D&D 5E The Rhyot Break - Chapter One: Endless White

[TallIan]

Rorik

Rorik heard the voices drifting down the cave, he closed the book and started wrapping it in its oil cloth when Welkin touched his arm. He cursed as Welkin doused the fire even as he knew it was a good idea not to give away their position.

"Kobolds?" mouthed Wilken. Rorik shook his head in the dark as Welking crept forward, "Too feminine." Rorik whispered, but he still gripped his huge sword tightly, keeping his off hand free to lanch his magic at anything threatening.

They were too far to make out the words though. "Well, these damned caves have brought us nothing but misery. I'm not dying here like a trapped rat. I’m going down swimging." he crept farther along cave, his armour almost certainly giving him away until he saw the torch up ahead illuminating a ragged looking band. One of them seemed to be praying?

As she stood up Rorik committed to the contact. "You're no kobold. Speak, friend or foe to the Korrud?"

 

[Steve Gorak]

Rorik
As she stood up Rorik committed to the contact. "You're no kobold. Speak, friend or foe to the Korrud?"

Gimlak turns proudly, his stare never for a moment leaving that of the man that just spoke. With one hand, he opens his makeshif bag, and raises his arm. Partially frozen heads fall out, clearly Korrund. As his blood starts rushing to his limbs, readying the barbarian for a potential battle, he draws his sword and says "Shall I add your heads to my collection, or will you help us kill more Korrund scum!?!"

 

[daindarkspring]

Zemryn's head turned at the sound of the voice, and her shortswords cleared their scabbards with a dull scraping sound even as Gimlak displayed his grim trophies like a proud young child displays stones collected at the beach to his mother.

Gimlak spoke harshly, and with perhaps too much gratuitous gore, but his words got to the point quickly enough and warranted an answer.

"Atemi awaits your answer! Heed your words well!" Zemryn could not resist adding the name of her goddess, so long something that had resulted in only a lash across her back, or a Korrud fist to her jaw. Now she exclaimed it with angry pride so that all could hear!

 

[TallIan]

Rorik

The replies from the scraggly band were feisty, even threatening, but Rorik had surprised them in a dark cave.

He watched as the big man upturned a bag of rocks - no not rocks, heads - dwarf heads. Well that was a good sign. He lowered his sword, taking a more defensive stance, "You're no enemy of mine then. Indeed the enemy of my enemy..." he trailed off the last sentience not wanting to commit too fully to these strangers. "I am Sir Rorik of the Wizards of Rowtil. Well, whats left of them anyway. This is my friend Squire Welkin. Maybe Wizard Welkin may be more appropriate now. We were part of a larger group come here to fight the Korrud, but have run afoul of the weather, kobolds and other beasts."

 

[JustinCase]

The tiefling salutes lazily, the very movement an expression of nonchalance.

”Just call me Welkin,” he says warmly before speaking another arcane word to get the torchlight back to its normal brightness.

He looks at each newcomer in turn, looking into their eyes perhaps a moment longer than needed, and smiles in an attempt to warm them up to him. Gods, how he missed making new friends!

 

[97mg]

Bria's amber eyes turned from surveying the passageway that led northwards out of the cavern. Behind her colleagues, the young woman's view fixed instead upon a tiefling man and his robust human companion. At first their voices had brought hope to her heart, but as each word was spoken the truth had revealed itself. These men, she did not know, nor did she know if they were responsible for her camp's disappearance.

She edged closer, listening as introductions began, and smiled at Gimlak's brutal method of declaring allegiance. Well, it seemed to have worked, the barbarian was truly odd in his ways... but she could not condemn the force with which he got things done.

Kobolds?

The narrow-faced and soft-skinned woman was wrapped in once-white fur and leather. She probably looked a little less worn than her companions. Yes, the travel had been hard and the cold had taken a toll, but Zemryn, Faenala and Gimlak carried years of abuse, in comparison Bria must have looked "fresh".

"Sir Rorik, Welkin," she said, "I am Bria of Parhalst village. Tell me, have you seen anyone else within these tunnels and holes? Of Kobolds, please tell us the nature of how they met with you?"

Perhaps Rorik or Welkin would know of her home. A village nestled between mountains several days to the west. A peaceful place that given its location, was yet to fall to foreign dwarven hand. For folk so far from civilization, and amidst such treacherous wilderness, it would strike Rorik and Welkin that these newly met souls are rather poorly equipped.

 

[Imladir]

As soon as she heard the new voices, Faelana stopped her exploration of the small cave, and went back with the others. Not that they were particularly far, but even a few feet away could mark her as an easy target. When Gimlak exposed his collection, she grimaced disgustingly, but relaxed slightly when it became clear the two in front of them had no desire to fight them. For now at least.

She nodded slightly when Rorik introduced himself and his companion, but when Welkin smiled at her, it seemed to backfire: given the way her eyes blazed and her jaw clenched, it seemed obvious than the only warmth she might feel would be due to anger rather than anything else. And given how she adjusted the position of the bedroll she had wrapped around herself, she wasn't feeling much warmth at all.

After that, she looked around, frowning. Korruds, wolves, and now kobolds? On top of frozen feet... Frozen everything in fact... She almost wondered at what point she'd start to feel like she'd be better in the mines...

 

[daindarkspring]

Zemryn stood proudly, despite her ill-fitting and blood-caked leather armor and shoddy Korrud boots. In her mind she was a shining beacon of Atemi's power, though in reality she may have looked more like a desperate convict wearing the stolen armor of slain foes with dirty and fouled furs beneath. The black paint around her eyes only emphasized their frosty blue appearance and the deep conviction that was behind them.

Kobolds. Your foes are everywhere, Atemi, and I thank you for the privilege of slaying them.

Bria was obviously eager for news of her people. Zemryn looked at the newcomers, now potential allies, and awaited their answer.

 

[JustinCase]

Welkin notes Faelana's acute reaction to seeing him, and smiles even broader. Ah yes, this should be a challenge! The tiefling keeps his eyes on the elf woman as he responds to Bria's questions.

"Darn kobolds were slaughtering some poor sods just up this tunnel," he waves vaguely towards the dark to his left, "Then dragged the bodies back behind a door at the end. We managed to kill a few of the bastards, although I suspect they've taken those corpses away too by now. Haven't seen anyone else in these caverns except you guys, although we did get attacked by the Korrud two days ago, outside in the valley."

Welkin easily falls into the Rowtil city accent, despite the fact that his noble family taught him to speak "properly".

"How did you get here? You must be starving!"

Taking his backpack off, he rummages through it and takes out the rations he had been taking nibbles from only a few minutes ago, then offers it to Faelana first.

 

[Steve Gorak]

"We fled the Korund, thanks to Bria. She brought us here." Gimlak says with heartfelt gratitude. "I definitely won't say no to food, if you can spare it". Gimlack waits eagerly untill the food is passed to him, and he eats it quitely, savoring it's non-Korrund origin.