Session 8 – The Black Pudding Gambit
Campaign II, session 8. Previous: Session 7. Next: Session 9.
Parley with goblins:
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Asking about “those who have gone before”
- “Gonna have to be more specific mate”
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Asking about the twins and their signet ring
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After some attempts to deny, his fidgeting with the signet ring on his finger gives him away
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“Killed the one, sent the others down to Belak’s realm” – indicating that “Belak’s realm” is down the pit
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Asking about the apple
- “Bad news for you, it ain’t gonna work.” Pulls out a pure white apple. “Kobolds stopped us from bringing it up in summer, don’t think it’ll work anymore.”
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Party negotiates for the apple and the signet ring in exchange for not killing the young, and agrees to take care of the kobolds in exchange for safe passage down to Belak’s realm. “Bring me the ‘ead of their queen!”
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Code word for safe passage back through the goblin territory is “Black Pudding.”
Party heads back to town to see what they can find out about the apple and learns a bit about identification in ACKS. Would cost 1000gp in materials and another 1000gp in labor. Kerowyn and the Count are willing to pay, but Cresilde eventually decides to test it by taking a bite instead – her dwarven saves leave her retching up apple instead of instantly dying (and her knowledge of Healing lets her diagnose it as an instant death poison). The apple has up to three more such doses. Too bad for the count, but a better look for the party than asking the Count’s food-taster to die for them.
Kerowyn pays a bounty for the returned signet ring and helps ‘Rath find a local apothecary willing to harvest some poisonous extract of yew. The party also restocks on healing herbs and buys a few other minor bits of equipment before heading back in.
Heading back in, the party loses some rations to a small varmint. They also note a caravan coming into Bastion.
The group passes back through the goblin area. Vierath uses the yew and Cresilde uses the rest of the apple to poison the “black pudding” container as they pass through that room. ‘Rath then starts telling each goblin he sees along the way that “You’d better eat that pudding before I’m gone, I’m going to take whatever’s left of that pudding back home. It’s my family!” to which one goblin responds, “You’re a sicko mister!” and giggles.
The group passes through a locked passage into a back entrance to the kobold area. Mex falls into a pit trap along the way but is patched up by Cresilde. They open the final door directly into a kobold patrol.
The patrol is mostly dispatched with ease, except for one warrior who runs down the hallway shouting “Oh god how did these goblins get so big!” The party chases after him and finds a kobold sitting on a throne before a stone altar, surrounded by supplicants. With oil and blade, the characters dispatch the queen and her guards. The group collects some treasure from the altar, including an iron key resting in the mouth of a sculpted dragon.
The group does a bit of light exploring around the area. They catch two more patrols of kobolds by surprise, and cow them into surrender by brandishing the head of their “queen.” ‘Rath tells each group in turn “leave this place – the door to the goblin area is unlocked, they’ve been taken care of, go that way and leave.”