What my clerical friend says is wholly true Kerrdremak. Firstly, preventing the sacrifices has to be done immediately. While dealing with the dire bat and gargoyle can be done later. The monsters will still be there, the sacrificial victims may not be. As to confronting your king, you and your warriors should be present. Your presence may well prompt your king to listen to and consider your grievances and see the error of his ways. The king simply won't listen to a group of outsiders who are not even kobolds. And the presence of more numbers on your side will make it more likely a peaceful solution can be found. Those who are worried about losing a fight are more likely to negotiate. Now, let us be about resolving both of our problems learned Kerrdremak.
Dolok is very concerned that the kobold has not apparently taken his other hand back out of that sleeve yet. Where there has been one wand, another could well be, or something else as well? So Dolok is fully focused on watching that hand. If the kobold does not first announce that he is pulling something out of that sleeve, and he starts to remove that hand from that sleeve and Dolok sees anything whatsoever in that hand, then Dolok is immediately going to cast Burning Hands on as many of the kobolds as he can get.
"Kerrdremak, you must realize by now that we are not going to agree to the idea of you staying behind - unless your dead. Now I would recommend you lead us on down through these tunnels and we work together. Peace does not come at an easy price. You cannot hope to just sit back and let others accomplish it for you. There does not necessarily have to be blood involved, but there does have to be sacrifice and effort! Now, if you agree to join us, I recommend you remove that hand from your sleeve and that it either be empty and do nothing, or if you have something in that hand, tell us what it is before you withdraw it!"
Okay, yes, if I do this, it's with the template that Illiam used. I deleted mine. And changed the template to orange, because, you know, fire.
Well, and I was trying to use persuasion. It wasn't working anyway. Time for lots of violence thinks Chillel, readying herself for action in the form of using the Slumber Hex on Kerrdremak should violence break out.
Feeling a powerful increase in hostility Kerrdremak holds out his already-sleeve-extracted hand in a sign of surrender. He then says, "Peace! My friends. I am going to remove my other hand, slowly, as asked, from my sleeve so that you can see there is nothing up there." Then he does just that, slowly inching his clawed hand out from his sleeve and showing that there is, indeed, nothing in it. "Clearly, you will not be dissuaded from your course. Therefore I will agree to your terms. My warriors and I will lead you into the tunnels as you have asked. I wonder if you have considered, though," and here he pauses for a moment and looks specifically at Kairon, "What if, at a moment when we see you are at your weakest, and it looks like you will not be able to accomplish that which I have asked, we turn on you to create the ruse that we were only following you to betray you later? It seems to me that bringing us along, could take a bad situation and make it unrecoverable. Don't you? I just wonder if you'd considered that?" Kerrdremak smiles and holds both hands up in surrender, making it clear he wishes to avoid conflict.
Be even worse for us to finish everything you've asked, look to return to the Hollow with the kids, and find you six standin' in our way, unhurt and ready to kill us all. I don't trust you, Kerrdremak -- rather keep an eye on you as we go, thanks. That way you risk the same stuff we do -- that's the best way to build trust now. Kairon's gaze takes on a faraway look as he reflects briefly. You say saving your people is important to you? Prove it to us and to them by working with us. We got no need to kill kobolds for no reason -- Gurtlekrep and Trigatark still bein' alive speaks t' that, I'd think.
Kairon surveys the gear the kobolds carry, trying to gauge the best way to get the best contribution from them while keeping as many alive as possible.
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Goruck tips his head in deference to Kairon. "No offense taken, friend."
Shaking his armored skull, the swordsman loosens from his combative stance, letting his feet come closer. Sighing, the massive half orc watches with a hidden frown, worry about the children eating at his stoic persona.
At Kerrdramak's subtle threat, the Stone makes a motion of inspecting the edge of his well bloodied axe. "No coward has allies in his darkest days,, Goruck stares at the kobolds with a warrior's calm, "and every traitor finds his betrayer blood used to write his sentence."
In a steady, monotone voice, demonstrating no anger or emotion whatsoever, "Kerrdremak, if you betray us, you best be sure to take us all out. I for one, and most likely every member of my group, will make you the primary target if you should be so foolish, and I will use all, to my very last breath to ensure you pay for your betrayal."
Kerrdremak looks thoroughly cowed by everyone's rather aggressive expressions of the revenge that will be taken upon his corpse for hinted at future crimes of betrayal. He nods his assent, and then turns to his warriors and says, "I fyny! Rydym yn mynd i ymladd ochr yn ochr â'r Valers." His five warriors look at each other in a moment of hesitation, with quizzical expressions on their scaly brows. Kerrdremak gives them a moment, then yells, "Dywedais i fyny cŵn disglair!" At this they jump up spears and small shields to hand. Kerrdremak points them towards the northern door, and they immediately go through and into the broken down hole in the wall that leads into the winding and smokey caves that lead to the Forge Spurned's lair. After passing into the thick smoke that obscures much of their sight, the kobold warriors pause, and look at their lop-eared leader. In turn Kerrdremak looks back at the group and says, "Anybody have any way to clear that smoke? The Forge Spurneds hellhound b!tch is no doubt hiding in it waiting to pounce and strike."
I said up scaly dogs!
Suddenly Edgrin Galesong, the halfling bard that has remained silent through all the negotiations, even though his elven wizard friend's life is on the line, speaks up. Since he has not spoken for quite some time, his voice garners immediate attention. "Shhh!" He whispers loudly. "I hear something. The sound is coming from there." He steps up and points to the southwest, in an area behind two stalagmites so tall they reach from the cave floor to the ceiling. "Something is back there, I know it! He again whispers loudly. Everyone else strains their ears to hear, but no one besides Edgrin hears anything...
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When everyone is in place, Illiam will pull a ball of fuzz from the bag of tricks. Placing it on the ground, it transforms into a weasel. He'll send the weasel just inside the mouth of the cave and call it back. Doing this repeatedly until the hellhound reacts (hopefully chasing it back toward us, but at the very least it should reveal its location so that we can target some spells...).
"The hellhound. Illiam want to draw it into the next room and ambush it." says Chillel to her companions. Following this she moves forward to take up a position for the ambush.
Kairon watches intently as the weasel scampers back and forth in the yawning entrance to the natural cavern, ready to strike at the first sign of hostility. Narrowing his eyes and crouching in an effort to peer past the smoke, he tries again to catch any sign of what Edgrin noticed.
What Kairon sees is a hound of hell running from behind the second of the wall sized stalagmites to attempt to pounce upon Illiam's magically conjured weasel. Having given away its position and entering full view of everyone around, Illiam reacts immediately, discharging his newly acquired wand of sleep.
And the hound is immediately overcome by the magical slumber. The red flames that encompass its entire body soften to a dull smolder. In other circumstances the creature might be considered beautiful, a dog that appears to be made of animated burning coals. However, now the smoldering mutt presents nothing more than an easy target for someone to dispatch with all haste. Whose blade is best suited to such a task?
Trusting Goruck to watch for any surprises, Kairon steps up to the dozing beast and strikes true with his spear.
Die, filth. The Dawnflower rebukes you.
He looks back through the hubbub of crowded beings to Kerrdremak, being sure to make eye contact. See? Teamwork. . . . . Be true t' yer word, kobold. Well done, Illiam! Kairon shoots the halfling a genuine smile, and salutes him with his spear.
Chillel moves over to high five Illiam. Well, her hand is at chest hight where the halfling can reach it.
Fine strategy.
She says simply.
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Let's hope the next part of my plan works as well as that. Illiam says, then explains the plan that we have already discussed out of character, asking Kerrdremak to make it completely clear to the other kobolds that their role is first and foremost to keep the Forge Spurned busy and away from Goruck, and to try to force him in whatever direction will leave the chain most exposed for Goruck (and Kairon?) to try to break it.
When he's satisfied that everyone knows their part, including quizzing the kobold foot soldiers in Draconic, Illiam casts Invisibility and makes his way into the cave.
Kairon's longspear slams down deep into the fiery canine's chest splitting one lung and piercing his wicked heart. Immediately there is a puff of dark, wet smoke, and those nearby get an all too lengthy, however brief in actuality, glimpse into a world wholly unlike your own, accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of malevolent power glimpsing back. Then the world is just as it was, with no trace that a monster borne of fire ever existed there in the first place.
Meanwhile, Illiam, frightless and confident, makes his invisible way down the hallway through ever-thickening smoke. The closer he gets to the sound of the Forge Spurned's hammer rapping on his anvil, the less visibility he is afforded, until, were he visible, he'd barely be able to see his own hand in front of his face. Then, seemingly miraculously, as Illiam follows the sound of hammer on anvil, and a barely visible soft-orange glow of light, the smoke begins to recede. Illiam, being the astute halfling he is, realizes that it does so because there is an ancient chimney carved into the rock above the chamber in front of him. A loud crackling sound fills the room. The smoke that pours from it is blistering hot and lit with a strange orange light. A massive forge responsible for the hellish atmosphere takes up the entire far wall of the cavern. Between the forge and the entrance stands a massive anvil, and nearby rest hammers, prongs, and other blacksmithing tools. A faint whimpering sound is almost lost in the roar that comes from the forge. Following the sound Illiam sees none other than Jurin Kreed, son of Falcon's Hollow's most prominent member, chained up directly in front of the anvil where a furious, smoke-bearded, chain-enwrapped, undead dwarf pounds relentlessly on the white-hot link at the end of a the chain that is draped around his person, as well as that of Jurin. The entire scene is surreal, and, to others, perhaps, frightening. Illiam takes in the entire view, and his head immediately begins planning the Forge Spurned's imminent demise.
Carefully looking at the chain, Illiam sees that one end is clenched in the Forge Spurned's left fist, the chain then winds around his back, around his torso once, and then flows down to wrap, aggressively tightly, around Jurin's wrists, and then up to the anvil, where the malicious undead dwarf works on his new link. The bast place to place the stubborn nail is the bit of slack that moves from Jurin up the side of the anvil. There are a few links that rest on the ground at the foot of the anvil, before the rest climbs up the side, held in place with the Spurned's left hand, while his right hammers away. All the while smoke pours out of the orange-hot forge behind him, casting the eerie glow, and billowing smoke into the choke point that is the entrance cavern.
"Here Illiam, take my potion. In this battle I will be keeping my distance anyways. Great strategy with the hound by the way!"
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If he does start thrashing around, that should make enough noise to signal the others to come rushing in. If not, and the FS doesn't seem to notice that its chain has been pinned, Illiam will head back out and tell the others it's done, then hurry back just ahead of the group so that he can get back in position and feed the potion to Jurin before his invisibility wears off and get him clear of the fight.
Illiam sees that the Fiery undead dwarf is so intent on finishing his new chain link, and simultaneously absorbing Jurin Kreed's soul, that he is completely unaware that his chain is now thoroughly stuck into the cave floor beneath his anvil. Suddenly the others hear his voice, though none can see him. "Quickly!" His disembodied voice calls out from the cavern entrance. "His chain is good and stuck, the child he has captured is Jurin Kreed, and he is not doing well. Time is of the essence. MOVE!" Then his voice is heard no longer, and the group stands around staring at each other for a moment before...
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Upon hearing Illiam's discombobulated voice, Goruck rushes deeper into the cave, readying his battleaxe for the combat ahead. As he nears the Forgespurn the half orc's grip tightens and he roars to draw the creature's attention from Illiam.
Dolok will "whisper-yell" as he chases after Goruck half-way, "Goruck, wait for me! How am I going to cast my Enlarge Person spell on you if you're out of my range?!"
"Here Illiam, take my potion. In this battle I will be keeping my distance anyways. Great strategy with the hound by the way!"
"Indeed. My rendering the beast helpless is apparently not worth a mention. Woe."remarks Chillel, theatrically holding her hand to her forehead as if devastated. Chillel then returns to seriousness, calmly moving forward into position.
"Indeed. My rendering the beast helpless is apparently not worth a mention. Woe."...
Goruck's sudden and violently loud entrance into the Forge Spurned's chamber of residence garners exactly the kind of attention he was looking for, an angry, smoking, undead dwarf blowing fire out of his nostrils in flaring anger at his intrusion upon his attempt to steal Jurin Kreed's soul.
Unbelievably, the halfing bard Edgrin Galesong's courage spurs him to quick action, and he charges down the twisting cave-like corridor to get as close to the action as he can.
Thankfully Goruck's sudden entrance catches the hulking undead blacksmith by surprise, and he has time to act before the dwarf can get into a good defensive position.