Descent into the Underdark

Both of the friendly guards had been trying to sneak around to attack without being observed, but failed. The two pairs of goblins on the sides had detected them and moved to intercept. One of the friendly guards was successfully engaged, halting their progress. However the other one burst forth at full speed and with a mighty roar reared back with his large (for a goblin) battle axe, swinging it directly for crystal!

... Unfortunately, the harness got in the way and his swing was accidentally blocked by the hardness. His axe swing did snap one of the upper supports, and now the integrity of the harness is compromised.

The other guard attempts to knock both if their opponents back so they can progress to the crystal, too.

... Both opponents are staggered, meaning next turn they will be able to make an attack on the crystal or apprentice, whichever they were heading toward.

It takes both of the successes, but Ishzu takes her down! She passes out and physically drops to the ground. At this point, Ishzu has nominal control over the crystal, but it is tenuous and not complete. He can maintain control for a couple minutes, but after that, he doesn't know for sure what will happen.

Since he is now the dominant party, he can tell that the crystal is not intelligent; it is merely a tool that can be used by anyone with the correct natural abilities. However, he can feel the draw of its potential as if it wants him to use it. The domineering was driven by the apprentice once she gained enough experience with the crystal to use it. Her control was still pretty rudimentary, but good enough to puppet the other goblins. The other goblins are not freed yet, however they are not moving, either, as they have no one directing them.

Once the controlled goblins stop moving again, and the apprentice goes down, the allied goblins stop attacking the others. The lead goblin does come up to the apprentice and drags her away from the crystal and ties her up securely.

Ishzu settles beside the crystal, assuming a meditative posture. His concentration is marred by the surrounding noise, making it seem louder than usual. "I will sever their connection to the crystal. I'm uncertain of their potential reaction," he mentally tells everyone.

With utmost focus, he endeavors to sever each goblin's link to the crystal, starting with the least resilient mind among them. He hopes that dismantling their connection gradually will prove more manageable than attempting it all at once.

Ander stands silently stalwart. Patiently waiting for crystalline friend to sever connection.

Grin climbs down from his tree, whistling to Oliver as he notices the apprentice fall and the commotion stop. When he approaches the group he waves to Brewner and Ander, then notices Ishzu…

Hullo heroes! What’s the - Oy! What’s wrong with Ishzu!? Is he… dead?

As Ishzu releases the goblins, they collapse to the ground, but are then quickly attended to by the friendly goblins. One of the first to recover says, "Hey! Why is that statue moving, and what is it doing to the crystal?" Before they can do anything, however, they are brought up to speed enough to know that the non-goblins are now at least allies.

Once all of the goblins have been released, Ishzu disconnects. But keeping everyone safe from the crystal is very taxing, and he can't keep it up too much longer. The lead goblin manages to keep order and even invites the group to join them at their camp for the day so everyone can regroup. The two guards want to smash the "evil totem crystal". The wounded apprentice is trying to get back into range, but isn't allowed to move by the two goblins assigned to watch her.

Seeing Ishzu move, Grin lets out a sigh of relief. He looks over to the two goblin guards who want to smash the crystal. He says: Aye, I agree with breaking the large crystal. Maybe our new friends can keep a large shard with them, and we’ll split the rest among ourselves…and our friends back at camp. He looks over to Brewner, meeting his eyes and as if reading Brewner’s thoughts, he mouths/whispers: Fiznik?

He looks round at the group of goblins and to the leader: I bet you’d like to hear the story of Brewner, the great Hopper of Noric. Perhaps a rest at your camp would be nice. I would like a chance to see that the children are safe. And maybe try some fabled goblin stew!

Rising up off of the ground, Ishzu surveys the gathering of goblins and the accompanying party. A myriad of thoughts and calculations whirl through his mind, leaving him uncertain of the duration of his communion with the crystal or any potential oversights.

"I implore you not to rush its destruction... at least not without a methodical approach. It would be wise to enlist the expertise of someone skilled in crafting the crystal into practical implements," he suggests.

Turning his mental speak to only the party members, he queries, "Have the remaining goblins been infromed of the negotiated terms?"

Grin thinks back to Ishzu: the terms? Well, they all know that we are allies of sorts. They apologized and we helped them. There is another group of goblins that are hostile to this group. They wouldn’t promise more than friendship, though. At least not right away.

Brewner approaches the goblins as a group.
"This friendship could be the beginning of a new era, I also hope that this friendship extends to the rest of my people. No more attacking guards and other adventurers."