After a tactical withdrawal to the Rusty Dragon for a night the group return to Nettlewood and approach the goblin fortifications again. Things seem as quiet as they did last time: evidently any increased alertness on the goblins’ part has had time to die down.

Entering at the same hidden gate the group take an alternate fork and find an abandoned lookout post. Goblins can be heard not far away through the hedge so the three sneak around until Brother Bother spies a couple of particularly sorry-looking specimens at rest. He rushes into the thistle cave to attack but finds he has mis-judged the situation: there are ten of them! He is quickly surrounded, but despite being heavily outnumbered and tactically disadvantaged BB and Gol’den Chile manage to defeat the creatures in short order, with sporadic fire support from Aric.

Soon only one is left and despite his miserable pleading BB stoves his head in, if only to put an end to the whining. It is clear from the filthy rags and over-gnawed bones lying about – as well as the scrawniness of the dead bodies – that the occupants of this room were low on the social ladder even for goblins.

Before any investigating can be done however, the undergrowth around the exit bursts into unnatural growth and the way out is blocked. With an angry yowl a firepelt* leaps out of the thicket and attacks Gol’den Chile, mauling him badly. Then the goblin shaman that did so much damage last time steps out too, flaming blade in hand. “Come to murder us all, have you?” he asks in garbled common. Attacked by claws, fangs and flaming blades the three adventurers are beaten back into a corner and things look grim until GC manages to kill the firepelt. Already peppered with Aric’s arrows, another wound is all it takes for the shaman to realise that he can’t win this fight and he steps back into the thicket – a trick beyond the skills of the party.

Once he is gone the entangling undergrowth melts away opening up the exit, so following some much-needed healing the group presses on. But the shaman hasn’t given up – looking significantly less battered than a few minutes ago he launches an ambush from behind, this time accompanied by a giant centipede. However the centipede is no challenge compared to the firepelt and the shaman’s attack is far less successful this time. Despite hurling fire from one hand and wielding his flaming blade in the other he is quickly badly injured and forced to retreat again.

But which way has he gone and – more importantly – who is he going to alert?

* a local animal similar to a red-and-black-striped cougar

Experience: 650 each