The party had a decent plan sorted out for this battle against the Lizardmen, however it was lynch pinned on the fact that they were able to open the back door to the Armory. If they are/were able to do that, then their estimation on spells and assaults and what not would have had the Two-Horn tribe under fire from 2 points and unable to bring their full weight to bear in either direction.
They did have a key, but the door was barred from the inside and it required more time and resources to open it - which meant they were not in place to fire off the much needed sleep spell when the lizardmen came streaming out of their stronghold. It also meant the party had tougher situations to go against as the lizardmen were able to provide a united front against them.
With the goblins at their beck and call, they were well off, but their original plan did get broomed early on.
Write up follows:
While we were going over the plan and our options, we heard a “knock” at the door. A knock, at the door, from the courtyard, where no one should know where we are. Fergus went to the door, identified NO evil outside, had his sword drawn, and opened it to see…Bill.
Fergus and Chase had an erstwhile companion, a hairfoot Halfling from the eastern suburbs of Gul named Bill. They were supposed to meet up with him over a month ago and he just never showed. A Halfling sorcerer with a penchant for stealing pies and in need of shedding a few pounds from his mid-section, the paladin had not thought of seeing Bill anytime soon.
He was here, following our trail (as it was) for a few weeks now. He stumbled upon Kahr Konig, the naked druid, who guided the Halfling in our direction and gave him what advice he could. Arriving maybe half an hour ago, he had snuck into Candlewick Keep and watched the entire debacle with the stirges and Fist’al. Moving slowly and with care, he made his way to the priest’s home and chanced knocking on it before the stirges noted his presence.
We were happy to have him back and we shared our story with him and he with us, during this time Marcus was continuing his writing in his book (Monster Summoning 3) and then the party grew tired and readied themselves for bed.
On the dawning of the 23rd, Fergus was still ill and had to go to the temple to do his toilet while the rest of the party broke their fast, prayed, and readied themselves for the sure to be protracted fight with the Two-Horn Tribe. It was 8:30 when we left the priest’s house, collecting our caltrops and sending a few arrows at the distant stirges to remind them to leave us be.
We came into the main keep and went immediately towards Tindoreg, pleased to see it was closed. We opened the back door into the passage inside the bailey wall and shut it behind us. Link lit the way for us and we made our way to the secret door that lead to the goblin area of the Keep.
We entered, and then made our way to Funtarig, the leader of Duuk Garthic clan. The goblin was having his way with two of his concubines and offered us the chance to partake before the upcoming fight. We declined. At this point we solidified our battle plan and strategy with Funtarig and got ourselves ready.
In this upcoming conflict, we had Fergus, Tempi, Marcus, Flimflam, Whosea, Sanford, Fist’al, Bill, Ben, Urthar, Link (my name is Etterig!), Funtarig, and 12 of his goblin warriors and a handful of their trained giant rats. We were going to launch our main attack through the Armory door (convinced we have a key), and have a diversionary baiting by having the goblins leave their main door open a little, luring the lizard men out and shifting their attention across the keep’s compound – hopefully making our foray into their area swift and decisive.
The mass of us snuck out through the secret corridor into the throne room and then to the main corridor that lead to the back door of the armory. We left Bill, Ben, and Marcus at the corner, with a clear view of the grand foyer. Link was stationed between the three and the rest of the party quietly snuck down to the door in question. Once there Funtarig sent his runner back through the secret area and eventually to the entrance of the goblin section to let them know to open the door. Fist’al used his key and opened the door and the group readied themselves to storm the armory.
And we waited.
Almost 10 minutes passed until we heard the lizardmen open their door to the Foyer, Marcus told Link, Link told the group, and Funtarig roared out a challenge and his group stormed the doors.
And they did not open.
The lock was undone but it was barred from the inside! The plan was quickly unraveling; we HAD to get in through the Armory now. Funtarig was plying the door with his axe and the goblins were howling in fury. We heard combat down in the Foyer. Cursing, Marcus left his spot where he was going to cast the sleep spell and ran to the Armory door, shouting to everyone to “Move, stand clear!”. He recited the words of a scroll he was carrying and pointed at the center of the door. A corrusculating shaft of black energy struck the center of the barrier and seemed to sink in, sending spiderwork cracks throughout the structure.
Nodding at the goblins, Funtarig plied shoulder to the door once again with a bellowing roar and the bracing bar that had been holding it in place from the other side was sufficiently weakened from the shatter spell that the door flew open and the combat raced into the armory. There were three lizardmen in here, one closest to the door, and they were snarling at the mass of greenskins and the party swarming in.
Bill and Ben raced up, informing us that the window to cast the sleep spell had passed and the lizardmen had ran across the foyer and it sounded like there was a massive battle just inside the goblin entrance area! The party grimaced at this turn of events and we decided to keep up with the other part of the plan – assault the Lizardmen from the back of the Armory.
From the hall we had just come from, two lizardmen appeared, bearing bows and started shooting down the hall. Ben stood his ground, shield at the ready. Fist’al from further back shot at the lizardmen while Bill was working fast and furious to summon a monster. The elven scout was barely struck from the fusillade while one of the Lizardmen was missed. Bill was able to summon a giant rat which he sent to assault the lizardman on the left, not doing any real damage but making sure he could not return fire.
Meanwhile in the Armory, Funtarig was leading the charge against the lizardmen, the goblins chanting as they did so, and the party racing behind them. Two more lizardmen came around the corner near the others down the hall and added their arrows down at us. Urthar and Link were raced into the Armory, with Ben walking very slow backwards and Marcus and Fist’al firing back at slow retreat. Flimflam struck one of the lizardmen with a flare spell and ruined most of the firing for this round.
We heard sounds of battle from the Grand Foyer, and it was the roar of Lizardmen and Goblins…and we suspected it was not going well for the goblins based upon what we were hearing.
Inside the Armory, Tempi and Fergus were lending their efforts against the lizardmen, the half-orc hacking one of them almost completely in half. From the other side of the Armory door, leading further into the lizardman area, we heard their sibilant voices but were unable to decipher what they were saying. The 2nd lizardman was taken down by 5 goblins swarming over her, knocking her down where she was then attacked by the giant rats.
We decided to abandon the hallway, Ben going last while the party filled the interior of the Armory. Marcus is hit by one of the many arrows in the hall, just getting inside before the rest of the arrows peppered the hall.
The last lizardman inside the Armory was destroyed just at the door, the goblins tearing it to shreds. From the hall, Bill was able to feel that his summoned giant rat was finally destroyed. Ben stood at the ruined entrance to the Armory, shield and spear ready, Fergus standing with him, listening for anyone who might be coming.
As for the 2nd door out of the Armory, Fist’al came forward with the key ring and tried it out, opening it. He found the right key and shouted, “I got it!” as it turned. The door opened as soon as it was unlocked and two lizardmen with bows were there along with a 9’ tall, 750 lb giant frog. The frog shot his tongue out, hitting the elf, and it struck and stuck to him. Fist’al was able to grip the door frame tightly, preventing himself from being sucked into the gaping maw. The tongue let go but he was struck by 3 arrows! Most of them were light wounds, but it was terrifying to the elf who faded back into the melee while Funtarig and the rest of the goblins ran toward the hall and the new threats.
Marcus added arrows down the hall, peppering the giant frog and Funtarig hit the frog with a thrust and smash of his axe. Flimflam dropped a handful of goodberries at Fist’al who scarffed them down with relief. The giant frog tongue snatched a goblin from the melee and the greenskin flew into his mouth where he was being eaten. The lizardmen fired arrows back, ricocheting around Marcus and missing.
While the assault was going on the Giant frog, Funtarig managed to get past its bulk and brought the fight to the lizardmen behind it. The goblins in the hall hit the frog hard and then sent their giant rats to swarm UP on to the frog itself, biting and clawing as they did so, causing the amphibian to croak maddeningly.
It was at this time that inside the Armory a section of the west wall slid open and two of the lizardmen in the hall were now in the secret passage. One tried to grab Urthar and failed, the porter was able to skip back shouting. The second one grabbed Link, snagging the 14 year old torchbearer and tried to pull him into the passage! With a strength born of terror, the young man was able to keep himself from being taken, slamming his torch into his foe. Tempi and Fergus went to race over and help while Bill realized that he was pretty much the only one close enough, a lone goblin warrior standing with the Halfling.
Bill shot off a Ray of Frost while Marcus pulled out his Chain Rod and hurled it in the lizardman’s direction, wrapping it around the neck and pulling. This distracted him, forcing him the pull. He released the torchbearer and then he was beaten to death by the rest of the party. The lone goblin that was with Bill, identified himself as Rattireg Shoemaker and the two of them (goblin and Halfling) made a pact to stay with one another during the conflict.
The giant frog was finally taken down, goblins all around it. As it dies, it buries a goblin under its weight. To goblins then continued down the hall to the lizardmen still there singly facing Funtarig. From the hall, Ben glances out and catches sight of 1 lone lizardman sneaking down. The blue scaled archer was a mere 12 feet away and getting closer.
Down at the main battle, Funtarig was then attacked from the side hall, Arrows all over the place. One of them struck him in upper stomach/chest area, going deep. Blood was spittled around his lips and the goblin was staggered – but not fallen!! From the hall the blue lizardman was under assault by another summoned giant rat.
As we raced to help out the goblins Fergus was struck by a hidden lizardman, the arrow coming from the secret corridor, striking his shield where he splintered it. Snarling, the paladin grabbed the secret door and pulled it closed just before another arrow would have hit him.
Funtarig was having a rough time, but still standing at this time. The goblins were supporting their leader, filling the hall with spears and aid. The giant rat was ripping into the lizardman who tore the rat to shreds. The press of melee in the hall was keeping the lizardmen from using their bows, forcing them to use teeth and claws.
Tempi charged into the fray, adding his bulk to the combat and driving the battle line forward. At this point we were able to see around the corner and noted another giant frog and three more lizardmen there. We now had 1 in the secret corridor, three around the corner, 1 giant frog, and two very hurt and battered ones at the corner of the hall. As for our party, Funtarig was badly hurt and dying from arrows in his chest and needed healing, and at least 3 or 4 other goblins had been slain, with the others still with us only lightly wounded.
The battle was a crazed melee, the goblins were still chanting, and another lizardman when down in a blast of sword and spear. Tempi beat the hell out of the lizardman that stuck its neck out of the secret door, and the closest goblins finished him off. With the secret passage now clear, Tempi shouted that we needed more help at the front. Flimflam and Whosea made their way forward while Fergus and Marcus took the secret passage to come to the front.
Meanwhile, Fist’al waiting in the Armory with the two hirelings, arrow nocked and set, shot the blue scaled lizardman and killed him finally.
Tempi was wildly swinging during the battle, a danger to everyone around him as he hurled his 6’ sword in crazy arcs. Funtarig was crying a rally to his goblins and the greenskins answered it, filling the next chamber with their surging assault. The gnome on his wardog added their efforts to the battle, cudgel flailing everywhere.
The giant frog swallowed another goblin whole and Fergus critically struck another lizardman in the back, killing it. The tide of battle continued in our direction as Tempi critically hit another one, cleaving its leg off entirely.
The party was badly hurt and we tried to shuffle around, giving the less hurt of us the chance to step forward. And then the battle turned. Funtarig was then hit by spear and arrow, critically hit and he falls over at under 0 hit points. His collapse caused the goblins to fail their morale and they stopped chanting and fled. All ran away except for 1 stalwart goblin and Rattireg Shoemaker and a single giant rat.
We were facing 3 lizardmen and 1 giant frog and the party was badly hurt. But Marcus was finally close enough to hurl his rose petals into the fight and call out the words of a sleep spell, dropping the enemy – every single one of them. The group coup de graced the sleeping lizardmen and the giant frog. Meanwhile Flimflam and Fergus checked the unconscious Funtarig who was at -7 and fading. PLUS he had a bad wound in the chest that would kill him outright – unless he was hit with some magical healing.
There was a brief argument over it and Flimflam said he would not help (neither would he kill him), and Fergus just couldn’t let him die. The druid swore he was going to betray us in the future, and Fergus was arguing that he was an honorable comrade during the fight. The paladin then laid hands on the goblin leader – once to stop the death in “X” time, and again to stabilize him.
The battle was over for now – but the area was not secure. 12 lizardmen and 2 giant frogs were killed in the fight, as well as Funtarig and 6 goblins and 4 giant rats on our side. Hasty healing was dispensed and we were talking about what we were supposed to do next.
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