Goblin Town

*"When all the magic has left the world, goblins will still persist."*

This is a Platinum Encounter Card in *Hand of Fate 2.*

## Event

*Following the goblin's instructions, you walk through snow, then marsh, then under an old oak tree.*

*You crawl through dirt tunnels lit by shafts of sunlight, until you eventually emerge on a paved road, deep underground.*

*Up ahead, you see a bright green glow.*

*You are no longer alone. Goblins scurry from adjoining tunnels and greet you on the path.*

*You are swept along with the crowd until the tunnel broadens into a vast cavern encapsulating a small city - Goblin Town!*

*Green lanterns cast the streets in a murk light.*

*Crowds of goblins go about their business while hooded figures lead rodent-like beasts of burden to market.*

*In the distance, a mountain of gold glitters enticingly. Lines of goblins are arrayed around it like spokes of a wheel.*

1) Visit the gold mountain.

*You join one of the long queue of goblins waiting patiently for their gold.*
If the current companion is Hubie:
*Hubie lines up behind you with his raggedy coin bag ready. "I'm going to invest in broiled scrod."*
*A dusty goblin wearing a pointy hat peers down at you from a tall bureau.*
*His wrinkled hand clutches a quill over a scroll of paper so long that it cascades off his counter and onto the ground. "Name?"*
On the first attempt:
*The ancient goblin slowly scratches your name into the parchment before scooping some of the gold into your waiting haversack with a long, giant spoon.*
**The player draws 4 Gold Gain Cards.**
On subsequent attempts:
*He looks down at his list. "Fie! You've already taken your gold today. Humans are all the same - greedy."*
2) Explore Goblin Town.

**Chance Cards Gambit** (1 Success, 2 Failure, 1 Huge Failure) (Hard)
Huge Success (only possible with Eternal Hope)
*As you wander the streets admiring the lopsided architecture, somebody painfully taps your shoulder with a wooden staff.*
*You turn to see a goblin, badly disguised as a human, smiling up at you. He looks vaguely familiar.*
*"My name is Mister Lionel! Watch out!" The goblin flings something solid and metal at your head, but you duck just in time.*
**The player draws 1 Shield Equipment Card.**
*You attempt to chastise your assailant but the goblin has already vanished into the crowded market.*
Success
If Hubie is the current Companion:
*In a strange turn of events, you join up with Hubie as he hefts a goat into the air. It bleats in terror. "Quickly, prepare the bucket!"*
*It's some time before the goat is returned to its rightful owner, who is grateful for your help.*
Otherwise:
*An ancient goblin, wrinkled as a prune, is selling an array of teas down by the bank of the pungent river that runs through the town.*
*He places a bag in your hand and shakes his little head when you offer payment. "I am happy knowing that the tea will either strengthen you greatly, or kill you."*
**The player draws 1 Food Gain Card.**
Failure
* *The hooded figures lead their rat-beasts silently through the crowds of chatty goblins. The hoods obscure all but the creatures' grey skin and narrow mouths.*
* *The crowded buildings of goblin town are stacked haphazardly on top of one another. Little pairs of pants hang from washing lines strung overhead.*
* *The cavern is so vast that it is impossible to gauge the height of the city's great stone ceiling. A passing goblin notices your gaze. "Wonderful isn't it? A great burrowing serpent ate out the earth on Goblin King's command."*
* *If it weren't for their wide variety of hats, you'd struggle to tell one goblin from another. You wonder whether they ever feel the same way.*
* *A friendly goblin invites you into his home for some bitter tea and sugar cubes. You spend a pleasant afternoon listening to him recite poems about apples.*

Huge Failure
*"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Two goblins carrying a towering cake come rushing through the street toward you!*
*You leap out of the way, twisting your ankle on a crooked cobblestone.*
**The player draws a Life Pain Card.**
*Suddenly, urgent horns blare in alarm throughout the city, reverberating off the cavern walls.*
*Goblins and hooded folk alike drop what they're doing to rush toward exit tunnels or jump into portals popping up here and there.*
*The ground rumbles underfoot as a choking black gas begins to seep into the cavern.*
61% chance:
* *You pack your things and hurry toward the nearest exit. You stop to assist an old enfeebled goblin, lifting him over your shoulder for safety.*
* *You pack your things and hurry toward the nearest exit, the black gas encroaching ever closer.*

39% chance:
*A panicking rat-beast barrels down the street, knocking you into a goblin portal!*
**The Dealer moves the player to a random Encounter Card.**
**Encounter ends.**
3) Leave.

**Encounter ends.**
## Event (Hubie Token 3)

*Green lanterns cast the streets of Goblin Town in an uneasy light.*

*"There!" Hubie grabs your arm and points down at the underground lake. A colossal shape lurks in the murky depths. "The Wyrm, it's already here!"*

You took Hubie to his desired Encounter!

*"Excuse me!" Hubie squeaks at passing goblins and other peculiar characters scattered throughout the crowd. "You have to leave! The Great Wyrm is here!"*

*His cries go unheeded.*

1) Grab a passing goblin and shake them.

*You grab a goblin hurrying past. He is hugging a huge, scaly egg.*
*Before you can even begin to warn him, he wriggles free from your grasp and disappears into the crowd.*
2) Shout at the crowd yourself.

*The goblins are preoccupied with the strange errands that keep the city in motion - two shouting voices are merely lost in the crowd. It is no use.*

*"Wait I know!" Hubie squeaks. "The Big Horn! We can use it to warn everybody!"*

*You see the impressive instrument over by the lake.*

*"We have to get to it before it's too late!"*

*The path down to the black lake stretches before you, a tangle of twisting streets and bustling goblins.*

1) Head through the covered market.

*You follow the smell of butter and roasting chestnuts.*
*Goblins of various shapes and textures peddle their strange wares. You dodge a glittering fish being flung at your head from a particularly exuberant stall-keep.*
*As you hurry onward, the seething bustle of the crowd slowly becomes more congested until it comes to a dead stall.*
A) Throw an armful of food at the mob. (Lose 5 Food)
*The goblins rush to grab the pies splattered across the cobblestones.*
*The crowd parts and you are able to squeeze through.*
**The player loses 5 Food.**
B) Smash the bakery window. (Dice Target 14)
**Dice Gambit** (Target: 14)
Success
*The basket-wielding goblins rush through the broken glass to get to the delicious baked goods within.*
Failure
*The window breaks more readily than you expected. Shards of glass explode into the street, scattering the crowd. You ease a particularly large sliver out of the meat of your shoulder.*
**The player draws 2 Life Pain Cards.**
*The basket-wielding goblins rush through the broken glass to get to the delicious baked goods within.*
2) Head through the housing district.

*You take the right street through the jumble of ramshackle towers that comprise the housing district.*
*You hurry through the seething bustle of goblins, dodging laundry being inexplicably thrown onto the street from windows above you.*
*"Hello!" An elderly goblin clutching a wooden tub full of blood and fruits steps into your path. "I can't finish my laundry without some more human blood."*
A) Throw some coins at the elderly goblin. (Lose 10 Gold)
**The player loses 10 Gold.**
*With no time to lose, you throw a handful of coins at the wrinkled goblin. He immediately flings his tub of bloodied fruit aside and leaps at the gold.*
B) Help the elderly goblin with his laundry. (Draw 2 Life Pain Cards)
*"Thank you, you've given an old goblin a reason to live." The elderly goblin bows as he stabs your calf, draining a good pint of your blood.*
**The player draws 2 Life Pain Cards.**
*After bandaging your wound with a kiss. the elderly goblin waves you on with a package of warm, sweet-smelling breads wrapped in leaves.*
**The player draws 1 Food Gain Card.**
*You escape the bedlam of the [district] into a sudden pocket of quiet.*

*You are in a courtyard of sorts. A dense forest of twisted branches and strangling ivy crowds the path, leaving only two avenues forward. Bells hang from the crumbling archways, tinkling in some phantom breeze.*

*You are completely alone here. Even Hubie has vanished.*

1) Search for Hubie in the flower garden to your left.

*"Beware," a voice whispers from somewhere in the dark treetops. "...only the wisps can survive this place for long."*
*Though unnerved, you continue on the path.*
*The left path leads to a small, neat garden. On a blanket of blue Forget-Me-Nots, framed by a circle of red poppies, lies Hubie, fast asleep.*
*You gently shake him awake, lifting him to his feet and back onto the path.*
*Hubie's hand finds yours and you continue along the eerie path. You yawn. How long have you been her?*
*With a sudden tightening of his grip, Hubie points in terror at a small shape on the dimly-lit path ahead.*
*...it's another Hubie. He'l lying asleep on the stone.*
*Your Hubie approaches him cautiously, then pokes him in the eye. He wakes with a start.*
*The twin Hubies squeak in fear at their doppelganger.*
*Your vision blurs. The goblins implore you in stereo, "You have to choose the real me!"*
A) Choose the Hubie you found in the garden.
*You grab the Hubie you found in the garden and run.*
B) Choose the Hubie you found on the path.
*You grab the Hubie you found on the path and run.*
*You hear an otherworldly giggling. You look to your companion and instead see a small ghostly figure clutching your hand. A wisp!*
*The spectre grins malevolently and tightens its grip, sending a chill up your arm.*
**The player draws 2 Life Pain Cards.**
*Suddenly, a shoe bounces off the wisp's head - it's Hubie, here to save the day!*
*The spectre hisses and fades into the fog.*
*Hubie tugs your sleeve and leads you back to the path.*
2) Search for Hubie in the graveyard to your right.

*"Beware," a voice whispers from somewhere in the dark treetops. "...only the wisps can survive this place for long."*
*Though unnerved, you continue on the path.*
*The right path leads to a small graveyard, the headstones arranged neatly in two lines. Somebody has made an effort to keep this place clear of weeds.*
*Following a whimper, you find Hubie curled behind a headstone, shivering with fear. You gently life him to his feet and lead him back to the path. Something about this place makes you reluctant to make any noise.*
*Hubie's hand find yours and you continue along the eerie path. You yawn. How long have you been here?*
*With a sudden tightening of his grip, Hubie points in terror at a small shape on the dimly-lit path ahead.*
*...it's another Hubie. He's lying asleep on the stone. Your Hubie approaches him cautiously, then pokes him in the eye. He wakes with a start.*
*The twin Hubies squeak in fear at their doppelganger.*
*Your vision blurs. The goblins implore you in stereo, "You have to choose the real me!"*
1) Choose the Hubie you found in the graveyard.

*You grab the Hubie you found in the graveyard and run.*
*You hear an otherworldly giggling. You look to your companion and instead see a small ghostly figure clutching your hand. A wisp!*
*The spectre grins malevolently and tightens its grip, sending a chill up your arm.*
**The player draws 2 Life Pain cards.**
*Suddenly, a shoe bounces off the wisp's head - it's Hubie, here to save the day!*
*The spectre hisses and fades into the fog.*
*Hubie tugs your sleeve and leads you back to the path.*
*As abruptly as you had left it, you find yourself once again among the bustle of Goblin Town. The haunted courtyard is nowhere to be seen.*
2) Choose the Hubie you found on the path.

*You grab the Hubie you found on the path and run.*
*You glance back at the abandoned Hubie - tears well in his eyes and his bottom lip quivers - and then he is lost in the fog.*
3) Go back the way you came.

*You turn around and are faced with a stone wall.*
*A message is etched into the stone: "Wrong way, go back."*
*As abruptly as you had left it, you find yourself once again among the bustle of Goblin Town. The haunted courtyard is nowhere to be seen.*

*Hubie drags you onward.*

*You stand at the top of a steep hill, clear of obstructions. At the base, far below, waits the Big Horn.*

1) Hurry down the path. (Draw 2 Life Pain Cards)

*In your rush, you inevitably trip and fall, barreling down the hill. You finally come to rest in the middle of an iced-sherbert stall.*
**The player draws 2 Life Pain Cards.**
2) Look for something to use as a sled. (Chance Cards)

**Chance Cards Gambit** (1 Huge Success, 1 Success, 1 Failure, 1 Huge Failure) (Medium)
Huge Success
*You search a nearby junkpile and unearth a wheeled bathtub.*
*As you zip down the hillside, bystanders cheer and throw gifts in admiration of your wondrous vehicle.*
**The player draws 1 Gain Card.**
Success
*You unearth an old door from a nearby junkpile. You ride it down the hillside with Hubie on your back.*
Failure
*You search a nearby junkpile but find nothing of use.*
**The player must hurry down the path.**
Huge Failure
*What you think is the perfect plank of wood to slide on turns out to be the home of a family of churtles.*
*They pursue you down the hillside, snapping at your ankles with their powerful beaks.*
**The player draws 2 Life Pain Cards.**
**The player must hurry down the path.**
*You reach the base of the hill - the Big Horn is but a few feet away. The boardwalk is surprisingly picturesque - the goblinfolk must be proud of it.*

*In the water, the impossibly huge shape suddenly convulses, sending a wave crashing down on the shore. Nobody else seems to notice.*

*There is a rumble from deep within the lake. You exchange a look with Hubie - there's no more time! With a nod, the goblin leapfrogs off your shoulders and onto the Big Horn.*

*Hubie presses his mouth to the horn and blows.*

*The sound rumbles around the curves of the instrument before erupting from the horn and reverberating across the lake.*

*A heavy silence falls upon Goblin Town.*

*The ground shifts underfoot. Following a tremendous crash, you watch as the city's great mountain of gold collapses and disappears down a fissure in the earth.*

*A collective gasp sounds out across Goblin Town.*

*"Halt!" In the stunned silence the voice rings out clear and true.*

*You turn to see a serious goblin with exceedingly long sleeves pointing at Hubie. "Did you blow that horn? Explain yourself."*

*Hubie falls into a trembling mess.*

*He points at the shape in the river and exclaims, "The Great Wyrm!"*

*"Nonsense!" says the accusatory goblin. "That's merely a visiting dignitary from the Lower Reaches! You insult him! Not only that, the horn has destroyed our daily gold pile. You must be punished."*

*Goblins dangle from the windows and balconies, chittering excitedly at the development before them.*

*The authoritative goblin approaches Hubie somberly. Your companion shakes like a leaf in his presence, head bowed. "Your hat, goblin-son."*

*There is a shocked gasp from the crowd. Hubie watches, wide-eyed, as the long-sleeved goblin removes your companion's cloth cap and slowly eats it.*

**The player gains Hubie's token.**

*Hubie emits a choking sob and, desperately covering his bald little head with his hands, turns and runs off into the crowd.*

*You eventually find him on the side of the road out of Goblin Town. He hugs his knees despondently. Goblins hurry past as if he were not there.*

A) Ask him to get up.

*Hubie rubs his wrinkled face with a moist sleeve and climbs to his feet. He nods and follows you back to the surface.*
**Encounter ends.**
B) Hug him.

*The goblin freezes as you gently embrace him.*
*With another wrenching sob, Hubie flings himself at you, making the strange squeaking and garbling which constitutes goblin crying.*
*You sit by the roadside, consoling your friend. The traffic continues in and out of Goblin Town, impassionately.*
**Encounter ends.**