Darkmantle Delve: Breakout (Ch 6)

Darkmantle proved to be a tougher nut to crack than Caelum, Kara, Tillo, and Vulkar were expecting.

Now fleeing the mine, the party hope to escape without further complication. If they can live to fight another day, there still exists hope that a future delve might lead to the discovery of the ancient library rumoured to lie within its depths.

But nothing is ever that easy. Their presence was expected on the second level and their hosts are not welcoming...

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Scene Premise: The party is fleeing the mine when on the second level, the "Broken Barracks", they run into more opposition.

Chaos Factor: 4

• Modify Scene?
  ❌ 7, No.
• Is it a creature encounter? (Very Likely)
  ✅26, Yes.
• Creature: Goblins. Condition: Healthy, Adult. Goal: Slay a rival. Activity: Hunting.
  • Encounter Difficulty: Easy

Yaaaay. More goblins.

• Is it 4 again? (Unlikely)
  ❌65, No.
• Is it more? (50/50)
  ❌83, No.

Three then.

Vulkar is first into the barracks on the second level, bolting for the door on the other side. Kara, close behind, sees something he doesn't.

In a split second, she senses the lurking goblin, adjusts her momentum just enough to gain a clean shot and — mid-sprint — nocks an arrow and releases. The arrow whistles through the air and finds a gap in the goblin’s armour.

"Scree!" the goblin yells, alerting the heroes to its presence.

"Not more of them..." Caelum mutters, stumbling through the passage. He stops to take a deep breath, his head spinning.

Vulkar staggers to a halt, trying to assess the situation. The goblin trains its bow on the stopped demikin and sinks an arrow into his thigh. The creature then hobbles toward the mine entrance, clutching its ribs and snarling under its breath.

Two more goblins emerge from the shadows and unleash a volley of arrows at Vulkar. One strikes true, embedding itself in his shoulder, while the other misses by inches. They too then bolt for the exit.

"Get in there, Cael!" Tillo shouts, trying to push past the wheezing feyling.

Kara narrows her focus. Magic hums at her fingertips. Arrow. Nock. Draw. Loose. One of the fleeing goblins howls in pain as her arrow pierces its back.

Vulkar charges down one of the goblins that shot him and smashes it with his warhammer. The impact knocks the creature to the ground. Vulkar then steps over it, trying to block its escape.

The goblin beneath Vulkar pops back to its feet, swiping weakly at the demikin before rolling between his legs and bolting for the stairs.

The remaining goblins all flee, following their companion.

Caelum enters the room, but with blood still dripping from his wounds.

"After them!" Tillo screams, giving chase.

Kara reaches the foot of the stairwell. Her breath catches as a sudden surge of desperation swells within her — the very human urge to prove herself. The burst of emotion shatters her focus, but instinct guides her. She fires an arrow, catching one of the fleeing goblins in the skull. It crumples, lifeless. 

Vulkar barrels past her, an adrenalin-fueled rage now flowing through his veins. He reaches the top too quickly and his momentum throws him off balance. His hammer swings wide, missing the goblin by a hair.

Caelum, still wary, follows them, hand gripping his blade but not yet ready to swing.

Tillo has no such hesitation. He slides past Kara with a smooth, practised grace and nearly collides with the goblin Vulkar is engaged with. Without missing a beat, he plunges his dagger into the creature’s eye socket. The goblin goes limp as Tillo yanks his blade free.

Once again, Vulkar charges ahead, determined to intercept the goblin before it escapes. The goblin, weak and desperate, makes a feeble attempt with its blade, but Vulkar’s patience has worn thin. With a grunt, he kicks the creature aside like a broken doll.

As Kara squeezes through the mine entrance to line up a shot, the goblin lashes out, catching her leg with a sharp blade. 

"Ow!" she yelps, more annoyed than injured. She responds with a swift arrow to the creature’s skull. 

"I suppose it wouldn’t look good if I came out without a scratch," she quips.

The others are too exhausted to laugh.

• Encounter ends.
• 0.75 TP Earned.

Minutes later, the party emerges from Darkmantle Mine — tired, bruised, and battered. Without a word, they set off for Orm's Crossing, eager for the comfort of the nearest tavern and the chance to recover from the ordeal.

End Scene

That marks the end of the party's first delve. Goblins in tight spaces make for tough enemies.

We finally have our first new Thread; "What are the repercussions of fleeing the mines and then returning?".

The goblins have their maximum number of entries on the Characters list, so it remains unchanged

Characters

1. Sir Draven Ironcrest
2. Orm's Crossing
3. Darkmantle Mine
4. Goblins (3)
5. Monsters in the Mine (2)

Threads

1. Uncover the reason for the mine's closure
2. Find the ancient library
3. What are the repercussions of fleeing the mines and then returning?

While the party did succeed in fending off the ambush, they were nonetheless still ambushed, which makes this scene out of control. Caelum especially had no control here, and as the leader, this adds further confluence to an out-of-control scene.

Chaos Factor: 3

Thank you once again for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it so far.

Keep an eye out for the next part of this adventure. For a full list of chapters, see Darkmantle Delve.