We arrived back at Sandy Burrow after the night at the now goblin free encampment. Lord and Lady Brynwild split off and we headed back to the inn where we were to meet the boat captain what Velon had reserved the previous day. Walking through town, Olrok checked out the bounties posted in town and found that a bounty now existed for Velon. Apparently, the woman he let go paid to have one posted for him as a murdered. Velon’s sense of justice resulted in him turning himself in to the guards. I walked him in to say goodbye and to collect the bounty, but then Zephyr went and set fire to the building to prevent him from getting arrested. I helped put the fire out, but Velon just went and turned himself in again. This time I did not get the bounty for him. It was a surprisingly quick end to our travels together, but hopefully he ends up feeling redeemed.

The remaining group of myself, Ronin, Olrok, Zephyr, and Phelenia went over and met up with the boat captain, Pops. He was an old and wiry fellow with a small but well-maintained boat. He and his elderly dad were the only crew. They asked a couple questions about Velon not being there, but they bought the lie about him being sick. Thankfully the captain did not ask too many other questions and they honored the deal they had struck the previous day. We then boarded and headed out into water.

The trip brought us into the large lake that surrounds New Vale City and then into a dark cove along the shore a few miles from Gracklesnark. He directed the boat into several hidden offshoot cave rivers and eventually to a smugglers den. We pretended to not be surprised by where we ended up. Apparently Velon had negotiated to go right to the hideout of Gobbie Giggletoes. Phelenia was able to make some inquiries about what Velon said about our group, and it became more apparent that our captain was a drug smuggler and that we had been presented as a potential source of muscle for the drug kingpin.

The hideout was maybe a mile into a series of cave systems. Based on the waterflow, I can only assume the waterways there are part of the River Under, the large river that flows through the underdark. The guards patted us down and asked some questions in undercommon. I speak the language but pretended not to so that they might use common for us. Maybe I could then blatantly eavesdrop of their side conversations when they thought they were not being understood.

We were patted down by the guards. They didn’t take our weapons but made sure everything we had was visible so there would be no surprises. Pops and his dad waited at the boar while we were brought into the main building of the compound to speak with “the boss”. The building was a processing facility of some sort. The place was supposed to make cocaba, an addictive drug. I had to grab Zephyr and hold him back from trying some. He hasn’t thanked me yet, but maybe he will later. Ronin seemed at home in the place, but that might just be how he acts everywhere.

After maybe a thirty-minute wait, we were told the boss was ready for us. In the interim we discussed our options. We were supposed to capture the halfling alive, but ‘the boss’ might not be the same person as Gobbie Giggletoes and the wanted poster did not have a description. If we were not sneaky, then we might have to fight our way out. While we probably were better fighters than the guards and had the element of surprise, their superior numbers were still going to win out in a fight. We were brought into a back room and met ‘the boss’ who was also a halfling. The man insisted that all employees try the wares and started pumping cocoba gas into the room for all of us to get high on.

Luckily the halfling was already stoned and didn’t notice when Olrok walked up behind him and clubbed him in the back of the head. Phelenia cast sleep on the halfling, and I turned off the thing pumping gas into the room. Olrok and I managed to stuff the sleeping halfling into a sack and we fled from the existing gas into the vacant anteroom. Ronin and Zephyr continued running into the processing area yelling about a mechanical malfunction. I made some skunk smells appear by several of the workers to help sell the effect and the employees started fleeing. In the confusion and we sprinted towards the boat; Phelenia continuing to cast sleep when the halfling in the bag started moving again.

Phelenia, Ronin, and Zephyr took the bagged halfling quickly below deck and we got Pops to start sailing towards the actual town of Gracklesnark. The row out was much harder than the row in as we were going against the slow current. I hate to admit it, but Olrok rowed much better than I. At one point as we were struggling some black tendrils shot out of him and scared the captain and his dad.

Gracklesnark was a goblin town, which is to say it was in horrible disrepair. The buildings were mostly made of giant bones of some sort with shoddy construction filling the gaps. Also, the forest surrounding the town is sickly where it is not dead. Just entering the town, I could feel the pain coming from the natural environment. Whatever the goblins or the miners were doing to the region it was really bad.

We took a moment to chat with our now sober captive and offered us a lot more than his bounty to not turn him in. Phelenia guilted the rest of us into turning him in anyway, but the goblin immediately bribed the bounty officer to let him go. We looked at each other but were not sure what to do. We had done our job and got paid for the bounty. If the guards are corrupt, I guess that is their problem. Gobbie did give us his business card though so if we really do want to do work for him in the future we can.

We split the bounty five ways and then asked around about the firebrand mine. I chatted with a bartender about the location of the Firebrand Mine. It was only an hour or so east, but I got a lot more information when I asked about the landscape. The goblin laughed and bragged about how since the elves left, they had been able to take over the Great Forge in the underdark. According to him, all the beautiful smog and furnace sludge has been changing the environment. I really wanted to eat his heart right there, but barely restrained myself. The Great Forge was in the underdark thirty miles or so from the underdark entrance at Gracklesnark. After this new information we regrouped and started discussing if we needed to go to the underdark and stop the Great Forge to root out the source of all this corruption. I was all for it. Ronin and Phelenia were also surprisingly in favor. Zephyr was the only one against and that was probably because some of the horrors of the underdark could eat the little quickling in a single bite. Eventually we decided to brave the underdark and head to the Great Forge.

I couldn’t handle talking to the goblins any more without snapping so Phelenia and Ronin took the lead. They learned that the underdark passages were very maze-like and without a guide we would almost certainly get lost and die. We were directed to the local guide and ended up negotiating with his father before we even met the man. The goblin father was crazy, which somewhat explained why his son was a half-goblin half-troll. The nine-foot tall Gobroll was Throk and for all the craziness of the locals at Gracklesnark he seems very simple and honest. Based on what I have seen of the Gracklesnark goblins, I can only assume that is the troll side coming out.

I didn’t want to spend any more time in this town than necessary, and we all headed immediately for the underdark tunnel. The entrance was a rather basic cave that quickly went to a massive natural chimney. The chimney descended nearly a mile straight down and the elevator system was as poorly built as everything else in the town. Throk seemed to trust it and we all piled on. I immediately noticed some weak points in the floor that Ronin was able to use some magic to mend back together. Despite the repairs, the elevator started to break apart as it descended. The first time a chain snapped, Olrok was able to grab it and Ronin was again able to mend it back in place. After that was secured, two ropes broke, and the elevator floor swung down like a hatch door. Olrok, Ronin, and I hung on. Zephyr started falling, but Throk managed to grab him as he fell past. Phelenia didn’t even try to hold on and instead manifested some wings and glided the rest of the way down. As we reached the ground the rest of the elevator system collapsed, and we now have no way of getting back up.

At the bottom we were greeted by two toxic black puddles. The fight was uneventful since all of us except Thork and Olrok were able to attack at range and the puddles were slow moving. Throk and Olrok tried to help by running in with their club and axe, but all it did was splash them with acid. Throk slowly naturally healed afterwards, but Olrok’s axe was messed up. We waited while Throk healed. Him being part troll was obviously a major benefit when it came to navigating the hazards down here.

We got the opportunity to ask him some questions about the underdark region, Gracklesnark, and his background. He explained that the bones that made up the large houses in town were from a dragon from long ago. A strong goblin leader named Cronker Dragontooth united the clans and lead them out of the caves. Then about fifty years ago Jubber Swampswarm led the goblins in taking over the great forge from the dwarves and dragons. Most recently, the Shadowgarb Tribe tried to make friends with some non-goblin tribes and the flames of Vennak so they could all fight the demons in the underdark together. However, the ‘Swamp boss’ allied with demons to fight Shadowgarb Tribe and the Shadowgarb Tribe was exiled. It sounds like Throk’s tribe is allied with the demons and controls the Great Forge, so we will need to keep our goals secret from our guide.

Throk also told us about his brother Frock. They used to guide together, but then Frock was killed by a demon and became a shadow monster. It seems that those killed by demons rise to become demons themselves. Throk has fought his brother since then, but he said his club didn’t hurt the demon. It seems like magical weapons are needed to fight some of the things down here and we have none of those. It would have been nice to know that before getting stuck down here, but I don’t think Throk would have thought to ask, and the goblins would probably intentionally not have told us even if they thought of it.

Throk looks about healed and we will be heading out in a few minutes to find our way through this place. Simeon considered the underdark the kind of place where you come out stronger and richer or not at all. It is a good thing I have Zhatkeenmora looking out for me. It is too bad she doesn’t care about the rest of my friends. I am confident that some of them will survive.