Haldar Heavyhammer

"He's not getting away, by Moradin!" shouts Haldar as he dashes towards the goblin and hurls another blast of searing radiant light at him.

The Triboar Trail : The Ambush - Day 3

Combat - Round 2

Initiative Order:
- The Party ⇦
- The Goblins

Haldar calls down a blast of radiant burning energy that impales itself nearby as the goblin scrambles and dodges for dear life.

Haldar misses Goblin Bowman 1 : 0 Damage

It is now the goblin's turn.

The Triboar Trail : The Ambush - Day 3

Encounter One : Victory!!

Drawing its bow back and nocking another arrow the goblin steps back away from Obed and fires at the sailor but in its panic the arrow is limps out of the bow and falls to the ground. Tossing the bow to the ground nearby the creature shrieks out and drops to the ground crying out in distress. It begins screaming several words in it's native tongue and anyone who speaks goblin will recognize it as saying "Surrender! I give! Dont kill!!" Groveling on the ground the creature wallows among the brush and leaves on the ground and holds its hands up, wrists together, begging for mercy from the human before it. It glances behind it worriedly at the approaching shapes of Haldar the cleric and Raphael the druid.

Goblin Bowman 1 critically misses Obed : 0 Damage

Goblin Bowman 1 surrenders

You are no longer in initiative.

Rhasta
Seeing that the goblin's been taken care of, Rhasta hops down from the wagon and moves over to inspect the scattered belongings and dead horses.
"Ask if this was a random attack or if they're specifically targeting us and Gundren," Rhasta shouts to his companions by the goblin.

Obed nudges the goblin around with his spear and pulls out his hempen rope. Its length is meant for climbing but it'll tie back the goblin's hands the same. He starts asking, "Can you understand Common?" When satisfied with the knot, Obed will start marching the goblin back down the hill, picking his crossbow back up along the way.

If the goblin confirms, Obed will continue, "What happened the dwarf with these horses? Are you targeting us or just anyone who passes by?

If not, Obed will stop after he retrieves his crossbow and face the goblin again. As he stares into the creature's eyes, he feels himself fall forward, plunging into cold and unfamiliar waters. In the psychic dark, he sees a light and swims toward it. Nod to confirm, shake for no. Do you know what happened to the dwarf who was with these horses? Did you target us or were you ambushing anyone who passes by?

The Triboar Trail : The Ambush - Day 3

Rhasta climbs down from the cart and notes that the placid oxen still stand in the center of the road apparently oblivious to the ambush that had just happened around them. Making his way to the bodies of the two horses he can see that the poor creatures were simply peppered with arrows until they fell. Scattered around them are a few of the contents of the saddle bags but it looks like everything has been thoroughly gone through and anything of value has been taken. To this end, he also notes that Gundren's map case has been found, opened, looted, and then discarded. There are also numerous tracks and markings on the ground around the horses should he wish to study those more carefully or have another assist in that regard.

Obed has some issues tying up the squirming goblin but is eventually able to bind its hands in a sturdy knot and marches the goblin back down the hill towards the others. The goblin, still sniveling and not at all happy with the way its ambush had turned out, hesitates for a moment after being asked in it understands common but eventually nods slightly and says "Little"

Once in place in the road and being interrogated as to whether the attacks were meant solely for Gundren or if they were in fact random ambushes, the goblin hesitates before finally speaking up. "Dont kill! Dont kill! I tell you!" The small green creature mumbles and mutters for half a moment as if searching for the words and then finally continues. "Cragmaw paid to watch roads. Told to watch roads and find dwarf man. Have to send him and his treasures to the king." He nods frantically and glances around at the various members of the party around him. "We just doing job. I tell! Dont kill!"

Rhasta
Rhasta dusts off his hands and stands up from the mess with a frown.
"Anyone care for a look at these tracks before I potentially muck them up?" he calls as Obed leads the goblin down to the cart.
He raises an eyebrow at the goblin's words.
"Cragmaw...cragmaw...hmmm..."
Taking out a small crystal ball filled with swirling smoke, he stares into it intently, rubbing a hand over the top.



Rhasta looks up from the orb.
"I'm getting nothing, I don't think this is a well-known group."

Obed tries to affect a reassuring smile. "It will be okay. Is Cragmaw you? Are you Cragmaw? Where is this king? Tell us everything. We just want the dwarf back and you can be on your way."

Tomi "Grin" Undergallows

Tomi finally comes out of the bushes and walks towards the rest of the party. Upon arriving, he says

For as far as I could see, these goblins did not just come across our dwarven friend out of nowhere. They seemingly have ambushed many more unwary travelers on this road.

Tomi frowns when he sees the tied up goblin.

Did he tell you guys anything useful?

After hearing the part about cragmaw, he says.

I cant say I've ever heard of that guy. Anyways, I think that we should go and check around the horses for possible footprints leading away, so we might find out where Gundren was taken.

With that being said, Tomi walks towards the dead horses and scouts the area around it for footprints and the like.

The Triboar Trail : The Ambush - Day 3

The goblin continues to stare up at Obed who seems to be taking point on the interrogation of the prisoner. He shakes his head furiously while saying "No no no no" the with hands still bound puts towards his mouth. "Cragmaw is tribe. Is family. Fierce warriors we are." Then the creature grins and bares its teeth showing off a mouth full of fangs so crooked and jagged that it looks as if they'd been crudely filed down with rocks and swords. "Cragmaw fierce!" He repeats, obviously taking a bit of pride in his appearance and the supposed strength of his tribe.

When Obed raises the question once again about the king you can see that the goblin obviously weighs his options before ratting out further information. "King live in castle. That why he the king. He send message to cave and say catch dwarf man so we do." He fidgets with his bonds a bit and looks down at the ground then back up to the sailor. "Dwarf man taken to castle. Tall friend still at cave me thinks. I show you and you let me go yes yes?" He grins a toothy, crooked, grind full of mangled teeth.

Haldar Heavyhammer

Striding over to stand next to the goblin, Haldar looks him straight in the eyes. "Tall friend? How tall? Like him?" Haldar asks as he points at Obed, "Or taller? What does your friend look like?"

Haldar Heavyhammer

"Aye, I had figured as much," says Haldar with a shrug, "I was trying to confirm that it was him though." He glares at the goblin before continuing, "Well? Is it your friend or the Dwarf's? Answer me you miserable creature!"

Raphael Ezra Cerberus

All this conversation, Raphael stands nearby and watches with his arms crossed. From time to time he ignites a ball of burning leaves as if to throw it at the goblin. Not to intimidate, but as if he stands aside, 'cause he can barely hold himself back.

The Triboar Trail : The Ambush - Day 3

"Dwarf man have tall friend with him!" The now cowering goblin screams out in a tone that borders on pleading as it shrinks away from Haldar. "Tall man not part of deal though. King says Black Spider paying for just dwarf and his stuff." Eyes still wild, the goblin looks up at Obed then glances over to Haldar before continuing. "I show you cave. You go find tall man! I show you cave you let me go, yes?"

Rhasta had no luck investigating the tracks and markings on the ground but anyone else who wishes to do so during the goblin interrogation may do so. The is of course also the matter of checking the goblins for anything of value, though of course they're obviously not using the best of equipment.

Haldar Heavyhammer

With a growl, Haldar leans real close to the goblin and says in a quiet voice, "Aye, you'll lead us to this cave and there'll be no funny business along the way. If we have any trouble reaching the cave, I will scorch the foul flesh from your bones with the power of Moradin. Am I making myself clear?" After the goblin responds, Haldar begins to turn away when it dawns on him what the creature had just said. Turning quickly back, he asked, "Who is this Black Spider ye be speaking of?"

The Triboar Trail : The Ambush - Day 3

"Ok ok ok. We follow trail to cave." The goblin points with bound hands off in the direction of the trees to the north, generally in the same direction that it had been running when Obed cut off its means of escape. It begins to climb to its fee when Haldar begins to grill it about The Black Spider and in an instant the creature is cowering again. "Don't know!" it cries out among a series of whimpers. "Dont know about Spider. Boss jus' say he pay for the dwarf man...Thats all me know!"

When the group is ready the goblin will lead them into the trees to the north of the road and atop the small embankment. There is of course the matter of the wagon and the oxen, but given the narrow nature of the Triboar Trail and how few people travel down it you could find someplace off the beaten path and out of sight to store the wagon, oxen, and provisions. Of course you also know for a fact there are goblins in the in the local area. Regardless, anyone that investigates the direction in which the goblin was pointing will find that the goblins have built a blind similar to the one Tomi discovered to the south. From the blind a narrow dirt trail leads off towards the northwest and in the dirt there are not only several sets of tracks but signs that something or someone was dragged through recently.