Once more unto the breach
General Summary
New Information
Octorum 24, 887 Af.
The group used their time in Bonum Prox stocking up on various scrolls, potions, and spell components, and were ready to continue on. They had left the city, and gathered to camp. They slept, safe in their tiny huts and barns, with Sif expecting contact from Venfaren.
Sif was not disappointed, as Venfaren entered her dream shortly after she fell asleep. He altered her dream to be in his tower and they sat together as they often had while she was studying her craft. Sif brought up the relic that Orchid wished them to pursue. She made it clear that she did not trust Orchid, and Venfaren agreed, but told her that the relic was important, and she should retrieve it. It was not a danger yet, although the time was fast approaching, and they should probably be in place to deal with it by the equinox.
Sif then brought up the goblin that wasn't a goblin, and what it had done. When Venfaren pushed for more information on what magic it had used, Sif told him of how it would perform an act of treachery and then escape through a dimension door. Venfaren thought for a moment, then made a gesture, causing a large wolf like beast with a goblinoid face to appear in front of him. Sif was startled, but recognized it from outside the carnival in Geton Towne. When Sif confirmed it was the creature they had encountered, Venfaren told him it was a Barghest, a being created by Diabolus to ensure that the goblinoid races were continually at war. He said it had been a millennium since any had been seen - since the hobgoblins and bugbears were wiped out on this continent. If they were back, he said, then Diabolus was exerting himself to affect the world again.
Sif asked if they could kill it, and was told that it could be killed, certainly, although it was much more resilient than a goblin. If it was slain, it would reform in Diabolus' domain, but that would keep it away from them for some time. In addition, engulfing it in flames may be a method of banishing it, but he had never encountered one in person to confirm that. Sif thanked him, and asked about the rock trolls and what they meant for them.
Venfaren laughed when he heard the story. He asked if they tried to make an exchange of something basically worthless for some gems, while using their size to intimidate them into agreeing. Sif confirmed, and Venfaren told her with a chuckle that the trolls would not have been likely to hurt them - they like to take advantage in trades, but are willing to trade fairly. They are different enough from most creatures that they tend to not interact except in specific circumstances, mostly involving gems or music. They are very dangerous in a fight, but if you don't attack them, they are unlikely to attack you. He also let her know how to identify leaders, and what language they spoke. Sif was glad to have bought a scroll of Tongues, and planned to scribe it into her book at the first opportunity.
With the information Sif wanted covered, she asked Venfaren about the other members of The Circle. She missed all of her adopted family, particularly Kal and Weco . They chatted a bit about them, some that had been out of contact for a while, and some that were there in Bandar Philia. Eventually, Venfaren left the dream, and Sif slept the remainder of the night.
A New Plan
Novorum 1, 887 Af.
As dawn broke, the party woke and began to plan their next steps. Kasret spoke with his goblin archer squad, ensuring that they were in good shape and prepared to continue on. He, and they, wanted to bring the others together into a clan, but knew that they couldn't do it alone and would require the help of the others. Carta wanted to set out to complete the mission for Orchid - not just for her, although Sif had her suspicions about that, but because he believed that this was something important to the fate of the world. Sharlot was deep in creating more music, knowing she had the biggest performance of her life on the winter solstice, and needing to be completely prepared. Durdeg, meanwhile, was finishing up some work he had been doing inside his bag of holding, and just needed a few adjustments.
Sif relayed the discussion with Venfaren to the group, and said she wanted to retake the mine before doing anything else. She believed that they could work out a deal with the rock trolls, to protect the mine in exchange for some of the gems. Carta brought up the artifact for Orchid, and Sif said she would support going after it, but that could be briefly delayed while they took care of this issue. With Kasret fully on board, and Durdeg and Sharlot not having strong feelings either way, they decided to give it a shot. They gathered up their belongings to set out, planning on cutting across country and travel late into the day to get there as soon as possible. As they gathered up their stuff, Durdeg opened his bag, and amazed the group by what he had created.
V9 was gone, and it looked like a lot of the energy and parts he had put into that had now been directed into a form fitting suit of armor. His prosthetic arm was a part of the armor, and the gauntlets gleamed with magic, ready to bring the thunder. He lifted the helm, muttered a word, and the helm wrapped itself around his head. Carta looked on in wonder, asking himself what it would take to get such a helmet. Durdeg then pulled a jade oval from his bag, connected it to the equipment that he had stored away, and started an electrical current running through it. In moments, etheric material started to coalesce around the stone, and it formed into a small bird. Durdeg said to the group, "I'd like you to meet v10." The bird chirped a little at them, and Durdeg explained that he had to put his energy into armoring himself, and that v10 was a companion that he could keep viable while still powering the armor. He then mounted up, with v10 on his shoulder, and they were ready. Sif rode in the cart as they headed out, setting the owl out to scout for them, while taking the time to learn and scribe her new scroll into her spell book.
Back to the Badlands
The group set off, traveling cross country to the entrance to the badlands near Calamentum. They wanted to avoid the town, not knowing whether the army was still there, and the grasslands were flat enough that they felt they could still cross with the wagon as long as Durdeg was on hand to mend any broken wheels or axles. The owl was in front of them, searching for any possible danger or points of interest. It was shortly after they had finished eating in the saddle when the bird circled and returned to them, the sign of danger. Sif quickly dismissed it to its pocket dimension and brought it back next to her, and got a report. There was a hill giant sleeping by a campfire. It was clearly asleep, and out of their direct line of travel, so the group decided to bypass it. They were on their guard while they passed nearby, but it did not awaken, and they were able to continue.
In the late afternoon, the bird circled an area north of where they were traveling, but didn't start to fly back, indicating something of interest but not danger. When Sif summoned it back, they found out that it was the site of a slaughter of goblins. Kasret and his crew took the lead, and the group arrived at the blood soaked ground. There were scores of dead goblins lying on the ground, and a handful that were clinging to life. The group healed the ones that were still alive, getting them back on their feet and able to answer questions. It turned out that the goblins that had fled had split into three groups, one under Enarzu, one under Vizla, and this one under the command of a goblin the group had never singled out and identified. As they were fleeing, a band of orcs caught up with them, and killed any that did not immediately surrender, as well as some who did. They rounded up the goblins, and led them off towards the badlands. The goblins had no idea where the others were, but assumed that they had been taken back as slaves. Some of them nudged each other and pointed to Kasret, but did not do more than that.
With the eight survivors in tow, the group began to travel again. With the sun getting low in the sky, they intersected with the road from Calamentum just as it ended at the badlands. The owl was circling the area as they approached, and they found that a battle had occurred there, recently. There was the remains of a bonfire there, where the bodies of a few dozen orcs had been burned, as well as an ogre that hadn't quite made it entirely into the flames. The stench was bad, but it had been long enough that it wasn't completely unbearable. The ground was churned up by horse hooves, indicating that the Bandar Philia cavalry had been here. They found a cairn that looked like it covered a body, so the cavalry did not get out without losses, but it looks like the vast majority had survived. They moved beyond that, to get away from the smell, and set up camp for the night. With recent issues, they were understandably nervous about what might be about, and set up several layers of protection, including magic huts, alarms, a rotating crew of goblins, and overhead scouts. In the end, they were not bothered, although whether that was because there was nothing to bother them or their defenses deterred what might have been there, they couldn't say.
Retaking the mine
Novorum 2, 887 Af.
Now that Kasret had traveled this section of the badlands, his skill as a tracker and hunter allowed him to easily guide them through the area. He took them to where they had first met the rock trolls, and when there were none there, they continued on to the cave where they lived. They entered, and saw the trolls asleep in piles on the ground.One of them woke up, and moved towards them, sensing that they again had a number of gems available. Sif identified it as having marks of a leader, since it had what appeared to be sapphire for eyes. It spoke in giant, and started to indicate the gems as something they wanted. Sif attempted to cast Tongues on it, but it became guarded when the magic started. Sif showed it the gems, and made it clear she was offering to trade in exchange for allowing her to touch it. For whatever reason, it agreed, taking the gems and sharing them with another troll that had come to join them. Sif completed the spell, and suddenly it appeared to all that the troll was speaking common.
With communication established, they found that it was not just the language barrier making it difficult. It appeared as though the trolls were not very smart, and didn't have a large vocabulary to deal with. But they were highly motivated to get the gems, with the troll referring to them as candy several times. As they were talking, Sharlot started to play, and some of the others gathered to join and play along. Finally, it seemed that the group got through to them that they wanted the trolls to defend the mine in exchange for gems. They got the troll to agree to go with them, and set out to the mine, Sif riding on the trolls back, and the party's winged companions checking it out from overhead.
As they closed in on the mine, Sif recast Tongues, ensuring they would not lose communication. The birds reported back that there were six orcs, a hill giant, a couple of ogres, and an orc mounted on a deathclaw. The orc on the deathclaw seemed alert compared to everything else, and ready to quickly move to attacking the others. They moved into position, with Kasret and the goblin archers coming in from above, and the rest at the arch into the canyon. As the archers were sneaking close, one of them kicked a stone over the edge. The pebble made very little noise on the way down, but it was enough for the deathclaw, which spun to face them and let out a roar that alerted the rest. The battle was joined, and Kasret and the archers let lose their first volley.
The ogre near them took the full force of the arrows, with many of them sticking into it and causing it to bleed freely. It roared in pain, and the orcs nearby turned and prepared their javelins. Sharlot quickly popped around the corner, and mocked the nearby ogre, drawing its attention and delivering a blow to its psyche. With them seen, the ogres began to charge the opening, while the hill giant stood up and began making its way there as well. Durdeg and Carta quickly moved into place, holding the line defensively as the creatures approached, and Sif called for the rock troll to give them a beat before she came around the corner and summoned a flaming sphere to ram into the giant. It took damage from the flames, but it only seemed to enrage it. The rider turned its mount towards the wall, where it quickly scaled it to get to the goblins above. The orcs that had readied their javelins let loose, killing two of the goblins right off, then each grabbed another to prepare for another attack. The other two, closer to the canyon entrance, moved forward to attack the party that remained below.
Kasret and the goblins turned their focus to the deathclaw approaching them. They unleashed wave after wave of arrows, but the death claw and rider were taking a heavy toll. With each step, the deathclaw would swipe at goblins, sending them flying to the ground below or simply tearing open their bodies. The rider would lash out with his spear, impaling them one after the other, and the orcs below sent another wave of javelins up. Meanwhile, Carta and Durdeg held firm, dodging and weaving, and getting in blows where they could. Sif was directing her flaming sphere at the giant, but accidentally got too close in as an orc approached her. It thought it had found a squishy human to destroy, but quickly found that she could hold her own if forced to. She called upon the power of Kolero, and delivered a radiant beam of light to it, charring its skin and pushing it back.
The ogres began to take turns moving in and out to attack the front line warriors, although they were doing little damage while Durdeg and Carta made their shots count. Carta put one of them down, freeing Durdeg to join Sif in focusing on the giant. The orcs at the far end threw the last of their javelins, killing another couple of goblins in the process, and charged towards the other end to help the giant. Sif saw them coming, and before they were even half way there, unleashed a ball of fire in their midst. When the flames cleared, the smoldering bodies of the orcs were tumbling across the ground, the last of their momentum being spent. Durdeg saw his opening, and with his fists of thunder, he slammed the giant. The giant fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding, and Durdeg leapt onto its chest. He reached down and grabbed the giants jaw, then used the power in his fists and armor to pull. The flesh of the giant began to tear, and Durdeg rended it from jaw to groin, washing himself with blood.
Sharlot continued to pop around the corner, mocking the other combatants and keeping them off balance. Carta was able to focus on the last ogre, and put him down. With their end of the battle complete, they looked up to see how Kasret was doing, and it was not good. The deathclaw and rider had eliminated the last of the goblin archers, and were focused in on Kasret. He fought valiantly, but alone against the beast was too much. With deep cuts at several places on his body, he could tell that he had to change something before he collapsed. With a final slash from his rapier, he called forth the mists to allow himself to transport away from the battle and back to the canyon floor. He couldn't quite reach, but was close enough to survive the rest of the fall. As the rider looked over the edge and then began to swing away from the battle, Sharlot took the opportunity to change the game again. She ran to Carta and grabbed on to him, shouting, "Ready?" Carta trusted her and held on, and she ripped a hole in space to carry them both through. They appeared beside the rider and deathclaw, and Carta immediately had the opportunity to attack. He dealt a fearsome blow, then another as the beast turned to run. It was clearly wounded, but it was also much faster than them and quickly put distance between them.
The others were out of the fight, and they knew it. Durdeg sent his homunculus to join the battle, imparting magic to speed it up and telling it to stay safe and harry the enemy with ranged attacks. Sharlot got off a shot at the fleeing creature, and Carta threw his spear at it, but it wasn't enough. As it pulled out of range, Sharlot grabbed Carta again, and with a smile tore the fabric of reality one more time. The two appeared in front of the deathclaw, and the rider again tried to flee. As it ran, Sharlot let loose one last crossbow bolt, and the monstrosity stumbled. Carta had picked up his spear on the run, and was able to strike again. He heaved the spear, and buried it in the deathclaw's flank, bringing it down once and for all. The rider rolled as it fell, and popped back up on the run. Carta set out in pursuit, but wasn't able to make up any ground. In moments, v10 flew over his head, drawing close to the rider. Carta realized it was futile, and eventually gave in and stopped to head back.
Aftermath
While the rest of the party was cleaning up, v10 pursued the dismounted rider. The rider ran as fast as he could, but couldn't escape the speed of v10. It would fly close, although well out of range for the rider, and rained down bolts of force. The stings didn't do much individually, but the orc couldn't escape it, and was going crazy from the pain. It eventually ducked into a cave to try to escape, but picked its ground poorly. The cave was more than large enough for v10 to stay out of range, and it circled, raining bolts of damage. The orc had nowhere to escape, and though it tried to hit the little creature with any rocks it could find, but never did connect. It eventually succumbed, and fell to the ground, dead. When v10 had ensured that it was not pretending, it flew quickly back to Durdeg.
As the dust settled back at the mine, the group began the chores of dealing with the captured territory. The first order of business was to check to see if any of the goblins known to the group were present in the mine. They entered the mine, passing a large chest sitting just inside the entrance, and made it to the sleeping area. There they found a group of a few hundred goblins, the rest of the group they had seen slaughtered on the way. No sign of either Vizla or Enarzu, or the goblins that Sharlot had left at her house in Calamentum. Deciding it was important to know what had happened to the other goblins, Sharlot sent a message to the two goblin leaders, asking for them to report on their current status and whether they were OK. They found that Enarzu had taken his group to the south and avoided any problems, and were three days travel away. Vizla had taken the best fighters among them and gone straight into the badlands, and was now by the Cracked Plain. He ran into a group of ogrillons leaving the Plain, and lost a number of warriors but killed the ogrillons. They were a day away, and would come there immediately.
When this was done, the group decided to look at the chest, and anything else that may have been around. Near where the hillgiant had been sitting, there was a large, foul smelling bag. Inside were various gems, including one prism that stood out from the rest. Sif began the ritual to determine what it was, while the rest hauled the chest out into the light. The jewel ended up being a Gem of Brightness. By this time, they were ready to open the chest. When they lifted the lid, the sun shining off the contents nearly blinded them. Copper, silver, and gold were piled in the chest. It was unclear why there was such a bountiful haul, but they set out to count it. As the counting began, V10 came back, and led Durdeg away. It took the better part of an hour for him to follow the bird to where the rider had died, search around, and return. By the time he did, the others were just finishing sorting and counting everything in the chest.
There were a huge number of coins, most of them copper. A total of 5542 copper pieces from various origins - since copper was exchanged everywhere and often melted for use as the base metal itself, they tended to be simple disks with little or no ornamentation. There were 972 silver pieces there - most of them were Corellum Leaves, with a good portion being Londe Rams or Dwarven Hammers, and a not insignificant number from various other independent states. Then there were 652 gold pieces, with half of them showing the crown and portrait of a Corellum King, most of the rest were Londe Stags, a handful were Dwarven Peaks, and ten were unknown to anyone there, and featured a man in profile with a crooked nose. There were also five large iron coins, flecked with rust, each around three inches across. They had a skull engraved on one side, and an Infernal rune on the other. Matching them, although with more well defined lines, was a coin of the same design made of gold. Sif took them to attempt to identify any magic within them. The iron coins held tormented souls within, and Sif was able to communicate with those souls. He asked what Deity they worshiped, finding that one worshiped Corinne, two worshiped Bonae, one was a follower of Rosarum, and the final one a follower of Diabolus. Sif set the follower of Diabolus aside, and asked the others if they wanted out or not. All wanted out, and so Sif would attempt to destroy the coins.
Sif took the golden version, and began to identify it. She did not say much when she was done, and simply wrapped the coin up in a cloth and placed it in her haversack. She looked somewhat nervous while she did so.
While Sif was busy with this, Sharlot went to the rock troll, Saph, and asked to play some music with him. The two played for a while, teaching each other some of their own music. Sharlot felt that she had learned enough that she could add another song to her playlist, as soon as she spent some time practicing the strange time signatures - she eventually realized that it was an additive signature, marking a complex shifting beat that was not really used outside of the troll music. She was enjoying learning it, and forming a slight bond with Saph over their shared love of music.
With the spell of Tongues running out, Sif interrupted to get Sharlot to help with making a deal with the trolls. At first, Saph attempted to get an agreement that they would get the gems, and living in the mine and playing music would keep anything bad away. This was not acceptable to the group, so in a race against the spell ending, they negotiated. Eventually, they got a deal that Sif was happy with - the trolls would get half of all of the iron ore and gems dug up, plus as much of the extraneous rock as they wanted. In exchange, they would protect the canyon and mine, and would haul loads to the edge of the badlands for trade. Saph wandered away from the canyon as the spell ended, and Sif hoped that he was just going to get the others and come back.
With that going on, Kasret was calling together the goblins, planning to make a speech to get the goblins on board. While he was not a natural speaker, he was well liked by the goblins, and they paid attention to his words. He spoke up enough that the others, including Saph, could hear him. "Goblins!" he shouted. "Rock trolls, and everyone else. This is our mine now! Ours to hold, and to grow a goblin city that can take its place protecting and enriching us. It is on you to protect this land, and ensure that no one can take it from us again. You will live here and take the bounty from the ground, taking the iron ore and the gems and anything else it gives, and you will give it to us to trade for the things that will help to grow strong. This is a well defensible area, and you must build it up even more to protect yourselves. Start with a gate to enclose the great arch, to make it easier to live in peace. You can live here and create the first truly independent and strong goblin community, where you can trade with your neighbors without fear of attack, and take your rightful place among the civilizations of the world!" The goblins cheered for him, and their excitement was contagious. Kasret smiled, and started to consider whether he could get a tattoo to mark this occasion.
As the sun began to drop in the sky, the group decided to spend the night. Sif planned to check and see if a Dean had been appointed for the Koleran School she had established in Calamentum, and see if they could be used as a go between for trade. With the goblins excited to start working on a gate, the rest of them settled down to relax and enjoy the evening.
Novorum 3, 887 af.
The next morning dawned, and Sif left early for Calamentum to speak with the new Dean. Sharlot decided to go along to check on her property, while Kasret wanted to stay and wait for at least Vizla and his group to get back. Durdeg and Carta wanted to ensure they were safe, and perhaps speed things along towards getting on the road again. The group left Kasret to tend the mine, while the rest made it to town before midday.
Upon arrival, Sharlot split off to check on her house and see if her goblins were there. They were, and it looked like they had been hiding out since she had last seen them. They had set up the chickens inside the house, which was making a pretty substantial mess, but the goblins didn't seem to mind and it was probably necessary to keep them hidden from the army. They were producing a pretty good amount of eggs, enough to keep the two of them fed. Sharlot was not clear what they were feeding the chickens, and eventually found that they had ripped up some of the flooring to expose a bunch of bugs and worms that they could get to, plus some hardy grasses and weeds that had been growing in the dark underneath the house. The way things were going, they could probably start selling eggs by next spring, but if nothing else changed they may end up pulling the house down around them by then. Since the army had left, she let them know they could build a fence and let the chickens graze outside.
Durdeg went his own way as well, attempting to learn more about the current state of the town. His first observation was that the town was filling back in. It seemed to be near half capacity, substantially more than were there last time they were in town. It seems that the refugees did not all go very far, and got the word that things were back to normal. He was known and friendly with some of the Dwarves in town, so he visited the district first. Seemed most of the Dwarves had returned, but they didn't think many more humans were coming back, and they doubted the Nelwyn would ever return. The town would have to rebuild, but the Dwarves felt the mines below were well worth the effort.
His next stop was the Jewel, but he didn't want the focus to be on him and the others, so he was able to disguise himself and blend in with the locals. Ian and Dan were there, and the room was as full as they had ever seen it. There was no room at the bar, but one of the long tables had a few open seats. He joined the crowd, and moderately pretty woman brought him a whiskey and asked if he wanted anything else. When he said no, she told him the whiskey was six copper. He gave her a silver and thanked her, then asked for a beer to go with it. As he took a drink, he listened to the others. Seems that many of the people were upset at the lack of workers around town. Many were having to mine their claims themselves, or hire others at ridiculous rates to work them. A fight almost started between two at the the table, as one of them boasted that he was making more as a miner for hire than he had ever produced at his own claim, and another fumed that he was going to be broke and lose everything.
After getting his beer, Durdeg got up and walked through the room, in the general direction of the outhouse, while really just trying to hear as much as he could. He heard snippets of conversation, about some stores that had been abandoned and taken over by others, and about a bit of outrage among some for their church being taken over by the Kolerans. The old priest of Jarell never came back, and one wondered if he was eliminated by the new owners of the building. One of his companions told him he was talking crazy, but another seemed to agree. Durdeg filed the information away, but his interest was piqued when he saw Ned arrive, and Ian immediately motioned him to the stairs. Ian went up, and Dan stayed at the bottom. Durdeg went out to the latrine, and decided that he should hear this meeting. Turning invisible, he snuck back in when another patron came out to use the toilet, and he snuck past Dan up the stairs. It was close, but the noise of the drinkers was enough to get him in.
As he snuck up to the door, he heard Ned apologizing, stammering out the words. He told Ian that he had done what he could, but Jacquin was going to be an enemy for life. He would certainly report on everything here when he returned to Bandar Philia. Ian told him that he clearly hadn't done everything, because an enemy for life should not be an enemy for long. Ned told him he was talking treason, and would vindicate the idea that they were responsible, and Ian retorted that he'd rather get away with a treason he committed than burn for one he didn't. He stormed out of the office, and Durdeg ducked out of the way. Ned followed close behind, and Durdeg crept up to see what would happen. Ian looked at Dan, then tilted his head towards Ned. Dan nodded, the put his arm around Ned's shoulder in a not friendly way, and the two went out the back. Durdeg slipped out of the bar, and went to find the others.
Sif and Carta headed to the School, and entered to find the new Dean asleep in the office. The Dwarf woke up when Sif walked in, and quickly stood. He introduced himself as Gandri Freeborne, and said he had traveled late into the night to ensure he would be here today. He told them that Venfaren had made it clear that he had to be there by now, and so he was. He quickly updated Sif on the plans for the school. He was here to ensure that the property was not taken from them, and to lead any in worship that wished to join him. He also said that he had a work crew that would arrive to start rebuilding soon, since the existing structure was not well designed for a Koleran School. Probably as good as it got in town, and the bones of the structure would work, but classrooms and prayer halls would need to be subdivided.
Sif thanked him for getting the work going, then asked if he would be willing to facilitate trade with the mine that they had secured in the badlands. Gandri was happy to do so, as long as the school could collect a small percentage to help with operations. They hashed out the details, and made sure that they could get enough good food delivered to make the goblins healthy. While they could certainly forage for themselves and come up with enough rats and lizards to survive, any time spent foraging would have to be time away from mining, so trading the ore for food would be a good deal. Based on Sif's initial estimates, they figured that if things ran smoothly, they would be able to keep up with the food while still bringing in up to 300 silver a month from the mine. Possibly more if better nutrition helped the goblins to mine more than they currently could. Sif agreed to the deal, and told Gandri that he should bring the supplies to the entrance to the badlands weekly, and pick up the ore. Half of any funds money should be set aside and deposited in an account for them at the bank in Bonum Prox. The other half of the funds would be held for the mine's use, and they would request certain things be purchased from time to time.
With the deal done, Sif and Carta told Gandri to come along, then went to meet the others. They found Sharlot and Durdeg both coming towards the School, and motioned them off the road to the grounds. They confirmed that they had gotten done what they needed to do, and headed back to the mine.
Back at the mine, Vizla and a group of 200 goblins made it back around midday. Close behind them were the rock trolls, and it almost came to blows until Vizla could be told that they were here to help protect the mine. Kasret then gave his speech again to the new arrivals. Most of them cheered, although Vizla looked somewhat upset by the idea of returning to where they had been enslaved. They could only hope that he would see the benefits of the mine soon. Work on trying to fortify the place was ongoing, although Kasret had to spend most of his time directly telling the goblins what to do. The group with Vizla were much more sure of themselves, and could do more without direction. The mine was starting to come together, and as the goblins worked, the trolls began an impromptu drum circle, the booming of their music causing the workers to pick up the pace to match. Kasret organized them with the intention of making a gate, but much had to go into it first. It looked like a portcullis would be the best choice, as it would be easier than attempting to mount hinges on the rock wall, and with an iron mine they would certainly have the raw material. But for that he would need a smelter and a forge, and people who would know how to use it. He spoke with Vizla, who would attempt to find some goblins that might be able to help, although he grudgingly admitted that Enarzu would be more likely to have them in his group. Kasret then went to work organizing for sleeping areas. He had decided that the large communal area was demeaning, and the place was big enough for everyone to have a room. He set some of the goblins off to see if there was any volcanic rock in the area - Vizla knew there were hot springs nearby, which made it likely. With the limestone in the canyon, he could make concrete, and start to create some durable rooms for the goblins and a frame for the portcullis.
As the day was ending, the others returned and discussed the day. With a decent, but not world shattering, amount of money coming in every month, they at least knew they always had a fall back.
Rewards Granted
- 3 bloodstones (opaque dark grey with red flecks, ~1/2-1", 50gp)
- 4 blue quartz (translucent blue, ~1/2-1", 10gp)
- 2 black amber (opaque deep black, ~1/2-1", 100gp)
- Gem of Brightness
- Rotting flesh (probably humanoid, decaying, making the entire bag smell)
- 5542 cp (various countries of origin, almost all simple copper discs with little decoration)
- 978 sp (mostly Corellum Leaves, a good number of Londe Rams, some Hammers from the Dwarven Kingdoms, and other various independent city states)
- 652 gp (50% Corellum Kings, 40% Londe Stags, 8% Dwarven Peaks, and 10 they have never seen before, of a man in profile with a crooked nose)
- 5 large iron coins (2 inches diameter, a skull and runes on one side, soul coins)
- 1 large gold coin (golden version of the soul coin)
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