Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

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Zhym
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#41 Post by Zhym »

Ampersand Mxyzptlk Kerfuffle Humperdink Wongdoodle Biddleshaft the Third can't help but laugh when he gets a glimpse of the map. "That's not a map, it's just a directory! It's no good to us unless there's more of it to see."

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badams30
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#42 Post by badams30 »

Henry - Cleric

Henry says calmly "I've contributed half of the cost of this thing, so let's just gather the remaining 25GP and be on our way. We ARE in a bit of a pickle here, you know. Besides, this is useful to us."

Henry smiles at the kobold holding the map and nods reassuringly....

OOC: Yeah, it's not ideal, but if they aren't scamming us totally, it could be useful for intelligence value. And they do have us at a numeric disadvantage at the moment. Perhaps we could ask them who is their primary adversary in these caves, and give them the idea that we'll put the steel to them. These guys could be useful later. Not sure how, but maybe.

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Gelatinous Q
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#43 Post by Gelatinous Q »

Lardo grunts. "I'm with you, Henry. We don't exactly have the upper hand here. It tells us more than we knew. Still, fifty gold ... that's a lot of goblin ears to get us back into the black."

OOC: I'd take the map as is and press them for some more tactical info. Have there been any comings or goings since we last spoke with them? Have they heard any rumors amongst the orcs? Who leads the goblin and hobgoblin clans, and what kind of numbers can we expect?
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#44 Post by Scott308 »

Eglistrum Paharis

The mage will contribute 10 gold pieces to the purchase of the map. Scorpion brothers, hmmm. That sounds like your little friend, huh Lardo?
Sometimes this summer I will most likely be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#45 Post by Spartakos »

That's 3 votes to 2 to go along, and you've already got 20 gp of the remaining 25 contributed...I'm going to assume Sham is willing to go with his compatriots' urgings.

The kobolds relax slightly when more gold is forthcoming, and Tavek hands over the map. If Sham relays some of Lardo and Henry's questions, some answers are provided...

Who is their greatest enemy?
The wizened old kobold answers this one, saying, "This new man-cult. They seek to unite the Caves under their command, and draw all to the worship of their death-god. Already they have drawn the eye of some. We worship Set, and Tiamat...we hate their god, and have no wish to be ruled by them." His eyes grow wide and fierce for a moment, and his lips curl back in a snarl that reveals what teeth he has are still sharp. "Kill them. Slay their leaders, drink their blood. Do this, and Tiamat will smile on you, and I will give you her favor."

Rumors amongst the orcs?
Tavek says, "We have heard that the Scorpion Brothers were nearly wiped out; the survivors joined with the Head Takers, now the two bands are one."

Leaders of the goblins and hobgoblins?
The chief laughs bitterly. "Sometimes goblinkin are friends to each other, but Chief Haziz of the small goblins and Chief Azrooh of the large goblins hate each other as cats and rats. They do not war openly with each other, but either would be glad to see the other suffer."
As far as numbers, he reckons each can field about two dozen warriors. The only reason he feels the larger goblins have not conquererd the smaller is that the small goblins have some trick up their sleeve, that makes the hobgoblins tread cautiously.

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KingOfCowards
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#46 Post by KingOfCowards »

Sham nods his head at the kobolds, in a sign of mutual respect. Then retreats back to his company to discuss their next move.
10 gp deducted.
Sham is in no position to tell his new group where to go, but I'll throw in my two cents for either striking at the goblins or finishing off the orc tunnel that the group already started.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#47 Post by Gelatinous Q »

Lardo gently raps the sack holding the orc chieftain's head. "The Head Takers, eh?" he says. "I wonder how they came to earn that name, eh, Brutus?"

OOC: I'm for letting the great goblin ear harve$t begin. Indifferent to whether we start with the little guys and work our way up to the hobs or vice versa. Make it rain!
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#48 Post by Spartakos »

21st of Shining, 11:30 am

Wary of ambush, the party withdraws from the kobold caves and are relieved to step back into the sunlight. There is some brief discussion, mostly by Sham and Lardo, and they eye the caves identified on the map as "little goblins".

Cave D, or Cave E?

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#49 Post by badams30 »

Brother Henry - Cleric

Henry smiles and pats Lardo on the shoulder. "Fine work, we've got a decent list of the hazards here, and some idea of where to start. But I'm curious about the humans they were speaking of. But I think the goblins are a good place to start."

Henry scratches his chin thoughtfully over the choice of starting points. He turns to Lardo and says "I'm with you, my friend. Wherever you prefer to go is my choice as well."

OOC: Henry will defer to Lardo's choice of caves to start from.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#50 Post by Gelatinous Q »

Lardo's thinking about what the kobold chief said to Sham.

"I wonder," he says, stroking his chin, "if there's a way we could stoke the fires a little between old Haziz and Azrooh and let the goblins do some of our work for us."

OOC: If there are no objections, Lardo will volunteer to scout the two entrances to the goblin caves, as well as the door to the hobgoblin lair. Being very wary of trapped entries — those seem to be fairly common here.
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#51 Post by KingOfCowards »

Sham agrees to Lardo's plans to scout, and will wait outside the entrance to the cave. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of sentries, and the party should stay away from the cave entrance until Lardo waves them in.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#52 Post by Spartakos »

21st of Shining, 11:45 am

Using all his craft, Lardo slinks up to the nearer of the two cave entrances that the map designates as belonging to the goblins. At the entrance of the first, he pokes his head around to look in, and immediately draws it back...the stench emanating from the cave is sour and powerful, a mixture of old food, bad wine, and bodies that haven't bathed in years, if ever. He tries again, and can make out that a rough tunnel leads about ten or fifteen feet in before opening up into a large cave. He can't see much of what lies in the cave, but the floor of the tunnel is littered with dead leaves and scattered bones.

Cautiously, he darts across the cave mouth so that he can approach the next; there is no sign that anyone noticed him, so he proceeds to the other entrance. This cave opens to a corridor which, while not perfectly smooth, is certainly worked stone. He can see in about twenty feet, to where the corridor splits, continuing on straight and also branching to the left. There is no sign of habitation.

He returns to his allies without incident, and reports what he has seen.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#53 Post by badams30 »

Brother Henry - Cleric

Relieved to see Lardo returning safely, Henry smiles and pats him on the shoulder, listening intently to the description of his foray.

"Hmmm... the smelly place sounds pretty nasty. I vote for anyplace that doesn't smell too badly."

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#54 Post by Spartakos »

Been 3 days; I'll give it 1 more, then assume you took Henry's suggestion about the less-smelly cave.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#55 Post by Gelatinous Q »

"Goblins aren't known for their cleanliness," Lardo says. "I fear the second entrance may be a trap. We should be extra wary."

Before they go anywhere, Lardo wants to take a look at the door blocking the hobgoblin lair: what it's made of, what kind of lock it has, if it has inscriptions or markings on it.
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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#56 Post by Scott308 »

Eglistrum Paharis

I'm inclined to agree with Brother Henry. If the one cave smells as bad as you say, Lardo, I'd hate to try to sneak in only to have us start getting sick due to the stench. I vote for the cave that does not stink.
Sometimes this summer I will most likely be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.

https://www.extra-life.org/participant/Scott Peterson

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#57 Post by Spartakos »

After discussion--notably on the part of Henry and Eglistrum--the group elects for the less odorous entrance, though Lardo cautions everyone about the possibility of it being a trap.

Before advancing beyond the threshold, Lardo asks another moments indulgence, and creeps over to investigate the next entrance, the one the map labels as belonging to the hobgoblins. He can see that not far beyond the cave mouth, the tunnel is completely blocked by a large, iron-bound door. Despite the kobold's label, he sees no keyhole...only a large, crude image of a skull painted on it in white. The hinges, naturally, are on the other side.

Rejoining his companions, they carefully enter the smooth goblin tunnel and proceed in about twenty feet, to the point where it branches. In the light of a torch borne by one of the hired lads, they can see the tunnel continues straight ahead to a square corner, turning to the right. Meanwhile, the leftward branching tunnel goes straight out of range of their torchlight.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#58 Post by KingOfCowards »

Sham motions with his head to the right. We know the one passage continues straight, might as well see where this other passage goes.

I assume we are back to normal marching order, i.e. Sham and Cormack in front instead of Lardo.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#59 Post by badams30 »

Brother Henry - Cleric

Henry nods agreement at the suggestion of exploring the side passage. He stands quietly observing, alternating his gaze down each hallway.

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Re: Second Expedition - The Caves of Chaos

#60 Post by Gelatinous Q »

As they prepare to go down the side passage, Lardo gives the torchbearers a sharp look and presses a finger to his lips.
Failure is always an option.

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