Re: Chapter #8: The Stronghold of Mine Enemies
Thistletop was silent as a tomb.
After bidding their farewells to Father Gabriel, and receiving five canteens for the road--filled with some very nice-tasting tea--the group made their way out of the throne room, down the hallway in which they’d fought with Ripnugget and his minions, and out into the entry hall. Blood still stained the floor, although the goblins they’d killed had been moved somewhere else. The alarm bell stood unattended, a silent sentry watching as intruders filed by.
As the five weary heroes left the goblin fortress, they found it to be sometime in the evening, although how late in the evening it was impossible to say. The crash of waves against Thistletop’s cliffs was oddly relaxing, and the twinkle of the starlit sky and the crescent moon cast a soft glow on the group as they enjoyed the fresh sea breeze even despite its chill.
“Hey Kellan, shouldn’t you activate your crystal?” Kerr suggested as he helped Liseth with a cloak to ward against the cold. “To signal Shalelu? Not sure where she is but it might take her a bit to get the horses prepped and meet us outside the Nettlemaze.”
Kellan, who had almost forgotten about the crystal in his possession, shamefacedly produced the glowing shard and pronounced the Elvish activation word. It immediately went dark, and the group felt confident that Shalelu’s sibling shard was now glowing, alerting her to the fact that they were ready for extraction. If anyone minded leaving Thistletop and its environs as quickly as possible, they kept those reservations to themselves.
The human members of the group bent down as they re-entered the Nettlemaze. Any concerns about the firepelt they’d so successfully avoided on their way in were quickly put to rest; it seemed to be gone. And the Nettlemaze itself seemed curiously empty of goblins; the group did not see a single one as they made their way back to the entry of the maze, finally pushing aside the nettle door and standing to their full height once again in the well-trodden path through the Nettlewood.
After what seemed like only minutes Shalelu Andosana appeared, leading the horses. She looked serious and seemed little inclined to engage in conversation or other pleasantries, but rather intent on spiriting the group away from Thistletop and any remaining dangers it might present. Once again the ranger thoroughly confused everyone in the party as she led them quietly down various Nettlewood paths, zigging this way and that until the group found itself on the eaves of the forest.
Once they had left the Nettlewood Shalelu, still enforcing silence, guided the group less than a mile to what seemed to have been her bivouac as she waited for their return. She had made a small camp in a depression between three hillocks that shielded the space between them from view almost perfectly. There was just enough room to comfortably tether the horses and lay six bedrolls around a small fire whose glow was invisible until any would-be observer was right on top of it.
The elf set about rekindling the fire, quietly directing each member of the group to their bedroll. Finally, when everyone was organized and seated around the fire, she broke the silence.
“What happened in there?” She said, as if the curiosity were not killing her. “Less than an hour before you signaled a large group of goblin-dog riders, led by what looked like Ripnugget himself, came tearing out of the woods and headed towards Sandpoint. I feared,” she sighed, throwing another piece of wood on the fire. “I feared you were lost, and that Sandpoint would soon follow. I was just preparing to head back that way, perhaps to warn them, when I received your signal.” She gave them an inscrutable look. “Perhaps you can understand exactly how shocking that was. I was greatly relieved, but also confused, and somewhat suspicious. I thought perhaps a goblin had wrested both the crystal and its word of activation from your possession.”
“Fortunately that does not seem to be the case,” said the elf, giving Kellan a glance. “But very little about what has happened makes sense. Please, explain it to me.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:51, Thu 07 May 2015.