Session 11 – The Rightful Chief
Campaign I, session 11. Previous: Session 10. Next: Session 12.
The party debated for a bit before agreeing to unspike the door behind the brigand king’s throne. A square room beyond held a spiral staircase down to a deeper depth, as well as a couple desiccated corpses. Meathead was able to supply only rudimentary information, but suggested that there would be more powerful creatures in the deeper levels.
Eventually the PCs agreed to re-spike the door and continue exploring the upper levels. They returned to the area that had originally been occupied by Urza’s kobolds. The door was stuck, but quickly forced open by Abiyir and Singil. On the other side, the party saw a hobgoblin on Urza’s throne, with hobgoblin champion beside him and a small group of Kobolds bowing and scraping before him. Alwyn seized the initiative to move forward and take a crossbow shot at the Hobgoblin on the throne – a wide miss!
The kobolds formed a line in response and launched javelins, also missing wide. The hobgoblins took up their shortbows, and the chief scored a solid hit on Alwyn! Pash pushed her way forward and announced: “Kobolds, your true king Meathead is here! Rise up against your hobgoblin overlords!”
Meathead followed up with “Pretty lady speak truth! Join me! Many friends with power!” The kobolds pushed to the side to get out of the way, and the Hobgoblins backed to the wall. Realizing they are massively outnumbered, they surrender. Meathead has Ardingle dispense a gold coin to each of his new followers, putting them immediately in awe (they are rarely allowed to even touch gold!)
Travain’s charming voice soon has the chief, Thethamun, revealing that he has been usurped from his throne by a scheming subordinate, and agrees to help the party in exchange for being returned to rulership over his warband. The party agrees, and along the path back to the main hobgoblin throne chamber, a trio of patrolling hobgoblins join up with their “rightful chief” – and fortunately they know the current password to convince the hobgoblin guards to open up.
“Open ze door! …. Close ze door!” The door is closed immediately and the guards huddle up. Thethamun demands the right to single combat against his usurper, and asserts that the size of the forces he now leads entitles him to settle this with a minimum of hobgoblin-on-hobgoblin bloodshed. The guards eventually agree.
The group is then escorted to a hobgoblin throne room, whereupon they are lined up on one side, opposite the defending hobgoblins. Travain gives Thethamun a few rousing words to inspire him, and he faces off against his opposite number. Thethamun scores first blood, whereupon the “traitorous” witch-doctor Abgal begins casting a spell. The party nervously watches as a skeletal hand shoots forth and attempts to choke the usurper! Abgal is attempting to atone for his previous treachery! The usurper shakes off the magical attack with no effect, but snarls at Abgal’s capacity for backstabbing.
Thethamun then handily strikes down the usurper, spins, points his spear at Abgal and… falls back into a salute. Abgal returns the salute and bows before his once and future chief. Thethamun nods in acknowledgement, then finishes off the fallen opponent.
At this point, the party pumps Thethamun for information and attempts to make plans, but there’s broadly disagreement about what is possible today. There’s a lot of discussion and I tick over time, rolling for encounters as it passes. Eventually the hobgoblins receive some visiting kobolds, servants of “Idimmu of the Ziggurat”. These kobolds carry themselves with a certain amount of dignity, and eventually the party pries from Thethamun’s lips that Idimmu is a dragon with purple scales and “a fearsome breath”.
Discussion of what to do next never really resolves and eventually we need to halt the session. Hopefully in two weeks we’ll come back with a better plan.