"I'm sorry then, Mulle. My qualms with the Apprentice have been misplaced with his master. Though, if the Wizard is not here, where else would he be?" said Panros as he tried to amend a situation that had gone quickly sour.
"Well, I imagine that's the problem, dwarf."
Mulle sat back, resting face-up on the soft grass before the wizard's manor - ignoring the stench of dead kobold - and getting a good feel of the summer's breeze.
"If Hunclay was home then they probably wouldn't have needed your help to find him, I reckon."
"If Hunclay was home then they probably wouldn't have needed your help to find him, I reckon."
Panros huffed, and looked towards the home. "Perhaps..." was all that he managed to say while casting a side long glance at Brok. "I don't know how these folks deal such short lives. I'd imagine a wizard who's apprentice was as droll as Doalgari would sooner do him in, though, its easy to find those that will serve you."
"Where would Deputy Hodd be then?"
"That's what I've been wondering!"
She perked up, looking at the dwarf.
"Seriously. I've been up here all night. I'm starving. Tired. Sore. Send his lazy butt up to the ruin if you see him!"
Deputy Mulle stood up, carefully replacing her guardsman's hat and brushing off her tabard.
"I should get back to the ruin before some crazy kids think it's a good idea to go poking around in there... especially when you came out so banged up. Don't want anyone getting hurt, now."
With a wave farewell, she turned and started back up the hill, then paused and turned halfway around once more.
"And, um, no blowing up houses. Or you'll be spending some time in our local jail."
Satisfied, she continued on her way.
"And, um, no blowing up houses. Or you'll be spending some time in our local jail."
Chuckling, Panros knew that he had crossed the line with his latest antics. He wasn't quite sure if he'd be able to get away with this endeavor, since the Wizard's apprentice had been the kind of fellow's that has been a pain in his side. Puffing his chest, he knew that he had alot cut out for himself.
"Welp, we can atleast get Mulle her replacement. I don't want any ridiculous expenses thrown on my name. Bad enough Doal's got one set for me." he said while nudging Brok.
Looking around, there was no sight of Deputy Hodd in the nearby area. Pooling together what he supposed was human behavior, the bloke may be wandering around in town.
Hodd isn't particularly difficult to find, as he stands around near the center of town and looks over the villagers. Greeting passerby and looking out to the south over the bridge to the wilderness beyond. His eyes were sharp, as though trying to prove something for the out-of-town sheriff. He saw the approaching dwarf and his half-elven companion and gave the duo a nod.
"Morning, travelers. You look like you've seen better days."
"Morning, travelers. You look like you've seen better days."
"Indeed it is, Hodd. Listen mate, Mulle's shift is over, and she's requested that you guard the Witch Tower's ruins. Can't have any kids poking there head in there, more danger, ye know?"
Trying to put his best convincing face, he'd hope that the guard would recognize duty when he'd to.
The guard grimaced. He obviously was hoping he wouldn't have to bother.
"Fine, fine. Tell her I'll be up there within the hour. I have a few matters to take care of, and I'd better find something to have for lunch before I go..."
With a grumble and a frown, he stomped off.
Hopefully that's taken care of.
"Alright Brok, we're done here. Time to head up to the ruin. Bout time we explore the rest of its contents..."
Brok smiled and nodded at Deputy Mulle as they passed.
"Hodd's on his way!" He proudly exclaimed, smiling at Rufus. Rufus smiled back. It was a good day!
With a running start, he tried to charge up the hill of rubble to where they'd entered into the ruined tower.
With only a few minutes of bumbling around in the dusty, loose rubble of the tower, Brok and Panros ascend to the second 'floor' of the ruined structure, staring down in the darkness of the ruins once again.
"Hello Darkness, my old friend..." said the dwarf has be pulled out a thin metallic object from a pouch that dangled on the side of his backpack. With a simple flick, light emanated from the device, dispelling the shroud of darkness.
"Welp Brok, here we go again. Lets see what we face now...".
After casting a light upon the tip of his quarterstaff, Brok followed the dwarf deeper into the depths of the tower's ruins. Even a day after the tower had fallen, the sound of rock and stone settle still resounded through the deep and dark silence of the ruin.
Winding through the halls and hazards - remembering to utter the password as required, and show the crest when prompted, the duo return to the vault room - looking down into the roughly cut tunnel leading north.
Something about the passage looks slightly different - and not just the stalactite that took out a piece of Panros. A few more chunks of wood had been erected, and a few ropes led from them to the rocky ceiling above.
"Brok...we're not the only ones that have been here..."
Panic rouse within the dwarf. It only had been a full day later, and there's showed some activity within the cave. This didn't bodewell. He wasn't sure what lay within the tunnel, but something wasn't right.
"Do'you notice anything else about this place, Brok?"
Directing his staff forward, Brok peered into the darkness of the tunnel.
Both of the companions note that the barricade has since been bolstered. Whoever had set up the barricade had obviously noted your entry, and reinforced the barrier.
To this end, the ropes tied to the wood look as though they are poised to initiate a collapse when broken loose. It would be dangerous to attempt to climb the barrier while those ropes were still attached. And, although that was not bad enough, there was another stalactite trap rigged up on the latter of the barriers.
And then there was the subtle scraping. Somewhere beyond the barrier, something was moving.
"Brok..I don't think we're alone down here...." said Panros as he cast a baleful glance towards the barricade. Though it had been the previous day, the excruciating pain and sudden dip of darkness was all too familiar to the dwarf. Knowing that he wasn't going to get out of this situation easy, Panos took a step back.
"Remember earlier with the Wizard's house?"
Pulling out another flask, he shook the contents with such vigor. Foam began to pour out of the cork stopper, and it wouldn't be long before it would erupt.
With ease, he lobbed the bomb over the wall, hoping to cause whatever was beyond the barricade, to surge forward, and trigger the trap.
Brok's eyes went wide as the projectile flew - nearly scraping against the roof of the cavern, but clearing it by a few inches - and disappeared beyond the wooden barrier.
The resounding explosion shook the tunnels, as bits of loose dirt shook loose from the ceiling and onto the adventurers' clothes. Bits of wood stirred, and garbled yelps and grunts sounded out from beyond the barrier.
Despite the tremors, the wooden barricade still stood - and nothing seemed particularly interested in climbing over it.
A moment passed, as nothing seemed to happen according to Panros' plan. "Well Brok, I guess my bomb solutions aren't the catalyst needed for this problem." Feeling somewhat disapointed, the dwarf looked towards the barricade once more. "I ain't climbing that..." he thought.
"Cover me, will ya?" he said while setting down towards the barricade. Piercing the soft dirt with his sunrod, Panros set towards work, disabling the trap.
As Brok stood by brandishing his quarterstaff with a menacing look on his face, Panros set to work trying to disable the trapped barricade. Carefully picking nails to remove and bits of rope to cut, the dwarf thought he had it just about disabled when there was a very, very familiar snapping sound above his head.
This time, however, he was prepared.
He dove backwards, landing in the soft earthen floor of the tunnel as the stalactite came crashing down, smashing his sunrod into useless splinters - mere inches from rendering the Loreearthen family jewels forever impotent.
"woah"
The stalactite nearly killed him again! With the trap devoid of its lethality, Panros figured it was best to move on before whatever created the trap to return and set it.
"Lets go Brok! Time for exploring!"
Attempting to scamper over the ruins, Panros wanted to continue.
With surprising skill, Panros scampered up the side of the barrier. Placing his hand on the top of the wall, the wood - one of the newer pieces - gave way beneath his heavy hand. The rope tied to stretched to the cavern roof as the wooden beam fell away, pulling taut - then catching for the briefest of moments.
Then came the tumble of stone. It sounded very, very bad.
Panros looked up to see the ceiling rushing down to meet him.
As the smoke cleared, the dwarf's ringing head struggled to retain its own clarity. Through the darkness, he could see a few shapes moving. Moving towards him. Brandishing pointed sticks and snarling, too!
There were two of them - kobolds. Behind them, a third green-scaled figure stood, barking out orders in a language that sounded quite a bit like barking, snorting, howling, and hissing. That one, though, was holding a bow - and an arrow was nocked and pointed at the dwarf's head.
Faced with lizard creatures, Panros called out to them.
"Oy! I saw one of your kind dead at the Wizard's house, though, I wouldn't be surprised. Wizard's got all sorts of nasty traps up there. Say, yall wouldn't happen to want to get me out of here? I might have something to trade..."
Panros...wasn't quite sure how to deal with his new "friends". He had surely overstepped his bounds...yet again.
With Rufus riding high on his shoulder, Brok came charging up behind Panros. It was a good thing the dwarf had removed the wooden barrier - it looked dangerous to climb over it. The fact that he was now covered in rubble seemed to solidify that supposition.
"Whoa! Penguin! Are you- Whoa! What are those!"
Attention diverted to the duo of spear-wielding kobolds in front of them, Brok held his quarterstaff high and did his best to look intimidating. Rufus growled.
The leader-looking one behind the spears tilted its head at the dwarf's words, then spoke a very broken common. Its voice was surprisingly high pitched, and it occurred to you that this kobold was actually female.
"No trade. Wizard traps. We traps. Wizard lies. You lies. Wizard dead. You dead."
She snarled, then loosed her bow. The other two roared, then charged forward - trying to impale the stuck dwarf onto their weapons.
Brok grits his teeth, watching his friend slump forward and onto the spear of one of the charging lizardthings.
"Porkroll!"
He shot a glance to Rufus.
"This guy certainly gets a lot of holes poked in him."
"That's what she said!" The badger responded.
The two shared a laugh, then turned their serious faces forward. The badger howled with rage, then leapt forward and onto the face of the nearest kobold. Brok lifted his own weapon and closed his eyes, channeling the force of nature into the wooden implement.
The kobolds hiss and yip, proud to have felled the already nearly-dead dwarf. Clearly they had no idea how little work they really had to do. The dwarf was good at killing himself, if nothing else.
But then the larger figure behind him started moving. This one was far taller. That was not good.
They barked out at him, moving towards him with their spears. The leader in the back drew another arrow, putting it to her bow, then growled out more guttural Taldane.
"You. Drop weapon. Or die. Like friend. Like Wizard."
They poked at the dwarf a little more, to make their threats clear.
At least, they were clear until the tiny badger leapt onto the face of the closer kobold. Together, they both screamed. The other was too confused to act, looking from half-elf, to badger, to his leader. With a hiss of anger, the bow-bold loosed her arrow at Brok.
His elven reflexes - having been bolstered by the morning's flayleaf - sprang to action. Brok ducked sideways, dexterously dodging the arrow as his staff grew larger and more gnarled.
Now well within range of the kobold's throat, Rufus went into a badger-fueled rampage - teeth and claw slicing with pure animalistic fury.
With his strengthened staff, Brok set to work on the other spearman, pushing aside his polearm with his own weapon before moving to crack a heavy blow across the reptile's skull.
The badger-infested kobold continued to yelp out cries of panic in its native language, struggling to bring the spear to bear against the nearby opponent. He finally managed to get its tip to pierce the edge of the badger's fur - but its eyes glowed with an unholy, undying anger that only a badger could muster.
The bow-bold, angered by the druid and his companion, pulled another arrow and set it to her bow in a frenzy. Brok, in his melee with the other spear-bold, was unable to land a blow - but did manage to lift his staff just enough to knock the projectile from the air. The bow-bold's face fell in disbelief.
Meanwhile, however, Rufus had managed to get his teeth into the neck of the kobold he was grappling. as his claws sank into the creature's face, he plucked something out of the lizard's head - an eye.
Rufus looked up from his victim, only to see that more of his enemies still stood. The blood rage boiled within him, and he charged across the battlefield to rip the throat from the one with the annoying harp-like thing.
Ducking in closer to the spear wielder to try and get within his weapon's reach, Brok brought his heavy quarterstaff down and around in a swinging blow, trying to crack the kobold's ribs.
The bow-bold was growing increasingly angry with the battle - incensed that a single combatant and his rat could rival her warriors. She drew her bow, then launched another arrow - one that finally stuck into its target.
The melee between spear and quarterstaff, however, raged on. Even with the new arrow in his shoulder, Brok managed to dodge blow after blow - and finally land one of his own. The lizard's ribs cracked, and his eyes glazed over in agony and unconsciousness.
Rufus, however, was not done. The little creature scampered across the battlefield with a fervor that could only be rivaled by the mightiest of berserkers. He leapt, and his teeth connected - sinking into the shoulder of the kobold leader.
With his prey in reach, Rufus laid into the kobold with all of his might.
Brok glared at the kobold at the far end of the room - then lifted his staff and followed Rufus's lead.
"For Pegleg!"
Panicked, the kobold reached for another arrow - taking a swipe from the angry badger swarming about her feet as she did so - and set it to her bow. Loosing the arrow, it stuck in the charging humanoid and threw off his balance just enough for the blow to land without any real damage.
The badger nipped and clawed at the ranger, haranguing her every movement - but could not find a hole in her heavy leather armor through which to sink his teeth.
As Brok moved around to corner the lizard against the sloping, ruined wall of the cavern, Rufus leapt forward to attack with all of his might.
As Rufus clawed, Brok swept in with his staff.
With nowhere to go, the kobold snarled and dropped her bow to the ground, pulling out a spear with lightning quickness and stabbing it-
Not towards Brok, as he expected, but towards Rufus! The poor creature had hardly any time to react before its frontmost paw was impaled by the jagged point of the spear. The badger howled in agony and anger, then leapt out to retaliate.
Brok, however, is unable to make any meaningful impact against the kobold's armor.
The fury of a badger is not one to be trifled with. As the last of his animal fury began to fade, Rufus struck out for his final rampage.
Brok, meanwhile, tried to finally get in a blow that would count - and end the fight.
The kobold, with the battle quickly going south, reached into her pocket and drew out a small vial. Rapidly uncorking it, she threw back her reptilian head and quaffed the potion nearly as fast as it had been pulled out - but her enemies capitalized on this opening.
Even as her wounds knitted themselves closed, her enemies tore new ones.
Like a frenzied, raging team, the druid and his badger bashed the kobold back and forth. As tooth and claw found flesh, Brok's heavy staff finally found its target - snapping hard against the bone of the kobold's skull. As the bones in the creature's head gave way, her lizard head grew malformed, and blood pooled in her eyes as she dropped forward and onto the ground.
Rufus pounced on her, and tore at her scales with his bloodied claws.
Riding his moment of war-forged clarity, Brok knelt down and checked the pockets of the kobold ranger.
As he'd hoped, he found another of the vials she'd just used. Two, in fact!
He rushed over to Panros, who was slumped in the dirt and covered with both his blood and the spurting blood of the kobolds that Rufus had torn open. Pushing the dwarf onto his back - still half-buried - he dumped the contents of the potion down the dwarf's throat.
It was only after it had left the contained and entered the dwarf's mouth that it occurred to Brok that he should have tested it first. Just to make sure it wasn't pure alcohol, or lantern oil, or concentrated poison.
Oh well.
"IM ALIVE!!!" said Panros as he saw battle weary Brok and his animal companion.
Though their expressions didn't seem that quite happy, as they have given the dwarf a stern glance.
"Why ye still lookin' at me like that?" Though his body ached, something felt like itching and he looked down. "IM STUCK!!! HELP ME LADDY!!!"
Brok plopped himself down on the cavern floor. His muscles ached. Rufus sat down in his lap, nuzzling up and closing his eyes. He, too, was ready for a nap. A long one.
"Bleh. You're a dwarf, aren't they good at digging?"
He looked around the room, now coated in blood. His, Rufus's, the kobolds'. Some was probably Panros's too, he supposed. But most of that was really probably just stuck on the dwarf.
"Aye we are...but
The dwarf was in a real desperate situation. With half of his body stuck within the earth, there was no telling what would happen next. With his arms free, he scraped at the dirt, trying to wrest himself free from his current quagmire.
Struggle as Panros might, he's stuck real good. It's just going to take time to move the rocks that have him trapped, rather than any show of brute force.
Meanwhile, Brok takes the opportunity to survey the room. The room is rather cavernous, being wide and curved, although the ceiling is perhaps just barely six feet high. A massive pile of debris and stone fills the entire western portion of the room, very clearly having dropped into the chamber from above.
The pieces of the Witch's Tower.
Another duo of kobold bodies lay among the wreckage. They are broken and ruined, having been partially buried beneath the collapse. One of them still holds a spade in its crippled arm, while the other rests on top of his.
What looks something like a man lies half-buried in the rubble on the far side of the pile, near the northern end. His hand is outstretched, poking out from the rubble and reaching towards another cavernous tunnel leading north. His clothes were once fine crimson robes, but they have since been torn to pieces, covered in dirt and dust, and buried. His face, though mostly buried, is old and weary, and his white beard covers most of the damage done from the collapse.
Being stuck within the hole had been quite the punishment for the tinkerer. While half of his body laid tightly secured by the very rubble of the structure's foundation, the hazard had given Panros cause to think about how he had gotten there.
"Brok, come on! I know yer sick of carrying me 'round not once, but twice, but cut me some slack!" he tried saying while sputtering dust. "I know I'm not the most conventional feller you've met, but trust me, there's a reason for me madness!"
It seemed like the Tinkerer tried to keep his wits, but knew that the druid could only tolerate.
"I'll tell you the truth. I'm...not this great, and master tinkerer that I pruport to be...in fact, I was, more or less exiled from my homeland.." Panros had hoped that by sharing his past, Brok would better understand the dwarf, and call him ally, rather than abandoning him to the wolves so to speak. "Bein' the youngest of my clan, and growing up in the shadow of such great craftsman, I...had never lived up to the glory that my clan has. My work has never been appreciated by me kin. My first and only love, Agatha, couldn't see the glint of genius and dedication I have, and well, this whole quest I'm on is a bit more personal..."
It had been a difficult time to relate to the druid, having little knowledge about the half-elf despite Brok's interest in flayleaf and all that nature stuff.
"Blackpowder...is a substance that I've only heard about in legend and reading up on books from the Master Library. I thought by finding it , mastering its uses, that I could come back to my people and be like - Hey, its Panros! He's got this strange stuff! Oh wait, its 'powda! He did something legendary! - and then I could get noticed and appreciated. But the truth is, when you're culture's far aways from its golden age, and the rich pantheon of lore and craftsmanship goes down, you begin to wonder - am I worth it?"
He resting he arms on a nearby rock, stretching out his palms. "I'm...insecure, I'm aware of that. I tend to not use my brains. But you've gotta believe in me, mate! I CAN do things...just not when I'm not actin' like a dunderhead. So how 'bout it...mind find me a shovel or something?"
Brok's reply was more of a grunt than anything else. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and then grabbed one of the shovels from the two crushed kobolds. He brought it over to Panros, then held it just a few inches out of the dwarf's reach.
A slow grin crossed over his face as he watched the dwarf stretch for it.
"Who knew Panoramic had such a deep past!"
He reached over and ruffled the dwarf's hair.
"Such a cute dwarfy!"
Smug grin solidified, Brok shoved the spade forward and into the gruff - and now angry - dwarven hands.
"Let me know when you're done there. I'm going to take a bit of a nap..."
Brok lowered himself back down, back to the pile of rubble, and closed his eyes for a bit of rest.
roared the Tinkerer as he had just enough of today's troubles. With a spade in his hand, he was more or less faced with the hard task of trying to remove himself from the rubble.
I know what a potted plant felt like
After a good fifteen to twenty minutes of digging away at the rubble covering himself and the ground, Panros manages to pull himself out of the collapsed rock.
Despite the collapse and nearly dying to both it and the spear shoved through his shoulder, Panros feels remarkably well for having gone through that whole ordeal.
said the dwarf as he enjoyed his newfound freedom. Though, no one heard him as the druid adn his companion were busy asleep.
"Look at 'em, the little dickens. Sleepin' like a wee child. Though...that child's saved my life twice..."
Panros felt a pang of sympathy, learning that you don't have to be of the same kin to show some compassion. Infact, for an elf, let alone diluted had been more of a friend that any of his mates back in the 5 Kings Mountains.
"I'll make it up to ye buddy. Jes you wait."
The dwarf wasn't going to let his friend be eaten by bugs or other cave creatures, so instead, he took the time to explore the cavern. Remembering that the kobolds mentioned that a wizard had died, his interest piqued.
It doesn't take Panros long to pick search through the chamber - but as he passes around the far side of the rubble, you spot the crumpled body of the wizard underneath the collapsed tower.
Another duo of kobold bodies lay among the wreckage. They are broken and ruined, having been partially buried beneath the collapse. One of them still holds a spade in its crippled arm, while the other rests on top of his.
What looks something like a man lies half-buried in the rubble on the far side of the pile, near the northern end. His hand is outstretched, poking out from the rubble and reaching towards another cavernous tunnel leading north. His clothes were once fine crimson robes, but they have since been torn to pieces, covered in dirt and dust, and buried. His face, though mostly buried, is old and weary, and his white beard covers most of the damage done from the collapse.
Picking through the bodies, Panros finds the following:
Three suits of small leather armor, three small-sized spears, two small slings, a pile of sling bullets, a quiver full of arrows, a small shortbow, five small gems, and a pouch full of Imperial Taldor coinage - twelve silver, eight gold, and ten platinum pieces. The gear held by kobold bodies beneath the rubble are crushed beyond repair.
It will take some careful maneuvering to check the wizard's body, however.
"By Torag's beard!" roared the dwarf has he saw the wizard's dead body. "By the gods...Doalgari's gonna have half a mind to pin me to his master's death, and on the otherhand, its some relief knowin that this bloke's down here, and not in his abode..."
Panros felt some remorse. Maybe the reason why Doalgari had been such a prick was because of his care for the master, on the other hand, maybe the apprentice was just like that.
Writing down in his journal, and making a small drawing of the dead wizard, Panros noted that his quest to Lady Devy had reached a conclusion.
Now began the hard task of seeing what had worth.