Hoping to continue drawing the humans away from the unconscious kobold, Jeji ducks backwards and draws another bomb. She tosses it into the middle of the group of pink skins trying to encompass as many as she can in the fiery explosion.
Jeji draws the human scavengers farther from Kricker's fallen form and hurls a bomb at the leader in the back. She suffers a slash on her outstretched arm , but the bomb hits the leader's shoulder hard enough to break in a roar of flame. Hatchet-hands leather jacket smolders, but the blast chars one of the daggermen who suddenly seems unsteady on his feet.
Perrik continues to recover from the effects of the gas, staggering a little ways away from the fight.
Drahlneep circles in raging to defeat the horrible humans. He smashes his club into the leader's ribs with an audible crack. The leader staggers gasping for air as he falls. The remaining creeps keep fighting. The gravely injured one makes a final attempt on Jeji before falling unconscious. The other turns on Drahlneep slashing him with a knife. From the tower, the gunman reloads and fires at Perrik shooting him through the leg as he staggers around.
Kricker attempts to stabilize
And amazingly he stops bleeding out!
Dancing around wildly, Jeji slipped past the human and circled around him to his exposed flank. Lashing out with her sharp blade, she sliced low at the man's foot trying to cut through muscle and tendon.
The nimble kobold slips behind the human to hamstring him. He falls heavily, hitting his head hard and not moving again. The remaining man in the tower reloads, but holds his fire. "OK, you can have this dumff! Jusht shtand ashide and I'll leave peaceably!"
Kricker plays dead.
Once Perrik finishes retching, he glares up at the pinkskin. "What are you doing here?"
Not waiting for an answer, Jeji drew yet another bomb and hurled it at the last human still up on the ledge.
Perrik can't even get his question out before Jeji hurls a bomb to the top of the tower taking out the final treacherous human. As the smoke curls off the body, the kobolds look to their wounds and the gear found on the strange humans. They find four cobbled together pistols with a total of 35 bullets and small shields that they can use. The daggers and leathers are in poor condition and too big anyway. The leader has another gas grenade, a human-sized finely made hatchet and three vials of a pinkish gel.
"Nice shot, Jeji. I'll get Kricker back up and we can explore this place. I'd like to know if we can expect more pinkskins to visit soon."
Kricker very slowly gets to his feet. Gather around me to gain the healing touch of Gorum. Gorum grant us the ability to fight on!
Perrik calls forth healing power into the alchemist.
Once we are all healed up to sufficient levels lets investigate where those three humans came out of. Maybe that will tell us more about what they are up to.
Perrik calls forth more healing power on the cleric.
Out of danger for the moment, the kobolds heal their wounds and move to inspect the watch tower. On the ground floor, they find an abattoir. The disgusting humans look to have been cannibals. Though more dead humans is a good thing, the extreme barbarism repels the kobolds. There are dismembered human bodies scattered about or suspended by hooks.
Upstairs, a table with bits of cooked human flesh remains on skewers lying among hastily scattered playing cards. Central to the room, bloody and blasted arms and armor, likely taken from the murdered humans below, have been pounded and twisted and torched into a form representing the black metal claw symbol of Hellion.
What does Kricker know of this Hellion?
Hellion is one of the so-called Iron Gods, not to be confused with the God in Iron. These beings are more than mortals, but not true gods though they seem to be able to grant spells as you saw with Meyanda. Perhaps they are like the great spirits which arise from the land and are sometimes worshipped, but the land of Numeria is corrupted and filled with ancient TEK which make these gods of Numeria something quite different.
Is there any sign at all of the Kobolds that were supposed to be here? Is there perhaps an underground area that the humans have missed?
Also can I identify the pink Gel?
"Bleh, cannibals. Is there nothing humans won't do?" She sheathed her shortsword and walked around, poking various things with her spear. She was overly cautious when it came to touching anything these humans may have infected. She watched as Kricker looked over the pink gel quizzically.
"Here, let me see it" she offered. "I think I've seen this before..."
She turned the vial over and around a few times sniffing at it as she went. After a minute or two it came to her.
"Let's get some food and then rest up. May as well take advantage of the keep. Kricker, can you take first watch? Wake me when you're done? I'll wake Drahlneep and Perrick can go last."
Kricker has no idea what the pink stuff is, only that it numbs his snout when he pokes it in the jar. Jeji is somewhat more scientific in her approach. She finds that it can heal fresh wounds by relieving the pain as well as stopping bleeding. It also affects the mind slightly with its numbing ability making one calm even in the face of fear though this can make it somewhat addictive.
As for the other kobolds rumored to have dwelled within the fallen keep, you have seen no evidence so far though there is still the chapel and ruined stables to explore.
Let us investigate the rest of the keep before bedding down for the day. There may be other things worth finding, and possible dangers that it would be good to find before most of us are asleep.The stables look like they should be quickly searched, but I am more interested in the Chapel.
Perrik nods in agreement. "Quickly, before the light comes back."
The kobolds move to the chapel to find the doors closed, but unlocked. The double doors creak eerily as they open to reveal a high ceiling room filled with dusty old pews facing a barren altar. Perrik glances upward to the still intact stained glass window over the altar and catches a gleam off the sword pictured there. That is certainly unexpected in the dark chamber, but not as unexpected as the glowing golden sword that appears from nowhere to threaten the kobolds!
Jeji:
Perrik:
Kricker: ;
Drahlneep:
foe:
"RUN! This is church of pinkskin war god Iomedae!" The oracle retreats out the door.
Perrik flees the phantom blade!
Kricker draws his own weapon and goes full defensive.
The rest of you back out and I'll hold off the heathen b@#%~'s weapon until you are clear.
Kricker puts himself between the others and the flying blade that dives at him! The blade passes right through his attempted block and his armor to pierce the brave kobold's chest filling him with enervating dread.
Having never met a problem he could not bash into submission, Drahlneep ignores the suggestion to fall back and steps to defend Kricker who seems to have suffered a serious wounding.
Kricker will take this opportunity to fall back, since that is pretty much all he can do when staggered and half dead.
Drahlneep, I think it is some sort of Spiritual Weapon, I doubt you will be able to affect it. We may just have to stay out of the building!
Not really sure what to do, Jeji followed behind Drahlneep and tried to help him. Spear in hand, she stood behind him and tried to stab at the floating sword.
Ignoring Kricker's warning, Drahlneep and Jeji attempt to fight the ghostly sword. Drahlneep misses it and Jeji's spear passes right through. Drahlneep suffers the same result as Kricker as the haunting blade cuts deeply into the kobold.
*staggered