S&W White Box: Recap; Session 12, 8/23/10 PART 1

Odd session, which I missed of course. Here's Fen Sen's take on the expedition:

"After slaying one of the orange things, Old Man Halgron recovered from his senior moment and told us they were hobgoblins and from his earlier adventures he had some custom with their speak. Moments after that revelation we heard the clattering of maille upon the stone steps. Into the light strode Dantry who after greating us all coordially by name then handed Kor a sealed parchment roll. Kor opened the note and told us he had urgent business in town and had to leave now. After a knowing look towards Galathos he quickly sprinted the way Dantry had come ignoring our offers to escort him to the main staircase.

We returned to the task at hand with Halgron slapping the hobgoblin awake. After some amount of gibbering back and forth our cleric told us that his name was Spleensnarfer and he was of the Fleshrenders Clan in whose territory we now found ourselves. They warred with two orc clans, the Blood Axes and the Grinning Skulls and after some further gibbering we agreed to a truce. In exchange for his freedom he would escort us through their territory and show us the way to the Blood Axes. When returning to their territory on our way to the surface we would turn over orc scalps as proof of our actions in the Clan's favor and be granted safe passage.

I thought it was a good arrangement for the time being as it potentially gave us a safe way to return to the surface when necessary, let us slay evil orcs, and potentially gain valuable information upon our erstwhile allies that we may put to good use when it came time to give them the eternal rest their evil so vastly craved.

Spleensnarfer lead us south down the sloping passage past their shrine and their pet cage with three more giant apes to a door making sure we avoided the nasty pit trap near the door. While it was only five foot deep, it was spiked both on floor and walls. The wall spikes were angled downwards to further maim a victim when they attempted to remove their bleeding leg.

At that point he told us, through Halgron of course, that the door marked the edge of their territory and then gave directions in paces to the territory claimed by the Blood Axes. It took a few minutes, with him demonstrating a pace for us to determine we needed to travel 260 feet west, turn south and travel another 90 feet, then head west for another ten feet, before finally turning south for another 90.

With the first part of the bargain fulfilled we untied his hands and I attempted to return his weapon only to have Galathos snach it from my hands. He refused to hear reason, ignoring the fact that the hobgoblin named Spleensnarfer's word had been true and thus we should give him his weapon as a sign of our good intentions. I think the red of his hair seeped into his brain for he refused to give the creature its weapon.

We sent him on his way and because I was unarmored and thus quieter, I was sent to make sure he went around the corner and returned to their main areas. With the big man acting more beastly than our former guide I decided it was in my interest to obey. The vociferousness of his voice and the forceful nature of his movements made it impossible not to do so else surrender to the brute's new field plate gauntlets. I admit I truly feared for my life then more than at any other time.

Again the hobgoblin fulfilled his word, and seeing I had attempted to return his weapon he spoke to me in broken common telling me there was a pit trap at the end of his direction and to be careful as it was right at the edge of orc territory.

I returned to the party expecting Galathos to have returned to his usual brusque self. I was wrong, he had descended further into madness insisting upon us going and defacing the shrine to the hobgoblin's god. The man would not see sense and my various attempts to bring Halgron and Dantry into the discussion fell flat. Dantry as his wont refused to utter more than he cared not either way and Halgron only halfheartedly stood at my side. Foolishly I still believed this would be enough as in previous cases of argument we had always followed the will of the majority. It occured to me only later that we had never settled any argument in the past against the big bully's wishes.

Galathos told us he was going to deface the shrine and off he went. After further attempts to bring him to see reason I had no choice but to put him into a deep slumber to the utter consternation of the others and our porters. Even Halgron was looking askance at me. Clearly things had changed and now I was the villian instead of the hero. I knew I had only mere moments to act before Halgron went to awaken our warrior or asked Wilim to do it. I moved over to the big man and took the maps from his pack and began scrawling the directions back to the exit. I just finished when one of those bubbles appeared.

I told Dantry to shoot it with his bow well before the thing reached our slumbering brute. I wanted neither the brute awakening nor being burnt to death, I owed him that much even in his utter madness. Our Elf failed and the thing passed over the brute before heading towards the rest of us. I didn't want to move beyond the area we'd already explored nor did I want the path open for someone to attempt to awaken the madman before I had made good my escape. So I told everyone to press themselves against the walls and let the bubble pass harmlessly.

It was on its way towards clearing us when Halgron's loud flatulence attracted it. Before he could raise his shield or duck out of the way the thing exploded burning him and I severely and killing my porter Karlhe. Halgron made to awaken Galathos, so I distracted him by handing him the healing kit off Karhle's belt and then summoning Harolde to my side proceeded to flee with more than a little alacrity. I was fully expecting to soon hear the brute stamping after me with blood in his eyes and murder upon his mind, so we didn't stop running and jogging all the way to the main staircase.

We returned to the surface and rang the bell. As usual the brothers soon came and opened the door, however that time almost seemed interminable and I managed to chew my none too clean nails down to the quick. It wasn't until I heard the deep meaty thunk of the heavy door closing behind me that I finally collapsed to my knees and released a great sigh of relief.

After sending Harolde to hitch up my mule cart, I told the brothers of Galathos's descent into insanity and that I'd had to flee for my life for he'd caused the murder of Karlhe and my grave wounds. I told them I had no coin to donate for Galanthor's healing only a single gem worth 75 gold coins. It was the ruby I'd obtained from the proceeds of my last adventure almost two weeks prior. They granted me a minor spell. We had only returned to the surface less than a quarter hour and we were already heading back to the city riding upon my otherwise empty cart.

During our ride I discharged Harolde from my service gifting him the leather armor previously lent him. It was a very good gratuity and we were both quite happy. He told me he would no longer accept porterage from adventurers. He had saved most of his salaries and all of his gratuities over his weeks of service to me and he now almost had enough to reopen his shop. Knowing he'd been a carter and confirming he was to continue in that line of work, I offered him a high quality garnet worth 25 gold coins to prepare a traveling crate for me as I was leaving the city no later than the following day.

Leaving him after obtaining directions to his shop where he already had several travelling crates ready, I returned to the Green Dragon obtaining the key to Halgron's room without difficulty. I left him the party's items in my care which were the four clear gems, the potion of reduction(?), and the doll along with a note advising that I would be keeping the dagger as it had been given to me by the group and not just in my care. I thanked him for the adventure and good times before madness befell the brute and wished him and Gloin the best in their futures. That I never see them again would be soon enough and that were I to see the brute Galathos again fearing for my life I would be taking action and forgetting to ask questions.

With my duty to the group discharged I made my way to the jeweler on way to the harbormaster's office. With 75 gold and one less gem in my pocket I soon discovered that several ships and caravans were to set sail or otherwise depart the Free City of Greyhawk within the next two days. I quickly spread some coin buying passage with a caravan leaving in the morning to Hardby on the Woolly Bay. There was a fairly good school of the arcane there and thus it was a very likely destination. A while later I obtained passage up the river to the Nyr Dyv and across to Leukish in the Palantate of Urnst as there were several smaller schools of the arcane there giving me better likelyhood of a suitable situation. That ship was to sail before midnight on the morrow.

With my arrangements in place it was time to collect my things from the Inn and call upon my lady for one final evening of excitement. I do wish I could recall her name now these many years later."