Red Hand of Doom: Team 2 (IC)

[Neftren]

Jathrax

Swinging wildly and clumsily, Jathrax attacks the hellhound near him.

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Jathrax will move to I,13 and attack the hellhound.

(1d20+6)[8] to Hit
(1d6+4)[5] Points of Damage

(1d20+5)[12] to Hit
(1d6+4)[6] Points of Damage

[kpenguin]

Huukec

Huukec flies over to square k8 and drops to an altitude of 15 feet. Witha quick wave of the wand, he unleashes another blast of colored light.

OOC: Color spray, centered on k8

[Blue_C.]

Mi'lassk

"By the dragon between," Mi'lassk intones as he sees his temporary allies falter, then disappear. Seeing Talorian's damage, he move closer, calling on nature's strength to heal his ally's wounds.

Spoiler

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Move to Talorian's position, avoiding the Hell hound if possible.
Cast Cure light wounds for (1d8+5)[9]

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

Jathrax's hasty attacks fail to do any damage to the hound.

Mi'lassk successfully heals Toalrian.

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Tolarian is back to full.

Dalton's bolt hits the pursuing hound, who falls to the ground and slowly begins to banish.

With the hound dissipating Maor changes targets, striking #3 solidly and dropping him.

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Changed your target since the hound died before Maor acted.

A colorful blast for Huukec's wand affects both remaining opponents, who fall unconscious.

The retreating hobgoblins are beginning to go out of sight, into tho deeper areas of the woods.

Ending combat here since all enemies have been incapacitated, also why I skipped Tolarian's turn. You now have about 30 seconds to a minute to decide what to do with 3 unconscious hobgoblins (r2, r3, #2).

Everyone gains 750 xp.

I'll hand out loot once you decide what to do.

[Randel]

Dalton

HP: 14/22 AC: 15

Seeing that the enemy has run off, Dalton reloads his crossbow, puts it at his side and turns to the others. "Does anybody need healing?"

He uses his Healing Belt to heal the others wounds if they ask for it.

Spoiler

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belt has 3 charges per day, can heal 2d8 points of damage per charge.

He helps the others search the bodies for loot, starting with the ones closest to him.

Search:(1d20+12)[18]

[Neftren]

Jathrax

Using the pommel of his weapon, he soundly raps each of the goblins on the head, to make sure they stay knocked out.

Turning towards Dalton, Jathrax speaks up, "I could use some healing... that hobgoblin arrow hurt..." With that, Jathrax goes off to appropriate the weapons and armor of the goblins.

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Not actually killing them, just knocking them out soundly.

[Blue_C.]

Mi'lassk

Raising an eyebrow at Jathrax's actions, Mi'lassk asks, "Perhaps instead of knocking them about some more, we could try to bring them around to be questioned?"

"Such as how fairs the village in the distance? I would like to know the answer to that before we walk into more ambushes."

[Randel]

Dalton

He keeps looting the bodies until he gets close to Jathrax and then heals him.

heals: (2d8)[11]

then while he's at it, he heals himself from his own arrow wound.

heals: (2d8)[10]

with one charge left he checks if anyone else wants healing.

He takes out a length of silk rope and offers it to Mi'lassk, "Here, you can tie them up with this." then he looks at the cottage to the south-west. "Wonder what is there?"

He makes his way towards the cottage, looting the enemy units on his way.

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

The hobgoblins will be out at least a few more minutes after Jathrax soundly beats them.

Loot:

Searching the fallen bodies you find:

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8 somewhat old and damaged suits of chainmail.
8 heavy steel shields
8 composite longbows (+1 str)
8 well crafted, but worn longswords. (MW)
100 arrows.
1 very finely crafted and kept breastplate. (MW)
1 fine mace. (MW)

Z had a fist sized metal plaque hanging from his neck. It seems to be inscribes with a dragon like head.

U had a wooden staff adorned with metal (MW quarterstaff), attached to it was an opaque greenish crystal. He also carried a small engraved stick.

Dalton:

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Inside the ruined building you find the remains of a cooking fire, scattered bedrolls, and a few other necessities. To a side you see 3 very fresh corpses, seemingly ready to be disposed. 2 hobgoblins and 1 goblin. Next to them is a sack with 355 gp. Both hobgoblins carry normal crossbows with 10 bolts.

[Random NPC]

Maor Moonclaw

After finishing his enemies Maor bends and picks up his longsword. He then sheathes his sword and puts away the bow on his quiver. The small quiver slowly eats both of the weapons until they disapear.

If someone pays close attention to Maor's face, not only his bestial features turn to "normal" and some bruises on his body heal, but what seems to be a blood red tattoo slowly moves away as if the paint was moving away and concealing itself. This was happening all over Maor's body. The red tattoo came back from the place it came from, his chest.

"I'll take care of this." He says as he takes the ropes and proceeds to tie the Hobgoblins. "And if they decided not to talk, let me be the first one to kill them." He says to himself, but loud enough for the whole group to hear.

"And what were they carrying, human?" He screams towards the cottage at Dalton.

If anyone paid attention on the trip, they should notice that Maor was speaking more than he used to.

[Randel]

Dalton

"Over here? I see two dead hobgoblins and one dead goblin." he picks up the bag of gold and returns to the others. He stores all the weapons and the gold in a bag and sets it inside his Handy Haversack, ready to be properly inspected when they have some time. He writes down a list of all the items he found and relates them to the others.

"Hmm... a few of these are a bit beat up. We could probably fix them up a bit before selling them." His own pride as a craftsman is a bit uneasy at the thought of leaving these items beat up like they are.

He joins up with the rest of the group, curious what they plan to do now.

"Just out of curiosity... I recall hearing something about a spell that can gain information from a corpse. I wonder if that robed figure there might know a bit more about this groups goals than these fellows."

[kpenguin]

"Stay your hand, shifter. We are on Darguun territory now. Let the law handle them. They have defied the edicts of L'hesh Haruuc and shall be punished accordingly."

Huukec looks down on the unconcious hobgoblins.

"Besides, I can get information from them without them saying a single word."

He looks at Dalton and says,

"You say that there are some dead goblins in that cottage?"

Huukec snarls.

"This Red Hand probably killed them. We should give them a proper burial."

[Random NPC]

Maor Moonclaw

The shifter snarls at the unconscious bodies and crouches in front of them. "Either way, we should take everything they have and burn the fallen bodies. If you want to take the living ones to town, be my guest." He sniffs at them and leans back, obviously dissatisfied with the smell. "... mutter... goblins.. mutter..."

"What about the leaders? I recall the robed one was a wizard of sorts." Maor looks up to the sky. "He was too strong for a wizard. Able to survive one of my arrows like that, only monsters can do that."

Maor takes out his longsword and walks up to the fallen armored hobgoblin. He grabs his necklace and pulls it.

"Anyone knows what this is?"

The blood of dying goblin has him in a pleasant mood.

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

Maor's ties the 3 hobgoblins, the bindings feel secure enough. They wake groaning but otherwise seem eerily quite. They look at each other and the group when they think no one is looking, but simply stare blankly when looked upon.

The amulet hanging from the necklace seems to be made of iron, decent craftsmanship but nothing special. It's engraved with a somewhat crude draconic heads, you can make out about 3 or 4. There's nothing else of note about it.

Spoiler

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Rolled knowledges, no one notices anything else peculiar about the amulet.

Edit (knew I forgot something):
Maor:

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Upon further examination of the robed hobgoblin's body, you notice it's not like other hobgoblins you have seen before. It's body is incredibly scarred and deformed. His limbs and joins are twisted, as if they had sustained many breaks. his skin is almost completely tattooed and marked in areas not currently covered by scabs.

[kpenguin]

Huukec

Mmmm... I don't recognize it, but a red hand symbol is used by some tribes in Argonessen, home of dragons. The draconic figures on the amulet suggests they are connected.

He pauses.

Allow me to use my magic to detect any enchantments.

Huukec's eyes glow blue as he scans the area.

OOC: Using Arcane Sight.

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

Huukec:

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Several of the items collected from the bodies begin to glow. The breastplate show hints of abjuration, The crystal attached to the staff glows of evocation, and the small stick of conjuration. Your companions also light up, but you're used to this.

[Random NPC]

Maor Moonclaw

"Dragons. Maybe this has something to do with the Dragon Below." He ponders for a second and looks back at the robed goblin. He looks like he sustained more damage before. More than likely he has seen battle before... or many moons of torture. He thinks.

"Goblin." He says at Huukec while he's searching. "You said these creatures broke the Goblin-Lord's law. You better get some information out of them too."

[kpenguin]

Huukec

"I've detected some magic in their equipment, specifically the crystal on the end of that staff, the stick, and the breastplate. I do not have the proper spells prepared to identify them, however, though I have some pearls to use to cast."

He looks to Maor.

We shall interrogate them, but their fates should be up to the authorities here. All of us but I are foreigners and it would not do well to execute them.

Huukec walks over to the goblins and looks back.

If someone would question them, I can read their minds. It would be inadvisable for me to do both.

OOC: Arcane Sight should last 5 min., so I should be able to know if something funky happens.

[Blue_C.]

Mi'lassk

The druid's ears perk up at the phrase "Dragon Below." "Truly?" he breathes, regarding the goblins with a great deal more suspicion.

He shakes it off. "Let's start by packing up the gear, and leaving this place. We should either take shelter in the shack, or continue on to our destination," he says. He beckons for the mule and says, "The mule can carry our spoils, until Huurek has the magic to tell what's what."

[Mavian]

Talorian

Talorian grins.

"Questions is it? I'm good at asking questions"

He walks over and pushes one of the hobgoblins on to its back, before placing a foot on its stomach and the point of his rapier against its throat.

"My name is Talorian De Marquis. You are going to answer the questions asked of you and if we spot one lie, I will know it and slit your throat like the swine you are. Now, the first question. Which way to the nearest drinking establishment?"

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

All three hobgoblins glare at Tolarian. It's an angry stare, though you sense hints of confusion as you ask your question. They make no attempt to answer or otherwise say anything.

[Random NPC]

Maor Moonclaw

"Bothersome." He says shaking his head. "It should be better if we get some information from them first, young Druid-Master." Maor says to Mi'lassk with a noticeable tone of respect.

"Alright, goblin, cast that spell of yours." He says to Huukec. He moves closer to the Hobgoblins. "I want to know more about this symbol." He lifts his hand and shows them the draconic symbol.

"Go on! Tell us. Even if you fear your master's wrath, you should fear ours more, because we know of the way of Goblin pain. I've studied and I know it deep in my heart." He says the last word with an animalistic growl. "Even if it is against the law, I will torture you more than anything you have felt before."

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Bluff attempt to get some information before Huukec can begin

(1d20+2)[8]
+4 because of Favored enemy, -2 due to low charisma

EDIT: Unless a natural 1 I guess that was hard to believe. Don't make them laugh please

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

The prisoners mouths remain shut. Their eyes change somewhat as they glance at their fallen robed leader, knowing full well that nothing this shifter can do to them, can compare to what he would've.

[Blue_C.]

Mi'lassk

The druid snorts at his allies failed attempts at coercion, as he has found himself at one too many arguments with them about the basic decency one must show to all of this world's creatures. He does not choose to pick up the discusion though, as disunity would make Huurek's task harder. "Perhaps they only speak goblin?" he offers, as a way for the others to save face.

"I will be sitting in the trees over there, in prayer. Rouse me when it is time to leave," he announces.

Spoiler

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Mi'lassk takes fifteen minutes to prepare the rest of his spells for the day.
0-Cure minor wounds
1-Cure light wounds
2-Another Cure light wounds
3-Cure Moderate Wounds

[Randel]

Dalton

Seeing their interrogation isn't going quite as well as planned, Dalton decides to try something else. "Let me see if I can track down their friends."

He reaches into his spell component pouch and pulls out a vial of powdered siberys dragonshard and a small length of black cloth.

He traces a circle on the ground and sprinkles a tiny pinch of the dust into the center. After speaking a few words and making a gesture, his dragonmark glows for a moment before a bit of smoke appears in the circle. In a moment, a small winged construct appears in the circle, an Expeditious Messenger. It looks like any other of its kind aside from the miniature mark of making on its neck... a tiny version of the mark on Dalton's neck.

He offers it the small bit of black cloth and the creature accepts it, tying it around its neck like a scarf to cover the mark.

He reaches down to pick it up and after getting a good look at the hobgoblins faces he releases it, letting it fly south after where the other hobgoblins were fleeing.

"Go, find the others. Show me where their hideout is." He says in clear and audible goblin.

He turns to the others, "He should be able to find their trail... though I probably should have done that right when they started running."

He sits down down next to the fallen robed leaders body, looking at its face... not so much to see anything but to creep out the captured hobgoblins.

Spoiler

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I cast Summon Marked Homunculus. A 1st level infusion from Dragonmarked. The Messenger should last for 5 hours (1 hour per level) and if destroyed deals 1d6 damage to adjacent creatures. I can summon it because it requires a mark of making to cast.

[kpenguin]

Huukec

Huukec pulls a copper piece from his pouch and waves his hand around it while chanting. A few moments later, he stops the incantation and closes his eyes in concentration, listening to the thoughts of the goblins.

"You mind is an open book to me. Reveal to me your thoughts..."

OOC: Detect Thoughts, boyos. Remember, lime is goblin.

[Random NPC]

Maor Moonclaw

Maor looks back at Huukec and smiles. He waits for nearly half a minute until he's sure Huukec is concentrated on the task.

"What does this symbol mean?....." He asks first, holding the symbol in front of them. ".....What's this red hand of yours?.... Are you a band of robbers or something else?.... If you are not a band of robbers, what are you?.... Who was that robbed Hobgoblin and why is he like that?...." He starts to ask questions. He ask slowly and pauses between question to help the Hobgoblins think of the answer. This have not been the first time he has known of this technique. Back when they were raiding Hobgoblins with Cyre they used tactics like those to get information about strategic whereabouts.

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I think this should speed things up. After this maybe we should go to town.

[Powerfamiliar]

DM

Rendel conjures a winged creature. It flies up and begins to follow the fleeing hobgoblins trail. It picks them up rather quickly, a couple thousand feet northeast and running north, staying off the dawn way. The homunculus should soon reach the maximum distance it is willing to travel.

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The distance is a mile for messengers right? I'm not completely sure I read it correctly.

Also I think I forgot to mention the dawn way. That's the name of the road you are traveling on. It is very long and traveled, but you are currently in an area of little traffic.

Huukec:

Spoiler

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They all show sings of mental activity, and have intelligence between 10-12.

Surface thoughts:

Hobgoblin one: "They're gonna kill us in that town. We're getting the blame for the merchants and the raids, and they're gonna kill us." When Maor asks about their leader his thoughts change to: "pfft Ulthar? He's no leader. He was just one sick gobbo. I wouldn't be surprised if he screwed himself up, or maybe he crossed Koth."

Hobgoblin two: "I wonder where Delk and the others are spending the night. Those Vraath ruins are way too far, and that stupid bugbear is gonna be pissed." As Maor asks if they are robbers his surface thoughts change to: "Ha ha, robbers? We're no thieves."

Hobgoblin three: "Just focus, focus!. Don't look at them, just don't say anything to anyone, it'll be alright." His thoughts don't seem to change as Maor speaks, he seems to be tuning him out.

Edit: simul' posted with Random, making a couple of edits.

[kpenguin]

Huukec

Huukec holds his concentration, waiting for answers to Maor's other questions.

[kpenguin]

Huukec

Maor, come hither.