Chapter 5 - Goblin Tracks

[AleBelly]

The party is off early the next morning, gathering pack animals from the stables. The spellcasters study their books and pray for their divine powers. At 8am, they are off. Angus and Hellebore leads the group to the goblin encounter the night before, avoiding the house. The ground is bare where the scuffle took place, and the goblin bodies are gone, likely removed by the patrol.

Arnulf, Yenny and Ilfrien, please deduct 9 gp from your inventory for stabling. Angus has already deducted 2 gp for his mule.

Angus has no trouble following the tracks to the perimeter. Several metal buckles lie in bare patches within the snow along their route of retreat. They enter the forest and within 25 minutes the tracks take them to the edge of a clearing. They approach to within 40 feet of the wood’s edge. Yenny spots a vole burrowing into the snow and the ground below and begins making a series of short high pitched squeaks.

Snow-Vole.jpg (66.23 KiB) Viewed 1061 times

The vole responds, and after a couple of minutes retreats into the snow. Yenny informs the others that the creatures occupying the clearing ahead have been cutting down trees – and eating any living thing they can find.

The party cautiously approaches the wood’s edge. The clearing is circular, about 150 yards in diameter. In the center is a 20’ wide hole in the earth. Tracks lead from many directions in and out of it. About 20 yards on either side of the hole are conical structures about 10-15’ high and a few feet wide at the base. They seem to comprise only logs leant against each other. Smoke billows from the one on the left, but it is not aflame. The smoke reminds our adventurers of fire and warmth, a comforting thought on the coldest day yet this winter.

Zoom-in of structure:

Goblin stack.jpg (24.65 KiB) Viewed 1061 times

Actions?


Date: 27 Glowinghearth, Year 42
Time: 11:20
Conditions: 15F, cloudless sky, wind from east at 15 mph (-2 to missile fire); 2 inches of snow on ground; streams and small ponds frozen
Known Spells in Effect: None
Light bearers: Sun
Direction of Travel: Tracks followed an 85 degree bearing; 7.5 miles traveled today; 1.6 mph traveled through forest, 2.4 mph through Safe Zone

[Zhym]

Angus crouches down into a snow bank. "Reckon them piles of logs are guard posts?" he asks in a low voice. "Figure we'd want to take them out first, but real quiet like."

Are any tracks visible around the wood structures from this distance? Do we see any gaps in the structures big enough for goblins to fit through?

[Zhym]

BTW, here's a simple diagram of the lay of the land, if I understood everything:

Clearing.jpg (100.88 KiB) Viewed 1050 times

Since I'm not sure what side of the clearing we approached from, I arbitraily put the party at the bottom of the map. North is whichever way north is.

[AleBelly]

The party was walking east (85 deg bearing), but that map does reflect what the group would see from tier vantage point.

[Keehnelf]

Ilfrien turns to the others. "It looks to me like the goblins tunneled up here looking for victims. The guards outside should be easy enough to defeat, but it's what's down the hole that will be the real problem anyway."

[MonkeyWrench]

Korok looks over the assembled guard posts and hide hole, "We need to know how many are in those posts to start with..." He moves up a bit but still keeping well within the tree's border and attempts to look the two posts over for any goblins or movement.

[Marullus]

Hellebore just tilts her head slightly. "Why not just light the lean-tos on fire?"

[AleBelly]

Angus and Korok peer out through the wood's edge. It's tough to tell from here, but they don't see any tracks leading to the wooden structures. There are definitely gaps in between the logs, but even a goblin would have a tough time squeezing in there.

[CAI4]

Chet looks towards the structures then turns to the others. "Do a couple of you want to guard the wood piles while I check out the hole?"

[AleBelly]

I should mention that the tracks lead you to believe that the hole slopes downward, as if an entrance. It's more of a gaping maw in the earth, not a well-like hole.

[enn.in.me]

Yenny - "I can cast a circle of silence that would encompass all of us, and when we got closer, one guard post at a time. If we work quickly, we could do some serious damage. We'd have to be quick though - it wouldn't last ten minutes. Maybe I could cast it around our fastest fighters. You'd have to make your plans first though - can't talk inside the circle (it's great for kids!)"

[Zhym]

"If'n they ain't guardposts," says Angus, "maybe they're chimneys?"

[Keehnelf]

"Plans," mutters Ilfrien. "We rush the smoking one, we find the entrance, we murder all the goblins inside."

[tkrexx]

Wait, Hyde whispers, I rememba this time, yeahh. He roots around in his satchel a moment or two, and pulls a tiny ceramic vial. I don't know how to use this, no. It's named for some Claire lady. I think maybe she could see things far away. Maybe you's with magics can make use of it, hah?

[MonkeyWrench]

Content that the gaps between the posts is narrow enough that a goblin would have trouble getting through Korok comments, "I don't think those are guard posts, too narrow. Combine plans, cast silence and then we all rush over. It's possible they are chimneys and if so we can topple them and smoke out the goblins in there, killing them as they exit."

[AleBelly]

And just to move things along, Hyde alluded to a potion of clairvoyance that he has.

With it, you can pick a spot you are familiar with and see for a 30' range. It won't look past walls, through floors, etc, but it does offer a 360 degree perspective. Since you know little about the structures ahead, the imbiber of the potion would only be able to center their clairvoyance inside one of the wooden structures or at the entrance…of course they could also put it in the middle of the clearing if they wish.

Anyone can drink the potion.

Looks like a plan is forming...

[Zhym]

"If'n those are chimneys," says Angus, "I ain't sure I'd want to attack through the one what's smoking. Where there's smoke there's fire, or used to be a fire. Anyway, might not wanna climb down into whatever's making the smoke. Might not even fit. What say we used Claire's potion to look inside the entrance instead?"

"Or, we could just silence ourselves and attack," he says.

[Zorroroaster]

Arnulf nods enthusiastically.

"I think we should do both. Have a look with the potion, then sneak up. Although if those are chimneys, smoking them out would be effective. Although then they'd all come out at once. Is there somewhere within 50 feet of the entrance I can hide and cast Sleep as they emerge?"

[Zhym]

"Hate to waste a good potion to find out something we could learn by walking up," says Angus.

"Smoking them out—now that's an interesting notion. I might say we should just wait and stalk their raiding parties to take 'em down a few at a time, but it's colder 'n a witch's nether parts out here. Best not spend the day sitting on our asses."

[CAI4]

A dark mood has fallen over Chet. He seems very excited. "I hate goblins. Let's just run in there, stab them all to death, and come out with their treasure."

He says all this, staring at the hole in the ground, not taking his eyes off it.