The Kobold seems genuine and desperate to get the statue back to it's tribe. The offer of many treasures seems real as well... exactly how much that would be is hard to tell.
"Garnerin' favor wit' ter local kobold tribe might not be ter worst idear," Johund adds, scratching his beard absently with his knife, "'Specially if we're trying t'establish order'n whatnot. I say we go along."
"Hmmm."
Amadeen thinks for a moment,then answers.
"Good point. Let's bring back the statue."
Journeying to the South East you are guided by Mikmek who guides you eagerly to his home.
An outcropping of large boulders emerges from the weathered face of a nearby hillock. A narrow opening in the rock leads into darkness below. A fallen sign leans against the side of the cave entrance, and a cage made of branches and sticks sits on the other side.
There is a mite in a cage looking quite miserable. A kobold stands on guard duty but looks confused when he sees Mikmek with your group.
"They have the statue, we can lift the curse. I promised them treasure."
The other kobold nods and lets you pass.
Amadeen looks around appraisingly.
She whispers in common:
"A curse eh?"
Mikmek winces remembering Amadeen can speak draconic. "Our Shaman Tartuk says so."
Amadeen gives a smile that some might think beneficent.
"Well, lead us to shaman Tartuk then. We have something to speak about."
Even for kobolds, these tight tunnel openings are cramped. Small creatures can move through the tunnels in single file, while Medium creatures must squeeze through. Just beyond the tunnel openings, a pair of shadowy alcoves flank the main passageway. Two kobold guards wait within the alcoves.
You are led onwards into a wider cave. The walls of this cave have been smeared with what appears to be charcoal and blood to depict multiple representations in red and black of a looming, sharp-toothed reptilian devil. Two low stone tables sit in the middle of the room, one of which is stained with blood.
From here you are brought into a much larger cavern. The air in this large cave feels warm and close, thick with a reptilian stink mixed with smoke and burnt meat. Numerous beds of furs lie scattered throughout the room amid smoldering cook fires, while to the south, a ten-foot-wide alcove contains a large mound of furs framed by dozens of sticks on which are mounted the skulls of many birds and small animals, all smeared with ash.
Seven kobolds are here, one with far grander clothing, the chief? "Give me the statue of Sharptooth."
Mikmek speaks up "I promised them treasure."
The chief responds reaching out "Yes you will have treasure, first the statue!"
Amadeen produces the statue and holds it in both hands.
"Now treasure."
Chief sootscale holds up a large topaz. "Now give it." He looks about nervously.
The topaz is worth more than the statue to the average buyer.
Johund stands with his thumbs hooked into his belt, close to his weapons. He eyes the chief.
He really wants the statue and seems to be offering what he thinks is a fair price.
Amadeen grins broadly.
That's fair!"
She moves forward, intending to swap the statue for the topaz.
After the objects are exchanged Chief Sootscale holds the statue in his hands with a fierce look of concentration, as if he were making a particularly difficult decision. Finally, he shrieks in triumph, holds the statue over his head, and then smashes it down onto the ground, shattering it! The other kobolds in the room freeze in shock while Sootscale, a frantic grin on his snout speaks in a gleeful voice "Thank you for freeing us from this curse.”
“Now we must kill the usurper! Death to Tartuk!”
Amadeen is taken aback by the sudden smashing.
She tries to gauge the crowd's response.
Shaman Tartuk is not here. The crowd is visibly shocked and processing what just happened, they're at a crossroads.
"What, what curse?" Johund asks, genuinely confused. "Why d'ya call Tartuk an usurper?"
Amadeen affects a stern pose.
"Aye! We would know what in the hells is going on here!"
"He is an outsider who has had too much influence. Now we will be free of him! We must strike before he knows what is going on so his tyranny will be ended." Chief Sootscale says with increasing confidence. The various kobolds start nodding and drawing their weapons.
"Death to Tartuk! Help us kill him and you will be rewarded!" The kobolds start going deeper into the caves
The talk of an "outsider with too much influence" has Johund a little worried, what with their motley little crew aspiring to control the territories. He looks to the others questioningly. "What I said 'afore still stands, I s'pose. Makin' friends wit' these may prove useful in ter future." He draws his daggers from their sheaths, twirling them agilely. Effortlessly. "Shall we?"
"Now you're talking sense!"
Turning to the others, as she weaves magic into a cloak around her:
"So, how about earning that reward then?"
The walls of this cavern are decorated by a rickety wooden frame formed from clean-cut branches lashed together with gut and twine. Banners cut from two-foot-wide strips of old blankets and horsehides hang from floor to ceiling, covering much of the walls. The sloppily painted banners bear dozens of primitive icons and mystic symbols. A large cauldron filled with bubbling red liquid boils in the center of the room.
Between the kobolds and yourselves Shaman Tartuk doesn't last long. Unlike all the other kobolds here he has purple scales. Once the fighting is over Chief Sootscale bids you to take from Tartuk's what you like as your 'reward'.
Masterwork cold iron sickle
Bracers of armor +1
Masterwork light metal shield
+1 flaming crossbow bolts x7
Boots of elvenkind
Plain brass wedding ring set with a single pearl (this is Svetlana’s wedding ring—it’s worth 120 gp)
Single dose of dust of illusion.
7,420 cp
2,453 sp
551 gp
13 pp
It seems Tartuk did not begin his life as a kobold but as a gnome. He tried to flee his village when it came under attack but ran into a flanking force. When his neighbours found his body they conjured up tales and notions of him heroicly sacrificing his life. They had access to a scroll of reincarnation and used it on him. Unfortunately he came back as a kobold.
He has spent the last several years bitterly taking out his misfortune on kobold tribes. He joins them as a shaman impressing them with his arcane powers. He then directs them to go to war with various enemies. When things go against them he says that sacrifices must be made and kills off a kobold. He has exterminated three tribes already with the Sootscales his latest target. He has been the one who stirred up the animosity between the mites and the Sootscales. He has some ideas scrawled down about whether to direct them against the Stag Lord or 'those fools from Brevoy' next.
His journal indicates that when he grows tired of his life, he intends to use the scroll to fly up as high as he can, effectively committing suicide when the spell expires in five minutes and leaves him at a height of nearly 2,000 feet, well out of the safety range for the spell’s expiration.
Tucked into the back of the journal is a single scroll of fly
In the aftermath of Tartuk's end, Amadeen looks around and turns to the Chief.
"Sounds good to me, Chief!"
She begins rooting through Tartuk's possessions.
She also quietly whispers to Eluvias:
"Eluvias, can you leaf through that journal? It might give us some ideas of what he was up to."
Johund sniffs the red boiling liquid from a safe distance, curling his nose. He turns to the chief. "Well, that was messy. But effective." He laughs. "But now what will ya do?"
"Not too much, we have lost many of our number. Perhaps best to stick to fishing for a few seasons I think." Chief Sootscale seems happy. The rest of the tribe has more mixed but generally positive emotions about what happened, if a little nervous.
Eluvias wiped his blade clean and shrugged. The kobolds’ drama seemed mundane after facing the stag lord.
”So...as there seems to be a fledgling kingdom forming, what will these kobolds be? Vassals? Allies? Citizens?”
Amadeen stops for a moment, and then faces the kobolds again.
"Oh yeah, best to mention it now. This whole piece of the Stolen Lands? It'll be wrapped into a new kingdom, led by us. It'll likely be a light hand as far as laws go, but if you've any objections, best think about them quick."
Chief Sootscale and the other kobolds look at ye a bit confused. "Wait what? But this is our land?" Some of the other kobolds translate for the rest.
After hearing the grizzly story of the murderous little wretch, Johund can certainly sympathize with the kobolds. They've been tricked and exploited by one authoritarian already. Why on earth would the kobolds trust them now? Would they have to slaughter the entire clan? The thought is unsavory, even for a scalawag like Johund.
"True," Johund says with a smile. "Our land. A partnership, if it suit ya. Look, I know you've seen some trouble o' late, but trust me when I say I'm a man what values freedom." He pulls the collar of his armor and shirt back, revealing his rat tattoo for all to see. "Hanspur, ter Water Rat. I'm a believer in ter Six River Freedoms, and what lands you've claimed'll be left to ya, so long as you can agree t' keep civil. Whaddaya say?"
Eluvias looked over at Johund, and said lazily "If I were them I'd negotiate for autonomy over their lands, to be a vassal state. If that sorcerer was giving them so much trouble, they really are fortunate that you are so merciful."
Amadeen's harshness against kobolds seems to have softened since some earlier unpleasant encounters, especially given how they were duped by Tartuk. So she's still willing to talk things out.
"Well, being on our side brings benefits. We've grown a habit of fighting those who attack our lot. And winning. You could do a lot worse than signing up as our vassals."
Chief Sootscale rubs his chin considering the offer. "Well we are good at some things like mining, making traps and fishing. Elves and humans always seem to be good at farming. We could trade with you people and give some extra if you help us with threats like the mites and things."
Amadeen thinks a moment.
"You know what? That sounds fair to me. You have a deal, Chief."
Johund spits in his hand and offers it to Chief Sootscale.
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Chief Sootscale spits on Johunds hand and shakes it.
Four days later you begin exploring this area of rolling hills dotted with a few rocky crags.
A particularly rocky crag rises from the hills here. At the crag’s base is an overgrown 5-foot-wide crack that leads down 20 feet to a 30-foot-diameter cave. The cave wall directly across from the entrance sparkles
slightly.
DC 20 Appraise or Knowledge (dungeoneering) check
You recognize this as a vein of gold. Indeed, this cave can be transformed into a healthy gold mine with the proper time and equipment.
"Good day and good luck to you, Chief."
*****
Four days later, Amadeen stops walking. She moves her left arm flamboyantly, and her hand uncurls with a single slender finger pointing to a crack in the crags.
"Folks, we have a cave!"
And then her mouth widens into a grin.
"With gold! Glorious gold! We have a future mine here!"
"Gold..." a sly grin spreads over Johund's face at the possibilities. "That'll be useful, aye, we'll need build forts, clear roads, hire laborers. Good eye, Amadeen. Yer Highness? Whaddaya reckon we should call ya?"
Amadeen thinks for a moment, then resumes talking:
"You know, I hadn't pinned it down. For just about everyone who isn't here, it's going to be 'Your Majesty'. Because I'm aiming for queen and nothing less. For you folks, it'll be 'Amadeen' unless we're in front of someone we can't afford not to impress. Sound good to all of you?"
Eluvias shrugged. ”So long as this enterprise means that I can afford my research, I will call you any title you wish. It matters not to me.”
"Hey, Eluvias, you get a title too, you know.", Amadeen says grinning.
"Or should I say, *Lord* Eluvias?"
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Lord? Once he would have laughed at the idea. Once he would have fought for it, killed for it. Now? It was just a word. But he knew what it meant and what was being offered, and the gesture behind it. He decided that it would not do to be rude.
”It does have a nice ring to it. You have my appreciation, your majesty.”
The words felt hollow. Forced. And he wanted to know why. This was his best chance to figure out what was happening to him, while there was still any of him left. The last thing he could afford to do was offend this new monarch.
An old lightning-struck oak tree stands atop a low hill at this spot—the only tree in a two mile radius, in fact. Approached from the north, the tree looks eerily like a claw reaching for the clouds.
In a hollow amid the tree’s roots on the north side a section of earth there has been disturbed, after a little digging you find wrapped in a heavy cloak masterwork dagger, a wand of burning hands (CL 2nd, 4
charges), a silver ring worth 75 gp, and a spellbook. Unfortunately, rain
seeping down into the cache has damaged much of the spellbook, but five of the spells (identify, mage armor, reduce person, silent image, and unseen servant) remain intact.
"Ho. Firewood."
"probably the only thing holding the hill up." Barek nods, looking around carelessly.
"Yup, definitely firewood. But in a bit of an awkward spot. Let's press on."
The hills give way to plains. The land still has plenty of stone and rocks in the earth but with hard work it could easily be quite suitable for farming.
Returning to Olegs you find a reward has been sent from Restov for your early dealings with bandits. Oleg and Svetlana are thrilled to hear you have dealt with the rest of the bandits. Oleg introduces you to Kesten Garess who leads a small group of soldiers sent to protect the trading post.
You recall the scandal when an affair between Kesten and a lowborn woman
named Tania, a weaver’s daughter, became public knowledge. His father Evan, a cousin of the Garess family patriarch, disowned Kesten, who fled to Restov to serve as a mercenary.
"There's a Priest of Erastil called Jhod Kavken who has been staying around here asking about ye. He seems alright, said a few prayers for some of the trappers, a bit of healing that kind of thing." Oleg adds.
"Hello there Kesten! Any troubles since you got here?"
Amadeen puts two and two together about Kesten.
I'll have a friendly word with him later.
"Sure thing, Oleg! We'll have a chat with Jhod."
Amadeen seeks out the priest.
"Nothing too important, straightening out a few trappers too deep in their cups. It seems like ye've gone and gotten all the glory. Maybe tomorrow, I'll keep my lads in line just in case." Kesten says, clearly he was hoping things would be a little more active.
Jhod isn't hard to find, he's a middle aged human with balding brown hair and a mustache. "Hello I've been waiting for you all to return. By any chance in your travels to the south have you come across an overgrown Temple of Erastil perhaps guarded by a bear?"
Once the group has spoken with Jhod, Amadeen replies:
"Not that I recall. But we can look for it! What's the story?"
"A holy man? Sounds suspicious." Johund grumbles as they make their way toward their rendezvous with Jhod.
________
"Yea, Why'd a bear be guardin' a temple?"
This smells like an ambush.