18 - 8/6

Even though the party had just limped away from defeat, it was unfortunately time to face the reality that a Hobgoblin force was marching on their position. The group huddled inside the Ruins of Whiteridge and began to discuss their plans going forward. Unfortunately with night falling and nobody in a position to begin work, the weary group rested for the night.   Mithris took the initiative to begin scouting and to see if she could discover when the Hobgoblins would actually arrive. After her bit of recon she returned to tell the party that they could be here tonight if they really pushed, but might setup camp and arrive in the morning. That would give a solid day to prepare for battle. Theta took this time to animate the Derros leader into an undead servant which is surmised would be useful in the upcoming battle. Honey led those that couldn’t fight down the stairs into the forest and setup a small camp. Under the canopy cover and away from the fighting, they could retreat if things took a turn for the worst   Back in the facility, Valerie re-fixed the pipe breathing life back into the strange electronic devices. Theta and the group huddled around the control console and did their best to understand its function. While it was clearly corrupted from years of neglect and damage, it still provided some strange lore about airships, the Great Old Ones, the old facility map. With some more tinkering, the decrepit defense system was activated but broke shortly after.   Realizing they were on their own but still possessing some time to prepare, battle plans were devised. While many options were suggested, it was decided that the entire group would lie within the old dwarven ruins rather than face them outside. In the hold they knew its twists and turns, they could setup traps easier, had a large pit of lava to possibly knock the enemy into, and hopefully the White Dragon would refuse to enter.   Hilda took this time to di g some holes, but unfortunately the bedrock was not far beneath the layer of dirt and the holes would likely not prove more than an inconvenience. Theta and Valerie prodded the kobolds into setting up some trip-wire traps and used the strange inflated mushroom bladders to create a small bomb. While talking to their diminutive companions, they found a strange enormous egg that the kobolds had “found”, but that was a problem for another day. Shane set out her hunters traps in strategic positions, and the group spent the night in anticipation of the coming battle.   The next day the group took up their positions the two elves used their familiars to scout the outside. The first that arrived was a small cadre of Bugbears and the White Dragon, who took up perch overlooking the old village ruins. Not long after the main force of the Hobgoblins arrived, twenty foot soldiers, a few ogres and the captains. They inspected the ruins and the foes eventually discovered the strange hole in the wall. They set up outside of it after figuring out something lie within, and began their preparations to explore the interior.