By: Jamie "Nos" Bancroft
What a wild weekend to take the trip to Creathorne. Unable to make it to the annual Tournaments in Creathorne, I decided to take the trip a week early to visit Veit and friends in Creathorne, and boy did that trip take a wild turn.
As we started our trek towards Graff, Creathorne’s capital, the questing party came across a collection of wild animals that were extremely aggressive seemingly without a real reason to be. They attacked our small party immediately but were fairly quickly dispatched. While looking for signs of why they were so aggressive I found a potential cause, but it was still puzzling. Within these animal’s entrails we found numerous pieces of gold coins and silver. Why, though? Surely we’d get that answer at some point, right? Wrong. Still don’t know why, though Veit should probably investigate that.
Regardless, we continued! After many groups of animals were encountered and subsequently put down, we made it to Graff. I’ve made many trips to Graff and this was by far the most quiet I’ve seen the city. Beside our guide to the city, there was no one until we saw a group of young goblins running around who decided to initiate a game of tag with us, and what a game of tag it ended up being. The curmudgeons I was traveling with didn’t seem very interested in playing tag, but did play along for a little bit until the goblin decided to up the stakes a little bit and upgrade to knife tag! Of course, Saegan is not one to ever pass up a game of knife tag, so the games began for the day. Saegan made sure that the “it” goblin couldn’t tag us anymore.
Seeing their child beaten so definitively in their own game, the goblins who were apparently watching from a distance approached us aggressively, demanding answers. We healed up the young goblin whom Saegan tagged and tried to apologize to the older goblins but they wanted no part of it, and so the game escalated. The goblins all tried to tag us, but our party was more skilled and made sure that we were the superior taggers and that those goblins would never tag again.
We decided to go to one of their camps to try to talk to them about making peace as the game had gotten pretty intense, but those goblins also only wanted to join in the game! Again, our party came out on top, unsurprisingly. We were really getting a hang of this game of tag. As they laid resting after a vigorous game of knife tag, we noticed some pieces of paper that the goblins were holding. They seemed like a blueprint of some sort but we weren’t sure as to what. The pieces shown in that blueprint were scattered around us so we gathered those as well and headed back to Graff to solve the puzzle.
Once the pieces of the blueprint had been fit together it appeared what we were to make was some sort of communications tower, so we began building. After a lot of teamwork, and solid knot tying skills from 404, our communication tower was built! It was definitely strong enough to withstand any amount of pressure and the wind itself definitely wasn’t going to knock it over. After a few seconds of this device powering up, the antenna at the top quickly shifted to the side and pointed us to where we needed to go (which it was obviously supposed to do)! Excitedly, the party headed off towards the next destination of our game of knife tag. I’m pretty sure we were winning at this point.
When we reached the next destination it was obvious to us that we had found the goblins’ blacksmithing setup, which seemed quite advanced for the goblins we were embattled with. Never-the-less, the goblins’ trap worked and they ambushed us from all sides. Alas, the goblins were no match for our elite knife tag squad and we quickly bested the first wave of them. They all seemed to be carrying some sort of ore on them which was definitely another added layer to this game. Clever goblins.
As more and more goblins laid siege upon us, we continued to gather up their ore and use the anvils to refine it. With each piece gathered and placed into the bucket we found for safekeeping, the statues watching over this place seemed to gain more and more power. By the time the goblins had given up on this location and we refined the last piece of ore the goblins had on them the statues seemed like more than statues. Lo and behold, as we put the last refined piece of ore in the buckets the statues hummed to life, revealing themselves to actually be clockwork golems! They ferociously attacked us, clearly not thrilled that we had thwarted the goblins' well planned ambush, but we were once again able to defeat them. Each golem held a piece of ore that I combined on the anvil and attempted to refine them as I had with the previous ore we had found but it was soon clear that I was not the one meant to forge this great item.
While I didn’t come to Creathorne with a plan to get involved in such a massive version of a children’s game, I wasn’t disappointed with that development either. What I hadn’t expected, however, was that these goblins were so thoughtful and kind. We spent the early afternoon collecting a communication device, gathering the goblins’ ore, smithing it into something else, activating these golems, and all for what? It seemed like a huge investment on the goblins’ part, and while they seemed to be enjoying the game (at least a little bit), I couldn’t figure out the “why” to it all. Why invest so much into this game with all of us, just to get beaten so bad? Why lead us directly to your resources, and allow us to use them all up? It made no sense. The golem trap had to have actually been laid for a less capable party with more nefarious intent, right? Wrong. It all clicked.
The goblins were leading us on a quest to complete a coronation gift for Orion! How unbelievably thoughtful of them. Obviously, if I’m not able to finish the crafting of this item, Orion must be the one to finish the job. Orion agreed, took a giant swing of the hammer, and finished this magnificent item. It was really odd that the goblins gifted Orion “Da Gob Kabob” for his coronation, but it was a magnificent gift, and one that suited Orion very well. The goblins couldn’t have thought that gift out much more than that.
With Orion’s coronation gift in his hand, the only thing left to do was to finish off the game of knife tag that we started. Despite their generosity we were not going to lay down and let them win so easily. So off we went to lay our own ambush on their village. The goblins were going to learn that day that elite adventurers of the Realms are not ones to start games of knife tag with. But first, nap time (at least for me).
On our way to the next destination we took a small rest to make sure everyone had enough water and were well rested going into what was surely going to be the culmination of this great game. Our party rested just outside of sight of the camp but its presence was undeniable. We waited anxiously, taking a long rest before our set ambush. For me it might have been a little bit longer as I woke up to our party starting the ambush without me. Seeing the ambush taking place I jumped up and joined the party, tagging every goblin in sight and making sure they couldn’t tag us back and that’s when I locked eyes with one vicious goblin, stronger and more aggressive than the rest. I knew what needed to be done and was locked into what was seemingly an unwinnable fight. Back and forth we swung, me with my 18” dagger, them with a shield and hammer. Overmatched, I fought my best and gave it my all yet I couldn’t overcome this monster of a goblin but I held my own. As our party won the rest of the fight around me my archenemy looked into my eyes and said “You’re good, but I’m better” and then turn and fled from the camp. I was shook.
Knowing we had conquered this camp and thinking we had won the game we decided to head back to Graff and report our victory back to the people. Our path back to Graff was free of goblins but once again filled with wild animals; a sure sign of our victory in this game. (I’ll take this moment to once again remind Veit that your animals are eating precious metals and becoming very aggressive. You should *really* look into that.) The whole way back to Graff my archenemy pursued me. I don’t know what I did in particular but this little goblin was locked onto me, and seemingly cared very little for the other adventurers. I’m not sure he got the memo about the game being over as he just kept attacking. I held him off again and again as we made our way back to Graff and he was unable to best me before he fled again.
Graff was finally in our sights and the day's adventures seemed to be coming to an end but as we approached something was off. The goblins didn’t give up in the game, they just decided to set another ambush! We got into Graff and fought back waves upon waves of goblins, including my archenemy, before they finally retreated for what seemed like the last time. I finished my final fight with my archenemy before he finally gave in and offered me the opportunity to play on the playground with him, an opportunity I graciously declined. With that, the game was won, and Veit thanked us for beating those pesky goblins and getting them to back off the city.
I really just came to Creathorne to hang with Veit and company a little bit because I knew I wouldn't make it to Creathorne this past weekend for their annual tournament but man did it turn into so much more. I left exhausted and didn’t even get to hang out with any of the Creathorne guys. They’ll have to come to Blackwood some time soon to hang out because I’m not going to be going back to Creathorne any time soon and nothing bad ever happens in Blackwood.
That’s my story of how my short trip to Creathorne to hang out with Veit turned into an extravagant game of knife tag with goblins who were just trying to give Orion his coronation gift.
Thanks for reading,
Duke Nos of Blackwood
