(008) The Blockade

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
The pair of goblins shy away from Ulric as he speaks and nod their heads frantically to signal their comprehension.

OOC: Did we bury any of the treasure? I thought Victor simply temporarily concealed the sacks of copper while we fought the hobs.

Victor was going to bury the two sacks of copper in the courtyard, but the digging was far too hard, so he ended up simply hiding them beneath some rubble in the ground floor of the tower. They were still there when last you checked.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:

Caine likes Ulric's proposal. "If we could liquidate some assets, I could discharge my debts and have a clean conscience"

Makofan, my apologies if it wasn't clear from the onset, but Caine's boon was always intended to be a credit, not a debit. All he has to do is to locate this M. E. Lutgard character and wring the money out of him... or do you refer to other debits?

Caine's boon is an official, albeit rather ragged, writ stating that M. E. Lutgard is in debit to the bearer to the sum of 268 silver shillings.

[waysoftheearth]

danhem wrote:
"Perhaps someone with sharp eyes should keep an eye on the horizons from above?" Ulric suggests pointing to the trapdoor in the tower's ceiling. "No sense being caught unawares again."

"We should investigate the goblin camp and blockade as well before we depart. There may be some useful information there. Jack will want a full report of our findings here. When we finish searching we can put it to the torch."

Ulric packs his gear and cautiously descends the stairs to take stock of the situation in the courtyard and search any bodies that may have been left lying in the dirt.

[waysoftheearth]

makofan wrote:

Caine likes Ulric's proposal. "If we could liquidate some assets, I could discharge my debts and have a clean conscience"

Makofan, my apologies if it wasn't clear from the onset, but Caine's boon was always intended to be a credit, not a debit. All he has to do is to locate this M. E. Lutgard character and wring the money out of him... or do you refer to other debits?

Caine's boon is an official, albeit rather ragged, writ stating that M. E. Lutgard is in debit to the bearer to the sum of 268 silver shillings.

Caine actually said he would help pay to buy the map out of any treasure taken during the venture

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:

Caine actually said he would help pay to buy the map out of any treasure taken during the venture

Ah, very good. I had forgotten about that [img]images/smiley/embarrassed.png[/img]

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
"I'll go up top," offers Anwyn, and springs up the narrow stone stair to the trapdoor lightly, opens it -- admitting a flood a grey morning light and a modest deluge of chilly water -- and then disappears onto the roof.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Victor, in full kit, accompanies Ulric into the chilly courtyard -- there is frost over the grasses, rubble and the neat row of six Hobgoblin corpses.

"I layed 'em out," says Victor, "But couldn't bring meself to strip the filthy critters down." and spits.

Ulric seems to have no such aversion, and moves to frisk the corpses.

The goblin bodies are hard with rigor, cold with frost, and already bloating with post mortum gases. Getting their rusty ring mail shirts and grubby gambesons off would be troublesome, Ulric decides. He notes with distaste that crows, or something else, have already take a few eyes and tongues and that a multitude of cold-slowed insects over-nighted beneath the bodies, ready for their morning's work.

Several of the conical-shaped helms, black spears and short, curved swords were buried with Crystin and Rodrick as tribute. The remainder of the Hobgoblin weapons, helms and shields are piled next to them.

Besides these, their various shoulder bags and pokes contain perhaps a day or two of rationing, but that is of questionable worth to Men of a civilised palate; a half dried apple, a raw potato, heels of hard, grey breads, the rind of a pongy cheese, the half raw hind leg of a rabbit, a handful of strips of a leather hard jerky. Perhaps ideal for the new Goblin hirelings? Two of them also have skins that, by the rank whiff of them, must contain some truly awful Goblin spirit.

Their purses are light, jointly containing 32 copper and 2 silver coins, however one fellow wears a copper ring set with a dark stone, which Ulric cannot easily get off the Goblin's knuckly, clawed finger. Finally, one fellow has a tiny leather bag about his neck, and in it Ulric finds a single gold coin.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
It seems everyone is in agreement with Olaf's cunning plan (Taines is gruffly non-committal in that Dwarfish way, and the Elves are likewise none to talkative on the subject).

Thus, while Victor and Ulric are out in the courtyard and Anwyn is on the roof, Dieter unties the prisoners and retrieves his loyal silk rope.

Olaf fishes 20 coppers from his pack (2 being the last two coppers in his coin purse, and 18 being from the treasure found at the fountain), and offers them to the new recruits. They take them gleefully, and sniff them, clink them together and bite at them and eventually seem satisfied that it is no trick, and ferret the coins away in their sooty little purses.


The two hobgoblins seem pleased with the way things are developing. They are unarmed, but still attired in their grubby gambeson with ring mail over-shirts. There is plenty of gear for them to choose from in the courtyard, of course, including the gear they themselves abandoned when they were captured.

The rest of the party is fed, armed, loaded up with gear and ready to march. Anwyn comes down from the tower and grabs her pack "All clear up top," she reports.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Presumably you intend to uncover the two sacks of copper coins in the tower ground floor and carry them off.

Assuming the load is to be distributed as before, Dieter and Anwyn will lug the heavy sacks of copper, and Victor will carry Roddrick's backpack full of gold and silver (he is lawfully aligned).

Padrig can carry only one of the three great tomes that he found in Crystin's care and remain unencumbered. I assume he will take the Elysian Mecum, as it is of Heledd's Immaculate Testament.

Ulric can carry The Abridged Tongues of the Underworld and remain unencumbered.

Anwyn, amazingly, can also carry Roddrick's Book of Solemn Contemplation.

Every party member is now carrying just about as much as they can unencumbered, but you have abandoned Roddrick's ringmail and Crystin's (Elf-maiden sized) leather armour.

Caine, Olaf and Dieter are all wearing leather armour and might upgrade to Roddrick's ringmail (which is the same weight, but is 1 pip better against slashing attack types on the weapon type versus armour type table).

What next?

[waysoftheearth]

danhem wrote:
Ulric sorts through the items on the dead hobgoblins with cold detachment.

Finding the copper ring, he tries to pull it off without success. With a grunt he pulls out one of his daggers and removes the goblins finger in order to free the ring. He makes a quick inspection of it, then places it into a pocket for later. He also pockets the copper and silver coins as well as the small bag containing the single gold coin.

"We seem to have made up for what we paid those two and then some," Ulric says happily to Victor while cleaning his hands.

As the others assemble he motions to the two hobgoblins.

"There is more than enough food here for the two of you; at least until we get back with the rest of the army. Arm yourselves with these weapons and store the rest in the tower. Dig a grave outside the wall of the keep for your former comrades here and bury them before the end of the day."

Ulric looks at both of the goblins gravely, then raises his hands. He speaks in rasping, harsh words of unknown origin, pointing at the two goblins, his voice growing louder and louder until he suddenly stops.

"You are both marked. You will both do well to follow our orders. The penalty for not doing so will be quite painful. Following orders will lead to food, drink, and wealth."

As soon as they depart the keep Ulric suggests that they investigate the goblin works on the road and search the bodies left there as well.

OOC: I'd say we take all of the sacks of copper coins with us. We can always stash them along the way if we need to.