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Last Stand of the Dorinthians
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<blockquote data-quote="Deuce Traveler" data-source="post: 3416283" data-attributes="member: 34958"><p><strong>Chapter 1- Homeless</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Quality work Rix,"</span> Alexander commented while cleaning his scimitar on the fallen goblin's clothing.</p><p></p><p>Rix nodded wordlessly, <span style="color: sienna"><em>I knew it would work, no question there.</em> "Sorry you two missed out on the fun, better be quicker next time."</span> A draconic chuckle rolled from his throat, a humorous malevolence present in the sound.</p><p></p><p>He checked to see if he could recover the bolt he had just used, but found that the head splintered after passing through his enemy's jugular, rendering it worthless.</p><p></p><p><em><span style="color: sienna">Better lodged in a dead goblin than in my quiver</span></em>, Rix thought as he tossed the broken bolt away.</p><p></p><p>Taking the lead, the kobold detected no traps or goblins as the party entered the first main room, far from the cave entrance. The room was 50' wide, by 70 feet long. The room was an artificial creation, with several stone columns carved out of natural stone and depicting scenes of what looked to be kobolds worshipping a dragon. A tunnel led into the unknown into each of the north, east, and west directions. The tunnel the party just came from pointed towards the south. There were no signs of goblins in the room.</p><p></p><p>Pausing a moment to admire the excellent craftsmanship of the room and its scenes, the kobold gestured towards the east and moved off again cautiously towards the prisoner and animal pens.</p><p></p><p>Alexander halfway smiled at the kobold's comment, then nodded and proceeded silently in direction to the pens. He felt there was no need to warn the elf to keep silent.</p><p></p><p>Kel ignored the kobold's snide remarks, feeling even lonelier as he followed the kobold and the orc into the darkness. </p><p></p><p>The elf moved as silently as he could, using the light seeping in from above to aid his eyesight. A short spear was gripped loosely in his hand, his arm cocked and ready to throw it should become necessary.</p><p></p><p>The party began to walk down the eastern tunnel, warily stopping just outside the entrance to the next room, where they could hear the sounds of a goblin speaking commands loudly in his rough language. Rix peered inside and reported seeing the back of a goblin in leather, holding a whip and snapping at a creature the kobold could not make out.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Kel discerned the sound of two, very hungry wolves in addition to the goblin animal handler. It would be a tough battle.</p><p></p><p>Alexander whispered to Rix, <span style="color: Blue">"Can you put a bolt in the base of his skull?"</span></p><p></p><p>In reply, Rix cocked his crossbow and loaded another bolt into it, nodding to the half-orc. <span style="color: sienna">"Stand ready. I only saw one but if there are more I'm coming back and I want you two ready."</span></p><p></p><p>He crept forward again, to get a clear line of sight on the goblin, sighting for a gap in the armor behind the heart. With confidence, he loosed the bolt, the crossbow bolt lodging in the back of the goblin's skull, instantly killing him. Alexander moved to cover the rogue, but was jumped by two wolves. The first of the canines bit down on Alexander's arm, causing him to yell in pain. The second wolf barely missed the half-orc.</p><p></p><p>In anger, Alexander sliced the wolf that had bitten him, killing it with a blade into its ribs. Kel then moved forward, while Rix fired another bolt into his target, and dispatched the second wolf before it could reattack.</p><p></p><p>The battle was over. Kel cleaned his weapon and then checked on Alexander's arm while Rix examined the room. It was 30' wide by 40' in length and lit from the torch still clutched in the dead goblin's hand, showing a cobblestoned floor. Eight pens lined the walls, all closed and empty except one that was open and housed the wolves. A passageway continued to the east to what appears to be more pens.</p><p></p><p>A quick search of the trainer revealed a whip, loose coins of little value, and a tarnished dagger. A ring of keys was also found in his belt.</p><p></p><p>Alexander carefully touched the wounded area, repeatedly, until he seemed not to realize the wound was there. <span style="color: Blue">"Thanks elf,"</span> he added in a low voice.</p><p></p><p>Snapping back to reality, he carefully took the whip with his left hand and commented <span style="color: Blue">"Tsk... These vermin, they have need of this,"</span> -The half-orc split the whip in two with his scimitar- <span style="color: Blue">"to make wolves do their bidding... but better them be wolves than worgs, I suppose."</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Let's see, before going on let's examine these cells... the tunnel's entrance might be there."</span> He proceeded to unlock the nearest cell with the keys on the keyring.</p><p></p><p>Initially, the party did not find signs of a secret entrance in the room, despite looking in each of the six cells. The adventurers moved on and checked the cells in the adjoining room, successfully finding a secret door against the eastern wall that was activated by turning a stone in the wall. The only other thing of note in this second room of pens were the decaying corpses of two kobolds that had been locked up in one cell. They looked to have suffered from wounds inflicted by torture before they expired.</p><p></p><p>Rix pocketed the dagger and examined the ring of keys after Alexander was finished with them, saying, <span style="color: sienna">"We'll need this."</span></p><p></p><p>Before departing the second room, Rix moved over to the dead kobolds, speaking a short litany in draconic so that they might be reincarnated into the next hatching of kobolds.</p><p></p><p>At the sight of the corpses, Alexander looked silently at Rix... and his thoughts drifted away...</p><p></p><p>-</p><p><em>I wonder if they have felt my absence at the shrine during this month... Heh, this deer will be motive of a good celebration, noone fell one this size before... Strange, I should be hearing the noises of people by this time, I'm near enough...</em></p><p>Ash, cold ash and carbonized buildings, footsteps, scores of footsteps, splinters of bone...</p><p><em>What!?... The shrine! Destroyed! What's that thing shining down there?...</em></p><p>The holy symbol of the <em>Huntress</em>, still grasped tightly by the decaying hand of the acolyte who took care of the shrine, and besides it, a piece of a broken blade...</p><p>-</p><p></p><p>Suddenly he returned to his senses, and said nothing, but shook his head in grief.</p><p></p><p><em>Scoundrels or not, these two were his people...</em></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"...Eh? Sure, yes" </span></p></blockquote><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Kel paced nervously back and forth in the room while the orc and kobold paid their respects to fallen evil.</p><p></p><p>Examining the hidden passageway carefully as they proceeded, he remarked to his over-sized companions, <span style="color: sienna">"Watch your head."</span></p><p></p><p>The group continued down the tunnel, eventually reaching the end without a problem, although Alexander had trouble fitting his body through. At the end, Rix turned a stone against the wall, which caused a secret door to slide open and revealed a large goblin playing catch with two large, feral-looking wolves. </p><p></p><p>The goblin stood at the center of the room while tossing a femur to one of the wolves. The remnants of a ragged bed with a form lying on it stood at the far corner of the room. A chest rested at the foot of the dirty mattress. The walls were decorated in primitive goblin war banners. </p><p></p><p>As the party took this all in, the second wolf began to sniff the air and growl.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Surprise has already been lost,"</span> muttered Alexander. </p><p><strong><span style="color: Blue">"Strike!"</span></strong> </p><p></p><p>And with this, Alexander charged at the goblin, hoping to take by surprise the wolves so that they couldn't react, his scimitar rose, ready to make an ascendant arc and bite into goblin flesh.</p><p></p><p>Rix stayed back in the shadows of the hidden tunnel and drew out his crossbow, takes aim and firing at one of the wolves, figuring it as more dangerous than the goblin.</p><p></p><p>As Alexander yelled and rushed into the room, Rix shot from his crossbow caught one of the wolves flat-footed, and making it give a satisfying yelp. The large goblin and other wolf jumped in surprise from this, turning to face the half-orc, Alexander.</p><p></p><p>The goblin leader blocked the initial blows of the ranger, although a second attack got past his guard and sliced his side, causing a trickle of blood to flow. Kel fired his sling at the wolf Rix hit, striking the wolf with a critical blow between the eyes, although the creature still stood on wobbly legs.</p><p></p><p>Both wolves recovered from the shock of being attacked, while the goblin leader was able to draw his short sword.</p><p></p><p>Rix loaded another bolt into his crossbow, took aim and loosed steel at the wobbly-legged wolf, hitting the wolf once more and dropping it.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"They are forced to do these foul deeds,"</span> the elf said as he concentrated his fire on the goblin. <span style="color: seagreen">"The next time we encounter animals let me first try and deal with them."</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Sure, let's just get done with this,"</span> answered Alexander. Without stoppping his movement, he changed the direction of the scimitar to produce a oblique arc to the goblin's shoulder, while at the same time throwing in a stab with his dagger.He got passed the goblin's guard and sliced him badly, but not enough to stop the goblin leader for yelling for help with a shout that echoed against the walls. He was silenced forever, though, by a sling bullet from Kel that pierced his eye, blinding him with a mortal wound and causing his return strike at Alexander to miss.</p><p></p><p>Alexander struck the goblin as he fell, but was brought down in turn by the remaining wolf, which tore at his jugular and brought the half-orc down.</p><p></p><p>At that same moment, a feminine form rose from the bed and cast a spell, a magic missile striking Kel.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: sienna">"Take care of the wolf."</span> Rix loaded another bolt into his crossbow and fired at the female figure. His shot slightly wounds the goblin sorceress in the corner, disrupting her spell.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"Forgive me, but you threw your lot in with the goblins,"</span> Kel said as his stone flew through the air towards the wolf.</p><p></p><p>The wolf moved to leap at Rix, only to be felled mid-strike by a well-shot sling bullet from Kel.</p><p></p><p>Recognizing the difficulties faced by the group if the half-orc remained down Kel spit, <span style="color: seagreen">"Hold on dumb orc, I'll heal you in a moment."</span></p><p></p><p>Alexander bled some more, but Rix was able to fire his crossbow again, killing the shamaness before she could cast another spell.</p><p></p><p>Freed up from combat, Kel moved up to heal Alexander, barely saving the half-orc, although a scar across his throat would remain in later days, while at the moment he was shaken and not in a strong position to engage in a long fight.</p><p></p><p>From the hallway to the south the party could hear the shouts of several goblins preparing to rescue their leader, probably not realizing that he was now dead.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"There are more on their way"</span> Kel said as he scanned the room for something he could use to block the corridor and give the party some cover. Kel grabbed the only thing he saw that might block the door for a short while, the torn mattress and bed frame and held it up against the door. <span style="color: seagreen">"I have no more healing, you'll have to fend for yourself,"</span> he whispered to the orc as Alexander slowly rose from the floor. Turning to the kobold he said, perhaps mockingly, <span style="color: seagreen">"What're your acting skills like Rix?"</span> the name rolling strangely off his tongue. <span style="color: seagreen">"Feel like dressing as the sorceress?"</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Damn it elf, thanks for not letting me die,"</span> said Alexander, coughing, as he gathered himself up. <span style="color: Blue">"I'm in debt... but what to do now?"</span></p><p></p><p>Rix quickly examined the body of the goblin leader for anything of value, stripping it with thoroughness.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: sienna">"Time to demoralize them."</span> Once done stripping the body, he gestured Alexander over. <span style="color: sienna">"Toss it out the door, that should give them a few things to think about."</span></p><p></p><p>Alexander first retrieved his scimitar from the floor... and spit at the goblin corpse, cursing when he saw that his saliva was made mostly of his own blood. <em><span style="color: blue">Damn it, I'm really bad off...</span></em></p><p></p><p>Rix found a small bag filled with coins hooked to the goblin leader's belt. Unfortunately he had no time to count them, although he did note that the belt buckle looked valuable and slipped that into the bag before allowing Alexander to pick up the body.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, a goblin spear went through the mattress that Kel was holding, barely missing the elf. Alexander had Kel move the mattress back slightly from the door as he tossed the goblin leader's bloody body into the surprised mass of angry goblins, then moved to help Kel block the doorway.</p><p></p><p>The goblins could be heard arguing on the other side of the makeshift barricade for a few minutes before their footsteps were heard walking away from the party's location.</p><p></p><p>Hearing the goblins on the other side of the door depart, Alexander stated<span style="color: Blue">"They'll come through the tunnel."</span> </p><p></p><p>He weakly supported himself on the wall, grimacing as he moved his neck and touched the place where the wolf's jaws sunk still marked on the skin. <span style="color: Blue">"We can try to make a rush through the tunnel... or we can try the door. They'll certainly not expect us to come through there."</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: sienna">"I doubt they even knew the tunnel was here. Killing their leader probably gave them a reason to reconsider attacking us."</span> Rix smirked at the half-orc.</p><p></p><p>Alexander answered with short laughter (which was interrupted by pain, again) to Rix's comment, and then said: <span style="color: Blue">"What now then? Any idea? Elf? Rix?"</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: sienna">"Well, it would do us little good to leave empty handed. I propose we search this and the guard chamber first, then move on to the storage area and then finally go to check the common area."</span> Rix smiled menacingly.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"I'm not sure that we should press them right now. Let's retreat, get ourselves patched up and then come back and deal with the rabble. They'll likely kill each other, trying to establish a new leadership while we're away."</span> Kel responded sagely.</p><p></p><p>When Rix spoke of ransacking the place, Alexander said <span style="color: Blue">"I agree about not leaving empty handed, but there should still some of the vermin around."</span></p><p></p><p>At Kel's words he stood up straight and looked at the elf, notably surprised. <span style="color: Blue">"They are weakened now and we shouldn't have further trouble... after I'm somehow recovered,"</span> he nodded, agreeing for the first time with the elf.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: blue"><em>This one is curious, first he spits on me and then he not only saves my life, but also has answers which coincide with the Huntress' teachings...</em></span></p><p></p><p>Rix noticed the chest in the room and went up to it while the half-orc and elf considered one another. Finding a simple blade trap, Rix disarmed it without much effort. The key found on the goblin's body openened the chest so that Rix didn't have to spend any more time trying to pop it open. Inside was a masterwork medium-sized chain shirt that the goblin leader never had a chance to put on before the party barged into his home, and a garnet of some value. The small sack Rix took from the body contained a mixture of a few dozen silver and gold coins. Two small vials of an unknown liquid were also found near the body of the female goblin spellcaster. There was nothing left in this room that seemed valuable.</p><p></p><p>The kobold pointed out the masterwork chain shirt to the others, finding it useless himself and almost too heavy to be worth carrying back- well, <em>almost</em> too heavy. <span style="color: sienna">"Someone carry that back."</span></p><p></p><p>At Rix's request, Alexander silently takes the chain shirt and puts it in his backpack.</p><p></p><p>After a quick scouting mission, Rix discovered that the remaining goblins had all left the tunnels, although it would seem that they had taken their treasure with them. Still, the tunnels were now once again clear for the kobolds to move back into, if the party was willing to have them as neighbors once the refugees moved into the town.</p><p></p><p><em><span style="color: sienna">Now that we've cleared this out, I'm sure the kobolds would enjoy their home back, and I'm sure a profitable arrangement can be made with the humans as to a mining treaty. And I'm sure the kobolds could use a hand setting up a new wave of defensive precautions that I could help with.</span></em></p><p></p><p>Alexander shook his head as the group exited the complex... and suddenly takes a moment to reflect on what just happened <em><span style="color: blue">I fell... couldn't fullfill what Ravil asked me to do...</span></em></p><p></p><p>He remained silent for quite a bit of time.</p><p></p><p>Another member of the party was quite a bit happier. Rix smiled at the garnet... he always appreciated gems. He gathered the coins together, as well as the two vials, for safekeeping of course.</p><p></p><p>Kel stalked out of the kobold home trailing behind his companions, withdrawn and silent, seemingly lost in thought. <span style="color: seagreen"><em>What's going on? I'm starting to see value in these two. They stood strong while many others would have fled. They've proven useful. Is it ime for me to leave the woods Huntress? Is it time for me to experience more of the world? Will this lead me closer to You? Will this make me a better Hunter?</em></span></p><p></p><p>The party left the now empty tunnels and did a quick sweep of the remnants of the town, but found no other signs of immediate danger. The heroes did find several fields of forgotten farm fields, which lacked any sustenance that could be used for such a large population of the refugees. The town looked like it could comfortably house about 700 people when the homes weren't in such a state of disrepair. The current vacant fields could be used to feed about a thousand. It would take a lot of work this spring before the 2,000+ refugees were able to make this a decent home and become self-sufficient.</p><p></p><p>Rix headed the negotiations with the kobolds, who agreed to move out of the town and into their old tunnels. They were grateful for the assistance and looked to trade with the Dorinthians when they became established. The kobolds began to move their various digging tools and other items into the hills. The party estimated that there were perhaps slightly more than 50 kobolds, and therefore not a large tribe.</p><p></p><p>The party headed back to the elven camp of delegates, where Kel entered into a discussion with Silas Generwine, the camp leader. After a few minutes they agreed to lead the party back to the Dorinthian refugee camp in order to bring the human civilians to the abandoned town, although Silas couldn't help but to add, "I'm not sure why the group of you would think it a good idea that the humans should live next to a pack of thieving kobolds, but I'm happy to move the lot of your them further from elven territory at any rate."</p><p></p><p>After a couple of days of travel the group entered the Dorinthian camp, Alexander then discussing with Baron Dren Dorin and his daughter, Syra, what was found in the abandoned town. Cal and his riders were still gone, since the trip to the dwarven lands was much longer in duration. That put Kyle Radnal and his men in charge. Alexander briefed them on what to expect in the settlement. The older fighter wasn't happy about the nearby kobolds, but seemed to be satisfied that there were only a few dozen of them. </p><p></p><p>The party was taken care of next by Heron Silvertongue's priests, who looked over and healed their remaining wounds.</p><p></p><p>The next day, the elven camp stayed behind with the refugees while Radnal's Ruffians and the party entered the abandoned town and did a thorough sweep, killing the remnants of the vermin left over without much of a struggle. The refugees followed a day later. At first it was chaos as different people argued over the better homes. A few disappointing incidents of fist fights broke out, which were quickly settled by Radnal's Ruffians in a not always gentle fashion. Although Baron Dorin was unable to effectively organize the process, Kyle Radnal did a remarkable job of taking over and assigning people to the buildings and restoring order. </p><p></p><p>The party members suddenly had a newfound respect for the Dorinthians, as they quickly took to Kyle's leadership. After his assignments they started clearing trash, patching up damage with their limited tools or bare hands, and helped their brethren. Many of them worked even through the night. By the second day the town started to make a remarkable transformation, looking almost livable. The baron and his daughter, along with their retainers, established themselves in the government building in the town square, with the Ruffians moving next door into the old guard barracks. A family of halfling merchants (the Risenthrops) moved into the trade building, which was also in the centralized town square, and began to make plans on opening business to the population along with the visiting delegations of gnomes, elves, dwarves, and nearby kobolds.</p><p></p><p>As the sun approached noon on the second day of the refugees' entry into the town, the party finally allowed their exhausted bodies to relax...</p><p>[/QUOTE]</p>
[QUOTE="Deuce Traveler, post: 3416283, member: 34958"] [b]Chapter 1- Homeless[/b] [COLOR=Blue]"Quality work Rix,"[/COLOR] Alexander commented while cleaning his scimitar on the fallen goblin's clothing. Rix nodded wordlessly, [color=sienna][i]I knew it would work, no question there.[/i] "Sorry you two missed out on the fun, better be quicker next time."[/color] A draconic chuckle rolled from his throat, a humorous malevolence present in the sound. He checked to see if he could recover the bolt he had just used, but found that the head splintered after passing through his enemy's jugular, rendering it worthless. [i][color=sienna]Better lodged in a dead goblin than in my quiver[/color][/i][color=sienna][/color], Rix thought as he tossed the broken bolt away. Taking the lead, the kobold detected no traps or goblins as the party entered the first main room, far from the cave entrance. The room was 50' wide, by 70 feet long. The room was an artificial creation, with several stone columns carved out of natural stone and depicting scenes of what looked to be kobolds worshipping a dragon. A tunnel led into the unknown into each of the north, east, and west directions. The tunnel the party just came from pointed towards the south. There were no signs of goblins in the room. Pausing a moment to admire the excellent craftsmanship of the room and its scenes, the kobold gestured towards the east and moved off again cautiously towards the prisoner and animal pens. Alexander halfway smiled at the kobold's comment, then nodded and proceeded silently in direction to the pens. He felt there was no need to warn the elf to keep silent. Kel ignored the kobold's snide remarks, feeling even lonelier as he followed the kobold and the orc into the darkness. The elf moved as silently as he could, using the light seeping in from above to aid his eyesight. A short spear was gripped loosely in his hand, his arm cocked and ready to throw it should become necessary. The party began to walk down the eastern tunnel, warily stopping just outside the entrance to the next room, where they could hear the sounds of a goblin speaking commands loudly in his rough language. Rix peered inside and reported seeing the back of a goblin in leather, holding a whip and snapping at a creature the kobold could not make out. Meanwhile, Kel discerned the sound of two, very hungry wolves in addition to the goblin animal handler. It would be a tough battle. Alexander whispered to Rix, [COLOR=Blue]"Can you put a bolt in the base of his skull?"[/COLOR] In reply, Rix cocked his crossbow and loaded another bolt into it, nodding to the half-orc. [color=sienna]"Stand ready. I only saw one but if there are more I'm coming back and I want you two ready."[/color] He crept forward again, to get a clear line of sight on the goblin, sighting for a gap in the armor behind the heart. With confidence, he loosed the bolt, the crossbow bolt lodging in the back of the goblin's skull, instantly killing him. Alexander moved to cover the rogue, but was jumped by two wolves. The first of the canines bit down on Alexander's arm, causing him to yell in pain. The second wolf barely missed the half-orc. In anger, Alexander sliced the wolf that had bitten him, killing it with a blade into its ribs. Kel then moved forward, while Rix fired another bolt into his target, and dispatched the second wolf before it could reattack. The battle was over. Kel cleaned his weapon and then checked on Alexander's arm while Rix examined the room. It was 30' wide by 40' in length and lit from the torch still clutched in the dead goblin's hand, showing a cobblestoned floor. Eight pens lined the walls, all closed and empty except one that was open and housed the wolves. A passageway continued to the east to what appears to be more pens. A quick search of the trainer revealed a whip, loose coins of little value, and a tarnished dagger. A ring of keys was also found in his belt. Alexander carefully touched the wounded area, repeatedly, until he seemed not to realize the wound was there. [COLOR=Blue]"Thanks elf,"[/COLOR] he added in a low voice. Snapping back to reality, he carefully took the whip with his left hand and commented [COLOR=Blue]"Tsk... These vermin, they have need of this,"[/COLOR] -The half-orc split the whip in two with his scimitar- [COLOR=Blue]"to make wolves do their bidding... but better them be wolves than worgs, I suppose."[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]"Let's see, before going on let's examine these cells... the tunnel's entrance might be there."[/COLOR] He proceeded to unlock the nearest cell with the keys on the keyring. Initially, the party did not find signs of a secret entrance in the room, despite looking in each of the six cells. The adventurers moved on and checked the cells in the adjoining room, successfully finding a secret door against the eastern wall that was activated by turning a stone in the wall. The only other thing of note in this second room of pens were the decaying corpses of two kobolds that had been locked up in one cell. They looked to have suffered from wounds inflicted by torture before they expired. Rix pocketed the dagger and examined the ring of keys after Alexander was finished with them, saying, [color=sienna]"We'll need this."[/color] Before departing the second room, Rix moved over to the dead kobolds, speaking a short litany in draconic so that they might be reincarnated into the next hatching of kobolds. At the sight of the corpses, Alexander looked silently at Rix... and his thoughts drifted away... - [I]I wonder if they have felt my absence at the shrine during this month... Heh, this deer will be motive of a good celebration, noone fell one this size before... Strange, I should be hearing the noises of people by this time, I'm near enough...[/I] Ash, cold ash and carbonized buildings, footsteps, scores of footsteps, splinters of bone... [I]What!?... The shrine! Destroyed! What's that thing shining down there?...[/I] The holy symbol of the [I]Huntress[/I], still grasped tightly by the decaying hand of the acolyte who took care of the shrine, and besides it, a piece of a broken blade... - Suddenly he returned to his senses, and said nothing, but shook his head in grief. [I]Scoundrels or not, these two were his people...[/I] [COLOR=Blue]"...Eh? Sure, yes" [/COLOR][/QUOTE] Meanwhile, Kel paced nervously back and forth in the room while the orc and kobold paid their respects to fallen evil. Examining the hidden passageway carefully as they proceeded, he remarked to his over-sized companions, [color=sienna]"Watch your head."[/color] The group continued down the tunnel, eventually reaching the end without a problem, although Alexander had trouble fitting his body through. At the end, Rix turned a stone against the wall, which caused a secret door to slide open and revealed a large goblin playing catch with two large, feral-looking wolves. The goblin stood at the center of the room while tossing a femur to one of the wolves. The remnants of a ragged bed with a form lying on it stood at the far corner of the room. A chest rested at the foot of the dirty mattress. The walls were decorated in primitive goblin war banners. As the party took this all in, the second wolf began to sniff the air and growl. [COLOR=Blue]"Surprise has already been lost,"[/COLOR] muttered Alexander. [B][COLOR=Blue]"Strike!"[/COLOR][/B] And with this, Alexander charged at the goblin, hoping to take by surprise the wolves so that they couldn't react, his scimitar rose, ready to make an ascendant arc and bite into goblin flesh. Rix stayed back in the shadows of the hidden tunnel and drew out his crossbow, takes aim and firing at one of the wolves, figuring it as more dangerous than the goblin. As Alexander yelled and rushed into the room, Rix shot from his crossbow caught one of the wolves flat-footed, and making it give a satisfying yelp. The large goblin and other wolf jumped in surprise from this, turning to face the half-orc, Alexander. The goblin leader blocked the initial blows of the ranger, although a second attack got past his guard and sliced his side, causing a trickle of blood to flow. Kel fired his sling at the wolf Rix hit, striking the wolf with a critical blow between the eyes, although the creature still stood on wobbly legs. Both wolves recovered from the shock of being attacked, while the goblin leader was able to draw his short sword. Rix loaded another bolt into his crossbow, took aim and loosed steel at the wobbly-legged wolf, hitting the wolf once more and dropping it. [color=seagreen]"They are forced to do these foul deeds,"[/color] the elf said as he concentrated his fire on the goblin. [color=seagreen]"The next time we encounter animals let me first try and deal with them."[/color] [COLOR=Blue]"Sure, let's just get done with this,"[/COLOR] answered Alexander. Without stoppping his movement, he changed the direction of the scimitar to produce a oblique arc to the goblin's shoulder, while at the same time throwing in a stab with his dagger.He got passed the goblin's guard and sliced him badly, but not enough to stop the goblin leader for yelling for help with a shout that echoed against the walls. He was silenced forever, though, by a sling bullet from Kel that pierced his eye, blinding him with a mortal wound and causing his return strike at Alexander to miss. Alexander struck the goblin as he fell, but was brought down in turn by the remaining wolf, which tore at his jugular and brought the half-orc down. At that same moment, a feminine form rose from the bed and cast a spell, a magic missile striking Kel. [color=sienna]"Take care of the wolf."[/color] Rix loaded another bolt into his crossbow and fired at the female figure. His shot slightly wounds the goblin sorceress in the corner, disrupting her spell. [color=seagreen]"Forgive me, but you threw your lot in with the goblins,"[/color] Kel said as his stone flew through the air towards the wolf. The wolf moved to leap at Rix, only to be felled mid-strike by a well-shot sling bullet from Kel. Recognizing the difficulties faced by the group if the half-orc remained down Kel spit, [color=seagreen]"Hold on dumb orc, I'll heal you in a moment."[/color] Alexander bled some more, but Rix was able to fire his crossbow again, killing the shamaness before she could cast another spell. Freed up from combat, Kel moved up to heal Alexander, barely saving the half-orc, although a scar across his throat would remain in later days, while at the moment he was shaken and not in a strong position to engage in a long fight. From the hallway to the south the party could hear the shouts of several goblins preparing to rescue their leader, probably not realizing that he was now dead. [color=seagreen]"There are more on their way"[/color] Kel said as he scanned the room for something he could use to block the corridor and give the party some cover. Kel grabbed the only thing he saw that might block the door for a short while, the torn mattress and bed frame and held it up against the door. [color=seagreen]"I have no more healing, you'll have to fend for yourself,"[/color] he whispered to the orc as Alexander slowly rose from the floor. Turning to the kobold he said, perhaps mockingly, [color=seagreen]"What're your acting skills like Rix?"[/color] the name rolling strangely off his tongue. [color=seagreen]"Feel like dressing as the sorceress?"[/color] [COLOR=Blue]"Damn it elf, thanks for not letting me die,"[/COLOR] said Alexander, coughing, as he gathered himself up. [COLOR=Blue]"I'm in debt... but what to do now?"[/COLOR] Rix quickly examined the body of the goblin leader for anything of value, stripping it with thoroughness. [color=sienna]"Time to demoralize them."[/color] Once done stripping the body, he gestured Alexander over. [color=sienna]"Toss it out the door, that should give them a few things to think about."[/color] Alexander first retrieved his scimitar from the floor... and spit at the goblin corpse, cursing when he saw that his saliva was made mostly of his own blood. [I][color=blue]Damn it, I'm really bad off...[/color][/I][color=blue][/color] Rix found a small bag filled with coins hooked to the goblin leader's belt. Unfortunately he had no time to count them, although he did note that the belt buckle looked valuable and slipped that into the bag before allowing Alexander to pick up the body. Suddenly, a goblin spear went through the mattress that Kel was holding, barely missing the elf. Alexander had Kel move the mattress back slightly from the door as he tossed the goblin leader's bloody body into the surprised mass of angry goblins, then moved to help Kel block the doorway. The goblins could be heard arguing on the other side of the makeshift barricade for a few minutes before their footsteps were heard walking away from the party's location. Hearing the goblins on the other side of the door depart, Alexander stated[COLOR=Blue]"They'll come through the tunnel."[/COLOR] He weakly supported himself on the wall, grimacing as he moved his neck and touched the place where the wolf's jaws sunk still marked on the skin. [COLOR=Blue]"We can try to make a rush through the tunnel... or we can try the door. They'll certainly not expect us to come through there."[/COLOR] [color=sienna]"I doubt they even knew the tunnel was here. Killing their leader probably gave them a reason to reconsider attacking us."[/color] Rix smirked at the half-orc. Alexander answered with short laughter (which was interrupted by pain, again) to Rix's comment, and then said: [COLOR=Blue]"What now then? Any idea? Elf? Rix?"[/COLOR] [color=sienna]"Well, it would do us little good to leave empty handed. I propose we search this and the guard chamber first, then move on to the storage area and then finally go to check the common area."[/color] Rix smiled menacingly. [color=seagreen]"I'm not sure that we should press them right now. Let's retreat, get ourselves patched up and then come back and deal with the rabble. They'll likely kill each other, trying to establish a new leadership while we're away."[/color] Kel responded sagely. When Rix spoke of ransacking the place, Alexander said [COLOR=Blue]"I agree about not leaving empty handed, but there should still some of the vermin around."[/COLOR] At Kel's words he stood up straight and looked at the elf, notably surprised. [COLOR=Blue]"They are weakened now and we shouldn't have further trouble... after I'm somehow recovered,"[/COLOR] he nodded, agreeing for the first time with the elf. [color=blue][I]This one is curious, first he spits on me and then he not only saves my life, but also has answers which coincide with the Huntress' teachings...[/I][/color] Rix noticed the chest in the room and went up to it while the half-orc and elf considered one another. Finding a simple blade trap, Rix disarmed it without much effort. The key found on the goblin's body openened the chest so that Rix didn't have to spend any more time trying to pop it open. Inside was a masterwork medium-sized chain shirt that the goblin leader never had a chance to put on before the party barged into his home, and a garnet of some value. The small sack Rix took from the body contained a mixture of a few dozen silver and gold coins. Two small vials of an unknown liquid were also found near the body of the female goblin spellcaster. There was nothing left in this room that seemed valuable. The kobold pointed out the masterwork chain shirt to the others, finding it useless himself and almost too heavy to be worth carrying back- well, [i]almost[/i] too heavy. [color=sienna]"Someone carry that back."[/color] At Rix's request, Alexander silently takes the chain shirt and puts it in his backpack. After a quick scouting mission, Rix discovered that the remaining goblins had all left the tunnels, although it would seem that they had taken their treasure with them. Still, the tunnels were now once again clear for the kobolds to move back into, if the party was willing to have them as neighbors once the refugees moved into the town. [i][color=sienna]Now that we've cleared this out, I'm sure the kobolds would enjoy their home back, and I'm sure a profitable arrangement can be made with the humans as to a mining treaty. And I'm sure the kobolds could use a hand setting up a new wave of defensive precautions that I could help with.[/color][/i][color=sienna][/color] Alexander shook his head as the group exited the complex... and suddenly takes a moment to reflect on what just happened [I][color=blue]I fell... couldn't fullfill what Ravil asked me to do...[/color][/I][color=blue][/color] He remained silent for quite a bit of time. Another member of the party was quite a bit happier. Rix smiled at the garnet... he always appreciated gems. He gathered the coins together, as well as the two vials, for safekeeping of course. Kel stalked out of the kobold home trailing behind his companions, withdrawn and silent, seemingly lost in thought. [color=seagreen][i]What's going on? I'm starting to see value in these two. They stood strong while many others would have fled. They've proven useful. Is it ime for me to leave the woods Huntress? Is it time for me to experience more of the world? Will this lead me closer to You? Will this make me a better Hunter?[/i][/color][i][/i] The party left the now empty tunnels and did a quick sweep of the remnants of the town, but found no other signs of immediate danger. The heroes did find several fields of forgotten farm fields, which lacked any sustenance that could be used for such a large population of the refugees. The town looked like it could comfortably house about 700 people when the homes weren't in such a state of disrepair. The current vacant fields could be used to feed about a thousand. It would take a lot of work this spring before the 2,000+ refugees were able to make this a decent home and become self-sufficient. Rix headed the negotiations with the kobolds, who agreed to move out of the town and into their old tunnels. They were grateful for the assistance and looked to trade with the Dorinthians when they became established. The kobolds began to move their various digging tools and other items into the hills. The party estimated that there were perhaps slightly more than 50 kobolds, and therefore not a large tribe. The party headed back to the elven camp of delegates, where Kel entered into a discussion with Silas Generwine, the camp leader. After a few minutes they agreed to lead the party back to the Dorinthian refugee camp in order to bring the human civilians to the abandoned town, although Silas couldn't help but to add, "I'm not sure why the group of you would think it a good idea that the humans should live next to a pack of thieving kobolds, but I'm happy to move the lot of your them further from elven territory at any rate." After a couple of days of travel the group entered the Dorinthian camp, Alexander then discussing with Baron Dren Dorin and his daughter, Syra, what was found in the abandoned town. Cal and his riders were still gone, since the trip to the dwarven lands was much longer in duration. That put Kyle Radnal and his men in charge. Alexander briefed them on what to expect in the settlement. The older fighter wasn't happy about the nearby kobolds, but seemed to be satisfied that there were only a few dozen of them. The party was taken care of next by Heron Silvertongue's priests, who looked over and healed their remaining wounds. The next day, the elven camp stayed behind with the refugees while Radnal's Ruffians and the party entered the abandoned town and did a thorough sweep, killing the remnants of the vermin left over without much of a struggle. The refugees followed a day later. At first it was chaos as different people argued over the better homes. A few disappointing incidents of fist fights broke out, which were quickly settled by Radnal's Ruffians in a not always gentle fashion. Although Baron Dorin was unable to effectively organize the process, Kyle Radnal did a remarkable job of taking over and assigning people to the buildings and restoring order. The party members suddenly had a newfound respect for the Dorinthians, as they quickly took to Kyle's leadership. After his assignments they started clearing trash, patching up damage with their limited tools or bare hands, and helped their brethren. Many of them worked even through the night. By the second day the town started to make a remarkable transformation, looking almost livable. The baron and his daughter, along with their retainers, established themselves in the government building in the town square, with the Ruffians moving next door into the old guard barracks. A family of halfling merchants (the Risenthrops) moved into the trade building, which was also in the centralized town square, and began to make plans on opening business to the population along with the visiting delegations of gnomes, elves, dwarves, and nearby kobolds. As the sun approached noon on the second day of the refugees' entry into the town, the party finally allowed their exhausted bodies to relax... 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