Jeji meets with Sef later and finds the Hidden One leader more than willing to trade freely. The fine quality net provides all the standard gear you desire: rope, harnesses with pouches and sacks.
It is some time later when your hut is approached again. This time it is Olp returning with Dranjek the Bold, the strangely colored, but brave kobold you left to guard the entrance to these warrens. After a brief greeting, Dranjek reports that there is more trade to be had: a lone human has entered the caves who claims that he is a merchant, harmless though well defended enough if threatened. He seeks to trade with any who have looted the metal caves under the mountain or know the fate of the other humans who disappeared within.
Reep finishes fixing his beloved boomstick, then catches up with the others.
Sa'rah'then'al mostly hid away for a while till Dranjek came by to report on the curious trader. He despised that it was a human and looked at the others curious if they had anything left to trade to see if they might make use of the human for now...till they could kill the rest of the town later.
"Everything I need I believe I can get from our hosts, but I don't know about Reep and his boom stick. I can ask if they have any of that funny powder or strange stones. If they don't we can check with the human, if you allow it. Otherwise I am ready to continue when ever you declare."
Sa'rah'then'al waves a claw at Jeji "The human should be fine to trade with...if he is welcomed in this cavern then he likely not so welcomed outside it. Best to make use of him while he is being...forthcoming" he said before making preperations for rest and to get back at it for the next day.
He goes over the gear and sees if they have a net leftover as they may be helpful in pinning down one of the mechanical statues should they be attacked again by them and have room to set a trap.
There are still four of the nets remaining after one is traded to the Hidden Ones. They are easily mended and ready for use.
Sef and the Hidden Ones are suspicious of the humans having lost most of their band to one encounter, but they agree that it would be useful to at least sound out the stranger. They propose to remain hidden, but nearby while the kobolds speak with the merchant.
Once all is in order, Dranjek leads they way back to the flooded entrance of the cave system and the waiting human.
Sa'rah'then'al goes about working on one of the nets and making sure it is in good working order. He puts it carefully over the pack that was brought to him for easy access. He awaits the other Kobolds by the exit of their hut ready to move on and meat this human before heading back into the depths of the cave once more.
Dranjek and Reep lead the way back to the entry cave through the passage of rubble and corridor of stalagmites. On the stone beach, a human awaits. He wears a fine chain shirt and bears a long sword with his various packs and pouches. He bears his human hair long and partly piled up on top of his head. He rises at the approach of the kobolds and raises his hands in a gesture of peace. You notice with a start that another horrible net-throwing three-legged stands immobile behind him!
He speaks in the Common human trade tongue: "I am Sanvil Trett. I come only to trade in both goods and information."
With limited resources, the prospect of doing business with a human was enough to put Jeji off of the idea of dealing with the human, but the mention of information piqued her curiosity. She quietly pulled out the pair of tongs that they had found. She meekly approached the human and held up the tongs asking "what can you tell me about these?"
Trett smiles and nods. "Ah, interesting, but not all that valuable. We call them grippers. They are a useful tool: designed to clamp with great strength. They can help pull things apart as a crowbar or hold something in place when locked. I would be willing to buy or trade if you were looking to sell them."
The human appeared to be knowledgeable about these new devices so Jeji pulls out the new "picks" that they had found. "And what about these? What do these do?" she asks as she examines the thin jointed metal rods coming out of a handle. "And that? How do you control that?" she asks pointing at the net throwing robot.
The man shrugs. "Useful perhaps, in the right hands. But this is an exchange of information, my friend. What of the other humans that came this way and what have you seen so far under the mountain?"
Drahlneep keeps quiet while the human and Jeji converse. Don't trust him, Jeji. Humans are terrible beings.
"We have not seen much beneath the mountain yet. We encountered one like that Jeji says as she points at the three-legged net thrower and were forced to retreat. These other humans you speak of, we have not encountered them. They must have gone a different way. Or maybe they learned to control those robots like you have done and were able to pass beyond them. I do not know." Jeji feared sharing any information with the human at all, but he didn't appear to be in league with the other humans, and if she could stir some mistrust between, that was okay with her. If it turned out that this human was not allied with the other humans, even better.
The human points to the pick device with his chin. "That may allow pass through the portals into the mountain if you do not have the proper cards that serve as keys. If you find the humans beyond, I will reward you for the return of one called Khonnir Baine. He is beardless and dark haired with a knotted tattoo on his left arm. Alive would be preferable, but if not... you will still be rewarded."
"Do you wish to sell any of the TEK you have found? Or I can offer something in trade perhaps?"
"We do not wish to trade any...TEK, as you call it. We will keep our ears and eyes open for this one you call "Baine." If we find this one, maybe we can trade more information."
The man nods. "As you wish. I have healing potions from the town apothecary and other sundries that may be of use in your explorations, but I am sure you are well stocked, of course. Good luck and if you wish to contact me, just release some of this pink dye into the pool." He produces a smal packet to leave with you.
Dranjek steps forward to accept the package and then the kobolds move back leaving the human and his robot companion in the entrance cave. Sef and the other Hidden Ones leave off skulking along the cave walls as the human's light is left behind. They follow wordlessly to the great cave. In the discussion that follows, Dranjek and Olp agree to return to the entrance cave and continue guarding while the other kobolds rest and continue their exploration.
Your hosts assent to the plan, but express suspicion at the mention of Baine. Sef says that he was the one that led the dangerous band that killed many Hidden Ones. She would would see him dead if he yet lives.
There is no day or night underground, but after the appropriate period of rest, the kobold war band makes ready to return to the strange metal caves and subterranean desert beyond.
Feeling rested and fit, the kobold warband retraces its steps though the strange metal corridors past the broken robot, ruined cage room and quiet machinery on the walls of the long corridor. At the end of the passage lies the great domed desert room cloaked in silence and darkness.
Reep cradles his newly repaired gun and whispers to it quietly, keeping to the middle of the pack.
Feeling encouraged by the death of a metal man and the survival of all his clan, Sa'rah'then'al feels quite energized and confident as he leads the others back into the depths. When they reach the desert room, he scans the area carefully. His paw dipping into the sand and letting it slowly fall from his head as he conducts his investigation of the area.
At first glance, this cold cavern presents a strange and disconcerting vista—that of a desert valley buried underground. Steep cliffs some fifty feet high encircle the place. A stretch of sand covers the ground, a vista broken here and there by bits of strange, spiky shells or contorted, dead fronds that look like branches. Sarahthenal easily spots a well used trail marked by humanoid tracks and those of the robot.
Jeji follows along with the others while looking about. An underground desert was not something encountered often. She tried to take in the sights and enjoy the scenery for a moment while the air was quiet.
"This is not natural..." Drahlneep keeps darting his eyes back and forth, clearly nervous about the situation.
Reep clicks his tongue. "Thiss is a strange place we find. Nice place for eggss?"
Sa'rah'then'al nods and listens to the others before pointing out the tracks of what appears to be humans and the metal man. He motions for them to follow as he leads them through the desert following the tracks. He was not happy with the wide open area as there was no real place for them to hide.
The trail is easy to follow in the loose sand and rock. The tracks stay together as they lead away from the metal hall, but split once the trail reaches a rock ridge. The robot's tracks peel away around the left side and the rest continue along the right side.
Sa'rah'then'al looks at the others as he stoops to double check the tracks as they split before standing up. "That human...seemed awfully interested in the others humans went to. It might be worth investigating their fate first....yes?" he asked the others curiously.
"I agree mighty one. We have eliminated the metal threat. We should scout the human threat and deal with them on our terms rather than risk encountering them at an inopportune time."
The kobolds decide to stay on the trail of their more immediate and likely more dangerous enemy. The human trail curves to the right along the base of the ridge which appears to be about twenty feet high. There is some more scattered detritus near the path and it becomes obvious that it is some strange skeleton as the pair of green eye sockets start glowing in what looked to be a rock.
The four-armed skeleton with a strange elongated skull and glowing green eyes lurches out of the sand only a few feet away!
Reep:
Sahrahthenal:
Drahlneep:
bones!:
Reep hisses and raises his gun to his shoulder, sighting down the barrel and firing at the skeleton!
for damage!
Sa'rah'then'al grabs his whip and runs along the side of the skeleton carefully,attempting to get as far around it before striking out and trying to topple the heap of bones.
Sarahthenal's whip catches a femur and it is an easy trick to topple the dry bones over. Even before the bones hit the ground, the retort of Reep's gun echoes thunderously through the cavern. The skeleton explodes and fragments of bone spray across the sand.
With the strange lone skeleton's attack quickly resolved, the kobolds continue following the trail across the desert cave. The ridge peaks and then descends to the left. It eventually tapers off into a series of jagged rocks rising from a pit of loose sand. The limits of your dark vision catch the rise of a cliff face dead ahead just as a pair of alien skeletons rise along the path thirty feet ahead.
Jeji:
Reep:
Sahrahthenal:
Drahlneep:
skellytons:
There is a clicking sound from behind and the kobolds are taken by surprise as four more four-armed skeletons rush toward them on the path. The leader has glowing green eyes. The pair of skeletons ahead of the kobolds reach them first and attack Sarahthenal with their bony claws. One slashes the inquisitor badly.
Reep reloads!
Drahlneep stands by Sa'rah'then'al's side. Cursing under his breath, he tries to crush one of the skeletons with his shield.
Sa'rah'then'al takes a step back and quickly attempts to drop the one that Drahlneep wasn't attacking to the ground for the others to crush. He knew that it would be bad news if they were to be surrounded.
He let out a howl of delight "Quickly little dragons, devour them before the others arrive." he says as his eyes flash with anger from being hit.
Quickly working together, Drahlneep crushes one to dust with his shield and Sarahthenal knocks the other to the ground.
Jeji tries to stay near Drahlneep and draws a bomb flask as she moves. She turns to hurl the flask at the largest gathering of skeletons.
Fire Damage to target
Jeji's bomb hits the charging alien skeletons head-on blowing the leader to pieces. Another is ignited staggering forward several steps before falling to the ground just as it reaches the kobolds. The two remaining skeletons are all whirling arms ending in bony claws. One follows Jeji landing a claw on her. Reep suffers two claws as he readies his weapon.
The eyes of the skeleton on the ground kindle with a green light. It attacks Drahlneep from where it lies only landing one claw on his ankle, but the long claws still rip into his scales.
Reep scampers back, hissing loudly at the skellybones. He raises his boomstick and shows this primitive screwhead what happens to those who scrape a kobold!
for damage!