who introduces the others as wandering adventurers that happened upon Nightstone in its hour of great need.
Morak recounts to them that he and the villagers that could flee the giant attack did so, seeking refuge in the hills. To their dismay however, they happened upon the goblin warren and the residents, along with the ogres' help, captured all of them. The dwarf further recounts that, in the day or more since, three of their number had been taken away and were seen or heard from again.
Ulanna and the rest of the party then take their turn recounting what's happened in Nightstone. Her revelation that Lady Nandar has died is met with sadness by Morak and dismay by Daphne. The lady-in-waiting is apoplectic over the news. The saddened dwarf suggests that the assemblage makes its way back to Nightstone. With three goblin prisoners in tow, the heroes lead the beleaguered villagers back towards their home.
Mid-afternoon - Upon their return to Nightstone, its residents begin to assess the destruction the previous day's events have wrought. The dead are collected and attended to in the town's temple. The erstwhile heroes aid in this grim work. Before nightfall, the dwarf, Morak calls an assemblage of the villagers. He calls on the people to decide the fate of the three goblin prisoners in their midst.
The argument is fierce with one side calling for the prisoners to be executed. A number of the people, most notably Morak cite the fact that the invalid or otherwise defenseless goblins left back in the warrens would certainly all die if the only remaining able-bodied members of their clan were killed. Xolkin is especially vocal against the dwarf's call for mercy and their argument is fierce.
The adventurers offer their own council and find that they are themselves divided on what should be done. Ultimately, the stalemate appears to have no chance of being broken. Then, one of the villagers, a tiefling woman stands forward and offers a compromise. She suggests that two of the prisoners be executed for their clan's crimes against Nightstone. But the third she offers should be allowed to return to the caves, gather up the rest of their people, and leave the area immediately.
The compromise is soon agreed to. The town guards attend to the grim business of meting out punishment to the condemned. They lead all three shackled goblins out of the village. A number of the villagers and all of the Seven Snakes with Kella follow. So do some of the adventurers. A couple hundred feet from the entrance to Nightstone, within sight of the drawbridge, two of the goblins are beheaded. The third, Snigbat is set free but she is warned to heed the decree of the people of Nightstone. She nods in affirmation and then runs off.
Back with in Nightstone, the survivors and their guests hold a ceremony for the dead inside the village's small temple. The mood is somber and becomes more grim after the ritual when the work of burying the fallen comes to hand. When the dour task is completed, all retire silently to what's left of their homes for a much-needed night's rest.