Well, should I just reverse course here, having gotten a somewhat better idea of our surroundings?

Yep and before the clean up crew comes out.

So, finally, what way will you take?

I don't know that we have a consensus. We could certainly head back down, at least, since I think most of our options are that way, but as for whether we're braving the courtyard or trying to go along the walls, I'm not really sure.

What are the choices in A B or C form?

In reply to Ronan (msg # 510):

A. Go down to the courtyard and cross it
B. Go down to the courtyard and move along the walls
C. ???

I thought there was another interior option?

If you could sketch out an initial map of the interior of the stockade, I'll pick up the cartography going forward.

Check this: https://imgur.com/a/itMOI4o  (for some reason I can't seem to embed it)

You are standing at the black part at the top of the image (the wall). 5 is where the mud patch is. At the bottom is the inner wall of the stockade, with the gatehouse.

Where did we kill the hobgob guards? From where do we hear the maybe ghouls?

1600th post. :)

In reply to Ronan (msg # 514):

That would be the black part at the top I mentioned for both of them, the former at the bottom of the western part, the latter in the eastern part into which you have not yet ventured.

So we are currently on top of the western outer gatehouse tower, correct. Does it look like we could move around the top of the outer wall southward to where it joins the inner wall? That way avoiding the thing in the courtyard and having to climb up the wall from the courtyard.

In reply to Bernhard (msg # 517):

Correct.
No, the wall to the sides is a sort of palisade with no walkway (even if that would be a somewhat questionable choice)

The answer is here:



Let's try to get this moving. Disguises (there's enough for a couple of you - the rest will have to figure out something), then through the courtyard, around the mud part with the creature, and into the gatehouse?

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 520):
Oops.
So the guards were just to the right of 2c?
And we heard "ghouls" to the right of 3?

Sure, Ronan will slather himself with some mud and lope along with the rest of them. Let's get a move on.

That was my thinking. If at least those in the lead are disguised along with Ronan's thrall we may be able to sneak in.

Did the hobgoblins we killed have any sort of uniform or similar equipment (helmets, insignia, or other)? We killed 6 correct?

It's that or try to scale the wall in full view of all of the guards in the inner gatehouse.

There are also all those crates we came across as we were chasing the hobgoblin and didn't check.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Sat 10 Sept 2022.

Woops, yeah, I totally forgot about the other hobgoblins.
These seem to be operating on familiarity with each other and a general sense of 'who else would be here out in the middle of nowhere' rather than a common uniform. Other than lots of skulls and bones and ears and other barbaric accessories.

So, I say we slip on some skulls and so on, look for a good chance to move very quickly past the courtyard.

Where is the parade ground on the map you linked to earlier? I take it the flagstone path would be accessed by slipping under the portcullis a second time and following this path would lead to the parade ground?

In reply to Ronan (msg # 525):

Yep.
The parade ground is to the south beyond the border of the map.

Let's see if we can cow these two goblins into surrendering by pouring into the room and threatening their lives in return for silence.

Agreed.

I'm willing to try it.

Running into some troubling stuff IRL atm. Apologies, will probably get a post up by Monday.