The Hobgoblin Guard

The Hobgoblin Guard (2x13) is the thirteen session of the second campaign (as well as the fourth chapter) of Concord Hall D&D. Here, the party arrives at entrance to the Temple of the Eternal Flame, hoping to seek answers to the questions peaked at Scarlet Moon Hall.

Summary
The party eventually made their way to the entrance of the Eternal Flame hideout. Here, the entirety of the group came across the hobgoblin guards that Aleryn and Tekir had met not long before. Having seen at least two of them before, the hobgoblins chose not to attack, and instead see what the group had to say for themselves.

The conversation didn’t last long. Tekir briefly greeted the hobgoblins, claiming the rite had run into ‘complications’. When asked to elaborate, he simply grabbed Elizar Dryflagon’s head from his pack and threw it at the hobgoblin captain. The hobgoblins immediately responded, wasting no time in attacking the party.

The fight was long and difficult. Eventually, the party managed to defeat the hobgoblins. This came at a small price, in the form of their enemies apparently having armor that was designed to explode when defeated. Nobody was truly harmed, but it caught many off-guard. Once they were done, however, they chose to continue their mission. Gardrin led the way, making his way further through the hideout as the others determined what they would do next.

Tekir, for one, decided to go down a nearby deadend hallway, where he noticed a tiny slit in the wall. Unable to do anything about it, he instead started casting Locate Object to search for the Black Hand of Bane. He sensed that it was nearby, in the area. Novak, who had followed and questioned him, asked about the Black Hand, not knowing what it was, but only gained vague answers.

It was here that Novak revealed something he learned some time ago: that he recognized Tekir’s true reliquary as one belonging to the god Bane. Novak claimed to be looking for allies, believing that he and Tekir saw eye to eye better than the others, and that he was searching for answers regarding what his transformation meant and who created him. Upon hearing this, Tekir chose to reveal his true nature as a cleric of Bane, as well as telling Novak that his runes were Infernal in nature. The two agreed to an alliance of sorts, where they would aid each other in their goals and keep their secrets from the others. With that, they went back to speak to the rest of the group.

Meanwhile, others in the group were also deep in conversation. Aleryn and Umemi (with the latter translated by Ginger) briefly began to speak with one another, discussing how long it had been since they last talked. Aleryn told Umemi that she had something she wanted to speak with her and Novak about when she had the chance, in private, so they would be on the same page.

As the party moved on, Aleryn took a moment to speak with Novak. She asked Novak about his transformation, noting that she recognized several of the runes on his body and what they meant. She explained that she could read the words “Fierna” and “Phlegethos”, and explained that the former was an archdevil ruling over the latter. This caused a sense of deja vu in Novak (and made Cassius beep), but little else.

Novak mused about the fact that his angel was actually a ruler of hell, something that Aleryn noted doesn’t have to be a bad thing. She reminded him that a number of Dominion warlocks make deals with entities like Fierna, and that as long as they are careful, they can still use their powers for good. After that, they joined the rest of the group as they found a small hallway leading east.

Gardrin, as usual, led the way. He spotted a tripwire in the hallway and cut it easily before leading the party through the hall. Tekir was unsure about this, as he could sense the Black Hand to the south-east (or Qwerp), but he decided to satisfy Gardrin’s curiosity. He did tell Novak about the Black Hand’s location, though, something Aleryn annoyingly overheard. They then moved on.

Soon, the group found themselves in a new room, this one filled solely with ogres and half-ogres. Realizing a fight was imminent, the party prepared to defend themselves. Cassius reassured the party that he would protect them. Upon seeing the new enemies, Ginger consulted her Magic Eight Ball on whether she should leave this place. The last thing she saw before the battle began was its reply.

“I don’t wish to see you be hurt, Ginger.”