The heroes completed their rest. Heading north east from the site of their last slaughter at the Red Blades camp, they encountered no monsters in the forest. The foul weather so foul that even wandering monsters, wandered not. They could not find tracks that the red blades had made, when vacating their cavern. So following their next lead from the female goblin captive, the brave clan headed for the Vipers cave dwelling. Towards mid afternoon the party found a dell to spend the night in. The soil was well drained so had not filled with water. The party gave thanks to Helim. Assaulting a goblin stronghold at dusk not being an attractive option. Stephen organised watches, something about wanting to use his healing staff at midnight or the like. The others found it strange that a priest of the night was so attracted to the witching hour. A flapping noise is heard, from above. Giant bats strike! Stephen shouts to wake the rest of us. Jubal, grabs a log in a primitive fashion. He waves it fiercely at the bats. A bat bites Stephen. He curses! Vyaaren doubts his godliness. Vyaaren is bitten too. God is twice cursed this evening. She hits back. Maglor slices his target in two. Then he moves to Vyaaren’s target and greedily fells that too. Jubal makes contact tuning his foe. Doing just enough to finish it off. The party returns to peaceful slumber. Todays weather is heavy cloud, light rain, cool and windy. After a light breakfast the team head in their now familiar north-easterly direction. After an hour of trekking Maglor spots a faint but definite pathway. Small footprints tally with our expectation of goblin sized footprints. The party sneak, on horseback, whilst being alert and carefully following the tracks. Weapons drawn but not in an duly risky manner. Bases. Covered. We come to a scarp (a rockface apparently). The path leads round it. We notice the scarp is smooth and almost hill like. It is steep and clearly important. We think we see cavelets. Stephen guesses it is limescale protrusions over a chalk base. Either that or Kobolds have been digging. The beasts of burden are tethered. We creep up the hill. Maglor is sent ahead to scout out. On the other side of the hill, is the other side of the hill! Disappointment at the DM’s imaginations, decreases when he spots a larger cave entrance. We could not see but there is a door. We heroically spend several minutes examining this door for clues. It’s lock, it’s wood type. We noticed disturbed earth by the side. A totem perhaps removed? “Have these bastards fucked off too?”, queries Stephen in the manner that only a vicar can. The party start to hack at the door. It takes ten minutes. Vyaaren does her nails. She wonders whether the party will still get a bonus for surprise on the initiative roll. The barricaded door gives way. The totem lies broken on the floor. We light torches. Complicated directions are discussed with members of the party who show most interest in this kind of thing. Well done Jubal. He scratches markings, like a map onto parchment. The party come to a door. They open it. It is empty. 20 x 20. It is completely bare. Slat chair, bed, weapon rack with no weapons. they exit and head off. Couple of turns and another door. S. D. P. Standard Door Procedure. Listen , Check for traps, 2 people at the door. 20 mins to explain. Only rubbish in there. The tunnel ahead is blocked. A barricade halts out ingress. A knife flies out at us. It clatters emptily to the floor. We hear a goblin argument then silence. Another dagger flies out. Sadly we don’t speak goblin. Our pidgin Hobgoblin makes little impression. A knife cuts Morkel. Jubal’s molotov falls short and lights our side of the barricade. We back pedal to search for hidden doors. The DM hints that they have only just holed themselves in and so we sharply about turn to the barricade again. The fire subsides as the team chat and procrastinate. Jubal misses, but Vyaaren is made of sterner stuff felling the first of the seven goblins. A dagger bites at her, and Jubal takes one in the side. Stephen and Morkel joins them at the top. The bitchy goblins fail to push their advantage. Stephen fells one and Vyaaren adds to her tally this day. Oh yes and Morkel slays one. The remaining goblins depart at Top Speed! But not before the party smite them down with holy mace, fleet arrow and Jubal tackles one with something he darkly calls ‘rugby’. Vyaaren is healed with a spark of pure blessed lighted from Stephen’s staff. The party begin to interrogate their capture. He seems to whimper a lot. Giving one word answers through waves of fear. The party are a little alarmed at Morkal’s advanced interrogation techniques. He seems all together too comfortable and familiar with it. The rest of the party carry on scouting out the rooms. Vyaaren thinks his mummy and daddy might have argued when he was younger. __ They come across a chamber. Goblin priests, more goblins. Knives hurled at us and then a snake having been whirled round his head, is flung towards us. We shut the door. Hoping to see a snake with lots of daggers in it attached to the door. With no other rooms, the party ready their sleep spell. Morkal opens the door, the heroes burst in. Morkal casts sleep on the goblins and many fall to the floor. The leader hurls another snake at Maglor. It bites down on him. Vyaaren complains about the unfairness of the chiefs rapid actions. The goblins and the party fight. The goblin chief hurls another snake. Vyaaren complains more. Maglor hits the snake. Morkel hits it too. Vyaaren thinks twice about hitting with the mace whilt wrapped round Maglor’s neck, but luckily Morkel’s blow slays it. Stephen fells a goblin. The chief goblin runs away. Not before Jubal lands a hefty blow on him, doing for him. A final snake remains. Vyaaren deals it a passing blow and Stephen misses it. Clearly a fast moving critter. But Maglor is the faster. Some of us are busy discussing goblin breeding possibilities with the two captives male and female goblins and others are fighting for our lives. They find 23 gold and a sparely belt with gold and gems. A measly toll. Wooden snakes, contain three gems, pearl necklace, and a small box with a small key hole. Maglor detects no traps. Vyaaren finds the key on the leader. Three magical glowing potions and fifty platinum pieces are contained within. Small sips from the phials make us feel, stronger, like commanding the birds and squirrels of the woods, and the last give us sight of distant lands. One passage leads off. We avoid a pit trap and the passage opens out to the wilderness. Maglor finds a small piece map at the bottom of the casket. It’s a map leading us to the final goblin layer. More next time!