Events+of+Zarantyr+11+998YK

After spending the night in the Gem Saloon. The party awoke early in the morning. After suiting up they all headed, Faye in the center, Draco, Corwin, and Coldin taking up effective bodyguard positions around her. They headed to the center of New Cyre, to the Prince's estate. After a short wait, they were greeted in the central "throne" area, where Faye spoke of what was going on and her companions added in with their expertise.

During the meeting, the Prince let it slip that he was speaking to Dargunn's ambassador later on today and Faye jumped at the opportunity to nose her way in. She sent the rest of the group on ahead to the Mill, to check on the residents of this homestead. Faye would set out the following day, on the back of a phantom steed and meet her companions there.

Faye got situated in the Prince's throne area while she waited for Dargunn's ambassador to arrive. In the meantime, her companions gathered gear and set out for the Mill. On the way, they were ambushed by a would be assassin.

The assassin thrust a throwing knife straight into Draco's arm. The daggers poison had little effect however and the attacker was quickly subdued by the efforts of the whole team. They swiftly manacled the assailant and set forth to interrogate him. Long story short, they got little useful information, only that the assassin had been assigned by a mysterious "Master" to kill Draco...and then Draco killed him.

In Price Oargev's reception area, the Darguun Ambassador, a Hobgoblin dressed in garish military attire including a tartan sash and numerous medals, denied that the Lhesh Haruuc had anything to do with this supposed Goblinoid excursion into Breland, and that no clan called the Dark Hands currently existed in Darguun.

The rest of the group finished preparations for the trip. Colden accepted another post contract, to carry mail to the fortress at Kennrun (close to both Darguun and the Mournland), and was loaned the Earth Sled for the task. Three large sacks, made of tear-resistant burlap and sealed with a an Arcane Seal (createed by House Sivis for use by House Orien) were loaded into the sled, and Colden was encouraged to take paying passengers as well. This was the loophole he needed to take Corwin, Draco, Plow and a new arrival, a female Human claiming to be the surviving relative of the Murnie family that had been massacred at their homestead. Plow didn't know her, but she had an explanation for that.

The trip on the Earth Sled took less than three hours, where it had taken two days on foot. One thing about the Earth Sled was that it left a trail straight as a plumb line through the snow. This was due to the way it travels; the Earth Elemental moves the ground aside as it moves; after it passes the ground is restored, leaving no trace. But SNOW, being made of Water, is simply moved aside and not restored.

The mill was on a low hill with steep sides, rising like a carbuncle from the rolling snow-covered grassland. The mill itself, made of wood and dressed stone, was built into the hill and rose another 50 feet above its top. The windvanes that powered the mill had been removed. The hilltop and other flat spots had low rock walls set into them, about four feet high. The hill, it should be noted, was just over a mile away from the Murnie homestead. Though it appeared empty and quiet, the female human (who I'm going to call Justine Murnie), found out this was an inaccurate conclusion when she jumped off the sled.

With a sudden CAW! CAW!, her body was peppered with arrows from three Goblin archers, firing from defensive position behind low rock walls. Thus began the third desperate battle between the party and Goblinoids. This time, the Goblins and Hobgoblins were defending a spot they had fortified. "Justine" fell unconscious and bleeding, and her form changed to the gray skin and white hair of a Changeling. Fortunately, it stabilized, and was not a factor in the fight. Colden drove the Earth Sled right at the hill, and both Dracon and Plow jumped out to attack on foot. Plow attacked a Goblin archer behind a wall in front of the hill. He took two arrows, hit the Goblin, who retreated and hit the Warforged again, and the Plow stepped up...and triggered a spiked pit trap, taking both himself and the Goblin down and out for most of the battle.

The calls of CAW! CAW! got more desperate as the rest of the defenders mobilized. Colden drove the Sled right up the side of the hill, bringing down the loose rock walls as it passed and trampling a Goblin Archer and a couple of Hobgoblin Warriors. Draco did his thing, Corwin did his thing, the blue-skinned Goblin Psion reappeared in an upper window of the mill tower and did his mind thrust thing, Draco reached the mill entrance and did lots of fighting. Many healing potions were consumed. Corwing nearly died, Coden nearly died, Plow eventually climbed out of the pit, Draco fought the Hobgoblin Sergeant, who told him he was too late, that the riders had been sent on ahead with Guurgal's Shaft. Some Goblins got into the Earth Sled and tried to trash it before they were stopped (one was knocked out).

Finally, their numbers depleted, the boss finally appeared. A lupine figure padded down the stairs from the top of the tower and confronted Draco, calling him by name. It transformed into a hybrid Goblin-Wolf...a Barghest!...and used its Charm power to stop Draco from attacking. Draco told the creature, called **Diizina**, that they found Guurgal's Shaft in the woodpile by a Murnie cottage. //"The woodpile! Of course! What else would you do with a 7,500-year-old artifact but burn it?!?"// The Barghest told Draco to summon his friends, and eventually the Earth Sled pulled up to the open entrance doors leading to the loading bay (where farm wagons would offload their grain for milling). Diizina caught them all in a Crushing Despair spell, which mostly failed, and the surviving Goblinoids peppered Draco with arrows and another Mind Thrust. Draco, freed of the charm, slammed the heavy sliding door connecting the loading bay from the mill proper, and the party tried to figure out what to do. Finally, they all boarded the Sled qand circled around, climbing the hill to approach the tower from the rear, where they could reach the upper levels easier. A Goblin and Hobgoblin awaited them, apparently a rearguard to enable Diizina's escape. Also, the tower was set on fire, and a Human-sounding voice from within started crying out for help. Disregarding this as another Ghost Sound (like at the well in the second Goblin battle at the Murnie homsetead), the group concentrated on killing the reaguard, which they eventually managed. The Hobgoblin proved slippery, saying repeatedly that "he would not fail Diizina." And he didn't. With him down, the party realized they were all hurt and had run out of healing potions. The Tower was ablaze, and the cries from within soon stopped. They didn't go in to check, but it could have been a live Human after all...one of the missing Millers, perhaps. Pausing only long enough to strip the bodies of weapons, armor, potions and coin pouches, and toss the fallen Changeling on board, they mounted up for a return to New Cyre.

Along the way, near the place where they get back on the Orien Trade Route northeast of New Cyre, the Earth Sled gets ambushed by two people: A Human female who seems to combine spells with martial arts moves, and a hulking **Bugbear**. The Bugbear hurled two alchemist's fires and a noxious smokestick to try and slow the sled down, and then ran after it, hitting Corwin with a fiery javelin and spraying the front of the sled with acid. Meanwhile, the "ninja" was able to board the sled, and fought well against Colden and Draco. Plow pulled the Changeling and captive Goblin to safety, and fed a healing potion to Corwin, saving his life when the Bugbear was able to charge the sled, leap up and hit the Human ranger with a mace upside the head. The sled outran the Bugbear, and the "ninja" was knocked out, and the remainder of the trip back was uneventful.