While Naralesh and kaalib talk, Magna starts using her warhammer to smash up eggs.
The crushed eggs reveal the mites were breeding giant centipedes in this warren. Not good news for the kobolds at any rate. Once done, the room is covered in filth and egg shells. The remaining mites must have fled, because there is no sign of them. You discover that the other exit to this room leads over a small dirt berm, then back into the first room you descended into from the tree roots.
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Talia looks up at the tree roots, trying to see if there is any light filtering down from above. Despite the battles the group underwent, they couldn't have been below for more than a couple of hours. However, being underground disoriented the playwright, and she was suddenly gripped by a near-panic. Grabbing the roots, Talia begins to make her way up to the world above. "I don't know how your people live without the sun, Magna. We should collapse this place, so that the mites can't come back."
"And then go visit Kaalib's people."
Magna had the right of it, and Kaalib smashed eggs as well, stomping on them and crushing as many as he could. When he thought no one was looking, he actually cracked a few open into his toothy maw, as he hadn't eaten for a few days, and he needed to add fuel to his fire. It wasn't the best meal, but it felt good to have something in his belly again.
Outside, the kobold nods, apprehensively. It could be the worst thing he'd ever did, but hopefully it would work out. He didn't like being in debt, and he didn't like having to rely on these longshanks, but he had no choice. He didn't have the strength in himself.
"We live that way." He pointed with a charcoal claw. "It's too bad some of the mites escaped your justice, but they don't have centipedes anymore, so that should help exceedingly."
Magna winces when she sees Kaalib eat the eggs, but says nothing, as she understand his predicament.
"Yes, Talia, we need to make sure they don't return."
She thinks in how to collapse the place down.
Naralesh wrinkles his nose at Kaalib's consumption of the eggs. "Living among humans can't have left you without a taste for better food than centipede eggs, Kaalib. I have several trail rations left, if you would like some."
Later, outside, Naralesh thinks on the problem of collapsing the warren. "It's likely the tree's root system supports the roof of the lair, but burning it is unlikely to do much to the roots."
Talia scowls, annoyed at how thoroughly unprepared she was for this entire encounter. "I think we'll have to come back. Maybe we can pay some of the guards at Oleg's to come out with some shovels and fill the hole in. Lets go meet Kaalib's people, then."
Dregan pulls up all the rope and they used and rewinds it for storage. "I've got an axe, we could cut tha tree down, stuff its trunk in tha 'ole an' then light it." Dregan offers.
"Did we wan' t' check out tha stop on tha creature's map first, an' I suspect our elf might appreciate some time t' rest, 'e was lookin' very tired."
Gavriil rolls his eyes when the others suggested filling up the hole. That would take hours of hard, sweaty, back-breaking work...and it'd be even worse for them because the was no way in the pit that he was going to lift a finger. Someone had to be the look-out, right?
Luckily, they thought better of it and decided to visit Kalib's "family". If they were as gullible as the ones in the reddish patch, then this wouldn't be too bad. They might even be able to get them to worship Naralesh as a god.
Gavriil turned to the others and said, "What are we waiting for? Lets get a move on!"
"I appreciate the offer, fellow arcanist. But my stomach is focused on eggs right now, and I don't want to break it's concentration." He also didn't want to be indebted to the elf either although it would be nice to have some scrolls around. Perhaps he could get Orsheval to teach him how to read them.
The kobold squints at the sun and addresses one of Dregan's objections. "We will not make it to Kobold home today. It's a long walk from here."
Dregan chuckles to himself before opening his mouth "Maybe we could build a seat wiv a 'ole in i' over tha top. Any passin' traveler can do 'is business in i','ll take fawerver t' fill what 'ole an' no creature'll wan' t' use i' again."
Starting to get ready, "Don't 'ave tha equipmen' t' do i' now anyway."
Dregan starts leading towards the point the mites had marked on their map.
Talia snaps her fingers. "Of course! This tree is the old tree! Local landmark! Only landmark for miles. We shouldn't saw it or burn it down then. Could be useful if we get lost."
"Which means we've got some daylight to make use of. So we should--"
Looking up, Talia sees the rear of Dregan's horse trotting off.
"--follow Dregan."
Swinging her leg over Apple, Talia leans down and extends her hand to Kaalib. "You can ride on Apple with me until we get you a... small horse? Do your people ride?"
Gavriil turns to Kaalib and says, "What about by horse? Because we have a spare if you promise not to eat it."
Gavriil doubles over with laughter from Dregan's remark. "It might even be an improvement over how they were already living." He swings up onto his horse and follows right behind Dregan. As much as these people got on his nerves sometimes, there were some moments that he really enjoyed their company. Even if they usually wanted to scatter their gold.
He looks at the tree after Talia remarks on it. "Yes, well of course! All good woodsmen keep their landmarks! that's how they travel!" He was definitely getting the hang of this outdoors thing. Pretty soon he'd even be able to show Dregan up... If Dregan was dead... and Gavriil had paid any attention to the man while he was alive...
With a smile on his face and his loot across his lap, he rode along strumming tunes and singing a bawdy tavern song about a midget and his adventures with a wench's skirt. He checked over his shoulder every once in a while to see if his songs were eliciting a rise out of any of his companions.
Magna follows her companions.
"We just need to make sure no evil creatures makes the tree their lair again."
The ride was quite nice, with Gavriil singing his bawdy songs, decent weather, and the promise of new friends on the morrow. It was almost like Talia hadn't nearly died at all. About an hour later, Talia finally got Dregan's joke. "Gross. The proles will love it."
Speaking to the swashbuckler, considering his words. "Horse is a tasty meat, to be sure. It would be impractical to kill it here anyhow, as I'd have no way to bring the meat to my tribe before it rotted. But they're far more useful as transportation anyhow."
He agilely climbed his way atop the noble steed and nodded. "I appreciate the ride. Lead on."
Travel is easy that evening, and the night passes without event. The weather threatens rain in the morning but manages to hold off through the journey. Around noon you approach an outcropping of boulders from the weathered face of a nearby hillock. A narrow opening in the rock leads into darkness below. A fallen sign leans against the side of the cave entrance, and a cage made of branches and sticks sits on the other side.
Magna face hardens. She looks around, uneasy.
Dregan dismounts and spends a little time tying horses to weathered looking tree and giving them some food and water before returning to the group and nodding to Magna "Ready when you are"
Magna stands next to Kaalib.
"How are we going to do this? Normally we would deal with your people the same way we dealt with the mites. And if they don't cooperate, we will."
Talia fidgits, in her saddle before dismounting and tying Apple to a tree. They'd been out in the wilderness for awhile now - everything Talia owned seemed to smell of sweat and dirt. Sighing, she casts a quick glamer to clean herself up. Negotiations were much easier in a comfortable room, with fine food and drink. Something told Talia there would be little of any of that today.
"We'll follow Kaalib's lead, I suppose. He knows his people better than the rest of us. And we'll try talking first, Magna. I'm sure an accommodation can be reached."
Naralesh nods. "If nothing else, the tribe should be pleased the mites are driven off."
Putting a wary eye on the dwarven threat, he directed his comments to the more reasonable of the group. "There's no reason to not simply announce ourselves. They likely have already heard everything you've said."[b]
The tiny lizard sighed before reaching for the statue, displaying it confidently. He speaks up in Draconic, confidently and distinctly addressing kobolds he assumes are somewhere out of sight.
[b]"I'm back, and I have sharptooth. The mites are driven out and their bugs are dead. Come out and take me to the chief."
Dregan glances up at Bargriv and the other horses in concern. It hadn't occurred to that kobolds might be sneaking around watching. Involuntarily his hand reaches into his quiver and notches an arrow to his bow while his sight then searches the undergrowth and rock ridges for signs of the little dragons.
Talia looks to others, before shrugging and announcing in a load voice their arrival.
Talia shrugs again. Not a lie exactly. Just an omission of some details.
A loud chirp of surprise comes from behind one of the large boulders by the cave entrance, followed by the form of a kobold. Obviously the guard, the little creature holds up both his hands to show he holds no weapon. Then he speaks:
"Wait! Wait! I Nakpik! I want talk! You have statue! You have Kallib! Talk! Talk!" He stutters in broken Common.
Talia smiles, giving Nakpik a slight bow. Well, I always wanted to see new and interesting cultures...
"Well met, Nakpik. Your grasp of the common tongue is very good. We don't have the statue, or Kaalib, exactly. He is free to come and go as he likes. What he does with the statue is his decision, though we would like to meet with your... king? Chief? Capo? We'd like to discuss your war with the mites, and our people's right of passage through these lands."
Kaalib nods with Talia's statements, reassuring Nakpik. "These travelers aided our fight against the mites. They wish to speak peace, and we need to talk to the chief. Can you take us there?"
"Can't you get the chief to come out here, I'm not sure its wise to leave the horses here..." Dregan says fairly quietly.
Nakpik looks thrilled by your statements about the mites.
"You kill mites? Good! Good! Follow! Follow!" As he passes the crude cage next to the cave opening, he launches a kick at a tiny creature inside. He just manages to fit his foot through the wooden bars and roll the little prisoner with a knock to the head. You can see its a mite, exhausted and sobbing. It rolls over on its back, and just stares up through the cage roof.
Gabriel dismounts with the others and slides his lute back into the saddle. He stands back with Dregan, chewing on some dried meat. He was really getting sick of the trail-rations. While he never ate like a king in Restov, his meals were more often than not at least warm, and less chewy.
He watches on unamused as Kaliib and Talia go back in forth with the sentry in the ugly guttural lanuage and broken common. Once they are ushered forward, Gavriil smirks at Dregan and says, "What? Tired of being up close with the things that go bump in the night? Where's your sense of adventure?"
Even with his bravado, Gavriil's hand lays white-knuckled on his rapier hilt and swallows as he passes the unconscious mite in its cage. This might not go over too well...
Talia blanches a little at the sight of the mite, sobbing in its cage, before she's brought back to her terror in the mite layer, and the viciousness with which the little creatures had tried to end her life.
Good. Little buggers would do the same to any of us. And did, in Kaalib's case.
Nakpik had always been a bit more wary than most of his kin, and he hopefully knew what he was here to do. It wouldn't be too hard to bypass whatever traps they might have in here that they made since he'd been there just following in the other kobold's footsteps. The only question was whether or not Kaalib had enough power to see his plan through. Now, it was time to talk to the chief, and see how that goes.
Dregan follows along taking up the rare. As he passes the cage he draws his sword and put the mite out of its misery.
Naralesh grimaced as Dregan did the dirty work of ending the mite's suffering. Never one to end a life in cold blood, he nonetheless knew the spiteful fey would only go on to cause more pain and suffering to others if let go. We can only hope the kobolds give us no cause for conflict. Magna's axe comes too readily to hand for this to turn out peacefully if they make things difficult.
"Remember what happened when last we descended into a hole in the ground," Naralesh warned, murmuring the words to his defensive incantation as he entered. "Let us be wary, and hope this time we emerge without bloodshed." He didn't look at Magna, but it wasn't hard to guess to whom he was speaking.
As you pass into the cave mouth, you notice a sign, broken and weathered. The words on it are barely legible, but unmistakeable: "Oaktop Silver Mine."
Nakpik leads you through the entry cave, taking care to point out the pit traps that you should avoid. Deeper into the caves he leads you, head held proudly. Clearly he is enjoying the procession! Your group begins to gather spectators as more and more kobolds emerge from different areas to watch you pass, then follow along. Your short caravan emerges into a larger cave deep in the caverns.
The walls of this cavern are decorated by a rickety wooden frame formed from clean-cut branches lashed together with gut and twine. Banners cut from two-foot-wide strips of old blankets and horsehides hang from floor to ceiling, covering much of the walls. The sloppily painted banners bear dozens of primitive icons and mystic symbols. A large cauldron filled with bubbling red liquid boils in the center of the room.
Two very unique kobolds are locked in a heated conversation near the cauldron. Nakpik strides forward and raps the butt of his spear on the floor. The two turn slowly towards him, with great menace. Nakpik gulps and looks back over his shoulder at you.
"Great Chief Sootscale. Big Shaman Tartuk." he says, gaining confidence in seeing you, "Nakpik bring you heroes who kill mites! Found Sharptooth!"
Silver mine? thought the elf. I wonder if silver can still be found within.
Naralesh waited for Kaalib to speak first. The kobold knew the tribe, and would hopefully know how to address them.
Talia grimaced as Dregan ran the mite through. Not our place to pass judgement on that one. Offering Nakpik an apologetic smile, the playwright made her best attempt to sound horrified.
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As they make their way into the cave mouth, Talia makes note of the sign. Speaking this time in Taldane, she points to it as the pass. "Do your people mine?"
The cavern getting darker, Talia casts a quick cantrip to bring forth light. When some nearby kobold children gasp, the playwright smiles and puts a light spell on her forehead, and then spends the rest of the journey into the kobold lair creating small pyrotechnic displays to amuse the following spectators.
At the cauldron, Talia gives the chief and the shaman a low bow, but remains otherwise silent, waiting for Kaalib to start...
Dregan waits quietly, he is obviously nervous and he keeps swiveling his head to keep an eye of the crowd of kobolds. He his bow out and a arrow in the other hand but not notched or pointing at anyone.
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Kaalib places the statue on the ground before him, eyeing Tartuk with thinly veiled menace. He spoke in Common before Tartuk and the Chief, knowing that very few others of his tribe had any understanding of what he was talking about. Nakpik could translate, of course, but this was really only meant for those who could understand. "I, Kaalib Coaltongue have returned to the tribe with this trophy. Our enemies, the mites are dead and scattered. What we could not accomplish this on our own strengths, this raiding party from the north did it with ease. Not only the mites, but our own raids have been odious to the High King of Brevoy, and he has sent these and is ready to send eight more for any we would kill." He paused to let the story sink in a little. It had embellishments, but it was at least half truthful as was the tradition of his people.
They sought to destroy us as well, but I treated with them and used my wits to dissuade them from destroying our tribe as well as the mites. They bring this statue as a demonstration of that peace, but it is also conditional that we cease our raids against them." He turned to the Chief, ignoring Tartuk completely, and pointedly asked. "My Chief, what say you to this?"
The kobolds take a step back from Kaalib and the statue, eyes wide and whispering among themselves. 'sharptooth...sharptooth...' The Chief, in particular, has eyes only for the statue. He never even looks at Kaalib as he speaks, nor when questioned. There is a long pause while the kobolds whisper and point, then Tartuk answers.
With a glare at Kaalib, he snarls. "Kill them. Kill all the outsiders. Sharptooth has spoken."
For a moment the kobolds do nothing. They look to their Chief, who continues to stare at the statue. Tartuk snarls again. "Kill the outsiders!" The tribe grasp their spears and nervously shuffle forward. They level them at the party, ringing you in and blocking your escape. Forced to fall back, you form a defensive circle as they close in.
Suddenly Chief Sootscale acts. As if coming to a hard decision, his head snaps up from his reverie and with it comes his club. He spins and smashes Tartuk's head, caving in his skull! The purple-hued shaman crumples to the ground, dead. The Chief lets out a war whoop and leaps forward. He grasps the statue, and holding it high overhead, dashes it to pieces on the ground!
The kobolds fall back in shock, squealing in surprise. Chief Sootscale simply stands looking down at the shards of the statue, breathing heavily. Then he looks up. "Many thanks, longlegs. Now we free of curse and free of him!" He points to the body of Tartuk, but to your amazement, the body begins to transform before your eyes! Where once was a purple kobold, now lies a dead gnome, long purple hair an exact match to the scales of Tartuk.
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As the kobold tribe advances, Talia falls back, her longsword drawn, and ends up next to Dregan. "You were right. We should've stayed with the horses."
This is how I die, she thought, her mind turning furiously, not able to see a way out of the caves. Stabbed 1000 times by by an insurmountable number of little nervous beasts. And no one to-
Her thoughts shattered by the Chief's death-blow to the purple one, Talia stands speechless - for a moment. "Curse? Please tell us more!"