Green Shell Suit

Shankley, left to his own devices after assisting Paladin Bartholemew with clearing the abandoned temple of Pelor in Dungeon Siege, hears rumours which suggest there is a growing goblin problem in the area. His questions on the subject are overheard by Thoroar, a passing wizard and fellow half-elf, and between the threat to the town and the likelihood of loot they resolve to investigate. They set off to the forest where the goblins are suspected to be hiding. On the way they encounter a beaten and injured gnome who claims to have been in a mighty battle with orcs. Shankley offers to assist the gnome, who turns out to be Glibberig, by accompanying him on their journey so that he can reach a town and recouperate. However, before long not only has Glibberig miraculously recovered, but he has also suppupticiously invited himself along to visit the goblins. Somehow Shankley has found himself carrying Glibberig's luggage, too. Eventually the trio reach the forest edge where they find a human ranger, Thor, and a gnome druid, Orovan, conducting their own investigation. Pooling their resources, they track the goblins to a crude door hidden in bushes on the side of a hill.

Shankley scouts ahead into the gloomy tunnel to discover a pair of goblins discussing how to deal with the intruders outside. He gets the jump on them and the rest of the party catch up to slay one, but the other escapes and bolts himself behind a door. The group try to talk the goblin out from behind the door, working under the assumption that their recent troublemaking has been down to orc intervention. They fail, but manage to draw the goblin out by fooling him into thinking orcs have arrived and dispatched the interlopers. They grab the goblin and Thoroar tries to intimidate him into telling them about the hideout, without much success. Instead they march the goblin along with them as an unwilling guide.

Reaching a junction they interrogate the goblin once more, again with little real success. During this they notice another pair watching them, who upon being discovered flee screaming into the dark tunnels. Commotion erupts and the taunting cries of an orc can be heard elsewhere, but no attack comes. Deciding that they have lost the element of surprise and that the goblin is of no further use, Thoroar lets him go. The goblin promptly runs off screaming to his mates. They forage ahead to where their prisoner tells them is a temple, and Shankley's scouting revels there to be just that. In the hall an orc is tormenting and executing a couple of what look to be goblin sacrifices. Shankley places an arrow into the orc's rump but fails to run clear before the goblin guards clump him and knock him out. The rest of the group are close behind on the attack though, and after a short fight most of the creatures lie dead and Shankley is back on his feet. One cornered goblin remains and the group take him captive. Thoroar interogates this one, and deciding he has no more information than the last prisoner lets him go too. Again, the still-armed goblin runs off making a commotion to rejoin his friends, and Glibberig shoots him in the back.

Venturing off in the other direction, the party encounter some partially dug side tunnels. Thoroar fishes out some phials of clear liquid and, unsure of what they are, tastes one. They contain acid. Meanwhile the orcs and goblins, bored of waiting, decided to break the stalemate by stampeding a single pig down the tunnels. Orovan, ever the animal handler, deftly catches and... lets it go in the direction it came from. Glibberig meanwhile busies himself by taunting the orc. Shankley creeps ahead again to see what they're up against. The main chamber contains the trappings of goblin domestic life, as well as some pigs, a bunch of goblins, and another orc. Shankley nails the orc in the head with an arrow and, still hurt from the previous fights, runs. The rest of group step up to fight, and an even larger and grander orc emerges from a sider door. This one looks like the leader, bellowing and hefting a huge, crude hammer. A quick volley of missiles is exchanged as the groups close, Thoroar scoring a hit with a bottle of acid. Thor takes a big hit from the orc's hammer, but Thoroar manages to distract his goblins from joining the fight briefly by conjuring voices from the room behind them. The group waver in the face of the large orc, several close to being put out of the fight, but Thor manages to impale him on his rapier.

With their leader dead the final reamining orc gathers the last couple of goblin fighters and a handful of non-combatants and they hole up in the chief's throne room. The party consider how to deal with the last threats, injured themselves, but Thoroar chooses to chuck another bottle of acid through the door instead. He gets lucky again, melting a goblin's head and provoking the remainder to attack. The orc clubs the wizard down before he can melt anyone else and engages the others, but fortunately his goblin retinue have lost their bottle. The orc falls to the combined attacks eventually, without him doing any further damage. With all the orcs dead the last three goblins, along with the unarmed ones, surrender.

Shankley surprises the others by systematically slaughtering the unarmed goblins, stating that they'll remain a threat while they're alive, and then the group set about searching for anything to steal. Glibberig finds a stash of gold and gems under the throne, along with some arrows and a feather shaped charm. Nobody knows what they are though. With the place empty of goblins and loot, the party take a pig and their unconscious wizard and return to town.