The kobold grudgingly accepts the manacles, holding his hands in front of him as his eyes dart this way and that, perhaps hoping for some assistance from somewhere.
Rall glances around and listens carefully hoping to avoid being caught unawares. He tries to cover up his suspicions by casually saying, "Perhaps we need something to tie his snout with too?" and pretending to be looking for a piece of rope.
Perception; deception (1d20+5=23, 1d20+9=14)
Rall
As for the kobold, he seems highly nervous and his glances westward, the direction he indicated the party to go, are perhaps fearful, though it is hard to be sure.
"He says West. I vote East," says Rall.
Pulling a bit of rope out of his pack Bowen cuts it into a twenty foot strip and then ties it as a lead to the creatures bounds. "Then our new friend shall lead us."
"If safe you have no fear. Warn us if trouble and you out live all."
The kobold looks in panic to the east and then looks west. Finally with a shrug he points to the north.
Rall tries to determine if the kobold is lying but finds him rather insrutable. Perception (1d20+5=8)
"East it is then unless you have an idea Arla?" Bowen offers the leash to Rall for the groups new pet.
"East it is then unless you have an idea Arla?" Bowen offers the leash to Rall for the groups new pet.
Rall takes the leash and points toward the east. "Let's go," he hisses in kobold.
The kobold moves forward fearfully. It's eyes dart this way and that. The air grows warmer as you move down the short hallway into the next room.
In the center of the large stone chamber is a deep pit, seemingly filled with molten slag and sizzling blood. There is a coppery, burnt smell filling the room and the ceiling above glows red from the hellish light coming from the pit. There are three narrow chutes open in the ceiling directly above the pit. The air is oppresively hot and bits of ash threaten to choke you.
There is a set of double doors on the north wall.
Arla nods her head. "East sounds fine."
Following along with them, Arla pauses at the entrance to the chamber, gazing about warily.
"..What is this place?" she whispers, before attempting to stifle a cough from the ash in the air.
The bloody mass of molten metal rolls and boils in the pit and a brief gout of flame illuminates the whole room for a second.
Due to his size Bowen is closer to the thick smoke near the ceiling. His eyes begin to water and he coughs as they enter the room.
The kobold looks fearfully at the molten metal and then up and around at the ceiling. He tugs his tether, clearly wanting to pull the other three north, and out of the room.
"If you don't lead us to the children, I will tie you up in this room."
"No-no-no," says the kobold frantically in common, evidently understanding Rall well enough, "come-come." He tugs northward again, fearful.
The molten bloody ooze bubbles again and as soon as it dies, the party notices something moving out of the air vents and directly over Bowen. A tentacle lashes out, a razor tip along its edge slicing into Bowen's shoulder, narrowly missing his skull.
Tentacle attack against Bowen: (1d20+3=17)
damage: (1d4+2=5)
The kobold shrieks and tries to run northward. If you let go of his tether, he will flee.
Bowen lets out a yelp as the tentacle slices into his shoulder and tries to fight back missing horribly.
The firey ooze bubbles once more and the flash of the light reveals the creature above Bowen more clearly. It is like a hideous combination of snake and slug, dark green, with four long tentacles springing from its scaly beaked head. Each tentacle ends in a hooked blade like tip. Though eyeless, the creature seems to know exactly where Bowen is. Two of its tentacles are engaged in holding on to the ceiling, about three feet above Bowen's head, but the other two lash down, one of them lacerating Bowen yet again.
Attacking Bowen: (1d20+3=7, 1d20+3=16)
Damage: (1d4+2=3)
Rall runs through the doors to the north dragging the kobold behind him if necessary.
Bowen cautiously backs out of the room following Rall as he avoids the tentacles from trying to hit him once again.
Seeing her companions fall back, Arla retreats with them, calling Ash to heel beside her.
The tentacled horror lashes out at Bowen's fleeing back but the Ranger is too quick.
Led by the kobold, the three heroes punch through the double doors to the north and flee into the hallway. The doors swing shut behind them.
As they move quickly forward to an intersection, (north and west), they percieve a corpse lying in the middle of the hallway. It appears to be headless. There is no indication that the tentacled thing on the ceiling is following. There are double doors ten feet down the northern passage and the western hallway continues into darkness.
Rall peers at the corpse on the floor and the walls and the ceiling near it.
"My first thought is duck. ... My second is maybe the little guy should lead."
RALL:
Bowen stops breathing hard and looking at his wounded shoulder then sees the corpse on the floor. He looks up immediatly and then back where they came before looking down the other corridors for more tentacles.
"I think you are right let him lead."
BOWEN:
"Go," says Rall in kobold.
"There's something that way," says Rall to Bowen indicating the western passage. "Are you up for it?"
"I think I can manage, but I doubt I get a choice in the matter."
"Are these friends of yours?"
The kobold looks at Bowen somewhat fearfully, before replying in draconic, "No friends up here. Your pink egglings are below. Up here we must avoid the horrors above, the fire demon and the dwarf who walks the halls. We should go that way carefully..."
He points to the west.
"A dwarf? ... Perhaps he would be helpful ...," Rall realizes that finding an ally at this point would be unlikely and does not finish his sentence. "West it is then."
Down the passage to the west, there is a four way intersection in the hallway. In the middle of the intersection is a bundle of furred bodies, all fighting over what looks to be a hand.
They are three great rats, each about a foot and a half in length. One of them leaves off worrying the hand and standing on its hind legs, it glowers towards the five newcomers to the feast.
Initiatives if you please.
Rall ponders the situation.
Reaching into his beltpouch Bowen retrieves the last of the salted meat from his morning ration and tosses to the rats.
One of the rats goes for the salted meat and another of the rats goes for that rat. The third however charges forward at the party, heading for Rall.
Seeing the one rat that doesn't take the bait Bowen moves to intercept it swiping his scimitar at the midsection trying to cleave the creature in to in hopes of a new fresh meal will interest the other rats enough not to come after them.
Rall?
One of the rats goes for the salted meat and another of the rats goes for that rat. The third however charges forward at the party, heading for Rall.
Rall uses a trick he learned running from the guard in the backstreets of Opparra. He ducks to the side while swinging his sword fast and low. He makes it good.
Rall slices the rat and seconds later Bowen makes sure that it stays dead.
The two remaining dire rats suddenly sniff the air and then run straight past the companions, one dragging the dried meat and the other taking a moment to snatch the hand it had been gnawing earlier.
A crackling, sizzling sound comes from the west.
"Let's go, lizard breath," says Rall, with a light tug on the rope. "You lead."
As the sound from the west grows louder, it fills the kobold with fear and he points to the south as he refuses to move ahead west.
"Issa Dwarf... Issa Dwarf... We must wait and then go round and round."
He makes a circuling motion with his hands.
Bowen readies his scimitar and watches the direction the creature pointed. "Why is the dwarf a problem? Does he hunt your kind?"
"He eats... eats and burns burns everything flesh..."
The crackling and sizzling sound grows louder and now a floating dwarven form shrouded in full plate rounds the corner to the west. The air about this dwarven specter shimmers eerily and the walls and floors sizzle and smoke where it passes. The things boots scorn the earth, gliding a full foot above the masonry floor. It drags a cruel bloodletter axe in the air behind it.
The kobold shrieks and tries to flee to the south.
"I'm inclined to go with him," says Rall trying not to appear frightened.
The strange figure of the dwarf glides just a little closer, the walls and floor still smoking before him.
The strange figure of the dwarf glides just a little closer, the walls and floor still smoking before him.
Rall allows the kobold on the leash to lead him but keeps an eye out.