"Droop? Is that your name?"

"Yes, Droop." The goblin looks around at the rest of the party, then back to Willow. "Please. Let Droop serve you. Do not leave me. I can be of service. But cannot go to Cragmaw. No. There is nothing there but pain and death."

Willow's face is stern. "We must go to Cragmaw Castle. There is something there we need. You can either lead us there, or face the forest on your own. Make your choice quickly. We are leaving."

The goblin whimpers, fidgeting back and forth. "Okay," he finally says. "I will lead you to Cragmaw. But you must protect me. Please. And do not make go inside, I beg. I will wait outside. Then I will serve you more, yes? After you are done with Cragmaw."

Willow smiles at Droop. "We will see. First lead us to the castle, no tricks, and then we'll talk about what happens after."

She turns to face the rest of the party. "What do you all think? Seems like a native guide might be about the best we could hope for here."

"Let's see what the little dragon can do for us.  Now that we have vastly exceeded our welcome we might as well see if he can help us find areas of this place that we could not."

Rudo smirks. "Finally, some sense. A moment ago you were ready to cut your losses and flee to the village." He turns to Droop, eyes narrowing. "Seems this dog may be of some use after all. How many more of you are hiding down here?" Rudo jabs his finger into Droop's chest. The goblin winces, shrinking away. "And where's the blasted treasury?"

Droop lets out a small, piteous yelp when Rudo pokes him. "We...we...we are the only ones." He cringes and looks down as Rudo crowds over him. "Just us, the bugbears and me, in this room." Then after a pause, "Unless...unless you mean the Redbrands. I do not know how many. Many. But surely you have killed most of them, yes?" The goblin trembles.

"How many bugbears?" Rudo snarls.

"Three! Three!" Droop squeaks. "Boss Mosk, with the eye, and Hrizir, and Khoth." With the last name he points toward the wall where the cornered bugbear stood just a moment ago. His eyes widen. The wall is now bare.

The party all whirls around in search of the missing bugbear. At that exact moment a surprised shriek comes from one of the Dendrars waiting out in the hallway. Shuffling shadows dance across the open doorway. The floor is now bare where the bugbear's crude morningstar was laid down in surrender just moments earlier.

It occurs to everyone that with the distraction of tending to Droop, the semicircle surrounding the bugbear dropped away, and everyone forgot to pay attention to their prisoner.

"No!" The Dendrar boy's voice booms from the hallway with surprising force, followed by a low, monstrous grunt.

OOC: Melee attack with shortsword on bugbear.

15:29, Today: Nars Dendrar rolled 16 using 1d20 with rolls of 16.  Initiative.
15:31, Today: Nars Dendrar rolled 16 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 14.  Shortsword attack.
15:32, Today: Nars Dendrar rolled 6 using 1d6 with rolls of 6.  Shortsword damage (piercing).
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Mon 19 July 2021.

The party rushes toward the doorway, weapons drawn. Before they can take two steps, the hallway shakes with a leonine roar of rage, followed immediately by a thundering crash of wood on stone. Dust shakes off the walls. A blood-curdling scream issues from one of the Dendrar women just outside the door.

Fearing the worst, Willow squeezes through the doorway first, followed shortly by Parchment and Rudo. Mirna Dendrar kneels, weeping shuddering sobs, over the limp form of her son sprawled across the bottom step of the stairwell. Her daughter Nilsa crouches a short distance down the hallway, sword drawn, eyes wide. Richard pants in fear just behind her.

The party glances up the stairs just in time to see the trailing wisps of fur on the bugbear's heels disappear into the blackness of the cavern above.

OOC: Melee attack with morningstar on Nars Dendrar.
15:42, Today: Wizzrobe, for the NPC Bugbear, rolled 9 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 5.  Morningstar attack.

Quick as a shadow, Parchment slips past everyone and slides up the stairs in pursuit of the bugbear. The dim lamplight glints on the blade of his cutlass as he passes. Then he too disappears into the blackness of the cavern like a drift of smoke.

A moment later, another deep, angry grunt echoes down from the stillness of the cavern.

OOC: Melee attack with cutlass.
16:04, Today: Parchment rolled 18 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 13.  Cutlass attack.
16:06, Today: Parchment rolled 4 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 1.  Cutlass damage (slashing).

Using Rogue "Cunning Action" (PHB p.96) to dash as a bonus action, to catch up with the bugbear despite its head start.

Steamknuckle rushes into the hallway, kneeling beside Mirna to inspect the fallen boy. The gnome smiles as Nars looks up at him, breathing hard.

A quick inspection reveals no wounds. Cracks and dents spread across the stone wall directly above the boy's head. "Gond smiles on you today, my young friend. Oh my..." Steamknuckle's fingers trail across the splintered concave impression in the wall. "An inch lower and this wall would have a new coat of paint."

After a brief glance at the boy, Willow charges up the stairs in pursuit of the bugbear. She drops her drawn swords to the stairs, then yanks the glowing troll's claw out of her belt pouch, slinging it by its leather thong around her neck. The swords clatter down behind her as she rips her bow from her back and reaches for an arrow to nock.

The instant she reaches the top of the stairs, Willow drops to one knee and fires her bow in a single smooth motion. The arrow glides through the air, missing Parchment by a hair, and tears into the upper back of the bugbear. It stumbles forward, bleeding now from multiple wounds, but continues loping away.

OOC: Ranged attack with shortbow.
16:23, Today: Willow rolled 15 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 8.  Shortbow attack.
16:24, Today: Willow rolled 5 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 2.  Shortbow damage (piercing).
This message was last edited by the player at 15:30, Tue 20 July 2021.

As Willow kneels to fire her bow, Burgess leaps past her into the darkness, sprinting to close the gap with the bugbear. He slides past the creature as it stumbles, whirling as his paws scrabble to a stop at the mouth of the exit tunnel to block its escape. His deep barks resound through the open cavern.

OOC: Using the Dash action to close the distance with the escaping bugbear.

Zhaquadan dashes toward the bugbear, weapon ready.

Rudo struggles to keep up with the pursuit. Puffing his way up the stairs, chainmail clinking, he curses as the rest of the party elbows their way past him.

He finally reaches the top. Seeing the bugbear a good distance ahead and still loping away, he drops his sword to the ground, slides a javelin from his belt, and heaves it.

Parchment ducks as the javelin flies past him. It catches the bugbear between two ribs with a whistling thunk. The creature emits a sound somewhere between a grunt and a whimper, staggering heavily.

OOC: Ranged attack with javelin.
14:14, Today: Rudo rolled 23 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 18.  Javelin attack.
14:15, Today: Rudo rolled 6 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 3.  Javelin damage (piercing).

The bugbear clutches at the spearhead in its back as it whirls around to face the party, coughing blood. Its desperate eyes dart between the advancing attackers.

"Please! Bugbear sorry! Spare bugbear, you swore! Did not mean to run! Bugbear scared!"

The creature drops its morningstar once again, then falls to its knees, hands outstetched in a gesture of compliance.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:21, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

The party quickly surrounds the bugbear, weapons ready. The bugbear's eyes dart nervously around. Its breath is ragged and strained, and thick blood slowly leaks from one corner of its mouth. Parchment kicks the morningstar aside.

Rudo bends to pick up his dropped longsword, then pushes his way to the front of the circle. The point of his blade comes to rest an inch from the bugbear's throat.

"Thank you for answering our questions," he says. "Now, you will get what you were promised.  We will...let you go." Rudo grins.

Before anyone can react, he barks, "...to hell!" and thrusts his sword hand forward. The blade moves like lightning as it pierces the bugbear's throat, sliding cleanly through the thick muscle of its neck to pierce its spine in one fluid motion. The bugbear gags as blood bursts from its mouth. Rudo twists the blade, jerking it backward with a sneer, and the bugbear falls forward onto its face.  A pool of blood quickly spreads beneath its lifeless body.

Zhaquadan heads back to the prisoners.

Willow stares down at the slain bugbear. Her expression is weary, but otherwise blank. Then she turns and follows Zhaquadan without a word. Burgess falls in beside her.

Rudo kneels and wipes the blood from his blade against the bugbear's fur. Then he stands, looking down at the creature one last time with an odd smirk on his face, before sheathing his sword and turning toward the stairs.

Meanwhile, Parchment waits patiently off to one side. After Rudo leaves, he quietly rifles through the bugbear's armor for any loot. Finding nothing of value, he follows the others, leaving the corpse to slowly drain itself of blood as the pool beneath it reaches the edge of the chasm, and the drip of its downward trickle begins to echo throughout the cavern.

Zhaquadan reaches the bottom of the stairs, followed shortly by the others. Steamknuckle looks up with a weak smile.

"The gods have been on our side today, friend." He turns to the boy, still lying shaken against the wall on the bottom step. "This young man's head narrowly avoided being pulped like an orange."

He looks back up at Zhaquadan. "Perhaps we've pressed our luck enough down here."

Rudo laughs tersely. "Oh, you whimpering old nursemaids...head back to town if you must, but I'm not leaving while there's still treasure to be found. The little charity case said he could show us where old Glasstaff keeps all of his best stuff."

He points to the barracks door, where the goblin stands tentatively looking out at the group. The small creature flinches and ducks back a bit at the sudden attention.

"Come on ladies, don't quit on me now. All we need to do is a little more mop-up. Then we can head back to the tavern and drown our wounds in ale."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:50, Mon 01 Aug 2022.