Action Thread 19

[Alethan]

Till thinks about it for a moment.

"I think we try to gain entrance through the outside tower, then open it up and get in through there.

What kinds of spells do you have that ight be useful for this, Yosef?"

[rredmond]

I know Argennian has been busy at work. But that tower looks like all the others, except in better condition than most. Seems pretty well fortified. Entrance is through the doors at the base, there's gotta be stairs going up to the elevated passage into the interior walls. Then the passage starts to deteriorate, but that seems to be cleaned up a bit and used to the underground lair's advantage, as it's not that steep a decline into the entrance to their compound. Melissa can confirm that likely most, if not all, of the worgs are gone as well.

[ToniXX]

Melissa can confirm that likely most, if not all, of the worgs are gone as well.

This is good news for sure. Unfortunately, I've also been quite busy. I don't have much to input here, just letting you know I'm watching this thread.

[Argennian]

When Melissa brings news of the night's events and the departure of the force of goblins and worgs, Yosef puts down his pipe and snaps to with a very unelf-like excitement. He queries the druid for further details and asks politely for an additional reconnoiter. "Mistress Melissa, did your bird friends see what direction the other goblins and worgs came from? Was it in the direction of the forest to the west, where they have been attacking the elves that reside there, or somewhere else? Could you ask your avian intimates to fly after them for further details, so that we may know how long they will be gone?"

Jeloon grins at the news. "Sounds to me," she starts, "that cleaning out the compound just got easier."

"Do we move now, or wait for cover of night?" she asks impatiently.

The High elf fighter/mage nods at his fellow warrior's words. "Although I am assuming they maintain a continuous watch rotation, goblins are traditionally more active and comfortable at night. Perhaps a surprise attack at dawn would work to our advantage? If they can be drawn out and have to fight in the daylight, that could grant us an additional advantage..."

Till thinks about it for a moment.

"I think we try to gain entrance through the outside tower, then open it up and get in through there.

What kinds of spells do you have that might be useful for this, Yosef?"

Yosef brings out his homemade map of Shard for their considerations and planning. "I agree, Till. Melissa has asked that we try and maintain the appearance of her neutrality, so we should take care not to enter their zone by hers here, lest we be spotted by other denizens of Shard doing so. If we are agreed not to enter and try to use the tower zone (Zone 9), that only gives us two options, really. In addition to their outer wall and tower, I am thinking of Zone 3 in this. Melissa told us that slice is officially vacant. It is possible that there could be unofficial inhabitants there, but access there could give us the ability to launch a two-pronged attack, or at the least create a diversion. If we are agreed to wait until dawn on the morrow, we would have the time to move on and inspect Zone 3. The Helm of Sight would certainly be useful, to see if there is a secret, hidden way between Zones 3 & 4. What say you in this, friends?

"In regards to spells, I have my usual ones memorized currently: Charm Person, Magic Missile and Mirror Image. Magic Missile and Mirror Image are obviously useful in martial applications but if there was a way we could sneak up on and isolate one of the remaining goblins, I could cast my charm spell on them. If it took, I could then glean additional intel about their remaining numbers and location within their zone. That in itself could be a very powerful weapon...

"There is also the magical scrolls that we found back at the watch tower outpost. They contain the magic-user spells: IronBlood, Slow, Teleport, and Antipathy/Sympathy. I have been considering these and how best they might be utilized. They are very powerful spells. In fact, other than the IronBlood spell, they are ones that I could not cast at my current level of experience. I was hoping to save these in case we had to confront the cultists, or for when we eventually move on Zone 9 and enter the tower, as I am assuming that we will meet more powerful foes and challenges when doing so. In all honesty, I had hoped to locate some magical ink here in Shard, so that I could scribe them into my spellbook for continued use in the future. I had considered the possibility that perhaps the cultists use or possess magic, or that there would be remnants of some of Zelligar's inventory within the tower in Zone 9. As dear Dravic would say, we shall hopefully see...

"And last but certainly not least, there is the wand. I am planning to have that at the ready when we make our move. If it functions as I suspect, it could make for a quick fight!"

[rredmond]

When Melissa brings news of the night's events and the departure of the force of goblins and worgs, Yosef puts down his pipe and snaps to with a very unelf-like excitement. He queries the druid for further details and asks politely for an additional reconnoiter. "Mistress Melissa, did your bird friends see what direction the other goblins and worgs came from? Was it in the direction of the forest to the west, where they have been attacking the elves that reside there, or somewhere else? Could you ask your avian intimates to fly after them for further details, so that we may know how long they will be gone?"

To the forest is where they were headed. I can ask my friends to watch at the edge of the forest, but they should be gone for a couple days at least. Melissa responds.

Jeloon grins at the news. "Sounds to me," she starts, "that cleaning out the compound just got easier."
"Do we move now, or wait for cover of night?" she asks impatiently.

The High elf fighter/mage nods at his fellow warrior's words. "Although I am assuming they maintain a continuous watch rotation, goblins are traditionally more active and comfortable at night. Perhaps a surprise attack at dawn would work to our advantage? If they can be drawn out and have to fight in the daylight, that could grant us an additional advantage..."

Till thinks about it for a moment.
"I think we try to gain entrance through the outside tower, then open it up and get in through there.
What kinds of spells do you have that might be useful for this, Yosef?"

Yosef brings out his homemade map of Shard for their considerations and planning. "I agree, Till. Melissa has asked that we try and maintain the appearance of her neutrality, so we should take care not to enter their zone by hers here, lest we be spotted by other denizens of Shard doing so. If we are agreed not to enter and try to use the tower zone (Zone 9), that only gives us two options, really. In addition to their outer wall and tower, I am thinking of Zone 3 in this. Melissa told us that slice is officially vacant. It is possible that there could be unofficial inhabitants there, but access there could give us the ability to launch a two-pronged attack, or at the least create a diversion. If we are agreed to wait until dawn on the morrow, we would have the time to move on and inspect Zone 3. The Helm of Sight would certainly be useful, to see if there is a secret, hidden way between Zones 3 & 4. What say you in this, friends?

"In regards to spells, I have my usual ones memorized currently: Charm Person, Magic Missile and Mirror Image. Magic Missile and Mirror Image are obviously useful in martial applications but if there was a way we could sneak up on and isolate one of the remaining goblins, I could cast my charm spell on them. If it took, I could then glean additional intel about their remaining numbers and location within their zone. That in itself could be a very powerful weapon...

"There is also the magical scrolls that we found back at the watch tower outpost. They contain the magic-user spells: IronBlood, Slow, Teleport, and Antipathy/Sympathy. I have been considering these and how best they might be utilized. They are very powerful spells. In fact, other than the IronBlood spell, they are ones that I could not cast at my current level of experience. I was hoping to save these in case we had to confront the cultists, or for when we eventually move on Zone 9 and enter the tower, as I am assuming that we will meet more powerful foes and challenges when doing so. In all honesty, I had hoped to locate some magical ink here in Shard, so that I could scribe them into my spellbook for continued use in the future. I had considered the possibility that perhaps the cultists use or possess magic, or that there would be remnants of some of Zelligar's inventory within the tower in Zone 9. As dear Dravic would say, we shall hopefully see...

"And last but certainly not least, there is the wand. I am planning to have that at the ready when we make our move. If it functions as I suspect, it could make for a quick fight!"

It is just after dawn today. You are finding out about their departure pretty much right after it happened.

Are there any outstanding questions for Melissa or things you wanted to do? Please let me know.

[rredmond]

Is it just storm the tower at dawn?

Please let me know if something else is needed from me. I think I'm missing something.

[Argennian]

It is just after dawn today. You are finding out about their departure pretty much right after it happened.

Are there any outstanding questions for Melissa or things you wanted to do? Please let me know.

Yosef would like to learn anything and everything that Melissa and her animal friends may know about Zone 3, which would include an immediate avian-friend fly-over and giant rat tunneling/squeezing/squirming reconnoiter, if possible. He still feels that there could be a real advantage gained by launching an attack from that slice at the same time one is launched on the goblin's outer tower/gate, or maybe at the least creating a diversion or confusion within the goblin ranks if they believe they're outnumbered or potentially surrounded, so to speak.

Since according to Melissa, the goblin worg-riders will be gone for at least a few days, it couldn't hurt to check out Zone 3. We'd have to be as stealthy as possible, so as not to attract the attentions of the Red Stone Goblins in Zone 4 (our intended target) or the Death Spear Gnolls in Zone 2. The application of the Helm of Sight could be a huge asset in just such a search.


OOC: not sure if we ever confirmed being able to retro using the Helm of Sight on the zones in question (Zones 2 & 3)? I know we had all collectively agreed that would be a good idea previously.

[Alethan]

OOC: not sure if we ever confirmed being able to retro using the Helm of Sight on the zones in question (Zones 2 & 3)? I know we had all collectively agreed that would be a good idea previously.

OOC: Yeah, this might be what you were missing, Ron. I think we wanted to have Bruard take some time and scan the exterior walls of at least the goblin's zone and the two zones on either side of it.

Sorry I didn't get a post in last night; will get it in this morning.

[Alethan]

Till listens quietly to Yosef's suggestions and mulls them over for a moment before speaking.

"I'm not sure I'm keen on the idea of splitting up the party for this assault. Bad things happen when you split the party, man! Bad things! There are a lot of unknowns involved in trying to use Zone 3 to make a two-pronged attack on the goblins, and that makes me even more hesitant to do so. The zone next to us was supposed to be uninhabited, as well, and look what we had to deal with getting rid of the Rat King. Who knows what might have moved into Zone 3 without telling anyone... could be anything! Could be a pair of basilisks, for all we know! While two dozen kobolds might be something all of us could handle as a group, they would easily swarm a two-person team and take them down."

Till tugs at a lock of hair as he continues, "Even if it is empty, there is no guarantee we'll find any easy access to the goblins' zone from there, short of climbing the wall and dropping down into the other side like we did with the Rat King. Coordinating the attack might be a bit of a challenge, as well."

"I'd like to see what Bruard finds out scanning the outer walls of the goblins' zone and the two neighboring zones first. Then I'd like to make a quick check of the outer tower entrance to the goblins' zone and see what it looks like. Maybe I could do that while Bruard makes his check, even. We'll need to have this information whether we all move together or split up, anyway."

[dmw71]

Jeloon shrugs. "Me good with picking spot and climbing wall into new zone," she offers.

[rredmond]

.

Day 21 – Waiting out the Goblins


.

Melissa can tell you that there are definitely guards left behind. But she starts sending bird and rat spies to check things out more closely. The rats check out the goblins, because their compound is mainly underground. This takes most of the day.

Previous to this though, last night Bruard and Till have checked out the outer walls and tower of Zones 2, 3, and 4.

Zone 2 is the Death Spear Gnolls, and they are very active at night. You can hear their howls, mixed with those of their hyenas. Their outer tower and elevated walkway seem to be in somewhat okay repair, but it is obviously unmanned. Also, just by the sounds, they don't use a lot of their zone. Melissa can tell you that they have a compound in the center of their zone, they are led by Salthrap a very large and bloodthirsty gnoll, and they abhor everyone else in Shard. There don't seem to be any secret ways in or out from the outside.

Zone 3's outer tower is in ruins, but it's walkway is still there, but it seems a lot less sturdy than Zone 2's. While the elevated walkway in Zone 2 seems to fall apart several yards into that zone, Zone 3's walkway goes no farther than the outer wall. Melissa doesn't keep a close eye on the place because it's mostly in ruins and there doesn't seem to be any organized activity there. There are three, maybe four semi-ruined structures in the whole zone and it's completely overgrown. The giant rats go there for their veggies sometimes. There are no hidden or secret entrances from this outer wall either.

Zone 4 you had to be particularly careful, and only with the help of Melissa's friends could you get a full picture. But there doesn't seem to be any hidden or secret entrances here, and the goblins guard it well. It is inconceivable that this squat tower still stands, yet its walls look solid. At least 1,000 years old it appears as if it could withstand another 1,000 years. At sixty feet tall and 100’ wide the tower has two massive stone portals that must serve as an entrance. However, a stone bridge stretches from a wide, arched opening at the 20’ mark and reaches across 100’ of open ground to the wall of the city. At the same level there are several window openings, but if there was glass at one time, it is long gone. It appears there are bars on the inside of the windows, but it is difficult to make out from below.
Instead of a continuous wall and roof, the tower is open at the top and thick pillars support a black state roof. You have seen humanoids moving about on the bridge (before they left) and the exposed top level. The goblins are very short, not unlike a gnome or a dwarf in size.

The rats and birds come back with surprising (to Melissa) reports that there are creatures in zone 3. There are a pair of giant green centipedes (much bigger than the rats) "with tentacles" in a rubble cave - a building in complete ruins, that has a cave like entrance. And a pair of "flying deer head birds", also much bigger than the rats, that live in a ruined tower. Both sets of creatures attack the rats if they spot them, but normally the rats hide from them and the creatures don't seem to hunt them. But the Rat King had thought that the creatures had "shinies" so they did make a couple forays into their dens, but even the King soon learned it wasn't worth it. Now the rats go in and eat fruit from the trees and grains from the ground but stay away from the creatures. There is another ruined tower and a small house still standing there, but it's otherwise in complete ruins and those structures seem sound, but are (as far as the rats can tell) empty.

Lastly and almost as surprising they report that there are some goblins left. Maybe a score or more, but definitely no worgs... otherwise the rats wouldn't have such a good count. Melissa is surprised at the numbers left, but they are guarding something. It seems that Yigzin left a prisoner from his last raid -- there's definitely an elf, chained up and injured, in Yigzin's large room in the compound.


The day is drawing toward's evening.

HPs: Jeloon - 29/29; Till - 36/36; Yosef - 13/13; Bruard - 19/19
WIH: Till: short sword (15' radius light); Jeloon: Longsword (20' radius light), shield; Yosef: bow and arrow; Bruard: Mace, shield; Van: +1 ogre spear, shield; Eyman: +1 Battle Axe, shield
MO: 1- Jeloon; 2- Till; 3- Bruard & Eyman; 4- Ancor, Rosin, DAMs; 54 - Yosef ; 5 - Van
Consumables: Lantern - (Bruard) continual light 60' radius; Torch, 50 minutes (Yosef), 40' radius; Torch, 60 minutes (off), 40' radius.
--------Spells: Yosef: 1-2/2, 2-1/1; Bruard: 1-5/5, 2-4/4
.

.

[dmw71]

Discovering there are so few goblins remaining brings a toothy grin to Jeloon's face. While not necessarily trusting of elves, it would make sense that a prisoner would have guards... and, oh, how Jeloon loves to end the life of a goblin. "Me thinks we go free injured elf," she offers.

[Argennian]

Yosef listens intently to Melissa's report and is sure to thank her for her help. The news of an elf prisoner caught by their leader already has the gears of future potential spinning in his head.

"In light of this day's news, it seems unreasonable to use Zone 3 in our plans against the goblins. I will also say that Till's point about keeping the party together for this one has a solid merit, and one I will not argue. So then, to business my friends! Since we are already agreed not to attack from here in Melissa's zone and also to remain outside of Zone 9 for this action, that limits our entry possibilities to either their outer tower or to getting up on the bridge between the tower and city wall. Regardless our choice, as much stealth as can be applied seems a good idea. If we could get inside that tower or even past their outer wall quietly, dispatching as many goblins as we can before they raise an alarm, it would surely be a boon to our options, and our chances!"

The High elf fighter/mage then turns to their halfling scout and entry-man. "What do you make of their tower and the bridge there, Till? How difficult would it be for you to get up on that bridge, or to one of those windows for a peek? If you could climb up and find a good place to secure a rope, we could bypass the front door..."

[Alethan]

OOC: Ron, so just to make sure I have this right, there is an archway just 20' above the ground from the outside that connects the tower with the wall?

[rredmond]

No it's an elevated pathway, which is a good question because this is different than the others. It looks like it was supposed to go all the way into the zone from the tower, but this one starts descending after the outer wall.
I'll draw a rough diagram and put it in the maps thread. Give me a few minutes.

[rredmond]

I think I see what your saying. The opening from the tower to the elevated walkway is arched.
I'll put up the diagram too.

[Alethan]

OOC: I was asking if the archway was elevated, meaning can you walk under it? But per your drawing, it appears to be solid. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Till nods slowly, "I could make that climb, secure a rope at the top and toss it down for the rest of you to climb. Might not be a bad idea to try and clear the outside tower first and secure the door down below. That should ensure our backside is fairly safe, at least for a while."

OOC: Just to remind everyone, Jeloon gave Till the other ring to see if he could figure it out. Till placed that ring on a finger on his other hand and has not yet returned it to Jeloon...

[rredmond]

OOC: I was asking if the archway was elevated, meaning can you walk under it? But per your drawing, it appears to be solid. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Absolutely correct. The archway is just the exit from the tower, onto the elevated walkway. There is no walking under any part of the walkway. It's 20' thick stone all the way from tower to outer wall.

[dmw71]

OOC: Just to remind everyone, Jeloon gave Till the other ring to see if he could figure it out. Till placed that ring on a finger on his other hand and has not yet returned it to Jeloon.

And don't thinks she's forgotten this.

[Alethan]

OOC: Just to remind everyone, Jeloon gave Till the other ring to see if he could figure it out. Till placed that ring on a finger on his other hand and has not yet returned it to Jeloon.

And don't thinks she's forgotten this.

OOC: If we knew it was a ring of fire resistance, Till could douse himself in oil, then light himself on fire with his flametongue dagger and charge into the next fight, screaming, "Burn, you goblin bitches!"