scotland ♔ yet how the wind revives us here

[untethered]

♬ Presentiment - Manami Kiyota

WHO || Belle, Gold, Emma, Hook, Lila [closed]
WHAT || Several Knights take a secret journey to try to help Amara...
WHERE || Oakhurst, Scotland
WHEN || January 15th, 2014 [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's probably a very good thing that Gold sweet-talked them a car in the nearby tiny Scottish village of Oakhurst, because it is freezing cold out and snow blankets almost everything around. Walking the seven miles up the Old Road to the ruins would be a bitch and a half.

Instead, they comfortably drove past rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak covered in snow, and past two farms that looked abandoned. No other travelers were visible on the lonely road, which finally curves, passing east of a narrow ravine. Belle signals for them to pull over here, where, at the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something akin to more of a deep, but narrow, cavern. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Comments

[undealt]

[Gold honestly doesn't care either way, so he's just gonna look around while there's some downtime. (spot 18, search 15)]

[uncurse]

Have they held you in this room all year? [ she glances briefly around at hook and belle before continuing on, trying to keep from coming across as callous but instead inquiring with concern (diplomacy 24). ] We can get you out of here, but there's something we need to get from the goblins first. Is there any chance you saw more of the ruins before the bandits got you?

[sternshield]

They took me up on the road outside this place, so I haven't seen anymore of it than what's between the door and here, no.

But I have heard 'em talk quite a bit. What is it you're lookin' for?

[ gold discovers a silver flask of dwarven make filled with some kind of vile smelling liquor on the goblin who had the key. that's about it though. ]

[undealt]

[DISAPPOINTMENT.

Gold wanders back and shoves the flask at Hook, because it's alcohol, clearly he'll want it.] An apple. The very ones the goblins auction off on the surface every year.

[sternshield]

[ erky nods a few times in recognition ] I've heard the goblins talk about the Twilight Grove down below. There's an evil druid down there name of Belak who tends an enchanted garden and harvests the apples from something the goblins call the Gulthias Tree, but only in the most terrified of whispers.

[unhand]

[Hook takes it but he glares at Gold suspiciously because he feels like it must be poisoned or something like why would Gold just give him things...

But onto the matter at hand.]

I don't suppose they've been talking about dragons as well?

[uncurse]

[ twilight grove down below. so, presumably, all the way down below. emma gives a little roll of her head, shutting her eyes and furrowing her brow in a way that betrays her irritation with how involved this has become. she was hoping it could be an in-and-out, but it's obvious they're going to need to spend a good long while in this dungeon. ]

Great. Something that spooks the dragon-stealing goblins. [ her disparaging tone is unmistakeable, and entirely reflective of how much she cannot believe this is her life. remember when she was catching bail-jumpers ... ]

[sternshield]

Don't think I know anything about a dragon... You think they've gotten their claws on one?

[bittersweeter]

According to our little Meepo they stole one. [ s'up jumanji. ]

[sternshield]

From the kobolds? Makes sense. Might be a recent development and all. [ speaking of the kobolds, the other ones are out in the main room there starting to drag the bodies of the fallen goblins with them back the way the party came from. erky yells after them: ] Hey! [ and presses past them to stop one, which hisses at him but drops the body. he sets to yanking the goblin's filthy armor off its corpse. ] But if it's a dragon you're going to be fighting, I'm a bit underdressed.

[uncurse]

Seriously? [ hook's hand puns and all, she'd honestly assumed it was a big ask and didn't anticipate that this dwarf would actually join them. ] You just spent a year trapped in here, are you sure you don't want to get out while you can? [ and it makes her suspicious bc it's ... emma. he must have some ulterior motive if he's going deeper into the citadel with them instead of leaving. people don't do nice things altruistically. so she'll watch his response carefully (sense motive 25). ]

[sternshield]

[ he lofts a morningstar in his hand that he took off the body, looking at it, and then to her. ] I just spent a year at the mercy of these bastards. [ he looks down at the now naked goblin and spits ] The Sternshields of Gaerdal Ironhand are meant to hone their hammers day in and day out. I may not have a hammer - but I've had 360-odd days free of honing.

Think I plan to remedy that a bit and make them remember the name of the Ironhand, the next time they get any bright ideas over who to abduct.

[ he seems to be completely telling the truth, at least. ]

[unhand]

That healing trick of yours. How often can you use it? [From the way he's looking over at Emma it's clear that he hasn't forgotten how much damage she's taken. And he's fretting.]

[sternshield]

[ erky starts shrugging on the goblin armor ] Just a handful a day. I was a warrior long before I was ever a priest. Still a lot to learn - but it was enough to keep me going from day to day.

[uncurse]

[ wow emma can take a hint ok. she hangs back some while erky gets his armor on, pulling the potion out and shooting hook a Look as she drinks it down (+10 hp). ]

[untethered]

The kobolds are safely on their way back to the clan... But we don't know if other goblin patrols will come this way. [ as in get dressed quickly, gnome-man ]

[unhand]

[THAT'S ALL HE WANTED. Hook flashes Emma a grin. He'll stop fretting now. Mostly.] Then we'd better be off.

[uncurse]

[ people you don't have to tell twice: emma. since this was a trap in and of itself she doesn't feel particularly compelled to check the next door or be careful. like, who expected them to get past the waiting mini-tribe of goblins protecting the prison? so over the wall and brazenly through the door she'll try to go unless anything abruptly stops her. like a locked door or a falling light fixture i guess. ]

[untethered]

[ the door is very unlocked! and leads into a normal looking corridor! so normal!

there's a door at the far end to the left, as promised by the tied up goblin and also one slightly to emma's left across the hall.

belle picks her way over there too, and erky follows, looking bizarre in his goblin get-up. ]

[undealt]

[Gold's just... not okay with any of these developments, but he's not scared of some CREEPY GARDENER, so he presses on, determined.]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila follows dutifully, not very gentle in how she handles the goblin, openly staring at their new gnome friend like how are you not batshit from being in there for a year? ]

[sternshield]

Whoa, whoa... [ erky moves into the hallway, putting a hand up in front of emma ] Does anybody see what I see? Because I'm not exactly dying for another stay at the goblin inn.

[ he points to the floor in front of the door at the end of the hall - the one their goblin buddy informed them leads to the dragon. a spot check of 21+ can make out the slim outline of the trapdoor, similar to the one they encountered out front. ]

[uncurse]

[ now that she looks - really, properly looks - she ... still doesn't fucking see anything (spot 9). but she'll take erky's crazy jumanji word for it, coming to a halt. mostly because she doesn't want to get stuck here for a year either tbh. ]

See what?

[unhand]

[Hook got a spot 9 too. He and Emma are ~that in sync.~ He gives Erky a dubious look.]

Sure you haven't been locked up long enough that you're seeing things?

[bittersweeter]

[ spot nat 20 because she has nothing to do but look at the floor, lila's grip on the goblin shifts until her bare fingers dig into the back of it's gobliny neck. ] It's another trap. You little shit, forgot to mention that, huh?

[ you know what, she's going to work him so his lying ass can't lie again. and she doesn't feel like holding on to him when her brain can keep him in line instead. and maybe she wants to give someone a nightmare to calm herself down. ]