Sherekak emerges from hiding and stalks over, tail lashing.
"SSS ... Cat lady have skills yess ..." He hisses
The diminutive velociraptor starts flipping the bodies, looking for anything of value. He stops and rips off a goblin arm and gnaws on it, then throws it down.
"SSS ... too burned." He complains
"Good work," Karrin says looking to Merle, "I can't wait to see what you got planed for the boss monsters!"
As the group rummages among the charred goblins there is a sound from the forest. Everyone startles, and crossbows swing up. A strange kobold dressed in rags emerges from the underbrush. One of the minions runs forward.
Kobold:
Merle lowers her hand from where she was about to throw a spell as she realises its another Kobold
Draconic
The two kobolds turn to Merle. The one that came with them chitters:
Draconic:
The rag-clad kobold chitters
Draconic:
Merle can see upon looking closer that the new kobold is covered in angry-looking sores and scabs. His scales look an unhealthy shade of grey.
Draconic:
The kobold named Freggek chitters at Karrin
**I know how to get back. I was going to try and get to portal and go back to Cage but you beat me here. Now is good time to go, there is problems in camp between goblins. We captives dug hidden tunnel under wall. A patrol saw me and chased me to you.**
Freggek pauses than chitters
**Tunnel small, but you can squeeze if you want to get inside camp.**
Draconic:
** spoiler omitted **
Draconic
"Someone should go wake the others and get them here." Turning to freggek
"You're sure they didn't find the tunnel when they spotted you and do you have any idea how many goblins are in the camp roughly? Oh and what sort of problems between goblins?"
Freggek chitters to Merle
**They only spot me when I'm away from camp. Just bad luck. Tunnel should be OK. There were lots of goblins in camp, lots went back to Cage. Ones that stayed not happy, they argue and fight all time now. Maybe dozen, dozen and half left in camp. Goblins argue about chieftanship. Someone die in Cage, now all goblins want to be chief or want their buddy be chief. Head goblin Burremesh he shaman, he try to keep fighting down, but lots of knife work in dark.**
Freggek grins, exposing a mouth half empty of teeth.
**Serves the eggsuckers right.**
Karrin turns to Eir, noticing the look of incomprehension on her face, and the good matured tiefling quickly translates.
"This poor little guy was captured by the goblins, but he escaped through a tunnel they dug, and he can lead us back to the goblins."
Karrin turns back to the poor abused Kobold, "we should go back to our camp," Karrin says in draconic, "I got a plan but we should go discuss it with Whitescale. Also that fireball was a bright flash in the night if there are any more of those goblins out scouting they might be coming this way."
Sherekak nods his narrow head in agreement
"SSS... Yess back to get the othersss. We go."
The small raptor turns and barks Draconic at his minions and they all turn for the manticore's rock
"This poor little guy was captured by the goblins, but he escaped through a tunnel they dug, and he can lead us back to the goblins."
"Oh... awesome. Yah, let's move."
"We can attack from two fronts," Karrin happily points after they arrive back in camp, "we can draw the goblins in one direction and then the others can attack from the blind side, but we'll want to take this last leader out fast. This shaman sounds like a voice of reason and we don't need that thrown into the mix along with eighteen or more goblins."
"Ah don't worry about the shaman." Merle says waving the concern off "I'll take care of him easily. Right Seph?"
Seph whilst sitting on Merle's shoulder just rolled his eyes as if to say "Here we go again."
The group returns to the manticore's rock after cleaning up the battle scene. Wightscale is woken and he soon agrees with the others that the time to strike is upon them.
"Should be headin' into predawn soon, that'll give us our best opportunity. They'll be missing those scouts soon, so we best be going before they get their wind up." He says while buckling on his gear.
The kobolds and the party all soon get accoutered and start off to the goblin mining camp. Along the way Freggek descsribes the camp as best he can. Karrin translates for Eir as they go on.
**Camp cut from big trees, all lashed together and covered in thick mud. One gate, and steep cliff at the back side. Trollhead waterfall right next to camp and stream along side of camp. Tunnel we dig 3 meters down and 15 long. We come out in slave barracks. Scary cave where salt come from in cliff face. Portal is in cave entrance, takes to mine made all of salt. Very spooky, feel bad there. Portal key a white marble. Sometimes goblins go somewhere using rusty horseshoe portal key, but they never take kobolds.**
Wightscale and his kobold troops all assemble in the pre-dawn light. They set off, with the party accompaning. Freggek the escapee leads them towards the goblin mining camp.
After a bit of travel down forest game trails they come to a large meadow area. The roar of a large waterfall is off to the left. The group can see a crude palisade of treetrunks that have been sunk into the ground and covered in a crude muddy concrete shell. A few trails of smoke rise from above the sharpened logs of the palisade. The fortification abuts the high cliff face the waterfall is descending from. the stream of water from the waterfall winds around the left side of the fortification, wrapping around the gate side and bridged with a crude wooden span. There is a large gate, but it seems to be closed at the moment. There is a postern gate cut into the larger gate.
Update on Niel:
Merle:
Merle will head towards roughly were the tunnel is supposed to be avoiding going near the front gate if at all possible.
Eir follows.
Wightscale keeps his kobolds at the forest.
"We'll be ready to make our attack when you signal."
He hands the party a small whistle.
"Blow three times for the go ahead. One long blast for abort." He instructs
Freggek leads the group along the verge of the forest until they are almost next to the cliff face. He leads them towards the eastern face of the palisade, towards a clump of thorn bushes. At one point the goblins had cleaned the area around their palisade of trees, but they have let brambles and bushes sprout up.
Karrin and Greep (1d20-1=17, 1d20 7=17)
Karrin, one of the few party members that can actually see in the dark, does her best to stay extra vigilante.
Niel:
Swift and Merle pad after Freggek, managing to travel fairly silently despite the heavy underbrush and the weak light. Freggek leads them to a clump of bushes on the east side of the palisade. He scrapes some dead grass away at the bushes' base and reveals a rough tunnel in the dirt.
**This be the way in** He hisses softly in Draconic.
"Well no time like the present" Merle then proceeds down the tunnel with swift
Eir follows.
The dirt tunnel is a narrow squeeze, but the kobolds did a good job of propping up the earth with broken sticks and such. The group emerges into a small building with an overpowering reptilian reek.
Several dozen kobolds lie on stained straw pallets, their left legs chained to the wall. They are as sore-covered as Freggek, and many look ill. Freggek scurries into the building hissing in Draconic to the shackled slaves. The kobolds look up at the party, their eyes calculating.
Freggek runs to a corner pallet and removes a small makeshift key.
**This open my lock, open others too** He hisses softly to the party
The slave barracks is about 20 meters by 10. it has a stout door that has a small grill built in. It is constructed log-cabin style and there are no windows. The door is only about 5' high, and the ceiling is a scant 6'.
Merle begins to undo all the locks on the Kobolds
Karrin was going to stay close to Eir and wasn't planing on going through the tight underground tunnel. Karrin had planed to assault the main doors, but seeing Eir slink off to the tunnels as well Karrin decides not to argue.
Karrin, Greep
(1d20 3=22, 1d20 13=21)
Karrin also gets a +2 on hide checks.
The makeshift key isn't perfect, but it gets the job done. Soon all the enslaved kobolds are free of their shackles. They stretch and start uncovering small stashes of egg-sized rocks, which they pour into their ragged pockets.
There are 25 kobolds free, and Freggek makes 26. They all look to be in rather sorry shape, some with greviously infected wounds.
"Where are the Goblins?"
Draconic
"Any of you that aren't in a state to fight should probably wait here till we start the rukus outside then head back the tunnel and out. Hopefully the brawl will stop any of the guards noticing you."
Merle will then go over to the door and gently test to see if its locked. If it isn't she will open it a fraction in order to have a quick look outside
The door to the slave barracks is very stout and banded in iron. It is locked from outside. Merle can see a bit out of the small grill in the door.
Perception
"Get the Kobolds out," Karrin whispers, "then we start a ruckus, pretending to be kobolds, and when the guards open the doors we strike. What do you think?"
Merle: