"Yes, let us be gone from this place" Jeji said with sorrow.
The kobolds take their leave of the dead kobold and the horrors spawned from her and take the eastern branch. A mine cart rail extends through this widened chamber to the North, while another passageway extends to the West. On the Eastern wall, two human corpses and a kobold corpse hang limply, half-submerged in the wall, their chests and abdomens having exploded outward in a gory display.
Drahlneep passes human corpses with indifference, but stands solemnly near the kobold for a moment. "If we didn't have family here, I would say we just leave the humans to their fates," he says with a sigh. "North? Follow the tracks? Or check that side-passage first?"
"I will check the side. Wait here out of sight."
Jeji turned and began slinking down the side passage, careful and quiet.
"It does not matter. Lead."
As Jeji takes a step toward the side passage, four figures rise from the floor around the kobolds penning them in the corner near the dead. They appear to be xill larvae that have molted and grown to nearly the size of a kobold. They stand on their rear legs, their four segmented arms now end in dangerous claws and their lizard-like heads bear large dripping mandibles.
Perrik:
Kricker: ;
Drahlneep:
foe:
The xill young skitter forward on their rear legs. Two attack Jeji, but bump into each other in their haste. The others rush in from the north at Perrik and Drahlneep. Drahlneep's heavier armor protects him, but Perrik is bitten.
The oracle's android physiology proves resistant to the effects of the xill's bite.
Perrik casts a spell while dodging the foe and bolsters the party's combat capability.
Drahlneep snarls. He finally has something to take the grief he is feeling for his kin out on one of the things that caused it.
Kricker moves to attack the one on Perrik, swinging his adamantine crowbar.
Dancing backwards and away from the skittering creatures, Jeji drew a bomb as she went. Once clear of their claws, she hurled the bomb into their midst.
Jeji steps back to Kricker's side and tosses a bomb behind a pair of the creatures. It's a direct hit, badly burning one, but the other skitters aside barely scorched. Drahlneep fires the pistol at the closest one hitting it once before his blaster glitches and the laser flashes with a dazzling light. It still fires though and one Xill young goes down.
Kricker pulls Perrik back behind him as he swings with the wrecking bar. It hits, breaking one of the creature's arms. Perrik begins praying in the tongue of the Ancients rallying his companions.
The three remaining small xill mob Kricker. Kricker suffers four claw scratches from the onslaught.
Kricker swings again at the one he hit previously.
In his enraged state, Drahlneep doesn't even register that something went wrong the last time he fired, though the afterimage spots in his eyes should alert him!
Following Drahlneep's lead, Jeji drew her own pistol and fired at the most wounded one, hoping to finish it off.
Jeji fires point blank with the lightning gun. The bolt hits the xill young point blank and electricity arcs to its neighbor. The first xill collapses into spasms as it dies. Kricker strikes the third xill again further bloodying it. Drahlneep fires twice at it, but the spots before his eyes blind him and the beams are wild.
Perrik stabs at the xill on Kricker with his longspear, wounding it further.
Perrik manages to prod it with his spear adding to its wounds. The remaining pair of hungry young keep after Kricker, but the gift of steel once again wards the Iron Priest from claw and mandible.
Drahlneep drops the spent laser and pulls the nueral inhibitor free.
Retreating to the south, Jeji maneuvered to get a better draw on one of the bug-like xill's.
If there is one still standing after the blows of his companions, Kricker takes his swing:
C
Jeji shifts and fires, hitting the li'l xill with a flash of energy. Kricker follows up with a whack from the crowbar nearly knocking it off its feet. Meanwhile, Drahlneep switch out with his baton and smacks the injured xill dropping it where it spasms as energy runs through its fading neurons.
Perrik stabs at the remaining xilling, but misses it cleanly.
Wounded and alone, the last xill young hisses and steps back while sinking into the stone floor as if dropping into a pool of water. No sign of it remains other than ripple marks frozen in the rock.
"Wha-?" Drahlneep blinks at the curious exit of the creature. "Tha-did...Did it just merge into the rock? Let's find these things and exterminate them quickly."
Just a second, lets make sure we are clear of these things and then I need to heal up a bit. Kricker pulls his companions away from the dieing xill and calls upon his god for healing!
With the last of the xill young fled, Kricker heals the kobolds and they look at exploring the rest of the mine to finish off the dangerous aliens and perhaps find survivors. The rails continue north and a passage leads west.
I say follow the rails, that is where the heaviest work has been done.
As Kricker surmises, the rails once did lead deeper into the mines, but no longer. Now the mine cart track ends at a wall of rocks and debris that fills the corridor, barring further passage. The only thing of note here are three large wooden barrels, painted red.
Perrik coolly contemplates the barrels. "Jeji, can you tell if that's a trap?" Then the mechobold casts his usual detect magic, to see if that can tell him anything about the barrels and their surroundings.
Jeji slowly crept forward towards the barrels looking for trip wires and other triggers.
Jeji notes that each of the barrels has a long cord that comes out of the top and runs about 10 feet before ending. They are not connected to anything. A sniff warns her that the barrels are filled with an alchemical explosive.
"Umm. I don't think those are traps. I think they're like my bombs, only bigger. Much, much bigger..."
Probably shouldn't be setting those off unless we absolutely need to. Look unsafe and will attract way too much attention.
Drahlneep grins. "Until. Until necessary."
Finding this passage collapsed and the likely means nearby, the kobolds note the three barrels of explosives and head back to the other passage. It opens into another large chamber with a minecart railway runs from the chamber’sSouth entrance to the Northern side, where the passageway continues on. Low mounds of soft clay six feet in diameter are seen in a few spots on the ground. A longsword lies alone and apparently forgotten on the ground in the middle of the room.
I am no expert in these types of things, but those look suspiciously like nests...
Kricker activates Detect Magic and peers around at the various room features. He also activates Magic Weapon on his crowbar.
Kricker doesn't detect any magic ahead as he prepares for another alien attack.
"Look for ripples frozen in the rock. That is where the xill have been."
There are ripples here and there in the rock, but not in the softer mounds.
Let us move up carefully and see what we can see.
Kricker cautiously leads the way forward toward the strange mounds. As he nears the edge, the stone floor suddenly gives way underfoot!
Kricker tumbles down the hole!
Perrik cautiously advances towards the newly-formed pit. "Kricker, are you hurt?"