Session date: Monday, August 28, 2017
Game date: Saturday, November 29, 209
PCs:
Gulleck Stonefoot, Dwarf 6, hp 37, xp 35132/70000
Caryatid, Magic-user 4, hp 19, xp 16889/20000
Simon Sackwell, Halfling 3, hp 11, xp 5714/8000
Adrien, Fighter 3, hp 9, xp 4971/8000
Retainers:
Manley "Meat" Smythe, Fighter 3, hp 17, xp 5592/8000
Brother Chase Pike, Cleric 2, hp 11, xp 2551/3000
Orin, Elf 1, hp 4, xp 385/4000
Debbi, Magic-user 1, hp 6, xp 654/2500
Somewhat embarrassed by their utter failure last session to actually bring the fight to the Goblin King, the players decided to make another, more proactive attempt to assault the goblin palace. If nothing else, they figured they could whittle them down by attrition. Adrien's player immediately told me that she fed Norman, as she was convinced I had something devilish in mind for the moment she forgets. (She's probably right!)
As they were gearing up to enter the dungeon, a random dice roll revealed that Rugger's Raiders were ahead of them, putting their helmets on and preparing to descend as well. Gulleck pleaded with Rugger not to aid the goblins in their horrible schemes, and basically not to be a completely amoral mercenary, but Rugger told her to mind her own business. Caryatid tried to reason with the one member of Rugger's party that didn't seem like a horrible person, a pale and sickly waif of an elf named Moonpetal. But Moonpetal seemed to completely smitten with the magic-user Silvana, and wouldn't hear a word against her.
"Oh no, Miss Silvana would never do anything wrong! If she says it's the right thing to do then that's enough for me! She's my very best friend in all the world!"
Rugger and his gang went below, laughing nastily, and the Infestation Managers got geared up and followed soon after. They made their way down to the second level, and eventually to the gates of the goblin palace. This time two tall lanky bugbears were stationed outside the double doors, rather than in the guardroom on the other side of the doors. This was a little unexpected, and the players wondered how the goblins were able to dispel Caryatid's wizard lock. The bugbears seemed like they weren't in the mood for any nonsense, so the party retreated, and decided to go around to the northern entrance to the palace and try their luck there. This involved crossing a flimsy rope bridge over a chasm. Gulleck, flush with a new personality, decided to forgo the cautious approach of her previous self, and simply loop a short piece of rope around her belt and one of the ropes of the bridge and then run across. And she didn't even fall, though the bridge swayed alarmingly. The rest of the party went over more cautiously, although Simon used his levitation boots to float and then simply pulled himself across with the ropes.
Farther along the caverns on the other side of the bridge, the party came to a strange cave that glowed with a surreal blue phosphorescence. There was a musky animal smell here. Caryatid decided to investigate by slipping on her invisibility ring and she moved cautiously into the cave. She moved past stalagmites and over uneven humps on the cave floor, and then she spotted half a dozen rock baboons, large and savage beasts gnawing on bones that looked unsettlingly humanoid. She decided to try to handle them herself, and cast the Sleep spell, but unfortunately only two collapsed in slumber. The others looked around angrily, and Caryatid, now visible, ran screaming back towards the rest of the party, pursued by the remaining four baboons. Luckily, Orin began to cast his Sleep spell when he heard Caryatid's screams and managed to put the rest of the baboons to sleep as they arrived. Gulleck put her axe to swift use on the slumbering baboons (this part of her personality had not changed), and then the party moved on to find the entrance to the goblin palace.
This entrance was guarded by two bugbears as well. The bugbears were suspicious and not in the mood for bantering with the adventurers, nor were they willing to let the party into the palace. Eventually, Caryatid tried to cast her other sleep spell on the bugbears, but lost the initiative roll and then lost the Sleep spell as one of the bugbears roughly cuffed her in the face, knocking her back several steps. Gulleck said, "Fine, so that's how you want it?" and hit the other bugbear with her axe. Her player chose to roll the Big Green d30 for damage, but ended up rolling a 3! Simon tried to attack as well, but the bugbear grabbed him around the throat and lifted him right off his feet into the air.
Caryatid recovered her composure and fired a Magic Missile spell at the bugbear fighting with Gulleck, and Debbi threw a dagger in an attempt to be helpful, and the bugbear eventually fell under this barrage. Simon, meanwhile, took his free hand and jabbed his thumb hard into one of the bugbear's baleful yellow eyes and gouged. The bugbear howled in pain, failed a morale check, dropped Simon roughly to the ground and stumbled through the doors into the goblin palace, one hand clapped over his eye.
Caryatid spitefully cast Wizard Lock on these doors as well, and the adventurers called it a day and returned to the Rusty Lantern. This assault on the palace of the Goblin King continues to be a bit wishy-washy.
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