Coming close to the cliff and the crack thats supposedly the entrance to the kobolds lair you are able to decifer most of the writing on the plank: 'Blackface Silver Mine, *** *alda* ***'
(The first line has big lettering, so it's easy to read, while the bottom line is mostly broken off or rotted, only some letters in the middle are left.)
Also, by the time you read the sign, another kobold springs forth from behind a bigger boulder, first presenting his weapon, then opening his mouth, and closing it again. He looks quite confused at you big people on horseback, with Kardok riding with Xanda up front.
Jumping of the horse, your guide greets him in draconic:
"Nakpik! Don't be alarmed! It's not bad."
The lone watch-Kobold is still amazed, but finds his wits to reply in the same tongue: "Kardok? How..? What...? Kardok, ... what ...?"
Kardok brings forth the ivory statuette of Old Sharptooth while saying: "They helped me. They are here to ... I ... Just get the Chief. Tell him we have guests of honor ."
Nakpik takes some more seconds, mouth agape, to look between Kardok and the group, until your guide hits him with his fist, and make him go as told.
Kardok then turns around to you, bringing out in his broken common: "Ok, comes Chief. He speak you. Wait. Long not."
Xanda gets off her horse, having spent most of the trip casting 'Prestidigitation' to get the worse of the dirt and other...stuff...out f her clothes and hair and from her skin.
Branomonrik sitting high on his infernal animal, looks at the Kobold then back to the sign. Ah yes, Adabars will be done he thinks to himself and waits.
"Well, perhaps we should approach and see if they're worth knowing." With that, Devlin steers the cart towards the group of people.
Queslin gets off his horse and keeps a look out for ambush.
Perception
While Devlin might mistake some of the persons in the shadow of the tree for bushes or something, Delfey corrects him, counting 4 humanoids resting up ahead.
Still some space away, you are greeted by a holler to declare yourself, while the four men get up and reach for their weapons (two with bows, one with a sling and the remaining grabs the hilt of his sword).
Taras nearby shakes his head, to indicate that he still doesn't recognise one of them to be a bandit.
--------------------------
A few minutes pass while you wait for Nakpik to get the Chief of the tribe of kobolds. During that time Kardok gets the ivory statuette of 'Old Sharptooth' out and holds it ready to present it to his Chief.
While Queslin looks out for signs of an ambush he doesn't find anything that would indicate one. The surroundings are quiet save for some crows, and the soft wind disturbing the grass.
Coming out of the cave, Chief Sootscale seems to have been prepared for the sight of the group and Kardok among them.
Kardok hisses, looking straight up in the sky for a second, then presents the statue of their 'god' to the Chief who quickly grabs it, inspects it and then licks its feet.
Behind the Chief, some more Kobolds emerge from the opening, yipping furiously to praise the return of 'Old Sharptooth' once the Chief presents the statue to them.
While all of the kobolds have dark grey to black scales, one amongst them is prominently different: a purplescaled kobold, with a raven sitting on his shoulder, makes his way through the others, meeting up with the Chief in front of the group of explorers and Kardok.
Before the Chief or Kardok have much of a chance to exchange some words as to what happened or why he comes with the humans and others to the tribe, the strange kobold commands (in draconic): ""
Kardok quickly glances back at you, then nods. ""
The purple kobold nods, and the raven on his shoulder starts to caw (in draconic as well): ""
Draconic
Queslin shifts his gear for a more comfortable fit. It takes only a moment, but when he's done, his bow is in hand.
"Care to explain what these knockers are squawking about?" Big Ern asks, amused by the enraged kobolds.
Devlin says, "Well, if neither of us knows them, then we shall introduce ourselves."
After being hailed, Devlin pulls the cart to a stop and stands. He has on foot braced against the seat and the front of the other boot hanging over the front edge, all to help maintain his balance should he need to get the cart moving quickly. He keeps the reins in one hand.
He then yells, "GREETINGS FELLOW TRAVELERS! MAY WE JOIN YOU FOR A FEW MINUTES OF CONVERSATION AND REST FOR OUR HORSES?"
Xanda translates the words of the Kobolds for her friends, though she does point out,
"Um, I don't actually think any of we big folk did touch the statue...?" She says in both common and draconic.
She looks at her companions,
"So, how common does any one think a purple Kobold is? Could it be something like when a person is born all white?" She asks.
Agerron's hand reflexively moves toward his sword hilt, but he keeps himself under control and pulls his hand away before it travels too close. He remains silent for now, but is clearly a bit agitated at the bird's ranting ...
"That one wants trouble. I'm sure it will come out that our very presence is an affront to the statue-god. Don't worry, though, Bran, I'll let them take the first swing."
The men under the tree look at each other nervously, quickly exchanging some brief words you can't understand over the distance, then one of the bow-wielders shouts back: "AYE! Come over, and if you got something to drink on that cart, you are more than welcome!"
Behind the man, the others settle back down, their weapons no longer in hand, but still close by.
Once you come close enough to see their faces properly though, the man standing (who invited you), shouts in surprise: "Taras? That you?"
Your companion stops dead in his track, squinting to recognise the face then laughs while answering with an uneasy: "Vasily? ... Vasily! That's some time now. What happened to your old band of ragtags? Shot down by trappers?"
Under his breath he mutters something that might work out to "Play along".
----------------------
The head of every kobold turns to Majet the moment she speaks the question.
"" at which point he stops, due to the Chief having taken the statuette out of Tartuks hand.
Chief Sootscale turns his back to the shaman, presenting Old Sharptooth to the Kobolds (most of them took to arms during the shamans speech) once again, holding it up high, then licking the feet of the ivory thing again. Tickbiter flutters up in the air.
He speaks: ""
Tickbiter swoops down, trying to grab the statue from the Chiefs grip, but fails, and the Kobold swats at the bird for trying.
After calming the Kobolds, Chief Sootscale turns to you, holding Old Sharptooth firmly and speaks: "Welcome. You bring back Kardok and our god. Thank you. I ask Kardok what is going on, what happened. Please settle."
After that short message, the chief grabs Kardok by an ear and pulls him along, back to the entrance of the cave.
Tartuk and his raven in the meantime must have gone back in.
At the Chieftain's words Xanda goes about settling down for potentially a long haul.
"Does any one else think there's something...wrong with a purple Kobold...?" She asks quietly specifically in common. .
Xanda's sharp eyes see the purple kobold not making his way into the cave, but instead go east along the side of the cliff.
His raven circles the site up in the air before settling on the edge of the rocks face, above the opening, looking down.
Xanda frowns and begins to sidle after said really weird Kobold...
Doing her best to stealthily go after Tartuk alone, Xanda follows the purple Kobold for half an hour along the side of the face of black stone.
The 'cliff' is not as high here, and it's getting lower further on.
You occasionly see the raven circling above Tartuk in the sky, though the bird just as often seems to make his way back to the Kobolds cave.
Wondering where the Kobold is going she nearly misses the point where he stops in front of one of the cracks running up, turning and looking obviously for any followers. Whether he sees Xanda or not, he turns again and walks in.
----------------
In front of the Kobolds cave, the remaining explorers have made themselves as comfortable as the place lets them. They rest in the gentle wind, sunbathing to get some warmth in the still wintercold air. The horses are free to roam, grazing what they find in the surroundings.
Only after three quarters of an hour the Chief and Kardok come out of the opening again. Your prisoner/guide walks a bit sheepish besides the Chief, who steps resolutely, but not angrily towards the group.
He greets you with the words "Welcome again. Kardok tells what was and now we say what is and what comes.
Kardok think, your Chief is Michael, but is not sure. I, Chief of Kobolds will speak with your Chief then."
----------------
Taras beeing known to one of the men seems to make them more comfortable instantly, showing in their body language.
Vasily laughs at Taras returning quip, shaking hands with him.
"Nah, if only. They been 'promoted' to the Stag Lords fort. That one's crazier than ever since he found out that Kressle's camp been overrun.
Say... weren't you with Kressle's band?"
Without missing a beat, Taras answers: "Yeah, I was. Had luck. The day it happened I was out hunting a deer. Came back late in the evening with two rabbits instead and found none alive. Pure luck, I'd say."
Is he speaking in common or draconic? I'll assume draconic.
"Majet, please translate this for Agerron and Bran." With Michael's reticence and inability to speak draconic, Queslin steps forth. {b]"Speak, Chief. What do you want?"[/b]
Doing her best to stealthily go after Tartuk alone, Xanda follows the purple Kobold for half an hour along the side of the face of black stone.
The 'cliff' is not as high here, and it's getting lower further on.
You occasionly see the raven circling above Tartuk in the sky, though the bird just as often seems to make his way back to the Kobolds cave.Wondering where the Kobold is going she nearly misses the point where he stops in front of one of the cracks running up, turning and looking obviously for any followers. Whether he sees Xanda or not, he turns again and walks in.
The Kobold Chief turns to Queslin then, speaking (common): "We have situation here. You killed Kobolds, then say mistake. Then help Kardok kill Mites and bring back Kobold god.
Now, you here. What you want from Kobolds?
Reward for kill Mites?
Reward for not kill Kardok?
I not understand."
----------------------
Following Tartuk through the crack, Xanda finds herself in some larger cave.
Inside the cave, is an opening to a winding passage leading deeper into the stone. Tartuk is nowhere else to be seen, so he probably took that route. Putting her ear to the 'tunnel', Xanda hears the noise of a moving Kobold, brushing against the stone sides, mumbling something thats to distorted through echoes to understand.
To try and minimize any misunderstanding, Queslin continues in Draconic, "We are here to bring peace to the region. We heard that the kobolds are causing trouble. What we want is for the kobolds to stop making trouble. We would prefer for the kobolds to be our allies. If not our allies then kobolds are our enemy." Even in Draconic, Queslin's condescension is obvious.
sense motive on the chief: hostile? neutral?
Agerron steps forward, speaking Common (obviously). "Michael is only 'chief' for some of these people, not all of us. And since he remains quiet, and I don't really understand the elf when he speaks your language, let me try and sum up. And I'll be perfectly honest.
"First, when we killed your tribesmen, I wouldn't call it a 'mistake' so much as a misunderstanding. We encountered them after hearing of the trouble that was being caused, and we tried to negotiate from a position of strength. They reached for their weapons, and things went ... poorly. When we got a chnce to talk to Kardok here, who I've gotten to respect for his tenacity, if not his skill, we all ended up at the mite's lair. We've since wiped them out, and returned your statue.
"Like the elf says, it would be far more benficial if we could all live together as allies here. You scratch our back, we'll scratch yours, so to speak. Because whether you like it or not, civilization is coming to these parts, and if you were to choose to be our enemies, things will only go poorly for you. So, what do you think? Friends and allies? Mutual protection pact?"
diplomacy
Following Tartuk through the crack, Xanda finds herself in some larger cave.
Inside the cave, is an opening to a winding passage leading deeper into the stone. Tartuk is nowhere else to be seen, so he probably took that route. Putting her ear to the 'tunnel', Xanda hears the noise of a moving Kobold, brushing against the stone sides, mumbling something thats to distorted through echoes to understand.
Turning you see a big rock closing the opening you just walked through, cutting you off from the cave and the way out to the open fields.
Tartuk has tricked you like a mouse into a trap.
------------------------
The Kobold Chief hears Queslin's and was just about to answer, when Agerron speaks up as well. Hearing him out, he thinks for a second then says (common): "You speak good. You not speak with hate for scales.
We not be enemies. We not be friends.
We keep our land. We take land of Mites.
You have rest of land.
We not make trouble in your land. You not make trouble with Sootscale Kobolds.
Agree?"
The Chief walks up to Agerron, looking at him intently, waiting for his answer.
** spoiler omitted **
------------------------
The Kobold Chief hears Queslin's and was just about to answer, when Agerron speaks up as well. Hearing him out, he thinks for a second then says (common): "You speak good. You not speak with hate for scales.
We not be enemies. We not be friends.
We keep our land. We take land of Mites.
You have rest of land.
We not make trouble in your land. You not make trouble with Sootscale Kobolds.
Agree?"
The Chief walks up to Agerron, looking at him intently, waiting for his answer.
"Well, that's certainly a good start, but I was hoping we could have something a little bit more beneficial to each other than just ignoring our existence. I don't have an issue with you taking the mite's land, but since we 'helped' you in acquiring it ..."
Agerron pulls out one of the rocks with silver running through it. "Kardok seemed to imply you guys have a decent amount of this here. I also know you kobolds are pretty good when it comes to pulling metal and other stuff out of the ground. So let me be blunt: once we get a few more of our folks settling in this area, we'd like to be able to get more of this. If you want, maybe you can dig it up, and we can trade for it - maybe make this a long-term arrangement. Or if you prefer, we can offer a smaller amount just for access and we can send our own folks to dig it up. Either way is good to me."
He smiles at the kobold chief, a smile of not just friendliness, but also confidence. "So my counter offer - we won't be enemies. I'd like us to be friends, though. You keep your land and the mite's. We'll take the rest. Neither of us will make trouble for the other, and in emergency, we may even be able to call on the other for help. And we make an arrangement to start digging up more of this silver. Agreed?"
diplomacy (a few aid another's would help here, folks!)
Having been silent so far branomonrik speaks at last."Yes, I have heard of the kobolds skill at minecraft, your kind and myown my often be enemies but we understand your skill and cunning. Agerron makes a good point trade with big folk could bring wealth to your tribe. And the enemies of our friends are our enemies as well. he says
Diplomacy
Big Ern isn't even going to try to help, which is probably for the best.
Queslin is content to not have to talk to them anymore.
*** And stuff***
"Well... at least from here on in it gets kind of easy..." She says to the mage light coloured darkness and begins to move forwards slowly. Also using the "Detect Magic" cantrip too boot. :P
And for everything else taking 20 is prolly the best way to got. :P
Aid another diplomacy
Xanda follows the tunnel deeper in, and reaches a bigger cave some feet later. In it, she encounters the source of magic, as well as the source of the noise she heard before she entered the tunnel. It looks somewhat like Tartuk, but ultimately fades into non-existance.
---------------
"No." the Chief says, after hearing Agerron and Branomonrik talk him up.
"You not have much offer. We not be friends with you. You killed Sootscales for no reason. Blood in soil is not good friends.
We not be enemies, but we not be friends. No." he says, shaking his head, but keeping close, going on:
"Other bigfeet been here before you, many winter ago. They come, settle, go. Many did. Kobolds are here still.
You here now too. You settle. You here still in some winters? I not know.
If you here then, maybe we be friends. Takes time to be friends. Time. Not blood. Blood of enemies, blood of Mites is good start, but blood of scales is bad.
No, we not be friends for some time."
The Chief then looks at the silver-ore, nods his head in assessment, speaking again: "We have no need for silver. We know you want it. Other bigfeet want it too, time ago.
We not be digging for you. We have it, you want it... We bring you.
We trade. Trade and time make us friends, maybe.
You Not have more to offer, not more we will offer."
-------------
Xanda:The detect magic lets Xanda detect three faint auras, two behind the rock blocking her way out, one somewhere in the tunnel ahead of her. None are in line of sight though, so she is unable to identify them.Xanda follows the tunnel deeper in, and reaches a bigger cave some feet later. In it, she encounters the source of magic, as well as the source of the noise she heard before she entered the tunnel. It looks somewhat like Tartuk, but ultimately fades into non-existance.
As she moves forwards and onwards. "I sooo hope the Kobolds don't like bugs..." Xanda mutters to herself as she works her way slowly and carefully further into the caverns.
** spoiler omitted **
---------------
"No." the Chief says, after hearing Agerron and Branomonrik talk him up.
"You not have much offer. We not be friends with you. You killed Sootscales for no reason. Blood in soil is not good friends.
We not be enemies, but we not be friends. No." he says, shaking his head, but keeping close, going on:
"Other bigfeet been here before you, many winter ago. They come, settle, go. Many did. Kobolds are here still.
You here now too. You settle. You here still in some winters? I not know.
If you here then, maybe we be friends. Takes time to be friends. Time. Not blood. Blood of enemies, blood of Mites is good start, but blood of scales is bad.
No, we not be friends for some time."
The Chief then looks at the silver-ore, nods his head in assessment, speaking again: "We have no need for silver. We know you want it. Other bigfeet want it too, time ago.
We not be digging for you. We have it, you want it... We bring you.
We trade. Trade and time make us friends, maybe.
You Not have more to offer, not more we will offer."-------------
"That is too bad. But if that is where we must start, so be it. We will not be enemies, we will not disturb each other, and we will trade for silver. Agreed."
Big Ern snorts, rolls his eyes and adds his two cents.
"Hey chief! Next time you meet some humans, keep this in mind -- don't draw your weapons while you're in the middle of talking to 'em. You'll probably get yourself killed, even though that's considered 'no reason' in kobold society."
Majet seeing Ern open his big mouth stamps him as hard as possible on the foot in order to shut it.
"I agree, trade is a good start.'
"Taras, I guess that since we are among our peers, we can drop the appearance of simple travelers. Do you think your companions would be interested, able, and available to assist us in our mission?"
Xanda:
-------------
Having found an agreement, Chief Sootscale smiles broadly, showing his small sharp teeth. He doesn't take notice of Big Ern's words, partly due to Majet cutting him off sharply.
"Good. Now we mourn fallen Kobolds and celebrate dead Mites. And we kill captured Mite.
You want to stay? Okay, but don't disturb."
With that, he leaves you and goes back to his tribe, informing them of the 'deal' he struck. The reactions are mixed, but ultimately it doesn't matter, as it is done.
Kardok comes back to you, looking glad and joyful.
-------------
Taras looks only the slightest bit surprised at Devlin's words, then answers: "Mayhap. You ask them. I'll just rest my boots for some."
Turning and settling down, he says, pointing at Devlin and Delfey: "Vasily, that's Devlin. He's somehow connected to that ... form over there, don't know really. Quite capable in a fight."
"I suggest we leave them to their celebration."
"Uh where is Xanda?" Majet asks realising she does not seem to be with them
"Maybe she sneezed and blew her brains out," Big Ern comments cheerfully. "Now let's get out of here before my clothes start to stink of lizard."
Out of earshot of the kobolds, Agerron says quietly, "Hmm. My thought was to stay and be respectful, maybe enjoy the celebration. Might go a ways to becoming friendlier. I admit I still think we'd be better off taking care of them the way we did the mites, but if we're going to try and be friends, might as well try and make the most of it. 'Indifferent neigbors' is to me the worst situation we could have - the benefits are minimal to both sides. If we wiped them out, they are no longer a potential threat and we have full ownership of their land and silver. Or, as full allies, we would have more favorable trade conditions and someone to back us in a fight. Since we're going the friends route, best to do what we can to better relations."
He takes a look at Ern. "Or maybe we leave while we're still ahead."
"You guys go on ahead I'll look for her and catch up." Majet begins to search for any tracks
Survival
"None of us should go off alone. Why not all of us go look for our wayward ally?"
"Who is that damn woman, anyway? All I know is she's some sort of crazy witch who tried to talk to me in Elven or some s#&~. And I guess she likes wandering off on her own, as well."
After that? It's a thorough examination of the walls, floor, ceiling to try and find descent bits of roots/rock etc to make/use as tools to get the damn door open. So, what, if any, checks might you want/wish? *Bows*
Survival (track)
Ignoring Bid Ern, Queslin begins looking for clues as to where Xanda has gotten off to.