It would probably start off our negotiations on the wrong foot if we killed them all. Servayn says, tugging his scarf back into position after the strangely sardonic breeze sets it to fluttering.
Let's just advance until the sad, sad attempt at a 'sentry' notices us...
Kriger stops a moment, turns to Servayn with a confused look. "Hold on now. Let me get this straight. You want us to just waltz right up there and let him notice us?" He asks making sure he heard him correctly.
"As I noted, it will be hard to negotiate with them if we kill them all." Servayn says, "And there's really not much purpose to sneak up on them, if we aren't going to kill them, unless you just want to see the look on the sentry's face when we pop up in front of him and introduce ourselves..."
"Honestly? I would love trying it Servayn's way. That sure would be good for a laugh. Which means, we probably should do it your way, Kalsgrim. Go ahead and talk to 'em, see what you can find out. Only, yell if you need help. That'd be a lot easier." He winks.
Ember chuffs softly and speaks up, Kobolds only puny mortal flesh-things that treat me with respect I deserve.
Servayn raises an eyebrow, as Ember has not bothered to speak aloud for some time.
So, who's going?
We shouldn't split up. Why not just move forward as a group? Servayn says.
As I recall, they better understood draconic. he adds, as he begins moving forward.
"I'm not sure how good neighbors these guys will be when we start to settle this land". "They're not known for reliability". "I suggest we convince them to move on". "Still if the popular opinion is that we can civilize them, I'm willing to give it a chance". "But at the first sign of trouble I'm following Kriger in".
Kriger nods in ageement as he heads toward the rock.
As the group approaches, Kriger keeps his eye on the dark shape that can barely be made out among the rocks. Suddenly, he notices it startle, then freeze.
The group keeps moving, and still the dark shape doesn't move. Around 200 feet away, it suddenly disappears behind the rocks...
The group approaches. Slowly, they can make out an entrance by which stands a very old sign, obviously not kobold-made.
As they are almost at the mouth of the cave, Kriger sees a pair of eyes in the darkness, watching. A hissing voice calls out:
Kriger looks to the others curiously. "What the heck did it just say?"
It wants to know why we're here. he says under his breath to Kriger.
In Draconic, he shouts a reply, We come to speak to your leader! Norkyl should have told him that we would come when he returned with the moon radishes!
Kriger turns to Kalsgrim, "What the heck did he just say?"
Ember says, in Common, He said they can eat the big blonde guy.
Servayn shoots him a surprised look and Ember does a credible impression of feigning innocence.
A small head pokes from the rocks and freezes there for a few seconds...
Then it yells back:
The small lizard-like creature suddenly scuttle in your direction, laying low.
He looks down at the ground, visibly sad.
Ember hangs back and provides curt translations, mumbling in common, This is Norkyl. Chief is not available?
Servayn leans down, to appear less intimidating (and unintentionally being totally condescending, as if humoring a child...) and asks for details in Draconic, If Chief hunting nearby? Can we go meet him? Or is there someone else we should talk to, like Chief's son?
He points back to the party and says (still to Norkyl, in Draconic) in a low voice, as if sharing a secret, We have just killed all of the mites in the hollow tree, and these men who come to these lands will not know the difference between kobolds and mites. We must be allies, if your people are to continue living here.
The kobold's eyes widen:
He concentrates for a bit then shakes his head, seemingly having made a decision:
Ember says, in Common, He said they can eat the big blonde guy.
Kriger looks at Ember through narrowed eyes, just before he breaks into a big smile. Kriger points and winks at him, giving him his credit.
Servayn mutters to Ember, "Tell them.", pointing at the others, before asking Norkyl, in Draconic,
Ember seems inordinately pleased that Kriger appreciated his joke, and relays Norkyl's last statement to the others, more or less without editorial comment, "Kobold says chief is prisoner of Tartuk, who speaks for mighty 'Old Sharptooth,' and he thinks that Tartuk will kill wise chief and steal his power."
Kriger looks at Ember a bit confused. Make that a lot confused. "Tartuk is who exactly?" He asks. But as Ember is about to reply, "And who is 'Old Sharptooth?" He pauses for just a mere moment and interrupts Ember again just as he's about to respond. "And is killing this chief guy a bad thing?" For the third time, refusing to give Ember a chance to answer. "Well, hurry it up! Haven't got all day, you know." He looks at him waiting.
Ember raises a scaly eyebrow at Kriger's impatience, and says in a distracted tone, "Don't know any of that. I got bored last time we talked to kobolds and stopped paying attention."
The Eidolon looks thoughtful for a moment, "If evil things are scared of Tartuk, does that mean Tartuk is good? Or more evil?"
Ember raises a scaly eyebrow at Kriger's impatience, and says in a distracted tone, "Don't know any of that. I got bored last time we talked to kobolds and stopped paying attention."
"Hm. Can't says I blame you there, buddy."
The Eidolon looks thoughtful for a moment, "If evil things are scared of Tartuk, does that mean Tartuk is good? Or more evil?"
Kriger scratches his chin as he ponders that. "Not sure. That's a good question. Maybe Servayn can answer some of our questions if he would just hurry it up! It's like we got all day or something. Sheesh." He crosses his arms as he waits impatiently.
Norkyl looks at Servayn, a little distracted by the others' discussions, and clarifies:
Servayn turns to the others and says in Common, "The kobold chieftan is the prisoner of Tartuk, a purple skinned troublemaker who wants to make war all the time. We should kill him, and restore their chief to power, if we want to keep them peaceful."
In Draconic, he says to Norkyl,
"HA! HA! Now that's what I've been waitin' to hear! Alright, Servayn. You tell your buddy there we'll kill the purple freak and get his chief buddy back on the throne." He tests his axe again, making sure it's still sharp. "Ready when you are!" He tells Servayn as he looks back to the others. "Kals? Janks? You fellas ready, right?" He asks just to be sure.
Servayn will add Kalsgrim's last request to the question for Norkyl, in Draconic,
"I'm ready as ever".
Norkyl lightens as he hears Servayn's suggestion. He seems to think intently, then says:
The small creature darts back in the tunnel.
"Alright, Servayn. What's the plan? I'm guessing whatever it was he said is how we're gonna have to approach this beast. They probably want us to 'avoid doing this', so we, 'don't interfere with that', or some crap like that. So. What's it gonna be?"
"Norkyl seems to think that he can get us to Tartuk, and has asked that we wait here for him to return. My 'plan,' such as it is, is to kill whatever Tartuk is quickly. Other than the fact that it's purple, I have no idea what to expect. It seems that Tartuk and the kobold chieftan have been disagreeing about how to run the tribe, with Tartuk pushing for war. Killing Tartuk with an overwhelming show of force seems, to me, the best way to discourage any kobolds who might have agreed with Tartuk in any way that war will just get them all killed."
"Norkyl seemed very surprised that we had just killed all of the mites. Since we found a dead kobold there, perhaps they are the mites were at war, and the kobolds might be easily intimidated, if they considered the mites a real threat, with how easily we just wiped out their enemies."
Ember offers up his own opinion, unsolicited. "Mites weren't eat-able. Giant bugs weren't eat-able. Tartuk better be eat-able..."
"Well Servayn, I got to hand it to you. That is my kinda plan. Move in, kill it, and begone. It doesn't get much better than that. So now, we wait." Listening to Ember, Kriger can't help but smile at the constant hungry Eidolon.
About thirty minutes later, the kobold comes back. He is very excited:
He produces five black rags to cover your eyes. One is for Ember.
Servayn takes a pair of rags from Norkyl, and fastens one over his face so that, from the angle of a three foot tall creature, it should appear to be fastened securely and totally obscure his vision, but he can remove it quickly and it only partially blocks his vision.
In Draconic,
In Common, to the others, he says in a low voice, "They don't want us to see their secret passages, and want us to wear a blindfold as he leads us through it. I'm trying to convince him to overlook if we tie them loosely or sloppily, since, as I've told him, humans can't see in the dark anyway..."
Kalsgrim, not mastering the language or familiar with kobolds, has a hard time reading the creature.
"I guess it doesn't matter. We can't see with them, we can't see without them." Kriger shrugs. "Sloppily or not." Kriger puts on the blindfold, uncaring whether it's proper or not. "Course, if this is a trap, I expect to be warned before I get killed."
Servayn sighs and allows Norkyl to fix his blindfold, and tells Ember to cooperate as well.
To Kriger, he says, "I promise to scream my very best scream of outrage if we are betrayed."
"That'll work." He deadpans.
The group is first disoriented then led through the low hills for about ten minutes.
Once stopped, Norkyl sits you down in the grass and says:
Janku is very resistant to put on the blindfold. "Now wait a minute". "Were doing you a favor, and ridding you of this threat, and you don't want to trust us enough to let us see this entrance". "If we wanted to we could just come in the front door and kill everything we see". .
Janku will mumble and complain, and attempt to look out through his blindfold...which by the way he attempts to put on the outside of his helm, but since we're already there he'll eventually agree...this time.
"I'm good! Don't you worry about me." He tells Norkyl. "I kicked that habit lonnnnng ago. I told myself, 'No more nuns, Kriger!'. It just complicates things." He winks at the others as a wry smile forms on his face.
Servayn says quietly to Kriger, "I'm pretty sure that Norkyl doesn't understand a word that you are saying."
"Much like the rest of us."
After waiting the prescribed time, the group removes their blindfolds only to find themselves near a nondescript rocky outcrop where an opened door trap reveals a narrow secret passage in the earth...