Gundren Rockseeker and all the adventurers move into the King’s Quarters.
Lofty moves into the room by the door. Here the Rogue looks around and can clearly make out that the room was once a splendid bathroom which had fallen into disrepair. However, the Goblin’s again have tried to improve the room and its facilities as best they could for King Grol to use.
On the floor Lofty sees a pile of discarded cloths and the Rogue considers checking them.
Astrid closes the door, leaving a gap to be able to listen through and listens out for more enemies.
Sildar crouches behind an upturned table, loads his Heavy Cross-bow and aims at the door.
Finally, Galdor is attending to Gundren Rockseeker who is unconscious but still alive.
Lofty realises that the Black Spider was not in the bathroom and that the cloths must belong to him. But also, what was a naked Winged Kobold doing in the King’s Quarters and where had it gone, out of one of the arrow slits? Lofty is conserned about Gundren Rockseeker.
Lofty moves out of the bathroom and spots that King Grol’s bed had been upended and the Rogue could see an open a stitched leather sack containing 220 sp, 100 gp, 160 ep and 3 potions all containing a red liquid that glimmers when agitated.
Lofty Bilberry: “Gundren’s map to Wave Echo Cave, that dammed Kobold must have taken it.”
Astrid hears no sounds from behind the door and informs the party. Astrid is conserned about Gundren Rockseeker.
Galdor tell the adventurers that Gundren Rockseeker needs to be healed before he can be moved and that’s when Lofty holds up the Potions of Healing.
Astrid Bilberry: “I’ll take one of those if the Cleric is saving his heavenly powers.”
Lofty hands over one of the Potions to his sister, then moves over to Galdor and does the same with the second Potion. Galdor administers the Potion of Healing and Gundren Rockseeker wakes, battered and bruised but in good spirts now that he was with his favourite orphans.
Lofty and Galdor both hug Gundren Rockseeker and the Dwarf tells his adopted kin that he doesn’t know much apart form having met the Black Spider and he was wanting his Map. King Grol wanted to exploit that and demanded more for its return.
Lofty then had to tell Gundren Rockseeker of his brother’s Nundro death. Tharden may still live but we believe that the Black Spider knows the location of Wave Echo Cave and all they needed was the Map.
Lofty Bilberry: “That is not all remember.”
Lofty says sheepishly and reminds everyone of the Puzzle Box.
Gundren Rockseeker did not know what was inside the Puzzle Box and had expected to have found out once it was given to him. He also did not know what its purpose was but he was told he need this to appease those guarding Wave Echo Cave.
Lofty was unsure how this was connected to what Sister Garaele had told him.
Sister Garaele: “The box was not wholly Evil but I sense you have been exposed to Shadowfell Magic, but its presence was certainly troubling. I suspect it is the cause of your illness and I suggest that Galdor’s healing spells have provided temporary relief. However, you need to return the item within the Puzzle Box soon to be fully cured”.
Lofty Bilberry: “What is Shadowfell?”
Sister Garaele: “So the Shadowfell is a parallel plane to the material plane (like the Feywild) made from the Plane of Shadow and part of the Negative Energy Plane. During this time, until the Second Sundering, the parallel plane (Shadowfell) became the place from which Necrotic energies and Shadow magic stemmed. Or Undead Land to you young Rogue.”
Astrid moves over to Gundren and in an unusual show of affection, also hugs Gundren for a long while.
Lofty decides that he should attempt to check the Cragmaw Castle from the outside and explains that he will climb out of the arrow slit and down to the floor. He will then stealthily check the outside of Castle to find the best way to escape. With the help of ‘Guidance’ from Galdor, a rope and a helping hand climbing down the tower Lofty had no difficulty in doing so and quietly too.
As the Halfling Rogue made his way clockwise around Castle Cargmaw, he notices something on the ground some 60’-70’ feet away half hidden by a bush. Lofty believes it to be the Winged Kobold, that he now knows did fly out of the arrow slit, and as he drew closer Lofty could see that the Map was by the body.
As lofty Cautiously moves closer and stands over the naked creature he is shocked but not surprised. This allowed the cleaver Rogue to make a successful grab for the Map and run off back to the rope hanging from the arrow slit. The Rogue looks behind him and sees the Winged Kobold fly up into the air.
Lofty reached the Tower first and knew he only had the advantage of moving first and hoped that he had the speed and stamina to climb the rope and into the arrow slit before the Winged Kobold tried to prevent him.
Lofty makes it to the arrow slit and is just about to dash inside when he feels the rush of air generated by the diving Kobold and them squirms his way out of the clasping claws of the creature. Lofty was safe and he sees the Winged Kobold fly up and out of his line of sight.
Lofty Bilberry: “I think we need to make a move, don’t you? Oh, and look what I found.”
Lofty holds up Gundren’s Map.
Gundren Rockseeker: “I don’t think I am the person to take that now, do you Lofty?”
Lofty Bilberry: “I think it is ours now to hold and use, yes indeed Gundren.”
Lofty moves back over to the door and the party begin to organise themselves to exit the Cargmaw Castle via the Canvas exit in the Ruined Tower. The Rogue takes the opportunity to listen at the door while away from the others and he hears the pattering of Goblin feet attempting not to make any noise.
Quietly the Rogue informs the adventurers and they prepare for combat. Sildar with his Heavy Cross-bow hides crouching behind the table, Lofty elects to prepare his Shortbow to fire down the corridor, as does Galdor with his Longbow. Gundren waits, hidden behind a piece of furniture as he is a lover not a fighter and finally, Astrid is ready, with Short Sword in hand, to open the door; allow the archers to fire and she would use her Darts. This way the whole party could stay protected within the King’s Quarters.
Goblin Scimitar
Astrid opens the door and Sildar let fly his bolt, which hits one of the skulking Goblins carrying a Shield and Scimitar. Sildar ducks down and re-loads his Cross-bow.
Galdor steps out next and finishes the first Goblin. The Elf Cleric steps back out of the line of sight of the other Goblin’s, and their leader Yegg, who were waiting further back with Shortbow’s drawn and Aimed at the King’s Quarters. His intension was to protect Gundren at all costs.
Then it was the turn of the Rogue who fired his trusty Shortbow and the second Goblin and he was hit. Then Lofty scurries off and Hides behind the bathtub.
Finally, Astrid steps from around the door and lobs her Dart at the Goblin, killing the second Goblin. Knowing that they had lost the Surprise, the Monk closes the door behind herself.
The attack does not happen and so they decide to perform the same trick again. Astrid opens the door but the Goblin’s had moved away.
Jingles, the Goblin Jester and Snarl, King Grol’s personal Wolf also appeared and they were both dispatched off very quickly.
Snarl, Wolf
Astrid Bilberry: “They didn’t fancy their odds. Mayhap they have gone for reinforcements?”
Lofty Bilberry: “I think they have headed south, possible back to the Banquet Hall, or through the closed door to the west, in between the hanging curtains. We didn’t check there but I heard nothing when I had a listen.”
Galdor: “Where to next then Lofty?”