Rufus nods in agreement with Cappi's questions.
The kobold listens intently to the halfling, taking in the questions before responding, "Many mites, dozens, foul things! Old Sharptooth is the spirit totem of our tribe, " as he suddenly extends his arms and gestures wildly, "And WOE upon the Sootscales if it is not recovered. A foul curse descends upon us all!" at the mention of which all of the kobolds observing the exchange scatter once more, hiding in nooks and crannies around the tunnels. "The mites steal anything, and the Sootscales are the only tribe in this region that they can find. Woe to your people if they discover you and steal your totem! They must be stopped and Old Sharptooth recovered!"
"If I may ask, what are these Mites you speak of?" Castor works up the courage to ask.
"Evil little things! Thieves and sneaks they are, stealing anything that isn't too heavy for them to spirit away." the leader answers, obviously hating the creatures deeply.
"You say these 'evil mites' stole the spirit totem of your tribe." Rufus replies. "How did they do this thing? Was it by simple numbers or do they posses magics of their own?"
The shaman continues, in answer to the question posed to him by the cavalier, "Sneaks they are, far better at hiding than fighting! They stole into the lair of the Sootscales and stole Old Sharptooth from under our noses at night. Their kind be damned!" as he summons a wavering image of a bluish looking creature with a fat goblinoid head supported by a think neck in the air before him, drawing jeers from the hidden kobolds all around. In a flash he snaps his fingers at the image causing it to explode into a flash of light, dazzling any onlookers.
"We can be sneaky too, I do believe." Cappi states with a smirk. "But I'm wagering this 'Old Sharptooth' might be worth more to you than simply 'sparing our lives.' I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm quite attached to me life. It's comfortable, like a good pair of slacks... but the promise to try and retrieve your bauble should be worth that, as you grant us that the moment we walk out of here, right? You ought to sweeten the pot a bit by offering something on our return."
"My friends speaks right, I believe. We would be glad to help you retrieve your idol, but we too have reasons to scour these lands. Should we return Old Sharptooth to you, would you promise to leave travelers through this region alone? Of course, in return, we will make certain that you are not harassed by these travelers."
"Perhaps Cappi, but perhaps that discussion is better left for once we have returned with the 'bauble', give them some opportunity to think of how to reward us once the task is complete rather then beg for more when they may determine that our lives are not worth sparing." Winifred adds with a smile.
The shaman nods along with Winifred's words, "Yes, when you return! When you return we can discuss your reward! And you keep anything you take from the mite bodies yes? Just not Old Sharptooth!"
Nodding in agreement once some manner of accord has been reached, Rufus adds. "אז אנחנו אעשה צרות שבט שלך כבר לא." Turning to the others. "Shall we depart then?"
Castor nods.
"Yes, let us be on our way. If those mites are a threat to the Sootscales, no doubt they may eventually trouble us as well. Let us be preemptive."
He seems genuine about offering a reward, but you have no idea what a kobold is actually capable of paying.
"Sounds like a plan then, let's go rescue old Sharptooth!" Winifred says agreeing, secretly hoping to get some kobolds to cheer.
Indeed a cheer does arise from the hidden kobolds, who are quickly cowed back into submission by the shaman. It is obvious to everyone that the kobolds are very concerned about it being returned, and it indeed holds a great importance to them.
The group is escorted back out of the tunnels, and directed northwest towards the old sycamore that the kobold shaman described. The travel takes about half of the day as the group crosses the plains and the time goes by without event.
Nearly a two miles from their destination the party indeed spots the landmark they are seeking, a massive tree on the horizon, clearly visible despite the distance. At they continue to approach, the group is awestruck by the sheer size of the sycamore, its age counted in centuries at least. Nearing the base the party sees obvious signs of recent activity, but nothing to indicate the mites were so kind as to leave open a front door.
"So does anyone actually know what a mite is?" Cappi chuckles as they travel. [/b]"It sounds like a bug to me... which I can't say I'm too fond of. Things creep me out a bit, they do."[/b]
-----------------------
As they approach the giant sycamore, a slow whistle escapes the halfling's lips.
"Let me scout a bit, eh?" He whispers, trying to quietly creep into the surrounding brush. To be honest, he's not sure what he's looking for. If he sees some bugs, should he report it back?
"I do not believe I've heard of them either. I must confess I know the open road and very little else."
Castor nods as Cappi sets off into the wood.
"Of course. Be careful. We know not what we are up against."
"I'm not entirely sure what these mites are either, perhaps they are giant termites?" Winifred says while looking around.
Cappi vanishes into the shadows, taking a look around the base of the tree while the party remains a short distance away. The rogue, working best away from the more noisy members of the party, nimbly picks his way around the area, searching for any signs that would lead them to the mites.
After a few minutes he locates a hole dug into a branch of roots coming away from the trunk, fairly well concealed from plain sight. Taking a peek inside he sees only darkness. No apparent light sources are present within.
"Well I'm not about to jump down there solo." He reminds himself, as if he needed the convincing.
"It's seems clear." Cappi whispers as he returns to the others. "Still not sure what a mite is, but I don't think I saw one? But I did find a tunnel that seems to lead beneath the tree. That's our best bet I think, though there's no way I can see down it."
"Hm. Should we go in, or might we gain something from looking on?"
Castor pulls a few twigs from his pocket gathered during the day's travel, and rubs each of them gently against his holy symbol. Soon, the twigs, as well as the symbol itself, begin glowly brightly, providing the party with makeshift torches.
"Here, this should allow us to see better."
"Would expect they are that image the Shaman showed us." Rufus replies as the others debate what 'Mites' might be.
"Can we be certain we were unobserved?" He reminds the others. "I doubt it. Therefore, we must expect they are waiting for us. Was that the only way in you found?" He asks Cappi. "You did examine the entire circumference, yes?"
Winifred will cast light on some of her jewelry. "Let's all keep our eyes peeled if we're going down, the kobolds said they were sneaky."
"That being the case," Rufus opines as he draws his dagger in anticipation of the close quarters. "Cappi & I should likely go first then?"
"Shall we close the march, Theod?" Castor asks, untying his shield and longsword from Capella's saddlebags and equipping them to himself. Though the added weight makes him rather burdened and uncomfortable, he judges that, in close quarters, his bow is unlikely to do much good.
Using a source of light and peering down into the hole you see it is the start of a tunnel. At its widest it is roughly five feet, created by someone obviously of fairly small stature.
"And that is why I didn't try drawing this..." Rufus whispers, seemingly to no one in particular, as he indicates the sword strapped to his back, which manages to almost catch on the ceiling every few feet, much like his head.
"I would say things could be worst, but as a follower of Lady Luck, I would rather not jinx us."
"It sure is a tight squeeze, but as Castor says, it could be worse, the tunnels could be so small that we would not even fit." Winifred adds, doing her best not to get stuck in the tunnel.
The tunnel is obviously a tight squeeze for everyone except the halfling, who walks though with no issues. It isn't clear what could have made the passage, but there are indeed signs along some of the exposed roots of tool marks, so it obviously was made by an intelligent creature rather than an animal. Packed earth at your feet emphasizes that the tunnel has seen much travel and is likely several years old.
Roughly fifteen feet ahead Cappi notices a hole in the tunnel floor, at which point it ends. Listening, you can hear the muffled sounds of conversation coming from the opening, although the soil acts as a natural sound buffer and from this distance it is impossible to make out the words.
Cappi holds up a single hand to indicate that the others should stop. His curiosity piqued, he almost itches at the opportunity to finally see what a 'mite' is. He can't make out any words of the conversation, so he isn't even certain if he can understand anything that they say, but he desperately wants to see them. Stealthily he creeps toward the hole, testing his footing with each step as not to cause a cave in if he can help it. He leaves his own light-source behind, however, as he progresses slightly, not wanting to give away their presence.
Cappi pokes his head just over the top of the hole, peering down into the darkness. He thinks he can make some shapes out, but as he presses in for a closer look a small bit of dirt falls into the hole and the conversation ceases suddenly.
The sound of something whizzing by his ear is accompanied by thunk as something impacts into the dirt ceiling above the halfling's head.
"Looks like they've seen us." Castor whispers. "What now?"
Cappi tries to quickly scurry back, head filled with screaming curses. He needs to get back to the light, then likely pursue if they can in order to keep the entire hive from being informed.
"They're quite perceptive!" Cappi whispers as he scrambles back to the glowing sticks. "And not as interested in chatting as the kobolds were."
Once back at the light, Cappi crouches low and readies a dagger in one hand and the enchanted stick in the other. He tries to stand as defensively as possible, anticipating another bolt from the darkness ahead.
As Cappi darts back to the group he readies himself for the oncoming assault, but it never arrives. Up ahead there is the sound of pattering feet, but little else happens.
Looking ahead, Cappi makes out that the item lodged in the roof of the tunnel is no bolt at all, but a caltrop, firmly imbedded into the soft earth. His mind puzzles over such a device being used as a missile weapon. As he ponders on the possibilities there is a shudder in the earth, a violent trembling that shakes the ground and causes loose soil from above to rain down upon the party. He glances back to the group with a questioning look, locking gazes with Theod and Winifred as a burst of dirt a soil erupt at their feet.
And then they are gone. Left behind is another large hole in the tunnel, leaving Cappi, Castor, and Rufus standing in a twenty foot section of tunnel with no accessible exit.
"... Desna help us." Castor mutters, in shock. "W-what just happened? Theod? Winifred?"
As Cappi darts back to the group he readies himself for the oncoming assault, but it never arrives. Up ahead there is the sound of pattering feet, but little else happens.
Looking ahead, Cappi makes out that the item lodged in the roof of the tunnel is no bolt at all, but a caltrop, firmly imbedded into the soft earth. His mind puzzles over such a device being used as a missile weapon. As he ponders on the possibilities there is a shudder in the earth, a violent trembling that shakes the ground and causes loose soil from above to rain down upon the party. He glances back to the group with a questioning look, locking gazes with Theod and Winifred as a burst of dirt a soil erupt at their feet.
And then they are gone. Left behind is another large hole in the tunnel, leaving Cappi, Castor, and Rufus standing in a twenty foot section of tunnel with no accessible exit.
Hindered in this tight enclosure by his own size, Rufus' first warning of his companion's fate comes with the twin gasps from behind him. Spinning about, his head slams into the varied soil of the tunnel's ceiling, causing another cascade of dirt as he witnesses little more than the new crevasse to mark the abrupt departure of his companions. Scrambling forward, he peers down into the darkness below. At Castor's query, he replies. "Perhaps a sinkhole, perhaps a trap that could only be tripped by a group of beings as large as we. Assuming that image the Shaman showed us was accurate, they looked even smaller than Kobolds or Cappi here..." Turning to his smaller companion, Rufus points back to where Cappi just came from. "Watch for them coming up from that way, I'm going to see if Theod & Winifred are still conscious."
Rufus calls down below, but there is no response other than the shifting and settling earth as dirt and rocks continue to sift down into the gap left by the collapsing tunnel.
No noise appears to come from either hole at the moment. Everything is deathly quiet.
Castor can't help but peer down. "Any idea how far down this goes?"
Forgoing the light of his Holy Symbol for a moment, he lights a pebble and drops it down the chasm that swallowed their companions, hoping to get a peek of the bottom.
Cappi nods at Rufus' command and tosses the enchanted stick toward the end of the tunnel where the original hole is, trying to get it close to the hole but not so close that it descends. He then replaces it with his second dagger, still trying to maintain as defensive a posture as is possible in these tight quarters. If anything comes out of that hole, he'll be ready...
Seeing Cappi draw his weapon makes Castor realize he should do the same. Better to have them ready now than to struggle once he really needs them. Shuffling and struggling against the tight quarters, Castor eventually manages to strap on his light wooden shield and his morningstar, neither of which appear to have seen much use to this day.
Castor drops the item down into the hole as Rufus peers over the side. For the briefest of moments as the pebble descends he can make out movement below, as if the floor itself were moving, but as the pebble strikes the dirt, some fifty feet below, he sees nothing except the shadows the spell casts on the walls. The hole appears to be a wide shaft for thirty feet before it opens into a larger room below. At the bottom is an impressive mound of dirt and debris mixed with wooden planks and boards. It wouldn't take an engineer to determine that the shaft was built to be collapsed, but if that was due to weight or some other manner is unclear. Atop the pile lie the broken forms of both Winifred and Theod, neither completely covered by debris yet. While their conditions are unclear, the thick board thrusting out from Theod's abdomen indicates that his health is very much in question.
From the hole in front of Cappi the rogue hears noises emerging from the darkness, but they appear a distance away yet.
This...
is not good...
Tearing his gaze from the fallen & possibly shattered forms of his comrades, Rufus turns to Castor. "Can you make your way across that without aid?"
"For that matter, do either of you have rope?"