TerpCon

[Dead Greyhawk]

The University of Maryland at College Park is having a convention on November 18, called TerpCon. I'm wondering if there is any interest in playing a one-off game up there, running 1st level characters. Anyone interested in going? I'll sign up as a DM if there's enough interest. I've also posted over on Dragonsfoot in their 1st edition section.

[Dell]

Website for signing up: www.warhorn.net/terpconfall2006

[Dead Greyhawk]

Player sign ups are open. I've got the 1E game, Moonless Night.

link here

[Dead Greyhawk]

Just as a reminder, there are no games the week of Thanksgiving, neither on the 19th nor on the 26th. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[venger]

How was the TerpCon??

[Dead Greyhawk]

The game went well. I had 7 players, and we played a heavily modified version of Moonless Night. The ending was a little weak, mainly because I ran out of time. I'll write up the adventure as I get time. One of the players, Kith, will likely join our Sunday game.

The PCs were:
Kith, an elven archer
Curry, a half-orc fighter/cleric
Jaffron, a halfling thief
Amarath, an elven mage
Torc, a halfling fighter/thief
Ketherus, a half-elven ranger and
Lonis, an elven mage/thief

Yup, not a human among them.

Amarath, appointed the plot hook, had pulled together this group of adventurers from odds and ends. Some vile scum, others relatives, a few looking to do good, they agreed to follow Amarath to the west, out into the disputed lands, to search for and recover a caravan of precious metals lost at the end of the last war with the goblins. The goblins had regained the territory holding the lost caravan and the lost mine from which it was hauling precious ore.

Amarath had found, wedged in a book describing the battle of Shedrig's pass, the key battle in the Goblin War, a map describing the location of the mine. Clearly a copy, Amarath had searched through his master's library, and then the library of the city, for more information on the area around Goewin's Tuath, a border town now called Goblin's Tooth. Much to his dismay, most of the written material in the library had recently been disturbed, as if someone else was investigating a similar thing. Worse, at least one entire book had been stolen, valuable information taken by the researcher that is now unavailable to Amarath.

The party set out for Goblin's Tooth, a ten day journey, only to experience, two days out from the town, a full lunar eclipse. Not particularly frightening to the party, it likely played havoc among the more superstitious goblins.

The town of Goblin's Tooth is walled with thorns, and its two roads are easily blocked by heavy wagons kept specifically for that purpose. The Goblin War has left its mark. The center of town is dominated by a statue of Shedrig, a local hero. In the town square are the stocks, currently possessing a miscreant, one Tavian, who is serving time.

The party questions Tavian, who calls himself the Unlucky, and finds that Tavian owes money for food to the local innkeep. The Shady Oak Inn is large and seems to also serve as a center for town meetings and the like, one of which will occur this very night. The party settles in.

The town meeting is marked by several odd events. Buried in among the more normal details is a complaint that one merchant has sold his entire stock of oil to a passerby, and now the town has no oil supplies. The town council rules that this is merely supply and demand. The other is that one of the town council appears to be a sot. He drinks steadily from a large mug that he braught, and eventurally begins to slide from his seat at the table.

The party sidles up to the local Reeve, Derrick, and asks him about the man purchasing the oil. The man was tall and thin, not an outdoor worker. He drove a strange, heavy cart with an unnaturally thick base, drawn by two oxen. He paid well and left heading west about three days earlier. Jaffron contemplates stealing the Reeve's purse, but the glares of the party as he edges closer to the Reeve give him pause. Instead, Jaffron amuses himself by swiping the food and drink of people at adjacent tables. Even he, a halfling with appreciable appetite, is sated by the end of the night.

Derrick ask some of the burlier members of the party to help him and one of the town guard bring Davis, the sot, home. Curry, Kith, Ketherus, and Lonis agree and help guide the man home. Derrick tells them how Davis was a good man during the war, but lost his brother, Edward, on the last patrol sent out after the armistice was signed. The goblins to the south have generally respected their treaty, but the goblins to the north have not. After the armistice, a caravan of metals went missing, and was feared to have veered into the northern goblin's territory. A patrol was sent, one containing Edward, but it went missing as well. Derrick led a second patrol, but found no sign of either the caravan nor the first patrol. Davis took his brother's death hard, Edward being the last of Davis's family, but struggled through and married. Davis's wife died about six months ago, and Davis's health has declined quickly since then, to the point where he currently staggers.

Kith and Lonis check Davis's house for objects of interest, finding a small painting of Davis's wife, but nothing of his brother. If anything, the furnishings are less than might be expected of a town elder. Several common items, like a large metal pan, are missing. It is possible that Davis is pawning items to get by.

[Dead Greyhawk]

In the morning, Amarath asks Shanson, the Innkeep, about the debt owed by Tavian. Shanson seems both abashed and annoyed. Tavian, he claims, is a liar and a cheat. He's a layabout who rarely does anything productive. Instead he wanders out of town into the goblin controlled territory and then back into Goblin's Tooth with outrageous ideas and occasionally valuables. Each time, his ideas seem like they'll be productive, but they never are. Shanson relates how, most recently, Tavian claimed that he had found magical berries that healed people. Shanson bought some in exchange for food, but found that the berries, while tasting fine, didn't do anything of the sort. Fed up with Tavian's lies, he had turned to Derrick for recoup of the money, and Tavian ended up in the stocks for a week. Tavian owes Shanson three and a half gold coins. Amarath asks after the berries, and Shanson shows him some green, grape-like fruits. They taste sweet, like grapes, but don't seem to do anything special.

The party hikes out to the stocks to interview Tavian. Tavian, covered with what appears to be the innards of a rotted gourd, asks for a little help in cleaning it off his forehead. "Certainly my good man!" bellows Curry, clearing his throat loudly and using the resultant spittle and his dirty shirtsleeve to polish Tavian's forehead. Curry is a remarkably fragrant half-orc. Shanson, when quoting prices for lodging, was willing to offer Curry a hot bath for free, but Curry declined. Apparently the half-orc has taken a holy vow to not clean himself until the land itself is cleansed. No one dares ask cleansed of what. Tavian now starts calling himself Tavian the Smeared.

Amarath asks about the berries. Tavian says that he found them in the woods to the south, in the goblin-controlled lands. He had fallen into a hunting pit and injured himself, narrowly missing the sharp spikes in the bottom of the pit. After finally climbing out of the pit, he, hungry, had stumbled over this bush filled with red berries, each grape sized. When he ate them, his wounds healed, and he felt no hunger. He bundled them up in his pouch and brought them back to Goblin's Tooth to sell. Shanson bought them but did something wrong, because now Shanson says they don't heal anyone.

Ketherus mocks Tavian's recollection of events, calling him an exaggerator at best. Tavian, naming himself the Honest, stands by his recollection, blaming Shanson's handling of the berries. Ketherus begins playing word games with Tavian, asking hypothetical questions of him. "If we thought we would pay your way, would you be able to find the berries again? And if they didn't work the way you claim they do, what would you do then?" asks Ketherus. Some of the steel that must exist in a man able to survive the stocks for a week begins to show through Tavian. "I know what I know," Tavian says. "I'll bring you to the berries, and if I am wrong, I will give you my armor and sword. If I am right, you, ranger, will give me yours." Ketherus is somewhat bewildered by the force of Tavian's conviction, and declines the offer. The party leaves Tavian in the stocks. Amarath decides not to lead the others to the forest in search of the possibly mythical berries.

They hike out of Goblin's Tooth, following the road until it meets the river and then planning to follow the river until it branches. The map Amarath has shows that the mine is on the far side of a marshy area at the end of the smaller of the two river branches. Hills, somewhat difficult to pass through, but not impossible, are on both sides of the river. From conversations with Derrick, it seems likely that the caravan skirted the edge of the marsh, since the hills are less steep there, or traveled through the hills. If the latter, it was waylaid and the ore taken. The party sets as its goal the mine marked on the map. Perhaps it is not empty of ore and still is a valuable holding.

The river is easily found, and, in the mud by the river, thick tracks are spotted by Ketherus. He thinks this must be the marks of the large cart. Indeed, oxen patties are spotted as they travel up the riverbank. As the sun sets, they set up camp by the riverside. Watches are set and the night passes peacefully. The next day passes uneventfully as well, with Ketherus keeping the an eye on the tracks they are following. The tracks veer into the river occasionally, as if the oxen are pulling towards the river. Perhaps the driver fell asleep, or something was wrong with the oxen or the cart. No one gives these explanations much credence, but Ketherus is able to find the trail again. The second night passes uneventfully as well.

[Dead Greyhawk]

The next morning, as the party gets breakfast together and breaks camp, they are greeted with a faint yell. On the far side of the river, a farmer heads across his fields, plowing them with two large oxen. The farmer doffs his hat and waves at the party. They wave back and finish breaking camp. The river is too wide to ford here, so they head up the bank of the river, bidding the farmer a good day.

The river does indeed fork up ahead, with a tributary branching to the south. On Amarath's map, the tributary heads into the foothills to the south, but the canyon-esque terrain definitely collects and binds the waters. The marshy land must lie ahead. Ketherus leads the others along the tributary's edge, searching for a place to ford the river. The trail of the cart is still barely visible to his eyes, the soft ground with water flowing through it losing the trail more quickly than on the main riverbank.

Torc sees, up ahead, strange objects jutting out of the grasses and reeds. The marshlands must begin ahead, and something is pressing against the foliage at the edge of it. Indeed, four large wheels, larger and sturdier than those simple wheels found on most wagons, are sprawled at the edge of the marsh. The wheels appear to have been attached to the axles of a wagon by large dowels. The wagon itself is missing though. Beyond this point, the marshland grows very soft, almost watery, and a standing water pools in many areas.

Lonis and Amarath peer at the wheels, trying to reconstruct how they attached and where the wagon has gone. Curry, on the other hand, sees that this is a task set before him by his gods. "Lift them! Only by their burden shall we be cleansed!" he shouts, hefting one of the huge wheels on his back. The others look at him as if he's gone mad. "Strong deeds!" he shouts, pushing one of the wheels at Kith and another at Ketherus. "Prove your faith through strong deeds!" None of the others seem so inclined.

"We should head to the hills, not through the swamp," says Lonis. "It will slow us down, and the caravan was coming back to town, heading for the river, when it was caught. We'll find it out there."

"The caravan is long looted," retorts Torc. "We want to head for the mine; that's where the real treasure is. The guy on the cart has a plan, and we need to get there soon after him, or he'll take the treasure of the mine from us!"

Lonis looks doubtful that the man on the cart is heading towards the mine, but Curry, shifting the wheel to a more uncomfortable position, agrees with Torc. "Mines are dark. Humans can't see. Man buys all of the oil in the last town before the wilderness. What does he need all the oil for? To see in the dark! It makes perfect sense!" he bellows.

The party agrees to trek through the swamp, the most direct route towards the mine. Hopefully they will bypass any goblins in the area, as well as track down this mystery man. When it becomes clear that the party is not hefting the wagon wheels, Curry puts his down, but instead carries Torc, for whom the water is a significant hazard. Jaffron, also somewhat height-impaired, refuses assistance, instead wading through chest-high patches of marsh water.

The marsh is a miserable place. The water is cold and dank. Insects fill the air in clouds, penetrating armor and swarming around the adventurers' face. The dark water hides holes and slippery hummocks, causing the unwary to lurch and slip. By the time night begins to fall, the party is ready for a rest. Ahead is a dry hill, poking up out of the marsh. The crown of the hill has a number of old firepits on it, showing that something lives in the swamp.

The party eats a cold meal while Ketherus fights with the wet wood scavenged from the swamp. Finally, after much work, he gets a weak fire started. The water in the wood eats much of the heat, but the flickering light is cheering. Other kindling and smaller bits of wet wood are placed nearby to be slowly, carefully fed to the fire by those on watch.

The moon, so recently consumed by the eclipse, rises over the marsh, casting eerie shadows. The first watch passes uneventfully, but the second watch, with Torc and Curry sitting guard, does not. Torc's sharp ears hear what sounds like some creature pushing its way through the water. He gets to his feet and listens more carefully. The sloshing sounds of bodies coming through the marsh come from at least two sides. The hill is being surrounded. Torc quietly motions to Curry and waves around him, pointing to his ears.

"Awake!" Curry bellows, shocking the party into consciousness. "We are beset! Awake!" The party staggers to their feet, checking for weapons and shield, righting their armor. Nothing is visible to their sight, but Ketherus runs over to the fire and begins stomping on it, relying on the all demi-human party's heat-vision to provide insight. As the fire, never strong to begin with, fades to darkness, the staggering forms of three humans, clad in the livery and armor of Goblin's Tooth, push their way through the water towards the hill. Once the firelight fades, everyone realizes Ketherus's error; the creatures radiate no heat and are effectively invisible!

"Light! Light!" shouts Torc as he hears the creatures stagger onto the hill, groping for him. The mages gather into a small ball in the middle of the party while the others flail about in the dark with their weapons, trying to dismember the living dead. Ketherus digs about in his backpack for a torch and flint and steel, the same ones he used to light the fire earlier that evening. With a few quick blows, a small flame is kindled, and the torch lit. Three waterlogged men, clearly dead, strike at Torc, Curry, and Kith. In the light of the torch, they are able to parry and return blows, fortunately.

Ketherus clearly wishes to be in battle himself. He climbs to his feet, tosses the torch at Lonis, and runs into battle. Lonis, who is busy summoning mana and forming it into a magical bolt, sees the torch fly past, sailing out into the swamp and into darkness. The magical bolt strikes one of the walking dead, along with Curry's trident thrust serving to slay it, but sight is again lost. This time, it is Lonis who busily lights a torch. With light restored again, the remaining two undead are quickly slain, though Ketherus and Torc suffer several wounds.

Lonis relights the fire from the torch. Curry bestows the grimy touch of his god on the wounded, healing them as best as possible, while Jaffron searches the undead. Indeed, they are clad in the sign of Goblin's Tooth. Jaffron, with an innocent look on his face, declares they wear no valuables. While on watch later that night, he drags out the plain golden ring he found on one of the undead. It had felt like there was an inscription in it, and there is. "To my brother, Edward, for courage — Davis,” is carved on the inside of the ring. Grinning to himself, he drops it back into his boot pouch.

[Dead Greyhawk]

The foul undead trouble them no more, and the party rests warily throughout the night. As the sun rises, the bugs swarm in again, creating a mist of flying gnats and biting insects. after praying to his grimy god, Curry loads Torc back up on his shoulders, and they strike out across the marsh, Ketherus leading them on. The ranger seems to know his stuff, as he leads them through the muck and mire, never deviating from his course.

A full day's march brings them towards the far side of the marsh. Wafting on the breeze towards them is the murmur of voices, voices that aren't speaking a civilized tongue. It sounds like it could be goblin. Torc, Lonis, and Ketherus eye the hills at the edge of the swamp, and head towards them, branching out away from each other. Ketherus climbs through the reeds up over the hill, while Lonis and Torc circle it.

On the far side of the hill are a group of goblins. Each carries a bundle of sticks on their back, some larger than others, and three of them are having a heated argument, pointing at a stick much larger than those bundled up. The goblins appear to be arguing about the length of the stick, whether it can be broken to the length of the sticks they are carrying, and whether that would make it special or not. The goblins are very serious about their discussion, though it sounds somewhat nonsensical. Lonis and Torc, having heard all they need to hear, quietly squiggle back through the reeds to the rest of the party.

Ketherus, on the other hand, sneaks closer and closer to the band of goblins. "Perhaps they are southern goblins and will be willing to parlay with me," he thinks. "Don't want to scare them. No, that would be bad. I know, I'll sing them a song! How about .... no, too much death. Maybe ... nope, killing in that one too. I know!" Ketherus jumps up out of the grass, hands spread open and wide, and begins singing a goblin drinking song that talks about injury, but not mass slaughter.

The goblins are stunned by the ranger's sudden appearance. One lets out a small squeak and throws his bundle of twigs in the air. Ketherus continues to sing as the goblins stare in shock. Half a minute later, Ketherus still sings, somewhat off-tune now, while the goblins finger their spears. Apparently the goblins didn't appreciate being so startled. "Kill the half-human. Bring me his ears!" orders the largest of the goblins, pointing at Ketherus. Ketherus looks at the charging goblins, their sharp spears in hand, spins on his heel, and runs for the top of the hill.

Lonis and Torc explain what they've heard the goblins say. While the party tries to rationalize the goblin behavior, a faint tune echoes over the hill to them. They look up the hill to see first Ketherus, and then a band of goblins, charge down at them. The party spreads out and prepares to withstand the goblins' charge.

Kith strikes out with his bow quickly, while Amarath launches a magical dart towards one of the goblins. Ketherus, skidding to a halt, pulls out his longsword and shield. Torc and Curry run up to set up a fighting line and hold the goblins back off the others, who begin slinging bullets and arrows at the goblins.

The goblins are vicious foes, but recognize they face superior foes. They quickly break off the attack and try to flee. Amarath, Torc, and Kith give chase, eventually bringing down the last of the runners. Jaffron has been quickly searching through the bodies, but find only strange goblin fetishes and a smattering of small coinage. From the insignia, it appears that these goblins are of the northern clan. What the bundles of sticks are for remains a mystery.

As the light begins to wane, the party sprawls on the first truly dry ground in two days. "The caravan didn't go through that," comments Torc. Jaffron looks up to the southwest, nearly into the sunset and then points, too tired to speak. A thick column of black smoke rises up out of the hills. Ketherus estimates a several hour hike to reach the site of the smoke, definitely too much for the party to complete and retain any vim or vigor. Torc and Amarath consult the map. The remaining distance to the mine is consistent with the distance to the plume of smoke.

"The man bought oil, lots of oil," grunts Curry, as he wanders among the wounded, bestowing his god's grimy touch on their wounds.

The party gets out of range of the biting black flies and sets up camp, eschewing a fire for the night. Lonis whispers to Kith and Amarath that scouting is necessary. "Find me up by the smoke pillar," says Lonis, sneaking off into the darkness.

[Dead Greyhawk]

The night passes uneventfully, though many dark looks pass between Torc and Ketherus. They have a small argument regarding the goblins. "Why did you bother to sneak up on them if you were only going to lead them back to us?" questions Torc. Ketherus doesn't deign to answer the halfling warrior's questions, instead repeating that a ranger's ways are mysterious. Torc is visibly annoyed.

In the morning, the columns of smoke have dissipated, but Ketherus is able to lead them in the correct direction, mainly by following Lonis's tracks. Lonis's trail peters out eventually, as if extra care had been taken to remove any tracks left behind. As the party spreads out, Lonis uncurls from under a slight overhang and walks over to meet them.

"The goblins are on the other side of that line of hills," says Lonis. "It appears as if one band of goblins attacked another, burning their village in the attack. All of the huts and yurts are burnt, and dead goblins lie about. The victors were helping move things into the mouth of the mine, which lies beyond the edge of the goblin camp. A thick platform was being rigged with ropes and dragged into the mine also. The platform moved quickly; either something very strong or many goblins pulled it in. A taller, thinner figure moved among the goblins as well. Perhaps this is the man who bought the oil. Off to the right of the cave mouth is a guard post, where around eight or so goblins are encamped."

The party comes up with a plan. Jaffron will sneak around the other side of the camp and cozy up to the mine shaft from one side. The others will sneak up this side of the camp and slay the goblin guards. Jaffron will have to kill any goblins that flee. Amarath will use his sleeping enchantment on the goblins once he is in range; the others will kill the sleeping goblins. "I can't do that!" says Ketherus, aghast. Torc frowns at him.

The plan goes off without a hitch; Amarath enchanting all of the goblins to magical slumber, and the party, with the exception of Ketherus, slaying the sleeping humanoids. These goblins, like the ones slain on the edge of the marsh, appear to be of the northern tribe.

Torc and Ketherus sneak up to the mouth of the mine, peering into the dark hole. Several unsuspecting goblins can be seen standing guard, but they are evidently distracted, looking off to their left at something going on. The sounds of small objects rattling together indicate a dice or knuckles came of some variety. Torc pushes Ketherus into the mouth of the mine, shouting "Hey!" at the goblins. The goblins look up, startled. Rather than charge the goblins, Ketherus reaches out and drags Torc into the mouth of the mine with him. The two of them glare at each other, until the goblins sound the alarm.

The party is forced to charge down the mine shaft at the goblins. The goblins are canny fighters, setting their spears to first receive the charge and then throwing them at the party when they pull up short. In response, the missile fire from the party is sharp, accurate, and devastating.

[venger]

lol, he pushed him into the mouth of the cave?

And then they sat there struggling with each other in front of the goblins?

Oh that's gold Jerry! Gold!

[Dead Greyhawk]

The goblins shout for aid, and, from behind them, the sound of lumbering footsteps rings forth. A great ogre, towering over the goblins and halflings and looming over the elves and half-elves, trundles forth from within the mine. It bellows loudly at the party and charges up towards Ketherus and Torc.

Torc has shadowed Ketherus as they ran forward to face the goblins, eyeing Ketherus's back as they charged. The mad glint in Torc's eye has blood in it, and Ketherus is likely lucky that the ogre appears, else he might have received Torc's steel in his back. The ogre batters away at Ketherus, pounding his broad frame with mighty blows. Ketherus reels in pain and collapses to the ground, bleeding his life away.

Joining the battle as well is a thin human, clad in hiking gear. In the dim light, Amarath barely can grasp the human's features. He seems familiar for some reason, perhaps a fellow student at the academy back east? The human gestures briefly and a glowing shield rises before him, protecting him from missiles. Lonis tests its power, sending a magical bolt arrowing into it, but the shield easily absorbs it. Amarath chooses to focus on the goblins instead, adding his magical bolt to Jaffron and Kith's arrows.

Goblins fall, but the human shouts encouragement in goblin-speak and summons more magic. A wave of energy emanates from his hands, wrapping around Torc, Kith, Amarath, and Lonis. The elves easily resist the slumbering enchantment, but Torc collapses to the ground like a marionette with cut strings. The goblins he was fighting laugh and prepare to stab at his prone form, but are slain by concentrated missile fire.

The ogre, seeing the elves as perhaps the most dangerous of foes, lumbers towards them, preparing to crush their puny spines. Curry pulls forth his trident and blocks the ogre's path. Mocking the lumbering oaf in orcish, Curry pokes at it with his trident, trying to keep a suitable distance. The ogre's arm and club are deceptively long, and Curry is bashed in the side, his armor barely saving his ribs. Curry decides that he has bought the others enough time and scuttles backwards, away from his foe.

The human mage and the archers of the party engage in a missile duel, with the party losing. The mage's shield repels most of the archers' arrows, while the mage's magical bolts strike cleanly. The magical bolts are not enough to bring anyone low, but they definitely hurt. Kith looks at his options, fire upon the approaching ogre, or continue to trade fire with the mage. He pivots on his heel and puts two arrows into the chest of the ogre, a much closer, broader, and softer target than the distant, shielded mage. The ogre looks down in surprise at the arrows and mewls in pain, sagging to his knees, and then over to his side. The elves give up a cheer.

Jaffron, who has hidden himself and worked his way along the edge of the mine shaft, suddenly pounces out and stabs one of the three remaining goblins in the kidney. The goblin dies a painful death, screaming and flailing about in agony. The remaining goblins, having seen their fellows fall and their enforcer die, lose confidence, turn about, and flee into the mine shaft. The human mage looks startled, calling out to the goblins in goblin-speak, telling them to stand and fight. Cursing, the mage follows them back into the dark.

[Dead Greyhawk]

The party is certainly not willing to let the mage escape, and they pursue as well as they can. Around the next turn of the tunnel, a guttering torch lights the tunnel with fluttering light. Jaffron, Amarath, and Lonis charge after the mage, while Kith calls out to Curry about the fleeing goblins. Curry, calling upon his one-eyed god to heal his wounds, waves Kith on. Kith, no fool, chooses to run back and wake Torc rather than chase after multiple goblins by himself.

Immediately next to the torch is a ladder, bolted in the wall of the tunnel. The two mages and the halfling thief stare at the ladder, torn between climbing it or running further down the tunnel. Kith and Torc go barreling by them, weapons drawn, and their indecision ends. They start to climb up the ladder. Lonis leads the way, and, as the elf reaches the top of the ladder, another tunnel becomes visible. In the tunnel, thirty feet away, is the mage, gesturing at Lonis. The mage speaks words of power, another wave of exhaustion flowing over the elves. Again, neither elf is affected, but the halfling slumps to the ground, snoring.

Lonis climbs to the top of the ladder and runs forward to the mage, stabbing with a dagger. The magical protections the mage has wrapped around him are difficult to broach, and none of the spells the elf has memorized will penetrate it. Instead, the battle has degenerated to steel on steel. Amarath shakes Jaffron awake again, and the two of them start climbing the ladder again.

Kith and Torc run down the corridor after the goblins. Kith jogs cautiously, watching for traps or other impediments, while Torc runs pell mell after the goblins. Torc quickly out distances Kith, even though his legs are much shorter. Kith redoubles his efforts when he hears the sounds of combat from up ahead.

Torc is engaged in life or death struggle with both of the goblins, who seem to have been working a pulley system. The tunnel ends in a great vertical shaft, and a block and tackle extends down into the shaft, likely connected to a platform elevator. The goblins must have been raising the platform when Torc tore into them. Torc is overmatched though, with the goblins turning and flanking him. Numerous nicks and slashes cover his body, and Kith's appearance is welcome.

Kith sends shafts into the nearest of the goblins, killing him, while the other goblin impales Torc. Torc slumps to the ground, bleeding, but Kith quickly avenges him. The goblin is shot in the neck and stumbles backwards, gagging, into the open shaft, sailing down it to the bottom below. Kith binds Torc's wounds, finding him merely sorely injured and not dead, and then hoists the halfling's body over one shoulder. Leaving the platform half raised, Kith returns to Curry with his injured companion.

The mage, faced with Lonis's darting dagger, draws forth his dagger as well. Stabbing forward, he jabs at Lonis's face, searching to drive it into an eye or ear. Amarath and Jaffron finish clambering up the ladder and join the fray. The three of them stab at the mage with their weapons, but the mage is surprisingly agile and protected by his wards. Their blows go wide while his does not.

First Amarath is laid low with a slash to the stomach. Then Lonis is stabbed through the arm, gouts of blood spraying onto the wall. Only Jaffron the doughty halfling thief is left in the battle. Unable to attack from behind, as Jaffron prefers, he faces the mage and charges, dagger held high. The mage agilely steps back and stumbles over Amarath's curled form. Jaffron drives his dagger through the mage's thigh, cutting the vital artery within. The mage gouts blood in a great stream and staggers, unable to stand. Jaffron leaps forward, landing on the mage's chest and driving his dagger up into the mage's skull, making certain no magics will be done.

Curry, Kith, and Jaffron aid in recovering the other fallen members of their party and then search the surrounding area. The mage's quarters are easily located at the end of the higher tunnel. The quarters are more defensible than outside, and it is there that the three of them drag the others to recover. Even Ketherus is saved, as Curry has bound the ranger's wounds before the last of the ranger's blood left his body.

days pass, with Curry's god providing painful, but effective, healing to those who are injured. The mage's quarters are searched, his book of spells found, and a book describing the battle of Shedrig's pass. Amarath recovers the library tomb, and the two mages pore over the book of spells, searching for spells of interest. The ogre's and the mage's belongings are collected and prepared for travel. A chest with a small collection of gold coins and a number of what appear to be ore samples is successfully opened. The party agrees to split their treasures back in Goblin's Tooth.

Once everyone can walk again, the Company returns to Goblin's Tooth. The trip back is peaceful, and they avoid undue combat. The Reeve is not pleased to here of battles with goblins, but since they occurred away from the town, he has little authority in the matter. Kith, Lonis, Torc, and Jaffron place a claim on the mine, and Amarath agrees to have the ore assayed back in civilization, where he plans to return. Jaffron correctly identifies the ring as belonging to Davis's long-lost brother, and he drives a hard bargain with Davis for its return. Davis goes heavily into debt with the rest of the village to purchase it, and Jaffron finds that his food and drink taste funny and everything in the town is more expensive for him.

Kethereus, correctly identifying that these folk are not destined to be his boon companions, departs with Amarath, and Curry joins them. Curry plans on continuing his prosetylizing ways and possibly killing Ketherus for the sheer joy of it.