Quint blushes bright red at Elvara's words, and stammers, "Oh, you mean those dancing lights! That's a very useful trick." A wave of his hand causes them to cavort about the tunnel.
---
"Uh, excuse me Tartuk? Do you mind if I ask you where you learned Taldane? Also, your Draconic sounds a lot more formal than what I hear from the other Sootscales. Where did you say you came from again?"
Why did he blush?I didn't say anything wrong. What else could it have meant? Elvara searches her mind for other interpretations of her words. After a few seconds she blushes a deep crimson. Oh... That's what he thought I meant. She doesn't say anything about it though.
----
Seeing nothing yet, Smexy continues forward through the door. She's careful, knowing that there could be a demon waiting inside.
Alamina slowly draws a tanglefoot bag from her gear.
Quietly: "I don't think this kobold is going to want to talk. Be ready for betrayal and keep your eyes sharp."
The purple skinned kobold lets out a low hissing as he brandishes his sickle. "Defilers! Traitors! You all will perish!" He looks to be preparing to head to the alcove, although that hesitation may be costly...
From behind, a small number of kobolds begin to rush towards the cavern, but the Chief Sootscale, apparently impressed by your words and actions, holds them off with a slash of his hand.
Raven charges forward at Tartuk, the scorn that was on her face a mere moment before replaced with cold professionalism. The mercenary lunges forward with her massive blade, a flash of silver...
Alamina moves around the rear of the purple kobold, drawing her starknife from her belt and slashing at him.
"A poor choice, Tartuk. We could have been friends."
Quint begins an inspiring tale about confronting a traitor in one's midst.
Smexy slithers forward to the entrance and lashes out towards the shaman with his long neck. Unfortunately the shaman turns right as she strikes and her attack goes wide.
Elvara's eyes spin and she moves sensually almost as if dancing as entrancing sounds come over her lips.
-
"S͇͈̙͚̺͈͚̖ͥ͊̓ͬͦ̒͒̉́͡s̛̳̬̺̙͚̥ͮ͊͌s̷̘͉͕͎̗ͥ̔ͮ͜s̭̗͌̄̓̽ͩ̐͝ë̩͍́ͭ̕ẹ̭̮̎ͯ͠͞e̯̺ͫ̎̚͜͟ ̨͖̩̳͈͕̫̎͋́ͥ̆̈͐ͪi̥͙̳̱̟̹͒͂́ͅṇ̥͚͙̪͚͒̓̒̀͐̊͢͝t̪͎̪̄ͩ́̎ͩͥ̅o̭̝̲͉̝̓̅ͪ̄̃͘ ̳̪̝͈̫͕̻͇̟ͫ͊͑͐ͩ͋̀̀m̦͖̄ͦ̇̏͂̒ͦͯ̀͝͠y̶̲̠̥̼̦͆̓̄̏̋̈́̈͘͝ ̄͋̈́̋̉̈́ͭ̂̚҉̸̣̟͎͖͞ẻ̪̰̬͈͍̞͕ͨ̔ͦ́͝͝ͅy̨ͯ́̎ͨ̐͏̼̤̺̦͟ͅe̠̜̻ͧͥ͋̀s̟̝̳̻ͬ͂ͨ̏͋̄͌͑͠sͨͪ͊̏͑̇ ̯̼̟̩̙̥̖̩ͤ͗ͅs͖̹͓̟͓̠͔̚͘͘͟ ̴̪̙̯̗̞̽ͬͯ̽ͩ̈͂͐̕a̶͉̭̝͈͇̦ͪn̩̖͑̽͢͡d̨̘̰̜̜ͩ̐ͮ͂ͣ͑̓͡ ̡̪̠̟͛͐̾̄̑ͬf̛̟̤ͥ͘͝ř̡̦̼͎̻͙̗̬͆̐͊̊̀̚͜e͚̦̖͂̃̀̑̀ḛ̢̯̗ͬ͂̏́z̴ͩͣ͑́ͤͨ҉̝̬͈z͕͎̮̭̗ͣ͛͆͟ͅ ̰̰z͚̱͈̩̼̰̼̩ͥ̎̈́͌͆̆͗̇z͙̬̲͎̏̃ͬͤͩͫ͆ͣ͘͜e̥̬̰̍ͪ̐ͣͧ̓"
-
Tartuk's actions turned out to be truly a poor choice as the party manages to spring into action before he is even able to make more than a half-hearted swing with his weapon, falling under the myriad of blows. The raven familiar turns to be little more than an annoyance leaving only a suitably impressed Chief watching you slack-jawed.
He can merely stammer out, "That... was most impressive... If I possessed your alacrity to stand up to that vile creature, perhaps many of my tribe would still be alive."
Seeing the kobold go down so quickly, Alamina binds his wounds before binding his hands.
"A poor decision made, then. Too bad, purple scaled Tartuk."
Heal to stabilize.
Draconic: "Chief, this kobold had been neutralized. I would offer him to the justice of your tribe, assuming my companions agree."
Common: "Anyone have a problem with the kobolds handling their internal strife internally?"
"By the way, guys, I noticed something odd about the way Tartuk spoke. Both his Taldane and Draconic sounded... different from what you'd expect form a kobold. Almost as if he had formal training in a civilized school of some sort."
At Alamina's suggestion. "I've got no problem with that."
Raven nods. "He's the Sootscales' problem now."
Investigating Tartuk's body, you find the a wand of magic missile (CL 3rd, 28 charges), a masterwork cold iron sickle, and a single bronze key, that appears to fit a shodily crafted door that covers the alcove in his lair.
From within the alcove, the horrible smell of sulfur and blood permeates a small cave: pools of vile liquid and dried blood are centered around a simple altar that holds a hideous stone statue of a demonically twisted figure.
Also within the cavern, you find the accumulated treasures taken from the kobolds, that primarily consists of a huge amount of worthless shiny objects, such as quartz and mica crystals, bits of metal, broken weapons and armor, and other garbage. Most notably, however, you find:
bracers of armor +1, personal
7,420 cp, 2,132 sp, 302 gp
a masterwork light metal shield
seven +1 flaming crossbow bolts
a pair of boots of elvenkind,
There is also a soiled leather bag that contains 321sp, 249 gp, 13 pp, a pouch containing a single dose of dust of illusion, and a clean goblin skull
Finally, hidden inside the cavern, you find a worn and tattered journal written in Undercommon.
"That figurine isn't of a specific god or demon I've heard of. It looks like a mix of different types."
"I could try to make this wand of magic missile work. That would be a good trick! But can anybody else use it?"
"Yes, leave the shaman to the chief, though sadly we weren't able to do it bloodlessly, he was beyond reason." Elvara shakes her head in regret over the fact that the kobold was too far gone. Though given that he was she doesn't really feel bad about what they did.
----
Elvara detects magic to see if the statue is magical. "I wonder if he has actually used it to summon demon or just had it as a threat or attempt. I wish I knew more about magic to know what this is. Perhaps there is some way we can purify or consecrate it?"
"I can't really use it, but I could try to learn it. It's sure to be more useful than a crossbow in case I do run out of spells. Though if it's only going to work some of the time, is it really going to be better than using our weapons?"
After looking over everything Elvara smile with a hint of surprise. "Wow there is a lot of stuff here. It'll certainly be useful to us if we can find some merchants to trade with or something to buy gear. But is it all right to take it all? After all, all we did was take down the shaman. It did originally belonged to the kobolds."
The Chief weighs in. "I have little means to prevent you from taking what you desire. Coins and trinkets have less value to me than having the shadow of this nightmare lifted. May I have the statue? I wish to see that destroyed in front of my people."
With his keen linguistic skill, Quint is able to decipher bits and pieces of the Journal and is quickly able to determine that its author was not mentally well. Although the narrative is erratic and hazy, a quick read reveals that the one known as Tartuk was not born a kobold, yet suffered some curse. The exact origins is only thinly refered to: he describes it as a fate"Second chance at life, worse than death." Prior to his kobold life, he was likely a Brevic citizen, possibly of minor nobility, though expendable.
In one most lucid passage after his transformation, "Tartuk" writes of how he approached a Seer / fortune teller, who set him on a genocidal path. "Once every drop of kobold blood has been spilled, your curse shall be lifted." It then describes a bloody trail of kobold tribes that he had integrated in and led to destruction through a combination of intimidation, spell casting, and a ruse of convincing superstitious kobolds that he possessed a demonic statue.
One other notable passage describes how he was beginning to consider an alternative interpretation to the fortune teller's words, and that should he grow tired of reveling in sending kobolds to their deaths, he would Fly as high as he possibly could, and let the end of the spell's duration end his suffering as a scale-bound savage.
Stuck in the final page of the journal is a single scroll of Fly
Quint looks at the chief. "It isn't entirely up to me, but I don't think we need to take all of your treasure. Would you mind if we just took this wand, bracers, crossbow bolts, and boots? Does that seem fair to everybody? Oh, and this journal. I might be able to use it to learn this strange language."
Quint explains what he learned to the chief and his fellow adventurers. "It sounds like maybe he was reincarnated?"
Raven holds her hands up and shakes her head. "Magical theory is up to you guys."
|
Vorsirion looks carefully at the notes from the shaman. "A strange tale, to be certain," he says.
Examining the items they had found, he seems particularly impressed with the quality of the elven boots. "These are made by the finest craftsmen of my people," he says. "I could put them to good use...they grant even the quickest additional speed," he says.
He speaks to his companions out of earshot of the kobold leader. "It seems we have made friends with the kobolds and enemies of the goblins. Frankly, I am surprised we have made friends with either. Even so, it is probably time we continue our search for the Stag Lord," he says.
A bit unsure of herself, Elvara responds to Quint. "Quint, if he doesn't need it, why shouldn't we take it? We can put the treasure to use helping others in equally dire situations. Though sadly not right away as we won't be able to trade the gold in for something more useful before facing the stag lord.[b]"
Elvara turns to Vorsirion with an understanding smile. "[b]You take the boots. As you say, they are made by your people. Smexy might be able to use them as well, but as I said earlier, she'll be able to recover from harm, no matter how great, on this plane."
"Both me and Alamina are using crossbows, so it might be a good idea to split the bolts between us. There are not a lot of them though, so we should save them for when they are really needed."
"We don't know of anything else interesting on the way right? So let's head towards the Stag Lord."
"Chief, is there anything more you can tell us about the surrounding area? Your wisdom and knowledge might help us in our travels."
Quint frowns at Elvara's statement. "Why shouldn't we take all their treasure? Because its wrong for the strong to just take what they want. If the kobolds want to give it to us that's different, but I got the impression that the chief didn't want to."
"Perhaps a compromise can be reached? We take some of the treasure from Tartuk, and leave the rest. These kobolds will need some starting capital if they are going to be valid trade partners, after all."
Raven speaks up. "Let them keep the gold. If we're to make allies of them, they need to be able to join the economy once it's set up here. Plus, we've already got the bounty for taking our Tartuk and calming down the clan."
The Chief thinks a moment when asked about the surrounding area. "You know of the twin pillars that laired the Big Head, I imagine. Beyond that, we do not stray south of the River; there are dangerous enemies to the South. There are several bridges in places near, though." Thinking a moment, he adds. "I believe one of the bridges to the North East may have an undead that makes its lair there." He runs a clawed fingertip along his chin. "Beyond that, I believe the soft-skin lair is to the West, though I nor my tribe have found where they come from."
Raven gives the chief the statue. "Do with it as you wish, Chief Sootscale. I would break into into hundreds of tiny bits, but your call."
Raven draws a mental map of what Chief Sootscale described. "Thank you for your help, Chief Sootscale. May your tribe prosper."
Finally Elvara smiles widely. "I'm glad we were able to resolve this issue. What you revealed from that diary was a grim tale indeed Quint. I hope none of us ever get something like that to happen to us..."
She sighs and turns towards Quint with an apologetic look. "An thank you for being the voice of reason to reign in my momentary greed. I'm sorry for letting it get the best of me. Of course they need money to, to rebuild and everything else."
"Oh, btw, that scroll. It can make someone fly. I'm reasonably confident I can make it work. If we encounter flying enemies or need something high up it could come in handy."
When you hand over the statue to Chief Sootscale, he ponders it for a momment, before sending it smashing down to the ground, scattering the stone into tiny pieces. He then beckons for a few of his followers to take pieces, and scatter them to the various rivers that are nearby before turning to you. "Thank you, soft-skins. Your aid has saved my people from a long torurous death"
As you leave, various kobolds watch your departure in silence, holding still with their spears cocked in a manner you take as a form of salute.
Venturing South West, you keep the Shrike River in sight as you travel and explore over the course of two days. Over the course of your navigation, you do find a place where the usually turbulent river narrows down at the ruins of a stone bridge. The wreckage of old stonework takes away some of the river's fury and allows you to cross through knee in only knee high water. With a bit of manpower it wouldn't be difficult to repair the bridge back to full use... but that can come after you deal with the bandit scourge that threatens the area. The rest of the day is uneventful.
Early on in your third day after leaving the Sootscales, the signs of more recent human habitation become more prevalent, including what appears to be regular patrols on horseback. You have some time to prepare before a group of a half dozen roughly men with a mismatch of arms and armors (that seems the uniform for the bandits you've faced) round the bend of a winding trail. The lead of the column draws his mount short, and the mounted bandits all have weapons drawn, though one of the men at the head calls out, "Who goes there? What's the password!?"
Quint holds up an empty hand and calls back to the bandit.
"The password is 'betrayal'!"
Alamina makes sure her holy symbol is tucked under her chain shirt, and her starknife stashed out of sight under her cloak.
She remains quiet and fingers the stock of her crossbow as Quint talks with the bandits.
Elvara throws them her brightest smile. "We heard you were thirsty. Who wouldn't die for some good liquor, right?" She winks at them. And die you probably will, but first we'll get up close and deal with your lord.
Raven smacks Elvara on the back of the head. "Idiot! The good stuff's for the Stag Lord!" she growls, glaring at the slight girl. She shakes her head and turns to the bandits. "I captured this lot a few days ago. With Kressle being run off by some sort of Brevic mercenaries trying to clean this place up, I figured that the Stag Lord would need another pet... or two." She gives a wicked, leering, and slightly made grin.
"As for the blondie, I decided to keep him. He dances. Although..." She screws her face up in thought. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THE PASSWORD! YOU READ IT, DIDN'T YOU!" she roars as she flies into a near-psychotic rage.
Raven rushes at Quint. When she gets close to him, in the split second before she punches, she whispers, "Roll with it." She opens her hand at the last second, so that although the punch will look impressive, it'll feel like a mere slap to the face.
The bandit patrol initially appears aprehensive of your approach, but visibly relaxes when the password is given. That is nothing, however, compared to the wave of excitement that goes through the men at the mention of the alcohol. The leader responds with, "You came from Thorn River? You got the boss' booze? 'Es been a right black drunk, the Stag Lord has. Mebbe if you bring it he'll ease up on the men here."
After leaving the patrol behind, you venture closer to the Stag Lord's keep. As you approach it, you clearly make out that the keep has seen better days, though is in the midst of repairs. The original stone construction is reinforced by a large palisade of wooden spikes surrounding the ruins of the keep, with an open gate of wood. There is also a gaping hole in the northern keep wall visible through it. Finally, here appears to be two levels of the keep ruins, with several wooden structures attached to the keep walls. At your approach, from behind the closed gate raised a challenge: "What business do you have in the Stag Lord's domain?" Another, higher pitched voice adds, "Do you have the booze we sent for?"
What do we do if all of the booze is for the Stag Lord, or he puts forth an objection to a celebration?
"So, I have an idea on how to play this. It will depend on just how much of a boozer this Stag Lord is, and whether he likes women. Judging from that bandit leader Kressel, I assume he does."
Alamina shudders a bit at the thought of the violent chieftan's reputation and the honest fear Kressel exhibited.
"If we can distract him long enough for him to get good and sotted, one of us can accompany him to bed. Once he's out cold, we can rid this place of his evil in a quiet fashion. It sounds cold, I know, but it could prevent more serious bloodshed in the long term."
"My only concern is about the rest of the camp; who knows what they are going to do, and how tough they are."