While retrieving her last arrow, Nariel suddenly turns her attention toward the interrogation with an alarmed look as the mite is suddenly possessed. Standing up slowly, Nariel shakes her head slowly "That cannot be good," placing her arrows back in her quiver, Nariel adds quietly "though at least we have a name to follow up on."
Pressing on, Nariel recoils at the sight of the centipedes. Without the ability to get a clear shot, Nariel decides on a different tactic to try and eliminate at least one threat for the time being. Speaking a quick incantation, Nariel grabs what appears to be butter from one of her belt pouches which quickly dissipates in her hand.
Arianna and Aivar swiftly dispatch one of the centipedes - the other loses its grip on the side of the abyss and falls with a hissing screech until it hits the ground with a chitinous crunch. It's a loooong way down.
Tristan's magic causes the three mites to drop where they stand, much to their leader's consternation; although he's too busy trying to control his unconventional mount to do much else.
Tristan recognises the odd beast as a giant tick - they will grab their target and suck its blood, which (in addition to the obvious perils of blood loss) often transmits disease.
"Ha ha! Nice work!" Raquel shouts. She makes a beckoning motion with her rapier while she holds a magic stone in her off-hand. "Come at us, mate!"
Happy to see both centipedes dispatched quickly, Nariel smiles lightly as Raquel shouts congratulations. Nariel responds with a cautious trepidation "Well, before we celebrate... there is the matter of getting across the chasm." Glancing briefly down towards the pit, Nariel shakes her head "That is quite the drop... perhaps there is another way to get to the other side?
"Ugh," Tristan squirms in revulsion as he recognizes what the mite is riding. [b]"Riding into battle on a tick? Have some respect for yourself."
Tristan draws his bow and looses an arrow at the mite's mount.
The mite leader shrieks in fury at Raquel's gibe: prodding his mount viciously, he 'persuades' it to charge - and jump - right across the canyon. Its bulk careers into the party, pushing everyone back enough for the tick's scrabbling legs to find purchase on the lip of the crevasse.
The leader jabs with his spear at Raquel, piercing the cleric's armour.
Raquel winces as the spear pokes her in the shoulder. "That tickles!" she blusters, stabbing out at the giant tick. She does a great job of carving up the air beside it! She then steps back to give the others room to fight.
Seeing an opportunity to help, Nariel steps in beside Aivar while pulling out some colored sand from belt pouch. Flinging it at the giant tick and its rider, Nariel makes a quick incantation in elven and the sand turns into a brilliant display of light that fills the cavern with color and shadow.
After casting her spell, Nariel suddenly disappears and reappears right where she started... safely behind Aivar.
"Ick!" Arianna shouts, and takes a swing at the tick but misses entirely.
Sasha darts forward to poke at the the mite leader with her rapier.
Aivar's glaive shines with holy furor when it pierces the sky before falling down upon the mite in an attempt to cull the wicked.
Tristan takes another shot with his bow - at the mount rather than the rider.
Nariel's spell has no effect on the leader, who quickly brushes off its effects.
The leader is struck a vicious blow from Aivar's glaive, and gibbers in rage and pain Tristan's arrow hits but bounces straight off.
The mite leader jabs once more with his spear, this time at Sasha, scoring a hit.
The tick also tries to bite Sasha, but the young rogue is able to nimbly dodge out of the way.
Raquel steps up to Aivar and touches him with her holy symbol, granting him a bit of Cayden's luck.
Aivar strikes at the mite, muscles bulging to fuel the paladin's effort to undo this blasted fay. He feels how his glaive almost slips out of his hands but, somehow thanks to inexplicable luck, this near-toss adds extra momentum to his blow and he manages to hold on to his beloved weapon.
Nariel: Color spray is listed as a 'mind-affecting' effect so it won't affect the tick at all.
Realizing her spell was entirely ineffective, Nariel curses quietly and draws her bow. Taking aim, she lets loose an arrow at the revolting giant tick.
Tristan keeps loosing arrows, hoping to find a weak spot on the thing.
Sasha grunts in pain as the mite leader grazes her with its spear, a sound her father would have considered quite un-ladylike. Her tactical mind, honed by her fencing instructors and more than a few dockside brawls, screams for her to get around the giant tick, to attack its blindspot and distract for her companions to finish the kill, but the giant vermin is flanked by tunnel walls and the crevasse.
Her only option is to continue fighting and hoping her skills prevail.
Aivar's strike is just and true, and it decapitates the mite leader, sending his headless body toppling backwards into the crevasse. The tick is still standing.
Arianna persists, but her swings continue to be ineffective.
The giant tick continues mindlessly attacking, but its bite misses.
Raquel continues to grant Aivar a bit of divine guidance. "Well struck, handsome! Now crush that giant tick before it gives somebody giant Lyme disease!"
Taking aim, Nariel lets loose another arrow at the revolting giant tick... and sighs as her arrow bounces harmlessly of it.
"Ah!" The paladin groans as the mightiest of the mites falls, but its mount continues to assault him and his companions. Why couldn't it just skitter off?!
*crunch*
Aivar's glaive bites deeply into the tick - the thing thrashes its many legs for a few instants before finally falling still.
Once you are ready to continue, you find that the mites have fashioned a number of the tree-roots into useful handholds, meaning that making your way to the bottom of the crevasse and then back up the other side is straightforward, if a little time-consuming.
The cavern on the opposite side is clearly where the leader dwelt: there is a crudely-built 'throne' made of mostly rotting branches, in front of which is a large pile of what the mites obviously considered be loot, but which is mostly a heap of broken junk.
In the centre of the room a crude circle has been drawn in the earth around a large number of smashed eggs. The mites appear to have used the insides of the eggs as a crude form of glue - brightly-coloured stones are stuck to the wall to form letters:
A glowing brazier squats in the corner; a number of evil-looking implements protrude from its sullen-glowing coals. Nearby, a set of chains holds four small, black-scaled individuals with draconic-like faces. Arianna, Nariel and Sasha recognise them as kobolds. Their bodies show unmistakable marks of torture: three of them are clearly - and perhaps mercifully - dead, while one of them still struggles feebly against its chains, muttering in ragged gasps.
Raquel scowls when she sees the unfortunate kobold that still lives. "No creatures should have to be subjected to such torture. In Cayden's name, we must break his chains." She looks for a key to release him.
Once he is free, she channels energy to heal the kobold and her allies.
"Unless I miss my guess, these eggs are right below that fairy ring. No doubt this was part of a foul ritual to her." Raquel kneels by the kobold and tries to give him a reassuring smile. "You're safe now." She looks to her companions. "Can anybody understand him?"
Inspecting the throne, Nariel raises one eyebrow quizzically before she reaches out and pulls of a piece of it. Slowly, a smile forms on her face as she inspects it. Moving in beside Raquel, Nariel hands her the wooden rod "Raquel, take this. You will find it useful, it is enchanted with healing magic that you will best be able to employ."
Looking at the Kobold with a measure of pity, Nariel nods at Raquel's inquiry "I am fluent in their language; the kobold speak the same tongue as dragons, who are gifted magic users. I was taught draconic as a child as such." Kneeling down to face the kobold (at a safe distance), Nariel responds in draconic "Rest easy, your captors have been eliminated. You are safe, there will be no more torture. Can you tell us how you ended up in this awful place?
Glancing up, Nariel nods again with Raquel "You are correct Raquel, we are indeed below that ritual ground. That cannot be a coincidence."
The chains are sturdy enough to hold a kobold- or mite-sized prisoner, but they are no match for a strong human and it is a straightforward matter to break the shackles.
The black-scaled kobold jolts as Raquel's healing energy surges through it; and then - ignoring you all - it stumbles forward on shaking legs to the edge of the circle, where it falls to its knees and croaks to itself through a parched throat.
It reaches out and picks up a fragment of shattered eggshell, tears falling from its eyes and streaming down the muzzle of its dragonlike face.
Raquel grins and accepts the wand. "Neat! Thanks!"
Her smile vanishes when she sees the kobold's grief. She kneels beside it and places a comforting hand on a scaly shoulder. "I'm sorry," is all she can say. It's not enough. Not nearly enough.
"Is that draconic? It always sounds different depending on who's speaking, the damnedest thing. Kind of a stuffy-sounding language though. Not the best for song. Though maybe..." Tristan drifts off in the middle of the sentence, suddenly lost in an idea. He gazes around the room, idly examining this and that while he thinks.
Arianna is slow to react, but she moves forward, looking over this...shrine? "How crude," she says, and then realizes how insensitive that is to a mother's grief. She shrugs her pack off, and takes out her waterskin and some dried meat. She leaves it near the kobold.
"This is hideous," she says. "I mean, from what I've heard, kobolds aren't usually pleasant creatures, but this is just sadistic."
A cursory search around reveals another set of chambers beyond this one, composed of squalid living quarters. It's clear that this lair originally held many more mites than the ones you have encountered.
The kobold nods in thanks, and sniffs at the dried meat before wolfing it down. Suitably fortified, it grimly begins to rummage through the shattered debris of eggshell, searching without much hope. However, in addition to being evidently sadistic, the mites were lazy: four of the eggs remain.
Croaking with delight, the black scaled kobold tenderly retrieves each of them, before realising its dilemma: it might be able to carry one of them, but it can't possibly hold all four, even leaving aside the fact that it has to traverse the crevasse in order to get out.
It puts its head to one side and looks at you directly for the first time.
Passively watching the kobold scour the cave for the remains of her offspring, the expression on Nariel's face could only be one of pity. Glancing over at Arianna with a slight nod, Nariel responds "Indeed, it appears these mites are a cruel fey, though that might be in part because of whom they served." Glancing at the graffiti on the wall, Nariel shuddered at the thought of the queen, a ever present and reoccurring source of danger.
Moving slowly towards kobold in a most nonthreatening manner, Nariel crouches down so that she is speaking at eye level with the grieving mother. Folding her arms across her stomach, Nariel responds calmly in the ancient dialect
The kobold gives a rasping hiss in reply to Nariel's words.
"I have to return them to where they belong. Our cavesss lie many milesss from here. Can I trussst you and your friendsss to help me?"
Aivar frowns as the little hissing fella slithers its tongue into a story. "What's the creature saying, Nariel? I assume it wants our help. At the very least, we can help it get those eggs out of here."
Nariel smiled lightly, deciding not to engage in debate about their respective ancient ancestors. Nodding, Nariel responds in draconic "Fair enough. We can help you Mikmek, my companions are trustworthy. Allow me to consult with them though, they cannot understand us."
Standing up, Nariel turns to Aivar and responds "She does need our help Aivar. She is from the Sootscale clan, who are camped several miles south of this location. Her name is Mikmek, and she will lead they way for us, but she will need help with her eggs."
Crouching back down to speak with Mikmek, Nariel adds "Can you ensure our safety when we arrive Mikmek? Your clan might be alarmed at our arrival."
While listening to the conversation, Sasha begins to pry the valuable stones from the wall, handing them to Tristan as she reaches to grab the others.
Aivar eyes Mikmek with curiosity as he replies to Narièl. "The mites, in all their misguided anger and hatred, might see the entire world as their enemies, but their example is so rotten that even ones as strange to one another as Brevans and ko .. kobolds, right? - band together when confronted with the blue menaces. It's as if the world is trying to correcting an otherworldly wrong."
It is hard to find a positive note in this song of misery, but Aivar couldn't help himself. He has to.
Mikmek nods slowly in reply to Nariel's question.
Once Nariel translates Mikmek's latest response, Raquel nods enthusiastically. "Returning kidnapped children home? That sounds like a worthy quest for a Caydenite! Hmm, or would it be 'eggnapped,' technically?" She shrugs. "Either way, I think we ought to rest first before heading out. I'm all but out of magic, and I think Nariel's running low, too."
"Agree, I'm up for it. Seems like even kobold children should get a fair shake in life." Tristan says with a sad glance at the broken eggs. He cheers up slightly as Sasha manages to pry loose the ruby from the wall. The singer holds it up to his eye letting the scant light shine through the stone.
Mikmek shakes her head frantically as Raquel's suggestion is translated to her.
Hearing and understanding Mikmek's urgency, Narièl looks back towards the others and translates with a light sigh "As much as I would like to rest, Mikmek has asked me to express her urgency to get back to her tribe."
"Oh." Tristan looks around and shrugs. "Well, I'd say we're done here. A few miles south, it was? Hardly a bother. Let's away!"
"Aye, let's shake a leg!"
"Alright, if ... she? ... urges us that time is of the essence, we best go right now. With the mite leader gone, I doubt they'll be bothering us again anytime soon."
Arianna nods. "We should get moving quickly, then, while we have daylight." She takes off her backpack and reorganizes the contents so she can line it with a blanket, leaving an open space just the size of one of the eggs. She picks up an intact egg and carefully puts it in her bag.
Making your way carefully out of the mite-strewn caverns, you emerge blinking into bright Spring sunshine. The rain has (temporarily) abated, the clouds have (temporarily) withdrawn, and only the slight chill edge to the wind tells you that Summer is still some distance away. In the branches of the vast tree, a lone bird chirrups its song, while insects buzz to and fro among the wildflowers that fly their colours brilliantly among the dense, green grass.
Mikmek screws up her eyes in the watery sunshine, and sniffs the air several times before heading off decisively to the Southeast. It is the better part of a day's journey that she takes you, deeper into the ever-rolling Kameland Hills. Unable to follow a straight line, your path meanders to and fro, as it occasionally feels that you must be doubling back on yourselves. Still Mikmek plods on, ahead of your horses (who seem to want as little to do with her as she does with them).
Eventually however, she holds up one arm and you come to a halt before an opening in the hillside that is too regular in shape to be natural. It is faced with chiseled stone blocks, once square but weathered with the vast passage of slow time. Still, runes in the Dwarven tongue can be seen, carved deeply if now illegible. Mikmek sighs in relief.
Urging Hrive up near the front of the group, Nariel looks over towards the others "This is apparently it. We should perhaps tie off the horses here? Our mounts and the kobold do not seem to enjoy the company of one another."
Gracefully dismounting from Hrive with a light drop, Nariel approaches Mikmek and stops beside her. Looking down at the kobold, Nariel smiles lightly and speaks in her language.
Raquel ties Thunder off with the rest of the horses. She looks at the cave entrance thoughtfully. "Let's hope the rest of the kobolds are as willing to talk as Mikmek has been. If not, there's always my charming smile to fall back on--bolstered by Cayden's magic, of course."