"Argos, down. Rowan orders his canine companion. He sheathes his sickle, picks up his bow, and nocks an arrow. "Tartuk, hold until the Chief arrives. If you try to cast or attack my companions, I will fire upon you." He warns kobold spellcaster but does not take aim at him yet.
Tartuk glances back at the cave and shakes his head. "What kind of adventurers are you? They're kobolds, you should be killing them, not talking to them. Oh well, let's do it your way." He points the wand in Rowan's direction and starts to speak, Rowan lets fly an arrow
but it bounces off an invisible barrier near the kobold.
He says
and two bolts of energy spring out and hits..Argos.
As he fires the wand he moves back 30' and his raven double moves to land on his shoulder.
As he moves back, a large group of kobolds emerge from the cave, one of them has a fur cape and appears to be the Chief. They blink, dazzled by the sunlight and seem to be getting their bearings. Tartuk says in
Nakpik seems confused as he is trying to think through what is happening. He says "I don't think Tartuk is a kobold. He says he wants to kill kobolds." At that the Chief looks at Tartuk and says with a smile.
The kobolds seem to be turning their spears towards the hapless kobold shaman.
Another channel from Felix to try and get Kobolds back to health.
"You son of a boiled newt!" Rowan whistles for Sleip to draw near and hops atop his horse. Urging his steed onward, he chases after the escaping faux-kobold. "Throw down your wand and surrender or else I'll strike you down!"
if needed
Furious, Rowan mounts his horse as it passes buy at full gallop, a marvelous display of horsemanship. Felix's curing helps Argos but he lingers behind and then begins chasing after his master. The kobolds are completely friendly now, after Felix has cured them, although there is one that no amount of curing will help. Astonished that Rowan has closed the distance so quickly the shaman backpedals 5' and throws a spell and fades from existance. The kobolds run up to where Rowan is and gasp as Tartuk disappears.
Rnd 1
Rnd 2
Rnd 3
Rnd 4
Rnd 5
Tracking.
Caelus Rnd 1
Caelus Rnd 2
Caelus Rnd 3
Caelus Rnd 4
Caelus Rnd 5
"What the..?" Rowan attacks with his sickle as the kobold tries getting off one more spell.
"Argos, seek him!" He orders while following close behind, searching for any clues.
Rolls for Rowan
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Rolls for Argos
to track
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
If the kobold is found, Rowan strongly suggests taking Tartuk captive.
Rowan couldn't charge because he had gone around a building and there was no straight line. He swing bounces off his invisible barrier and the shaman has a look of triumph in his face as he casts his invisibility. "You can't stop me, I'll eventually destroy all the kobolds" he cackles as he fades from view. Unfortunately, about two minutes of Argus smelling him out later, Argos growls and suddenly clamps down on something and there is a scream of pain. The kobolds join in along with Rowan and Dantalion if they wish and make quick work of the evil shaman. He gets no mercy from the kobolds and it will take a DC 20 Diplomacy to keep the shaman from being killed.
Felix does not stay the Kobolds from pronouncing justice on one of their own, it is not his place to interfere in their tribe yet. That being said, afterwards he will approach chief Sootscale and offer his hand in friendship.
"Greetings Lord Sootscale, I am Lord Felix Orlovsky and I am here to extend my hand in friendship to your people."
Lord Sootscale accepts your friendship and his new human title. Everyone in the group is invited to a celebration and over the evening Felix can finalize diplomatic ties with the Sootscale clan. The kobolds want nothing to do with the shaman's possesions or equipment and that along with three baskets of Moon Radishes are given to Felix.
Tartuk's possesions and equipment
Wand of Magic Missle (3rd level, 38 charges left) the activation phrase is the gnomish word for Annihilate.
Masterwork Cold Iron Sickle
Bracer's of Armor +1
Diary written in gnomish
7420 cp
2132 sp
302 gp
Masterwork Light Metal Shield
7 +1 Flaming crossbow bolts
Boots of Elvenkind
Soiled Leather Bag containing (321sp, 249 gp, 13 pp, Svetlana's wedding ring, pouch containing magic dust)
"Lord Sootscale, I respectfully request to take Tartuk as prisoner. If it wasn't for Argos and I, he would have escaped and caused you more trouble. I wish to give him the chance to repent for what he has done." Rowan speaks to the Chief of Kobolds respectfully. "If he is unwilling or insincere, then I will see to his execution."
It seems that Tartuk has engendered so much ill will that even Rowan's plea for repentance does not stop them. Tartuk's body remains that of a kobold even in death. It's a curious fact, he does indeed seem to be a kobold, but Lord Sootscale doesn't seem to spend much time dwelling on it.
Vors walks to Rowan and places a hand on his shoulder. "Such is the way sometimes. The justice can be harsh among such creatures," he says.
"It is there way, that will not change over night. All we can do is work to teach them better."
"Teach them to do what better? Deal with a traitor to their society? Seems they have the right idea to me. Suprisingly for such creatures prone to chaos and violence."
The kobolds are good company. By the end of Pharast 6 you can claim the kobold encampments hex as being explored. Wanting to report back to Victor, you arrive back at Oleg's late on Pharast 7. Victor's group is there but Victor is going back to Restov to recruit more settlers, leaving the disposition of the settlement in Felix and Lanya's hands. A squad of soldiers has been 'gifted' to your settlement to garrison Olegs. The commander is a man named Kesten Garess. A cleric of Erastil has also come to Olegs. His name is Jhod Kavken.
Pharast 13
The day starts clear and sunny all traces of rain are gone. You travel with Wilhelm's group for most of the day, using the path along the Shrike river the bandits made. By mid day you come across where the Thorn river flows into the Shrike and cross the river. At this time your two groups part ways, Wilhelm going north while you continue to follow the Shrike. Late in the afternoon, almost evening, you arrive at the Sootscale Caverns. Two kobold guards come out to meet you. "Nakpik, you lucky dog" one of them says. "Who's your new friend?"
Felix will wait for Nakpik to make the introductions.
Dareon skips happily along on the road to the Sootscale caverns. He's never seen a kobold warren before, and that made the prospect of seeing one SO worth it. As they walk, he somewhat nervously asks Felix, "Are you sure they won't kill us? I haven't heard the most flattering things about kobolds..."
Dareon skips happily along on the road to the Sootscale caverns. He's never seen a kobold warren before, and that made the prospect of seeing one SO worth it. As they walk, he somewhat nervously asks Felix, "Are you sure they won't kill us? I haven't heard the most flattering things about kobolds..."
[dice=By the way, what HAVE I heard about Kobolds? Knowledge (local)]1d20+11
In Draconic, Nakpik excitedly explains to the guards. "My friends this is the human formerly known as Felix. He has been reborn as One of Us! She will lead us to great victories as Shimmerscale the Great." The guards look dubious. "Didn't you say the same thing about Tartuk?" one of them asks.
Despite his reservations in the presence of such dubiously moral monstrous creatures, Dareon speaks up in defense of Felix.
Then he turns to Felix, "Excuse me sir, do you speak the Draconic language? If you don't, I'm happy to translate for you."
Felix listens to what is going on, those cold eyes searching out each speaker in turn before finally resting her full attention on those before her. She steps a little forward and raises her hands slightly to quiet the conversation.
Emphatic sweeping gestures accompany her every word. Her gaze rests momentarily in each of the kobolds eyes as she seems to be weighing their very worth with that cold fire behind the windows to her soul.
Trying to get a feel for each of the kobolds around me and their general reactions.
May move them three steps.
The kobolds seem mesmerized by Shimmerscale's words. Again by the end they are hissing their approval. Get the Chief, one of them says. As the sun sets, Chief Sootscale and all the kobolds come out of the mine to greet their new member. Soon the group finds themselves surrounded by 200 to 300 kobolds. Nakpik and the 4 kobolds that went south with the party establish themselves as a sort of honor guard. Jugs of some sort of fermented mushroom are brought up and are being handed out. One kobold seems to not be joining in the celebration. Terquail has climbed up onto the old mining office building and just seems to be watching.
If Masamura or Dante wish it and don't personally speak Draconic, Dareon will gladly cast share language to share Draconic with one of them and allow them to join in on the festivities and converse with the kobolds.
He'll also cast arcane sight and just look around, checking to see if any of the kobolds have got magical equipment or spellcasting abilities and noting which of them do have spellcasting abilities.
His staff atop his shoulder, Dareon adopts a hopping and skipping gait as he circles deftly around the partying kobolds and makes his way to the edge of the party. Climbing the building alongside the lone kobold, he has to throw his staff up ahead of himself and hoist himself up sideway, grunting with the exertion.
Sitting up and crossing his legs, he addresses the little reptilian man.
Masamura find a quiet place where his back is to a wall and he can drink some tea and watch everyone else. He occasionally fiddles with a small shiny stone he found that has preoccupied him for a while now.
Felix continues to tell her story and gets to know her new people. They are very talkative and after a few hours Felix can use K/Local with respect to the Sootscale Tribe. Unless Dante adopts a friendly demeanor they tend to keep a wary, respective distance from the large warrior. Masamura soon finds himself the center of group of koblolds trying to catch a peek at the shiny object he obviously treasures.
Dareon climbs up on top of the building, Terquial watches him come but makes no effort to move. When Dareon sits down and asks his question, Terquial shrugs. "I'm the one the Chief sends out to do the difficult stuff. He sent me to get Tartuk's 'God' back from the mites. I was the only the survivor, and I would be dead myself, if Felix, Dante, Rowan and Dantalion hadn't chosen that time to attack. That's my story, how about yours?"
"I'm glad of my compatriots, then, Terquial." says Dareon with a smile for the little kobold. "Me? I'm just a small-time nobleman, ran away from home to see the world. I dabble in the arcane to keep myself useful and I've been adventuring with these folks for...oh, about a week now?" He scratches his chin, just starting to grow hair from his neglect for shaving. "Why aren't you joining the rest?"
Masamura at first is oblivious to the Kobolds until one blocks his light then looks around with a slightly surprised look. He then puts the stone away as he speaks to them."Well hello there everyone. Can I help you with something?"
Felix continues to party it up with her new found people, somehow she feels more accepted here then she ever did in the world of man.
Somewhere some kobolds produce some large drums and the party really begins to get started. The music is entirely percussive, but it is very well performed. The kobolds had suffered so badly under Tartuk's rule and they are taking advantage of this excuse to really let their hair down. They even try to convince Dante to join the frenzied dancing. The one's around Masamura gasp as he puts the stone away. "What was that?" one asks. Terquail doesn't join the dancers although Dareon can tell the music moves him as his tail starts to keep rhythm. He responds to Dareon's question. "I don't feel much like partying right now."
Dareon tries to reach out and scratch the little kobold on his scaly little head. "Aww, something get you down? Come on, the party's going, we're celebrating!"
"It is simply a cheap gemstone made from a polished rock. It reminds me of home."
Feeling the magic settle over him, Dante speaks and smiles as Draconic flows from his lips. "Language barrier be damned! Someone bring me a drink!"
Terquial leaps up to his feet at Dareon's touch. "Don't touch me, human. he hisses. "You may have my kinfolk under your spell. You may not intend them harm. I don't know. But I'll be watching." With that he acrobatically flips off the roof, heading towards Chief Sootscale.
Dante gets a heavily alcoholic beverage made of fermented mushrooms. It tastes absolutely horrible, but it has one whallop of a kick. Also slightly hallucinogenic.
One of the kobolds hands Masamura a rock. "Here, a gift for Felix's friends. Now you can be reminded that this is home."
Masamura smiles and then looks at the rock."Yes, I suppose it is. Thank you my friend."
The party continues until early morning and a good time is had by all. Everyone seems welcomed into the clan. Everyone who drank the mushroom wine need to make a DC 10+'number of drinks' Fort save or be sickened the next morning and a Will save of the same difficulty to avoid having very colorful hallucinations that morning.
Dareon didn't drink the previous night. Dareon doesn't drink, so when he wakes up the next day to a chorus of groaning, mutters about how the "purple bread tastes like orange" or "the telekineticvision monster (what the heck is telekineticvision?) is coming right for me, over the hills!", he smiles a little self-satisfied smile.
After he dresses himself and studies his book for an hour, he walks around the camp. "Oh, so this is why people drink.", he mumbles.
Pharast 14
The day is nice and spring like. You head northeast to explore the river as far as possible without going out of the way to your trip back to Oleg's. The Shrike heads through hills and valleys. Near the end of the day you come upon the remains of a rotting bridge. The only remnant that looks sturdy is a single heavy rope that remains of the bridge. On the southern shore about 300' from you are the remains of ramshackle hut. There is a faded sign on your side next to the bridge reading "Nettle's Crossing - 5 Coppers - Ring Bell for Service". A rusty bell hangs by the sign.
Dareon strokes his chin. "Hm." he says, and then strides up to the sign. He reaches out his hand, haltingly, looking back at Felix for confirmation. Then he grasps the bell with two fingers and rings it.
Downstream (about 200') to the west, in the river, there is a flotsam of debris formed from the planks of the bridge that have fallen into the water. As Dareon rings the bell, a long dead man, his flesh putrescent and pale, rises from the water near this collection. He wields a dripping ranseur. He looks at the source of the bell and starts to walk across the water towards you. He calls out, his voice soggy and raspy with disuse. "You are not my tormentor. Throw the Stag Lord's body into the river so that I can gaze upon his death, or join me instead."
Walking up beside Dareon, Masamura speaks while drawing his blade."The Stag Lord is dead. We can perhaps find a way to prove this given time."[i]Masamura tries to remember what happened during the fight but is a bit foggy on the details.