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[D&D 5e 2024] Heroes of the Borderlands
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 9780566" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Heh, no worries. I never really got into 4e (never actually played it with a live group). I eventually adapted that story into a series of novels called <em>The Colors of Fate,</em> and I think it got better for having removed all of the D&D aspects. </p><p></p><p>Question for the readers: I’ve already selected the adventurers’ next cave, and we know that they’re going to end up fighting the cultists, but which of the level 2 caves would you like to see them explore? Post your suggestions here; I’ve got about a week until I’ll need to decide.</p><p></p><p>* * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 14</p><p></p><p></p><p>“How is your hand?” Leana asked.</p><p></p><p>The warrior looked down; he’d entirely forgotten about the cut. “It’s nothing,” he said.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll want to look at it later,” she chided. “Even a small wound can become a problem if allowed to become infected.”</p><p></p><p>He swallowed what he was going to say and looked ahead to where Spurt was eagerly gesturing them forward using the centipede. The thing’s legs continued to twitch when he moved it. He didn’t know how she could be so calm, having almost been killed by that thing, but he found that her calm helped steady his own nerves.</p><p></p><p>“Tribe right up here!” Spurt called from ahead, gesturing toward another room that became visible ahead in the glow of Leana’s light. The spell had continued to function even during her brush with death. “Come on, they welcome!”</p><p></p><p>“Let’s hope that Spurt’s kinfolk are as credulous as he is,” Ravani muttered under his breath.</p><p></p><p>“Hush,” Leana said.</p><p></p><p>Spurt rushed into the room. The others hesitated, but after a moment the kobold popped back and gestured. “Come, come!” The warrior, holding his sheathed sword in both hands, shifted his grip and followed the others forward.</p><p></p><p>The room was maybe slightly larger than the last one, but also irregularly shaped. A large alcove to the right was filled with simple beds made of straw. A pile of junk in the center of the room was flanked by five kobolds, all dressed and armed similarly to Spurt, who was holding up the impaled centipede and chattering to them in his own language. The sound was almost exactly the same as the high-pitched arguing they’d overheard before.</p><p></p><p>The kobold in the middle of the formation seemed to be the leader. “You want know about caves?” she asked the group.</p><p></p><p>“That’s right,” Leana said. “We’ve come here seeking out some bad people who have been threatening us. Cultists…”</p><p></p><p>“Bandits?” the kobold asked.</p><p></p><p>“Sort of like that,” Leana said. “They wear red robes.”</p><p></p><p>The kobolds exchanged some words in their language. The leader opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud, ear-piercing cry that came from another alcove to the left. The kobolds all winced slightly at the intensity of the sound, but did not otherwise react. The warrior shifted reflexively to the right to get a better look, and saw that there was a door in the back of the alcove that was slightly open. The cry must have come from whatever was behind it.</p><p></p><p>The leader waited until the echoes of the cry had faded, then held up a hand. “We help. But first, you tame dragon.”</p><p></p><p>“Wait, what?” Ravani said.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p>The stone door ground open as the warrior put his shoulder to it. The doorway was low enough that he would have to duck his head to fit through it. He was completely aware of his companions all arrayed behind him, and behind them, all six kobolds, watching expectantly. But his focus was on the space ahead, where the loud shrieks had continued during their “negotiation” with the kobolds.</p><p></p><p>They’d let Leana take the lead. The cleric seemed committed to a peaceful settlement with these kobolds, although the warrior was starting to have his doubts. The kobolds had insisted that the dragon was “just a baby,” and not a real threat, but even he had been able to see how tense—and afraid—they were. The leader—who called himself “Dirx”—said that they’d found the egg, and had no idea where it had come from.</p><p></p><p>The warrior pushed the door as far open as he could, then ducked his head through the entry. As the light from Leana’s amulet spilled into the space, the constant sounds of distress abruptly stopped. The warrior blinked, trying to resist the urge to unsling his sword. He’d put it back across his back at Leana’s insistence, but he couldn’t help but think of every story of fire-breathing dragons that he’d ever heard.</p><p></p><p>None of the stories could have prepared him for what he saw. The room wasn’t very big, maybe twenty feet by twenty-five, cluttered with an assortment of barrels and sacks that contained dried meats and other foodstuffs, from the medley of smells that greeted him. Two kobolds were here, facing the far corner, but they drew back as he entered. As they withdrew he could clearly see the small mound of eggshell fragments, bits of gear, and coins in that corner, and sitting atop that…</p><p></p><p>It was definitely a dragon, though not like any dragon the warrior had ever imagined. It was maybe the size of Folgar, although its stubby wings and tail added to its impression of size. It had bright copper scales that deepened to a soft green under its wings and down its belly. At the moment it was watching him intently, its large green-gray eyes blinking against Leana’s light. It saw the hilt of the sword jutting up from over his shoulder and let out a cautionary growl.</p><p></p><p>Then Leana moved into the room, and she clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, aren’t you the most adorable thing ever!”</p><p></p><p>Both the warrior and the dragon blinked in surprise as she rushed over to the creature. It let out a confused sound as she wrapped her arms around its neck, then rubbed it under its jaw. “Oh, you are just a baby, aren’t you? Oh, you must be so confused at waking up here, with these kobolds…”</p><p></p><p>“We give money,” one of the kobolds in the room said, pointing to the makeshift “horde” that they’d created amidst the mess of the dragon’s broken egg. “Dragon like money.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, he just wants his mother,” Leana said. She kept rubbing the dragon’s head, which the creature seemed to accept, though the warrior couldn’t help but notice that its jaws were large enough to engulf the halfling’s entire head. “Ravani, Folgar, come in here and see this fine fellow!”</p><p></p><p>The others advanced into the room cautiously. The two kobolds looked back warily, but on seeing their comrades in the outer room watching, they didn’t make any protest. Ravani sidled forward along the edge of the room, scanning the bits of treasure scattered around the dragon. The creature noticed and sent him a wary growl that had him backing up, his hands raised.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, don’t be rude,” she said to both the elf and the wyrmling. “Now. What’s your name, child?”</p><p></p><p>The warrior was perplexed, but that turned into complete shock when the dragon said, in perfectly understandable Common, “Don’t know. Mother tell.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course, of course,” Leana said. “She must be absolutely a wreck right now.” She turned back to the door and gestured. “Dirx, come in here.” When the kobold leader failed to immediately materialize, she repeated his name, more firmly. Finally the kobold appeared, sticking his head into the doorway.</p><p></p><p>“Dirx, you cannot keep this dragon,” she said. “He belongs with his mother.”</p><p></p><p>“Dragon protect us,” the kobold insisted. “We take care, raise good.”</p><p></p><p>“This is definitely a new one,” Ravani muttered. Leana shot him a warning look, then said to the kobolds, “I understand you might have had good motivations. But you did not think this through. Consider first that this dragon is going to grow big, very big. You have a nice little larder here, but he’s going to need a lot of food, so much food that gathering it will be a full-time job for all eight of you. Second, it’s an intelligent creature, and it clearly doesn’t want to be here.”</p><p></p><p>“We treat good,” Dirx insisted. “Give food, money.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I’m sure you would,” Leana said. “But there’s a third point. Dragons—especially metallic dragons—are very protective of their young. I’m sure this little fellow’s mother is scouring the region looking for him. And when she finds him—and she will—I don’t think that she will be very understanding about how he came to be here.”</p><p></p><p>Dirx shook his head stubbornly, but the other kobolds were all sharing looks of alarm and concern. One of them reached out and prodded Dirx’s shoulder, muttering something in his language. Spurt was looking between the centipede and the dragon, maybe appreciating for the first time what they had gotten themselves into.</p><p></p><p>Leana turned back to the dragon. “What do you want to do, little one?”</p><p></p><p>“Find mother,” he said. “Get name.”</p><p></p><p>“We give name,” Dirx said. “Spitter. He spit burning goo.” He pointed to a pile of crates in a corner that looked like they had partially dissolved. The warrior hadn’t noticed them when he’d first come in, and he swallowed heavily.</p><p></p><p>“A lovely name,” Ravani muttered.</p><p></p><p>“Maybe we should just leave him with them, and let the kobolds get what they deserve,” Folgar whispered back. The warrior ignored both of them; it felt like every muscle in his body was clenched, as he waited to see whether they’d have to fight the kobolds, the dragon, or both together.</p><p></p><p>Leana let out a sigh. “You asked us to mediate this dispute,” she said. “We do not have a stake in the outcome, but I strongly, strongly recommend that you return this dragon to where you found it. I suspect that his cries will bring his mother soon enough.”</p><p></p><p>“Or a pack of hungry dire wolves,” Ravani said. The dragon turned and snorted at him, spattering the elf with hunks of mucus that thankfully didn’t burn with acid. The creature chortled and lowered his head onto Leana’s shoulder so she could scratch it again. “Don’t mind him,” she told the dragon. “Are you hungry, maybe? I’m sure the kobolds won’t mind if you help yourself to a snack.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon let out a chirrup of approval. He took a few awkward steps forward and tipped over a barrel of salted meat sitting along one wall of the room. One sweep of his claws smashed it open, and he began gobbling up the contents.</p><p></p><p>Leana made a gesture toward the barrel, as if to say, "You see?" The kobolds all looked at Dirx, who held his head up for a few more stubborn seconds, then the kobold leader visibly deflated. “We take back,” he said.</p><p></p><p>“Wonderful,” Leana said, as the baby dragon wolfed down another chunk of meat the size of her arm. “That’s just wonderful.”</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Game Notes:</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Leana: Charisma (Persuasion): 20 (+2): 22 vs. DC 10 (Success)</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 9780566, member: 143"] Heh, no worries. I never really got into 4e (never actually played it with a live group). I eventually adapted that story into a series of novels called [i]The Colors of Fate,[/i] and I think it got better for having removed all of the D&D aspects. Question for the readers: I’ve already selected the adventurers’ next cave, and we know that they’re going to end up fighting the cultists, but which of the level 2 caves would you like to see them explore? Post your suggestions here; I’ve got about a week until I’ll need to decide. * * * Chapter 14 “How is your hand?” Leana asked. The warrior looked down; he’d entirely forgotten about the cut. “It’s nothing,” he said. “I’ll want to look at it later,” she chided. “Even a small wound can become a problem if allowed to become infected.” He swallowed what he was going to say and looked ahead to where Spurt was eagerly gesturing them forward using the centipede. The thing’s legs continued to twitch when he moved it. He didn’t know how she could be so calm, having almost been killed by that thing, but he found that her calm helped steady his own nerves. “Tribe right up here!” Spurt called from ahead, gesturing toward another room that became visible ahead in the glow of Leana’s light. The spell had continued to function even during her brush with death. “Come on, they welcome!” “Let’s hope that Spurt’s kinfolk are as credulous as he is,” Ravani muttered under his breath. “Hush,” Leana said. Spurt rushed into the room. The others hesitated, but after a moment the kobold popped back and gestured. “Come, come!” The warrior, holding his sheathed sword in both hands, shifted his grip and followed the others forward. The room was maybe slightly larger than the last one, but also irregularly shaped. A large alcove to the right was filled with simple beds made of straw. A pile of junk in the center of the room was flanked by five kobolds, all dressed and armed similarly to Spurt, who was holding up the impaled centipede and chattering to them in his own language. The sound was almost exactly the same as the high-pitched arguing they’d overheard before. The kobold in the middle of the formation seemed to be the leader. “You want know about caves?” she asked the group. “That’s right,” Leana said. “We’ve come here seeking out some bad people who have been threatening us. Cultists…” “Bandits?” the kobold asked. “Sort of like that,” Leana said. “They wear red robes.” The kobolds exchanged some words in their language. The leader opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud, ear-piercing cry that came from another alcove to the left. The kobolds all winced slightly at the intensity of the sound, but did not otherwise react. The warrior shifted reflexively to the right to get a better look, and saw that there was a door in the back of the alcove that was slightly open. The cry must have come from whatever was behind it. The leader waited until the echoes of the cry had faded, then held up a hand. “We help. But first, you tame dragon.” “Wait, what?” Ravani said. [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] The stone door ground open as the warrior put his shoulder to it. The doorway was low enough that he would have to duck his head to fit through it. He was completely aware of his companions all arrayed behind him, and behind them, all six kobolds, watching expectantly. But his focus was on the space ahead, where the loud shrieks had continued during their “negotiation” with the kobolds. They’d let Leana take the lead. The cleric seemed committed to a peaceful settlement with these kobolds, although the warrior was starting to have his doubts. The kobolds had insisted that the dragon was “just a baby,” and not a real threat, but even he had been able to see how tense—and afraid—they were. The leader—who called himself “Dirx”—said that they’d found the egg, and had no idea where it had come from. The warrior pushed the door as far open as he could, then ducked his head through the entry. As the light from Leana’s amulet spilled into the space, the constant sounds of distress abruptly stopped. The warrior blinked, trying to resist the urge to unsling his sword. He’d put it back across his back at Leana’s insistence, but he couldn’t help but think of every story of fire-breathing dragons that he’d ever heard. None of the stories could have prepared him for what he saw. The room wasn’t very big, maybe twenty feet by twenty-five, cluttered with an assortment of barrels and sacks that contained dried meats and other foodstuffs, from the medley of smells that greeted him. Two kobolds were here, facing the far corner, but they drew back as he entered. As they withdrew he could clearly see the small mound of eggshell fragments, bits of gear, and coins in that corner, and sitting atop that… It was definitely a dragon, though not like any dragon the warrior had ever imagined. It was maybe the size of Folgar, although its stubby wings and tail added to its impression of size. It had bright copper scales that deepened to a soft green under its wings and down its belly. At the moment it was watching him intently, its large green-gray eyes blinking against Leana’s light. It saw the hilt of the sword jutting up from over his shoulder and let out a cautionary growl. Then Leana moved into the room, and she clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, aren’t you the most adorable thing ever!” Both the warrior and the dragon blinked in surprise as she rushed over to the creature. It let out a confused sound as she wrapped her arms around its neck, then rubbed it under its jaw. “Oh, you are just a baby, aren’t you? Oh, you must be so confused at waking up here, with these kobolds…” “We give money,” one of the kobolds in the room said, pointing to the makeshift “horde” that they’d created amidst the mess of the dragon’s broken egg. “Dragon like money.” “Oh, he just wants his mother,” Leana said. She kept rubbing the dragon’s head, which the creature seemed to accept, though the warrior couldn’t help but notice that its jaws were large enough to engulf the halfling’s entire head. “Ravani, Folgar, come in here and see this fine fellow!” The others advanced into the room cautiously. The two kobolds looked back warily, but on seeing their comrades in the outer room watching, they didn’t make any protest. Ravani sidled forward along the edge of the room, scanning the bits of treasure scattered around the dragon. The creature noticed and sent him a wary growl that had him backing up, his hands raised. “Oh, don’t be rude,” she said to both the elf and the wyrmling. “Now. What’s your name, child?” The warrior was perplexed, but that turned into complete shock when the dragon said, in perfectly understandable Common, “Don’t know. Mother tell.” “Of course, of course,” Leana said. “She must be absolutely a wreck right now.” She turned back to the door and gestured. “Dirx, come in here.” When the kobold leader failed to immediately materialize, she repeated his name, more firmly. Finally the kobold appeared, sticking his head into the doorway. “Dirx, you cannot keep this dragon,” she said. “He belongs with his mother.” “Dragon protect us,” the kobold insisted. “We take care, raise good.” “This is definitely a new one,” Ravani muttered. Leana shot him a warning look, then said to the kobolds, “I understand you might have had good motivations. But you did not think this through. Consider first that this dragon is going to grow big, very big. You have a nice little larder here, but he’s going to need a lot of food, so much food that gathering it will be a full-time job for all eight of you. Second, it’s an intelligent creature, and it clearly doesn’t want to be here.” “We treat good,” Dirx insisted. “Give food, money.” “Yes, I’m sure you would,” Leana said. “But there’s a third point. Dragons—especially metallic dragons—are very protective of their young. I’m sure this little fellow’s mother is scouring the region looking for him. And when she finds him—and she will—I don’t think that she will be very understanding about how he came to be here.” Dirx shook his head stubbornly, but the other kobolds were all sharing looks of alarm and concern. One of them reached out and prodded Dirx’s shoulder, muttering something in his language. Spurt was looking between the centipede and the dragon, maybe appreciating for the first time what they had gotten themselves into. Leana turned back to the dragon. “What do you want to do, little one?” “Find mother,” he said. “Get name.” “We give name,” Dirx said. “Spitter. He spit burning goo.” He pointed to a pile of crates in a corner that looked like they had partially dissolved. The warrior hadn’t noticed them when he’d first come in, and he swallowed heavily. “A lovely name,” Ravani muttered. “Maybe we should just leave him with them, and let the kobolds get what they deserve,” Folgar whispered back. The warrior ignored both of them; it felt like every muscle in his body was clenched, as he waited to see whether they’d have to fight the kobolds, the dragon, or both together. Leana let out a sigh. “You asked us to mediate this dispute,” she said. “We do not have a stake in the outcome, but I strongly, strongly recommend that you return this dragon to where you found it. I suspect that his cries will bring his mother soon enough.” “Or a pack of hungry dire wolves,” Ravani said. The dragon turned and snorted at him, spattering the elf with hunks of mucus that thankfully didn’t burn with acid. The creature chortled and lowered his head onto Leana’s shoulder so she could scratch it again. “Don’t mind him,” she told the dragon. “Are you hungry, maybe? I’m sure the kobolds won’t mind if you help yourself to a snack.” The dragon let out a chirrup of approval. He took a few awkward steps forward and tipped over a barrel of salted meat sitting along one wall of the room. One sweep of his claws smashed it open, and he began gobbling up the contents. Leana made a gesture toward the barrel, as if to say, "You see?" The kobolds all looked at Dirx, who held his head up for a few more stubborn seconds, then the kobold leader visibly deflated. “We take back,” he said. “Wonderful,” Leana said, as the baby dragon wolfed down another chunk of meat the size of her arm. “That’s just wonderful.” [I]Game Notes: Leana: Charisma (Persuasion): 20 (+2): 22 vs. DC 10 (Success)[/I] [/QUOTE]
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