Wednesday, September 13th, 2017
—
The tin-man, identified as Orik Vancaskerkin, dives into the fray with his enormous heavy steel shield and bastard sword. On the other side of the room, another woman sheds her invisibility and creates multiple mirror images of herself, forcing the party to fight on two fronts simultaneously. Apart from an early hit on Orik, the party finds limited success in dealing any significant damage to the pair.
When the woman sees the group presumably responsible for Tsuto’s death, she demands to know who dealt the killing blow. Lyrie, as she was called, focuses her efforts on Krask after Silas gives her misinformation on the identity of the murderer. Niko, Richard, and Krask focus their efforts on the caster (Lyrie), while Fobias and Silas commit to damage control on the tank (Orik). One by one, the party dismantles the illusionary quadruplets surrounding Lyrie and bring her to the verge of death.
In an unexpected turn of events, Orik throws down his shield and sword, imploring the party to spare his life. He even goes so far to suggest that he would fight alongside the Sandpoint Three-And-A-Half against Nualia; his allegiance can be easily bought by the highest bidder. To drive his point home, Orik casts a handful of golden coins on the ground. As he does this, Lyrie is appalled and tells him to continue fighting against the intruders. Her appeal, however, is abruptly cut short as the party ends her life.
Negotiation ensues.
Eventually, an agreement is reached that Orik will provide information about Thistletop in return for his life, so that he might try his luck at mercenary work in Korvosa. Silas stands by him at the foot of the steps while the rest of the group shifts over to the far wall to begin their questioning.
Orik tells the party that the top level is primarily used by the goblins; they typically don’t venture down from the stockade, as that is [sic] Warchief Ripnugget’s domain. Also, the party FINALLY solves one of their first mysteries: the pantry had been locked up due to pickle theft. Go figure.
Although unable to divulge Nualia’s precise location, Orik assumes that she must be on the next level down with her loyal, hellish hound. He had attended one of Nualia’s ‘sermons’ in the past, but was creeped out to the point that he felt no need to head further underground if he didn’t have to. So long as the coin kept flowing, he would perform his required duties as bodyguard. Orik gives directions to the stairwell leading down, and he also advises against venturing to the more natural section of the subterranean caverns, as it is inhabited by a pyramidal/octupus creature. He offers little else in terms of useful information. The most burning question remains unanswered: What exactly is Nualia trying to achieve down here?
Orik turns to leave but Silas blocks his way. Despite their arrangement, Silas refuses to let Orik pass without first defeating him in single combat. Seeing no other way out, Orik agrees and retrieves his sword and shield.
Things turn sour almost immediately for Silas, who critically fails his initial swing. Silas is struck badly. And again. And again. With a final staggered effort, he barely makes it past Orik’s defenses and his blade finds flesh. But the force of the blow was too much for Silas, who falls unconscious alongside his foe. Niko immediately heals the party and the group quickly discusses what to do with Orik. The verdict? Leave him be for now, as it will take several hours for him to regain consciousness. They loot the heaping pile of corpses and unearth an incredible amount of magical items and wealth amongst the bodies.
Battered and bruised, the party wishes to confront Nualia and hastily continue towards the north. They pass through a small room covered in crude art depicting humans fighting goblins, but in the center of the wall is a cross-section of Thistletop housing a (presumably) thirty-foot tall goblin beneath it. Shuddering, the party continues onward.
Niko pockets a stack of research notes on ancient Thassilon, hoping to decipher them later (his current comprehension of Thassilonian is still in its infancy). Also, not to anyone’s surprise, the party discovers the detailed raid plans for the attack on Sandpoint. They are getting warmer. And that’s when Krask notices that a certain wall is angled in a very unusual way. After some additional investigation, he locates a handhold and throws open the door!
Can a defected mercenary really be trusted? Does a monstrous goblin lurk behind this door, waiting to bash in some PC skulls? Who’s going to take care of Lyrie’s cat?