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Session 19, Parts III and IV of Storming the Goblin Mines

Dramatic Rescue? Dramatic Rescue!

Picking up from last time!

Recall, last session, our heroes ended on a cliffhanger - the goblin at the door at the end of the corridor, holding a torch up, talking loudly to someone inside the room.

At the start of this session, the situation was again laid out. It took about .0003 seconds before someone said "I shoot an arrow."

This author may be overestimating the pause.

Room full o' goblins

The goblin took several serious wounds, and upon seeing giant hulking humans charging out of the dark at him, turned, fled into the room, and slammed the door.

Now what?

The party was a little confused about what to do.

The sound of goblins shouting behind the closed door reached their ears.

Actually a lot confused.

Eventually, the idea came up of wedging the door closed with the iron spikes Noer bought oh-so-long-ago. This would have been fine, but the GM had been counting seconds under their breath, and the goblins started coming out of the door before it could be sealed. A quick scuffle ensued, which involved several feats-of-strength checks, resolving with Lori sitting down against the door. Lori weighs nearly 300lbs. She's a big human. Goblins are small. Scrawny little weak things. The goblins didn't have a snowballs chance in, well, they were not actually going to push the door open at all, at all, once Lori had sat down. Iron spikes being driven into the door might as well have been coffin nails as far as these goblins' combat effectiveness was concerned.

Room full of tools

The passageway turned left at the door, and since there was only going forward right now, that's what they did.

Our heroes next discovered a store room of some sort - some timber, shovels, a wooden wheelbarrow, a pile of really crappy helmets. Wait? A wheelbarrow? They take that!

Ok. Not super exciting, but still. Loot?

The judiciously took the wheelbarrow and shovels and picks. Because. Because why not.

Privy

Next was a privy. The party declined to explore thoroughly.

Moar Goblins

Next was another door with the sound of goblins on the other side. This door was also spiked closed.

(This, btw, was a nursery --GM)

Then the corridor ended in a door... There was no place to go but through a door, and since they hadn't shoved a steel spike into this door, they decided it was the one to go through. Well enough.

The party burst into the room on the other side, and found some goblins cowering in fear. One jumped up and bolted to the left....and she got shot for her troubles. It turns out this room was full of many of the female members of the tribe. Goblin society tends to be very (very) patriarchal and women are kept in the "lowly" position of crafters, food preparers, and general servants (when no slaves are available). Our heros had found a work and sleeping area filled with goblins who do not know how to fight. So, they killed an unarmed noncombatant. Who would probably have made armor for the male goblins and warned them of the party's presence, so it's a gray area for some.

They tied up the remaining goblins and moved on - there was another passage leading out to the left.

Finally, a legitimate target!

The next room they found was a guard post! With a goblin guard lazing at a table. A goblin who had enough time to realize there were humans tromping through his area before the humans in question had him pinned to the floor with a knife to his throat.

Jessamine wasted no time in asking the important question: "where's my war hammer!!" Okaaaay.

More detailed - and possibly helpful questioning followed.

"Where is the warhammer?" "Don't know, probably in the armory!"

"Where are the human slaves kept?" "The human slaves? The other part of the lair! The other part! Off that way, to the right!" (The guard indicates the left exit from the guardpost)

"Where is the armory?" "It's in the other part of the lair, that way too! Please don't kill me!"

The Non-Human slaves

Obeying who knows what impulse, the party chose to check the right exit from the guardpost before setting off to rescue the slaves...the human slaves. It turns out this was a very lucky thing, because the short passage on the other side had a very smelly latrine....and a grimy dungeon filled with nearly a dozen non-human slaves!

Well. Roger had apparently translated "human" as the specific race, instead of "non-goblin." The goblin might have been telling the truth about any of the rest, but the current batch of (non-human) rescuees needed to be evacuated from the dungeon. The party made the reluctant decision to leave Jessamine's warhammer in goblin hands and, after a few quick prayers, retreat the way they had come.

The goblin guard was left locked in the latrine.

(GM's note: the other goblins left him in there for over a day as punishment for losing the slaves. They finally - sheepishly - let him out after the events of the next episode)

Important questions for the rescued slaves: "Can anyone fight? Heal? Does anyone know where my warhammer is?" (Anywhere from "sort of" to "not well right now" to "no", "a few of us can" and "no.")

The Battle at the Gate

The party herded their group of underfed rescuees as quickly as they could, but it took a bit - and that was before they got back to the pit trap between them and an exit. Luckily, they were able to use timber from the store room to set up a way to ferry everyone across. Unluckily, the goblins found them before they made it outside! Ever cowards, the goblin warriors loosed their tame(ish) wargs and trianed attack wolves on the human raiders!

What followed was a battle on three fronts:

Lori, the ranger, pretending to be a wolf, drew most of the wolves outside where she tried to convince them she was top dawg. This kept her busy for most of the rest of the battle, and finally ended with blood on her sword and the remaining wolves fleeing into the wilds.

The fighters rushed forward and engaged with wargs, pinning them in the corridor with the goblins hiding behind them. This was bloody and messy work, and Jessamine took a horrible wound in his left shoulder - a wound that will leave dramatic scarring.

The fleeing prisoners...it took forEVER to get them across the pit and Lucretia spent most of the battle helping them up. When her brother was badly wounded, however, she jumped out of the pit and rushed forward to assist. About this time, Lori comes back inside, pushing past ex-prisoners milling about, some of whom were fleeing past her into the sunlight (some were still climbing out of the pit.)

The battle with the wargs finally ended with Lori taking a bad bite from the wargs and going down in a fountain of blood, another fighter stepping up, the goblins needing to pee very badly and finally fleeing, and the two wargs noticing that...and deciding between themselves that "fuck the goblins, this party is going nowhere." The wargs barreled past the fighters and ran for the woods, leaving confused fighters, terrified ex-slaves, lots of blood, and the sound of warg laughter in their wake. And they took the opportunity to rip out the throat of Peeri, who got to see sunlight one last time before he passed away.

Confusion

Vanessa did a terrible job of organizing everyone, but they did manage to get all the rescuees back in one group. Lori, still out cold from blood loss and pain, was loaded in the wheelbarrow - which was good, because no one could really lift her in the state they were in. They tossed Peeri's body in with her, because they didn't want to leave it for the goblins. Well...it's a good thing Lori came to fairly quickly, because that was not a wheelbarrow that was going anywhere quickly.

Post battle quote:

Jessamin's player: We'll get some of the slaves to help! They can push the wheelbarrow.

Other player: I thought the wheelbarrow was the only thing holding Jessamine up [after his wound]

Jessamin's player: Oh yeah...

We rescued them. Now what?

The ragtag group slowly makes their way back to camp. After putting sufficient distance between themselves and the goblins, they hold a brief service for Peeri, the pack-ape handler who died in the escape. They lay his body out in a hasty grave and Vanessa says a few words, and everyone moves on a little faster after the break.

Luckily everyone else makes it back to the camp and the rescue dissolves into confusion and arguments. One of the rescued people, Rika Lightblade, is a half-elvin ranger, and the rest of her party is still held captive by the goblins! They must be rescued! Montford, a halfling merchant, had first introduced himself in the mines with "finally, we've been waiting long enough!" Now his demand was "Now that you've rescued us, we need to get back to civilization. We should leave immediately!" Bralala, a female fortune teller in rags, is in bad shape with a nasty cough. Plishana, a half-elvin woman, is appalled that Vanessa has led them to this ****y place and tries to start getting things organized....in a completely new camp. Roger wonders how the food supplies will hold up. And the half-elf bard Jurgan keeps on telling Vanessa that she is the sunshine in his life, and he is eternally grateful for her rescuing him, and he pledges to sing for her forever. "Ooooh, Thank you! That's so sweet!" "Not as sweet as your eyes and the grace of your smile and, um, priestess? You are the most um? wonderful savior?" "Lady Priestess, we must be leaving immediately!" "Kind lady, my companions still need your help, please!" "Oh, that's a ****ing terrible place to have your latrines! What were you thinking?" "All right, is there anyone who has wounds that need tending? Is there anyone who can help tend wounds?" "What about hunting? Should we go hunting?" "Are those also half-elves? I've never actually met another half-elf."

Roger, Vanessa, and the brewer Vooril settle down to healing various scrapes, punctures, slices, bites, &c.

Two hunting parties are formed: Lucretia and the fletcher Segerry (who at least knows which end of an arrow is pointy) take a slightly overwhelmed Angel out, and Turkos, who has been a bit short, reveals that he's actually a good shot with a bow, but he will hunt alone as he's quieter that way.

Lori starts yelling at people at setting up camp and bulldozes through Plishana's pretensions. Thurgin, the quiet dwarf, chats with her about geology as he helps set up sleeping spaces and dig new latrines - in case they are here for a while. Auri, a quiet human woman, lets Vanessa know she can fight and is useful in the dark, and is grateful for her release and offers to follow Vanessa as repayment.

After the immediate needs are met, people settle down and the important question of what to do next returns. Various ideas are mooted, including the possibility of sending some guards back to the Keep while others make another foray into the goblin's lair. Roger is adamantly against that one, telling everyone not going back to the Mines they should stay in a fortified protected camp. Montford and several others are quite anxious to be gone, but in the end, Vanessa and company decide they cannot leave quite yet, but must return to the Mines as soon as possible to rescue the remaining prisoners. Montford is quite put out at this, repeating "I MUST leave immediately." Lori get the finally word in with "Well, good luck to you, maybe we'll see you in the Keep."

That afternoon, Lucretia's party returns with a lucky deer, and dinner of venison is on the menu. Turkos...does not return. "Crap, did he betray us? I bet he betrayed us." "Or maybe something got him?" "Who knows." Lori tries making friends with Lightning, but coaxing the battle squirrel out of the tent today is proving rather difficult.

That night, they settle down to sleep to the gentle sounds of the guards on patrol, Jurgan humming to himself, Bralala's coughing, and the screams and snarls of something fighting off in the mountains. Something feline and something canine, perhaps? Lighting is definitely not leaving the tent. Sweet dreams.

"Vanessa, your squirrel is very weird." "He's very intelligent!"

Final count of first trip to the Goblin Mines:

Wounds:

• Vanessa: 3hp wound - rescuing prisoners!
• Roger: None
• Lori: 5hp - javalin, 10 - warg bite (ouch!)
• Lucretia : 5 - pit trap, 1 - javalin, 4 - goblins?
• Jessamine: Still alive!! 9 - warg bite (ouch!) - scarring!, 5 - javalin, 7 - "cave troll" *thru* the shield, 1 - javalin wound

Physical treasure recovered from the Goblin Mines

• Two sacks full of coins! Mostly copper painted to look gold...wtf? Also, the sacks make Jessamine sneeze. Total contents:
  • 1 piece of rather stinky cheese
  • 406 bits
  • 314 cp
  • 431 copper coins ...painted gold
  • 296 mixed silver (mixed currencies)
  • 109 actual gold coins! (mixed currencies)
  • 39ep (electrum coins from Meletia, generally worth about 2sp)
  • 5hsp ("hard silver pieces" - large dwarfish hardened silver coins, nearly indestructable for coins, very hard to counterfiet or shave, valued at 2 golden pillars in Praxtar)
• several Picks and shovels, one gad, several sacks in unholey condition.
  • value when you don't need to dig a hasty grave by hand? priceless
• A few mixed coins from belt pouches
  • 263 bits
  • 76 copper
  • 9 silver
• A wheelbarrow.
  • It's not great, but it did hold over 400lbs for a brief period without breaking?
  • value to PCs: 48943593476987gp

Rescued Slaves (Still With the Party)

• Rika Lightblade, a female half-elvin ranger, whose party is still in captivity - or worse!
• Bralala, a fortune teller with a bad cough
• Montford, a male halfling merchant who is not happy about any further camping
• Plishana, a half-elf woman in a wide skirt who believes camping can still be domestic
• Jurgan, a half-elvin male bard who is already making up a song about the rescue
• Prillo, a quarter-elf apprentice wizard with a stutter
• Vooril, a male brewer who hasn't talked about much with anyone
• Segerry Franaas, a stout short male human fletcher
• Thurgin, a dwarf who knows something about geology
• Auri, a human thief who is joining the party

Missing in action: Turkos, a half-elf fighter of some sort

Laid to rest, to return to nature: Peeri, a pack-ape handler

<< Session 18 | B2-LittleKeep | Session 20 >>