SESSION 52g: DAY 23 –
THE CAVES OF CHAOS – IN SEARCH OF HOBGOBLINS
Malandir thinks in hindsight,
perhaps he should have a tried a couple of times to disable the lock before he
told the fighters that he didn’t pick it. Might have not announced ourselves
through breaking the door down!
[DM’s note: Good idea, I’ll play it that way in the future for locked
doors.]
Whilst the accent is thick Lucien
is impressed that the hobgoblin can speak Common. He wonders if the hobgoblins
would have been that organised to have specifically located a guard in that
position who could speak Common or if one rushed there after hearing the commotion
of getting through the door.
Regardless he pompously declares,
“There is rulership and honor to be had. We are the heralds of your rise to
dominance among the tribes of this valley..." Lucien gets firm, "But
we will not waste time - we have a proposal for your chieftain and will only
speak more to him."
Lucien whispers to the rest of
the group, "Be at your ready, but take no provoking actions. I plan to
appeal to their honor and pride in a challenging manner, offering them a
not-so-specific place in our domination of this land if they are worthy. If all
works well, after the first bout of discussion I will ask about the captured
woman, so don't bring her up."
Talmark nods and takes a 5 foot
step south, so he can see around the corner and down both halls but is in cover
in case of arrows from the secret passage.
The hobgoblin responds “Khief Higor
Finger Biter wantz discourse with youz. Send forz two representatives. Ze rest
of youz stay vere youz are.”
[DMs Note: Hobgoblin Accent:
Swap ‘w’ with ’v’, ‘wh’ with ‘v’, “th” with ‘z’ or ‘s’, ‘v’ with ‘f’, ‘c’ with
‘k’, words ending in ‘ing’ = ‘ink’ or ‘en’ and occasionally just add a ‘z’ for
the fun of it (like after a word ending in ‘u’)]
DEW
Talmark looks at the party and raises an eyebrow. "Well now, that was unexpected. But only 2? Obviously you, Lucien. Whom do you choose to be your bodyguard?"
ReplyDeleteWhoever hits hardest and can stand longest until the rest of us get there ... so needs to be able to shout a lot while doing so ..... Malandir doesn't feel he meets these criteria, so will check we're not being outflanked from behind ...
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the Chief... Can't wait for the next episode.
ReplyDeleteLucien gives a counter-proposal, "I think not. We meet here, in this hallway, your tribe on one side, our party on the other. We can still meet two and two in the middle, but right here, where each of us have warriors to support us."
ReplyDelete{{{oh that's a good idea!}}}
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is a Diplomacy test with a DC of 25 (for a hostile creature) + 15 (to give aid that could result in punishment) = 40. Lucien rolls 10 + 13 skill = 23.
ReplyDeleteThe response is immediate and stern, “Higor Finger Biter vill not meet wiz you on zose terms. If you vish diskourse vis him you vill need to send forz 2 representatives. Ve are no simple tribe of goblins. You vill find any assault upon our barrakks to be a mukh harder proposition.”
Talmark speaks quietly to Lucien "We know you've got to go, you're the diplomat. Who do you want with you?"
ReplyDeleteKord pulls his closest allies, Lucien and Talmark aside, "We don't necessarily have to do this now. Consider the risks of splitting the party. Maybe we should withdraw or investigate another way in or another cave or simply ask about the woman."
ReplyDelete"You misunderstand. We do not plan to assault your tribe. This is not us getting you to surrender, this is your tribe getting help enslaving the other tribes around here. We only attacked the others because they are weak, and the weak get what they deserve. If you were weak, we would have already attacked.
ReplyDeleteLast chance. Equal footing for the meeting between your chief and us, or we see if any other tribes here are strong and want to rise instead of yours. We meet as equals, or we walk away and give help to rivals instead – you’ve seen what we can do."
Lucien shrugs and whispers to all, "If they do not want to parlay on equal terms, we will leave them behind, and do what I said, go to another cave. We'll 'mark' this one for last, or ally with another and attack them later.
ReplyDeleteRest easy, Kord, none of us should be comfortable splitting the party."
"Zou killed our allies."
ReplyDeleteAn arrow flys from the dark past Lucien's head.
"Zat is a varning shot. Ze next von't be."
Lucien motions to have the door closed, "This is wasted effort. What say we move on to other caves and come back to address the hobgoblins.
ReplyDeleteThe other caves may shed light on opportunities yet unconsidered in planning the demise of these beasts."
"I suggest if are to leave the cave {{{it is a party vote after all}}} we exit cautiously, they have had time to set up at least a rudimentary ambush at the cave entrance."
ReplyDelete"I don't like having to pause on the promise to liberate the woman they hold, but you are correct that this meeting is fruitless. I think we should head to a cave on the other side of the canyon, to keep from walking into their front door after those threats. Give them time to relax before we hit them."
ReplyDelete