Rel's Faded Glory - The Early Days

[Rel]

Deceit and Death

The night passed uneventfully without any incursions by the Gnolls. As the dawn broke over the fog-shrouded valley, the party rose from their bedrolls and ate a cold breakfast. They waited quietly for the arrival of the Gnoll representative.

Just as the fog was beginning to break up, they began to hear noises from the woods to the west. Slowly, by twos and threes, Gnolls emerged from the tree line and took up cautious stances 50 to 100 feet from the base of the tower until approximately 30 of them stood outside. A trio of Gnolls bearing heavy flails (which tentatively identified them as priests) made their way to the center of the group.

"We have come for the Flail as you asked. Where is it?"

Rhys made his way out onto the tower roof, closely followed by Speaks and Krase. Rhys addressed the gathered Gnolls in their own tongue, "We have your flail. But you won't get it back yet. We have come here on behalf of he that owns this tower. He will be returning soon and he finds your presence in the town unacceptable. You are to leave immediately or suffer more of our wrath."

"As to the matter of your flail," Rhys continued, "we could give it back to you. But we thought it would be more sporting if we allowed you the opportunity to 'win it back'. If you want the flail, you will have to fight for it.

Our finest warrior will battle yours and if ours wins, you leave without the flail. If yours wins, you leave with it."

The Gnolls grumbled among themselves for a moment. Then their priest spoke again, "This battle shall be to the death?"

"Yes." Rhys confidently replied.

"And there shall be no outside interference by us or by you?" asked the Gnoll.

"That is correct," said Rhys.

"We accept!"

Speaks kept watch atop the tower roof as Rhys and Krase descended and lowered the drawbridge. As they did so, Rhys cast Cat's Grace on the warrior to give him an extra edge. Then the pair of them walked confidently out onto the platform atop the stairs outside the tower and marched out to meet with the Gnolls.

"Have you selected your champion?" Rhys asked with a hint of disdain.

"We have," replied the Gnoll and gestured before adding, "Urrgol!"

Through the crowd of Gnolls stepped what was easily the largest Gnoll any of them had ever seen. If the top of his head was shy of eight feet, the tops of his ears certainly weren't. Tufts of fur protruded from the suit of chainmail he wore and his heavily muscled arm hefted an enormous greatsword.

As Rhys once again began to talk with the Gnoll priest, Speaks gazed down at the Gnollish warrior and had a flash of recognition. He had last seen this warrior mired in mud on the bank of the Fodor as he, Arc and Ilrath had paddled away to safety. This was the Gnoll who had chased them across the western wilds with his hunting parties those many months ago, before they were regarded as heroes.

Meanwhile Rhys discussed the terms of the duel with the priest. The Gnoll explained that when his people fought, they did so within a circle. Any who left the circle of their own will lost the battle and their life was forfeit for the victor to do with as he pleased. He further explained that whoever was challenged was given the choice of how large the circle was to be.

Rhys agreed to this so long as the circle was no smaller than eight paces across.

The priest quickly paced off a ten pace circle and the gnolls hastily drew the rudiments of a circle in the dirt. Krase took a position at the circle's edge nearest the tower and Urrgol stood opposite him. Rhys leaned in to Krase as he walked by and said, "I'll wait atop the stairs. If they try anything funny, I'm getting you out of here." Krase nodded and collected himself for a duel with his hated enemy.

Moments later, the priest barked, "Begin!"

Krase was quicker to react than the hulking Gnoll. As he had stood waiting for the fight to start he had debated several different strategies. Now he simply rushed forward and slashed at the Gnoll with Heartneedle and unfortunately missed.

In turn, the Gnoll hauled back with his greatsword and swung with all his might, pounding into Krase's side and nearly knocking him to the ground (Rolled a 20 on the first swing - confirmed crit for 29 points of damage). A cheer rang out from the surrounding Gnolls.

Krase shook his head with shock but quickly recovered himself and slashed away with his twin blades. His defensive training kicked in and he attacked more timidly, reserving some of his energy to try to fend off any further blows from the Gnoll. Only Heartneedle found its mark but at least he had paid back the Gnoll with blood.

Urrgol was pleased and confident after his initial swing. He would finish this puny human off in moments and then they would recover the Fists of Yeenoghu, one way or another. He swung his sword with reckless abandon putting his full weight behind the swing while sacrificing some accuracy. Krase dodged the blow with no trouble and the tip of the greatsword dug into the moist soil.

Krase let fly with another pair of slashes, continuing to be mindful of the powerful blows aimed at him by Urrgol. This time Heartneedle lodged harmlessly in one of the rugged chain links of the Gnoll's armor. But his other blade cut a shallow wound along the calf of the beast. "Slow and steady," he told himself.

Urrgol hacked again with his sword but the powerful cut again went far wide of its target. The cautious human was turning out to be tougher to hit than he had anticipated. He decided to be more careful with his strikes, sacrificing some of the fury he put into his blows. He also stepped slightly to the side, seeking to disrupt the concentration of the human warrior with his sudden move.

Krase noted the sidestep by the Gnoll. It left a direct line between himself and the Gnoll shamans. He knew he couldn't trust them so he too stepped to the side, keeping the immensity of the Gnoll between him and the treacherous priests. He slashed out with his swords again. Heartneedle failed him again but the blade in his off hand put a cut in the smelly hide of his adversary.

Urrgol noted the nervous way the human had reacted to his maneuvering. He repeated the move, this time to the inside of the circle. If the human panicked and stepped outside the circle, his life was over. He then swung his mighty sword and this time his aim was true. It was not as mighty as the first blow he had struck but he felt the human stagger under the weight of it.

Krase was becoming very hard pressed. He knew that one more such blow would be the end of him. Foregoing his attacks, he stepped just beyond the reach of the Gnoll and drank a potion he hastily snatched from his belt. He felt slightly better but was a long way from healthy.

The Gnolls howled in anger at this move (it being a clear departure from their long standing tradition of "smashing each other in the face until someone is dead" style of battle). Urrgol growled. If the human had tried that trick within his reach, he'd have lost his head for it. He stepped forward and lashed out with his blade. But his anger made the blow clumsy and Krase easily dodged it.

Krase's blades cleaved away at the enraged Gnoll more aggressively now. He let loose his own growl of frustration as Heartneedle slid harmlessly off the side of the Gnoll's armor. But his other sword continued to prove it's worth, digging a deep notch into the thigh of his opponent.

Urrgol roared in pain and frustration. He swung his hefty blade straight out in a flat arc that could easily have decapitated the young human. But again, the nimble warrior ducked under his blow and escaped unharmed.

Krase allowed himself a slight smile. The Gnoll was losing focus and getting sloppy. A few more nicks and cuts and the blood loss would do him in. He let fly another pair of slashed. As seemed to be the trend for the day, Heartneedle failed to connect while his other blade left blood oozing from a fresh cut across the Gnoll's forearm.

The Gnoll let loose a roar that sent blood-flecked foam sailing from his jaws. Krase anticipated another powerful but clumsy swing from the enraged beast. Instead, Urrgol dropped low and reversed his swing, spinning the opposite direction and catching the young warrior from Glynden off guard. The blade bit low, just under the protection of his mithral breastplate and severed flesh and bone.

Krase Sandoval, hero in the lands of the Fodor and champion among the peoples of Glynden, toppled to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

As Speaks and Rhys gazed on in horror, Urrgol held aloft his victorious sword. A moment later, he reversed his grip, clearly meaning to drive the point of the enormous blade into Krase's breast. Rhys snapped into action pulling forth a scroll he had earmarked for just this eventuality. He hastily read the arcane words and as he spoke, Krase's limp body began to Levitate into the air until it rose to a height of 20 feet.

Urrgol was completely taken off guard by this as were the rest of the Gnolls who stared on in anger and disbelief that the victory of their champion was about to be stolen away by such deceitful magic.

Speaks tried to buy them a momentary distraction by attempting to hold to at least a bit of their bargain. He pitched the Flail off the tower roof, into the midst of the Gnolls, saying, "Your champion has prevailed. Take your Flail and leave!" He then prepared himself to transform into an eagle, hoping he might be able to drag Krase to safety before he died.

But his voice was drowned out by that of the Gnoll priest who shouted, "They have broken their word! Kill them all!"

Every Gnoll began to grab at whatever missile weapons he had on his person (primarily javelins with a few short bows mixed in).

Rhys concentrated a moment, lifting Krase higher above the crowd of angry Gnolls (to a total height of 40 feet) before he retreated inside the tower, out of the line of fire and toward the windlass that would raise the drawbridge. As Krase's unconscious form rose above the crowd, his hand still loosely clutched the hilt of Heartneedle, which, until today had never failed him.

Suddenly an attack came from a completely unexpected quarter. From the woods south of the clearing, Speaks spotted some movement and then saw the dog-lizards they had spotted up on the ridgeline. Before this fully registered, three glowing bolts of energy shot from the treeline and slammed into the hovering body of Krase.

His unconscious form arched in pain and then hung limply in the air. Speaks let out a cry of anguish but his only answer was the shining mithral blade of Heartneedle, tumbling out of the grasp of the young warrior. Its mirror surface reflected the rays of the morning sun off of the last wisps of fog in a scene far too beautiful for the horror it truly contained.

Just then, Rhys sent a message to Speaks via his amulet of communication as he cranked the windlass with all his might: "I've got to get the drawbridge up! You better go get Krase!"

Speaks used his own amulet. He replied numbly, "I'm afraid that Krase is beyond our help." Moments later, anger flashed in the Druid's eyes and magic flashed from his hands…

NEXT: Blood and Fire

 

[Rel]

Blood and Fire

Rhys took a moment to absorb the ramifications of Speaks' message and began to crank the windlass furiously. There were 30 Gnolls outside, Krase was dead and if he didn't get the drawbridge shut soon, he and Speaks were going to wind up the same way.

Speaks cast an Entangle spell that caught almost the entire Gnollish force within its grasp (I never cease to be amazed at how big that spell is. Krase's player recently made us some templates for spell effects out of heavy Mylar and the one for Entangle is Sixteen Inches Across!. It utterly dominates the battlemat.).

A second later, another trio of the magical bolts shot from dog-lizards some 120 feet away and this time Speaks was their target. They sailed into him causing considerable pain.

The majority of the Gnolls were now trapped within the grasping roots and vines that had proved their bane the previous day. Roughly a third of them, including the priests and Urrgol managed to scurry out of the area before they were caught. Most of the rest struggled in vain at their bonds. The few who thought to hurl their javelins at the Druid had their aim foiled by the vines that grabbed them and their weapons clattered harmlessly off the wall of the tower.

Rhys continued to crank the windlass with every ounce of his strength. Through one of the arrow slits that looked out onto the top of the stairs, he could see the gnolls who had escaped the entanglement already angling towards the bottom of the stairs. The drawbridge was not nearly high enough to prevent the Gnolls from leaping across to it. And if just one Gnoll managed to get on the bridge, the weight would be entirely too much for Rhys to crank up by himself.

Speaks saw this too and decided that he needed to buy time for Rhys. He called upon the forces of Nature for an Ally and summoned a flaming Salamander at the base of the stairs. The creature immediately slithered forth and attacked at Urrgol but missed.

Just as Speaks completed his spell, a pair of crossbow bolts shot from where the dog-lizards were and struck him with frightening accuracy. He recoiled back from the edge of the parapet in pain.

Urrgol struck back at the Salamander and dealt it a wound that bled magma, spreading fire among the weeds at its feet. The Gnoll priest hurried to the side of Urrgol, calling out to the other Gnolls, "Free yourselves and come to me!"

Rhys could hear the cry of the priest just outside near the base of the stairs. He was unaware that the Salamander was keeping the Gnolls occupied for the moment. He continued to haul at the spokes on the windlass, a profuse sweat starting to break out on his brow.

Speaks could see the dog-lizards dancing with glee just outside the clearing. Their missile fire was starting to take a severe toll on him but the group of Gnolls who had made it clear of the Entangle were threatening to overwhelm the stairs if he didn't do something. He cast another Entangle directly adjacent to the first, giving the Gnolls a larger obstacle to run around and catching another of the shamans inside the area. Then he ducked low so that only his head and shoulders were visible between the crenellations.

As he had predicted, the dog-lizards shot another cluster of their "force bolts" at him. But he hadn't anticipated that their fire would be so accurate and he staggered under the assault. He simply couldn't take another such attack.

Urrgol swung again at the Salamander but missed this time, the damage he had taken from Krase beginning to take its toll. The Gnoll priest swung his flail at the fiery creature and wounded it further. The group of Gnolls who were free of the entangled area stopped abruptly when they found their path blocked by more grasping weeds. The changed direction and kept running, seeking a way around the entanglement to the stairs at the base of the tower.

Rhys glanced out the arrow slit and saw that the drawbridge was halfway up now. It would be very difficult for a Gnoll to leap far enough to catch the edge of it. It was time for him to take the battle to the enemy. He hooked the windlass in place with a rope attached to the wall for that purpose. Then he ran into the entryway and stopped at the edge of the steeply slanting drawbridge.

Speaks dropped down, completely out of sight of the dog-lizards and used some healing magic on himself. He knew that Rhys would need more of his help to hold the door, but the attacks of the dog-lizards had wounded him badly.

Below, his Salamander ally struck with its whip-like tail and spear and finally connected with Urrgol. The flaming spear caught the giant Gnoll under the armpit as he hauled back to swing his greatsword again. The spear drove deep into his chest and blood flowed from his mouth before he fell to the ground lifeless.

The priest called out the other Gnolls, "Come quickly! We must strike them now!", hoping to inspire the trapped Gnolls to break free. But they were hopelessly stuck in the vines. In frustration, the priest swung his flail at the Salamander but missed this time.

Rhys took a moment to cast Spider Climb before he scurried to the top of the partially raised drawbridge. Taking a quick look around, he could see the priest facing off with the Salamander in front of him, just behind the staircase. Off to his left, he could see a crowd of nearly a dozen Gnolls running towards the stairs. An evil grin parted his lips.

Speaks used a second healing spell on himself. He knew that if he was going to be any use to Rhys, he was going to need to be able to withstand more of the punishing attacks of the dog-lizards.

The Samander struck at the priest this time and his flaming tail lashed the creature, singeing away a swath of fur on its leg. The priest howled in fury and struck again with his flail but his aim failed again.

Seeing the priest in danger, the cluster of Gnolls who had just rounded the second Entangle rushed to his aid. A pair of them crowded into the narrow space between the entangled area and the staircase to attempt a flank of their flaming foe. The rest climbed the broad stairs hoping to use the height advantage to strike down at the Salamander or perhaps use an axe to hook the top of the drawbridge to bring it down again.

Rhys had his evil grin interrupted when a crossbow bolt buried itself in the door of the drawbridge, just under his chin. Another bolt shot above his head and he heard it shatter on the back wall of the room behind him. Whoever those dog-lizards were, their shooting was horribly accurate.

But there was no time to worry about that now. His hand hovered above his magical scrollcase and summoned a scroll into it. A very precious scroll that he had paid dearly for but was ideal for this circumstance. He read the scroll and waved his hand. A small red pellet flew from his fingers to land halfway down the staircase before detonating in a tremendous Fireball 40 feet across!

With the exception of the Gnollish priest, every one of the gnolls fell dead where they stood, their flesh charred to the bone. The priest stood agape at the raw power his foes were capable of. He knew in that moment that he would not live to see another day.

As the smoke from the fireball swirled skyward, Speaks leaned forward over the parapet to see what had happened. He saw the death throes of a couple of the Gnolls as well as the shocked stillness of the Gnoll cleric. Opposite the priest stood his Salamander who was as happy and at home as could be among the flames. Off in the edge of the treeline he saw the dog-lizards. With the deaths of virtually all of the unentangled Gnolls, they were his primary concern. He unleashed a third Entangle in their area and was pleased to see them scrambling to escape the reach of the roots. Glancing below again, he saw the Salamander wink out of existence as it returned to its fiery home plane.

The priest, barely clinging to consciousness, staggered away in the only direction that offered escape. But his attempted escape was to be short lived. Rhys raised his crossbow and shot him in the back as he fled, knocking him to the ground, never to rise.

Rhys' triumph was cut short when a pair of the force bolts flung by the dog-lizards hit him in the face. He shook off the effects but decided that he quickly needed to take cover.

The dog-lizards who had escaped being entangled in the first few moments of the spell escaped from the area and fled back into the woods. Those who had been caught rapidly began slipping free from their bonds with surprising agility. They too fled back into the safety of the dense woods further up the ridge.

Speaks conjured another Flaming Sphere and began to assault the Gnolls who remained entangled outside the tower. Rhys used his Spider Climb spell to climb across and down the wall of the tower to the area between the stairs and the base of the tower. From there, he could see a trio of Gnolls trapped within the initial Entangle that Speaks had cast. He began to shoot at them.

Apparently inspired by the sheer terror of watching half a score of their comrades roasted alive, the remaining Gnolls began to break free of the vines and weeds that held them. As quickly as they could, they escaped the from the area affected by the spell and fled the area of the tower.

Rhys fired at the retreating Gnolls to assure that they entertained no thoughts of turning back for another try at the tower. As they ran, yelping into the forest, he stood up from his position and smiled at having successfully defended the tower from their attack.

But then his gaze wandered skyward and came to rest upon the lifeless body of Krase, hanging in mid-air 40 feet above the scorched and blood battlefield. His smile disappeared and he knew for certain that he had lost a friend.

NEXT: Revenge!

 

[Rel]

Revenge!

The group set out at first light. They guessed that the Gnolls would have retreated to the northwest, back into the Darkwood. Rhys and Raven set out that way on foot, Rhys finding himself moving at a crawl to keep pace with the dwarf. Speaks transformed into an eagle and flew out ahead to scout for the Gnolls. He would notify the others via his Amulet of Communication if he spotted them. (Any time Speaks Wild Shapes, he has a little ritual: He takes off his Amulet and gives it to Rhys. Then he Wild Shapes and then Rhys puts the Amulet back on so that it doesn't get subsumed into the new form and become useless.)

Speaks made lazy circles to the northwest and after a couple of hours determined that the Gnolls were nowhere in the area. So, he turned and headed south. Another few hours passed before he saw a sizable group of Gnolls bivouacked to the southwest of Aquae Sulis. Speaks turned around and flew north, searching out his companions. He finally spotted them in the early afternoon, still walking northwest. He sent to Rhys with the Amulet, "The Gnolls are due south of you. I'll catch up later." Then he turned south again and flew back to where the Gnolls were.

When he arrived, he found them starting to break camp and resume their exodus. Speaks flew a couple of miles southwest along the path they seemed to be taking. Then he landed in a tree and awaited their arrival. A short while later, as dusk dimmed the light of day, he heard them approaching. He flew a short distance to assure that he was in their path and alighted on a low, stout tree-branch and transformed back into human form.

He waited until the Gnolls were some 200 feet away and then called forth a wide field of Spike Growth across their path. He waited for a few moments before conjuring an Entangle just behind the leaders among the column of Gnolls.

Utter pandemonium broke loose among the Gnolls. Many of them fled from the entanglement into the swath of Spike Growth and were pierced by the wooden spines, laming or killing many. Others began to scatter in all directions.

Speaks sealed up one flank with another Entangle and then followed up by Summoning an Ally in the form of the Salamander that had worked so well against the Gnolls before. The Salamander rushed forward to engage the Gnolls.

Seeing this flaming effigy approaching from the southwest, the Gnolls, who had been convinced that the attack was coming from behind them, turned and ran away from the Salamander and the wooden spines and back into the direction of the entanglements. A voice called above the panic to form up around him but many ignored this plea.

By this point, Speaks had climbed down the few feet from his tree limb and was rapidly approaching the "battle" in the wake of the Salamander. Unfortunately, the Salamander had no idea the Spike Growth was present and rushed through it, sustaining some damage and suffering from wounds to its legs that prevented it from moving faster than a crawl.

Those Gnolls who could escape along the flank that held no entanglement did so, leaving the others to their fate. For those who didn't see that option, chaos reigned. Their high pitched barks and whines were heard over the cries of those impaled on the spiny growth jutting out of the forest floor. Along the edges of the Entangles there were masses of Gnolls that remained trapped.

Into one of these clusters, Speaks summoned a Flaming Sphere. The barks and whines became howls of pain as those held helpless by the entanglement were burned to death. In the light provided by the Flaming Sphere, Speaks began to notice that the large majority of those trapped were the females and pups of the Gnoll tribe. Almost none of them were strong enough to escape the vines and roots that held them and as tightly packed as they were, he was rolling over two and three at a time with the ball of fire.

Consumed by rage and remembering the words of Krase who swore that all Gnolls were inherently evil, Speaks called forth another ball of fire in the midst of those caught in the other Entangle. The spheres rolled among the captured and left a charred path of death in their wakes.

This continued for nearly a minute. Occasionally one of the male Gnolls or perhaps one of the females, driven to extraordinary strength by utter terror would escape the edge of the entangled area, only to flee further into the center of it in an effort to escape the druidic harbinger of fiery death.

Finally, mercifully, one and then the other Flaming Spheres winked out. The woods seemed especially dark to Speaks. The after images of the flaming Salamander and the balls of fire still burned in his eyes. But there were also images of the women and children that were burned there. Images that would remain for a long time.

Krase had always contended that the only good Gnoll was a dead Gnoll. They were irredeemably evil and nothing could change that. But in the face of the destruction he had wrought against those who were weak and largely defenseless, those words seemed as faint and far away as Krase's lost soul.

Speaks cried out to those who fled, "Go back to the North! Leave these lands and NEVER RETURN!" Then he shifted form into that of an owl. As he took flight and rose above the forest canopy, the silence of his wing beats did nothing to shield his ears from the piteous cries of the burned and dying who lay in the darkness below.

NEXT: Bad Things Come in Small Packages

 

[Rel]

Bad Things Come in Small Packages

Speaks flew northwards and located Rhys and Raven camped in the forest below. He swooped in silently and stood between them before they even knew he was there.

"Gads!" exclaimed Raven, "It's going to take a bit to get used to that!"

Speaks described what happened with the Gnolls. It was evident to the others that the Druid had little stomach for further revenge if it involved killing any more of the Gnoll females and pups. Raven agreed that if the backbone of the Gnoll force, its warriors, had been defeated, the rest would crumble soon enough. Rhys felt pretty much the same. They resolved that in the morning, they would journey back to the tower and see to Krase's body.

Rhys also mentioned that since the purpose of the trek to Aquae Sulis was to make the town safe for the miners who would soon be going there, they should probably check out the mine itself. The others agreed and bedded down for the night, leaving Rhys on watch. A couple of hours later, just as he was considering waking Raven for his watch, Rhys heard a noise off in the woods nearby. He moved to his companions and gave each a small shake.

Speaks woke silently and grabbed his spear. Raven startled slightly as he woke, nudging one of the plates of his armor (which always stays within easy reach of the dwarf). The noises off in the woods stopped with the clanking of the metal plates. A moment later, a horrified voice called out in Gnollish, "It's THEM! They're everywhere!! Run!"

Raven quickly pulled out his bow and sent an arrow sailing into the form of one of the nearest Gnolls who screamed as it was struck by the missile. "Run you buggers!" he called after them. And run they did. The party settled back down and the rest of the night passed uneventfully.

In the morning, they marched back in the vague direction of the abandoned town. Krase's presence was missed as he always seemed to know his way in these woods. But Speaks was able to keep them on course by using his magic to Sense Direction. Near noon they marched back through the center of the ruined town and made their way back to the tower.

They received a rather unpleasant surprise when they went to where Krase lay: All of his remaining equipment was missing! They had taken a few of the items from him that they might need (a pair of healing potions and his Amulet of Communication in particular) but the rest of his equipment (especially his mithral breastplate and the orc-slaying short sword) was simply gone.

Without missing a beat, Speaks handed off his Amulet to Rhys and transformed into a dog. He began sniffing around and instantly caught the scent of the thieves. He led them out of the tower and southwards across the clearing to the tree line where the trail took an abrupt turn to the west.

Rhys looked at Raven and said, "Gotta be the dog-lizards. This is where they attacked us from when they helped the Gnolls." Following the lead of Speaks, they traveled several hundred yards southwest until they came upon the remnants of the road that led from Aquae Sulis south to the mine entrance. The trail of the thieves led south along the road and the party followed.

A bit later, they spotted a large wooden building on the east side of the overgrown road. Rhys declared that this must be the smelting works for the mine. They approached cautiously.

Speaks determined that the trail didn't seem to enter the building and it continued toward the mine entrance, now visible some 50 yards away. Rhys decided to check out the building anyway just to make sure they weren't leaving anyone behind them to ambush. He opened one of the doors to the building and peered into the dimly lit interior.

Inside were most of the types of smelting equipment that he was vaguely familiar with from seeing the smelting works in Glynden. At one end was an area where the ore would be broken up into small chunks with heavy sledges. A series of tubs and "jigging boxes" were set up to separate out the ore heavy with silver from the tailings. At the far end was a furnace where the silver-laden ore would be melted down and the refined silver poured off into ingot molds. Near the center was a large set of gears connected to a rope and bucket system for pumping out the lower levels of the mines. A large axle exited through the side of the building where it probably ended in another set of gears attached to a turn-style that would have been operated by mules. None of the equipment showed any signs of recent use.

The party exited the building and continued towards the mine entrance. As they approached, Speaks and Rhys spotted a bit of movement further up the slope but couldn't tell exactly what it was. Raven decided that they had better be safe than sorry and cast a spell to Protect them from Evil. Rhys supplied them all with Cat's Grace. Rhys drew forth his Everburning Torch and continued forward with the dwarf at his side. Speaks stayed just behind the others and continued to sniff his way along the trail.

As short distance inside the mine, they discovered a passage to the east but Speaks determined that it hadn't been used recently. They pressed onwards.

Another 50 or so feet down the passage they came to an intersection. Again, Speaks sniffed around and found plenty of scents but determined that those who had come from the tower went straight up the middle passage. They followed.

They progressed another 20 feet down the main shaft when suddenly an enormously loud sound detonated among the party. They were momentarily shaken but not utterly deafened by the sound. Then, a volley of the Magic Missiles that the dog-lizards had previously used came sailing out of the darkness ahead to strike Rhys.

Rhys was the first to recover from the surprise and he decided that the one place he didn't want to be was the place where the ambush was planned. He ran forward to confront his attackers. He quickly spotted a foursome of the dog-lizards standing in the passage ahead of him. Two of them leveled their crossbows and fired at him, one of them striking home.

Just as Rhys advanced to engage the enemy, more of the dog-lizards appeared from the intersection they had just passed through and began firing crossbows at Raven and Speaks. Raven cursed aloud as most of the bolts ricocheted off his platemail. "I shoulda known as soon as you said 'dog-lizards'. Those are Kobolds!" He waded forward to engage them but as he did so, he came into view of four more of the creatures. A pair of them unleashed more of their Magic Missiles which unerringly struck the dwarf. The damage he sustained distracted the stout holy-warrior and he missed the runt he swung his warhammer at.

Speaks realized quickly that his present form was next to useless against their opponents and took a moment to transform into human form. He glanced up and down the hallway. He could see that Rhys was facing several of the Kobolds at his end. He had some doubts that the sorcerer would last long against so many foes. Speaks hurried in that direction to lend his aid.

One of the Kobolds in front of Rhys fired another Magic Missile at point blank range, further wounding him, while another spoke an incantation and a soft glow surrounded his hand as he moved forward to attack.

At the other end of the corridor, a fresh volley of Magic Missiles flew from the hands of those who Raven faced. The dwarf knew that he couldn't take such punishment all day but he hoped the Kobolds missiles would run out soon.

Rhys drew forth his rapier and plunged in to attack one of the crossbowmen before him. His blade went wide of the agile Kobold however. In response, the Kobold dropped his crossbow and drew out a short sword and sliced at Rhys. His blade missed as well but the other crossbowman had likewise dropped his weapon and pulled a short sword as he had moved around to Rhys' flank. He plunged his weapon into the small of Rhys' back and cackled with glee as the sorcerer grunted in pain.

Several of the Kobolds facing Raven moved in to close range to engage the dwarf. They too wielded short swords and sought to maneuver around the dwarf. In response to this threat, Raven swung his mighty hammer and collapsed the chest of one of his diminutive attackers. His swing continued and barely missed the Kobold adjacent to the first.

Speaks moved further down the corridor and used his magic to again call forth a Salamander Ally whom he conjured forth amid those who attacked Rhys. The Salamander immediately attacked one of the Kobolds but its spear and tail failed to connect.

One of the Kobolds near Rhys (the one who had been flinging the Magic Missiles) backed up a step from the Salamander. The one with the glowing hand reached out to touch Rhys but the dexterous sorcerer remained elusive.

Back at the intersection, a new pair of Magic Missiles flew at Raven and another of the Kobolds shot him with a crossbow, his aim seeming supernaturally accurate. With no backup and almost surrounded, things seemed grim for the dwarf.

Rhys saw that his three adversaries were in a particularly perfect formation and in a flash, he whipped out his wand of Burning Hands as he stepped back and toasted all of them. All were burned but none fell to the attack. In response, the pair that had previously flanked him, tried to maneuver back into that position. The one on his left found that he couldn't get to Rhys' rear without exposing himself to attack. He bided his time.

The Kobolds surrounding Raven performed a quick sidestep and allowed another of their number in until each of the four was opposite another Kobold. This fearsome foursome flailed at the dwarf with their small swords but his platemail protected him from their attacks.

Seeing that he was in grave peril, Raven stepped back and began to cast a curative spell on himself. Doing so opened him up to attacks from a pair of the Kobolds but again, their swords rang off of his armor and he was able to complete his spell. He felt slightly better but was far from healthy.

Speaks looked at how the battle was shaping up at Rhys' end and decided that he needed some additional help for the sorcerer. He began the motions to call forth some further Allies but his spell was cut short as the Kobold closest to the Salamander shot the Magic Missile he had been saving for the druid. The bolt of force distracted Speaks and the felt the strands of magic fall apart within his grasp, the spell wasted.

Seemingly in retaliation for his master, the Salamander moved in to attack the offending Kobold and struck him with his spear. The Kobold, decided that fact to face with the fiery beast was not where he wanted to be and retreated into a previously unseen side tunnel. The one that had earlier menaced Rhys with his glowing hand moved across the tunnel and put his back against the wall, performing some arcane gestures in the process.

Raven took yet another Magic Missile but that was the least of his worries. One of the Kobolds in the intersection began calling out orders of some kind (Raven doesn't speak Draconic) and a large, black reptilian head poked around the corner.

Rhys meanwhile took another slash at one of his attackers. Once again the Kobold managed to dodge the tip of his blade. Growling in frustration, Rhys took a step back to continue thwarting the Kobolds' attempts to flank him. The Kobolds pursued and pressed their attack but seemed no more capable of hitting Rhys than he was of hitting them.

A couple of the ones that Raven faced attacked him, again being thwarted by his armor. But the other pair cleared out of the way with a slight hint of fear in their eyes. Before he could react further, Raven found himself looking the jaws of a dragon the size of a pony. A moment later, the black maw of the beast closed on his shoulder and all went black.

To Be Continued

 

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Bad Things Come in Small Packages Part 2 - Worse Things Come in Really Big Packages!

As Raven descended into darkness, his thoughts became somewhat detached. In that final moment, as the dragon's jaws had closed around his shoulder, he had glimpsed the beast up close. He had never seen a dragon before and felt that if he were going to die by one, he should at least get a good look at it. He was surprised by what he saw.

Instead of the stretching sinews and forked red tongue accentuating a mouth of ivory fangs dripping in caustic saliva, he witnessed only darkness. The dragon's maw was very real, but yet seemingly composed only of invariable black. The form of the beast shifted awkwardly in the light cast by Speaks' distant torch. Rather than the shining, glittering scales he would have expected, the dragon's flank had wavered, indeed almost flickered. Not unlike a shadow…

Speaks heard Raven cry out and spun around to see him fall to the black dragon that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Whipping back around he saw that two of the Kobolds were still maneuvering to flank Rhys, a third had his back against the wall and appeared to be performing some kind of magic and the fourth had disappeared down a side passage. As he watched, he saw his Salamander dart up the same passage in pursuit.

Speaks felt that he needed to respond immediately to the dragon threat, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Rhys without any assistance. He made another try at the spell that he had failed before. Suddenly, three badgers appeared among the Kobolds near Rhys and began menacing them. One was felled almost immediately while another took a vicious bite to the ankle. The third, up against the wall, easily fended off the badger that attacked him as it appeared to bounce off some kind of invisible barrier. In response to the attack, the Kobold stabbed at the badger with a dagger and drew blood. This sent the badger into a raging frenzy.

Rhys took advantage of the momentary distraction and stabbed at the Kobold in front of him, wounding it. The Kobold saw that the odds had turned against him and retreated in the direction of the dragon.

A voice rang out above the din of battle, "Fall back! Let the dragon finish them!" Those Kobolds who were in the corridor near the dragon and the fallen Raven moved away from the dragon, back down the side passages at the intersection leaving the dwarf unconscious and bleeding in their wake.

The dragon showed no signs of retreat and lunged forward past the dwarf and bit at Speaks. Speaks thrust at the beast with his spear as it attacked but failed to strike it. The druid winced in pain at the attack, but through the pain, he noticed the odd fact that this dragon seemed different than the one they had previously fought. Its form was shadowy and indistinct, almost insubstantial.

Meanwhile, the badgers he had summoned proceeded to make quick work of the other Kobolds nearby. One moved slightly to the flank of the Kobold against the wall and lunged for the small humanoid with bloodlust in its eyes. The frail Kobold crumpled under the assault of claws and fangs.

The other badger ran after the Kobold trying to retreat. The Kobold turned briefly to fend off the attack but failed. The badger burrowed through the thin leather armor the Kobold wore and into flesh. The pitiful creature let out a high pitched cry and expired.

Speaks was face to face with the bizarre "Shadow Dragon" but there was no time to ponder the implications of such a thing. He stepped back out of the reach of its jaws and called forth a Flaming Sphere along the flank of the dragon. The ball of fire rolled into the creature and began burning away at its shadowy substance.

Rhys was now left with no further adversaries (Although he was briefly alarmed as a light came from the small side passage one of the Kobolds had bolted into. It turned out to be the Salamander returning to the battle.) and saw Speaks facing the dragon alone. He rushed to the aid of his friend.

The dragon came at Speaks again, this time unleashing the full fury of its attacks. Speaks ducked and weaved, fully utilizing the Cat-like Grace granted by Rhys' spell. Astoundingly, he was only hit by one of the dragon's wings, which only wounded him slightly.

He responded by stepping back out of reach again and with a gesture, the ball of fire again slammed into the side of the creature. One of the badgers ran in to defend the one that had summoned it, only to be slashed in twain by one of the dragon's claws. The Salamander also moved quickly to fight along side the druid.

But it was Rhys that dealt the final blow to the wispy Shadow Dragon. He strode the last few feet toward the creature and a slash of his rapier passed through the neck of the beast. Instead of crumpling to the ground, the corpse vanished like so much oily smoke.

As second later the corridor darkened slightly as the Salamander vanished, returning to its fiery plane of existence. It briefly reminded Speaks of how the lights would be dimmed at the closing act of one of the plays put on by travelling performers back in Oar during his childhood. But this was no play. Danger remained all around them.

He stooped and channeled some of the healing magic of his wand into the prone form of Raven. The dwarf regained consciousness and began to ply his own healing magics upon himself while Speaks continued to heal himself and Rhys. A few moments later the question inevitably came as to what they should do now.

Speaks advocated them pressing on. He felt that the Kobolds must have spent most of their magic (including whatever that Shadow Dragon thing was) during the encounter and they would have little left. Seeing as how the group was mostly healed, they decided to press on.

NEXT: Frankly I Don't Know What's Going to Happen. We Play Tonight!

 

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Against the Kobolds!

The group gathered at the intersection and looked down the western passageway. That was the direction that the dragon had come from and it seemed the most likely direction that the Kobolds had retreated to. Wasting no time, they headed down the corridor.

Less than a dozen paces brought them to a side passage that contained a stairway leading upwards. They decided that for the moment, they would press on and check the stairs later. A few paces later, they met resistance.

A pair of crossbow bolts flew out of the darkness ahead. Once bounced off of the sturdy platemail of the dwarf but he was slightly wounded by the other. Speaks and Rhys let the dwarf take the lead down the passage since he was the only one who could see who was shooting at them.

Raven charged forward with warhammer raised high, bent on teaching the pair of Kobolds a lesson. As he moved toward them, he could see that the passageway they followed took an abrupt turn ahead and the cowardly Kobolds were crouched around the corner. He also noted that a narrower side passage branched off ahead. But there was no time to ponder the mine layout for now. He charged ahead as fast as his short legs would carry him in his heavy armor. (That'd be precisely 45 feet at a dead run.)

Speaks and Rhys ran (jogged really) after the dwarf, readying their weapons as they went. Another pair of bolts flew up the hallway, this time one of them struck Rhys.

Raven continued to run down the hallway toward the Kobolds. He was met with an unfortunate surprise when he passed the side passage: A Kobold hidden some 15 feet up the passage shot a pair of Magic Missiles at him. Ahead, he noted that the Kobolds at the corner had withdrawn around the bend in the passage. Growling in frustration, he stepped out of view from the side passage and put his back against the wall. He took a couple of deep breaths and then dashed into the side passage, hoping to take the Kobold there by surprise.

The Kobold was anything but surprised. The dwarf sounded like a bag full of scrap iron being thrown down the hallway. The Kobold had moved further up the side passage and as Raven found himself a short way up the passage without a target for his hammer, the Kobold let him have it with another pair of Magic Missiles.

Raven backpedaled out of the side passage and took cover again. Speaks and Rhys had been covering the corner ahead, ready to fire on any Kobolds who dared poke their heads into view. Speaks looked at Raven who wore a mask of pain from the various bits of ranged damage he had taken. Speaks spoke, "I think we need to withdraw and regroup. They're killing us with those Magic Missiles. You're the only one who can see them in the dark and you're too slow to catch them."

Raven hated to admit to defeat, especially by Kobolds. But he couldn't help but agree with the wisdom of the Druid. "Alright then. Let's be off." With that, the group began to withdraw.

Back at the intersection, they turned back to the left to exit the mine. As they went, Rhys dropped back to the back of the group and stationed himself a short ways from the intersection and readied his crossbow. He stashed away his Everburning Torch and waited, hoping that one of their assailants would carelessly walk around the corner, easy pickings for one of his precise attacks.

Unfortunately, it was one of the Kobolds straight ahead down the central shaft who spotted Rhys. The Kobold sent an arrow at Rhys, which he barely dodged. Rhys decided to leave the mines to the Kobolds for today and withdrew.

Back outside, the trio fell back to the smelting-works to catch a breather. Clearly they couldn't go back in until they had healed and regained some of their spells. All of them cast about for some way that they could counter the brutally effective ambush tactics used by the Kobolds. Raven spotted a group of mine carts in a corner of the building and walked over to them. He began to get an idea. Not a very good idea, but an idea nonetheless.

Raven wanted to turn a pair of the mine carts into "war wagons". They could serve as barriers to the Kobold's missile fire as they advanced into the mines. He informed the others that he would need some other boards to affix to the carts to provide additional shielding for those taller than himself. He searched about and found some additional timbers but they were thick mine supports and too large to work with. He then began to eye the thick, rough-cut planks that made up the walls of the building. He set to work chopping at them until he had freed several. The planks were thick and ugly but they would work.

"Now I just need some nails," said Raven. But alas, no nails could be found. The building was constructed with pegs. Raven decided that his expertise at woodworking (i.e. none) was not sufficient to make his war wagons without some nails. Speaks offered that he knew a spell that could mold the wood into whatever shape they wanted without using any nails but he would need to pray for it the next day.

The three of them retreated back to the tower to rest the night. Upon arriving, they noticed that Krase, hero of the north, was beginning to smell a bit ripe. Speaks resolved to do something about that situation on the following day. The trio raised the drawbridge and settled in for the night.

In the morning, they carried Krase's body outside and to the base of the tower stairs. Speaks called upon the stone of the staircase to accept his body and the rock became soft and malleable. Both Speaks and Raven gave prayers from their respective beliefs asking that the stone receive their brother. Slowly, Krase's lifeless form was pushed into the vertical section of stone. Then Speaks molded the surrounding stone over him and began to work it with his hands. Gradually over the period of an hour, he crafted the stone into a reasonable likeness of Krase. He was posed heroically fighting a Gnoll, just the way he died.

If the Gnolls had reason to fear the tower before, they would fear it doubly so now.

Somewhat sobered by the morning's events, the trio wordlessly made their way back to the smelting-works wary of a Kobold ambush. They saw none of them.

Raven retrieved a pair of the thick support braces stacked in the corner of the building and brought them to the Druid. Speaks used a spell similar to the one he had used to mold Krase into the stone to mold the stout braces into thinner sheets of wood and to mold their bases onto the mine carts. When he was done, they had a pair of mantlets on wheels.

"So, how exactly will we use these devices friend, Raven?" asked Speaks.

Raven responded, "Well, we'll push one ahead and pull the other behind"

Rhys raised and eyebrow, "That's going to be noisy as all hell!"

Raven rounded on the much taller Sorcerer, "I'm already as noisy as all hell!"

Speaks commented, "It'll be slow too."

The dwarf turned and regarded the Druid with a raised eyebrow.

Speaks relented. "Fine, fine. I'm going to go and gather some berries to provide us with plenty of nourishment and minor healing. I suspect we'll need both." With that, the Druid made his way off into the woods.

Rhys yearned for action but sensed that little would be had that day. "So, Raven, what do we do now?"

The dwarf responded, "Let's head back to the tower. I want to prepare a couple of scrolls for tomorrow."

Rhys inquired, "What about the 'war wagons'?"

Raven responded, "Leave em' here. We'll get them on our way into the mines tomorrow morning."

They headed back to the tower. As they went, Rhys muttered under his breath that picking berries and writing scrolls wasn't much of an adventure.

NEXT: Against the Kobolds! (part 2)

 

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Against the Kobolds! (part 2)

That night was again uneventful and the group slept better knowing that Krase was properly laid to rest (not to mention no longer stinking up the place). But they were all keenly aware that they wouldn't be able to feel they had done Krase justice until his attackers were slain and his belongings returned to his family in Glynden.

They arose and ate a quick, cold breakfast before donning their gear. Rhys cast a round of spells on the group to give them Catlike Grace. Raven handed a pair of scrolls to Speaks that could be used to Cure Moderate Wounds if necessary. They then proceeded back to the smelting works to retrieve the war wagons. To their unpleasant surprise, they found the wagons missing (and so was the third, broken mine cart)!

"Bloody, thievin' Kobolds!" growled Raven. He put on a fair show of anger to help cover his embarrassment at having left the wagons unguarded inside an unlocked building approximately 100 feet from the Kobold's front door. (Biggest laugh of the session by far)

They grumbled as they approached the mine entrance. Suddenly, they spotted movement further up the ridge and saw the forms of a pair of Kobolds flee into the brush.

"Those buggers have an entrance up there somewhere," said Raven.

"Yes, but it could take all day to find it in that dense undergrowth," replied Speaks. "Besides, I think we've wasted enough time already."

Raven cringed again at another mention of his folly with the war wagons. "Right then, let's go!" With that, they entered the mine.

As they went, Rhys loaded his crossbow and then cast a Light spell on the bolt. Instead of heading directly to the intersection, they took the first left passage that they had bypassed before. They soon found that this short hallway led to a largish room with may pegs on the walls. Rhys felt sure that this was the room the miners used to store their equipment but none of that equipment was presently in evidence. They backtracked to the main shaft and proceeded to the intersection.

Raven stepped out into the hallway and immediately a pair of arrows zipped out of the left-hand corridor and clanged off of his armor. They were closely followed by a pair of Magic Missiles which unerringly struck the dwarf. Raven hung his warhammer back on his belt and pulled out his bow as he advanced. Rhys fired his light-bolt down the corridor and it landed amid a group of surprised Kobolds. Speaks stepped out and called forth a Flaming Sphere and sent it rolling into the midst of the Kobolds. With the hallway now well lit, it appeared that this corridor also turned after 70-80 feet and plunged deeper into the ridge.

The Kobold archers fired another pair of arrows, neither of which struck their intended targets. The other two Kobolds dashed around the corner, out of sight.

Rhys reloaded his crossbow and fired his first aimed shot, wounding one of the Kobolds slightly. Speaks directed his ball of fire at the remaining archers who scampered out of the path of the thing, just at the last second. Raven fired his bow as well and struck one of the Kobold archers. His mighty bow dealt the creature a nasty wound. Raven then advanced on the Kobolds.

But his progress was again interrupted as he came abreast with a narrow side passage, a Kobold lying in wait fired a pair of Magic Missiles, wounding the dwarf. The Kobold then scurried further down the side passage into the darkness.

Noting the Kobold in the side passage, Rhys and Speaks hurried past and headed toward the corner where the Kobolds had retreated. Raven knew that he could never catch up with the Kobold ambusher but didn't fancy the idea of having the Kobold come up behind them either. He moved to follow Rhys and Speaks but kept his bow trained on the mouth of the side passage.

As Raven struggled to catch up, Rhys and Speaks pause at the corner long enough for Rhys to reload his crossbow. Then the pair of them rounded the corner and, as expected, came under attack again. A Magic Missile struck Rhys but the arrows fired by the Kobold archers went wide. Speaks rolled the nearby Flaming Sphere further down the hall, providing some much needed illumination. Just at the edge of the light, Rhys could see the Kobolds. He cast a Sleep spell among them and saw them topple over.

Meanwhile, as raven was backing toward Rhys and Speaks' location, another Kobold archer ducked out of the stairway passage on the opposite side of the main intersection and fired at him. The bolt bounced harmlessly off of his armor and he fired back at the creature, missing.

Rhys ran forward to the pile of sleeping Kobolds to find he had caught all four with his spell! He slung his crossbow and unsheathed his rapier for the dirty work. Speaks advanced more cautiously, keeping an eye rearward to make sure Raven needed no help. It appeared that he was doing fine.

But the Kobold archer sought to change that. The creature fired another bolt and this one found its way through a crack in the dwarf's armor. Although not a devastating injury, taken with all of the other damage Raven had absorbed, it was starting to take a toll.

Raven returned fire and received a satisfying yelp when his arrow struck the Kobold. Rhys also gained a sense of grim satisfaction as he plunged his rapier into the breast of one of the sleeping Kobolds at his feet. Speaks was no fan of slaying the helpless, but he had resigned himself that it was the only way they would ever be able to deal with the murderous Kobolds. He moved down the corridor and used his long-spear to stab another of the slumbering creatures.

But a short distance away in the darkness, another pair of Kobolds took exception to the treatment of their brothers and fired their bows at Rhys and Speaks. Rhys was struck and lightly wounded.

Meanwhile, the Kobold that had been trading arrows with Raven decided that he was getting the worse end of the deal and retreated back up the stairs out of sight. "Bloody coward!" growled Raven as he limped back to the corner, beyond which Rhys and Speaks were being fired upon by archers in the darkness.

Rhys hastily drew out his crossbow and cast another Light spell on the bolt. Speaks wanted to assure that at least the few they had caught wound up dead and stabbed another one of the sleepers.

The archers fired again but neither arrow could penetrate the considerable defenses the party had erected.

Raven ducked around the corner and saw that neither of the others were in grave danger at the moment. He began casting some healing spells on himself.

Rhys fired his bolt into the darkness and illuminated a pair of Kobolds crouched near a side passage. Speaks finished off the last of the sleeping Kobolds with his spear and glanced backwards to see that Raven had joined them and was waiting back at the corner, presumably to ambush any Kobold that came around it. In fact, Raven was in the process of healing the ample amount of damage he had absorbed so far.

The pair of Kobold archers launched a fresh pair of arrows at Speaks and Rhys. One struck Speaks, causing a flesh wound and sent the Kobold into spasms of laughter. Rhys responded with another Sleep spell that sent one of the Kobolds to the mat, snoozing. Speaks took a moment to heal some of the damage he had taken. Raven was feeling much better now and still hadn't seen any Kobolds come around the corner, although he heard some noises nearby. He cast another spell on himself to Aid him in battle for whenever they showed up.

The Kobold archer that remained awake fired a haphazard shot at Rhys, which came nowhere close. He then kicked his sleeping compatriot who began to stir from his slumber.

Somewhat frustrated that his spell wasn't more effective, Rhys recovered his rapier and headed down the hall toward the Kobolds. It was time to dole out some vengeance.

Speaks began to hear some of the same noises from the main hallway that Raven had heard and moved in that direction to back up the dwarf if necessary. Raven still had no one to smack with his hammer and decided to use some Magic on his Weapon to increase its effectiveness when the Kobolds decided to show themselves.

A moment later, a largish rat appeared around the corner for a moment. That wasn't unusual as they had seen several rats in and around the mines. The fact that this one turned around and scampered away was rather disconcerting. Before Raven had a chance to report this unusual phenomenon to Speaks (the party expert about all things rat-like) the entire corner of the hallway was engulfed in a cluster of sticky webs.

Speaks, who had been hustling up the hallway to stand with Raven skidded to a halt just a few feet from where the webs ended. He had dealt with such things before and knew that if the couldn't burn the webs, it might be a long time before Raven was free from their clutches.

Rhys glanced back and saw the webs blocking the hallway. Turning around, he saw the pair of Kobold archers escape up the side passage near them. He decided to press on, figuring that he couldn’t do any good with the web in the way. And if he took this side passage that appeared to lead back to the main hallway, he might just be able to circle behind whoever cast that web and give them a nasty surprise. He hurried after the retreating archers.

Raven was struggling against his sticky bonds when a Kobold stepped within view. Raven figured the nasty creature was about to taunt him or fire off another of those infernal Magic Missiles. In retrospect, either of those outcomes would have been far, far preferable to the Lightening Bolt that flew from the Kobold's hands. Trapped in the webs, Raven took the full brunt of the bolt as his armor conducted the blast of electricity directly to his flesh beneath.

The bolt missed Speaks by just a couple of feet. The Druid frowned at this misuse of one of Nature's forces in such an unnatural way. He also frowned because he thought it pretty likely that Raven was about to die.

But Raven still had some fight left in him. The Lightening Bolt had burned a path through the Web in a direct line to the Kobold that had fired it and Raven charged forward with his warhammer poised to deal out some dwarven justice. But as he stepped forward around the corner, he saw a small crowd of Kobolds ready and waiting. More Magic Missiles flew from their hands, undoing most of the healing that Raven had done over the last minute. Despite the pain, he continued forward and brought his hammer down on the shoulder of the Kobold. The creature yelped with pain but did not fall to the blow.

Rhys meanwhile continued to run up the narrow side passage with his rapier ready for any Kobolds he encountered. Ahead, an arrow sailed out of the darkness and struck him but he continued to press forward until he saw his attacker. As he watched, the bowman stepped out of his line of sight into what Rhys was certain was the main corridor they had been following. He could see movement beyond the mouth of the passage that likely meant more Kobolds.

Raven saw another pair of Kobolds launch Magic Missiles at him and the pair of bolts slammed into him, taking him to the edge of consciousness. The Kobold facing the dwarf carefully backed away into the throng of other Kobolds for protection from the warrior of Moradin.

Seeing his predicament but unable to cross through the flaming Web, Speaks helped the dwarf in the only way he knew how. He Summoned an Ally for the dwarf. A huge badger appeared where the Kobold had stood only seconds before and immediately surged forward to attack the nearest Kobold, shredding the creature in seconds.

Raven glanced up to notice that the Kobolds were turning their attention to the side passage ahead and saw Rhys appear in the opening. He longed to stay and battle the Kobolds with the young Sorcerer, but knew that the next attack that struck him would be his death. He had no choice but to withdraw around the corner and try to heal himself.

The Kobold who had fired the Lightning Bolt was now facing the giant badger that had just ripped apart one of the other Kobolds. She raised her hands up and another Lightning Bolt arced into the chest of the dire animal. The look of bloodlust in the creature's eyes was enough to terrify any Kobold but a moment later, a Magic Missile struck the badger and it sank to the ground unconscious.

Rhys emerged from the side passage to find himself flanked by a pair of Kobolds with short swords. They slashed at him but missed by the narrowest of margins. As if Rhys didn't have enough problems, a Kobold opposite him fired a Magic Missile from nearly point blank range further wounding the young Sorcerer. Rhys noted that the Kobolds were in perfect formation for one of his favorite tricks. With his free hand, he pulled a wand from his belt and bellowed, "Asharak!" Flame poured from the wand engulfing all the Kobolds around him. The one who had hurled the Missile fell to the ground unconscious while those flanking him howled in pain and patted out the flames that licked at the leathers they wore.

Speaks was close enough to the corner to see the flash of fire and guessed that Rhys had gotten around behind them and was using his wand of Burning Hands against the Kobolds. Figuring that Rhys could use a little help, Speaks called forth another Ally, this time a giant weasel. As he did so, Raven limped over with a dazed look on his face (he had 0 hp at this time) and took the bag of Goodberries that Speaks had prepared.

Out in the hallway, one of the Kobolds made some arcane gestures and spoke a few words of Draconic and a Web appeared in the hallway, catching the dire weasel within its sticky strands. The weasel managed to remain free of most of the webs and began to carefully slink through the individual strands, seeking a way free to attack its prey.

Rhys meanwhile cast a Sleep spell among the Kobolds clustered in the hallway. The Kobolds flanking him attacked when he was distracted by the casting of his spell but Rhys deftly avoided their blows. Unfortunately, the distraction of their attacks must have taken a toll on the spell's efficacy as only a single Kobold fell to the floor asleep.

Speaks was once again cut off from the combat by a Web but he knew that Rhys was now in there alone. He yelled to Raven, "We've got to get to Rhys!" He then turned and ran down the hall to the side passage that Rhys had taken earlier.

Raven began to swallow fistfuls of Goodberries to heal himself. They also left his stomach feeling full almost to the point of discomfort. He began to limp down the hallway after Speaks, moving even slower than usual.

The weasel continued to pick its way through the webs in an effort to sink its teeth into some of the Kobolds who were beginning to look worried. The Kobold who seemed to be in charge looked back and forth between the approaching weasel and Rhys a couple of times. Then her gaze settled on Rhys and from her hands flew another Lightening Bolt. The bolt rammed into Rhys and sent the Kobolds around him scattering. Rhys' body convulsed from the blast and toppled to the ground in a heap as his faithful familiar, Tavis leapt clear of his falling body.

Speaks heard the sound of the bolt and saw the flash reflected in the mouth of the tunnel ahead. He continued to hurry to aid Rhys, hoping that it wouldn't be too late. He also heard panicked Kobold voices crying out. The echoes of the mines made it hard to tell what they were saying but it seemed to be something about "retreating" and "killer weasel".

Raven lumbered down the hall in pursuit of Speaks, continuing to cram fist after fist of Goodberries into his gullet.

Tavis crouched defensively overtop of the smoking ruin of Rhys' body, powerless to stop his lifeblood from spilling onto the cold stone of the mine's floor. In the hallway beyond, she saw the Kobolds quickly grab their fallen and retreat back toward the intersection as the dire weasel slipped through the last strands of the Web.

As Speaks ran up the narrow passage in the direction that Rhys had gone, he spotted a crumpled body laying on the floor ahead, lit by a torch. Atop the body was Tavis and he knew it must be Rhys. As he plunged down the passage toward his fallen friend, another Web swallowed the hallway and portion of the side passage in which Rhys' body lay bleeding. Speaks skidded to a halt just short of the webs desperately trying to get a look at Rhys between the thick strands. He called out to Raven to hurry up.

Raven broke into a full run, which wasn't terribly fast, and called ahead, "I'm coming!"

Tavis had escaped being stuck in the Web that held her master's body tight but still couldn't do anything to help him. She cried out desperately over the link they shared hoping to establish some contact but got back nothing. Then, just as she was about to give into despair, Rhys drew a ragged breath.

Speaks called out to Tavis to come to him and the brave little weasel began to duck between the webs seeking a way to the Druid. Just then, Raven came clanking up the passage. Speaks turned to him and asked for one of the Goodberries. Raven handed over the whole bag and then began to bash his way through the webs toward Rhys. The stout dwarf strained against the sticky mess and smashed about with his warhammer, slowly breaking one strand after another.

Speaks meanwhile gave a pair of the Goodberries to Tavis and sent her following the broken strands left in the wake of the dwarf. Finally, Raven made his way to Rhys' side and cast one of his minor healing spells on the limp form of the Sorcerer. He turned back to Speaks and said, "The boy lives. But barely."

Raven laboriously dragged Rhys from the web and lay his unconscious form at the feet of Speaks. The Druid quickly went to work with one of their healing wands and coaxed the brash young Sorcerer back to consciousness. Seeing that Rhys would be alright, Speaks and Raven both breathed a sigh of relief.

Raven sank to one knee, gasping for breath and said, "Well, what now?"

Rhys gave a wan smile and replied, "We press on of course."

NEXT: Against the Kobolds (Part 3: Do they stay or do they go?)

 

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(GM Note: Rhys stabilized on his own at -8 hp. If he hadn't, he would have died. Nobody was close enough to get to him in time except for Speaks and he would have had to make some phenomenal rolls to break through the webs well enough to get to Rhys' side.

The Kobolds didn't stop to finish off Rhys because even one more round of delay and the dire weasel would have been upon them. If the weasel got in close, they couldn't use the web to stop it and it would have likely killed several of them. Besides, Rhys looked nearly dead already and the web cast as they retreated would virtually assure that nobody could get to him in time to save him. Which turned out to be true.)

Against the Kobolds (Part 3: Do they stay or do they go?)

"We what?! You almost just died, lad. You want to give them another shot at you?!" Spoke Raven in disbelief.

Speaks chimed in too, "I must agree with Raven. We are all wounded and I have little magic left. I think it would be imprudent to stay here. Let us pull back to the tower and rest until we are able to regain our strength."

Rhys' resolve remained, "Look, these 'Kobolds' have magic similar to mine. They have cast many of their spells on us and I don't think they can have very many left at this point. If we go rest, so will they and we'll have to face those Lightning Bolts all over again. I'm not too keen on that. Besides, I have a plan…"

The group took a few minutes to discuss their plan with Speaks and Raven wary of the whole idea. But Rhys' force of personality won the day and he began to gather a number of scrolls that he would need. And with that, the plan was set in motion.

First, Rhys used his wand of Burning Hands to set fire to the Web that trapped them in the narrow corridor. He put the wand away and then used a scroll of Invisibility on himself. Following that he used one of his Spider Climb spells. He then used another scroll to Locate Krase's Mithral breastplate. He sensed it's presence deeper inside the mine. He then used one of his minor spells to reach out with his mind and grab his Everburning Torch and send it floating back down the narrow corridor, some 30 feet ahead of him. He proceeded back down the narrow passage, headed deeper within the mine.

Speaks and Raven watched him walk away and then made their way through the dying embers of the burned out web, headed toward the mine exit. They cautiously made their way back through the main intersection and back to the short side passage to the empty equipment storage room. There they paused and waited for any signs of the Kobolds.

Rhys meanwhile made it back to the shaft where they had slain the sleeping Kobolds just minutes before and turned to his right, headed deeper into the mine. As he went, he moved cautiously and kept his concentration on holding the torch out in front of him. He continued forward until he came to one of the diminutive side tunnels only large enough for a Kobold to fit comfortable through.

Wishing to avoid any possibility of colliding with a Kobold emerging from the side tunnel at an inopportune moment, he climbed along the wall above the mouth of the small tunnel. Once past it, he continued forward. As he did so, he glanced back and spotted a Kobold behind him, cautiously advancing to keep pace with the "mysterious floating torch". Rhys ignored him.

Meanwhile, Speaks got ready to start a distraction and drew from his robes the Everflowing Bottle. He braced himself against the tunnel wall and activated the magic of the bottle, causing a "Geyser" of water to shoot forth with great force. He held the Bottle steady against the back pressure and began to send hundreds of gallons of water pouring down into the mine.

In the distance, Rhys could hear this sound and smiled, knowing that it would distract some of the Kobolds away from his scouting mission. He continued on, arriving at another of the 5-foot wide passages that entered the main shaft at an angle. Glancing across the shaft from the passage, he saw the glimmer of a silver vein in the opposite wall. He deduced that the side passages must have been where the silver ore had already been excavated. Noting this, he continued forward.

Not far beyond that point, he saw something shimmer beneath his floating torch and discovered that the floor of the shaft was covered with water. As he approached closer, he saw the water continued as far down the shaft as he could see. Surely the water that Speaks was unleashing from the Bottle hadn't started to flood the mines already? Perhaps this portion of the mines had been flooded to begin with. He noted that the passageway continued to slope slightly downward and it might become submerged entirely up ahead. He figured he'd better check it out. He climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling and continued forward slowly.

He continued down the passage for some 60 feet or so with the ceiling dropping closer and closer to the water level. Finally, he could see by the torchlight ahead that the shaft became entirely submerged. He turned and began to crawl back up the shaft, moving his torch back to its station 30 feet ahead of him.

But as his torch began to illuminate the shaft ahead, he could see that clustered at the edge of the water were four Kobolds. And sitting amongst them was the black reptilian shape of the Shadow Dragon. His allies had assured him that the dragon was only a shadowy replica of a real dragon, but it certainly looked real enough right now. He paused briefly but quickly realized that he had no real choices. There was only one way out and it was right past that group. He advanced toward the waiting group.

His torch arrived at the group ahead of him and the dragon suddenly lunged out and bit down on it, causing the torchlight to dance. Rhys hurried ahead, knowing that in a few moments, he would probably lose his light source entirely. The torchlight flickered as the dragon masticated the heatless light of the torch and then all was dark.

Continued to climb forward, knowing that at the moment, he must be right over the heads of the Kobolds and just inches from the dragon. His eyes went wide with terror when he heard the sound of a large muzzle sniffing close to him. Then, pain shot through his leg as the dragon's jaws clamped down on it. But he did note that the pain was less than he would have expected. Perhaps Speaks and Raven were right about the dragon not being the real thing. Regardless, in the utter darkness, without any means of defending himself, he was at the mercy of the beast. He scurried forward along the ceiling as fast as he could go.

A second later, the dragon bit him again, along the torso this time. The wound was minor but Rhys knew that time was still on the dragon's side. He had to get back to the main shaft where Speaks and Raven were and get there fast. At the moment he finished forming that thought, he was struck suddenly by a pair of arrows, presumably fired by the Kobolds just below him. If they could see him now, he was as good as dead. He hoped that they had just gotten lucky and continued to scrabble ahead along the ceiling.

As he went, he kept near the right wall of the shaft and his right hand felt out for the next side passage. He couldn't be sure but he guessed that the passage led back to the central mine shaft and that would put him closer to Speaks and Raven. His right hand reached out for the wall and felt it falling away to the northwest. He had found the side passage. He pressed forward with the dragon nipping at his heels (and occasionally catching one for minor damage) and arrows bouncing off the walls and ceiling, always right after the dragon bit. (GM Note: The Kobolds couldn't see him but whenever the dragon seemed to bite down on something and they heard a grunt of pain, they would shoot at either side of the dragon's head. After that first time, they never hit Rhys again but they did hit the dragon twice.)

Rhys raced along the ceiling of the side passage and the sound of the geyser of water being unleashed by Speaks became louder. If the dragon didn't kill him first, he knew he could find his way out. Moments later, the sound again grew appreciably louder and he turned his gaze to see a distant rectangle of light: The mine entrance.

He hurried that direction and took a moment to concentrate on his Amulet of Communication. "Speaks! I'm coming for the mine entrance followed by a dragon and a bunch of Kobolds!"

Upon receiving this message, Speaks yelled for Raven to get ready to cover Rhys as he approached. Raven readied his bow and aimed down the central shaft waiting to shoot anything that dared show its head. He didn't have to wait long.

Speaks spoke the command word and turned off the Bottle. As things grew quieter, they could hear the yipping sounds of Kobold speech down the corridor. Then, the black shape of the dragon came into view, biting at something unseen near the ceiling. Raven fired his bow down the passage and his arrow skipped off the scales of the beast.

Rhys could see his friends now. Apparently, one of them had cast a Light spell on a small stone and tossed down the corridor ahead of them to provide illumination. He continued along the ceiling. The dragon seemed to be having a hard time getting his jaws around him lately and he certainly didn't want to experience that sensation again. He crossed the main intersection and spotted some movement down the side passages but didn't pause to examine it. He saw Raven fire another arrow behind him and knew the dragon must be closing in again.

Speaks readied himself to attack the dragon and saw that a number of Kobolds were trailing the beast up the main corridor. First among them was one that looked familiar. It was the one that had cast the Lightning Bolts earlier! A warning cry rose in his throat and then the world exploded in crackling light.

From the fingers of the Kobold flew a blast of lightning that, while not as far ranging as the previous ones, filled the entire corridor. Rhys never saw it coming. His natural instincts kicked in and he hugged the ceiling but still couldn't escape all of the blast. The damage inflicted by the dragon had taken its toll and the young Sorcerer fell to the muddy floor of the mine shaft unconscious and near death. Had he been conscious, he may have taken minor consolation at the fact that the dragon was also caught in the bolt and its shadowy form dissipated in a puff of smoke.

Raven, standing nearly immobile in his thick carapace of steel took the full brunt of the blast and also fell over unconscious. Speaks managed to get between two of the most powerful arcs of electricity and only took part of the damage. Glancing around, he saw that Raven was down and Rhys (still invisible) was nowhere in sight. He was alone.

Enraged, he hefted his long-spear and charged the Kobold Sorceress. He struck her low in the torso and she crumpled to the ground. The other Kobolds around her looked on with shock as their leader fell. But they still outnumbered the human and maneuvered to outflank him. One tumbled by and came up behind the Druid but another slipped on the waterlogged mud floor and paid the price. Speaks plunged his spear all the way through the chest of the creature and out the other side (critical hit). The other Kobold stepped forward and delivered a vicious slash across his thigh while he was distracted.

Speaks moved deeper down the hallway, toward the intersection but out of reach of his attackers. As he went, one of the Kobolds struck at him but his superior Mobility kept him safe from the attack. The Kobolds moved back in to attack and Speaks thrust his spear at one and missed. The Kobolds also missed but had moved back into flanking positions.

Speaks could tell that these Kobolds were good at fighting this way. He could also see the bleeding, smoking form of Raven lying in the mud near the mine entrance and knew that time was running out. He moved quickly to disengage from the Kobolds and once again, his training at staying mobile during combat saved him from their blades.

It appeared that the Kobolds were just as happy to let Speaks disengage. As he fell back, they grabbed the fallen Kobolds and fled around the corner. Speaks Summoned a Swarm of rats in the middle of the intersection to keep the Kobolds away while he dealt with his fallen comrades.

He first used a minor healing spell on Raven to stop his bleeding. Then he cast about for some sign of Rhys. He had never seen him come up the hall and assumed that he must still be Invisible. His eyes passed over a seemingly bare patch of muddy floor and then something caught his eye (Speaks' player rolled a 6 spot check and then used a "Fate Chip" to re-roll, getting a 15 on the second roll.). He saw a vaguely humanoid impression in the mud and felt around, encountering Rhys' body. He cast another minor healing spell to stop his bleeding and then dragged him into the side passage that led to the equipment storage room. He quickly returned to the main shaft and grabbed Raven's unconscious form as well. As he did, he could see some more movement and hear noises deeper in the mine. He was sure they were being watched.

Once he had Rhys and Raven safely in the side passage, he used his Wand of Healing to heal Raven to consciousness. When the dwarf came to, he handed him the spare Wand of Healing that he had been saving and said, "Start healing yourself. We need to get out of here soon."

Raven took the wand and looked around. Rhys was nowhere to be seen and thought it best not to ask about that (Rhys was right next to him, invisible with -8 HP). Raven set about healing himself with the wand.

A few moments later, the Druid and the Cleric were feeling much healthier, although still not fantastic. Speaks told Raven that he suspected the Kobolds were waiting for them to poke their heads out into the main shaft. To illustrate his point, he Summoned a Dire Rat in the hallway just outside the passage they hid in. Instantly two Magic Missiles struck the creature and it fell to the ground senseless.

"See?" said Speaks.

"We need to get out of here. Soon and fast." Replied Raven. "Where's Rhys?"

Speaks showed Raven that Rhys was right there with them, unconscious and still invisible. Raven stroked his beard thoughtfully and reached into the seemingly bottomless Haversack that he wore. He pulled out a potion. "I know I walk slower'n you most of the time. But this elixir will help with that. I'll get the lad and you follow me out." He slung Rhys over his shoulder and made his way to the edge of the main shaft. He drank the potion and then dashed out into the hallway.

Before he had taken more than a couple of steps, six Magic Missiles shot from further down the main shaft and struck the dwarf. He staggered under the assault but did not fall. He turned and raced for the exit of the mine as fast as he could go (which was twice as fast as normal thanks to the potion of Expeditious Retreat).

As he emerged from the mine into the cool morning air, he smiled.

That's when the two Kobolds lying in ambush above the mine entrance shot him in the back. The first arrow struck him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground and pushing him beyond the realm of consciousness. The other arrow would have killed the dwarf but it didn't strike him. It struck the invisible, unconscious Rhys hanging over his other shoulder.

Back in the cave, Speaks heard the dwarf cry out and then heard his heavy armor come crashing to the ground. Feeling that he needed additional speed, he concentrated and transformed into the form of an eagle. Then he flew out into the main shaft and banked right toward the exit. He too was struck with a volley of Magic Missiles (only 4 ) as he hurried to the freedom of the outdoors.

As he burst out of the mineshaft, he saw Raven lying on the ground and saw a pair of arrows streak by him from above. He made a tight turn in the direction of the arrows and saw a pair of Kobolds crouched behind some bushes further up the ridge. He moved in their direction and they broke and ran. He longed to chase them but his friends needed him. He alighted next to the dwarf and transformed back into human form.

A few feet away, he could see a dusty, muddy outline that must be Rhys. He used the wand once to heal Rhys before turning his attention back to Raven. He knelt over the dwarf and used the healing wand again to bring him to consciousness.

Speaks told Raven to check on Rhys and get ready to move if the Kobolds pursued them. Looking further up the ridge, he could see that the Kobold archers were still watching them from a cluster of bushes. Speaks Entangled that area and saw the Kobolds struggle against the bushes.

He turned back to Raven who was looking at him somberly. "How is he?"

Raven replied sorrowfully, "The lad's dead."

NEXT: Torrents

 

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Torrents

Speaks felt the grief well up inside him. He had been through so much with the boys from Glynden and now they had both been killed in the span of just a few days. He bellowed back down the mine tunnel, "I curse this mine! Leave it or you shall all drown!"

With that, Raven hefted the limp and invisible body of Rhys and marched back to the safety of the tower. Speaks followed in eagle form, spotting from overhead to assure they were not followed by the Kobolds.

Once Rhys was laid down in what used to be the tower kitchen, Speaks and Raven grabbed a bottle of the Novantae scotch and held a wake for the young Sorcerer. Speaks talked of the many close scrapes they had had against the Orcs during the Winter War. He told Raven about the heroics of the two young boys that he would never get to meet.

Finally, they bedded down for the night and slept the restless sleep of the vengeful.

As morning rose the next day, Speaks and Raven wasted no time marching toward the mine entrance. They approached cautiously until they were just outside the dark opening. Then, Raven stood guard while Speaks called upon the powers of nature to weaken the earth and stone just inside the mouth of the mine. He repeated his chanting until the entire hillside above the mine collapsed and all that remained of the entrance were the old timbers standing before a mass of mud and earth.

Speaks then called his feathered friends around him and bade them find any other bolt holes the Kobolds might have nearby. The birds took flight and scattered. Speaks and Raven waited.

After a while, Speaks grew impatient and decided to do some scouting for himself. He concentrated and took the form of a dog and began sniffing around for Kobold scent. He rapidly located the trail of one of the Kobolds and followed it up hill onto the rocky and wooded ridge into which the mines were dug. Some 200 feet up the ridge, hidden behind a cluster of bushes, he found a hole beneath a large stone. The hole was only two feet across, the perfect size for one of the Kobold ambushers.

Speaks transformed back into human form and began to cast about for a sizable stone. He and Raven found one that they could lift and brought it next to the hole. There, Speaks used more of his magic to render the stone soft and malleable. Speaks began to mold the rock, talking to it in a strange tongue. Raven sat back and regarded this ritual with a mix of curiosity and awe. He now understood where the Druid had gotten his name.

When Speaks was done, he had molded the stone into a rounded plug just large enough to block up the hole. In the center, he had left a narrow hole through the stone. He and Raven lifted the stone into place and it neatly blocked up the tunnel. Speaks reached into his belt pouch and brought out the Everflowing Bottle which he inserted into the hole in the rock. He braced his hand on the bottom of the bottle and uttered the word “Geyser” in Draconic and water began to spray from the bottle down into the narrow tunnel.

Speaks held the bottle in place and cast another of his spells to mold stone. He then pushed the back end of the hole in the rock around the bottom of the bottle until it was completely sealed inside the stone. The muted sound of the gushing water could be heard through the rock and earth around them as gallon after gallon of water poured down into the hole and into the mines.

Speaks looked at Raven with grim satisfaction and said, “Now we wait.”

And wait they did. A couple of hours later, one of the birds returned and landed on Speaks’ shoulder. It soon led him roughly 150 feet further up slope to another small tunnel. This one was dug at the base of a large oak tree and the roots of the tree framed the entrance. Realizing that it was possible that the Kobolds could exit the mines through this passage, Speaks sought a way to block it. But he had already used most of his magic to plug the lower hole and the main mine entrance.

Raven trudged back down to the smelting works to get some support timbers to block the hole with. As he arrived at the building, he saw that water was pouring out from under the doors. He hurried back to get Speaks and they cautiously entered the building. Water was flowing out of the sump well at a rapid rate. Speaks used a spell and molded one of the thickest support timbers into a thin slab of wood that barely covered the five foot wide well. They wedged the board into place against the axle above the well. Water still escaped around the edges but it would do until a more permanent solution could be found the following day. Then they retrieved a pair of the large support timbers there and dragged them up the ridge to the second hole. Raven and Speaks jammed the timbers as far into the hole as they could. They then discussed what to do next.

Speaks felt that they must guard the entrance where they had positioned the Everflowing Bottle. If the Kobolds had another exit from the mines they would likely exit there and try to find a way to turn off the torrents of water pouring into the mine. If they left the Bottle unattended for an extended period, the Kobolds would probably find a way to disarm it. Besides, if the Kobolds approached that entrance, Speaks wanted them to be around to kill them.

Before heading back down slope to where the Bottle was, Speaks attached some of his stone carving tools to the ends of the support timbers that jutted out of the second hole. They figured that if the Kobolds tried to move the timbers from the inside, the tools would rattle together, serving as a makeshift alarm. That done, they made their way back to the Bottle-rock and set up camp.

NEXT: The Best Laid Plans of Dwarves and Men

 

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Interlude
A mile east of the edge of Aquae Sulis, the leaves rustled on the south side of the overgrown road that led to Glynden. A lone figure pulled a blanket over himself and brushed a few handfuls of leaves on top of it. The wilds west of Glynden were no place for a single traveler to bivouac but this wasn’t a normal traveller.

If anything he could be called a wanderer. For the last few years, that’s all he had done. He couldn’t seem to find a home anywhere. No body wanted Scar around for long.

Scar had been born in the southern reaches of the Blackpeaks, son of an orcish father and a human captive. He wasn’t like the rest of the orcs in his tribe. He wasn’t quite as strong as some of them, but he was a lot smarter and quicker than most of them. He had even earned some status among them as an accomplished scout since he had an easier time operating during the daytime. That honor had even earned him one of his most prized possessions, a ring that let him go without food and water when necessary and left him completely refreshed with but little sleep.

That had all changed one day when his father, Ghaskbog had led a failed ambush against a group of humans. Ghaskbog was challenged for his leadership of the tribe and killed by a rival. Scar’s mother was killed and Scar abandoned his tribe. He renounced the brutal ways of the orcs and headed east to seek out the human lands that his mother had spoken about when he was a child.

Along the way, he had met a group of humans battling a small pack of Gnolls. Scar aided them and they allowed him to stay the night in their camp. He got to know them, especially a human woman who followed St. Cuthbert. The humans were missionaries who were travelling to a small town nearby to establish a church. Scar followed them and became a follower of St. Cuthbert, renouncing his barbarous ways.

Since then, he had traveled from town to town, trying to aid the cause of the church in whatever ways he could but inevitably his heritage and ugly appearance could not be overlooked by those he sought to help. He would move on again before any trouble started.

Most recently, he had made his way to the frontier town of Glynden, hoping that he could find a place where his fighting skills could be appreciated and his orcish history could be overlooked. But having just fought a war against the orcs alongside the barbarian tribes of the Fodor, the people of Glynden were not as receptive as he had hoped.

There was a man there who did have compassion for Scar. Father Tomas, the local priest of St. Cuthbert had allowed him to stay in the church while he was in Glynden. But even Father Tomas knew that sooner or later, someone in Glynden would pick a fight with Scar and someone would be seriously hurt or killed (most likely the townsperson given Scar’s rippling muscles and the vicious war-pick that he carried). Father Tomas asked Scar to leave Glynden and go west to check on the progress of the Heroes of the Winter War against the Gnolls in Aquae Sulis. He hoped that if Scar could be associated with the boys from Glynden that he would be more readily accepted by the townspeople.

And so here Scar was, curled up for his evening nap, nestled in his blanket and a few handfuls of leaves. Homeless and hopeful, just like always.

GM Note: Scar is the replacement character for Rhys’ player. Scar is a ½ Orc Lawful Neutral Barbarian 2/Fighter 3 who is 16 years old and hungry for adventure. He has a nasty scar from the bridge of his nose to the corner of his mouth and wears his black hair in a mohawk. He dual wields a pick and a light mace. He always does what is right for the community even if the community doesn’t always return the favor. He has tamed the chaotic nature of his people (leaving him without the ability to Rage) but he is still a bit impulsive and seems to abhor inactivity.