Throrgar grabs a wand from his wrist sheath, and zaps himself for an added protection layer in case a fight breaks out.
If nothing happens in two rounds, Balan will start to inch forward, taking a five foot step and returning to total defense.
Sendi casually walked forward. Without any signs of hostility, she did not bother to take action to protect herself.
Throrgar using his wand casts shield on himself. Balan slowly move forward ready for anything. Sendi gets free from the squeeze between the rocks and moves forward passed Balan.
Another round and Victrix appears with Auso behind her. No threats come from the other end... also no signs of the singing or mining.
"Be careful" Balan whispers to Sendi as she walks past him down the tunnel.
”Of what?” Sendi asked, innocently. ”We have scouts in front of us who will warn us of danger. As best as I can tell the way behind us is clear. And if we do make contact, it might yet be peaceful, as there is no sign of hostility towards us yet.” Looking ahead, she added, as much to herself as her mentor in martial matters ”I hope that we can avoid unnecessary violence.”
Thorgar quietly states, "We don't know where the creatures may have gone. It was a short, reptilian humanoid that has scaled skin, and a long tail. It wore leather armor and held a pickaxe. Also if you go past me then the area has not been scouted. Okay let's move quietly forward."
With that said he looks down each of the tunnels, seeing no threats moves to the next conjunction, then continues...
He gets to the third conjunction and stops. He also puts up a hand, looking at Sendi he says, "Do you want to say something because I have four crossbows aimed at me."
”We mean no harm and come in peace. Can you understand me?” Sendi called out, her hands raised in what she hoped was a peaceful gesture.
One of the kobolds yell out something in Draconic. They continue to aim at Sendi now that she has moved forward to be seen.
Balan jumps in front of Sendi, waving his arms and saying:
"We come in peace to fight gnolls! We mean you no harm!"
The kobolds still have not fired but keep their crossbows aimed at your group, at least those they can see. They show no sign of understanding.
”This really doesn’t have to end in violence.” She said to her companions. ”Does anyone know their language? We need to calm them down…”
Balan backs up a foot or two, then tries to communicate using hand signs that he has come to fight gnolls.
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"They seem to want to know the obvious. Who are we and why are we suddenly in their living room, if you will." Moving up nrxt to the others, he thinks for a moment, tapping his nose with his right forefinger while looking at the armed creatures.
Then he taps his chest. "Auso. Auso." Then he reaches out and touches a shoulder near him. "Throrgar. Throrgar."
Then he points behind his group, before pointing beyond theirs, and then drags his right hand from his chest ot to the full extension of his arm, finishing by pointing into the distance behind them several times.
THEN he tries to guess at what "we're just passing through" should sound like in their language, and gives saying it a go.
The kobolds lower their aim and chuckle to each other. The leader nods as well but in the end points towards your group and then above you.
Victrix you are not sure what the kobold is pointing at.
Balan begins to slowly back away. "Well, since they're nor gnolls, maybe we can try the other fork?"
”Lets. It would be wrong to invade their home. We can try another way.”
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Looking at the kobolds, Auso shrugs, raising open hands slightly as they move away from his body. Then he nods, and points behind the group as they start moving.
"You know, we could have offered to pay for passage, right? I'm not sure what we could have offered beyond the small assortment of spices I'm carrying, but we could have tried. Not that I guess we really know that path actually goes all the way through in the first place, do we?"
"We made first contact with neighbors. They were wary, but they did not attack us. Hopefully we made a good enough impression by leaving peacefully. We should return at a later time with goods for trade to create good relations. and yes, Victrix, we will need to learn some draconic." She smiled, happy to have the encounter end as well as it did. "Let's find a new path. And if we run into more kobolds, then as Auso said, we can try to offer payment for passage. Maybe if we pantomime what we want..."
Kobold coloration varies even among siblings from the same egg clutch, ranging through the colors of the chromatic dragons, with red being the most common but white, green, blue, and black kobolds not unheard of.
You believe they would take coins as payment as well as precious stones and such.
With their darkvision they have light sensitivity.
As your group leaves the kobolds rest even more easily. Though they watch you go. Soon enough your group is on the other side of the squeeze and moving forward down the other path.
Another 200 to 300 feet you walk into another chamber.
Reeking trails of steam and acrid smoke eddy in the eerie light shed by flickering bluish flame that pops and whistles erratically from a crack in the cavern floor. In the middle of the room, a table made of ancient oak supports a few woven baskets and a decrepit clay bowl. Many ashy rock piles are scattered about the room.
As you enter the room, a voice echoes around the chamber questioning, "Coming to see the masters of fire, are we? What do you have to offer me and my masters?!"
He stands on the other side of the squeeze and offers a hand to help others back through.
Sendi turned and looked at the small humanoid creature. She raised an eyebrow at the mischievous smile upon it's lips. "It is our pleasure to speak with you. Truth be told, we did not know that this was the territory of the masters of fire when we entered. Rather, we merely sought a way to pass through, out of the elements above. Would you and your masters be so magnanimous that we might ask for safe passage through your lands?"
Balan steps up next to the half-orc. "We truly mean you no harm. If it would warm our welcome, we could make a small offering as a gesture of our goodwill." As he speaks, the monk pulls 15 gp out of a bag on his belt. Balan scans the room for any other creatures, then peers into the creature's eyes, trying to divine the reason for its smile.
A thin small creature stands up from the ash and rocks. The little humanoid creature that has thin, leathery wings, small horns, and a mischievous smile. He offers, "I will gladly take the small offering. I am Andgronakraks. Please wait here and I will bring back some of my masters! My masters will want a larger offering for them. Meat, precious gems, coins, or any kind of treasure would be welcome." He walks towards the monk with outstretched hands.
You also see that the ash and rocks might contain some hot spots.
As the creature takes the coins and departs, Balan will mutter in Celestial, almost like a mantra, "Master of Masters, open my eyes."
Earth mephits are commonly found on the Plane of Earth. These mephits are plodding and humorless.
You think he is putting on a show though his words to ring true.
You also see that the ash and rocks might contain some hot spots.
Earth mephits are commonly found on the Plane of Earth. These mephits are plodding and humorless.
The baskets and jar on the table are grease stained and unremarkable.
After a few minutes you see Andgronakraks return flying in front of three small snake-bodied humanoids they hiss with anger. Spines of crackling flame dance along the creature’s blackened, fiery-red scales. Each of them have a spear in hand. Following them is a larger sized female with a bronze crown atop her brow. She carries a sparkling spear.
Andgoanakraks speaks in his squeaky annoying voice introducing the others, "Travelers please welcome my masters. Among them the prestigious Thratnias, our queen." She then speaks in a rough tongue that almost sounds like a crackling fire, "What treasures and gifts do you bring?"
Salamanders are native to the Plane of Fire, where their legions of fierce warriors are much feared by the other inhabitants of the plane. Because some of the stronger elemental fire races enslave salamanders for their metalworking skill and fighting prowess, the salamanders hate the efreet and other inhabitants with a passion.
Though their lairs typically hover in temperatures of 500 degrees F or more, salamanders can tolerate lower temperatures. They generally do so only when forced, and are even surlier and more short-tempered than normal in such environments. Although they hail from the Plane of Fire, the salamander race identifies more with the Abyss, and they hold demons (particularly those associated with fire, like balors and certain fire-themed demon lords) in great esteem. It’s not unusual to encounter large groups of salamanders in the Abyss as a result.
Salamanders are often conjured to the Material Plane to serve as guardians or, more commonly, to craft weapons, armor, and other metalwork, for their skill in these areas is legendary. Salamanders also infest areas of the Material Plane where the boundaries between this world and the Plane of Fire have worn thin, such as in and near volcanoes.
Because their habitat is so extreme, salamanders only save treasure that can withstand high temperatures, such as swords, armor, jewels, rods, and other items made from high-melting-point metals. Salamander society is a cruel one based on power and the ability to subjugate those beneath oneself. Beings beneath a salamander that cause it discomfort are dealt a slow and painful death.
She smiles at Victrix and offers, "I would accept your gift though it would not grace my form as it would likely evaporate before augmenting my beauty."
Balan wouldn't stop concentrating on the spell, but he would relax slightly.
Good to know. Balan will drop concentration on detect evil once he's determined which creatures are the evil creatures.
Balan stiffens ever so slightly as the creatures enter the room, but says after Victrix offers her gift, "Your beauty is great indeed. We also offer treasure to brighten your deep halls." The monk pulls out another 100 gp to present to Thratnais.
Balan is not at all pleased to be offering gifts to these creatures, but is doing it anyway, presumably because getting through this cave will get them to the gnolls' fortress.
The mephit seems to shy even further away from Balan as he stiffens. Most of the salamanders grins deepen looking at Balan. Thratnais nods and moves forward as she gets closer you can feel the heat radiating from her body. "Thank you for the compliment and gift. Now you want to continue through our caves. That comes with its own problems. If you can handle the heat we will lead you to the door." Then she moves off letting the other salamanders collect the coin. Ushering the group to follow with a come hither motion of her free hand.
He watches them with scrutiny letting the others interact with these fire creatures.
Sendi did not try to sense the auras of the creatures, for the thought did not occur to her. They were polite hosts, and while they demanded tribute they did so in a civilized way. She was just glad that violence did not break out. She moved to follow the salamanders, hoping that the heat mentioned would be merely uncomfortable.
Thratnais nods to Victrix and offers, "I accept your apology and forgive your oversight, it is fine you likely didn't know you would be dealing with Salamanders. Your gift would have likely been nice but I don't want it to go to waste."
The salamanders follow the group as Thratnais leads the group through their den. The walls come together making most of the tunnels only five feet wide. See combat map above!
This chamber smells of sulfur and is covered in serpentine trails
burnt into to the very rock. Deep holes pock the stone walls,
several bearing the wavering glow of natural flame. A living snake that seems to made out of lava or fire, comes out as Thratnais slithers by. She extends her hand and the snake slithers up her arm. She looks back and states quietly, "Some of our pets."
Clouds of swirling steam make it difficult to see the details of
this chamber. The oppressive, sulfurous-smelling vapor quickly
flows from two thick, bubbling pools of mud upon the floor,
rising to the cracked ceiling, filling the cavern with a roiling,
ghostly haze.
Thratnais leads the group here and states, "To go through our lair, here comes the challenges. You must cross our lava room, then in the following room you will need to defeat its guardian or quickly go through."
A broad pool of sputtering lava laps against the walls of this
vast cavern. Through the distorting waves of heat and smoke,
several rocky islands of various sizes are visible, bobbing on the
steaming surface. At the southern edge of the searing pool rises
an intimidating metal construct: the coiled shape of a winding
snake topped with a strong humanoid torso a holding a spear.
Pieces of the craggy roof frequently drop into the lava pool,
splashing the liquefied rock.
Bringing the group to the lava room, she and the other salamander offer to aid in traversing over the rocks.
number of simple treasures are obvious
scattered about the room and fallen from rotten hangers:
two ornate masks made out of skulls and ram horns
(worth 40 gp each), 4 rusty masterwork scimitars (that
can be restored with a DC 10 Craft [weaponsmithing]
check), a pair of wax covered stone candelabras studded
with bloodstones (worth 60 gp each), and a +1 spiked
light wooden shield with the image of a striking snake
painted on its surface.
In addition, a DC 18 Search check of the alcoves
reveals two black beads of force, a necklace of
strung together pieces of jet (worth 240 gp), and
a petrified monkey’s hand that functions as a
hand of the mage.
Concluding the
Balan expresses some concern to Thratnais. "What exactly is the aid you offer us in our crossing the fire?"
"We..." she starts to say and pauses intoning her and the other salamanders, "We will hold our spears and you could hold onto them for support unless you are resistant to fire which we could help you in a more intimate way."
The heat in the room is severe and the last two rooms have been hot. Most of you are sweating profusely but nothing compared to the lava room.