Them Bones: Part One
September 13, 2000
The Tale
A salvager named Fergus hired a group of adventurers to help him recover some dragon bones from a nearby island. According to him, the dragon had been killed by The Nine and its bones were left to bleach in the sun. He had been offered 1,000 gold for the bones, plus the right to any additional treasure he found. Rumor had it The Nine had left behind a lot of copper and silver coins that were beneath their notice. He had arranged a ship and thought the crew would help him load it.
The difficulty was the presence of goblins on the island. The goblins had formerly served the dragon and the sailors wouldn't find them. Fergus offered even splits of profits for the adventurers who would help him. He wound up with four takers: Roland, a human adventurer with a keen eye for detail and some skill in finding and disarming traps; Blatz, a barbarian from one of the many tribes scattered around the New World; Durgrat, a well-dressed dwarf who had accompanied Roland on his trip from the Middle; and Pazdul, a waif from the streets of Port Royal.
The five set sail that night and arrived at the island in haste. Pazdul took the oars and Fergus the tiller and they made good speed to the island. The island was a dormant volcano, its central cone half-collapsed by a previous eruption. A long water-filled tunnel led to the central crater. Rather than risk the tunnel in their boat, the group put ashore and waded through it to the large crater.
The center was clearly set up to serve as a port, perhaps the goblins were allied with pirates. There were also three burial crypts of the Old Ones in the main chamber. A search revealed that the goblins were members of the Tamers of the Flame tribe, renowned for their use of fire in attack; they also used some sort of salve to protect themselves from the flames.
A lone goblin was found asleep on his watch. Pazdul conked him on the head with a dagger and he was brought down for questioning. Unfortunately, as soon as he was roused, he began screaming and Durgrat cleaved him with his axe.
The sound attracted a half-dozen more goblins; Pazdul felled three with his mystic arts and the other three attacked. Blatz killed two while Fergus and Durgrat killed the third with crossbows. Roland and Pazdul slit the throats of the three who had been lulled to sleep by Pazdul's spell.
Proceeding further, they came to a large room. There were close to a score of goblins in the room, including two sergeants and a captain. They had turned several stone slabs on their sides for cover and were awaiting the groups arrival. Blatz, recognizing the inherent instability of their defenses charged them, hoping to tumble the slabs on top of the cowering goblins. Roland, meanwhile, disappeared into the long shadows of the room while the other three prepared to launch spells and missiles.
Blatz, noticing the oil spread in front of their barrier launched himself into the air, clearing the oil, the barrier and the goblins in one great leap, only to find himself face-to-face with their leader. Pazdul again invoked his eldritch charms and several fell asleep. Roland slinked closer to their enemies while a barrage of missiles from Fergus and Durgrat forced the goblins to keep their heads down.
One of the sergeants, concerned about the hidden human, launched a vial of oil in his direction; it missed, but it burst into flames with a crash and ruined Roland's hiding place. Roland leapt the flames and joined the battle with the goblins. Pazdul continued using his magics and Durgrat and Fergus found their marks with their crossbows. Blatz, locked into battle with the leader and two of his minions, was doing well, but was slowly being whittled down by their superior numbers. After slaying two, he went down following a furious attack by the chief goblin.
The battle continued until finally, the goblins were left with 4 soldiers, a sergeant and their leader. Pazdul, foolishly ignoring cover, rushed in to prevent one of the goblins from awaking his fellows and was surrounded. The goblin leader ordered the group to surrender lest the wizard be slain. Convinced of Pazdul's combat skills, Durgrat ignored the offer and attacked. Fergus also attacked, ordering the goblin sergeant to die, which he obligingly did.
Pazdul, ignoring his own safety, cast another spell which left the goblin chief sleeping. With only two remaining, one surrendered; Durgrat easily killed the other and it seemed the adventurers had won the day.
Durgrat began slaying the sleeping goblins while Pazdul bound Blatz' wounds. Roland began looting the dead and Fergus thanked his god for his assistance in their victory. The captured goblin, on seeing the fate of his fellows, snatched up a weapon and struck Pazdul from behind, rendering him unconscious.
Luckily, Fergus was also a skilled healer and, thanks to some divine assistance, Blatz and Pazdul were restored to consciousness, though still badly wounded. Roland heard the sounds of feet above them and moved up to investigate. He spotted a few females and young and the group set off in pursuit. They hadn't gone far when they heard an unearthly howl from above.
Fergus, identifying it as the keening of a hell hound, called for a hasty retreat. Trusting in his better judgement, the group ran for the boat at top speed, scarcely slowing when they heard the sounds of the goblins being killed by the hell hound. They managed to get their boat launched in time to see an angry hell hound charge down the beach at them and then be blocked by the water.
Unfortunately, while they had recovered some booty, it wouldn't cover the cost of their ship, and they didn't have a single dragon bone to show for their efforts. A return to the island seemed inevitable.
Experience
Character Base Bonuses Total Roland 946 +200 Roleplaying 1,146 Pazdul 946 +200 Roleplaying 1,146 Blatz 946 +200 Roleplaying 1,146 Durgrat 946 +200 Roleplaying 1,146 This puts everyone up 1 level.
Booty:
Old ones longsword that flares with a bright light.
1 Flask of Alchemist’s fire.
156 cp, 46 sp, 6 gp. In a mixture of Narrovian coins that Fergus thinks may have been looted from the Dragons horde and some very shiny newly minted coins from Crown.
1 flask of ordinary oil.
Both flasks were made in Port Royal, the Alchemist’s fire even has its maker’s mark on it.