Buried Alive!

“Seriously?” Sawyer cursed. “More frickin’ hobgoblins?” He parried an incoming morningstar with Suishen, and blocked another blow with his shield. The third hobgoblin warrior’s attack slipped past his defenses, but glanced harmlessly off his thick plate armor. “I’m really getting sick of you guys!” he bellowed, as he switched from defense to offense, and sent Suishen slicing through the center attacker’s leather armor is if it were old cheese.

The group was still deep beneath the House of Withered Blossoms, exploring the oni domain now known as Munasukaru’s Penance. They’d fought their way through countless hobgoblin minions of various shapes and sizes, and had just killed off another batch, these accompanied by a pair of Stone Giants. Following a passage from that chamber, they’d found their way blocked by a rushing underground river, it’s current frothing over the remains of a fallen stone bridge. Sawyer had long ago lost patience with this place; he missed the sun and open sky, and was sick to death of the stench of hobgoblins. Unwilling to wait for the rest of the group to waste time coming up with a “plan” for crossing, he’d simply wrapped his arm around Bella’s waist and Air Walked across the stream. Unfortunately, the moment they touched down on the other side they were surrounded by more of the stinking hobgoblins, and two more Stone Giants were lumbering forward out of the darkness.

Dude! I'm Like, Stoned!

“I am so sick of these frickin’ hobgoblins!” Nicki groaned as he pointed his finger at the charging Sisters of the Broken Path. Ever since the group had descended beneath the House of Withered Blossoms in a quest to rid it of the oni still inhabiting their former prison, it seemed that they couldn’t swing a traipsing cat without hitting some more of the smelly, hairy, snarling army of hobgoblin minions that served their oni overlords. This latest level of the underground complex had proved to be no exception; no sooner had they crossed the underground lake to reach a small landing on the far side than they were accosted by three more of the fanatical female hobgoblin monks.

Down the Drain

After retrieving Suishen from under the noses of some angry gorgons and killing Munasukaru’s son, Ichirou, the party had continued in their exploration of Munasukaru’s Penance. After traversing a very long hallway, they’d found a series of barracks, and ambushed the Withered Blossom Warriors who were living there. But the hobgoblin warriors weren’t the only threat; another huge ogre mage fighter had appeared, and entered the fray.

Life's The Pits

The party had finally defeated the Sisters of the Broken Path, the fanatical hobgoblin monks who guarded their sado-masochistic oni master. That master was now bloodied and kneeling at the feet of his new mistress, Bella. But the party had paid a price: Suishen, the ancestral sword of the Amatatsu family, had been wrest from Sawyer’s grip and hurled into the gas-filled pit they were fighting beside.

Sisters of the Broken Path

Over the course of a few minutes, the party had teleported into the second floor of the crooked pagoda they’d discovered deep beneath the House of Withered Blossoms. They’d ambushed the guards (who’d been expecting an assault from outside, not from the room behind them), defeated an armored golem and a clan of ogrekin hobgoblins who’d come to the guards’ aid, and held off an assault of hobgoblin lepers. All this before breakfast. It was shaping up to be a rather taxing day.

The Mockery Pagoda

The party awoke to the smell of boiled pork and fungus stew. They’d spent the night in the hobgoblins’ kitchen, the cleanest place they could find in the vast cave that served as home, fortress, and breeding ground for the Five Storms’ army of lackeys. Anxious to leave the cave’s stench behind them, they hurried to the Swine Shogun’s keep and made their way across the narrow bridge that led from its roof to a small opening near the cave’s roof. This opened into a broad stairway that wound down and down, deeper into the cavern complex far beneath the House of Withered Blossoms.

The Swine Shogun

The party was embroiled in a battle royale with a horde of hobgoblins and hill giants, deep beneath the House of Withered Blossoms. They were nearing the limits of their endurance, and were almost out of spells, but a fresh wave of Withered Blossom Warriors came charging out to challenge them. They were Hasted, and slammed into Sandoval and Zhustin’s summoned air elementals with ferocious battle cries.