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While discussing breaching the walls, Pickles brings up that when they’d last spoken with the kobolds they spoke of a back entrance tunnel. This is kept in mind as a backup plan should entering through the gatehouse is not feasible.

Pickles sneaks up the rubble pile wall and finds that the courtyard is empty and that the doors to the gatehouse is closed. Pickles clumsily sneaks onto the tower. Surveying from the roof, Pickles sees beyond the wall and through the trees two squat, damaged towers. He can hear the sounds of orc-speech. Listening closer, he hears one of the orcs lecturing the others, the gist being: “the boss is upset that the big one is dead, we’ll stay here until we figure out what to do next.” Some other orcs (3-4) are angry about being taken off guard duty and put on patrol now that the ogre is gone – they enjoyed watching goblins excavate. Having heard all that, Pickles returns.

We have a few options: attack the orcs in the diamond room, ambush the patrolling orcs, sneak past the wall. Pickles suggests setting the rafters of the gatehouse on fire to serve as a distraction and to learn the numbers. Pickles admits that as a littleling his prone-ness to making chaos for others and Obroam and I admonish him and suggest he learn the wisdoms of either Tangodorin or Tyr.

Pickles sneaks into the gatehouse again. He peers into the diamond room and sees two orcish figures watching the hallways. Pickles reports that the orcs are watching both hallways but in positions where they cannot see into the courtyard. The front doors are locked and they are watching the entrances from the wings. 

While Pickles is away getting into position for the attack on the gatehouse, kobolds encircle us. They ask us what we’re doing and Rem and I translate for Obroam and the kobolds. Obroam bribes the kobolds with food so they’ll leave us alone. He gives them all of his rations. The kobolds fight over the food and we get back to work making the battering ram. My dagger breaks while using it to trim the tree to make into a battering ram. The kobolds describe humans with black robes and green, scary masks beyond the wall. 

We finally bash down the door and charge into the room for the attack. Once the one orc is left standing, he shouts that his “soul will be taken by Moloch.” So Moloch is, indeed, their dark god. Rem strikes down the last orc. [Weapon Speed!] Pickles finds 49 gp 133 sp, a small bluish gem and a blood-colored gem on the dead orcs. The orc who’d had a gem carried a whistle and a set of keys. Mort had been badly injured in the fight, so I cast cure light wounds on him and Obroam lays his hands on him, glowing with the light off Tangodorin.

We returned to the dilapidated fort to continue our efforts of cleansing the ruin of the foul beings that inhabit it. Our parties scout Pickles reconnoitered the grounds and sure enough guards had been replaced. Two goblins in the courtyard, two in the tower, and two Orcs in the doorway to the complex proper. In addition, he learned that at least eight goblins laired in the western wing of the facility. With a direct route blocked, we had to be a bit more inventive with out entrance. While it was suggested we drop in on the goblin barracks, I had a more tactical idea. We would sneak into the fort via the west wings roof, into the room which we did battle in a few days ago as it was empty. While we were successful, we were almost noticed, but luck was on our side and we set up in the east wing.

Now inside, we had to come up with a plan of how to deal with the current guards. Pickles had the brilliant idea of dressing as a goblin and taunting the orcs to lure them into ambush where we lay in wait. After putting on a bit of armor and dirtying himself up, he snuck down the hall and lured our foes to us. A short skirmish followed as the orcs took the bait. We then followed this ruse with yet another, Pickles bellowed out into the yard for the goblins to come inside. These foes were also slain in short order. Tangadorin’s blessings surely light our way. 

With no more outside guards to worry about, our troop entered the west wing. A couple of goblins who were mining our a celler came to see what was going on, and with quick word play, sent back to their tasks. At the end of the hall a ruckus spilled forth from a side room. As we entered we saw a large insect of some type attacking three goblins in what appeared to be a kitchen. As Mort and I entered to deal with both parties, Pickles had another bright idea, he chalked the door to the goblin warren shut, giving us time to mop up. Following this, banging was heard from the door and voices of goblins yelling to be let out. With the goblins contianed, we decided to use more unconventional tactics to deal with them. Pickles climbed to the roof to attack from the collapse sections with his sling while our Wizard, Rom, poured oil under the door and lit it. After a minute or so of screaming and the door burning to cinders, I charged into the room with the others in tow. While we did fell most of them one did manage to stick me in the thigh, I wish i had a replacement shield. And to top it off, those miner goblins fled during the wrapping up of their comrades. 

Two of the goblins surrendered to our group and were thus questioned. They appear to be labor for these Orcs and Dark Ones. It also seems these creatures see us as members of the Dark Ones and not intruders, very odd, but they dont seem to be very bright. With little gained from the questioning, the group moved to slay the goblins, even though they had become our prisoners. One was slain by Mort before i could stop him but i prevented the others from slaying the last pitiful creature. Goblin or no it had surrendered and thus would be treated with some decorum. The little creature was terrified and clung to my leg in hopes I would continue to protect it from my team.

Lastly Mort and Pickles search the room, finding some coin on the goblins and a chest that they were trying to get into. Our Littleling was able to crack the lock and gain the contents of the chest. Some coins, a scroll case, several fine crossbow bolts, and a suit of scale mail. Given the age of the chest, and the lack of rust and corrosion on the metal inside, perhaps their is more to these items than meets the eye?

We traveled to the castle spoken of by both the sheriff and the kobolds, or more correctly what was left of one. Nature had reclaimed the perimeter and had begun to take the inner walls as well. Crumbling walls, tight vegetation and shadows are all we saw upon a first glance. Pickles took to a tree to gain a higher vantage point and see what there was to see over the walls, while Mort sent one of this rodents to look inside an arrow slit, both forms of reconnaissance proved less than useful. So, deciding on being direct, our party entered through the front gate. Pickles still being stealthy, informed us of goblins in the crumbling wall tower, we entered boldly and slew the two vile creatures within though not before they gave out a shriek. As Mort and Fascul, looted the bodies, I stood guard at the door in case more heard the screams. Sure enough they had, but with some quick word play on Pickles part, they were dissuaded and didnt investigate very much. Im finding this littlelings abilitys more and more useful by the day. 

As we continued on, we crept along an inner courtyard wall to the main doors. Inside, pickles described a diamond shaped room with Kobolds working to clear the place of debris and dirt. Our group decided to enter as though we belonged, on the pretense that we were here to help the kobolds deal with the goblins. The gambit worked, the kobolds seemed unbothered by our presence and even directed us to the nearest goblins in the eastern wing of the ruin. Pickles and Mort slew two of them on a ruined stair with little issue since they were sleeping while on duty.

We then proceeded down the a hall, checking a few rooms before finding a room with more than just goblins, a bugbear was with them as well. We choose a plan of attack to volley the bugbear as a whole before dealing the the goblins. A short skirmish followed, with Pickles being downed by a stocky goblin with a curved blade and that Bugbear shattering my shield. But we prevailed, I slew the Bugbear after it over swung trying to finish me, in addition i took the stocky goblins life as well as it refused to surrender. Mort, though claiming the be a wizard finished off the last two goblins with that club of his, he could make a decent fighter if he tried.

After the fighting we looted the bodies and I healed pickles as much as I could. As we made our way to leave this ruin and see to our wounds, we heard more goblins from the northern door in the diamond chamber. Pickles ran and hid as the rest of us took to taking cover with the doorways walls. As we listened, we heard only two voices and thought to take only two goblins by surprise before making our final leave. However, while it was only two speaking, it was four of them in total. Not the best odds given my injuries. But by working together we slew them all, though Mort did take a wound. The way he swings that club of his makes me think there is more to this strange man than meets the eye. With the goblins dead, we had one more clever trick up our sleeves. We positioned the bodies as if they had attacked each other to throw off any would be investigations. 

We took our leave of that ruin finally, having dealt a blow to the dark beings that dwell within. A half days journey later and camp was made. Our cleric of Tyr, Egill Thorinson, did well in healing Mort and Pickles before we bedded down. Two days have passed, and with Tangadorin’s Light, and a little help from Egill, I am whole once more. We are now headed back to the ruin to continue our efforts in cleansing the ruin of its goblin, orcish and Dark One’s, by Tagadorin’s Light we shall see to the heart of this matter. 

A few days have passed since our encounter and dealings with the Kobolds. Our company is in Gireford once more, replenishing supplies, receiving healing from the temple, and preparing once more to head back out to the hive of villainy.  While in town we spoke again with the Sheriff, who seemed most interested in out dealings and goings. He informed us in what details he could about the castle atop the hill, saying it was an old fort of the realm that had been used by the orcs in the past as a stronghold.

His concern was noted and we decided that we should reconnoiter the outpost while he sent off to the Marshal for actual troops. I also suggested that we attempt to camouflage ourselves using paints and cloaks that looked like the wildlife around ourselves if we wanted to watch and not be seen. This took a couple of days.

In the mean while, the rest of my companions ate, drank, and told stories of their exploits over the kobolds. I on the other hand, spent time with the priestess Mylla. She had been curious about me, my god, and “pagans” in general. She is a bright young girl, and the search to know more is pleasing in Tangadorins sight, so i indulged her. First I told her of our encounters with the kobolds and how they were cowed by our cleirc and even chittered about the dark ones. Mylla suggested that they were referring to worshipers of that True Darkness that brought the Doom to our world before, i pray she is wrong.

After, I spoke of how Tangadorin found me as a wayward sot, penniless and lazy. My gods edicts and tenets. But in turn she also spoke, about how since the old high priest had passed, she was to be the new high priestess, save that she was not powerful enough in the light for said position and an outside priest was brought in to lead this following. She was eager to learn more, be more, see more. I told her all things are possible within the light, to never give up on her hopes and dreams and one day, she would reach what she sought.

The hour grows late now, and i must rest, for in the morning, we march back to that overgrown hillet. May Tangadorin’s light shine our way to the heart of this matter. 

4th Day of Autumn, 59 Ad

Our group traveled into the wilderness to find the lair of the loathsome kobolds. In our search, we tracked their trails to a collapsed tower covered in overgrowth, scattered coins leading us to a dug out cellar to the ancient structure. We ventured into the dark to find our quarry, and were not disappointed. The lair was a series of tunnels with cracks in them, through which the vermin attacked. Tossing bottles of flaming oil at us, their attacks were in vain as our mettle stood strong.

After regrouping in their kitchen for lack of better words, we did battle once more, with Golani slaying three of them, but this time Corvin cowed them into retreating by bearing that symbol of his god aloft. After searching a bit more, our group decided that there was more to be gained from tricking the creatures into speaking to us than slaying them all, and so they were right. With Pickles acting as a translator, we spoke with the Kobold leader and learned that these were merely a labor force for Orcs and “Dark Ones” in the castle beyond the hill, and they they were only attacking the caravans because the orcs were leaving them with little to no food.

After a bit of discussion, we struck a deal, we “deal with” the orcs and they stop attacking the Caravans. While I didn’t like dealing with these creatures, they are but a symptom. The cause lies in the castle, and i shall bring Tangadorin’s Light to these “Dark Ones”.