Our Cleric was supposed to join us but something came up last minute and he was unable to make it.
In attendance were;
Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster
Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager
Entering the bramble maze Tiberius finds it branches into 3 paths the hot cramped quarters make for an uncomfortable trip for all but Thddeus, taking the left most path leads to a sort of unmanned guard tower, which he and Thaddeus scale and Thaddeus is able to see Thistletop proper in a north eastern direction. Navigating more of the maze leads the group to a larger clearing where the others are able to stand up, there is a decently sized hole in the ground that Kumak peers over and after spitting into determines there is water down below. No sooner having learned that then the group is ambushed from both sides by a mob of 10 goblins. The battle is short and viscous, Tiberius starts cleaving through a mob on one side while Kumak fails spectacularly on the other. Susan wipes out one flank with a Burning Hands spell, 1 surviving goblin finding himself burning to death leaps into the pit so put out the flames and shortly afterwards there is a loud growl heard from below followed by a goblins scream that is cut short by whatever sarlacc beast is down there.
Advancing further to the north Tiberius stumbles into a goblin dog pen and faces 4 of the beasts, since the cramped quarters make it so none of the party is able to pass through each other and Tiberius refuses to maneuver himself to a better position no one is able to lend assistance and the paladin faces the dogs alone for several rounds suffering a few bites, one of which begins to cause his skin to itch uncomfortably. Finally felling the beasts the group performs an awkward turn around and Tiberius heads south encountering a medium sized chamber with a bunch of reddish fur in places. Entering the room Thaddeus is suddenly pounced upon by a fire pelt cougar. Tiberius attempts to pet the cat and gets swatted at for his efforts, while Thaddeus moves further away from the cougar towards the next chamber in the tangle of bushes. Kumak is finally able to move into the chamber and kills the animal, just as Thaddeus makes his way through the nettles into the next room and comes face to face with a goblin, who takes one look at him, casts a spell that causes a small bird to appear, fly up and out of the brambles towards Thistletop, then the goblin backs up to the tangle of thorns and seemingly passes into them with no effort. Thaddeus calls out to Susan to have her owl which has been circling above, to kill the thrush then attempts to throw his dagger at the goblin to no avail. The Goblin spends the next few rounds stepping in and out of the brush stabbing at the adventurers with some sort of flame blade until Susan sets him on fire and Kumak lands a hefty blow gravely wounding the goblin who fails to put out the fire which finishes him off. Fishing the body out from the vines the group finds some healing potions, 2 wands, a magical cloak and some magical leather armor. Thaddeus takes the armor for himself and proclaims the cloak is his as well but Susan ignore the already cloaked gnome and takes it for herself.
Moving north the team finally come out into the open air again and see before them a rope bridge that leads to Thistletop. Kumak spends a few minutes airing himself out and reveling in the feeling of being able to move freely again. Hearing some soft movement behind them the group find Shalelu emerging from the briars, relieved that the elf maid had not been killed or captured in her reconnaissance the group discuss the safety of the bridge. Tiberius, knowing there was a path through the briars he has not fully investigated decides he is going back in, Kumak not wanting to relive that experience any time soon announces he will not be following followed by the others reiterating their desire to remain where they are. 3 minutes of waiting goes by before Kumak the heaviest of the group decides to test if the bridge will hold him, tying a rope around his waist he hands the other end to Thaddeus and begins walking across, Tiberius returning just as Kumak is halfway across runs across the bridge to join him. The half orc seeing the next heaviest person on the bridge with him hisses at the paladin to go back before he gets them both killed and cross one at a time but the paladin refuses. Since Kumak was closer to the Thistletop end he moves to finish his walk rather than wait for the heavily armored paladin to catch up and pass him. As the 50ft rope runs out Thaddeus continues to hold his end and begins to be pulled onto the bridge, Susan shrugging steps onto the bridge too and there is an audible "crack" as the bridge gives way and everyone but Thaddeus plunges below. Thaddeus manages to grab one of the moorings on the shore side and holds the rope in an attempt to save Kumak from the fall but his heart is stronger than his grip and he instead loses his grip of the mooring and is pulled off the cliff himself.
Splashing into the water 80ft below the group find themselves heavily injured. Kumak weathers it well enough but Thaddeus and Tiberius are barely holding themselves together. Looking around Thaddeus sees Susan floating face down as she beings to sink. Kumak a strong swimmer sees them with his dark vision and calls for Thaddeus to grab her and hold onto the rope, readying himself to pull the 2 towards him so he can administer aid. The waters below are calmer during the night time but still quite violent and Thaddeus finds himself unable to reach Susan as he sees her body being to react to drowning. Suddenly there is a very quiet splash nearby and the gnome sees Shalelu emerge from the water, wand clenched in her teeth, she unleashes a wave of magic into Susan which brings the woman back to consciousness and she being to cough out water. Tiberius weighted down by his banded mail and shield is unable to do much more than bring his head out of the water for a brief gulp of air before he is swallowed by the water again and decides to drop his shield in a bid to save himself. Thaddeus finally grabbing Susan is pulled across the water by Kumak to the bottom of rocky rise that houses Thistletop, hoisting Thaddeus and Susan up onto a perch Kumak climbs on himself then turns to see Tiberius, dropping his shield 10ft below and sinking fast. Taking the blunt end of his ranseur Kumak jabs it into the paladin, who gratefully grabs this life line and is brought back from certain death. Looking across the way the group sees Shalelu begin to scale the mainland cliffs to rejoin Villster. Kumak sighs heavily, Tiberius blames Susan for their predicament which no one else agrees with as the group moves counter clockwise around the island. While the paladin makes his case Kumak steals his rope and ties it to the one that Thaddesu is still holding and begins to climb the cliff. The 3 remaining below spy a dark shape moving in the water nearby and each move up the rope to stay out of reach of whatever is hunting below. Looping the rope around some rocks every 20 ft Kumak reaches the top and silently pulls himself over the lip and back onto proper land. Looking around, the half orc sees no sign of discovery and hearing the voices of several goblins across the way. Creeping across he sees 4 goblins playing some sort of game where one hold a rope tied to a seagull while the others throw rocks at it. Holding his ranseur parallel to the ground Kumak rushes at the goblins and shoves 3 of them over the side of the cliff. The one holding the rope shocked by this has a moment to look at the huge half orc standing in front of him before he is cut down. Kumak strips the body and takes it over to rope, tossing the corpse well past the cliff to signal to the others to ascend.
Getting the last of the group up Tiberius declares that he has used up all his healing and is still quite hurt, they should find some cover and rest until morning. Susan and Thaddeus join Tiberius in the nearest bush to set in for the night but Kumak hearing revelries through the nearest wall realizes that their incursion has not been reported yet and if they act before the bridge is discovered they may yet be able to reconnect with Villister and Shalelu. Kumak moves along the outside walls to what he believes is a guard post and scales the first portion of the outside wall. Hearing goblins chattering inside he moves further up but a rotted piece of wood breaks in his hand. The goblins go silent as does Kumak who readies his ranseur. After one minute a goblin head pokes out and Kumak makes a swing but is off center and it goes wide. Cursing Kumak leaps over the lip and into the guard tower killing one goblin, the remaining goblin moves to leap over the the edge towards a door but Kumak pins that one to the floor. Returning to the bush Kumak nudges the group and asks if they would prefer to sleep with a roof over their heads, leading them to the now uninhabited guard house. Kumak asks Susan if her owl would be capable of delivering a message to Villister and Shalelu to which she agrees it could. Writing out a short message Susan sends her owl off while Tiberius tries to sleep. The owl returns shortly later with a note and a wand clutched in its talons. Shalelu says she is fine and will find a way to join them soon, here is a healing wand to tide them over until their cleric can rejoin them. Looking it over they find it has 24 charges remaining so the group kicks Tiberius awake again and indicate they wish to clear Thistletop of goblins while it is still night and they have the element of surprise. Tiberius objects as he has no more uses of his healing left and Susan has expended 2 spells but is overruled and handed the wand which he uses to bring the most injured back to fighting form.
While Tiberius is still objecting to this course Kumak moves to one of the doors leading from the guard tower and opens it, greeted to a long hallway and foyer with many doors he tries the first one and opens the door to a bunk room with 6 goblins, 3 still sleeping and 3 just sitting up at half orcs entrance. Kumak, Tiberius and Thaddeus make short work of 5 of the goblins and Thaddeus takes the final prisoner. Interrogating him in goblin Thaddeus agrees that they will release him after he shows them where to find the people in charge. The goblin, "Pisstoes", takes the group to the next door down the hall which leads below and gestures that the "Metal man", "Dark Lady". "Silver Hair", and Bruthazmus are all down there. Thaddeus gets some final odd bits of information out of the goblin before he gestures to Kumak who grabs the gobin and smashed its head into the stone wall. Moving to the next door Kumak hears the party that he could hear from outside, gets ready to open it when Tiberius calls out that he wants to investigate some other doors first. Kumak looks puzzled as the paladin rushes off and opens the next door alone, peering in to see a sort of exercise yard with a shed boarded up, heavy breathing and movement comes from within. Tiberius makes to move to another door when Kumak looks to the rest of the group and calls out "ready?" Tiberius rushes back and rejoins the party as they burst into a small throne room where some goblins seem to be putting on a reenactment of the raid on Sandpoint, complete with unflattering portrayals of the party. Kumak spears his goblin counterpart while Tiberius rushes up to the goblin wearing mismatched armor, slamming its head against a post in a mockery of the paladin. Susan fires a ray of frost at a goblin but it strikes the pillow it had under its clothes to give it the illusion of Villisters paunch. The goblin on the throne mounts onto a nearby lizard and ties himself onto the saddle. The fight is bloody and long. Susan and Thaddeus are stymied by Villster-Goblin for much of the fight while Tiberius-Goblin keeps Tiberius occupied. Kumak kills Susan-Goblin then moves in to assist Tiberius with Chief Ripnugget on his lizard but the chief seems to be a skilled mounted warrior and Thaddeus is dropped by a passing charge from the goblin. Tiberius uses the wand to bring the gnome back and then Kumak spears the lizard through the heart, Ripnugget moves into a corner where he can't be flanked and Tiberius spends the next few seconds healing himself with the wand as the chief lands blow after blow on the paladin. Finally Kumak finds the opening he needs and runs the goblin chief through ending his life. Searching the carnage the group finds a few more healing potions of an even stronger variety, a potion of barkskin, a magical short sword, a ring of 3 keys and a masterwork breastplate, but unfortunately sized for a small creature.
Thoughts:
I don't for the life of me know why the paladin wanted to get in front of me on the bridge. I was shocked both in and out of character that he put the 2 heaviest people on the bridge at the same time. The GM was laughing and said he thought out of all the paranoid players he would never have gotten me with this bridge, which I still maintain he didn't. Susan almost died, she was at 2 rounds of drowning and on the 3rd its death, GM maintains that he didn't pull any punches on the damage or Shalelu jumping in to assist with the wand. I don't really understand the paladins desire to rest when he got the wand, the health issue was taken care of so the only thing missing was his lay on hands to which I told him, better resource management. He tried to point to the wizard being out of spells but I pointed out that she had only expended a level 1 and a level 2 so she was still pretty decked out. I don't know if we can clear out level 2 without resting but I feel confidant we can finish the top level and then post a guard at the stairs going down. Either way both the Paladin and Wizard are gone next week, so if we have our Cleric back we could probably still run this. The Paladin was very upset about his AC dropping from 20 to 18 without his shield. Especially in the throne room fight despite the fact that Ripnugget was rolling some stupid high numbers, I think there was only 1 hit that would have missed a 20 AC, granted Ripnugget was hitting for something like 15 damage when he was on his lizard. GM and I talked about it later, he was worried that the player might have been trying to get his character killed on the bridge at first but doesn't think so anymore.
