Picking things up in familiar territory, we join our heroes in the bar of Trollskull Manor, sat around their favourite table, tankards of ale and one of water grasped firmly in their hands. There is however a new addition to the group, one of a feathered variety and it sits quietly on Sigrid's shoulder as she takes a sip of water from her tankard. Ozen shudders behind the bar as he watches her with a piercing glare, the tankard he is ferociously cleaning cracks under the pressure and is subsequently thrown in the bin before he grabs another from behind the bar and grabs his cloth once more. As the party discuss their latest purchases the door of the tavern opens to reveal Sister Garaele. She walks over to our heroes and takes a seat at the table. She proceeds to tell them that there has been a Dragon attack in the Moon Sea region and the Lord Regent of Phlan, Ector Brahms is missing following the attack. The council requests the assistance of our heroes once more and they do not hesitate to answer the call. Farraine looks over to Ozen, "Rations?", "Coming right up sir" he replies and heads off into the kitchen.
Garaele advises the party that they should head for The Laughing Goblin tavern in Phlan, and meet up with Knight Aleyd Burrel who will be able to assist with their investigations. She tells them that Laeral Silverhand is currently outside preparing a teleportation circle for the journey. The group rise to their feet and drain their tankards then head towards the door. Ozen tosses their rations to each of them as they pass the bar. Bidding farewell to the ladies they step into the circle, which shimmers slightly as they do so, there is a puff of smoke and the circle is now empty once more.
In the bustling Laughing Goblin there is a shimmer in the air followed by a plume of smoke which dissipates to reveal our band of heroes. A woman makes her way over to the group to bid them welcome, "You're not quite what I expected but your reputation precedes you" she says. Before the party are able to introduce themselves they here a commotion coming from outside, screams and the sound of running feet echo through the streets. The group waste no time and quickly exit the tavern and see a wagon rumbling into the street. The wagon is being pulled by 2 Green Giants who are certainly not at all jolly in any way shape or form. On the wagon itself is a cage where a number of townsfolk have been placed. As well as the two giants there are a couple of Hobgoblin guards, a drake and a humanoid woman.
The party step out into the street and challenge the evildoers. Finn is first to react and fires a shot at one of the giants but in his haste his aim is off and he misses the Giant target. His head drops in shame and he slinks behind Garrick. Lucian, with all the variety of a school dinner, cast a fireball at the two hulking Giants. Brushing burning embers off it's chest one of the Giants moves towards Farraine who has a wry smile on his face, it appears this is exactly what he was hoping would happen and before the Giant can attack, Farraine unloads a flurry of devastating attacks of his own. The Giant roars in pain as the blows hit and lashes out at the fighter who deflects some of blows. Sigrid enters the fray and cast a confusion spell on the giant, the effect of which isn't immediately apparent. Garrick summons his spiritual weapon which swings wildly at the giant but somehow misses it's mark. He then cast a moonbeam spell on the giant and it's skin begins to blister as the light touches it's exposed skin. The other Giant moves in on Farraine and exhales a cloud of noxious breath but the fighter merely wafts it away, a grin etched on his face.
Getting inspiration from the locusts still surrounding Lucian, Sigrid unleashes her own plague of faeries which buzz around the remaining Hobgoblin guard leaving the creature highlighted in a strange glowing light. Garrick moves his spiritual weapon closer to the remaining Giant and it swings at the beast and cleaves it's head off its shoulders. it lands on the ground with a sickening thud and the body topples to the floor like a felled oak. Farraine runs up to the Drake his blades swirling through the air, the limbs of the creature are sent left and right leaving a bloodied mess of flesh writhing on the ground before it expels it's last breath. Lucian tries to mix things up a bit and sends a series of scorching rays at the remaining Hobgoblin guard, it shrieks in pain but remains standing. Finn shrugs off his recent failure and takes careful aim at the Hobgoblin guard and squeezes the trigger. This time the bolt finds its mark, piercing the Hobgoblin through the neck, it slumps to the floor in a pool of blood. The Halfling punches the air in triumph.
The party then split up to search for the humanoid woman who has been casting spells from the shadows. Moving around either side of a building the enemy steps out of the shadows and casts a spell at Garrick who fails to dodge out of the way in time. His eyes cloud over and he is shut off from the sounds of the world. Knowing he is now vulnerable the Cleric calls upon his spirit guardians to protect him and a number of cloudy entities begin swirling around the stricken hero. The woman advances on him carefully, she also seems to have a series of spectral forms rotating around her. As she gets closer the spirits collide and there is a flash of blinding light. Whilst she is dazed, Lucian casts more scorching rays which hit her directly in the face and her head explodes, showering Garrick in a spray of flesh and blood.
An eerie silence descends on the town square. Finn walks over to the wagon and begins to pick at the lock on the cage, the townsfolk beg for freedom. In a rare turn of events, the Halfling's attempts to open the lock are in vain. Fortunately as Sigrid was looting the fallen foe she managed to find a key which she tosses over to Finn who promptly opens the cage. The townsfolk thank our heroes and run towards the relative safety of The Laughing Goblin. The party follow them into the tavern, it is a scene of suffering inside. Many citizens are nursing injuries and a number of bodies lie covered on the tavern floor.
No comments:
Post a Comment