DnD 5e: They took my little girl!

[chkflip]

Party Members:

Jodove Ostoroth - High Elf Wizard I
Bhreh Sharpdrifter - Kobold Monk I
Elloria Fullbright - Half-Orc Ranger I
Bori Nurakas - Mtn Dwarf Fighter I

Quest:

They took my little girl!

Spoiler: information

It was a night like any other. The working hands were gathered at The Rotten Crop, a local inn/bar, just drinking their hard work away until the morrow. Just then the town's blacksmith, a hardy Dwarf that goes by Jem Hammerfell, bursts through the door in a huff. Something happened to his daughter... and he needs your help!

[chkflip]

The evening waxed like most before it. A fickle breeze found it's way through the establishment, the Rotten Crop, just at it sent the small wooden wind chime cluttering into itself. The inn-slash-bar sits at roughly 30'x30' with the entrance -- a saloon style set of doors -- greeting all that pass by the southeastern wall of the building that points directly out to the main (and only) road of the village. A few farm hands sit among the stools at the bar affixed nearest the southern wall, grumbling to themselves while Gimmi D'Alebringer (the gruff Dwarven sole proprietor) wipes one of the tankards that'd been used throughout the day. A lone, slightly wealthier looking farmer sits in the corner table alone staring almost through his glass in a complete daze as the barmaiden, the lovely Human woman known by most simply a 'Dee', places another glass on the table before him. Even this didn't break wherever his mind was. Not until another Dwarf bursts through the doors in anguish.

"They took 'er, Gimmi! They fookin' took 'er! My Kilna!"

The grumbling stopped as all eyes befell the current situation. A downright exasperated Dwarf approached the bar and nearly cracked his noggin on it had he not caught himself. Something is clearly paining him on his left side, but you wouldn't even think about that given the state of his crimson-covered face. Gimmi tosses the man a clean rag and reaches over with concern.

"Slow yourself, Jem. What happ--"

"I CANNO' SLOW MYSELF, GIM! MY... my... little girl. Goddamn monsters. I canno' lose 'er, Gim. Somebody... somebody gots'ta help me less I go after 'er meself."

Gimmi gives a nod, allowing the obvious exasperation of his fellow Dwarf to pass. Jem, who appears as exhausted as he is distraught, scans the room with glassy eyes for somebody -- anybody -- to help him save his little girl.

What do you do?

[The Fonz]

There were times when Jodove Osteroth felt like the worst person in the world. Right now was one of them.

The poor Dwarf was clearly out of his mind with worry. A terrible tragedy had befallen him and his family. And yet, at this moment, Jodove found himself wishing he had chosen any other inn in the damn province tonight. He'd been walking all day, and would be walking a good few more before he would catch a glimpse of city walls again. His feet hurt, and all he really wanted to do was to sit here on his stool, finish the last of this mead, and drag his weary body into bed - with a good book, of course.

Even as he thought this, though, Jodove knew he wouldn't be able to stay silent. Annoying as his conscience was in this moment, it wasn't about to go away. He

could

help. His mind, formidable many respects, couldn't come up with a reason not to help, let alone a

good

one. So he was going to help. One last resigned glug of his drink later, the Auburn-haired elf pulled himself to his feet, and turned toward the commotion. As he approached the bloodied Dwarf, though, he was preempted by another voice...

[Rautherdir]

"

Can't have you running off in that state, could we? Letting us know what sort of monsters took your kin and where they were last would be helpful to any seeking to go on your behalf.

"

Bhreh Sharpdrifter stepped down from his spot at the table closest the stairs, the black-scaled kobold adjusting the simple robe he wore before approaching the dwarf. The kobold had been glad to be allowed to sleep through the day when he had arrived, this was perhaps a good way to return the favor.

[xofelf]

From her spot against the stairs in the back of the bar, Elloria looks over the top of her tankard of ale at the scene unfolding in front of her with interest and suspicion. She can't help but be moved by the plight of this dwarf, but she isn't one to get involved without more information first. She watches the tiny kobold get up from the table and sighs.

He's going to get himself hurt if he goes out there. I guess I don't have a choice.

She downs her ale, stands up and walks towards the upset dwarf. "I heard somethin' about monsters needin' hunted after and an innocent in trouble?"

[chkflip]

The worried Dwarf startles at first, the words of a small dragon-like creature approaching him puts his guard up. Then he processes the words spoken. Just before he can answer, however, another monstrous being approaches. A big green-skinned woman with tusks prodruding behind her bottom lip asking more of the same as the little one. He looks from one to the other if briefly before letting out a long sigh. The desperation in his voice is palpable.

"Aye,"

he replies.

"My little Kilna was outside playin' pretend when they outta the woods to the north. Buncha danged Goblins. Too many for me to fight off proper. Musta been a'least half a dozen of 'em. Please. Ya gotsta help me. Do ya 'ave any companions with you? Or is there anybody else here that could help? Don't think I'd be of much service but I'll be damned if my baby becomes dinner or what haves ya. The look on her face... please, adventurers. I can't let that be the last time I see my Kilna."

The clean-handed Human from the corner, having had his concentration and heart simultaneously broken, rises from his chair and gives a concerned pat on the Dwarf's back before leaving the establishment in a hurry. The farmhands look to one another, then around the room, obviously way over their head in the situation. They both look to the Elf sitting next to them. One chimes in with a hushed whisper as he leans toward the cloaked stranger.

"Hey there, fella. You look a smart worldly type. You know anything 'bout Goblins? You think we could take 'em? I reckon ol' Jem'd be willin' to fork somethin' over for rescuin' his little girl."

His breath, much like his demeanor, is disgusting.

[Haschel Cedricson]

As soon as the word "goblins" comes out of Jem's mouth, a clean-shaven dwarf at the end of the bar perks up his head. Bori hops off his stool, adjusts his scarf, and marches right up to group surrounding Jem. The group quiets down for a moment as they assess the newcomer.

With a voice that can charitably be described as a loud whisper, he says "

Goblins? That's all I need to hear. How far north are we talking?

"

[The Fonz]

Jodove was relieved to see a handful of sturdy-looking folk surrounding the distressed father. He leant in towards the farm hands sat alongside him.

Smart

, he thought,

sure. But worldly? He'd never been accused of that before.

Enough

[/b], he said with a smile.

But I won't bore you with the whole tale of Blyq the Bonestealer right now. What I will tell you is they are...

highly

flammable.

Jodove winked at the men, and strode languidly across the room to stand behind the beardless dwarf.

[chkflip]

A fear washes over the farm hand's faces as their wide-eyed gazes meet one another. Jem nods as a fourth brave soul approaches him.

"Follow me,"

Jem says as he continues wiping his face.

"I canno' tell ya exactly whereabouts they went, unfortunately."

The concern in his voice seems to taper slightly as he exits the inn. Four brave souls stepping forward to his call appears to bring him a calmness if only for a moment. He limps onward toward his humble abode. Before you is a small but acceptably sized smithy given the meek nature of your surroundings, it's walls showing no disrepair even given their obvious age. The sign, a simple hammer and anvil, creaks against the push of the wind. Jem raises his free hand and points ahead.

"They came and left that way. I saw more eyes in the shadows of the trees than I did from the ones that snatched my Kilna from me. I canno' beg any harder, adventurers. I need 'er back. Dunno what I'd do without the little shit, aye."

A pain brings him pause, slumping against the side of his business and home. He motions toward the obvious signs of the scuffle that happened here. Several sets of footprints, blood splatter, and clear drag marks litter the ground before you. Jem reaches to a coinpurse on his side, pulling away at the drawstrings and procuring a small bottle of red-colored liquid and hands it to the fellow Dwarf next to him.

"I was gonna drink this if it had ta be me goin' into those Gods forsaken trees. It's a healing potion. Just... save my Kilna. Please."

Jem utters a muffled pain, attempted to be held back as he slid against the wall to sit on the ground. His wince and gritted teeth show more pain than he'd like to while his hand now clutches and pressures his side as best he can.

[Haschel Cedricson]

Bori accepts the vial. "

Thank you, friend. We will do everything we can to get her back.

" He turns to the elf beside him and passes the container to him. "

You hold on to this, elf. You look like you're more likely to need it than me.

"

Surveying the scene before him, he glances towards the trees and gives a slight scowl. "

I will say I never was one for the woods. Any of you spend time in the forest?

"

[xofelf]

Elloria grunts. "Yeah, I know woods a bit. Kinda hafta in my line o' work."

She crouches down to look Jem straight in the eyes. "Now goblins just up and do what they like whenever, but can you tell me what you were doing 'fore they snatched your girl? Is it the first time you've seen 'em on your land?"

[The Fonz]

"

You hold on to this, elf. You look like you're more likely to need it than me.

"

As the Half-Orc questions the injured blacksmith, Jodove gratefully accepts the Dwarf's potion, deliberately overlooking the potential slight. "Thank you, mountain-friend," he says quietly to Bori, in the Dwarven language.

[chkflip]

The injured man's slight chuckle turns into a cough as the pain he's in is simply overtaking. His eyes dart momentarily to the Elf as the Dwarf words spill out into the open, taken aback a bit like he hasn't seen a non-Dwarf speak their tongue before.

"I was workin' the forge like any other day, lass, and Kilna was outside messin' about like little boys and girls do. Not many children in this place so her constant companion is her imagination. But the important part being no, of course I 'ave not seen little green monsters 'round here before. Not so damn close at least. It's known to avoid the wood at night but their attack is no somethin' that is a regular occurrence here. A missing farm animal every now and again, maybe, but to outright take a person from right outside their home is unheard of. I'm gonna ask the guard to send word East... hopefully the baroness sends a more abundant amount of 'em round here so this never happens again. God's damned filthy things. They were right on top of her before either of us realized they were even there. They... they didn't hurt 'er, though, now that I think about it. Just me. Not sure what that could mean, but, I'll be curt. The longer you spend here talkin' the more time they 'ave ta do whatever they're plannin'."

As if on cue, a local guard and a man of the cloth both rush over to Jem. He fusses about being helped up but they lift him anyway. You notice the farmer that'd rushed out of the inn with a couple passerby townsfolk standing not too far away. The Human, a holy symbol dangling from his neck, gets a little snippy with his Dwarf neighbor.

"Jem, the less you resist the faster I can get to tending these wounds of yours. How you're still breathing just goes to prove the Dwarf's stubbornness to show pain, surely, but you can't keep fighting me."

The clergyman, a slender Human man with greying hair and eyes, nods in all of your general direction with an appreciative half smirk. Jem stops him for a moment to look toward you.

"Thank you,"

Jem says, the appreciation of your bravery clear in his words before turning specifically to the Elf and Dwarf to say something in the tongue of his people.

"Moradin guide you all."

The guard ushers a couple of the looky-loos over to help the small man with the injured fella. They dutifully oblige him. Before you stands a gruff but portly bearded Human with a completely bald head. The beard tufts out in as unkempt a manner as his general disposition.

"Vincent told me what's going on. Goblins... damn shame. But if you lot think you can get Kilna back then my service is obviously more required here in case they, y'know, come back or something. If there's anything I can do to, uhhh... help... you do let me know. Otherwise I'll get back to making sure Jem is taken care of and the fine people of Thode are kept safe in their homes. Oh, right. Names Bobert. Haven't seen you folks 'round here before but I'm sure glad you're here."

Bobert is notably uncomfortable, nervous, and in over his head.

[Rautherdir]

"

You don't look like you're ready to head out into a fight, Bobert. Would you be able to help us track down the goblins, or point us in the direction they went?

"

[chkflip]

"Well, I... uh... well... no."

The call to arms threw poor Bobert entirely off guard. You can hear another pained chuckle come from Jem as he is aided into the road heading East. Before Bob could continue to make an imbecile out of himself, however, Elloria is already stepping toward the scene of the crime to investigate. She squats down and closely observes the many gouges in the soft earth for a pattern. She seemed near a conclusion when Bori walks right in front of her to look at the spatter of blood against a small collection of rocks.

"Alright, nothing to see here folks! Let these fine people do what they do best in peace,"

Bobert calls out to the few remaining that stood around before just sort of sauntering off himself.

Eureka! The ranger thinks she finds something important: drag marks. Bori nods as if to agree and the four seem to be on the move from there. The thick line of disturbed ground spattered every now and again showing signs of attempted escape; unfortunately, it appears those attempts were halted right into the tree line. Bhreh finds the culprit and shows the group another stone caked in a smattering of ichor.

This pushes you all into a fervor ever forward. Several times over it appears as if you've all reached a halt, a skip in the drag marks, a lack of clues. But the diligence of the group heeds on with a little bit of luck and the keen eyes of each of you. Even Bori's sudden fascination with the tree limbs finds a suspiciously broken one here and there. You come together and push on for what seems like an hour when, suddenly, Bhreh and Jodove hear something loud in the distance. Cackling? Arguing? It's hard to tell until you inch forward still.

There appears to be the outline of a building of some sort about a hundred of so feet in front of you just outside of the tree line ahead. It's hard to tell from this distance if there are two or more figures, but they're definitely short in stature and the drags head that direction.

[The Fonz]

Jodove crept forward, cautiously stepping in behind trees every few steps. As he neared, he looked out for a spot that allowed him a clear shot from cover.

[Rautherdir]

Bhreh pulls a light crossbow out of a bag at his side, along with a bolt and loads it, before stealthily approaching the building.

[chkflip]

Jodove and Elloria position themselves swiftly and quietly at each side of the thick trunk of the nearest tree while Bhreh finds space behind a small thicket, each looking forward at what appears to be a small dispatch of Goblins cackling and cheering at something happening on the ground. Only Bhreh is close enough to see a little movement on the floor beyond a small circle of rocks. It seems they've made a scorpion and a spider fight one another. The Kobold peers back to signal to the others when --

KKKRRRKRRKKK

The sound of the Dwarf's heavy armor scraping against the boulder he'd found and walked a little too close to brings the Goblins to a silence. They look over and see the Dwarf peeking his head out at them. He pulls back behind the boulder... maybe they didn't see him?

"Geshpalaaaa!"

They saw him. They go for their weapons on the ground or leaned up against the front of the old stone building.

[The Fonz]

The moment he heard the scraping noise ahead of him, Jodove cursed internally. He'd hoped to create an illusory distraction, and draw the goblins into a trap. Now, that seemed about as likely as the good night's rest he'd been hoping for two hours earlier. The Elf smirked, reflecting on how foolish he'd been to expect a bloody Dwarf to be able to creep up on

anything

. Still, no use in crying over spilled mead.

The wizard leant to his left, and launched a flaming projectile from his left hand at the torso of the leftmost goblin.

[chkflip]

BOOOOM!

The firebolt flies through the sky but misses it's mark by an inch, blasting dust and dirt off the stonework walls of the building behind the Goblin in front of it. They send a gnarled yelp aimlessly before looking at Jodove with angrily gritted teeth and a raised shortbow. The rightmost Goblin rushes to the left, unknowingly the same direction as Elloria, and waits for the Dwarf to pop back out from the rock they'd found cover behind.

The Half-Orc's arrow flies true, piercing the chest of the Goblin Jodove had barely missed. The creature howls in pain and takes aim at the wizard it can see pressed against the thick tree. Our Elf looks just in time to throw up a hand and produce a magical barrier to stop the monster's arrow from hitting him. The injured Goblin nods at the others next to it and rushes toward the boulder.

Bori comes from behind cover with a bow of his own and

narrowly

avoids the arrow from the Goblin thst waited for him. The Dwarf smirks at the Goblin rushing toward him and fires. Direct hit to the head sends the monster into a backflip and a faceplant into the soft dirt.

The third Goblin, not knowing what to do, takes a bolt to the shoulder as Bhreh shows himself and fires. It squeals and... flees! It drops the scimitar in its hand and hops over the rocks before the entryway to the building, rushing down the stairway heading downward.

[The Fonz]

The Elf mage whistled as the arrow, headed straight for his throat, clattered against the barrier he had hastily thrown up. "Die you little green shit!" he exclaimed, in Elvish. It was always more satisfying to curse in a manner where one's companions couldn't be quite sure just how foul one was being. A pity there weren't more pejoratives in the Sylvan language...

Jodove lobbed another burning speck at the surviving goblin, then ducked behind the tree, hoping to hear the exclamation of pain that would tell him he'd connected.

[xofelf]

Elloria keeps an eye out for that tiny kobold, making sure they're not too much in harm's way, and then peers around the tree looking for her next target to aim at.

Gotta keep them all safe....

she thinks emphatically before loosing her next arrow.

[chkflip]

Fear overcomes the monster as he is clearly outgunned and alone. It rushes forth to the Dwarf to get itself some cover as it takes a lick from the firebolt and evades the woman's arrow. Swinging wildly, the Goblin carves into the Dwarf with a scimitar only to catch the screeching of metal on metal. All confidence from the creature waned as it looks up to see an arrow in its face. The kobold, however, would get the kill shot with a crossbow bolt between the shoulders. Bori heard the collision and a small pop as the last breath of the Goblin escapes it.

And with that the two Goblins that stood their ground in guarding the entrance were down, their bodies immobile and bleeding out. Before you is the old building they were parked in front of. It's greyed stonework, masterfully crafted and aged, appears ominously before you in the moonlight. A building no larger than 30x30 feet stands before you with an entryway that was clearly broken into. The door hinges are all that clue you in on the place not simply having a 10x10ish open maw of a doorway. The elements, too, don't appear to have affected the inside of the building as much as the outside.

Before you is a 10' wide stairwell that heads down. Bhreh, being the closest, peeks in to see this. He also takes a look down to notice that the little rock circle that housed an insect fight has a winner. The scorpion defeated the spider and is attempting to free itself from the small hole.

[Haschel Cedricson]

Bori slowly approaches the stairs, longbow still in his hand. "

Pity that last one was so cowardly; they'll be expecting us now.

" Glancing upwards at the building, he lets out a low whistle. "

Sure is a fancy place for goblins.

"

[Rautherdir]

Bhreh approaches alongside Bori, taking a look down the stairwell. "

Large place for small goblins. Don't think it's their building.

"