Last Stand of the Dorinthians (Chapter 1 - Homeless)

[Ferrix]

Rix grins the tooth-filled grin of a dragonkin, he speaks again in his own language to the kobold.

[sblock=DM]"I am Vaerixsjach, dragonwrought of a tribe now extinct. I have been pressed into service with these pointy-eared and tusk-toothed brutes to explore this decrepit town, to see if it habitable once again. I saw evidence that my kin were here, but these brutes blunder heavily without any finesse like they own everything." His ochre eyes narrow awaiting a response.[/sblock]

 

[D20Dazza]

Kel hangs back in the corridor, carefully watching the scene play out in front of him. He has half an ear cocked for sounds coming from behind the group.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

As Rix and the other kobold converse in their language you notice several more kobolds beginning to appear from a corridor opposite of you. They stand ready with small crossbows and daggers until another kobold, larger than the rest appears. He seems to be their leader. The kobold looks older, but slightly larger and more intelligent. A shortspear is carried in one hand, while he fingers a claw necklace with the other.

After a moment he speaks:
"Talk common we shall, since that is tongue of your taller comrades. What purpose you come to our home?"

 

[Land Outcast]

Alexander, realizing that his intervention wouldn't be welcome, waits for Rix to make introductions... he doesn't loosen his grip on the scimitar.

Let the wolf deal with the pack of wolves

 

[Ferrix]

Shrugging Rix continues in the common tongue, "my name is Vaerixsjach." He jerks a scaled thumb back at the others, "they are here to see if this town, once abandoned is habitable. The orc there decided it was his business to blunder into your domain," he points out Alexander.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

The kobold leader chuckles nastily. "It is habitable! We are proof of that, but we don't want your big men coming here. This is our home! We lived in hills nearby, but goblins force us out." He ponders a moment, and scratches his chin.

"Perhaps you help with goblins. Your big men go with you and kick them out and we move back in. We give you maps of place and escort you to entrance, too. Then maybe more of your big men come and trade with us. Orc and human weapons good."

 

[Land Outcast]

Alexander is making an effort to block the situation, he isn't asking "goblins, where?!" just because he knows that if he did so, that'd be the first step towards loosing control and impaling the kobold with his punching dagger...

He manages to muster a "trade? trade and not raid big men?"

...Remember the words of the Huntress, when the pack of wolves sorrounds you, if you have meat they want, give it to them and you can get to feed them regularly, while your enemies won't always have spare meat...

"Then we have a deal, anything against it Rix?"

...Even though, keep an eye open; and the knife at the ready, as always

 

[Deuce Traveler]

The terms are agreed upon, and the party heads back to camp to get some rest before heading into the goblin lair the next morning. Danica and Alexander stay behind to update the elven camp of the situation (and heal Rix of his 2 lost hps), while the rest of the party continues back into the abandoned town and meets with the representatives of the kobold tribe.

Everyone gets 500 XP, except for Alexander and Rix who get an extra 50xp for role-playing and for posting steadily.

You are lead just outside the village, to the crest of a steep, dark hill. Your kobold allies explain that the entrance to the tunnels is at the peak of the hill, with a portcullis that is normally guarded by a couple of goblins.

They draw a rough sketch in the ground of the complex next, which features 10 main rooms. The first room is just beyond the doors and is used to admit guests. It has three connecting tunnels, one to the north, one east, and one that goes west.

The western room is the living quarters of the goblins and consist of one very large communal area, although the goblins sleep in shifts. The eastern tunnel has two rooms in sequence, and is often used to store prisoners or pens to keep animals.

The northern tunnel leads to a room that splits again, with three rooms to the east that normally holds the food and water storage of the goblin tribe, plus the occasional plunder. These rooms are not in sequence. The first room has two tunnels to each of the other rooms, one which lies north, the other which lies east.

The two northern-most rooms house the goblin leader and his defenders. Kill him and the other goblins will lose heart.

The rooms look like this, with 4 being the entrance:

_____________________________10
_____________________________|
_____________________________9__ 6
_____________________________|___|
_____________________________8---7--5
_____________________________|
__________________________1--4--3--2

Sorry for the underscores...

OOC: We are sticking with our regular posters: Question, D20Dazza, Ferrix, and Land Outcast. Hopefully the others will rejoin, but for now we will consider them inactive. Good job defeating the first half of chapter 1 non-violently.

I still need Kel and Question to repost their characters on the Rogues Gallery.

 

[Land Outcast]

Alexandergets besides the group just in time to hear the kobold's explanation of the complex and kneels down to examine the situation.

"We must sneak upon them, the first step is to eliminate the guards..." Or, knowing this was inhabited by smart scaly buggers... "Or go through a backdoor directly into the Scum's Chief room; is there a backdoor somewhere?" Alexander asks to the kobold drawing the map.

After that we can just wreak havock within the complex...

"... in any case, you mentioned a couple of goblins guarding the entrance, how many goblins would that be?"

 

[Ferrix]

Rix grins, there could be a profitable future here. "A rear entrance would be most effective for a stealthy infiltration, what other sorts of defences were there before. Goblins are poor trapmakers, but they may be able to jury-rig some of the master traps into working again."

The dragonkin scratches a nail across the back of his hand.

[sblock=DM only]If Rix has a chance when people regroup and rest, he'll return to the upstairs room and retrieve the journal.[/sblock]