The Party broke into the goblin fortress and took down their enemies with ease. This was all within expectation.

However, there were some…unexpected developments, and all of them were animal related.

First came the rabbits. The Party found a closet with hutch rabbits. It did not take them long to realize that they were kept as a food source, and Chaka wasn’t entirely happy about it (he understood that predators need to eat, but this “wasn’t natural”). The Party took several real-world minutes to discuss what to do with them. They decided to come back for them and escort them off the island after they cleared out the goblins.

Next, they found a horse tied up in a shed. Goblins hate horses as much as they hate dogs, so they captured this one to torture and kill for sport. Unfortunately, this particular horse was a big, beefy warhorse that took out more goblins than expected. The goblins locked it in the shed to figure out how to deal with it, but then Party happened. The Party added the horse to their list of animals to bring back.

Now, I knew these animals would be found. I at least predicted saving the horse because of the battle potential, but I did not account for what came next.  

The boss of the fortress’s first floor was a Goblin Chief who rode a Giant Gecko. The Party knocked the Chief off and slew him and his goblin flunkies. Before the gecko could retaliate further, Chaka somehow talked it down from its aggressive state. The Party then took several more real-world minutes to figure out how they’d transfer the rabbits, the horse, and the gecko off the island with the bridge out.

Remember that old meme of a hand-drawn Jackie Chan with his hands up and a “What the heck???” look on his face? That was me, wondering why they were suddenly making themselves a personal zoo. 

The answer to these questions would have to wait, because the Party’s next task was to delve deeper into the fortress’s basement levels.