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"Yes, well, now that this business is finished let's 'liberate' their stuff and be on our way. I think we have a decent case to demand more pay what with going above and beyond our duties. Maybe this part of town will finally see some gainful production."
The young man sounded hesitant. He seemed to be having trouble understanding the kobold, which was hardly a surprise since it was not his native language and no one ever accused a kobold of good communication skills.
"So do we dig here? He did mean TopDog was diggin' for their treasure, right?"
He turned to Nathros.
"Nathros, can you tell us if this cavern is stable enough?"
Last edited by Frivolous : 01-02-2011 at 09:59 AM.
Sid stayed near the back of the group, not wanting to get anywhere near the dead kobold or the probably unstable end of the tunnel. He chimed in, though, to answer Stefan's question ---> "I'm good, thanks. Ready to keep going."
He pauses, to listen to Jeanne. "Well, we still have some more to check out, don't we? We just got distracted by these little dog-looking guys."
Reminded of why they came in the first place, he turns to Creeper. "Hey, you know those big bugs? Is there a nest of them somewhere, or were we just unlucky, running into so many?"
And catching a bit of what Brandon said, he watched with interest at whatever Nathros would do to see how unstable this part of the tunnel was, but he murmured to Brandon, "Nah, I think I was right about this being an escape tunnel. I guess the guy just isn't too bright. He says that they left their stuff back here." He hooks a thumb the way they came.
__________________
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 --->
"It is hard to know how far the collapsed section extends, though it would seem this fellow at least hoped it was possible to dig through himself in a relatively short time. Of course, he might have let fear addle his mind, or perhaps he had concealed something useful here. At any rate, a collapsed tunnel is a sign of instability, and without the proper equipment, manpower and knowledge it would be very dangerous to try and dig it out, in my estimation."
__________________ 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)
Petrillia slowly let out the breath she was holding. She concentrated on trying to cut through all the chatter that had started up upon the death of TopDog.
"Wait, wait, wait..." she furrowed her brow in the attempt to pull a memory from the dark corner of her mind where she had been cramming the last few days. It wasn't a pleasant task.
"I remember them dragging some crates and barrels from the direction we came from towards their main surface entrance," she said slowly as she pointed towards the cave-in. "I was brought in through that main entrance, past two side rooms, and then into the main cave where you found me. The only things I've ever seen them have is the junk they carry on them and whatever they dragged through the main cave towards the surface."
"If that stuff were put into one of those side rooms, it shouldn't be too far past...that." Again, she glances up at the top of the cave-in and tries to control her breathing. "But Creeper is likely telling the truth. Whatever way you guys came in may be the only way out now. I'm not too interested in bringing down the entire tunnel on us."
"Maybe we could go out the way you came in and get to the rooms from the other side? Of course, we might not be able to find the other entrance; I was a bit...occupied at the time."
"Dig from above, you mean? Well, if there ever was an exit point, we should be able to find it, whether caved in or no."
__________________ 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)
"If we want to access these hidden rooms safely, then yes I imagine so."
__________________ 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 relieves TopDog of the dagger in his hand and the dagger and coin pouch on his belt. A quick look into the pouch reveals it to be filled with coppers and a small glass vial of cloudy liquid.
Creeper is already headed back toward the cavern beneath the mill, tugging slightly but insistently on his tether. "This way," he insists, uninterested in the chatter of the big, shiny people.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Now recruiting a replacement player for our long-time Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Brandon raised his eyebrows in surprise upon finding the vial of liquid. He silently offered it to either Jeanne or Stefan, whoever was closest and picked it up first.
He did not move at Creeper's urging, though. He kept looking at Nathros and Petrillia and the others, waiting for them to decide whether to keep digging as TopDog had, or not.
"I'm ready to leave," Petrillia said. She tried to keep dirt out of her eyes as she rubbed them from exhaustion. "I'm tired, I'm filthy, and...Nathros is it?...said it wouldn't be safe to dig. I'm curious to what was in those crates, but right now a hot bath trumps that. If the dogmen were stealing stuff, I'm sure we'll hear about it sooner or later."
Stefan accepts the vial of liquid, examining it for familiarity. "Hm, not sure..." he ponders.
He looks up at Brandon. "I'll take rear guard on the way out, if that's what we've decided. I think I'll trust a dwarf's instinct on this one. I don't feel a whole lot like digging anyway."
Spoiler
Roll to identify the contents of the vial, if applicable: (1d20)[7]
Sid, who had been keeping towards the rear of the group and concentrating on not looking at the dead body, belatedly "Huh?"ed, when Creeper's tugging alerted him to the fact that the others were still debating. He frowned as he tried to recall what they had said but nodded at Stefan's statement. "Yeah, what are we waiting around here for? Let's check out the rest of this place!"
Wondering about what could have been in the crates and barrels, he eyes the cave-in regretfully. "Well, unless one of you knows how to make this tunnel safer," He nods to Nathros, "Why not take his advice and see if we can't find the entrance on the outside?"
__________________
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 --->
"We better take tokens from the carcasses out as proof of our deeds, as well. These kobolds we could even haul up out of here, put 'em on display to discourage any friends they might have hereabouts."
__________________ 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)
"You want to bring corpses along? Ugh. Not even human or demihuman corpses."
He sighed. "I suppose we oughta. If we let the runt go, the only proof we met any kobolds is Petrilia here."
Brandon grinned cheerfully at the kobold's ex-prisoner. It was hard to tell in the dim light provided by the beetle's glowing organ, but his gaze seemed to focus a little too low to be on her face...
He sheathed his dagger and with a grunt hoisted up TopDog's body.
Edit: Oh, and he also pocketed all of TopDog's belongings, not just the potion, but also including the coppers, for portioning out later.
Last edited by Frivolous : 01-09-2011 at 02:19 AM.
The return to the large cavern beneath the mill is an easy one, though it narrows to single-file on the other side Petrillia's recent prison room. To Petrillia, this cavern is new, but the rest recognize the roughly fifty-foot wide room. The party emerges from a largish crack in the south wall and see the tunnel back to the mill in the south wall. A heap of giant beetle corpses lie in the northeast corner where Nathros and Brandon originally met up with them.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Now recruiting a replacement player for our long-time Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Jeanne helps carry out a kobold body to the main tunnel. "We should remove the bodies regardless. I'd hate for scavengers to take up these tunnels only to have us, the Threshold Exterminators, return."
Sid looked a little sick at Nathros's suggestion, but he nodded grimly. At least they'll know that this place won't be the smartest to steal from, anymore.
As they moved back through the tunnels, and after Sid hefted a body (or helped someone else with one), he chuckled at Jeanne's name for the group. "Heh. I was hoping that I'd get famous for something more important than that, but then, they still think that we were getting rid of ghosts. That's still pretty good."
__________________
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 --->
Nathros bends his back to the work of hauling kobold corpses up to the surface.
__________________ 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)
Petrillia pretended not to see Brandon's wandering gaze...more out of embarassment than anything else. She looked on with disgust at the dead kobold bodies as they were dragged through the tunnel.
It's not so much that they are dead, but of what they did to me. I need to find out if there is an old Traladaran curse for turning dogmen into crow bait.
She snorted at Jeanne's comment. "Exterminators, is that what you guys are? Not that it is a bad thing," she quickly amended. She didn't want to insult her recent rescuers. Looking at the pile of giant, dead bugs, she shuddered at the thought that THOSE things might have been crawling all over her. "At least it looks like your good at your job."
"What's this about ghosts? Some superstitious local thought these bugs were ghosts? "
The kobolds are small and surprisingly light. Lying dead, it might be easy for some to forget what a danger they are, especially in groups. The cavern, unlike the tunnel, is large enough to swallow up the parties small light sources. Shadows exist near the room's edges, and those that were here before recall their search being cut short by bug attack and kobold chasing.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Now recruiting a replacement player for our long-time Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Brandon stays on his guard all throughout the return journey. Though his arms may be full of dead kobold, he does not hesitate to drop his burdens and draw at least his dagger at the slightest sign of danger.
Nathros takes the opportunity to do a circuit of the cavern with a torch to dispel the shadows, watching out for anything that might be worth investigating.
__________________ 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)
Beyond the bodies of the giant insects, Nathros spots a large hole in the west end of the cavern, which looks more chewed or at least tunneled through than the other entrances to this room. Roughly four feet in diameter, the tunnel seems stable enough, apparently the rock here is dense enough to allow for such small tunnels without collapsing.
It's clearly where the bugs came from though what lies beyond is unknown.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Now recruiting a replacement player for our long-time Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
"What's this about ghosts? Some superstitious local thought these bugs were ghosts? "
"Simple minds would say the sky was falling if an apple hit them on the head. I know Bost is an intelligent man but we could benefit by saying we're the mighty slayers of the yapping-dog-faced-monster-men."
"Hmmn. Seems like we overlooked a passage. Well, might as well take a break from all this corpse lugging."
Nathros heads cautiously down the tunnel, assuming his companions are willing to follow of course!
__________________ 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)
The tunnel seems surprisingly well-crafted and solid given that it was likely the product of burrowing beetles. At least as far down this tunnel as they had traveled to the kobold's lair, the passage opened into an enormous open cavern. Emerging onto a ledge, Nathros could see a large cavern, lit slightly by luminescent moss covering many of its surfaces.
Across the wide cavern, large enough to fit the whole mill inside, were various ledges, tunnels, and stalactites. The ledge he was on was large enough to fit the party, but it dropped off rather severely to a lake a couple dozen feet below.
__________________
Fedoruman Roland Avatar by Chris the Pontifex
Now recruiting a replacement player for our long-time Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI game Old Ways.
Brandon looked concerned as their dwarven comrade disappeared into the newly discovered hole.
He put down his kobold burden/s and drew his dagger. Then he called out in a sort of stage whisper, trying to be heard by Nathros without shouting.
"Nathros? Are you all right? Didja find anything?"
He waited and listened. Then a sudden spasm of concern gripped him. Leaving his burdens on the cavern floor, he put on his shield and followed after Nathros, crouching down to avoid hitting his helmeted head on the ceiling.
Last edited by Frivolous : 01-15-2011 at 05:15 PM.
Nathros strokes his beard and mutters to himself. "Well, well. Seems like there is more to this place than a simple kobold nest." He indicates the extent of his find to Brandon with a silent nod as he arrives. Then he quietly observes the cavern for a few minutes, waiting to see any signs of movement below.
__________________ 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)
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