Opening the large double doors, the teen adventurers find a room filled with sordid instruments of either torture or experimentation. The middle of the chamber has a massive slab table. The table is surrounded on all sides with arcane marks of warding on the ground, marked in swirling runes.
Laying on top of the table is a strange-looking goblin with a considerable, metallic growth coming out of its head. The goblin eventually turns to the party and groans, “Release me, please!” before falling asleep again.
Wend immediately can tell that the growth is not natural, at least, not natural to her understanding of the world. Vesper notices that the arcane protections aren’t only holding the goblin there and providing a dampening field, keeping any signals from getting out. Celia calls upon the power of her faith to see if anything demonic or evil is at play, but her spell only informs her that the goblin is diseased.
Meanwhile, Ash slips deeper into frustration and despair at discovering the chamber and the captured goblin. Despite his friend’s attempts to get him to talk, all Ash can do is mutter sullenly and rue the mess his father left him. He eventually spars verbally with Vesper and is clearly struggling to reconcile the recent events with the father and upbringing he had known. Discussing the creature’s plight further, Vesper suggests that releasing it might help them discover the “crooked hills” Ash’s father wrote of. Notes littered around the chamber indicate that the goblin was taken near the site of the Caracara Fair.
Fed up with the team’s arguing while the goblin suffers, Wend reaches her hand through the protection ruin and tries to soothe it. When the goblin responds favorably, she steps into the spell circle and gives it water.
The goblin briefly opens its eyes, revealing that they are entirely clouded over, even though it appears he can still see. The creature whispers about the “Crooked Hills” and of a “Singing Monolith” before saying it needs to return home because the “Safeguard” needs it.
Yara uses her time to completely copy the arcane protection markings. After making copious notes, she is satisfied with their accuracy, as they might prove useful later.
Eventually, the team decides to bring the creature with them on their way to the fair. At the least, it gets a disease carrier out of the village, and it ends the suffering of at least one creature.
However, Ash feels the group needs to be ready to accept the consequences of releasing the goblin.
“There’s a reason why it’s there and not free. I don’t understand any of this yet. I don’t think it’s a good idea to let it out yet. I’ll stay to watch over it for now,” Ash says.
While Yara and Celia return home, the rest take up a watch near the goblin and get what sleep they can ahead of their journey.
The next morning, Celia and Yara are greeted with hearty meals and weepy eyes from their families. Both their families say they’re proud of them for protecting the village, but they know the girls must leave to help their new friends.
Celia’s family presents her with the armor her mother left behind. The chainmail and signet ring carries the mark of the garrison at Reflex Point. Yara’s aunt and uncle give her the hunting cloak her father once wore. They whisper that it’s a Cloak of Elvenkind and will help her blend into her surroundings.
Simultaneously, Innkeeper Tobias and Father Skot pound on the door to Ash’s home. Ash stumbles to the door but does not let him in. The duo asks him to get ready and to rouse his new friends, as they have news and gifts for them all. Mumbling thanks, the youth still slams the door in their faces.
Once assembled outside, Tobias looks to Vesper and Wend and says, “We all heard a bit of your story from Father Skot, and we just feel terrible about it. Seeing as how you protected our people, we wanted to help speed your return home as best we’re able.”
He points and shows them a fully-laden cart with supplies.
“We were able to get some camping supplies for you all and some provisions to keep you fed on your journey. It’s not much but consider it our thanks for your bravery.”
Vesper and Wend say the generosity touches their hearts, and the young druid quickly names the horse “Nobu.” Vesper gives her thanks by teaching the innkeeper some desert cooking tips and recipes.
Wanting to get the goblin out secretly and potentially avoid the town getting infected with whatever disease it carries, Ash sneaks back into his home. Racing to the lab, he knocks the goblin unconscious and throws it into a sack before slipping the bag onto the cart. He is almost caught when Father Skot clears his throat and asks to speak to the boy.
The holy reverend promises that Ash’s house will be kept safe, and no one will enter it. His eyes give a look that leads Ash to believes the old man knows more than he’s telling.
Once on the cart and out of town, the group decides to let the goblin out of its sack. Wend notices a new knot on its head and casts a suspicious glance at Ash, who looks awkwardly away. The goblin doesn’t move much but just points in a southerly direction and says, “Safeguard.”
It only squeals in displeasure when the cart slows down or stops. As a precaution, Vesper draws a new protection circle around the goblin based on Yara’s notes. The journey through the southern reaches of the forest starts off nicely. The air has a slight spring chill, but pleasant aromas abound as life returns from its winter sleep. Birds and forest animals can be heard chirping and skittering among the trees as the group follows the road to the plains. After several kilometers, though, the forest turns silent. While the plant life is still lush, they haven’t heard any animals for some time now.
Shortly after noticing the unnatural silence, Yara spots a clearing and a fork in the road. Yara can see the clearing marks a fork in the road, but something is amiss. Her keen elven eyes can see that a cart is overturned.
“This doesn’t look ominous at all…” Ash says sarcastically.
Warning the group, she jumps down and sneaks off into the forest. Effortlessly blending in with the trees and undergrowth, she silently makes her way to the clearing.
The elven ranger soon spots at least four bodies in the clearing. All of the bodies bear the marks of being attacked and slashed viciously by something. After relaying what she saw, the group decides they have no other option than ready themselves and try to get through as quickly as possible.
Getting about halfway through the crossroads, the teens are met with a roar and a crash from deeper within the woods. Stomping into the crossroads, a strange creature appears before them. The beast looks like a humanoid plant with thick wooden armor, and its head is a simple flower stalk with a large, bulbous eye. It’s hands soon shape into a spear-claw on its left and a shield-like fist on its right.
Despite being outnumbered, the plant-beast fights viciously and succeeds in grievously wounding Ash. Eventually, Wend charms the creature with a spell, allowing the rest of the team to scurry to the end of the clearing.
With the time on the spell running out, the group struggles to decide what to do.
“What’s to stop this creature from doing this again?” Celia asks Wend. The druid agrees and feels that it’s best to put the creature down. However, Vesper wonders if the plant-beast was just protecting its territory.
“The good news is now he’s hostile towards us,” Ash quips after Vesper heals him with her powers while calling out to her machine god.
Wend snaps her fingers and turns her staff into a more menacing weapon. Nearby, Celia enchants her spear with holy energy, and Yara prepares an onslaught of arrows.
As the spell ends, the trio let forth their attacks and rend the creature to bits. Its eye stalk withers on the forest floor before finally rolling backwards into a husk. Wend manages to salvage the plant-beasts shield, but instead of taking it, she places it over the beast’s remains and whispers a prayer to the forest to accept the creature back into the earth.
Meanwhile, as Celia pulls a shovel from the cart to bury the bodies and give last rites, she notices that the goblin is gone…
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