Harsk quickly rushed outside the tavern to see what was
going on. He saw that the goblins had not yet reached the tavern – a troubadour
was playing outside. The troubadour reached into his pack and pulled out a pair
of bracers. “I found these on a goblin”, the troubadour said. Maybe the
troubadour was an adventurer on the side, who knows. “You can probably use
these better than I can.” Harsk had only little knowledge of magic, but still
recognized the enchantment on the bracers as a minor form of protective magic.
He wondered why the troubadour had just given away his treasure- adventurers
don’t usually do that. But as he was thinking about it, the troubadour quickly
ran inside the tavern screaming, and shut the door. Harsk turned around to see
what happened, and saw a goblin rushing straight for him! He drew his crossbow
and fired a bolt into the goblin’s leg just in time. The goblin collapsed at
his feet, but not before he threw his torch at Harsk. Harsk instinctively
raised his arms to shield himself, and the torch hit him. His body was
undamaged, though the bracers were singed by the fire. As usual for
adventurers, Harsk searched the body in case it had something useful. He found
a ripped piece of paper with some incomprehensible words on it, and left it
there, thinking it wasn’t useful. It was too bad, because it was actually a
scroll of Acid Arrow. Why a goblin pyro would be carrying an Acid Arrow scroll,
who knows? With the immediate threat gone, Harsk climbed up to the roof of the
tavern to get a better vantage point. He looked back toward the direction the
goblin had came from, and saw a goblin raider, directing the attack. He went
back into the tavern to report his findings.
“Ezren, can you defeat this monster with your magic?”
“Normally I would,” said Ezren, “but today, well – it seems
that all my spells got kind of shuffled up in my mind, and I can’t seem to
remember any of my fighting spells.” Ezren hadn’t actually experienced this
before. Although, he had heard rumors of some other land – something about
planes in a multiverse – where not only could your spells get shuffled up, you
needed magical energy to cast the spells, and that could dry up too. Well, at
least he didn’t live there.
“Okay, well, then – Valeros, go out and kill that monster!”
Valeros went out of the tavern, with no weapons visibly in
sight, hoping to lure the raider into attacking. The raider rushed forward, and
Valeros whipped out his Dogslicer and easily slashed the raider to death. He
searched the body, found a note, and rushed back into the tavern. He stood on a
chair and addressed the crowd.
“Listen up, taverngoers of Sandpoint. As you can see, the
goblins are attacking. I suggest, for the safety of the town, we should close
the tavern immediately.”
The crowd booed this suggestion immediately. A burly dwarf
replied: “You think we should close the place just because a couple goblins
showed up? Coward! Just yesterday, I killed half a dozen goblins before
breakfast!”
“Yeah! If we let the goblins stop us from enjoying our way
of life, then the goblins win!” someone else said. Ameiko Kaijitsu, the
tavernkeep, seemed to be agreeing with them, and wasn’t planning to close the
tavern.
“It’s not that. According to this note, the villains have
identified six places in town that would make good hiding spots. One of them is
this tavern. If we want to defeat the source of the evil, we must flush them
out of all possible hiding spots.”
However, it appeared that people had stopped listening to
Valeros, what with all the shouting. Harsk gave Valeros a potion vial with a
black liquid in it. Valeros drank the potion vial and continued talking. The
potion made his voice much more smooth and articulate, and although he didn’t
know how, somehow he was able to calm the crowd down and make his point.
“Very well,” said Kaijitsu. “We close within the hour. Come
see me at the counter if you would like a room at the inn, but you will be
required to stay in your room until we have received word that the danger has
passed. Otherwise, please pay for your drinks and vacate the tavern. We will
ensure the town guard will come to secure the area.”
Lem stood up on the table and took the empty vial from
Valeros’ hand and held it aloft. “And, as you can see, that’s why we never go
anywhere without a full supply of Glibmonex. Glibmonex: the only potion that
can make you persuade anyone of anything, anywhere, at any time. Get your
supply of Glibmonex today: only at the Sandpoint Apothecary.”
---
With the immediate threat gone, and with a clue as to where
to go next, the party decided to split up to cover more ground. Normally they
always tell you to never split the party, but this situation was different –
most of the monsters were weak enough that one of the group could defeat them
on their own; the real issue was whether they could explore enough of the town
to corner the villain before the villain could finish his plan and make his
escape. Ezren made his way over to the town square, bringing Lem along for the
ride using his levitation spell. He figured the town square didn’t have much in
the way of monsters. He passed an archer practicing in the courtyard, who
didn’t seem to want much to do with him. There was a stray dog going through
the park, which Ezren was able to befriend, long enough for it to lead him down
a trail of scents. But son he realized that the scents were of dried blood –
and the dog had led him straight into the arms of a cultist performing a blood
ritual!
The cultist drew his blade and advanced toward Ezren – he
wanted him as his sacrifice. Ezren looked around, trying desperately to figure
out what he should do. He remembered a spell of invisibility, which he could
use to escape. That would save him now – but leave the cultist alive to menace
others. He was better than that. He remembered what one of the others had said
in the tavern – that if you are scared in the face of evil, then evil has won.
He drew his quarterstaff and called out to Lem for help. Lem began to sing:
He bravely ran away,
he bravely ran away,
when danger reared his ugly head, he bravely turned his
tail and fled…
Ezren realized what Lem wanted him to do. He backed away,
pretending to run to draw the cultist into chasing him, but at the last second,
turned back and whacked the cultist on the head with all his might. The cultist
fell down bleeding, although Ezren’s quarterstaff was broken in half by the
impact. Ezren sat down to rest, and felt more of his spell energies coming back
to him. In the meantime, Lem looked around.
Lem explored off the beaten path a bit and saw a crowbar
lodged in a grate. Like any good adventurer, he was distracted by the shiny and
wanted the treasure – even though it wasn’t really much of a treasure. He tried
to pry it loose, but with his meager Halfling strength, was unable to. Soon he
realized this was a clever trap, because a goblin raider had put the crowbar there
and rushed out once he saw someone trying to get it. Fortunately, Lem saw what
was going on and ran away – but while running away, he cleverly dropped some
caltrops on the ground. The goblin raider ran through the caltrops, and stepped
on several of them. He screamed in pain.
“Help!” said the goblin raider. Lem approached the raider,
being careful to avoid stepping on his own caltrops, and offered a deal. “I can
get you out of this. But in exchange you have to tell your goblin friends to
leave and not attack us.”
“We have a camp in the sewers underneath here. I’ll show you
where the camp is. Just don’t kill me. And goblins like shinies. You’ll have to
give me a shiny first.”
Lem looked through his pack. “Okay, well – I have these
thieves’ tools. I guess they’re kind of shiny, right?” The goblin took the
thieves’ tools. Lem led the goblin to the town guard, and the goblin led the
town guard to the goblin camp. The town guards took control of the scene and
imprisoned the goblins.
Oh, man, I gave them
the thieves’ tools. They might be able to escape, Lem thought. On the other hand, they’re just goblins.
They probably think they’re just shinies.
---
Harsk decided to make his way to Sandpoint Cathedral, where
he could get a better view of the area.
He entered the Cathedral, hoping to ask about what has happened in the
area. He was greeted by Father Zantus, the high-priest of the cathedral.
“Many have entered in these dark times seeking aid,” said
Father Zantus. “With all the goblin attacks…”
“Well, I wouldn’t really call it ‘dark’ times – after all,
it’s just goblins,” replied Harsk. “Those days when they burned down the old
cathedral, and there were all those evil wizards awakening ancient giants –
those were dark times. Now is more just mildly gray times.”
“You are a wise one, one who knows not to be afraid in the face
of evil.”
“But I am also wise enough to know that although they may
appear now to be just goblins, they may also be harbingers of a greater threat.
Can the gods provide us with any aid?”
Father Zantus communed with the gods for a few minutes
before returning with his answer. “Shelyn, the goddess of love, offers you aid.
But to prove your worth you must answer the following riddle. What has but a
single feather, although with many peacocks?”
“That is a silly riddle. I have no clue.”
“Very well, then, Shelyn will save her aid for someone else.”
“What is with all these riddles? You ask me these every time
I come in here.”
“It is not my place to question the will of the gods, merely
to convey it.”
Harsk got on his knees and prayed some more. “I am no good
at riddles. Can you give me another way to prove my strength?” As he was
praying, a goblin carrying a flaming torch burst through the window and
attacked! Harsk killed the goblin with a bolt square in the eye.
“Very well, you asked for another way to prove your
strength, and the gods have given you one. Though you may not be good at
riddles, you are deadly with a crossbow,” Father Zantus said. “Take away your
armor; you will not need it. The gods will protect you.” Zantus put his hands
on Harsk’s shoulders, and his leather armor burned in a sea of divine fire,
collapsing to the ground in a singed heap, while Harsh himself felt renewed,
ready to take on more challenges.
“You have shown your skill in combat, but mere bolts cannot
fell any foe. Sometimes one must use other means.” Father Zantus led Harsk to
the cathedral’s scroll-room. He showed him a large scroll, upon which
apparently magical writing was written. It was in an arcane language that was
difficult to decipher, but he could sense arcane magic emanating from it.
“I can’t make heads or tails of this scroll,” Harsk said.
“But I’m sure my friend Ezren would love to see this.”
“Sorry, sir, no asking others for help once you’ve looked at
the scroll. It’s now or never. That’s the rules of the game.”
“I’m a little confused here, what with all the riddles and
stuff. Are you running a temple, or a carnival booth?”
“The gods only smile on those who prove themselves worthy.”
“Very well, then.” There was only one choice.
Telepathically, he sent a call for help to the rest of his party. It was
strange, how all adventuring parties seemed to have a telepathic link that
allowed them to communicate long distances. He could feel the energy of the
gods come from the others to him, and his mind cleared. He concentrated on the
scroll.
“I get it now. This spell is technically referred to as incendium ex radii, popularly known as
‘scorching ray’. It represents the first level of improvement over the standard
‘lightning touch’ and ‘force missile’ spells commonly used by apprentice
wizards, and boasts an estimated 40 percent improvement in excess arcane energy
output over said spells.”
“It sounds like you really know your stuff,” Father Zantus
said. “You can take the scroll as your prize. It seems you are just as
knowledgeable in wizardry as you are accurate with a crossbow. Would you like
to try your hand at another challenge?”
Harsk was a little bit tired out, and politely declined,
instead opting to pray quietly in the main hall of the temple and rest. As he
looked out the windows, he could spy another goblin planning its attack…
---
Valeros decided that he might as well explore the Old Light,
a crumbling tower on the edge of town. Since it was a crumbling tower, he was
sure there would be lots of monsters there – no trouble for one of his talents.
And he was right – a foul zombie soon approached! He engaged it in combat, and
soon, out of the corner of his eye – he saw Lem, floating in on a sparkle of
light! Lem began singing:
It’s a zombie, it’s a
zombie, better whack it in the head!
It’s a zombie, it’s a
zombie, if you don’t then you’ll be dead!
Valeros kept swinging at the zombie, and hacked it into
pieces, though he swung so hard that he cracked his longsword in the process.
(That’s why he always remembered to bring five swords.) Lem landed next to him.
“Did you like my song? Did it help you defeat evil? I love singing songs that
help people defeat evil.”
“You came all the way out here and used up your levitation
spell for this?” Valeros exclaimed.
“I already know how to kill zombies. That’s one of the first things they teach
you in adventuring school.”
Meanwhile, a sage that Valeros had brought with him was
helping him explore the area. The sage saw a strange carving in one of the
stones, and went to investigate. She examined the carving, at first convinced
it was some sort of spell. But no sooner did she realize that it wasn’t a
spell, that she was thrown several feet by a bugbear’s club! Valeros engaged
the bugbear and Lem started singing again:
It’s a bugbear, it’s a
bugbear, better whack it …
“Shut up! I can kill the stupid monster on my own!”
The bugbear swung his club at Valeros, but Valeros dodged
and hit the bugbear on his club arm. The bugbear struggled, dropped his club,
and tried to punch Valeros, but Valeros seemed to have the fight under control.
As Valeros was fighting, he saw a crossbow bolt come out of the distance, and
hit the bugbear square in the neck, killing him. Valeros probably could have
won the fight anyway, but it was always nice to have unexpected help.
Soon afterwards, Ezren showed up. He also looked around
carefully, watching out for possible traps. He saw a series of inscriptions in
the stones, and followed them. These inscriptions looked too delicate to be
done by the hands of goblins, so they probably led to something useful. There
were no spells here, but Ezren did see a campfire with several goblins – one
appeared to be the leader. Ezren approached the group carefully.
“Welcome, nice to meet you!” he said. “Now, I’m your friend,
and I was just here to tell you that if you let me be your leader, I’ll keep
all of you safe and help you take over Sandpoint!”
Lem started his song again:
Always trust a human
that wants to help the goblins,
Because then you’ll
get so much treasure you’ll have trouble hauling all of it!
The goblins smiled at him, and allowed him to walk into the
camp. When he was next to the leader, he held out his hand and cast a lightning
touch spell on the leader.
The leader burst into ashes, and the rest of the goblins
panicked and scattered. Ezren continued looking at the inscriptions, and found
that if some of the stones were arranged in a certain pattern, it would create
a gentle energy field that would be unpleasant to goblins. It was not any kind
of impenetrable magical field or anything, but hopefully it would make the
goblins not likely to come back.
---
Lem decided instead since he was a bard, to go to the
Swallowtail Festival with a friendly sage ally, looking for some clues there.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t really a very good plan, since he was so tired out
from singing all those songs and levitating around places, that he couldn’t do
much. A goblin dog came out of the woodwork, and Lem wasn’t really in much
shape to fight, so instead he sang:
Goblin dogs are
friendly when they heed some sage advice,
So get out there and
talk to him, that way we don’t need to fight!
The sage was unsure but moved to talk to the goblin dog,
whereupon Lem booked it out of there the other direction. What happened to the
sage he didn’t know, but at least Lem himself got out of there alive.
Unfortunately for him, the gods weren’t really very happy with him for his
deception.
Remember what they
said about counting your blessings, Lem heard a voice say. With your behavior, you just lost one.
As Lem ducked into the nearest tent to rest up and heal
himself up, Harsk decided to go to the city gate, hoping that he could get more
information about the goings-on there. He met a guard, who agreed to travel
with him for a while to help fight the goblins. Valeros went to the Sandpoint
Cathedral to fight the goblin that Harsk had seen up there. Valeros climbed up
to the top and easily overpowered the goblin, but unfortunately, during the
fight a Potion of Glibness fell out of Valeros’ pack through the window and
smashed on the ground. Drawing on the power of the gods, he advanced through
the cathedral, into the deepest catacombs (what is a catacomb, anyway?) and
came upon none other than Chief Ripnugget himself, riding his trusty steed
Stickfoot!
The goblin chief charged on his steed. Valeros drew his
sword and began to fight. He felt some of Lem’s power flow into him, making him
stronger enough to knock Stickfoot out easily. Ripnugget jumped off of
Stickfoot and began to charge. This was it. This was the villain they were
looking for. Valeros gathered all his strength, focusing it into the fight.
Time seemed to slow, and he got a telepathic message from Lem.
I can give you more of
my divine power, but I am approaching the last of my strength. If I give you my
power now, I will be near death. I will die if I do not receive a healer’s aid.
Lem was still at the Swallowtail Festival. None of the party
would be close enough to get to him in time. If Valeros succeeded in slaying
Ripnugget, the townsfolk would be grateful, and immediately get to healing the
wounded. But if he failed in this fight, the villain could escape into the
streets. The townsfolk were already on edge, with the tavern closings and
rumors of cultists. The people would lock their doors, leaving Lem to die
unaided.
Save your strength. I
can handle this myself.
Valeros plunged his blade into Ripnugget’s right arm.
Ripnugget screamed in pain and dropped his weapon. But somehow he stayed alive.
He jumped back on Stickfoot, who had somehow recovered, rushed past Valeros and
into the streets. Valeros gave chase. With both Ripnugget and Stickfoot wounded,
he thought it would be an easy chase. But the enemy was faster than he had
thought. The enemy ran into the Swallowtail Festival, and almost lost Valeros.
But soon he ran into a crowd who was gathered around Lem, watching him sing
about how he had just used a well-placed stone from his sling to get revenge on
the goblin dog that tried to kill him before. The crowd blocked the villains’
path, allowing Valeros to catch up. In desperation, the villains tried to run
out of the city through the city gates – right into the arms of Harsk and the
city guards. Ripnugget and Stickfoot were defeated, and the goblin threat had
passed, at least for now. The townsfolk counted their remaining blessings –
twenty of them, to be exact – that the villain was defeated so quickly. Ameiko
Kaijitsu reopened his tavern, much to the delight of several people who just
wanted to take a quick vacation in Sandpoint but who were stuck in their inn
rooms waiting out the evil.
But were Ripnugget and Stickfoot the true threats, or was
there more to come?
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