Runelords 08.0 - Thistletop Shrine

For the three days following the defeat of the quasit beneath Sandpoint, the four adventurers remained in the village overseeing the sealing of the tunnels. A quick check on the first day revealed that the runewell of wrath was still dry and that the exits were still collapsed, so they gave the go-ahead to the masonry team. Taking their time and knowing full well that there must be some other exit down there, they investigated the tunnels with a fine-tooth comb, eventually finding down the far path a hidden exit. It led to an open crevasse on a cliff face, overlooking the sea. A narrow path wound down to the water where a boat could land, and piles of bird skeletons and detritus on the cave floor suggested that goblins had camped here recently: this smuggling tunnel was indeed how they had entered the town. The four hoped that blocking the tunnels would prevent it from happening again.
The next few days were uneventful: Virgil, in keeping with his promise to Khyrralien, stole a transient sailor's identity in order to purchase drugs for the fey, and spent much of the rest of his time beginning to train his ravens in the skills necessary to scout; Khyrralien goaded Luna into making a grotesque handbag out of the head of Korvus for him, in hopes of intimidating goblins with it. Luna and Eamon, between their usual activities, dedicated themselves ensuring that the tunnels were sealed effectively and that nothing untoward happened to the masons while they worked.
After construction was finished, they moved to the next phase in their plans to secure Sandpoint: prevent the goblin army from attacking. They reasoned that there was no way to defend against an attack of that size, so the only way was to prevent them from acting to begin with. They knew goblins to be disorganized and loyal only to their own leaders, which meant that there must be someone else coordinating the goblin chieftains and heroes, who they assumed at this point to be Nualia, her lackey Tsuto, and whomever else she had in her employ. In order to firmly stop the goblins, they might have to remove all of their current leaders from power, which meant a lot of bloodshed. They determined that their first step would be to track down and speak to Bruthazmus, the bugbear ranger that Shalelu had a personal grievance against; Tsuto's journal mentioned him as contrary, so he might be willing to spare some information about the half-elf fugitive's whereabouts or the best way to remove the goblins from Nualia's employ that didn't involve a genocidal campaign. Shalelu had mentioned his territory was in the Thistletop Woods, so they made that their next destination.
The group left before first light, in order to reach the Thistletop Woods by dawn. The forest was true to its name: it was a tangled snarl of thorns and nettles that prevented them from proceeding in a straight line. They came upon a particularly dense patch, but Khyrralien managed to notice a thin path that ran between the bushes. Following it led them around the worst of the stinging plants, but in a looping, awkward track that made it difficult to ascertain where they were going. After spending hours walking in circles, Eamon decided to fly up to the canopy and take a look, gaining some uncomfortable scrapes for his efforts. He could see in the distance the ocean, and directly off of the coast, a strange circular island that jutted up with a perfection that could only be man-made. On top of the smooth rock was a wooden stockade. When he dropped down and relayed this to the others, they agreed that this could very well be the Thistletop Shrine mentioned in Tsuto's journal. Though it wasn't their original destination, they decided to investigate it anyhow: it was also related to their overarching task, and it would be a pleasant relief from the nettles. Eamon pointed out their direction, and they abandoned the path in favour of bushwhacking, earning Eamon and Khyrralien more itchy scratches from the plants.
As they pressed forwards, they happened upon a strange sight: they just barely managed to notice a door of sorts, made from thorn bushes and disguised in the foliage. Pulling it aside revealed a small tunnel, short for a man but well-sized for a goblin. Unable to resist its allure, Khyrralien crouched over and shuffled inside, taking a pair of right turns when he came to forked paths and ending up in a small opening that was almost large enough for him to stand. In the center of the rocky floor was a rough hole that led down into darkness; it was too deep for Khyrralien to see the bottom, but he could hear waves crashing. As he squinted, a barking sound came up from the depths, causing him to back away, though he only took a few steps back before mimicking the sound back towards the hole. When he was given no response, he turned back and rejoined the others, who were significantly less interested in finding out what was down the hole than their teammate was. Deciding to press forwards, they promised Khyr that they would investigate the hole after they had looked into the shrine.
Unfortunately, they didn't get much farther before being blocked by a near solid wall of thorns. Estimating that it would take them hours or more to hack through the dense vines and bushes, Virgil suggested that they go back to the door: it stood to reason that, if this was the defense that protected the overland route to the shrine, then that tunnel was probably the actual entrance used by the goblins. With Khyr's excited exclamations that they would get to see what was down the hole, they returned, and this time all four crawled in.
Peering around the hole, they heard the barking sound again. Eamon and Virgil both declared that they wouldn't be flying down the narrow tunnel; the devil went on to explain that, though he wouldn't force her to by any means, Luna was the lightest and least able to hoist someone, so it stood to reason that she was the best choice to get lowered down the hole on a rope. She whined slightly but quickly relented, once again getting lowered down a dark tunnel towards the churning waves. As she got deeper, her path illuminated by Khyr's Dancing Lights, she saw the tunnel widen into a proper grotto, where the ocean waves splashed back and forth. It was here that she could see what was making the sounds: a massive bunyip, a fierce seal-like creature with the countenance of a shark. It barked excitedly for its next meal to be thrown down, and based on the number of goblin skeletons that lay strewn about, it seemed that mealtime was a regular occurrence. Luna shouted out to be pulled back up, and the seal seemed saddened that it was apparently being denied a snack. Khyrralien clapped at the intrigue of the "demon seal", though the others found it somewhat rote: an animal that had learned where to win a free meal. They moved on to explore the rest of the tunnels.
The passages and watch-points they came to were all abandoned, though it was obvious that this was indeed a goblin lair. Eventually, they came to a room with a large wooden cage in it. Ten goblins, adorned with bird skulls and feathers screeched and whined from inside. Despite Luna's best efforts to get them to explain how they had gotten there, or at the very least get a promise from them that they wouldn't attack the four of them if let loose, they refused any sort of sensical talk. They did identify themselves as from the Bird Crusher tribe, and they screamed to be let out: Ripnugget would be there soon, and they didn't want to be thrown down the Howly-Hole, which they assumed to be the grotto where the bunyip stayed. Khyrralien was ready to leave the goblins there, but Luna sighed and lifted the latch on the cage door, unwilling to leave them to what they obviously considered to be certain death. They didn't attack, but they did swarm and trample over her in their zeal to escape; Khyrralien tittered as she picked herself up from the dirt and shook herself off.
While they continued to explore the tunnels, they found two other exits, both on tiny ledges on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Neither had traversable pathways, and appeared to be more lookouts than anything else. From one of these vantages, they could see the island, not far from where they stood. It appeared almost man-made, far too smooth and perfect to be a natural formation. From one angle, it almost appeared to be the lower part of a face, worn away by time and the waves. On the island's flat top stood a wooden stockade with two towers, and they could make out a rope bridge that led to it from the thorny maze they were currently in.
Heading back inside, they could find no evidence of a rope bridge, so they investigated more thoroughly for hidden entrances. Luna eventually found a concealed path leading away from the Howly-Hole, where the bunyip still barked for food. Moving through the newly-discovered tunnel, they came upon a large room with numerous stakes driven into the ground. Tied to some of them were rodent-like goblin dogs, hissing and snarling; there were only four present, but the stakes indicated there were at least six more. They considered the creatures; Luna was against senseless slaughter and Eamon was hesitant to kill without just cause, though Khyrralien was all too ready to lay waste to the animals. Virgil made the decisive argument that, though they would obviously be a problem if loosed upon them later, there was only a chance of that happening. Conversely, they would certainly be injured if they engaged them there, and the amount of time it would take them to put the animals down with only ranged attacks would certainly give the local goblins time to find them and mount an offensive themselves. Better to take the risk of possible injury later than certainly wear themselves out now. Agreeing, the group moved on. 
They turned down the tunnel that they believed would lead them to the rope bridge. As they did, Khyrralien glanced the other way, and saw a large feline creature with a black and red pelt relaxing on a pile of furs, staring at them intently. The four slowly made their way backwards towards the exit, and the firepelt cougar got up and followed them, stalking. Khyrralien began to hum and sway about, using his bardic fascination to keep the cat's attention while the other three, one at a time, stepped outside and crossed the extremely rickety rope bridge. Though it seemed there were some close calls, no one slipped or fell through. When Eamon made it across third, he noticed that the knot that held the bridge in place was precipitously close to unravelling; they had been very lucky. With them across, Khyrralien turned and ran across the bridge himself. Eamon prepared to cut the rope to prevent pursuers, but Virgil halted him: it might be that the cat, obviously a pet, might be trained to not go on the bridge. Indeed, the cougar stopped at the cliff face, still staring intently as it sat back and lay down, waiting for them to return. Secure that the cougar wouldn't harass them for the moment, they pressed forwards into the island, ready to explore what they could only assume was Thistletop Shrine.
When they moved further onto the grassy island top towards the entry, they saw three goblins some distance away. They might have originally been tasked with guarding the door, but currently they were more interested in a game they seemed to be playing: one goblin had a seagull tied to a rope by the leg, and the other two threw rocks at it as it screeched and tried in vain to fly away. Offended by this treatment of a bird, particularly because he could understand full-well the meaning behind its cries, Virgil prepared to inflict violence upon the goblins. Khyr was all too ready to finally fight something, and the other two resignedly readied for battle. Luna and Khyr lined up shots with their musket and longbow respectively, while the other two prepared to run forwards. Both shots only skimmed their targets, leaving the most minor of injuries; all three immediately yelled and fled, dropping the seagull's leash and allowing it to fly away, still trailing a rope that Virgil could not convince it to return to have removed. The goblins, with their head start, were not worth chasing; they decided to rather enter the stockade now in order to perhaps head off some of the incoming resistance.
The front double doors were not barred, and they found themselves in a front hall with little effort. Walking to their left, they saw a goblin who immediately yelled out and ran away. They followed after it, but not in any sort of rush; it had to be known they were there by this point. They followed the halls around, glancing into rooms and finding it to be a solid albeit run-down fort, not likely to have been built by goblins, though they had obviously been living here for some time. 
Deciding against climbing the guard tower, they made their way into a courtyard where the once-grassy yard had been trampled down to dirt. Several doors led back into the stockade, though one in particular stood out. It was sealed shut with a lock and a bunch of boards nailed to its front; two long-dead goblins were propped up against it in warning to others. Intrigued as to what might be locked behind it, Luna worked to identify the easiest way to remove the boards, while the men used their significant muscle to rip them away. It took a few minutes, but they managed to wrench open the door. Inside, they saw a cramped, dark room. Eamon leaned in to look, and found that the room held a large, badly emaciated horse. The room was filthy and dank, and Eamon could see a dead goblin trampled in the corner. The animal looked about in fear, before lunging forwards towards its freedom, stomping on the angel as it passed by. It ran around the courtyard in a panic; the four tried to calm it, but the only one who had any skill with animals was Virgil, and his nature did nothing to soothe the terrified horse. Eventually, they had no choice but to leave the horse to its panic; they hoped that it would settle before exhausting itself to death, and that no goblins would harry it while they explored further. Seeing some other doors nearby, they decided to press onwards. 
The first door they opened nearly overwhelmed them with its horrid stench: a goblin privy. The next door, however, led them to a descending set of stairs cut into the rock. Agreeing that this was likely to lead somewhere interesting, they began to walk down them. Virgil and Eamon commented lightly to each other that this certainly wasn't what they had planned on doing this day, but they couldn't argue that they were doing something, at least. 
In the basement was a room, dominated by a large wooden table, covered with plans and maps that once again pointed towards the destruction of Sandpoint. They found this to be unsurprising, knowing full-well that this is where the conspirators met. Taking the hall that led away, they carried on exploring. Poking their heads into empty rooms, they found crude murals of goblins, centered around a depiction of a massive goblin creature in the middle of a hollowed-out mountain, easily 30 ft tall if the scale was to be trusted. More menacingly were the carved frescos of monsters and menacing creatures that decorated the walls, obviously not goblin in origin. Eventually they came upon a magnificent, though horribly adorned, set of double doors. Pushing them open, they found a large open room: a chapel dedicated to the goddess Fierna. Its walls and columns were of a shiny black stone, and a huge statue of a naked, pregnant woman with monstrous features and claws stood at the altar. As they glanced about, they noticed a large canid creature that looked up at them fiercly from the steps of the altar; Khyrralien, recognizing it as a relatively common demonic creature, cooed that it wasn't very friendly. They quickly shut the door and hurried on. 
Their meanderings brought them to a room with jail cells and torture equipment. As they opened the door, two imprisoned goblins yelled out; one in particular shouted to Virgil. It was Ripgut, the goblin he had charmed and "befriended" on the night of the Swallowtail Festival. He yelled to be let out; he had been locked in here because he had refused to pray like everyone else, and they were going to do horrible things to him. Shrugging, they easily let him free, warning him of the horse and the cougar on the way out. Ripgut scoffed at them, particularly at the mention of the cougar, who would never hurt a goblin; without any further ado, he ran off, glad to be free of the place. The other goblin begged to be let out, and Luna obliged him, though as soon as he was to the door, he said that he was going to go tell on them, and he'd be forgiven. The goblin was gone before they could do anything, but they were disinclined to care: it was almost unthinkable that someone hadn't alerted everyone already. 
Moving along, they came to a short hallway with three doors; Virgil, Khyrralien and Eamon each took one and opened them simultaneously. Khyrralien found a room with many cages, each holding a goblin child, while Luna assured them was standard goblin practice, to toughen up their young. Virgil reported another hallway. Meanwhile, Eamon's door opened up to find a room with many filthy pillows, three naked goblin females, and a naked and rather occupied male bugbear, who deeply resented being disturbed. Eamon coughed and tried to greet whom they could only assume was Bruthazmus, the man they had been looking for originally. He yelled and threatened them as he stood up to engage them in combat, but Eamon and Virgil tried to talk him down. The sight of Virgil only served to aggrivate him further: the man's human form was reminiscent of a half-elf, a race that the bugbear apparently loathed. No amount of words from either man could convince Bruthazmus that Virgil wasn't elven; despite this, he was interested in their professed intent to kill the half-elf Tsuto. Bruthazmus slammed the door shut on them, returning to his business; the four intruders waited politely in the hall. After about twenty minutes, the door opened again: an arrow shot out and drove into Virgil's shoulder. Luna could recognize the enchantments on the shaft as Bane Against Elves, which understandably had not triggered on the human-disguised devil. Virgil cursed nonetheless as he pulled the arrow out of his arm; Bruthazmus walked out into the hallway, now dressed in armour, and Virgil could sense his emotions as holding a satisfying "taste", reserved usually for when someone was prideful or admiring of him. He blinked at the incongruity of the sensation, as this was not a man who held a shred of respect for him, nor who appeared to be in a self-assured frame of mind. Rather, he appeared darkly furious at Virgil, who despite evidence, he still asserted was part elven. Eamon meanwhile talked to the bugbear, explaining their intent to protect Sandpoint and to bring Tsuto to justice. Bruthazmus' short reply was that Tsuto was down the hall and around the corner, and he would be all too glad to see the scum dead. 
Category:Rise of the Runelords