Reaching Thistletop

“Reaching Thistletop”
Rise of the Runelords episode
Episode no.	Episode 13
Date	2008
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Dorothea Nathaniel Nell Velicia
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "A Few Untroubled Days" "Thistletop's Defenses"
Rise of the Runelords chapter list

In this chapter the heroes goes to scout out the goblins hideout.

Reaching Thistletop

We got up all to early today and to not risk our own horses we decided to walk to Thistletop. It's just a couple of miles and can be walked in just over an hour, but due to the dense forest and all to many bushes and other dense vegetation it took several hours.

I told the others that I think we should keep out of the woods. Velicia said it was very important to know a lot about the nature, but I disagreed. She asked "Would you walk through there?" pointing towards some vegetation. "No." I answered. "But you can." she said doing it. Returning she added "It's nettles and might sting a little, but it's not dangerous." while her legs slowly turned a little red. "Or you could wear proper trousers." Nathaniel added. I muttered "I like my clothes and I want to stay in civilized areas where you know what to do and not to do and if you get it wrong it wont kill you. Usually..."

It was late morning when we came out the forest and overlooked the sea. A little further down the coast we could see a strange cliff rising out of the water. It had strange formations making it look like a head with five strangebumps in the forehead, two eyes and a nose just above the water. On top of it we could see a wooden fort and a hanging bridge made out of ropes and logs.

We retreated some and discussed the next course of action. The bridge was short and could be ran across in a moment, but if it was rigged to collapse it would be hard to not be noticed and dropped down to certain death. The bridge ended in a close thicket that we would have to get through without being noticed to even get to the bridge. Nathaniel though he might climb across hanging below the bridge without drawing too much attention. In the end we decided that Honeypot and Shalelu would get to the other side and make a distraction while we swim out to the cliff and climb the vertical sheer surface. I can't believe I agreed to that. I can barely swim and I'm not that good at climbing.

The cliffs at Thistletop.

Honeypot put up a magic connection so we could whisper to each others to make it easier for the distraction to be well timed. The range of it was still to short for where we would be but it could still aid some. We climbed down to a small sand beach. We had to pass over a small stream before swimming over to Thistletop. Nathaniel swam across bringing a rope that we others hold on to while crossing. Velicia splashed some while crossing, but no goblins seemed to notice even though it was a still day. Sneaking on along the water edge we reached the point where we would have to swim. As least Nathaniel swam first with a rope we could hold on to so no one would drown. We followed and tried as best we could. Velicia splashed some more but not as much as I did. There were no waves to talk about but suddenly a small wall of water hit me in my face and I got water in my nose and mouth. Coughing and snorting I reached the cliff wall holding on for dear life.

There were some small rocks just above the water that we could climb ontop to rest on with the help of Nathaniel. Velicia looked like a drowned kitten, and I got a feeling I did too. Looking up at the cliff side contemplating the task ahead I was feeling bad, but I spotted some cracks that would make a good path to follow while climbing. I pointed them out to Nathaniel who climbed first trying to secure the rope as we progressed. There were several mishaps along the way and we make more noise than I cared for as we approached the fort.

We barely got over the edge before almost ten goblins greeted us. I threw my returning magical dagger at one of them and hid around the corner of the fort. I could barely see Velicia but she was using her magic and from the sound of it killing half of them and soon the rest followed as I appeared with deadly precision killed another. When they were defeated we threw their bodies off the cliff to hide the traces of battle.