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Kopoth gives a tight-lipped smile to prevent them from seeing his fangs, which he found usually gave him an edge when meeting new people. Hopefully he could get a fair price. It was always good to find some sort of angle where they think they are doing themselves a favor. "We need to be reequipped too, heading out to take on the nearby kobold tribe next to the quarry. The more we can take out, the less you will find collapsing towers."
"I'll go with Flynt, sometimes even thankful businessmen want to make a few more coin than they are entitled to have. An extra pair of eyes is good. Also, despite what the lady said, there might be more information in the Wizard's home about why he wanted to have the tower fall. If we do not get enough information from the Kobolds, we may wish to check it out."
"Also, if it's not too much of a bother, there was the matter of your town eccentric. We found a human body down there under some rubble, I wonder if it matches his description." Kopoth describes to her the manner of his dress and what he could explain without getting into gory details. "Whoever it was had conspired with the kobolds to bring down the tower, but for unknown reasons. Perhaps we might find out why from the tribe itself."
Kopoth sneers at the little lizard man as he scampers off. "Well, it certainly is good that he ran into such generous and merciful people such as us. Let's take what we can from here and head on back."
"Well, what should we do with our prisoner but ask him some more questions?" The half orc sauntered up next to the paladin to look over his shoulder. "How many kobolds are in your lair and are there any secret entrances or traps guarding the place? If you are forthright with us, then maybe we will let you live."
Kopoth chants and sways his arms, hoping to catch a few of the Kobolds unawares with a spell.
"I suppose we should stay together..." He said as his voice echoed off of the chamber walls. It was way too quiet to be on his own. He followed the cleric down the hole with haste.
Kopoth having been startled by the trap looked carefully around him. Almost at once the light dawned. "This is where they must have engineered the collapse. This is where the structure has the most supporting beams. If we look about, we might be able to figure out why they collapsed it. Although if that Ghoul was any indication..."
The half orc was astonished to see the quick work made of the vile creature, and even more astonished to see the coins that Flynt made available to them. He knew that carrying that money out would be a bit of a haul, but like Flynt he was willing to make an effort. "Although I lack the requisite muscle to cleave the walking dead or to carry thousands of coin, I'll help with what I can. Split evenly, the total for each of us is 328 gold plus another hundred from the reward if we can figure out what happened here and perhaps find Hunclay, the local eccentric. I think I'll help you take a look at that wall..."
Regardless of Kopoth's stated intentions, he can't stop thinking about all that money. Maybe adventuring wasn't so bad after all. He could really see why people pursued it. Surround yourself with trustworthy gentlemen, defeat a few horrors, and earn more than honest labor could get you in a year... not that Kopoth had ever calloused his hands in such a way.
Kopoth's eyes widen. [b]"It's a ghoul! If it touches you you could go rigid. Try to take action from range if you can! Gentlemen, this is a good test of our skills!" [b] This could be the most serious test yet...
Kopoth looked nervous. He didn't really expect things to be this strange and dangerous. It was thrilling, but it also made him sweaty. "It looks like it to me. Give it to the statue and hopefully it will not destroy us."
Kopoth slaps his forehead. "I knew we should have not let that imp go so easy. Where else might we find the password? Can we batter down the door?"
Kopoth waits outside the room until the other door is opened. "I'm not sure I approve of the decor of this place. It could use more tapestries."
"Very well. I suppose it should be proper for us to remain consolidated. But don't fault me if I dissolve in that goo." Using the rope to steady himself he steps lively across the way. Acrobatics
As the imp flew off, Kopoth opened his mouth to speak, but then finished the thought with a wave of his hand. If that was the best way to be rid of an imp, he didn't know. Perhaps that won't come back to bite them, but what's done was done. When they looked at the big pit, the half orc took one look at it, and decided it wasn't for him. "No thank you, I think I will stay right here. I'll hold a rope over here if you need extra stability, and keep an eye on this corridor over here."
Kopoth cocks his head in curiosity toward the imp and flung a thumb at Njial. "Dwarves can find secret doors with their eyes closed. If we let you go, who is to say that you won't torture and kill others. You'd better give us something better than that."
GM:
Does my Knowledge Check tell me anything about Imps other than the obvious shapechange? Perhaps damage resistance or immunity to sleep or something like that? Kopoth contemplates his opponent and whether or not his words would be of effect.
Surprisingly enough, the door budges easily. Without missing a beat, the half-orc checks his middle to see if there was any added girth there with an unfortunate and resigned sigh, he follows along with the crowd as they move on. Kopoth takes an interest in the raven, not having heard one so eloquent before. Even though he had not known the raven would be mad. He looked at the creature to possibly see if it was more than it seemed.
"You know, I bet this door is operated by that lever."
Kopoth looks at the apparatus and tries to get a handle on what it might be.
"I hope we do not need that lever for anything. It seems to be protected. Perhaps we should take a look around, unless you have picked up the language of Lightning elementals, which would be... what, I don't know, like Aquan or something."
Kopoth looks over Tanith's shoulder to look at the strange cloud. "I think it's an elemental. I've heard stories about them. It doesn't seem to big, so we should be able to defeat with regular weapons it if it attacks, but I don't know if it will or not. Just be prepared."
When the door is opened, Kopoth stops for a second and looks around at his companions. "This is gonna make a great story! I can't wait to talk this one up at the tavern."
"And if they are dead already, they have already paid their debt. Also, Njail will need his waterskin back." Kopoth couldn't hide a small smirk at the absurdness of the situation before he continued. "In any case, the tower has been unused for a while by the barony, perhaps we will run into what happened here."
A look of inspiration crosses the half orc's brow, and then Kopoth whispers under his breath to his friends so they won't be overheard. "Baron Sarvo lived 200 years ago. Something's not right about this prisoner. Be on your guard."
Kopoth takes a look at the filthy face in the cell and scratches his chin. He'd never heard of a Baron Sarvo. Something did not add up. The Baroness said her husband was missing. "I don't know this Baron, perhaps we can talk to him on your behalf. Could you tell us what he looks like? I'm sure any information you can give us would be worth a few days rations."
"A dungeon of sorts, I wonder what this tower was originally used for?" the half orc mused to himself, probably not paying enough attention to what was going on around him.
After hearing the all clear, he steps forward but speaks cautiously despite his praise as to not overly alert any more monsters of their presence. "It is good to have a variety of skills in the group. I'm glad they are being put to good use." He attempts to get into the middle of the group as there are more robust people who are better at combat than he. They would see his use soon enough.
On a whim, Kopoth decides to see if they are magical. He mutters some arcane language under his breath and peers over the find. After the discovery, he follows Tanith toward the southern door.
The whole affair was over before the half elf even was able to notice. There was a definite trouble with how overly outmatched he was by his companions physically, but he did still have a few tricks up his sleeve to make himself useful, and not necessarily his ability to tell a good story. Kopoth applauds again. "Good show gentlemen. A solid opener. Should we be in occasion for another performance, I'm sure you will comport yourself splendidly."
"If there's nothing else here, maybe we should continue to the depths." Kopoth said as he gestured to the other trap door. "It's likely that all this has been seen and reported anyway."
Kopoth lights his lantern and holds it aloft, seeing what else survived the collapse. He clicks his tongue after seeing a new aspect of the devastation, but otherwise remains quiet.
Kopoth claps a little and follows the beefy paladin. He takes a peek through the opening before committing his body to the deep. "An impressive display to be sure. We shall. It should be an interesting trip, especially if the stairs are damaged."
Kopoth gingerly takes the rope and doesn't look quite as awkward to climb it as the cleric does, but the unskilled observer may not have noticed the difference. Having broken slightly into a sweat, he wiped his forehead and spoke to his companions. "I do apologize for my lack of physical might, but I do speak Draconic, and so I thought it would be good to have me along for the ride. I can speak to any kobold you might capture if we need information."
Kopoth kicked himself mentally for missing the tragedy in the mayor's voice. Perhaps they could discover the fate of her husband as well, but promises shouldn't be made unless they could be kept, so he kept his mouth shut on this point, giving a polite nod and a proper expression to offer condolences on her loss.
Perception:
That seemed reasonable to him. Perhaps he was pushing it a bit with her, but he didn't detect anything that might have gone wrong. "I'm sure that will do just fine. I believe we can start right away, but if we run into any problems that equipment could fix, we might have to visit the local establishments." He gave her a smile, but not an open mouthed smile, since his teeth were not always appreciated by those without tusks. He turned to his companions, "Does anyone else have any questions before we start and let the lady attend to her duties?"
It's probably a trap. He thought to himself. People hard up for money offered that much money to poke around a bit? Five caravan guards just recently unemployed for an unknown reason? The whole thing smelled fishy to him. And he was not a big fan of a fishy smell. But he put on an excited face and started talking, like he usually did when he had an inkling. "That sounds like a fine offer, but I'm concerned that a group of caravan guards like us might have the wrong equipment for excavation and exploration of the depths. Might we have a small advance on the reward for some equipment?" He leaned in with a slight conspiratorial whisper. "We were also completely hung out to dry by our previous employer, so I'm sure you can understand. We aren't even paying for our room and board since that lovely Talia offered to give us a free place to stay, so it would be nice to be able to repay her."
Having made it to the scene following the others, it seemed like a good time to speak up. "It is indeed a pleasure. From the way you carry yourself here you must be a person of great importance. I'm glad to make your acquaintance. My name is Kopoth. Are you in need of some assistance?" He seemed very smooth in his speech, a tone usually reserved for making a good impression.
"What fell on the who?" Kopoth seemed surprised.
"It's hard to say what he's done, although I could chat up one of the guards to see if they would be willing to tell me." He then leaned over to Flynt, "We are all glad of that Flynt. I'd recommend staying out of jail for anyone. I've never been, but it's not someplace I'd like to explore." As soon as Kistle spoke of Umok, Kopoth gaped at the little gnome. "And you did not tell me you were from Isger! I was raised in Logas. It's funny but I should have noticed your accent, but it's easy for me to do when it's so close to my own. And Challo, what a hero! It's a good thing he was visiting relatives at the time. You come from good stock there Kistle."
Having been brought along simply for entertainment value, Kopoth had kept morale in the caravan high with stories and the occasional dance. There was a particular Brevoyan dance that he had learned the knack of that was particularly funny to watch novices try and they all had some good laughs. It was difficult to watch their wages confiscated, although the trip had been merry and uneventful. When the arrest itself took place, Kopoth was ready to talk his way out of jail, but the guards were so easily convinced by another's words that the excitement of the whole thing passed quickly. He looked forward to more interesting conversation at another time. Kopoth clapped a hand on Tanith's shoulder in good spirits and with an eye on the Ulfen's mead. "By all means give it a shot. There's no reason not to spend some time sampling the local flavor. I've never been here before, perhaps we will find something interesting to do. Perhaps there's a few other flowers in town and if I'm lucky, there's one with bad eyesight!" He laughed at his own self-deprecating joke and made motion to the barkeep for a refill. Spoiler: I'm going to be using Diplomacy to gather information. Are there any rumors about, and more specifically, are there any nearby towns that would be more populated within a few days walk?
Edit: I should have saved that roll for improving the attitude of the lovely lady, but alas.
Well it seems we have come into town together at least, perhaps we should just assume knowledge of basic origins of each other and just roll with it.
We all kind of wandered into town? I'd imagined that Kopoth would have just arrived, but having 4-5 just arriving strangers from around the world in a small town seemed a little odd. If the GM does want us to just meet up, that's fine with me. Still, having some of us meet on the road ahead of time might be reasonable, or even having a couple of us recognize each other from another town could work too. Three of us have been through Absalom in our histories, so perhaps we met briefly there or came to Taldor on the same boat but just ran into each other here in town. Another idea might be that one of us knows another by reputation and the other doesn't recognize them at all. There are lots of options that can give us some traction in the early RP if we want.
Well, we could determine if any of our characters know each other before the story starts.
Dot. Dot with a line over it! |
