RED OAK: Return to the Pass of the Hounds

[Woe]

"Wait a minute... we never did figure out how gumpism was contracted. And we should make sure we don't end up sprouting new gumps." Kilian says in a surprising accent-free voice. "Get the oil. We're gonna burn dis corpse to nuthin'."

Careful not to set the rest of the forest on fire, they'll use (half? one) of the flasks of oil to ignite the gump.

Also, did they recover half of the arrows as normal?

By the way, great table mention.

[Longman]

yep, half arrows fired are recovered, unless I specifically say otherwise.

half a thing of oil gets a fire going with leaves and wood. You can burn the corpse and all the gooey residue.

While you are doing this, Fido seems to work out what is going on and leads you back to the place where the first two arrows hit. There's some goo on the ground there, too. You burn that as well.

Fido has never been affected. This scream will only require a save when you get really close.

It is coming from the staircase leading from the courtyard down under the main tower.

You had 2EP to use in this hex and still an EP to get back to the mountain on the other side. I think so far you have only used half an EP here so you still have a while.

You get back up to the castle through area 17...there's the dead goblin in area 15, and the screaming noise from below 13, or you could investigate the gump tower itself (11 and 12). It's up to you.

(There's also a bunch of other areas and smaller structures too, but I'm hinting that the main stuff is in the ones I just mentioned).

[Woe]

After a quick discussion, the party decides to check out gump tower. Does it appear like the gump is on the second floor still with the ladder fallen, or does it look like the gump got down to the first floor?

[Longman]

The gump is lying burned on the forest floor, most likely.

If that was another gump you just fought, then, the first gump could be anywhere in the tower by now. The ladder from 1 - 2 has been dislodged, but a creature could probably still climb down in three rounds if it wanted to.

No sound of anything coming from up in there as Freya advances into the ground floor level. It is exactly as it was fifteen minutes ago when Freya heard the gump.

This time she can't hear anything from up above. She is starting to find the screaming noise from the courtyard unsettling, though. The other two are back 30'.

[Woe]

If it's possible to get up on higher (much more defensible) ground and be able to view the courtyard, the three will do that. Because I'm thinking climbing is involved, Fido can stay at the bottom. Remember what they did here before, where the goblins couldn't get them? Something like that. I'm thinking if nothing else, that wall/parapet that Freya climbed up onto near the tower.

[Longman]

I said the noise was coming from the 'courtyard' but in reality is is just echoing up from the stairwell into the courtyard.

You manage to gain higher ground on a wall and survey the courtyard, but you do not see the small gump or anything else, probably because it is still down the stairwell, and there isn't anything else there, other than the dead goblin.

(Freya already walked around in the courtyard earlier, that's how she saw the stairs.)

That is done. What do you do now? Stay on the wall? Go up the tower? Go down the stairs? Or to the dead goblin?

[Woe]

They'll investigate the tower, with Kilian (and Fido) keeping a watchful eye on the stairwell. And everyone is within touching distance of each other, because a) if someone hears something, a warning shout might not be heard; b) if someone panics, two others can try to grapple person.

Freya adds more mud.

[Longman]

Without reinstating the ladder, Talin and Freya climb up in to the second level of the tower, which is much as she saw previously:

There's a dead goblin on the floor, which doesn't smell as bad as you might expect. It seems to have been almost mummified somehow, the liquid drawn from its flesh. Thee is considerable gumpism on the floor around and underneath the goblin.

There's a basic ladder (maybe goblin work?) going upstairs and another old human staircase, badly damaged.

There's also a partly collapsed shelf with some old utensil items, an axe, a bucket and some pots and pans, as well as an old ballista crossbow firing mechanism and some keys. All pretty badly rusted. There's the remains of window shutters on the floor. The room has been open to the weather for a while.

Going up? No sound from up there at all..but then again, you got mud in your ears.

Meanwhile Kilian and the dog are below at the entrance to the tower, keeping an eye on the courtyard and the place where the stairs are.

Does Kilian go up too? I wasn't sure how to interpret your instructions. He can't climb the tower and keep an eye on the stair at once. In fact he might need the ladder to go up there at all.

[Woe]

Ah. Kilian will stand guard at the bottom of the 1-2 ladder. There's a 2-3 ladder still intact, correct? Freya and Talin will move that ladder away from the 3rd floor hole. Talin will send Fido off to the old mill, or anywhere else that seems Safe and Far Away. After a quick discussion, the three decide to ignite the gumpism aflame. Once aflame, the two will come back down to the first floor while the oil catches, and they'll probably explore while it burns out.

Before lighting anything, Freya will take the keys and if it looks halfway decent, the axe.

Can the tower exit to the courtyard be blocked or blockaded? Is the original door intact?

[Longman]

2nd-3rd floor ladder has been repositioned, yes. You can move it easily. Fido is hiding. Kilian on guard.

Burning the gumpism may be a good idea but bear in mind that some of the original wooden beams are showing, and much of the original stone floors are gone, and have been replaced with logs. You might easily set the whole 2nd floor alight, and then the ceiling as well. (Which means the 3rd floor would go up too.)

Tower exit to the courtyard could be blockaded in a turn. Door is not intact.

The keys are OK, maybe useable. Axe is useless.



Freya thinks she or Anna could probably pick such a lock fairly easily even if the key breaks...especially since she knows what shape to emulate with her wires.

Do you proceed with the burn?