Rihala looked warily at the shelter.

     "You wanna call her out, or do you wanna go in?" she asked.

"Let's do the polite thing -- walk up to the door and knock. No telling what she might do if we startle her." Lureene took the comb out and unwrapped it from its linen, and held it up while she walked towards the shelter. A shiver ran down her spine in the colder air.

     Rihala nodded and stayed alert.

A few seconds after Lureene knocks on the front of the shelter, a ghostly whisper seems to reach her ears: Eeeenterrrr...

Or it just may have been the wind.

"Greetings", said Lureene. She followed the whispered invitation and entered, still holding the comb.

     Rihala kept her spear ready and followed Lureene inside, staying close.

As you step in, you can see that this home of sorts is sparsely furnished with chests, shelves, a table and a reclined chair, all old but of Elvin make. The air grows suddenly cold and a powerful feeling of dread grips you. A pale cold light flickers in the air, rapidly taking the form of a female Elf, her hair and robes waving in a spectral wind.

She might have been beautiful once, but her hateful expression twists her features now.

"Foolish mortals!" she snarls. "What do you want here? Do you not know it is death to seek me out?"

"We do not come seeking battle", said Lureene. "We seek to speak with you, about a certain spellbook." She held up the comb.

     Rihala lowered her spear and tried to look less threatening.

"Ah, a pretty! Yes, yes, Agatha likes pretties! the banshee replies. The silver comb floats up out of Lureene's hand.

"Seekers of knowledge," she continues. "Always a noble cause."

"There is only one spellbook that was ever in my possession--Bowgentle's Arcamandrium. It sat here in dust and disuse, in webs and neglect. Of what use had I for it? For a pretty did I trade it... a glittering silver crown. Alas, I cannot wear the crown, but I keep it hidden with all my other treasures."

"The last laugh is on me, though, for King Grol, that odorous bugbear in the ruins of Cragmaw Castle, will never read the book for Bowgentle wrote in code."

"I take it, then, that you would not be heartbroken should the gnoll come to a bad end, and the spellbook find other, gentler and more respectful hands?", said Lureene gently, with a smile.

     "If he couldn't read it, then why would this bugbear be so interested in the spellbook?  How did he know you even had it?" Rihala asked.

"What care have I for King Grol's fate? We must all pass from this mortal coil, but I would not be concerned for the hastening of his demise," the banshee replies to Lureene.

She seems to be quite entranced by the silver comb, turning it over and over in her hands. At one point, she tries to put it in her hair, but as soon as she lets go with her hands, it passes right through and falls to the floor. Seemingly unconcerned, she picks it up again.

"Grol did not know he couldn't read it, and even if he did, his arrogance is so great that he probably thought he could figure it out," Agatha answers Rihala. "How should I know how he knew of the book, though I daresay he knew of it the same way that you did."

The air suddenly grows even colder, and the banshee's red eyes seem to glow with fire.

"Go! You have given me a pretty, but I tire of this game. I wish to be alone now. Go!"

     Rihala reached out to Lureene, putting a hand on her shoulder and urging her backwards.

     "Yeah, let's go," she whispered.

Lureene bowed politely to the ghost. "Our thanks, my lady. You have been most helpful and gracious." Then she followed Rihala out of the hut.

You've heard tales that this Cragmaw Castle lies somewhere to the north, probably not more than a day or two, perhaps even closer. It's in ruins, though. It hasn't been inhabited for over a hundred years, except maybe by animals, squatters, and now goblins.

As they returned to collect their horses, Lureene was pensive. Finally she spoke. "Storm a castle and fight a bugbear king and his minions", she said. "I fancy that adventure, but by ourselves, are we equal to the task?"

Heading out by yourselves to 'storm' the castle may not be a good idea, but scouting the castle and/or liberating the book by bribery, negotiations or outright stealth might be viable options.

HINT: This is where you should meet up with the other two groups.

     "No, I wouldn't like our odds against a bugbear and his buddies, especially in a defensive position.  Shall we go for help?  The sister was pretty keen on getting this book, so maybe she could help us hire some assistance?  Unless you want to give this castle a look-see first, since we're already out here?" she suggested as she climbed back on her horse.

"I suppose it would not hurt to go see for ourselves what we are dealing with, and how many men we might need. It's a different matter if there are five goblins or there are fifty, after all."

     Rihala guided her horse around.  "Sounds good to me.  To the castle," she said.

The path Lureene and Rihala follow is not a well traveled one, being mostly an animal track. So it isn't until they near the castle that they detect any threats... but those are the goblins in the castle.

Still from the cover of the forest, you can see the ruins quite clearly, though the collapsed condition makes original architecture a bit difficult to distinguish. It appears as if it was originally seven towers, built rather closely together, though perhaps not all at the same time. The towers were then connected by walls, with parts of the inner area roofed over.

From where you are, there's a slight hill downward to where the next hill rises, which is the one the castle was built on.

What you find odd is that there appear to be no guards. Of course, there aren't really any walls or towers on which they could keep watch. And the obscurity of the location is probably the best security. You do spot a goblin passing across the openings or windows now and then, though you cannot detect any pattern to their movement.

"Well, that's interesting. I expected... more, I guess. Thank the Lady Firehair that there aren't, though." She examined the windows for a few moments, trying to see if she could distinguish between goblins and get a rough minimum count. "How many of them can there be in there, do you think?"

     Rihala watched carefully, trying to spot as many goblins as she could.

     "Not many, it seems, but looks could be deceiving.  Most of them are likely inside.  It's fairly well defended, and if we failed to sneak in, they could fend us off easily," she pointed out.

     "I could send up an illusion, see how they react?" she suggested.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Tue 13 Jan 2015.

Based loosely on what she can see of their movements, Rihala estimates there may be up to two dozen goblins in there, plus a leader. It's clear that someone other than a goblin is keeping them 'organized', however loosely that may be.

Keeping watch on the ruins as well as the surrounding area, both of you are able to spot a group of people approaching the ruins from the southwest. There are six or seven of them, and by their stealthy approach, they do not seem to be 'friends' of the goblins. But then a red-haired woman steps forward to 'parlay' with a group of 4 goblins that were on scout/watch duty.