4th Day of Meloramensis – Part I

Hogar’s Journal (Translated from Giant)

Year 781 of the founding of the City

4th Day of Meloramensis – Part I

Thunderspire Mountain – The Chamber of Eyes

Some sore heads greeted Terrlen the next day as he prepared to guide us through the labyrinth.  A night of halfling hospitality is perhaps not the best preparation for seeking out a ruthless band of slavers.  We trooped across a now quiet hall alongside an underground stream that splits the cavern roughly in two.  Near the centre of the cavern is a wooden bridge which we crossed under the gaze of a giant statue of a minotaur.  At the feet of the great beast a large hieroglyph pulsed with purple energy, a teleportation device as used by the master mages of the Imperium.  Terrlen led us past another tavern, far less salubrious than the Halfmoon Inn and an establishment by the name of the Grimmerzhul Trading Post.  From there we passed into a tunnel marked as the Road of Shadows.  After perhaps half a day’s walk amongst damp rock streaked with luminous lichen we emerged into an antechamber.  A balcony lay at the opposite end, perhaps 30 feet away and a set of large double doors stood to our right.

Eligos and I crept forwards to the doors.  Loud high pitched voices became audible from several feet away.  Amongst the garble some of the words were recognisable as similar to my native giantish, clearly marking out the speakers as goblins of some form or other, surely members of the Bloodreavers.

We backed out into the tunnel to speak without being overheard.  I suggested that this was the ideal opportunity to try and draw our adversaries into an ambush.  Vic asked how we would go about drawing them out into the antechamber.  To this Rodney replied that he was capable of creating an illusion, perhaps of something to tempt them into our clutches.  I suggested that every goblin I have ever had the misfortune to meet is interested in nothing so much as his appetite and there is nothing more appealing to the goblin appetite than a large rat roasting on a spit.  To my surprise the rest of the party were not over enamoured with my suggestion, especially Glen.

            “Well, what’s more appealing to a goblin than roasted rat?”  I asked him.

            “Girl goblins.”  Was his blunt reply and I must admit it had a logic to it that was difficult to dispute.

Rodney confirmed that he could make one of the party appear to be an attractive female goblin for a short time.  After some protest from our ‘fearless’ leader it was decided that Vic had the best chance amongst us of successfully bluffing his way through the ruse.  Before our eyes Vic was transformed into a vision of goblin loveliness, I thought the chain-mail bikini was an extra special touch from Rodney.

After teaching Vic to say “hello boys” in Goblin we all took to hiding places throughout the antechamber.  Rodney clambered up onto the balcony to act as artillery, the rest of us behind boulders and scattered furniture.  Girl Goblin Vic sauntered up to the doors and flamboyantly thrust them both inwards.  Four goblins were huddled in conversation in the corridor on the other side of the door.  Three of them turned, open mouthed, to observe the vision of beauty that had inexplicably appeared before them.

            “Hello boys” Vic crooned from between pursed lips before wagging his finger at them in a ‘come here’ gesture. 

He turned and swayed away from them into our midst.  Looking back Vic took to his role altogether more comfortably than one might have expected from someone who considers himself a master of dark arts.

The three open mouthed goblins followed him to their doom without a moment’s hesitation; the fourth looked on disapprovingly from the corridor.  When they were suitably positioned we sprung the trap, very quickly overwhelming and killing all three of them.  The commotion brought two more goblins out onto the balcony where Rodney was positioned.  This must have caused him a moment’s hesitation but when all was said and done two goblin corpses lay at his feet on the balcony. 

The fourth Goblin came into the antechamber with a bugbear in tow.  A bugbear and five goblins may well have given us some trouble but with a single goblin he stood no chance.  He took a while to go down but go down he did.