Casting should trigger Ares readied action. He stabs the kobold with his dagger.
for but misses.
Hammerfist holds his ground against the Kobold's foul magic.
Hammerfist will pull out his rope and tie the kobold up now that he's pinned.
Ares attacks the kobold, but misses!
Hammerfist ties the chief up!
Your good fortune is that Mr. Hammerfist would rather see you alive, which means you can continue to breathe for the moment.
Since Hammer looks like he has the kobold caster well under control, Reynaldo will light a torch and begin to burn away the webs to help Lia and Lao out.
Lia continues to burn her way through the webs. Lia calls back to where Nighttail is. "Keep coming this way! Try to get to the path I made!"
Lao continues to struggle.
Nighttail comes up ends the chief with a spear thrust. "Now I am chief of Blood Vow tribe." She says. "You have my word that the kobolds will no longer attack or harass the people of Belhaim. I thank you for your help." She says. "You can take anything you want for payment."
On the chief the party finds, scrolls of glitterdust (2), wand of web (4
charges), dagger, cloak of fangs, key to armory, key to chests.
In the chests you finds: One chest holds 1,895 gp, and the other holds six large green scales and an even larger black scale, which Lia recognizes as dragon scales.
Led back through the kobold lair, the party checks the armory, but all the weapons are small size, save for a cold iron longsword that if of regular size (Medium)
Passing through the part of the lair you had yet to explore, Nighttail announces her rise to the throne, to the relief of the kobolds.
In one room, you find three humans, chained to the wall, being used as slave labor by the kobolds. Nighttail releases the humans to you and you find out the two are a couple who were passing through and have no possessions, while the third is Bophre Malak, a dairy maid who went missing from Belhaim and whose mother will pay you 200 gp for her safe return.
"I hope we can start of your new tribe on a better track than your predecessor. If we have your oath, then we can leave in peace. Will all the kobolds keep your promise? We will escort the captives back to their homes. "
Ares will cure any injured party or captives as needed.
Lia is satisfied with a job well done and, as she hums a new song to herself about the heroic antics of her and the group, wonders what trials will come to the group in the future.
Lau, meanwhile, keeps trying to get the webbing out of his fur.
No worries.
After Nighttail is installed as the chief of the Blood Vow tribe, the party goes back to Belhaim. Arriving at Baroness Devy's manor, you are show in to her offices. Casting a discerning eyes, she asks. "How did you fare? I see you all have survived. Are the kobolds taken care of then?"
Lia bows, whether proper or not. "We brought down the leader of the tribe issuing commands against the surface. The tribe should no longer be a threat."
Ares nods and adds to the Huntress's comments.
"Along with the release of these captives, we have their assurance they will not harass the town again. If they do, we told them we would be back."
Hammerfist nods and grunts.
Devy purses her lips, but then says. "I'm not completely comfortable with the idea, but I will take you word for it." She reaches into the desk and sets out the pouch of gems. "As we agreed, here is your payment." She keeps her hand on the pouch as she eyes the party. "What are your plans now? Would you be interested in another...job?"
Hammerfist eyes the bag, weighing it in his mind before nodding and grunting again.
"Seeing how I still need money to send back to my family, yes, I am also interested. What do you have in mind this time? "
Lia nods in the affirmative, awaiting further instruction.
The baroness smiles when you ask for more information. Sitting back in her chair, she says. "The day after Hunclay perished, word was sent via raven to his only living relative, a cousin in Yanmass. Just this morning, her reply arrived—she doesn’t seem all that distraught at his death, and has no interest in coming to Belhaim to claim his estate and belongings." She frowns and shakes her head at the last part.
"Instead, she has requested that we auction off all of Hunclay’s property and possessions so that the proceeds, minus my expenses, can be sent to her. This leaves me with a daunting task, cataloguing the contents of Hunclay’s manor home. That entails entering the place and exploring its interior, an enterprise that could hold considerable danger. Hunclay was something of a foul-tempered recluse, and word around town is that his manor was warded by magical traps and guarded by monsters." She leans forward and gives you a knowing look. "The fate of the kobold who burned to death on the manor’s front porch has only added to locals’ fears." She holds her hands up and sighs.
"That has made it hard to find competent people for the job." Devy takes a deep breath and gives you a look before saying. "Would you all be interested in taking on another job for Belhaim? It would mean exploring Hunclay’s manor and identifying any unusual or magical items there while simultaneously deactivating traps and dealing with any monstrous guardians. These seem to be tasks tailor-made for adventurers, like yourselves, after all."
Ares considers the offer for a moment then responds with a question.
"Your highness, that seems like a fair contract for such as our group. Would the terms of the payment be entirely from your treasury or would there be any disposition of treasures if found on intruders, such as those kobolds, while completing our mission to catalog the estate? I mean if said treasures do not belong to the late Hunclay and his family? Also, do we just need to return the catalog of the items, or do we actually need to haul everything to the surface for review?"
Devy smiles "Very astute. Anything that you find of Hunclay's should be left to be cataloged. If by some chance, you encountered intruders and...dispatched them, then yes, you may keep what if found on the intruder." She glances through some paperwork, then looks up. "I'm willing to offer a flat 5000 gp fee for the job. How does that sound?"
The sound of Lia's jaw hitting the floor is audible through the room. She quickly composes herself and squeaks out "I think that'll do. Guys?"
Ares looks at Lia, thinking the same thing, and puts on his best poker face.
"That will do. When do we start, m'lady?"
Devy nods and smiles. "Thank you. I knew you were the ones for the job!" She calls for an attendant and once he appears, tells him to write up a contract for your services. The contract consists of outlining your fee and the expectation that you exercise every possible caution to leave items inside intact and undamaged. Once the paperwork is written up, she says. "Hunclay's relative did not stipulate a time frame, so you may proceed at whatever time frame you deem sensible."
"I need a few days, some bolts o' cloth and some frog legs"
The base DC to craft is 5+ caster level of the item (Cloak of Resistance is 5) making it 10. I have access to resistance and have a caster level of 3 so I meet all the requirements.
Cloak of Resistance +1 is worth 1000gp so it takes 500gp to craft and takes 1 day. However I can cut the crafting time in half by raising the DC by 5 (from 10 to 15).
With a +8 spellcraft I can take 10 and craft us 4 cloak of resistance +1s in 2 days, for 2,000gp.
After spending a couple days purchasing and making equipment, the party heads over to Hunclay's Manor. The grisly remains of a kobold, the flesh charred badly and limbs contorted by fire, still lie on the doorstep of the manor house.
Hammerfist grumbles something about garbage service.
Reynaldo wrinkles his nose. Oh, come now...someone should be able to clean this up, shouldn't they? I mean really...
"I am glad we are just here to catalog and not renovate. What a mess. "
Lia skirts around the toasted kobold, urging Lao to stay away from the flash-grilled meat. "Should we start here, then? One flambeed kobold?"
"One flambeed kobold" Hammerfist repeats before continuing,
"Lets take a look around before we start writin' stuff down, I'd hate to be ambushed and have to defend myself with the notes I've been takin."
Trying the door, you find it not trapped, but locked.
"Ya woulda thunk they'd a given us they key... I guess that's why we get paid the shinny coins." Hammerfist follows up with some grumbling noises.
Hammerfist will lay his hammer against the wall and pull out his tools and go to work on the lock.
Hammerfist begins to work on the lock. Unable to get it on the first try, he eventually manages to pick the well-made lock.
Opening the door, the party sees an entry hall. The floor of the well-appointed entry hall is adorned with two expensive Qadiran rugs and decorated with several overstuffed leather sofas. Two dozen paintings with gilded frames hang on the walls, portraits and landscapes, all of exquisite artistry. To the north sits a large bird cage. Wooden doors open in the east and west walls, and an elaborate spiral staircase of iron both ascends and descends in the southeast corner.
Hammerfist motions for his companions to stay put for a sec. Before stepping forward Hammerfist pauses for a second and looks over at Ares."Ares, gimme one o' dem blessins, this ole bastard was the tricky sort"
Hammerfist will keep his tools out and work on the trap under the rug.
Ares nods and slaps Mr. Hammer with a divine guidance of Erastil.
"Make us proud, Mr Dwarf"
Hammerfist begins trying to disable the trap, but as his hand brushes across the entry rug, suddenly he feels a pit yawing before him!