Chapter 2b – Trouble

Chapter 2b – Trouble

“Follow me, then” said Jade “and if the going gets tough “you hard guys get up front”

And off they went, prodding ahead of themselves for easy trap spotting.

They had a map to guide them and a plan to follow.

Down the stairs, straight over the crossroads, a quick listen at the door and then ....

....another listen at the door.

When a room is marked on a map as “Haunted Chamber” then it spooks you into taking a bit more time over things.

There was a distinct “whoooooo, whooooo” noise coming from inside.

Still, this was the way to go and in they went, brave fighters to the front.

The noise seemed to be just coming in some culverts, high up on the wall, the rest of the place was empty.

“Ok for Onward?” said Dexter the clerically

”As OK as I can be” said Norm, the Magic User.

Next up – The Big Room and again the fighters bounced in first but were met by an empty room.

The tension was palpabel

“We're doing great” said Jade.

She felt her inexperienced team could do with a fillip.

“Ready to go again?”

They had a quick nod to each other and regrouped, ready for The Tall Room marked on the map.

And in they went, with the dwarf and one of the human fighters first

Bam! Straight into a hunting party of Goblins.

And the Goblins knew they were coming, too.

Again the millennia-old clash of goblin and dwarf races played out.

The goblins had Jades Team corralled into the vestibule next to the door. They commanded the entrance to the room and they were using their strategic advantage well.

The Black Hand tribe, by the looks of the motif on their shields. They knew this patch of underground and they were making that knowledge pay off.

“Lay down your weapons, Dwarf scum” said the lead goblin “and perhaps we'll let your sad skin survive”

An image of his skin flayed and used as a goblin trophy flashed through his head momentarily.

But the Dwarf wasn't going to be giving up a fight with goblins.

“You green filth will decorate this dungeon with your blood tonight”

The dwarf fought well but a flurry of underhand goblin blows tumbled him.

Sir Baltimore, too, was felled in a flash of goblin steel.

Jade, stepping into the breach, took a bad hit and called out her distress.

The goblins

At long last one of the spellcasters cast a sleep enchantment and all but one of the remaining goblins collapsed. The last goblin standing realised the situation had turned against him, so he fled out of a side door

Two of the group lay on the ground, but, luckily, they were only unconscious, not dead.

As Jade administered curing potion to the fallen comrades, Goldylox slit the throats and the purses of the recumbent goblins,

Next chapter-2c-well-well-well