Session 16 (part 1): Second Fight in the Throne Room

Session Date: 03 Oct 2011

Game Date: Fri, 16 Sep 4711

[The session picked up immediately at the end of the previous session]

Inside the bedroom of the slain Thistletop chieftain, Larissa crouched by the door that led to the goblin throne room and pressed her ear to it. She heard the shrill guttural voices of goblins, but did not understand their language. “Stupid little freaks,” she thought. She motioned for the others to come into the room, and the other five Sandpoint Heroes crept in. She tested the door, finding it locked. She locked eyes with Charrone, who nodded back, and Larissa stood clear of the door, pulling out her bow as she stepped back. The rest of the party likewise took out their weapons. Charrone silently mouthed, “One, two, three…” and threw her weight into the door. It burst open, and the Sandpoint Heroes rushed into the throne room.

Inside the throne room were about ten goblins, including a warchanter sitting on what had been Ripnugget’s throne. Towering over the goblins was a heavy flail-wielding bugbear—the same bugbear that led the second attack on the party on the previous day. The goblins apparently had been alerted to the party’s presence, probably from the sound of Halfred and Charrone chopping through the secret door. Two female goblins stood aside the door through which the party ran, and they took swings at Charrone’s knees as she stepped through. The crude goblin swords bounced harmlessly off of Charrone’s greaves. Halfred ran straight at the bugbear, swinging his greataxe. Larissa tumbled into the corner, letting arrows fly.

The fight was on! Charrone engaged the goblin warchanter to prevent her from casting spells. Two other goblins attacked the paladin, but weren't able to get past her defenses. Halfred and the bugbear swung their heavy weapons at each other, but could not connect.

"You longshanks back? We kill you MORE!" shouted the bugbear.

"You didn't kill any of us the first time-- how can you kill us more? WE killed a lot of goblins-- and we're gonna kill you!" shouted back Halfred, and he connected, spilling bugbear blood. The bugbear screamed in rage, swinging his heavy flail, connecting with the barbarian's shoulder.

Larissa held off three goblins plus the slain chieftain's pet giant lizard. The lizard leaped at her, catching her arm in its jaws. It tried to bite her arm off, but the rogue stabbed it in the eye with her rapier, and it let go. Decaln also waded into combat, fending off goblin attacks with his black Orcish scimitar, but the goblins were too agile for him to strike a solid blow. Ted charged his magic wand of shock, and zapped one of the goblins that got too close. McGregor fired bolts of magical energy.

The goblin spellcaster attempted to ensorcell Charrone, but the paladin's will was too strong to succumb to such a petty enchantment. In return, she ran the goblin through. Halfred and the bugbear were wearing each other out-- but the barbarian managed to get better positioning, and in a furious swing, brought his axe down squarely into the monster's chest. The bugbear locked its lizard-like eyes onto Halfred and hissed "No...you...die..." as it dropped its flail and sank to its knees. Halfred swung again in a wide arc and connected his axe into the bugbear's neck, almost completely severing it. The monster's lifeblood poured out of it, and lay motionless on the dirt floor.

With their leaders dead, the goblins increased the frenzy of their attacks, but what little coordination they used fell aside, and they were little match to the combined forces of the Sandpoint Heroes. After two more rounds, all of the goblins and the lizard were also dead.

Declan healed everyone, and Ted felt for the presence of magic. The bugbear and the warchanter each had a few items of interest-- including the bugbear's heavy flail. Halfred claimed that. McGregor took the warchanter's magic wand. The bugbear also had a smaller keyring with three keys, each of which were identical to keys on Ripnugget's key ring that the party had found a day earlier.

The group explored the rest of the wooden complex, finding workrooms, a crude goblin armory, barracks, and an extremely unsettling larder-- which included fresh and preserved human meat. No other combatants were found in the rest of the Thisteltop fortress.