Emerald Spire 03.0 - Thinning the Numbers

After their attack on the goblins, Kormon had to spend several days in the church infirmary, recovering his strength. In the interim, Marin visited Mr. Royst again for further information. The retired adventurer told him about the enchanted nature of the ruin's glass, and how it absorbed light for some now-forgotten purpose.
When Kormon left the infirmary, slightly earlier than the nurses would have recommended, they agreed to attempt to enter the spire again. The first thing the pair did was convinced Amara, the representative of the Quicksilver Conclave, to join them in their search for the missing acolytes. She tried to explain that, as an inexperienced academic, it was only her job to find volunteers, not to look herself. They argued that this place had lots of magic that they were unable to unravel by themselves and if they were to have a hope of finding the two missing persons, they needed her help in the ruins. Though obviously unsure of herself, she agreed.
The weather was poor as they set out and escalated to a terrible thunderstorm by the time they got to the ruins. Scouting around the outside, hidden by the pouring rain, they found a semi-hidden passageway in the back. However, they were eventually spotted and the goblins raised an alarm. Two guards on rat-dogs began investigating the fields and the group lured them away from the ruins and towards the trees. Once separated from reinforcements, the adventurers attacked and killed both guards and their dogs, going so far as to chase down the goblin who had fled into the trees to escape.
With the guard reduced, the three attempted to sneak into the ruins through the gaping hole that the goblins obviously used as their main entrance. However, they were spotted almost as soon as they stepped inside and were attacked by goblins, though when they fled they were not chased.
Frustrated at their lack of progress, Kormon called from the fields to the goblins, demanding to speak to their leader. After a few minutes, a bugbear, flanked by the robot Clanky and a goblin wearing filthy robes, came out. A brief negotiation was conducted, which Marin proved poor at; Chief Grulk demanded that the interlopers pay tribute in the form of weapons to recompense him for the loss of his men and dogs at their hands. In exchange, they would be allowed to enter the basement unmolested. During the talks, Grulk mentioned that a gold-faced human wizard, Zdislav, was forcing him into acting as a door-guard; he'd be happy if Zdislav was killed, but held little hope the three could do anything about it. When he was asked, he admitted that hadn't heard of or seen the two missing Conclave members.
Begrudgingly, the three retreated to Fort Inevitable to rest and to acquire the tribute.
Category:Emerald Spire