The Goblin King (Session 2) - Erntenir 20, 888 F.S.

Background: Lord Futenmoth has sent us up to Hronn to investigate why the winters have been so cold lately. He has reason to believe that it has something to do with some active volcanoes on the island of Hronn.

Port City of Schnorking
After putting down the mutiny, Captain Pepper agrees to take us where we want to go. We arrive in the port city of Schnorking on the Island of Hronn. We take a couple days to recover from sea sickness. We are here to investigate why it is that it’s been so cold lately. Thoughts are that it has something to do with volcanic activity in the area.

Estenel gets an appointment with the Mayor of Schnorking to discuss any volcanic activity in the area that may have to do with the cold weather experienced lately. The mayor is a hobgoblin. He would like Futenmoth to send troops to help squash organized raids on his borders.

Their heraldry is a gold snowflake imposed on white and blue, so apparently they are organized. The raiders are a mix of human and wolfens. They have mages among them. Thy are led by someone called The Horned King.

The mayor (Ybilaron the Hobgoblin) gives us a writ to take to Storzem, a local horse trader, to give us the best prices possible as we look to get some horses for land transportation.

Sophia buys a map of the Island of Hronn. We go to a higher class part of town and come to a large manor house with a stone wall and an iron gate. We ring the front bell. After a few minutes, the butler comes to the gate; it’s an ogre. He says we can wait for Storzem to return in the afternoon. We wait in the guardhouse. There’s another ogre there. After an hour, a litter arrives. A dwarf gets out of the litter; it’s Storzem. He’s willing to sell us horses for 1200 copper apiece. We decide against horses and decide to walk to Blackston on foot and figure out faster transportation later.

Town of Blackston
Two days later, we arrive in Blackston. We talk to Marlot, a half-elf that is a mercenary in Blackston. He is not concerned about the raids, as Blackston is well-defended and the raids are not bothering them. Blackston has been hired by caravans to provide guards.

In general, Blackston doesn’t seem to be concerned by these raids; the noble here hasn’t seen anything significant in size... nothing he’d considered a standing army.

Marlot has heard of the noble’s son (Branod is his name) that was taken (or killed) by raids between Schnorking and Blackston. He says we should talk with Esken who is the brother of the noble who lost his son. He is staying at the Bear Claw. There is a half-orc behind the bar. Estenel tells him why we’re looking for Esken. He brings Esken to meet us.

Valenta is a competing house in Schnorking. They betrayed Branod’s caravan, giving the raiders information on when and where the caravan would be. One of Esken’s guards was with the caravan when it was attacked. He saw Branod taken alive by goblins who were led by a strong human. Esken, however, has the word of a guard against the honor of a well-respected house in Schnorking. Branod was taken about a week ago.

Sorzem is the most powerful house in Schnorking. Valenta and Colnet (Esken’s house) are neck-and-neck with being #2, and Valenta would like to see the house of Colnet fall to a distant third.

In the Wild, east of Blackston
The guard (who has a broken ankle) directs us to the scene where Branod was kidnapped. Sophia begins tracking to see if he can find evidence of where the perpetrators might have gone. Yukon scribbles runes on the ground, trying to divine the location of Branod. Sophia finds tracks of the attacking party; it took off to the north. We follow Sophia’s lead. After half an hour, we notice some smoke coming from the forest.

Flick hushes himself and sneaks up toward the smoke. He finds a house built into a hillside. There are no windows in the house, and smoke is coming out of the chimney. We take up positions around the house; Estenel creates the sound of horses out front. The owner of the house comes out. He’s a big human. We talk with him, introduce ourselves, tell him our story of why we’re here, and end up getting invited inside. His name is Gaddor. He has dealt with goblins in the area from time to time. He turns out to be an excellent host.

Gaddor’s House
Gaddor’s house is richly decorated, based around a large table. Brunnel, a half-orc, is his attendant. Gaddor says he used to have guests more frequently when the mines in the area (copper and silver) were running more strongly. Gaddor gets ripped and offers to come along with us to kill some goblins. The night wears on, we drink until we’re silly. Estenel entertains our host and then passes out.
We go to sleep. Yukon and Flick sleep in. Estenel and Sophia get up and start looking around the house. We find Gaddor in the main hall, with breakfast on the table. We eat breakfast, then head out in search of goblins.

In the Woods near Gaddor’s House
We get to an area in the woods and Gaddor stops, saying that Brunnel told him the goblins would be here. It seems... odd. Sophia doesn’t trust Gaddor and tells him to get to his knees. Gaddor refuses. Sophia takes a swing at him. Gaddor says, “You are going to pay for that. FIRE!!!” Arrow fire then comes down upon us from the bushes. We enter combat with Gaddor and his ambush. It is then, well after the fact, that a light in Estenel’s head comes on, recalling that the story was that Branod was taken captive by a group of goblins who were led by a large, strong human. hmmm...

Gaddor guts Sophia in one swing. The goblins close in on us. In the end, we knock Gaddor unconscious and fell several goblins. The remaining goblins and Brunnel run for the house. After a couple minutes of being unconscious, Gaddor grows to 20 feet in height and has the musculature of a giant. We tie him down to the ground and prepare to question him once he wakes up.