"Huh."
He began looking at the seam. Maybe it wasnt a trap after all, maybe it was something else. He moved a bit closer taking a dagger out and running it along the seam.
"Its a mine right? Maybe its a trap door she thought to hide with dirt or the like. A shortcut if you will."
"Careful, Bas!" Sprig whispered as the big guy sought to disarm the trap. The kobold readies to catch Bas if he falls. Sprig wasn't very strong, but maybe it'd help!
Bas runs a dagger along the seam before knocking on the panel. For whatever reason, it sounds solid this time.
Saraon grimaces as Bas tests to no avail.
"Maybe it's one of those "overthinking" traps, obvious but harmless to act as a distraction for something while we try to puzzle it out?"
Sprig looked at it confusedly. "Hrmm... let's jes' go around it anyway, jes' in case." The kobold sidles past the panel and heads deeper into the mine.
As they go along, the lizard sticks to the walls as close as he can, running his little claws along it."We're almost there, Ah can smell it!"
Saraon follows at an appropriate distance, not too close as to crowd Sprig but close enough to easily help if things went south fast.
The party scooches around the pressure plate, making it into the larger chamber. Detritus of every kind is piled high here, small passages cleared out to allow for movement through.
Sprig peers around the large room, trying to spot potential dangers. "Let's follow th' tracks, harder t' trap it with th' rails in the way."
Larger rooms were always scarier, since there could be any number of hidden creatures in those tunnels. The kobold reassured himself that the mine was probably empty, just a Tallfolk hiding in the back.
Saraon nods and watches as they move forward.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Saraon easily finds a course through the junk, avoiding several passages with tripwires and pressure plates in them.
The chamber that follows is even worse. Clutter is piled from floor to cieling, with several tunnels only small enough for Sprig to fit through easily.
Sprig looks carefully around the room, gritting his teeth before sighing. "Well, Ah suppose it's up t' me now. Keep an eye out fer' another way through, Ah'll scout on ahead." Taking advantage of his small stature, the kobold slips through the tunnels deeper into the chamber.
Now alone, Sprig kept a low profile, moving as quietly as he could.
"How does she LIVE in a place like this?" Saraon wonders aloud as he does what Sprig asks.
Sprig wriggles into the passages, and Saraon is able to point out a few spots to avoid. As Sprig's familiar chatter fades away, the chamber takes on an uneasy silence.
Sprig crawls through the tunnels in the junk, finding very little of interest. Eventually, he reaches a chamber carved out of the detritus and a fairly depressing sight within. The moldering body of a gnome lies hunched on the ground, surrounded by crates, boxes, and sacks marked with labels for food.
While not particularly strong, the little lizard lifts what he can carry out to the others, squeezing through the tunnels once more.
A familiar lizard exits the tunnels. "Well, she's dead. Ah dunno what caused it, but Ah guess her supplies 'r free for th' takin'." He gently sets down a comparatively large bag of food. "Let's get t' clearin' out this junk 'n getting th' food t' the people." He slides back into the tunnel whence he came, eager to return with more food.
"Probably fell victim to one of her own traps," Saraon comments. "We should perhaps see about locating and clearing them. The townsfolk could shelter in here, and the mine will be helpful in getting the town back on its feet."
Sprig nodded, "Yer right Saraon, Ah think we can really clean up this town with a little work." With a little more effort, the food was safely extracted from the gnome's lair, ready to be given to the townsfolk.
Temmin shudders when he hears that Mak's dead, "Gods. Another one of the town lost." He sighs heavily before saying, "I'll see if I can get some townsfolk to help clear the place out. It'll come in handy to hole up in."
"Those bandits are still out there. I don't think any of us are going to be able to really take the fight to them. I don't want to impose, but would you all be able to root them out?"
Saraon draws his sword with a chuckle.
"Root them out...an apt metaphor. The only way a field can grow strong and healthy is for the weeds choking it to be killed, and weeds must be pulled out by their roots. I imagine Sprig won't disagree."
Sprig nods his head understandingly. "Well, that is why we're here in th' first place. Yew sure y'all be alright for now? Th' food should good enough fer the moment, right? Ah'll round everyone up, 'n then we'll see."
After they've safely made their way out of the mine, the kobold gathers everyone up for a quick meeting. "So th' boy thinks he's got a handle on th' town fer now, real swell work out there, all of yew! 'E asked me to look into clearin' out those Xokar thugs an' we are out here on a job. Y'all ready t' head out? Or should we rest th' night first, then head out first thing? We've been out 'ere a while now."
Bindle is tired from gazing hard at dust, rocks, clouds and dust. Not to mention fast-moving dust. And lying-still dust, always tricky. As much as she relishes night time ambushes, she feels a night’s rest might be in order, but if the group is ready to go she will of course agree.
If the group decides to stay the night she will take first watch.
The Daughters of Xokar's camp isn't too hard to find. Burned or burning effigies of wood, scrap metal, and human remains make a grisly trail to their small fort. It's a squat structure, simple tents surrounded by a palisade made from wood braced by jagged scrap metal. Four women stand atop the wall, carrying weapons that look almost like guns, though slightly different. The southwest corner of the fort is built around a large boulder, something resembling a shrine atop it.
"Disgusting," Saraon comments when they find the enemy camp. "It is cliche to compare brutal and cruel people to beasts, but truly, no beast would stoop to such foul desecration."
Brindle nods, eyeing the corpse meat.
”Definitely a washte!”
"Mmm... Ah don't like it either. Why do such pointless things t' people, t'aint nobody that benefits from this destruction." He stares into the distance, taking note of what he sees. With a few moments of thought he comes up with a plan.
Sprig unpacks a length of rope. "Ok, Ah think Ah got an idea. We sneak up t' the walls an' lasso th' guards over th' side. Bas an' Brindle, yer th' strong ones 'ere, yew lasso 'n pull 'em over. Saraon 'n I will jump on 'er and keep 'em quiet."
"do we have a plan B if that one doesnt work?"
He asked glad the darkness sort of concealed his frown. He wasnt sure he could pull that off. He had never really thrown a lasso. I mean he had seen a few folk do it a time or two. It couldnt be that hard really. He took a gaze at the wall and pondered.
"Won't lie, boss, not sure how good I am with a Lasso. If those walls are rough i could probably climb one and sneak behind a guard knock them over the side."
Saraon "hmm"s at Sprig's plan.
"I suppose we could...pre-tie the lassos? I'm a druid, not a cattle wrangler, lariats are kind of outside my experience too."
Sprig taps his nose with one claw. "Plan B, huh, well... Ah can't say it's my first pick, but Ah've picked up a lil' trick recently. Ah can turn myself invisible n' sneak in there wit' some flasks of oil, 'n set the whole place ablaze. There's a bit of irony in it Ah suppose, 'n it'd be easier to fight them in th' chaos."
Spark
Ghost Sound
Mage Hand
Open/Close
Level 1
Snowball (x2)
Expeditious Excavation
Reduce Person
Level 2
Summon Monster 2
Invisibility
Stone Call
"Awful brave of you, Sprig. Almost too brave...you sure you can pull it off alone? Might be better if we try and landslide them with called stones. You and I both have that power..."
Sprig smiled his usual toothy grin. "Ah admit Ah'm a lil' frighted, but all yew Tallfolk 'r a lot easier t' spot than me. There tain't nothin' sneakier 'n a kobold. 'Sides, Ah got all o' yew t' save my bacon." He nodded his head to reassure himself.
"Called stones 'r a good idea. They all got guns, might make it tough t' get 'em after the first barrage but with a lil' smoke Ah think we'll be fine. Once they're softened up, Bas n' Brindle can put them t' rest. 'Course that's only if we can't pick 'em off th' easy way." The little lizard checks his pockets. "Aww heck, Ah knew Ah shudda whipped up a few smokesticks."
"Should we combine the plans then? Sneak in and do your thing, and then move the earth?"
”They know their environment. We do not. We need more information.” Brindle says, carefully musing while watching the armed women.
”Every prey makes a mistake, elshe they are not prey. What is theesh wimminsh weaknessh - their vuln-era-bility?”
"Here's an idea, its dark right, we can go out, say half a mile and set a small campfire, then skedaddle out of the way, they are bound to see it and if they are raiders of any salt, they will go out to investigate. We climb the walls, kill the defenders, and wait for the patrol to come back."
He frowned and tilted his head. He probably should have lead with that.
"That might be overthinking the thing. Your plans'll work im sure."
Sprig scratched the underside of his chin. "Weaknesses, 'eh? Well, ah think they're all wielding those guns, 'an if Ah had t' guess, they're some kinda fire-shooter from their penchant for burnin' things. Best bet t' shut 'em down is gettin' close and cutting them down with a melee weapon. If we attack 'em from multiple angles, they can't catch all of us with their fires. Cuttin' down the number of people aimin' at us is a good plan too."
The lizard pulls his pistol out, readying it for the fight ahead. "So Ah think we're getting a good plan together here."
"First thing, we set up a campfire somewhere, maybe throw up some tents n stuff. Ah got a bear trap Ah can set up too, jes' for kicks.
"Then, while they're distracted, we send Bas over th' barricade, with invisibility if needed. We hook a grappling hook, and when she comes t' take a look at th' noise, Bas shoves 'er over th' side. Easy stuff."
"From there, we take th' fight t' whoever's left. With some luck, they still won't know we're here and we can take 'em by surprise."
"Last, we man th' walls ourselves and rain stone an' fire on the returnin' scouts. Turn their own fort an' weapons against 'em. These ladies don't seem right in th' head, Ah don't think they'll give up."
Saraon nods as the plan comes together.
"Good ideas all."
He begins assist with setting up the fake camp, making full use of his wilderness survival knowledge.
Saraon sets up a passable camp. Though haphazard, it at least looks lived-in.
Sprig sets up his bear trap, making sure everyone knew where it was hidden. As they backed away from the fake camp, the kobold gives the team a pep talk. "Alright, we've got our plan an' Ah believe each of yew can carry it out flawlessly. Once Ah light this flame, there ain't no turnin' back time. Ah trust each of yew t' get it done, let's roll!"
Sprig casts Spark from as far away as he can, igniting the campfire.
Once the spell lit the campfire he moved to the right a ways from it as quickly as he could and still be somewhat quiet, they needed to put some distance between them and the camp. They also needed to make sure that they werent in the straightline travelling path from the distraction and the fort. He led the way to the wall with the assurance of someone who has raided and fortified place before, mostly because well he had. It felt like a strange sort of justice to use the skill he had learned as a bandit on bandits.
He waited for some sign the bandits had either left the fort or were otherwise distracted before he waved off the invisibility spell, better to save such things in case something terrible happened and they needed to get away.
"If this starts to go bad you folk get the hell out of here."
He whispered before he made his way to the wall and began the trek up it.
Saraon waits for the signal to move.
Brindle “helps” Saraon arrange the camp, perhaps only assisting to make it look properly haphazard. Then she crouches in wait...
"Thanks, Brindle!" Saraon whispers as they watch and wait.
Three bandits leave the fort, one holding one of those odd rifles, the other two with some sort of modified longswords.
Bas creeps up the wall, managing to get up without being noticed. He's almost a little too stealthy, however, and he finds himself not but five feet from one of the guards, who seems to be distracted with throwing rocks at a lizard.
Saraon begins creeping after Bas.
Sprig ensured Bas was safe by casting Invisibility on him beforehand.
"Hold up there, Saraon. Let's get a rope up." Taking a grappling hook and rope out of his bag of holding, Sprig tosses it up the wall. There was no way he'd make it up otherwise.
If the guard heard the sound, Bas knew what to do. "Brindle, Saraon, Get ready t' jump 'em."
He waited for the guard to make a move torwards the sound of the grappling hook and then he moved. He rose to his full height and taking out the Bardiche swung hard aiming for the spine
He frowned as the grappling hook made its way up to the wall. Why... why did she have to be cute. He hoped this wasnt going to end badly. The moment she moved to check out the noise he rose and put his arms about her. He grappled her back, dropping to the ground and keeping ahold of the rear naked chokehold he applied, keeping her from calling out and hopefully subdoing her as well.
Bas creeps forward and with a single, mighty blow cuts down the bandit sentry.
The sound of the blow, however, alerts another one of the guards and she yells, "Intruders on the palisades! Get 'em!"
The party, however, manages to be just a bit faster than the bandits in the camp. As it turns out, being rousted in the middle of the night makes a person slow.