Rhune gasps as she hears the sounds of battle from within the room...unable to really see what is happening from her position behind Asif. "Is everything alright? Can we get inside to help now?" she asks.
"Ah I fear not efendi. Our friends are beyond our help at the moment. This place was not meant for the travel of some many souls. But by the blessing of the gods I see that it is all in hand."
Rhune sighs with relief. "That is good then." Reaching out to place her hand lightly on his arm.
Asif flashes Rhune a comforting warm smile, before refocusing his attention upon the battle.
Forte then crushes the shoulder of his opponent, who falls to the side, lifeless glare leaving his eyes. He follows up by caving in the skull of the remaining thing, lying in a heap.
"My friend," Forte says solemnly to his mace, "you have come through once again: My eternal thanks." He kisses the mace lightly, reverently. After a momentary pause to examine his wounds, Forte turns, stumbling on his bad leg, and asks the group emerging from the hole, "Anyone got a bandage I can use?"
Rhune calls out just as she slips into the room, "No unfortunately. Maybe we can make one out of torn strips of someone's tunic." Then realizing what she has just said a crimson flush rises hotly in her face, "I meant spare tunic and I would use one of mine but I don't have any to spare,” she says, beginning to search the room for secret doors.
Looking about, this room, with no other exits, has a simple bed, comfortable chair, and a table. Besides that, there is no furniture, nor anything else of interest.
Dakath moves cautiously into the room, "So why leave a bunch of undead Goblins here if it's a dead end? Not even goblins are that stupid."
Dakath begins to examine the furniture for hidden switches or levers before moving to the walls, floor and lastly the trees.
When everyone goes into the room, Rhune slips in also. "You know I agree with you, Dakath...doesn’t make any sense,” she says, also checking the walls for secret doors.
Ullar moves out of the way, leaving the search for traps and other stuff to Dakath and Rhune, who seems to be quite good at it.
"Ha Forte, we're getting better and better in this fighting. Too bad you were caught in that big belly of yours. I hope it's nothing serious?" Ullar asks his fellow warrior.
"Yeah, we are getting better," Forte smiles at Ullar. "Good work with the sword." Still, excited with actually hitting all three opponents, he can't resist teasing his warrior pal. "Next time, I'll injure one and you kill three," he adds with a wink so Ullar will know he's only joking.
*Grmphf....* is Ullar's reply. Then he starts smiling as well.
He looks down at his stomach and, once again, torn tunic. "So far, so good, but I don't think I'll ever make the best-dressed list if this keeps up." Forte looks around the group, "I did feel something from the mace, at least when I killed the first one. Another sort of energy surge. But I didn't feel anything when the other two died." He shrugs his granite-like shoulders. "Maybe it's full," he adds with a grin, taking a step. Forte suddenly stops, wincing in pain from his calf wound. He bends down to look at the leg more closely. After a few seconds' inspection, Forte's eyes looks up at Ullar, "Hope you don't have to carry me again," he says with deadpan seriousness.
"Yeah, remind me that I will not lend you any clothes again in the near future. As you only plan to ruin them," the warrior says, grinning.
Then, seeing Forte's 'deadpan-look' he adjusts his attitude and gives his fellow-warrior a considering look.
At that moment, within minutes, Dakath encounters a not terribly well-disguised secret door in the trunk of one of the trees forming the cornerstones of the walls. Checking, he sees no traps on it, but allows Rhune the opportunity just to be safe. And glad he is that he did. Her keen elven vision picks up a fine steel wire leading from the door, wrapping around the trunk, and connected to a heavy base branch directly above. Looking closely, the branch appears to be hinged to slam down upon the head of anyone opening the door. It is easy enough to cut the wire, though, steering clear of the branch just in case.
Cautiously opening the door, Dakath sees a medium-sized chest within. Appraising it, he finds it too heavy for him to move cautiously, and, still alert of the falling branch, he directs Ullar and Forte to withdraw it, which they do.
He finds the lock a crude affair, and after he and Rhune both examine it for traps, he sets to opening it, which he quickly does. He finds the chest to be filled with gold! Perhaps 2000 gold florens. Among the coins he sees the sparkle of around half a dozen gems, pretty ones he appraises at great value and a very fine Italian leather quiver with five arrows within. They are plain arrows, though well-crafted.
There appears, after much examination by the rogues, to be nothing else of interest in this chamber.
"Yeah!" shouts Ullar, slapping a thunderous high-five with Forte. "This is great! Let's divide the treasure amongst all of us. Rhune and Dakath should do the appraising of the gems but I suggest we keep the gems as 'party-money' which needs to be converted, while we divide the 2000 coins among the ones present here. I think Rhune and Dakath should carry the most valuable gems, since they are aware of their value. The rest can be divided, I think."
"We could do that...I think that Dakath might be better at appraising gems than me, though Ullar," Rhune replies smiling at the big man's enthusiasm. As there are no objections Rhune is most happy to divide the money and gems out. "As for the quiver why doesn't Taglio carry that for now."
Asif looks down upon the treasure his mind a whirl.
"Praise be to Aten for victory, and for such great spoils. Thank the gods that this victory was gained without hurt. This chest is a good measure of the gods blessing of our endeavors. May this blessing continue and allow us to find our friend before great harm befalls him."
Dakath sifts through the loot, "Hmm not bad." He turns to Ullar as the big warrior celebrates. "Keep it down. I for one would rather have the gems than the coin." He inspects the gems in the chest before taking the 2 most expensive for himself.
A fine black pearl and deep blue spinel catch Dakath's eye, and he pockets them as his share of the loot.
"As long as we split it evenly, I don't care who gets what," states Forte, his eyes wide at the amount of treasure in front of them. "And by evenly, I mean us," he adds, conspicuously avoiding the old woman in his gesture. "Besides, the coin will be easier to spend for group supplies."
Dakath turns to Forte, "Relax, I'll ensure everyone gets a fair share of the loot. After all it was you and Ullar who vanquished the weird goblins."
"I would like to have at least one gem, if that is alright? And we can share the money," Rhune adds as she looks at the gems trying to see if there is one that is a green color.
Rhune takes an eye to a pair of Aquamarines, both greenish, and adds them both to her loot.
"Rhune, could you and Dakath divide these spoils evenly?" Ullar asks.
"I can try," Rhune replies.
Tag cautiously examines the gems as well, to add his appraising skills to those of Dakath. "Hmm, a pretty haul mio amico. With my share I can surely afford to preserve Dante's works now. Ullar, if you still want to recruit those goblins, this gold would buy some loyalty I bet."
Tag's assessment, which he shares with the party, is that they are not as valuable as Dakath believes. The black pearl he estimates about 500 gold pieces, with the other four in the range of 100 apiece.
Ullar smiles. "I doubt we need them now, but thanks for reminding me!"
Amibar's eyes go wide at the sight of so much gold. "Wow!" he mouths silently. "Those gems, they sure are pretty. I bet they're worth a lot, too! Can I see one, please?" He gingerly takes red one, turning it in his small hands and holding it up to the light. "See how it sparkles, 'Tasha," he says wonderingly to his small companion.
He picks up the fifth stone, a violet crystal garnet, and indeed it sparkles nicely. Seeing no one else interested, he keeps the fancy stone.
Dakath looks at the others. "I don't like to carry around large amounts of coin, I much prefer gem stones. Do with the rest what you will." He frowns a moment before taking his dagger and plunging it down into the chest. He begins to prod the bottom listening for any secret compartments.
He finds nothing in the way of secret compartments. Indeed, the chest is stuffed with just the coins.
He picks up the quiver of arrows and begins to inspect each of them, "Hmmm not bad."
"I wonder if the arrows are magical. Why else hide them?" muses Forte.
Asif eyes take in the great wealth, but his eyes are soon drawn to the quiver of arrows. Such well crafted pieces of work he thinks. As his hands reach for the quiver, he looks around at his companions with a questioning look on his face. Meekly he asks.
"Pardon the quietness of my blades in this fight my friends. But space prevented me from doing much to aid thee. If bold may I be, may I claim these arrows and quiver as part of my share?"
"Sure. Use them well," says Forte with a smile.
"I have no objection, mio amico. Rhune suggested I carry them, but here take them. I cannot use them in my crossbow and it is better that they be put to good use, si."
"Much thanks my friends. Good use will I indeed make of these shafts and this fine quiver. Mmm yes indeed one thousand thanks."
Asif takes the quiver his face beaming like a child with a Christmas present. He removes one of the arrows and studies it intently, looking down its length at eye level.
Mumbling to himself. "Yes indeed most fine."
After a few moments of celebration, Ullar returns to reality and starts wondering out loud about what to do next.
"The Chief here told us that Vlack was going to speak with his master, somewhere in the north. As we're still looking for Stephan I think we should hurry after them. Perhaps one of the goblins of the Chief here can redirect us to the right location, or at least help us on our way."
"I think he said that Vlack was going to the tower and I think that is where Stephan is. It is worth a try anyway," Rhune nods in agreement.
Realizing the woman they exchanged for goblins is still with them, Ullar starts speaking to her. "Milady. Judging on your accent, it seems to me that you're from the area of Suskatchuwan. Perhaps you even know Petr and his clan. Currently we're searching for Stephan, who seems to be captured by Goblins."
He pauses for a moment, awaiting any response.
The woman does not seem familiar with the name. "I am from Cherkass, a settlement on the east edge of the forest. Sukiskayn, if that is what you refer to, is somewhere to the west. My people...." At that she comes up silent, "have not gotten on well with that clan." She then lapses into silence, thoughtful.
"You asked if we could bring you back to your village, and we surely will. However, since we're so close in rescuing Stephan, I hope you don't mind accompanying us for the last part of this adventure. Perhaps you can tell us something about yourself and your background. Where were you captured? And why?"
"I do not need your help, fellow. I asked not to be captured, and neither am I asking to follow you into the gates of whatever hell you are walking into. You need not worry yourselves about me. I shall make my own way, thank you very much.
Tag chimes in, "Lady do you know anything of healing, my friend Forte could do with a healers skill?"
She looks at Taglio as if he has just said something ridiculous. "What brings you to that conclusion? Because I am old I must know things of this sort, right? Well I do not. Thanks ever so much for the 'rescue', but I will be on my way now, if you will permit me to leave you." She seems rather put out, not at all conciliatory.
After the lady gives her answers, Ullar gets ready to move. Just for the record he checks the undead Goblinoids for weapons or any other stuff they are carrying, making sure he doesn't touch there skin with his bare hands.
"Need to get me some gauntlets," he says to himself.
"Asif, Dakath and Rhune, can you be our eyes again and ride upfront? As it's getting to dark we might as well camp somewhere in this forest. I don't want to let this Vlack guy get too much of a head start on us," says the ex-gladiator.
Dakath shrugs. "But of course," he says smiling, feeling particularly good about his treasure haul.
"It would be my pleasure, Ullar," Rhune answers with a smile and moves to be near Asif.
"Now is not the time to count our monetary blessings my friends. Let us stash our loot and be on our way. Later can we take pleasure in this blessing. But for now the passing of each moment reduces the chance of us finding Stephen alive," Asif reacts.
"Y'all just go ahead; I'll hobble along and catch up right before the fight starts," says Forte with a laugh. He goes over to the bed and tears some cloth off the blanket to bind his calf wound.
Ullar asks the chief of goblins (via Amibar) to tell us WHEN Vlack left?
Once translated, the chief replies, quickly and seemingly rather pleased, "He left only this morning. On your horses, I am sure that you could pursue him and catch him. You may sleep here this night if you require it, though my people would begin the chase this very night. Unfortunately, he never said to us where the tower was. I only know that he headed out on the northern paths." He shrugs his shoulders, apparently wishing he could be more help.
"North it is," Forte says with a smile.
Looking at the others, "I for one am ready to go the tower. But at the moment I can't even think straight so I can't remember in which direction this tower is located." Looking at the old woman, "As for the lady, she really shouldn't be coming along with us. But I don't see any other alternative except to head back to Susykyian now. And that would take far to long. I will take care of her. If we take our horses we will need to go back and get them. If she can ride she can ride with me, but I won't be able to be out front then," Rhune offers with a concerned look for the old woman.
"Thank you Rhune, I agree with you. However, I think we can persuade the chief of Goblins here to tell us in which direction that tower is. Amibar, can you come with me while we check it out? On second hand, let's go together, in that case we're sure we're not confronted with unwanted combat," Ullar says.
"That might be a wise idea, Ullar. Now that the weasels may have no reason to keep the goblins back and the undead ones seem to be vanquished the goblin chief might be feeling a little frisky,” she replies with a smile.
"We should definitely stick together," agrees Forte. "Let's get our answers from the goblin chief and get out of here as soon as possible."
"And if we need to, get the horses as well," Rhune replies
"I certainly hope we can take the horses," Forte responds with a worried tone. "I don't think they'll be too safe in these woods. And trying to find Stephen on foot would take forever. Unless the tower is close by." His face shows, however, that he doesn't think the tower will be nearby.
When the group starts moving, Ullar rides next to Amibar. "Amibar, thank you for helping us out with our language problem. It really made a difference!"
"It was lucky the chief spoke Gnomish, Ullar, or else I couldn't have talked to him at all!" explains Ami.
"However, I would like to speak to you about our upcoming confrontation with Vlack. I'm not a magic-user, but I'm curious, do you have any nice tricks in your sleeve which might give us the advantage? I witnessed your 'scare' spell or something and that can always come in handy, but perhaps you and Taglio can combine your powers and have some synergy effect."
"You know Ullar, I don't know many spells, and can't seem to be able to memorize more than a couple at a time...." Amibar seems very ashamed as he speaks. "I've never worked with anyone else before, so I don't know if I can do what you suggest, but I'm willing to try...."
"That's alright. Most magick-users are really on themselves, and the chances that they work together are slight. However, I think you can cooperate with Taglio as he described. It might work. Perhaps you can ask Natasha if she knows what scares wolves, as she is closer to the other animals than any of us," Ullar replies
"Or do you know that Kyo?" he inquires.
As usual, Kyo remains silent. The group begins to fear that he has become mentally disturbed.
"I doubt it, Ullar. I don't think 'Tasha can think like a wolf," he says with a smile.
"Yeah. Well. Ok," says Ullar, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I'm not a ferret, but I think she can imagine something which would frighten her." Ullar tries to bluff himself out of this situation.