Session 4: We Come In Peace Report

General Summary

After getting Hedid back on her feet, Erky’s work was not done – Cora’s wounds were also in desperate need of getting patched up. Erky gladly agreed to do so, but this kind of mental exertion, combined with spending months inside a tiny cage, took its toll on the cleric and he proposed to take some time off and have a comfortable good night’s sleep. And what better place for such an endeavor than a prison with a door that can be locked from inside and also has a nice crack to make looking out for threats easier. Unfortunately, keeping watch turned out to be more difficult than expected. Shava and Hedid failed to notice that during the night, a group of goblins silently entered the room on the other side of the door. By the pile of their dead comrades’ bodies and the various tracks around, the creatures concluded what had transpired and set up an ambush for when the heroes wake and emerge from their sleeping quarters. In the morning, Shava’s extraordinary tracking skills still allowed the group to become aware of the goblin threat to their well-being. They managed to avoid being completely taken by surprise, but the four ambushing goblinoids got the situation under control well enough. The heroes decided to try a diplomatic approach by asking to be taken to the leader. After some consideration, their proposal was met with agreement and the crowd even managed to start heading towards said meeting, but Pock deciding to cast a protective spell on himself was immediately taken as a sign of aggression, and so a battle ensued. The party already had some experience in dealing with goblins, so the encounter ended with a quick victory. Once again, when things turned bad, the last one of the enemies still standing made his escape clearly alerting everyone he could have reached. The heroes also managed to capture one of the remaining goblins with the goal of interrogating him. The prisoner turned out to be somewhat reluctant with sharing information, but he still let some bits and pieces slip out. Most of the group saw no benefit in keeping the little goblinoid around, but Norg clearly had other plans. He tied all of his rope around the creature and took him along when the party started moving on. They managed to find what was supposed to be the stolen dragon’s location, but unfortunately had no way of bypassing the locked doors leading there. Instead, they stumbled upon another goblin outpost. The guards here were bored enough to accept Hedid’s proposal of sitting down to have some food and drink. The paladin presented delicious food while Norg passed his recently found silver flask around, which apparently was filled with ‘delicious’ and strong goblin wine. Through extraordinary deception skills, the heroes managed to fool the guards into getting drunk, while staying clear-minded themselves. The intoxicated and bored creatures seemed to like their new friends, and so revealed some information about the fortress and the ‘Outcast’ – an unknown figure who resided deeper in the citadel. Even speaking about this figure invoked fear in the goblins' eyes. It was fun while it lasted, but eventually the heroes’ deception skills let them down and they were revealed as not having the best of intentions. Thorbjörn tried to save the situation with a well-placed gold coin and some encouraging words into the ears of Norg’s prisoner, but his persuasion skills were not up to the task and the situation had to be resolved violently. Thanks to the alcohol-induced bad shape of the enemies, it did so with positive outcome to the adventurers. The party pushed onwards through a narrow corridor, eventually reaching a group of goblins. However, these posed no threat, consisting mainly of the elderly and children of the community. Apparently, the goblins' main force had not expected an attack from that side, and had stashed their weak here for ‘safety’. The heroes had another idea for safety, so they guided the children to the guard outpost that was just cleared and blocked them inside. One of the elders led the little ones while the others refused to move and stayed behind. Shava paid them no mind and stealthily tried to see what lies through the door leading to one of the next rooms. The door revealed a ‘throne room’ of sorts, with Durnn the hobgoblin leader and his guards and adviser inside. These goblinoids looked far bigger and stronger than what she’d seen so far. The door also did not cooperate with Shava’s sneaky intentions, so everyone in the room became immediately aware of the intruders. Durnn politely invited them in. The goblin leader announced that the party’s quest here can not be completed, since the Hucrele children shall not return. He himself was wearing armor adorned with the Hucrele crest, so one would assume that at least part of what he said was true. Durnn offered the group a chance to turn back and leave, or else bad things would happen to them. The proposal was hesitantly accepted and the party headed back a few rooms where they tried to plan their next move. Apparently, leaving the goblin area completely was not really a popular choice for that, and when the heroes heard the goblin guards following to check on them a few moments later, they decided to make their stand...

Campaign

Tales from the Yawning Portal

Protagonists