Bea looks around, confused, trying her hardest to detect where the kobold might have gone.
"He's gone!" After a moment, she calls out again, "Tartuk, show yourself! We came to talk to you but your cowardice betrays your guilt. If you desire any chance of mercy drop this charade."
Round 4:
Adam
Bea
Jacyn
Simn
Jameth/Willem
Tartuk/Havrin
Retsiji
Bea looks around, sees no indication of Tartuk's whereabouts (the hangings have stopped moving by now), and issues her challenge. Jameth and Willem are securing the kobold, who shows no interest in continuing to fight. Adam and Simn have yet to announce what they're doing; unless I hear otherwise I'll assume that they've also moved into the room and are aiding in the search. (Selfless fellow that he is, Adam would help Havrin check out the treasure....) Jacyn can also do something in response to Bea.
Jacyn looks around for any indication of where Tartuk might have disapeared to.
Jacyn, you note no indications of Tartuk's presence. He'd have to be making a lot of noise to be heard over all the whispering, though.
Well, the obvious place for a secret escape route to be hidden was behind a wall hanging. Simn headed over and started twitching them aside, intent on giving chase. And if he didn't find one, well, he could always ask the black-scaled kobolds.
"You know, I don't actually remember how much it hurt but I imagine the pain was similar to how a rabbit would feel if it was skinned alive. Now, come here and tell me about farm life. I have been so long in the city I forgot what I loved about my old home."
Adam scoops up some coins and jewels and stuffs them in his backpack, but he doesn't take much time to look at them.
"We should get after Tartuk I think. And get away from this infernal whispering. I'm sure it's a spell of some type but no idea what its doing to us."
I should clarify something: I should've taken the black border off the map; it was a guideline for me when I transferred it from the AP, and it doesn't represent anything. The passage to the NE continues out of sight. (However, Tartuk didn't go in that direction to start with.)
That said, Simn starts to move hangings aside. There's about a foot or so between the hangings and the chamber wall, which is braced with some really nice timberwork (the same as out in some of the passages here, it's just that this is your first chance to get a good look at it). Where you can see it the chamber wall looks pretty solid; no sign of secret passages or openings.
Retsiji is about to start concentrating on his detect magic spell when Tartuk reappears as if from nowhere in the mouth of the passage to the NE (see UPDATED MAP). He has just completed a spell; everyone except Jacyn, Simn, and Retsiji please make DC 17 Will saves or fall asleep.
Willem and Jameth both fall asleep, but the kobold manages to resist the spell.
Bea easily resists the sudden feeling of drowsiness but rages at the purple kobold as she sees several of her companions fall to the ground. She charges at him while exclaiming, "You'll pay for that!" and brings her greatsword down on him with all her might.
Jacyn takes a step and swings at the purple kobold.
for Will Save. *Snore*
Those actions will take place in Round 5; there's still a couple of things yet in Round 4:
As soon as his spell is completed, Tartuk levels a wand at Jacyn and chirps a word in Draconic. The bird on his shoulder cackles maniacally as the wand activates. Twin glowing needles arc from the wand to the cavalier.
Retsiji casts his own spell in return, though it is considerably less blatant in its effects than Tartuk's.
Round 5:
Bea
Jacyn
Simn
Tartuk/Havrin (?)
Retsiji
Filled with holy fury, Bea closes with the not-so-hapless kobold, bringing her sword smashing down on him and inflicting a mighty wound. The shaman is still up, though, grimacing in pain and spitting curses. Jacyn follows on her heels with a rapid thrust at the creature, but his sword is deflected by some occult force before it can connect.
Round Four:
Havrin succumbs to the scaly purple shaman's spell and drops to the ground, snoring loudly.
Simn joined the charge, intent on bringing down this false priest. Couldn't have such types going around giving the clergy a bad name by preying on their own congregations, after all.
Round 5:
Simn has trouble getting to the wounded shaman, and misses him cleanly. At his action, he steps back 5' and discharges the wand at Jacyn again.
The captive kobold takes advantage of the party's focus on Tartuk and runs away, back the way you came.
Retsiji makes his way over to Havrin and tries to rouse him.
On to Round 6; Bea, you're up.
Bea
Jacyn
Simn
Tartuk
Retsiji
Jacyn takes a few steps back, trying to keep out of the way of others who might be in better condition to take Tartuk out.
"Take the little bugger down, Bea! Hhrnn!" he winces in pain from the magical 'burn' in his chest.
1) Is there a more current map than the last one?
2) Please excuse my assumption, but if Tartuk used the Sleep spell however many rounds ago, it can only target 4HD worth of peoples. It targeted Willem, Jameth, Bea, Havrin, and Adam, which is 5HD worth of peoples.Jacyn takes a few steps back, trying to keep out of the way of others who might be in better condition to take Tartuk out.
"Take the little bugger down, Bea! Hhrnn!" he winces in pain from the magical 'burn' in his chest.
Round 6:
Thanks for the reminder, Jacyn. Here's the UPDATED MAP.
Seeing Jacyn severely wounded, Bea shreaks and brings her sword around again on the priest.
Bea steps up and, now that no allies were in the way, brings her greatsword around in a roundhouse swing. She feels some resistance in empty air in front of the renegade kobold, but her righteous anger gives her the strength to batter past it, striking the shaman under his chin and cutting off his head. It rolls to a stop at her feet with an odd expression on its face--mingled fear and relief, almost. The body collapses on top of it.
OK, off melee time. Everyone affected by the spell awakens with no ill effects.
Retsiji says, "I don't know what that spell was, but a conventional sleep spell shouldn't have laid out that many of us. I'll look it up later."
The treasure heap contains, at a quick estimate, a lot of quartz and mica, several thousand coppers, well over a thousand silvers, a few hundred gold, a light metal shield of decent craftsmanship with the Surtova arms on it, a case of seven crossbow bolts, a pair of boots, and a soiled leather bag. The bag in turn contains more coinage, a small pouch of dust, and a plain brass wedding ring set with a single pearl. Tartuk had his wand, a well-made sickle with faint mottled banding in the metal, a pair of bracers, a cloak, and a book.
Since Retsiji already has his detect magic running, he can tell that the bolts, the boots, the dust, the wand, the bracers, and the cloak are all magical.
At some point, Chief Sootscales, Mikmek, the kobold who fled, and several more of the little creatures will come on the scene.
Jacyn drops his sword and shield to the floor before carefully removing his pack and begins to rummage through it. He slouches against the wall and holds his side, while downing several large gulps of water from his waterskin.
Beatrix finally allows herself to relax. She breathes out deeply, then suddenly looks around at the rest of the group. "Jacyn, are you ok? Simn, see to him please. Adam, leave the treasure there for now - it belongs to the Kobolds. We've done them a great service, and I'm sure it won't be difficult to negotiate for what we want, so let's not be thieves." Bea wipes the blood from her sword before putting it away and stands waiting for the chief, trying to decide if they should go look for him.
On seeing the headless corpse of their former shaman, Chief Sootscales grins widely, showing rows of needle-sharp teeth. "You got him! Very good, and we are again in your debt. Feel free to take anything that snake had on him...if we never see it again it will be too soon. Too bad about Stchrizzk..." He jerks his chin in the direction of the kobold on the floor. "...but he couldn't know he was supposed to stand aside." The other kobold who was guarding Tartuk starts to say something in Draconic, then catches himself and continues in Common. "He still breathing, Chief! I take him, sew him up, right?"
The chief nods, and a couple of the kobolds carefully carry the wounded one out. "We need every spear to fight those blue stoats.
"Now, you said something about a ring? If it's still there, you can have that too."
Adam, still wounded but much relieved that the fighting was over, bows to the chieftain. "How magnanimous of you to give us this treasure. It will be very useful in establishing a base of operations in these lands. We would welcome trade with the dragonkin at any time, provided that we can maintain peaceful relations. I am sure that we will be able to."
He looks around slyly. "I don't suppose you have a box we can put it in, so we can take it with us?"
The chief chirps out a quick string of Draconic. In response, one of the kobolds grabs the bag and empties it out on the pile, puts the ring back in it, packs up Tartuk's belongings (cloak, wand, sickle, bracers, book), and hands the bag to Adam. Chief Sootscales runs a clawed hand down the kobold's shoulder and grins. "Nice work, Lektuk. How's that, Master Halfling? That was kind of rude, I suppose, but I don't know your names."
Adam grins back. "Master Halfling will work, I'm called Adam Burlvogne"
"Well, you are a lucky girl to have so much of your life decided for you. And I am sure you will fine a suitable husband to help run the house of wherever you end up."
Katya remains intentionally neutral on the perceived feelings of Lilya towards her, one does not disrespect the owner of the house you are sleeping in, but still a bit of the bitterness in her voice seeps through. Still, once the girl has finished her train of thought Katya stops her and flips back open her spellbook to read up on before falling asleep for the night.
With Tartuk out of the way, Simn set about dispensing healing to both Jacyn and the injured kobold.
As the healing energy washes over him, Jacyn moves his hand from his side as the pain lessens. A loud pop rings in the chamber and Jacyn grunts as one of his ribs pops back into place.
"How much of that can you do today, Simn? I dont want to run you dry, in case we get into a spot of trouble on the way back to the Levetin's, but I could definitely use a bit more."
As mentioned before, the breakfast is large and filling--eggs, bread and butter with jam, sausage, cheese, porridge, and milk. Garess, Stefan, and Tomas tuck in with a vengeance, but Peter picks at his food listlessly. This does not go unnoticed by the farm wife, who looks a bit put out. Garess motions her over and whispers in her ear; unfortunately, you can't quite make out what he says. Whatever it is, she's mollified, and makes sure that Peter has lots of water and plain bread.
After breakfast and before you set off, Garess and his men, as promised, spend an hour or so doing chores. As he's going to work, Garess gives you a meaningful look.
The weather isn't very pleasant--kind of drizzly on and off, cloudy, and cool. The weather gear comes in handy, as do your boots, since the road is kind of muddy. There aren't as many people out as yesterday. Peter looks worse than he did yesterday afternoon, but still better than yesterday morning--he occasionally shivers, and at one point goes off the side of the road and throws up. He gets no sympathy at all from Tomas and Stefan, who make a point of talking glowingly about breakfast in loud voices near him. Garess just says quietly, "If you're not feeling better by tonight, tell me."
Somewhere around noon you come to a small tower by the side of the road, with a couple of armed men outside. They're wearing surcoats with the Surtova arms and carrying pikes. One hails the five of you. Garess rides over, dismounts, and chats with the soldiers.
On returning, he says, "The group is still a few days ahead of us. They've already been busy, it seems. A trapper came through here yesterday with a load of furs--told the soldiers that they ambushed some bandits at Oleg's, tried them, and executed them all. And maybe this tale grew in the telling, but they supposedly didn't take so much as a scratch doing it." He smiles slightly. "It'll make our jobs easier, that's for sure."
Once across the border, the three footmen move to obviously preassigned positions--two go in front, swords out, and one in the back with his bow. You and Garess stay in the middle of the triangle with the pack animals.
Lunch is some food that the farmers packed for you, so it's much better than the field rations you brought. Peter seems to have more of an appetite now.
The weather clears a bit after lunch. You encounter no one else that afternoon. At some point the road turned into a trail, with trees crowding up to the edges and arching over it; you can hear movement in the trees, but don't see anything on the trail. There are enough brooks that you're able to keep your waterskins filled, and around dusk you find a clearing. Again, it's obvious that these four have done this sort of thing many times--they get a tarp set up, a small fire built, and bedrolls out in short order.
I'll pause here for you to give me your actions for the day.
Bea bows slightly to the chieftain, then speaks as formally as she knows how, "And I am Beatrix. I'm glad we were able to help each other, and hope we can continue in peace in the future. As Adam said, we would be open to trade, and as long as you do not provoke the other settlers here, we will make it known that the Sootscale tribe are our friends."
The chief nods. "I think we can keep to that. We don't have much to trade right now, but who knows? That may change." He lowers his voice and leans closer to Adam. "Not to be a bad host, after all you've done for us, but most of my people aren't used to Big Folks being on this side of the pit traps. Could we take this outside?"
Adam nods. "I am sure my friends would enjoy less cramped conditions, as well. Not natural for them to be in such small areas."
"I don't think there'll be any more fighting today," Simn told Jacyn, channeling positive energy one last time to try and make sure both Jacyn and the kobold were more or less recovered.
And indeed it seemed successful. Jacyn wasn't quite at top form, but he was close enough, and he did have a point about holding something in reserve just in case.
The lot of you head for the entrance you came in through. It looks like the kobolds have already cleaned up the walls of the ersatz temple, but have left the tables in place for now. The three ex-bandits set to guard the horses have done a reasonable job of it, so there are still horses there. And ex-bandits. Jal calls out to you as you emerge, "I have found something inter--" He stops abruptly as he sees Chief Sootscales.
Jacyn grunts in appreciation as the other two ribs pop back into place. He stretches his neck and rolls his shoulders, as if trying to get the feeling back into them before cleaning off his sword and sheathing it and preparing to leave.
"Much better now, Simn. Thank you."
Once outside, Jacyn holds a hand out to Jal, seeing the other man's reaction, "Woah there. They are on our side. We're friends now. Yes?", he says, turning back to the chieftain at the last of his sentence.
Chief Sootscales nods and grins. "Friends, yes."
Jal looks a little uncertain, but holds up a wooden plank. "I saw this off to the side of the lair entrance. From the holes, it appears to have once been attached to the crossbeam over the entrance. Look what it says!"
Painted in faded letters on the plank are the words, "Oaktop Silver Mine."
Adam grins.
"So Chief Sootscales... a silver mine! Well, well. You are on top of a genuine mine of one of the most valued resources of society. I'm sure trade negotiations will go well. Do the dragonkin have the knowedge of refining it?"
The chief pauses a moment in thought before replying, "Not here...yet. We can dig with the best of them, though."
Bea is rather amused at this turn of events, and chuckles slightly. "Not to worry, we don't have any means to refine it out here either...yet. Adam has big plans for this region, though - so I'll bet if you start mining operations and stockpile the silver, you'll have a good head start once we're ready to refine and trade."
Well, this was a promising beginning indeed. Friendly relations with the kobolds and the potential for long-term trade. There was, however, still the matter of this Stag Lord to be dealt with before any true civilisation could take root in the region.
"A definite plus further down the line then," Simn said, "How about your people, Chief Sootscales? Are they going to be alright now that Tartuk's gone?"
Once Kesten leaves for the night she falls asleep with her spell book flipped open across her chest, as she has done many nights in the pasts. The next morning brings Katya up around the same time as the girls and she keeps herself to polite conversation during breakfast. While the men work in the fields Katya makes herself useful by mending away most of the cuts and frays of the families clothes, along with cleaning up much of the dust and grim that is part of the daily existence of farm life. It would not last but for a few days the family would have a small taste of a clean life.
Once it is time for them to leave, Katya replaces her usual robe with a simpler travelling garb that she has kept in her pack. The general wetness of the day makes the clothes far more practical than her robes which would just weigh her down walking cross country.
Katya looks with curiosity at Peter as his condition, whatever it is, seems to start strong and weaken as the day continues. Though it quickly leaves her mind when the group comes up on the small town with the pikemen.
Katya raises her eyebrows at the description of the group, "Indeed? How rumors spread and magnify so quickly is a magic all it's own. I hope they are true, I would not want to be out here without strong allies, despite the beautiful scenery."
Following the example of the men she doesn't allow herself to lapse into one of her marathon thinking sessions. Instead she keeps her eyes ahead of her and scanning the horizon. Dull though it is, Katya does appreciate the chance to see something new besides four walls and endless books on magic. When the camp is set for the night around dusk, Katya sits close to Kesten and smiles as she pulls off her boots to let her feet rest for a time.
[b]"I don't suppose there is any more of that food the farmers gave us? The food was very invigorating to keep up with the rest of you on this march but next time remind me to buy my own horse."
Katya's tone is light and slightly airy as the weariness of the day settles on her body.
The farmer's wife, Tatyana, thanks you profusely for your magical repairs and cleaning, and afterward treats you with the same deference you now notice she shows Kesten. As you leave the farmstead, Kesten murmurs to you, "Well done. You ever come this way again, they'll remember you and treat you right."
Something about the way that they treated Kesten and the way he acted towards them is niggling in the back of your mind as you make your way down the road. And then you remember: House Garess is one of the seven noble families of Brevoy. Someone of that name voluntarily doing menial labor for a peasant is...odd, at best.
In response to your question, Kesten shakes his head. "The good stuff doesn't travel well, I'm afraid." He pats you awkwardly on the shoulder. "You're doing fine. Second day's always worse than the first. And don't think riding would be any easier for you. It's a different set of muscles, is all." Peter happens by in time to hear the last of that, and adds, "And blisters where you sit instead of where you stand!" He's clearly doing better.
The night is uneventful. Striking camp the next morning takes almost less time than setting it up; you barely have time to memorize spells for the day, and if not for how long it took to get Kesten's horse and the pack animals ready the others would have been waiting on you.
Shortly after you get moving, the weather turns sour. The wind picks up, the temperature drops, and it starts raining heavily, with occasional peals of thunder in the distance. The mercenaries quickly case their bows to protect them--not that they could have used them effectively, with visibility this low. Your hat and rain poncho keep your head and torso dry, at least until you slip and fall in the mud a few times. All three of the footmen have also fallen at least once. Walking next to Kesten brings the overpowering smell of wet horse, but at least his mount blocks some of the wind. Lunch is cold rations . Nothing is out in the weather as far as anyone can tell.
The storm is beginning to abate towards evening, but you're not looking forward to sleeping on wet ground. Stefan rounds a bend in the trail and starts, before whispering back to Kesten. "There is small building ahead!"
You have come upon a shrine to Erastil, large enough that all of you can stay inside (it's clearly intended for such use). There's some dry firewood in a covered bin next to the shrine, a stone firepit inside, and a rough-hewn table. On one wall is a carved image of the god in the form of a human with the head of an elk. Before settling in, Kesten and his men pause a moment in prayer before the image.
Late in the evening, after you've eaten and as you're settling down, you catch a glimpse of a moving light back down the way you came. What do you do?
"We'll be fine, I think, as long as we can back things down with the mites. If we stop hunting them down, they should lose interest in us. Especially if someone else got them stirred up."
Unless anyone has anything else to add, I'm going to assume that you make your farewells and head back to Oleg's by way of the former bandit camp.
The ride back to the camp is uneventful. The weather is good for a change--slightly cool and windy, which keeps the biting insects down, and cloudy enough that you aren't dazzled. You reach the camp shortly after dark.
Sometime during the night, though, a major storm moves in. The wind tears loose the tarps, which wakes everyone up just in time for the rain, thunder, and lightning to really get going. It's dark, except for frequent stroboscopic lightning flashes, and the rain is coming down in sheets. Everyone is running around trying to get supplies secured and keep the horses from running off. It is at this moment that lightning strikes a nearby tree, panicking a small herd of elk that were sleeping around it. They come charging through the camp and we're on melee time.
"We'll be fine, I think, as long as we can back things down with the mites. If we stop hunting them down, they should lose interest in us. Especially if someone else got them stirred up."
Jacyn smirks,"Well while we were inside their tree-root lair, we knocked over what looksed like a layout of the area. They may have some trouble locating you, even if they wanted to continue giving you grief."