Hackmaster episode 51


Right, yeah, log.

 

We tip the little bush, revealing a crawlspace rather than a corridor, but enter it anyway. Brucy is left to flit amongst the trees and wait.

 

The tunnel ends in a trapdoor (listen, check for traps, open) which opens into a pleasant garden. Noddy sneaks out to investigate, there's some non-carnivoous plants (plants, basically), crickets, walls, a couple of doors and a few hobgoblins patrolling the top of the walls - but looking out, not in.

 

The Hobgoblins seem to have a fairly regular patrols so Noddy smuggles the band across; including porters and every last Tim.

 

Noddy hurries through a door into a courtyard and is immediately attacked by bif arsed hornets. He hurries back followed by the hornets.

 

HT and Finn head for doors to the south, attempting to scarper before being spotted by hobgoblin guards. This is spoiled by two apes which Noddy failed to notice.

 

Figting ensues, some attacking teh apes, while Noddy fights hornets as big as he is. Stagger Lee, not wishing to use his spells on such unworthy oponents hangs back until attacked by a mozzie the size of his arm which divebombs.

 

But all are dispatched in good time with a final muscle bound flourish - his first blow in combat in fatal (don't know who this refers to - presumably Finn).

 

Our band attempts again to scarper through the southern doors and this time makes it. Noddy scouts down the corridor and returns with a bedraggled but beautioful young lady. Noddy's in lurve. Apparrently she escaped from the slavers and wants us to rescue her. Noddy is ready to go rescue HT style without hesitation or wisdom. But is cionvinced to take it one step at a time.

 

Searching down the corridor door by door we eventually come across a dorm with three sleeping gnolls and we proceed to wake (by failing to slit their throats) and slaughter them.

 

Moving on, we discover an armoury, which Noddy's lockpicking skill opens for us. Unfortunately there are no petite rapiers. Finn notices a secret door and Noddy more otr les opens it safely. Beyond is a room of flash armour, but mostly gnollish.

 

Further on Finn notices an anomoly in the corridor wall and Noddy discovers another door.

 

A carefully laid plan to smite all those beyond the door fails miserably and so a life or death struggle ensues against a dude in red plate armour standing ina fire (makes it hard to attack) and a couple of were-dwarves (actually, scientifically speaking they're dwarven were-wolves - luckily were-dwarves are somewhat uncommon) and a bunch of pawns goblins. Our band prevails without any of us dying. Amazing, and due only to the intervention of Tim Mcstumpy, a dwarven slave chef who lays into the goblins with cleavers. Red dude, when eventually leaving the flames does cut a pretty bloody and brutal path through various proteges and hangers on, but none actually cark it.

 

The bands cleaning up and hiding of corpses is interrupted by a couple of lackies, a hobgoblin blacksmith and his apprentice, a young kobold. (though tehy did't interrupt us, Tim Mcstumpy informed on them and we went after them, chasing the blighters down and slaughtering the cowering kobold with narry a second thought. Dumped the body in the forge in a clumsy and probably useless attempt to hide the fact that there was blood and mayhem all over the show.

 

Red guy and the dwarven were-wolves are looted and their corpses dumped in the pantry and we head off to find a suitable place for a bit of R&R.