Season 1 - Episode 4: The Goblin Caves

[Birthright]

Looking around at his companions and noting their reluctance to turn back from the cave, Tannen is conflicted. His instincts tell him it would be better to wait and watch and perhaps some goblins will leave the cave at nightfall. Tannen's aching wounds also tell him to return another day. But the mission was to save the farmer's wife...

"Perhaps we can continue. Does anyone want to sneak in first and see what awaits us?"

Tannen will search the goblins' bodies before preparing a torch from his backpack.

[actingkeith]

"I think we've found goblins," Karl whispers as the other do the filthy task of searching the dead. "I think that means we go in and kill the stinking, vile vermin... Keep your shield arm high."

[Eevans]

"I think we've found goblins," Karl whispers as the other do the filthy task of searching the dead. "I think that means we go in and kill the stinking, vile vermin... Keep your shield arm high."

Hiker, holding his bow and having a nocked arrow is having some difficulty understanding how he is to keep his shield arm high for two reasons. First, he has no shield, and second he is not 100% sure what a shield arm is and thus is pretty sure he doesn't have one of those either. His confusion on this point was dealt with by looking at his two arms and the bow they were holding and shrugging mildly. BUT, Hiker DID understand "kill" and in a freak twist of luck he somehow understood the word "vermin" as well.

You see...Hiker's home had once had some infestation of rats at their storage mill a couple summers back and his mother had used the word "vermin" to talk about the rats....so, Hiker reasoned, these goblins were some sort of rat-hording beasties that needed to be killed.

In the end, and from any external viewer, Hiker had simply waited there holding his bow giving a glance or two at his arms and then elicited a mere shrug.

[Iain_IF]

Paladin sneaks back up to the cave mouth, lies on the ground, and peeks into it to see what is going on in there.

[JoeCarr28]

Before doing so, Tannen will quickly search the bodies of the two goblins on his side of the cave entrance.

Searching the two goblins on his side of the cave entrance, Tannen retrieves a total of 7 gold pieces. Other than the money, the goblins appear to be equipped with ordinary leather armour, shields and short swords. Both sport the same tattoo on their upper arms that you found on the dead wolf-rider earlier.

Paladin sneaks back up to the cave mouth, lies on the ground, and peeks into it to see what is going on in there.

The answer would appear to be "not much". Peering into the cave, Paladin can see a tunnel heading in a straight easterly direction into the depths of the caves. The cave mouth doesn't provide sufficient illumination to allow Paladin to see to the end of the tunnel; the passage simply fades into inky blackness. He can, however, see that there appears to be another tunnel leading off to the right (south), about 30 feet into the cave.


Nivek: No ‘0’ level spells remaining today
Tannen: HP 5/9
3 pm, 27th day of Harvestide

[SmootRK]

Nivek remarks to his comrades, "Well, if we leave and return, there will no doubt be reinforcements and they will likely be on heightened alert, given that we just eliminated 4 of their numbers. Personally, I think we should press on a bit more to perhaps weaken their numbers more, perhaps even finding some refuge within the cave system that we can rest right here instead of retreating away from here." Nivek looks to Tannen for his perspective, being well aware that the other 'boys' look to him for guidance.

[Eevans]

Hiker listens intently to Nivek, but says nothing.

[Iain_IF]

In sneaks Paladin. He'll sneak down into the darker part of the cave, let his eyes adjust and listen intently.

[Birthright]

Tannen nods in response to Nivek's words. He lights his torch, holding it with his shield hand, but stands to the side of the cave entrance so as not to ruin Paladin's "night vision" view in the darkened cave tunnel.

"The halfling will let us know what lies immediately ahead. Hiker and Karl, I suggest you light a torch..." (Tannen will supply a torch to the others if necessary)

[Eevans]

Hiker quickly sets his bow down, rummages through his pack and snags a torch and sets about lighting it up.