Wine Cellars: A call to Hunt!

 Another entry in the long Wine Cellars campaign, This time we find a small band of adventurers heeding the call of a fellow compatriot to seek out evil and face it down!

This game took place 9/5/21

Our players are:

Sal - El Muerte de Tijuana: the Luchador

Joe P. - Hagar the Sinewy Barbarian & Leonard the Mage

Steve - Rook the Thief

Will - Master Blaster (Dwarf) & Mister Blister (Dim-witted Fighter) 

Black Crag Mnts.

The adventure begins when El Muerte gets a solid lead from a Fur-trapper about a large Black-goat sighted in the foothills of the Black Crag mountains. The Luchador then summons his closest allies.. family.

Within 24 hours Master Blaster the dwarf of the Thirty One League clan and step-brother to El Muerte arrives with his faithful warrior companion Mr. Blister and a bonus, the ex-brother in-law Rook!

Rook was married to El Muerte's sister Rosalita but there was a falling out and we'll go into that another time.

Hagar the Sinewy Barbarian and nephew of the wrestler also arrived with his friend Leonard the Mage in tow.

With the party assembled El Muerte led them into the Black Crag foothills in search of the elusive Black Goat of Marqest.

As dusk approached the party began to grow weary as no sign of the goat could be found. But then the bleat of the creature echoed through the foothills! The group quickly found a small game trail and followed it up into the mountainous crags. 

With less than an hour of daylight to spare the party comes across a cave entrance with a small encampment just outside it. They watch three diminutive cloaked figures milling about doing chores when a fourth cloaked figure drives a Stone giant out of the cave by lash of whip! The giant proceeds to upend a pair of containers he carries into a pair of wooden wagons. The whip-master drives the giant back into the cave as the trio begin to prep the wagons for travel.

Master Blaster uses a large sack to create a makeshift disguise that just may pass him off as one of the cloaked figures below. With this hastily concocted plan the party carefully descend from the trail and creep towards the encampment.

Master Blaster emerges from the brush and approaches the trio, in common he says he's been sent to fill in for the night-shift and begins to make small talk. All the while he has his hand-crossbow ready just under his sack disguise. Meanwhile El Muerte has climbed up tree to get height advantage and Mr. blister & Rook have taken up positions to flank the hooded ones. Hagar and Leonard are hanging back just out of sight.

Common tongue seeming to get no response from the cloaked figures Master Blaster resorts to a word or two in Dwarf and instantly draws the ire of the creatures! They reveal obsidian daggers and rush to attack!! Blaster is quicker and falls back firing his hand-bow but misses! The Luchador leaps from his perch and delivers a fatal Elbow Drop on one of the knife wielding foes! Mister Blister emerges from the brush and clips the one chasing Master Blaster with his great club flipping it head over heels, this blow is followed by a crossbow bolt pinning it to the ground from Rook! The remaining cloaked figure attempts to flee into the cave but is stunned by Hagar using his Glistening muscles technique then cut down by the brawny Barbarian.  It is soon discovered that the slain creatures bodies have dissolved into a black goo, and the wagons are filled with raw silver ore.

Dark Gnome

Upon inspection of the wagons it is surmised that these fellows are most likely using the stone giant to mine the silver here. Master Blasters suggests they hitch up one of the wagons and head back to the village. El Muerte is conflicted as he wants to confront the Black Goat! Frustrated the Luchador attempts to get the party to look about for proof the Black Goat is here or nearby. After a few minutes of rooting about the camp nothing connected to goats is found, however Rook reports that he hears the sounds of mining work and the faint bleat of goat from within the cave itself!

Rather than dashing into the cave, a plan is concocted involving lantern oil one of the wagons laden with ore and a flaming donkey! 

Mr. Blister and El Muerte take up positions on either side if the cave entrance, Rook stands back crossbow ready as  Hagar and Leonard hide near the second wagon. Master Blaster astride the first ore wagon now doused in a good quantity of lamp oil ignites the donkey's tail with a torch then steers the careening animal straight into the mouth of the cave!! At last instant the surprisingly nimble dwarf leaps from the wagon setting it afire with said torch and takes his position strapped to Mr. blisters back and arms his hand-bow.

The flaming wagon & donkey barrel into the cave disappearing into the darkness. A few seconds later loud crashes, yells and a weird screeching are heard. This is quickly followed with billowing smoke and the sound of many feet heading to the entryway.

The sun has now set and the party have only the dim flicker firelight from inside the cave to see by. When the first creature emerges from the cave! The Wrestler hesitates with a camp chair held over his head to better see what his target is, Mr. Blister swings his large club and breaks the rear leg of a large bug-like thing that comes scittering out of the smoke! The thing begins spinning in a circle flailing about with whip-like tail ending in an odd bony protrusion. 

Beetle-us Giganticus!?

"What in the Hells is that!" cries Rook, bringing his crossbow to bear. 

"Hit it again!" commands Master Blaster to Mr. Blister, just as the pair dodge a flailing tail swing!

Muerte watches the cave wary of more targets emerging.

Rook yells "Clear!" and fires a bolt into the bug-thing putting an end to its screeching, "Well now we know what was making those noises..."

Just then a pair of cloaked figures emerge from the smoke, one wields a club and the other an obsidian dagger as well as a small brass trumpet. A scuffle ensues resulting in the club wielders gooey demise, but the second gnome sounds his trumpet and everyone especially El Muerte are taken quite by surprise!!

The sound from the trumpet is an unmistakable bleating that sounds just like the Black Goat! The group are flabbergasted as questions pop off around the table!! Are the gnomes in league with the Black Goat? Is the goat even here in the mountains?? Does the Black Goat command the Gnomes??? One thing is for sure though the party as whole agrees, THEY NEED THAT TRUMPET!!!

A brisk melee ensues with the Gnome deftly dodging incoming attempts to subdue him! He even resists the effect of Hagar's Glistening Muscle technique and sounds the trumpet a second time as he turns to retreat back into the cave!

El Muerte however is able to trip the gnome and break his ankle as well, allowing the party to capture both him and the brass instrument. El Muerte's blood is raging and he attempts to interrogate the captive gnome, but succeeds only in turning it into a gooey mess in his fists! Leonard however identifies the deceased bug as a "Beetle-us Giganticus, obviously." The size alone and the fact it emerged from a cave seem to be enough for the rest of the group to agree to the Mage's knowledge on such things. "And as for this," Leonard peers at the brass trumpet, "some sort of creature mimicry instrument, rather like a Duck call hunter's use I would say."

"See the Goat thing was a ruse to scare the curious away from their camp here." states Master Blaster, "Now we can make off with the other wagon, let's go!"

"Argh!" grunts El Muerte, stomping the ground! "I am duped, this was a waste of ...."

From deep in the cave a cacophony of stampeding hooves and horrid bleating is followed by sight of a half-dozen black goats charging out of the fiery cave!!!

El Muerte grins widely and bellows, "Not one but six black goats! Meet my fists you demon beasts!"

The party is bowled over by the charge of the Black Goats and a terrible battle ensues!!

Master Blaster was dismounted from Mr. Blister and the dim-warrior was severely Nut-busted twice by the hell-spawned goats!

Rook was head-butted near to death and saved only by the quick teamwork of Hagar and Leonard.

All the while El Muerte laid about himself with punches and kicks dealing death to his hated family enemy!

In the final moments of the battle Rook bulls-eyed a de-horned goat that Mr. Blister had sorely wounded, and Hagar who was down to his last breath protecting and KO'ed Master Blaster was aided by Leonard using his patented Magic Side-Winder missile to explode the final goat!!!! 

The wounded were quickly loaded onto the remaining wagon along with the carcasses of the slain goats and the party returned to town where much carousing was had, and Rook constantly griping about how he was almost head-butted to death by a goat!!

THE END