Welcome to Daggerford!

[greyarea]

Marcus, paladin

Marcus tanks Han for watching over Dak and Lays on Hands on Grinkle. Comeon little guy. You are on your way to goodness. Don't die yet.

[Spanningtree]

Nahin - Elf

Nahin will help Dak and Grinkle anyway that he can. He will help himself to the gobbie arrows if they look like they are of decent quality. As soon as he can he would like to take a look at the room downstairs that they skipped. Great job friends! My uncle has been avenged! I wish there was better food left here... we could celebrate.

OCC: What town is this property deeded from? Let me know on the arrows, I would like to stock something like 30.

[tumblingdice]

Seeing that Dak and Grinkle are being cared for, Rory will help organize a search of the rest of the complex.

[badams30]

Securing & Searching the Keep

After Han's timely intervention, Dak is resting comfortably, and Han estimates he will be on his feet and likely none the worse for wear by tomorrow. Since the gatehouse is convenient and relatively clean, plus has the added benefit of a good vantage point, you make Dak comfy there, and Jayce agrees to stay with him and watch over him, as well as keeping an eye out for any baddies. The alert gong's reverberations can be heard throughout the complex, so he says he will ring it if anything comes up.

Much to Marcus' surprise, as he removes the arrow and lays on hands to Grinkle, Grinkle jumps to his feet as best he can and grabs Marcus' hand, pumping it vigerously. "Thank you, you won't regret saving me. I'll serve you all as long as you wish! Thank you!" With the defeat of the Lostafinga's, his mood has lightened considerably.

Rory takes the time to start a mental inventory of the layout of the keep. He and Nahin converse, and you decide to clear the upper level first, then move to the lower. Nahin, you find more than enough arrows to replace any you lost and extra. All are of average quality, and should serve you well. And the Keep is deeded from Waterdeep, but the Magister did indicate you could reach him in Red Larch, which is much closer.

To make this easy, you gather from the slain hobgoblins (incl. Julla) the following:
5 longswords
10 morning stars
7 daggers
1 short sword
4 hand axes
230 arrows
5 short bows
2 heavy crossbows
40 bolts
20 suits of piecemeal armor. Very smelly, luxurious to a hobgoblin, repulsive to 99.99% of the rest of the world
Surprisingly, you find little coin and no trinkets with these troops. Each has a necklace with fingers, some with as many as 10, and some with as little as 2.
Total coin count on the bady guys is 55 gold, 25 silver and a whopping 250 copper.

Your search of the upper works reveals:
The building that you came up from is as it appears, a well building. Nothing more. The water is cool, running, and very fresh. Despite it's modest appearance, it is a strong flowing well, and could more than adequately supply this keep with water as needed.

The building to the right of the well is as Grinkle described - a midden. It has 3 apertures for dumping water... or worse, and it smells horriffic. Surprisingly, for all their nasty habits, the hobgoblins did have satisfactory latrine habits.

The building in the northwest corner with double doors is a stable. Inside you find only one very emaciated and weak looking pony. She perks up when you enter, and Grinkle gives her some hay, which she greedily takes, and she licks at Grinkle's face. He pets her and piles a decent pile of hay in her pen. She looks weak, but should recover. There is also a medium sized cart in here, sized for one or two horses. It is in good shape, and appears to have been unused since the Lostafinga's came here.

The building in the northeast corner is the guard barracks. It is furnished with a total of 12 bunk beds, tables, chairs and equal numbers of large footlockers. The room smells like a herd of goats has been in here, and it is just as cluttered and dirty as the dining area and kitchen. In this room, careful searching yields an additional 30 gold and 121 silver.

In the courtyard, you find that one flagstone has been pried up to plant the tribe's banner in. The banner is a dirty mustard yellow color, and depicts a hairy hand that is missing it's pinky finger. Rory (INT check) realizes that this standard might be sufficient proof of the reclamation of the keep for the magister, as per his request)

It takes you all most of the day to search the upstairs. Is there anything special you want to do, or any notable actions? You have a lot of bodies around, and they may become a health hazard soon, so keep this in mind....

Evening starts to come around, and you have just finished your scouring search of the upstairs. Dak starts to stir, and he looks about saying, "What happened? We kilt bad guyz? How dey git me?" Grinkle shadows you all, and as you search, he carries garbage and filth into the main courtyard and piles it into a large pile. By the end of the day, he has dutifully removed all the refuse and garbage from the upper levels. The rooms are still smelly, and could use a decent cleaning, but as far as the clutter goes, Grinkle has cleaned it all up.

As evening approaches, a light rain starts to fall, and you all sit in the guardhouse, relieved at finally being rid of the threat of the hobgoblins. Han tosses his dice about, Jayce keeps watch, Dak has fallen back asleep and snores like a buzzsaw, and the rest of you sit about chatting. The keep is secure, with drawbridge and portcullis up. How will you handle watch for tonight, and assuming there are no disturbances, what is the plan for tomorrow?

[Spanningtree]

Nahin - Elf

Nahin will chow on a ration and chat with his comrades: Tomorrow I was thinking we check Julla's room and the other rooms around there a bit more in depth and then we make for Red Larch. What do you gents think? You are welcome to join us Grinkle.

OCC: Ration deducted, Nagin will raid the supplies and bring his arrow count up to 30.

[Atomic Ray]

Han Overfist, augur of Tymora

"If we leave the keep empty I suspect it will be occupied again when we return...maybe we should man the fort while the others deliver the evidence?...I would be willing to stay...I have some experience defending small keeps with only a few hands to work with"

[greyarea]

Marcus, paladin

You're right, Han: we should keep some here while others go to make the claim at Red Larch. Perhaps half stay and half go. I'd say we send two to ride and ride hard but that pony isn't fit for one to ride hard. The journey to the magistrate will take time.

Also, we need to bury the enemy. A mass grave on the other side of the moat will do, I think. We also should have a watch on the wall at all times, while this place is explored and cleaned up and especially at night. It's possible we haven't seen the last of Lostafinga's tribe.

I will take the first watch.

[badams30]

There are three posts, so we'll proceed.

As you gather in the gatehouse to discuss your options and prepare to eat, Grinkle comes up bearing a small cask. Those of you with experience in the finer beverages realize that it is a cask of fine rum from the Sword Coast. Grinkle smiles as he drops it at your feet, and produces a tap for the barrel and exclaims "This was looted from a caravan bound for Red Larch. I'd hidden it in the stable, I guess now is as good a time as any to break into it." He motions for you to help yourself.

Dak, although not on his feet yet, eagerly slams the tap into the barrel and consumes a decent amount before letting out a loud belch and stating "That good booz. Dak feel better. Good nite." and he promptly falls asleep and soon after starts snoring like a hive of angry bees. Grinkle dispenses a cup for himself and sips at it, offering to fill your cups as well. He unfolds a piece of cloth with some hard and unpalatable looking bread in it and starts munching away, looking both detached and relaxed at the same time.

Grinkle listens to your discussions quietly, but says nothing. He occasionally picks up your refuse or fills a cup with water or rum, as clearly he is used to serving others. You are all tired and decide to search the lower level tomorrow, and depending on how long it takes, depart for Red Larch. When you speak of splittin up, Grinkle says "I'm not important, but I don't think Lostafinga's will come here. They were against Julla stretching the ranks so thin, so they likely won't relieve this post without some prompt from here. Besides, Red Larch is only 2-3 days walk from here, depending on weather." He looks at you all quietly, then says in a humble tone "Can I come with you? I can help. I have nothing now. I help you kill bad lostafingas, I want to be different. Please?" He looks mainly at Marcus, trying to elicit some form of compassion and apparently some assurance that he's coming with you.

You all relax for the evening, and with Grinkle offering to fill Dak's spot in the watch, you get ready to bed down. The forest is very quiet, and the rain turns into a fine mist by late evening.

Any special plans for the downstairs search? Do you want to do a general search, or proceed to the "gauntlet" room first? Let me know your plans, and we'll keep it going.

[greyarea]

Marcus, paladin

Marcus looks at Grinkle with a smile. If I'm going then of course you can come, little one. Just be warned, Goblins are not usually accepted in the cities so you might not like it as much. I'm not to the point in my training that I need a squire, but I will be your friend and stand up for you. And maybe you can help in the temple and learn the life of a follower of Law. Marcus hands Grinkle back his sword. You can have this back. I think you've earned all of our trust.

Marcus suggests that we search Julla's room first, then the gauntlet room, and then take a good inventory of the kitchen. Since most of the bodies are there, we can haul them to outskirts of the fort after we're done searching the rooms.

[badams30]

You all eat, drink and make pleasant conversation, and sharing of Grinkle's libations, you all decide to turn in early, as the morning will be busy. You keep a small fire burning for warmth, and the gatehouse is the perfect place to do it as the flames are mostly shielded from any possible watching eyes, and any light that did carry would only travel as far as the treeline, and not much further.

The night passes quickly, and despite the conflict and pressures of the past couple of weeks, this was the best nights sleep you've all gotten in quite some time. You awaken, and everyone who is injured is healed up 1HP (updated on status...) and to your relief, Dak is on his feet, stretching and gathering his gear. As you are shaking the sleep from your bones, you notice Grinkle is absent. As you all start to wonder aloud where he went to, you hear grunting coming from below the guardhouse. Peering through the murder holes, you see little Grinkle dragging a dead hobgoblin up to the courtyard where the other bodies lay piled. It looks as though he's gotten started early.

You all start your search in the kitchen and dining room. After taking about an hour to thoroughly pick through it, you find little of real value. Utinsils, pans, flatware, and occasionally - an unbroken dish or cup. You manage to piece together about 15 settings of china and flatware, and about 30 tankards and cups. You also manage to stow the items back where they belong. As with the rest of the keep, the room is dirty, but at least it is orderly. The freezer is as you found it, unremarkable, and Grinkle has removed the body of the cook from it already.

Moving to Julla's room, you find it as you left it - cluttered, dirty and smelling pretty funky. As you search, you toss the trash into the corridor, and Grinkle efficiently starts hauling it up. Dak nervously glares at the mirror that Julla was so enamored with, and he quickly places the black cloth over it, mumbling "bad mirror, you not make me look at you dat way... dumb mirror..."
As you clear the refuse from the room, the contents are apparent. A highbacked, comfortable looking padded chair, a chest of drawers, and a large storage trunk. None of the pieces of furniture has anything in it, all contents are apparently on the floor, or soiled. Closer examination of the mirror reveals that it is very securly mounted on the wall, and attempting to remove it would likely break it. As you are tossing garbage into the corridor, you come across a small sack filled with coins. You cautiously open it, revealing 400 SP, and toward the bottom of the sack, two garnets that Rory estimates would fetch about 100GP each. As you are getting ready to leave the room and move on, you find a wadded up piece of parchment, stained and smelling like hobgoblin funk. Flattening it out, and reading it (it's in hobgoblin) reveals that it is a letter to Jull from none other than Nur Noll himself. "Julla - where is the treasure you promised? I will not send any more supplies or reinforcements until you send this treasure you promised. And don't bother returning empty handed, or I will feed you to the Worgs myself. I told you this was a fools errand, and if you have somehow angered the Blackstaff and his men again, I will pull your entrails out as you watch, and cook them for supper. The time for letters has ended. Bring treasure, or do not return. This is the last you will hear from us." The letter is signed in what appears to be blood with a large, messy "N."

You finally head to the Study and the secret room where you found Smutt and Cheff. As you dig through the room, you all feel a profound sense of loss in the wasteful burning and defacement of all the books that were once here. You'd imagine that at one time, there were probably 2-3 thousand different books here, now only a few hundred remain, and none that appear of exceptional topic or value. As you toss the trash out of the room, you start to replace the books on the shelves, just to make the room more orderly. Nahin, as you are tidying up a shelf, you find a loose board. Further examination reveals a small hiding place, and you pull a plain but sturdy metal scroll tube from the hiding place. It has a screwtop cap which is currently closed. Further searching turns up nothing else.

Finally, you return to the room where you found the gauntlets. The arrow still sits upon some unseen object at the back of the room. Just as you found it, the room is still apparently empty (not counting the invisible object on the floor) and minus the gauntlets that were in the middle of the room. A search reveals no exits or secret doors, compartments, etc. What would you like to do in this room? Be specific, who is doing what.

(Sorry, loooong post. But we had to do it. Take note of your loot. I'll update the spoils list once you are done down here. In the meantime, let me know what you want to do.