25th April 2021 - Session 10 - The End of the Goblin Infested Caves - Sally

 

Graupel takes a nap on the trees outside after her mushroom experience. Prittstick stays outside with her to keep an eye on her.

The adventurers bring the group of villagers out of the cave. They find out there are a few villagers still in the cave – rats took Lady Nandor’s lady in waiting & shopkeeper. Kin tells Morak that Lady Nandor is dead and updates him on the current state of the village. The villagers head back to the village. Kin stealthily looks around the caves for others and finds some giant looking rats. The group realises as they watch the villagers walk back over the horizon that we probably should have asked them stuff.

Anyway – back to the rats for the adventurers! Dipple casts sleep around the corner on the rats causing a previously unseen goblin to exclaim. We all roll 11 initiative. A goblin climbs out over the rats to attack Dipple, they miss, having tripped on the rats. Bearnabus heals herself, heals Dipple twice, and then becomes a bear again. Kin sneak attacks and kills a goblin. The leader goblin asks where his scouts are. Dunbarr says that they’re either dead or tied up. He doesn’t mention the proximity to the ooze. Dipple gets attacked. Dunbarr attacks and kills rats & a goblin. Bearnarbus bites the goblin.  Kin finishes off the killing of the goblin leader.

The group continue around the now goblin-free corner to the sleeping rats and discover a skeleton (which later turns out to have been the shopkeeper). Lady Nandor’s lady in waiting is alive and hiding with 9 spears 5 clubs and 6 wooden shields. Dunbarr takes some spears for Graupel, and Dipple takes a shield. Dipple talks to her about what happened in the village. She said rocks started falling from the sky, they saw a giant and had to run. She followed the villagers. Dipple tells her that Lady Nandor is dead and she’s too distraught to answer further questions.

Dunbarr searches around the caves and finds a treasure chest in a small round cave containing:

-        Silver salt and pepper shakers

-        Bloodstained leather case containing a complete set of thief’s tools

-        Holy Symbol of Silvanus carved from wood and inlaid with gold worth 25gp

-        One spell scroll (unidentified)

The group leaves the cave system and go back to the horses at the trees outside who are thankfully still alive. The group rides back to the village. The lady in waiting rides with Dunbarr, Bearnabus de-bears and rides on a horse, Graupel is still deep in her sleep and nobody wishes to wake her so she naps on the back of her horse while we ride back to the village.

As the group arrives back in Nightstone, they see that there are two bandits still standing over the bridge which call out to them that the villagers are back. They let the gates down. Morak invites the adventurers in for a feast to celebrate the return of the villagers. Dipple tells him that the shopkeeper is dead. Morak asks if we will go tell the shopkeeper’s widow named Alaestra who lives in Triboar of his death, Dipple agrees. [Side quest]. Dunbarr knows Alaestra as he was born & raised in Triboar.

Morak talks about the family house where we found Prittstick. Morak says that the Xelbrins (Prittstick’s family) died and had a Tressym that they would have wanted to send to their son, Miros, in Goldentown. Semile Southwell also died in the giant attack and had a brother from Icewind dale.

While the adventurers were gone, the Zhentarim society offered protection to this village in exchange for being a trade post.

The group sleeps in the empty cottage, and head towards the feast at sundown. The group checks for Tressym food for Prittstick but as there is none, we reckon he is self-sufficient.

Dipple introduces Kella to the lady in waiting, suggesting that the lady could wait on Kella instead. The lady in waiting is NOT into it and is frankly, offended by the whole interaction. She walks away to the Keep while the town is being cleaned up.

Kin asks Morak about the big stone that had been in the centre of the town. Morak says that it had been there a long time. It had runes on it but it never did anything. It was rumoured that it was there from when giants ruled the Sword Coast. There were also rumours that it was forged by dragons. They didn’t have a copy of the ruins that were on it but people had come from Neverwinter once to study the etching.

Morak shares that on the day of the attack on the village there was no warning. It was not normal.  Big clouds rolled in, they looked firmer than regular clouds. There were dark shapes on top – humanoid giant size creatures. It started raining boulders, so they fled. The giants didn’t follow, no one followed. They only seemed to want the town. The villagers snuck into the caves for protection. They seemed empty at first but the ogres returned and they were attacked. Lady Nandor had died early in the attack on the village so didn’t have a chance to flee with them.

The group joins the feast in the big hall. Morak talks to Dunbarr. They had a common friend Darthag. No rocks had fallen from the sky in Tribor, where Dunbarr had been a farmer. It is a beautiful place with lots of trade & merchants. Later on, Dunbarr makes a drunken speech at the feast.

After the feast, everyone goes back to sleep, levels up, and awaits the morning…