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Post by Indifferent on Mar 10, 2021 17:50:56 GMT
The surprise was sprung with Nilly's arrow, tearing a path through the first goblin's neck. Streams of blood spilled out from its flesh as it tried to clasp the wounds shut. Its mouth opened wide as the monster fell to its knees, but not even a whimper could escape the river of crimson. It was just blowing bubbles now.
With one enemy down, Nilly looked to the other, where Legolas and Li had already engaged. Their second target was putting forth much more of a fight, which led the young elf to offer her aid. Darting through the bushes, Aranil met the goblin face to face with their hands clasped together in an intense struggle.
Although small, the goblin was far stronger than she had anticipated. The creature's mouth opened, baring its teeth as it leaned towards her with its foul breath, causing the girl to stifle enough for her to be tossed aside against a nearby tree. Nilly let out a small cry of pain as she looked up at the goblin while he turned his back and started to run towards the cave entrance.
The gob was about to get away from them. Aranil fought back to her feet but was cut off by Li before she could pursue the wretched creature. Fortunately, the monk was able to incapacitate the beastly midget before it had the chance to alert its friends. Things wouldn't bode well for the group if he'd managed to make it any further. There was no telling how many more of them were inside.
"On it," replied Nilly as she hid in the bushes with an arrow at the ready and turned her sights to the cave entrance where she could keep an eye out for more gobs. Before long, the little guy was bound to a tree, and the interrogation began.
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Post by Jay on Mar 10, 2021 21:56:57 GMT
After being sucker punched from behind, the goblin stumbled forward before whirling around to look upon his attacker. Before he could get a good look, something struck him from the side. It seemed to want to push him backwards, up against the cliff-face at his back, but he managed to hold his ground, throwing the thin, pale elf away from him.
Now he was able to take in his situation, and it wasn't good. His companion lay dead or dying on the ground, dark blood seeping into the ground beside it. He took in three enemies immediately, but saw movement in the trees meaning there was more. The choice was obvious, he turned to run, to flee back into the cave where his allies could help him. He was already thinking of the exact words he'd say when his face hit the ground. A rock, jutting just an inch or so out of the ground, cushioned his forehead, knocking him out cold.
When he awoke to a fountain of cold water on his face, he immediately felt the bonds around his arms and legs. He struggled against them for a moment, but they were too tight to slip. And then, the interrogation began. By the time he'd been given the first command, he was ready to spill every detail. "Dis der hideout!" he exclaimed, his broken, uneducated speech coming out in a throaty growl. His tormenter said something then that threw him off. Why should they let him live? His peevish mind raced, trying to decide what the interrogator was looking for him to say. "Er... me thinks you here to find da human?" he said, slowly, as if picking each word only after he'd said the previous.
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coomer
Experienced Creator
Posts: 82
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Post by coomer on Mar 10, 2021 22:10:36 GMT
The darkness seemed to throb at the goblin’s words, and the face vibrated with what seemed to be anger. Crackling sounds, like thunder just beginning to form, filled the goblin’s ears. ”How many are there? What weapons do they carry? Why have you taken the human? Why are you torturing him?”The questions came thick and fast, bombarding the goblin’s senses. After a few seconds the noise subsided, allowing time for the goblin to answer - if his answers were unsatisfactory, then Stella would have to resort to cruder methods.
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Post by Jay on Mar 10, 2021 22:27:38 GMT
The goblin gulped, but pieced together that the human was indeed of interest to his captors. He chafed at the continued line of questioning though, confusion, and a generally low level of intelligence coming together in the worst way. "There uh... only one human, yeah. Der had a sword but we tooks it." Suddenly realization struck the poor creature. "Dozen! Fifteen!" He tried to count on his fingers, but they were tied behind his back. "Uh... less den 20, inside, fer sure."
The goblin closed his eyes and thought for a moment, trying to remembered why they'd captured the human in the first place. He knew there was more to it than the usual. "Er... me thinks Klarg - he da boss in der cave - got order from der big boss. Catch dwarf, take 'im back to der Castle. Didn't say nuffink about der human though," he said, finishing with a mischievous smile that he couldn't help.
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coomer
Experienced Creator
Posts: 82
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Post by coomer on Mar 10, 2021 22:37:45 GMT
A growl escaped the lips of the white faced questioner, and the face leaned in close to the goblin. A second later his hands were untied, although the rope around his waist and legs were still secure. ”Count. Tell me exactly how many goblins are in there.”At the mention of a dwarf, Stella turned questioningly to the others. The mischievous smile of the goblin was suspicious, but it could be from lack of intelligence just as much as it could be misdirection. ”A dwarf too? Who else do you have inside the cave? What did you do to the party that travelled with the cart? Why did you capture them?”
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Post by Jay on Mar 11, 2021 2:56:43 GMT
Though he kept answering their questions, his tormenters continued to send them rapid fire. He grew tired, but he was so scared that he didn't dare refuse. Still, he struggled to think of how to answer them in the best way. "Klarg got order to capture anyone travelin down der road. Da dwarf was took to da Castle. Human is in der cave still, gonna get cooked fer dinner and maybe brekkist too." This brought the smile back to his face.
"Ever had human wid a side of kobold? Der's prolly enough to go round?" Now he was bartering with this terrifying face before him. The whole time he'd been talking, he'd simultaneously been trying to count on his fingers how many of his kind were inside. Obviously he'd been unable to do this, and kept restarting. He finally broke into a wider grin. "Der's twelve more goblins inside da cave!"
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Post by Indifferent on Mar 11, 2021 3:57:28 GMT
It turned out Stella was more useful than she'd let on. As far as Nilly could tell, she was a magician of some sort. The young elf wasn't sure which, but either the lute she carried or her words were infused with magic, allowing the woman to create an illusion. With it, the interrogation went as well as could be expected.
Goblins weren't the intelligent sort, but the others managed to glean some useful information out of the little guy. It seemed the goblin leader Klarg had many minions in his employ, and they managed to capture a couple of travelers already. Nilly was surprised they were able to get this much and doubted the goblin knew much more.
"I don't believe we'll get much more out of him," said the young elf as she walked steadily over to the other goblin that she killed earlier. "There's no motion at the cave entrance. It doesn't look like any help will be coming for this guy. I'll search this gob for anything useful. We should probably get ready to head inside," she continued as she knelt beside the dead gob and started to search his pockets.
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Balial
Experienced Creator
Posts: 113
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Post by Balial on Mar 12, 2021 14:29:16 GMT
Stella's impressive illusion paired with her unrivaled acting skills shook even Li Jie's bones. The goblin, jolted awake by the freezing water, was nil prepared for what was to come. Demonic faces, a horrifyingly demonic voice to match, and the right amount of skin crawling touching created the perfect interrogation. Information began to pour out from the Goblin's mouth, some useful and some that took a bit more prying from Stella. Eventually there were enough pieces to the puzzle to start piecing things together. Firstly, Klarg was clearly their leader and he was inside the cave. Second, their mission, to capture anyone traveling down the road, reason unknown. Third, there was a dwarf that was brought to a castle, location unknown. The monk's mind began to race as he tried to piece together all the information that they were given from the drunkard in the tavern, the information from the goblin, and his instincts alone. While the other's focused on questioning, investigating, and whatever else they needed to do to prepare. Li Jie continued to ponder the mystery, hoping it would begin to unravel before him. " Gundren was a dwarf that hired the first group to go to Phandalin." Li Jie said with his finger on his chin. " Sildar was the contact, but race was unknown. Possible Sildar had some sort of quarrel with Gundren..." The tattooed monk continued to mutter under his breath, almost silently. " Now we have Klarg, he was hired to capture a dwarf, is the dwarf Gundren? Old Wizard said somethin' 'bout orcs as well. Klarg could be an orc..." Rolls: Insight: 17
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Post by Jay on Mar 12, 2021 17:35:22 GMT
Despite his ineptitude, Legolas was relieved that the rest of the party managed to follow through with the plan. As the others tied up the captured goblin, he trained his ear towards the cave's entrance, keeping a close watch in case anyone - or thing - decided to come out. He only broke his concentration to glance over at the subdued goblin, and the illusion that Stella had apparently placed over him. Some part of the elf's mind was not surprised, though he didn't understand why she'd lied to them before.
After a minute or two, Li Jie seemed to have put the pieces of the puzzle together, or at least mostly had. Just then, the most ear-splitting scream yet echoed out of the mouth of the cave, followed the pleading words of a voice that could be human. "Please, please no! Someone help me!" it wailed.
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Post by Indifferent on Mar 13, 2021 22:28:23 GMT
The wretched screams from inside the cave caused Nilly's head to turn. It was time they made their way inside now before it was too late. The young elf looked back to the goblin that was still under the effects of Stella's magic. It had provided them with a fair amount of information, more than she could've hoped for. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to earn her favor. His life would have to end.
"I guess that means our time is up," said Nilly before she approached the goblin from its side slowly as she removed a dagger from its sheath.
With slight hesitation, she knelt beside the fiendish creature and placed the dagger against its throat. She then turned her head to the side before giving her arm a swift yank. Nilly always hated this part, but it had to be done. The goblin's eyes perked up immediately as it struggled to contain the fountain of blood that spilled from the wound. Its chest was saturated with a flood of crimson in a matter of seconds as its arms flailed helplessly to no avail.
"Ick," said the young elf when she turned her head back to the goblin after cleaning off her dagger.
With the bloody river subsided, Nilly started to search the goblin's body for anything useful she could pilfer as though it had become routine now. Once finished, she carefully retrieved the rope, trying not to get her hands all messy before she held the coil out to Stella.
"Here you go," she said trying to remain cheerful albeit failing. "It's kinda gross, so please take it." Following her words, Nilly covered her mouth as she fought off the reflex to gag. Recovering slightly, she turned towards the cave entrance and waved to the others. "We should get going now. I'm not sure how much longer that person screaming will survive."Rolls Search Gob [Investigation = 21]
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Balial
Experienced Creator
Posts: 113
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Post by Balial on Mar 15, 2021 13:14:57 GMT
The sickening sound of a dagger finding itself between the ribs and flesh of a humanoid filled Li Jie's ears. His concentration was broken and his eyes quickly darted into the direction of the sound. The sweet and innocent looking Nilly had plunged her cold tempered steel deep into the chest of the goblin, killing it instantly. Li Jie looked over her reactions with his intense glare, she was clearly off put by something, but he didn't know if it was from her actions or just the gore. Li Jie sighed, he had hoped that the adventurer wouldn't bring out the violent side of himself that he had often ran from since leaving his home. " Nilly's right, times up." He said before leading the way to the mouth of the cave. He was timid to enter at first, until he steeled himself with a silent exhale and quietly entered. Rolls Stealth: 23
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Post by Jay on Mar 15, 2021 19:09:25 GMT
After Stella had gotten everything she felt like she could out of the bound goblin, she released it from whatever trance it was under. Before it could get a bearing of its surroundings, Nilly slid a dagger between its ribs and put it out of its misery. Legolas turned quickly away from the corpse and set his attention upon the cave's entrance. Like it or not, it was time for the party to move forward.
Together, they crept forward, carefully skirting the water's edge to avoid any splashes that might echo loudly into the cave. The bowman stumbled, sending a small river stone bouncing into the shallows, causing the whole group to pause in anticipation. When no response was forthcoming, they proceeded in careful fashion until the short entrance started to open up on their right.
"Wolves," he said, almost too quietly to be heard. The river, and the path beside it, led further into the cave, but a small room had opened up on their right. The lighting was dim at best, with some ambient light from a narrow passage at the end of the room spilling across the prone shapes of two wolves, neither of which seemed aware of the party. Yet. There was also the faint flickering of torches from further down the river.
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DM Note: These two wolves have not seen the party. They are not quite asleep, but they are clearly emaciated. They are tied to a rock in the middle of the room. The map on Roll20 has been updated to reflect what you all can see.
Hint: Wolves are sometimes considered domesticated animals.
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Balial
Experienced Creator
Posts: 113
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Post by Balial on Mar 16, 2021 12:29:40 GMT
Cold drips of condensation dropped from the cavern's ceiling into the river below. The steady sound of the droplets impacting the surface filled the relatively silent halls. Li Jie waited for his allies, following their path as quietly as he could, matching their steps with his own. Legolas halted, freezing the party in their tracks as he pointed around the corner. To their right were wolves, barely awake and anchored to some kind of stone. The party had been lucky enough to be silent on their approach and fortunate enough for Legolas' eyes. " Wait," Li Jie whispered as he rummaged through his pack. Compared to the others the monk was rather lightly packed, only having the basic adventurer's gear and some ratios. Finally he pulled some jerky and preserved meats from a small jar amidst the rest of his gear. " Animals love me," he said with a bright grin as he crept around the corner. As he approached the wolves he held the meats out, tossing it before he approached any further. " Hey there, who's a good boy?" He said in a hushed voice, carefully trying to avoid them alerting any of the goblins inside. The wolves snapped and growled for but a moment before warming up to the light hearted monk. Their noses furled up and back as they sniffed the dried meats and began to approach Li Jie. The monk began to rip small chunks of his ratios apart, tossing it to the wolves slowly, each time taking another step forward. Eventually they seemed friendly, at least for the most part. He continued to feed and approach until he was close enough to pet the creatures. " Seems okay, take a look around the area while I keep them busy." He whispered back to his party. Rolls Animal Handling: 25
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coomer
Experienced Creator
Posts: 82
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Post by coomer on Mar 17, 2021 15:38:59 GMT
A wince crossed Stella’s face as the blade sliced through the goblin’s skin, causing his body to go limp as the blood drained from him. She shook her head as the party moved towards the caves, shooting angry glances towards Nilly - the goblin had answered all their questions, there was no need to kill him too. A few steps into the cave, the party froze as Legolas announced some nearby animals. Li Jie moved forwards quickly, appeasing the wolves with some meat from his rations as well as a delicate word. Stella moved in closer, drawing her knife as she did so. ”Before Nilly has a chance to kill these too…” she said in a stage whisper, shooting yet another angry glance towards the girl. Her knife cut easily through the rope holding the wolves, and they perked up at their new freedom. For a second it seemed like they wouldn’t leave, but then they sensed their opportunity and ran towards the entrance of the cave - no doubt to enjoy the goblin meat that had been left for them outside. Her eyes moved next to the large hole in the back wall, squinting slightly in the near darkness to try and make sense of it.
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Post by Jay on Mar 17, 2021 16:41:16 GMT
Using their wits rather than their weapons, and no small amount of trust in a pair of hungry wolves, the party overcame their newest problem. It was time to delve deeper into this cave, but there appeared to be two paths laid before them. To continue along the stream, or climb a tall pile of rubble towards a hole in the ceiling. Light spilled out of the hole, the flickering kind one would expect from a fire.
"I'm going to check that out," Legolas said plainly to his comrades. A life in the tree villages of Mirkwood had made him an adept climber, or at least, he liked to think so. Climbing twenty feet of shakey, unstable rock couldn't be much different. The elf didn't pause to give it too much thought, walking over to the base of the rubble and immediately finding a handhold. The going wasn't fast, but it wasn't too difficult either, swelling his confidence as he neared the top.
A momentary lapse of caution caused him to slip from his position, just before reaching the top, and fall, rolling, down the jagged edges of the rubble pile. He hit the floor of the wolf room with a dull thud, and immediately groaned. Blood leaked from a number of superficial wounds, and he had a big bruise on the side of his face. "Anyone else want to give it a try?" he asked sheepishly, gingerly touching his face.
Rolls:
Athletics (DC10): 8
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