Bowen manages to close in and finish off the one kobold.
Kobolds attack Chloe: (1d20+1=3, 1d20+1=4, 1d20+1=16)
The three kobolds continue to try and swarm over Chloe as she defends the entrance to the room, but she successfully defends against their weapons and only one of the three even comes close to striking her.
Arla spent the previous round getting up from the ground.
Kobold Miners - Round 4
Arla - Initiative: 8
Ash - Initiative: 8
Bowen - Initiative: 4
Chloe - Initiative: 4
Rall - Initiative: 3
Kobolds - Initiative: 3
"Are you guys through playing around back there?" Chloe calls out as she sidesteps the two overeager kobolds and parries the third.
Moments after scrambling back to her feet again, Arla realises that Chloe is now in a little trouble. The druid directs Ash to defend the cleric, before dashing over to help as well.
Arla's attack: 1d20+2 = 6, Damage: 1d8+1 = 6
Ash's attack: 1d20+3 = 21, Damage: 1d6+3=7
Rall flails helplessly with his sword.
1d20+3=12, 1d8+2=6
Ash brings down one of the kobolds.
Rall and Arla both miss as they begin to surround the two remaining kobolds.
Encouraged by the arrival of her friends, Chloe attempts to transition from defense to offense by striking back at one of the kobolds. But it proves harder than she thought.
Rushing to the next fray the ranger tries to attack with both his axe and shortsword.
Bowen manages to stab one of the kobolds with his shortsword, sending the little scaly creature to the ground.
The remaining Kobold, sensing he is suddenly without support, cries out, "Marcy! Marcy!" and then promptly turns to run back the way he came.
Seeing the creature turning to run perhaps for help Bowen moves in a flash and swips the battleaxe at it.
Chloe hesitates for just a moment and loses the opportunity to end the miserable creature's life.
Her determination doesn't stop there, however, as she advances on the kobolds still affected by her spell. "Kill the rest!" she savagely snarls, "They've got to pay for what they did to those children!"
Bowen dispatches the fleeing kobold before it can take two steps.
Most of the dead and dying kobolds were carrying tools with which to dig. Bowen would guess they were miners of some sort.
There are two exits on the eastern side of this rocky, cavernous chamber. The first is a tunnel going south. The second is a tunnel going north. The kobold reinforcements came through the north-east passage. Both the northern and southern cave tunnels curve back to the west so that it is impossible to see much further then fifteen or twenty feet down them.
Bowen puts away the shortsword, retrieves his bow putting it away as well before strapping on his klar.
"Perhaps the one with the whip has something."
Bowen searches the body.
Besides his pick, the kobold has a well balanced heavy pick (masterwork), good quality studded leather armor and a shiny miner's helmet. All of it is too small for Bowen.
Bowen wipes his soiled hands upon the kobolds leathers before standing again. Holding his axe a little higher like a torch he looks to the others. "Well any suggestions on where to go from here?"
"Well any suggestions on where to go from here?"
"That creature said something about eggs being to the north," Chloe remarks, "I don't remember seeing anything like that near the holding pens when we were prisoners...or on our way out. But if they've been holding children of our kind, maybe we should hold some of theirs in the event we need to trade?"
"Well any suggestions on where to go from here?""That creature said something about eggs being to the north," Chloe remarks, "I don't remember seeing anything like that near the holding pens when we were prisoners...or on our way out. But if they've been holding children of our kind, maybe we should hold some of theirs in the event we need to trade?"
"No! NO! We won't hurt their children," spurts Rall a bit too loudly.
"Besides," he adds somewhat sheepishly, "I think threatening their children might not be as effective."
"No! NO! We won't hurt their children," spurts Rall a bit too loudly. "Besides," he adds somewhat sheepishly, "I think threatening their children might not be as effective."
"Ooookay," Chloe responds, backing down from the idea, "So what will be more effective then? You have a better idea in mind? I'm open to it."
"No! NO! We won't hurt their children," spurts Rall a bit too loudly. "Besides," he adds somewhat sheepishly, "I think threatening their children might not be as effective.""Ooookay," Chloe responds, backing down from the idea, "So what will be more effective then? You have a better idea in mind? I'm open to it."
"I don't have any ideas!" says Rall defensively. "Well, ... I think I understand their snarls and yaps well enough to call for help and lure some here. ... Would that be good?"
"I don't have any ideas!" says Rall defensively. "Well, ... I think I understand their snarls and yaps well enough to call for help and lure some here. ... Would that be good?"
"The last time we tried luring anyone, we attracted attention we didn't want..." Chloe frowns.
She finally gestures towards the northeast passage.
"We might as well go that way. That creature told us the safer route lay to the north. I have a feeling the southeast passage probably just circles back closer to the guards he spoke about. I'd prefer to avoid them if possible. And, I'm guessing if we do come across this egg-hatchery, hopefully it gets us closer to where the kobolds live...and ultimately, where they're holding their captives."
"North it is then."
Bowen takes the lead and wills the axe to darken down to a shadowy illumination.
Rall shrugs sullenly and follows to the north.
Arla nods her head and follows after Bowen
The only light in the tunnel is the light of Bowen's axe.
The rocky tunnel curves quickly towards the west and northwest. The unworked walls of the cave tunnel are slick from water which trickles down through small cracks in the ceiling and some of the stalagtites and stalagmites near the sides of the tunnel form some interesting and fantastic shapes.
As the tunnel continues, a curious odor begins to be noticeable. It is reminescent of the slimy toad like creatures the kobolds were riding.
Just as the odor becomes particularly obious, the tunnel opens into a larger cave chamber. The floor and the walls here are covered in slime in various stages of dryness. A slim, tallish (for a kobold) kobold in black leather armor stands next to one of the toad things, grooming it with a sponge. Another of the long-fanged toads is sitting sideways on one of the walls on the other side of the room, a dead kobold grotesquely stuck to its back.
The kobold, alerted by the coming light, yells in anger when he sees the party and leaps onto his toad's back, unslinging a crossbow from his back.
Bowen recalls the problems the frogs represented in their last encounter so goes after the closest one first. Moving in he wills the axe to it's brightest swinging it first then following through with a stab from his klar.
Initiative: 1d20+2=12
Balance: 1d20+8=12
Attack 1d20+3=9, Damage 1d8+2=7
Rall skillfully gains the initiative, slides up to the stylish kobold, and misses.
Chloe quickly follows behind Bowen and Rall, seeking to surround and flank the nimble toad. She pays careful attention to her footing, picking her way across the less-slimy stones.
Unfortunately, her focus on staying out of the slime leaves her overbalanced and out of position to attack her foe.
Arla isn't perhaps quite as alert as she should have been, and the kobold's yell catches her off guard somewhat.
Bowen strikes the toad creature. The other one leaps from the wall, charging at the Ranger.
Charging Bowen: (1d20+4+2=20)
Damage: (1d6+2=4)
The dead kobold on its back flops one arm even as the huge fangs knock into Bowen. As the other creature provides an opening, the kobold barks an order to his own mount.
His mount leaps backwards, away from the fight ().
Crossbow bolt at Rall: (1d20+7=15)
Damage: (1d8+1=2)
The kobold as he is carried away from the others unleashes a bolt from his crossbow at Rall. The bolt wound is but a scratch but it feels painful and it is poisoned ()
Rall, surprised by the bolt (and by the fact he is still alive at this point), misses the rather large toad that is right by him.
He feels a little woozy.
Bowen whips the axe into the creature as it flees trying to down it before things go bad.
Coming to her senses, Arla calls out to Ash and the pair head towards the toad that is attacking Bowen, attempting to attack it in return.
Arla's balance: 1d20+2 = 13
Ash's balance: 1d20+2 = 21
Arla's attack: 1d20+2 = 13, Damage: 1d8+1=7
Ash's attack: 1d20+3 = 17, 1d6+3 = 4
Bowen's axe brings the mounted toad to a quivering hop even as the bolt fires at Rall.
Ride check: (1d20+9=27)
With some skill the kobold keeps his dying mount from flipping atop him.
Poison (DC 14)(strength): (1d2=1)
Rall loses 1 strength.
Ash manages to sink his teeth into the throat of the other toad thing.
The Slurk Kennel - Round 2
Clover: Initiative - 14
Bowen: Initiative - 13
Rall: Initiative - 12
Kobold: Initiative - 8
Slurk: Initiative - 7
Arla: Initiative - 6
Bowen begins to stalk towards the next creature and ends up unceremoniously on his rump.
Chloe moves after the remaining toad.
She nearly loses her balance and then regains it just in time to bring her scimitar to bear.
As Bowen lands on his rear and Rall slices at the air, Chloe's weapon finds its target.
Slurk turns on Chloe: (1d20+4=7)
The kobold moves gingerly back from the party and then works to reload his crossbow.
The toad thing twists and bites at Clover but its massive teeth fail to connect.
Her spear going wide of the mark first time around, Arla then tries again, stabbing desperately at the large slimy toad-creature.
The toad obviously tastes unpleasant, as Ash is unable to maintain his bite-hold on the creature, releasing after a few moments.
Arla's attack: 1d20+2 = 19, Damage: 1d8+1 = 8
Ash's attack: 1d20+3 = 9, Damage: 1d6+3 = 5