Session 21: Karkolohk

General Summary

After much consideration, the party decided to venture to the goblin outpost, Karkolhk, that was located within the foothills of the Spine of the World, far to the west. On top of retrieving a mysterious construct for Jack Dawkins from the goblin outpost, the party was informed of a goblin messenger that was recently captured in Bryn Shander. He was found to be carrying a declaration of peace from Chief Yarb-Gnock addressed to Speaker Duvessa Shane. Yarb-Gnock would like Speaker Shane to send delegates to Karkolohk to conduct “treaty negotiations.” Bryn Shander's Sheriff, Markham Southwell, doesn’t believe a word of Yarb-Gnock’s message and offers a reward of 300 gp for the goblin chieftain’s head.
With that information, the party obtained ice skates from an elderly woman on the outskirts of town. She seemed to have memory issues but mentioned that she had a grandson who was a soldier - a grandson that turned out to be Seargent James. After the team said their goodbyes, they set out west on foot, passing through Targos first. The weather was in their favor with clear sunny skies, however, they found the town a smoldering ruin. Nearly all of the buildings within the town's tall walls had been destroyed. While passing through they did manage to come across a group of a dozen survivors who fled that was led by a man named Hishi and his wife Ling. The party shared with them where they were heading; in turn, Hishi informed them that Perytons tend to swoop down from the mountains to hunt. If they catch sight of one, hide under the snow and hope it doesn't see you.

Peryton

The party continued on to Bremen to find the town in a similar state which took a much heavier emotional toll. This was where it all began just over a year ago. Emotions were heightened when the group passed through the Five Taverns Square only to find Cora's tavern, the Buried Treasures Inn, completely decimated and her body among the rubble. Ceremoniously, the party took time to burn what remained of the tavern along with Cora's body.
The night quickly set in as the party decided to take advantage of the clear skies and travel by moonlight. Using the ice skates they obtained from Seargent James' grandmother, they made the rest of the trek along the Shaengarne River, passing by the frost giant burial ground known to the locals as Jarlmoot, before bedding down for the evening. The next morning they finished their journey to the Spine of the World, narrowly avoiding an encounter with two Perytons with some quick thinking by Atalanta. Morthos was able to get directions from native pine and they climbed through the lower foothills where they saw evidence of something that had crash-landed some months ago. Whatever it was, had since been recovered...

When the party arrived at the gates of Karkolhk they approached carefully. Upon announcing their arrival, a cacophonous cry of goblin shills and screams echoed throughout the rocky landscape as the defenders took their stations. Calmly the group of adventures exercised diplomacy and managed to obtain an audience with Chief Yarb-Gnock. Escorted at spear-point through the camp, they were able to spot the construct that Jack Dawkins asked them to retrieve but there was one problem; it was hoisted in the center of the goblin's camp for all to see.

Gates of Karkolhk

When the players were finally met by Chief Yarb-Gnock they could easily see through his disguise right away. The goblin kept up his charade for as long as he could but eventually, the truth came to light. Several months ago he was traveling to Tentowns with a group of merchants when they were ambushed by goblins. Seeing this as a way to survive, he was able to disguise himself and over the next several months outsmart the goblins and rise to power. Now, several months later, he has found himself a prisoner of his own making. After sharing these details with the party he agreed to help them escape the goblin camp if they agreed to take him with them.
In the meantime, while negotiations were being discussed, Bulwark found himself hypnotized by an egg-shaped crate that was there in the chieftain's crude chambers. He could hear inaudible whispers attempting to make their way inside his mind. Made of magical metal, this indestructible container was 3½ feet tall and 3 feet wide, with a flat base that allows it to stand upright with seams at the top that suggest it opens like a flower. Though it looked smooth, its surface looked tacky. It weighed 250 pounds and had a panel of flashing lights below its bulging midsection. Bulwark could see the panel is a nine-digit keypad locking mechanism, and each glowing button has braille-like bumps on it. Eventually, the influence from the object became so overwhelming that Bulwark ran out of the room and vomited just right outside.

Spellix Disguised as Chief Yarb-Gnock

At this point, the party and Spellix Romwod, Chief Yarb-Gnock's true identity, had devised a plan. Spellix would pull the goblins away from the party and feed them a story while the party gathered around the construct and prepared to teleport away. The goblin hordes waited eagerly outside the chieftain's chambers. Spellix and the rest of the party began to make their way to the respective directions according to plan when suddenly Bulwark snapped.
In an instant Bulwark turned and bolted back towards the building they had just left. As he crossed into the room, the faint whispers were now all he could hear, his focus was consumed by the egg-shaped crate in the corner. Closer now, Bulwark could see a faintly glowing fractal pattern now glowing on the metallic shell, which matched the same patterns that were etched into his construct exoskeleton. Involuntarily, Bulwark reached out to the keypad on the egg crate.

Outside the chambers, the rest of the party could see an explosion of light coming from the room. Nix was quick to chase after Bulwark where the rest of the party prepared for the inevitable attack from the goblin masses. Inside the room Amelia and Bulwark could see a horrifying fleshy mass growing out from the now opened egg-shaped crate.
A heroic onslaught ensued as the party was able to fend off the waves of incoming goblins, all the while protecting Reinaldo as he prepared their means of escape via his new Teleportation Chain. As Spellix, Nix, and Bulwark barely made their way into the radius of the spell, they soon found themselves miles away in the comfort of the Northlook in Bryn Shander.

Construct Recovered from Karkolohk

Once arrived, the team collapsed, happy to be back in familiar territory. Spellix was still on high alert, unsure of his surroundings, and the party took pity on him knowing he had nowhere to go. Amelia offered to let Spellix stay and take on a job at the Northlook. He graciously agreed once he realized no one knew his real face and he would be safe there. Meanwhile, Bulwark began attempting to identify the construct in hopes of finding answers not only about where it came from but also about himself.

Report Date

10 Jun 2021