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The Grizzly Woman nods her head at the plan. 'Sounds risky, but I like it. I suppose we have to trust that the ogres and dwarves will stick to their fight while we look for the back door, especially as we may not see them again after we begin the attack. But there is no use making a back-up or escape plan, since we do not know what waits for us at the back door.'

She collects her things and makes ready for the trek, swinging her great tree branch back and forth in anticipation.

Halfpint grabs her gear and prepares to head out for the search.

The group sets out, marching through the morning to ensure a mid-day assault on the Goblin King's palisade. The group travels together at the pace of the dwarves and mules, nothing trying to waylay the large gathering. Clay sends Maurice ahead, thinking to use birds for scouting.

Around noon, Foxy dismounts Bluebelle and sends Kelso, Garvell, and Cardan off with the horse, pony, and donkey to find the concealed cave, careful not to reveal their route to the ogres. The group continues on.

As they finally approach the Goblin King's Lair, the owl Maurice returns, indicating that it could not find anything that looked like a second goblin entrance. Clay twitters to some nearby crows which pick at the remains of mostly-eaten creatures in one of the goblin's waste heaps along the perimeter. They are skittish at first, but upon seeing Clay, this passes and they return uninterested to picking their food from the trash heap. He tries to cajole them into helping him, hoping they'll tell him where the goblins otherwise emerge, but the birds are much more concerned with the pecking a meal and escaping than they are in helping Clay and what is obviously a death-bringing group of dwarves, ogres, and humans. Alas, the birds are of no help.

Clay and Foxy reflect on their last approach to this goblin gate. The group ascends a slope of a steep hillside, the foreboding mountains rising steeply overhead to the south. A wooden palisade with sharp-pointed tips surrounds a large cave entrance. Thundred assesses the uphill approach and the gates ahead, "This is a dwarven road," he comments perfunctorily, directing his dwarves to make a defensive position on a rise to the left of the sloping trail where there is a jagged promontory of stone, bringing the ogres at least level with the gate and giving them all a small measure of cover to defend from, about 150' from the palisade. The ogres frown. "What you want us to throw? You said there'd be boulders." The dwarves set to work swiftly in response, their picks and hammers quickly working to not only dislodge large stones (to the ogres satisfaction) but leveling and improving their own position in the process.

The heads of curious goblins pop up randomly, peering over the palisade. They have a clear view of your activity, 160' away across a gritty bone and trash-strewn area of packed earth, three large ash-heaps indicating the locations of former bonfires (roughly halfway between you and the palisade), built and burned many times from the look of it. The palisade itself is a half-circle, emerging about 60' from the central point of the gaping cave mouth which it protects. It only takes 20 minutes of quarrying with the dwarves' skill. Gathering a heap of large stones with wicked anticipation, the ogres are soon ready and heft their boulders, judging distance. Thundred has half the dwarves take up axe and shield while the other half hurriedly continue to stack a rough fortification for themselves. A pack of wolves howls, a dozen of the rangy predators appearing around the mountain flank and facing their position. The entire mountainside hangs in a long pause between breaths, the conflict about to begin.

The primary group has triaged themselves, said all they need to their dwarven and ogre allies, and is likewise ready to set out to seek a rear entrance. The goblin cave mouth goes directly into the steeply sloping mountainside, a high outcropping of rock above preventing any effort to get above the entrance itself. It is well designed and well placed. They'll need to set off around the outcropping to the southwest or the southeast seeking the rear door.

For those departing to seek the rear door, I need to know how you go, and what your bearing is (SE, SW). I'll need actions from Foxy, Baxtaw, Clay, and Grizzly. I am assuming Halfpint follows Foxy's lead. Shortbread the dwarf follows Baxtaw and both Clay and Grizzly have their companion animals.

Date: 1:50pm, 04 June 2021
Light: Sunlight
Distance: ~8 Miles
Spell effects: None
Injuries: Foxy (mild injury), Baxtaw (mild injury), Clay (mild injury)

Foxy O'Hare

"I hope the dwarves and ogres can buy us enough time to get in. I got the impression that the hold inside was not a massive burrow. South west may take us along the trail the Monocs' used and they trotted up to the main gate. So angle S-E and after a hundred yards or so cut back into the hill south west, then scour the hillside and work our way northwards.. Fan out in a short line and look for doors, grates, wolf dens, smelly caves, even places critters scavenge bits of waste food. When I climbed down into the Gaul goblin haunt it was through a chimney vent, so the opening might be very narrow or concealed easily."

Foxy will swish bracken, grasses and poke into boulders with her sword.

A hundred yards or so will still leave you on the facing slope - by the size of the promenatory before you, you'd estimate it will be closer to two miles around to the rear, easily four hours to make it that far while carefully searching in mountainous terrain.

I am fine with small groups. I will move them to private forums.

Baxtaw and Shortbread move SW opposite of Foxy"s group. Before they go off there separate ways Baxtaw asks Foxy. How shall we let each other to know if we find the entrance?

Dram wrote:Baxtaw and Shortbread

Even better!

The Grizzly Woman

'Splitting up is risky. Wasting time is risky. Two groups should be fine.' She motions to the bear and they form a group with Baxtaw to search southwest.

'The bird can stay up in the air while we search. We can wave to it like this if we find anything.' She waves back and forth with both arms. 'Maybe then it can fetch the other group and lead us to each other?'

well I am expecting at least some kind of guard, wolf den or trap to be covering the rear entrance. splitting up doesn't seem so good if you find or are caught out by surprise. Staying together is what I would have done, okay two parties but I think we should start the search further around the hill. whatever it is a long shot anyway, with the ogres not wanting to stick around until we could find the entrance we are pushed into a hurried not careful search.

what do we need to roll?

Halfpint will go with whomever. She also believes she can sneak away and alert the other side (if she knows how to find them...)
She suggests a secret animal call.

Starbeard wrote:The Grizzly Woman

'Splitting up is risky. Wasting time is risky. Two groups should be fine.' She motions to the bear and they form a group with Baxtaw to search southwest.

'The bird can stay up in the air while we search. We can wave to it like this if we find anything.' She waves back and forth with both arms. 'Maybe then it can fetch the other group and lead us to each other?'

Clay nods and prepares to go with Ms. O'Hare and Halfpint.

For the purposes of this portion of the adventure, Clay will leave his bedroll with Asala (and her keepers), and bring along 3 preserved rations of food and his torches. Does anyone need rope? Clay has some, but bringing it will slow him down due to encumbrance.

Stirling wrote:well I am expecting at least some kind of guard, wolf den or trap to be covering the rear entrance. splitting up doesn't seem so good if you find or are caught out by surprise. Staying together is what I would have done, okay two parties but I think we should start the search further around the hill. whatever it is a long shot anyway, with the ogres not wanting to stick around until we could find the entrance we are pushed into a hurried not careful search.

what do we need to roll?

Fair points. My concern is that if we take too long to find it, the ogres will be gone we'll have wasted that opportunity. With two groups everyone at least has a couple of buddies, and we can at least make the group decision about prioritizing running away and regrouping somewhere far away if things look bad.

I'll post the last group post here. Unless there's an objection, I'll split the groups as below and move you forward as you've planned. I'll allow a day just in case. I'll make the rolls (each group gets one search roll and one encounter roll for the four hours; these are rolls I make) and decide whether to post it to private forums or here with spoiler tags depending on the results and what needs action. You'll have one search action (four hours) after which you'll meet each other on the back side of the mountain. If nothing is found, you can brainstorm your next four-hour block for a second search action. At that point it will be dusk.
SE: Foxy, Halfpint, Clay Weatherwax, Morrs
SW: Baxtaw, Shortbread, Grizzly Woman, Huckeberry

If anyone takes Clay's rope, speak up. I'm assuming you're intentionally travelling light.

The plans decided, the party splits into two groups. At Grizzly Woman's suggestion, Clay explains the plan to Maurice the owl. He hoots his concurrence, agreeing to stay aloft and flit between the two groups, ready to report either signs of distress or elation to the other group if necessary.

The wolves appear over the shoulder of the mountain, growling their warning as they see the large group of threatening humanoids on the steps of their lair. The ogres grin wickedly and launch their first volley of boulders at the palisade - the crushing and splintering of the wood slats rather dramatic in its effect. The wolves charge, giving the party members the distraction they need to skirt the goblin gates and climb over the mountain shoulders in both southeast and southwest directions.

They see the beginning of the battle unfolding behind them as they clamber up and southward, until they reach the crest where they'll pass out of sight of both the battle and each other. The ogres continue to gleefully hurl boulders at the palisade, splintered wood flying in all directions. The goblin archers scatter, crying to those within. After a few minutes, great kettle drums begin to boom deep within the cave, reverberating out of its gaping tunnel mouth and waking those within. The dozen wolves, meanwhile, charge leaping into the dwarven ranks. Axes are quickly covered with gore and fur but likewise the jaws of the wolves find their mark and dwarves begin to go down screaming under the pack tactics of the beasts. Thundred cries out mightily in the dwarven tongue, a formidable figure at the front of the battle inspiring his kinsmen to hold together in their ranks against the onslaught. They do indeed hold their ranks bravely. Nonetheless, about a quarter of the dwarves and a third to a half of the wolves seem to have fallen by the time you mount the mountain's shoulders.

From your higher vantage, you can see the mustering within the palisade as well. Three warg riders whip their beasts into a frenzy, though they seem groggy and dislike the light they prepare to ride out through the shattered palisade. Streaming out behind them, methodical and merciless in their marching, are ranks upon ranks of skeletal undead, each one armored in ancient dwarven chain and plating. They are four abreast as they come out of the tunnel mouth, six ranks deep. Consumed by their current battle against the wolves, the dwarves and ogres do not yet see this approaching threat, but will face it surely as they provide the distraction desired to allow your parties to seek the rear entrance.

Date: 2:10pm, 04 June 2021
Light: Sunlight
Distance: ~8 Miles
Spell effects: None
Injuries: Foxy (mild injury), Baxtaw (mild injury), Clay (mild injury)

Halfpint would have picked up these things from her pony before sending Peck off. Let me know if too late.

Seeing the carnage below, Clay has a moment of guilt, thinking he should have stayed behind to waylay the wargs and turn the undead, but it is in the past and the true importance of this is to dethrone the goblin king. Let us hope we can prevent those dwarfs and ogres from joining the army of the undead. He has Morr sniff for signs of goblins and wargs coming and into/out of the mountain and attempts to draw more birds to his cause.

Baxtaw- begins to scan the area for any signs of a rear entrance to the fort.

The Grizzly Woman climbs into position and begins scanning for entrances. She looks for built up entries, natural cave mouths, and unusual rock facings that might conceal a door.

Foxy O'Hare

"By Eruanna's grace we must hurry." she says, searching in likely crevices and niches. "Surely Thundred will be able to sound the horn once more? After all it is in new hands, and these berserkers may rise to their calling?"