Of Kings and Commoners - Kingmaker AP

Game Master RPGGGM

Zokon replies in Elven

The half-elf grabs the bars again, shrugging. Once again her speech started slowly and then picked up the pace.

"Níl mé cinnte. Bhí an chuid is mó de mo chuid i mo mála droma. Oh! Bhí cape gorm agam - b'fhéidir go bhfuil sé éasca a lorg? Agus casúr!"

The pale woman let out a brief laugh that she quickly swallowed. "Gabh dom, ach is dóigh liom go gcoimeádfaidh mé mo éadóchas go dtí go mbeidh mé amach anseo. Ach go raibh maith agat. Go raibh maith agat! Chomh maith leis sin - seachain an corcra. I mo thuairimse, tá sé i gceannas anseo agus is dócha go bhfeiceann tú go léir leat anseo agus ansin an bealach eile!"

Alia holds her position, the knuckles of her hand growing white from the force she grips her Estoc with:"Numalar, I will not let these oversized lizards sacrifice anything remotely elven in these caves. If they refuse to let her go...", her voice trails off, but Alias other hand is slightly raised, as if ready to start casting.

Scarlet listens to everyone jibber jabber back and forth in languages she doesn't understand. She taps her foot, impatiently waiting for something to happen.

The door guard leads the party into a larger cave (roughly 30' x 25' x 12' tall near the center) filled with about a half-dozen kobolds. The air here feels warm and close, thick with a reptilian stink mixed with smoke and burnt meat. Numerous beds of furs lie scattered throughout the room amid smoldering cookfires (which make the room naturally dim), while to the south, a ten-foot-wide alcove contains a large mound of furs framed by dozens of sticks on which are mounted the skulls of many birds and small animals, all smeared with ash.

Standing atop the mound is an imposing black kobold (nearly three-and-a-half feet tall) with a headdress that mirrors the room's decoration. From his vantage he can look Zokon in the eye. His eye bulge when he sees who is accompanying his doorman, and he looks ready to order an attack, but freezes when he sees Numalar bearing the statue of Ol' Sootscale, and when Mikmek and the doorman rush forward to explain.

Map updated.

"Grr-SoH! SuD wa'! Grr-Hew HInob!" Barks the big kobold.

"Numalar, I will not let these oversized lizards sacrifice anything remotely elven in these caves. If they refuse to let her go..."

"I don't expect you to."

GM: Was there no response to my bluff check to order them to bring the captured elf with us?

Alia of the Blade wrote:

"Numalar, I will not let these oversized lizards sacrifice anything remotely elven in these caves. If they refuse to let her go..."

"I don't expect you to."

GM: Was there no response to my bluff check to order them to bring the captured elf with us?

My bad. I did mean to respond to that.

Back a bit, in the previous room.

One of the hooded kobolds steps forward, hands tucked into his robe's sleeves and addresses the giant Numalar.

"Huj Hab wa' 'e' Dun jat qab yItlhobneSQo' jatlh, ghotvam'e' 'e' nob Ho'Du' jej Ol'." At which point he and his fellows all clap their scaly fists to their chests and cry: "Hoch OL' Ho'Du' jej rI'!"

He then continues as if nothing happened. "tartuk qeylIS-jatlh ghogh jotlhmeH wa' wo' 'e' vIH pagh chomuvbe''a'."

There is obvious disdain and hatred in his voice.

"What does he want?

"He says it is up to someone named Tartuk God-Speaker if she is to be moved and they won't listen to me. I suppose that must be their chief cleric."

"Zokon, stand here a moment."

Standing behind Zokon, so the kobolds have a hard time seeing, Numalar begins casting a spell. He murmurs something and touches his ears. When just about done, he steps out from behind Zokon, and points at the captive, and then Alia and Celyne.

Casting message. If we are going to be out of sight of the elf we can still talk to her. I can't speak elven but Celyne and Alia can.

"All right, let's go."

A moment later, one room over.

"Grr-SoH! SuD wa'! Grr-Hew HInob!" Barks the big kobold.

Map re-updated

Numalar watches the way that Mikmek honors this kobold he is now facing, and does the same.

Since the Avatar image shows the name "Chief Sootscale" I take it we have been told who we are facing? Or perhaps can guess?

Numalar whispers to the others,

"I'll see if I can get him to release the elf woman in trade."

Numalar straightens up and addresses the chief.

"ghaH 'ej Duvan, HoS ra'wI'. tlhong chenmoH maH je loD Hew qem SoH. wa'DIch 'oH mech 'op naH Hech maH. 'ach Hoch elf be' boS chavmeymaj elf-be'Hom tlhap maS Dalegh wIlegh qaStaHvIS mech. SoHvaD jatlh nuq?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Alia glares at Numalar:"HIja'. garden 'aqla' je boS maH. neH legh mIv wa' chay' tall."

Since the Avatar image shows the name "Chief Sootscale" I take it we have been told who we are facing? Or perhaps can guess?

It's pretty obvious that you're speaking to leader of some sort. You did tell Mikmek and Nakpik to lead you here after all.

Numalar straightens up and addresses the chief.

"ghaH 'ej Duvan, HoS ra'wI'. tlhong chenmoH maH je loD Hew qem SoH. wa'DIch 'oH mech 'op naH Hech maH. 'ach Hoch elf be' boS chavmeymaj elf-be'Hom tlhap maS Dalegh wIlegh qaStaHvIS mech. SoHvaD jatlh nuq?"

Before Numalar can bring to bear the full weight of his diplomacy, the big kobold snaps: "NGEV!"

He nods to kobold who pushes through the crowd back to the temple room with a ring of keys.

"HEW HINOB! DaH!"

Kobolds can be pretty hard to read, but this one looks deadly serious.

Since the Avatar image shows the name "Chief Sootscale" I take it we have been told who we are facing? Or perhaps can guess?

It's pretty obvious that you're speaking to a leader of some sort. You did tell Mikmek and Nakpik to lead you here after all.

Numalar straightens up and addresses the chief.

"ghaH 'ej Duvan, HoS ra'wI'. tlhong chenmoH maH je loD Hew qem SoH. wa'DIch 'oH mech 'op naH Hech maH. 'ach Hoch elf be' boS chavmeymaj elf-be'Hom tlhap maS Dalegh wIlegh qaStaHvIS mech. SoHvaD jatlh nuq?"

Before Numalar can bring to bear the full weight of his diplomacy, the big kobold snaps: "NGEV!"

He nods to kobold who pushes through the crowd back to the temple room with a ring of keys.

"HEW HINOB! DaH!"

Kobolds can be pretty hard to read, but this one looks deadly serious.

Alia glares at Numalar:"HIja'. garden 'aqla' je boS maH. neH legh mIv wa' chay' tall."

Numalar whispers to Alia, "HIja', 'ach gnome vuDmey tlhopDaq wIja''a' laHlIj qaq mI'."

Numalar beams innocently.

"NGEV!"

"He agrees to give us the half-elf!", Numalar whispers to the others.

He turns back to the chief, and bows again.

"naDev. pujbe' SuvwI' chegh 'oH SoH je ghopDaj mikmek chaw'."

Numalar hands the statue to Mikmek and gestures for him to give it to the chief.

The kobold with the keys returns with half-human woman from the cell, interrupting her frantic search for a makeshift shiv.

Mikmek gingerly takes the statue from Numalar and hands the gruesome effigy off to the larger kobold. He then retreats bowing his head.

The kobold holds the statue in his claws with a fierce look of concentration. Then with a sudden shriek, he lifts the statue over his head, and then smashes it down onto the ground, shattering it.

The other kobolds in the room freeze....

Anyone doing anything?

Map updated

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Alia seems barely able to contain her anger hearing the reply, then hisses her own answer at Numalar, all but ignoring the Kobolds nearby.
"vup DaH qen wuq laHlIj garden 'aqla'. chaq laHlIj qa'meH, vItu' reH HIjwI'pu' ngu'laH. until vaj vay' Data'nISbogh Daghaj."

Zokon takes a combat ready stance, waiting for stuff to happen

Freedom? Yay! Illthir glowed. These visitors had proved to be very efficient. (Much better then her own pleading and whining at least!) But once she was taken into the next room her enthusiasm dimmed a bit to the sound of a resounding crash.

"Uh-oh." she gasped and stared at the broken statue. "That can't be good!"

"Look -" quickly turning to her rescuers she did her best to explain the situation. As far as she knew at least! "- their purple priest and the chief have been quarrelling. And *that* will surely put things to a head!"

And she suspected that Turtuk would emerge juuuust behind her and she didn't look forward to being in the line of fire. With a sour grimace she looked around in the room - maybe she could spot her gear here? Or something interesting ... Anything for a good excuse to move!

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

"Huh. That was easy. And we didn't even need to fight-"

She watches the statue smash. Her eyes widen and she reaches for her weapons. Then she notices the unarmed half-elf. "Hey! You can swing a warhammer? It's gonna get messy soon."

Finally, SOMETHING I can do down here...

"ghoS! YAVVETLH MAGHWI' HOH!"

This elicits a sudden cheer from the assembled hip-high crowd. The chief They all raise their weapons and begin moving en masse toward the cave's southern exit.

The chief stares at the party.

bluff (innuendo): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 You're coming too.

What are folks doing?

"vup DaH qen wuq laHlIj garden 'aqla'. chaq laHlIj qa'meH, vItu' reH HIjwI'pu' ngu'laH. until vaj vay' Data'nISbogh Daghaj."

"Hush! The ruse got us what we wanted. They are turning their prisoner over to us. So try to look grateful before the chief-"

...Then with a sudden shriek, he lifts the statue over his head, and then smashes it down onto the ground, shattering it.

"...gets... Uh-oh."

Numalar straightens and looks around. He bows to the chief again.

"joH, Hew SuyItHa' maH. belHa' SoH Qu'maj? lugh wa' qaja'. tu'lu' pagh latlh."

"I can - but *uh* really rather not ..." The half-elf starts in reply to the red haired warrior when she notices the kobold chief's stare.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

"...buuut that doesn't seem like my choice anymore." She winces and tries to shuffle against the tiny lizard tide towards the party. "You have a spare - or have you seen mine?"

"Yeah I got a hammer. Left side, near my hip."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Zokon draws his Rapier and starts to move and follow

"I'm pretty sure we should follow and help."

Still trying to ignore the commotion around her, Alia answers Numalar: "The next time, try and find a ruse that does not degrade and insult both my gender and entire species.", before she turns to Zokon:"Help with what, a Kobold Civil War? I would prefer not to get involved, but you're the Kobold authority..."
With a few whispered words, arcane energy flows into the Elf Swordmaidens blade, and a small shield made of force forms orbiting her.
Casting Shield, +4 AC, powering up Blade, too.

Didn't realize until just now that my last post was ninja'd by GGGM's.

"The next time, try and find a ruse that does not degrade and insult both my gender and entire species."

"You are far too sensitive, my dear. The kobolds were keeping this lady here in a cage like an animal. Clearly they don't have a lot of respect for elves. By making that comment, I implied that I had something in common with these kobolds, in the hopes of winning their trust. I assure you I have no disdain for the elven race as a whole, though I think they take some things too seriously."

Numalar turns to the new half-elf among them.

"I am Numalar, by the way. Don't worry, we'll get you out of here soon. Are you hurt?"

Numalar turns to the rest of the group.

"Now... as to this chief..."

Numalar ponders what just happened.

"Everything that Mikmek has told us indicates that 'Old Sharptooth' was a really miserable god to worship. And it seems that this chief has just 'killed' Old Sharptooth."

"On that basis I'm inclined to give him a chance. I'm not saying we should die to protect him, but giving him a hand might not be a bad idea."

"Besides, if he wins, he might be grateful for our help, or angry for a lack of it. And if he loses, the other side will know that we gave him the statue, and aren't likely to to thank us either."

"So I suggest we help him."

"I don't know what's going on here. But I guess we're not leaving this village peacefully..."

Utterly ignoring Numalar's explanation, Alia nods:"Nope, not leaving peacefully. If Zokon says we follow and help the chief, I'm with him!"

One: Because I don't think we need to settle that conflict right there...no matter your reasoning, in her eyes it was offensive and telling that it was the first "ruse" that came to mind instead of literally anything else you could have told them -
Secondly: Because I actually doubt you have time for all that pondering...the Chief seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry, so I doubt he'll sit around waiting a minute or so until your verbose explanation of the situation is done. :)

All right. Step one - hammer! The half elf nodded at Scarlet and reached for her hip as soon as she was close enough. She unhooked the hammer and weighted it in her hands. It was no doubt quite reassuring.

Step two - introductions! she thought to herself. Noting that some of her captors didn't seem overly pleased with eachother she added Also! I've missed something. But that wasn't her problem yet.

"Illthir." she mumbled in the direction of the gnome. Her mother had always taught her to be careful with name. And a whole other bunch of silly stuff... But lesson had somehow attached itself deeply to the back of her mind. With a wince she pushed the hesitant thoughts away and repeated her name slightly louder. "Illthir Winlowe. Nice to meet you!"

"And only emotionally." she continued with a laugh. "My capture wasn't very violent - it was actually quite funny. Now that I'm not stuck in a dirt cell anymore. But more of that later ... The chief looks impatient."

The press of bodies pushes forward. ahead the party can hear the sound of battle, the ring of steel, the growls of the combatants, the yips of the wounded, and then "KA-BOOM!!!"

The lead kobolds fall flat. The sound echoes through the cave shaking centuries old dust from the ceiling. A wave of heat and a huge plume of grit billow out from the tunnel ahead. Once everyone regains their hearing the only sound out of the cloud of dust they can hear is the sound of rocks settling and the injured groaning.

EDIT Those of you with animals will have to push your companions to continue on-ward should you decide to go that way.

"Mip...mip...mip", patting her ears with her free hand, hoping to regain her sense of hearing faster, Alia looks for Scarlet and comments:"Are we sure we're with the right guys? That...seemed like some powerful magic-", before shouting:"Huj! batlhvaD matay'DI'!" at the nearby kobolds...clearly with the intent to let them go in first.

Celyne will try to convince Luna to be willing to press forward, depending on her to guard her while she moves up to help, one way or another.

handle animal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 (plus isn't there a bonus for an animal companion? traveling and don't have access to all the info on the road)

sorry, no time for a longer post... gotta hit the sack to get up early for the eclipse tomorrow.... we're leaving for viewing at 3:30am...Be able to post more tomorrow

Animal Companions have link, which gives a +4 to handle animal checks

handle animal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Numalar's eyebrows go wide when he sees the explosion.

"Sir Didymus! Come on! It's this way... oh never mind. Stay!"

Numalar rushes forwards to try to keep up with the chief and the others.

Animal Companions have link, which gives a +4 to handle animal checks

Rangers know that kind of thing. Don't they get an Animal Companion at Level 4, too? *smiles*

"Well..." Illthir grins sourly "It can't be *that* powerful right? Seeing as some clearly survived. And what's the odds they can do that twice?" She didn't look too convinced by her own arguments. On the bright side - if that was magic - my lack of armour isn't actually much of a drawback. Yay!

"So, are we going or not?"

Scarlet draws her swords, impatient and ready to run into danger. After all it was just fire.

"We are going...safely behind the Kobolds...just in case he CAN do it twice-", Alia responded, herding the scaly ones forward with motivational clicks and noises in Draconic.
Had we not come, they would gladly have sacrificed the woman to their dark idols. That kind of tribe is not worth saving...if we're lucky, they'll take each other out...

@Alia's thoughts - to be fair the one in charge of sacrificing is also the one they are currently trying (not too successfully) to slay :P

Aye, but Alia does not know that ;) Just saying she's not too keen on risking her life in the name of a Kobold revolt when said Kobolds would gladly have accepted your sacrificial murder if that meant it was not them. That is, she will help get rid of the bad guy. But she'll accept some collateral if that means less danger for us non-kobolds...just wanted to make it understood there actually was a reason, and Alia is not just evoking "we have reserves" because she dislikes Kobolds as a species(which she totally does)

"vaj nuq loS SoH? YONG PAGH!" Barks the Chief.

The other kobolds quickly create a corridor to allow the party to pass through to the front.

Map updated.

"I wish these rooms were a little bigger, but-" Scarlet almost bonks her head on the ceiling. "HAHA! I love it!" Scarlet foolishly rushes ahead.

CHAAARGE!

Which way are they going? Left or right?

Zokon will filter past any kobolds he can and attempt to move in the correct direction 30ft and up to an opponent if possible.

Map arrow updated.