Chapter #6

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THE PARTY:

Alindyar, 2nd level drow elf mage (N)
Belphanior, 1st/1st level high elf fighter/mage (CN)
Ged, 2nd/1st level grey elf priest/mage (NG)
Halbarad, 2nd level human ranger (NG)
Mongo Thunderhead, 2nd level dwarf fighter (CG)
Peldor, 3rd level human thief (N)
Peyote, 1st/1st level half-elf fighter/druid (N)
Rob, 2nd level human priest (LG)
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                         VI.  Goblins Galore; Trapped!



  The party has been camped nearby the old dwarven mine all night long.
Now it is morning, and they are ready to explore the place.  Four large
goblins guard the entrance, and the bonfire is now no more than a faint
wisp of flame and a few embers.  The party watches the place from the
cover of some bushes about a hundred feet away.  Their guide, Belgar,
says that this is the closest he has ever gotten to the mine.

Halbarad:  Okay, let's go over the plan once more.  Belphanior, you and
  myself will be ready to fire arrows.  Ged will borrow Peyote's ring
  of invisibility and sneak up to the entrance.  Peyote will be ready
  with his bow as well.  Mongo, you'd better stay back; in all that
  armor, you're about as quiet as an elephant.
Peldor:  Give me that ring, and they'll all be dead before you can
  fire an arrow.
Mongo:  No, you'll be outta here and we'll be stuck with the goblins.
Belgar:  The goblins have been raiding the countryside, did I forget
  to mention that?  They are responsible for the deaths of at least
  sixteen local villagers...
Belphanior:  Let's get 'em!
Ged:  (starts moving in, carefully, invisible)
Belphanior:  (he and Halbarad nock arrows and sight their targets)
Peyote:  (also with bow in hand)
Ged:  (walking along the dirt trail, minimizing his chances to make too
  much noise, he is soon within twenty or thirty feet of the goblins)
goblins:  (seemingly unaware of anything)
Ged:  (casting a sleep spell)
goblin#1:  Hey!  What's that noise?
goblin#2:  Sounds like chanting.
goblin#3:  Coming from road there.  (all of them look but don't see
  anything)
Ged:  (lets the spell go)
goblins:  zzzz...
Ged:  (making hand signals to the rest of the party)

  The party converges on the mine entrance.  The goblins are bound and
gagged tightly, except for one which Belphanior manages to kill before
anyone can stop him, and stashed about a half mile away, in a pile of
dead grass.  The party sees a 10' wide tunnel and assumes a marching
order with Mongo and Halbarad in front, then Belphanior and Peyote,
followed by Ged and Rob, then Belgar, with Alindyar and Peldor bringing
up the rear.

Belgar:  This is the place.  The riches lie within!
DM:  The ceiling is sort of low here - 6' at most.  The walls and floor
  are carved from solid rock, and every so often, old wooden beams are
  visible, holding up the roof overhead.  You are travelling westward.
Halbarad:  We go further in...



                           _________   _________
                          |         | |         |         N
                      _   |    2    | |    1    |        W+E
                     |a|  |____   __| |__   ____|         S
                _    | |_______|\|_______| |______________
               |b|   |____ 3 ________   __________________ <---ENTRANCE
 ______________| |________| |        | |
|___________c  ___________  |        | |
            | |  _______  | |________| |       KEY: - _ | = wall
        ____|d| |       | |  _ 4 ____  |
       |______| |       | | | |_|    | |            \     = door
            ____|       | | |      __|\|______      > <   = loose walls
           |       9    | | |     |           |     %%%   = rubble
           |          __| | |     |     5     |
           |   _   __|    | |     |_________  |
           |  | | |     __| |__             |\|
           |__| |\|____|       |____________| |
                |  ____    7    ____________  |
          ______| |    |__   __|     ____   | |
         |        |       | |   __  |    |__| |
         |    8   |       > <  |  | |  6  __\_|
         |        |       > <  |  | |    |
         |________|       | |__|10| |____|
                          |  __\  |
                          | |  |__|
                        __| |
           AREA 11 ->  %__  |
                          | |
                          | |
                          % %     \
                         %%%%%     >  AREA 12
                          %%%     /

DM:  You see an open area to the right, and the tunnel continues to
  the left and ahead.
Mongo:  We move into the room to the north.
DM:  You see six goblins and six bunks.  The goblins leap up to the
  attack, shrieking.
Mongo:  We charge right in to meet them!
Alindyar:  (to Peldor)  Perhaps we should watch the passages to the
  west and south for a rear attack.
Peldor:  Perhaps.  (wanders westward)
Alindyar:  (thinking)
DM:  Round 1...

Halbarad:  (swings, hits, and kills goblin#3)
Peyote:  (he and Belphanior have moved around to fight side by side
  with Halbarad and Mongo, respectively)  Chaos, man.  (deflects a
  goblin's sword)
goblin#2:  (misses Peyote)
Belphanior:  (slices at goblin#6 with sword, killing it) Ha-ha-ha!
goblin#5:  (swings at Mongo, but his blow is deflected by the dwarf's
  excellent plate mail)
Peyote:  (slashes at goblin#2 but misses)  Whoops.
goblin#1:  (hits Peyote for a minor wound)  Die, elfkin!
Mongo:  (first attack hits, kills goblin#5)
goblin#4:  (misses Mongo)
Ged:  (not sure if a spell is needed)
Rob:  (looking about dazedly)
Mongo:  (second attack hits and kills goblin#4 easily)  Hah!  That'll
  teach you to mess with Mongo Thunderhead!  (in goblinese)  There's
  no hope, goblins!  Surrender now!
goblin#1:  Never!

DM:  Round 2...
Halbarad:  (chops at goblin#2 with his battleaxe, caving in its head)
goblin#2:  Urk!
goblin#1:  Uh-oh!
Peyote:  (swings, misses the remaining goblin)  Dammit!
Belphanior:  (moving around behind the goblin)
goblin#1:  (in desperation, launches a desperate stab at Peyote, for
  which he rolls a 20...Peyote is wounded seriously)  Yah!
Belphanior:  (backstabs goblin#1, killing it three times over)  Heh-heh.
Peyote:  I bind my wounds.
Belphanior:  (searching the room)

  Meanwhile, Peldor has found a door on the right (area 2) and listened
at it.  Hearing nothing, he opens the door and enters the room...only to
come face-to-face with six more goblins resting in their beds.  They see
him and leap up, yelling and cursing.

Halbarad:  We search the bunks, and underneath them.
DM:  You find a total of 11 sp and 3 gp.
Belphanior:  I slice open each pillow, looking for hidden valuables.
DM:  One of the pillows contains a small gem wrapped in cloth.
Halbarad:  Good work.  Now...

  (loud noises are rapidly approaching)

Halbarad:  (brandishing sword, he goes out into the corridor, with the
  others close behind)  What in the hell...?

  In the main passage, Peldor is rapidly retreating back towards the main
party.  He is engaged in swordplay with three goblins simultaneously, and
has a number of wounds.  Other goblins are behind the front three.

Peldor:  Hi guys!  I'm back!
Peyote:  Uh-oh.
Belphanior:  More goblins!  (charges toward the battle)
Alindyar:  ...(looks at Halbarad and shrugs)
Peldor:  (takes two more hits, and falls)  I killed at least seven...
Mongo:  I leap over Peldor and defend his worthless carcass!
DM:  Leap?  In plate mail?
Mongo:  Sure!  I'm a strong guy!
DM:  Plate mail is heavy stuff, Mongo...
Mongo:  Oh all right.  I step over him, maybe on him, and engage the
  goblins.
DM:  There are more noises from the passage to the south...(area 5)
Halbarad:  I face that tunnel.  What do I see?
DM:  A wide door opens, and a large, fat goblin in a cooking apron comes
  out.  He advances on you.  Other, smaller goblins are behind him.
Peyote:  I back Halbarad up.
Belgar:  (looks around, not sure what to do)
Rob:  (hefts his mace and waits behind both fronts)
Ged:  (prepares a magic missile spell)
Alindyar:  (waiting)

DM:  Round 1...
Belphanior:  (hits a goblin, with a 20.  The goblin's leg is severed
  and it falls to the ground, dying.)  Yes!
goblin:  (attacks Belphanior, misses)  Kss!
goblin:  (attacks Belphanior, hits)  Sss!  Die, elf!
Belphanior:  Not by your hand, lizard!
goblin:  (attacks Mongo, misses)  Kth!
Mongo:  (slices a goblin, killing it)  Yeah!  Fuck yeah!

nearby...

goblin cook:  (swings a nasty-looking cleaver at Halbarad, hits and
  scores a minor wound)  Damn yer bones!  When me hits ya solid,
  y'ull be ded!
Halbarad:  (misses the cook)
other goblin:  (hits Peyote, sending him to -2 hp)
Peyote:  Rude deal...(collapses)
Rob:  (steps over Peyote's body to face the two goblins)
Alindyar:  (drags Peyote back, binding his wounds)
Belgar:  (watches)
Ged:  (magic missiles one of the small goblins, wounding it)

DM:  Round 2...
Belphanior:  (kills another goblin)  Little bastards!
goblin:  (hits Belphanior)
goblin:  (hits Belphanior)
Belphanior:  (now at -3 hp)  ...
goblin:  (hits Mongo for a really minor wound)
Mongo:  (two attacks...hits two goblins, kills two goblins)  They'll
  call this the Day of the Mongo!

nearby...

Halbarad:  (hits the goblin cook, with a 20...critical hit...the
  cook's arm, complete with cleaver, flies off to the left.)
other goblins:  (hesitate for a moment)
Alindyar:  (steps forward and launches the color spray into the mass
  of goblins)
goblins:  (all five are rendered unconscious)
Halbarad:  Hmm...I kill them.

DM:  Round 3...
goblin:  (hits Mongo)
goblin:  (misses Mongo)
goblin:  (hits Mongo)
Mongo:  (misses a goblin)  Fuckit!
Ged:  (lacking further offensive spellpower, he readies his flail and
  approaches)
Alindyar:  Allow me.  (readies wand and moves behind Mongo)

DM:  Round 4...
goblin:  (misses Mongo)
goblin:  (hits Mongo)
Mongo:  Grr...that does it!  You little shits are TOAST!  (slashes at
  both goblins, killing one and seriously wounding the other)
Alindyar:  (launches a magic missile from his wand, frying the goblin
  that Mongo wounded)

DM:  All of your adversaries are defeated.
Halbarad:  We haul our wounded back into the first room.
Rob:  I cure Peldor, and Peyote.
Ged:  I cure Peyote, and use my potion on Belphanior.  What about Mongo?
Mongo:  What about me?  I'm fine.  Don't waste your healing on me.
  (drinks his potion of healing)  Ahh!


THE PARTY'S CURRENT STATUS:
  Alindyar: unwounded
  Belphanior: recovering
  Ged: unwounded
  Halbarad: slightly wounded
  Mongo: moderately wounded
  Peldor: recovering
  Peyote: recovering
  Rob: unwounded
  Belgar: unwounded

  Leaving Alindyar, Ged, and Rob with the recovering party members,
Mongo and Halbarad explore the nearby passages.  To the south, in the
room where the cook came from (area 5), they find 6 gp and a medium
gem.  In a nearby room (area 6) they find six empty bunks and 16 gp.
There is a passage to the west, but they ignore it for now.  Then
they backtrack and scout out the looping passage (containing area 4,
which is a tool closet containing picks, hammers, etc.).  They begin
to suspect that the nearby passage south and the previous passage
may lead to the same place (area 7).  They also check out area 2,
the room where Peldor found the second round of goblins; within, they
confiscate 10 gp and 16 sp.  The northwestern tunnels are left alone
for now.  The pair returns to the room where the rest of the party is
and discusses their options at this point.
  Unfortunately for the party, the goblin chief and the other goblins
(all in areas 8 and 9) heard the ruckus earlier.  The subchief and
four goblins come to investigate...

Halbarad:  What's this?  I hear something...
goblin:  (enters room)  Aaa!  (attacks)
DM:  Round 1...
goblin#1:  (hits Halbarad)
Halbarad:  Ouch!
Belphanior:  (just recently awakened, casts color spray on the group
  of goblins)
goblins:  (four are knocked unconscious, the subchief is blinded)
Halbarad:  (slays the subchief)
Peldor:  (begins slitting throats of the k.o.-ed ones)
Belphanior:  It's a good thing you guys woke me up!
Peldor:  Yeah!  Me too!  Why didn't anybody search the bodies of all
  these dead goblins?  I'm shocked at you all!
Ged:  ...now look here, graverobber!  We have better things to do than
  search the corpses of goblins!
Peldor:  That's okay, I'll do it!
Belgar:  I'll help...
Halbarad:  We had better find any more goblins that may be wandering
  around, and get rid of them, or we will have to worry about the
  possibility of an ambush.
Peyote:  Right on, man.
Mongo:  Let's go find them!
Peyote:  Waitaminute dude.  (heals himself and Mongo with a spell each)
Alindyar:  Mayhap we should pile all of these dead bodies in a single
  place?  That way, they would be out of the way...
Mongo:  There, in that corner.  Peldor, why don't you help me, since
  you like to play with the dead so much?

  Later, after the goblins are all in area 1, the party explores the
northwestern passages.

DM:  You see one dead-end passage at the northern end of a long tunnel,
  past the second room.  3 sp are on the ground.
Peldor:  I pick them up.
DM:  Right to the south is another westward passage.  The rock looks
  more freshly cut than the surrounding tunnels.
Halbarad:  We take the westward passage.
DM:  Further down, it forks to the north, then to the south, while a
  single tunnel continues west.
Halbarad:  We check the northern alcove.
DM:  It is empty.
Mongo:  Look at the rock here.  It's pretty hard...the goblins may
  have stopped mining this passage because it was too difficult.
Ged:  What's in the straight west direction?
DM:  It deadends, and there is a bucket of small uncut gems there.
Peldor:  I'll pocket those!
Mongo:  No!  We put them in the treasure sack.  Which I'm carrying.
Peldor:  (thinking about getting into that treasure sack)
DM:  To the south is another dead-end passage, containing a small
  underground stream.  A number of buckets are nearby; this looks
  like the goblin's water supply.
Halbarad:  Okay.  We backtrack and take the main southern passage.
DM:  It goes about a hundred feet, into a larger room.  This area has
  exits in all four directions.
Alindyar:  (with mapping proficiency, he is the party's mapper)  Hmm.
  (checking the map)  We know where the eastern and northern exits
  lead.
Ged:  Let's go west.
Halbarad:  We cautiously move westward.
DM:  You see an empty room to the south, and a door to the north.
Peldor:  I search it.
Mongo:  I "help" Peldor search.  What do we find?
DM:  A sack of 62 gold coins, and a potion bottle.
Halbarad:  Good enough.  What about the door?
Peldor:  (hears nothing behind the door)  I open the door.
DM:  Beyond is a large room.  You see a huge goblin, and four large
  goblins.  All of them have crossbows leveled at you.
Halbarad:  Uh...
Mongo:  (in goblinese)  Surrender now, and we will spare you!
Goblin Chief:  Hah hah!  Shoot!

Goblin Chief:  (shoots Peldor, hitting him and knocking him back to
  0 hp)  Hor hor!
goblin#1:  (shoots Halbarad, hitting and wounding him)
goblin#2:  (shoots Mongo, but the bolt is deflected by his armor)
goblin#3:  (shoots Peyote, seriously wounding him)
goblin#4:  (shoots Belphanior, but misses)
Halbarad:  We rush forth to melee them.

DM:  Round 1...
Halbarad:  (hits and wounds goblin#1)
Belphanior:  (misses goblin#2)
goblin#1:  (hits Halbarad)
Halbarad:  (now down to 5 hp)  Damn!
goblin#2:  (misses Mongo)
goblin#3:  (hits Belphanior, knocking him below 0 hp)
Belphanior:  Well, maybe it's not such a good thing that they woke
  me up...(keels over)
goblin#4:  (hits Peyote, putting him down to -1 hp)
Peyote:  Aaa!  Not again!  (falls)
Ged:  I bind their wounds.
Mongo:  (attacking on segment 10, the last segment)  (almost casually
  swipes goblin#2, slaying it)

DM:  Round 2...
Mongo:  (goes first)  I don't believe it!  I'm not attacking last!
  (aims two blows at chief, both of them hit)
Goblin Chief:  Urk!
Rob:  (makes a mad dash forth, but misses goblin#4)
goblin#4:  (hits Rob)
Halbarad:  (slices goblin#1, slaying it)
Goblin Chief:  (hits Mongo, wounding him badly)
Alindyar:  (uses wand to magic missile goblin#4, wounding it)
goblin#3:  (slashes at Halbarad, reducing him to 2 hp)

DM:  Round 3...
Halbarad:  (hits and wounds goblin#3)
goblin#3:  (misses Halbarad)
Alindyar:  (magic missiles goblin#3, killing it)
goblin#4:  (misses Rob)
Goblin Chief:  (hits Mongo, with a roll of 20, knocking him down
  to 3 hp)  Har har!
Mongo:  Shit!
Halbarad:  Time to retreat...
Mongo:  Fuck no!  I'm not running!  (swings, hits)
Goblin Chief:  (bleeding profusely)  Och!
Mongo:  (in goblinese)  Die, you pile of orc crap!
Halbarad:  That's an insult!
Rob:  (swings his mace, miraculously hitting goblin#4)
goblin#4:  (dies)
Mongo:  Hey!  The priest did something!  All right!

DM:  Round 5...
Goblin Chief:  (swinging at Mongo)
Mongo:  (holding his breath)
Goblin Chief:  (the DM rolls a 1...)
DM:  Err...he slices a chuck out of his leg...
Mongo:  (chops at the Chief, hitting)  Fuck yeah!
Goblin Chief:  Go to hell, dwarf...(spits at Mongo, dies)
Ged:  I bind all of their wounds.
Belgar:  I'll help...
Mongo:  What treasure is in here, I wonder?
DM:  You find a small chest, open, containing 569 coins of gold
  and five gems, and two golden ingots.  Also there is a warhammer
  at the bottom of the chest.
Mongo:  I examine the hammer.
DM:  It looks to be of dwarvish make.
Mongo:  Good!  What about the chief's sword?
DM:  It looks like a finely crafted weapon.
Mongo:  We get that too, then.

  The party camps out in the chief's lair.  They find that, during
the battle, a large horde of female goblins and children fled from
a room to the south, and headed out of the mine.  Too tired to care,
they set several traps and alarms (well, Peldor and Halbarad do,
anyway) and rest for a full day and a half.  Everyone is healed to
full power, and no monsters molest the group.  On the morning of the
third day in the place, they head for the southern areas.  To avoid
being burdened with a lot of treasure, they leave the bulk of the
heavy stuff (in other words, the ingots) hidden in the chief's room
under a mattress for now.  Heading to the south, they then find an
empty room (area 10) with a lot of food and bunks; this room is
right past a very precarious section of ceiling/walls, supported
by a single beam tilted at an odd angle.  Further south, they see
a half-started tunnel to the west, and what looks like a cave-in
blocking progress south.

Mongo:  This isn't such a bad cave-in, really.  There is about an
  inch open at the very top, see?  (points to top of rock pile)
Halbarad:  I wonder if we can clear it.
Mongo:  How bad _is_ the cave-in?
DM:  Not that bad...it would take about two hours to clear, you
  estimate.
Mongo:  Oh.  Well, do we want to see what's behind the cave-in?
DM:  You hear rumbling from the north...
Belphanior:  What do we see there?
DM:  Well, there is Belgar, kicking at the loose wooden beam...it
  collapses, and you see a great deal of rocks and dirt fall down,
  blocking the passage.  Your lanterns are snuffed out by the dust
  billowing forth, and the air is suddenly heavy with grit, barely
  breathable.





******************************************************************
NOTES:  Belgar was going to follow the party and get a treasure
  share just for being there (he's a coward), but he saw an easy
  way to get the two golden ingots, and so he took it.
Also, in our campaign, a roll of 20 spells maximum damage, with
  a chance beyond that for a critical hit (i.e. instant death).
  We weren't too keen on the instant death concept.

Next time:  See how the party deals with being buried alive...

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