Well, they say the Palace of the Vampire Queen is filled with treasures, and the tools, weapons, and gear of many fallen heroes lie scattered all around, but we don't go in there. There are monsters in there.
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Oh, heck no. We have the skill to make fine weapons, make no mistake about that, but no one here has any knowledge of the arcane arts we would need to enchant those weapons. We did hold onto an enchanted spear that a hero left with us a long time ago as a promise to pay for the help we gave him, but he never returned with money, so I suppose the spear is ours. We could give it to you to use in the catacombs, if you promise to give it back. I think there might be a few potions lying around, but other than that we don’t have any enchanted goods just lying around.
I heard you rescued the children of Onna’s daycare center. I so stinking stoke you came along right when you did. That was just awesome, really fabulous guys. We owe you all a huge debt and I promise we will find a way to repay you all. She then turns away from you, and points at a pile of broken pottery in the center of the kitchen Okay ladies, let’s get that pile loaded into the next barrow and hauled to the clay caves so Angelo knows we need the big pot replaced right away The other kobolds in the room begin loading a barrow just as two other kobolds wheel it into the room behind you. I can’t say we can offer you much tonight or tomorrow in the way of food or anything to drink. It’s going to take us a while to get everything counted and find out what we have left, but until you are ready to go please consider our home your home, with no charge for staying as long as you like. And if you think of anything you might need just ask and I’ll try to see if we can help you.
Lorelei points to the north, down a ten foot wide passageway. This passageway runs parallel to what used to be the main town road, which was about a hundred feet to the west, up above. Just up a short distance to the north there, there is a wide passageway on the right which leads to the basements of the old general store and what was a poultry farm, and then it continues east for miles. That is where I bet those skeletons came from. Off that way are the Dingwel Hovel and the Iron Shoe Hovel which are south, and the Coal Wardens to the north, near the base of the mountain. Now the coal wardens have been at war with the Ear Ring Goblins for a few years, so that’s a dangerous road to take, while the Dingwels and the iron Shoes are off the main road to the south and we don’t hear that they have any troubles. Further to the north along this main passage you’ll pass what was the basement of the old school building, and that was where we had our kobold school and nursery, past that on the right, is the tunnel that leads to most of the kobold family residences and shops, which were mostly empty when the attack occurred, then further north, on the left, is the cellar of the old town office, and there are still cells there, though we haven’t had to use them for a long time. Going further north you will come to a wide four way intersection, the road to the west is short and ends at the basement of the old mining offices, and the stables, and it ends there, to the east the road goes two miles to the Red Rock Hovel. And most important to the north the passageway leads to the crypt beneath the old dwarven temple. Lorelei seems to shrink a little, her shoulders drawing in and dropping and her eyes open wide as she goes on We’d like to close up the passage to the temple crypt, but we have a treaty with the other kobolds in the area that says we won’t unless there is a vote and everyone is in agreement. The Red Stone Kobolds always vote to keep it open. Our tunnels enter the crypts on the sub level right below the old foundation of the temple, but the dwarves dug deeper there. There are two level below our hovel level, below the crypt, and both are open to passages that we’ve never mapped. There are bad monsters, evil spirits, and dangerous traps below the crypt. I’m afraid Agnes, our chief nanny might have led the other kobolds and their families into those levels in the hope of escaping the skeletons. I don’t know how many might have gone that way for sure, but I know I say Agnes leading at least fifteen kobolds north when I grab those kids and ran this way.
As Lorelei leads the children past Kiril and Flint she stops and says to all three of the heroes, These were the children who were in school when the attack occurred. The skeletons came from the tunnels to the east. I was in the shops to the west when I heard the alarm sound. Many of the hovel escaped out through the main hall. Benny was in charge of leading them to the east, toward Copper Cake Hovel. There may still be some who were cut off and escaped to the north, into the old part of the underground that was under the dwarven temple.
Will all of you be staying tonight in the Hollow. I think the best place would be the old cellar of the church, it is the largest room we are not using at the moment, but it can be a little bit cold. I think it sits right above a natural underground river, and it’s always difficult to warm that place up to anything comfortable.
Ah, excuse Lorelei says to Flint and his friends. This is the hero Marvin Stouttail, or Marvin the Valorous, as he is known all over the Hollows. He is showing a group of new recruits of the Tunnel Patrol our Hovel this week. He is an honored guest, and I need to see to whatever he needs, please excuse me.
The Main Hall of the Hovel at Loamstone Hollow is busy with activity, and the children of the Kobold settlement are gathered by the large fire place and are listening to lessons. Lorelei shows up as soon as word spreads through the Hovel that adventurers have returned from the Palace of the Vampire Queen, and she enters the hall with a smile on her face, but her smile soon fades as she looks at each of you in turn. Greetings, Flint, Kayne, and friends. Where is your gnome companion? Did you find anything on the list I gave him? Certainly we will look at what you have to sell, but don't be surprised if we cannot offer you much. As to what we can offer you, our kitchen is always open, and we can provide hot soup, with a fresh crop of radishes just harvested this day, and bread, but we are running low on some things ourselves, and are down to our last barrels of beer and only a few bottles of wine. In fact, we are putting together a caravan with the folks at Little Creek Hollow and Boulder Hollow, that leaves tomorrow for Cipenney to pick up new supplies ourselves. Maybe we can strike a bargain with you. We can offer to sell your treasures in Cipenney for you, for only a small piece of the profits, that way you can get better prices for what you've found and we can keep our larders well stocked.
When the tall humanoid asks for boiling water, Lorelei brings over a porcelain tea pot, and a small cup Did you ask for boiling water? I keep a large kettle on the fire all day. Did you want it for tea? If not, that's okay. Oh, and if you'd like we have a hot cinnamon and orange pekoe tea imported all the way from Alodoa if you want to try it. It'll rock your, um, oh, wow, so you must have already had some.
Nah, never did any of that silvered weapon work, though I'm sure we could do it, and, wait, what did you say? overnight, bwa, ha, ha, overnight, yah, right. Wait, hmm, hold on, She begins running her fingers over the table, as if drawing some imagined plan out as she thinks through a new process. I bet we could, you know, silver a weapon in a day, if we had a top quality weapon, made with the right steel, sure, it sounds like a challenge. I'd need to shift some things around in the forge chamber, but I bet we - could - do it
Lorelei turns her eyes away from Anders, with some difficulty, and answers Beldak Oh, um, what, oh the tunnels. Our hovel has been here since Volanda opened the tavern above. She paid Nigel Loamstone, Benny’s grandfather, to excavate the cellar, and when he did the job he began expanding the cellar outward, to connect it to other cellars in the village, and eventually to the main Kobold Hovel, Jackson Springs Hovel, which is near where the river starts. So, I guess, our Hovel is the immediate chambers and tunnels here under Apple Grove Village, extending east toward Split Cavern Hovel. There were some collapses, and cave ins, when the village was burned down repeatedly by the goblins from the mountains, but a lot of the cellars are still viable, and we have a pretty good spread here. Oh, we aren’t miners, by trade, but we can make of go of it if we have to. Loamstone Hovel has a forge, and bloomer, a few good smiths and craftsmen capable of working in iron, silver, copper, gold, whatever you need, and we can work rough stones into some fine jewelry if I do brag about it myself. Dwarven make, hmmm nope, uh, nope, uh, wait, I suppose there’s the coffins under the old church, the dwarven church that is, in the cellar below the ruin of the church, but nothing else, I can think of anyway. Now if you go to Split Cavern Hollow, and then head north, just to the east of the mountain there, you can reach Founder’s Hovel, and they can show you the way to what everybody says is an old Dwarven city below the ground. That’s a big place, lots of neat south-north, east-west square tunnels, and many chambers, but it was abandoned centuries ago and I don’t think you’d find anything there. Even we don’t find things there anymore. You know there might be a way to get into the lowest levels of the palace from there, but you want to stay away from there, believe you me. It’s crawling with slugs and jellys these days, sneak right up on you and suck you brains out. Nope, I’d stay away from there.
A backdoor? No, probably not, but then again, wow, I don’t know, maybe. You see that entrance you can see on the mountain side, that’s way up, way up, about half a league up the trail, maybe far less as the crow flies, but still a ways up there. Now some folks say that there’s more than one level to that palace and all the levels are deeper than that entrance there, but, still I don’t think our tunnels connect to anything that high up. Sure, though, she says scratching her head and twisting her hair as she turns from Beldak to Anders and stares up into the human’s eyes, It might be possible. You’d be searching some tunnels we haven’t explored, maybe for a really long time, and maybe even getting lost, before you actually found a connection. I don’t think it’s worth the try.
Welcome to the Loamstone Kobold Hollow Hovel Lorelei says. The traveling companions are offered hot and spicy, yellow squash and rutabaga soup, salted biscuits (a small cracker like cake), and all they care to drink. It is a busy chamber, Kobolds come and go, and there seems to be a never ending string of hungry kobolds and hot bowls of soup coming from somewhere?
What’s your pleasure, handsome human? We have beer, apple cider, vodka, ten years in the wood, and even some brandy and, she pauses when realizes what Beldak has said, and then goes on,Oh, we red wines if that will suit you, and there’s plenty of soup. Come over here, little one who speaks our native tongue, and sit next to me and tell me why you out this way. My name is Lorelei, what’s yours? And who are your friends?
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