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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 946289" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;The Burning Plague&quot; by Miguel Duran (WotC Free Adventure) - Part 9The results of the scouting expedition prove discouraging.&nbsp; &quot;We advanced as far as the next cavern,&quot; Rose reports, speaking softly, &quot;Not more than sixty or seventy feet.&nbsp; It was large - we couldn't see the far side - and had lots of stalactites and stalagmites in it.&quot;&quot;Rose snuck out behind some of the stalagmites.&quot; Mantreus breaks in on the story, &quot;While I kept her covered with my crossbow.&nbsp; Plus, of course, my magic.&quot;&quot;That was very brave of her.&quot; The Padre observes, in a neutral tone of voice.Rose continues the tale,&quot;There was an entrance to a smaller cavern, set high on the wall to the right of where we entered -&quot; she uses a finger to draw a rough map in the dirt, &quot;- I saw kobolds in there.&nbsp; They looked like they were on watch.&nbsp; I'd say there's a nest of them, further in.&quot;&quot;Can we reach the smaller cave?&quot; Twinkle asks, eyes shining at the thought of fighting her people's traditional enemies.Rose frowns,&quot;We probably could ... given time.&nbsp; But there's quite a lot of empty space near the entrance, and we'd have to climb up a rock-face to reach it.&nbsp; That would give the kobolds lots of time to get ready, and to attack us with spears and bows while we climbed.&quot;&quot;It'd be very dangerous, given how injured most of us already are.&quot; Mantreus emphasises, for those who are a little slow on the uptake. &quot;Especially since we don't know how many kobolds might be in there.&quot;&quot;I agree.&quot; The Padre nods, &quot;We need to rest before we face them.&quot;The adventurers make camp and set guards, then try to rest as best they can, waiting until the new day - and new healing spells - arrives.&nbsp; The hours pass slowly, the group enclosed in near total darkness, with only the smallest flame still burning in their lantern.And in the darkness, the kobolds stir ...Pee'rak has always taken great pride in being the tribe's finest scout.&nbsp; Now, as he edges nervously into the tunnel that leads toward the surface, he dearly wishes the pride was someone else's.&nbsp; His tongue flickers out to taste the moist air.&quot;Go scout, Pee'rak.&quot; He mutters to himself, in a poor imitation of his chief, &quot;See if surface scum try to stop us leaving.&nbsp; M'dok commands.&quot; A sibilant hiss escapes his lipless mouth, &quot;Pee'rak should have told your eggs to curdle, M'dok.&quot;Inching further forward, the kobold peers around a corner, immediately jerking back when he catches sight of what lies ahead.Just beyond the pit trap the tribe dug so recently, the small group of surface dwellers have set up camp.&nbsp; Pee'rak's snout twitches as he scents human, elf ... and stinking gnome.&quot;No way out without fight.&quot; He mutters, as he scuttles back to the nest, &quot;Pee'rak tell M'dok we should go before, but M'dok too frightened for eggs.&nbsp; Stupid.&nbsp; Mates can always make more.&nbsp; Tch.&nbsp; It M'dok's problem now.&quot;Reaching the great cave, Pee'rak signals the guards, who lower a crude rope ladder for him to climb.&nbsp; Not waiting for them to pull it up behind him, the scout goes to report to his leader.&nbsp; As he expects, M'dok is not happy.&quot;Stupid surface dwellers!&quot; the chief curls his tail in derision, &quot;They must be fever-brained!&nbsp; They think kobolds not know how to use bows?&quot;&quot;Maybe they forget we see in dark.&quot; Pee'rak toadies, &quot;They have stupid brains, burnt to crisp by standing in sun.&nbsp; Not like mighty M'dok.&quot;The leader waves aside this sycophancy,&quot;How many?&quot;&quot;Six.&quot; Pee'rak holds up five fingers and his tail, &quot;Including one gnome female.&quot;M'dok's teeth snap at the air, drool forming on the edges of his mouth,&quot;We should eat its marrow.&quot; He hisses, then pauses and glances at the clutch of eggs in the corner of the chamber, &quot;But it more important to keep eggs safe.&quot;Pee'rak forces his tail to remain straight, and respectful, as M'dok turns back to him,&quot;Summon warriors.&quot; The chief commands, &quot;We go, give surface scum choice.&nbsp; They let us go, or we use crossbows, kill them all.&nbsp; They will see they cannot win.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 946289, member: 6294"] [b]"The Burning Plague" by Miguel Duran (WotC Free Adventure) - Part 9[/b] The results of the scouting expedition prove discouraging. "We advanced as far as the next cavern," Rose reports, speaking softly, "Not more than sixty or seventy feet. It was large - we couldn't see the far side - and had lots of stalactites and stalagmites in it." "Rose snuck out behind some of the stalagmites." Mantreus breaks in on the story, "While I kept her covered with my crossbow. Plus, of course, my magic." "That was very brave of her." The Padre observes, in a neutral tone of voice. Rose continues the tale, "There was an entrance to a smaller cavern, set high on the wall to the right of where we entered -" she uses a finger to draw a rough map in the dirt, "- I saw kobolds in there. They looked like they were on watch. I'd say there's a nest of them, further in." "Can we reach the smaller cave?" Twinkle asks, eyes shining at the thought of fighting her people's traditional enemies. Rose frowns, "We probably could ... given time. But there's quite a lot of empty space near the entrance, and we'd have to climb up a rock-face to reach it. That would give the kobolds lots of time to get ready, and to attack us with spears and bows while we climbed." "It'd be very dangerous, given how injured most of us already are." Mantreus emphasises, for those who are a little slow on the uptake. "Especially since we don't know how many kobolds might be in there." "I agree." The Padre nods, "We need to rest before we face them." The adventurers make camp and set guards, then try to rest as best they can, waiting until the new day - and new healing spells - arrives. The hours pass slowly, the group enclosed in near total darkness, with only the smallest flame still burning in their lantern. And in the darkness, the kobolds stir ... Pee'rak has always taken great pride in being the tribe's finest scout. Now, as he edges nervously into the tunnel that leads toward the surface, he dearly wishes the pride was someone else's. His tongue flickers out to taste the moist air. "Go scout, Pee'rak." He mutters to himself, in a poor imitation of his chief, "See if surface scum try to stop us leaving. M'dok commands." A sibilant hiss escapes his lipless mouth, "Pee'rak should have told your eggs to curdle, M'dok." Inching further forward, the kobold peers around a corner, immediately jerking back when he catches sight of what lies ahead. Just beyond the pit trap the tribe dug so recently, the small group of surface dwellers have set up camp. Pee'rak's snout twitches as he scents human, elf ... and stinking gnome. "No way out without fight." He mutters, as he scuttles back to the nest, "Pee'rak tell M'dok we should go before, but M'dok too frightened for eggs. Stupid. Mates can always make more. Tch. It M'dok's problem now." Reaching the great cave, Pee'rak signals the guards, who lower a crude rope ladder for him to climb. Not waiting for them to pull it up behind him, the scout goes to report to his leader. As he expects, M'dok is not happy. "Stupid surface dwellers!" the chief curls his tail in derision, "They must be fever-brained! They think kobolds not know how to use bows?" "Maybe they forget we see in dark." Pee'rak toadies, "They have stupid brains, burnt to crisp by standing in sun. Not like mighty M'dok." The leader waves aside this sycophancy, "How many?" "Six." Pee'rak holds up five fingers and his tail, "Including one gnome female." M'dok's teeth snap at the air, drool forming on the edges of his mouth, "We should eat its marrow." He hisses, then pauses and glances at the clutch of eggs in the corner of the chamber, "But it more important to keep eggs safe." Pee'rak forces his tail to remain straight, and respectful, as M'dok turns back to him, "Summon warriors." The chief commands, "We go, give surface scum choice. They let us go, or we use crossbows, kill them all. They will see they cannot win." [/QUOTE]

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