I agree, you can go Sesserak.
Sesserak happily scrambles away, heading in the opposite direction from the kobold lair. It's now getting fairly late in the day, maybe around 6pm. Although since it's summer, there's still a couple of hours of daylight left. There are some tracks along the path down to the lake, but that's about it.
After walking a couple of hundred feet down the path, you come to a fifty-foot-wide strip of shore stretching between the lake’s edge and the forty-foot-high quarry wall. It’s strewn with stony debris—the result of centuries of rockslides. Several larger boulders stand against the middle of the quarry wall. Next to them, you can see two cave openings. Most likely these lead to the kobold's lair. There's about 30 feet between the entrances.
"I see five on guard."
Too dark to see anything. Objections to north?
Probably Tiger sees more than I do right now. Either North or South is fine with me.
Two are to the north and 3 to the south. Could I get one of those healing potions?
After doing some asking around once you get back in town, you're able to find the mansion where Lady Devy lives. After a brief wait, the butler ushers you in to a warm, nicely furnished living room. The chairs look plush and soft and there's a large fireplace, currently unlit in the summer heat. There are a number of book cases along the walls filled with old, well-used tomes on various subjects. Lady Devy glides in, looking tired. Most likely from a day spent calming citizens and reassuring them about the day's unusual events.
She gracefully sits in one of the chairs, the butler pouring several cups of tea. She takes one and offers you each one of your own, gesturing for you to sit. "Tell me, what have you to report? Did you find out why the tower collapsed and what the kobolds had to do with it?"
We found a number of strange things in the tower, my lady. It seemed an evil place, with torture chambers and evil creatures--an imp and a ghoul. There were also two rooms protected by enchantments and a golem. As to the demise of the tower, the kobolds knocked it down by their own admission. We also found spades on several of their bodies, presumably dying in the collapse they caused. One of the kobolds claimed that Hunclay hired them to destroy the tower. Hunclay himself lies dead in the tower. We don't know why he went inside before the collapse.
Lady Devy looks thoughtful as she listens to Sir Florace speak. Half to herself, she murmurs, "I always knew Hunclay wanted that tower gone. Never thought he'd go as far as to do this though..."
She then shakes herself out of her thoughts, waving her butler over. He's carrying a small leather pouch that jangles as it moves. "Here is your payment. 625 gold, as promised." She hands it over to Sir Florace. "I wonder though, would you be interested in earning a fair bit more? I've long been suspicious of a local kobold tribe living near the flooded quarry to the east. Thus far they had never caused any problems, so we left them alone. Clearly, those times have changed." She pauses to take a sip of her tea. "I would like for you to drive the kobolds out of the region. Killing their chieftain would certainly be one option, but really, any method that drives them away is fine with me. In return, I will give you a fifteen amethysts worth 100 gold each. What say you?"
Florace takes the gold, murmuring his thanks. As it happens I believe we already have a lead for that. That's where I believe we were heading anyway. Sir Florace looks to his companions inquiringly.
Turning back to Lady Devy, he says, I must ask, my lady, what was the purpose of this "witch's tower" to the town? With its dungeons and torture chambers it seemed rather out of place.
Lady Devy purses her lips at the topic. "The tower was built ages ago. At least a couple of hundred years. From what you say, I would guess that it was originally meant for exactly what it appeared to be. It's been abandoned for as long as I've been alive though."
"Your voice seems strained, my lady. Is there anything else that you know about the tower?"
Lady Devy sighs sorrowfully. "If you must know, my fool of a husband lost his life poking around in that damnable tower several years ago. I had come to think of it as his memorial. But, what's done is done. At least now no one else will likewise lose their life."
She banishes any sign of her sorrow as she gets back to business. "Anyway, if there was nothing else, perhaps you should all return to your lodgings to rest for the night; you all look tired." It's clear from her tone of voice that this is meant as a dismissal.
The group heads to the inn that they had found on first arriving that day. Along the way, Arden remarks "She sounds very arrogant, especially the way she dismissed us. It's like she didn't respect us. And we're the ones volunteering our lives to do things no one else will."
"If no one has any objections, I'll check us in at Talia's inn. Get anything you need from town before we turn in for the night."
Florace gives her a small bow. Of course, my lady. I hope our investigation has brought you some kind of solace. We shall begin our work to clear out the kobolds on the morrow.
"Yes, thees sounds fine."
She sounds very arrogant, especially the way she dismissed us. It's like she didn't respect us. And we're the ones volunteering our lives to do things no one else will."
Back at the inn, you all rest up. Talia provides you with another tasty meal and shows you to your rooms. They're not luxuriously quarters, but they're clean and the bed is comfortable. The night passes without incident.
The next morning Talia gives you all breakfast. If anybody tries to skip the meal, she gives that person a glare along with a short lecture on how breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
As the group approaches the kobold lair, the guards you had noticed before start to pelt rocks while hissing and yelling at the intruders.
Most of the rocks go wide, landing far from the group, but a couple manage to hit Tiger.
Arden moves to attack the first kobold, with the thrown insults still on his mind. He does not notice the thrown rocks at Tiger however.
Arden hisses back at the kobolds, 'khlakhll hlkahlh halkhalhlkah alk'
"Go away!" Tiger shouts back, not understanding, and accompanies this shout with a flung javelin (at one who Arden's not in melee with).
We won't let let you harm the town any more!
Sir Florace goes up to the nearest kobold and attacks.
Arden nimbly strikes at the nearest kobold. "「ステーギアウト！」" (phonetically: suteegi outto) it screams at it falls to the ground, dead.
The second kobold manages to nimbly dodge first Tiger's spear and then Sir Florace's sword swing.
Sharpe steps forward and shoots past his allies at the nearest kobold, then loads an alchemical cartridge.
Aki moves forward and shoots at the kobold.
As the combined efforts of Aki and Sharpe take down the second kobold, a third, unseen one pops up near Arden and attempts to stab him with his spear. Unfortunately, his footing seems bad, and he misses. Following their comrade's example, the other three kobolds continue to miss with their rocks.
Florace rushes to Arden's defence, but seems to make a botch of it.
Arden counter attacks.
Arden makes a severe misstep, but manages to regain some of his balance as he casts a strange spell with his longsword.
However it appears that Arden is still not quite balanced.
Tiger will keep moving forward, draw another spear and fling it.
While both Sir Florace and Arden miss their target, both manage to hold on to their weapons without accidentally hitting an ally.
Like a might Olympic javelin hurler from some other dimension, Tiger manages to turn one opponent into a kobold-a-bob. However, he gets the distinct impression that the skewered lizard would not be that tasty.
Sharpe shoots at the closest kobold but his gun jams, these new-fangled guns and their alchemical ammo are pretty unreliable. He uses some grit to clear the jam.
Tiger's finally close enough to close to melee, which he will do, charging with his mace.
Aki takes a five foot step dropping her bow and slashing at the nearest kobold.
vs 18
vs 15
While Sharpe fiddles with his gun, Aki swings at the kobold, but only manages to land a single, glancing blow. The kobold retaliates, missing the agile Aki.
The two kobolds by the Southern-most exit both continue to sling rocks at Tiger, but they only bounce off of the man's armor. In frustration, they drop their slings to pull out their spears. Meanwhile, unnoticed by Tiger, a third kobold comes up behind him and stabs him in the back with its spear. With a roar, more of anger than pain, he creates yet another kobold-a-bob as the newcomer is struck dead.
Arden makes another attempt at the kobold in front of him.
Arden, with the edge of his longsword, inscribes his father's family's sigil on the kobold's scales.
While his first strike misses, Arden's second strikes true; he cleanly slices off the kobold's head.
Sir Florace charges to the nearest kobold and attacks.
To confirm fumble (really?)
Sharpe walks towards the kobolds and loads a bullet.
Aki moves forward and shoots at the kobold.
As the party moves in closer, the two remaining kobolds realize the futility of their efforts, and run yelling back into their hideout through the Southern entrance.