Needlefang Cave

Needlefang Cave is a small cave system in the Fenmarrow Forest, at the very brink of the Hellmire swamp. It is located at the end of a trapped pathway, about a half-mile off the Stumpmarsh Trail. It is named for its inhabitants, the Needlefang Tribe of goblins, who use it as their lair.

Entrance
A shallow stream flows out of the cave mouth and down to the Ramman River, screened by dense briar thickets. The goblins have a guardpost in the briars where they take cover, ready to fire on intruders.

Central Cavern
The tunnel is pitch-black, and continues on at a gradual incline, studded here and there with large stones that jut above the surface of the stream. The stone walls are daubed with glistening red liquid - little three-clawed handprints and finger-painted spirals across the stone.

A rickety bridge of wood and rope crosses over the tunnel, connecting the eating cave to Spittlebrick's. The Needlefangs posted a guard up here to watch for intruders.

At the end of the chamber is a forty-foot high waterfall that plunged into a deep pool. Narrow stony banks fringe the cavern here, and rubble litters the base of the fall. Darkmantles lurk on the ceiling overhead, dropping down onto unsuspecting creatures below. A steep, stone-choked passage arches up to the west - easily traversable by goblins, but likely to fall under the weight of a heavier creature.

Background
Prior to the goblins' arrival, the cave was inhabited by elven druids of the forest. As the Hellmire spread, as did the goblins, and the druids were slaughtered by Chief Spittlebrick's great-grandfather. The Needlefangs have inhabited it ever since.

Shortly prior to the campaign, a gang of goblins kidnapped Byron the blacksmith and his daughter Alice on their way to Correnwald, imprisoning them in cages under the watch of Poog.

Session 1: Goblin Ambush (C1x1)
The party, led by Cedric Goodfellow, followed a girl's scream into the cave after being ambushed on the trail by the Needlefangs. They evaded the traps on the trail and dispatched the guards both in the blind and on the bridge.

At the base of the falls, Malaxus discovered an Elven-made shortsword, Cobal'ivae, wrapped in a green cloak in the rubble. The sword, left by the druidic former inhabitants of the cave, glows in the presence of goblins. As he did so, a darkmantle latched itself onto Cedric's head with an aim to suffocate him.

Inhabitants

 * 19 goblins
 * Poog (prison warden and torturer)
 * Ragvort (shaman)
 * His Almighty Girthness, Chief Spittlebrick
 * 1 bugbear (Mongo)
 * 2 darkmantles
 * 3 crocodiles
 * 1 albino, owned by Spittlebrick
 * Byron and Alice (temporarily; imprisoned)