EoD 015: Against the Goblins

Beyond the door, the characters discovered an unoccupied guardroom and torture chamber. A single passageway led off to the north. This led to a natural cavern. Be fore the characters could enter the cavern, though, they had to deal with four goblins—a single tough warrior-type and three archers—lurking in the cavern. Although the goblins scored some notable successes against Elmo and Helmia, Theoden saved the day with a well-placed sleep spell which knocked out the three archers. With the warrior slain, the party entered the room and slew the slumbering goblins. 

A Chamber of Horrors

A macabre sight greeted their eyes. This natural cavern seemed to be a prison of sorts—three humans and five goblins were chained to the wall—all had recently been repeatedly stabbed. Assuming all the prisoners were dead, the characters looted their slain enemies and then barricaded the torture room door. 

A Cunning Ambush

An hour later, slightly recovered from their recent battles, the party emerged from the room. Instantly, combat was joined—two archers shooting at Elmo from a distant corner. The arrows missed, and the archers retreated. Lion gave chase and was surprised when two goblins burst from another door he had dashed past. 

The burly warrior’s friends rushed to help, and soon these two warriors were slain. A cursory investigation of the room beyond the door revealed it to be a foul shrine of sorts, but the heroes could not tarry long. They pushed on only to discover a bewildering array of corridors—one corridor led to an impressive set of double doors. The heroes sensed that great danger lurked behind those doors. After a hurried conversation, the group decided to retreat and rest. They eventually managed to do this after several of the heroes actually advanced to encourage and help Lion retreat.

The group rested for the balance of the day and the night. Their rest was uneventful, although Elmo sensed—during his lonely watch—that evil things moved nearby and that he was being watched by unseen eyes. No matter, the group’s sleep was essentially uninterrupted, and the next day, they were ready to dare the goblin tunnels once more.

One More Time

Again, the characters descended the stairs into the goblin’s den, and again, the goblin sentries detected their approach. As a great clamour went up from the darkness, the heroes rushed deeper into the ruined keep’s cellars, intent on taking the fight to the enemy.

Quickly, they returned to the scene of their last battle. Ascertaining that the torture chamber remained unoccupied, they secured it and the door leading to the chapel. Both doors were nailed shut with iron spikes, even though definite sounds of movement could be heard from the chapel.

With their flank secured, the party advanced on the double doors. The doors lay at the end of a long corridor—beyond the range of the heroes’ dark sight. Thus, Lion rolled a ball bearing wreathed in magic light down the corridor. It illuminated the doors and showed that one was slightly open. A shadow lurked in the crack between the doors, and the characters knew they had been spotted.

Charging down the corridor seemed to invite near-certain death. The goblins knew they were coming. Then, Dimble hit upon a brilliant plan. He would cloak the far end of the corridor in an illusion of an empty corridor. Protected by this illusion, the party could creep much closer to the door without being spotted.

This they did, and in short order, they were within mere feet of the objective…

This post is a session summary from my weekly 5e D&D Edgelands of Darkness campaign set in the Duchy of Ashlar.

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