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Sid's arrow finds its mark in the last remaining upright kobold as Petrilla's rock falls short. The kobold stumbles back and falls against the nearest wall dead or nearly so.
Spoiler
The order of combat: missile, magic, hand-to-hand meant Sid and Petrilla went first and finished it off.
There is a remaining kobold prisoner, still bound, so if you want to target it with attacks or spells, just let me now and I'll add that in.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
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Nathros grimaces at his wound and inspects its severity, leaving the others to attend to the aftermath of the fight. Apparently satsified he says, "Only a light wound, thankfully these creatures have not the strength to strike true against dwarf flesh."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Brandon slowly moved towards the dark, unlit sections of the cavern room they are in, holding his bug organ light ahead of him to illuminate the area, just in case there are any kobolds or other threats still lurking.
He called in a low voice over his shoulder, "Sid, get the lady free, please. Nathros, Jeanne, can you see anything?"
Brandon sounded tense; he knew that declaring victory too soon might be fatal complacency. His bloody sword remained at the ready to kill if anything else came up at the party.
Last edited by Frivolous : 12-13-2010 at 07:34 AM.
Petrillia looked around at others in the dim light, trying not to look as grimy as she felt. "Thanks. I, umm..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Bor
"Sid, get the lady free, please."
Holding out her chained wrists to Sid, she hesitantly asks, "You a blacksmith or something?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Bor
"Nathros, Jeanne, can you see anything?"
Petrillia points down a tunnel opposite from where the others entered. "TopDog went sulking off that away before you all got here. He probably didn't care about the noise from the fighting as these little dogmen seem to be at each other all the time."
Brandon heads deeper into the room, which remains a scant fifteen feet wide but is at least another thirty feet deep before it narrows into a rather typical five-foot wide eight-foot tall passageway. Brandon's light just reaches the passage entrance when Petrilla warns him that the TopDog is off that way. In that far end of the room there is a large rock, similar to the one Petrilla is chained to, behind which lies a small sack. Lots of smaller rocks litter the ground along with a small amount of rubbish, bits of wood, rope, and the like.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Sid glanced between Stefan and Brandon, but shrugged as he approached Petrillia. Aw, he'll have plenty of chances, later, anyway. He called to Brandon, half light-heartedly, "Sure thing, boss! Keep your guard up!" He wished that he was the one off exploring the rest of the room, but he also didn't mind getting to stay within sight of the captive kobold.
He examined the chains and untied her, if that was all the kobolds had done. If there were locks to be picked, he'd ask Petrillia if she knew where they'd be. Whether she knew or not, he'd then set his stuff down, pull out his thieves' tools, and try to pick any locks. As he's working on the chains in either way, he'd keep his head down and mutter, "Naw, I'm just a lowly thief. It's why the guy who sent us here knew to include me, I guess." He peeked up at her suspiciously. "Are you here because you you made somebody mad, too?"
He "Urk!"ed and shot a glance back at the tunnel, when she mentioned the leader, but he managed a shrug, a moment later. "We might have actually killed him on our way in. Huh. I wonder if that's the guy, tied up right there! Either way, we'd best get a move on."
O. O. C. --->
Spoiler
HP: 4 AC: 6 Spells in effect: Nope. Thac0: 19
Open Locks (15% chance of working) ---> (1d100)[72]
__________________
You're either an Outcast, or you're in denial.
Strength and stupidity in numbers.
- Myself
Free-Form Role-Playing Game Characters, because I got tired of sticking links in my posts --->
Brandon heads deeper into the room, which remains a scant fifteen feet wide but is at least another thirty feet deep before it narrows into a rather typical five-foot wide eight-foot tall passageway. Brandon's light just reaches the passage entrance when Petrilla warns him that the TopDog is off that way. In that far end of the room there is a large rock, similar to the one Petrilla is chained to, behind which lies a small sack. Lots of smaller rocks litter the ground along with a small amount of rubbish, bits of wood, rope, and the like.
Brandon Bor
Brandon called back in a low voice, "Found something, a sack. Might be something valuable in it. If anyone has got a hand free, could I ask that someone to pick this up and find what is in it?"
Then he remembered to add something, something he had forgotten in the heat of battle. He grinned cheerfully at Stefan, saying, "Hey, Steffie, nice to see ya come back."
Then he positioned himself near the sack, glowing bug organ in hand his grimy hand, waiting for someone to pick up the bag. In the meantime, he bent closer to the ground and examined it, searching for any coins or gems in the rubble. At no time did he let go of or sheath his sword.
Stefan grinned sheepishly and adjusted his helmet. "Ah, yeah, call of nature and all that, right?" He looked around the room, his eyes resting on the captive kobold. "Glad to see I didn't miss anything interesting."
Stefan looked over the rest of his allies after the battle was done. "Everyone else alright? Hey - uh - Nathros, let me know if you want that patched up, alright?"
With that said, Stefan made his way to the prisoner to get a better look. He adjusted his helmet and studied her quizically for a moment, before apparently placing where he'd seen her before. "Ah, hey, you're that cook girl, right! Hm, Petrina, was it?" He smiled, happy to see a friendly face. He was apparently quick to forget or disregard the gravity of the situation.
Leaning on his mace as if it were a cane, Stefan smirked and wondered aloud to the captive woman, "So, how'd you end up down here anyway?" Without waiting for a response he added, "This is pretty crazy, huh?"
A thief? Great. Well, at least he's honest about it. Huh...an honest thief. Hopefully he can get me out of this.
"I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm actually still alive because I didn't make someone mad."
At Brandon's mention of the sack, Petrillia jumped up and came to an abrupt stop as she reached the end of the short chain. "Sorry..." she muttered at Sid after ripping the lock out of his hands. As she extended her hands again to Sid she called back, "Is it my book? Please say it's my book! I don't care about any of my other stuff-" (slight pause) "-I just need my book."
As Sid worked at the lock, Petrillia tried to simultaneously hold still and crane her head around towards Brandon. Her head snapped back around at Stefan's questions.
"Petrillia," she corrected, and I'm not a 'cook girl'...I just happened to work as a cook...temporarily. I'm learning magic-" (another pause) "-and I just need my book."
A flood of words poured out, "Crazy, yes. The lady I'm learning magic...um...from sent me out to gather some herbs a few days ago. I went out to the mill where I could find it, but instead I got traped by these little dogmen. Stupid dogmen! I don't know how long I've been down here. I'm sure they would have...um...killed me, but I was able to get a fire started, which startled them I'm sure. I'm not sure why, but I cooked some of their nasty food for them. I don't even want to know what it was. But they liked it. I made some comment about them being little beastmen, you know, like Halav and the beastmen. One of them, I guess he is the leader - I call him TopDog - demanded that I tell him what I knew about beastmen. So I told them a slightly changed version of the old Beastmen tale. I told the dogmen they were just like the beastmen, conquering all the lands. So they kept me alive, cooking and telling stories. But something isn't right. TopDog is losing control. I think they were planning something and it wasn't (or didn't) go right. Then you guys showed up and I tried to scare them with the Halav bit..."
Shut up Petrillia! Shut up. They're going to start thinking your crazy. Maybe I am. I need air...
Petrillia pressed her lips into a hard line and looked back around towards Brandon. "Is it my book?"
"Petrillia, right, right!" Stefan nodded. "Oh, yeah. TopDog, hey?" Stefan glanced down the passage where this leader might be found. Nervously he moved toward Brandon.
"Well, Bran? Do you think you have one more fight left in ya?" Stefan grinned and patted his strong friend on the back. Noticing Brandon's cautiousness, Stefan sobered up a little and nodded.
Sid is stymied by the rusty lock binding the young woman, but he quickly realizes that it is more jammed together than locked and with a firm jab of one of his larger picks he manages to dislodge it. The lock drops and the chain separates with it.
Petrilla recognizes her sack as soon as she sees it. Her book is there and at a glance it seems like her other belongings are in it, plus some other stuff - mostly junk, similar to that strewn about this chamber except in better condition, though she'd have to empty it out to be sure.
Sid's captive remains prone, hands over his head and motionless. Petrilla recognizes him as the runt of the group, the one most taken with her stories. With no idea how to tell, she'd come to think of that one as a youth or at least pre-Shearing.
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Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
As soon as the chain falls, Petrillia retrieves her precious spellbook. Only after checking it over to make sure there was no serious damage does she reach down for her other belongings. A dull flash from a holy symbol of Petra reflects in the dim light as Petrillia slips the chain it hangs on over her head and into her tunic. She does this with her back turned so the others might not see it.
OOC:
Spoiler
If anyone wants their character to spot it and make a comment about it, by all means do so. If not, that is okay too.
After that, she attaches a dagger, simple in design but apparently of some value, to her belt. Petrilla stands and looks at the slain bodies around the room, counting silently to herself.
"That's all of them. Other than TopDog and Creeper here," she points to the captive kobold, "all the other are dead."
She looked over to Creeper. The memory of this little kobold with the gleem in its eye, creeping closer to her as she told her stories; the fetid breath, the claws unconciously picking at her, everything about the little beast make her shudder involuntarily.
Turning away, she looked around at the others. "If I remember right, there's a few other little cave openings further up the passage, but only TopDog should be up that way."
Brandon paused in his careful watching for threats to smile at and ask Petrilla, "Uh, Petrilia, if you don't remember how long you've been tied up, are you hungry or anything?"
"Cause, if you want to freshen up, or you're hungry or thirsty, we got food and drink. It's just iron rations and water, though."
Even in the dim illumination provided by bug organ and torch, Brandon could be seen to blush as he tried to politely offer Petrilia a chance to relieve herself if she needed to. He wished that Jeanne had spoken up instead, but maybe elves didn't need to pee as often as humans did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyceios
Stefan Reinhardt
"Petrillia, right, right!" Stefan nodded. "Oh, yeah. TopDog, hey?" Stefan glanced down the passage where this leader might be found. Nervously he moved toward Brandon.
"Well, Bran? Do you think you have one more fight left in ya?" Stefan grinned and patted his strong friend on the back. Noticing Brandon's cautiousness, Stefan sobered up a little and nodded.
Brandon lowered his voice to answer in equally soft tones.
"I'm a little tired and want a nap, but Mother told me about post-battle fatigue, so I expected it."
"No one has even been hurt except for Nathros, and dwarves are tough, so we're in fairly good shape. So, yeah, I can still fight." He smiled.
Sid grinned and triumphantly held his lockpick up, as if he'd managed something that none of the others could have handled. Petrillia just brushed past him to check on her spellbook, and he didn't notice anyone congratulating him, so he, "Hrmph!"ed and stowed his tools away. He kept a skeptical eye on her, until she really started pouring her story out, at which point, he sighed with relief. While the others talked about a possible fight with the kobold leader, he tossed anyone that looked his way a reluctant but determined nod, then he'd nod at their captive.
He paced over to the guy, then slammed a foot down near the kobold's nose and pointed at Petrillia. "Forgot to tell us about her, did ya? Well, now she's told us all about your boss, so I'm thinkin' that she's a lot more helpful to keep around!" He leaned in and offered, "If you don't start spilling what you know, I won't stop these guys from taking you off my hands."
__________________
You're either an Outcast, or you're in denial.
Strength and stupidity in numbers.
- Myself
Free-Form Role-Playing Game Characters, because I got tired of sticking links in my posts --->
Creeper remains face down but protests. "I said truth! No way out. Nothing. Dead end. That way for dum-dums," he finishes with a careful head nod to the west.
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Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Petrillia smiled awkwardly at Brandon. "Umm...no. I just need a hot bath and some sleep."
With the fear of the uncertainty of her fate fading to a bad memory, Petrilla felt more like herself. If it wasn't for Creeper's irritating voice, she could (almost) ignore the stench around the damp cave.
"TopDog...your big boss...he went that way. Is HE a dum-dum?"
Nathros follows the conversation for a while, then checks the passageway to ensure nothing is hiding nearby. "It must lead somewhere, the leaders of these sort of creatures never share all their secrets with their followers."
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
Sid straightens and shrugs. "Oh, well. Looks like I'll have to let my bloodthirsty friends kill you, then. I thought that I'd try to help a fellow thief out, but if you can't return the favor..." He gestures to the kobold, regretfully, but before anyone can get too close to it, he holds up a halting hand. "Wait. Why is it for dum-dums?"
__________________
You're either an Outcast, or you're in denial.
Strength and stupidity in numbers.
- Myself
Free-Form Role-Playing Game Characters, because I got tired of sticking links in my posts --->
"Yeah, why would we dum-dum's for going down there?"
Stefan takes a step forward, then steps back again. He looks sideways to Brandon, but says to everyone "Well, either way... Mr. Boast would probably prefer we do a thorough sweep, right?"
Stefan awaits the kobold's reply and some consensus in the group.
"Dead-end! No way out. Clumsy," he jerks his head in the direction of one of his fallen compatriots, "made a rock slide. Boom. No way out. Big dum-dum up there going to make it worse by digging it at." He rolls his eyes.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Band of local heroes seeks Magic User. Join our long-running Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Brandon seemed to be having trouble following the conversation.
"Cave-in? Ugh. But I guess we can confirm what he is saying, if it is true."
"Ask him if TopDog is still alive."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyceios
Stefan Reinhardt
Stefan takes a step forward, then steps back again. He looks sideways to Brandon, but says to everyone "Well, either way... Mr. Boast would probably prefer we do a thorough sweep, right?"
Stefan awaits the kobold's reply and some consensus in the group.
Brandon nodded emphatically. "We're only slightly hurt; we cannot stop now."
Brandon nodded emphatically. "We're only slightly hurt; we cannot stop now."
"I'm with ya, Bran." Stefan nods.
He moves towards the captive kobold, and tries to act in a friendly manner - though his heavy armor makes this look awkward.
"Hey there, little buddy..." Stefan kneels down to be eye level with the dog man, "Where should we go to find Top Dog? Is he still around?" Stefan grins and adds, "Remember, if Top Dog goes boom," Stefan hammers his mace against the floor for emphasis, "Creeper becomes the new Top Dog, right? Living Top Dog. So you help us lots now."
Spoiler
Stefan is pretty sure he's not bluffing, but he can't make a guarantee. He doesn't like killing, especially a captive, so he wants to think Creeper can get a happy ending of sorts, just being shooed away from the area. Jail or labour in Threshold probably wouldn't be too kind to a kobold - and Creeper did surrender.
__________________ It is a joyful thing indeed to hold intimate converse with a man after one’s own heart, chatting without reserve about things of interest or the fleeting topics of the world; but such, alas, are few and far between.
– Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350), Tsurezure-Gusa (1340)
"Either way, I'll stay with you guys. I'm not really interested in scrambling around on my own or messing with a cave-in...but whatever TopDog is doing, it can't be good - I mean, how close to town are we?"
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