Mirtul 1st, 1481 DR

Late on the morning of Mirtul 1st, a wagon sits idle just inside the fortified southern gates of Neverwinter, awaiting the arrival of its hired escorts. The wagon is packed with an assortment of mining supplies and food, apparently ready for the start of its journey. A pair of oxen stand patiently harnessed to the wagon. In the driver's bench sits a slumped, haggard old teamster with a wooden peg leg, stinking of whiskey and dozing off occasionally.

One by one, the group of escorts begins to arrive.

The first to appear is a young, grim-looking halfling woman riding up on her mount, a massive, wrinkly gray mastiff. She wears leather armor over worn traveler's clothes, with a pair of shortswords at her hips and a fine polished shortbow slung over her shoulder. She approaches and greets the grizzled wagon driver tersely, and then falls in beside the oxen on her dog. The driver responds in like manner, barely a grunt really, before returning to his drunken meditations.

The next to arrive are an unlikely pair: a contemplative gold dwarf with long blue hair and beard, accompanied by a wizened old white-bearded gnome with a tiny black owl perched on his shoulder. The dwarf appears quite capable of defending himself, garbed in chain mail and carrying a warhammer and round shield adorned with a painted blue image of a cresting wave. The gnome, however, seems much more frail and less stalwartly equipped. As they approach, the halfling woman rides up on her mastiff to address them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:53, Thu 25 Feb 2016.

"Good morning." The halfling woman turns to address the old gnome directly. "Are you the one called Steamknuckle? I was told to expect you and one other agent of the Waterclock Guild. I assume that would be your dwarven friend here."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

Steamknuckle responds with a warm smile. "That would be me, indeed, and most correct you are: this would be my good friend Zhaquadan Mudsmither, also to accompany us on behalf of the Guild. We hope to join your little caravan for a most uneventful journey to Phandalin."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:56, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

"Very good. Uneventful, indeed. Although these roads were never safe at the best of times, and now is not an especially good time. So though we may hope for uneventful, we had best all be prepared for some events."

She meets the eyes of both travelers before continuing. "I am called Willow. I will be leading this trip. I have known Gundren Rockseeker for many years, and I've served as his guide for many of his deep wilderness expeditions. This trip will not be so dangerous as those, but it will be dangerous enough for him to hire me. I know what I'm doing, so listen to me. When I tell you to do something, do it. I'm not your boss, but just know this: I don't care about your rugged individuality. If you disobey my instructions, you do so at your own peril. I will not go out of my way to save an idiot." She concludes her monologue with a meaningful glare focused at both newcomers.

Finally, she gestures vaguely toward the wagon. "This here is Stumpy, our driver. Don't expect much of anything from him. He drives, and that's about it."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

Stumpy grunts and raises his flask in salute to the newcomers, then takes a hearty swig before returning to his thoughts.

"Good to meet you both.  Let us be on our way."

"There's one more we're waiting for." Willow glances at the sky with a frown. "It's only one wagon. Three guards and a driver should be sufficient. If the fourth is not here by eleven o'clock, then we leave without him, and he forfeits his pay."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

The morning wears on, and the group grows restless as they wait for the final hireling to arrive. Then, just as the appointed hour draws near and the wagon party is preparing to set off, a lone dwarf comes walking through the inner gate of the bailey where the rest are gathered.

The dwarf strides briskly up to the group, wearing a stern look on his thickly black-bearded face. He is conspicuously well armed, wearing a heavy suit of battle-scarred chain mail and a massive greataxe slung over his shoulder, with a warhammer and tight bundle of javelins lashed to his belt for good measure. These accoutrements, combined with the obvious stoutness of his thickly muscled frame, contribute to a comforting sense that he can handle himself well in battle.

However, as he draws closer, it also becomes apparent from his disheveled hair and clothes and emanating sour ale stench that he has not yet fully recovered from the debauchery of his previous evening. To his credit, though, he bears himself with poise and strength despite the obvious pounding hangover from which he suffers.

Seeing this, Stumpy grins a greeting in the unspoken language of drunkards, tipping his flask in salute to the dwarf.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:30, Fri 13 Nov 2015.

"I'm here," the dwarf growls. "Right on time. Now we can leave."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:52, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

"You must be Rudo." Willow frowns. "Gundren warned me you might take your sweet time showing up. But you're right, you are technically not late."

Then, she launches into the same overbearing speech delivered to the previous arrivals. "I am called Willow. I will be leading this trip. I am an experienced wilderness guide, and I know what I'm doing. When I tell you to do something-"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

"Save your breath, little one," Rudo interrupts. "I need no lectures about the dangers of the road from a mewling kitten such as yourself. When the time comes for battle, it is you who will be seeking my protection. Until then, leave me be and let me do my job."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:53, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

Willow glares at Rudo in cold fury for a moment, but eventually just nods and turns back to the wagon. "Roll out," she barks, and kicks her heels into her mastiff. They trot out ahead through the open outer gate of the city.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:12, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

In response, Stumpy snaps the wagon reins and the oxen slowly rumble into motion. The wagon picks up speed and rolls out through the outer gate, with Steamknuckle, Zhaquadan and Rudo walking alongside.

Together, the party sets off on their journey to Phandalin.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:57, Sat 14 Nov 2015.

The party travels uneventfully for the rest of the day along the the High Road, before stopping to make camp for the night about 25 miles south of Neverwinter. A full day's travel still separates them from the junction with the Triboar Trail, and Phandalin beyond.

After laying his bedroll out beside the fire, Rudo walks up to Willow and asks, "Do we have any ale in that wagon?"

Willow glowers at Rudo. "There may or may not be ale in that wagon. But regardless, whatever's in there is the property of the Rockseekers, and none of your concern." She promptly turns her back to him.

Rudo shrugs, and then reaches into his pack to produce a weathered deck of playing cards. "Who's up for some spellfire? Copper ante. Anyone?"

Looking up from his seat beside the fire, Stumpy speaks for the first time since the journey began. His voice is deep and gravelly. "I'll play."

Rudo smiles. "Now there's a man with something dangling between his legs. I knew you were an old gambler. Gotta raise funds for that whiskey somehow, right?"

He looks around at the others. "Anyone else? What about you, grandfather gnome? Or you." He looks at Zhaquadan. "You're a dwarf. What do you say? Let's teach this old drunkard a thing or two about how us dwarves pay for a round of ale."

Steamknuckle considers for a moment, an amused look on his face. Then he claps his hands together. "Why not? It sounds like fun. Let's see what we can come up with."

Zhaquadan stares at Rudo for what seems like an eternity, contemplating the invitation.  Finally he says "sure, I'll play".
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:46, Mon 16 Nov 2015.

"Good man," Rudo says. "That's all of us then, except for the little kitten. Are you sure you don't want to play, Kitten? It's only copper ante."

Willow ignores Rudo, standing off alone a few yards past the campfire. She scratches her mastiff's neck and stretches comfortably as she watches the sun set off the coast of the Sea of Swords to the west.

Rudo shrugs. "Very well." He then walks over to the wagon, lifts a wide wooden chest out of it, and lays it down on the ground nearby. Willow turns and frowns briefly at this, but makes no move to stop him.

The rest of the group walks over and begins selecting flat stones from the campsite floor, arraying them around the makeshift card table to form their seats. They sit down and take out their coin purses. Rudo begins to shuffle his deck of cards.

"So," he says, turning his attention back to Zhaquadan. "Where are you from? Down south, I'd wager, from the look of you."

"Yes, I come from Glitterdelve, but its been years since I have been back.  My home is Neverwinter, for now.  Wherever the waters take me really."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:32, Wed 18 Nov 2015.

Rudo shakes his head gently. "You're an odd one," he says as he begins to deal out cards. "But I suppose that's to be expected from you gold dwarves. A queer lot you are down there. Must be from all the elvish stock in your blood. Can hardly even call yourselves real dwarves, can you?"

Without waiting for a response, he turns to Steamknuckle. "And what about you, grandfather? What brings you on this journey? Forget your false teeth and walking cane back in Phandalin?"

An uncomfortable hush descends on the card table as the boorishness of Rudo's comments sinks in.

Steamknuckle smiles sagely at Rudo. "I applaud your effort, master dwarf, but sadly the outcome scores you as amateur at best. You come on too strong. A true master instigator knows that subtlety is his greatest weapon."

He then cocks his head in amusement. "Although, if you wish to continue serenading us with more of your bathroom humor, then by all means help yourself. It won't earn you a single bent copper in overplayed bets from any of us, but...it does have its charm."

Rudo nods slowly as a faint smile grows on his face. "Well played, grandfather." He settles into the card game, placing his copper ante bet and then leaning back to examine his hand. "So then tell me, seriously this time. What brings you soft-bellied guild types out on a job like this? It seems to me that a meager payday like this would never be worth your precious time."

Zhaquadan says, "I missed being on the road."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:38, Fri 20 Nov 2015.

"Not much to say, eh? I can see it won't be easy to get anything out of you."

The party settles into their friendly card game, relaxing and engaging in idle banter. Since most of the group's wealth seems to be in unbroken gold pieces, a pile of twigs and bits of bark are gathered to function as chips, each worth a single copper. The sun goes down, and Willow, already aloof from the company of the rest of the party, takes the first watch.

As the game wears on, it quickly becomes clear that it is not Rudo's night. He loses hand after hand, all the while boasting of his many legendary exploits at the card tables of his past, until he finally quits the game in a fit of rage. Complaining about the deleterious effect on a game of cards caused by lack of ale, he retires to relieve Willow for the second watch.

The rest of the players survey the stacks of makeshift chips left at the end of the game. Steamknuckle seems to have have cleaned up rather well, particularly considering how frequently he had mentioned his lack of experience while playing. Stumpy, silent and watchful the entire time, hobbles away with a similarly impressive stack of winnings. Zhaquadan, however, looks to have fared only slightly better than Rudo, having struggled with the strategy of a game in which he, like Steamknuckle, was not proficient. Apparently his beginner's luck never quite kicked in like it did for gnomish friend.

All told, after having wagered a total of 78 copper pieces each throughout the course of the game, the players walk away with the following winnings:


They agree to settle their debts once they arrive in Phandalin, and have an opportunity to change out their more valuable coins for sufficient copper.

Before laying down to sleep for the night, Willow approaches the group as they clean up their card game.

"We need to settle the night watches. I already took the first watch, while the rest of you were playing your game. Rudo is taking the second one. Since there are five of us, each watch only needs to be two hours long, and we can all still get a full night's rest." She looks over the remaining adventurers. "Who wants to go next?"

"I'll take the last watch," Stumpy growls. "I need to be up early to tend to the oxen, anyway."

Zhaquadan says "I will go next".

"Okay then, so that just leaves me to go after Zhaquadan."

"Very well. This will be the watch schedule each night for the remainder of the journey: first me, then Rudo, then Zhaquadan, then Steamknuckle, and finally Stumpy. Speak up if you have a problem. I'm going to sleep."

Mirtul 2nd, 1481 DR

The night passes uneventfully as the party sleeps under the stars around the campfire. Each traveler is woken in turn for his watch shift, until dawn breaks to find Stumpy hobbling around the wagon making his final preparations to resume the journey. The group gathers for a quick cold breakfast before continuing on the road.

They travel south along the High Road for the greater part of the day. The gently rolling hills and light woods of the countryside are pleasant and peaceful, and it's hard to imagine any great dangers lurking in the area. Certainly nothing emerges to bother the travelers, and the weather is sunny and comfortable throughout the day.

Around midday the group stops for a long lunch, giving the oxen plenty of time to rest and fill up on hay and oats. Then they continue on until mid-afternoon, when they finally arrive at the junction with the Triboar Trail. With plenty of daylight left, the party decides to turn east for a few more miles. They travel until late in the afternoon when Willow calls for a halt to make camp again for the night. She declares that they have less than a day's travel left to reach Phandalin, and should arrive by mid-afternoon the next day.

After the previous night's embarrassment, Rudo does not seem particularly interested in cards this evening, so the party simply settles into a quiet dinner and then retires early. As before, Willow takes the first watch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:55, Thu 25 Feb 2016.

Mirtul 3rd, 1481 DR

Again, the night passes uneventfully, and the party wakes up early to get a good start on the final leg of their journey.

As they proceed further east on the Triboar Trail, the surrounding woods grow thicker and more wild. Eventually, around mid-morning, the group reaches a narrow passageway where the trees press especially close to the trail. A steep embankment with dense thickets rises up on either side.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:56, Thu 25 Feb 2016.

After rounding a sharp bend in the path, Stumpy suddenly pulls up on the reins and barks, "Halt!". The oxen rumble to an abrupt stop. "Look, there," he says, pointing to a spot about fifty feet ahead on the path.

The party looks ahead to the spot where Stumpy points. There, sprawled across the road, are the corpses of two slain horses. Swarms of flies blanket them, and each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it.

The road here is so narrow that the dead horses effectively block the passage of the wagon.

Zhaquadan pauses for a moment while scanning the surroundings for anything suspicious then slowly climbs out of the wagon.   Almost in a whisper he says "I don't like this.   Be ready for an ambush but clearly we need to move these carcasses off the  trail. "
Zhaquadan cautiously begins to move off the trail and in a direction towards the horses searching for signs of what may have caused the demise of the poor steeds.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:05, Sun 22 Nov 2015.

As Zhaquadan scans the area for any signs of suspicious activity, Rudo quietly grabs a javelin from the bundle strapped to his belt and moves closer to the wagon, alert and ready. Stumpy grabs his crossbow from the seat next to him and smoothly nocks a bolt.

Zhaquadan sees nothing out of the ordinary. A light breeze passes through the trees, gently swaying the branches and sighing through the leaves. Nothing else moves, or makes a sound.

He climbs down off the wagon and begins to creep toward the dead horses.

Before Zhaquadan can get more than a few feet from the wagon, Willow hisses under her breath, "Stop!".

He looks back at her, and she nods her head meaningfully up toward the thickets crowding the top of the embankments to both sides of the road.

Zhaquadan follows Willow's eyes to the rise on the left. At first he sees nothing, but then, a tiny shift of movement draws his attention. The scene quickly materializes: crouched within the depths of the shrubbery, poorly concealed under hasty camouflage, are two small, hunched humanoids. Flashes of muddy orange skin under leather armor filter through gaps in the thicket.

His gaze then shifts over to the right side of the road. The embankment there is slightly lower, but equally cluttered with bushes and shrubs. Sure enough, crouched there he sees another pair of the same diminutive, twisted figures. He even catches a momentary snatch of their quiet muttering drifting out from the ill-concealed hiding spot.

"Don't stare!" Willow whispers. Zhaquadan quickly looks back down to the horses in the road, trying to appear as if he hadn't noticed the concealed figures.

She then turns her mastiff back toward the wagon, covertly unshouldering her shortbow and nocking it with an arrow from her quiver.

"What's going on?" Steamknuckle asks loudly. Stumpy lays a hand on the gnome's forearm and shakes his head curtly, then nods in the direction of the slain horses.

Confused, Steamknuckle scans the area, seeing nothing. Then, finally, he spots movement in the bushes, and the realization dawns on him that they are being watched. He nods in understanding, and reaches into his belt pouch to retrieve a short, ornately carved pewter rod.

He murmurs a short incantation while tracing an intricate pattern in the air with the rod. As soon as he finishes, a faint, glittering light descends onto his clothes like dust, and then disappears.

OOC: Steamknuckle casts Mage Armor on himself.

Zhaquadan stares at his hammer in contemplation and prayer.   Finally he says"I am sure these people will not respond to diplomacy but they may not be capable of taking us so how do you guys want to proceed? "

Willow speaks in a subdued tone. "Those look like goblins," she says, "and around here that means Cragmaw goblins. So no, they will not respond to diplomacy. Unless the response you're looking for is to be killed, in which case they'll be very diplomatic about arranging that for you."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Fri 11 Aug 2017.

Rudo walks around to the front of the wagon. "Did I hear you say goblins? Well then, let's get to work!"

He slides his javelin back into the bundle strapped to his belt, and then reaches up to grab the greataxe slung across his back. His face seems almost giddy with bloodlust.

"No!" Willow hisses. "They don't know we've seen them yet! No, let's be smart about this. I'll take the left, you take the right." She gestures toward the forest on either side of the wagon. "Slip into the trees, get out of sight, then sneak around to flank them. The rest of you, as soon as we disappear into the trees, start rolling the wagon down the road. Slowly. They'll be watching, but it will confuse them when we split up. They'll have to either concentrate on one of us, or split up themselves. Either way they're weaker."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:03, Thu 26 Nov 2015.

"You got it, boss." Rudo looks over at Zhaquadan. "See? This kitten's got some claws."

Willow dismounts her mastiff and mutters some words into its ear. Then, she crouches down and hurries off into the woods to the north of the trail. Rudo does the same, except to the south. As soon as both have disappeared into the trees, Stumpy snaps the reins and the oxen slowly roll back into motion, with Zhaquadan and the dog walking alongside. Everyone is alert, weapons at the ready.

As the wagon party creeps forward along the trail, Zhaquadan glances at the thickets on both sides of the road where he had seen the creatures hiding. Flashes of skin and armor confirm that they remain huddled in the same spots, but now the brambles seem to be buzzing with frantic motion. Zhaquadan imagines the creatures, goblins if that's what they are, confused and agitated in their hiding spots; arguing with one another about what to do now that their ambush has apparently been thwarted.

He then scans the forest to both sides. Sure enough, he catches glimpses of both would-be assassins as they dart from tree to tree, trying their best to remain stealthy. But the woods are not very thick, and both seem to be having trouble concealing their approach, as twigs snap underfoot and branches yield loudly to their rustling passage. Rudo, in particular, crashes through the trees in his heavy chain mail armor, unable to conceal the metallic clinking of his equipment as he rushes up on his targets. The plan doesn't seem to be going very well, and the wagon travelers are certain that the ambushers will be alerted to their attackers' approach.

However, as the seconds crawl by, the creatures show no signs of awareness as to where exactly their attackers will strike. Instead they seem consumed with panic at their sudden loss of control over the situation, until eventually they emerge from their hiding spots in a sudden rush. As they burst forward, their unconcealed appearance leaves no doubt that they are, in fact, goblins. The pair on the left wield pine shortbows, drawn and ready to fire, while the ones on the right come snarling forward with scimitars and hide shields.

OOC: Combat ensues! Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
20	Zhaquadan (congratulations, your first crit)
18	Willow
18	Burgess
16	Peas
16	Goblins
12	Stumpy
5	Rudo
4	Steamknuckle

This message was last edited by the GM at 14:20, Thu 26 Nov 2015.

Zhaquadan moves to attack the nearest goblin.

OOC: Melee attack with warhammer.
20:02, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 19 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 15.  Attempt to hit goblin. (Adjusted to manually add attack modifier of +4)
20:04, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 6 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 4.  1H Warhammer damage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:16, Fri 27 Nov 2015.

Zhaquadan steps up to the nearest goblin and unleashes a mighty swing of his warhammer. The goblin ducks and raises his shield to block the blow, but the flimsy hide does little to stop the massive hammer's momentum. It collides squarely with its target, staggering the goblin as the shield is driven forcefully back into his shoulder with a meaty crunch.

The goblin lets out a pained yelp and teeters to the side in a dizzy arc, but manages to stay on his feet. Blood pours from his nose as he blinks through a haze of pain. It looks as if a stiff breeze might come along and finish him off.

On the far side of the road, atop the northern rise, Willow emerges stealthily from the undergrowth behind the archer goblins. They are completely unaware of her presence. She raises her shortbow and fires at the goblin nearest to her.

The arrow flies through the air and pierces the goblin through the back of his neck, driving through his throat in a gurgling spray of gore. The goblin clutches briefly at the arrow point sprouting from his throat, then tumbles forward down the embankment, dead.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
22:17, Today: Willow rolled 22 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,17.  Shortbow attack, with advantage due to being hidden.
22:18, Today: Willow rolled 8 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 5.  Shortbow damage.

Snarling, Burgess the mastiff leaps forward to maul the other scimitar-wielding goblin. His jaws lock down on the goblin's meaty thigh and he whips his head back and forth savagely. However, the goblin's footing is sure and strong, and he easily twists to shake off the dog's onslaught with only a minor gash to show for it.

OOC: Melee bite attack by Burgess.
22:31, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Burgess, rolled 18 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 15.  Bite attack.
22:32, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Burgess, rolled 2 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 1.  Bite damage.
22:35, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 19 using 1d20-1 with rolls of 20.  Strength save to resist the mastiff's knock prone feature on successful bite attacks.

Steamknuckle murmurs something, and then Peas the owl leaps from his shoulder. She darts through the air to swoop down on the goblin still staggering from Zhaquadan's hammer blow, fluttering in his face and clawing at his eyes with her sharp, tiny talons. With her diminutive size she is unable to do any real damage, but manages to distract the goblin heavily as Rudo emerges from the brush with his greataxe raised in a deadly charge.

She then quickly swoops back to settle once again on Steamknuckle's shoulder.

OOC: Flying to the goblin, performing the Help action, then flying back.
The Help action (PHB p.192) is targeted at assisting Rudo's next melee attack, thereby granting him advantage on that attack.
As per the rules for "Breaking Up Your Move" (PHB p.190), Peas can perform this action in between portions of her 60 ft. flying movement.
Due to the owl's Flyby trait (PHB p.308), flying away afterward does not provoke an opportunity attack.

The heavily wounded goblin struggles to bat away Peas as she flaps her wings in his face. After she flies off, he is left swaying and disoriented on his feet. He finally manages to steady himself just long enough to glare back up at Zhaquadan, and then launch a wild counter-swing of his scimitar.

Zhaquadan is caught off guard by the sudden intensity of the swing. He raises his shield to block, but too late. The blade glances off the top of the shield and bounces up into his face, leaving a bloody slash across the dwarf's right cheek.

Meanwhile, the goblin's nearby comrade angrily counterattacks Burgess, but the dog nimbly leaps aside to dodge the swing. At the same time, the remaining archer goblin judges Zhaquadan to be the greatest visible threat due to his heavy armor and weapons, and looses an arrow at him. However, with the turmoil of the melee going on down by the road, the goblin's arrow fails to find its target, sinking harmlessly into the soil.

OOC: Melee attack with scimitar on Zhaquadan.
23:08, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 21 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 17.  Melee attack with scimitar on Zhaquadan.
23:10, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 7 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 5.  Scimitar damage (slashing).

Melee attack with scimitar on Burgess.
23:15, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 10 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 6.  Scimitar attack.

Ranged attack with shortbow on Zhaquadan.
23:18, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 7 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 3.  Shortbow attack.

Addled by drink but still sharp and sure with his aim, Stumpy snaps his crossbow up and fires a bolt at the archer goblin standing atop the rise. The shot pierces the goblin through the heart and kills him instantly.

Stumpy then grabs the reins again to try to calm the distressed oxen, who by now are urgently trying to back away from the ongoing combat.

OOC: Ranged attack with light crossbow.
23:29, Today: Stumpy rolled 15 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 8.  Light crossbow attack.
23:30, Today: Stumpy rolled 8 using 1d8+3 with rolls of 5.  Light crossbow damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:11, Fri 27 Nov 2015.

Rudo bursts forth from the undergrowth, heaving and huffing, his greataxe raised above his head. He charges the wounded goblin and swings madly. However, despite the goblin's weakened and disoriented state, Rudo's charge is so reckless that his axe simply sails harmlessly over the goblin's ducked head. The dwarf is left staggering and overextended, gaping in angry astonishment at the misfortune of his failed attack.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
23:39, Today: Rudo rolled 10 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 5,2.  Greataxe attack, with advantage due to Peas' distraction.

Steamknuckle stands up on the wagon bench, weaving his hands in an intricate series of gestures while uttering an arcane phrase. He then thrusts his right hand forward, palm out, and a dazzling beam of bluish-white light springs from his palm to trace through the air toward the wounded goblin threatening his friend.

The beam strikes the goblin full in the face, instantly freezing it in a steaming crackle of ice. The goblin falls to the ground, finally dead.

OOC: Ranged attack with Ray of Frost cantrip.
23:51, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 23 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 18.  Ray of Frost cantrip attack.
23:52, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 7 using 1d8 with rolls of 7.  Ray of Frost cantrip damage (cold).

Zhaquadan moves away from the remaining enemy and casts cure wounds on himself.

00:37, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 11 using 1d8+6.  Cure Wounds. (Adjusted to reflect the correct full modifier)
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:45, Sat 28 Nov 2015.

Zhaquadan sheathes his warhammer to hold his hand up in a gesture of supplication while intoning a focused prayer. In an instant, the awful slash across his face closes up and disappears, leaving behind nothing but a faint trace of blood across his cheek.

OOC: Keep in mind that you can't cast spells with a somatic component when both of your hands are occupied. It's no big deal in this case, since you can draw or sheathe one weapon as a free action on any turn (see "Other Activity on Your Turn" and "Interacting With Objects Around You", PHB p.190), but this limitation might matter in certain situations. This is part of why the "War Caster" feat is useful (PHB p.170).

Willow moves out of the brush toward the edge of the northern escarpment, and fires her shortbow at the last remaining goblin. The arrow flies straight and true, piercing the goblin through the back and driving him face-first down into the dirt. He doesn't get back up.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
21:55, Today: Willow rolled 22 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 17.  Shortbow attack.
21:55, Today: Willow rolled 5 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 2.  Shortbow damage (piercing).

The party brushes themselves off, taking a moment to calm down from the excitement of the battle. All four goblins lay dead in the dirt. Rudo and Stumpy keep their weapons ready, scanning the edges of the forest for any signs of further ambushers, but their precautions amount to little more than the paranoid alertness of seasoned combat veterans. Even they relax after a moment when it becomes clear that the danger has fully passed.

Meanwhile, Willow scours the corpses of the goblins to recover her and Stumpy's spent ammunition. The arrow lodged in one goblin's throat is irreparably snapped in two, but her other arrow and Stumpy's crossbow bolt are still usable. At the same time, she checks the goblins for anything of value, but declares their primitive gear and crudely fletched arrows to be worthless. They are carrying no coins or wealth of any kind. It looks like pickings must have been slim of late in the highwayman business.

The horse carcasses remain strewn across the road, blocking the passage of the wagon.

Zhaquadan looks over all the party members to be sure none are seriously wounded then inspects the goblin bodies.   He pries open one of their mouths to have a look at its teeth.  When he is satisfied that they are all dead and can find no more evidence of a larger plot he moves silently to the road to begin inspecting the horses and attempting to drag them off the road.

The party confirms under Zhaquadan's inspection that none have suffered even a scratch in the brief conflict, other than the cleric himself. They end the fight down nothing but a spell, an arrow and a few minutes of lost travel time.

Zhaquadan then moves to inspect the goblin corpses. They are all certainly dead. Upon examining the first one's mouth, he sees that its teeth are grotesquely sharp; so much so, in fact, as to appear unnaturally modified to that effect. It looks as if the goblin has somehow deliberately filed its teeth to appear more jagged and menacing. He checks the remaining goblin corpses and confirms that their teeth are all similarly sharpened. Other than these findings, he only confirms Willow's statement that nothing else of interest can be found on their bodies.

By all accounts, the goblins appear to be just a typical raiding party, lying in wait to ambush defenseless travelers on the road.

"So, my friends," Steamknuckle asks, "should we bury these bodies?"

Rudo snorts. "If you want to bury them, be my guest. But you can count me out. Breaking my back to dig a hole for these filthy vermin? That'll take all day. By the time you're done, the rest of us will be sitting with our feet up in the tavern in Phandalin."

"He's right." Willow glances at Rudo with a look of begrudging agreement. "They're not worth our time. We'll just drag their bodies off the road into the woods a bit, stack them up, and then leave them for the wolves."

While the others discuss how to deal with the goblin corpses, Zhaquadan walks over to the horses to examine them. A sinking feeling quickly settles into his gut as he approaches. Up close, he recognizes the horses as the ones ridden by Gundren Rockseeker and his human companion, Sildar Hallwinter. They had stopped by the Neverwinter Waterclock Guild just a few days earlier to negotiate the Guild's participation in this venture, and then left the city early to attend to their own business in Phandalin. As they had ridden off from the Guild's halls in the city, Zhaquadan clearly remembered their horses: the bay pony for the dwarf, and the gray stallion for the tall old human warrior. He now stares down at the arrow-riddled carcasses of those same two horses.

When he finally reaches the horses, he sees that their saddlebags have been looted. An empty map case lies nearby.

Zhaquadan looks around for signs of the two riders and attempts to move the pony from the road.

The horses both look like they've been dead for about a day. As Zhaquadan inspects them, the rest of the group comes up and discovers the awful truth about their ownership. A silent tension settles on the party, as each mulls over the ramifications of this discovery.

Rudo and Zhaquadan work together to drag the carcasses off the road and pile them up against the embankment on one side. Meanwhile, Willow stalks off to thoroughly study the surrounding area for any information regarding the fate and whereabouts of the horses' erstwhile riders. She spends several minutes combing the nearby trees and thickets for clues, while the rest of the group waits anxiously by the wagon.

Finally, she returns.

The look on Willow's face is even more grim than usual. "It's clear that these goblins have been using this area to stage ambushes for quite some time. There are signs of a makeshift camp in the trees just up there." She waves her hand idly toward the forest to the north. "And there are lots of tracks on both sides of the rise, and other signs of them spending a lot of time hiding in the bushes. It makes sense. This corridor here is the perfect spot to trap wagons like ours to plunder."

She sighs before continuing. "But, of course, that's not all. There's also a trail leading northwest, hidden in the brush up there by the campsite. The tracks show about a dozen goblins coming and going along the trail. And..." she pauses. "There's also some wide drag marks leading away up the trail, like a couple of large objects being dragged away from the ambush site. About man-sized."

She eyes the group resolutely. "Whatever's at the other end of that trail, that's where we're going to find Gundren and his escort. Hopefully they're not both dead already."

"Wait a minute," Rudo interjects. "The job was to guard the wagon. Not to go off and rescue a couple of damn fools who couldn't protect themselves from a gang of pissant goblins."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:45, Tue 01 Dec 2015.

"It's true," Willow sighs wearily. "It's not your job to look after Gundren, or anyone else for that matter. If you want to continue on to Phandalin with the wagon, then that's your choice, and I won't hold it against you.

"But I've known Gundren for a long time, and he's a good dwarf. I won't abandon him to the mercy of these monsters. I'm going after him, by myself if I must.

"Just keep one thing in mind: if Gundren dies, then there won't be anyone waiting in Phandalin to pay your wages."

"Who cares about ten gold pieces?" Steamknuckle asks. "This is two men's lives we're taking about here. We have to try to save them. I'm with Willow."

"That trail back there obviously won't be big enough for this wagon," Stumpy says. "I'll wait for you, but my place is here with the animals. I can't help you."

"Fine." Rudo grins. "I can't let you run off and hog all the fun without me. Besides, you said these goblins have been ambushing travelers here for a while now. So they must have some hefty coin stashed away in their lair. Perhaps this little diversion will turn out to be a blessing, after all."

Rudo walks over and pokes his finger at the empty leather map case lying on the ground. "I'm also very curious to find out what was in this thing. Before he left Neverwinter, Gundren told me he and his brothers had found something 'big.' I'm guessing whatever was in this had something to do with it. And now the goblins have it."

He looks up at the rest of the group. "This could be big. Much bigger than ten gold for babysitting a wagon full of flour sacks. I'm not going to miss out on a payday like that just so some bone-wearing monkeys can steal it from me because they got to the map first."

Willow glares at Rudo. "Whatever was in that case is the property of Gundren Rockseeker. Maybe if you help rescue him, then he'll be inclined to hire you for more work. But don't start thinking you're entitled to anything. We find him, we return him to safety, and whatever we recover of his we give right back to him. Do you understand?"

"Sure. Of course," Rudo says apologetically, holding up his hands. "You're the boss.

"I'm just saying...if we do save Gundren's hide, and we happen to recover the map too, then that might put us in a position to renegotiate our compensation. That's all."

Zhaquadan asks "when should we begin?" while pointing to the trail Willow had indicated.

"Now."

Willow turns to Stumpy. "Find a safe spot off the road to hide the wagon, and wait there for us. Give us until sunrise tomorrow morning. If we're not back by then, head on to Phandalin and let them know what happened."

"You got it."

The party takes a moment to gather themselves and organize their equipment for the rescue mission. When ready, they gather at the top of the northern embankment, where Willow leads them to the crude goblin campsite. The site is cleverly hidden within a deep thicket of brambles, obscuring a small matted clearing and primitive fire pit. Sure enough, heading off out of the clearing into the forest to the northwest is a narrow dirt foot path.

Willow sets off down the path, riding atop Burgess. The rest of the group falls into step behind her.

The trees grow sporadically here, still many miles southwest of the Neverwinter Wood proper. But the countryside is thick with brambles and rocky rolling hills, and the trail is narrow and cleverly hidden among the surrounding thickets.

The group walks single file through the crowded, heavily shaded space of the trail. At times the thickets press in so tightly there is barely enough room for one person to pass through without turning sideways. The oppressive feeling of being trapped in a confined space creeps in, and settles on each party member as they walk through territory that might be crawling with skulking goblins around each blind bend.

The mid-morning sun continues its steady climb upward, and dapples the trail with its scattered light filtering down through the leaves and brambles.

Suddenly Willow pulls up on her reins and brings her mount to an abrupt stop. "Trap!" she hisses. She turns slightly and points to the dirt in front her, so the rest of the group can see.

Sure enough, there in the middle of the trail lies a small pile of dry leaves. It seems inconspicuous, until a closer inspection reveals a thin cord coming up out of the dirt on the right edge of the trail, trailing off into the bushes. Willow dismounts and carefully parts the branches of the shrubbery. There, the party sees a stout branch attached to a tree a few feet off the trail, bent down to the ground and tied off to a small wooden snare mechanism. The cord is attached to it, snaking through the grass out to the trail where it disappears under the dirt.

"Step around it," Willow says. "Be careful. We don't want to spring the trap, since it might alert the goblins that we're coming. We just need to keep an eye out for it on the way back."

"This must mean we're on the right track. Everyone keep your eyes open. Where there's one trap, there's sure to be more."

The group carefully inches their way around the snare, leaving it undisturbed in the middle of the path. They continue on.

The party walks for a while along the trail, deeper and deeper into the wilderness. It is very quiet. If any goblins are around, then they're hiding very effectively.

While they walk, each member of the party scans their surroundings alertly, looking for any signs of traps or ambushers. Nothing appears. The dirt track just rolls on and on into the countryside.

"Stop." Obeying her own command, Willow pulls up and comes to a halt. "What's that?"

The party gathers up behind Willow and peers past her. In front of her, the sandy trail appears perfectly featureless and unremarkable. The trail has widened a bit by now, leaving room for two or more humanoid creatures to walk abreast.  Other than this, nothing seems unusual about the expanse of dirt stretching forward into the shady distance.

But then, as the party looks closer, something odd begins to materialize within the stretch of dirt directly in front of them. One by one they become aware that the sand before them is somehow discolored; lighter and finer in texture than the dirt surrounding it. After staring for a moment, it becomes obvious that something has deliberately scattered a layer of sand across this section of trail.

"It's a pit trap," Willow says. "Step around it, like before. Other than our tracks, there's no reason to leave any evidence of our passing here. Let's just be sure not to forget about it on the way back."

"It's a damn good thing your eyes are so sharp, Kitten. If it were me on point, I would have stumbled right into that blasted thing."

The group presses up against the bushes along one side of the trail as they pass, being sure to stay well away from the edge of the sandy area. They continue on.

The morning wears on as the party presses further into the wilderness along the hidden trail. The tension is palpable as each traveler tries to remain alert for more traps, while also looking out for goblins and other dangers hidden in the thickets. But nothing else appears. The group walks for over an hour in uneventful silence.

The terrain begins to grow more treacherous as steep hills rise up around the trail. The trees press in thicker, and darkness looms as the path becomes more enveloped by the surrounding forest. Soon the travelers begin to hear the faint trickle of a woodland stream.

Eventually the trail emerges from the thickets at the base of a steep hill. An open cavern mouth looms before the party, with a shallow stream trickling out into a small meadow. The stream trails off into the trees to the right.


This message was last edited by the GM at 16:19, Tue 01 Aug 2017.

"It looks like we're here," Willow says in a low tone. "Let's keep our eyes sharp and our mouths shut. Who knows where the goblins might be hiding."

She turns to the rest of the group. "We're going to have to go into that cave. It's going to be dark in there. I can't see in the dark like you guys can. Someone else will have to lead the way."

Zhaquadan gives Rudo a playful nudge and asks "Rudo would you like to do the honors or would you prefer I lead the way? "

"Of course I'll lead," Rudo blusters. "You just stay behind me and pray to your pisswater god, or whatever it is that you milk drinkers do."

He begins to stomp toward the cave entrance, axe in hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:33, Sat 05 Dec 2015.

Willow reaches out and grabs Rudo to stop him. "No!" she whispers. "Be quiet! Let me scout the cave entrance first. The rest of you, stay back out of sight. Once I'm sure there aren't any sentries posted nearby, I'll motion you up, and then we go in."

Willow dismounts and quietly draws both of her short swords. She whispers a word into Burgess's ear, then turns to creep across the stream and up along the edge of the briar thicket on the far side. The dog dutifully remains still, watching her along with the rest of the party.

She reaches the end of the long thicket. Silent and crouched, she peers into the darkness of the cave, then scans along the hillside above and around the entrance. She doesn't seem to see anything significant. Then she edges toward the end of the thicket, and peers around it to the open space on the far side.

After a brief moment, Willow steps back into sight and looks back at the party. The look on her face is serious. She holds up her right hand, still gripping the handle of her sword, and raises two fingers. Then she jerks the point of her blade toward the thicket.

The party follows Willow's motion to peer across the stream and through the thick branches of the briar patch. Sure enough, flashes of familiar leather and skin appear behind the dense screen of brambles. But this time they don't seem to be watching the party. They seem to be lounging in the clearing on the far side of the thicket, dozing off on guard duty, totally unaware of the intruders.

Willow quietly sheathes her swords, unshoulders her shortbow, and nocks an arrow. Then she levels a meaningful stare at the rest of group before nodding her head in the direction of the idle goblins.

OOC: Combat ensues. Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
20	Peas
17	Goblins
15	Willow
10	Steamknuckle
7	Rudo
6	Burgess
4	Zhaquadan

The goblins do miss their first turn, though, since they're surprised.

Willow steps around the end of the thicket and fires her shortbow at the farther goblin. The arrow lands with a meaty thud in the creature's shoulder.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
23:41, Today: Willow rolled 17 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,12.  Shortbow attack, with advantage due to being hidden.
23:43, Today: Willow rolled 4 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 1.  Shortbow damage (piercing).

Steamknuckle squints through the dense briar thicket, trying to locate the goblin whom Willow just shot with her bow. He thinks he sees his target, but can't be totally sure. He then briefly gestures and mutters an incantation, and a beam of pale blue light lances out from his open palm through the thicket, leaving tiny icicles of frost hanging from the branches where it passes.

The goblin groans briefly, then falls silent, leaving only the sound of a faint crackle of ice coming from the spot where it was lying.

OOC: Ranged attack with Ray of Frost cantrip.
23:48, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 23 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 18,16.  Ray of Frost cantrip attack, with advantage due to being hidden.
00:03, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 8 using 1d8 with rolls of 8.  Ray of Frost cantrip damage (cold).

Rudo raises his axe and barges straight through the thicket to chop savagely at the remaining goblin. The commotion startles the goblin into movement, though, giving him just barely enough time to roll out of the way of the attack. The head of the axe sinks into the dirt mere inches from the goblin's terrified face.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
00:05, Today: Rudo rolled 12 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 7.  Greataxe attack.

Burgess charges into the thicket after Rudo, leaping onto the goblin. His fangs sink into the soft flesh of the goblin's arm, and the force of his pounce bowls the goblin over onto the ground.

OOC: Melee bite attack by Burgess.
00:12, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Burgess, rolled 14 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 11.  Bite attack.
00:14, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Burgess, rolled 3 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 2.  Bite damage (piercing).
00:14, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 10 using 1d20-1 with rolls of 11.  Strength save to resist the mastiff's knock prone feature on successful bite attacks.

Zhaquadan charges across the stream to attempt to smash the remaining goblin.

OOC: Melee attack by Zhaquadan.
22:17, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 14 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 10.  Attempt to hit goblin.
22:18, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 9 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 7.  Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:44, Sun 06 Dec 2015.

The goblin struggles to regain his footing, but before he has time to even scramble to his knees Zhaquadan appears and plants the head of his warhammer squarely in the center of the goblin's chest. The creature's torso caves in with a gout of fine bloody mist, and with a rattling sigh, he dies.

Willow bends over the frosted corpse of the goblin in the back to retrieve her arrow.

"Okay, let's get these bodies hidden in the brush quickly. You guys sure made a lot of noise crashing through the bushes there. Who knows if any other goblins are around out here, or if they heard us inside the cave. Be ready."

The party finds themselves standing in a small clearing on the east side of the stream, where the briar thickets have been hollowed out to form a lookout post or blind. Wooden planks flatten out the briars and provide room for guards to lie hidden and watch the area. Unfortunately for the two dead goblins now lying there, though, lounging and sleeping on duty did not prove to be the most effective way of using the lookout to deter actual intruders.

The party works together to quickly drag the two goblin corpses into the thickets up against the steep rocky wall of the hill. Then they line up against the wall and prepare to enter the cave. No other goblins seem to have noticed the commotion of the skirmish with the sentries.

However, the cavern entrance looms black and silent just up ahead, potentially concealing any number of lurking dangers.

"Once we get inside, I won't be able to see very well. I don't want to give away our position, but I'm going to get a torch ready in case we have to fight. That is, unless one of you magical types happens to have a spell that can make light."

Willow stares at Zhaquadan as he frets and fidgets, clearly unsure of whether he should cast his Light spell.

"If you're going to give us some magical light," she says, "then I recommend putting it on something we can keep hidden. Goblins can see in the dark, so if we go stomping through their cave with a bright light then they'll see us a mile away, and just pepper us with arrows from the darkness. I can follow Rudo blindly until it's time to fight."

She holds up the troll's claw dangling from the leather thong around her neck. "Here. Light this thing up. I can keep it in my belt pouch, where the goblins won't see it, until I need it."

Zhaquadan mutters an evocation softly and touches the claw imbuing it with a white light.  He stands back with a slight smile of satisfaction.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:00, Sun 13 Dec 2015.

"Excellent. Thank you." Willow tucks the now-glowing troll claw into her belt pouch, sealing it tightly to prevent any light from escaping. Then she kneels down beside Burgess and whispers some more words into his ear. He sits back obediently, just outside the entrance to the cave.

"I think we're ready now. Rudo, lead the way. And try to be quiet."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:58, Mon 14 Dec 2015.

Rudo grips the handle of his greataxe and begins inching his way forward into the mouth of the cave. The rest of the party follows, weapons in hand. Darkness envelops them as they pass into the dank subterranean interior.

As each adventurer's sight grows accustomed to the dim light, they begin to look around. A single main passage climbs steeply upward, the stream plunging and splashing down its west side. The echoing roar of the water is nearly deafening here. Just inside the cave mouth, branching off the main passage to the right, a few uneven stone steps lead up into a small, dank chamber. Then, about 25 feet ahead, a shadowy side passage leads left across the other side of the stream. The floor of the passage appears to be choked with stone rubble.

Rudo steps up beside the stone steps and peers into the chamber to the right. Savage snarls and the sounds of rattling chains greet the group's ears as two wolves leap into a frenzy, chained up just inside the opening. Each wolf's chain leads to an iron rod driven into the base of a nearby stalagmite.

Rudo steps back. "We've got to shut those wolves up, fast. They'll let the whole forest know we're here!"

"Any ideas?" Willow asks. "We could just charge in there and kill the wolves to silence them, but that would make even more noise."

She looks over the group quickly. "Does anyone here have any experience calming animals? I mean, Burgess is a good dog so he listens to me, but taming wild animals is not my specialty. I usually just hunt them."

Zhaquadan shakes his head no.

Steamknuckle strokes his beard for a moment, thinking. "Those wolves are probably so aggressive only because they're hungry. I imagine the goblins don't feed them too often. If we offered some food, then it might make it easier to calm them down. It might even win them over to our side...since they'll probably prefer the master who gives them the most food."

He trails off in thought for another moment. "We could either give them some of our rations, or...I suppose those goblins we just killed outside don't need their flesh any more. We could carve off a haunch of fresh goblin and toss it to the wolves to distract them."

"Finally, grandpa's mind comes back to him. That's the best idea I've heard all day."

Rudo grips his axe and stomps outside into the briar thicket where the goblin bodies were dumped. The rest of the group, waiting just inside the cave entrance, listens as the sounds of rustling branches drift in, followed by a sharp, meaty thunk. Rudo then returns clutching a bleeding goblin arm, still adorned with dirty leather armbands and a hooked bone bracer.

He hands the arm to Willow. "Here, Kitten. You're the beast lady. You do the honors."

Willow scowls at Rudo for a moment, then turns and creeps up the stairs toward the wolf cavern with the bloody goblin arm dangling from her hand. The wolves snap and snarl at her, straining at the chains clasped around their necks. She crouches down and holds the arm out toward the wolves.

"Hey..." she says in a soothing tone. "Do you want this? Mmmmm, yummy yummy..."

OOC: Attempting to calm down the wolves and win their trust.
09:24, Wed 16 Dec: Willow rolled 10 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 8.  Animal Handling.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:45, Mon 21 Dec 2015.

The party follows close behind Willow, ready to put down the wolves should her attempts to calm them fail. But the wolves grow dramatically more quiet as the tangy scent of goblin blood reaches their nostrils. They stare ravenously at the arm held out by Willow, growling deep in their throats, drooling with hunger.

The light is faint, but this close to the main cavern entrance, it is still bright enough for even Willow to clearly see. The room stretches back about 25 feet, narrowing to a steep fissure at the far end. The bottom of the fissure is choked with stone rubble and what appears to be small heaps of goblin refuse: bones, tattered hides, broken weapons, and the like. From there, the fissure climbs upward out of sight into the back of the cavern, where a faint, flickering orange light descends from its unseen terminus. The stale stench of animals fills the cave.

Suddenly, the air in the cavern grows still, and the wolves stop growling. A third wolf, larger than the others, peers around from behind the great stalagmite to which they are all chained. It sniffs the air, edging forward toward Willow's outstretched arm, baring its fangs.

Willow tosses the goblin arm to the wolves. They descend on it and proceed to devour it in apparent contentment. They don't seem to even notice the party standing there any more.

"Okay. That seemed to work. What now?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Wed 16 Dec 2015.

"Let's go up the wolf tunnel,  they may not be expecting anything to come from that way. "

"Good idea," Willow says. "Although it looks pretty steep and rocky back there. It might be hard for all of us to climb up. Someone should go up and scout it out first."

She looks over the rest of the party. "And, I guess that would have to be me. You guys have heavy armor on, and I'm a halfway decent climber. That is, unless anyone else has a better idea?"

"I'm the best climber here, but you're right. Ain't no being sneaky in this heavy chainmail."

The party moves past the wolves, hungrily devouring the remnants of the dead goblin's arm, and into the interior of the cavern chamber. They gather at the base of the natural stone chute at the far end of the room.

Willow maneuvers through the rubble and trash at the base of the fissure, picking her way toward the bottom of the steep incline. Orange light flickers against her face as she turns and looks back at the party.

"Someone must be up there, with a fire," she whispers. "I'll just climb up and see what I can see, then come right back down. Watch my back."

Willow turns and begins deftly maneuvering up the chute. She is small and light, and a skilled climber, so she has no trouble ascending most of the way. But then, about two-thirds of the way up, she places her foot on a loose rock. She slips, and begins to slide back down the sheer incline.

Scrabbling desperately with her hands, she manages to catch a handhold before falling. But she is left dangling and unstable about twenty feet up off the cavern floor.

OOC: Attempting to climb up the fissure to scout out whatever's at the top.
As per the rules for "Climbing, Swimming, and Crawling" (PHB p.182), speed is reduced by half when climbing. So for each 12 feet climbed (Willow's base speed being 25 feet), a separate check must be made. Check DCs and outcomes were taken from the Starter Set adventure book.
13:58, Fri 18 Dec: Secret Roll: Willow rolled 21 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 19.  Athletics.
14:10, Fri 18 Dec: Secret Roll: Willow rolled 14 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 12.  Athletics.
14:10, Fri 18 Dec: Secret Roll: Willow rolled 6 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 4.  Athletics.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Mon 21 Dec 2015.

Zhaquadan positions himself to catch Willow while motioning for her to attempt to climb down.

Willow hangs from her precarious handhold and looks down. She shakes her head sharply at Zhaquadan, then turns to continue climbing. Swinging her legs up to catch a more sturdy foothold, she manages to regain her balance and continue steadily upward until she reaches the top.

To the observers below, her vaguely seen form is cloaked in shadow as she blots out the flickering light coming from above. She seems to rest quietly at the ledge atop the stone chute, examining the unseen contents of the cavern beyond. She remains motionless there for a few minutes.

OOC: Attempting to complete the final portion of the climb.
21:55, Today: Willow rolled 11 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 9.  Athletics, to climb the final 8 feet.

Finally, Willow silently begins to climb back down. She picks her way down with ease, and in a moment is standing safely on the cavern floor with her comrades.

"The light is indeed coming from a fire," she reports, speaking quickly in a low voice. "It's burning in a pit in the middle of a large cavern, about twice as big as this one. There were a couple of large stalagmites blocking my view, but I could see the fire pit clearly, and two goblins were sitting around it, eating supper. They definitely didn't see me; it looked like they weren't paying much attention to anything. I saw one other entrance, on the north side of the room: couldn't really see where it went 'cause of the stalagmite, but my guess is it leads to the source of that stream. I could hear water coming from that direction.

"On the other side, south, lots of supplies, sacks, crates, were piled up against the cave wall. Looks like most of their booty from robbing travelers back down on the road. Then, against the far wall, east wall, I saw some more supply containers, and a bedroll."

She scans the party in a quick cycle, looking into each of their eyes in turn. Her expression is as serious as ever. "This is the bad news. Laying down on the bedroll, I'm pretty sure it was a bugbear. Basically the biggest, strongest, meanest kind of goblin there is. Looked like he was asleep, but you never know with those sneaky bastards. Next to him was a wolf: a big one. Bigger than any of the ones down here. Looked like his pet."

Willow takes a deep breath and gathers herself. "So here's the thing. If we could all climb up that crack, then we could probably gather for a major ambush pretty easily in the shadows behind those stalagmites. There's a nice open area that none of the goblins can see very well in the corner there, right next to the top of the climb. That might be the best move, since they are really oblivious, and don't seem to be expecting anything to come in from that direction."

OOC: Climbing back down.
22:07, Sun 20 Dec: Willow rolled 19 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 17.  Athletics, to climb down the first 12 feet.
22:07, Sun 20 Dec: Willow rolled 21 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 19.  Athletics, to climb down the next 12 feet.
22:07, Sun 20 Dec: Willow rolled 14 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 12.  Athletics, to climb the rest of the way down.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:32, Tue 22 Dec 2015.

Rudo silently grips the handle of his axe, nodding his approval of Willow's suggestion with a twinkle of bloodlust in his eye.

"But," Willow continues, "I did not see either Gundren or his escort anywhere up there. Which means they must be somewhere else in the cave. And even if we do get up there and quietly kill all the goblins, who knows how many others might be sitting just out of view in the next room. And worst of all, there's the climb: it's not so bad, but it's long, and one mistake and you're done. I mean, I'm sure you saw I almost fell myself. And I'm a pretty experienced climber.

So yeah, it's risky. If we can stay hidden, then maybe it might be best to just work our way up the main path. I mean, we're sure to run into guards that way, but with any luck we can take them out quietly, and then we don't have to worry about anything sneaking up on us from behind.

What do the rest of you think?"

"We're here to rescue the good guys," Steamknuckle says resolutely. "We have to find them first. We can't risk their lives just trying to clear out one room. If the goblins up there see us coming and a fight breaks out, then the whole cave might hear the commotion. I say we keep looking and keep quiet until we absolutely have to fight."

Rudo scoffs. "Grandpa's only saying that 'cause he's scared of heights. Can't blame you, though. I mean, just look at those saggy arms. You wouldn't make it ten feet before you fell and broke your neck."

Steamknuckle rounds on Rudo, scowling in anger. "Now I've had just about enough of your bullying! You can make whatever thuggish choices you like, but don't drag me through the mud just because I advocate doing the right thing. You only want to climb up there and kill that bugbear so you can steal his stolen treasure for yourself!"

The gnome stands his ground before the dwarf, fists clenched, quivering with indignation.

Before Rudo can respond, Willow interrupts. "Be quiet, you two!" she hisses. "You'll get us all killed with your bickering. We're all on the same side here, so both of you, shut up."

She turns to Rudo. "Now. No more comments on anyone else's vote. Just tell us what yours is."

"Well," Rudo says, smiling smugly at Steamknuckle, "I am in favor of killing everything that moves in this cavern. Except for Rockseeker and Hallwinter, of course, once we find them. So I really don't care where we go first.

But...we're not leaving until we've cleaned out that room up there. Up there is the whole reason why this little side mission was worth our while in the first place. If you think I'll let that go, you're mad."

"Okay." Willow turns to Zhaquadan. "And what are your thoughts on this?"

"I think we should continue down the main path.   The climb is to risky. "

"Okay. I agree. Let's get moving."

The party moves back outside the kennel cavern. The wolves are now lounging in contentment, having picked the goblin's arm mostly clean by now. Each of them gnaws quietly on its own separated bone, biting off the few remaining shreds of tendon and flesh still dangling from the bone. They completely ignore the group as they walk past.

Back out in the main tunnel, the adventurers line up in their previous marching order. Rudo takes the lead, gripping his axe as he slowly begins to creep up the main tunnel alongside the splashing stream. The rest follow in silence.

Suddenly Rudo stops, bringing the entire line to a halt. He looks up, apparently scanning the ceiling of the tunnel ahead as it bends off to the right up the steeply rising passage. The cavern ceiling vaults up more than twenty feet here, but it's unclear exactly what he's looking at. The rest of the group, trailing behind Rudo, cannot see that far around the bend.

After looking for a moment, he steps back and whispers something to Willow. With the echoing sound of the stream filling the cavern, nobody else can hear what he says.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

After listening to Rudo's whispered report, Willow turns and relays the same information to Steamknuckle. The gnome nods and then turns back to whisper to Zhaquadan.

"They say there's a bridge crossing over the stream just up ahead, and there's a goblin guard standing on the bridge. He hasn't noticed us yet, but if we keep moving up then he might. The bridge is about twenty feet up, so it would be a hard climb for Willow to get up there, but she might be able to do it. Might be better to just shoot him down though, but we don't know if there are any others just off the bridge who might see him fall."

Steamknuckle then glances across the stream at the rubble-strewn passage leading off to the west. "Then there's that path. Might be worth scouting out, but who knows what could be that way, either. What do you think we should do?"

After Zhaquadan stands around thinking of a response for the better part of a minute, Willow steps back to interrupt the conversation. "We don't have time to think forever about this," she whispers. "This is the main passageway of the goblin lair. They might come through here any minute. Let's scout out the side passage there: it looks like they don't use it much, with all that rubble on the floor. It's less likely we'll run into trouble if we go that way.

Steamknuckle nods. "I can send Peas up there to scout out the path. I can see through her eyes, so we'll know what we're up against."

With a glance, Steamknuckle directs his tiny owl familiar toward the darkened path branching off to the west of the main tunnel. She leaps from his shoulder and flies away, across the stream and into the darkness of the side passage.

While Peas is gone, Steamknuckle remains perfectly still, in a sort of trance. He doesn't seem to notice any of his own surroundings while he is concentrating.

The party waits in tense silence for a few minutes, until finally the owl comes fluttering out of the dark passageway into which she had previously disappeared. She alights on Steamknuckle's shoulder, nuzzling gently against his ear.

Steamknuckle opens his eyes, blinking a bit. He looks around at his companions, huddled around him in the darkness of the cavern tunnel.

"The left path leads upward," he reports, "up a couple of steep rock faces, with a lot of loose rubble lying around. I'm pretty sure the goblins don't use that passageway much. It's not nearly as steep as the crack in the back of the wolf cave, so we could all climb up it without much trouble. But it looks pretty unstable. I'm not sure it would hold all our weight.

"At the top, the passage hits a T-intersection. To the right it curves around and heads over to the bridge just up ahead. Peas snuck over and peeked out across the bridge, and sure enough, there was indeed a goblin sentry hiding up there. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to anything, though. I think we could surprise him if we wanted to.

"Then to the left, there's a large cavern; looked like a big living chamber. I counted five goblins there, sitting around a cook fire waiting for lunch. It looked like there were some stairs leading up to a ledge above the chamber, but I couldn't make out anything up there, since the air was pretty hazy with the smoke from the fire. I didn't want to risk Peas getting seen by moving deeper into the room to check it out. So there could be anything up there."

Steamknuckle looks around at the rest of the group, scanning their faces once more. "Which way do you guys think we should go?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Wed 30 Dec 2015.

This message was deleted by the player at 15:30, Wed 30 Dec 2015.

"I think we should take out the two on the bridge and then head to the living quarters. "

"I agree," Willow says. "We should eliminate any solitary threats before we take on the main group.

"The only problem is, the bridge is twenty feet up and I can't see a thing in this darkness. I can't shoot the sentry down, and how am I going to climb up in the dark without him knowing?

"If we do keep going up the main passage, then we'll either need to just sneak under the bridge without the goblin seeing, or you'll have to take him out yourselves without my help."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:58, Wed 30 Dec 2015.

"I could give Mudskipper here one of my javelins, and we could both spear him at the same time. Between the two of us we ought to be able to take down a single goblin pretty easy."

Rudo looks over at Zhaquadan. "You do know how to toss a javelin, right, Mudskipper?"

Steamknuckle interjects. "Don't forget about me. My spells can do a lot of damage from down here too."

Rudo rolls his eyes. "Sure, I'll give you that, grandpa. But I'm pretty sure we don't want to be lighting up the whole cave with your flashy magic. Do you even have any spells that don't make light?"

Steamknuckle thinks for a moment. "Well, I could put him to sleep...but then I'd be all out of my most powerful magic, and I'd need to rest for a while to recover it. Might be best to save that for the bigger group."

"Unfortunately I am unfamiliar with Javelins but I can throw my axe.   I think we may just end up making him angry. "

"Lets go down the left path,  climb up and go to the right to get on top of the bridge and take the one on the bridge in melee. "

"Now we're talkin'," Rudo says. "As my brother was fond of saying, ranged combat is for elves and milk drinkers. The best way to deal with a dirty goblin is an axe to the face."

"I have to agree on this one. It's too risky to go up the middle. We just need to be really careful not to alert the goblins in the living quarters, and then hope none of them are walking the corridor once we get up there."

Willow turns to Steamknuckle. "You said that the passage looked unstable?"

"Yes," Steamknuckle replies. "Peas can see very well in the dark, so I got a good look at it through her eyes. The passage is pretty short, with a flat ledge between two steep slopes. The slopes look easy enough to scramble up, but the ledge was very rocky and loose-looking. I'm not sure how much weight it can hold."

"Okay, let's go check it out. Just remember to be quiet."

The group moves on, creeping a short distance up the main passage before crossing the stream to the side tunnel on the west. As they step over the shallow falling water, those with darkvision take a moment to glance further up the main tunnel. Sure enough, in the shadows of the ceiling to the north, they can just make out the dim shape of a rickety bridge of wood and rope crossing over the passage, connecting two tunnels 20 feet above the stream. Beyond that the main passage continues up another set of uneven steps, bending eastward out of sight.

Standing on the west end of the bridge is a bored-looking goblin. He is leaning back against the stone wall of the upper tunnel mouth, facing slightly away from the party, apparently absorbed in his own thoughts. He does not seem to notice them sneaking across the stream just a short distance below him.

The party moves quietly into the side tunnel. Its floor is strewn with rubble, apparently eroded from the loose rocky slope rising up before them. Just as Steamknuckle described, a narrow flat ledge of loose stones rests between two steeper escarpments. At the top of the upper escarpment, a faint, flickering light illuminates another tunnel about 20-30 feet up.

Zhaquadan studies the cave carefully looking for a good way up or any weak points to avoid. Picking the most solid route up he begins to climb.

Steamknuckle moves up beside Zhaquadan and points out the ledge above the first steep slope. "There, be careful," he says. "Do you see? It looks loose. I'm not sure if it will hold your weight."

Zhaquadan examines the ledge carefully from below. Sure enough, upon closer inspection he sees that what previously resembled a solid shelf of rock now looks more like just a roughly flat mass of loose stones, jumbled into a precarious pile.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:01, Sat 02 Jan 2016.

"I guess we should go back and try to get the guard on the bridge from below."
Zhaquadan starts back down the hill to make his suggestion to the rest of the party.

"Wait a minute," Steamknuckle says. "We decided it's too risky to go that way. I mean, this way is risky too, but we're smart people. Can't we come up with a solution? Personally, I'd much rather figure out how to get up this way than take our chances in the dark against a monster that can see better than we can, and holds the high ground over us."

He examines the upward slope of the tunnel once more. "So the ledge looks unstable, right? But the slopes above and below it are pretty solid. So all we need to do is get past that one little section. What can we do?" He strokes his beard, thinking. "We could just deliberately collapse the ledge, to clear out the rock pile and get to the harder surface underneath. But no, that would make too much noise... Well, we've got ropes, right? If we could just get one person up to the top, then we could anchor one end of the rope up there, the other end down here, and then everyone else could just climb up past the ledge. Or we could just use the rope for added stability to try to skirt the edges of the rock pile on foot. Work smarter, not harder."

Steamknuckle's face then suddenly brightens with realization. "Oh yes, of course! How could I be so stupid. I have a spell. It creates an invisible, magical floating disk that we could use to just step right over the ledge."

"Awesome! Let's do that."

"Well..." Steamknuckle says, shrugging apologetically. "There's one thing. That's not an easy spell to cast. It would take quite a bit out of me, and I wouldn't really be able to cast any more of my stronger spells after that, at least not until I had some time to sit down and study my spellbook again.

"Alternatively, I could set up a ritual to cast that spell, and it would go a lot easier on me. But...that would take a good ten minutes."

"Great thinking.  Minutes we may have, definitely not hours."

"I agree," Willow says. "Let's take our time, and do this carefully. As long as you don't make too much noise or light, I don't think any goblins will be passing through here in the next ten minutes."

Steamknuckle nods, then unshoulders his pack and gets to work. Kneeling at the bottom of the lower slope, he begins chanting a low incantation while weaving intricate patterns in the air with his pewter rod. His eyes are closed as he focuses completely on the spell.

Rudo moves to the open mouth of the side tunnel, peering around the corner to look up at the goblin on the bridge. Then he settles back to keep watch from the shadows. Willow huddles at the base of the lower slope, keeping her eyes on the faint flicker of ambient firelight coming from the top of the tunnel. Zhaquadan stands guard over the defenseless gnome as he chants his quiet ritual.

Minutes pass, and there is no sign of goblins. The party waits in tense silence as Steamknuckle's spell finally comes to a close. He opens his eyes.

Then, the gnome stands and gathers up his pack. Without a word, he confidently climbs up the lower slope of the tunnel, looks back down on the rest of the group, and then unshoulders his pack to toss it out over the precarious rock pile. It lands firmly in midair about three feet above the surface of the ledge.

Steamknuckle speaks quietly. "The disk is three feet in diameter, about one inch thick. You'll have to climb up onto it, but it will not slip or move under your weight. It will easily hold the weight of each of you and your gear, as long as you only stand on it one at a time. From there, you can easily step over the ledge and onto the slope."

Then, as if to demonstrate, Steamknuckle reaches out to grasp the edge of the invisible plane of force, and hoists himself up onto it next to his pack. He then picks up his pack to slip it back on, walks a couple of feet over thin air, and then hops over to the firm upper slope of the tunnel. He looks back down on the rest of the group expectantly.

Zhaquadan follows suit, tossing his pack up from the same location ands climbs up to meet Steamknuckle.

One by one the party climbs up over the floating magical disk, using it to bypass the unstable ledge to reach the upper slope of the tunnel. Willow, although nearly blind in the darkness, manages to traverse the disk fairly easily with a bit of help from Rudo, who climbs up last. After a moment the group is gathered safely in the upper mouth of the tunnel.

To the left, a large natural cavern opens up, littered with stone rubble and filthy straw sleeping mats. The cavern appears to be divided roughly in half by a ten-foot-high escarpment, with a steep natural staircase leading from the lower portion to the upper ledge. Only the very edge of the upper section is visible from where the party currently stands.

Near the base of the staircase, five goblins sit huddled around a cooking fire, seemingly unaware of the party as they converse in their own guttural language. The air is hazy with smoke, and pungent from the smell of poorly cured hides and unwashed goblins.

To the right, the tunnel curves off into darkness.

"They're right there," Rudo whispers, gripping the handle of his axe. "Let's just go take 'em all out."

"Stick to the plan!" Willow whispers back. "We take out the bridge guard first, so he doesn't sneak up on us from behind. Then we come back and take care of these ones."

"Either way is risky," Steamknuckle whispers. "If we go right first, then what if the bridge guard sees us coming and raises the alarm? Then we have five goblins at our back, rather than just one. And besides, they might be holding Gundren somewhere in that cave. If we go in there first, then at least we have the element of surprise and we might be able to get to him before they can finish him off. That is, if he's even in there. It's all a gamble."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:43, Fri 15 Jan 2016.

"That's right, it's a gamble. So what we need to do is stack the odds as much as possible. One goblin is easier to take out than five. Five goblins are easier than six. We can take one out quietly."

"Come on, make up your minds!" Rudo growls.

Steamknuckle turns to Zhaquadan. "What do you think we should do?"

"Stick to the plan, go to the bridge first, quietly."

"Yes, I suppose that would be the smartest move."

"Well, shut up and get on with it, then!"

The party quietly assembles in marching order, with Rudo leading the way. They begin to creep along the dark tunnel as it curves around to the east. After a moment a faint ambient light appears, most likely the daylight shining up from the cavern mouth far below, and Rudo motions the group to a stop. He leans out past the final bend and peers around it. He then leans back, turns back to the group, and gives an affirmative nod. It would seem that the goblin guard is still standing in the same place at the near end of the bridge.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:04, Sat 16 Jan 2016.

Rudo quietly draws a javelin from the bundle at his belt, then looks at Zhaquadan and motions him forward with another nod in the direction of the bridge. Without waiting, he then turns and creeps past the bend to get a clear shot at the goblin.

As he does so, his heavy chain mail armor clinks, and his boots scrape loudly against the rough stone floor of the tunnel. The rest of the group can't see the goblin from where they stand, but Rudo's reaction tells them all they need to know. "Shit," is all he says.

OOC: Attempting to sneak into position unnoticed to throw a javelin at the goblin. Rolling with disadvantage due to wearing heavy armor.
15:46, Today: Rudo rolled 7 using 2d20, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 7,18.  Stealth, to get into position for a ranged sneak attack on the goblin.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:21, Sat 16 Jan 2016.

OOC: Combat ensues. Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
18	Willow
16	Rudo
12	Steamknuckle
7	Zhaquadan
4	Goblin
3	Peas

Realizing that the goblin has seen Rudo, Willow springs into action to take him out before he can raise the alarm. She slides around Rudo, drawing her shortbow and nocking an arrow in a single smooth motion. She then peers into the darkness and fires at the spot where she thinks the goblin is most likely standing.

The arrow sails harmlessly past the goblin, clinking against the far wall of the cavern and falling away into the passage below.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
16:27, Today: Willow rolled 6 using 2d20+5, dropping the highest dice only with rolls of 9,1.  Shortbow attack, with disadvantage due to the darkness.

Rudo quickly recovers his composure and flings his javelin toward the goblin with all his might. However, the goblin reacts just as fast, ducking and raising his hide shield to deflect the javelin harmlessly away. It bounces to the side and falls end over end off the bridge, splashing into the stream below.

Baring his teeth with rage, Rudo rips out his greataxe and prepares to charge.

OOC: Ranged attack with javelin.
16:36, Today: Rudo rolled 7 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 2.  Javelin attack.

Steamknuckle squeezes up between Rudo and Willow in the middle of the tunnel, muttering a low phrase while weaving his hands in an intricate series of gestures. He then raises his right hand toward the goblin and a beam of pale blue light streaks out from his open palm. The beam strikes the goblin squarely in the chest. The goblin staggers slightly, gasping for breath under the freezing impact.

OOC: Ranged attack with Ray of Frost cantrip.
16:44, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 16 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 11.  Ray of Frost cantrip attack.
16:50, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 3 using 1d8 with rolls of 3.  Ray of Frost cantrip damage (cold).

Zhaquadan moves with swift determination to smite his foe with his hammer.


OOC: 18:06, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 21 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 17.  Attempt to hit goblin.
18:07, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 4 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 2.  Hammer damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:14, Sat 16 Jan 2016.

Zhaquadan barges through the cluster of would-be heroes, warhammer in hand. The goblin's eyes fill with panic as the dwarf charges him.

Still reeling from the freezing blast of Steamknuckle's spell, the goblin struggles to protect himself from Zhaquadan's onslaught, but fails to raise his shield in time. The weighty head of the dwarf's warhammer sinks into the side of the goblin's head with a soft thunk, like a boot slipping into a marshy muck of wet leaves.

The goblin falls down dead on the weathered boards of the plank bridge, blood gushing in spurts from the gaping hole in his head.

"You fool!" Rudo snarls. "He was mine!"

"You had your chance," Steamknuckle replies angrily, "and you missed. Come back with your complaints and posturing when you manage to hit the broad side of a barn."

Rudo rounds on Steamknuckle, towering over him. "And what about you, gnome? I thought we agreed to leave the flashy magic outside the cave. You might as well have rang a dinner bell for all these goblins with that blasted light show of yours!"

"Both of you, stop it!" Willow hisses. "I swear, you're like children! Shut your mouths before your bratty bickering gets us all killed!"

Zhaquadan quickly searches the goblin and says "we should head back to the lit area quietly and see if we can take out a few of them from a distance and finish them off where Willow can see better."
Zhaquadan gets his throwing axe ready while keeping his hammer accessible as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:42, Sat 16 Jan 2016.

"Yes, but first let's drag this goblin corpse a little farther back into the tunnel, so any passing goblins on the other side won't see him laying here dripping blood down into the water."

Zhaquadan quickly searches the goblin corpse, and finds nothing but the usual worthless set of gear: stinking furs and boiled leather armor, hide shield and chipped iron scimitar. This one also has a small bundle of four short, crude throwing spears, roughly hewn from thicket branches and hardened by fire. He estimates they would be worth about as much as a few sticks of firewood.

Rudo and Zhaquadan then work together to quickly drag the goblin's body off the bridge and into the shadows of the tunnel. The whole time, Rudo grumbles and casts dark glances toward Steamknuckle, who doesn't seem to notice as he absent-mindedly reviews his incantations and spell components in preparation for the upcoming encounter.

Finally the group is ready. They creep back down the tunnel toward the open cavern, and gather near its entrance.

"Okay," Willow whispers. "I'll take the one furthest to the left. Rudo, you get the one on the right, Zhaquadan the one closest to us. Steamknuckle, try to zap one of the ones in the back."

"Don't forget I have a spell that can put at least some of them to sleep."

"Yes, that's right... Okay, try to put as many of them to sleep as possible. Then we'll take out whoever's left standing, with the same targets I just said: me left, Rudo right, Zhaquadan middle."

Steamknuckle nods and squeezes forward to peek into the chamber. The five goblins are still sitting around the fire, oblivious to the party's presence, waiting for something to cook while spitting out words of a conversation in their ugly language.

The upper ledge to the left is still obscured by smoke and shadow, but the group can see a little deeper into it from where they now stand. A large stalagmite pokes up from the floor of the ledge just above the party. However, there are no signs of anything else within sight up there. It's unclear exactly how far back into the shadows the upper cavern stretches, but the space feels large, and the shadows could potentially be hiding anything.

Steamknuckle pauses for a moment, then draws the pewter rod from his belt pouch. He begins muttering something low under his breath while tracing patterns in the air with the rod. In an instant, the three goblins farthest away from the party slump backwards to the ground, unconscious. The two remaining ones look back and forth between each other and their fallen comrades in dumbfounded confusion.

OOC: Casting Sleep, centered on the farthest goblin.
11:20, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 27 using 5d8 with rolls of 1,8,6,4,8.  Total HP affected by Sleep spell.

Just as the group is about to finish off the two remaining goblins, a harsh, high-pitched voice screeches from the hidden shadows of the upper chamber. "Truce, or this human dies!" Everyone looks up.

Fearing for the safety of the goblins' captive, Willow waves off the party's follow-up attack. Rudo scowls, but lowers his javelin. The two remaining goblins finally seem to notice the party and scamper to their feet, drawing weapons and placing themselves between the intruders and their fallen allies.

A larger, fatter goblin appears from the shadows of the upper chamber. He shuffles forward into view, dragging something large and heavy behind him. He is wearing a brown leather headband over greasy black curls, and carries a loaded wooden crossbow in his right hand; in his left, he clutches the ragged tunic of his prisoner, an old-looking human male with long, dirty, silver-blond hair and beard. The human is securely bound hand and foot, and looks like he's taken quite a beating, apparently lacking the strength to stand on his own.

The fat goblin drags the human by his collar to the lip of the high ledge, holding him out over the edge as if to drop him. By the look of him, the prisoner might not survive the ten-foot fall.

OOC: Combat has technically ensued, but everyone has passed their first turn to hear what the goblin has to say. It is now Zhaquadan's turn. It's up to you if you want to allow the goblin to speak, or take your turn and proceed to open combat.

Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
18	Peas
15	Goblins
7	Steamknuckle
6	Willow
3	Rudo
1	Zhaquadan

Zhaquadan pauses to listen to what the goblin has to say.

"I am Yeemik," the fat goblin screeches. "I do not know who you are, but surely you are here to kill Klarg, yes?"

"We don't know who Klarg is," Willow responds. "We're here for our allies, who you waylaid on the road south of here. A dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker, and a human named Sildar Hallwinter. Hand them over to us, and we will leave peacefully."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Tue 19 Jan 2016.

The goblin Yeemik pauses for a moment, chewing his lip. "Let us strike a bargain," he finally says. "I have your human here. The dwarf is hidden elsewhere, in a safe place. I will return them to you...if you kill Klarg for me." The goblin smiles. "Bring me his head, and your friends will be yours, along with safe passage back to the road."

"Who is Klarg? The bugbear?"

"Yes," Yeemik replies eagerly. "The big hairy one. He sleeps on the other side of the water. He is mean, and stupid, and will lead us to death. Better he should die. I will be the new boss here, and I will take us away from the road. The goblins listen to me. We will not bother you paleskins any more. Klarg is your enemy, not us."

The human prisoner struggles weakly to lift his head and speak. "Do not...trust him," he mumbles. "He...lies." Blood dribbles from the prisoner's lips as he speaks, and he breaks into a fit of hacking coughs.

Yeemik kicks the human captive. "Shut up!" he screeches. "You are mine now. Only if your friends do as I say, then you are allowed to talk." Yeemik looks up at the party with a stern expression. "Bring me Klarg's head, or I will bring you his." He kicks his prisoner one more time for good measure.

Rudo leans in toward the rest of the group and whispers, "I hate him. Please, let me kill him." He frowns menacingly as his knuckles whiten around the grip of his greataxe.

"Whatever we do, we have to decide fast," Steamknuckle whispers. "That sleep spell only lasts about a minute. After that, we've got six goblins to deal with, not just three."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:09, Tue 19 Jan 2016.

"Our obligation is to Sildar," Willow whispers. "We can't just charge them. He'll kill him if we do that!"

She turns to Zhaquadan. "You, healer. Can you restore that captive's strength to him? Or should we just trust the goblin and take his deal?"

Using a low tone but loud enough for his nearby friends to hear Zhaquadan says "Rudo right,  Steamknuckle left, Willow take Yeemik" and casts healing word on Sildar.
21:06, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 9 using 1d4+6 with rolls of 3.  Healing Word.

As Zhaquadan begins to cast his spell, Yeemik's eyes grow wide with fear. He flinches back and raises his arm in a superstitious gesture, shielding his face from whatever curse he imagines coming from the dwarf's sorcery. The other goblins gape in amazement.

Capitalizing on the confusion, Steamknuckle mutters a low word under his breath. In an instant Peas darts from his shoulder, flapping up through the air to swoop onto Yeemik. The goblin shrieks as the owl flutters in his face and claws at his eyes with her tiny talons.

She then flies off into the shadows of the upper cavern.

OOC: Flying to Yeemik, performing the Help action, then flying away.
The Help action (PHB p.192) is targeted at assisting Willow's next ranged attack.

After fighting off the owl, Yeemik sees that nothing terrible happened from Zhaquadan's spell and quickly regains his composure. Snarling with rage, he shoves Sildar over the edge of the stone embankment. The bound captive tumbles roughly down the slope, thudding and smacking against the rock on the way down, and lands in a groaning heap at the base of the stone staircase. Although heavily wounded, he is still alive and conscious, thanks to Zhaquadan's healing.

Yeemik then raises his crossbow and fires wildly toward the party. The bolt misses everyone by a margin of several feet, flying off into the pile of rubble on the north end of the cavern.

OOC: Shoving Sildar down the slope, followed by ranged attack with light crossbow.
10:25, Today: Sildar rolled 6 using 1d6 with rolls of 6.  Falling damage (bludgeoning).
10:21, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Yeemik, rolled 6 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 2.  Light crossbow attack.

The two conscious goblins on the cavern floor recover from their stupor, and charge the party with weapons swinging.

The first goblin lunges furiously at Zhaquadan with his scimitar. Still recovering from the concentration of casting his healing spell, the dwarf fails to raise his shield in time, and the blade drives a deep bloody gouge into the meat of his right shoulder.

The second goblin hefts a thick iron mace at Rudo. The blow lands against his arm, but glances off his sturdy chain mail, leaving little more than a nasty bruise.

OOC: Melee attack with scimitar on Zhaquadan.
10:46, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 20 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 16.  Scimitar attack.
10:56, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 7 using 1d6+2 with rolls of 5.  Scimitar damage (slashing).

Melee attack with mace on Rudo.
10:48, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 18 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 17.  Mace attack.
10:57, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Goblin, rolled 1 using 1d6-1 with rolls of 2.  Mace damage (bludgeoning).

Steamknuckle furiously unleashes a pale blue beam of frost magic from his upraised palm, aimed at the goblin attacking Zhaquadan.

The goblin ducks beneath the beam. It strikes the stone wall behind him, leaving a crackling patch of ice.

OOC: Ranged attack with Ray of Frost cantrip.
11:12, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 8 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 3.  Ray of Frost cantrip attack.

Willow deftly nocks an arrow in her shortbow, aims at Yeemik, and fires.

The arrow strikes the goblin squarely in the gut. He staggers backward, grunting in pain, but remains on his feet. A thin trail of blood begins to dribble from his mouth.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
11:19, Today: Willow rolled 23 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 18.  Shortbow attack.
11:20, Today: Willow rolled 9 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 6.  Shortbow damage (piercing).

Rudo howls with berserk fury and swings his greataxe at the mace-wielding goblin in a wide, heaving arc. The blade collides heavily with the goblin's shield arm, cleaving clean through it and shearing the hide shield in two without losing any momentum. The blade then continues straight through the goblin's leather-clad torso, coming out the other side to neatly sever his other arm on the tail end of its arc.

A fine spray of blood coats the area around the goblin as his two halves fall wetly to the cavern floor.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
11:24, Today: Rudo rolled 23 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 18.  Greataxe attack.
11:24, Today: Rudo rolled 15 using 1d12+3 with rolls of 12.  Greataxe damage (slashing).

Zhaquadan takes a swing at the goblin in front of him and then attempts to retreat defensively behind his friends.

12:09, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 15 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 11.  To hit goblin right in front of him.
12:09, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 4 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 2.  Hammer damage.

Zhaquadan's warhammer crashes into the goblin's upraised shield, crumpling its wooden upper rim to drive through the hide surface and connect squarely with the creature's chest. The goblin staggers backward with a breathless grunt. He coughs and gasps as he clutches at his battered chest, but remains on his feet.

Zhaquadan then backs away to seek shelter behind his unwounded comrades. As he does, the goblin simply watches warily, not daring to strike despite the vulnerability presented by the dwarf's hasty retreat. The goblin seems shaken and hollow-eyed, his face coated with the sprayed gore of his companion's nearby dismemberment moments earlier.

"Enough!" Yeemik shrieks. He clutches at the arrow lodged in his abdomen. Dark blood seeps out from the edges of the wound, staining his leather jerkin. "We yield. Please, do not hurt us, we are your humble servants." To demonstrate, he drops his crossbow and it clatters to the floor. "Spare us, and we will serve you. We will do whatever you ask. We will help you kill Klarg. We will tell you all of King Grol's secrets. Just please, have mercy."

As Yeemik speaks, the other goblin looks back and forth between him and the adventurers. The glassy shock of his eyes slowly gives way to panicked understanding, followed by eager agreement. When Yeemik drops his crossbow, the remaining goblin follows suit immediately, tossing his scimitar and shield to the ground.

Rudo points his axe at the surrendering goblin close to him. "You!" he barks. "Get on your knees! Now, or you're next!"

The goblin simply stares at Rudo in wide-eyed terror, then looks up at Yeemik, apparently unsure of how to respond to the dwarf's command.

Yeemik barks at his companion in the harsh syllables of their shared language. The other goblin then turns back to Rudo and nods, smiling, as he lowers himself to his knees. He holds his hands up to demonstrate his compliance.

Rudo looks back up at Yeemik. "Good." He grins. "Now tell your friend to lower his face to the ground. We need him to show us that he has surrendered completely."

Yeemik hacks up another guttural sentence in his native language, and the other goblin looks up fearfully at Rudo. The dwarf takes a menacing step forward, holding up his axe. The goblin then quickly prostrates himself, face down on his knees.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:19, Thu 21 Jan 2016.

"Very good," Rudo says. An odd energy seems to vibrate from him as he smirks up at Yeemik. "Now let us show you how we civilized people treat obedient goblins."

He turns back to the kneeling goblin and looks down on him. Then, without a word, he lifts his greataxe, raises it up over his head, and brings it down in a single huge, awful sweep. The goblin's head is struck cleanly off. His body slumps to the ground as his head rolls away, gouts of foul blood spurting from the bare stump of his neck.

Yeemik vomits.

"What are you doing?" Willow cries. "He surrendered!"

Rudo looks at Willow with a blank stare. Something hollow and wild rages behind his eyes. Then, still staring at her, he begins to walk toward the closest sleeping goblin.

"Don't you dare," Willow warns. "We need to tie them up, and interrogate them when they wake up. We don't know where Gundren is. We can't just execute all our bargaining chips!"

"They're goblins," Rudo barks bluntly. "They don't even speak Common. They're useless. He can answer all your questions." He jerks the head of his axe up toward Yeemik, presently on all fours on the upper ledge of the cavern, breathing heavily as thin tendrils of vomit drip from his mouth. "The rest are monsters. They need to die. What, are you going to give them a fair trial? These animals?"

Without waiting for a response, Rudo turns toward the sleeping goblin, raises his axe high above his head, and brings it crashing down on the goblin's neck. The creature's head is neatly severed. However, due to the goblin's prone position, the axe blade clangs loudly on the stone beneath him, reverberating throughout the cavern.

Rudo then calmly steps toward the next sleeping goblin, axe in hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:51, Sat 23 Jan 2016.

Willow turns toward Zhaquadan and Steamknuckle. "Do something!" she wails. "He's going to get us all killed with that noise!"

Zhaquadan says "Rudo please kill them quietly" as he moves into the room far from the entrance to attempt to tend to his wounds.  He asks Sildar "Are you ok?"

Willow stares at Zhaquadan incredulously. "Kill them quietly?" She looks away, a weary expression on her face. "I suppose we would have needed to kill them eventually anyway. But to just cut their heads off, while they lay there sleeping...I would not have expected a healer like you to tolerate such harshness."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Sun 24 Jan 2016.

Rudo pauses to listen to Willow, quietly wiping the blood from his greataxe as she speaks. He then puts the axe away and draws his dagger. "Good thinking, Mudskipper." The dagger is wrought from crude iron and bone, with an exotic-looking wavy blade. "It's better this way anyway," he says with a dark smile. "I took this off the corpse of a hobgoblin commander I killed in the Silver Marches. How fitting it should be used to cut more dirty goblin throats."

Rudo then proceeds to quietly and efficiently slit the throats of the two remaining sleeping goblins.

Steamknuckle silently shakes his head, watching Rudo work with a look of disgust on his face. Then he makes his way over to Zhaquadan. "Are you okay? It looks like you took a nasty cut on your shoulder."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:04, Sun 24 Jan 2016.

While Willow and Rudo exchange pleasantries, Zhaquadan makes his way deeper into the cavern, finding a quiet place to sit down and tend his wounds. Using his skills as a healer, he manages to clean the slash on his shoulder and stanch the blood flow. Then he turns his attention to Sildar.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:29, Sun 24 Jan 2016.

"I'm wounded pretty badly," Sildar says, in response to Zhaquadan's question. "But I can move. Just cut these ropes and give me a sword, and I'm your man."

Zhaquadan cuts Sildars bindings while saying "someone who is not Rudo should go up there and guard Yeemik".

Rudo smirks. "What's the matter? You haven't gone soft on me, have you?" He sits down by the fire and calmly begins wiping the blade of his dagger, as if he had just finished cleaning a handful of fish for tonight's dinner.

Willow removes a thick coil of hempen rope from her backpack, then heads up the stairs to lash Yeemik securely to the large stalagmite near the edge of the upper section. She binds his wrists and ankles tightly to prevent him from moving. "Stay calm and do exactly as you're told, and you might survive this," she mutters as she kneels beside the goblin. "You've seen what he's capable of."

As she ties Yeemik, Willow searches him and finds a small pouch containing a handful of coins. She pockets it to share with the party later.

Finally she stands, and pulls the magically illuminated troll's claw from her belt pouch. She holds it out in front of her, using it to scan the depths of the cavern's upper ledge. "It's empty up here," she calls down. "Goes back about twenty feet and that's it. Looks like they used it to hold Sildar, and not much else."

"We'd better hurry up and question the goblin," Steamknuckle urges. "Mr. Clock Tower here pretty much just rang a dinner gong for the whole cavern to hear. New guests might be arriving any minute now."

"Well said," Rudo mumbles without looking up from cleaning his weapons. "You should have been the team's jester."

"If anyone has any questions to ask this goblin, now is the time to come up here and ask them."

Willow turns to Yeemik. "Where is Gundren Rockseeker?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:05, Mon 25 Jan 2016.

Yeemik sags against the rough rope lashing him to the stalagmite at his back. Willow's arrow is still sticking out of his abdomen, surrounded by a fresh, dark bloodstain. He coughs weakly.

"Give me...water. Please," he rasps. "And pull this arrow from me, and clean the hole. I beg of you. Then I will tell you everything that I know."

Zhaquadan tends to the goblins needs and sets about attempting to get the whereabouts of Gundren from him.

As Zhaquadan tends to Yeemik, Sildar takes a moment to treat his own wounds while helping himself to a bite of roast venison from the goblins' cookfire. "These blasted monsters have been taunting me with this meat ever since they brought me here. My, how the mighty have fallen." He smiles with the kind of simple joy that only a free man can know.

After finishing his brief meal, Sildar then roots through the pile of fresh goblin corpses to pick out the best gear he can find with which to arm himself. He settles on the now-bisected goblin's mace, and a sturdy hide shield. "If only they hadn't taken my armor from me. I'm practically naked. I'd put on some of this dirty leather, if only these goblins weren't so bloody small."

After Zhaquadan finishes removing the arrow from Yeemik's belly and patching up the wound, the goblin turns to Willow and speaks. "The dwarf is gone. Klarg sent him to King Grol yesterday."

He sees the fire awakening in Willow's eyes as she hears this. "Do not try to follow them. They are surely at Cragmaw Castle by now. It is too strong there. There is nothing there but death for you. I am sorry, your friend is gone."

Willow struggles to maintain her composure. Her eyes brim with fury. "Why did Klarg send Gundren to Grol, but keep Sildar here?" she asks.

"A messenger came some days ago from Grol," Yeemik replies, "and told us that 'The Black Spider' had paid much gold to Cragmaw to capture the dwarf and bring him to the castle. The dwarf, and all his things. He had something they want. My guess is it was the map."

He looks down at Sildar, watching and listening to the conversation from beside the fire. "He did not ask for human. He does not care about human. So he was ours to keep."

Rudo speaks up. "Well, we tried. Boss went and got himself nicked by some bad people. Not much more we can do about that. Our job here is done, now let's go kill the bugbear, liberate his stuff, and be on our way to Phandalin to collect our pay for a job well done."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:43, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Willow turns and scowls down at Rudo. "A 'job well done?' So you're just going to leave Gundren in the hands of a pack of murderous goblins?"

"Listen Kitten," Rudo says wearily, staring into the fire. "I do what I'm paid to do. If I'd been paid to protect Rockseeker, then I'd be tearing that castle down stone by stone with my bare hands right now. Better yet, I'd have been traveling with him, and he wouldn't have been captured by a handful of puny goblins in the first place!" He glances over at Sildar with disdain. "But...sadly, I was not paid to do this. I was paid to guard a wagon from point A to point B. Which, by the way, I am right now dishonoring my professional duty by not doing, in order to join you on this damn fool's frolic."

He finally turns his head to look directly up at Willow. "When I see an opportunity, I take it. That's why I'm here. To hopefully make a little bit more on the side while also helping a fellow dwarf out - to a reasonable extent. But aside from this, I do what I'm paid to do, and that's it. You want me to put my ass on the line just to rescue some idiot? Show me a chest full of gold, and then we'll talk about storming that castle."
This message was last updated by the player at 22:09, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

"I see," Willow replies coldly. "We don't have the resources to take on a whole castle full of goblins right now anyway. We'll return to Phandalin, report what's happened, and then figure out a way to rescue Gundren."

She stares Rudo down with a look of frosty disgust. "I suppose once we get there, you can just collect your ten gold and be on your way. To the nearest miserable pit of an alehouse no doubt, or wherever it is you faithless mercenaries like to bury yourselves. Or perhaps if you're lucky, the magistrate will have some coin to pay you to join the rescue effort. Then your appetite for goblin blood won't have to go unsatisfied, and you can rest easy that you'll be lining your pockets for it in the bargain."
This message was last updated by the player at 22:09, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

Sildar jumps into the conversation before it can escalate any further. "It just so happens that I was traveling to Phandalin on official business for the Lords' Alliance. I can't speak for the townmaster there, but I myself do have access to some Alliance funds for just this sort of purpose."

He looks around at each of the party members in turn. "First of all, I want to thank you all sincerely for coming here and rescuing me. I know your purpose was actually to find Gundren Rockseeker, but without your intervention I fear I would have been dead within a day. For this, you have my deepest gratitude.

"That being said, this country is dangerous for a man alone with no armor. I will need an escort back to Phandalin. For this service, I will gladly pay each of you five gold pieces.

"However, it would be very remiss of me to just scuttle off to safety while leaving this hornet's nest of goblins behind. As an agent of the Lords' Alliance, it is my duty to see to the eradication of threats such as this. You've already killed many of the goblins here, so perhaps that would be enough to knock some sense into their heads to stay away from the roads for a while. But I doubt it. So sadly, honor compels me to ask another favor of you. If you will join me in wiping out this entire cave of goblins, including their bugbear master, then I will pay you each an addendum of eight additional gold pieces.

"Then, once we return to Phandalin, I will see to it that Alliance funds are put to use to muster a force to clear out Cragmaw Castle. Of course, I will look to the lot of you first to fulfill this task, assuming you're interested in the job."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:50, Fri 29 Jan 2016.

"Of course we're interested, if gold is involved." Rudo stands up, brandishing his axe. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's kill this one, go clear out the rest of his brothers, and be on our way!"

"Now hold on just a moment, you thug. We've got a live hostage. Assuming we don't promise to cut his head off as soon as he's done talking, then presumably he can share some more details about what we can expect to find in the rest of this cave. Doesn't anyone have any more questions to ask him?"

Steamknuckle sighs. "Then there's the matter of our wounds. Zhaquadan took a bad cut on his shoulder." He turns to his old friend. "How are you doing? Can you go on?"

"No I'm afraid I will need a good rest before I can take on any more goblins or worse. I do wholly intend to help put an end to their villainy and find Rockseeker but not in my current state. "
Turning to Yeemik Zhaquadan asks "How many others are in this cave?   Where is the map? Where is this castle?   How many goblins are there?  If I am pleased with your answers I may let you live so speak up. "

Terrified, Yeemik stammers out broken responses to Zhaquadan's questions, requiring several reminders along the way to keep track of all the things that were asked.

"Let's see...you've killed all of mine, so there should be two...then Golb and Yashik, and the whelp...the new one on the bridge...then Klarg's fools...not sure if the raiders are back...yes, I'd count, eh...eight or twelve more.

"But you got this far, so you must have taken some of them already, no? Two guards posted outside, one on the bridge, three at the pools, and two with Klarg. Plus Klarg himself, and his wolves. Three wolves down and one up, Ripper, his pet...the biggest, meanest one.

"The map? You mean, the dwarf's map? Oh yes, that is why Yeemik thinks they took him in the first place. Sadly, it is gone. Sent to Grol with the dwarf, never to see again.

"The castle is a day's journey, twenty miles perhaps, northeast of here. Deep in the woods. Klarg has maps. But do not go there, I beg of you, unless you wish to die. Many goblins live there. They will surely kill you, and boil the flesh from your bones.

"Now please, I have told you all you have asked. Please, spare me. Let me go, and I swear to you, I will run into the woods and never return. I will never harm another paleskin again."

Zhaquadan turns to his party and asks "What do you guys want to do with him? "

"You know what I think we should do."

Willow ignores Rudo. "He did cooperate, so it would pain me to take his life in light of the good faith he's shown. But, on the other hand...he is a goblin, and cannot be trusted."

She turns to look down on Sildar. "Master Hallwinter. You had to endure captivity under this creature. You know better than any of us whether or not he deserves mercy. I'll leave the decision to you, if you wish."

Without hesitation, Sildar replies, "the goblin dies."

His expression is hard. "He did yield, and he did cooperate with honest answers. But I'm not inclined to credit him much for what obviously amounts to common goblin cowardice. He saw certain death, and gambled to avoid it. That earns him nothing but a quicker death."

Hearing this, Yeemik begins to whimper. "Please. I am sorry. Klarg is cruel, he forces us to steal from paleskins on the road. Please. Don't hurt Yeemik. I beg you. I am sorry. Please." His wailing begins to steadily rise in intensity and volume.

Willow leans forward, placing a hand on Yeemik's shoulder as she speaks gently. "Do not fear. My friend is just angry. I will see to it that you are treated as you deserve." She stares at the goblin, a flicker of warmth showing in her normally cold brown eyes. He smiles weakly.

"Now, you must do exactly as I say. Close your eyes." Yeemik hesitates for a moment, then slowly, warily, begins to close his eyes.

In an instant, Willow deftly draws a tiny filleting knife from her belt and cuts Yeemik's throat.

His eyes fly open in horrified surprise, and his jaw works as he tries to say something, or scream perhaps. All that comes out is a sickening gurgling noise. In a moment, he is dead.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:08, Mon 01 Feb 2016.

"Unfortunate but necessary.  We have more pressing concerns right now however, I am hurt badly and so is Sildar and I'm sure Steamknuckle could use some down time too.  We don't want to let the other goblins get away but our ability to do something about them is greatly diminished.   I believe we should find a place to hide until we can recover and post a lookout to track the rest of the goblins outside this cave.  Any ideas?"

"I didn't think you had it in you, Kitten." Rudo smirks at Willow with what might be a newfound sense of respect.

The coldness returns to Willow's eyes. "I've put down much worse than that before. I believe in fairness, but his actions spoke for themselves. He got a cleaner death than he probably deserved."

She turns to Zhaquadan. "I agree. We need to rest. But where exactly? It seems like the other goblins might not have heard Rudo's idiotic clanging, so maybe it would be safe to just hole up in this room for a little while. But eventually, the others are bound to make their way here. It looks like this is their main living area.

"On the other hand, it might be safer for us to just leave the cave now, and find a campsite somewhere outside. But then when the goblins come back to this room and find their friends' blood and body parts smeared all over the place, they'll raise the alarm and be ready for our return. Either way is risky. It's too bad we can't take advantage of the element of surprise and just finish the job now."

"How about this," Steamknuckle says. "We stay here in this room, but we carry the goblin corpses up there onto the ledge and stack them up in the back, out of sight. Including the one from the bridge that we left out there. Then we post a watch while the rest of us take a break. That way, when the other goblins first get back to this room, they won't see anything amiss at first glance, and we'll get a chance to pick them off before they escape to warn the others.

"It might not give us as much time to rest as it would if we left the cave, but at least then we'd have a chance of maintaining our surprise advantage."

"Yeah, let's do that. I'll stand watch. I don't need to rest, it's still barely past lunchtime." Rudo begins picking up stray parts of the goblin he cleaved in half, and dragging them up the stairs.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:38, Mon 01 Feb 2016.

"I'll join you. I'm not hurt at all, and I'm better with a bow."

After a long and weary pause watching his comrades move body parts Zhaquadan says "Ok I will hide up on the ledge but when the time comes to fight I will need to rely on you guys to do the heavy lifting while I throw things from up there. "  Zhaquadan proceeds to prepare a sleeping area near the dead bodies and prays before attempting to rest.

"No problem," Willow replies. "Get some rest. We've got you covered."

Rudo and Willow work together to quickly drag all the goblin corpses up the stairs to the upper section of the large cavern, laying them out in a dark corner out of sight. They then strip all the corpses of their gear and stack it in a neat pile next to the bodies.

Meanwhile, Zhaquadan, Steamknuckle and Sildar set up sleeping areas in the shadows of the upper ledge. Steamknuckle brings out his spellbook to study, while Zhaquadan and Sildar eat a bite of food before laying down to sleep.

Before long, the cavern grows quiet as each adventurer settles down. Rudo and Willow take up their watch positions near the large stalagmite at the edge of the small cliff, ranged weapons ready. The embers of the fire below gradually begin to die down.

After a while, Steamknuckle puts away his spellbook and lays down to rest, alongside his already-sleeping companions. Rudo and Willow sit and quietly watch the cavern entrance from their hiding spots with the disciplined patience of hunters. Hours pass.

Suddenly, Zhaquadan is awakened by the gentle jostle of Willow's hand on his shoulder. She leans over him, her finger silently laid across her lips. Her head then jerks back toward the entrance to the cavern below. Looking over, Zhaquadan sees Rudo crouched behind the stalagmite, javelin held ready.

A goblin's harsh voice comes echoing down the tunnel, from somewhere around the rope bridge, the dwarf surmises. Another goblin responds. From the sound of their voices, they seem to be walking down the tunnel toward the cavern where the group is hiding.

Willow quickly shuffles over to Steamknuckle and Sildar, quietly waking them as well.

OOC: The party has been resting for more than one hour, but definitely less than eight. So everyone is entitled to the benefits of a short rest, but not yet a long one (PHB p.186).

Assuming Rudo and Willow are able to handle the approaching goblins themselves, then anyone who stays back out of combat will not have their rest interrupted and can continue toward completing their eight hours. But taking any combat-related action will definitely interrupt the rest, and then that character will have to start over from scratch to receive the benefits of a long rest.

Feeling slightly refreshed Zhaquadan readies his throwing axe while keeping his shield and hammer close by and takes a position allowing him to be reasonably hidden but still in line of sight of the entrance.


16:38, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 6 using 1d8 with rolls of 6.  Recovery after short rest.

Steamknuckle and Sildar remain huddled in the back of the cave as Zhaquadan, Willow and Rudo clump together in waiting behind the large stalagmite. Their weapons are held ready as they peer stealthily around the natural stone pillar.

A moment passes before scraping footsteps and harsh, barking laughter announce the arrival of two goblins from the nearby tunnel. They enter the dim firelight of the cavern and stop short, falling instantly silent and looking around in confusion. They are obviously disturbed by the absence of the large group of goblins they expected to find there.

OOC: Combat ensues. Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
22	Willow
16	Sildar
13	Steamknuckle
12	Rudo
10	Goblins
9	Zhaquadan
4	Peas

The goblins miss their first turn, since they're surprised.

Willow opens fire on the first goblin she sees.

Her arrow zips through the air and strikes the goblin in the chest, knocking him backward against the cavern wall. He clutches the arrow with a sharp gasp, staggering, but remains on his feet.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
21:41, Today: Willow rolled 19 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 9,14.  Shortbow attack, with advantage due to being hidden.
21:42, Today: Willow rolled 5 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 2.  Shortbow damage (piercing).

Rudo steps out from behind the stalagmite and heaves his javelin at the chest of the second goblin.

The javelin spears the goblin neatly through the ribs, impaling him like a toothpick through cheese. The goblin clatters to the ground in a dead, bloody heap.

OOC: Ranged attack with javelin.
21:47, Today: Rudo rolled 17 using 2d20+5, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 12,8.  Javelin attack, with advantage due to being hidden.
21:49, Today: Rudo rolled 8 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 5.  Javelin damage (piercing).

Zhaquadan makes a feeble attempt to throw his axe at the still standing goblin.

OOC: Ranged Handaxe Attack
06:56, Today: Zhaquadan Mudsmither rolled 8 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 4.  Attempt to hit goblin.

Zhaquadan's handaxe misses the wounded goblin by a wide margin, clanging against the stone wall of the cavern and bouncing away.

The goblin looks up at the party as he clutches the bleeding arrow wound in his chest. His eyes are full of fear.

Willow nocks another arrow in her bow and fires. This time, though, the goblin sees her, and raises his hide shield just barely in time to catch the arrow. It sinks into the shield with a sharp thunk.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
10:26, Today: Willow rolled 14 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 9.  Shortbow attack.

Rudo rips out his greataxe and charges down the steep embankment, swinging the axe in a vicious downward arc aimed at the center of the goblin's skull. As he reaches the bottom, though, he stumbles a bit on a loose stone, and his swing sails slightly too far. The goblin nimbly ducks aside as the head of the axe sinks harmlessly into the straw bedroll behind him.

OOC: Melee attack with greataxe.
10:37, Today: Rudo rolled 13 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 8.  Greataxe attack.

Seeing that his companions are having trouble finishing off the remaining goblin, Steamknuckle rushes forward to blast him with his freezing attack spell. The frigid beam of pale blue light courses out from Steamknuckle's upraised palm, striking the goblin directly between his gaping, terrified eyes.

The goblin's head instantly freezes into a solid block of brittle frozen flesh. As he tumbles backward, his head strikes against the stone floor of the cavern and shatters into countless tiny shards. Where a living head sat atop his neck just moments before, nothing remains but a crackling icy stump.

OOC: Ranged attack with Ray of Frost cantrip.
10:47, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 25 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 20.  Ray of Frost cantrip attack.
10:49, Today: Steamknuckle rolled 7 using 2d8 with rolls of 4,3.  Ray of Frost cantrip damage (cold), rolled twice due to critical hit.

Rudo stares down at the goblin's frozen corpse for a moment with a look of shocked fury on his face. Then he rips his axe out of the straw mat and stalks over to sit beside the fire. His scowl is silent and venomous.

"Okay then," Willow says. "Let's clean this mess up and move these bodies up here with the rest of them. We don't know how long it will be before even more of their friends show up looking for these ones."

She turns to the others. "How do you all feel? How much more time do you think you'll need to rest before we can get to clearing out the rest of this cave?"

"Its going to be a while, several more hours at least" Zhaquadan says while retrieving his axe.  He promptly returns to his bedroll.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Steamknuckle agrees. "I need to get the equivalent of a full night's rest to recharge my magical energies. And poor Sildar here has suffered some pretty intense wounds; he'll need at least eight hours of good sleep to return to fighting form."

"Very well then. We'll keep watch on the entrance for a few more hours, while you guys finish up your rest. But let's not forget what we told Stumpy back at the road: if we're not back by sunrise tomorrow morning, then he's moving on to Phandalin without us. So we can't stay here all night."

Willow stares off into the distance for a moment, thinking. "I'd say we've been resting in this cave for about three or four hours now. By my count, it's probably still light outside, but it must be almost dinner time by now. So we've still got a good amount of time to get refreshed and clean up in here, and be back in time for breakfast.

"Unless, of course, the rest of the goblins start to wonder where their friends went and come looking for them. I guess that wouldn't be so bad. Make things a bit easier if we don't have to chase them all down."

After a few minutes Rudo finishes his sulk, and joins Willow in dragging the new goblin bodies up the stairs to join their pile of deceased allies. However, he continues grumbling and casting dark glances toward Steamknuckle the whole time.

The rest of the party lays back down on their bedrolls, and tries their best to relax and get some sleep.

Some time passes, perhaps an hour or more. The three resting adventurers lay soundly asleep in the darkness at the back of the cavern. Rudo and Willow sit patiently behind the large stalagmite, watching the entrance tunnel from the shadows.

Suddenly, Willow perks up. She leans over toward Rudo, mouthing something, then gently points in the direction of the tunnel. Rudo nods, then attempts to casually lean out past the edge of the stalagmite to get a better look. As he does so, his heavy chainmail armor clinks. Willow grimaces in disbelief.

Below them, in the shadows of the tunnel just outside the radius of firelight, something begins to skitter off.

OOC: Combat ensues. Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
17	Rudo
16	Creature
4	Willow

Rudo leaps to his feet and flings his javelin with lightning speed into the darkness of the tunnel, where he sees the retreating shadow of whatever was sneaking there.

The javelin streaks through the air to pierce the escaping shadow dead center. It tumbles to the tunnel floor in an unmoving heap.

OOC: Ranged attack with javelin.
15:39, Today: Rudo rolled 20 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 15.  Javelin attack.
15:39, Today: Rudo rolled 7 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 4.  Javelin damage (piercing).

Willow smirks. "Hmm, maybe you should ditch that gaudy axe of yours, and just stick with the javelins."

Rudo returns Willow's smirk with his most winning smile. "No way, Kitten. It's been a bad day, sure...but you did see this axe hack straight through three layers of armored goblin in one swing, right? Come on. You ain't never seen anything like that before, and you know it. You can't honestly say you'd trade that for the best javelin thrower in the world."

Ignoring Rudo, but with a hint of a playful smile on her face, Willow descends the stairs to investigate the corpse just produced by his well-aimed javelin. Rudo follows. After a moment they return, dragging a very small goblin corpse up the stairs to the upper ledge of the cavern.

The others are briefly aroused from sleep by the commotion.

"Everything's fine," Willow reassures her resting companions. "We caught this little one skulking around in the tunnel out there, but he was apparently alone. Rudo speared him before he could get away. We checked down the tunnel all the way to the bridge, and there's no sign of any others."

She looks down at the tiny goblin corpse. "It's kind of sad, actually. This one is so small...he must be just a child."

"The only thing sad about this one is that I can't brag about killing him," Rudo replies. "But killing a baby goblin? It's no sweat off my back. I mean, look at him. He's got a sword, a shield, same stinky leather armor as his ma and pa over there." He gestures toward the bloody pile of goblin corpses in the corner. "You can only feel so sad about killing something small, when that small thing is trying its best to sneak up on you and cut your throat."

"True," Willow agrees. She quickly strips the goblin of its gear, adding it to the growing pile, then tosses the body onto the corpse heap.

"Problem solved. Back to bed with the rest of you." She returns to her watch position behind the stalagmite, where Rudo is already sitting and staring at the tunnel entrance.

The resting party members settle back to sleep. Rudo and Willow keep their watch for a few more uneventful hours, during which nothing else of interest happens. Eventually, the sleepers awaken, one by one, stretching out the fatigue of their sleep. Each one finds himself fully refreshed and recuperated by the break.

The adventurers quickly equip their gear, sit down to eat a bite of food to gather their strength, and then prepare to continue their mission.

Willow turns to Sildar. "How do you feel? How are your wounds?"

"I'm fine," Sildar replies. "I thank you again for all your help. I'm still a bit bruised and sore, but that sleep did me much good. I can feel the strength in my sword arm returning already." As if in demonstration, he swings his looted goblin mace through the air. The motion is swift and graceful, and hints at a veteran expertise and gnarled strength in defiance of his advanced age.

"Very good," Steamknuckle says. "My magical powers are fully refreshed, as are Zhaquadan's, I presume. So let's get this over with. By my count, we've got ten dead goblins stacked up here, with two more just outside the cave entrance, and four back at the road. So there can't be more than three or four left. Plus the bugbear, and his wolf pet."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:09, Tue 23 Feb 2016.

"I've actually been thinking about this," Rudo says. "I mean, I've had a lot of time to just sit here and think while you guys were getting your beauty rest.

"So we know the bugbear's still out there somewhere, plus the wolf, and he's probably got a couple of his closest henchmen at his side still too. It's just been nagging me...why have they stayed away? Why haven't they all attacked us here yet?

"A cave like this, rough woods, highwayman operation, it's a dangerous life. They live like soldiers; they have to. They've got defenses, watches, sentry and patrol duty...they follow orders. So they go, what, eight or nine hours, no word from their barracks, no watch changes, and now three of them have trickled back here and not come back.

"So someone, somewhere, has got to know by now that something's going on. Posts have been abandoned for hours now. I mean, they've got to know. So don't be surprised if we walk out there into an ambush. Or we get to that bugbear's cave and they've all lit out of here through the back door hours ago, while we were sitting here taking our little cat nap. Or we clear out the cave, then step outside to an army of goblins from that castle, and they've got us surrounded."

Sildar responds in a low, even tone. "Or, they're just stupid, lazy goblins, who don't think twice about their friends skipping guard duty, and who prefer to stay away from their bugbear boss as much as possible out of fear.

"They see their buddy's post abandoned, so what do they do? Probably nothing for a good hour or two, since they want to get away with sleeping on the job themselves. Then after a while, maybe they start to think something's wrong, but do they go straight to the boss? I doubt it. Goblins are cowardly creatures by nature, and bugbears are mean and stupid. If I'm a goblin, I try to find my buddy and talk to him myself about why he's not on duty, before I get the boss involved. Not just to protect him, but to cover my own ass too.

"And the bugbear? Probably sleeping drunk in his own cave, waiting around for his raiders to come back with more tribute. I doubt he has the wherewithal to ever inspect his troops, or verify in person that they're at their post. If he did, then we would have heard from him by now.

"Your words are wise, my friend. You should always be prepared for the worst. But an army of goblins outside the cave, already? You overestimate the tactical prowess of your enemy. It would take goblins a week to muster a force like that. And that's with real hobgoblins whipping at their backs. Goblins alone, left to their own devices...never. They would scatter to the four winds before ever finding the discipline to organize themselves like that."

Rudo regards Sildar with a level stare. "We'll see, old man. Maybe you know what you're talking about. But the moment you underestimate your enemy is the moment he figures out how to rise above your expectations. Every soldier knows this."

"Well spoken, my friend. I agree, we should proceed with caution. But we should do it quickly, before they have any more chance to prepare for us."

"Yes. Let's go." Willow turns to Steamknuckle and Zhaquadan. "Shall we?"

"I agree.   Swift Prudence."  Zhaquadan begins to move out, ever vigilant.

The party gathers their equipment, leaving the large cavern behind with its unceremonious pile of goblin corpses rotting in the darkness. They line up in the usual marching order: Rudo, Willow, Steamknuckle and finally Zhaquadan, with Sildar tucked into the middle to accommodate both his blindness in the dark and lack of armor. Willow entreats Zhaquadan to reapply his light spell to her troll's claw, which she then tucks back into the opaque shelter of her belt pouch before proceeding.

Everyone draws their weapons and begins to quietly creep up the tunnel toward the bridge. Upon arriving there, they find no sign of activity. Only a dimly visible slick of gore on the plank surface of the bridge remains to indicate that a sentry ever stood there.

The group crosses the bridge with deliberate care. They reach the other side without event, finding themselves at the end of a short tunnel trailing off into darkness. Rudo steps forward, leading the party on.

After about twenty feet, the tunnel abruptly curves to the left and opens up into another large natural cavern. A wide shelf of rock leads up two large pools of water occupying the far half of the chamber. A narrow waterfall high in the eastern wall feeds the upper pool, which flows into the lower pool and then drains out the west end of the chamber, presumably to form the stream that flows out the cave mouth below. Low fieldstone walls serve as dams holding the water in.

Immediately to the group's left, a short tunnel leads down some stairs, bending back toward the stream and under the bridge they just crossed. To the right, one of the cavern's several natural stone pillars partly conceals a wide exit in the south wall.

The sound of the waterfall echoes through the cavern, making it difficult to hear. There are no signs of life to be seen.

Zhaquadan says "Our 'friends' are going to be to the right.  Be ready."

Willow turns to Steamknuckle. She has to lean close to him to be heard over the roar of the waterfall. The others lean closer to hear her as well. "Can you send your owl around to check things out in here? I just want to be sure there aren't any goblins hiding in the shadows. I'd do it myself, but I'm as blind as a bat in here."

"Of course." Steamknuckle turns to whisper a word to Peas, and in an instant she bounds off his shoulder to flutter away into the dark expanse of cavern. Those in the party with darkvision catch brief glimpses of her swooping across the wide chamber, scanning the dark places behind the pillars and across the pools. Neither she nor Steamknuckle, who stands still in concentration while Peas searches, show any indication of seeing anything out of the ordinary.

For a moment Peas disappears behind the pillar to the right, presumably into the wide passageway on the other side of it. A dim flicker of firelight spills out from the partly obscured entrance. After about a minute, she returns to silently flutter back down onto Steamknuckle's shoulder.

The old gnome opens his eyes. "The bugbear is in there. He's sleeping on a mat on the left side of the room as we come in, with his wolf beside him. There are also two goblins, sitting next to a fire pit in the middle of the room. It's another large cavern. It looks like they've stacked up their spoils from the road against the far wall. I saw a lot of sacks, crates, that sort of thing."

"Sounds like the room I saw when I climbed up the wall in the wolves' den," Willow says. "I guess that would mean the shortcut down to the front door would be on our right as we walk in. Keep an eye out for that. They might try to get away that way, if we can't take them out quickly enough."

She turns back to Steamknuckle. "What about this room we're in now? Did you see anything suspicious?"

"No, it looks empty. I did see some cups and plates on the floor over by the steps to the bugbear's room, but nobody's there. My guess is that those goblins who trickled in to the sleeping den were stationed here, and probably came back to find out why their shift change never showed up."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go skin us some bugbear!"

"Hold on," Willow cautions. "Let's be careful about this. We'll get our weapons ready, sneak up to the entrance, and then on my mark we all open fire to get the drop on them. Whoever's left we pick off before they can escape, or if they charge then we clean them up hand-to-hand."

She looks at Rudo. "I'll get the bugbear, you get the wolf. And give Sildar one of your javelins, so he can hit something from a distance too."

She scans the group. "The rest of you, take out those two goblins. Then help with the bugbear. Those things are big, so it might take a few hits to go down."

Rudo nods, handing Sildar a javelin before drawing one himself.

The party readies their ranged weapons and prepares to approach the passage to the next chamber. With a deep breath, Willow ducks forward and leads the way, bent over in a stealthy crouch. The rest of the group follows.

Crossing along the near wall to the right, they soon reach the entrance, and peek around the corner to look inside. A wide flight of natural stone steps leads up into a well-lit chamber. Sacks and crates of looted provisions are piled up against the far wall. To the right, the floor slopes down toward a darkened crevice largely obscured by thick stalagmites.

To the left, a small sleeping area curves off out of sight, with a bedroll visible just past the protruding lip of the cavern wall. A large, hairy bugbear lays asleep on the bedroll. He is fully clad in thick hide armor, with a large hide shield and menacing spiked morningstar on the ground beside him. A huge white wolf lounges lazily on the edge of the bedroll next to the bugbear, gnawing on a meaty bone of something.

In the middle of the cavern, the coals of a large fire smolder. Two goblins are seated beside the fire, one on either side, staring mindlessly into it. They are not looking toward the entrance to the cavern, and appear bored and sleepy. They don't seem to notice the party peeking around the edge of the wall.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:51, Sun 28 Feb 2016.

Willow pauses, examining the interior of the chamber carefully for a long moment. Then she ducks back out of view and turns to the rest of the party. Silently, she points at Zhaquadan, Steamknuckle and Sildar, then points to the ground where they're standing as if to indicate that they should stay there. Then she points at Rudo before beckoning him to follow her.

Silently, she turns and briskly glides across the bottom of the stone stairs in a stealthy crouch. She settles safely against the wall on the other side. The inhabitants of the cavern don't seem to have noticed her moving across the entrance.

Rudo follows, managing to remain surprisingly quiet even in his heavy chain mail armor. Again, the goblins don't seem to notice his passage. He readies his javelin beside Willow, whose bow is already nocked and drawn.

Zhaquadan stands ready with his throwing axe.

Zhaquadan, Steamknuckle and Sildar all move up to the edge of the passageway. Their weapons are ready. Willow looks over at them and nods.

In unison, everyone steps slightly out onto the wide stone stairs to take aim at their designated targets. However, as Zhaquadan places his feet on the steps, his toe catches a flat rock edge and he stumbles badly. He lurches to one knee, instinctively reaching out with his shield arm to steady himself, and the sturdy steel rim of his shield clatters loudly against the bare stone.

In an instant, the wolf and both goblins jerk to attention. They turn to look directly at the party standing in the entrance to their chamber.  The next instant, they're on their feet scrambling for weapons and shields.

In the same instant the bugbear awakens. He doesn't miss a beat, rolling deftly out of his bedroll and grasping his morningstar in a single smooth maneuver. His agility is astonishing for such a massive creature. Before the party has a chance to react and claim their surprise advantage, their enemies are on their feet and ready to fight.

OOC: Combat ensues. Initiative order:

Initiative Roll	Character
20	Rudo
20	Zhaquadan
18	Peas
17	Willow
10	Steamknuckle
7	Sildar
5	Wolf
4	Klarg
3	Goblins

In case you're interested, here's Zhaquadan's stealth fumble:
12:21, Fri 26 Feb: Secret Roll: Wizzrobe, on behalf of Zhaquadan Mudsmither, rolled 1 using 1d20 with rolls of 1.  Stealth.

However, he somewhat made up for it with an initiative crit:
00:37, Today: Wizzrobe, on behalf of Zhaquadan Mudsmither, rolled 20 using 1d20 with rolls of 20.  Initiative.