Glass and Wrath, Part 1 (Friday-Sunday, Rova 28th-30th, 4707 AR)

By the end of the week, the goblin attack was remembered mostly with chuckles. Now that the terror of the raid was over, images of goblins accidentally lighting themselves on fire, getting stepped on by horses, or drowning in half-full rain barrels colored memories of the raid in an almost comical light.

While the sheriff was out of town, the heroes patrolled any possible areas that goblins might use to enter the town proper. Among them was Junker's Edge. Garbage gathered by Gorvi's boys is routinely dumped over the edge of this cliff to gather on the beach below. In any event, the sea generally makes short work of the junk, ensuring it never piles up too high.

Unknown to most citizens of Sandpoint, another reason the garbage never grows too high is the fact that goblins from the Seven Tooth tribe regularly sneak along the coast to raid the beach for bits of metal, scraps of food, not-quite-broken tools, and other "valuable" prizes.

The Shopkeep's Daughter

Tsela eventually followed Shayliss to the basement of the General Store. The General Store keeps a shocking supply of alcohol in its basement. Shayliss revealed her true intentions as soon as she had Tsela alone in the basement of her father's store; her bodice came off and she slid herself into an embrace as she tried to guide Tsela over to a convenient cot someone's set up in the back of the room.

Shayliss's father Ven Vinder headed down into the basement not long after Shayliss made her move. Tsela noticed Ven's approach only when the shopkeep found Tsela and his daughter, roared in rage, and threatened Tsela with his large and meaty fists.

Ven knew his way around a fistfight. He was enraged to find his beloved daughter in the arms of  a "thug". When Tsela fled, Ven didn't follow. 

Grim News from Mosswood

Shalelu wanted to hear more from the heroes about the Sandpoint raid, and in return she had a fair amount of goblin lore she imparted to the heroes.

Goblin Tribes: As she mentioned before, there are five major goblin tribes in the region. The closest to Sandpoint are the Birdcruncher goblins, who live in caves along the western edge of Devil's Platter, although traditionally these goblins are the least aggressive of the five. To the south are the Licktoad goblins of the Brinestump Marsh, pests who are excellent swimmers. East are the Seven Tooth goblins of Shank's Wood, goblins who've secured a place for themselves by raiding Sandpoint's junkyard and rebuilding the stolen refuse into armor and weapons. Farther east are the Mosswood goblins, likely the largest tribe but one traditionally held back by feuding families within their own ranks. And finally, there are the Thistletop goblins, who live on the Nettlewood coast atop a small island that some say holds a passing resemblance to a decapitated head.

Goblin Heroes: Shalelu noted that goblins generally live short, violent lives. It's unusual for a single goblin to achieve any real measure of notoriety, but when one does, it's well earned. Currently, six goblins in the region enjoy the status of "hero".

• Big Gugmut is an unusually muscular and tall goblin from Mosswood who, it is said, had a hobgoblin for a mother and a wild boar for a father.
• Koruvus was a champion of the Seven Tooth tribe, as well known for his short temper as he was for his prized possession - a magic longsword sized for a human that the goblin stubbornly kept as his own (despite the fact that it was too large for him to properly wield). Koruvus vanished several months ago after he supposedly discovered a "secret hideout" in a cave along the cliffs, but the Seven Tooth goblins remain convinced he's out there still, a ghost or worse, waiting to murder any goblin who tries to discover his hideout.
• Vorka is a notorious goblin cannibal who lives in the Brinestump Marsh, a "hero" mostly to goblins other than the Licktoad tribe.
• Rendwattle Gutwad is the obese chieftain of the Brinestump goblins, a corpulent monster who, it is said, never leaves his throne.
• Ripnugget is the leader of the Thistletop goblins and controls what the five tribes agree is the best lair.
• And then Shalelu bitterly mentions Bruthazmus, an infamous bugbear ranger who lives in northern Nettlewood and often visits the five tribes to trade things he's stolen from caravans for alcohol, news, or magic arrows.

After the dinner, the heroes wanted to start scouring the region for goblins and reasons for their increased aggression, but Hemlock's request for them to stay in town served as an anchor for now. Shalelu left town for the hinterlands the next morning.

The Missing Bartender

In the morning at some point after Sheriff Hemlock had left town to request more soldiers from Magnimar, the heroes were approached by a timid elderly halfling woman named Bethana Corwyn. She is a maid who works for Ameiko Kaijitsu at the Rusty Dragon. She was obviously upset and asked to speak to the heroes somewhere in private.

In short, her employer has gone missing. Bethana woke earlier this morning to find that Ameiko hadn't already started breakfast, for the first time Bethana could remember. Worried, she knocked on Ameiko's door but didn't get a response. Against her better judgement, Bethana entered Ameiko's room to find it empty and her bed unslept in. Worse, she found a crumpled piece of parchment near the bed - a note from Ameiko's older brother Tsuto.

At this point, Bethana handed the heroes the note. Although it was written in Minkaian (likely to keep prying eyes from reading it, Bethana mused), Ameiko had been teaching Bethana the language over the last few years. The halfling had helpfully already translated the note's message on the opposite side:

"Hello, sis!

I hope this letter finds you well, and with some free time on your hands, because we've got something of a problem. It's to do with father. Seems that he might have had something to do with Sandpoint's recent troubles with the goblins, and I don't want to bring the matter to the authorities because we both know he'd just weasel his way out of it. You've got some pull here in town, though. If you can meet me at the Glassworks at midnight tonight, maybe we can figure out how to make sure he faces the punishment he deserves. Knock twice and then three times more and then once more at the delivery entrance and I'll let you in.

In any case, I don't have to impress upon you the delicate nature of this request. If news got out, you know these local rubes would assume that you and I were in on the whole thing too, don't you? They've got no honor at all around these parts. I still don't understand how you can stand to stay here.

Anyway, don't tell anyone about this. There are other complications as well, ones I'd rather talk to you in person about tonight. Don't be late.

Tsuto"

Bethana explained that Tsuto was something of a scandal when he was born back in 4684 (a year before Ameiko), since he's a half-elf. Bethana sagely noted, with big eyes, that neither of Ameiko's parents are elves. It was obvious that old Lonjiku wasn't the boy's father, and his rage at the discovery of his wife's indiscretion was the talk of the town for months. Lonjiku's wife Atsuii never revealed who the father was, and it's a testament to Lonjiku's stubbornness that they remained married. Tsuto was handed over to the Turandarok Academy to be raised outside of the Kaijitsu family, ignored by his father and forbidden visits from his mother. Ameiko started visiting him in secret once she learned about his existence at the age of 10, visiting him a few times a month to keep him company, bring him some food, and promise him that some day things would get all sorted out. That all changed in 4701, when they had a terrible argument in which Tsuto struck Ameiko. Bethana doesn't know what the argument was about, but whatever it was sent Ameiko away from Sandpoint for a year, during which time she made a living as an adventurer. She returned to Sandpoint a year later to attend her mother's funeral. Tsuto was quite public in his opinion that Lonjiku had pushed Atsuii off a cliff to her death, and during the funeral there was a confrontation. Lonjiku nearly broke Tsuto's jaw with his cane, after which Tsuto cursed him and left Sandpoint. Ameiko had tried to reestablish contact with him ever since, but was never able to track him down.

Bethana's worried that Tsuto is up to no good. Since Sheriff Hemlock's out of town, the heroes were the only ones she could turn to. She begged them to head over to the Glassworks and find out what happened to Ameiko as soon as possible.

The process of glassmaking is as much an art as it is a craft, and one that the Kaijitsu family has held pride in for several generations. Not long after Sandpoint was founded, they began construction of what would become one of the town's most unique and profitable businesses - the Sandpoint Glassworks.

Investigating the Glassworks

When the heroes arrived at the Glassworks, they found the building curiously silent. Neighbors had noticed the lack of traffic into and from the building, but since the furnace chimney still plumed with smoke, most assumed that the building was simply closed to allow Lonjiku and his workers some privacy while they worked on a big project. A quick investigation of the building perimeter revealed that curtains had been drawn over the windows and all the doors were locked. The rumble of the Glassworks' furnace was plainly audible from within, but when the heroes listened at any of the curtained windows along the glassworking room they could also hear what sounded like high-pitched giggles, shrieks, and breaking glass as well.

Urtrigor picked the external door at the top of the stairs that lead to the beach below. This act was quick to draw gawkers eager to find out what Sandpoint's newest heroes were doing trying to break in to the Glassworks. Tsela telling them there were goblins in the building was more than enough to disperse the locals, especially given the odd fact that the Glassworks should be open for business anyway.

A furnace burned along one wall of the glassworking room. Marble tables sat in the chamber, with nearby wooden tables cluttered with various tools of the trade. The building's furnace rumbled loudly. The main furnace burned at one end, a large chamber that burned with a hot blue light. The opening was narrow enough to prevent a Medium creature from being pushed inside easily. As the furnace's stone pipes ran along the room, they reached smaller and progressively cooler furnaces.

When the heroes arrived, this room was a gruesome display of goblin boredom. The bodies of several humans lay in various stages of dismemberment; the goblins had been burning legs and arms in the furnace with glee, and pouring melted glass on the remains. Lonjiku Kaijitsu's body was propped up in a chair in the central alcove and encased in thick, runny sheets of hardened glass. This is where the heroes encountered the goblilns.

Against the Goblins

In all, there were eight goblins in the glassworking room. When the heroes followed the sound of breaking glass and evil little shrieks, they found the goblins capering and defiling the bodies of murdered humans. The heroes weren't particularly noisy, so they were able to reach the room without alerting the goblins. They got the advantage of surprise against the little monsters.

This fight is in a glassworking factory. As the battle progressed, certain areas contained broken glass. Goblins were quick to use the environs of the room to their advantage. Most of them fought with dogslicers, but one or two goblins attacked the heroes using tongs dripping with molten glass. Goblins who couldn't reach a hero in melee threw bottles or slung panes of glass at them. The goblins reacted to the heroes' arrival with excitement.