Goblins and Glass: The Kidnapping of Ameiko

Shalelu brought grim tidings of goblin raids elsewhere.

As Sandpoint recovers from the attack and buries its (thankfully few) dead, the citizens do their best to get on with their lives…. Now that the terror of the raid is over, images of goblins accidentally lighting themselves on fire, getting stepped on by horses, or drowning in half-full rain barrels color memories of the raid in an almost comical light. But one thing the locals have not forgotten is their new heroes. ¹

Seeking to investigate what the nobleman they saved requested of them, the goblin slayers of our campaign sans Leica descended the stairwell in The Rusty Dragon to ask of his whereabouts. They were aware the man was staying in their inn, but were not about to go knocking on all of its rooms’ doors.

What awaited them was a deafening round of applause, cheering, and carousing in response to their entrance to the tavern proper. Men came up to slap the adventurers on the back and thank them for their presence and bravery during the Swallowtail Festival. A round of drinks was bought for the courageous adventurers of newly-obtained fame.

Finally learning the room in which the nobleman resided in, the adventurers knocked on his door. A very grateful and appreciative, yet flamboyant, Foxglove answered them and invited them to sit. Granting them a reward of 50 gp, he was refused by all but the resourceful Marco who took the gold without question.

Furthermore, the man invited the party to a boar hunt in the local woods. This involved a fairly uneventful half-hour trip outside of Sandpoint featuring a great deal of excited queries and playful flirting with Leica from the nobleman. Once there, a boar was immediately sighted by the extremely lucky survival skills of the resident gunmage. A rowdy fight ensues with Conall being severely wounded.

On their return to Sandpoint, the party begins to see more signs of their growing fame and of a strange fixation on the males of the party. The party brings the wounded Conall to a shocked Father at the cathedral who was quick to enquiry as to how he had received them. When learning of his fight with the boar, the Father is impressed that Conall was caught off-guard as he was.

That evening, the party had boar. Despite a small interceding to feed a voracious backpack-inhabiting goblin (Guz), very little looked like it could dampen the spirits that night. However, as soon as the party were halfway through their tasting of the excellent boar meat, a man bristles into the inn and comes up to slap the innkeeper, Ameiko.

What is learned from the party, with Darius’ knowledge of his native language and the language being spoken by what he recognizes as his uncle to his cousin, Ameiko, is that the man, Lonjiku Kaijitsu, is in a rush to leave the town and travel south to the city of Magnimar. He is forcibly requesting Ameiko come with him. However, Ameiko’s refusal of this forces him to leave and rebuke her, denouncing her as worse than his wife and her mother. During this, the man also is quick to criticize the Heroes for their stupidity and reckless actions at the Festival.

His leave also marks the arrival of a very interesting sight to behold in the tavern: the Sheriff Hemlock who came to request that the Heroes come with him to the town hall for a meeting with the mayor and another guest.

This other guest is Shalelu, an “unofficial member of the Sandpoint guard”, as Hemlock likes to refer to her as. This elf alerts the Heroes of a worrying fact: the goblins are working together and all acted under some strange manner of organization at the Raid of Sandpoint during the Festival. Furthermore, what comes out of this discussion is the telling of a story of the Late Unpleasantness: the serial killer Chopper and the fire that burned down the church, with Nualia and her father, Father Tobyn, inside.

The Sheriff tells the Heroes that he will be going south to Magnimar for a fortnight, with a few of his guards, to investigate more upon the issue of the goblins. He is requesting the Heroes stay around and keep watch so as to ensure no needless worrying breaks out.

Returning to the inn, the party sans Leica speak to Shalelu more who had some goblin lore to offer them before departing for the surrounding wilderness to investigate the goblins’ behaviours. Leica, having gone upstairs, stumbles upon a very unpleasant conclusion when she enters their room. The goblin, Guz, who they left there, and his axe were missing.

When Shalelu departs, the party is quick to investigate the tavern and outside it to try and find Guz before he is able to cause chaos in the town. Leica and Marco follow a trail to the Sandpoint Glassworks only to be knocked into unconsciousness upon entering the dark facility.

Guz eventually returns and encounters Darius and Conall outside the tavern. He cites his return on the fact that he still wishes for “shinies”. When the two tell them that is not quite possible from them any longer, he is quick to tell them that he is returning to his wife, Elleshniaga, and he bids them farewell.

Before they could follow him, the two are intercepted by a maid from The Rusty Dragon. Ameiko is missing, and only a letter was found in her room: she was going to meet her brother, Tsuto, in the Sandpoint Glassworks. The two rush there to try and find Ameiko, and are shocked to find a group of goblins keeping their friends captive.

The following encounters were stumbled upon by the party this session:

• The Boar Hunt and the subsequent slaying of the boar awarded 600 xp.
• Interceding with the argument between father and daughter at The Rusty Dragon awarded 600 xp.
• Guz awarded his masterwork horseslayer, studded armour, 200 xp, and 1 sp.
• Goblins (7) in The Sandpoint Glassworks. Each possessed a dogslicer and leather armour. They awarded 135 xp each (for a total of 945 xp) and collectively possessed 25 gp.

A total of 2345 xp was obtained by the party this session, thus meaning each player receives 587 xp. Furthermore, 1 hero point is awarded to Leica for dealing with the nobleman’s advances in the most creative of ways.