Session two of The Bridewealth Horde campaign was down one player, but we were undettered and soldiered on. Our adventurers this time around included:
DM Ronn, referee judge and master for the game
Rory Calhoun, human rogue
Tarkan Inuligone, goliath barbarian
Wyzavere Kuyt, dragonborn cleric
Deadfool, human bard
As a reminder, the adventurers had tracked a group of goblins who had ambushed them on the road and most probably abducted their friend, Gundren Rockseeker, and his bodyguard, Sildar Hallwinter. They had tracked them to a cave, entered the cave, and been flushed out of the cave like so much detritus in a tsunami. The elf bard, Varity, who’s player was absent, chased a suspicious goblin into the wood and missed all the action. Let’s see what happened next.
The goblins tried the “flash flood” trick a second time as the adventurers collected themselves, regrouped, and headed back in. This time around, the party was ready and the water didn’t flush them out of the cave. They advanced up the path and found
At this point the cave was dark. Light was produced both through means magic and mundane. The adventurers advanced up the main passage from the cave mouth, which climbed steeply upward, the stream plunging and splashing down its west side. In the shadows, a side passage could be seen leading west across the other side of the stream. That passage was steep and choked with rubble and was ignored. Ahead in the shadows of the ceiling to the north, they could just make out the dim shape of a rickety bridge of wood and rope crossing over the passage ahead of them. The bridge was twenty feet above the floor and looked to be part of an intersecting passage above. They could make out a goblin concealed in the shadows on the bridge. Sounds of waterfall ahead made communication difficult, but they begged parlay and the goblin directed them up the passage to talk to their leader Klarg.
The stream path led up to a cavern that had, until recently, been half filled with two large pools of water. A pair of simple fieldstone dams showed signs of having once held back the water, but were now in need of repair. A narrow waterfall high in the eastern wall was the source of the stream which ran out the western end of the chamber and out of the cave mouth below. A pair of goblin sentries were waiting for them as they entered the cavern. They indicated the party should ascend the wide exit at the south. another passage, probably leading to the bridge rose from the west above the path they had entered. The sound of the waterfall echoing through the cavern, made it difficult to hear, but the direction was clear enough. The adventurers ‘allowed’ the hesitant goblins to lead them up the the passage.
Klarg’s cave was full of stolen goods and goblins. There were four more goblins, armed and waiting, in the chamber. Not counting the two the group had brought with them. Sacks and crates of looted provisions were piled up in the south end of this large cave. To the west, the floor slopes toward a narrow opening that descends into darkness and from which an awful smell issued. The natural stone stairs they had ascended suddenly felt like a steep fall to the stone below. The waterfall seemed even louder here, if that was possible. At the center of the of the cavern glowed the coals of a large fire pit that had been left to smolder. But there was no sign from any of the goblins that they were in charge of this motley band.
From behind the pair of stalagmites at the end of the chamber came a deep, growling voice that did not sound like that of any goblin. “Who dares defy Klarg?” Klarg was a burly, seven-foot-tall bogbir and at his side was a very large, very vicious wolf-dog. The adventurers tried to parlay. They tried some trickery. Klarg released his huge wolf-dog on them and bellowed, “Klarg will build a throne from your bones, puny ones!”
He changed his tone pretty quickly as the characters killed his dog and started in on the goblins in the chamber. Klarg decided to beat feet and escape down the natural chimney leading to the kennel. First Tarkan and then Rory went after him and defeated him, in the dark of the kennel among the bodies of the wolf-dogs.
Without their leader or his beast, the fight went out of the goblins pretty quickly, but they were not quick enough to surrender and the adventurers finished them off.
The team regrouped and headed for the bridge and whatever goblins remained within the caves. Just beyond the bridge a voice shouted out to them. “Truce, or this human dies!”
Easing forward the adventurers noted a large cave, divided in half by a 10-foot-high escarpment. The air hazy with the smoke of a cooking fire, and pungent from the smell of poorly cured hides and a half-dozen unwashed goblins. The goblins were at alert, weapons out, watching the party approach and waiting for orders from the goblin on the escarpment above. Balanced at the edge of that ledge, bound hand and foot, badly beaten, and barely conscious, was Sildar Hallwinter. There was no way he’d survive a fall and the goblins weren’t allowing anyone close enough to catch him.
Yeemik, second-in-command of the whole hideout, wanted a couple things and didn’t want to have to fight for either of them. Yeemik wanted Klarg dealt with and for the goblins to be free of his tyranny. He wanted to get his people out of this mess alive. And he wanted a nice fat ransom for the old human guy.
Negotiations didn’t take long. No ransom. The goblins give over Sildar Hallwinter and they get out safe. Yeemik did not want to lose any more of his people, he already had too much bad news to deliver to the mothers, wives, and children of the Cragmar Tribe. He handed over his captive, left the stolen supplies, and took his people out and disappeared into the woods. Safe exit for the goblins and another win for the adventurers.
The goblin shared several bits of information during the negotiations that could prove useful in the future.
Secrets & Clues
- Fewer than twenty goblins had been in the group and now they were down to six, seven if Stedgeg had evaded Varity.
- The bogbir, Klarg, had been the group leader, but he answers to King Grol, chief of the Cragmar tribe, who dwells in Cragmar Castle. (about thirty miles north of the cave hideout)
- Klarg received a messenger from King Grol a few days ago. The messenger told him that someone named the Black Spider was paying the Cragmars to watch out for the dwarf Gundren Rockseeker, capture him, and send him and anything he was carrying back to King Grol. Klarg followed his orders. Gundren was ambushed and taken along with his personal effects, including a map.
- The dwarf and his map were delivered to King Grol, as instructed.
- And while he didn’t say so, the adventurers learned that the goblins were using scro arrows to frame the scro for their banditry.
Sildar Hallwinter, a kindhearted human male of nearly fifty years who holds a place of honor in the famous griffon cavalry of the great city of San Francisco, is an agent of the Mercantile Consortium, and a friend of the Rockseeker brothers. a group of allied powers concerned with mutual security and prosperity. The goblins had beaten him badly, yet once the party freed him of his bonds he climbed to his feet, found a short sword, and proudly refused any attempts to aid him.
Sildar met Gundren Rockseeker in Redding and agreed to accompany him back to Weaverville. Sildar wants to investigate the fate of Vilarno Albrek, a human wizard and fellow member of the Mercantile Consortium who disappeared shortly after arriving in Weaverville. Sildar hopes to learn what happened to Vilarno, assist Gundren in reopening the old mine, and help restore Weaverville to a civilized center of wealth and prosperity.
Sildar provided the characters with four pieces of useful information:
Secrets & Clues
- The three Rockseeker brothers (Gundren, Tharden, and Nundro) recently located an entrance to the long-lost Wave Echo Cave, site of the mines of the Phandelver’s Pact.
- Klarg, the bugbear who leads this goblin band, had orders to waylay Gundren. Sildar heard from the goblins that the Black Spider sent word that the dwarf was to be brought to him. Sildar doesn’t know who or what the Black Spider is.
- Gundren had a map showing the secret location of Wave Echo Cave, but the goblins took it when they captured him. Sildar believes that Klarg sent the map and the dwarf to the chief of the Cragmars at a place called Cragmar Castle. Sildar doesn’t know where that might be, but he suggests someone in Weaverville might know.
- Sildar’s contact in Weaverville is a human wizard named Vilarno Albrek. The wizard traveled to the town two months ago to establish order there. After the Mercantile Consortium received no word from Vilarno, Sildar decided to investigate.
Sildar informed the characters of his intention to continue on to Weaverville and offered to pay the party 50 gp to provide escort.
The group left the goods in the cave with intentions to return for them, headed back to the wagon, and travelled the half days journey to the town of Weaverville. But we’ll save that for next time.
For now, let’s give those adventurers a level. They’ve earned it. They are all now 2nd level!
