Dugar, Ruth

The party began their adventure by foraging in the woods around the goblin towers, where Ruth and Dugar successfully gathered two bunches of mulberries and three Belladonna flowers to take back to the Gilded Compass. Dugar also added a bottle of fire wine to his pack, a special goblin beverage he had received earlier.

Queen Bargnot led the party into one of the towers where she used her magical translation book to communicate with them. She thanked them for their exceptional treatment of EETU, explaining that he had been treated better than any goblin typically received. The queen then made a request for their aid in dealing with cultists who had blockaded a mountain pass, cutting off communication with another goblin group beyond the mountains.

The queen explained that these cultists had been demanding yearly tribute from the goblins in a practice called "the reaping," taking goblin children and requiring sacrifices to prevent them from overrunning the goblin territory. When Dugar asked about payment, Queen Bargnot initially offered amethyst pieces worth twenty gold per cultist head, but after negotiation, she upgraded the payment to aquamarine pieces worth one hundred gold each. She also gave Dugar a travel guide called "The Waggling Wanderer's Guide to the Odd, the Lost, and the Mildly Concerning" written in Goblin by Tumblewink Prettyletoe.

During the negotiations, EETU became frustrated with Queen Bargnot's refusal to lend them the translation book for their mission. In his anger, he slammed his magical staff on the table, causing sparks of magic and briefly freezing time. This magical outburst somehow granted the party the ability to understand EETU's goblin speech, though he could not understand their signing. The queen and EETU argued heatedly, with Queen Bargnot showing little care for EETU's welfare and telling him she didn't care if he died on the mission.

Dugar dragged EETU away from the confrontation to speak privately, where they learned more about the situation. EETU confirmed that Queen Bargnot had been truthful about the cultists, and the party discovered that EETU was the rightful heir to the goblin throne. Queen Bargnot had usurped power by killing EETU's parents, which explained the tension between them and why she treated him poorly.

The party departed through the mountain gate, traveling along a broken stone road that wound through towering peaks. The path was wide but in disrepair, with fallen boulders and crumbling stonework. They traveled with EETU driving their cart while Dugar walked alongside, discussing strategy for their encounter with the cultists. They agreed to attempt diplomacy if facing large numbers of enemies, but to use violence if confronting five or fewer cultists.

During their journey, Ruth spotted griffins hunting in the distance and noticed their nest on the mountainside. EETU suddenly became excited about stealing griffin eggs and used charm magic on Dugar, compelling him to help with the theft. Under the magical influence, Dugar carried EETU to the nest and threw him up to retrieve an egg, which they successfully stole before quickly fleeing the area.

As night fell, the party found shelter in a mountain crevice with dead trees providing overhead protection. They set up multiple fires in a defensive triangle formation and established a watch schedule. The goblins remained awake during the night as they were naturally nocturnal, sharing fire wine and telling stories around the campfire while eerie shrieks echoed off the canyon walls in the distance.

During Dugar's watch, small pebbles began falling from the mountain, followed by a large boulder that crashed through the tree branches above their camp. Dugar successfully dodged the falling rock and protected the others. When the boulder cracked open, it revealed valuable blue spinel gems worth five hundred gold each. Dugar used his war hammer to extract the gems from the rock, though one was broken into pieces while the other remained intact.

The party decided to continue their journey early, with Ruth resting in the cart as they traveled. Storm clouds formed overhead and thunder echoed through the mountain pass. Soon they began hearing chanting voices echoing from ahead, coming from around a bend approximately six hundred feet away. The party prepared for potential combat, with Dugar and Ruth drinking potions of heroism and taking ready positions.

EETU suggested that the goblins scout ahead due to their small size and stealth abilities. All three goblins snuck along the mountain wall to investigate the source of the chanting. They discovered three cultists in black robes gathered around a fire with daggers at their belts, along with two tents positioned near the campfire. The scouts reported that they couldn't safely investigate the tents without risking detection.

The party prepared for an assault on the cultist camp using stealth and fire tactics. Dugar lit a torch and gave it to EETU, who used his mage hand spell to carry the flame and set one of the cultist tents ablaze. A cultist ran out of the burning tent with their clothing on fire, screaming as the flames consumed them.

A fierce battle erupted as the party launched their surprise attack. Dugar charged forward and hurled his trident, killing one cultist instantly. Ruth moved into combat range while a cultist leader cast spells creating floating shadowy spears. The goblin warriors attacked with scimitars and bows, with one successfully hitting a cultist in the shoulder. EETU positioned himself on a cliff and yelled "death to you, cultists" before casting spells that caused cultists to collapse in fits of uncontrollable laughter.

The combat continued with Dugar raging and attacking recklessly with his war hammer, dealing massive damage and knocking enemies prone. Ruth engaged in hand-to-hand combat, successfully punching one cultist so hard that she cracked their skull, killing them instantly. The cultist leader's shadowy spear attacked Ruth but missed its target. The goblin warriors continued their assault, with one delivering a fatal sword strike through a cultist's throat.

As the battle neared its end, Ruth attempted to capture the last surviving cultist for questioning, but Dugar successfully grappled him instead. The cultist had attempted to cut his own wrist but failed to cause mortal damage. Under interrogation, the cultist revealed that "The Dark One requires sacrifice, and we shall give it to him." He explained that they kept the valley in darkness through sacrifice, believing that "within darkness there is freedom" and that light brought too much while darkness brought peace.

When the interrogation failed to yield more useful information, Dugar released the cultist and killed him with his war hammer. The party then systematically looted the cultist camp, with Dugar cutting off the heads of all seven cultists to collect the bounty from Queen Bargnot. Ruth investigated the camp for information and discovered that the cultists were mostly elves wearing dark moon pendants that absorbed light rather than reflecting it.

Ruth found a crucial note written in Elvish from someone named Sythravel to a cultist named Vaylin. The note mentioned "the dreaming one" stirring beneath a stone and demanded the capture of a child born under a black eclipse for sacrifice. It also contained orders to silence witnesses and burn birth records. Dugar discovered that the cult leader had intricate tattoos covering his entire arm along with a silver band, so he cut off the entire arm to preserve these artifacts.

In the leader's tent, Ruth found a dark tome with black pages and unreadable runes matching the tattoos on the cultist's arm. She also discovered strange black drapes that emanated shadows and moved without wind, though she chose not to take them due to fear of dark magic. The party collected eighty gold pieces, several dark moon pendants, and other valuable items from the defeated cultists.

The two unnamed goblin warriors chose to take some cultist weapons and return to their own territory rather than accompany the party back to Siothruna. EETU, however, decided to return with the party to the Gilded Compass. Before departing, Dugar set fire to the entire cultist camp, burning the tents and trees to create a beacon of destruction. The party then used their magical beacon to instantly teleport back to the Gilded Compass, bringing their collected treasures and evidence of their successful mission against the dark cultists.