Thunder & Plunder

Riley 08/08/08

Across the bridge, what looked like a giant carved rock head seemed to emerge from the sea. It didn't move; it sat there, with eyes and most of the nose up out of the water and the rest submerged. On top of it, we could see guard towers, pickets and occasional movement. That was the Thistletop base of Nuale'. It was said to be tens of thousands of years old, but if it was that old, I think the wind and salt water would have turned it all into sand many years ago. There was some arcane magic at work there. The goblins hadn't seen us yet, so we withdrew to form a plan to rescue Daviren.

Brunt the dwarf checked if people had bows and things, and he asked me, "Do you have a missile weapon?"

"I AM a missile weapon." I said. I guess he hadn't been paying much attention to me, when we fought.

We went back to that sinkhole, to try to find a way down to Daviren, so the goblins couldn't see us. We didn't think that they knew that we were there yet. Since I was lightest, I volunteered to get lowered down into it, on a rope. The rest of these guys are pretty strong, so I felt safe that they wouldn't drop me. I descended into some kind of large cave, and there was tide surging in at the bottom. Just when I got about three feet from the water, something jumped up and bit me! A large slavering mammal, like a monstrous sea lion, sunk its fangs into my leg. Then I threw up my Light, flicked my fingers for a Thunderwave at it - which I think hurt it pretty bad - and scampered back up the rope, yelling for them to pull me up, which they did quickly enough. We later found out that the goblins call that thing, "Yip-Yip."

When I got back up, Brunt healed me, and I suggested that we use the dead rat things, to lower down and draw it out. Then we could fire missiles at it, to clear the way down. So we went back to gather some of the carcasses, but we overheard some goblins nearby. They must have heard my cry for help.

They were playing craps, so that explained why that guard tower was unmanned. Andrian missed the loud one, so I got it with a force missile, dropping it. Next, my force orb missed, and Lyk had got up front to block their charge. They were bottled in and started making a lot of noise, to raise an alarm. So then I charged into the goblins' midst, to try to take them out quickly with a Thunderwave spell, before they could alert the base. One may have hit me, if not for my Shield spell, another missed wildy, and a third one just missed me because I don't think he ever fought a halfling before. The last one got me, but it didn't hurt too badly. I was able to take out just two of them, before the two elves Shalalu and her son Carufinwe finished off the rest; but at the end, one goblin surrendered to Brunt.

Meanwhile, another goblin had snuk up behind this fight, and Andrian scared him off with his daggers. He raised an alarm, too, so I chased after him. I almost caught him somehow, but then I missed him with my force missile spell. I kept after him, but I missed again! When he made it to the still unrepaired bridge, he fell through, trying to crawl across. I had to try not to laugh, since the other goblins were close by. So I went back to the rest, checking the room that last goblin had come from and finding nothing.

We left the maze, to go get the horses. Brunt released his captive, after removing his armor and weapons, but I didn't think that was a good idea, to let our enemy free so close to his camp. So I tried to throw a spell at him, to knock him out. Maybe we could get more information from this goblin. Then Brunt threw an axe at me! He said something about how I shouldn't kill defenseless prisoners, but I don't think he sees the danger in how badly we are outnumbered. I don't know what got into this dwarf. I thought he was alright, but maybe he is just ignorant, too.

Finding another location to reach the beach from, they lowered Andrian down to try to recover Daviren. After some wait, Daviren and Andrian were back up the rope. Andrian also recovered that fallen goblin's things, which I deciphered to both be magical. One was an amulet, for Andrian, and the other was a halfling sized suit of leather armor, of which I took custody. Then we rode back to Sand Point, since it is not far, and we needed to regroup.

Andrian wanted to go to the jail, to store his new goblin archer prisoner. Brunt said he didn't want to go there, if Andrian would use torture. With a wink, I told him, Andrian won't torture anyone if Brunt is there. At the jail, we discovered that Tutso was dead, after he was force-fed a steak by his jailers.

The other goblin prisoner also died in the jail - some sort if crossbow cleaning accident - but Toka was still there, and Andrian questioned her. She said she wasn't afraid of Andrian anymore since, "that shalaka Dwarf," (meaning Brunt) told her that only wizards could use her name against her, writing it down to steal her soul, and she knew that Andrian wasn't a wizard.

"I am a wizard." I told her, before I could stop myself.

"You can do that?" Asked Andrian.

"You want to find out?" I said. He looked away. I didn't want to find out if I could do that either.


Then we questioned the new prisoner and found out that he didn't like Nuale' at all. He said the goblin cheiftain was in love with her. He also told us that Nuale' weilds a big two-handed sword in her one scary hand. He said there are two levels of caves, below the fort on top, which made me bet that there is a way in through the caves below. Maybe that big head had an open mouth under the water, or at least some nostrils to swim up? He did insist that all food and supplies went in only across that bridge. Maybe we could cut off the bridge and trap them inside, trying to starve them out?


This goblin archer had a lot of information:
1) Nuale' had two Longshanks bodyguards. One is a dark skinned woman, with a book - she must be a wizard, too. The other guard is a burly strong man.

2) He said something about how Nuale' has a secret goblin demi-god of flame, in a goblin body. I'm not sure what he is talking about there - probably some magic that he can't explain.

3) Chief Ripnugget fought that horse, Silvermist, and the horse won! The horse is kept in the stable, so maybe if we can get to it, Silvermist will aid us.

4) Brunthalsmus does "nook-nook" with Ripnugget's wife.

5) Yip-Yip - is that thing that attacked me from the water in that sink hole. I think I should go back and take care of ol' 'Yip Yip.'

6) There is a tentacled- faced monster in Nuale's caves, that eats goblins.



Back in town, that girl found Lyk again and carried him away, for some "private conversation." I have to laugh at the way she and Lyk are together, it's funny. I went to visit Amiko, and on the way, I noticd that the Play was running at the theatre that night, so I could try to make some quick coins.

Amiko was happy to see me, and we hugged. She said she wanted me to stay there, and that is was too dangerous for me to go back to fighting goblins. I tried to explain that no one, not even the town, will be safe, until Nuale' is stopped. I stayed with Amiko as long as I could, to help out in anyway way that I knew.

Later, the other guys showed up, and we showed her Tutso's silver flute. We had to tell her that he was dead now. That was not easy. Amiko said she gave that flute to Tutso, so we returned it to her, to keep as a memento. Later that night, I did the play in the theatre, another ok job for five silver, but I have had so much on my mind with Amiko and these goblins, this play just doesn't seem so important, so I couldn't really get into it and fully concentrate. If these people in the audience knew of the serious danger here, would they even enjoy themselves in this distraction?


The next morning, we had told Daviren to meet us on the road at sunrise to ride up to Thistletop again, but instead Andrian rented two small fishing boats to sail up the coast and scout out the skull island. Near the back, he spied a way in. There was something moving, about fifty feet up. Every now an again, some ropey tentacles would reach out and snare a seagull, which would quickly disappear into the recesses. We got the boats close, and Andrian tried to scale up there. He went up three times and he fell down into the water three times, although once he did almost reach the top. Then Lyk stormed up the cliff face in one go. He somehow killed the thing by himself and got a rope down for the rest of us to climb up. I could see Lyk had been bit or caught by its tentacles, and he was moving slowly and stiffly.

This thing was very large- and slimy and smelly- a big worm thing with tentacles on its face, kind of like what that goblin archer had said. Shalalu said it was some abberation, from the Far Realm.


Beyond this thing's cave lair, there were three ways to go further into the cave complex below Thistletop. Andrian heard goblin sounds from one door, and slurping sounds down another passage, so we went the third, quiet, way. Eventually, we came to a demonic chapel, and Andrian heard some dog sounds inside. We had heard that Nuale' had a pet dog, so we formed up to attack. This place had images of forms crawling out of human females and the signs of that devil, Lamashtu. After throwing the doors open, we fought from the tight corridors, but there were two dogs inside. Their otherworldly bay and howl unnerved every one of us. What's more, the dogs would move, disappear for an instant, and then reappear somewhere else. They were hard to fight, but I was in the middle, so I didn't get bit. I just fired off some small spells. Maybe it was harder for Lyk and Brunt, up front near the doors, or for Shalalu who was caught at the back when they blinked from inside the temple to behind her and then kept switching places. Anyway, we were able to kill one off, and I don't think anyone got hurt too badly. The other one ran away, using its special power, back the way we had come.

There was a large statue of Lamashtu inside, next to an altar. We tried to bust up as much of it as we could. Andrian took the weapons from the statue, and Brunt caved in its leg, toppling Lamashtu's statue. Then we heard more goblins getting louder, so they must have heard the dogs' barks.

It was time to go, and only that wounded dog blocked our way, in the last room which faced out to the sea. As we escaped, Andrian left all the doors we passed unlocked and open, to allow the slurping things down here a shot at the goblins. Lyk took quick care of that pup, and we were soon descending down the ropes. I left a flaming sphere in the room, just to cover our escape, in case any goblin archers wanted to fire at us as we left. Back in the boats, we set course to return to Sand Pointe. Next time, we should probably attack by land, since they know we have found this secret entrance.