Date: October 23, 2022
The goblins turn to face the party as they enter the room, drawing their blades and snarling loudly. Donovan tries to deescalate the situation and is told to leave by the furious goblins. Breadstick offers the goblins some treasure if they tell the group the whereabouts of the lost boy. They agree, but will only speak once they have been given the treasure. The group heads back the way they came and the goblins resume their twisted dice game known only as “stabby-stabby”. Breadstick leads the group to the pit and tosses in a handful of dull rocks. After only a few seconds, a different handful of significantly more colourful rocks comes flying back out. Breadstick takes the stones and gives them to the goblins, who immediately begin to bicker and fight over them. After they have calmed down, the goblins reveal that they were sent into the well by their hobgoblin leaders for unknown reasons. The goblins supposedly must wait for a cloaked figure to give them a captive, at which point they may leave. The goblins are not particularly bothered with the group continuing onwards, so long as they refrain from travelling east, as that is where the goblins are said to sleep.
The group journeys west, where they are stopped by a wooden door, carved with a demonic face. Cautiously, they open the door and continue onwards. Beyond the door is a small room containing two benches and a lit brazier. Another door lies on the west wall and a nearby inscription reads “Only darkness will guide the way.” Otto tries to open the door, but soon discovers that it is locked. Bronwen moves the brazier back out the way they came, closing the door and plunging the room into complete darkness. Only Breadstick and Nynx can see in the dark, leaving Bronwen, Otto and Donovan blinded. Otto, still grasping the door handle, is suddenly able to open the door with ease, revealing a dull light from beyond. Continuing onwards the group discovers a short hallway decorated with a bloody stone altar topped with large wax candles. A locked wooden door covered in blood lies on the south wall and an unlocked door to the north. Further north lies a simple room, its floor covered with a crimson carpet and its walls decorated with cloth banners. Each banner has a symbol upon its surface, though the group cannot determine what they mean. A door lies on the west wall, another door to the east. A stone archway leads to the north and a bright room seems to lie ahead. Breadstick looks under the carpet and finds a small key. Rushing towards the locked door, Breadstick tries the key and the door swings open revealing a dark room.
A bloody rune sits at the centre of this eerie room, surrounded by four sets of shackles and a red pot filled with blood. A human man, large wolf cursed man and human child are imprisoned here, though none of them look to be in particularly good health. Breadstick alerts the prisoners, though quickly tells them to keep quiet so that they aren’t heard by their captor. The human child reveals his name to be Dylan, though the other prisoners keep quiet. Breadstick and Otto free the captives, grabbing the bloody red pot before leading the prisoners back towards the well’s moulding rope. Donovan, Bronwen and Nynx decide to stay so that they can investigate the area further. Donovan notices a small rune on one of the unopened doors, recognising it as demonic in nature. He opens the door and finds a small library filled with occult texts. An open journal sits upon a wooden desk, which Donovan decides to read from. His reading reveals the author to be searching for a pure hearted individual, which he may give to the goblins in exchange for resources. Donovan gathers the books into a pile and covers them with lamp oil.
Meanwhile, Breadstick and Otto watch the prisoners climb the rope out of the well. The two take their bloody pot to the pit and promptly toss it in. After a brief moment, another pot emerges and shatters on the ground, leaving pools of thick honey across the room. The two crouch down and immediately begin to eat the honey off of the soggy dirt floor. Donovan finishes coating the books in flammable oil before regrouping with Bronwen and Nynx in the carpeted room. The three open the east door and find a small bedroom. While Donovan searches the room, Breadstick and Otto finish their meal and make their way to the rest of the group. Breadstick opens a cabinet and finds cultist robes, which he immediately decides to wear even though they are loose fitting on a goblin. Donovan quickly gathers up the extra robes and throws them atop his flammable pile. Otto opens a wooden chest and finds a pouch containing thirty silver coins, which he reluctantly shares with the party.
Continuing through the archway, the group finds themselves staring at a large stone statue carved to resemble a demon. Six skulls lie at its base and a bowl of blood sits grasped in its hands. A metal brazier sits in each corner of this room, casting bright light throughout the area. Donovan begins pushing the statue and with the help of the rest of the group, brings it toppling down. The statue shatters upon impact with the ground, revealing a human skeleton to be contained within. The braziers are suddenly snuffed, as small demons made of shadow begin to climb from where the fire once roared. The group flees, rapidly pursued by the shadow demons. Donovan tries to light his pile ablaze, though is only able to start a small fire before the demons have a chance to catch up. Breadstick is momentarily grabbed by a shadow demon and brought only inches from death. Donovan lifts his demonic skull and launches a magic missile at Breadstick’s assailant, killing it on impact. Slamming a heavy door behind them, the group rests for a few seconds as Breadstick drinks from his healing vial. The group continues past the goblins, who seem to care very little. The five make their way back to the rope and prepare to exit the well, climbing one at a time to avoid breaking the rotten rope. When they emerge, they are surrounded by a large group of cheering villagers and mercenaries. Dylan has reunited with his worried mother, who seems significantly more relieved now. Antoine approaches the freelancers and congratulates them on a job well done. The group travels back to the Red Blades outpost where Antoine gives them each a gold coin for their efforts.
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