Jalthan prolongs his performance, jesting at the feeble rats and their bad teeth. He then shoots an arrow at the northernmost rat.
Milloy will get out his crossbow and attempt to hit a rat with a bolt.
"Like catching dinner when I was a kid working the alleys!" Kurth says, shifting and trying to spear the pair of remaining rats on his javelin.
Jalthan's arrows fells the northern rat, and as Kurth stabs through the final one it lets out a loud squeal in its death throes.
The party searches the room throughly, but finds nothing of value or interest. The place was simply a den for rats, possibly bred by the local kobolds.
To the northwest the passge continues deeper into the cavern. Wide steps have been carved into the rock in this tunnel.
Heal up if anyone was injured and let us press on. Milloy suggests quickly. I'm sure that group of kobolds already have something vile in store for us now.
"I agree! I shouldn't keep my public from waiting." jests the bard.
"Aye, onward, soon as Alice's foot is tended to - can't have our trapspringer limping around," Kurth says, before moving toward the stairs, peering carefully ahead.
"Just the scout injured? I have something that may help with that." Alsterro reaches into a cylindrical case with a swirled black and white motif on the outside, then pulls out a tightly rolled piece of parchment. Unrolling it, he reads the inscription thereon, and passes his hand down Alice's injured leg.
The group heads into the next room safely. They find no traps or enemies.
Wide steps have been carved into the rock in each tunnel that intersects with this large cave. A five-foot-wide circular pit is the chamber’s only feature.
The pit is the tribe’s main water source, a 15-foot-deep well filled with 10 feet of water. It gives the kobolds a water source without having to go outside.
Passages lead out of this room to the north and to the east.
Jalthan looks around the cavern, trying to spot any kobolds that might be watching them right now.
Shall we try the north?
"North sounds good to me," Kurth says, casting a wary eye around the room.
A few torches wedged into niches in this cave’s rocky walls burn fitfully. This area is obviously used for labor-intensive tasks such as making rope from vines, drying meat, and tanning hides, but the working conditions are squalid at best.
Kurth and Milloy notice some movement in the shadows just before five kobolds leap forward brandishing spears!
Surprise Round:
Milloy <<
kobolds
Kurth
Milloy will use a force missile for his action in the surprise round, targeting the closest kobold!
Milloy's bolt nearly slays the lead kobold, but it presses onward. Due to the cave's layout, the kobolds can only appraoch the party one at a time, but any kobold who does is in range of Alice, Kurth and Alsterro.
One kobold strikes at Kurth!
The spearhead is stopped by Kurth's stout mail shirt.
Grunting at the impact, Kurth jabs at the kobold with his javelin.
Kurth spears this kobold and it falls to the ground bleeding profusely.
Round 1:
Milloy <<
kobolds
Alsterro
Kurth
Alice
Jalthan
Milloy decides to save his arcane magic and fires a bolt at the nearest kobold!
Milloy's bolt flies off into the darkened corner of the cavern.
A second kobold moves up, this one striking at Alice.
The blow connects! The other kobolds bide their time, not wanting to risk slings in such close quarters.
Round 1:
Milloy
kobolds
Alsterro <<
Kurth <<
Alice <<
Jalthan <<
Seeing poor Alice get stabbed again, Kurth decides not to wait for Jalthan to start doing his encouraging. He jabs his javelin into another of the scaled critters, then attempts to push forward to block the passage and shield the others from any further blows.
Jalthan starts performing mimicry of the kobolds, attempting to embolden his companions in jesting so.
Kurth runs a kobold through and Alice drops another with her second arrow! Jalthan then starts up a song to encourage his allies!
Alsterro calls on Nethys again to guide his aim, and hurls his quarterstaff at the Kobold behind the one currently engaging Kurth. The quarterstaff returns to his hand after its brief flight.
Milloy sets himself to fire again but realizes his chances are not favorable. I think you might have to take them rest of them yourselves.
Of the remaining Kobolds, onyl one can approach Kurth. It strikes at him!
The blow is again foiled by his fine coat of mail.
Jalthan draws an arrow, aims and shoots at one of the wounded kobolds for which he has the clearest line of sight possible.
Blast! These fights in close quarters are most frustrating! However, I must reserve my powers for more dangerous situations! Milloy will continue to delay, keeping his crossbow at the ready in case an available shot presents itself to him.
"Come on you damn lizards, save some time and just run yourselves through," Kurth says, the thrill of the fight setting his blood pumping. Pushing forward, he attempts to spear another kobold and advance.
Jalthan and Alice shoot some arrows, but the cloe quarters make it impossible to get a good aim, and they miss.
Once again Kurth is able to easily overpower another kobold, who dies on his spear.
The final kobold tries to escape!
Kurth stabs this one dead too.
Milloy lowers his crossbow as the last kobold falls to the point on Kurth's spear. Well done! Milloy will move up to inspect the kobold's belongings. Search the room quickly, see if there is anything of value and then let's move on.
Milloy and Alsterro find nothing noteworthy on the kobolds except a simple iron key. They carry ordinary weapons and armor, and no money. But as they look further into the room they see three figures of human proportions. Looking closer they find three people shackled together!
The prisoners are all shackled via chains and manacles driven into the rock with iron spikes. They seem healthy enough and offer profuse thanks at your arrival. One of the people introduces herself os Bophre Malak, a farmhand from the Malak dairy in Belhaim who went out for a walk one day a few months ago, only to be captured by the kobolds. You also find Carlo and Sela Bellathi, a married couple who were peddlers of religious charms. They were caught 2 months ago while travelling east on the Verduran Highway, just having plied their wares in Belhaim. They spend most of their time in this cave, and have never been beyond the next area. (The room Alice is guarding passage to.)
Ending his verbal performance with a flourish, the bard waves his hat down at the dead audience.
"Many thanks for your attention, now you may resume your dying."
Then catching glimpse of the prisoners, he starts freeing them, cutting their bonds loose with a knife. "My, my, abductees! The plot thickens! My good sirs and madam, would you know the reason why the kobold kept you alive? Did you get any special treatment while you were here? Or overheard anything?"
"... oh, and yes, you're saved! Hurray for the Belhaim five!"
Milloy does not speak to the prisoners, instead letting those with more skilled deal with prying information out of them do their work. Milloy hands the key to Jalthan in the event that it is the item needed to free the captives, if not he will ask for it back.
The Belhaim Five, indeed. Milloy muses to himself. And yes, why hold these people captive? The wizard will wait impatiently while the people are freed and questioned and then urge that the party move forward.
The former prisoners again offer their thanks as Jalthan unlocks their bonds.
Bophre Malak speaks:
"They've kept us here as slaves, working on various crafts and trinkets. The kobolds say they're to be gifts for someone called 'Aeteperax'. I don't know who or what that is. No of us have been here very long. The kobolds are harsh, but see to it that we're healthy enough to work. what they're trying to accomplish I couldn't say."
"Eighty-per-ax? Sounds like some code or something. Slavers, probably, trying to avoid them Andorans," Kurth says, cleaning the gore from his javelin before slipping the weapon back into the leather sheath on his back.
Hefting his morningstar instead, the big man turns to the freed prisoners.
"You reckon you can make it back to the village while we press on? I'm of a mind to knock a few more heads before heading back to the inn."
Assuming the prisoners can make it on their own, Kurth will join Alice by the stairs.
"Aeteperax? Have I heard it before? I couldn't say..."
... I don't think so. Or was it a beverage I tasted last year at the Faerie Fair? In any case, you'd better get going. We're heading deeper into the caves to cover your escape... heroically! Yes, heroically indeed! Don't forget to tell your friends about us!"
"Thanks you again for freeing us. Please visit Malak farm when you return. I'd like to offer all of you a reward. We can make it out. I'm assuming the way you came in is now clear?"
With that the freed captives make thier way out of the caves. The group heads down the eastern corridor...
The passage widens into another cavern, the largest so far. Straw is strewn across the floor of this large cave. The ceiling vaults to a height of twelve feet. Three ledges, eight feet off the ground, look out over the main cavern. A five-foot wide, twenty-foot-deep trench runs north to south through the western half of the cavern, with just one five-foot wide bridge of natural stone allowing passage from one side to the other.
Alice, Kurth and Alsterro see eight kobolds spring up on the various ledges, ready to attack!
Five kobolds let fly with their slings! Two against Alice, three against Kurth.
One slinger hits Alice, leaving a small scratch.
Surprise Round:
kobolds
Alice <<
Alsterro <<
Kurth <<
"Skewer them two closest to us so they can't get us in a cross-fire!" Kurth says, dropping his morningstar in order to draw a javelin and heave it at the nearest kobold.