Sunday, April 8, 2012

Wednesday 4 July 1280, Midday (Mopping Up)

Gaven places down his spear and shield and takes off his helmet before slowly approaching Elsie. He speaks in as calm and comforting manner as he can with his arms spread wide, "It is ok Elsie, we have come from Fairbrook to rescue you. I am Gaven, an acolyte of Light, and these are my companions (introduced in turn). We know you came with Bill Barley and were attacked by goblins. Do not worry, we have defeated them all. Please, do not be afraid. Come with us, so we can take you back to your home."

Elsie seems terribly shaken up and cannot stop shivering, but she lifts her eyes to the cleric's face. Gaven says, "Abbot Cuthbert has given me this tonic to give to you. It will help settle your nerves." Gaven hands the tonic to Elsie.

With hands still trembling, it is hard for her to take the vial from him. But with Gaven's help she is able to drink it. Her shaking subsides, and her eyes soften from terror to a more controlled sadness. She still remains silent.

Physically, apart from being dirty and dehydrated, she appears unharmed.

Removing the rest of her bonds, Gaven helps her up, and re-equips himself. He stays close to Elsie in case she needs to be helped along.

Oloc is relieved to find Elsie alive. And with Gaven ensuring her comfort, the mage's attention turns to the clean-up. Speaking to the rest of the party in a soft voice, he says, "Let's bury what remains of Bill. It would be best that Elsie doesn't see what befell him. The goblin corpses can burn."

Oloc sets 'dirtbag' to the task of digging a grave for Bill in a suitable place away from the farmhouse. The goblin heads off at the mage's direction, first grabbing a rusted shovel to use from the tool room, and then moving off to complete the task as instructed.

Varros speaks up: "Gaven seems to have this situation under control. Before we head up lets perform a thorough search of all these rooms and drains. Also, we still have the dogs to deal with. Any ideas?"

"Any chance dirtbag can calm down the dogs or go in and tie them up so we can search the room?" asks Duran.

The group considers this option as a more thorough search of the rooms is executed. The search, unfortunately, gives up nothing of value or interest in the rooms themselves beyond what your initial glances revealed. A careful inspection of Drazz's and Garrh's bodies, however, yields a few more coins – three gold and six silver.

With the search complete, and Elsie silent but on her feet once more, the party moves back toward the basement entrance. While Gaven hangs in the rear helping Elsie, the others drag the goblin bodies out first to pile them for burning, and to be sure that Dirtbag has completed the task of burying Bill's remains. Seeing that the goblin has completed his task satisfactorily, you give a quiet signal to Gaven that it is okay to bring Elsie out.

Having spent days underground, she blinks repeatedly as her eyes adjust, then seems to calm still further as the rays of the noon sun strike her face.

As Elsie spots the nearly completed pile of goblin corpses, Gaven could swear he sees an insane hatred burn in her eyes, but a split-second later, the sadness and fatigue cloud her expression once more.

Dirtbag also looks at the pile of his comrades' corpses, an odd shadow momentarily passing over his otherwise trance-like countenance.

When Varros and Duran heave the last body onto the pile. Elsie turns to Gaven and speaks her first words: "I'm hungry."

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OOC: Actions?

Situation Recap:
- It is now noon
- The goblins are piled and ready for burning
- Varros has not yet removed the ears from those that were outside (since Dirtbag was in plain sight; unless you tell me otherwise, I'll assume that Varros will remove ears before the party departs, at some point when Dirtbag cannot see)
- Elsie seems no worse off than would be expected after her experience (she's traumatized, but all things considered...)
- There is no sign of additional goblins anywhere
- The dogs are still locked in their room (Duran has proposed having Dirtbag deal with them in some way).

9 comments:

  1. Oloc - Mage

    Oloc asks 'dirtbag' to step away for moment and then the mage addresses the rest of the party. "What should we do with the goblin? I can command him to return to his tribe and tell them what happened to this scouting party. Or you could dispatch him quickly and we are rid of him. I am indifferent, although the former course of action may deter any further advance by the humanoids."

    Hearing the dog barking coming from below, the mage adds, "I would feel better if we released the dogs, although I am not sure how they will react."

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  2. Varros - Fighter

    "I gave my bond that if Dirtbag performed his tasks he would live." says Varros, "He performed every task we asked under what must have been, let us say, difficult conditions," Varros eyes Oloc, "perhaps he should decide on his own what path he must take, he deserves that much. Perhaps he might even choose to remain with us, he could be useful as he has proven to be capable and clever."

    OOC: Varros will continue to collect the ears, he will string them and keep them in his bag with Grimtooth's head. What is the total count by the way?

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    Replies
    1. OOC: 1 hobgoblin head and 9 goblin ears -- Dirtbag still has his ;)

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    2. Oloc - Mage

      "I am wary of putting to much trust in the goblin. If he is to be set free, I would propose that we first have him give us information about the dogs as Duran suggests. We can then reconsider the goblin."

      ooc: Oloc will ask 'dirtbag' about the dogs and the room in which they are penned. Are they chained?Can we open the door without being attacked? Does he know any command words?

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  3. Varros - Fighter

    "Also, since you can see I believe in making use of our assets, perhaps the dogs could use new masters, we do have some steaks for them..."

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  4. Duran - Fighter

    Duran says "Let us ask dirtbag to calm the dogs down and see if we can take them for our own or at least see what is in that room. We should not burn the goblin bodies until we are ready to leave in case the rest of the goblins come to investigate."

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  5. Gaven - cleric

    "I agree with Varros's and Duran's plan. We may as well make use of Dirtbag while he is still under the spell. However, please make haste, I do not want to loiter here too long. We should get Miss Elsie back soon. I will stay with her above and to keep a look out."

    Gaven turns to Elsie, "I only have trail rations, but you are welcome to them. I will pick you some apples as well."

    When Gaven returns with the apples, and Elsie is finished eating, he will ask, "While I know it must have been a horrible ordeal, can you please share with me what happened to you and Bill? We have learned that this band was a scouting party for an army of goblins that plan to attack. Anything you heard or saw could be of great use to us in preventing any more harm by the goblins."

    OOC: Sorry for the late reply.

    ReplyDelete