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"Ardell! I'm so sorry. I will try and do gerbils next time."
Holding her lantern high, Pavla waggles her fingers and looks on with interest as huge blackbirds emerge and peck at the centipedes. "Blackbirds eat these things, right?"
"Look, Blackbow! Centipedes."
Pavla looks fascinated. "I wonder if they're poisonous? Some types are."
Casting a glance at Kressle, Pavla sounds just a little grumpy as she comments, "It's sharp. Just don't try to find out how sharp on any of us."
Pavla gestures to everyone to shut up and tries to listen for any indications of which way to go.
"They're mites. You saw one outside the kobold cave. There's no need to over-dramatise." Pavla gives up on any attempt at a stealthy approach.
Pavla lights her lantern. "It's not stealthy, but none of us can see in the dark." She mentally readies herself to repel attacks by thinking hard about brambles.
"I've got two. You can have the other one if you like, but after that as far as I'm concerned you're down to pot pourri and a marmoset skull and I doubt you can use either of those to defend yourselves. So shut up and talk nicely to someone else."
"I'd like you to come with us anyway. You have to help identify the stolen goods."
"This way." Pavla starts to climb.
Pavla looks for an entrance.
Pavla shrugs. "Use your sense. You like being on the winning side. Dead is not a winning side. Oleg is a lot less likely to kill you on sight if you come bearing gifts, even if they're the gifts you stole in the first place."
"That counts as an occupational hazard. Once we've dealt with the mites, you can help return it."
Waiting for the others to get ready, Pavla rummages in her pack and pulls out the copper wire she remembers packing and starts fiddling with it. "How magical does something have to look to convince a kobold do you think?" she asks the company at large.
Pavla looks at the raven. "They're much bigger close up, aren't they?"
Pavla's newly honed nature affinity continues as she finds more nourishing berries. "Packed with vitamins. I'll lend one of you a dagger, but if anyone even thinks about sheathing it in my back, I'll have your eyes out and on the floor before you finish moving." She turns to Kressle. "You mentioned loot. What did they take? Or rather, what did you originally take?"
"Inside a tree. Stop prancing Ardell, you're making me dizzy."
Pavla shoots Kressle a firm look. "What sort of loot? If we find it, we'll bring it back and return it to the owners."
"Well, let's get on with it then. The statue isn't going to rescue itself. But you know, I really didn't take to that shaman and I think he's up to something." "I mean, anyone could say something causes a curse. I could just make them a new special object and say that cures it, but I suppose we need to find the thing."
"Errmm." A thought strikes Pavla. "How are we going to fit into a mite lair?"
"Hmm." Pavla takes Blackbow, Korren and Ardell aside while Tartuk gets to work on the map. Spoiler: "They may think it's a curse, but I'm more worried about some kind of disease. We can get the statue back for them, but if that isn't the reason they're all dying - well, they'll just carry on dying won't they. And that makes it very difficult to ally with them. I really want to take a look at that statue before we give it back and I'd like to see some of the victims too."
"We'll find your statue for you, but I'm really not convinced it's the cause of the curse you're talking about. Could I visit some of your cursed kobolds? It's hard to make a diagnosis without a patient."
Pavla notes the unsubtle brush-off from Tartuk, and decides she doesn't like him much.
"Well, it might not be Old Sharptooth. Statues aren't usually responsible for rampant disease and water quite often is. I don't doubt your wisdom and you definitely know more about kobolds than me, but I'm a healer, so I'd be happy to look into it for you."
"This is the curse that turns kobolds yellow? Have you considered the possibility of water contamination?"
"I think you'll want us to disturb you. We can get your statue back."
"This is interesting decor," murmurs Pavla quietly to Blackbow and Kari.
Pavla follows along, looking curiously around her and thinking, once again, how familiar Sootscale seems to be.
"Really? That sounds awfully odd to me. I'd love to look at Sharptooth if I get the chance. That sounds more like a problem with water than a curse."
"What does it do? Nakpik says it's magic, but that covers a lot of ground."
"Old Sharptooth? Are we retrieving a statue or a person?"
"I know you're not, even though you are very like my oldest brother and just as difficult to explain things to." Pavla sighs as mutual incomprehension grows and gives her attention to Sootscale.
"Trust me, I've spent most of my life having breakfast with someone very like your chief. Kobold, human - sisters under the skin."
"Like my father then." Pavla finds the kobolds uncomfortably familiar.
Pavla looks carefully at Nakpik. "What else did he say? You're looking a bit unhappy about something."
"Does anyone know anything about kobolds? I mean, is this unusual - them asking for help from humans?"
"Thank you for the warning." Pavla copies Nakpik's movements as closely as she can.
Pavla sighs slightly at the kobold. "You remind me of one of my brothers. What's your name? He means it about the crossbow, by the way."
"Tell us a bit more first. What's so magic about it and why did the mites steal it?" Pavla looks across at the cage. "Are you holding him hostage?"
"We might be able to. What's the problem?" Pavla doesn't bother to ask herself any awkward moral questions about helping kobolds. Frankly, she's more than a little curious to know what they want.
"We're listening. At least, I am." Pavla sits down so she's closer to kobold height.
"Eeesh! What do you think you're doing, jumping out at people like that?"
"It's just a signpost, Blackbow."
Despite her natural curiosity, Pavla looks carefully at the area around the fallen signpost.
Pavla looks doubtful, but shrugs and goes to the fallen sign to try and read it.
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