S'koth reads as if from a dream, his voice deep and throaty:
"Ashardalon, The Great Ravager, Draconious Imperator, Lord of Dragons, may your dark gaze and fiery wrath insspire your humble sservants to sspread your ruin amongst the land"
He snaps back to the present.
"I have never heard of this Ashardalon."
"Ashardalon must have been a god or a leader. Can you tell if 'Ashardalon' is a male or female name?"
"Does anyone have any advice to offer, pro or con, about destroying the writing?"
S'koth listens to the hobgoblin. He thinks for a moment.
"I can only ssurmise that thiss refers to a male entity - "Lord" being the honorific. Otherwise it would read "Lady" - dragons tend to be a bit careful about that."
Rifiki cautiously opens the northwest doorway to find a long hallway, 10 feet wide by 40 feet long. About 30 feet down the hallway there are two doors, one on the southern wall, the other on the northern wall. The southern door is made of stone, but thats all you can tell for here. There is no lighting. At the end of the hallway is another door, wooden.
Melisaria casts a light spell on her scimtar and examines looks more closely at the hallway. Any footprints or way to track?
Rifiki will travel silently to the first door he comes to. He studies it carefully for any hidden traps or other issues.
Melisaria, feel free to make a perception check at anytime to look for tracks, followed by a survival to follow them. For the sake of speed, I rolled for you if you do not mind.
There are numerous tracks, running in all directions. Most appear to be smaller than your tracks, though humanoid. Many, however, are longer, though still small, with what could be claw marks in places. These are the most recent.
Rifiki, you check the first two doors you come to, the wooden door on the north wall, and the stone door on the south wall. The wooden door is not locked, but the stone door is. The stone door has a relief carved into it depicting a dragonlike fish swimming in an aquatic setting. It is securely locked.
"I suggest we try the locked door first. If we can't open it we'll settle for the other. Something of value or a prisoner may be behind a locked door."
"I agree that the locked door is much more interesting. Do any of the tracks lead to it? If someone else has opened it recently, we might be able to do so as well."
Sounds good to me. Give me a few moments and I will see what I can do about that stone door.
Rifiki will peer over the door, checking it for any signs of malfunction or potential pitfalls.
If trapped or to open door
S'koth studies the door and masonry surrounding it.
Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
"Let uss hope this stone portal keeps no water at bay. Far underground, and water coursses sstray..."
After examining the door S'koth stands by on guard, falchion at the ready, swinging his massive head from side to side looking for movement, his nostrils straining to pick up scents.
Perception:
Survival:
Zar, the small clawed tracks are the freshest, and most of those are going towards the door on the western wall. There are older, small humanoid tracks that run in every direction, and now that you are taking a closer look, you believe they were perhaps fleeing from the clawed tracks, based upon the position and where they are going.
Rifiki, you are not able to open the stone door, though you feel like if you tried just a little longer or twisted it just the right way you would have it. The door does not appear to be locked.
S'koth, you do not notice anything unusual with your dungeoneering, though based upon the size off the keep so far and what you have seen, you are not worried about water sweeping you away. With your keen senses you can barely hear the sound of sloshing water, though it is very faint. You hear a ghost of a noise from the room beyond the western door as well, but it gone as quickly as it came...
Rifiki, knowing that he almost got it will try again to pry the lock open.
Loki, guide my hands to open this lock
If I fail again I will just take 2 minutes to take a 20 and give myself a total of 27 :)
Melisaria readies her scimitar in case something big, bad and ugly escapes from the locked room.
Sword in hand, Hedrroth glances around the room, worried about an ambush while the party's focus is on the door.
S'koth stirs briefly, perturbed. He moves to the western door, indicating it by jutting his jaw toward it, falchion at the ready.
"I heard a noise from behind this door. I think whatever it was moved away. Regardlesss, I will sstand here until the stone door is opened." S'koth stands facing the western door, focused on it:
Perception:
Rifiki, you are not able to open the stone door, though you feel like if you tried just a little longer or twisted it just the right way you would have it. The door does not appear to be locked.
After a few minutes, Rifiki finally gets his picks positioned, and with a deft twist of his wrist the catch on the lock swings open. Opening the door reveals a 10 foot square chamber hewn from the stone. It contains an upright keg fashioned of rusted iron. Similarly rusted pipes lead fro the keg into the floor. If anyone strikes or shakes the keg, you can hear water sloshing around inside. On top of the keg is a wide metal bung that can be opened to give access to whatever is inside.
S'koth and Zar, now that they are focused, again hear a noise coming from the western room, through the wooden door. It sounds like a dog, yelping in pain, but at the same time it sounds almost more like humanoid sobbing. There may be words as well, but if so, you cannot make them out. But whatever is in the next room is obviously grieving.
Unlike the others, you actually recognize the sounds, though you cannot make out the words. Combined with the tracks Melisaria has pointed out, this must be a Kravatchi, or Kobold in common. It is obvious to you the creature is distraught, and sobbing inconsolably.
Kobolds are treated differently, depending on which tribe they are part of and such. In your tribe, they would have been treated as servants, or useful but not quite equal warriors. Though you have much respect for their cunning and draconic heritage. They are fierce enemies when cornered in their lairs, and you know of their love of traps. Like yourself, they can range in morality, though most are cruel and cunning, but with a nuetral bent. They are native to Vos Drakos, and have not spread as much as the Lizardfolk, so the creatures are out of place here, though perhaps not as much as you would normally think, now that the Draconic writing on the wall has been discovered. The creature is speaking in Draconic, which you know to be their native tongue.
"Hmmm, it's a water faucet?" Mel asks. "Does that seem like something you'd lock up?"
"It looks like a water supply, and yes, I'd lock it up. If the army drinks it, someone will try to poison it. If the leader bathes in it, someone will try replacing it with acid or liquid fire."
"Since Rifiki can open this door, let's leave it be for a bit and investigate the sounds of grief behind the other door. This can wait. Whatever's making that noise may not. Be careful, it could be anything."
S'koth indicates the western door. "The cries come from a kobold or kravatchi as we call them in Voss Drakoss. I do not undersstand what it ssays, but it is distressed. In my homeland kravatchi are mosst often mere sservants - though ssmall they are wily and cunning fighters and adept trapsmiths. Finding one here is unlooked for." He thinks for a moment. "The draconic sscript we found, the kravatchi.... Hmm, the creature could see me as ssavior or oppressor..."
S'koth peers in at the keg. "Perhapss if we tamper with it we can draw some of the denizens to invesstigate. Either that, or alarm them that we are here.." S'koth attempts one of his "smiles".
The keg is maybe 3 feet in diameter, and stands 5 feet off the ground. It does not look like a bath, but rather appears to supply water, as all the rusted pipes lead out of the keg going down into the floor.
"I didn't say he bathes in it, I said it might be connected to whatever passes for a bath around here. If I were in charge, I'd want to avoid turning a faucet and getting hot and cold running acid. Don't mess with it yet, we may need it."
"Of course we won't poison or tamper with the water supply. Eloria's Bones, boys, we don't know where this water leads or who may use it and for what. Even then poison is no way for a bunch of heroes to behave."
Melisaria wonders about the company she is keeping, not for the first time. "Monster will out", she thinks.
"Let's tend to the waililng kobold and leave this mystery until we have more information."
S'koth listens to Zar, Melisaria and Yenli carefully. . "Good thinking Yenli. If you all concur I will enter firsst. Rifiki - can you check thiss door for trapss? Thiss could all sstill be ssome kind of ruse..."
He then faces the western door again, listening for distinct Draconic words.
Perception
While Rifiki is busy he speaks to Melisaria:
"As for the water ssupply, I did not mention poison - nor do I carry any. I merely inferred that we might tamper with its workings to approximate a natural interruption of sservice - that it looks old and russty indicates itss advanced age - occasionally it must deteriorate... Eventually the denizens will know we are here one way or another - our incursion will not go unnoticed for long - we could thus draw some of them to uss, to an area we now undersstand rather than let them organise their defences where we do not... Capture some scouts, question them as to the layout, defences etc. No matter. It is preferable to remain circumsspect..."
After searching the door, Rifiki nods to S'koth, whom steps into the room beyond. Crudely executed symbols and glyphs, scribed in a bright green dye, decorate this large and irregularly shaped crumbling chamber. A large pit in the chamber's center shows evidence of a recent bonfire. A metallic cage in the center of the southern wall contains a gaping hole and stands empty. A small wooden bench draped with green cloth stands before the cage, and upon it sits several small objects. A bedroll lies near the wooden bench, from which the sound of whimpering is plainly audible.
S'koth, you can recognize the writing and symbols; it is Draconic. Scattered around the room, the words are a crude version, but still legible, simply stating "Here There Be Dragons."
You can barely make out a small, horned, scaly head poking out of the bedroll from which the sobbing emanates.
Rifiki will scan the room upon entering for any signs of life or ambushes.
Melisaria nods her understanding at S'Koth's words about the water supply. "I have no objection to disrupting the flow, just not endangering innocents."
Mel lets the lizard enter first, but comes softly behind. She stops and looks at what is on the table as S'Koth goes to the crying figure.
Besides the door we entered by, are there any other visible exits to the room?
S'koth ensures the rest of the party has the portal they entered by (and any other doors) covered to prevent escape. He approaches the prone figure, falchion at the ready but not obviously threatening. He addresses the kobold:
"Pasku seth kravatchi, iskoss leschdrakha ssoskiz a har'z. Ssuss iskin sektar?"
Zar, as the group enters you notice four other doors leading out of the room, as well as a hallway leading further down. The room is 20 feet wide by 45 feet long. There are two doors to the north, one on the east wall, the other on the west wall. To the south there is a door on the west wall, and another one next to it on the southern wall. Midway along the western wall is a hallway leading further down.
As S'koth speaks to the kobold, Melisaria looks around, searching the table and room. Melisaria, there is a metel cage sized for a small creature, but it is now bent out of shape and incabable of holding anything. The table itself has been converted into what looks like a small makeshift altar, with containers of green dye, a paintbrush(with goblin hair bristles), and four small jade figurines of Dragons. You also find a firepit, with the bones of humanoids in the ashes.(Make a Perception check Melisaria.)
S'koth, at first the kobold ignores the noise in the room, even curling up tighter into a ball in an attempt to ignore you all. As you speak, the creature slowly uncurls, and turning slowly stares at you in openmouthed awe. It stands and begins speaking so quickly you can barely understand it, not even slowing to breathe.
Lizardman! Dragonman!!! You here, destined to help poor Meepo? You must be! Dragon spoke to me in dreams, I knew someone would come! They stoles it, stoles Dragon. But you will get it back! You help Meepo retrieve clan Dragon?! Calcryx will be returned, and Meepo will be saved!!! You save Meepo, you save Dragon!!! If you agree to save Dragon, Meepo take you to great Yusdrayl, if you make nice, safe passage. If you rescue Dragon, Leader no hurt you. Leader maybe reward you, and Dragon bless you?!
Whatever S'koth said, as the Kobold responds it gets more and more animated, dancing around and obviously looking pleased. The expression of awe and fear it has upon looking at S'koth never quite fades, but it replaced by a rapt look of wonderment the more it speaks.
In addition to the fireplace bones, Melisaria is interested in the jade dragon figures. She tries thinking if she's seen anything similar in texts or temples.
She also looks at them with a discerning eye to try to see if they're valuable.
You find another.figure, of the same quality, in the firepit. Taking a closer look, you would estimate their worth at 25 gold each. Nothing specific comes to mind, though you know during the Age of Betrayal many races worshipped Dragons during those dark days, but such cults were all but wiped out or driven off of Mortalia in the Great Scouring.
Melisaria shows the figures to all the group. "Shall we take these? They look together like worth about 100GP or more, but they aren;t ours. Are we to take any treasure we find while inside?"
She is unclear if looting is appropriate or allowed. These icons might belong to someone.
S'koth replies quickly in Draconic, pointing first to Zar, Melisaria and Rifiki, and then Yenli in a more deferential manner:
"Szeth ochtasset vesshril ssa toa - S'koth Kaa - shu "Khata Gushslaa". Ssae huus tael sshensser. Zhha skol bosstu var Zhar, Melisaria, Rifiki - zhha skol Drako criss "Yenli". Viss Calcryx nuss drakos?"
before relaying information to the party:
"His name is Meepo, from what I can gather his pet dragon was sstolen, and ssome bigger creature Yussdrayl is a leader here who Meepo can take uss to - possibly if we relocate ssaid wyrmling - thiss Yussdrayl can grant ssafe passage, though to where I do not know - I'm not ssure of all the sspecifics yet. I've told him you are my sslaves and Yenli is my dragon-blooded conssort" S'koth furnishes you all with another of his famous smiles, and a noble nod to Yenli. "Ssorry, Zharr, but while Meepo is here we'll have to make him think I'm in charge..."
"At leasst I thinks he is a he..."
If Meepo's Draconic doesn't indicate it already:
Perception on Meepo's gender:
(To Melisaria's question)"It might go a long way to keeping Meepo onsside if we give him/her all thiss ritual sstuff to "look after". Again, from what I can gather, Meepo is either a tribal sshaman or an apprentice..."
Playing along with the story as she understands it, Melisaris reverently offers up the jade figures to her lord and master, S'koth in a way that is probably far too overdramatic.
"Ssorry, Zharr, but while Meepo is here we'll have to make him think I'm in charge..."
Hedrroth makes a low, if somewhat sarcastic bow and says, "As you wish, m'lord." He suddenly blinks, as something S'koth said sinks in. "Did you say 'pet dragon'?"
Perhaps this play-acting at decent, structured leadership will finally meld the team into an ordered unit, he thinks grimly. There's times when I'm not certain if I'm leading or merely chasing.
The elders gave us salvage rights, which means the tokens are ours to do with as we please. I am gonna take mine, should there be no objections, Rifiki responds to Melisaria question of property in a hushed tone. He then looks to the caged creature and then the "leader" S'koth with head tilted slightly to the right, Dragons were something my mom told me about to keep me in line. I hardly doubt they even exist. Are you sure the kobold isn't talking about a dragonesque creature such as yourself S'koth? his demeanor definitely one if skepticism.