#his talent is busting big rocks and this is the biggest hes ever encountered

[saddlepunk]

apo(n)theosis

[questing-for-fun-and-profit]

Chapter 2: Waking Up, Black and Blue

After their run in with bandits the night before, the Party woke up in an inn with the wounds treated to and bandaged.

The party descended into the tavern. The inn keepers presented them with plates of fresh bread, eggs and potatoes.

"We heard about what you all did to those bandits last night. This is just way of showing our gratitude.”

As they dug into their breakfast, the Party was approached by a man looking for help. His cart had been jumped a few weeks back, he said, and he was too fearful to go examine the site of the attack. After some deliberation, the party agreed to investigate his cart.

They traveled out of town, towards the east. The trip was quiet, there were no other travelers along the path. After some time, the road led into a forest and that is when the party came upon a strange sight. An upturned cart, a half-dug moat and a group of goblins.

The party attempted to negotiate with the goblins. Buckseau thought he could impress them with a powerful stream of piss but all he could muster was a dribble. Things quickly turned violent.  Vishtoss saw his opportunity and hucked Elsie across the makeshift moat. She drew her daggers, cutting down the first goblin with ease. Her momentum carried her forward and she drove her dagger deep into the ear of the second goblin, pinning him to the side of the cart. As she withdrew her dagger, its lifeless body slumped to the ground.

The commotion roused a third goblin sleeping next to the cart. He dove inside the hatch. Before she could react, a bolt flew from a slit in the cart, piercing Elsie in the side.  

Buckseau brought down his greataxe against the front of the cart. The wood splintered and gave way. There was a sharp yelp, followed by the sound of a goblin being chopped in half. As Buckseau’s eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the cart, he saw a fourth goblin retreat to the against the wall. Before he could move towards it, it ducked to the ground and disappeared in an instant. 

The goblins seemingly dealt with, the Party decided to dismantle the cart. Finding nothing interested, they turned to report their findings. As they turned to leave, a crossbow bolt whizzed past Elsie's head. Turning on their heels, the party returned to the cart and busted in a hatch leading into an underground tunnel.

Climbing down the hatch, the party encountered two goblins. Elsie faked a lunge at the shuddering goblins. It squealed and dashed past the party. As the second ran past them, Buckseau swung the broadside of his greataxe, sending the second goblin into the wall.

Taking a moment to investigate their surroundings, the party carefully made their way through the underground cavern.The roughly hewn walls were barely lit by crude torches. Even in the dim light, Buckseau was able to spot a black twine, strung across the entrance to a large room. With nimble fingers, Elise made quick work of the goblins shoddy trap. 

As they exited the tunnel into the larger cavern, they heard a booming voice.

"How dare you penetrate, the impenetrable Fortress of DIB!! THE BIGGEST GOBLIN!!”

Torches flared up, illuminating the space. The light revealed the space to be filled with broken crates. In the center of the room was a pillar of stones, sprinkled with broken glass and cracked seashells. Towards the back of the room was a large, golden throne adorned with an animal skull and standing before it was the biggest goblin any of them had ever seen.

The goblin stood before them in his 5 foot 6 inch glory, arms spread wide. In his hand, he held a curved wooden weapon and across his chest was a necklace made of animal bones arranged to form the letters D, I and B, with a large, gleaming red gem set in the center.  DIB looked to the group of goblins next to him. “Boys, get these fools," he   commanded to his cronies. Two Goblins moved in on the group. Elsie, who was hanging back, hid behind some crates. As the goblins closed in, Buckseau and Vishtoss held their ground. Waiting for the perfect moment, Buck swung so furiously that his trusty greataxe slipped from his hands and sailed across the room. DIB picked it up and taunted the party as they exchanged blows with the goblins. As Vishtoss held his own against the goons, Buck reached for his hammer and started waling upon the nearby foes. With a massive strike, he felled a goblin so hard it caused DIB to drop the greataxe and retreat against the wall. Out of options, DIB picked up his remaining crony and threw him at Vishtoss. The goblins sailed over his head, careening into a hanging stalactite.

“Okay, how about we negotiate,” said DIB. “You let me skedaddle outta here and I give you my sweet necklace. How’s that sound to y’all? Look, it’s got my name, and this cool red rock!” Vishtoss and Buckseau looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded to the goblin. Breathing a sigh of relief, DIB tossed the bony jewelry to Vishtoss and made off running to the exit.  

Before he could escape, Elsie emerged from behind the crates. Tucking into a roll, she drew her shortsword and swung with all the force she could muster. Behind her, she heard the goblins footsteps slow to a stumbling walk. Then she smiled has she heard a satisfying thump of a defeated opponent falling to their knees. Then the secondary thump of a torso hitting the ground. 

The party was overjoyed and very hurt, but before heading home there was an important task at hand: looting. Without a word, Buckseau started busting open crates, looking for sweet sweet treasure. What he found was...seashells. Digging through the crate revealed hidden under the shells were jars filled with red liquid. He cracked one open and took a swig. The substance fizzed in his mouth and his tongue tasted a mix of spices with a hint of cherry. Instantly, he felt his fatigue disappearing. Vishtoss followed suit, wrenching open another crate, finding more vials of potion. Elsie joined in and discovered a slightly larger container holding a clear, blue substance. She stowed it in her pack. The party began picking over the remains of the battle. Buckseau began collecting the various weapons dropped by the goblins. Elsie searched for any intact crossbow bolts she could find. Strolling over to the bisected goblin boss, Vishtoss picked over the corpse. He was fascinated by DIBs throwing weapon and decided to keep it for himself along with the jagged knife at his waistband. 

As the party climbing back out through the hatch, they saw a man standing on the road. It was the man who sent them on this quest staring at the ruined cart, in utter shock.  “MY CART! WHAT HAPPENED!?” “Goblins.” The three said in unison.  The man ran over to the cart and inspected near the driver’s seat. Fiddled with some of the wood paneling, he revealed a hidden compartment. He returned to them carrying a rolled up parchment. “At least they didn’t wreck this,” he sighed, gripping the scroll close to his chest. Looking at the group, a look of grave concern fell upon that man’s face. He asked “Did you find...anything else?”  Vishtoss hid the bone necklace behind his back. “Nope! Nothing at all!” Concern gave way to defeat as the man resigned himself. Elsie looked to the distraught man and then Vishtoss. She gave him a sharp nudge with her elbow, and gestured to Uthadar.  “We...did find this,” Vishtoss said sheepishly. As soon as his eyes fell upon the red gem, Uthadar’s face light up. “You found it!” Gently taking the bone necklace, Uthadar looked deeply into the gems sheen.“I can’t tell you how much this means to me that you recovered this...I supposed I owe you some answers. First of all, as you may have guessed I’m not really a seashell seller.” “Yeah, no duh,” chided Elsie.

Uthadar let our a small cough before continuing. “I'm actually a smuggler. I work for a company in Brassica to bring things into the city. Things that people don’t want city guards looking at. It’s not honest work, but it’s stable work.” He carefully placed the gem into his bag. "You know...they may be looking for people of your talents. I’ll tell you what, if you make it to Brassica, search out a store called Sunken Sundries. It’s near the Market Plaza and it’s got a sign with a big starfish on it, you can’t miss it. You let them know I sent you, tell them ‘Uthadar is looking for help’ and you’ll be in business.” Buckseau scoffed, “And what sort of business is that?” The old man grinned, revealing a gold tooth, “Treasure.”